Gwen slept restlessly in her humble new room, tossing and turning, enraged by the rough cotton sheets and sluggish air. When morning came, she had bruised bags under each of her bloodshot eyes, vowing to elevate her lodgings with a thin-threaded linen duvet and cool engravings. She is now a rich woman after all, and there is no need to deny the simple pleasures of her life.

As she dozed off on the thick linen again, there was a knock at the door.

"Gwen?"

It was her grandmother.

"Wait a minute, Pabria!"

A few minutes later, Gwen appeared after a quick wipe, wearing a flowery white off-the-shoulder dress that reached to her ankles. A simple belt thinned the fabric at Gwen's waist, allowing the folds of the pleats to cling to her hips. Her long hair formed a tight ponytail.

"Good morning, dear," Papuya's voice was soft and comforting. "Come on, there's a lot to do today. We're going to go to the PLA building to check and register you. But first, it's the most important meal of the day. ”

When they arrived at the banquet hall, there were a dozen people present - Grandpa, Babria, herself, Aunt Nen and a large group of staff in military uniforms, who were busy eating fried dough sticks and gurgling rice porridge.

"Good morning, Grandpa. Good morning everyone. ”

Guo lowered his head and continued to eat.

It's another culture shock. People here talk while eating, eat while chatting, stuff their mouths with rice and drink soup, and gobble and chew at every opportunity.

Gwen found a place to sit down and took some porridge and gold dough from the common basket. The side dish is a strange egg cut in half.

When Gwen curiously poked at the strangely greasy yellow pit, Pabria noted, "Mandarin duck eggs marinated in salt water." ”。 "Very rich in mana and nutrients. Be sure to give it a try. ”

What choice did she have?Gwen picked up the yolk and put it in her mouth. It's salty, fishy, half-raw, strong-flavored eggs that fall off a bit. She quickly drank some porridge, washed the taste off her mouth, and politely let out a few appreciative sobs so that she could adjust to the raucous crowd.

The porridge was both warm and nourishing, filling her stomach with a breath of heat that spread to the rest of her body.

"How are you feeling?" asked Babria, her shriveled eyes blinking expectantly.

"I think... Full of mana?" Gwen was amazed at the unexpected satisfaction of her astral body. What kind of porridge is this?"

"It's called eight-treasure porridge," Pabulia said with a laugh. "Frontier cuisine, especially Western food, does not have readily available channels to produce produce from the harvest in the wasteland. As someone who isn't used to the food here, you'll quickly absorb the extra mana boost that rare ingredients provide, although it will take a few years of delicacies to catch up with Mina and Tao. ”

However, she didn't expect that there were fewer people here than she thought. Is there a numerical ability to measure such a thing? She felt no reason to restrain her curiosity.

"Pabloa, how do I know what my mana capacity is?"

"You'll soon find out, dear. Kravdia toppled the other bowl and ate it. ”

Gwen knocked the other bowl down with all his might.

She was glad she had chosen a dress that would cover her figure, and she was sure that after eating two ramen bowls, her abdomen could be described as "swollen" with food.

After breakfast, Kraftia led Gwen out the door, where a black sedan with military license plates was waiting for them.

"The Second Hospital of the People's Liberation Army," Klavdia told the driver. Gwen's grandmother wore a cotton coat that casually covered her upper body, while underneath she wore a pair of comfortable pleated trousers that resembled a gloomy dress. All this is very restrained and decent, albeit in a way of showing politeness and status.

The driver stood by the open door and saluted in a dashing manner.

The interior of the car is spacious. Gwen noticed that when the door closed, it cut off almost all sound outside.

"Can you tell me where we're going?" Gwen asked.

"PLA Hospital," Kravdia repeated, and the car took off gently. "Your Pabria happens to be one of the seven directors of the hospital. ”

Gwen's lips furrowed, forming a small "O".

"Nothing to boast about, my dear. We don't have many people left the former PLA in the 1950s now, dozens of families, that's all. Of course, if any of us want such a position, we will end up with one, of course, provided that we are in the right field. ”

"Pabria, can you tell me more about you and your grandfather?" asked Gwen carefully. "You don't have to do it if it bothers you too much. ”

"Oh, but I'd love to tell you," Claudia replied kindly. "What do you want to know?"

"Okay. Gwen tried to express it in a subtle way. "What the hell is Grandpa's position?"

"It's okay, my dear, he's not a Grey Ghost, if you doubt it. Claudia smiled quietly to herself. "He has a lot of titles, how much do you know about the PLA?"

"Nothing," Gwen admitted. She does not have a bachelor's degree in political science or Asian studies.

