Chapter 98: Ability-User Shi Qi
Not long after Chu Feng and Illya left, several people gathered around the car.
Illya had taken the keys out to be safe, but hadn’t closed the doors. A few children had climbed in and were crawling in and out of it.
Fei Ying landed nearby and looked at the car, surprised. “This car is amazing—it’s faster than I can fly!”
As soon as he said that, a few elves let out gasps of excitement. Their eyes burned with interest as they stared at the car.
“It looks beautiful!”
“Can I drive it?”
“Chu Feng is even more impressive than I thought! I want to go to the other side too—I want to sleep with him!”
When Chu Feng had first taken Illya to the other side, Crescent Village had experienced a brief craze where people dreamed of sleeping with him just to get a chance to visit that side. But once the heat faded, most realized it was too high a price to pay.
Still, seeing this car rekindled some of those urges.
Gray sat on the steps of a house, watching the excited crowd talk about Chu Feng and thinking, That guy sure knows how to attract attention.
The car, with its streamlined body and gleaming surface, looked far cooler than the motorcycle. Even nobles probably hadn’t seen anything like it.
Sterling thought silently: One of the captured humans had a special tattoo—it likely marks them as a high-ranking noble. When they saw our villagers, they were dumbfounded, like bumpkins seeing a big city for the first time.
When villagers go out, they often get dazzled by the outside world. But when outsiders come in and are shocked by the village—that feels like a small victory.
Shaya nudged Sterling with his elbow. “You got here before me—did you see how Illya drove that thing?”
Sterling glanced at him. “It’s probably similar to the motorcycle.”
Shaya frowned. “Needs a key again?”
Last time, it took him a lot of effort to steal the motorcycle key.
Sterling looked at him and sneered. “Thinking of sneaking a drive again? Did you forget what happened last time?”
Shaya had once thought the bike was broken, got scared, and cried his eyes out—he was teased for days afterward.
He glared at Sterling. The last time he’d secretly taken the bike, it ran out of gas and gave him quite a fright. Still, he’d only done what everyone was thinking.
Sterling squinted. “This car is pretty impressive. If the road from here to the castle zone is finished, it’ll be a great help for transporting goods.”
Shaya crossed his arms. “Illya’s so lucky—he always gets to try the coolest stuff first. And no one even yells at him.”
Sterling’s face twisted. “You? Better be careful, or Chu Feng and Illya might tag-team you.”
“Athelin is still a handsome brute, you know. I’ve heard some humans like his rugged type.”
“Even if I don’t stand a chance, you don’t either.”
Sterling rolled his eyes. “I never said I wanted to sleep with Chu Feng.”
*
Meanwhile, Chu Feng and Illya entered the detention room and saw a chubby teenage boy sitting next to a delicate-looking girl.
The boy begged, “Little lady, please give me one more bowl of instant noodles—I’m starving.”
Delice stood with her hands on her hips. “You’ve already had three bowls. Do you think these are free?”
“Have some pity, please! I was chased by a wild boar in the forest!”
Delice folded her arms. “You’re so fat—wouldn’t it be better if you lost some weight?”
“Little lady… Even death row inmates get one last good meal…”
“So, are you ready to die? If eating instant noodles means you’re ready to go, I can get you another bowl.”
The fat boy looked at her with teary eyes. “I’m really, really hungry.”
Delice snapped, “Stop whining. If you whine again, no food for three days!”
The boy looked pitifully at her. “You’re so pretty—why are you so stingy?”
“Eat, eat, eat—that’s all you think about. Instant noodles have to be traded for labor tickets!”
The boy looked confused. “Labor tickets? Are those like money? I have lots of money.”
Delice curled her lips and said, “Nonsense. You don’t even have a single gold coin.”
Delice paused, then added, “Not to mention gold coins—you don’t even have silver ones.”
After the people of Crescent Village captured the two strangers, they searched them thoroughly. The fat boy and the ability-user girl had all their gear confiscated.
