"Without a doubt, I am a Namekian," Su Jin replied, his voice perfectly calm.

"Cousin, are you wearing... human skin?" Fu Qingdai asked, her voice trembling.

"This is just what we Namekians look like!"

Hearing Su Jin's firm reply, Fu Qingdai felt a little relieved, but her mind was still flooded with countless questions.

After a moment's thought, she finally voiced her biggest doubt.

"Cousin... what exactly was going on in my dream?"

"It's a bit complicated, so I'll give you the short version," Su Jin said, gathering his thoughts. "There are many civilizations in the universe, and we're just one of them. Our superiors observed that your world has been targeted by a band of cosmic marauders—the Trisolarans. These guys are evil to the core. They like to slaughter all life on a planet, turn it into fertilizer, and then plunder its resources."

"Right now, those maniacal Trisolarans have spread a virus in your atmosphere. Once most of your people are dead, they'll come back in a few decades to reap their harvest."

Fu Qingdai's face instantly turned deathly pale. "Then why choose me? You should have told the people in charge! Me... why would something like this happen to me first..."

The more she spoke, the more frantic she became, and tears streamed down her face.

This was terrifying! She was just a normal, pretty girl. Why would a burden this massive fall on her?

Seeing her start to sob again, Su Jin looked troubled, his own heart aching in sympathy.

*Fing hell, as if I don't want to know why a normal, handsome guy like me—fit, responsible, and highly competent—got saddled with this crap!*

"Don't cry, Qingdai." Su Jin suppressed his own frustration and tried to comfort her. "Actually, the 'company' chose you for a reason. Your body is special—you have antibodies against the virus. As long as you're alive, we can develop a cure."

"Then hurry up and start your research! I'll cooperate with whatever you need!" Fu Qingdai cried, holding out her arm. "Or... shouldn't we call the police first, Cousin? You can contact them with your alien ship. They'll definitely believe you!"

"That's not an option right now. I ran into the Trisolarans on my way here. My ship was shot down and crashed, and I have no idea where. My whole team is dead; I'm the only one left. The disaster is a certainty now. We'll have to take things one step at a time. Your most important mission is to stay alive. Don't die. If you die, everyone is finished."

His words crashed down on her like a mountain.

The color drained from Fu Qingdai's face, and her expression went blank.

Seeing her reaction, Su Jin said, "You need to pull yourself together. A lot of this hasn't happened yet. We can still make preparations. The situation might not be as bad as you think."

Perhaps due to some long-honed resilience, Fu Qingdai quickly came to her senses. In a hoarse, halting voice, she asked, "Cousin... I still don't understand. Why did you come to save us...?"

"It's simple. Where there are bad guys, there are good guys. To prevent the destruction of worlds, to maintain peace in the universe, and to uphold the justice of love and truth, we travel the cosmos protecting other civilizations."

"Besides, the Trisolarans have attacked Namek several times. For that reason alone, we can't just stand by and do nothing. We Namekians love peace, but anyone who dares to attack Namek will be hunted down and destroyed, no matter how far they run!" Su Jin said with a tough bravado, though inside he felt increasingly miserable.

*He was so nervous he could piss his pants, yet here he was, cracking jokes to help someone else relieve their stress.*

Then again, this girl really had it rough. The pressure she was under was no less than his own.

"That doesn't sound very peace-loving..."

"We Namekians hate contrarians!"

"I won't ask anymore, Cousin. I'm sorry..." Fu Qingdai said, wiping away her tears, feeling wronged.

Just as Su Jin was about to say more, a rather cold voice spoke from behind him.

"Hey, you... the Namekian. Come with me for a moment."

Fu Qingdai stopped crying. Su Jin turned around.

A stern-faced nurse of about twenty-three or twenty-four, her expression unfriendly, was standing behind him.

Su Jin shot Fu Qingdai a meaningful look before turning to face the nurse.

The nurse said coolly, "Come with me."

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With that, she turned and walked toward an open balcony. Watching her go, Su Jin steadied his nerves.

*Perfect... I can negotiate with this nurse. I'll treat it as practice for blending in with this society.*

The nurse stopped and fixed her gaze on Su Jin. "Are you a relative of Fu Qingdai's?"

"I'm her cousin," Su Jin said calmly.

"Her mother was here to see her this morning. Did you sign in at the registry?"

"Of course. Is there a problem?"

"That's not the issue. The issue is that the girl is suffering from severe delusions, and you're here spouting nonsense along with her. That is extremely detrimental to your cousin's condition!" the nurse said sternly. "You're welcome to visit her, but I hope you won't interfere with our treatment."

"Nurse, I think there's been a misunderstanding. May I have your name?"

"Ding Jia. What misunderstanding?"

"I used to look after Qingdai when we were kids. We're very close. I often played role-playing games with her back then, and I was just helping her relive some of those old times." Su Jin paused. "I just got back from abroad. I was planning to surprise her at school, but then I heard from one of her classmates that she was in the hospital."

"Her thinking seems clear enough, apart from being a bit emotional. It doesn't look like there's any major issue. How is she really doing? Is she adjusting well to life here?"

*Just back from abroad? That's unusual.*

Ding Jia looked Su Jin up and down before saying, "Her condition isn't good. She has frequent delusions, telling everyone that the end of the world is coming and that they need to prepare in advance."

"Although... I do find her behavior a bit strange."

"Strange how?"

Ding Jia sighed. "She doesn't act like a typical patient. To be honest, I think she seems perfectly normal most of the time, but the things she says are just so absurd. It's as if she's really seen the end of the world."

Su Jin touched his forehead and gave a wry smile. "I heard from her classmates that her grades have been slipping badly. Maybe all this mother-flipping pressure is just too much, and it's got her snapping. Saying all this might just be her way of coping. But Miss Ding, I have a favor to ask, though I'm not sure if you can grant it."

"What is it?" Ding Jia asked, looking at him with confusion.

"I don't want her to stay here. Qingdai doesn't want to, either. You know what this environment is like; it'll only add to her stress and get in the way of her studies. My uncle absolutely dotes on his daughter, so I'm sure he doesn't want her here either. The main obstacle is my aunt... I was hoping you could help me. Next time her mother visits, maybe you could put in a good word and help convince her to take Qingdai home."

"Absolutely not!" Ding Jia said sternly. "We have rules and regulations. We won't interfere if her parents insist on taking her home, but otherwise, it's out of the question."

"I understand, of course. That's why it's just a request. How about this, let's exchange phone numbers."

As he spoke, Su Jin nonchalantly pulled out his distinguished Xiaomi 6, its 1080p ultra-HD screen lighting up.

---

Proofreader: Peter Pan