Evenheiler was washing his face.
He moved quickly: splash with fresh water, apply cleanser, rinse clean, pat dry, and finish with a spray of scent neutralizer. The process was completed with practiced perfection.
This was the standard routine for most modern workers. While there were specialized automated facial cleansers or dry-wash solutions that didn't even require water, Evenheiler couldn't be bothered with the former and saw no need to deprive himself with the latter.
He actually quite liked the sensation of water. When he was young, whenever he visited tourist planets with his family, the first thing he would do was find a place where swimming was permitted. Through this, he had developed excellent swimming skills from a young age. Combined with the innate physical constitution of a Hunterian human, he had been able to deep-dive into the ocean even before his gender differentiation or the awakening of his superpowers.
As he wiped away the stray droplets, Evenheiler habitually brushed his ear-length, jet-black hair back. Leaning against the sink, he looked into the mirror at the face belonging to 'Enan Valen' and those blue eyes.
The eyes were, of course, a disguise—iris patterns were a crucial step in Hunterian identity authentication. However, he hadn't changed the color much; sea-blue eyes were common among Hunterians. Furthermore, Evenheiler’s disguise style when executing missions for the Federation had always been diametrically opposed to his true appearance. Therefore, the more 'Valen' looked like Evenheiler Kang, the more it proved he *wasn't* Evenheiler Kang.
The world was full of subtle physical similarities. Even in the era of Origin Earth, humans could find look-alikes among a population of billions, let alone now.
Please—if among the hundreds of billions of Hunterians in the universe there wasn't a single person who resembled 'Evenheiler Kang,' that would be the real miracle.
Evenheiler let out a soft chuckle. He gave his hands a final wash, stretched, and hummed a tuneless melody as he left the washroom.
He knew that a few days ago, Angye’s people had gone to find Essengar... but it didn't matter. Although that fellow was only a C-rank esper, his ability fell under the most peculiar category: the 'Anomalous' type.
While a single superpower could possess characteristics of multiple classes, the 'Anomalous' class was unique. Its inclusion criteria were 'all abilities other than Elemental, Material, Augmentation, Healing, Energy, Mental, or Guardian.' In other words, any ability that could not be specifically categorized belonged to the 'Anomalous' class.
Because Omega superpowers often possessed 'active' and 'unstable' traits, at least sixty of the top one hundred famous Hunterian espers in this category were Omegas. Their lower limit could be abysmally low, but their upper limit was truly staggering. Used poorly, they could get their teammates killed; used well, they could turn the tide of a desperate battle.
However, in the Kang family, things were a bit mysterious. As an Omega, Evenheiler’s ability, 'Stardust Energy' (later renamed 'Starflow'), was firmly rooted in the Energy and Mental classes. Although it possessed traits of other classes, the weight of the first two was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, Essengar, a Beta... his ability was of the Anomalous class. Because his awakening had occurred so late, it had never been officially registered, and thus it didn't even have a name.
Its effect, however, was quite domineering: he could phase himself and any non-energy objects he carried into an intangible state. He could fly and pass through solid matter, gaining immunity to physical damage at the cost of taking increased damage from energy sources. It also came with a passive effect that neutralized most mental influences.
While the price of physical immunity was 'suffering more when hit by energy attacks,' this ability also made it nearly impossible for him to be mentally controlled or have his mind read.
This was why Evenheiler felt safe letting Essengar act as his cover.
The black-haired man flopped lazily onto the sofa in the reception room. After the initial period of business dealings with the surrounding shops, this dilapidated store rarely saw any visitors...
But come to think of it, he would likely be transferred again soon. He had been able to come to the Academy Headquarters because the Academy officials had discussed how well he had performed on the *Solaris*, deciding to let him stay here for a while. At the time, the email from 'Pacific' had been sent directly to the company inbox, leaving them no room to refuse.
Of course, he knew very well that the invitation email, which functioned like a transfer order, was no 'official Academy discussion result'... it was the Principal calling him out by name!
As for why... he knew that all too well. That 'Recorder' who had lived for centuries simply wanted him to protect the newborn 'Double S' in the complex environment of the Academy, and perhaps keep Him company for a chat...
As it turned out, in all this time, he hadn't encountered a single moment where that little brat needed protection, but he himself had been tormented quite a bit.
