Cold, unyielding, and imbued with an aggressive sharpness.
A sense of danger, sharp as a needle’s prick, welled up from the depths of the girl’s bones, causing her to involuntarily shiver.
Her head, half-turned, froze in place.
In her peripheral vision, she glimpsed a dark, ominous muzzle, its interior revealing the spiral rifling of a barrel.
The object pressed against her forehead was indeed a gun—the bulky, black pistol holstered at the man’s waist.
“W-wait…” Before the word could fully escape her lips, the girl witnessed the man’s eyes transform, becoming cruel and perilous, like those of a tiger or leopard stalking its prey.
His voice, previously calm as an ancient well, turned chillingly cold.
“There’s no one like you at First High School, and Huang Xiu is a male!”
“What’s more… you can’t be found in the national population registry!”
He bellowed, “Who exactly are you? Why are you impersonating a First High School student to approach the camp?”
Click!
The peculiar grinding sound echoed once more.
‘Who am I?’
‘I am Huang Xiu! Who else would I be…’
A faint amusement stirred within Huang Xiu, and her gaze pierced past the man, settling on the scene behind him.
This time, she finally discerned the source of the grinding—the sound of a magazine rubbing against the receiver as a rifle was brought to bear.
Behind the man, soldiers clad in bulletproof vests raised their rifles, aiming directly at her, their eyes filled with grave solemnity.
‘Who else would I be…?’
Huang Xiu was suddenly rendered speechless; in that instant, the realization finally dawned upon her.
She was Huang Xiu now, yet simultaneously, she was not Huang Xiu.
Huang Xiu was the name of her past self, belonging to the person who had once been male.
Not to the person she was now… a female!
“Hands up!” the man commanded loudly, his pistol’s safety already disengaged.
“Tch… this is so annoying!” Huang Xiu spat, her face contorting into a pout, like a displeased kitten.
Displeasure and a profound sense of loss were visibly etched upon her features.
This unhappiness and despondency were not directed at the soldiers before her, who stood ready for battle as if facing a formidable foe.
She bore them no ill will whatsoever.
For this was their duty and obligation as guardians.
The swifter and more agile their reactions, the more promptly they could detect anomalies, resolve incidents, and minimize casualties.
What truly vexed her was… these people had once again reminded her that she was no longer ‘he’.
Huang Xiu had become a thing of the past.
Now, she was merely a phantom, nameless and pastless, parasitic on the former Huang Xiu.
“Damn it, honestly! Fine, I’ll raise them, I’ll raise them!” she mumbled incoherently, lifting her hands in a gesture of resigned surrender.
Huang Xiu, however, couldn’t fathom why she needed to raise her hands when she was clearly lying down, her ankle sprained, and visibly devoid of any combat capability.
“Who are you?” the man reiterated.
“I’m nobody!” Huang Xiu cursed colorfully, “I’m a damn nobody! A total nobody!”
‘She was truly foolish, truly.’
‘To think she hadn’t even considered that she was now an unregistered person.’
Upon hearing such a despondent declaration, the man’s brows furrowed, and the wary glint in his eyes receded slightly.
When exposed, creatures from the Void Realm (TL Note: Entities originating from a separate dimension or reality that can manifest in the mortal realm) disguised as humans might argue, evade, lie, or even express fear.
However, it was highly improbable they would simply wallow in self-pity and self-denial.
‘Perhaps there’s a misunderstanding?’
The man raised his right hand, signaling the soldiers ahead to remain still, then meticulously scrutinized the person on the ground.
The girl had her lips pressed together, her eyes a vivid red like a rabbit’s, her pupils clear, and no trace of bloodshot veins in the whites.
Her arms, held high above her head, showed no discernible muscle, appearing so slender that they might snap with a single bend.
Dust thoroughly coated her body.
Her black and white ‘Special Flight’ athletic shoes seemed ill-fitting, a little too large, sagging on her feet, their soles stained with emerald green plant sap and dark red blood clots.
He could detect no malice or threat emanating from the girl, nor could he discern any characteristics typical of a Void Realm creature.
Yet, he did not relax his guard in the slightest; instead, his grip on the gun tightened further.
For the absence of discernible traits did not preclude the possibility that this girl was a Void Realm creature intending to infiltrate the mortal realm.
