Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 31

In ancient times, there was a historical term called “Biebu Sima (Assistant Division Commander).”

Back in the late Eastern Han dynasty, when chaos reigned and the imperial court could not provide support, people everywhere organized militias in their hometowns.

After suppressing rebels, they would join the official army as “Biebu Sima,” seeking a way to advance their careers.

Famous heroes like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Lü Meng, and Huang Gai all started as “Biebu Sima.”

The logic was simple: if the imperial court couldn’t deal with the rebels, then those with their own troops would step in.

If we reverse this thinking, the appearance of the “Biebu Sima” position in the current Jin dynasty might suggest that the Jin dynasty is facing the same dire straits as the Han dynasty once did.

The Jin dynasty indeed lacks soldiers, and many refugees have turned into official troops, but the “Biebu Sima” position has never been officially opened.

Even Su Zigao, who rebelled this time, initially gathered refugees north of the Yangtze River. The late emperor saw his potential and first appointed him as an Eagle-Yang General.

The emergence of Cheng Jinyang as a “Biebu Sima” might indicate the beginning of an “Era of Mass Recruitment.”

[T/N: Cheng Jinyang’s position is Biebu Sima which means Assistant Division Commander and people address him as Lord Sima which can be translated in English as Grand Marshal.]

From now on, anyone who can gather troops might be able to petition the court for an official position.

Old soldiers who officially draw military pay aren’t all dead yet!

Therefore, whether they were leaders of the Yulin Army or officers of the Shenwu Army, they all looked at Cheng Jinyang with hostility.

This hostility stemmed from the natural enmity between academy-trained officers and those with grassroots origins, a clash of ideologies that couldn’t be easily resolved.

Of course, apart from his grassroots background, Cheng Jinyang was also the head of the Shendu Cheng family, a noble family, making it difficult to insult him lightly.

Furthermore, the two chief officers treated him well, so everyone could only swallow their resentment and wait for an opportunity to undermine him.

The subtle change in the atmosphere did not escape the notice of the two chief officers.

However, “discord among subordinates” isn’t necessarily a bad thing for superiors. Hence, they pretended not to notice and even entrusted Cheng Jinyang with the main battlefield near the destroyed Ningwu Avenue, hoping to stimulate the competitive spirit of other officers.

After receiving his orders and leaving, Cheng Jinyang found his staff outside and explained the mission.

“A defensive battle?” Li Qingwan pondered.

“Anyway, this matter is up to you. Wanrou and I will cheer you on from behind,” Cui Xiaoniang said with a radiant smile.

Cheng Jinyang was speechless.

Even if you two aren’t in the combat sequence due to your special abilities, you should at least think about contributing to the team in other ways, right?

Are you really treating this like a tour?

“Who said I was just here to cheer?” Wang Wanrou retorted.

“Aren’t we?” Cui Xiaoniang blinked.

“Of course not.” Wang Wanrou took out a helmet-like device from the backpack carried by Zheng Qiupei.

Everyone: ?

Is that a psychic amplifier?!

“This is a psychic amplifier confiscated from Wang Chuzhong,” Wang Wanrou said coolly. “It was damaged by someone’s 20-times gravity on the battleship, but fortunately, the key components weren’t harmed. I had it repaired, and it can still cover several kilometers.”

“Why did you bring that, Wanrou?” Cheng Jinyang joked, feigning nonchalance but feeling a strong sense of alarm. “Aren’t the cloned soldiers on the other side unnecessary to control? Surely you didn’t bring it to brainwash us, ha ha ha.”

Ah, could she be planning to brainwash me and turn me into her personal bed-warming servant or something…

“I’m only a Grade Six now; controlling you all would still take some time,” Wang Wanrou explained lightly, as if seeing through his wariness.

The girls’ hair stood on end.

Listen, she didn’t say she couldn’t do it, just that it would take some time.

