Hearing what Lan Jin said, Lao Gao tried to comfort her. "Sister Lan, ability users are rare these days, but space is not some unheard-of power. So even if people learn you have a space, it is not a big deal, as long as you do not expose what should not be exposed.
At the H City base there are people with space too. Some can hold people, some cannot. And their spaces do not have so many functions. More important, I do not believe only the H City base has people with space. Other bases must have them as well. So you having a space is not a problem.
There is a difference though. Other people's ability is space. Sister Lan's space is part of her abilities. If it gets out, and people ask, you can just say it. Your lightning is already eye catching. If they know you also have space, it will draw even more eyes. Hiding it makes sense. And it is my ability, my choice. Why should I tell everyone?"
Ling Jiang added, "True. Having two abilities at once really draws eyes. Hiding one is reasonable. Think it through. Your powers are strong. Who can force you to do anything. Even a base would show some caution toward an ability that strong. I do not think you need to overthink it."
Huang Jinghe said, "Right. With disasters and trouble outside, who knows what is natural and what is man made. In times like these, the stronger your ability, Sister Lan, the more people will fear you. So even if you hide the space power, so what. No one can fault you. Of course, best not to let people know if you can avoid it. You have lots of supplies. Someone might work on you from the angle of feelings."
Lan Jin was speechless, gave him a look. "I am over thirty. My child is in kindergarten. You think I will be tricked by some sweet talk? Worry about yourself."
It did sound right. Among the four of them, the easiest mark looked like Huang Jinghe. But was Huang Jinghe really easy to fool? Besides, what Huang Jinghe said about the strong being feared landed in Lan Jin's heart like a brand.
…
The journey went on. With a heavy worry pressing on everyone, no one could relax. All the way forward, every team member looked drained.
Lan Jin and the others did not know the exact destination ahead. They did not know whether their task was still the same as when they first set out.
Judging by how many satellite calls Captain Zhang was getting these days, what came next sounded truly urgent.
No matter how urgent, time on the water could not be shortened. It felt like something nasty was in the water. As the ships moved, those things kept trying to harass them.
Whether by intent or not, the longer they sailed, the more often the attacks came. It was hard not to wonder if there was a deeper cause.
…
The sun above baked them harder by the day. On deck, whether you wore a protective suit or not hardly mattered. The heat burned the life out of you. The deck thermometer kept flashing warnings. The temperature had broken past 70 degrees and was still rising.
Under nonstop sun for 24 hours a day, the water level kept dropping. Many people got sunburned.
At last, with the heat still climbing, Captain Zhang had the long-stored insulation suits handed out, one per person.
Captain Zhang's insulation suits were high tech. Water resistant, fire resistant, and shock resistant. The cut was unique. Like a raincoat in all black, light and loose on the body, with a hood that covered from head to feet. Once on, you felt much cooler than without it.
The suits came by men's and women's versions, not by size. Luckily this group's heights were not far off, so fit was not a problem.
The instant Lao Gao heard the suits were shock resistant, he put one on and wanted Lan Jin to test it with lightning.
Captain Zhang stopped and scolded him. "Shock resistant means the tiny bite you get from a faulty outlet. Lan Jin's power is not a tiny bite. How could a suit block that."
Lan Jin asked, puzzled, "Not even the smallest I can do."
Captain Zhang asked, testing her, "How small."
"I will only know if I try." Lan Jin truly wanted to try.
Captain Zhang frowned, then agreed, but not on a person. If someone got hurt, who would take the blame. He laid a suit on the deck and wrapped a live fish inside with roughly human weight.
Lan Jin pressed a hand to the suit and used the smallest, smallest, smallest spark she could. At least she thought so. The fish still died on the spot, and the suit gave off a scorched smell.
Lan Jin swore she had not used much power. She snapped at Captain Zhang, "I did not use a big charge. This suit does not block lightning at all. Cut that line out of the brochure."
She turned and stalked off.
Truth was, she had just wrecked a high tech suit. Who knew how many resources that cost. She worried Captain Zhang would make her pay, so better to slip away.
Captain Zhang huffed a laugh. Of course he saw through her, but he said nothing as she left.
After another shift change, Lan Jin returned to the cabin. This time, she had something in mind.
For days, what Huang Jinghe said would not leave her head. She had thought it through. She decided to test something.
Test what? The glowing lotus seeds she had found in the spring the day she first discovered this lotus space.
When she picked the glowing lotus pod, the root and stem in the spring vanished without a trace. Otherwise such a striking thing in the spring would have drawn questions.
That was not the point. The point was, how could a pod grow only two lotus seeds? She had stored the remaining eight in the house inside her space, locked in the master bedroom drawer with a key.
She had always suspected this. After her last upgrade, if it was not the injection Captain Zhang gave her, then it had to be the lotus seeds. If she wanted to grow stronger, could she just eat another lotus seed and make it happen.