Chapter 163
When Chu Feng returned to the villa, he saw Lin Zhihao.
“Brother Feng, you’re back!”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
“Brother Feng, have you seen the latest news?”
“What news?”
“A fire-breathing panda showed up in Yunling and caused a forest fire!”
Chu Feng froze for a moment. “How do you know about that?”
“There’s a video of it.”
Chu Feng was stunned and thought to himself: That area was remote wilderness. Who would be out there filming? Even Illya didn’t sense anyone nearby.
That forest was home to several wild pandas. While staff usually didn’t interfere with their lives, they had installed monitoring devices to observe the pandas’ well-being — and accidentally recorded the start of the fire.
Chu Feng thought: I wonder if those cameras caught me. By the time I got there, the fire had already spread. Even if there were cameras, they were probably destroyed by the fire.
The fire spread fast — the equipment should be ruined by now.
“That’s a shame,” Lin Zhihao said regretfully. “We could’ve gotten a lot of valuable footage.”
Chu Feng replied, “Better that it’s destroyed. Those surveillance devices are everywhere. I really need to be more careful next time.”
*
At the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities
Several researchers were analyzing the footage.
“I can’t believe it — an animal awakened supernatural powers. And fire-type, no less.”
“Abilities can be enhanced. The nation has a ‘God-Making Plan’ aiming to cultivate one or two exceptionally powerful individuals. But they haven’t chosen the candidates yet.”
“Too bad it’s a panda. If it were a person, it might have been selected for priority training by the government.”
It seemed that no one in the country had awakened a fire-type ability yet, and unexpectedly, it was a panda that awakened such a power. That panda—could it have burned itself to death from its own flames?
“Very possible. There was no panda corpse found at the scene. It might have been burned to ashes.”
“What a pity. Pandas are already an endangered national treasure, and this one even awakened an ability! And now it may have just burned itself to death? Wait, something’s not right here!”
The ground covered in soil above the scorched area had shifted.
“That’s definitely the work of an earth-type ability-user. But the spiritual energy is incredibly strong. Are there really such powerful earth-type users in the country? The country really is full of hidden talents.”
The fire department also reported that the fire wasn’t as large as expected. Someone had already acted to suppress the flames before they arrived. Unfortunately, they didn’t encounter anyone there. The person probably didn’t want to reveal themselves.
“It’s rare to see such a powerful ability-user! Could it have been the work of an ability organization?”
Since the appearance of ability-users, many ability organizations have sprung up. Most powerful users have joined one. To grow stronger, ability-users must rely on Witch Stones.
But relying on their own strength, it’s very difficult to obtain Witch Stones. By joining an organization, they can use the organization’s power to collect witch stones quickly.
“If someone acted beforehand, could it be that the panda was taken away by that ability-user?”
“Very likely. A panda that awakened fire-type powers would have immense research value. And if that ability-user is this strong, they’ve probably already used over a dozen witch stones.”
In reality, Shi Qi’s ability is considered only decent among ability-users. However, with the enhancement from Illya’s gray mist ability, their power increased nearly tenfold.
“What a shame! The camera only captured swirling dust—no image of the person. Look more closely. Don’t overlook any single frame. A user of this level—if we could recruit them to the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities, it would greatly strengthen the bureau. Even if we can’t recruit them, we at least need to find out their identity.”
“They saw three people.”
“Not just one? That’s too bad, only their backs were caught on camera.”
Several researchers reviewed the footage repeatedly and shook their heads. “Only the backs were caught. Too little to go on.”
“Let’s archive it for now. Someone this powerful isn’t likely to stay hidden for long.”
After acquiring a large piece of witch stone, Chu Feng and Illya didn’t rush to find more.
They hid in their room, refining the witch energy within the stone.
Chu Feng didn’t know that the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities was already tracking them down and searching for their whereabouts.
“Brother Feng, you’re awake!” Lin Zhihao greeted as Chu Feng came down the stairs. Chu Feng yawned and nodded lazily.
“Where were you, Brother Feng? You look exhausted.” Lin Zhihao asked curiously.
Chu Feng shook his head. “Nothing much.”
“Do you know the Yunling incident has blown up?” Lin Zhihao asked.
Chu Feng glanced at him and replied, “Yunling? Isn’t that where the fire happened? What now?”
“That place has become a tourist hotspot.”
“Tourist hotspot? That’s an exaggeration. Isn’t it just a field of scorched earth now? That counts as a tourist destination? People must be really bored. Are there no real attractions left in the country?”
“I’m not exaggerating!” Lin Zhihao sighed. “If it weren’t so far away, I’d want to go see it myself. A lot of my friends are posting pictures of their trips there on social media.”
