With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

Jiang Zhiyu was pinned down in front of the Second Administration Bureau's desk for three whole days.

Before dawn, someone brought in documents, stacked high, so heavy that the wood grain on the table was no longer visible. She turned a page, signed it, and as soon as she finished, the next page was handed to her.

Lunch was brought in by Zhong Dingwen: one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a soup, placed on a small table next to her. By the time she looked up and saw it, the soup had already gone cold.

She continued in the afternoon and continued in the evening, losing count of how many names she signed. By the evening of the third day, when she closed the last document, her mind was buzzing, and the few lines of text in front of her seemed to be crowding together.

She sat motionless in the chair for a long time, then suddenly made a decision.

escape.

On the morning of the fourth day, the Second Administration Bureau's car was parked at the entrance of the military compound as usual. The driver waited in the car for ten minutes, then got out and went to the gatehouse to ask around. When he returned, he didn't look too happy.

He squatted by the car and smoked half a cigarette before finally gritting his teeth and turning back to the station.

When the driver opened the door, Zhuge Yunhe was leaning against the window, holding a cup of hot tea. Zhong Dingwen, sitting opposite him, was flipping through documents and glanced at him.

"The director, the deputy director... they're gone." The driver clutched his military cap, his voice low. "There's no one in the military compound either. I asked the gatekeeper, and he said he didn't see anyone go in or out last night. The Song family said they didn't know either; they left a note saying they were out for a few days."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Just as Zhong Dingwen was about to furrow his brow, he heard a "slap" beside him. Zhuge Yunhe slapped his thin, bony hand on his thigh, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Ouch--"

The old man's shout was drawn out and cheerful, almost spilling the teacup he was holding. He tilted his head back and laughed for a long time, nodding as he laughed.

"Let's see how long she can hold out. Not bad, not bad, she held out for three days."

The driver stood frozen at the door, utterly bewildered as to what was so exciting about this news. Zhong Dingwen didn't respond either, simply setting down his pen and waiting for his master to finish laughing.

Zhuge Yunhe laughed until tears streamed down his face. He wiped them away and waved for the driver to leave. Only he and Zhong Dingwen remained in the room.

Zhong Dingwen then spoke:

"Master, what do you mean by this?"

He leaned forward slightly, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"The old leader instructed me on his last day to let her do as she pleases. These past two days you've insisted I keep her under control with documents, and I've been nagging about it. Now that she's run away, you're laughing like this; I truly don't understand."

Zhuge Yunhe slowly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"What do you know?"

The old man put the teacup back on the small table, and his voice slowed down.

"This girl's been acting strange these past two days. The old leader swallowed his anger, and she's not getting over that hurdle so easily. Plus, things are chaotic in Beijing these days; every department is eyeing the Management Bureau. If she stays in the military compound all day, with people coming to inquire and ask questions, she can't stay still."

He glanced at Zhong Dingwen.

"I've been keeping her under wraps with documents these past few days, partly to avoid those people's probing eyes, and partly to give her an excuse. Knowing her personality, sitting here for three days is already giving me face. I originally thought I could use her for a few days, but I didn't expect her to actually run away."

Zhuge Yunhe couldn't help but laugh out loud again as he said this.

"Haha, that's her style."

Zhong Dingwen finally understood what his master meant. He leaned back in his chair, let out a long sigh, and his face relaxed.

He also recalled Jiang Zhiyu at the funeral; the girl barely spoke a word from beginning to end. All her usual confident and flamboyant energy was gone, and she was like a puppet being pushed around by someone else.

Ultimately, it's because they're too young.

Zhong Dingwen murmured a sigh.

Zhuge Yunhe nodded.

"It's precisely because she's so young and entrusted with such an important task that all sorts of shady characters want to spy on her. If we don't protect her, who will?"

He picked up his teacup and took another sip, the smile in his eyes slowly fading away.

"With that girl's abilities, once she leaves, who knows when we'll see her again. Don't rush to look for her; let her run, the farther the better."

Zhong Dingwen nodded and said nothing more.

-

At that moment, Jiang Zhiyu emerged from behind a clump of low bushes at the back of the military compound.

She patted the dirt off her clothes, looked around to make sure no one was watching, patted her chest twice, and let out a long sigh. She could hear a slight tremor in her chest as she exhaled.

Seventeen poked half of its body out of the space, flapped its wings lightly twice, and looked like it was watching a good show.

"Host."

Its sound lingered in her consciousness.

"It's just processing a document, what's there to be afraid of?"

Jiang Zhiyu glanced at it sideways.

"What do you know?"

She walked along the base of the wall outside the compound, her voice still carrying a hint of lingering fear.

"If they really come at you with stacks of documents in the future, I can just scan them, tell you the key points, and you can just sign them."

"But when I think about these past three days, my mind is filled with those densely packed tiny words, and I just..."

She shivered.

"I can only do this kind of repetitive, mechanical work once in my life. Doing it again would drive me crazy."

The seventeen little wings flapped happily, and the tiny light on the blue crystal flickered, clearly showing that they were having fun.

"Okay, okay." It leaned closer. "So, host, where do you think we're going now?"

Jiang Zhiyu turned into a quieter alley, slowed her pace, and looked up at the sky.

The sky over Kyoto was overcast, and the wind carried the lingering oppressive atmosphere of the past few days. Suddenly, she didn't want to stay in the city for another day.

"Or, you could teleport me to Country M."

Seventeen paused for a moment, then flapped its wings even more enthusiastically.

"what?"

"Didn't we agree to go to the US to visit my grandparents and uncles?" She straightened her cuffs, the weariness in her voice slowly fading, replaced by a hint of excitement. "But it's been delayed until now; it's time to do it."

"Let's go and explore more areas this time. We can set up more anchor points, which will make it easier next time."

Seventeen's wings practically created afterimages.

"Alright, alright, wherever you say we want to go, we'll go!"

Jiang Zhiyu smiled. She looked around and reached a secluded corner at the very end of the alley where no one ever went.

-

The next second, she appeared in the shadows of a pile of old shipping containers at the San Francisco docks.

A sea breeze swept over her, carrying a damp, salty smell. In the distance, the long wail of a ship's horn mingled with the low cries of seabirds. She crouched down, leaning against a rusty iron box, closed her eyes, and waited for the dizziness to subside.

About three minutes later, she slowly got up.

Seventeen peeked out from the space again, looked around, and suddenly laughed.

"Host, even the smell here is different from Beijing."

Jiang Zhiyu dusted herself off and stepped out of the shadows. A taxi was parked on the side of the road outside the dock, waiting for passengers. The driver saw her through the window and honked the horn.

She climbed into the back seat and gave an address in fluent English.

The taxi slowly started moving and headed into the city.

Jiang Zhiyu leaned back in her seat, looking through the car window at the signs flashing by on both sides, and a smile slowly crept onto her lips.

She didn't tell anyone about this trip. Her uncle didn't know, and neither did her maternal grandparents. She was going to give them a surprise.