After seeing the captain’s face clearly, Shen Shanwu couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He never would have expected that the person before him was an ‘old acquaintance.’ Seven years ago, they had crossed paths, but they had lost contact for the past three or four years.
Back then, the boy who used to follow him around crying had now grown into a capable team captain. From timid and fearful to resolute and profound—who knows what he had experienced over these past few years?
The Shanhai Unit was a nationally renowned team, known by everyone. It was the epitome of martial strength at the coastal base, even becoming a topic of conversation among mutants. However, Shen Shanwu never imagined that the captain would be him—Jiang Huan.
Shen Shanwu’s eyebrow-raising expression on the face of a ten-year-old child really deserved a beating. The young man couldn’t help but shout, “What’s with your expression, little brat?!”
“Looking at your captain, if he’s good-looking or not ah.” Shen Shanwu was even less formal now that he knew that the captain was Jiang Huan. His delicate and well-behaved face turned into an out-of-age ruffian, which was a waste of his young face.
Jiang Huan didn’t take a child’s teasing to heart. He asked blankly, “Am I still scary now?”
“…What exactly do you want?” Shen Shanwu asked, frowning. Meanwhile, the bald instructor, after consulting with several teachers who had rushed over upon hearing the news, confidently shouted to Jiang Huan, “Captain Jiang, we’ve confirmed that there’s no such person in our school.”
Jiang Huan seemed not to hear this. He asked Shen Shanwu, word by word, “What’s your name? Do you have… an older brother?”
“I don’t have a name, and I don’t have an older brother. I’m just an orphan born and raised in the outer district,” Shen Shanwu said nonchalantly. Probably because he used to make up stories in front of little Jiang Huan, lying now came naturally. He knew that his current appearance bore a strong resemblance to his adult self, so Jiang Huan asking if he had a brother must mean he had mistaken him for his own younger brother.
“How did you get into our school!? What are you trying to do by sneaking in here!?” The bald instructor was flustered. He had just boasted about their security to the Shanhai Unit, claiming that not even a fly could get in, and now here was an orphan from the outskirts casually wandering around their office building.
“I’ve never been to school. I was curious about what an inner district school was like, so I stole a student ID and slipped in.”
“And what about those clothes you’re wearing?”
Shen Shanwu replied matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it obvious? I stole them too, of course.”
“…” The bald teacher was very angry, pointing at Shen Shanwu and almost yelling, “Then you stole this bag too? What’s in it!?”
The young man had been curious about Shen Shanwu’s bulging bag for a while. It piqued his interest, and he reached out to touch it, only to be met with strong resistance from Shen Shanwu. “Don’t touch my bag!”
Inside the bag was a birthday gift containing items that only mutants could obtain. If these were revealed, it would be impossible for him to leave without a fight.
“Hey, you little brat—”
Jiang Huan gave the young man a casual sidelong glance and said coldly, “Don’t touch him.” At his words, the young man straightened up like a mouse confronted by a cat, responding with a stiff, “Yes, sir!”
Jiang Huan then said to the lieutenant holding Shen Shanwu’s wrists, “Let him go.”
The lieutenant nodded and, after scolding Shen Shanwu to behave, slowly released his grip. He took a step back, wondering how this kid had such strength—he had almost managed to break free just now.
“Captain Jiang, Captain Jiang,” the bald instructor quickly stepped forward to apologize. “This was our oversight. We greatly appreciate your keen eye for spotting this thief. Please hand him over to us; we will certainly ensure he receives strict criticism and education…”
Jiang Huan gave the team members a look, and the only female team member present immediately took a step to the left, blocking the sight of the bald instructor with her back.
Bald teacher: “…” What’s wrong with the people from the coastal base?
“So, what you’re saying is…” Jiang Huan crouched down again, looking Shen Shanwu in the eye with seriousness. “You have no parents, not even a name?”
“Yes.”
“And you have no relatives in the outer district either?”
“Mm.”
“Then, would you be willing to be adopted by me and come to the coastal base?”
Shen Shanwu was taken aback, his eyes wide with confusion. “Huh—?”
“I am the grandson of the Grand Marshal of the Eastern Coastal Base and the captain of the Shanhai Unit, the top combat team at the base.” Jiang Huan laid out his chips as if negotiating with a business rival. “If you agree, you would be my only adopted child. I have no wife, and after my death, everything under my name will be given to you without charge. If you want to go to school, I will enroll you in the central primary school at the coastal base…”
“Wait, wait, wait, captain.” The young man was also shocked to the extreme, “Although this kid grew up looking good, his whole origin is unknown and he’s full of lies, Captain, how could you think of adopting him?!”
The lieutenant, more composed, understood that the captain must have had his reasons for saying this. He asked thoughtfully, “Captain Jiang, could it be that this child is the child of someone you knew?”
From start to finish, Jiang Huan’s gaze was solely fixed on Shen Shanwu. His eyes, filled with an indescribable tenderness, could easily be mistaken for something more intimate if one didn’t already know how Jiang Huan’s eyes tended to be misinterpreted.
“Do you agree?” Jiang Huan asked again with sincere seriousness. His voice was smooth and low, carrying a seductive quality that might make any young girl swoon, willing to give up anything just to be near him.
