Chapter 1157: Suspicions and Seeds: Hidden Talents at Ninth Center School

Ninth Center School has four classes: Preschool, Primary, Middle, and Advanced, with a total of 122 students.

If you asked about other idols, Xia Qing might not know, but she was crystal clear when it came to Wang Shunkang. “Wang Shunkang is the adopted son of Wang Jun, our center’s C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver. He’s seven years old this year and joined our Territory in May. He started studying at Ninth Center School after moving in. How do you know his name?”

“Every student at the school has their own name tag. It’s hard to miss,” Zhang San explained, then pressed on, “Are both his biological parents gone?”

Xia Qing gave a brief overview. “His parents lost control and died during the third Devastation Rain in Disaster Year Seven. The boy was hidden in a tin box under the bed at the time—probably traumatized. After Wang Jun rescued him, he never spoke another word. At enrollment, his hearing and vocal cords checked out fine and his intellect is normal—he met all the entrance requirements.”

Zhang San continued, “That third Devastation Rain at Hui Three Base during Disaster Year Seven—that was the one with the thunderstorm, Devastation Explosion, violent winds and red-level hail, right?”

Xia Qing’s eyes lit up, but Zhang San gave a quick warning. “Stick to the facts.”

Swallowing her endless admiration for her idol, Xia Qing replied, “You’ve got a great memory. During that Devastation Rain, all of that disastrous weather really happened, and countless people inside Hui Three Safe Zone lost control—it sparked a huge riot.”

Zhang San followed up, “When Wang Jun pulled him out, was Wang Shunkang wearing a protective suit and mask?”

“Yes, he was. I saw Wang Jun open the box myself and pull him out, fully suited up and masked,” Xia Qing confirmed with absolute certainty.

Zhang San asked again, “Did the box show any signs of a lightning strike?”

Well…

After thinking back carefully, Xia Qing explained, “There was a fight inside the cabin so the box was splattered with blood. Plus, it was an old tin box that had seen years of use, so I honestly couldn’t tell if it had been hit by lightning. Third Brother, is there something wrong with Wang Shunkang?”

Zhang San nodded. “Did Wang Jun ever take him to see a psychologist?”

Xia Qing answered, “He got a free hospital checkup. The doctors said he ate and slept fine, so that was it—he never received any professional psychological counseling. Back then, Wang Jun and I were both working on the construction team, and his wages weren’t high.”

Though the Base gave out rations and basic preventive medicines to children on a regular basis, it was never much. The money Wang Jun earned was just enough to keep both him and Wang Shunkang fed and housed—it was already pretty good. There was no way he could afford the extra credits needed for a professional therapist.

Plus, as far as Xia Qing knew, there weren’t any professional psychologists at the Outer City Hospital in Hui Three’s Safe Zone anyway.

Zhang San asked, “You’re paying Wang Jun pretty well these days, aren’t you?”

Xia Qing nodded. “He holds an A-Class position at our center—top tier salary and benefits among employees.”

Zhang San instructed, “Something’s not right with Wang Shunkang. He needs psychological intervention. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to treat. Tell Wang Jun to take Wang Shunkang to the Inner City Hospital as soon as he gets a chance.”

After hearing all that, Xia Qing immediately understood his intentions. She grinned and suggested, “The Inner City is too far from us. Maybe Wang Jun could bring the boy to you for a checkup instead?”

Hearing this, Zhang Jingwu, who was driving, held his breath, refusing to look back at Zhang San’s face. He truly admired Xia Qing’s guts—there was absolutely no one else in all of Huicheng Base who dared talk like that to the big boss, except maybe the outstanding, no-nonsense top sniper now sitting in this car.

Meanwhile, Zheng Chen in the passenger seat was surprised at how lively Xia Qing became in Zhang San’s presence. She was like a totally different person compared to her usual poker-faced self, making Zheng Chen want to sneak a look back at them both.

Zhang San shot Xia Qing a glare. “You think I’m just sitting around twiddling my thumbs?”

“Of course not,” Xia Qing replied seriously. “But for something like this, you don’t have to handle it yourself. Just have a researcher who isn’t slammed with work squeeze in some time to check the kid out and make a treatment plan. Wang Jun is an excellent employee and Wang Shunkang is his child. We’ll say it’s a perk for top performers. How does that sound?”

“Not a single researcher in my team has a moment to spare,” Zhang San said as he pushed open the car door and headed back to the lab.

With great timing, Xia Qing took the suitcase Zheng Chen was carrying, followed her idol into the office, closed the door and lowered her voice. “Third Brother, what’s up with Wang Shunkang?”

