The vice-captain in charge of security for the administrative district recognized Felwin. He hesitated for a moment before stepping aside to clear the way. Felwin came to the hospital every week for purification and was a familiar face to the doctors and nurses in the purification department. The security personnel also knew her to some extent.
She was an S-rank female who came regularly to help; there was no need to fall out with her over such a trivial matter.
Felwin clutched the hem of her skirt and ducked into the elevator without looking back, but Arden wasn't so lucky.
He was grabbed by the arms by two security guards, one on each side, and half-pushed, half-shoved out of the administrative district. He still looked defiant, but he didn't dare utter another word. After all, the moment Chiron released his spiritual power, he had almost fallen to his knees before Jiang Lijin.
The security captain reported from the doorway, "Lord Chiron, it has been handled."
Chiron didn't even look up. "Thank you for your hard work."
As he was about to leave, the security captain noticed Jiang Lijin lounging lazily on the sofa. He froze for a moment, but seeing that Chiron said nothing, he obediently closed the door. The office fell quiet once again.
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Lijin stared at the closed door for two seconds before withdrawing her gaze.
To be honest, she was a little surprised.
She wasn't surprised that Chiron had helped her. She was his guest, after all, and with Arden throwing a tantrum right in front of him, he naturally couldn't just sit back and do nothing. But Chiron's way of handling it was much more decisive than she had expected.
No explanations, no mediation, no "let's all calm down"—just calling security straight away. Still, it suited Chiron's style of doing things.
[Host! Did you see that?!] Xiao Yi's voice exploded in her mind.
Jiang Lijin rubbed her temples. [I saw it.]
[Lord Chiron is so handsome! Did you feel that spiritual power suppression just now? The lights in the entire corridor were shaking! Arden's legs went weak, and he almost knelt before us! Hahahahaha—]
[Yeah.]
[And he was on your side the whole time! He didn't say a single unnecessary word to Arden! He didn't even pay attention to Felwin! What does this mean?]
Jiang Lijin sighed in her heart. [It means he's a normal person?]
[No, no, no, it means he is fiercely protective, and he is protecting you!] Xiao Yi grew more and more excited, its pitch rising several degrees. [Let me tell you, with an animal husband like this protecting you, no one will ever dare to—]
[Stop right there.] Jiang Lijin decisively cut it off. [If you keep talking, I'm going to think I'm listening to a blind date show.]
[But—]
[Xiao Yi, can you give it a rest? My ears are ringing.]
Xiao Yi muttered unwillingly a couple of times but finally quieted down.
Jiang Lijin leaned back on the sofa, watching Chiron flip through documents behind his desk. He had his eyes lowered, reading page by page, his fingers turning the paper very lightly.
It was as if nothing had just happened.
Just as she was spacing out, the optical computer on her wrist suddenly vibrated.
Jiang Lijin looked down and saw an email pop up on the optical computer's interface. The sender was: Imperial Academy of Sciences - Spiritual Power Testing Center.
She opened it.
The body of the email was in a standard official format. Jiang Lijin skimmed it, skipped all the convoluted clauses, and accurately locked onto the content she cared about the most—
[Verified by the Imperial Mainbrain, your spiritual power level is officially confirmed as: 3S-rank.]
[You are the first in the history of the Empire, and currently the only, 3S-rank female.]
An expected answer.
She continued scrolling down.
[In view of your special circumstances, the Empire will arrange for a specialist to visit you tomorrow (Interstellar Calendar March 19, 341) to handle relevant procedures for you, including but not limited to: housing allocation, identity document updates, security level changes...]
Jiang Lijin's finger paused on "housing allocation," feeling a tiny bit of regret in her heart.
The ultra-luxurious bathroom, the super comfortable bed, the highly intelligent little white robot, and the incredibly handsome... ahem. Anyway, she was still a little reluctant to leave.
But no matter how reluctant she was, the house belonged to Chiron. She didn't want to live under someone else's roof; it was better to have her own place.
She continued downward.
[Monthly subsidy standard: 60,000 Star Coins/month.]
Jiang Lijin's pupils suddenly dilated.
Sixty thousand!!!
