Chapter 28
With a sharp crash, all three full-length mirrors shattered, shards scattering across the floor.
The door to the restroom burst open, and a disheveled man stormed in.
Bloodshot eyes, a crumpled suit, and a tie hanging loosely around his neck—it was clear Ji Yangqiu hadn’t rested in days.
The moment his gaze landed on Fu Suxi’s clown-like face, his exhaustion melted away into a loud, mocking laugh.
“Hahaha! The mighty S-rank ability user gets knocked out, loses the detector, and even gets—”
Before he could finish, a pillow smacked him square in the face.
Ji Yangqiu tossed the pillow aside just in time to see Fu Suxi retreating into the bathroom. The door slammed shut, followed by the sound of running water.
Ji Yangqiu took a few steps forward before collapsing onto the bed.
The past few days had been chaos for the Special Operations Bureau, and as the head of the Operations Department, Ji Yangqiu had been spinning like a nonstop top without a moment’s rest.
After lying there for five minutes, he rolled onto his side, keeping his eyes closed as he called out, “You’ve got five more minutes. After that, you’re coming with me to the lab. I’ve got a meeting in half an hour, and these next ten days are critical.”
“Since you embarrassed yourself so thoroughly, I’ll start with some good news: the bureau has gained a few more S-rank ability users.”
“Now for the bad news. Thanks to what you did in H City, people across the country are killing each other. At least half the population is dead—”
The bathroom door clicked open.
Fu Suxi stepped out, shirtless, water still dripping from his body. “What exactly did I do in H City?”
Ji Yangqiu, still lying on the broken bed, reminded him, “Main Task One. Don’t think a mask fooled me—I recognized you.”
“Those people… Were they polluted? What was the pollution source in H City? The video was too short for me to tell…”
The word “video” caught Fu Suxi’s attention, and he stopped in his tracks. Turning to face Ji Yangqiu, he asked, “Video?”
“You didn’t know?” Ji Yangqiu finally opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise flashing across his face. “After the system announced that someone had completed Main Quest One in H City, it broadcasted footage of what you did to everyone.”
“Someone in the operating room shouted your name. I’m sure plenty of people remember it.”
“My advice? Change your name while you still can.” Ji Yangqiu’s gaze drifted meaningfully to the clean, bare skin of Fu Suxi’s abdomen. “How about Fu Failure?”
Fu Suxi: “…”
BANG!
The next second, the bed Ji Yangqiu was lying on collapsed into splinters.
Fu Suxi sneered, “Then should your son go by Ji Impotent?”
Ji Yangqiu: “…”
Dusting himself off, Ji Yangqiu climbed out of the wreckage and continued, “Anyway, because of you, people are turning on each other outside. For the first two days, Main Task One could be completed by killing others.”
Fu Suxi scoffed coldly. “What does that have to do with me? Don’t pin their murders on me.”
Realizing his mistake, Ji Yangqiu quickly clarified, “No, no, that’s not what I meant. The system misled people, and now the death toll is catastrophic.”
Changing the subject, he urged, “Come on, the lab’s ready for you.”
“Once your checkup is done, you can head straight to the dungeon.”
The mention of a dungeon made Fu Suxi raise an eyebrow. He grabbed a black combat uniform, put it on as he walked out, and asked, “You’ve thought it through?”
Ji Yangqiu followed closely behind. “Of course I have. I’m not an idiot. Your ten-day task is to clean up the pollution sources around B City.”
“B City has to become one of the country’s safe zones.”
*
The lab was directly below the Operations Department rest room, accessible via elevator.
When the elevator doors opened, the lab doors did too, revealing a group of researchers in white coats and an armed team of ability users holding tranquilizer guns.
“Team Leader Fu, Minister Ji,” the lead researcher greeted them with a nod before guiding them into a small room.
Once Fu Suxi sat down, Ji Yangqiu deftly activated the chair’s restraints, cuffing him in place. “Professor Chu, let’s begin.”
