GA: Chapter 179 – The Light and Darkness of Human Nature; A Special Ability
But in the end, that was their affair. Compared to the Overman universe, what he should be paying more attention to was this world.
Spiritual qi revival. Extraordinary awakening.
Countless warriors and heroes stepping forward, dedicating their strength to protect the people and their nation.
Fearless in the face of death. Courageous in battle.
Each one of them radiated a magnificent light.
This was the brilliance of human nature.
But in this world, light had never existed alone.
Even now, with humanity facing an unprecedented crisis and a shared enemy, darkness still lurked within.
There were those who didn't care what state humanity had fallen to. Who couldn't see the so-called crisis at all.
Humanity? What does that have to do with us?
Let them die. As long as it's not us, it's fine.
The Spiritual Qi Bureau? Warriors? Heroes?
Fools.
Giving your life for strangers you don't even know—what's the point?
They would never do anything so idiotic. And they would never admire anyone who did.
"And yet sometimes—people like that go the furthest."
Bai Xuan patted Gardevoir's head gently and said it without inflection.
"Where there is light, there is shadow."
"Many who carry humanity's luminous side have already emerged. But the human darkness hiding in the shadows is far more frightening."
In the Spiritual Qi Bureau of Modu, every researcher present had their eyes fixed hard on the glass—or more precisely, on the person inside it.
A small girl. Her eyes held no light whatsoever, as though she were blind. But if she were merely blind, she wouldn't draw the gaze of this many Bureau researchers.
Bang.
Without warning, a beam of deep grey shot from the girl's eyes. With a soft sound, the glass struck by the grey ray transformed into stone.
As if the effort had drained her completely, the girl closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
"Three times. That seems to be her daily limit."
"There's too little spiritual qi in her body—she can't possibly use it more than that. When she grows older, or begins actively absorbing qi from the air, that should improve considerably."
One researcher observed.
"It's just a shame she can't properly control her ability yet. There are so many things we can't test."
"Like whether the number of uses is related to the target's strength. Or how long petrification lasts on a living subject…"
Another researcher said with regret.
"Do we still need to test the petrification duration? Her parents' stone statues are still in the Bureau."
"Barring the unexpected…"
They didn't finish the sentence. But regarding whether the girl's parents would ever recover from petrification—none of them had any confidence.
If the girl cooperated, perhaps once she could control her ability, she might actually reverse her parents' petrification. But unfortunately, no amount of persuasion had worked.
She didn't seem to want to undo it. She didn't seem to want to train her ability at all.
Yet according to their investigation, the girl's relationship with her parents had been perfectly normal. They had doted on her.
Incomprehensible.
"Whatever the case—her petrification ability is unquestionably one of the most elite talents."
"From our days of observation, even without actively absorbing qi from the air, an amount that in our estimation is enormous passively flows into her body on its own."
"That kind of aptitude—outside of the First Sequence, no one comes close."
"You should understand what the First Sequence represents in this era."
"The Imperial Capital has Qin Tian. Hangcheng has Huoyou. Tianhai has Chen Bing. Ningcheng has Ning Guang. Beijiang has Wang Ming. Precisely because these First Sequence ability users stand guard over their respective cities, those cities are as safe as they are."
"Our Modu has many talented individuals—even some Second Sequence ability users. But that's not enough. Among the mutant creatures, there are plenty who match or even exceed Second Sequence. We need a genuine First Sequence to anchor this city."
"Only then can everyone breathe easy."
"And she—has the potential to become that."
As he said this, the administrator's gaze on the girl carried a thread of hope.
Anyone who had joined the Spiritual Qi Bureau and remained through everything they'd seen—at their core, they wanted to protect people. To them, an ability user of extraordinary talent was invaluable.
If she could grow into her potential, the city's danger level could be reduced to its lowest possible point.
"Replace the glass. And set up additional safeguards around her to protect the researchers."
"Understood."
Several staff members answered promptly.
One of them kept his head lowered, a torrent of barely contained excitement rolling through him beneath the surface.
First Sequence aptitude. To think Modu's Spiritual Qi Bureau was hiding a prodigy like this.
He'd suspected as much when he first joined—but having it confirmed still sent a rush through him he couldn't suppress.
First Sequence. Petrification. Falls into sleep after three uses.
This is practically a gift from heaven meant just for me.
No one knew how profoundly agitated Zhao Feng was right now. His body was trembling with it.
He had joined the Spiritual Qi Bureau not to protect ordinary people—but to get close to people like this. People with extraordinary talent.
More precisely: to get his hands on their gifts.
During the first spiritual qi tide, he had been among the small minority who hadn't awakened. The Bureau was newly formed then—and beyond recruiting ability users with decent aptitude, they'd also taken on researchers. He had joined on a friend's recommendation.
He envied everyone who had awakened. And he was furious that he hadn't.
Ninety percent of China's population had awakened—and he hadn't?
Who would accept that?
But not awakening was not awakening. Even in his fury, all he could do was pin his hopes on spiritual qi—hoping that by studying this special energy, he might find some way to force an awakening within himself.
As time passed, the second spiritual qi tide arrived. Being a researcher inside the Bureau meant he'd been protected—so while chaos swept the world outside, he'd remained safely within and simply continued his research.
It was during this second tide that it finally happened.
He awakened.
[Ability: Plunder]
It required a certain cost—but the power was considerable. The ability to seize another person's ability. Even their cultivation aptitude.
In the process of training, he had already felt it: though his ability was formidable, his absorption of spiritual qi was abysmal. His cultivation speed was agonizingly slow.
His first act of plundering had to be worth something. He had to choose carefully.
His original plan had involved several of the Bureau's Second Sequence ability users—waiting until they fell in battle against mutant creatures while protecting civilians, then using their corpses to take what he needed.
He hadn't expected to encounter a surprise like this.