My dream connects to three thousand years later.

Chapter 31 Emotional Intelligence
“If you really want to stay, come stay at my place. Everything’s ready!” Ning Linglong interrupted Guan Fei.

She walked to a door, pressed it gently, and the door gleamed, clearly scanning her fingerprint. It then opened automatically, revealing a fully equipped room inside.

“Um, Uncle Zhu…” It was clear that Ning Linglong was still a little uncomfortable when she addressed him as such. “You can stay here for one night, or even a few nights? Anyway, although I’ve made up the bed, I’ve never slept here before… I’ll wash the bed again after you leave. It’s no problem!”

"Alright, then I won't trouble Guan Fei." Chu Zhu nodded. As for being polite? Why be polite with acquaintances!
Guan Fei's face fell slightly, but he didn't say anything more.

"Oh right." Li Kang slapped his forehead, took a few steps to his room, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and went inside, searching frantically.

"Captain, what's going on?" The usually low-key and unassuming Bi Xuan blinked in confusion.

"His old habits have relapsed! The captain always likes to do things that don't make sense. He should have retired a long time ago!" Ning Linglong pouted. "Besides, the captain has made so many contributions, he should be promoted even if he doesn't retire! I don't know why the higher-ups haven't approved his promotion report."

Chu Zhu rolled her eyes. From retirement to promotion, it all happened in one go… Her niece was ostensibly criticizing her superiors, but her disloyalty was blatantly obvious. So you just want to be the captain of the Third District Special Forces, don't you?

"By the way, Bi Xuan?" Chu Zhu gazed at the inconspicuous newcomer with interest, smiling as she asked, "You've been in the special forces for a while now, how's your adjustment going?"

"?" Bi Xuan was stunned for a moment. "You haven't joined the special forces yet, have you? Why are you behaving like a superior questioning a subordinate?" Wait! This tone is...

"You...know me?" Bi Xuan gasped, glancing instinctively at Guan Fei and Ning Linglong. He'd seen the two seniors—no, the captain—seemingly familiar with this person before, and had suspected something was amiss. But after thinking it over, he couldn't recall ever meeting Chu Zhu, so he hadn't paid much attention...but now it seemed...!
"I've heard of you. Your sister, Bixu, and I were elementary school classmates! We were in the same class from first to third grade. I was the class monitor, and she was the academic representative!" Chu Zhu said casually.

"Oh, I see... Ah?"

The scene fell into genuine silence.

Ning Linglong blinked, stared at Bi Xuan for a long while, and after a long silence, stared at her Uncle Zhu with complicated emotions.

Bi Xuan's brain was racing at that moment; he felt like his brain was overloaded. Something's not right!
"How old are you this year?" Bi Xuan asked, somewhat incoherently.

"Sixteen years old in real life, seventeen in traditional Chinese age reckoning?" Chu Zhu wasn't entirely sure. Although if you added in the real world's timeline and all the constantly resetting time, the final figure would likely be astronomical...

Bi Xuan felt a little dizzy and couldn't hold back any longer. Although the person in front of him did look very young, after everything he had experienced before, he had always thought that it was the age-preserving technique of a highly skilled cultivator... So, you're really only seventeen years old?

“Your words… sigh,” Chu Zhu shook his head and sighed, “Be careful! The speed at which special forces are being upgraded and replaced is faster than you can imagine.”

When he was eleven or twelve, he first approached the police department seeking Li Kang's help. Back then, the special forces team had twelve members. Now… only four remain! Moreover, the other three, besides Li Kang, are all considered newcomers or semi-newcomers. Even Ning Linglong and Guan Fei, who are slightly more senior, are not among the dozen or so he met five years ago! Although some of them were transferred, most of them were indeed killed in action.

“There’s nothing to say!” Guan Fei interjected, his voice calm, with a numb indifference that suggested he was used to it all. “It’s just dead people… But then again, in this world, where aren’t people dying?”

Chu Zhu remained silent. "That's true."

Before she was eleven or twelve, almost no one dared to go out at night in the shantytown redevelopment area. When Chu Zhu went out to buy groceries and have breakfast in the morning, she could easily see ten or so corpses on the street…

Some froze to death, some starved to death, some died from illness while working, and some even died from overwork...

If Chu Zhu hadn't truly been unable to bear it any longer, why would she have flipped the table in a fit of anger when she had initially considered it all a dream?

Even now, with the table overturned, it's not like no one dies in the shantytown redevelopment area. It's just that after someone dies, the union can organize people to take the body out and dispose of it—cremate the body, and even find a burial plot. The union handles all of this without spending a penny.

Or rather, these deceased individuals, and their relatives whose continued existence is uncertain, cannot afford the money.

That's why the streets in the shantytown redevelopment area look somewhat normal now.

This is the absurd era!

“…Actually, I wanted to take the civil service exam and become a regular civil servant!” Bi Xuan said with difficulty, on the verge of tears. “But, when I entered the district government office after the exam, the alarm went off! Then Captain Li brought me in. He even said that superhumans cannot rule! I…”

Bi Xuan was actually quite aggrieved. He had gone through so much hardship, all he wanted was to be a freeloader living off the government's salary. But... he never expected that the world wouldn't even grant him this small wish!
"Young man, how can you be so lacking in drive!" Guan Fei instantly switched into senior mode, pointing out the big picture and speaking passionately, "Although our special forces team faces great danger, we do a lot of work! Moreover, not only do we do a lot of work, but we also take the blame a lot! Most importantly, we get scolded a lot!"

Wall announcement: "..."

Are you sure this is meant to comfort me?
Ning Linglong almost burst out laughing, but then she felt a little awkward... Bi Xuan was still too young. How could she say such a thing in front of her colleagues, or even her boss who was working right next to her? It's only because her boss is a good person, otherwise he would have made things difficult for her.
You wouldn't guess... this guy is actually a few years older than Uncle Zhu!
"Alright!" Finally, Li Kang came out of the room, carrying a thick stack of books, and said with a smile, "Azhu, here you go."

Li Kang's face was filled with the joy of seeing an acquaintance fall into a pit, or rather, the loving expectation that the acquaintance would improve.

"This is the practice book Minmin used when she was preparing for the civil service exam! I left it at the base hoping it would be blessed and bring her some academic luck... Now it's yours! The exam officially starts the day after tomorrow. By the way, have you registered? If not, the next exam should be..."

(End of this chapter)