Zhang Yingying remained silent for a few seconds after Luo Nan bowed.
Only when he straightened up and met her gaze did she purse her lips slightly. She spoke slowly, her voice sinking:
"I understand how you feel. Having abilities, yet not knowing how to explore them… facing problem after problem, going in circles, unable to find anyone to communicate with. Not even knowing how the world views someone who's… different."
She stepped forward lightly and placed her hand on his shoulder—this time, unusually gentle.
"You have determination. That's good. But you have to understand, what you're going to face—face…"
Her voice suddenly cut off.
Luo Nan looked up in surprise.
Her face—her brows, the corners of her eyes, the curve of her lips—even her cheeks, all trembled unnaturally.
Then—
She burst out laughing.
"Pfft—ah, I'm sorry!"
Her laughter exploded uncontrollably. She even sprayed saliva onto Luo Nan's face before hurriedly trying to wipe it off—but the moment she saw his expression, she lost it again.
"Hahahahaha! Oh my God, you actually believed it! I've only heard of someone this green before—now I finally see one in real life!"
She laughed so hard she nearly collapsed, clutching his shoulder for support, her chin pressing against him to keep from dropping to the floor.
Luo Nan stood there, stiff.
Warm breath, soft contact, a beautiful woman practically in his arms—
And yet, all he felt was a deep, irreversible shadow forming in his mind.
Zhang Yingying knew she'd gone too far.
She apologized repeatedly—but every time she looked at Luo Nan's face, she broke down laughing again.
This went on until military personnel came to urge them to disembark.
Only then did she finally recover.
Nearly twenty-four hours after everything began, the joint investigation by the government, military, and Quantum Corporation ended.
There was no reason to keep detaining people.
They started letting everyone go.
On the way off the ship, Zhang Yingying clung to Luo Nan's arm, speaking in a soft, pleading tone.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! As a man, you should be broad-minded, right? At worst, I won't say your chick won't grow anymore…"
Crack.
Luo Nan stopped walking.
He understood now.
She wasn't using charm—she was weaponizing embarrassment.
In the end, he gave up resisting her shamelessness.
"Alright, Lawyer Zhang… Miss Zhang," he said flatly. "I just want information about this field. Let's forget everything else."
Zhang Yingying grinned, satisfied, and finally let go.
"Deal. Let's talk in the car."
Luo Nan left the transport ship behind—along with the chaos of the past day.
He sat in Zhang Yingying's sports car, deliberately choosing the back seat to keep his distance.
She glanced at him and almost laughed again, only stopping when he gave her a cold look.
"Alright, alright," she said, starting the car. "Let's get to the point."
"You've clearly read too many novels. You think people like us are all part of secret organizations doing mysterious rituals all day?"
Luo Nan stayed silent.
She chuckled.
"What era do you think this is? If experts don't show themselves, they might as well not exist. Our field is actually quite active. The only reason you've never noticed is simple—there are too few of us."
The car entered the superconducting roadway and shifted into smooth gliding mode.
"The number of ability users has been increasing in recent years. But even now, excluding wilderness drifters and military Burners, there's only about one ability user per twenty thousand people."
She glanced at him.
"That's less than six hundred thousand worldwide."
Luo Nan's attention sharpened.
"As for those officially recognized as Awakened? Even fewer. Around seventy thousand. That's after twenty years of promotion and training."
"Society?" Luo Nan caught the keyword.
"A professional association," she replied. "We need to protect our rights too. It's affiliated with the International Science Exploration Association. Officially, we're classified as professional explorers."
She continued without pause.
"The distribution is uneven. Across eighty-eight major cities, some only have two or three Awakened. A place like Xia City? Around a thousand."
She smirked.
"And most of them are arrogant, eccentric, or just plain weird. If you think they'd form some neat little secret organization…"
She laughed again.
"Impossible."
Luo Nan listened quietly, absorbing everything.
Numbers. Structure. Scale.
A hidden world was taking shape in his mind.
Half an hour later, the car approached Acumen College.
As they lined up for landing, Luo Nan asked a few final questions, then fell silent again, scribbling in his notebook—though most of it was meaningless lines.
Zhang Yingying watched him with mild disappointment.
"Can't draw anything now? Nervous?" she teased.
"Shouldn't I be?" he replied calmly. "There's an entrance exam."
"Relax," she waved it off. "We're desperate for new blood. With your ability, you're basically guaranteed to pass. The only difference is your initial evaluation."
The car landed.
She didn't linger.
"You have my contact. You understand the basics now. Good luck with your entrance exam."
"Thank you," Luo Nan said.
He gave her one last look, then turned and left without hesitation.
Zhang Yingying watched him go, smiling faintly.
The moment he disappeared—
She burst out laughing again.
"Ha!"
She kicked off her high heels, stood on the control panel, and dialed a number.
The call connected.
"You were right," she said excitedly.
"Boss—I found a really tender seedling!"
"You better give me a bonus this month!"