Professor Chu retrieved a set of detection devices and attached sensors to Fu Suxi’s temple, wrists, and chest.
“This is our latest detection technology. It might sting a bit.”
Fu Suxi’s half-lidded eyes didn’t even flinch. Pain was nothing to him.
His expression remained calm as he stared at the monitor displaying various data points.
While he could view others’ personal information, he couldn’t see his own stats.
As data collection required some time, Ji Yangqiu took the opportunity to rest, closing his eyes as he leaned back in a nearby chair.
Fifteen minutes later, the electronic screen began to display changes.
“His mental threshold has doubled from before—5,300,” Professor Chu reported excitedly, recording the results. “That’s twice as high as the other S-rank ability users!”
Mental threshold increased alongside the enhancement of one’s abilities.
For reference:
– Ordinary people had a threshold below 100.
– Thresholds between 100 and 1,000 were categorized into D, C, B, and A ranks.
– Anything above 1,000 was classified as S-rank.
So far, only three S-rank individuals have been identified in the country.
Ji Yangqiu wasn’t surprised by Fu Suxi’s doubled threshold. After all, Fu Suxi could single handedly take down an A-rank ability user squad in ten minutes.
What intrigued Ji Yangqiu more was another metric. “What’s his current mental value?”
Professor Chu glanced at the display. “Twenty.”
“What?!” Ji Yangqiu’s eyes snapped open, and he dashed to Fu Suxi’s side.
The screen displayed a single, stark line of text: [Mental Energy: 20/5301]
Ji Yangqiu’s eyes widened as he grabbed Fu Suxi’s arm. “Holy sh—! This is incredible!”
Tears of joy threatened to spill as he exclaimed, “Your mental energy has doubled!”
“You spent half a year in the therapy chamber just to raise it by five points before, and now this!”
A sudden thought struck Ji Yangqiu, and he started firing questions like a machine gun: “Did you ask me about B-rank ability users recovering mental energy because of this? Did you steal some treasure from someone? Or did the system reward you with something incredible? No, wait—could it have something to do with that Yu Yi Ling? Did losing the dungeon make you more focused? If it works, I’ll arrange for—”
Fu Suxi remained silent throughout the barrage. Ji Yangqiu, sensing his impatience, lit a cigarette and held it to Fu Suxi’s mouth. “Please, speak, Father! Say something!”
Fu Suxi bit down on the cigarette, inhaling deeply.
He wasn’t sure if it was related to that person. He couldn’t fully decipher Yu Zhi’s innate ability.
The only certainty was that the man was special.
Through the haze of smoke, Fu Suxi noticed several pairs of eager eyes fixed on him—Ji Yangqiu’s and the researchers’.
His thoughts wandered to Yu Zhi’s calm yet deceitful expressions. After a moment of consideration, he nodded slightly. “Yes.”
“It’s because of him. His ability is unique.”
With a subtle flick of his fingers, Fu Suxi effortlessly broke free of the handcuffs on his left wrist.
Immediately, the ability-user squad behind him raised their tranquilizer guns in unison.
Unfazed, Fu Suxi casually flicked ash from his cigarette and addressed Ji Yangqiu. “When you’re in your next meeting, consult that so-called fortune teller.”
“Find him, and you won’t need any of this useless junk anymore.”
Ji Yangqiu’s emotions were conflicted. On one hand, he was thrilled that someone could help increase Fu Suxi’s mental energy. On the other, he was deeply displeased that the person in question was the enigmatic Yu Yi Ling, whose background was entirely unclear.
The contradiction twisted Ji Yangqiu’s face into an odd grimace. “Fortune teller? That’s our director!”
*
J City.
At dawn, Yu Zhi woke up and made his way to the kitchen. He cooked three packets of instant noodles and added two sausages.
By the time he finished eating, Lu Liming was awake.
After completing their daily tasks, the two packed all the usable food and supplies from the villa into the off-road vehicle and set off.
