[Alliance] Ability

"The third type is the kind of anomaly whose rules involve time. I usually like to call them 'Clock-In' anomalies."

"For example, Noon Has Come can only act at noon, but it can kill as it pleases throughout that time. Then there's Zhongyuan. It has it worse: it can only come out once a year, but it can stay out for a whole day."

"For them, basically, every person they kill counts as one 'meal.'"

Ren Yi was surprised to find that he felt nothing at all when Doctor Lin talked about "killing people." He even instinctively took it for granted.

Has something already affected me?

"That's about it, I suppose. There are some miscellaneous rules and abilities grouped into a fourth 'other' category, but you probably won't run into them."

"Oh, and one more thing. Those rules only apply outside a Ghost Domain. Inside one, the rules expand, and things get even messier. You can take your time learning about that at university."

"Uh..." Ren Yi hesitated. "After all that, what exactly is my ability?"

"Let me finish." Doctor Lin waved a hand in annoyance. "A Youngling's ability is usually very weak, and its conditions are very restrictive. As for yours, you can think of it as an 'Illusion' for now."

"Oh... that's pretty ordinary." Ren Yi felt a little disappointed.

But what did he mean by "think of it as"? Did that mean it wouldn't be an illusion after he evolved?

"Why are you so disappointed? It's powerful if you use it well, you know." Doctor Lin glared at him. "But the problem isn't your ability. It's the rule that triggers it."

"Although there are many rules, the energy sources are always similar. People killed, specific negative emotions, or more abstract things like lies. In any case, they at least fit our name as 'anomalies,' right? So the Alliance generally collects energy crystals of this kind for Younglings..."

"Keep it brief." At the side, Ren Man, who had already put up with him for a very, very long time, spoke in a voice cold enough to shed icicles.

"Ahem. Your ability belongs to the second type, Ammunition Type, but the rule... is probably 'positive emotions.'"

"Ammunition Type sounds powerful, but what do you mean by 'positive emotions'?" Ren Yi asked, puzzled.

"At the Youngling stage, it means you can cast an Illusion on someone once after you make a person happy."

Doctor Lin spoke as if he had given up trying to sugarcoat it.

Ren Yi: "Oh, that works."

Ren Man: "That's good."

Doctor Lin: "Well, it's not that weak. The main thing is that the Alliance hasn't prepared many crystals of the emotional energy you need to collect... Hm? What did you two just say?"

Doctor Lin looked at the brothers in front of him, doubting his own ears.

Ren Yi was thinking with his head tilted, while Ren Man's furrowed brows had finally relaxed, and he looked completely at ease.

Doctor Lin looked at Ren Man suspiciously.

"So, his body is perfectly normal." Ren Man explained calmly, "I'm very happy... I'll figure something out about his food."

"I think it's pretty good too." Ren Yi opened his phone and looked at his panel. "Besides, it looks like I don't need the Alliance's Energy Crystallization for my 'food.'"

"Maybe I didn't explain it clearly." Doctor Lin decided to pour a little more cold water on them. "You're still just a little E-Rank anomaly. In your current state, your ammunition is limited, understand?"

"Basically, your magazine capacity is only one, which means you only have one use of your ability."

"After you use an Illusion once, you have to make someone happy before you can use it again. They have to be happy because of you, mind you. We anomalies usually run horror instances. How are you planning to make people laugh in a horror instance?"

"In that case, it would be a little difficult to pull off." Ren Yi nodded in agreement.

"See? So it's a little unlikely that you can find food on your own. Your brother and I will think of a way to find you some..."

"Doctor Lin." Ren Yi interrupted him before he could finish. "I have a few questions for you."

"First, about leveling up. I think I understand now. My brother must have provided me with positive emotions for my first meal, so I advanced as soon as my energy fully stabilized this morning."

Ren Yi opened his phone and turned his panel toward Doctor Lin.

[Name: Ren Yi

Level: E (progress 1/100)

Rules and abilities: Not recorded

Family: Ren Man

Occupation: Youngling

Status: Energy stable]

"Just now, after my brother said he was in a good mood, my level progress increased again.

"So, unlike energy such as 'fear,' which can only be obtained in those so-called instances, 'Positive emotions' can also be obtained from us anomalies ourselves, right?"

Doctor Lin stared at the screen and fell silent for a moment.

"Given the current situation, you're right." Doctor Lin quickly calmed down and thought it over seriously. Combined with his white coat, the expression made him look very professional.

"But according to the Alliance's research, emotional energy can't be obtained repeatedly from the same individual for each advancement. Experiments have shown that repeatedly obtaining fear or pain from one individual doesn't work."

"So, each time you level up, this is all the energy you can get from your brother."

"I understand." Ren Yi nodded.

"Then my second question: how long does this illusion ability last, what does it consume, and what are its content and effects? Can someone powerful enough resist it? Is it possible to deliberately wake up through willpower?"

This time, Doctor Lin didn't answer so quickly. He thought for a moment, and a glimmer seemed to flicker in his eyes.

"I've gone over the worlds we've encountered so far, and I think that among the participants you might encounter at your current level, none can deliberately break free of this kind of rule-based ability."

"So, after you use your ability on a target, its duration is unlimited, and there's zero chance of it being resisted or broken. But the content and effects depend on your own imagination."

"At E-Rank, you should only be able to affect vision, and perhaps only part of it. I suggest you incorporate the real environment when setting up an Illusion."

He understood. So his ability was essentially to plant an "Illusion seed."

He could, and only needed to, use it once on each target. But once it succeeded, he could manipulate what the target saw however he pleased.

However, he needed to "reload" after each use.

Ren Yi nodded thoughtfully. "I understand what you mean... Then there's one last question."

At that moment, Ren Yi looked at Ren Man. "Brother, I have something to discuss with Doctor Lin. Could you step outside for a bit?"

Ren Man looked at the two of them, then walked out and pulled the door shut without a word.

"How interesting, young Ren Yi." Doctor Lin looked intrigued. "Do you know what you've done? Just how interesting a question are you planning to ask that you need to send your brother away?"

Ren Yi flashed a grin. "This question might be more boring than you expect. Could you teach me how to weave illusions, Doctor Lin?"

"Oh?" Doctor Lin stretched lazily. After Ren Man left, the flustered, disheveled air he had before abruptly changed, turning cold and sharp.

"To be honest, I was more likely to agree before your brother went out. But now..."

"It's different. You'll agree to it." Ren Yi spoke seriously. "If I directly threatened you with my brother, I'd still be asking you for a favor. My brother might be too embarrassed to really hit you and would only make a token effort, like before."

Doctor Lin's expression stiffened.

Ren Yi acted as though he hadn't seen a thing. "But if I told him you scared me with his death during the awakening ceremony, he really would hit you."

"So, this is a threat."

Doctor Lin's expression froze completely. "Whatever happens in the awakening environment is normal and necessary."

"You're right, but my brother will hit you."

"You can't prove what you're saying is true, either..."

"You're right, but my brother..."

"All right, all right, I get it. I'll teach you. From now on, sleep in a sleep pod at night. I'll come find you!"