Chapter 3
—
Shen Wu Chuang jolted in shock.
He had always treated those horror stories about ability-users being captured by the Abnormal Abilities Management Bureau as after-dinner entertainment—never imagining he might end up in one himself.
If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve been so morbidly curious!
But he put on a tough front. “Where’d a kid like you hear all that?”
The boy, still young and naive, panicked at Shen Wu Chuang’s dismissive tone. “You’ve gotta believe me!”
Shen Wu Chuang shoved his grasping hands away, irritated. “Just go back to your Association! I’ve got things to do!”
“Wait! Hear me out!” the boy shouted, flinging a business card with the Association’s address and contact info toward Shen Wu Chuang. “I’m Yun Zhen! Call me anytime if you change your mind!”
Shen Wu Chuang ignored him and kept walking.
—
On the way to the Abnormal Abilities Research Center, Xiang Peifeng sharply sensed an unusual energy fluctuation in a narrow alleyway, far beyond normal levels.
He raised a hand, signaling his team to halt. In an instant, his gaze locked onto a pair of bloodshot, panicked eyes.
His eyes dropped lower, noticing the papers the young man clutched—emitting faint red ability-energy, the contents resembling a Chinese Rural Dog.
Task Ren, following Xiang Peifeng’s line of sight, hesitated. “Captain Xiang, there seem to be more ability-users on the streets than usual. The detectors keep going off. Is it that boy with the suppressant collar? Should we handle him?”
“No,” Xiang Peifeng didn’t correct him. “Proceed to the Research Center first.”
Before this mission, Xiang Peifeng had just wrapped up a murder-for-hire case. Upon returning to the Bureau, before he could even hand over the suspects to Pretrial, he received word of an explosion at the Research Center, causing an energy leak.
With the Bureau’s Emergency Task Force and Radiation Handling Unit leaders deployed elsewhere, Xiang Peifeng had to lead the team to the Research Center himself, handling post-explosion personnel placement and accident investigation.
By the time they arrived, firefighters in radiation suits had already extinguished the flames. Medical personnel were treating the injured, and police had sealed off the perimeter.
These three groups were all non-ability-users, stationed nearby and first to respond.
The Abnormal Abilities Management Bureau was located in the outskirts of Ni Xu City. Despite rushing at full speed, they were greeted with sarcasm by the hostile Emergency Response Team Captain of the Police:
“I thought you ability-users could fly here faster than us normies! Save us the trouble of being stuck outside while you take your sweet time! Turns out, your flying isn’t even as fast as our four wheels! Useless!”
“Who’re you calling useless?!” Task Ren rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw hands.
“Ren! Fall back!” Xiang Peifeng coldly stopped him, his breath fogging the radiation helmet as he calmly addressed the captain. “Usefulness depends on the division of labor. The Bureau greatly appreciates your support.” He emphasized “support”, striking a nerve.
The flying ability their team relied on came from a single member, and with near-maximum capacity, it couldn’t speed them up. Switching to vehicles would’ve cost them another half-hour in Ni Xu City’s chaotic traffic.
The Emergency Response Captain’s hostility stemmed from decades-old tensions—ever since the meteor disaster.
Twenty years ago, a 10-meter meteor exploded 30 kilometers above Ni Xu City, raining radioactive debris worldwide. The fallout mutated human genes.
Some recovered unchanged. Others died in agony. A few survived—and evolved, gaining abilities.
But their minds grew fragile. Ability rampages, abuse, and violence became common.
Fearing radiation hazards and ability-related crimes, the Three-Ring Council established the Abnormal Abilities Research Center and Abnormal Abilities Management Bureau—specialized agencies to track, regulate, and suppress ability-users.
The Criminal Investigation Team, led by Xiang Peifeng, was notorious for hunting down rogue ability-users.
Ability-users feared and resented non-ability-users, who held decision-making power over them. The Suppressant Collar—a symbol of control—was mandatory for all ability-users, monitoring and restricting their powers.
The Emergency Response Captain’s outburst reflected deep-seated societal tensions:
– Non-ability-users envied ability-users’ power.
– Ability-users despised the collars and discrimination.
The root cause? Fear of irrelevance—non-ability-users feared being replaced, reduced to support roles while ability-users took over.
Xiang Peifeng ignored the captain’s rage, calmly ordering two members to question survivors before leading the rest inside.
The enraged captain kicked a stone pillar and roared: “Fuck!”
—
The blast originated in the basement—a purification lab for meteor fragments.
Inside, all equipment was destroyed, the walls charred black.
Two burned, intertwined corpses blocked the entrance.
Xiang Peifeng ordered the “Identifier” (a team member with recognition abilities) to confirm their identities, then stepped over the bodies and debris, heading for the 0.5 cubic meter meteor fragment—exposed and leaking high-concentration purified liquid.
Radiation spread uncontrollably.
Xiang Peifeng extended his right hand, touching the icy, jagged surface, and activated his ability—”Pure Silence”—absorbing and purifying the radiation.
“Pure Silence” could:
- Absorb and purify ability radiation.
- Temporarily nullify others’ abilities.
Three minutes later, the radiation was blocked, but Xiang Peifeng staggered, exhausted.
Abilities had limits—their strength depended on the user’s mental and physical state.
Realizing the fragment and liquid were too large to fully absorb, Xiang Peifeng changed tactics.
He extracted his ability, forming a semi-transparent golden barrier over the fragment and liquid, temporarily containing the radiation.
But the overuse left him breathless, his senses overwhelmed.
The “Identifier” finished checking the bodies and reported via the Bureau’s standard-issue light-brain device:
“Both victims identified. Victim #1: Dong Qian, Director of the Research Center. Victim #2: Ruan Yusheng, Assistant Researcher, hired a year and a half ago through public recruitment. Both were confirmed non-ability-users, unaffected by radiation. Here are their files.”
Xiang Peifeng suppressed his racing heartbeat and scrolled through the data.
The Research Center, unlike the Bureau, employed both ability-users and non-ability-users, who had to pass radiation tolerance tests and register with the Bureau.
Xiang Peifeng knew Dong Qian—an old man obsessed with research.
His focus shifted to Ruan Yusheng:
– Graduate of Ni Xu Medical University.
– Grandson of Ruan Ping, Chairman of Ruan Pharmaceutical Group.
Just then, the two interrogating officers returned:
“A survivor claims the explosion was caused by an operator accidentally activating the heating system for the meteor liquid before the instrument outlet opened.”
An accident?
Xiang Peifeng glanced at the two entwined corpses.
A senior researcher and his star assistant—one mistakenly triggered a fatal error, the other failed to stop it, and in the final moment, they fought for survival… and both died?
Did he believe that?
Before he could voice his doubts, Xiang Peifeng’s mind buzzed with noise—footsteps, rustling, whispers, heartbeats—all overlapping.
“You handle this,” he barked, then stormed out, finding a quiet corner.
He clicked a simulated drumbeat on his light-brain—forcing his heartbeat to sync, regaining control.
Bureau Director Duan Beiwang and Emergency Task Force Captain Fang Juexiao rushed in from the city-wide conference, spotting Xiang Peifeng’s pale face.
Duan Beiwang steadying him, concerned:
“How are you holding up?”
