Meeting gift
After waking up, Shi Youchen initially treated Yan Zhiyuan with displeasure. This was not because he had deceived or hurt him before, but because his self-righteous behavior had put Lin Zhouze in an irretrievable situation.
Later, Yan Zhiyuan explained the incident, saying that he had wanted to imitate a method circulating within the Maintenance Bureau, which was to use his life in exchange for the awakening of superpowers in the person closest to him. However, the sacrifice failed and something went wrong, causing Lin Zhouze to become disabled.
Shi Youchen didn't completely believe what he said until Morrill talked to him one day.
"After I was poisoned, Li Ming and I were receiving treatment from your female doctor friend. In fact, there was a period of obvious improvement. But after the accident in my family and the time when Li Ming was injured because of me, the poison in my body started to grow and spread wildly. They all said that I was dying." Morrill sat by the window, crossed his legs, drank a glass of pink drink, and talked about his experience with interest.
"Later, I felt that I couldn't hold on any longer, so I left a relic to Li Ming. I didn't expect that I would be here when I woke up again, and I had broken through the bottleneck and been promoted to level 4." A flat black fish swam past the window and sprayed a mouthful of pitch-black ink at the person inside. Mollyl pointed her finger, and the ink was absorbed into her body through the window.
"The person who saved me was 07. He said he saved me because I was still useful, and as a reward I had to do something for him." Morrill's eyes were stern. "At first I thought about running away, but this place is too weird, there's no way I can escape. Then..."
A familiar red-sapphire bracelet appeared on the table. Mollier's eyes softened for a moment as he looked at it. "Later, he gave me my mother's bracelet and took me out twice, allowing me to see something with my own eyes. Only then did I know."
She gnashed her teeth in hatred, yet had to suppress her rage: "It was that damned bastard Lu Ming who destroyed the entire Mo family, and he actually put the blame on my mother."
Shi Youchen recalled Lu Ming's defense in Conference Room 1: "How did you know it was him?"
What Morrill said next finally revealed one of Shi Youchen's long-held doubts.
"They all say my mom's mental health has deteriorated because of my sister's death, but that's not true. She just sometimes can't tell the difference between reality and dreams."
"My mother also has a special ability. Her ability is called 'Dream Fusion'. She can see things that will happen at a certain point in the future in her dreams. Mo Feiqian was afraid that she would run out to find my sister when she was confused. He was also afraid that her ability would affect his image in the outside world. So he kept her under house arrest and asked everyone to claim that she was mentally ill."
"Mo Feiqian defected to the Lu family himself. He used to be Lu Cheng's lackey. After Lu Cheng's death, he fawned over Lu Ming. He even wanted to give me to Lu Ming to please him, but he turned out to be ignored."
"When 07 first took me out, Lu Ming threatened the dignitaries of City Z, demanding they point out that Mo Feiqian was behind the association's back and doing something despicable that disrupted social order. He also shut down all the orphanages funded by the Mo family."
"The second time, I discovered that he had secretly gathered the remaining branches and used my mother's background to smear her, wanting to damage her reputation even after her death."
A crack appeared on the glass in Mollier's hand. "Even if he wasn't the one who started the fire, he's the only one who destroyed my mother and the entire Mo family. It's a shame I'm not capable enough to kill him myself."
"So I signed a contract with 07. I will do anything for him to be loyal to him, even if it means dying for him. In exchange, he has to help me get rid of Lu Ming and restore my mother's reputation."
Shi Youchen asked, "07 is from the Maintenance Bureau. The Maintenance Bureau and the Association are irreconcilable. Aren't you afraid of standing on the opposite side of Li Ming?"
Morrill drank the pink liquid, then crushed the cup with his palm. "The Association has been relying on the one-sided accounts of the powerful. They haven't even bothered to investigate and find out the truth. They've even deliberately concealed the evidence. Instead, they've repeatedly pressured the powerless, inducing them to break the rules. This kind of organization should be replaced by a more equitable order. And my loyalty is to 07. The Maintenance Bureau's plans have nothing to do with me."
"But after being here for so long, I've actually discovered some things I never imagined before." She suddenly leaned in close and whispered in Shi Youchen's ear, "That 'sacrifice' Yan Zhiyuan mentioned is indeed a real thing."
"Besides the people with special abilities, the Maintenance Bureau actually has more people like ordinary people, the ones you often see on the street."
"Every once in a while, a new naturally awakened superpower appears among them. And every time someone awakens, someone close to them dies. Some who don't make it out alive become disabled and are thrown into a concentration camp-like place by the administrators here. They call them 'the inferiors.'"
The fittest.
When Shi Youchen heard the name, he fell into deep thought and didn't even notice that Yan Zhiyuan sat at the same table.
"I know my actions have harmed Lin Zhouze, so I've been trying to find a way to help him recover. But for the 'Inferior', repairing their wounds is incredibly difficult, and I'm afraid I can't do it on my own." Yan Zhiyuan handed over a bottle of energy liquid, his tone as sincere as before. "I originally thought that as long as I made him hate me enough, my plan would definitely succeed. But I didn't expect that even if I pretended to kill you in front of him, he wouldn't kill me."
