Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Making A Fuss Over Nothing

“Hey, Old Liu, I recently discovered this really novel game called Tetris. Want to give it a try? I bet it’s gonna be huge someday.”  

In the classroom, Jim struck up a conversation with Mi Xiaoliu.  

He felt guilty—deeply guilty—about that time he’d lured Mi Xiaoliu into the “Tian Xing Dao” ambush. No matter how he looked at it, what he’d done was too much. Under normal circumstances, it could’ve easily ended their friendship.  

Though a hypnotist had erased Mi Xiaoliu’s memory afterward, the Crimson Walker never told Jim about it, leaving him uneasy to this day.  

“Mmm.” Mi Xiaoliu nodded without looking at him, scribbling away at the homework Heli had assigned with a pencil.  

Jim changed the subject, trying to break what he thought was an awkward silence. 

“Hey, did you hear? Someone in the class next door got diagnosed with Dark Element. And the craziest part? The meds he’s taking aren’t the usual ones we hear about—it’s some other drug that makes the ability permanent. Rumor has it he’s been on it for three years, but because of the latency period, the school physicals never caught it.”  

Mi Xiaoliu’s pencil snapped. Finally, she looked at him.  

“Sasha, do I have the Dark Element?”  

“…Seems like you do.” Sasha’s voice was barely audible.  

“…” Mi Xiaoliu lowered her head, staring at her right hand in confusion.  

Naturally, Jim took it as another one of his (her) chuuni delusions.  

When class ended, while everyone else handed their homework to Old Gao, Mi Xiaoliu turned in her different assignment at the infirmary—and even got a lollipop from Heli in return.  

Compared to regular schools, ability-user academies had far more infirmaries, scattered across every corner of the campus. 

This ensured that students could receive immediate treatment for injuries or illnesses, and that medical staff could quickly administer sedatives to any student losing control.  

Classroom teachers were the first line of defense, but no instructor carried tranquilizer guns during lessons—doing so would only heighten students’ tension and increase the risk of outbursts.  

Other infirmaries had a minimum requirement of three school doctors, but Heli was the only one with the privilege of having her own private clinic.  

In the past, a few hormone-driven boys had occasionally faked illnesses just to visit Heli, hoping to spark some… unconventional interactions with the beautiful school doctor.  

But after realizing that Heli treated every ailment—big or small—with the same injection, no one dared anymore.  

Now, no boy with ulterior motives would even think of coming. Everyone had accepted the assumption that Mi Xiaoliu was Heli’s son, and Heli had never bothered to correct them.  

Sure, the idea of a young, beautiful, married woman was thrilling—but the moment they remembered she was a classmate’s mother, all those thoughts evaporated.  

“Not bad. Third-grade math problems can’t stump you anymore.” Heli, perched on her office chair with legs crossed, raised a hand.  

Mi Xiaoliu instinctively took a step back before obediently approaching and lowering her head for the head pat.  

“Stay here for the next class. I’ll teach you fourth-grade math. Already cleared it with your homeroom teacher.” Heli decided.  

Mi Xiaoliu was a surprisingly quick learner—faster than Heli had expected. At this rate, she might actually finish high school-level material before graduation.  

The speed of her progress was almost too fast, leaving Heli with little sense of accomplishment.  

“I have the Dark Element.” Mi Xiaoliu suddenly blurted out.  

It was so abrupt that Heli didn’t immediately process the words.  

Heli slowly set down the textbook, brows furrowing. “When did you find out?”  

Mi Xiaoliu didn’t answer.  

Heli interlaced her fingers, resting her chin on them as her eyebrows knitted tightly.  

Neither spoke. The silence stretched on.  

“Go back to class for now.” Eventually, Heli returned the textbook to Mi Xiaoliu. After a pause, she deliberately added, “Don’t dwell on it. It won’t kill you.”  

“Mmm.”  

Mi Xiaoliu obediently left, leaving Heli alone to massage her temples in deep thought.  

For a child like her, the concept of death might not even hold much meaning. Even if she couldn’t truly die, the terror of having her memories wiped each time should feel similar to death… Well, she doesn’t know her memories are erased after death.  

