Chapter 237 Mutual Aid Society Just then, the wall opposite her…
Just then, the wall opposite her collapsed with a loud crash.
In that instant, she saw that the road behind the shack had not been completely buried, and the plants seemed to be wary of something, showing no unusual movement.
She didn't have time to think it through, and could only run towards that direction by instinct, tumbling and rolling.
The vines that had invaded the room seemed to sense something and stabbed at the spot where Sang Zhitao had just been standing, like knives.
By the time they realized what was happening, Sang Zhitao had already stepped onto the only open space and run to the path behind.
With a loud crash, the makeshift shack was completely buried under the vines.
Panting heavily, Sang Zhitao didn't dare to look back. She ran desperately along the path she had walked many times before, relying only on the faint moonlight.
"Roar!!" Sang Zhitao instinctively lunged forward.
A two-meter-tall feline with cat ears and a face so mutilated and distorted it was extremely terrifying, drooling and looking at the doll, which was no bigger than a bean to it, with a look of madness and murderous intent.
Sang Zhitao lay on the ground, looking into the other person's pupils, and subconsciously wanted to summon the jade pendant to attack.
But for some unknown reason, her power was suppressed to the limit in this world. Not only could she not use her power, but she could not even transform her body into an animal.
Apart from her size, her physical condition is about the same as when she first went to the Elf World.
But in that world, she had the Elf King, the Elf Mother Tree, and others to protect and cherish her; here, she was all alone.
A gust of wind carrying a fishy stench swept by, and she instinctively rolled to the side.
A huge beast claw slammed down on the spot where she had just been lying.
The road ahead was blocked by a giant beast, and the road behind was blocked by vines.
Sang Zhitao bit her lip, glancing at the plants on both sides that showed no signs of movement. With a determined bite, she rolled into the grass as the giant beast's second claw came down.
The grass blades here are serrated, just like the leaves of a rose.
Fortunately, she was covered in mud, and the serrated edges weren't very long, only leaving white marks on her body.
Looking up at the night sky, which was completely obscured by tall grass, Sang Zhitao helplessly lowered her head and rushed forward, not caring where she would end up, just running in a certain direction based on instinct.
This patch of grass seemed unwilling to harm Sang Zhitao.
They watched with curiosity as the human cubs darted between their bodies and those of their kind.
Sensing the emotions emanating from them, Sang Zhitao breathed a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't a dead end.
She ran for an unknown amount of time until her legs could no longer move, and her chest and lungs felt like they were about to explode.
Suddenly, her footing gave way, and she tumbled heavily into a deep hole...
"Human cub, why is she running?"
"I don't know, weren't the man-eating vines and man-eating tigers just planning to play games with her?"
"This seems to be a game unique to humans, what's it called... hide-and-seek!"
"I see..."
She could faintly hear voices behind her, but Sang Zhitao, who was already unconscious, couldn't hear them...
"Wake up? Wake up?" A gentle voice rang in Sang Zhitao's ear.
She felt a warm sensation on her face, and then she was embraced and carried in one direction.
"You're awake?" When she woke up again, she was already in a room.
This room is strange; it has a large curved top and curved walls on both sides, like... a giant pipe.
"Where am I?" Sang Zhitao sat up, holding her head, and realized that she was lying on a small single bed.
"Mutual Aid Society Outpost 773." A gentle-looking girl with wavy red hair and a friendly smile was looking at her.
"What is a mutual aid society?" Sang Zhitao looked at her blankly.
The girl was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and explained, "We don't belong to the Spiral Tower, nor to the Shadow Council. We are a third party independent of them, a mutual aid society that upholds its own values and protects its companions."
"What are the Spiral Tower and the Shadow Council?" Sang Zhitao was even more confused; these things weren't mentioned in the original book.
"He's still a kid, he probably hasn't even heard of it." A girl of about fifteen or sixteen with a high ponytail walked over with a smile, carrying some food.
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot." The girl in front couldn't help but pat her head.
"Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Shana, and I'm the president of Mutual Aid Society No. 773. And that's Lillian." Shana pointed to the girl with the high ponytail who had just spoken.
"So, what exactly are the Spiral Tower and the Shadow Council?" Sang Zhi Tao took the cookie-like thing that Lillian handed her, ate a few bites, and then continued to ask.
Shana watched gently as she finished the cookies, then handed her a glass of warm water before slowly introducing herself…
From her words, Sang Zhitao learned that it was now two hundred years after the original story ended.
Five hundred years ago, this world experienced a great resonance event.
People awaken after a brief loss of consciousness and discover that they possess special abilities when experiencing certain intense emotions; this ability is officially referred to as emotional superpowers.
Later, the first generation of superhumans discovered that this ability could be passed on to the next generation through reproduction.
Three hundred years later, there were no more old humans without superpowers in the world, and new humans ruled the world.
The original story takes place three hundred years after the Great Resonance Event.
The main characters are three teenagers studying at Heart Painting Cottage. They receive their first emotional healing mission, which begins their adventure.
Heart Drawing Academy is a school in the story that teaches children to use emotional abilities. When they grow up, they will enter the official academy for further study until they become qualified emotional ability users.
But not long after the story ended, that is, two hundred years ago.
A global catastrophe has occurred: "Broken Hearts Day".
On that day, a strange energy wave erupted across the globe.
Most people felt some discomfort after being swept by the energy of the light waves.
Later, more and more people suffered from mental illnesses, and the emotional superpowers associated with negative emotions began to emerge and increase rapidly, while the world order began to collapse...
"Until 150 years ago, the official academy was renamed Spiral Tower Academy, becoming the de facto official controller, and has been responsible for teaching emotional ability users. They insist that human nature is inherently good."