"Then I'll keep it simple. Bableia patted her hand comfortingly. "Your grandfather was an appointed secretary of the Department of Defense, which means he was a big man in the intelligence community, about the number three in the ranks. He is also the undersecretary of the US Department of Internal Security and Counter-Reconnaissance, which means that he must sign, albeit not to plan or carry out tasks involving counterintelligence. Finally, his actual job was to serve as chairman of the Confidential Communications Committee, one of the 24 advisers to the committee of the secretariat, the CCP's highest governing body. ”

Gwen nodded, shook her head, and nodded again. Kravdia may be able to speak Russian.

Aware of Gwen's confusion, her Pabria tries to come up with an appropriate metaphor.

"In the Commonwealth, under British political rule, he will be the fifth person under Sir John Scarlett. ”

This gives Gwen some perspective, although the "influence" of such a position is difficult to locate.

Guo has the lowest position in his internal intelligence agency. She wishes Gwen could do a better job of learning spells. That girl isn't going to be slow, is she? What a tragedy if she is! What a waste of her talent!

"Ah, I see!" Gwen nodded categorically. "That sounds a bit presumptuous, but we have any enemies that I need me to say, be careful? A few young men don't seem to be very friendly to Tao and Mina. If I had to say, get them out, I would like to know who I need ... Not a fight. ”

Kravdia muttered to herself, suppressing her laughter. Her granddaughter is really a bloodthirsty little mink.

"You don't have to worry, my dear, Guo is not a faction. There are a few golden rules to remember. ”

"Yes, Pabloa?"

"That's how you should think about a duel. Don't kill. No cripples. No permanent damage. Definitely a mage. I guess this also applies to pen names. We are not political rule after all. ”

"That means," Gwen thought of with a vexing assumption.

"Yes, there is no emptiness, at least until you can control it with complete confidence. If you inflict fatal injuries on a void person, their family will knock on our door and demand that you be court-martialed. ”

"But I can use it, assuming I'm safe to use it?"

"I would refrain from using it in an unofficial capacity, dear. Kravdia's eyes sparkled in the dimly lit interior of the well-shielded sedan. "Are you so eager to show the world what you're capable of?"

"I don't know," Gwen admitted.

"It's okay, dear. Use it when necessary. There aren't many people like you, and no one has access to both the yin and yang elements at the same time, but you don't have to worry about yourself. After all, this tower exists to protect gifted mages like you. ”

"How so?"

"Rely on what you have, my dear. Kravdia giggled. "Unless you want to become a rogue mage, you will automatically become a tower mage, although it is up to you to choose the PLA or Pudong Tower, your grandfather will definitely want you to join the PLA, but it means investing resources and support, he will not do that. ”

"Why?" asked Gwen calmly. What's wrong with investing in yourself?

"Why?" Kraftia pointed to her legs, causing Gwen to blush terribly. "You lack the Yatesa inheritance!

Gwen's Bableia giggled happily, enjoying the moment when Gwen's face turned pale. She turned to the window, turning her attention to the identical apartments that she had passed outside.

Women can't inherit, they can't pass on surnames, what nonsense! Gwen was filled with anger. She understands the logic, but is disgusted by the misogyny. So much for the 21st century.

"Why bother darling. Kravdia clasped her hand. "You're Henry Kilroy's apprentice, aren't you? Sister in Morningstar's Crafts! Why would you want an anthem to limit your horizons? If it's a matter of resources, can't you make three thousand hard drives in one night? Can't you make some more money?"

Gwen smiled.

"You're right," Gwen replied after a moment of deep thought. Her Pabula is right, she is pedantic and greedy. "Thank you for thinking so, Papua. ”

When the exterior of the car is darkened, the lights inside the car suddenly turn on. They are now entering a superstructure that spans a figure-five highway and underpasses. Some of the lumens balls gradually brightened until their faces were not visible.

Outside, Gwen can be seen traversing a network of tunnels made up of deformed stones.

A green sign for staff to indicate access to the underground. The sedan slowed down and pulled into a circular parking lot, guarded by guards in olive uniforms with combat sticks strapped to their thighs.

The granddaughter and grandmother got out of the car, where Kraftia received another round of salutes before being escorted to the elevator.

The levitating platform pierced several layers before it burst out of the surface, allowing Gwen to finally absorb the entire structure they were entering.

The Second Experimental Hospital of the People's Liberation Army is a superstructure overlooking five paths that meet inside the hospital. It includes a military hospital, a civilian hospital, a sanatorium for veterans, a sanatorium and, most importantly, the PLA Medical Research and Development Department.

Behind the superstructure are a large number of pseudonymous apartments and their underground commercial areas, obscuring the horizon like a splendid stake of tomatoes. Underneath them, many cars and grinders looked like termites gathered on a perforated stump as the platform flew towards the fiftieth floor.

When Claudia takes Gwen into a scary lab, she immediately becomes nervous.

