Officer... c-could you please come a little closer?

"This old man isn't trying to trick me, is he?"

Su Yi stared at the broken sword in his hand, lost in thought.

He honestly hadn't expected a weapon praised so highly by the old man to be this fragile.

Su Yi felt the sheer complexity of Blue Star's套路 (schemes), and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He truly couldn't let his guard down for even a second.

"Officer, Lorix can fix it."

Sitting beside him, Lorix noticed Su Yi's distress, leaned close to him, and whispered.

"You can?"

A pale green light flashed in Lorix's eyes as she said with certainty, "The chip has already recorded its original form. If we have a welding torch or something similar, it can be repaired very quickly."

A welding torch?

Where on earth was he supposed to get one of those... No, wait, he actually could manage that.

Su Yi paused for a moment, glancing sideways at the old man making tea in the kitchen. Time was of the essence, so he fixed his gaze on his index finger, and an instant later, a white flame ignited upon it.

"I can adjust it to whatever temperature you need."

Su Yi extended his hand toward her.

"This temperature is fine."

Lorix licked her lips, picked up the "finger-styled" welding torch with her tender little hand, tucked his arm under her armpit, stealthily hid the sword behind her back, and began a flurry of welding and processing right at the fracture of the blade.

"Having a cyborg companion really is quite convenient..."

Su Yi kept casting sideways glances at the kitchen, inhaling deeply to suck all the fumes produced by the melting metal into his lungs.

Using energy on the level of Heart Flame as a welding torch was undoubtedly extravagant, but fortunately, the temperature could be adjusted at will and easily melted the sword's body.

However, as Lorix kept tugging on his hand to carry out the welding work,

Su Yi suddenly noticed something he rarely paid attention to under normal circumstances.

His arm was being held tightly against her chest.

It gave a tender, tactile sensation reminiscent of "white snow blanketing grass and treading on green bamboo, plum blossoms dropping petals to pierce refined jade." The feeling was even more scorching than the Heart Flame welding.

Based on Su Yi's sharp intuition, as well as his perception of shape, weight, and size,

there was no doubt it had grown larger again, definitely exceeding the measurements taken by the female store clerk a short while ago.

His diet had been quite good lately.

Secondary physical development wasn't entirely out of the question.

"O-Officer... could you stretch your hand a little closer? It's a bit inconvenient; the repair requires precision," Lorix tilted her cheek slightly, tucking her long silver hair behind her ear, lowering her head as she whispered a request to him.

"Oh, sure."

Su Yi hastily responded, shifting his hips to move a bit closer.

That soft, gentle wrapping sensation became even more pronounced—so distinct it felt as if she wasn't wearing anything at all.

Wait. Did this girl really not wear anything?

Su Yi recalled that over the past few days, ever since buying undergarments, the girl had found them extremely unnatural; it seemed she preferred her bandages more...

It looked like it was time to make a trip to the pharmacy for some bandages.

With that thought in mind,

Not long after.

Who knew how Lorix operated, but when the broken sword appeared in Su Yi's hand once more, it had been restored to its original state. Even the engravings matched completely, leaving zero trace of welding.

"It was repaired this well in the time it takes to brew a pot of black tea?"

Su Yi was slightly shocked.

For the first time, more than two hundred years after leaving the Wasteland, he truly felt a sense of being out of touch with the times.

Could people really handcraft things to this extent?

Even with his sharp eyes, he couldn't spot a single flaw.

Aside from the sword's body being a little warm, the rest was nothing short of perfection.

However, temperature was the easiest problem to solve. Su Yi placed his hand over it, and in a flash, all the heat was absorbed back into his body.

Once repaired, it was as good as never broken; once brought along, it was as good as never given; and once the membrane was mended, it was brand new.

Now the old man had no reason to try and scam him again.

Having received praise, Lorix rested her hands on the sofa and swung her little feet. Although there was no smile on her face, a clear sense of excitement and pride emanated from her.

It was that kind of expressionless happiness.

As expected, Wasteland technology is potent—no further explanation needed!

The timing was calculated to perfection.

Just as Su Yi shoved the sword back into its scabbard,

Li Chengqian walked out of the room holding a tea tray bearing two cups of black tea steaming with white mist.

"The black tea I have here is top-tier stuff. You two little rascals are truly in luck. How was your comprehension? Did you feel any sense of awakening an ability?"

The old man asked with a smile as he walked.

"Apologies, Elder Li, but I might not have any talent in that area."

Feigning extreme clumsiness, Su Yi pulled the sword straight out of its scabbard. This time he was exceptionally careful, applying zero collision force whatsoever, ensuring it was utterly impossible for it to break.

Yet, the moment his words fell,

Li Chengyuan—who was nearing ninety, had always been composed and calm, and could chuckle cheerfully even after losing twenty consecutive games of chess—actually let go of the tea tray. With a loud clatter, the scalding tea crashed to the ground, scattering loose black tea leaves and shattered porcelain across the floor in a messy mix.

"You, you actually..."

Seeing this reaction,

Su Yi shouted inwardly that something was terribly wrong.

