Chapter 7: All Settled
Not only did Ke Yuan not believe it.
Even Zhou Ziqian, who was his teammate, wanted to grab Qi He by the shoulders and shout: What do you mean making people kowtow!? Isn’t your ability just “Strength”!??
He froze for a beat: …Wait, strength?
Yan Chuanbai glanced over calmly, as though he had already guessed.
Before everyone’s eyes, the blood rushed straight to Ke Yuan’s head. He snarled viciously:
“…I’ll kill you!”
Lightning elements gathered around him and blasted straight toward Qi He—
But a whip was faster.
The branch in Meng Yan’s palm turned into a long whip, cutting precisely through the lightning and lashing Ke Yuan across the face. Smack!
“…Shit!”
The lightning attack scattered in midair from the pain.
“You dare lay a hand on my friend!” Meng Yan glared furiously.
Behind her, Yan Chuanbai lowered the fingertip he had half raised.
The atmosphere was on the verge of exploding.
In Qi He’s mind, the system was wailing nonstop: [It’s complete chaos now, the plot! The character settings!!]
“Eh, that’s fine then.”
Qi He pointed with relief, catching three people on the opposite side who had been trying to stealthily fade away since earlier—caught off guard, they too went “thunk!” “thunk!” “thunk!” and dropped to their knees before Meng Yan.
“You guys too, don’t fall behind.”
After saying that, he turned to Meng Yan: “Go ahead, whip them.”
Meng Yan: “…”
Holding the whip in her hand, she looked at the several people kneeling before her, and for a dazed moment felt like some kind of queen.
The surrounding crowd also went silent for a beat.
Not very damaging, but highly insulting.
The other side snapped out of it, spat a curse, and all sorts of abilities were launched at them! Just as it was about to turn into a large-scale brawl, a broadcast suddenly rang out from above the gray high wall:
“Fighting is strictly forbidden within the patrol zone of the base. Violators will be permanently expelled from Base I.”
The young voice sounded warm and gentle.
The abilities hurtling through the air all came to an abrupt halt—
Ke Yuan and his group nearly spat blood: The hell, when we were getting beaten down, nobody mentioned this rule. But now that it’s finally our turn to strike back, suddenly it’s “No fighting allowed”!
Qi He raised an eyebrow at their frozen actions.
A soft cough came from beside him. Zhou Ziqian quietly reminded, “…You should put your powers away too.”
As if only just remembering, Qi He withdrew his hand with a look of dawning realization.
The opposing group scrambled up in disarray, their eyes fixed on them like they wanted to eat them alive.
Ke Yuan mouthed silently: Just you wait.
Right then, it was their turn to enter the base.
Yan Chuanbai calmly retracted his gaze and handed over his ID card. The scanner beeped: [Verification complete. S-rank ability user.]
The others stiffened: “……!”
Zhou Ziqian followed, passing through with his scan. Beep: [Verification complete. A-rank ability user.]
Also not bad.
Ke Yuan and the others hadn’t gone in yet; they stared daggers at Qi He and Meng Yan, waiting to see their ability test results.
Meng Yan stepped forward first, placing her hand on the device.
The ability-detection machine had been recently developed.
For now, it could only detect ability level. On top of the device were four lamps, labeled from bottom to top: C, B, A, S.
The little lights blinked upward in sequence—ding, ding, ding—and stopped at A-rank.
[Registration complete. Meng Yan, A-rank ability user.]
Ke Yuan’s group’s faces darkened: in their squad of four, only two had managed to reach A-rank.
Finally, it was Qi He’s turn.
After the stunt he’d just pulled, all eyes were locked on him, waiting to see his test result.
Qi He placed his hand down.
A warm energy pulsed from his palm, the lights flashing upward one by one—until they stopped at: A.
…Only A? A ripple of disappointment stirred around them.
The registrar was just about to write it down when the A-rank light suddenly began to flash rapidly.
