Chapter 46: Late-Night Drinks

“OK, OK, great job! Keep going, Classmate Xiao Qiu—you’re almost there!”

“Stay steady, stay steady—just a little more!”

A half-full glass of pure water trembled unsteadily in midair. Ye Jingqiu stared intently at the bobbing, splashing glass cup, muttering incantations under her breath as she tried to achieve remote object retrieval with the Haste Fetch Incantation.

But her Word Manifestation instinct seemed determined not to give its owner any face. Just as the glass was about to drift into Ye Jingqiu’s waiting hand, it froze abruptly in the air—then plunged straight toward the floor, apparently intent on embracing the earth in pursuit of freedom.

Quick as a flash, Xie Pingzhi activated her Wind Instinct from nearby. She manipulated the wind element to catch the glass, lowering it steadily back to its original spot.

“Want to give it another shot?” Xie Pingzhi turned to her teammate on the test bed, eyebrow arched in suggestion.

Ye Jingqiu nodded vigorously and dove right back in, undaunted.

Beyond the layer of tempered glass separating them from the test zone, the outside world was startlingly quiet. The pristine white instruments emitted a faint whir from their spinning rotors, while Instinct Department researchers hurried back and forth.

Shi Zui pulled her gaze away from her teammates’ enthusiastic play and turned to Ning Wan, whose brows were furrowed into a tight knot. “Any results?”

“It’s bizarre—way too bizarre. The Rampage Value spiked without any warning whatsoever. No precedents at all.” Ning Wan murmured to herself as she scrutinized the report. She’d spent over a decade at the base delving into the rules of instincts, but Ye Jingqiu was a first: an ability that refused to follow any predictable path, an outlier among outliers.

Once the parent-teacher conference wrapped up, the two who’d discovered Word Manifestation was active had rushed back to base for tests. The results showed Ye Jingqiu’s Rampage Value had inexplicably skyrocketed, stabilizing at C-Rank Specialist level—occasionally brushing the bare minimum for B-level.

Progress, at least.

After a full afternoon of exhaustive testing, Ye Jingqiu had a rough grasp of Word Manifestation’s limits. It could only manipulate elements on a small scale, still a far cry from her god-slaying performance in the Golden Hall.

In terms of combat utility, her instinct was squarely in chicken-rib territory right now—neither tasty enough to eat nor wasteful enough to toss.

But from a lifestyle perspective? Two words summed it up perfectly…

Pure bliss!

Thirsty while lounging in bed? Just say the word. No more dragging herself out for water.

A must-have skill for anyone who loved slacking off.

Ye Jingqiu, always one to savor life’s comforts, threw herself into learning with total focus. She quickly mastered the knack for moving objects and was now pushing to expand the instinct’s range—trying to condense water elements into ice to chill her cola or Sprite on demand.

Xie Pingzhi, who’d been spectating with amusement, let out an impressed tsk. “Impressive, Xiao Qiu. You head off to school for a bit, and next thing I know, you’re an ice machine?”

Ye Jingqiu swirled the glass with a grin. Ice cubes clinked crisply against the fogged-up walls. “What do you think, A-Xie? No more digging through the fridge for ice cubes when we drink!”

“You know, you’re onto something,” Xie Pingzhi said, struck by a sudden idea and visibly tempted. “There’s this perfect spot outside base for knocking back drinks and chatting. How about tonight we…?”

Ye Jingqiu’s eyes lit up. Ever since turning adult, she’d been dying to explore A-Xie’s passion for booze. Xie Pingzhi had always cited her underage status as an excuse before, but now, three months in, there was no dodging it!

