Afterward, Xie’er contacted Ji Changqing.

It was standard procedure.

But Ji Changqing was a little taken aback.

“Wh-what? The Peace and Development Special Investigation Department?” Not only was Ji Changqing’s mind buzzing, unable to process it, but her tongue was also tied in knots.

A name like that sounded utterly ridiculous. For some reason, it reminded her of a neighborhood watch committee that handled petty squabbles.

Xie’er couldn’t be bothered with her reaction. “It’s a rather special department,” she said nonchalantly. “I’ll send you an email later.”

This department was unique. Its personnel were divided into peripheral, inner, and core members. Aside from the peripheral members, who were not involved in classified matters, the selection for inner and core members was extremely strict, requiring a recommendation and guarantee from a sponsor.

This could happen when an inner or core member of the department encountered a promising candidate and recommended them after an observation period. Alternatively, the department itself could identify a good candidate, investigate and observe them, and then select a suitable sponsor for the prospective member.

Hearing Major General Xie’er speak this way, Ji Changqing was suddenly at a loss for words. She grumbled inwardly, Major General, you’re a real conversation killer!

“So, what do I need to do?”

“You don’t need to do anything. Just take a look, and someone will contact you later.” Xie’er filled out a form as she casually offered some advice. “Make your decision after you’ve learned more about it. It’s fine to refuse.”

Ji Changqing’s face fell. “The way you put it makes it sound incredibly shady.”

Major General Xie’er thought for a moment and decided to correct this terrible misconception. “This is a department that can give you a total makeover and turn you into a jack-of-all-trades.”

Ji Changqing grew even more suspicious. Doesn’t that sound even shadier? Major General Xie’er’s pitch was sounding more and more like a pyramid scheme recruiter’s.

Of course, Xie’er noticed her skeptical little glance.

What could she do? She was at her wit’s end, too. It was her first time acting as a sponsor, and she wasn’t very skilled at it. The main problem was that this blasted department had such a wide scope of operations that she found it difficult to describe it accurately and concisely.

Perhaps realizing her sales pitch wasn’t very convincing, Major General Xie’er cleverly seized on a key point. “There are many opportunities to earn military merit points. And, of course, the points you get for completing missions are substantial.”

Ji Changqing’s eyes instantly lit up with fervor.

All thoughts of pyramid schemes and shadiness were cast aside.

Originally, she had been short on both money and military merit points. But after her unexpected rise to fame in the league, the more viewers her livestreams attracted, the more tips she received. Not to mention the product placements. As a top-tier personality driving viewership, her cut of the profits was not small.

Otherwise, when that hothead from the First Military had provoked her, why would everyone have so readily accepted her claim that she wasn’t short on cash?

It was because everyone knew that participating in the league was very profitable. They had all earned a fair bit themselves, let alone someone as popular as Ji Changqing.

Now, Ji Changqing was rolling in money and could be considered quite wealthy. The only thing she lacked was military merit points!

An idea sparked in Xie’er’s mind. She tossed the half-finished form aside, propped her chin on one hand, and tilted her head to study Ji Changqing. “Are you in a hurry to earn military merit points?” she asked with great interest.

“Ah, not really in a hurry,” Ji Changqing said sheepishly, worried she would leave the impression of being overly ambitious. She really wasn’t.

Major General Xie’er ignored her disingenuous words and pressed on. “Why do you want to earn more military merit points? Is it for someone?”

This time, without hesitation, Ji Changqing nodded honestly in admission.

“Who is it for?” Major General Xie’er coaxed, curious as to how she would answer.

“Oh, a friend,” Ji Changqing replied quickly.

“Your sweetheart?”

The question was unexpected. Ji Changqing paused, slightly uncomfortable. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

“Uh, uh, no.” She waved her hand. Yu Zhiyao was her ex-girlfriend; that didn’t count as a sweetheart, right?

Xie’er watched her with a faint, knowing smile, already laughing her head off on the inside.

Excellent. If Yu Zhiyao were to hear this answer, she would surely be “delighted.”

“Not your sweetheart?” Major General Xie’er put on a surprised act and sighed. “If you’re already thinking about earning merit points for someone who isn’t your sweetheart, what would you do if they were? Are you sure you don’t like her?”

She needed to dig up more dirt so she could properly mock Yu Zhiyao later!

Ji Changqing was stunned.

Did she like Yu Zhiyao?

That was beyond question.

She could say with certainty that in her entire life, no one had ever existed so vividly in her world. No matter what had happened between them, no matter how many unpleasant experiences they had gone through, she could never forget.

In the past, in the present, and even in the future, her affection for Yu Zhiyao would likely never fade—regardless of whether they could be together.

Yes, whether they could be together or not, she liked Yu Zhiyao.

She had once been so passionate.

She had never even felt resentment.

All there was, perhaps, was a deep sense of regret.

But since the breakup, she had known with a clear and desperate certainty, and had repeatedly told herself, that they were now people from two different worlds, no longer connected.

Their unexpected encounter in the game instance, and Yu Zhiyao’s various actions—it would be a lie to say she hadn’t been swayed.

She had felt a glimmer of hope, but she had calmly extinguished it time and time again.

Without expectation, there is no hurt; without hope, there is no pain.

“You really don’t like her?” Xie’er asked again, seeing her prolonged silence and hesitant expression.

“I do,” Ji Changqing replied, snapping back to reality with a light tone.

She saw Major General Xie’er’s vivid expression, which clearly said, You like her enough to want to earn merit points for her, but she’s not your sweetheart? Are you kidding me?

“I heard her differentiation failed,” Ji Changqing took the initiative to explain, her tone quite serious. “I just hope she can have a better life.”