Perhaps because Main TaskThree was relatively simple, the streets—which had previously been littered only with corpses—now occasionally showed signs of life. A few scattered survivors passed by, their faces tense and wary. They exchanged no words or gestures.
An hour later, the off-road vehicle merged onto the highway.
The highway was deserted. Yu Zhi pulled out the pollution detector, glancing at it intermittently.
The pollution concentration remained at a steady 1%, showing no changes.
Bored, he decided to test his “Mouth, mouth” ability on Lu Liming. “Xiao Ming, how do you feel right now?”
Lu Liming checked himself from head to toe before answering honestly, “I don’t feel anything.”
Then, realizing Yu Zhi wouldn’t ask something so trivial without a reason, he glanced at the fuel gauge and straightened up. “Wait! I do feel something!”
Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow.
Lu Liming declared, “I feel like the car’s running out of gas.”
Yu Zhi: “?”
Before he could respond, Lu Liming quickly corrected himself, “No, I feel like Big Missy is running out of gas!”
Yu Zhi: “…”
After a moment of silence, Yu Zhi explained, “I used my ability on you, which is why I asked. Now, find a gas station.”
Lu Liming adjusted the wheel and took the next exit off the highway, heading toward S City.
The exit led to a small town on the outskirts of S City—Tai Jiang Town.
Yu Zhi said, “Follow this road straight ahead. There should be a gas station.”
Curious, Lu Liming asked, “Brother Yu, have you been here before?”
Yu Zhi hummed in acknowledgment. He had spent three years in this town.
The scenery outside the window felt both familiar and foreign. The town was eerily quiet. The streets were empty, the houses on either side had their doors and windows tightly shut, and there wasn’t a single person or corpse in sight. The oppressive silence was unsettling.
Yu Zhi’s eyelid twitched. A vague sense of unease crept over him. “If we turned back to the highway now, how far could we go on what’s left in the tank?”
Lu Liming checked the fuel gauge. “Less than 100 kilometers. We’d definitely reach the next highway exit, but I can’t guarantee we’d find a working gas station before we run out—oh!”
Before he finished speaking, the bright red logo of a China Petroleum gas station came into view.
“Brother Yu, should we stop to refuel, or keep going?” Lu Liming asked.
Yu Zhi hesitated briefly before deciding, “We’re already here. Let’s refuel.”
As the car idled at the pump, Yu Zhi used “Mouth, mouth” on Lu Liming again.
The result was the same: Lu Liming felt absolutely nothing. “Mouth, mouth” had no effect on someone without any intent to kill.
Yu Zhi lowered his gaze, staring thoughtfully at the interface. He could now confirm that his ability erased others’ intent to kill him.
But could it also erase someone’s intent to kill another person?
While pondering this, his mind wandered to another item in his inventory: Ordinary Kick.
What use did this thing even have?
It cost 10 Universal Coins per kick, and Yu Zhi wasn’t keen on experimenting frivolously.
After some deliberation, he turned to the live stream. “Anyone want to see what a dungeon reward item can do?”
[User “Velvet Latte” I’m intrigued by what you’re saying.]
[User “National Elite Humanoid Weapon” Curious about dungeon reward items.]
[User “Pure Love Warrior” Please demonstrate the item!]
Yu Zhi blinked innocently. “One kick costs 10 Universal Coins. If you want to see it, pay up.”
The chat, previously abuzz with curiosity, instantly turned cold as viewers unanimously decided they were no longer interested.
Yu Zhi: “…”
With an unbothered expression, he remarked, “Well, if none of you are interested, neither am I.”
With Fu Suxi absent, the live stream’s big spenders were gone too. Hardly anyone was tipping now.
Left with no funding for a demonstration, Yu Zhi carefully reread the ability’s description:
[Description]: A simple kick from a regular passerby. It looks ordinary but is not special in the slightest. When I kick you, you’ll know you’ve been kicked.
