Infiltrating the Superhuman Training Girls’ School of the Republic of China!

Hoang Thi Linh’s punishment was slightly adjusted from complete erasure of records to writing a one-page reflection. Zhou Lizhi, who had initially been furious about being hypnotized, began to find the fact that she had been tricked by Hoang Thi Linh impressive once she calmed down.

“Actually, I think it was an excellently brilliant idea.”

Zhou Lizhi said this during the first period class. The Vietnamese student was half-listening to the instructor’s lesson while struggling to finish her reflection assignment during class, but Major Zhou didn’t particularly take issue with her attitude in class either.

“It’s already proven that mental abilities show high efficiency when combined with other abilities. The same goes for powerful hypnosis abilities.”

Zhou said this while writing the names of some famous hypnotists on the blackboard. This time, the instructor turned to look at Celine Demetriades and snapped her fingers.

“And to be honest, compared to the completeness of Hoang Thi Linh’s hypnosis ability, Demetriades, your puppetry skills are at an incomplete level. But as an instructor in charge of teaching at this school, I rather like that aspect. In fact, among you 10 students, there are many who are so complete in their ability utilization that they no longer need training in their basic abilities.”

“Ugh… urgh…”

It seems the Greek girl herself isn’t very interested in such things. She’s just despairing over the fact that her morning truancy will no longer work.

“The idea of covering up the immaturity of such abilities with hypnosis was excellent. When did you make such a deal?”

“On, on the first day…”

Hoang Thi Linh answered.

“I, I accidentally made my roommate faint during the test… As a favor in return, on the condition of granting one wish… hehe…”

“So you sought cooperation by hypnotizing me not to notice the awkwardness of the doll. That’s a good judgment. An impressive judgment. In fact, it’s good practical experience that’s a year ahead. That’s because practical tests and assignments where students combine their abilities and apply them together are included in the second-year curriculum.”

I know the reason for this to some extent as well.

The career paths of Chinese female students who come here are mostly limited to military officers. There might be cases where they can’t endure or drop out because they have other dreams, but this is China. In China, which shares a border with the Soviet Union and constantly has maritime conflicts with Japan, the most aspired career paths for superhuman students are either the army to fight the Soviet Union or the navy to fight Japan.

Of course, there might be a minority who go into the air force if their specialty is suitable for aerial combat.

The schools in Huangpu or Beiping pretend to be strict with these superhuman students on the surface, but in reality, it’s almost impossible to expel them or make them drop out. If there are students who disrupt the atmosphere, the officers or the Kuomintang would be more anxious to eliminate unreasonable or inappropriate hierarchies. This is because ‘superhumans’ are such an important asset for China. It’s too great a loss for students to decide to drop out because they can’t endure bullying, so it’s inevitable for the party to manage them intensively.

After managing them like this for a year, a rough assessment of the students’ aptitudes is completed. Using this class as an example, Celine Demetriades, the puppeteer, would suit the army due to the nature of her ability, and Briar Churchill, who seems to be able to control not only sound waves but also the flow of air, would be untouchable as an air force pilot if she were to become one.

In the case of Chinese students, since their military service is confirmed, from the second year, they start to be divided roughly by military branch and receive different management. Then, the ability users around them become colleagues who will have to work together in the same military or unit in the future, and the school begins various studies by forming partnerships, assuming situations where these colleagues are deployed in the same operation.

In some cases, ability users from very close allied countries can participate in these ‘partnerships’. Because in the event of a full-scale conflict, the possibility of Chinese ability users and allied ability users gathering in one place is not low at all.

So, in the case of me or Hoang Thi Linh, we have value worth noting even for the Chinese government. While the chances of Chinese forces conducting joint military operations with Britain or France are very low, there’s enough plausibility with Korea and Vietnam.

“Hoang Thi Linh, in the instructor’s opinion, I think you could take relevant education from the first year.”

“Hee… heek? Wh-what does that mean?”

“The instructor has been paying the least attention to your ability among this year’s exchange students. I admit that. But judging from the excellent performance you showed with your roommate, the performance that even knocked down this instructor, I think it would be more beneficial for you to actively research combinations with other exchange students and test them in practice from the first year. What do you think?”

Hoang Thi Linh had no right of refusal. It was partly because Zhou Lizhi’s words seemed to make sense, and partly because if she could settle the disrespect she had shown to the instructor with this, it would be a cheap price to pay.

That day, just before returning to the dormitory after classes ended. Briar Churchill grumbled with a dissatisfied expression and said to me:

“Eun-young, this isn’t what we talked about.”

“What do you mean, Churchill?”

“We can’t make fun of or get back at that woman like this. Her response is too professional.”

