Chapter 54: Chapter 53: The Domain’s Ability Inside the truck’s cab, Chen Na asked worriedly, "Mom, Brother Guan Tong won’t be hit by the wild boar, will he?"
"I don’t know... That kid is just being reckless!"
Wang Yan looked tense. From her angle, the high snowdrifts completely blocked her view of the small path near the camp, so she couldn’t see what was happening.
She didn’t understand why Guan Tong had given up on hiding in the truck and decided to take on the wild boar instead. That wasn’t some plump, white domestic pig—it was a wild boar that foraged on the mountains, with thick, tough hide, capable of goring a person to death!
Just as the two of them were getting anxious, a short while later, they saw Guan Tong climb up from the small path. He waved at them, signaling that everything was fine.
Wang Yan saw him and immediately got out of the truck, but she told her daughter Chen Na to stay inside while she went over herself.
"Guan, what did you... huh?"
As Wang Yan got closer, she glanced down the path and instantly saw the dead wild boar, its head smashed in.
She stared at Guan Tong in shock. "Guan, you killed the wild boar?!"
"Yeah." Guan Tong had rested for a bit and regained some of his strength. "I had to. Otherwise, it would have eaten all the food in my pack."
"..."
Wang Yan found it hard to believe. Guan Tong’s build could only be described as well-proportioned; the word ’burly’ didn’t apply to him at all. Yet he had actually managed to kill a wild boar...
Something occurred to Wang Yan, and she blurted out, "Guan, you must have used one of those Psychic Power items, right?"
Guan Tong nodded slightly.
The fight had taken place on the path beside the camp, and Wang Yan and her daughter, inside the truck on the far side, couldn’t see any of it. Even though they knew he had used a Psychic Power item, they had no idea what it was.
Seeing this, Wang Yan didn’t press the issue. She knew their relationship wasn’t close enough for that.
However, learning that Guan Tong was capable of killing a wild boar put her mind at ease. If they couldn’t deal with the boar, she and her daughter would have been forced to hide in the truck, afraid to even step outside.
"It’s all thanks to Na," Guan Tong said. "If she hadn’t warned us ahead of time, we might not have seen the boar coming down the mountain. If it had suddenly charged and gored one of us, it could have been a disaster."
Out here in the wilderness, there was no rescue to hope for. A minor injury would be manageable—Guan Tong had a temporary medical kit—but a serious one would be a hopeless situation.
"That Nana..." Mentioning Chen Na’s warning, Wang Yan sighed. "Her ability seems to work on and off. I don’t know what’s going on with it."
"An ability? Not a Psychic Power item?"
"To be honest, I don’t really understand it either," Wang Yan said. "Back in the village, they did a collective check of Psychic Power values. They said the government would give a subsidy to anyone over 80. I asked my daughter, and she said sometimes she was over, sometimes she wasn’t. I was afraid of making a mistake, so I never registered her."
Guan Tong found that a bit strange. He thought for a moment and said, "Na must be over 80. If there are times she’s over 80, that means her Psychic Power cap is above 80. When it’s below 80, it must be because she’s used some of it up."
Hearing this, Wang Yan asked curiously, "Guan, are you very knowledgeable about this stuff?"
Guan Tong shook his head. "Everything I know about it can be found in the white papers."
Wang Yan nodded, seeming to half-understand. Just then, Chen Na got out of the truck by herself and trotted over. When she saw the boar’s corpse, she let out a little "Ah!" and grabbed her mother’s hand.
"It’s okay, Nana. The boar is already dead."
"Huh? Did Brother Guan Tong kill it?" Chen Na looked at Guan Tong with admiration. "Brother Guan Tong, you’re amazing!"
Guan Tong said, "It’s also thanks to you, Na, for spotting it early."
"Nana, Brother Guan Tong knows a lot about this. You should ask him about your Psychic Power," Wang Yan said. "Didn’t you say before that your number is always going up and down?"
"Mhm." Chen Na nodded, tilting her head as if organizing her thoughts.
"Brother Guan Tong, sometimes I can sense a huge area around me. I can feel people or little animals moving around, and I know where they are. But after a little while, I can’t feel it anymore. Then, after some more time passes, I can feel it again. It’s really weird."
If Wang Yan and Chen Na hadn’t brought it up, Guan Tong wouldn’t have asked. After all, things like Psychic Power values and items were now considered private.
But now that Wang Yan had Chen Na tell him, he was willing to help figure out what was going on.
Listening to Chen Na’s description, Guan Tong got the feeling that her Perception Ability seemed to be ’activating automatically.’
Once it activated, she could perceive the movement and location of living things within a certain range. When her Psychic Power was depleted, the ability would shut off. After her Psychic Power recovered, the process would repeat.
’Can’t Chen Na control the activation and deactivation of this Perception Ability herself?’
Guan Tong thought for a moment and asked, "Na, after the first rule, what did you search for and buy in the Sublimation Store?"
"Um... it’s because my mom used to be away hauling goods, and I never knew when she’d be back. I wanted to know the moment she returned. After I thought that, something called [Perception Realm] appeared in the store, and after I bought it, I could feel it."
"Nana, my sweet girl." It was the first time Wang Yan had heard her daughter say these things. Her eyes couldn’t help but redden as she pulled the girl into a hug. "It’s all my fault for not being home enough. From now on, Mommy will always be with you."
Chen Na lowered her head, a little shy, while Guan Tong, standing to the side, was also somewhat moved. However, he was more concerned about Chen Na’s ability.
’That’s right. After passing the first rule, what she bought wasn’t an ’item,’ but an ’ability.’ That’s a relatively rare situation.’
For example, Guan Tong’s own [Wordless Book], Xu Xiaotian’s [Instant Noodles], and even Shen Zuohu’s [Finger Tiger] were all Psychic Power items.
But Chen Na’s was a special ability called [Perception Realm].
Guan Tong asked, "Na, can’t you control this ability? For example, can you try to control the activation and deactivation of this [Perception Realm] with your thoughts?"
Chen Na blinked. "How do I control it with my thoughts?"
"Well... for example, you could set a keyword for yourself. Something like ’Activate Perception Realm’ and ’Deactivate Perception Realm.’"
"’When you mentally recite ’Activate Perception Realm,’ focus your mind and channel your Psychic Power. When you mentally recite ’Deactivate Perception Realm,’ immediately cut off the flow of Psychic Power.’"
Wang Yan said, "Nana, just listen to Brother Guan Tong and give it a try."
"Mhm." Chen Na tried doing as Guan Tong said. She mentally recited ’Activate Perception Realm’ and simultaneously tried to feel her Psychic Power. She immediately sensed the living creatures around her, but in the next second, it shut off again automatically.