Chapter 36: A Glorious Performance
[Lamp]
[Absolute rationality, compassion, and the qualities of a leader. If you encounter confusion or danger, you can seek help from someone with this attribute.]
“What high praise.”
It seemed that having the [Lamp] attribute was a highly desirable thing in the outside world, though this evaluation probably wasn’t complete either.
But judging from the fact that known attributes rarely contradicted themselves, people with the [Lamp] attribute could almost certainly be considered to belong to the “good” camp.
“Leadership qualities, huh…”
Could there be [Lamp] attribute Ability-users in Cloud City?
For some reason, Xu Zhi suddenly thought of that ability-user in the Nanshan villa district who had won the absolute trust of a father and daughter. She seemed very much like someone with the [Lamp] attribute—able to gather a cohesive group in a short time and guide them toward survival in the apocalypse.
Xu Zhi became curious about that person again.
After reading the attribute section, the girl continued flipping through the handbook and soon saw the words [Cloud City].
Xu Zhi’s gaze sharpened slightly, and she began to read the section on Cloud City.
It briefly described the descent of the black fog and the emergency evacuation of Cloud City, and it didn’t shy away from stating that a portion of federal citizens had been left behind in the city. The Federation was actively organizing rescue teams, but the operation had reached a standstill due to the uncertain conditions and the inability to locate the city’s entrance.
[But we will not abandon the rescue of Cloud City. If you are interested in joining the rescue team, please fill out an application form on the official website.]
That’s what the handbook said.
Xu Zhi blinked, finding it a little strange. She turned to Cheng Zi and asked, “Is this true?”
Cheng Zi looked down and, seeing it was about the rescue team, nodded. “The Parliament really cares about those trapped in Cloud City. The rescue effort is a top priority. Only the strongest Ability-users can join!”
“They’re willing? Cloud City is super dangerous, right? There must be tons of aberrants and it’s filled with black fog. People could go crazy just walking a few steps in!” Xu Zhi feigned concern.
Cheng Zi scratched her head. “I’m not sure either. But I’ve heard that several powerful Ability-users volunteered to join the team and are trying to find a way into Cloud City. Maybe… it’s also partly for show, to gain fame, since they can’t even get in right now?”
It was even more suspicious.
Would the Federation really invest that much manpower and their strongest Ability-users just to save a few civilians in such a high-risk zone?
Xu Zhi’s logic was simple: If it were her, she wouldn’t do that. From what she’d seen and heard today, the outside world wasn’t exactly peaceful either. And with more Ability-users appearing, a misstep in management could lead to major chaos. So why spend the effort to manage Cloud City now?
Unless there was a benefit.
And not just any benefit—an irresistible one. Big enough that the Federation would slow efforts elsewhere just to find a way into Cloud City first.
Xu Zhi’s eyes lit up. That meant that those currently in Cloud City were in both grave danger and within reach of great treasure.
The only question was whether they could survive long enough to seize it.
“Before the Federation gets into Cloud City, I need to find whatever it is they’re after.”
Xu Zhi made the resolution silently in her heart.
“Little girl, it’s your turn.” While she was deep in thought, the woman who reminded her of a head nurse came walking over.
“Oh, okay.”
Xu Zhi smiled and left the handbook on the bench—didn’t take it with her—and followed the woman into a room.
Cheng Zi stood up first and didn’t notice Xu Zhi leaving the book behind.
She had eight minutes left before her spirit body dispersed.
The room appeared to be an ordinary office: white walls, a brown wooden desk, and a man who looked like a doctor seated behind it. Though he wasn’t in a white coat, but in a black uniform.
Cheng Zi was stopped at the door. Xu Zhi entered alone. The man gestured politely at the chair in front of the desk, “Sit.”
After she sat, he spoke: “You don’t know your attribute yet, right?”
Xu Zhi nodded.
He continued, “Identifying your attribute isn’t too complicated, but I need you to relax a little.”
As he spoke, he offered a soothing smile. “My ability allows me to sense which attribute someone is most attuned to, but for it to work, you need to lower your guard.”
