Chapter 9 Birthday

July 23, 2223.

Today is Ji Xinghuo's birthday, his 22nd. As Lu Yunhai had said, this might be the most important birthday of his life.

Because on this day, Ji Xinghuo would meet his biological parents.

If they were still alive.

In the afternoon, after Ji Xinghuo had finished his cultivation and his physical fitness and Star Power had mostly recovered, he went out as usual to practice archery at the Wutong Archery Hall on Qishan.

He had enrolled to participate in the "Shooting Leaves Cup," the competition date being in three days.

These days, following the training plan laid out by Lu Yunhai, Ji Xinghuo had been practicing shooting at moving and random targets, improving rapidly, with a significant increase in his hit rate.

When the training was over, Lu Yunhai came over and said, "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you," Ji Xinghuo replied while packing up his bow, and then asked, "Are you really not coming to the birthday banquet tonight?"

Lu Yunhai shook his head, "No, after all, it's a family gathering of yours, I won't join your family event."

"All right. I'll treat you separately tomorrow."

Ji Xinghuo did not insist, packed his things, and left the archery hall.

Back home, he freshened up and changed into new clothes, looking neat and clean, with an impressive bearing.

Yet, he did not depart immediately. Instead, he walked to the wall, opened the glass view window, and stood quietly by himself, gazing at the bustling cityscape outside, his expression complex.

As evening approached, Ji Xinghuo's shadow stretched long by the setting sun, cast upon the wall behind him.

The neon lights of the skyscrapers began to shine, and the magnetic levitation cars on the superconductive highways also turned on their lights, merging into a ceaseless and dazzling stream of luminescence.

Coming back to his senses, Ji Xinghuo glanced at the time and turned to leave the house.

Seven o'clock in the evening.

Ji Xinghuo arrived at the "Endless Building" located at the center of Chang'an City. This skyscraper's height reached 1800 meters, one of the tallest buildings in the capital, designed like a majestic palace towering into the clouds, dubbed the palace in the sky.

He took the elevator up to the 228th floor, where there was a high-end restaurant called "Gufeng." He had reserved a spot there last week.

"Welcome back to Gufeng!"

Following a svelte female waitress, Ji Xinghuo walked down the opulent corridor, passing by well-dressed guests, quite aristocratic.

He rarely visited such upscale places, but his mind wasn't on this at the moment.

He entered the private room.

One side of the room was a complete transparent glass wall that allowed an overview of a large part of Chang'an, taking in the prosperity and bustle of the capital of the Asia Commonality.

Standing here was like standing above the clouds, looking down upon the multitude of mortals below.

However, Ji Xinghuo did not linger on the view. He sat down, ordered a table full of dishes, and then waited quietly.

A moment later.

"Xinghuo." A tall young man pushed the door and came in.

He was handsome, with a sunny smile on his face, and an aura of vigor as he walked. When he got close, one could feel a warmth that was different from ordinary people, very comfortable.

"Second brother," Ji Xinghuo said, getting up to greet him.

The two hugged, with Zhong Ming patting him hard on the back before letting go and handing over a gift box, "This is your birthday present, the latest model of 'Electric Pursuers' power shoes, you can use them for your daily commute, you should like them."

"Thank you, second brother," Ji Xinghuo said, accepting it without hesitation.

Zhong Ming made a very high income, and a pair of power shoes worth tens of thousands was just a few days' salary for him.

He was the most accomplished among the five siblings, becoming a Mutant at nineteen, with "Flame Frenzy" as his Professional Template.

Last year, at twenty-two, Zhong Ming was promoted to Intermediate Mutant and, after graduating, signed a contract with a club. Now he's competing in the Class B league.

The team believed he had the potential to enter the Super League in the future and he was already quite famous.

"Hmm?"

Zhong Ming was about to sit down when his movements paused for a moment. He looked at Ji Xinghuo carefully, then couldn't help but ask, "Xinghuo, have you become a Mutant?"

Just as Ji Xinghuo was about to reply, an exclamation came from outside the door.

"Third brother, are you a Mutant now?"