After laying so much groundwork in front of Zheng Chen and Zhang Jingwu, Zhang San’s real goal was obvious: to find a legitimate excuse for Wang Shunkang to be checked at Seventh Center. Xia Qing picked up on this and played along with his little act.

With no outsiders around, Zhang San answered directly. “Based on his behavior just now, that kid definitely has psychological issues, and he’s probably a C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver. So, when he gets near strong Evolvers like Zhang Jingwu or Zheng Chen, or senses the intense emotional shifts caused by my experiments, he can’t help but struggle to control his expressions and movements.”

“Tell Wang Jun to bring him over as soon as possible. That kid really does need therapy. If he’s confirmed as C-Class, he needs to learn how to hide his ability right away.”

C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolvers—just like Xin Yu—have the power to sense changes in the magnetic fields of animals. This ability is incredibly valuable. If word gets out, traffickers would put Wang Shunkang at the top of their target list.

“Got it. I’ll contact Wang Jun as soon as I get back.” Since her idol said it, he must be pretty sure Wang Shunkang has this talent. Xia Qing felt both happy and nervous. She pressed on, “Third Brother, you have to treat him yourself when he comes! This kid’s really sharp at math, so he’s bound to be bright. If you personally help him, he’ll become grateful and trust you.”

Gaining the gratitude and trust of a C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver is like getting a human-shaped danger detector. Any time Zhang San suspects someone around him, he could just call Wang Shunkang to come sense things—he’d be right nearly every time.

Zhang San nodded for once, his words matching his true thoughts.

Xia Qing reminded him kindly, “Third Brother, the files say this type of Evolver is super sensitive to human emotions. When he comes, try to keep your feelings in check. Don’t get so impatient you start thinking about dissecting someone or poisoning them or anything.”

Zhang San shot her another glare. “You’re the one I most want to dissect!”

He really wanted to see what bizarre things were rattling around inside her head.

Xia Qing grinned slyly. “Besides Wang Shunkang, are there any more promising students in our school?”

After talking for two hours straight, Zhang San downed a large glass of water to soothe his throat before answering lazily, “Every last one is promising.”

“You’re right. Every kid’s got potential. I’ll tell Principal Yang and the teachers to treat everyone equally and nurture them well. I’ll also let the kids know what you said, to motivate them to study hard.” Xia Qing kept her answer serious, though she felt relieved inside.

Xia Qing wasn’t sure if Wang Shunkang was really a C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver—but she was certain Little Shiyi was one. Still, Little Shiyi hid it so well that even Third Brother hadn’t noticed, which gave Xia Qing peace of mind.

After finishing the topic of Wang Shunkang, Zhang San turned to Xia Qing’s latest mission. “Weren’t you bird hunting last night? How’d you end up tangling with Hui Five’s top sniper?”

Xia Qing kept it short. “I didn’t go looking for them. Hui Five’s Phantom Squad and two blue-skinned Scavengers illegally entered our Base at Mount Twenty-Nine…”

When Zhang San heard Xia Qing had dared to stand on a hillside with only a soft protective shield over her lower body to go toe-to-toe with the enemy’s top sniper, he snorted. “You’re getting bolder by the day. If Shiyue hadn’t blocked their senior sniper, or if the enemy had another sniper in hiding, you’d have lost your head on that hill.”

After surviving eleven years of disasters, there was no way Xia Qing would let herself fall into danger like that. She wore a top-level special protective mask—the best in safety—and had Uncle Huo reinforce the neck section. Even if she got shot, the worst that could happen was a concussion.

Still, she wasn’t going to let the chance to trade goods slip by. “Third Brother, think I could swap for some of your advanced gear? Something that’d keep my head on my shoulders for good.”

Zhang San glanced at the ever-pretending Xia Qing and switched gears. “How many units has Broken Back finished?”

Xia Qing froze.

“It’s already been three days since the assessment. Don’t tell me you haven’t started teaching yet?”

Xia Qing froze again.

“Are Broken Back’s phone and laptop still with it or with you? Did you clean out the memory yet?”

Xia Qing stayed silent.

“Has that pile of hornet dung started fermenting yet?”

Xia Qing immediately straightened up. “As soon as I got it back, I weighed it and added the compost starter to begin fermentation. I checked it this morning—not just the hornet droppings, but all three types of manure in the batch have darkened in color. That means the compost starter is already breaking down the organic matter.”

“Zhang San!!!”