Whenever Yan Zhiyuan thought of that night in the sea of fire at the A City training base, his heart ached.
"I'm sure you know that I defected from the Association and joined the Maintenance Bureau a long time ago, but before that, I wasn't under anyone's command. 07 saved me that day and offered to cure Lin Zhouze as a condition for my future loyalty to him, and I accepted."
Shi Youchen turned his head and said, "You don't need to explain so much to me. I'm not an absolute loyalist to the association. In terms of betrayal, I'm not one bit more noble than you."
Then he sighed softly: "Lin Zhouze's condition is probably worse than you think. You... just do what you can."
Morrill listened to the love-hate relationship between the few people, looking like he was enjoying the show.
Yan Zhiyuan suddenly looked at Shi Youchen and asked, "What about you? Which side are you on? The Association, or the Maintenance Bureau?"
Shi Youchen stood up and prepared to leave: "Before I figure out everything, I'm on my own side."
"Good, good for standing on my side." 07 suddenly appeared, and no one noticed where he came from. "I can tell you everything you want to know. I said before, as long as you have that awareness."
Two pairs of pupils, one black and one white, faced each other. Shi Youchen spoke first, "Are you...trying to recruit me too? I also remember you saying that you looked down on my abilities and that I wouldn't be qualified to sit at your table until I reached level 5."
In the past, Shi Youchen had been forced to bow to 07 and even ask for his help due to the vast power gap in order to investigate Lu Shen's affairs. But now, without those complicated concerns and the shackles of the association, Shi Youchen was no longer the weak healing user he once was.
Unexpectedly, 07 chuckled, raised his hand and put a layer of light shield on Shi Youchen. Immediately, data appeared on the surface of the light shield.
Initial direction of supernatural power: healing and healing
Supernatural energy fluctuation level: Level 5
Ability growth prediction: S
"Now you're qualified to sit at my table. It's up to you whether you want it or not." 07's tone was clear, determined to get it. "By the way, you don't have to repay me for saving your life. In addition, I'll give you a 'welcome gift'."
Morrill shouted from the side: "This is not fair. What about me? Why don't I have a meeting gift?"
07 glanced at her and said, "Then give me back the bracelet." Then Mollier closed her mouth quietly.
Shi Youchen couldn't figure out what he was planning, so he could only respond accordingly: "I never owe anyone a favor, but whether I owe you or not, let's first look at this 'welcome gift' before judging."
...
Mollier wanted to come along, but 07 signaled Yan Zhiyuan with his eyes and forcibly took him away. So Shi Youchen was the only one who followed 07 to get his so-called "welcome gift."
07 took Shi Youchen out of the building and walked to the edge of an open-air corridor. He waved his hand and summoned a yellow "eye".
"You can tell this doesn't belong to any district." 07 tapped his fingertips, and the pattern on the yellow "eye" suddenly lit up, then unfolded into a flying vehicle. "I can tell you directly."
"This is the Maintenance Bureau's base, a space barrier. It's constantly moving, belonging to neither of the 12 districts, but also to every one of them."
07 boarded the aircraft first, then reached out to Shi Youchen and pulled him up: "Everything in here is constructed with supernatural powers and can also be driven by supernatural powers. Now let's go get your gift. Stand firm."
07's reminder was not unnecessary, because the aircraft was moving too fast, and Shi Youchen could only see the blue light flashing in the light beside him.
The aircraft carried the two people deep underground, creating white ripples among a group of flying birds and swimming fish, and finally stopped at the entrance of a reef cave.
The feeling of stepping on the rocks was strange, like stepping into a swimming pool. Your feet were weightless, but your body was still held down by gravity. Shi Youchen watched 07 retract the aircraft, then turned his gaze to the dark cave entrance.
A golden fish with an unusually long tail fin emerged from the darkness. Its tail shook, creating a small whirlpool.
A slender hand stretched out from the cave entrance and grabbed the golden fish. Then the owner of the hand swam out and appeared in front of Shi Youchen and 07.
The girl was wearing diving equipment but no hood, and her long hair floated in the water like seaweed.
Shi Youchen's pupils gradually dilated. He stretched out his hand towards the girl and called her name softly.
"Xiao Wei?"
07 looked at the scene of the two people touching hands with an unpredictable expression, but he soon remembered his purpose and asked Shi Youchen, who was still in shock: "How about this meeting gift? Do you like it?"
As a non-psychic, Xiaowei can't fully absorb the energy of the other dimension like 07 or Shi Youchen, so she needs to wear specific gear to travel to certain places. As a native of District 5, who has always lived in the arid desert environment, she has an extraordinary yearning and obsession with the ocean.
07 told her that he didn't want to keep idle people under his command, so she concentrated on studying the ingredients in this space and determined to become the best chef, just to repay 07 for saving her life.
Later, Shi Youchen's "corpse" was brought back here, and Xiaowei's day-to-day life was no longer boring. She had been waiting, waiting for the day when Shi Youchen would wake up.
Two years after they separated, Xiaowei finally heard Shi Youchen's voice again.
"Mr. Shi." She started speaking the language of District 8, which she had learned for a long time.
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