"And the Shadow Council was born as a result."
Shana took a sip of water and continued, "The Shadow Council believes that human nature is inherently evil, that negative emotions are human nature, and that those who possess high levels of harmful negative emotions are natural controllers."
"It sounds like the Spiral Tower is on the side of justice, so why is your mutual aid group involved?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously, frowning.
Shana paused, sighed silently, and said, "That's true, but the Spiral Tower also believes that people with high levels of negative emotions will be future criminals and need to be monitored and controlled by them in the long term."
"Have you been to the quarantine area?" Lillian suddenly asked from beside her.
"What is a quarantine zone?" Sang Zhitao was getting increasingly frustrated. How could there be so many strange things in this world?
"The quarantine zone is an area located on the edge of the area, created by the Spiral Tower."
Shana paused for a moment as if she had thought of something, before continuing, "Those with negative emotional abilities are officially called emotional freaks, blemishes, or living disasters."
"So they had to stay in the quarantine area wearing restraint collars."
“Those with negative emotions are already unable to control their emotional abilities, so when they are sent to the quarantine zone, they are stimulated by their companions and the environment every day, making their emotional abilities increasingly difficult to control. As a result, the plants and animals in the quarantine zone will mutate under such influence,” Lillian added from the side.
“An anomaly…” Sang Zhitao couldn’t help but murmur.
"What's wrong?" Shana asked curiously, noticing her unusual mood.
"I was chased here by a group of strange plants and animals and accidentally fell into the pit."
"You used to live in the quarantine zone?!" Shana and Lillian looked at her in surprise.
After scrutinizing her for a while, Shana finally asked incredulously, "Who are you, a mere child, with in the quarantine zone?"
“I used to have a grandmother, but she died, so I’m all alone now,” Sang Zhitao explained.
"So what is your special ability?" Shana looked her over in surprise for a long time. "Just how harmful can a doll like you be?"
Through their conversation, Sang Zhitao learned that even if a superhuman under the age of fifteen possesses extremely destructive negative emotions, they will not be sent to the quarantine zone because they still have the potential for rehabilitation.
"Never mind me. After all that talk, what is the purpose of the mutual aid society?" Sang Zhitao opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. After all, she didn't know her own abilities, so she could only silently change the subject.
Shana paused for a moment before continuing, "The Spiral Tower sounds great, but as you can see from the quarantine zone, it's nothing more than a place to wait for death for us negative emotion ability users."
"And the Shadow Council..."
"Although the Shadow Council is where most negative emotion ability users stay, there are also some negative emotion ability users who don't like to hurt others. They are not popular in a place like the Shadow Council that pursues high combat power."
"So we took care of each other and formed a mutual aid society."
“A team with more than five people can apply for an independent mutual aid association number and receive a badge from the headquarters. This way, the Shadow Council and the Spiral Tower cannot control us.” Lillian took off the badge and handed it to Sang Zhitao.
This is an image of three hands clasped tightly together, with the number 773 engraved below.
"So you're also negative emotion ability users?" Sang Zhitao tilted her head and asked curiously.
“Yes, my ability comes from suppression. They call it the Emotion Swamp. It can suppress the emotions of all emotional ability users within the field I create, preventing them from using their abilities,” Shana said.
"My special ability is corrosive jealousy, which can cause mold to grow on people's bodies, and I can also use corrosive energy to corrode them," Lillian explained with a smile.
Sang Zhitao was surprised that these two people's superpowers were so powerful; she had thought that all the superpowers of the mutual aid societies were relatively weak.
Both of them could see the emotions on Sang Zhitao's face, but they didn't explain. They just looked at Sang Zhitao with a smile and asked, "Where is your power?"
Sang Zhitao shook her head: "I don't know."
Shana and Lillian looked at each other, puzzled.
Sang Zhitao turned her head to look at the room made of giant pipes, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I have lived in the quarantine zone since I can remember. No one taught me how to use my powers."
“Power…isn’t it instinct?” Lillian looked at her suspiciously. “You…can’t be a powerless person, can you?”
"A person without abilities? That's rarer than a rare animal..." Shana was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in amazement.
"What, a powerless person?" A clear voice came from not far away.
A red-haired boy with a high ponytail walked in carrying a bag of things.
"As!" Shana stepped forward with a happy expression, took the things from his hands, carefully placed them in the cupboard, and then pulled the boy, who was watching Sang Zhitao warily, to the bedside.
"This is As, the vice president of our association. He's a year older than me, nineteen years old this year. He possesses the power of fear; he can intimidate all living beings and even stop the attacks of mutant plants and animals on us," Shana introduced, holding As's hand with pride.
"Oh, by the way, this is the child I found in that abandoned pipe. He's been living in the quarantine zone..." Shana said, then suddenly looked awkwardly at Sang Zhitao, "By the way, what's your name?"
"My name is Taozi." Sang Zhitao held her water cup and looked at them obediently.
Shana smiled and pointed at her: "Her name is Peach, she might become one of our unofficial members!"
Yas glanced at Sang Zhitao coldly and nodded slightly.
“Don’t blame him for being cold; we’re used to using opposite emotions to control our powers,” Lillian explained in a low voice, noticing Sang Zhitao’s embarrassed expression.
Sang Zhitao nodded in realization.
"By the way, where are you planning to go in the future? Do you want to come with us?" Shana asked curiously after pouring As a glass of water.
Sang Zhitao suddenly slapped her forehead, pulled the photo out of her pocket, and handed it to them: "I need to find my father."
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Author's note: My keyboard broke, so I'll be using this draft as a temporary solution. Hopefully, the keyboard will arrive tomorrow.
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