The chubby boy looked embarrassed and said, “That’s because I got robbed! I used to be really rich!”
Delice snorted. “What good is being rich in the past?”
The fat boy scratched his head. “If you want money, you can let me go. I’ll go home and get it. My family is really wealthy.”
Delice scoffed. “And you’d actually come back after going home? Do you think I’m as gullible as you?”
The fat boy: “…”
Outside the room, Chu Feng watched secretly for a moment and thought, This Delice girl isn’t bad at all. Got a bit of a queenly vibe—definitely has potential.
Chu Feng pushed open the door and walked in. When Delice saw him, she blushed and said, “Big Brother, you’re here!”
The fat boy noticed her change in demeanor and looked suspiciously at Chu Feng. “Are you human?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Of course I’m human.”
The fat boy blinked. This elf girl is so biased. Same species, yet she treats him so gently and me so harshly.
Chu Feng asked Delice, “Are you the one in charge of these two?”
Delice nodded seriously. “The adults in the village are all off building roads or crafting furniture. I’m in charge for now.”
Chu Feng nodded. “I see. Which one is the ability-user?”
Delice pointed to the delicate-looking girl. “Her. She can manipulate earth and create earth spikes.”
“Can she still use her power?” Chu Feng asked.
“No. The shaman fed her a medicine that sealed her ability,” Delice replied.
Chu Feng nodded again. That explains it. No wonder they dared to leave Delice alone with her. If her actions are restricted and her powers are sealed, she’s not much of a threat.
He thought to himself: That shaman really is something—able to seal abilities!
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. If the shaman can do that… could he seal my powers someday too? That would be a disaster…
Illya glanced at him. “What are you thinking about? You suddenly look tense.”
Chu Feng forced a smile. “Nothing.”
Then he noticed the slave bracelet on the girl’s wrist and was surprised. “You’re a slave?”
He blinked again. Offensive-type ability-users were rare. The fact that someone could enslave one suggested the fat boy’s status wasn’t ordinary.
The girl named Shi Qi (a.k.a Seventeen) replied indifferently, “I awakened my power after being taken in by the young master.”
In the Medes family—who had countless servants—nobles couldn’t remember all their names, so they just gave them numbers.
Shi Qi had been a street beggar and was nearly starved to death when Lanhu picked her up and brought her home. Four years ago, she awakened her power. Many tried to lure her away, but she refused.
Chu Feng thought, So that’s how it is. That young master doesn’t seem too capable, but apparently he’s influential enough to have an offensive ability-user follow him loyally.
Delice frowned and said boldly, “This girl was a real pain to catch. We had to send a whole team after her.”
Chu Feng: …Delice’s just a girl herself, and she’s calling another girl ‘this chick’?
The fat boy looked innocent as he said to Delice, “We only started fighting because you never told us you had such delicious food here! If we’d known, we would’ve come on our own!”
Chu Feng: …This fat kid’s oddly cheerful. No sense of being a prisoner at all. Definitely pampered since birth—probably a spoiled noble.
Chu Feng looked at the slave master ring on the fat boy’s hand, his interest piqued. That ring can restrain an ability-user…
Illya noticed his look and said, “That kind of slave ring is different from ours. It’s non-transferable and costs dozens of times more.”
Chu Feng asked, “Really? It looks a bit like mine though. Is it bound by a contract?”
Illya shook her head. “I don’t think so, but transferring ownership is very difficult.”
Chu Feng turned to the fat boy. “What’s your name and which family are you from?”
The fat boy’s eyes spun mischievously, clearly calculating something.
Chu Feng warned, “We have people here who can tell truth from lies. I’ll let you eat ten bowls of instant noodles in three days. Lie once, and I deduct one bowl.”
The fat boy hesitated. “Ten bowls over three days? Isn’t that too little?”
He had already eaten three just now.
Chu Feng: This fat kid really has guts. Already a prisoner, yet still making demands.
“Not too little,” Chu Feng said. When he first came to Crescent Village, people only ate two meals a day. Some poor folks outside eat just once a day.