Had his flaws been seen through after all?

How awful. Clearly Lorix had repaired it with absolute perfection. Could this sword possess some special marker that he was unaware of?

Yet Su Yi wasn't the type to obediently take the blame. If the old man stubbornly forced him to pay by selling himself into the Special Operations Unit, there was no way he would agree to such a shady method.

If he couldn't bluff his way through, he would just resort to force. Outside the research lab last time, Su Yi had been teleported away before he could exchange blows with the old man, and now was as good a time as any.

However, Li Chengyuan's next words completely exceeded his expectations.

"The Chixiao Sword actually didn't toy with you? That's miraculous! Legend has it that only absolute fencing geniuses won't cause it to break the very first time they touch it."

Li Chengyuan's tone was filled with excitement. Even his aged, steady face displayed a youthful impulsiveness as he stroked his beard and burst into loud laughter.

Yet Su Yi couldn't laugh at all.

As a "Swordbearer" of Sequence 2 back in the Wasteland, he had seen all sorts of bizarre swords, but this was the first time he had ever heard of a precious sword that liked to mess with people and snap in half upon first touch.

Whose sword throws tantrums anyway? That's not a sword; that's a genuine nuisance!

As expected, Blue Star harbored many things beyond his comprehension.

Terrifying indeed.

Still, after being welded with the Heart Flame,

this precious sword named Chixiao should behave itself from now on, quit acting up, and refuse to break no matter who held it.

"I've truly struck gold today! After all these years, I've finally encountered someone who can hold it without it breaking."

"Kid, follow me and practice swordsmanship starting tomorrow. Although the weather is bitterly cold right now, it's actually the prime time to practice. Come find me here tomorrow at five in the morning, and I'll initiate you."

Li Chengyuan enthusiastically extended an invitation to Su Yi.

His ability wasn't particularly strong; it merely allowed him to see through human disguises and pinpoint critical flaws in people's movements and postures.

Yet by relying on this exquisite swordsmanship, he had traveled far and wide across the Special Operations Unit over the years and carved out a formidable reputation for himself.

It was a pity that without an ability similar to his, those who came to seek instruction found it difficult to master, making the inheritance of his art a heavy burden on his mind.

The older a person grew, the more naturally they wished to pass down their skills, letting their disciples establish their own schools of thought so that even if they died one day in the future, they would become legendary founding grandmasters.

Unfortunately, just as Li Chengyuan was daydreaming, two light coughs dragged his thoughts back to reality.

"Elder Li, tomorrow probably won't work. I have to go to school."

"School? Are you worried about that kid Xidai? Don't worry, it's a breeze for me to ask him for a person."

As a veteran senior of the Special Operations Unit, nobody would object if Li Chengyuan wanted to take on a disciple; on the contrary, Xidai would be thrilled for him to cultivate talent for Great Xia.

Su Yi shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, Elder Li, you've misunderstood. I'm a senior in high school and still have to take the college entrance examination. I've been super busy lately."

"Coll—college entrance examination?" Li Chengyuan couldn't possibly imagine that his offer would actually be rejected, and a slight look of astonishment crossed his eyes. "What's the point of taking exams? Graduate and come straight into the Special Operations Unit! With my guidance, your future will undoubtedly be boundless!"

Hearing this line of thought, Su Yi naturally had plenty to say in response.

"Elder Li, your perspective isn't quite right there. In Great Xia's current educational attainment ratio, primary school and below make up 38%, junior high accounts for about 13%, high school and vocational schools roughly 17.5%, while junior college and undergraduate degrees combined only make up 12%. As for master's and doctoral degrees, they're even scarcer at just 0.6%."

"With proportions like that, having a diploma basically makes you a dragon among men. Setting aside whether you can find a job after graduation or how much your salary will be, in today's society, who doesn't ask what university you tested into when you step outside? Being uneducated is scary, but lacking a diploma simply won't do."

He raised a finger and launched into a long-winded speech, baffling the once-enthusiastic Li Chengyuan completely.

As he spoke, he walked toward the door.

Of course, Su Yi didn't actually care that much about diplomas, but there was no way he would ever agree to something like practicing swordsmanship.

Leaving aside how the title of "Swordbearer" came to be in the Wasteland, if he actually started learning, would he be teaching Li Chengyuan, or would Li Chengyuan be teaching him?

Above all, he simply didn't want to stick around the old man. Lorix was a Wasteland native after all; no matter what, he couldn't afford to get overly entangled here.

"Elder Li, I still have homework to do, so I won't disturb you any longer."

With that, Su Yi grabbed Lorix, slipped out the door, and made a clean getaway.

Watching Su Yi's retreating figure,

the rejected old man instead nodded repeatedly.

Diligent and eager to learn—truly the fine qualities of a Great Xia son. It seemed his invitation had simply left the other party feeling flattered and overwhelmed. With such character, his swordsmanship training was bound to go well.

"But is a diploma really that important nowadays? Could it be that I've fallen behind the times..."

Li Chengyuan, who had only ever attended private school for a few days, fell into deep contemplation.