“I intend to use it to control the battlefield.” Wang Wanrou put on the psychic amplifier, then took out a small mirror to examine her new look. “With real-time psychic detection and communication, we can respond appropriately to enemy offensives… Damn! Why does this thing look so ugly when worn? It doesn’t match my unparalleled beauty at all!”

Annoyed, she yanked off the psychic amplifier and flung it forward. Li Qingwan quickly jumped up to catch it.

Everyone: ……

“Forget it,” Wang Wanrou sighed, holding her forehead. “I accounted for everything except my perfect beauty. Ugh, it’s better not to wear this thing.”

“Uh, I suddenly think that connecting our consciousnesses could be very useful in this war,” Cheng Jinyang said honestly.

Just like when they connect their minds in a demonized state, where all the girls’ consciousnesses are linked, a single thought can be understood by everyone. They can even share computing power. The terrifying effectiveness of this on a battlefield requiring teamwork is self-evident.

“No, I absolutely won’t wear something this ugly,” Wang Wanrou said coldly.

“It’s not ugly,” Cheng Jinyang said, taking the psychic amplifier from Li Qingwan and pretending to wear it. “Don’t you think it has a cyberpunk aesthetic?”

“What’s cyberpunk?” Xing Yuanzhi asked, confused.

“The beauty of steel and technology,” Cheng Jinyang replied.

“If you think it’s beautiful, then you wear it,” Wang Wanrou said impatiently.

“I don’t have the Mind Steel Seal ability…” Cheng Jinyang started, then suddenly stopped.

Wait, although I don’t have the Mind Steel Seal ability, my harem… I mean, my team includes Miss Wang!

As long as I can use the demonized mind link, I can wield the Mind Steel Seal ability.

Then, if I wear this psychic amplifier, I can control the entire battlefield, turning the battle into a real-time strategy game! I was once a proud StarCraft player, after all!

“Then I’ll wear it!” Cheng Jinyang said boldly. “If you have any other high-tech devices that can complement your abilities, bring them out!”

“I brought a peacock plume backpack,” Xing Yuanzhi said. “It’s in the supply truck behind.”

“Speaking of which, the Shenwu Army should have a reserve of metallic hydrogen,” Chu Qingqing suggested. “Can we borrow some?”

…

A few hours later.

In the defense zone near Ningwu Avenue, the Northern Army had familiarized themselves with the environment, and the engineers were quickly repairing the defensive facilities.

Liu Daojian was overseeing the work and had repelled a few probing attacks from the Liyang Army vanguard when he saw his commander descend from the sky.

“Sir,” Liu Daojian was about to approach for instructions when Cheng Jinyang raised his hand to stop him, urgently saying:

“Wait, keep your distance. I’m afraid I might accidentally blow you up.”

Liu Daojian: ?

At this moment, Cheng Jinyang was wearing sunglasses that concealed his pupils, a psychic amplifier disguised as a helmet, and a large peacock plume backpack on his back.

His entire body was surrounded by metallic hydrogen, forming a thick bionic layer close to his skin.

This was Chu Qingqing’s “metallic skin,” used to enhance physical defense and disguise the presence of metal. It could also be used independently to create puppet dolls.

The reason this metallic hydrogen was not explosively reacting with the air’s oxygen and moisture was because Cheng Jinyang was continuously using his metal manipulation to maintain their metallic bonds, forcing them into a stable monocrystalline state.

If he relaxed his control even slightly, this metallic hydrogen would instantly explode, which is why he told Liu Daojian to keep his distance to avoid any sudden shoulder pats.

“Yes, sir,” Liu Daojian, though puzzled, didn’t press for details. He simply reported the recent attacks truthfully.

“Alright, I’ll check it out,” Cheng Jinyang nodded.

With metallic hydrogen and the peacock plume, I am now in full Iron Man mode. Even without my Xiaoli battery, I can clear out the nearby enemy strongholds!

————–

Carrying a huge object on his back, with a material he could control (disguised as skin) close to his body, and a monster’s consciousness within him.

Gaara: Um, it is…

Cheng Jinyang: It is me, Iron Man Jinyang!