Gao Wu: A centenarian old man, many children and good fortune! Chapter 008

The group boarded the communal hovercar bound for the Social Security Bureau, and the atmosphere inside the cabin was markedly different.

The shock in the old fellows’ eyes hadn’t completely faded, replaced by a mix of emotion and curiosity.

“I say, Old Xiao, you sly dog! You kept that quiet!” Old Zhang, no longer as dejected as before, half-jokingly, half-seriously, punched Xiao Yan. “And here we thought you were like us, getting worse by the day! Turns out you were secretly brewing a big move while practicing Tai Chi every day?”

“Exactly!” Old Li echoed, a complex smile on his face. “I wondered why you were so diligent every day, come rain or shine. So it wasn’t for exercise, but for secret cultivation! You kept us in the dark!”

Xiao Yan merely smiled, offering no further explanation.

“Sigh…” Old Wang looked at Xiao Yan’s youthful face, then at the back of his own wrinkled hand, sighing deeply. His voice was filled with desolation. “Among us, Old Xiao, you’re the only one who seized this last opportunity. To think, back in the day, which of us wasn’t a man who could easily lift eight or nine thousand kilograms? And now…”

He glanced around at the other old fellows in the cabin, his voice dropping. “Old Zhang, you still had seven thousand three last year, but this year it’s probably touch and go. Old Li, you just barely passed seven thousand last year, and me, I dropped to six thousand eight last year… We old bones are completely out of luck.”

Silence once again fell over the cabin, broken only by the faint hum of the hovercar’s steady operation.

Yes, there was no hope.

They all knew that once they missed the optimal age for breakthrough, and their qi and blood began to decline significantly, trying to defy fate and step into the extraordinary realm would be harder than ascending to heaven.

Xiao Yan’s situation, looking back through the entire history of the Alliance, was a rare occurrence, something one could only hope for.

They looked at Xiao Yan as if he were a living miracle, a miracle they could never replicate.

Envy was real, but more than that, it was a sense of resignation and acceptance of their own fate.

Xiao Yan sensed the complex emotions of his old comrades and felt a surge of emotion himself.

If not for the System, his current situation would likely be even more dismal than theirs.

Soon, the hovercar slowly pulled to a stop in front of the Social Security Bureau building.

Xiao Yan, Old Zhang, and the others disembarked one by one, looking at the familiar yet imposing building, and the heavily armed, solemn guards at the entrance. Their hearts held various feelings as they noticed the heightened security, clearly more stringent than in previous years.

Not only had the number of city guards stationed at the entrance increased, but temporary checkpoints had also been set up at several major intersections nearby, inspecting passing pedestrians and vehicles.

They happened to see a squad of soldiers stopping a somewhat dilapidated hover-truck, asking the driver to get out for questioning, and scanning the cargo compartment with a detector.

“Whoa, the security today is really tight,” Old Zhang mumbled.

“Maybe it’s related to those incidents from a while ago? Or to guard against the ‘Blood Ghost Cult’?” Old Li speculated.

Although they felt something was off, they didn’t dwell on it too much. After all, this was the core area of the government office, so increased vigilance was normal. With the New Year approaching, the security situation was grim, so it was just routine.

…

As soon as the group stepped into the spacious lobby on the first floor of the Social Security Bureau, several young men and women, dressed in uniform and wearing intern badges on their chests, immediately approached them.

These young people were mostly students from nearby martial arts universities who were interning here. Young and full of vigorous qi and blood, their eyes held a mix of curiosity and polite respect as they looked at these old soldiers who had come for their annual assessment. This was a long-standing practice of the Social Security Bureau’s Warrior Management Department: arranging for young martial artists to participate in reception, both as practical experience and to let them experience the different stages of a warrior’s life early on.

“Seniors, please register here, then follow the signs to your respective testing areas,” a seemingly sharp male intern stepped forward to guide them.

Old Zhang, however, didn’t move. Instead, he pulled the male intern aside, pointed at the calm and composed Xiao Yan, and declared in a booming voice, “Young man, don’t bother with us old farts just yet! This here, Xiao Yan, Lord Xiao! He’s not here to test our ordinary warrior rank; he’s here to test for the Extraordinary!”

“What? Extraordinary?!”

The male intern froze, instinctively following Old Zhang’s pointing finger.

He saw a man with thick black hair and a face that looked at most forty or fifty years old, radiating a composed demeanor, standing among a group of white-haired, senescent old men.

This… this scene was clearly out of place!

But upon closer inspection, the man’s eyes were deep, subtly revealing a powerful aura that was far beyond what an ordinary middle-aged man possessed.

Combined with the “Lord Xiao” and “testing for the Extraordinary” from the old man’s mouth…

Though young, the intern’s mind worked quickly, and he instantly understood!

This senior had broken through to the Extraordinary realm?!

The expression on his face immediately shifted from politeness to shock and immense respect. He quickly bowed. “S-junior apologizes! Lord Xiao! Please wait a moment, I-I’ll contact our supervisor immediately!”

With that, he frantically pulled out his personal terminal, quickly dialed a number, and whispered a few words of report.

The other interns and some of the old soldiers in line were also drawn by the commotion, casting curious and surprised glances their way.

An Extraordinary being, no matter where, was an attention-grabbing presence, let alone an Extraordinary being who had just broken through and had their youth restored!

Not long after, the crisp, rhythmic click of high heels approached from a distance.

A young woman, dressed in a black professional skirt suit that outlined her mature and graceful curves, walked quickly over. She appeared to be in her early thirties, with a beautiful face and a capable demeanor, wearing a “Supervisor” badge on her chest.

She first scanned Old Zhang and the others, her gaze lingering on Xiao Yan for a moment, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, but it was quickly masked by a professional smile.

“Hello, may I ask if you are Xiao Yan, Lord Xiao?” The young woman’s voice was gentle and professional.

The intern quickly stepped forward to introduce, “Supervisor Cheng, this is Lord Xiao Yan. He needs to undergo Extraordinary qualification certification.”

“Alright, thank you for your trouble.” The young woman nodded to the intern, then turned to Xiao Yan, lowering her posture and offering a more sincere and respectful smile. “Hello, Lord Xiao, I am Cheng Li, the supervisor of the Warrior Management Department. You can just call me Little Cheng. Extraordinary qualification certification has a dedicated channel and testing area. Please follow me.”

Xiao Yan calmly nodded. “Thank you for your trouble.”

“It’s my pleasure, Lord Xiao, please follow me.” Cheng Li gestured for him to proceed, then led the way, her high heels clicking “tap-tap-tap” on the floor. Her mature back, wrapped in the form-fitting uniform, swayed gently with her steps, possessing a unique charm.

Old Zhang, Old Li, and the others watched as Xiao Yan followed the graceful Supervisor Cheng, heading towards the distinctly more advanced and less crowded exclusive channel on the other side of the lobby.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” Old Zhang looked at Supervisor Cheng’s swaying back, unable to resist smacking his lips, his eyes filled with undisguised envy. “See that? That’s the treatment of an Extraordinary! A beautiful supervisor personally receiving him, an exclusive channel! Compared to us waiting in line to test our basic strength, it’s like heaven and earth!”

“Who’s to argue with that?” Old Li said sourly. “Old Xiao really… rose to the top in one go. From now on, he’ll probably be surrounded by beauties of this caliber.”

The other old fellows also wore expressions of envy and jealousy, but more than that, it was a feeling of resignation.

This was reality.

Extraordinary and ordinary, a single word difference, yet it was a world apart.