“She is a professional. But she’s more composed than I thought. If she had gotten angry and severely punished Hoang Thi Linh, Briar, you might have been able to tease her for the next four years.”

“Ha, I don’t plan to stay in China for four years. Once I feel like I’ve seen everything I want to see, I’ll go back to London. But, it’s a shame.”

What Churchill regrets is Zhou Lizhi’s composed response. Specifically, it was her nonchalant words and actions after reducing Hoang Thi Linh’s punishment to ‘one page of reflection’.

On that day, Zhou praised Hoang Thi Linh and raised her up, presenting an educational policy to utilize her talent, completely blocking Briar Churchill’s opportunity to sarcastically comment on Zhou Lizhi’s mistake. If Churchill were to criticize the Weapon Master’s lack of ability in front of Zhou Lizhi showing such a reasonable response, it would only make the lady look foolish.

She should have teased the instructor for being bested by a student, calling it a lack of qualifications, but instead, she proved through this that she truly has the qualifications as a ‘teaching position’, so what could Churchill say?

“What on earth did you do, Shin Eun-young?”

Briar asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

“What do you mean, what did I do?”

“Was it really just that one time? I mean… did that stiff woman melt in front of you just because you physically subdued her once? I can’t believe it. How do you seduce people…”

“Let’s go back now.”

At that moment, Zhou Lizhi burst into the classroom and cut off Churchill’s words in a cold voice. Churchill and I simultaneously flinched and looked at the Chinese instructor who had just entered the room.

“I’d like to advise you that it’s not good to have such intimate conversations inside the school building. This is sincere advice. It’s advice given without pretense, from the position of someone who has to take care of you for at least a year.”

“Why is that, Major?”

“Because, Churchill. This building is the most heavily monitored place in all of China. Haven’t you ever wondered what China’s intelligence agencies are watching during their spare time?”

With each step Zhou took, the scabbard attached to her waist made a clanking sound. Despite having personally freed this woman from hypnosis, Briar Churchill couldn’t assert herself when face to face with Zhou Lizhi.

The British lady just gritted her teeth, unable to give any answer, and moved steadily towards the classroom door.

“Let’s go, Shin Eun-young. It seems the instructor wants to drive us out of the school.”

“Let me ask one thing, Major.”

I turned to Zhou Lizhi and said as I was about to follow Briar Churchill out of the school. The major shrugged and nodded.

“Go ahead and ask.”

“In this case, that is, in the case of our exchange student class, does the eye of the Investigation and Statistics Bureau that you say is watching us mean you, Major?”

“Don’t you know the nature of the Party?”

Zhou’s answer was unexpected. I thought she would either firmly deny my words or meaningfully affirm them.

But Zhou Lizhi seemed to have decided to give me a more candid answer than I had thought.

“The Party never trusts an individual under any circumstances. China is the Party’s country, and I’m just one of its members.”

“Major Zhou Lizhi…”

“What role I play in the Party, that’s for you to imagine freely. But if you think that my two eyes are the only ones China is using to watch us, you’ll end up missing something somewhere. Among the Generalissimo’s limbs, there are eyes watching me too, and among them are things I don’t know about.”

“Why… why are you telling us such things?”

I couldn’t understand.

Even if her words were true, even if they were sincere.

It’s not something to say to a foreigner, especially a foreign student she hasn’t known for long.

It wasn’t something an officer of the Investigation and Statistics Bureau who had sworn loyalty to the Kuomintang should say.

Zhou Lizhi came close to me and whispered:

“Since I saw you, no, precisely since I was bested by you, I haven’t been normal either.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s all because of you. You just say that you were able to beat me because you were angry at my desire, but that’s not it. That’s not the truth. I’m not the kind of person who would be beaten by an ordinary college student like you for such a reason. I’m not the kind of person who would lose myself and become so dull as to be fooled even by another exchange student because of that.”

“Are you saying that even being tricked by Hoang Thi Linh was because of me?”

“If not that, then what else?”

…There’s a possibility. Maybe, it really happened that way.

“If you’re hiding anything more, don’t let your guard down. Do you think I’ve completely given up and am feeling at ease? Yeah, maybe so.”

Zhou Lizhi unexpectedly readily admitted that she was being pushed back by me. Even if it was in a small, whispering voice.

“But the eyes of the Party watching you aren’t just mine. Even if I don’t probe you any further, be constantly careful. I don’t want to see you caught by another Party member’s hands and have your head cut off.”

“Don’t worry, Major.”

I whispered back at the same low level as her.

“I’m not particularly hiding anything from China, nor do I have any secrets that would get me immediately dragged away if discovered by the Kuomintang.”

Of course, that’s a lie.