A young man and woman quickly stepped in, both in their early twenties. The speaker was a pretty young girl.

She wore a tight top that revealed her midriff, a colorful pleated mini skirt below, paired with over-the-knee socks. With light makeup on her face and her hair dyed ocean blue, styled exquisitely, she radiated the vibrant aura of youthful beauty.

By contrast, the young man beside her seemed quite plain, slender, poorly groomed, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a lazy posture, deliberately keeping his distance from her.

In reality, he was keeping his distance from the floating camera by the girl's side.

"Feifei, turn off the live stream," Zhong Ming reminded.

"Second brother, I'm not streaming live, just filming my life. If I become famous in the future, this will be material for my documentary!" Liangqiu Feiyan entered with a radiant smile, operating the camera to fly around the room, and then pointed the lens at Zhong Ming and Ji Xinghuo.

Zhong Ming glanced at it and saw it was indeed just filming, and with a resigned shake of his head.

"Third brother, you don't mind, do you?" Liangqiu Feiyan then asked.

"It's fine."

Ji Xinghuo was indifferent, already used to it.

When Liangqiu Feiyan turned eighteen, she aspired to become a globally popular broadcaster. She could sing, dance, play games, perform—she was a jack of all trades but master of none. With a more than decent appearance, after three years of streaming, she now had a small broadcast with several hundred regular viewers.

Aside from sleeping and using the restroom, she was almost always live streaming.

In the country, there were tens of millions like her who live streamed their personal lives. In the streets of Chang'an, you could encounter seven or eight of them every few hundred meters.

Ji Xinghuo never wanted to be on camera.

In his "Personal Network Privacy Security" settings, he had enabled "Portrait Protection" mode.

This meant that any footage he was in—whether live stream, video, or photo—if it was publicly posted on the internet, no matter who took it, unless it was authorized by the person involved, the face would automatically be processed and replaced with a random generic face.

Of course, this is only for the protection of publicly disclosed likenesses.

If it involves legal issues or cases, government departments have the right to retrieve data and obtain real information.

Liangqiu Feiyan leaned close to Ji Xinghuo affectionately, she had always been close to her third brother, and asked excitedly, "Third brother, you haven't answered me yet! Have you become a Mutant?"

"Yes," Ji Xinghuo nodded.

"When did that happen?" Knowing it had already been nearly three weeks, Liangqiu Feiyan suddenly raised her eyebrows, huffed fiercely, "Something from the beginning of the month, and you never told me!"

Before Ji Xinghuo could explain, she pursued gleefully, "Third brother, what Professional Template did you choose?"

Zhong Ming also inquired with concern.

"Ranger."

Ji Xinghuo smiled as he responded, then turned to look at the young man who had been silent since entering and had already sat down, "Zizhen, what have you been busy with this summer vacation?"

"Isn't that a silly question, third brother..." Liangqiu Feiyan interrupted to reply, "What else could he be doing besides playing games?"

As she spoke, she began to complain, "I live with him, and I hardly see him two or three times a week. He even forgot about your birthday today, if I hadn't dragged him out, he'd probably still be lying in the gaming capsule, all moldy!"

Liangqiu Feiyan and Wang Zizhen entered the same university, so they rented the same house.

Both were a year younger than Ji Xinghuo and would not graduate until next year.

However, their personalities were completely opposite.

Liangqiu Feiyan was lively and cheerful, positive, and very likeable; the youngest, Wang Zizhen, was quite introverted and had completely let his life slide. At fifteen, he decided he would never work for the rest of his life, nor did he want to become a Mutant, and was hopelessly addicted to virtual gaming.

"I didn't forget, just that the boss in this dungeon was a bit tough, couldn't finish in time, so it took a little longer," Wang Zizhen offered a defense, taking out a gift box.

"Third brother, this is my gift to you."

"Thank you!"

Ji Xinghuo accepted the gift, and although Wang Zizhen did not say what was inside, the expression on his face showed that he had prepared it long ago, and it was full of thoughtfulness.

