Chapter 77 - 066: The Demon
I went to the bathroom and came back, my phone kept vibrating in the dark, the "ding dong" alert tone didn’t stop for a second. Late at night, it almost felt like a haunting.
Ji Minghuan scratched his ear helplessly and ignored the bombardment of messages from Su Zimai.
He extended the restraint belt from his fingertips, retrieved the phone from beside his pillow, slid the screen a few times, and turned on the Do Not Disturb mode—if it were Blue Arc, he might have just blocked her; but this was his sister, who knows what she’d do when angry, he really couldn’t afford to annoy her.
He lay back on the bed feeling a bit speechless, unsure of why his sister was suddenly acting crazy.
Normally, Su Zimai either wouldn’t say half a word or would disappear for one or two months like she’s dead; but now she seemed to have a "family must love each other" stamp imprinted on her brain, afraid of not annoying him to death, as if she’s suddenly developed bipolar disorder overnight.
Ji Minghuan closed his eyes and transferred his consciousness into the body of Xia Pingzhou.
At this moment, the second body "Xia Pingzhou" was also lying down in a nearby hotel around Shiba Park in the Harbor District.
He remembered selling the event card "Twins on Stage" to the system earlier to get a skill point in exchange.
So he called up Xia Pingzhou’s character skill tree and glanced at the three skill branches.
[Branch one (Group): Recruit Soldier (Acquired) → Soldier Training (requires "1" skill point) → Unknown...]
[Branch two (Courage): Chess Species Evolution (Condition: Requires a total of "3" skill points spent on other branches to be allowed to learn this skill) (Learning this skill costs "1" skill point) → Unknown → Unknown...]
[Branch three (Soul): Demon Hunter (requires "1" skill point to learn) → Unknown → Unknown...]
The skill on the second branch requires conditions to be met before learning, it would definitely be the first choice if learnable, but I haven’t unlocked the permission;
The skill on the third branch is a bit redundant, just a one-time demon chess piece feels not of much use, besides I might not even have time to go demon hunting next;
Therefore, if wanting to enhance combat power in a short time, focusing on the first branch is the most stable, thinking of that, Ji Minghuan raised his hand to long press the skill text of "Soldier Training".
The text turned from dark to bright, blooming with black and white light, illuminating his pupils.
[Consume "1" skill point, successfully learn the skill of branch "Group" — "Soldier Training" (Equip your soldiers with shields, during battle you can activate the command — "Shield Formation").]
[Tip: The next skill of branch "Group" is open for learning permission.]
Ji Minghuan really wanted to test the soldiers right there in the hotel, but Black Iron Soldiers are heavy and bulky unlike the Empress, even considered clumsy, calling them out would likely cause a stir, better tested in combat a few days later.
Closing the series of panels hovering in front of him, he minimized the option bar into gear state, he thought: "Dad is officially rated as ’Quasi-Calamity level’... I remember the attribute measured back then using the restraint belt was Force A++ level, Speed A-level, Spirit A-level."
"My buddy is a member of the Royal Court Team, this title already sounds like one of the strongest batch at the Anecdote Envoy side, but his attributes are similar to my dad’s — if this is ’Quasi-Calamity level’ data, then the ’Calamity level’ above are even more exaggerated, every attribute nearly reaching S-level, even above S-level."
"So, for now, putting aside China’s strongest exorcists that means the ’Lake Hunting’ four, indeed ’Rainbow Wings’ is the strongest known organization worldwide now, after all, this organization has a total of 12 Calamity level powerhouses."
"Each of my character bodies comes with a skill tree system, the skill mechanism can compensate for the numerical gap... but even with this, nurturing each body to calamity level at least takes one or two months."
"Ah... if I hadn’t been injected with the superpower inhibitor, wouldn’t it be easy to create a character with initial numerical calamity level, but that’s why they injected the inhibitor, there’s no way they’d let me do so."