'Enan Valen' rested his head on his hands, lying on the sofa just as Lei Ting had done before, feeling the slight chill of the suppressants diffusing through his veins.
*Click.*
His back teeth let out a faint grinding sound.
Upon thinking of that young man, a sudden phantom scent of that cold, iron-like Alpha pheromone hit him, and his body reacted—
Ever since that time in this very room when he had been left flustered for a good while by a few words from the boy, he would occasionally suffer from this headache-inducing situation.
It was truly a troublesome problem. During the days the boy was still at the Academy, he was always hovering around. Evenheiler had brainstormed plenty of rhetoric to scare him off, only to find that making excessive jokes was the most effective method...
It was absurd. An Alpha whose pheromones could make even an Omega like him—someone who wished he could fill his veins with suppressants—unable to hold out, could actually be scared into avoiding him for days just by hearing those jokes. What a bizarre contrast between his inner and outer self.
And as for himself...
...What a mess. He couldn't help but think of that young man, who was becoming more and more eye-catching by the day, which then triggered a series of chain reactions. He had even considered whether to install a pheromone-level stabilizing implant; many work-oriented Omegas these days had those things installed.
But ultimately, after some thought, he dismissed the idea. After all, if he didn't install it, Lei Ting wouldn't just casually sense his internal body structure; his Omega identity was strictly protected by the other's high moral standards.
But if he *did* install it, the boy would definitely sense a small metal object near his cervical vertebrae. When that happened, the situation would become a disaster...
He fully believed that his act of concealing his gender to enter a restricted military-adjacent area would put the boy on high alert, because that was just the kind of person he was.
And how would he explain it? Tell him directly, "I am Evenheiler Kang, I helped you, but I'm an Omega and I needed this implant to deal with some issues"?
...That would be a pathetically unprofessional way to expose his identity! One must not mix official business with sexual matters!
Furthermore, how would he explain why he didn't have it before but had it now? Among the changing conditions of his past and present living environments, who was the target most closely related to 'sources of information that might stimulate an Omega'?
He had every reason to believe the boy would thoroughly study the changes in his body and then consider marriage to take responsibility for him. But that was impossible. He had known from the start that he had his own things to do, and his path and Lei Ting's... were likely entirely different.
Valen raised his arm, shielding his eyes.
His body temperature was currently receding, and the changes in his body were returning to normal.
But this didn't put him at ease, because the problem he was facing wasn't even a normal physiological reaction for an Omega. It was because he had used too many suppressants over the years, causing his glands and reproductive chamber to be... somewhat underdeveloped.
And now, beneath the armor of his deliberate calm, everything he had forcibly suppressed over the years began to surge upward like magma. This was because someone had dropped a piece of alloy into it; it had plummeted straight down, and even if it hadn't immediately established some more intimate, irrational relationship between them, it had awakened a heart that had been silent for decades.
And then...
...And then everything went to hell!
Valen finally couldn't take it anymore. He slammed a fist into the back of the sofa, the smooth muscles of his arm tensing as the blow landed with a heavy thud.
His physical constitution, suppressed to a state near that of an ordinary person, made his hand ache slightly. Then, a hand grasped his wrist, carefully checking to see if he was injured.
Valen was startled—even in a suppressed state, he shouldn't have failed to sense someone approaching! He violently wrenched his hand away and practically leaped up, but before he could throw a punch, he saw a familiar young face and caught a faint scent of mint candy mixed with apples.
Valen’s eyelid twitched. "..."
Lei Ting looked innocent. "?"
"..." Valen took a deep breath, composedly lying back down and closing his eyes. He let out a snort. "Yo, you're back?"
"I'm back." Lei Ting, who was already leaning over, crouched down and reached out again to hold the other's wrist. The man seemed to instinctively want to pull away but managed to suppress the urge. This made Lei Ting smile as he looked down, only letting go after confirming there was no injury.
This time, Valen didn't seem in a hurry to pull back. He flexed his fingers, looking at Lei Ting from the corner of his eye, and suddenly said, "It seems you've been through a lot."
—Judging by that brief glimpse of his height just now... was this little brat almost as tall as his current 'Valen' state?
One had to know, 'Valen' stood at 191 centimeters, only two centimeters shorter than 'Evenheiler'...
"Ah..." Lei Ting tilted his head, smiling at him from close range. "Indeed. Thank you for your concern?"