The two shared a look, then turned in unison toward the Captain standing not far off.

~~~

The clock hands pointed to eleven. A slender crescent moon climbed the sky amid a dazzling array of stars. The base had slipped quietly into slumber, with only scattered lights twinkling here and there. At this hour, just the cafeteria and a few labs stayed illuminated.

Building 209 was pitch black. Shi Zui and Zhou Xianhui kept ironclad schedules—their doors clicked shut at 10:30 sharp. In the enveloping darkness, Ye Jingqiu, who lived next door to Shi Zui, eased her door open with catlike caution. She stole a glance at the Captain’s firmly closed door before tiptoeing downstairs.

Getting caught by the Captain would be… awkward.

Xie Pingzhi had been waiting outside for ages, booze crate in hand. She jumped up and waved as soon as she spotted Ye Jingqiu. “Finally! You’re so slow, Xiao Qiu. Come on, hurry up.”

Ye Jingqiu startled and frantically shushed her. “A-Xie, keep it down! If you wake the Captain, we’re toast.”

“Pfft, the Captain doesn’t care if you drink,” Xie Pingzhi scoffed, though she dutifully lowered her voice. “C’mon. It’s all Desert Test Zone outside base—about a half-hour ride.”

“How’re we getting there?”

Xie Pingzhi yanked off the nearby tarp and jerked her chin at what lay beneath. “On this. Augusta Rush1000—four-cylinder water-cooled, 208 horsepower. First batch off the Varese Lake Factory line. Just had it shipped in.”

“Whoa.” Ye Jingqiu couldn’t help but gush. Tonight was checking off a dozen bucket-list items at once. The heavy motorcycle gleamed with a signature metallic chill: Italian Gothic styling, lightweight aluminum-steel frame, stabilizing fins like a stegosaurus tail. A bona fide work of art.

“Pretty sweet, right? Strongest street bike out there, tops out at 300 kph,” Xie Pingzhi preened, basking in her little teammate’s starry-eyed awe. “I used to be a top-tier racer, you know.”

Ye Jingqiu rapped the passenger seat—which was purely ornamental—and clapped in exaggerated praise. “Amazing. So… where do I sit?”

Xie Pingzhi: “…Doh!”

Xie Pingzhi: “But I’ve got a brilliant backup plan!”

Ye Jingqiu: “?”

Half an hour later.

Ye Jingqiu soared through the sky, face blank as she clutched the booze crate. Below, Xie Pingzhi stylishly drifted to a stop. The silver-black Augusta screeched to a halt, its forged alloy wheels carving a perfect arc through the desert sand.

Sand sprayed everywhere. Xie Pingzhi popped off her helmet and snapped her fingers. Ye Jingqiu, buoyed the whole way by wind elements, descended slowly to the ground.

“Low-altitude flying’s not bad, huh?” Xie Pingzhi beamed, blithely overlooking the faint resentment in Ye Jingqiu’s glare.

Ye Jingqiu huffed and looked away. “It’s fine. But it’d probably be even better if someone had let me ride the bike.”

“Next time, next time. I know you got your driver’s license back in October—it was just a thoughtless oversight on my part.” Xie Pingzhi patted Ye Jingqiu’s shoulder and led her toward the massive boulder in the distance. “I’ll take you out riding another day!”

“Fine, that works.”

But before Ye Jingqiu could finish speaking, the Will Ring on Xie Pingzhi’s wrist beeped twice in quick succession, the urgent tone suggesting it had been set to a specific alert—as if it carried some special meaning.

Xie Pingzhi glanced down and swiped at it a couple of times. Within seconds, she looked up and flashed Ye Jingqiu an exaggerated, fawning grin.

“Classmate Xiao Qiu, something urgent just came up for me. Any chance I could slip away for a bit? I’ll be right back.”

First she wouldn’t let her ride, and now she was ditching her?

Ye Jingqiu smiled faintly. “Absolutely not…”

“Here, the motorcycle’s yours to ride.”

Ye Jingqiu’s expression flipped in an instant. “No problem at all!”

Xie Pingzhi chuckled and tossed the key to her little teammate. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to remind her, “There’s a bottle of cola in the booze box for mixing drinks. Have that for now—I’ll be back soon.”

Ye Jingqiu gave her an OK sign and watched with the booze box in hand as Xie Pingzhi leaped toward the base.

She turned around, humming a little tune as she ambled slowly toward the black stone.

This heterodimensional space was said to span an area equivalent to four Shanghais, but the developed section was pitifully small. Beyond the base’s main activity zone, the rest was an endless expanse of sand, dust, and rocky hills—like a desert where greenery was nowhere to be found.

This spot was a black stone hillock that Xie Pingzhi had stumbled upon by chance. Calling it a hill was a bit of a stretch; it was more like the highest point around, offering a commanding view of the vast desert.

Bored out of her mind, Ye Jingqiu looked for a place to sit. She’d only taken a few steps when she caught a faint sound drifting through the air.

Were there other base members here?

Ye Jingqiu set down the booze box, held her breath, and cast a Silence Spell on herself. She crept stealthily toward the source of the noise.

“A-Shi shows no sincerity at all, meow. She just comes here to fool around every time, meow.”

“There haven’t been any cross-domain missions lately, so I really haven’t had a chance to go out. Sorry.”

“Sigh, A-Shi must not love me anymore, meow. Her answers are so cold. I should just go throw myself at Xiao Qiu instead.”

“Does even Little Cat get bored of the old and chase the new?”

“…”

Ye Jingqiu froze on the spot, rubbing her eyes repeatedly to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.

In the distance, beside a flickering cluster of black flame, Aether’s holographic projection spoke in a sticky-sweet tone she’d never heard before. Little Cat was strutting boldly through the sand beneath its paws, rolling and coquettishly whining at the woman by the flames.

The woman leaning against the rock wall had a slight smile on her lips and a gentle gaze, a far cry from the aloof detachment she’d shown during the day. She was the picture of an indulgent cat parent, letting her pet run wild.

It was Shi Zui, who was supposed to be fast asleep back in 209.

My God.

Ye Jingqiu’s head spun. A-Xie had been full of it—saying the captain didn’t like Aether. This was clearly love at first sight, inseparable affection.

Oh no, oh no. She’d stumbled upon this private moment purely by accident. Would the captain believe her? Would she silence her to protect her image?

Ye Jingqiu’s heart skipped a beat. She was about to make a hasty retreat in double time when, the instant she turned and lifted her foot, a familiar voice rang out right beside her ear.

“Come out,” Shi Zui said calmly, turning her head. “I’ve known you were there for a while.”

Ye Jingqiu stiffened. She turned around rigidly, plastering on a textbook smile. “Good evening, Captain.”