So weak. Not even on the same level as [Eye of Secrets]. And yet he had his own office in the Special Investigation Department?
Xu Zhi quietly mocked him in her mind but didn’t show anything on the surface. She even cooperated by relaxing a bit.
The man activated his ability and stared at her for a long while before furrowing his brow, puzzlement flashing in his eyes.
Xu Zhi knew why.
An ability-user should only awaken to one attribute—but inside her, there were three distinct attribute energies. That was a major anomaly. But Xu Zhi wasn’t worried he’d find out. In fact, she’d be more concerned if he couldn’t tell.
The man hesitated. “Wait a moment, I need to make a call.”
Clearly this was serious. He picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Hey, where are you right now? Can you come down to my office?”
“…It’s something important. Come quick.”
After the person on the other end agreed, he hung up.
“Wait a moment, my colleague will be here soon. Your situation is rather unusual—I need her help.”
He didn’t even try to reassure Xu Zhi, probably because her face showed no confusion or panic. She simply waited calmly.
About two minutes later, someone arrived.
It was a woman dressed in a sleek black combat uniform. Her right wrist was bandaged, and her face bore several small cuts. She stepped into the room and asked directly, “What’s going on?”
The man looked a bit confused, but replied seriously: “I can’t determine which attribute she’s most attuned to.”
“She gives off a very complex feeling, like several attributes are mixed together. It’s chaotic. And I can’t even tell which ones.”
Chaos—almost instinctively, Xu Zhi thought of her spirit body’s trait: [Chaos].
The woman didn’t react emotionally. She simply turned to Xu Zhi. “Do you know your own situation?”
Xu Zhi didn’t answer directly. Instead, she suddenly asked, “Big sis, did you get those injuries fighting an aberrant?”
The woman raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she’d ask that out of nowhere. But she replied, “Yes.”
“I answered your question. Now it’s your turn to answer mine.”
Her gaze was sharp and calm—more mature and intense than Shen Jinwen.
Xu Zhi gave her a sweet smile. “My situation? Of course I know.”
The moment she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room shifted. The woman’s expression and posture turned defensive. She even drew her gun and aimed at Xu Zhi. “What are you doing here?”
Now that’s more like it. Xu Zhi thought.
Everyone should be cautious of each other—being too trusting like Cheng Zi was dangerous. But still, this woman really turned hostile fast. Then again, they weren’t close, and Xu Zhi’s behavior was indeed suspicious.
Xu Zhi sighed. “Big sis, I’d love to chat more, but there’s no time.”
As she finished speaking, the woman’s brows furrowed deeper, suspicion and tension rising in her eyes. But before she could say anything more, the girl in front of her suddenly collapsed as if unconscious.
“Hey!”
She called out, but Xu Zhi’s body crumbled into ash before her—like gray snowflakes dissolving into the ground.
In her final moments of consciousness, Xu Zhi saw:
- The woman’s shocked face and hurried steps forward.
- The man’s frightened and disbelieving expression.
- Cheng Zi outside, bored, asking, “What’s taking so long?”
Xu Zhi thought: Her first appearance had been decent—and this exit would definitely leave an impression.
Though… did it feel a bit villainous?
“Eh, whatever. This works too.”
After all, this was all deliberate—even if it was a bit of a last-minute idea. And no, it wasn’t just because of that crack in the handbook about her being mentally unstable!
She wondered whether the Federation would be able to trace her real identity from this spirit body that only bore a vague resemblance to her.
They’d better not waste the effort she put into this whole performance.
Author’s Note:
Quick recap:
- [Moth]: Wild and dangerous—rules of chaos and desire.
- [Moth] governs transformation, strange ideas, irrationality, instinct, seeking, chaos, desire, passion, nature, and woodland. It’s associated with forgetting and casting off what’s unnecessary. Its traits are secrecy and instability.
That’s our girl!
She’s not the super-rational mastermind type. She’s impulsive, self-centered, and follows her intuition—instability is just part of her charm.
The fun has begun