It is completely white and sterile in every way. White walls, shapeless opaque lights embedded in a featureless white ceiling. White, polyurethane-like surfaces make up the white tables and benches, and underneath are a large number of chairs and tables, trolleys and trolleys made of stainless steel. The machine is also a combination of ceramic white with brushed galvanized steel.

"For your privacy, I occupied the lab for a few hours," Pabria assured her. "You've got to put on a hospital robe, there's one in the cupboard there. It's just you and me, take care of yourself. ”

"Can I keep my heart?" Gwen asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"No," Klavdia shook her head, wondering if all Westerners were so shy about their bodies. "The device is designed to work without interference. Although you can wear your ring. They shouldn't be a problem. For future reference, you must remove items that have body-augmenting, regeneration, or protective abilities. ”

Gwen changed behind the screen, and after a while it was a little colder again. The king-size gown was still too stingy for her tall frame, but the thirty-size gown was too loose for her shoulders, leaving most of her sides exposed.

"Good. Kravdia pointed to a platform and told Gwen to stand between two magnetic claws, one pointing at her head and the other at her abdomen. "Relax. ”

There is a flash. Gwen felt a penetrating mana penetrate her body.

On a free-standing platform about waist height, a three-dimensional hallucinations of Gwen appear. It is living, albeit transparent. Upon closer inspection, Gwen realized that it was a projection of her astral form, covering her flesh.

"It's an acoustic image projection. Klavdia tapped a few hieroglyphs that only she could see, and her expression was the face of a professional. "Now we can get to work. ”

Gwen joins her Pabuya, her spells mystical spells beyond Gwen's knowledge, watching Klavdia's fingers dance on runes and inscriptions, both visible and ethereal, some of which she recognizes from her grandfather's workshop.

"So, let me explain. Kravdia led Gwen to another platform, where she turned into a backlight of a dazzling bright plexiglas panel, humming with positive energy. "Do you know how magic healing works?"

"No," Gwen thinks she's been saying a lot these days, okay, I know the theory, but I feel like Borderlands misses a lot of details. ”

Cravdia winced, feeling sorry for her granddaughter. Poor kid of the frontier who was accidentally healed without knowing how his body was hurt.

"Oh, poor kitten! Kraftia gave Gwen a motherly hug, her small stature and Gwen's hospital gown making the encounter even more intimate.

She was spoiled by the matriarch, which was strangely unsettling. Kravdia wasn't her mother, but she had a far better impact than any hug Helena had ever given Gwen in her life.

"Magical healing is not a substitute for natural healing," says Kravdia, who when they parted, harshly pulling her with one arm without at least the highest knowledge of the human body and its anatomy, not even the structure of cells. ”

With a flick of her wrist, she magnified the illusory Gwen's body, some red threads passing through her imaginary body like cracks in a spider's web.

"Look at these," Kravdia noted. "It's a fault line where the old and the new flesh merge. ”

Gwen nodded.

"They're what we call positive scars, which means that the imperfect regeneration of your flesh has become cancerous. ”

"Cancer!" Gwen blurted out. "No!"

"You're badly hurt. Cravdia snapped. "In the fight against the resurfacer, you must have lost a fair portion of your skin, as well as a fair portion of your lower body muscles. ”

"I ...... I have cancer?" Gwen tried to focus on the news. She's been through so much, and now she's got cancer?

"Why? What's wrong?" Kravdia looked at her granddaughter strangely. "That's what you overheard. ”

"Is there a cure?" Gwen's eyes blurred with desperation.

“...... Kravdia looked at her panicked granddaughter without saying a word. "Lie down, it's going to be itchy. ”

Gwen lay on a white linen examination table. The terrible news left her mind blank. Cancer! She got cancer! Was it early? Will she

With a few taps of the hieroglyphs, Kravdia locked onto the body part of Gwen's projection.

"A real recovery!"

A gentle warmth permeated Gwen's body, making her skin translucent, and carefully controlled positive energy seemed to permeate every pore.

"Alright, it's done. ”

"What's wrong?" asked Gwen.

"Cancer. Kravdia slapped Gwen in the face. What a pair of legs that girl has. Anywhere a woman's jealousy. It's not so much their length as the sense of proportion they affect.

"Oh?" Gwen suddenly felt stupid.

"It's a lesson to learn," her Pabria continued. "Avoid over-healing in the wild. With each healing spell you receive, your body's resistance to that spell increases, and so does the chance of malignancy. If you expose yourself to too many low-level healing spells, your body may be irreversibly damaged, and even tier 7 spells will not be able to recover. There's a reason why Borderlands Battle Mages have unusually short lifespans, but I guess that is to blame for the scarcity of high-level healers in those parts of the world. ”

Gwen tilted her head.