~~~

The wine glass, chilled by Instinct until frost formed on its surface, held crushed mint leaves steeped in bourbon whiskey. Shi Zui shook the glass and handed it to Ye Jingqiu. “Mint julep. I didn’t add too much whiskey.”

Ye Jingqiu took the glass and sipped curiously. The bourbon’s rich aroma mingled with the mint, cool and refreshing.

“You know how to mix drinks too, Captain?” Ye Jingqiu smacked her lips, a bit incredulous.

“Loteria’s quite good at it. She often teaches A-Xie.” Shi Zui turned to watch Aether scampering in the distance. “I’ve tried it a few times.”

“Professor Luo mixes drinks? I thought she was teetotal—don’t researchers avoid alcohol to prevent it from dulling the brain?”

“Her hobbies are cooking and mixology. Helps manage her rampage value.”

“Tch, sounds like the ultimate homemaker.” Ye Jingqiu sighed in admiration, unable to resist taking another big swig of the cocktail.

The drink was already half gone when Shi Zui, without even looking at Ye Jingqiu, reached out precisely and took the glass away. She replaced it with a bottle of Coca-Cola, all without a word.

Fine, message received—the captain was cutting her off.

Ye Jingqiu unscrewed the cola cap with resignation and asked casually, “But Captain, what brings you out here?”

“Aether likes the desert. I bring it here from time to time.”

On that note, Shi Zui gave a few low coughs and said no more. Ye Jingqiu got the hint and didn’t press—especially not on how a holographic cat could feel sand under its paws.

The night was uncannily still. With no clouds or smog to obscure the view, the stars blazed overhead from the base, clear as could be. It was like an entire star chart replicated in the sky, the starry night unreal in its beauty.

The two leaned side by side against the rock wall, neither speaking for a long while. The small bonfire stretched their shadows endlessly. Ye Jingqiu glanced at the captain, finding Shi Zui unusually quiet.

But the captain was always quiet. Ye Jingqiu scratched her head, struggling for the right word. If she had to pick one, it was a quiet that bordered on loneliness.

So she racked her brain and tossed out a topic. “Captain, is the sky we see from the base virtual?”

“It’s real. Every heterodimensional space needs a real-world anchor point. The Candle Dragon Golden Hall, for instance, is anchored to the entire underground network beneath Beijing. As for the base… you know about Xu Fu sailing out in search of the Immortal Mountain, right?”

Ye Jingqiu nodded. Xu Fu had actually ventured out many times before. The first time, he told Qin Shihuang that he had found the Immortal Mountain, needing only a lavish gift to secure the elixir of immortality. The Emperor, filled with hope, dispatched three thousand more men to assist him. Yet even then, no ship laden with medicine ever returned.

“He truly did find the Immortal Mountain that first time,” Shi Zui said softly. “But later, someone transformed it into a Heterodimensional Space, concealing all traces of its mountains and rivers. That was why he could never locate it again. The islands of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou in the East Sea serve as the Base’s anchors in the real world, with their history stretching back to before the Common Era.”

Ye Jingqiu froze in shock. “Someone? Who could be that powerful? Was this senior’s Instinct the ability to create spaces?”

“No, it was Word Manifestation,” Shi Zui replied, gazing at her. “Throughout history, there have been four Awakeners who possessed Word Manifestation. She was the first.”