Prologue B
"By the way, may I ask about your special ability?" Shu Ningmiao poked her head out from behind his seat, a smile playing on her lips: "Is it related to sound?"
While 'Neural Connection' is very useful, she still wants a more powerful offensive ability.
Asking someone about their superpowers would be considered offensive. She targeted Yu Lu simply because he was mild-mannered and a public servant, so he wouldn't get angry even if she asked about his superpowers, and she wouldn't lose anything by asking.
Yu Lu hadn't spent much time with her and hadn't yet realized, like Weston, how far she could climb once given the opportunity.
"..." With most of the driving done by the intelligent system, Yu Lu looked back at her, slowly shook his head, and honestly replied, "No."
A hint of surprise flashed in Shu Ningmiao's eyes.
The first time I saw Yu Lu use his superpower was in the training ground. He stood on a high platform far away, and without using any amplification equipment, his voice calling "quiet" clearly reached everyone's ears. After he finished speaking, they really couldn't make a sound.
Therefore, Shu Ningmiao guessed that his special ability was most likely to control the propagation of sound.
The second time I saw him use his superpowers was when Prometheus attacked the String Light Academy. At that time, the enemies he fought always occasionally looked pained, as if they had suffered some kind of shock.
If his ability isn't controlling the propagation of sound, then what is it? Shu Ningmiao suddenly became very interested: "What is it? Can you tell me?"
Yu Lu didn't speak, but Shu Ningmiao's eyes remained fixed on him: "I will definitely report to you next time I leave school."
“It’s not some interesting superpower.” Yu Lu rested his hands on the steering wheel and sighed softly. “It’s okay to tell you, a lot of people know.”
“My special ability,” Yu Lu said, “is ‘Neural Connection’.”
He seemed to say it casually, but Shu Ningmiao suddenly froze in her seat.
Her voice, though forced to remain calm, betrayed a slight change in tone: "Doesn't 'neural connection' require a medium? How did you manage to transmit your voice into my mind out of thin air?"
That's a type of "neural connection".
Yu Lu explained, "Just like the internet has wired and wireless networks, the kind that requires a medium is 'wired,' while my 'neural connection' is a range-based ability. As long as it's within the signal range, it can invade the nerves."
So, Yu Lu and that Prometheus-like superhuman's abilities are both based on 'neural connections'?!
Indeed, Weston's book "Understanding and Introduction to Superpowers" mentions that some superpowers are not unique. It is very common for villages and families to have the same superpowers due to similar bloodlines and lifestyles.
There are only so many elements in nature, and the ability to control natural elements is also very common. I heard that there are eight or nine ice control ability users who enrolled in String Light Academy this year alone. However, due to individual differences, the methods and limitations of ice control also vary.
Both being 'neural connections' abilities, Yu Lu uses himself as a router, emitting radio waves for others to receive. Therefore, as long as she is within Yu Lu's ability range, she can hear the voice he transmits.
Compared to another type of 'neural connection', it has both advantages and disadvantages. It sacrifices the advantage of superhuman long-range ability and seems to limit the target of use, only allowing it to be used on humans. However, it is more flexible and more advantageous in combat.
What a coincidence!
Shu Ningmiao was momentarily shocked. Although something in her mind seemed wrong, something inexplicably became clear.
Yulu's ability to invade people's minds means he can access other people's memories. The person Prometheus was so wary of, even at the cost of killing his companions, was none other than him.
Seeing her dazed expression, Yu Lu said calmly, "Is it strange?"
Shu Ningmiao seemed to be in a daze for a while before she remembered something and said, "No... I just think, are these superpowers really that common?"
“It’s not common for the Pinne people.” Yu Lu’s calm expression turned slightly puzzled, as if he was surprised that she asked such a question. “But it’s very common for the Pingyi people.”
He belatedly realized that a child of Shu Ningmiao's age probably wouldn't be interested in the history of other countries.
Having been in the Pinheid bureaucracy for too long, he tacitly acknowledged that this was common knowledge: "After the people of Pingyi awakened, many of them possessed supernatural abilities related to the mental realm, with 'neural connection' being the most common."
This is also why he answered Shu Ningmiao's question so casually; his special ability in Pene is no secret.
This tendency of awakening among the people of Pingyi had no future in Pingyi, where people relied on fishing and had a low standard of living. Most of the awakened superhumans would go to large countries like Pinhes to seek a living. In the early years, 30% of the scientists at the Pinhes National Research Center were originally from Pingyi.
Psychic abilities have a natural advantage in researching Pandora and modern technology. As more and more people from Pingyi migrated to Pinne, the Pinne government also noticed the special nature of this land.
Soon after, the research center approved a project to establish Pingyi as a new branch of its research base.
Since then, the failures and pollution that humanity could not resist have utterly destroyed this land.
In Pingyi, which has been polluted, no new superhumans have appeared on the land, and mental superhuman abilities are becoming increasingly rare.
After Yu Lu unexpectedly awakened his 'neural connection', he quickly gained attention and his career was almost smooth sailing. At a young age, he became the secretary to the director of the Public Security Bureau.
Shu Ningmiao caught a key point in his words that she had never noticed before—but now she had something more to worry about: "Will you look into my head?"
"No." Yu Lu rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling rather helpless: "That's illegal. I won't invade other people's privacy for no reason."
Receiving Shu Ningmiao's distrustful look, he had no choice but to explain, "I'm not as powerful as you think. It's easy to transmit a voice and create trouble, but it's very dangerous to completely invade someone's mind. It's not something that can be done casually."