She looked at that number three times to make sure she hadn't seen an extra zero, nor missed one.
Sixty thousand Star Coins a month!!
An S-rank female only got twenty thousand, and hers was directly tripled! A cabbage cost one thousand five hundred; sixty thousand was enough for her to buy forty cabbages! She couldn't even finish eating one a day!
She bounced right up from the sofa.
Chiron was looking down at his documents when he noticed from the corner of his eye that Jiang Lijin had suddenly stood up. Her movements were quite large, clutching the optical computer in her hand, looking as if she had been electrocuted by something.
He lifted his head and looked over.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Lijin opened her mouth, then closed it again. The expression on her face bounced back and forth between excitement and reserve.
Chiron's gaze slid to the optical computer on her wrist and paused.
"Did the subsidy amount come out?"
His tone was very light, and then he lowered his head to look at the documents again, the smile at the corner of his mouth unhidden.
Jiang Lijin felt that this man's guess was far too accurate. She simply stopped pretending and grinned. "Hehe."
She smiled with absolutely no reserve, completely different from the calm and composed person she had been in front of Arden just a moment ago.
Sixty thousand! If converted into intermediate nutrient solutions, she could drink ten bottles a day and pour out a hundred! Although she never wanted to drink that stuff again for the rest of her life.
Moreover, the annoying Arden had been dragged away by security, Felwin had fled with her tail between her legs, and now the subsidy had come out.
Wasn't her luck just too good today?
She looked at Chiron, who was smiling slightly opposite her, and blurted out, "You look really good when you smile."
Chiron raised an eyebrow. He didn't reply, lowering his head to continue flipping through his documents, but the movement of his fingertips turning the page clearly paused for a split second.
Jiang Lijin didn't feel awkward; after all, she was telling the truth.
She sat back down on the sofa and began to read the email carefully from beginning to end. The housing policy was written in great detail: a 3S-rank female could enjoy the highest standard of housing allocation in the Empire, and the specific layout and location would be determined after a specialist came to communicate with her.
[Host,] Xiao Yi's voice rang out again. This time it didn't go back to flattering Chiron, and its tone was uncharacteristically serious. [Do you still remember our main quest?]
Jiang Lijin froze for a moment.
[It's... to explore this world.] Xiao Yi reminded her. [Now that you have money and free time, shouldn't you consider when to set off?]
This matter really needed to be put on the agenda. Just as she was about to speak, the optical computer on her wrist vibrated again.
It was another email.
Jiang Lijin looked down, and the sender made her freeze.
[Mainbrain].
The body of the email had only three paragraphs, incredibly concise:
[Hello, Ms. Jiang Lijin.
Based on your spiritual power level (3S-rank) and various physiological data, the Empire's matching system has completed its preliminary matching calculations. Your matching candidate list consists of a total of five males.]
[Candidate information will be issued tomorrow. At that time, each candidate male will also receive simultaneous notification. Please prepare yourself.]
The smile on Jiang Lijin's face vanished bit by bit. How many? Five!?
She couldn't quite describe how she felt at this moment. It wasn't fear, but her chest felt incredibly stifled.
The good mood she had just been in, brought on by the sixty thousand credit subsidy, was instantly washed away.
[Host...] Xiao Yi had also seen the contents of the email. It fell silent for a few seconds before sighing, its tone laced with helplessness. [When will we ever get to explore the world...]
But it quickly rallied, immediately following up with another question: [Host, do you think Chiron is one of them?]
There were less than ten 3S-grade males in the entire interstellar universe, and even fewer of the appropriate age. The odds were highly likely.
But Jiang Lijin remained silent.
Instead, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor came from behind the office desk. Chiron closed his files and stood up.
"We can go now."
Jiang Lijin met his gaze.
"You don't look very well." Chiron walked over and stopped by the edge of the sofa, looking down at her.
Jiang Lijin shrank back a little to the side. She wasn't trying to avoid him; it was purely because the man was standing so close that she had to crane her neck just to see his face, which made her neck ache.
"I'm fine, I just received an email." She waved her optical brain.
Chiron didn't press her about the contents of the email. He simply nodded and turned toward the door.
Jiang Lijin stood up from the sofa and followed him out.