“…” Shen Shanwu rubbed his reddened wrists and pouted, “I don’t agree.”
“He—” The young man was just about to persuade the captain to think twice, but he heard that Shen Shanwu actually refused? His whole body turned and his voice sprayed angrily, “Why don’t you want to?!”
Shen Shanwu certainly wasn’t willing. Seven years ago, Jiang Huan had called him “big brother” repeatedly, and now, seven years later, he was expected to call Jiang Huan “dad”?!
Was this some kind of madness?
Jiang Huan seemed taken aback by the boy’s decisive refusal. With a deep, subdued look, he asked, “Why?”
“There’s no reason.” Shen Shanwu adjusted the strap on his shoulder. “I haven’t done anything heinous. Let me go, and I promise I’ll stay in the outer district and never come here again.”
To his surprise, Jiang Huan stood up straight and said firmly, “Since you can’t provide a reason, I won’t let you leave.”
“What?” Shen Shanwu was astonished. Was this a forced adoption? Was the Shanhai Unit a combat team or a minor trafficking organization? “Why do you insist on adopting me?”
“There’s no particular reason.”
“…This feels really suspiciously not good.”
Jiang Huan pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and put his mask back on. He then reached out and ruffled Shen Shanwu’s hair with an authoritative hand. “I will take good care of you.”
“Just saying that—”
“Yao Wuque, take him to our lodging,” Jiang Huan commanded, disregarding Shen Shanwu’s objections. Although the young man’s tone was reluctant, he promptly obeyed the captain’s orders.
“Zhong Yin, go with him and make sure to keep an eye on him.”
The captain’s serious tone made Yao Wuque shiver. He and the other named female team member replied in unison, “Yes, sir.”
With that settled, Jiang Huan turned to the lieutenant and said, “Return to the main hall and finish the first class of the school year.”
“Yes, sir.”
The bald instructor stood there, dumbfounded, until he finally noticed that the high-ranking visitor from the coastal base was looking at him. He hesitated, unsure of what to say.
“I want to adopt this child,” Jiang Huan said, taking the initiative to ask. “Are there any procedures required in the Central Alliance?”
“Uh…” The bald instructor sighed. “It depends on whether he has a Central Alliance identification. But orphans of his age from the outer districts usually don’t have one. However, Captain Jiang, why have you suddenly decided to adopt this child?”
“…” Jiang Huan didn’t answer. He simply nodded in thanks and followed the other team members into the main hall.
Meanwhile, Yao Wuque, uneasy about Shen Shanwu, looked him over from every angle. After a brief consultation with Zhong Yin, they decided to put on two pairs of handcuffs—one for each of Shen Shanwu’s wrists. They then lined up, with Shen Shanwu sandwiched between them, and carried him out of the school like a small chicken, heading toward the exit.
Shen Shanwu really had a headache. He got the dormitory number of the president’s son, and the gift was in the backpack intact. As a result, he was now getting farther and farther away from the mission point.
He could easily break free from them, but at the same time, his identity as a mutant would also be exposed.
The problem was that Jiang Huan had already seen Shen Shanwu’s face. Shen Shanwu was a mutant, and now there was another child who looked extremely similar to him also being identified as a mutant. It was difficult not to connect the two, which made it highly likely that the existence of mutant abilities would be exposed.
Mutants were already viewed with suspicion and fear by humans. If they were to learn that mutants had powers far beyond their current knowledge, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Fleeting years were not good.1being unlucky for so many years Shen Shanwu could only use these four words to describe his current state.
The Shanhai Unit was staying in a multi-story villa with a garden in the inner city of the Central Alliance. While residents outside the city struggled to make ends meet, those inside had the leisure to tend to their flowers and plants.
Inside the villa, two team members, one male and one female, were left behind. When they saw Yao Wuque and Zhong Yin ‘escorting’ a boy into the house, they were taken aback and, puzzled, asked who he was.
“The captain plans to adopt him,” Yao Wuque said, removing his mask to reveal the face of a young adult man, with even a couple of pimples on his forehead. He took a big gulp of warm water and muttered, “Is the captain out of his mind?”
“Captain must have his reasons,” Zhong Yin replied coldly while drinking her water. She also took off her mask and nodded toward Shen Shanwu. “What should we do? The three of us can’t keep being handcuffed like this.”
“…” Yao Wuque raised an eyebrow and then flashed a wicked smile. Shen Shanwu sensed trouble and quickly said, “Hey, bro! If you think I’m suspicious and don’t want me adopted by your captain, that’s fine by me. I don’t want to be adopted by him either. Let me go, and just say that three masked men suddenly appeared and took me away.”
Zhong Yin unlocked the handcuffs and gave Shen Shanwu a cold stare before looking at Yao Wuque with a clear implication that she would act first if necessary. Yao Wuque huffed and said, “I don’t want you to be adopted by the captain either, but I definitely don’t want you going against his wishes. Just stay put!”
With that, he handcuffed Shen Shanwu’s wrists to the heavy wooden chair leg and happily went to the kitchen to ask what was for lunch.
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