At the same time, Qi He felt his power surging uncontrollably. He frowned, and the “Little Genius” on his wrist crackled with static:
[Qi He ▇▇ why do I ▇▇▇ feel ▇ bzzt…zzzt…]
Almost by instinct, he yanked his hand back.
The next second—BOOM!!!
The detector exploded.
…
After the cries of alarm faded, silence fell over the scene.
Ke Yuan and his group, who had been waiting to watch a joke, were dumbfounded. The registrar, nearly caught in the blast, was dumbfounded. The onlookers, too, were dumbfounded.
Qi He looked at the ruined machine.
After a moment, he withdrew his hand from midair and lightly broke the deathly silence:
“It’s sentient. Got blown away by my handsomeness.”
Everyone: “…………”
—
There was still a line of people waiting to be tested.
Now that the machine had blown up, the line grew restless again:
“What happened? Could it be beyond S-rank?”
“Not necessarily, maybe the machine just malfunctioned.”
“Then what about us, we haven’t been tested yet.”
Ke Yuan sneered sarcastically, “Hmph, maybe someone deliberately broke it.”
Qi He turned his head, puzzled. “Why are you guys still here?”
“…”
“Everyone, don’t worry!” The registrar quickly rolled out another detector. “We have a spare machine. Please queue in order, registration will continue!”
The line gradually settled down.
Qi He was about to reach out to test again when the registrar suddenly pulled the machine back with a wary look:
“This is the last device in our base. To be safe, please don’t test again, sir.”
He let out a weary sigh.
“It can’t take another explosion…”
Qi He: “……”
He asked, “Then how will my rank be determined?”
“Either you go to another base to test, or wait until the research institute develops a more advanced device. For now, I’ll register you as A-rank. If anything changes, it can be updated later.”
An ID card was handed over: [Qi He, A (Pending) Rank Ability User.]
Qi He accepted it and tucked it away.
…
All four of them had completed registration and got back on the vehicle to enter the base.
As soon as they were inside, Zhou Ziqian finally couldn’t hold it in anymore:
“Wait—your ability of force… it turns out it was ‘gravity’ force!?”
Qi He nodded. “Something like that.”
Something like that? That basically meant yes.
Zhou Ziqian took a deep breath, but his attention immediately shifted elsewhere:
“Brother Yan, you must have been surprised too, right?”
“I was very surprised—” From up front came Yan Chuanbai’s drawling tone, which suddenly shifted, “—that you didn’t know.”
“……” Zhou Ziqian.
Once inside, they finally saw how vast the base really was.
The facilities were complete, divided into several sections by function. The two most eye-catching buildings were—
One was the research institute at the center of the base, heavily fortified, shaped like a bird’s nest, with an energy core floating above it powered by crystal nuclei. Not far away stood another tall building, looking very much like a luxury apartment complex.
Qi He pressed his face against the vehicle’s window. “What’s that place?”
Zhou Ziqian explained, “That building is literally called the Highrise. It’s where S-rank ability users and some other important figures live.”
Important figures.
Qi He thought for a moment. “Then who was the one speaking on the broadcast just now?”
Yan Chuanbai gave only a name: “Yu Tianxing.”
“……” Qi He turned his head. On the window, his breath left behind a smile-shaped patch of fog. He praised, “Very detailed explanation. From that, I immediately understand what he does.”
Yan Chuanbai’s lips tugged upward.
“As long as it’s clear to you.”
Zhou Ziqian quickly glanced at the rearview mirror to smooth things over.
“Ahem! Currently, Base I is jointly overseen by three S-rank ability users. Yu Tianxing is one of them, though he’s not in the combat division—he’s a researcher. That machine you… blew up with your handsomeness was his invention.”
Qi He understood. So, one of the core figures of Base I.
No wonder he had so much authority.
After a few words, the car stopped at a crossroads.
“Left is the residential area for A-rank ability users. Brother Yan, you should be heading to the Highrise. I’ll go park the car, you guys get off first.”