Void Realm creatures possessed bizarre abilities; they could not only disguise themselves as humans but even directly replace them.
Not to mention, some Void Realm creatures were inherently humanoid to begin with.
In the past, when the Void Realm Administration Bureau was first established and its regulations were still incomplete,
humanoid Void Realm creatures had occasionally impersonated ‘touch-point residents’ (TL Note: Residents living in areas where the Void Realm intersects with the mortal realm), seizing the opportunity to escape and blend into the mortal realm.
Ultimately, they caused immense destruction and loss.
Since then, whenever the Void Realm manifested, identity verification was conducted for all residents within the ‘touch-points’.
This measure aimed to prevent Void Realm creatures from illicitly infiltrating the mortal realm without authorization.
Furthermore…
From the girl’s reaction, Liu Xin could discern that she undoubtedly knew why she wasn’t in the archives.
She simply chose not to disclose it.
‘Does she have an unspeakable secret? Or perhaps her appearance changed due to an ability, or even an accidental s*x change?’
Liu Xin absently traced the anti-slip texture on the gun’s grip.
He extended his tablet, deciding to try once more. “Place your finger on the white square on the screen.”
This was the smart-brain system’s integrated retrieval module; it could find anyone who had previously registered their fingerprints.
After the age of fourteen, fingerprints were fully formed and remained unchanged for life.
“I am Huang Xiu,” she stated with dissatisfaction. “Stop trying; fingerprints won’t reveal my identity.”
“Do you know Professor Yuan Fei? The one from Tiandu University who recruits students? I’m his student; just give him a call.”
Her hands, held above her head, attempted to gesture, but Liu Xin’s icy gaze stifled her movements.
Professor Yuan Fei…
A flash of understanding flickered in the man’s eyes. “Professor Yuan Fei is currently in the First Void Realm.”
“Eh? The First Void Realm?” Huang Xiu paused for a second, then a dawning realization spread across her face. “As I thought, more than one Void Realm descended tonight.”
‘She knows about the Void Realm…’
Liu Xin’s tight grip on the gun handle relaxed slightly, and the muzzle silently shifted away.
“Just press your hand down, and then you can lower them.”
“I already told you, it won’t work! I’ll be frank: I’m an unregistered person, alright?” Huang Xiu said with a helpless expression, yet she obediently pressed her finger onto the tablet.
Her arms were tired from holding them up.
Ding!
A ‘Retrieval Failed’ prompt popped up on the tablet, indicating that the girl had never registered her fingerprints since birth.
Whether for applying for an ID card or for authentication on certain apps requiring online fingerprint verification.
She truly seemed like a living ghost.
A flicker of astonishment crossed Liu Xin’s eyes, but the girl’s expression, as if she had long anticipated this outcome, piqued his curiosity.
“Oh, right, there’s also Yue Zhengyang, a recruitment teacher from Tiandu University; he knows me too.”
Huang Xiu recalled the gentle young man.
“Or you could wait for Yun Ning to come out of the school; I was with him,” she added.
“Yue Zhengyang isn’t here either; he’s currently in the Second Void Realm,” Liu Xin stated, having now grasped the situation.
“As for Yun Ning, we’ll discuss him once he emerges.”
As he spoke, he disengaged the gun’s safety and gestured for the soldiers to stand down.
Her ability to name these three individuals was almost enough to verify her identity.
“Eh, the Second Void Realm?” Hearing those words, Huang Xiu was truly dumbfounded.
She knew something significant had happened outside tonight, but she hadn’t expected three Void Realms to descend simultaneously.
‘No wonder there’s been no support for so long…’
“Take her to the doctor to have her leg treated,” Liu Xin said, waving over the soldiers who had previously brought the stretcher.
“After she’s been treated and settled, keep an eye on her. She is not to leave or enter without my direct order.”
Two soldiers approached, lifting the stretcher between them, one at the front and one at the back, and proceeded towards the left side of the camp.
“Wait!” Huang Xiu suddenly grabbed the arm of the man who was turning to leave.
The man halted, then silently turned, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
“I have important intelligence to report.”
With eyes still red-rimmed and a soft, gentle voice, the girl, resembling a tiny rabbit, hunched her shoulders and spoke with utmost seriousness.