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

A black vehicle seemed to stop at the entrance of the school. Unlike other distracted foreign students, I was standing straight and only looking at the podium in front, so I couldn’t see the Generalissimo approaching from behind with a loud noise.

I would see him anyway once he got on the podium. There was no need to strain to see him now.

Chiang Kai-shek appeared on the podium with his back slightly bent, accompanied by a salute played at an enormous volume. Churchill seemed annoyed by the loud military band playing the salute and slightly covered her ears.

“Hmph, terrible.”

“You don’t seem to like the performance,” I whispered to her. Churchill replied in a quiet voice.

“The performance itself isn’t the problem. It’s the intention and soul behind it.”

Her mental world was beyond my comprehension. Since we couldn’t be chattering when the Generalissimo had appeared, I turned my attention to the scene of Chiang Kai-shek stepping onto the podium, leaning into the microphone, and quickly scanning us.

Chiang Kai-shek’s appearance wasn’t much different from what I had seen in photos and videos.

He was wearing a military cap with the blue sky and white sun emblem embroidered on it, but his widely exposed forehead revealed that he was bald, as was well known. His mustache had turned white, and there were quite a few wrinkles on his face.

But to be honest… I couldn’t believe at first glance that he was an incredibly old man approaching his 100th birthday.

He climbed the stairs by himself. The soldiers around him only escorted the Generalissimo from the side, not assisting or supporting him as he went up and down the stairs. He wasn’t holding a cane in his hand, and his back was only slightly bent, not much different from a man in his 60s.

Though his face was quite wrinkled, there were no signs of fading vitality or impending death.

I could believe it if someone said this man would live another 30 years. Then whether Chiang Wei-kuo is someone else’s son doesn’t really matter. Chiang Kai-shek would outlive him anyway, wouldn’t he?

The moment Chiang Kai-shek stepped onto the podium, I noticed a strange trembling from someone one person away from me. When I turned my head, it was the German exchange student, Rebecca Katerfeld.

“St-strong…” Rebecca muttered in German, her eyes trembling. I didn’t understand German that well, but there was no doubt she had said “strong” about Chiang Kai-shek.

“Unbelievably… strong spiritual energy…”

It seemed Churchill understood some of her German too. It’s not strange for a well-educated woman to know basic German.

“Is the Generalissimo’s ability related to spiritual powers?” I asked Churchill. Churchill shook her head.

“You know it’s not. His ability is… just simple physical enhancement. Nothing more, nothing less.”

There was no doubt about that. If Chiang Kai-shek had been hiding something more, intelligence agencies around the world would have uncovered all the facts by now. It’s impossible that the whole world hasn’t already revealed the abilities of the Chinese Generalissimo, of all people.

Even as an agent, I had read over 20 papers analyzing Chiang Kai-shek’s abilities, among which the CIA had analyzed as “absolutely reliable.”

Chiang Kai-shek’s ability is simple. He can instantly boost the physical abilities of himself or those around him to an incredible level.

That incredible level of physical enhancement should not be underestimated. In the Battle of Mukden, which completely defeated the combined forces of Zhang Zuolin and the Kwantung Army and secured victory in the war, it was only 600 elite soldiers enhanced by Chiang Kai-shek who annihilated the Zhang-Japanese allied army of 70,000.

The revelation of his ability alone threw the whole world into panic for about 10 years, and it was only after similar superhumans began to gradually establish themselves not just in China but all over the world that the so-called “Chiang Kai-shek Panic” subsided, showing how symbolic his ability was.

While countless superhumans who lived in the same era as him have already become historical figures and passed away, the man who started that panic is still alive and proudly ruling China.

Chiang Kai-shek opened his mouth.

“Every year, I stand on this podium, traveling between Beiping and here. Now that my body and mind are old, it’s tiring to traverse China from north to south. The secretariat of the Presidential Office has been suggesting for 20 years that I should stop this annual north-south crossing every September. They must have thought I was too old to handle the journey anymore.”

After saying this, Chiang Kai-shek chuckled. No one in the audience dared to laugh along.

“But I intend to continue. Until the day my body truly rots and I am buried next to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, I will not stop traversing these two places to see new faces. The reason is the same as I say every year. The Republic of China was established thanks to superhumans, maintained thanks to superhumans, and must continue to do so in the future. I’ve already said this in Beiping, but let’s talk about something a little different this year.”

