19: Basic permissions

As if only closing his eyes for a moment, the sharp alarm clock sound forcibly dragged Lu Jianchuan out of deep slumber.

He abruptly opened his eyes. The intense headache and soreness throughout his limbs, as if his body had been disassembled and reassembled, made him gasp. Even more terrifying was the exhaustion that seemed to originate from the depths of his Soul. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, every cell screaming for rest.

His stomach was empty. That familiar, cell-deep hunger, though not as heart-wrenching as when he had just de-transformed, still stubbornly burned his will.

Outside the window, daylight was already bright.

He struggled to sit up, looking at the sweat stains he left on the floor while unconscious and the scattered compressed food packaging beside him. The scenes from last night in the abandoned factory—the flickering electric arcs, the melting metal, and the life-draining weakness—flooded back into his mind like a tide.

He subconsciously touched his left wrist. The silver-gray armband was cold and silent against his skin, reminding him that it was not a dream.

No time to wallow. He forced himself up, rushed into the bathroom, and splashed cold water on his face. The person in the mirror was pale, with sunken eyes and bloodshot eyeballs. Only deep in his gaze, aside from a trace of unresolved sorrow, there was more of a hardened resilience forged through trials and forcibly maintained.

He quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor and carefully hid the armband under the sleeve of his police uniform. When he put on this familiar uniform, a strange sense of division arose. This clothing represented order, rules, and protection, while hidden under his sleeve was power and secrets enough to overturn all of that.

Pushing open the door, the morning sunlight and bustling sounds of people hit him. The crowd going to work, the smoke from breakfast stalls, the honking of vehicles... everything was starkly different from the darkness, silence, and life-and-death struggle he experienced last night. He walked on familiar streets like an intruder, feeling separated from this daily life by an invisible, cold pane of glass.

The atmosphere in the Police Station was more oppressive and gloomy than usual.

As soon as he stepped inside, several colleagues who were talking stopped, their complex gazes falling on him.

"Jianchuan, you're here?" a slightly hoarse voice sounded.

Lu Jianchuan looked up. It was Old Zhang from the Criminal Investigation Team. Old Zhang's face showed obvious fatigue as he walked over and patted Lu Jianchuan's shoulder heavily. "Whoa, you... why do you look so bad? Your eyes are red. Didn't sleep at all last night?"

"Yeah... a bit, didn't sleep well," Lu Jianchuan replied vaguely, taking the chance to rub his dry, swollen eyes as a cover. The intense drowsiness surged like a tide, constantly battering his consciousness. He had to use all his strength to stay awake.

"I know you're feeling bad... Brother Li, he..." Old Zhang's voice paused. "Take care, kid, but you need to watch your health too."

"I'm fine," Lu Jianchuan lowered his eyelids. He couldn't tell anyone that his exhaustion came more from the complete depletion of his body's energy.

All morning, Lu Jianchuan forced himself to focus on tedious work. But drowsiness clung to him like invisible shackles. While organizing files, his gaze would unconsciously lose focus;

when mediating neighborhood disputes, he needed several times more effort than usual to concentrate and hear both sides' complaints.

Once or twice, in the meeting room alone, he almost uncontrollably fell into brief unconsciousness, then jolted awake, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He tried to numb himself with these familiar tasks, to regain a sense of "normalcy." But he could always keenly sense the gazes on his back and the hushed discussions.

He had lost a Senior who was both mentor and friend, while also being dragged into a huge, unspeakable secret. This dual loss, intertwined with extreme physical fatigue, made him feel unprecedented loneliness and struggle.

During the lunch break, as he fought against the drowsiness threatening to drown him, staring blankly at the computer screen, a figure cautiously approached.

The newcomer was Xia Xiaowen from the internal affairs position, who graduated from the same police academy as Lu Jianchuan, one year below him. Because they interned together, she was one of the few people in the station, besides Li Ming, who was relatively familiar with him. Her personality was originally quite lively, but now her face showed just the right amount of careful concern.