His gaze lingered on the last line.
Could this be a guaranteed-hit kick?
Just as he was mulling it over, a sharp, piercing school bell shattered the silence around them.
Ding-ling-ling—
As the bell faded, a shrill female voice echoed through the air:
“Tingting, how many times do I have to tell you? Your only job right now is to study hard. Don’t think about anything else—Mom will take care of everything for you.”
The voice was sharp, laced with anger, each word deliberately enunciated, cutting through the eerie stillness.
The unsettling tone and bizarre content sent a chill down Yu Zhi’s spine. His expression darkened as he shouted, “Get in the car!”
Lu Liming yanked the fuel nozzle out, leapt into the car, and started the engine, flooring the gas pedal to speed back down the road they had come.
The voice continued, growing fainter as it was drowned out by the wind, its exact words indistinct.
Yu Zhi glanced down at the detector.
[Pollution Concentration: 10%]
Before refueling, the pollution concentration had been just 1%. Now it had shot up in an instant.
Closing his eyes, Yu Zhi silently cursed the detector, then Fu Suxi, and finally the system.
When he finished venting internally, he heard Lu Liming nervously ask, “Brother Yu, was that voice from a pollutant?”
Yu Zhi replied truthfully, “Possibly.”
As the off-road vehicle sped through a street, the pollution concentration remained steady at 10%.
It didn’t increase, nor did the system notify them of entering a dungeon.
Staring straight ahead, Yu Zhi felt a growing sense of unease.
Crack—
A faint sound of something breaking reached their ears.
The next second, the once-smooth asphalt road began to crack, pieces of stone breaking apart and falling. The street lamps on either side toppled over with loud crashes.
Lu Liming slammed on the brakes, turning the wheel sharply to the right in a dramatic drift that narrowly avoided a collision.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he blurted out, “Damn! Is this the work of a pollutant? What kind of monster can wreck a road like this? Don’t tell me it’s giant worms or something…”
“It doesn’t seem like a pollutant’s doing,” Yu Zhi said, lifting his gaze to look at the man who had suddenly appeared by the roadside.
The man wore black-framed glasses and had a tall, handsome figure, his demeanor entirely normal.
But Yu Zhi’s focus wasn’t on whether this person was human or a pollutant—it was on the man’s uniform.
The black uniform bore a familiar wheat emblem on its chest, the insignia of the same ability-user organization Fu Suxi and He Hanhai belonged to.
They found us this quickly?
That shouldn’t be possible…
Without a change in expression, Yu Zhi quietly unbuckled his and Lu Liming’s seatbelts and rolled down the window, his eyes never leaving the man with glasses.
The man was sizing them up as well. There was no killing intent in his gaze, only caution and curiosity.
From [My Items], Yu Zhi retrieved his backpack and stealthily pulled out a tranquilizer gun.
The man didn’t recognize him.
Most likely, he was here because of the pollutant.
Their eyes met. The man with glasses greeted them politely, “Hello. I accidentally damaged this road. I’ll have to ask you to take a different route.”
His words were courteous on the surface, but the implied threat was clear.
Yu Zhi returned a fake smile. “This road leads to the highway in ten minutes.”
Behind them lay unknown pollutants and a potential dungeon that could activate at any moment.
Not even a ghost would turn back now!
The man adjusted his glasses and seemed about to say more, but before he could get the first word out, the system’s notification sound interrupted him.
Ding-dong—
“Congratulations, everyone! A dungeon task has been triggered.”
The next moment, all their system panels displayed the mission details:
[Dungeon Task: Save the Children.]
[Mission Objective: Eliminate or purify the pollution source in the current area. Protect S City!]
[Mission Rewards: 3,000 Universal Coins; 1 Random Reward Box.]
[Mission Failure: Unknown.]
The false smile vanished from Yu Zhi’s face.
No, no, no!
Can’t this dungeon be left for the crazy dog who actually needs it?!