He uses his supernatural abilities to interrogate prisoners with overly stubborn wills, but only in a heavily guarded and secure environment, after anesthetizing the prisoners. The human mind is complex and intricate, and a slight mishap can lead to a backlash.
Shu Ningmiao's use of "neural connection" on Lin Chuiyun was partly due to the fact that connections with a medium are more stable, and partly due to her ignorance.
Regardless, Shu Ningmiao felt that it was absolutely the right thing for Pine to do to let him join the police force.
Yulu's high moral character saved her a lot of trouble.
But she doesn't have that high a sense of morality.
She took out her terminal, intending to exchange the stolen ability for Yu Lu's "neural ability." However, after careful consideration, she decided against it for the time being. Under the "jealousy" state, there is a 48-hour cooldown period for stealing abilities. If she were to change her ability, she would not be able to change to another one for the next two days.
Let's save the opportunity for when we need it most.
Shu Ningmiao rubbed the screen and sent a message to the housekeeper: "Could you check the enrollment list for this year's String Light Academy and send me the names of students whose families have Pingyi ancestry?"
The locals of Pingyi are now restricted from leaving the country. If the superhuman with the "neural connection" is related to Pingyi, he is at most a mixed-race person like Yulu.
At this moment, Shu Ningmiao began to think about what was wrong before. Why did Prometheus choose to show them the scene of "Pingyi" after invading the combat simulation system?
The once peaceful and tranquil Pingyi, the Pingyi polluted by Pandora's waste, and the Pingyi where everything was reduced to ashes—these scenes, though shocking, are too distant for them.
The fact that Prometheus could use methods to make Yeruki fall ill in front of them indicates that they were aware of Yeruki's illness.
To be honest, if you want students living in an ivory tower to quickly develop a resistance to Pandora, it is much more effective to let them see diseases that are closely related to their lives and that anyone can get than to see small countries that are thousands of miles away from them.
With so many noble students at String Light Academy, even if they knew it was true, who would join Prometheus and fight against their own country's government for the sake of a remote little country?
The reason they chose Pingyi as the starting point for the demonstration was not because they hadn't thought of it or were foolish, but because of the anger of the mastermind who used the 'neural connection' to infiltrate the system.
What he really wanted them to "see" was not the truth of this world, nor the truth of Pandora, but the truth of Pingyi.
It wasn't until evening that the housekeeper sent her a list. If someone is mixed-race and has been there for more than two generations, they will be automatically recognized as a Pigne in the Pigne gene pool. They don't need to fill in their personal information. If you want to find out your ancestral bloodline, you can only check one by one.
Shu Ningmiao gave the housekeeper a bonus, glanced at the list briefly, and then turned off the terminal.
It wasn't that she was careless; she just glanced at the list and already knew who it was.
It's darkest under the lamp.
——
"Can anyone tell me how to translate 'country' in Pingyi dialect?"
The Pingyi language teacher, wearing black-rimmed glasses, stood at the bottom of the steps and patted her lesson plan. With three or four minutes left before class, she took advantage of the time while the main console was being turned on to start asking them random questions about their review progress.
Rennagi straightened his notebook. He hadn't even brought his textbooks; underneath the notebook were two books on ADSL Interactive Technology.
He already knew that all the superhumans lying in ambush in the villa area had been wiped out.
But because the entire system was destroyed without even sending a signal, and no information about him was revealed, Rennagi could only console herself with this thought.
He is safe for the time being. Even if Shu Ningmiao comes back, she will first suspect the attention-grabbing You An. She will notice the strange behavior You An shows when he hears her name—of course, because that silly boy has liked her since the first day of school.
As You An's roommate across the hall, he knew this all too well.
Once she probes You An further, she will discover that he has her photos. This period of entanglement will give him enough time to come up with other ways to deal with her.
If all else fails... we'll have to ask the leader for help.
He was unsure whether Achini would intervene.
Although Achini was the leader of Prometheus, he was mostly a hands-off leader. Prometheus was a disorganized mess, with everyone acting independently and leaving the rest to their own devices.
Achini wanted to live like Shu Ningmiao, he knew that, but he wasn't the only one who thought it was impossible.
Shu Ningmiao is the most typical upper-class Pinneapolis person. She has no shortage of wealth, power, and status. What reason does she have to give up her comfortable and stable life to join Prometheus?
She knew how serious the consequences of Pandora would be. Seeing her teacher fall in front of her, and despite having gone through so much, she never showed any stance.
He had no idea what Shu Ningmiao was thinking. He just felt a chill in his heart. She possessed such a powerful ability. If it wasn't nipped in the bud, she would most likely become a powerful wielder and help Phineas commit evil deeds everywhere.
But he can't handle her alone right now, so he has to hide from her for the time being.
Rennagi bit her lower lip and silently opened her notebook.
Shu Ningmiao had already finished her Pingyi language course and dropped all her cultural electives. She hadn't been to this teaching building for several months.
He stayed in the classroom, feeling unusually relaxed.
Eric arrived at class right on time, greeted him, and he politely nodded back.
"Do you know how to pronounce 'friend' in Pingyi dialect?" The teacher looked at him: "Rennagi, you tell me."
He opened his mouth, about to speak, when he felt someone sit down next to him. The clean fragrance dispelled his relaxed drowsiness, and his mind instantly cleared, mostly from fright.
“Kaer”.
Her heart pounded so hard it almost drowned out her breathing; Rennagi's chest heaved, and she stiffly turned her gaze away.
A familiar voice sounded from the side, the person's voice overpowering his, and he slowly turned his head: "Ga-e, I was right, wasn't I, teacher?"
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