Ji Minghuan put his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
"Mentor seems to say in these two days, they want me to meet other children in the laboratory... setting aside whether it’s true or false, what kind of monsters are the other kids locked in the lab, wouldn’t this place become the final boss concentration camp later."
Thinking of this, he slowly closed his eyes. In the mild buzzing of the air conditioner, he fell asleep deeply.
...
...
"Restricted Superpower User, number 1002 — ’Ji Minghuan’, mentor visiting, quickly prepare for interrogation." Another similar voice woke him from the darkness.
Ji Minghuan opened his eyes, slowly turned his head to see a figure in a white lab coat walking in through the open metal door. He asked mentor: "Didn’t you say you wanted me to meet other kids, how come I don’t see a soul?"
"Still preparing." The mentor said while walking.
Ji Minghuan straightened up from the bed, rubbing his dizzy head while mocking: "Preparation sure is needed... the kids you’ve locked up here definitely aren’t simple, if they’re carelessly let out, there might be a few countries less on Earth."
The mentor sat down at the table, put down a thermos, clasped his fingers together, and smiled: "That’s an understatement, not just a few countries, half of humanity might disappear."
"You’re quite honest." Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow, continued asking: "Actually, I’m a bit curious... since you say Kong Youling is also a superpower user, what level does her superpower belong to in your system?"
The mentor answered: "She is currently the most potential Psychic Ability type superpower user we know of, if she grows normally, she will at least be a Quasi-Calamity level figure."
"What level exactly is Quasi-Calamity level?"
Ji Minghuan feigned ignorance, got down from the bed, and sat on the chair opposite the mentor.
The mentor patiently explained: "’Restricted’ is below ’Calamity level’, below that is ’Quasi-Calamity level’, further down are ’Dragon level’, ’Chief level’, ’Sublevel’, ’Harmless level’, this is the rating sequence established by the United Nations."
"Are you people from the United Nations?"
"No... there’s no need to guess, if the time is right, we’ll tell you who we are."
Ji Minghuan was indifferent, he understood why the mentor concealed the name of their organization—he is a Reality Influence type power user, if he someday breaks through the shackles, he might directly erase the entire organization from history. It might even happen so fast that the mentors wouldn’t react, disappearing completely from the world as if a name secretly removed from history books.
In fact, he had already investigated their background — "Salvation Society," this is most likely the name of the organization the lab belongs to.
The mentor smiled and said: "Normally, we don’t accept kids like Kong Youling here. But her superpower series is very rare, and she’s an exception here."
"Another reason... you hope to use her to control me, so she became an ’exception’." Ji Minghuan said as he casually tapped the desk with his fingers.
"Rather than control, it’s more like protection, the outside world is too dangerous for you. Moreover, your own power is also dangerous for you. Letting a child hold too much power in their hands easily leads to self-destruction, so we protect you, guide you, that’s what adults should do." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Right right, whatever you say is right." Ji Minghuan didn’t bother to argue with him, "Then what about the other kids here?"
"For children admitted here, the minimum potential is to grow into ’Calamity level’ in future."
"Am I the strongest one here?" Ji Minghuan asked, sounding like a child seeking recognition.
"Of course you are."
"Oh..." Ji Minghuan looked up at the mentor, taking the chance to throw out a series of questions: "Then why is my number Restricted Superpower User 1002? Who is number 1001, is there another restricted person locked in the lab? How many restricted ones like me have appeared worldwide?"
"Only two." The mentor took a sip of tea, "The previous restricted superpower user dates back to a century ago, at the time he also sought our help."
"Your organization indeed has a long-lasting history." Ji Minghuan understood that continuing to ask would lead nowhere, so he shifted topics: "Tomorrow... which child are you planning to let me meet here?"
"The first child we plan to let you interact with is called ’Filio’, he’s quite special... possessing a ’half-demon hybrid’ physique."
Ji Minghuan was surprised: "Half-demon hybrid?"
"That’s right, a child born from the mating of human and demon." The mentor said slowly, "It’s simply called ’Demon’."