206 - I Don’t Want to Be Turned Into the Female Protagonist by the System

# Chapter 206: Brother Ji "Brother Wu, are you heading to Henan for support?" Su Qi asked, surprised, over the phone to her brother. Listening to Su Qi’s soft and cute voice, Su Wu-jun found it a bit hard to adjust, given that his younger brother had turned into a sister with such an endearing, tender voice. With a straightforward personality and being a member of the armed police, his opportunities to speak with females were even rarer, making him a little nervous and causing him to clear his throat before speaking into the phone. "Xiao Qi, I’m not sure about the details of the trip, but the orders from above are to head to the Taihang Mountains for a mission. What kind of support mission it is will only be clear when we reach the destination!" Upon hearing that her fifth brother was heading to the Taihang Mountains, Su Qi deduced that the mission most likely involved water. Although Su Qi was a science student, she had a special fondness for geography, recalling her middle school geography teacher's lesson on the story of Yu the Great controlling the floods. Coupling that memory with key points from the news report she saw this morning mentioning the "Taihang Mountains," Su Qi with her high IQ quickly combined these elements. Anyone good at geography knows that Henan Province belongs to a temperate monsoon climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The region is clearly impacted by temperate marine air masses—typhoons—that bring intense rains. Furthermore, Henan features a typical terrain structure of high west and low east, with vast plains to the east and the Taihang Mountains to the west, opposite of which is Shanxi. Such terrain means if a typhoon from Shanxi were to clash with the Taihang Mountains' natural barrier, it would result in intense friction. Convective rains could cause water to flow from Henan's higher western terrain towards the eastern plains due to the elevation difference. As Henan's eastern side is predominantly plains with little topographical variation, it lacks proper drainage conditions, so a sudden downpour would likely result in floods. Given that her brother was about to leave, meteorologists must have detected Typhoon "Haidou" might head towards Henan with such tendencies! The most perilous would be the Taihang Mountain region, being the initial defense line. If a heavy rainstorm broke, the dams might burst. Su Qi considered the situation. Perhaps building human barriers and repairing waterways could be effective solutions. The thought made her even more worried; if people were swept away by floods, wouldn't they be hard to find? Coming from a military family, she understood that soldiers take orders seriously, and there was no way her brother would retreat in the face of duty. Despite this understanding, her concerns only deepened. Just then, the system's voice spoke, "Host, don't forget that you have me." Su Qi was doubtful—what use could the system possibly have? Then she remembered the mysterious little wand the system had given her, capable of communicating with the forces of nature. Reflecting on this, Su Qi thought that it might just help alleviate the effects of the typhoon. She asked instinctively, "Do you still have that wand?" Hearing Su Qi’s question, the system’s voice replied with a hint of grievance, “I don't. And my main function is sewing clothes, Host. All previous items were acquired through equivalent exchanges with other systems.” The system's response prompted Su Qi to inwardly complain—what's the use of you then! Apparently hearing Su Qi’s silent critique, the system’s voice, sounding a bit like a pouting girl, said, "While I don’t have the power to alter natural disasters, I can help those who have benefited the 'female protagonist's popularity' as a part of raising your protagonist status." Hearing the system bring up those three words, "female protagonist," was a surprise to Su Qi—it had been a long time since she'd heard them and almost forgot that the system was aimed at cultivating a "female protagonist" role. But, the system suggested it could help those she had once assisted. This reminded Su Qi of her game settings: the protagonist aids NPCs facing troubles, completing tasks to boost popularity. Failed tasks could lead to interesting events, while the "popularity" could turn into a righteous aura. Ultimately, these NPCs could turn into allies to help defeat bosses. However, there's a catch, so Su Qi asked, "Does this require money?" The system, startled by the straightforward question, replied, "That depends on the situation." Though the system's answer wasn't entirely reliable, Su Qi still felt reassured, as if she now had at least some guarantee. After a bit more chatting with her brother Wu, Su Wu-jun, while looking at the diminishing battery on his phone, reluctantly ended the call. Honestly, since knowing Su Qi had become a sister, Su Wu-jun felt somewhat closer to her than when she was his brother. Sitting beside him, his comrade Zhao Ming-li, teased after seeing him hang up the phone, "Sergeant, was that your girlfriend? Her voice is so sweet; she sounds like a beauty." Another two comrades also inquired eagerly. "Go on, that's my sister!" Su Wu-jun waved them off. Not deterred, Zhao Ming-li leaned in closer and asked, "Sergeant, is your sister pretty? How about me?" Su Wu-jun thought about Su Qi's playful, adorable face in the video, feeling his heart soften. Although you're my comrade, sorry, my sister takes priority. Facing Zhao Ming-li's jesting, there was no real disappointment since he hadn't even seen Su Qi in person. With his phone out of battery, Su Wu-jun idly glanced at Zhao Ming-li's phone, noticing that Zhao had a dance video that matched the one his sister had sent. Stunned, he asked Zhao Ming-li, "How do you have a video of my sister?" Zhao Ming-li was taken aback, recalling the voice from the call sounded quite similar to that of "Little Sword Ji." Realizing his sergeant wasn’t joking, the two comrades also looked over, curious about their sergeant’s sister. Seeing the video, they recognized the girl as Little Sword Ji. Wait, Sergeant said she’s his sister. Could it be— All three pairs of eyes suddenly locked onto Su Wu-jun. Su Wu-jun, puzzled, was about to speak when the trio shouted in unison, "Brother-in-law!" Bewildered for a second, he finally realized what they meant. "Get lost!" he waved them away, though the incident attracted even more comrades. Zhao Ming-li enthusiastically explained the situation, and thus, on the train journey to the Taihang Mountains, Su Wu-jun earned himself a new nickname: Brother Ji! After finishing her call with Brother Wu, Su Qi checked on Typhoon "Haidou's" path, finding it still lingering in Shanxi. According to reports, local residents had been evacuated from the mountains, and there were no casualties. If it continued north, that would be the best outcome—unrelated to Henan. Due to topographical advantages, other provinces could handle the heavy rains easily. Yet, Su Qi couldn't shake a strange feeling of unease, as her right eyelid twitched uncontrollably, signaling to her that things might be taking an unpredictable turn.