Xie’er let out a breath. She didn’t even know why she felt a sense of relief upon hearing this explanation.

Perhaps it was because if Ji Changqing had truly said she didn’t like Yu Zhiyao, she wouldn’t have had the heart to mock her friend.

That must be it!

Now that she had confirmed the two idiots were playing a game of “love in the heart, but hard to speak,” she could mock Yu Zhiyao without restraint. Otherwise, twisting the knife in someone’s wound would be just too cruel.

Satisfied with the gossip she had gathered, Major General Xie’er waved her hand magnanimously and, in a rare act of mercy, said to Ji Changqing, “Just because it didn’t work out before doesn’t mean it can’t work out now! You need to be flexible, keep up with the times!”

Ji Changqing smiled faintly but said nothing.

Major General Xie’er reminded her to check her email soon, adding that a specialist would contact her with the details and a proper introduction, then she ended the call crisply.

Perhaps because it was the first time in so many years that she had admitted to an outsider that she still couldn’t forget her ex and harbored unspeakable feelings, she found the sensation wasn’t bad.

Ji Changqing, who had been sitting upright, leaned back, laced her hands behind her head, and propped her legs up on the desk, swinging them idly.

As she swayed, her thoughts began to drift.

Actually, she had thought about it.

When she vaguely guessed about the planet’s evolution.

When her differentiation succeeded.

When she unexpectedly met Yu Zhiyao in the instance.

When she received the shirt from Yu Zhiyao after leaving the instance.

…

But perhaps, while many things could be achieved through personal effort, feelings were not one of them.

Every time she remembered the scene where Yu Zhiyao said she “didn’t want to continue,” she would quietly extinguish the small flame that had just been kindled.

After they broke up, and before they met again, she had repeatedly replayed their time together, slowly trying to figure out the reason they couldn’t continue.

Until one day, she stumbled upon a passage and burst into tears, crying like an idiot:

Some people, from the moment you start talking, make you feel like you’ve met too late. They can respond perfectly to anything you say, making you feel an incredible compatibility, a meeting of souls. In that case, there’s a 99% chance that their emotional and intellectual intelligence are both higher than yours, and they are accommodating you from a higher level.

To you, she is an incredibly compatible soulmate. To her, you are just someone she sees right through from a higher vantage point.

In the decade since they had separated, she had been constantly growing. Naturally, she slowly came to understand that this was likely the reason she had felt so happy in that relationship and had never been able to forget it.

She even had many theories about it, ideas that sometimes contradicted each other. One moment she would think that for someone to be so accommodating for several years, it must have been out of love—who else could endure it? The next moment, she would wonder if constantly indulging her had made the other person tired and weary, leading them to let go.

A “ding” signaling the arrival of an email pulled Ji Changqing’s wandering thoughts back to the present.

She opened the email.

The most eye-catching words were “Burn After Reading,” with a countdown timer showing she only had three minutes.

This made her focus even more intently.

Only after the email vanished in a burst of flame did she rub her eyes hard.

The Peace and Development Special Investigation Department, though called a “department,” was actually an agency—strictly speaking, an investigative agency with countless departments under its jurisdiction.

The ridiculous name wasn’t entirely wrong. The agency’s existence truly was for maintaining peace and development. Internally, within the Alliance, it conducted surveillance and investigations; externally, it gathered intelligence.

To the country bumpkin Ji Changqing, with her limited knowledge, it seemed like the Alliance’s version of an upgraded Jinyiwei. The difference was that the Alliance had no emperor; this agency ultimately reported to the parliamentary cabinet.

For the military, this department functioned as both military police and special forces. For the government, it was an inspectorate, something akin to a disciplinary commission. For the judiciary, it was more like a evidence-gathering unit.

Externally, it handled intelligence gathering, undercover agents, spies, and the like.

“This is a total hodgepodge,” Ji Changqing thought, feeling a bit dizzy. Just looking at the description of such a complex organization was exhausting.

The only benefit was that because its purview was so broad, there were indeed a ton of opportunities to earn military merit points.

Half an hour after she received the email, she received a top-secret encrypted call.

The man on the line was androgynously handsome, but he looked cold and heartless. When his narrow eyes looked at you, you felt as if all your thoughts were laid bare.

In short, this person looked more like a villain than an upstanding citizen.

He spoke with extreme brevity, explaining his purpose and Ji Changqing’s arrangements in just a few words.

“I am from the Peace and Development Special Investigation Department.”

“After six months of observation and investigation, we intend to recruit you into the pre-selection Star Corps.”

“Training for the pre-selection Star Corps begins on March 1st. Someone will contact you between February 20th and 22nd to inform you of the reporting location.”

After these three sentences, they fell into silence.

Ji Changqing felt that he surely wasn’t finished. At the very least, he should introduce the department and talk about how awesome it was.

The man, however, felt that he had said all he needed to. If this candidate who had passed the initial screening had no questions, she only needed to reply, “Understood, I accept.”

Then he could end the call.

The two stared at each other for a good while before Ji Changqing finally realized. “Is that all you have to say?”

The man gave her a cool glance. What else?

“Aren’t you going to introduce the department?”

A flicker of confusion crossed the man’s face before his expression twisted slightly.

Introduce the department? Could he even do that?

But he couldn’t say that to a candidate.

After a moment of contemplation, he gave up and said resignedly, “You’ve been selected for the pre-selection Star Corps. You only need to understand the situation regarding special forces. The rest has nothing to do with you!”

Ji Changqing was dumbfounded. That’s an option?!

He stared at Ji Changqing with immense pressure. “All you need to do now is answer: do you accept the recruitment?”