Chu Feng: “…What kind of people are in Lin Zhihao’s friend circle? Are they all nuts?”
Lin Zhihao’s eyes sparkled. “They say there are earthen mounds left behind by the earth-type ability-user!”
“Just some piles of dirt. What’s there to see?”
Lin Zhihao took a deep breath. “Ordinary dirt, sure, no big deal. But these were made by an earth-type user! Seeing them might bring good fortune—maybe even awaken one’s own ability!”
Chu Feng: “The earth-type user is right here at home, and this idiot wants to run off to a remote mountain.”
Lin Zhihao lifted his chin proudly. “They say during the big fire, someone saw a mighty ‘earth dragon’ that circled through the flames. After that, the fire started to die down.”
Chu Feng: “He was right there during the fire and didn’t see any dragon. Where were these people looking? Today’s media is all exaggerated hype. They turn 30% truth into 300%, and there are still fools who believe it.”
Several research institute vehicles arrived at Yunling. Researchers got out and looked around.
Shen Yutong frowned at the crowd. “Why are there so many people?”
“They’re all here to see the site.”
“To see it?” Shen Yutong couldn’t help frowning deeper.
“Some people claim to have captured footage of an ‘earth dragon’ fighting a ‘fire dragon’ during the fire. That’s why they’re all here.”
Shen Yutong furrowed her brow, thinking, It really got out, huh? In the internet age, it’s hard to suppress news. But then again, ability-users aren’t exactly a secret anymore. If they know, they know.
“Miss Shen, look over there—earthen walls.” Several walls had been cordoned off with police tape.
“These walls weren’t there originally. They’re definitely the work of an ability-user.”
Shen Yutong took a deep breath. “What terrifying power…”
The researchers beside her nodded. “Indeed.”
Nearby, tourists were discussing the earthen walls.
“This was built by the earth-type ability-user, right?”
“Without their intervention, that forest fire might’ve gone completely out of control.”
“Who knew earth powers could be used like this.”
“This kind of power would be perfect for building houses!”
“Are you kidding? That would be such a waste of talent!”
“Exactly! We’re talking about ability-users here.”
The national ability group has already recruited nearly a hundred ability-users, but unfortunately, most of them have average powers—there’s a lack of top-tier users.
“Do we know where that little panda used to live?”
A researcher nodded. “Yes, just up ahead.”
“Miss Shen, there seems to be residual energy in the soil here.”
A flash of light passed through Shen Yutong’s eyes. So an ability-user really was here. This wasn’t a coincidence. They must’ve come for the Witch Stone. Based on the residual energy, it must’ve been a very large piece. Initial estimates suggest the stone was about eight cubic decimeters in size.
Shen Yutong sighed internally, What a pity. The largest Witch Stone the country has ever found was only six cubic decimeters. If a stone this size were sold on the black market, it’d easily go for billions.
But if it ended up in the hands of an ability-user, no one would be willing to sell it.
If this Witch Stone were to fall into the hands of a combat-type ability-user, it could create a terrifyingly powerful person. Hopefully, it hasn’t ended up with some terrorist.
Chu Feng and Illya, wrapped in scarves, mingled with the crowd.
Illya frowned and said, “There really are a lot of people here.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah. Lin Zhihao said this place had become a tourist hotspot. I didn’t quite believe it before, but now that I’ve come back and seen it… there really are a lot of people.”
Chu Feng rolled his eyes as he looked at people taking pictures around a few mounds of earth. “It’s just a few dirt piles, not some historical relic. Do these people really need to take photos from every angle—front, side, back? How bored must people be nowadays?”
Illya squinted. “Miss Shen is here too.”
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes. “That woman seems to be a high-ranking officer in the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities.”
“Want to buy some incense? You can go offer it over by the earthen wall.”
Chu Feng looked toward the voice. An old woman was carrying a basket, hawking incense sticks. Surprisingly, quite a few young men and women enthusiastically ran over to buy them.
Chu Feng held his forehead. He felt a bit out of touch with current trends. They can do this now?
“These dirt walls were left behind by an earth-type ability-user, not a land deity! What are they worshiping?”
“Young man, want to buy some incense?” As Chu Feng was observing the situation, the old woman came up to him to promote her goods.
Chu Feng waved his hand. “No, no need.”
The old woman said sincerely, “If you worship the dirt pile, it might bless you with awakening an ability. Many big companies are hiring ability-users now—earning millions a year isn’t a dream. Just ten yuan, and if you awaken, your future will be limitless!”
Chu Feng: “I don’t need it.”
The old woman shook her head. “Young man, if you can’t even spare ten yuan, I don’t think you have much hope of becoming an ability-user.”
Chu Feng thought: … Her eyesight must be pretty bad. I’m already an ability-user.