"Brother Lu," she said softly, handing over a piece of chocolate. "I saw you didn't eat much this morning and don't look well. Have some sugar."

Lu Jianchuan was taken aback, took the chocolate, and said quietly, "Thank you."

Xia Xiaowen hesitated, then spoke up. "Um... Uncle Li's memorial service is set for the morning of the day after tomorrow, at Xishan Funeral Parlor. Everyone at the station has agreed to go together... You, you'll come, right?"

The words "Uncle Li's memorial service" pierced through the fragile shell he had built with willpower like a needle. Immense sorrow and surging guilt instantly broke through, tightening his nerves, numbed by drowsiness, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Would he go?

Of course he would go.

He had to go.

To see off that brother-like father figure one last time, to bear the outcome that should have been his, to bury the true secret and pain of that night deep and forever in his heart under everyone's gaze.

He pinched his palm hard, using the pain to forcibly dispel some of the drowsiness. When he looked up again, his expression had returned to calm, but the unresolved grief deep in his eyes and the undeniable bloodshot veins were all too real.

"I'll go," he heard his own voice say, calm but with a hoarseness from using all his strength.

Xia Xiaowen seemed relieved, comforted him a few more words, then turned and left.

Lu Jianchuan sat at his workstation, tightly clutching the slightly melted chocolate in his hand. Intense drowsiness struck again, but he knew he couldn't sleep, at least not now. He looked out the window at the bright sunlight but felt no warmth.

Li Ming's funeral, for him, was not just a farewell.

It was more like a trial he had to face alone, in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.

Within the consciousness space, Han Chengyu "watched" Lu Jianchuan forcing himself to stay alert but unable to hide his extreme drowsiness, seeing the bloodshot eyes and occasional moments where he almost collapsed uncontrollably. A complex emotion spread through his consciousness.

It felt strange. Lu Jianchuan was not his puppet but a living person enduring immense pain and pressure.

Watching him struggle like this, Han Chengyu seemed to empathize, feeling a wave of fatigue and... a barely noticeable guilt. After all, this heavy power was brought by him and the System.

"System," he couldn't help but speak up, his tone carrying a hint of hope. "Look how exhausted he is. We... I don't have any way to help him? Even if it's just to perk him up a bit, make him less miserable?"

【Direct intervention in the Aptitude Holder's physiological state falls under high-level authority and is currently unavailable.】 The System's reply was as calm and direct as ever, shattering Han Chengyu's unrealistic hopes.

【Any form of energy transfer or mental stimulation, before fully understanding the deep Fusion mechanism of his evo factor and armor, carries a high risk of triggering uncontrollable evolutionary deviation.】

Han Chengyu's consciousness fluctuated, somewhat disappointed. "So we can only watch like this?"

【Not exactly.】 The System's tone shifted slightly.

【According to records, after the last collaborative purification of the high-threat deviant entity, some underlying permissions have loosened slightly. After self-checking, a new auxiliary function is now available: 'Low-Level External Information Interaction.'】

"External information interaction?" Han Chengyu immediately caught the key point. "Meaning... we can contact the outside? Talk to Lu Jianchuan?"

【Precisely, you can use me to send filtered information to specific electronic device terminals near the Aptitude Holder, such as his phone, computer screen, or any accessible public display.】

The System explained, 【This can serve as an indirect communication and assistance channel.】

"Great!" Han Chengyu perked up. This was undoubtedly significant progress. "Then what are we waiting for? Send him a message, even if it's just anonymous encouragement!"

【Please note,】 the System's electronic voice carried an undeniable rule-bound tone.

【All information you conceive and intend to send externally must pass my review. The core review principles are only two: First, do not reveal our existence, including but not limited to concepts like 'System,' 'artifact spirit,' 'cross-boundary unit,' etc. Second, do not directly intervene in or obviously guide the Aptitude Holder's decisions and actions. Beyond that, you are free to conceive the content.】