The three got out while Zhou Ziqian drove away.
Meng Yan pulled out her communicator. “I need to make a trip to the cultivation base. Let’s add each other’s contacts first.”
The communicator was issued by the base, used solely for communication.
Meng Yan added both Yan Chuanbai and Qi He.
After Qi He finished, he noticed Yan Chuanbai had already pocketed his communicator, showing no intention of adding him. So he tucked his own away as well.
The cultivation base and Area A were in the same direction.
Meng Yan was about to leave, but noticed Qi He hadn’t moved. Her gaze shifted—Yan Chuanbai wasn’t moving either. Looking between the two of them, she understood.
“Then I’ll head over first.”
Qi He nodded. “Alright, see you later.”
Meng Yan walked off, disappearing around the corner.
Qi He watched her go, when a voice spoke beside him: “Here’s where we part ways too.”
He turned to see Yan Chuanbai lighting a cigarette, turning his head aside to exhale before glancing back. The cut of his broken brow shadowed his eyes, concealing whatever emotions lay within. His tone was calm:
“As agreed, I’ve repaid Uncle Qi and Aunt Wen’s kindness. From here on, we’re even.”
Qi He shook his head. “We’re not even yet.”
Yan Chuanbai paused, his eyes narrowing.
Memories of being entangled again and again flickered through his mind, and his expression grew colder.
“What part isn’t settled?”
Qi He sighed helplessly. “You really are blessed with a short memory.”
With a swish, he pulled a bag of crystal nuclei from his pack and held it out.
“The crystal nuclei I promised to pay you—see if this is enough.”
The hand holding the cigarette froze midair.
Ash fell as his fingers curled slightly.
It was as though Yan Chuanbai had just realized something. Staring at the bag of nuclei, he seemed lost in thought for a moment, then reached out to take it.
“Enough.”
Qi He looked relieved. “Good. Now we’re even.”
Yan Chuanbai studied him for two seconds. “…Mm.”
He fastened the bag of nuclei casually to his belt. Along with the communicator in his pocket, the weight became hard to ignore.
“Then we’ll part ways here.”
Qi He said, “Don’t worry, I won’t contact you again in the future.”
For a brief moment, the air grew quiet between them. Yan Chuanbai’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed the words. With feigned indifference, he only nodded.
“Alright.”
Qi He turned and headed toward Area A.
Yan Chuanbai stood where he was.
Only when Qi He’s figure disappeared down the road did he finally withdraw his gaze, turning toward the Highrise.
—
On the road to Area A, sunlight spilled across the ground in shimmering patterns.
Following the code, Qi He searched for his assigned quarters.
[Why did you split up with Yan Chuanbai!?] The system was like an overworked office grunt failing to hit its quota, its whole voice full of despair: [How is the key plot supposed to move forward now!]
Qi He thought back on his usual operating principle.
“Stand up and walk away.”
[……]
The system choked, sputtering like a broken wire: [Y-you… after handing him the crystal nuclei, you should’ve used the chance to ask for his contact info! From his attitude then, I’m sure he would’ve added you.]
“Relax, I know what I’m doing.”
Qi He reassured it, “In dating sims, this kind of situation comes up all the time. You can’t press forward step by step—you have to balance tension and release.”
The system was shocked: [You play dating sims too!? And applying that logic to Yan Chuanbai—something about this feels very wrong!]
“It’s all just work. Keep a level head.”
Qi He didn’t feel there was anything wrong with it.
He felt he’d done quite well. Since Yan Chuanbai hated clinginess, why should he make himself annoying?
He quickly found his assigned quarters.
The last four digits of his identity code [1137] meant: Building 11, 3rd floor, Unit 7.
Housing and provisions in the base were tied to ability level. With his current registration at Grade A, he was given a one-bedroom apartment.
Pushing the door open, he found all the basic amenities complete.
Right at the entryway lay a booklet—
the Base I Resident’s Guide, including maps, move-in instructions, rules, and so on.
