Chapter 244: Soldier Level
Since Xiao Luo accepted his offer, Gu Zhanguo left completely satisfied.
Xiao Luo didn’t have any other choice. In the meantime, he was amazed by his fate. Who would have thought that the one time Xiao Luo accidentally offered a helping hand it would attract the NSA’s attention and make their highest commander act as his s.h.i.+eld? It felt like a surreal mix of fact and fiction. He couldn’t help but sigh with wonder at how life was like a drama.
“Hero Luo, we’ll be coworkers from now on.”
An Huanhuan sat down next to Xiao Luo’s hospital bed joyfully and picked up the pear on the nightstand to eat without feeling even a little bit of awkwardness.
Song Jianan still didn’t speak. He didn’t know what to say. As a Level C soldier, he had been defeated by Xiao Luo with ease. He felt like he was always a tiny bit inferior to Xiao Luo.
“Should I thank you?”
Xiao Luo looked at her dispa.s.sionately. He had mixed feelings. On one hand, he was not delighted for being under people’s secret surveillance. On the other hand, he might have been finished this time if not for An Huanhuan. He had to pay the price for his killings.
“You’re welcome, Hero Luo. By the way, you don’t need to feel pressured. It’s quite easy to work for the NSA, especially for a special soldier like you. You can still live like an ordinary person. Even if we have operations for you, we will notify you in advance so you can have enough time to be prepared.”
An Huanhuan grinned playfully and moved closer to Xiao Luo’s ear. She whispered, “Also, I was not joking when we were at Huaye University. You really are my type!”
“But you’re not my type.” Xiao Luo smiled.
He wouldn’t have felt so repulsed if An Huanhuan was just a student. Nonetheless, An Huanhuan’s real ident.i.ty was a member of the NSA, which meant that many seemingly coincidental incidents that happened at Huaye University were actually designed and planned by her. It made him feel icky.
“That’s alright. It’s enough that you’re my type. He-he…”
An Huanhuan laughed in a simple-minded manner and kept the atmosphere from turning awkward.
“Can you leave for now?” Xiao Luo asked. “I want to have some peace and quiet.”
“Ok. Have a good rest.”
An Huanhuan clearly felt Xiao Luo’s hostility. She decided not to stay in the ward and walked out with Song Jianan.
Xiao Luo closed his eyes and slowly digested the fact that he had become a member of the NSA while circulating his inner force. He had to gracefully accept it since he had no other choice. Perhaps it wasn’t going to be something so terrible.
…
Five days later, Xiao Luo had mostly recovered. The power of the King of Mercenaries Const.i.tution was adequately embodied.
Gu Qianxue took Xiao Ruyi to visit him. Naturally, how he had carried the knife and went to Long Sankui’s villa to wipe out the enemy was not exposed. Gu Zhanguo had already mobilized his connections and covered it up. No one, except for the police officers who were on call that night, knew about the matter.
Xiao Luo took off the hospital gown and put on his own clothes. He walked into the next ward. Bai Ling didn’t have a healing ability as good as his. She was still weak and pale, even though she had already woken up.
Xiao Luo learned from Gu Zhanguo that Bai Ling wouldn’t be recruited by the NSA anytime soon. After all, she was still a college student. She would make her choice after she graduated.
Bai Ling’s eyes turned red the moment she saw Xiao Luo. She hurried to apologize to him. “Xiao Luo, I’m sorry…”
Xiao Luo would not have been so severely injured if not for her. She had put him in this situation.
Xiao Luo sat down on her bed and shook his head. He said with a smile, “You don’t need to feel sorry for anything. On the contrary, I need to thank you. Thank you for cracking my IP address. Otherwise, I would have been put into prison by now.”
He knew that Gu Zhanguo only protected him because he was Mie.
“Are you really Mie?”
Bai Ling still felt it was all unreal and dreamlike.
Xiao Luo nodded and said, “You probably wouldn’t believe me even if I said no.” He looked at her in admiration. “You’re pretty good. I never thought you would be able to break through my firewall.”
“Any firewall can be breached as long as you carefully identify the pattern of the construction of the codes. You may be Mie, but the most basic elements for building a firewall are still one and zero.” Bai Ling was quite pleased with her answer.
“That means you’re a real genius when it comes to computers.” Xiao Luo genuinely praised her.
After sitting in her ward and chatting about some insignificant topics, Xiao Luo got up and said goodbye.
Out of the blue, Bai Ling shouted at Xiao Luo’s back. “Xiao Luo, do you really not want to come back to Huaye University for a visit?”
Xiao Luo stopped in front of the door.
“Zhu Xiaofei, Ding Kai, and all the other people are concerned about you and hope to see you again, especially Young Mistress Chu,” Bai Ling said. “I can tell that she fell in love with you. Even though she never admitted it, she has been talking about you nonstop since you left.”
Xiao Luo turned around and shook his head as he said, “I already told you, we live in two different worlds and only shortly shared some overlaps by coincidence. People from different worlds staying together will only hurt one or maybe even both sides. You’re a perfect example, aren’t you?”
Bai Ling’s heart trembled. She recalled the nightmare that happened in Long Sankui’s villa. It was such an awful and terrifying experience that she would probably never be able to forget it her whole life.
Xiao Luo didn’t speak anymore. He opened the door and walked out.
…
The NSA had a bureau in Jiangcheng. After Xiao Luo’s body was fully recovered, Gu Zhanguo took him to the bureau’s evaluation and a.s.sessment department to put in his information.
Gu Zhanguo introduced the basic structure of the NSA to Xiao Luo. “NSA soldiers are divided into S, A, B, C, and D five levels. S level is the highest, and D is the lowest. The people you’re seeing now are all Level D soldiers.”
Xiao Luo swept his eyes around the room and saw the staff wearing black uniforms.
“The two people standing behind me are Level B soldiers,” Gu Zhanguo said while folding his hands behind his back. “The higher the level, the fewer soldiers we have. The entire NSA only has two Level S soldiers.”
“Do they have terrifying power?” Xiao Luo asked.
Gu Zhanguo replied, “Exceptionally terrifying. I will introduce you to them if the chance presents itself.”
While talking, they walked to a delicate machine. It looked very much like an MRI machine only much bigger. There were about half a dozen smaller computers mounted on top of it. The whole set was spotless like some alien technology in a sci-fi movie.
“This is the equipment for determining level. We will soon know which soldier level you belong to after you lay on it.”
“It’s not dangerous, is it?” Xiao Luo asked with some concern.
“Don’t worry,” Gu Zhanguo said with a smile. “It’s very safe. Every new member who joins the NSA needs to be evaluated. This is what I need to fill in your file.”
Xiao Luo climbed on it and laid down. He was still suspicious. Some people from the NSA strapped him on the bed before pus.h.i.+ng the b.u.t.tons on the machine and switching it on. Xiao Luo was slowly pushed into a hollow cylinder. He laid flat inside. The blindingly bright lights around him made it impossible to open his eyes.