Chapter 124: Chapter 118: Long-range Materialization Experiment 「November 15th. The underground base of the Strategy Research Room.」
Inside the laboratory, a majestic white mecha brandished a dazzlingly bright Power Sword, slashing down into the empty air.
SQUELCH! The corpse of a Sound Hunter, sliced in half, materialized and dropped dead to the floor.
It hadn’t been lured by a human, however, but by a scarecrow.
CHUNK—
The mecha’s cockpit opened, and a long-haired girl of about sixteen or seventeen climbed out, her young face etched with fatigue.
After she stepped away, the white mecha dissolved into a streak of light and vanished.
The girl glanced at the Sound Hunter’s corpse, her expression one of undisguised disgust, and quickly left the laboratory.
Dr. Zhang was standing at the door. When he saw the girl emerge, he smiled, handed her an energy drink, and held up his phone, which already had a message typed out: (Good work, Bai. Did a Communication Secret Scroll drop this time?)
The girl glanced at the screen, took the drink, and gulped it down. Then, she pulled her phone from her pocket and typed a reply with flying fingers: (No drop. Also, I’m out of Psychic Power!)
(I know. Go back to your dorm and rest. Come back tomorrow.)
(Can I just not come back?) the girl replied in a flash. (Those Sound Hunter things are disgusting! Even worse than snakes!)
Dr. Zhang offered a silent, wry smile. (That won’t work. Your Snow White Traceless can kill them effectively, and that saves a lot of attack items.)
(What a pain!) the girl replied, then turned and walked away.
Dr. Zhang shook his head, accustomed to the willfulness of the girl named Bai Xuewu.
It had taken a monumental effort just to get her to join the Official Team; she’d only agreed after being persuaded multiple times.
She couldn’t care less about a position others would fight to the death for. As a self-proclaimed socially anxious otaku, she thought it was far more interesting to stay home and watch anime.
After much back and forth, Dr. Zhang had finally gotten her to agree by promising she could form her own one-person team and would only have to communicate with him, no other official personnel.
He went to all that trouble because he believed Bai Xuewu’s mecha ability was exceptional. She had immense potential to become a top-tier Ascender and was worth the significant investment in her training.
Besides, you couldn’t force someone that talented to join. If you created a sense of resentment, they might just feign compliance and then backstab you at a critical moment, causing devastating losses.
In hindsight, his decision had been the right one. Bai Xuewu had demonstrated her high value in the subsequent Ascender challenges, and now again as she used the immense power of her Power Sword to slay Sound Hunters.
(Dr. Zhang, I should be heading back now, too.) A young man with a head full of curly hair and glasses emerged from the adjacent room, holding up his phone to show the text.
Dr. Zhang glanced at the young man and nodded. (Go ahead. Thanks to your ability, we’ve reduced casualties.)
This young man’s ability was[Grassman Doll]. It allowed him to consume Psychic Power to create a scarecrow. The scarecrow possessed human characteristics—it could speak and show expressions, the only difference being that its body was made of straw.
After the officials found his registered ability in their database, they immediately transferred him to the base. By using his ability, the scarecrow could replace human testers in luring the Sound Hunters, thus reducing fatalities.
(I’m just doing my part.) After typing his reply, the young man departed.
Dr. Zhang stroked his chin, thinking the young man was promising material. If his Grassman Doll ability were developed further, it could surely lead to new derivative powers. His potential was excellent.
Furthermore, his Psychic Power cap wasn’t low either. At over 110 points, he was considered top-tier.
As it happened, the Third Team had been shorthanded ever since Gu Fei quit. After a bit more observation, perhaps he could let this young man try out for the spot.
...
Somewhere in the wilderness, not far from a camp encircled by vehicles, five people in matching black outfits were observing.
Gu Fei looked toward the youngest girl in the group and picked up his phone. (Looks like that camp up ahead has something from the list. How many people are inside?)
Chen Na closed her eyes, activating her[Perception Realm]. The movements of all living beings in the vicinity materialized in her mind.
She opened her eyes and replied on her phone: (Thirteen people.)
(That’s it? I could kill them all by myself.)
Chen Na’s body trembled slightly when she saw the words Gu Fei had typed.
Gu Fei was about to move forward but was stopped when a young man wearing headphones raised a hand.
Gu Fei typed angrily, (What are you doing?)
The youth with headphones: (We’re getting supplies, not killing anyone.)
A cold glint flashed in Gu Fei’s eyes. (How do we get the supplies without killing anyone? You think they’re just going to hand them over?!)
The other two members exchanged a look but offered no opinion.
The youth with headphones: (I’ll go negotiate.)
Gu Fei typed forcefully, (Why should I listen to you?!)
This time, the youth with headphones didn’t type. He just stared into Gu Fei’s eyes.
Not to be outdone, Gu Fei glared back, but he soon found the strength rapidly draining from his body. An expression of terror crossed his face as he became too weak to even stand properly, nearly collapsing to the ground.
The youth with headphones withdrew his gaze, paid Gu Fei no further mind, and walked straight toward the camp.
Gu Fei stared at his retreating back, his face a mask of disbelief, wondering what had just happened.
Just then, another team member, a short-haired young man who’d been watching TV in the lounge earlier, typed a message to him: (I’d advise you not to pick a fight with him. His ability is stronger than all of ours combined.)
(What’s his ability?) Gu Fei asked.
Although the five of them had formed a team, the only ability anyone knew about so far was Chen Na’s Perception Ability. She hadn’t revealed it herself; a short-haired woman had told the others so that Chen Na could take charge of reconnaissance.