He read through it line by line, then folded it and tucked it into his pocket.
By the time he finished unpacking and resting a bit, it was nearly mealtime. Meng Yan messaged saying she was still busy, so Qi He prepared to go eat on his own.
As soon as his door clicked open—
the same sound came from diagonally across the hall.
Looking up, six eyes met.
A fluffy little one turned her head and said:
“Captain! It’s our disposable teammate—he lives here too.”
Ye Yi quickly apologized to Qi He, then admonished her, “Jiayan, don’t say that to someone’s face. It’s impolite.”
“……”
Qi He marveled inwardly: So saying it behind their back is totally fine?
Since they’d shared a brief cooperation before, and the two across the hall also happened to be heading out for food, they decided to go together.
Once outside the apartment building, Ye Yi took the initiative to introduce herself: “My name is Ye Yi, and this is Jiayan.”
She paused, then added, “Her name suits her.”
Qi He turned his head to look: Suits her? In what way?
Jiayan seemed to understand his confusion. She said shyly, “My surname is Mo.”
“……”
Qi He took several seconds to compose his words before finally praising: “You really have grown up to be just as expected.”
…
It didn’t take long before they reached the cafeteria.
Qi He could feel more and more gazes falling on him.
Low murmurs drifted over:
“That’s the one from earlier today…”
“The guy who took out a whole squad at the gate. His ability’s freakish—it makes people kneel and kowtow.”
“He even blew up one of the testing machines because he was too handsome.”
“…Get a grip. Being handsome has nothing to do with that.”
Qi He: “…”
Ye Yi offered an explanation: “Everyone who entered the base today didn’t have time to cook, so they all came to the cafeteria.”
Qi He shook his head, dismissing it.
“Forget it. A reputation gets around—some good, some bad.”
The system cut in lightning-fast: [Before you were just you. Now you’re a freak.]
Qi He let it needle him—it was harmless enough.
…
Inside, the cafeteria was spacious.
The first-floor hall already had many people seated, with several lines forming in front of the serving windows.
Qi He and the others picked one line and queued up.
While waiting, the stares on him only seemed to intensify.
Ye Yi noticed too. Pressing her lips together in a small smile, she said, “The cafeteria’s always the fastest place for gossip to spread—especially when half the people here only just arrived today.”
Mo Jiayan sounded envious: “You’re really basking in the spotlight.”
Qi He sighed with regret: “If only Yan Chuanbai were here, then we’d have two spotlights.”
“…” The two girls.
As they were speaking, a voice suddenly rang out from the entrance:
“Huh? Boss, isn’t that the ‘Qiang’ you’re always going on about?”
The voice sounded vaguely familiar. Qi He turned his head.
At the door stood two men and a woman.
The burly one was carrying a tray. The woman had a whip coiled around her waist. And at the front, the man wore a look of arrogant defiance, a streak of dyed red in his hair blazing with swagger.
Beside him, Mo Jiayan’s expression seemed to tighten ever so slightly: …
Their gazes met, and the red-haired man raised an eyebrow.
He strolled across half the cafeteria to stop in front of Qi He, hands shoved into his pockets, interest gleaming in his eyes.
“Oh~ so it’s you?”
Qi He hadn’t even spoken yet when the room suddenly went silent.
Then—clang, clatter—the sounds of trays and chopsticks hitting tables rang out.
All around them, people shot to their feet in unison, eyes blazing as they glared at that streak of dyed red hair:
“—It’s you!?”
Red Hair: “…”
**TN
莫 (Mò) — It can mean “do not / nothing / no one” in classical Chinese, but here it’s just her family name.
佳 (Jiā) — “good, fine, beautiful, excellent.” Often used in names to suggest elegance, goodness, or beauty.
言 (Yán) — “speech, words, expression.” In names, it can mean eloquence, the ability to speak well, or simply “words with beauty.”
Put together, 佳言 can be interpreted as “beautiful words,” “fine speech,” or “good expression.”
