Chapter 23: Three-in-One – “Yu Xia, What Are You Doing Here?” part 1
A few days later, Yu Xia boarded the starship bound for Capital Star alongside Ning Qing and Wen Lun.
Before leaving, he made sure to say his goodbyes to the people he had grown close to—people like his attending physician, Dr. Yu, who had looked after him for an entire month, and Director Xie Qing, the first person he had seen upon opening his eyes in this world.
To them, these might have been ordinary interactions with the original Yu Xia, but in reality, they had provided immense help to a newcomer who knew nothing about this era. It was thanks to them that he had been able to integrate so smoothly into this unfamiliar interstellar age.
Before his departure, he made a special trip back to the orphanage to take one last look.
Director Xie stood by his side. “What, are you actually feeling sentimental? Don’t be silly. Even though welfare is much better now than it used to be, those who come from here still need to venture out. Our orphanage is small; we can’t afford to keep everyone forever!”
“As for everything else, you don’t need to worry. Those who leave the orphanage are all registered. Since you got into Imperial Star Academy on your own merit, your tuition will be completely waived. In a case like yours, the national treasury will cover the costs. However, you’ll still have to handle other expenses yourself. I’ve heard the Mechanical Department is quite the money-sink in the early stages. Even if you aren’t building mechas, mechanical parts are expensive. Food and lodging shouldn’t be an issue, though; the Empire will provide you with a subsidy until you officially graduate.”
Yu Xia hadn’t heard of this before. “A subsidy?”
Director Xie nodded as if it were common sense. “Of course. Our Empire’s welfare benefits are excellent nowadays. You aren’t like Yun Shaocheng, who was expelled from the orphanage. Someone like him has to worry about both tuition and living costs on his own. Moreover, you are registered as a child of martyrs; the subsidy you receive should be even higher than that of ordinary orphans.”
Yu Xia was even more shocked to hear this. “A child of martyrs?”
Even in the original owner’s memories, he had only believed his parents were deceased and that he had been sent to the orphanage because of it. He had never imagined the original owner was actually a child of martyrs.
Xie Qing let out a soft chuckle. “Surprised? I didn’t tell you before because I planned to wait until you reached adulthood. Who knew that your differentiation would coincide with a mental power surge? The situation was too critical then, and I didn’t dare provoke you further. But now that you’re leaving, I figured I should finally tell you and return your parents’ belongings.”
He called them “belongings,” but there wasn’t much. The most valuable item was likely the pension issued after the death of Yu Xia’s parents. The most meaningful item, however, was the First-Class Warrior Medal belonging to Yu Xia’s father, Yu Hanyi.
Yu Xia traced the golden medal before carefully putting it away.
The weight of these revelations dampened his initial melancholy of parting. It wasn’t until the starship took off and Yu Xia sat in his seat, staring at the pitch-black sky outside the window, that he truly realized he was on his way to Capital Star.
Professor Wen sat beside him, his demeanor gentle, though his words were somewhat less welcome. “Once we reach Capital Star, take advantage of the few days before school starts. Come with me to the hospital first for a physical checkup. Although the previous hospital did several tests, it’s been about half a month. It’s safer to do another one.”
With a single sentence, Professor Wen crushed the budding sentimentality in Yu Xia’s heart. He pouted. “Is it still that same kind of detection capsule?”
Previously, checkups were once a month. Yu Xia had assumed that since Professor Wen had the previous reports, he would wait at least another two weeks. He hadn’t even arrived at Capital Star yet, and Professor Wen was already eyeing his test results.
For the sake of his health, Yu Xia didn’t intend to refuse, but he secretly hoped the equipment on Capital Star would be better than that of the small planet he came from—at least enough to make it less painful.
However, Professor Wen ruthlessly shattered Yu Xia’s fantasy. He patted Yu Xia’s shoulder. “Currently, that model of detection capsule is the most suitable. That’s likely the one you’ll be using. However, resources on Capital Star are much better than on other planets. While it will still be an ordeal, at least the post-checkup treatment will be superior to what you’re used to.”
Yu Xia sniffled silently.
He didn’t think the treatment could be that much better. What was it going to be—a higher-grade robot than Xiao Jin looking after him?
The starships of the interstellar era were incredibly fast. The planet Yu Xia had been on wasn’t far from Capital Star; otherwise, Imperial Star Academy wouldn’t have chosen Xie Qing’s orphanage for its social practice activities. After roughly one night, they arrived at their destination.
The moment they landed, Yu Xia was sent straight to the hospital.
Professor Wen even found a perfect excuse. “Since there are still a few days before Imperial Star Academy opens, you might as well rest well in the hospital. You can pause your workouts for now while I consult with the other professors and doctors. Though, if you really want to exercise, following the original plan isn’t a huge problem. If you get bored, you can wander the virtual world. Your previous doctor’s idea was quite good; a holographic helmet is indeed a side-effect-free way to consume your mental power. It’s far more effective than any soothing agents or pacifiers.”
Yu Xia had lived in a hospital for over a month—he practically hadn’t left one since transmigrating. He was quite used to the environment. He only had one question: “Professor Wen, can I tell others my address?”
Wen Lun raised an eyebrow. “You have acquaintances on Capital Star? Regardless of who they are, it’s best not to. Your mental power report isn’t finalized yet; it’s easy to let something slip.”
Yu Xia: “…”
Fine.
And so, immediately upon arriving at Capital Star, Yu Xia was hospitalized.
However, this was a hospital on the Capital Star, after all; it was indeed far more impressive than his previous one.
Although the hospital was busy and full of patients, everything functioned with clockwork precision. Some doctors from the Mental Power Department even came to chat with him after their shifts ended, simply because they had heard of his admission. They were quite curious about Mental Power Disorder patients; such cases were rare even in the large hospitals of Capital Star.
Professor Wen, however, was very reliable. Although Yu Xia’s mental power report wasn’t finalized, the fact that he had a Level 5 Mental Power Disorder had already left a deep impression on the doctors.
The first order of business once Yu Xia settled in was, of course, the physical checkup.
As Yu Xia lay in the detection capsule, he overheard two nurses discussing him.
“I heard his Mental Power Disorder grade is the same as Dr. Lu Yao’s. I wonder if he can be cured?”
“A grade like that must be incredibly painful, right?”
“Is it just the physical checkup today? Should we do a mental power test as well?”
“That’s not on the list. Dr. Wen said he just had one before coming to Capital Star and shouldn’t have a second one so soon. There has to be at least a half-month gap, otherwise it could damage his brain. That’s how it is with high mental power. We shouldn’t take it upon ourselves to do extra; just finish the tasks at hand!”
“Sigh, sometimes I really envy those with high mental power. Their memory and learning capacity are leagues beyond ordinary people. but seeing them like this, I can’t help but feel bad for them. For Mental Power Disorder patients, they might prefer not to have such high power at all.”
By now, Yu Xia was somewhat familiar with the checkup process. He was no longer like he was during the first time, needing people to carry him back to his ward. Although he still felt miserable after the test, he was able to stand up on his own and lean on a robot to return to his room.
He lay on his bed for a while. Though exhausted, he had recovered significantly. With nothing else to do and it being impossible for him to work out in this state, he dug out his holographic helmet, planning to wander the virtual world.
However, before he could even plug in the helmet’s cables, he sensed something was off. Straining his weakened body, he stood up and walked to the door to look out.
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