Chapter 69: The Call
The man lying on the bed visibly stiffened when Xu Zhi asked her question. It was clear that he was reluctant to answer, but the short-haired girl who brought Xu Zhi in spoke up directly:
“Because of me. My extraordinary ability lets him barely maintain his sanity, though it doesn’t work consistently. Most of the time, he’s still mentally unstable.”
Huh?
Xu Zhi activated her ability, Eye of Secrets, to take a look at the girl. She discovered her attribute was Heart, while the man on the bed was indeed Cup.
A bit impolite, perhaps, but maybe she should get into the habit of using her ability to scan everyone she meets.
A Heart-type extraordinary — this was her first time encountering one. And to think such a person could suppress Cup-type madness? Or perhaps it was just a unique aspect of this girl’s awakened ability.
Either way, it solidified Xu Zhi’s intention to bring the girl back to the Old Residential District.
“An extraordinary ability? What exactly does it do?” Xu Zhi pressed for details.
“Miss, why are you asking so much?” the man on the bed asked, lifting his eyes with difficulty to meet hers. Xu Zhi could sense he wasn’t worried about himself, but rather didn’t want his sister’s ability to be exposed.
A loving family, truly.
“It’s alright, big brother. At this point, there’s nothing left to hide,” the girl said, her voice calm but filled with quiet despair.
Xu Zhi figured she had accepted the gap in strength and simply given up resisting — which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Xu Zhi even felt like praising her pragmatism.
“My extraordinary ability, if I had to name it… is probably ‘Purification.’”
“But it’s still limited in power. Most of my restored energy is used on my brother, but it still can’t keep him fully sane.”
In the dense mist, extraordinary energy usually recovered quickly — Xu Zhi being the exception.
“You used your power on those dogs too?” Xu Zhi asked sharply.
The short-haired girl looked surprised, then nodded. “Yes. At first I was afraid to use it directly on my brother, so I tested it on some stray dogs. When I saw it had an effect, I tried it on him.”
This ability of hers likely had more uses than she realized…
That “purification” ability had actually cut off the energy absorption process that strengthened the stray dogs.
Not just pure purification, then.
Interesting. Zhong Lingfan might be very interested in this.
With that thought, Xu Zhi spoke up: “I want to ask your brother a few questions. If he answers truthfully, I’ll provide you with new shelter, a safer place to live, and help improve your extraordinary ability — to give you a real chance at saving him.”
Her words lit a spark of hope in the girl’s eyes: “Really?”
Xu Zhi nodded. “Why would I lie to you?”
“As a show of goodwill, take this.” She reached into her pocket — or rather, her warehouse — and pulled out two basic Heart-attribute cores.
To her surprise, the girl looked confused. “What… is this?”
Xu Zhi paused. “You don’t recognize it?”
“No.” The girl shook her head. “We have a few similar things, but not in this color. We didn’t dare touch them.”
Xu Zhi gave her a look of approval. “That was the right call. These are called Attribute Cores.”
She briefly explained their use, then handed the two Heart cores to the girl. “This is your attribute core. Your attribute is rare, and so are these cores. You should understand that giving these to you is my way of proving my sincerity.”
“Okay. Understood.” The girl nodded and accepted the cores. In a voice steady but tinged with a slight tremble, she urged the man on the bed, “Big brother, just answer whatever she asks.”
It wasn’t that she truly trusted Xu Zhi, but she was smart enough to know when to go along.
“Qinqin…” The man hesitated, looking at the girl. When she nodded firmly, he sighed.
“Miss, ask what you will — while I still have some clarity.”
Xu Zhi didn’t waste time. “I want to know: what does it feel like when you lose your mind? Is there something calling to you, or something new in your head?”
The man closed his eyes in thought, then answered seriously: “I don’t know how you know, Miss, but yes. When I lose control, I feel something… something incredibly compelling. It’s a… grand purpose.”
As he said this, his tone grew strange and almost reverent. He leaned back, breathing heavily, clearly suppressing some deep yearning, before continuing:
“When I’m like that, I’d give anything for that goal. I don’t even feel like an individual — more like a part of that goal.”
“Most of the time, I’m confused. Even when I’m clear-headed, I can’t remember what I did while I was mad. The only thing that lingers is this… recurring sense of desire that appears in my mind.”
“It’s made me irritable and impatient. I lash out at my family, I yell, and sometimes I smash things.” His expression contorted in pain as he spoke.
Xu Zhi could tell he’d once been a kind and gentle young man — this change was clearly unbearable for him.
“Qinqin’s ability is getting less effective. I can feel the voice calling me to lose myself getting louder and clearer. Maybe… it won’t be long before I’m beyond saving.”
“What voice?” Xu Zhi pressed.
“I don’t know. It’s a… indescribable voice. It’s not like anything else. It has no language, but I know it’s calling me. Or calling us.”
Strange.
Xu Zhi thought of the silent aberrations loitering around the city center. Were they also responding to some kind of call?
“Is there more?” she asked, seeing how the memory was clearly affecting him. The girl frowned in distress, but Xu Zhi continued her questioning.
The man shook his head weakly. “No. That’s all I can remember.”
“Most of the time, I don’t have awareness or memory. I’m sorry.”
Xu Zhi studied his expression carefully. He didn’t seem to be lying. Only then did she put away her cold tone and smile.
“No need to apologize. Thank you for your cooperation. I will keep the promises I made.”
“Pack your things — you’ll be leaving here soon. Oh, and give me a pen and paper. I need to write a letter.”
She intended to have Zhen escort the group to the Old Residential District, along with a letter explaining everything to Zhong Lingfan, instructing her to keep a close watch on both the man and the girl.