Having said that, the Generalissimo lightly cleared his throat.

His voice was slightly high-pitched as is well known, and lacked depth to the point of sounding a bit shrill. Despite the fact that voices typically deepen with age, his voice seemed completely unaged, unaffected by the passage of time.

“The reason I tour both hero schools in the north and south every year is also because the time has come for China to prepare. My secretaries tell me that I’m old now and should stop the events. But if I’m truly aging and about to pass away, isn’t that all the more reason not to stop these events? When I started the Northern Expedition, China was divided and fragmented. I took up arms with my own strength and set out northward with my revolutionary comrades, reclaiming the Central Plains and taking the Northeast. We liberated our Korean comrades and reclaimed China’s rightful territories. In my young and naive mind, I thought: then I must be China. Where could this country go without me?”

What bold words.

But perhaps only Chiang Kai-shek could say such things.

“But I’ve grown old too, and now it’s time to change my thinking. The First Emperor of Qin believed he was the empire itself, and that his death would bring about the downfall of the country. History proves his concerns were true. But what’s the reality? In fact, the First Emperor didn’t have foresight, but rather brought about the downfall of Qin because of his own worries. It’s eerily similar to the fatalistic tragedies the ancient Greeks were fond of.”

I’m not sure if his words were conscious of the presence of Greek exchange students here.

“If I say I’m becoming like the First Emperor, it’s a frightening thing. The Republic of China must be strong without me, and I believe it can be. Students, prepare for a China without Chiang Kai-shek. Prepare for a China without this old man. Although my birthday is still far off, the big cities are already busy with preparations as always. But I wonder if turning 100 is really such a memorable event. In the end, doesn’t it just remind us every year that my death is not far off? Even when I tell them to keep it simple, they don’t listen, so I’ve given up now.”

He seemed to be joking, but of course no one could laugh again.

If you laugh at the Generalissimo’s jokes about his own death, even if Chiang Kai-shek himself doesn’t mind, you could be labeled as a dissident by his close associates.

China is that serious of a country.

“It seems my words are not very amusing. The reactions weren’t like this in the past. I’ve said everything I wanted to say, so that’s enough. New students who enrolled this year, come up one by one. I will bestow upon you the key that can break through this school’s barrier.”

The moment his speech ended, mechanical applause filled the square in front of the main building. The Generalissimo waited for the applause to die down with an uninterested expression, then received a military sword from what appeared to be an officer of his guard.

Seeing Chiang Kai-shek holding the military sword, the Chinese students in the first row began to move one by one towards the podium with disciplined steps. I asked Churchill:

“Should we go like that too?”

“How would I know? Are they going to exile us to Sichuan if we don’t walk properly?”

“I don’t think it would be that extreme.”

“Then let’s just do it casually. It’s not our country’s head of state anyway.”

“British people might be able to speak so freely, but I…”

Hmm, that’s not right.

It would be strange to walk too formally here. It’s already odd that people like Catherine Duey and Barbara Tikhonov are trying to treat me as one of their own, but if I show too perfect and disciplined behavior, it might deepen suspicions that I’m a veteran or at least a spy from a military-related organization.

I just roughly straightened my suit collar and trouser hem while waiting for my turn. The Chinese students all received their swords directly from Chiang Kai-shek with touched expressions. Some were even sniffling tears while hugging the sword tightly to their chests.

“Foreign student group, forward!”

After confirming that all the Chinese students had received their “keys” from the Generalissimo, Zhou Lizhi, the instructor in charge of foreign students, ordered us to step forward in a sharp voice.

Still maintaining their military bearing, Tikhonov and Duey’s steps were flawless, and Julia Curoo’s walk as a former model was also impeccable.

But Briar Churchill and Hoang Thi Linh…

Well, I suppose their somewhat unhinged gait helps cover for the others walking normally, in a positive sense.

Zhou Lizhi didn’t seem particularly displeased about our strange walking. Apparently, foreign students are often so unruly that she doesn’t get reprimanded for such minor issues.

The major quickly turned her head and blushed when her eyes met mine. It seemed there was still some lingering resentment towards me.