"Third brother, I also bought a birthday gift for you," Liangqiu Feiyan hurriedly presented her gift as well, laughing, "You've been using that phone for several years now, so I got you a new one. It's the latest popular 'MagicStar' phone, and I specially picked the black gold version, your favorite color."

Ji Xinghuo felt touched, "Thank you, Feifei, for splurging."

"A 'small capitalist' came to my livestream last week, very generous, gave me tens of thousands, just in time to buy a phone for third brother, hahaha..." Liangqiu Feiyan said with a proud face.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhong Ming looked at each other, concern flashing in both their eyes.

Zhong Ming said earnestly, "Feifei, when you're livestreaming, be careful to protect your information, and tell us right away if there's any situation."

"I know!"

Liangqiu Feiyan revealed a cunning smile, "I'm not a kid anymore, I know exactly what the rich guys in the livestream room are thinking. I'm going to be a big star in the future, I even have to avoid proper relationships, how could I mess around with others for such a small amount of money?"

Ji Xinghuo felt a bit more reassured and nodded, "It's good that you're confident."

The four sat together and chatted leisurely.

Today was Ji Xinghuo's birthday, so naturally, he was the center of attention.

Zhong Ming asked curiously, "Xinghuo, wasn't your goal always the 'Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man,' why did you choose Ranger?"

Liangqiu Feiyan and Wang Zizhen were also very curious.

"The competition for Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man is too fierce, it would take at least two more years of training to have a fifty-fifty shot, but I really couldn't wait that long," Ji Xinghuo had thought about his rationale beforehand, "And I've been practicing archery with a classmate recently, found that I have a talent for it, and it's very suitable for a Ranger."

His words were seventy percent true and thirty percent false, and the order of cause and effect was inverted.

None of the three siblings harbored any suspicions.

"That's such a pity!"

Zhong Ming couldn't help shaking his head, regretfully saying, "Your talent is higher than mine, if you had become a Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man, you would have really soared."

He had grown up with Ji Xinghuo, set goals together, and trained together; they knew each other's capabilities very well.

Ji Xinghuo's talent was definitely the highest in the family!

Among the five siblings, only Ji Xinghuo could really be called a genius.

Although Zhong Ming had the highest achievements and the strongest power at the moment, he was clear that Ji Xinghuo became a Mutant a few years later for the sake of gathering momentum for a breakthrough, and he would surely surpass him in the future. It was just unexpected that Ji Xinghuo faltered in the last two years and couldn't hold on.

The gap between a Ranger and a Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man was simply too large!

Zhong Ming felt only regret, saddened for Ji Xinghuo, but did not show it, as it was Ji Xinghuo's own choice after all.

"Yeah..."

Liangqiu Feiyan and Wang Zizhen also looked regretful.

Both had fairly average talents and willpower, couldn't handle the hardships of training, had ordinary physical fitness, and had a very low chance of passing the Star Realm Department tests to become Mutants.

The private room fell into silence for a moment.

"Why hasn't big sister arrived yet?" Ji Xinghuo changed the subject, glancing at the time, it was already half-past seven.

Among the five siblings, the eldest Ye Dongyun was the big sister.

She graduated two years ago, gave up the path of becoming a Mutant after failing to merge with an Alien Species, and joined a government department becoming a public servant. Now she was so busy every day she barely touched the ground, rarely speaking even in group chats, and when she did appear, it was just to forward some official news.

"Big sister recently joined some kind of major project. They say if she does well, she might get a promotion." Liangqiu Feiyan had always been the closest to big sister, so they had more private contact.

"Here she comes!"

Before the person arrived, the voice came first.

No sooner had the words fallen, a woman dressed in an elegant and efficient manner pushed the door and entered.

She carried a briefcase and a gift box, and the moment she walked in, her originally solemn face immediately turned into a warm smile.

"Sorry for making you all wait, my little brothers and sisters."

"Something came up this afternoon, had to go on a business trip over to Tianfu City. I rushed back as soon as it ended, so I'm half an hour late." Ye Dongyun explained with a beaming smile, presenting the gift she was holding, "Third brother, happy birthday to you!"