The last physical hadn’t detected the Dark Element in Mi Xiaoliu—Heli had personally tested her, so there was no mistake. She carefully recalled the data on “Mi” she’d skimmed during Easter’s files.  

Though N1202 was a recent development, Easter had discovered Dark Element through other channels decades earlier. One record documented observing “Mi’s” reaction after contracting Dark Element, but after confirming she could still resurrect, no further experiments were conducted—for unknown reasons.  

Apparently, resurrection didn’t cure it. It was too unique an illness.  

Mi Xiaoliu likely differed from normal self-healing ability users. Even if Dark Element wasn’t eradicated, each death would reset it, sending it back into the initial latency period.  

Ordinary Dark Element had no latency, while the latent variant took three to five years to manifest and was harder to detect. The timeframe varied by constitution—for children and the physically weak, it could be as short as a month or two…  

Then it hit her.  

According to Easter’s data, aside from that one experiment, Mi Xiaoliu had never been allowed to live past a month.  

At least, not in any records Heli had seen.  

In the early stages, she hadn’t even been given food.  

A heavy breath escaped Heli as she dialed the principal. “I need additional funding… I want to research a cure for Dark Element.”  

“Do you have confidence?” the principal asked.  

The agreement came surprisingly swift—so swift that it caught Heli off guard, choking the backup argument she’d prepared in her throat.  

But then she realized, the principal likely saw this as part of her existing research. Maybe that wasn’t entirely wrong.  

“No researcher has confidence before they begin,” Heli said. “But some things must be attempted regardless, no? What we’re doing is something no one has confidence in to begin with.”  

The other end fell silent before the call disconnected.  

A moment later, a hefty sum appeared in Heli’s digital wallet.  

———  

“You wanna watch cartoons? Call me ‘Mom’ first.” Gloria straightened up, using her height to hold the remote just out of Mi Xiaoliu’s reach.  

If not for Sasha stopping her, Mi Xiaoliu might’ve actually called her that with a straight face.  

To Mi Xiaoliu, she understood the word’s meaning—but not the weight behind it.  

Then Heli snatched the remote from Gloria and switched back to the cartoon channel. 

“Aren’t you a little old for this? If you want to be a mom, go find a boyfriend and make your own child. Then you won’t have to freeload off me for food and shelter.”  

Her tone was sharper than usual, leaving Gloria sulking. The old lady seemed even more protective of her “son” today.  

Still, she couldn’t resist a retort. “If I get a boyfriend, I’ll bring him here to freeload with me.”  

Heli ignored her. Gloria’s constant mooching had led other tenants to assume their landlord was generous enough to provide free meals. Some even whispered that Heli was a twice-divorced single mom of two—kids with different hair colors because she’d been married twice.  

All because the rent was too damn cheap.  

After dinner, Heli didn’t tutor Mi Xiaoliu, telling her to sleep early instead. She knew Mi Xiaoliu would actually obey—unless Night Hawk dragged her into another dangerous mission.  

So when, deep into the night, Gloria was texting her best friend and happened to glance out the window, spotting Heli sneaking into Mi Xiaoliu’s room like a thief, she knew something was up.  

She tiptoed in after her.  

Now, Gloria often joked that Heli was a desperate old woman, but she knew—even with her lack of tact—that Heli’s concern for Mi Xiaoliu wasn’t… that kind of interest.  

Besides, any normal woman, no matter how desperate or kinky, would at least go for someone good-looking. Those anime tropes where girls obsess over bland, featureless guys were pure fantasy.  

But when Gloria saw Heli crouched over Mi Xiaoliu’s trash can, digging through it, her entire worldview nearly shattered.  

Heli looked up, deadpan.  

“I SAW NOTHING!” Gloria threw her arms out like a sleepwalker and bolted.  

Holy shit, is she gonna silence me?!

Heli: “…”  

It’s just a used pad. Why the fuss?  

She considered telling Mi Xiaoliu to hand over her sanitary products directly in the future.  

But having Gloria look at her weirdly was one thing—having Mi Xiaoliu do the same would be far worse.

Translator’s Note: Both Mi Xiaoliu and Yiwen are Female, but different Pronouns will be used based on what the Characters themselves and what other Characters think their gender is.