He was smiling as he spoke, but he didn't leave the side of the sofa. Valen felt a bit uncomfortable and averted his gaze, then forced himself to roll over and stand up. Lei Ting followed suit, stepping back to a safe, non-threatening distance, standing level with him.
Valen: "..."
Fine, great. He was absolutely certain now—this guy was hitting a growth spurt incredibly fast. He was already over 1.9 meters... truly worthy of someone who could supplement his own calcium anytime, anywhere.
Furthermore, the contours of the boy's face were sharper, and his short hair, which he trimmed once a year, had grown a bit longer again... only a little, but it certainly looked good.
After withstanding the difficulty of pulling his gaze away from that well-built figure, Valen silently shifted his eyes, but a scene existing only in his memory inexplicably flashed through his mind.
—The dark phantom standing alone at the stern of the ship as the *Solaris* passed through 'Chang'an.'
After that bizarre incident, he had checked countless records, suspecting it might be a projection of some past First Legion Commander, but his search had yielded nothing due to the loss of vast amounts of historical data.
Then, he had suspected some alien entities were trying to cause trouble, but no incidents related to that person had occurred afterward.
Finally, he had indirectly asked the Principal, but She hadn't discovered the person's existence either.
This was nearly impossible, because the entire *Solaris* was a mental projection of the Principal. Just how powerful Her strength was—having aggregated the mental power of tens of thousands of individuals and grown over centuries of tempering—was a question the Federation likely hadn't even settled yet...
...And so, he had briefly put that phantom out of his mind. He didn't have that much time to worry about such things.
But now...
Valen looked closely at Lei Ting, recalling the appearance of that person in his mind: a stature taller than his own, a straight and cold silhouette, a terrifyingly oppressive aura...
He fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised his hand, covering the upper half of the boy's face.
Lei Ting was somewhat bewildered, yet he gently cooperated with the action, remaining motionless to let him look.
After a moment, Valen suddenly withdrew his hand and asked, "Do you like gold?"
"...?" Lei Ting blinked. "I like chromium."
Valen: "..."
Valen: "."
He silently dismissed the thought—fine, if this guy were to choose a crown for himself, he’d probably prefer one made of chromium. It would be even better if the leaves on it were floating cannons that could detach from the circlet...
Valen gave a wry laugh. He sat back on the edge of the sofa, watching Lei Ting’s bewildered expression as he habitually poured two glasses of juice. He shook his head.
—This was a 'Double S,' the 'Solar Star' whose name had now secretly spread throughout the entire galaxy.
Of course he didn't need to love gold, for he himself was something more precious than gold. Sooner or later, he would be able to do as he pleased and overturn the celestial rivers.
If such a person truly did, at some point in the future, leave behind a time-transcending phantom like a solitary mountain at 'Chang'an,' then just what would he have experienced?
He was a kind person who knew how to respect and care for others. The current him was so young, fond of smiling, and full of vitality. Even though he had already begun to become the creator of revered legends in a nuclear explosion, he was still a far cry from that image that seemed to lack all human warmth.
Valen picked up his glass and took a sip of apple juice, but for some reason, the sweet and sour juice tasted bitter, leaving him with no appetite.
It must be the suppressants, he thought. The olfactory and gustatory systems were interconnected; using too much of that stuff really did affect one's sense of taste...
Even as he thought this to distract himself, he couldn't help but look up at Lei Ting across from him. The handsome young man had pulled out his student data pad and was looking down at a book with a calm expression. He looked like a piece of gold, or a piece of steel, or a vibrant tree currently growing sturdily; everyone knew he would one day reach the heavens.
But even today, Valen still remembered...
...That figure bathed in the radiance of 'Chang'an,' and the silver strands tucked behind his ears, like frost and snow covering a mossy stone.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 异化系 | Anomalous Class | A catch-all category for superpowers that don't fit standard classifications. |
| 虚化 | Phasing / Intangibility | Essengar's ability to become intangible. |
| 星流 | Starflow | The updated name for Evenheiler's superpower. |
| 阳星 | Solar Star | Lei Ting's title/moniker. |
| 长安 | Chang'an | A specific location or strategic gate in the setting. |
| 铬 | Chromium | A hard, shiny transition metal; Lei Ting's preferred metal. |
