Gaining Telekinesis

Steve and Matt looked incredibly excited.

But Andrew felt nothing but unease.

When faced with the unknown, his instinct was to retreat.

"We should go back."

"Did your camera pick up that sound just now?"

"Uh... probably. It was pretty loud..."

"Okay, then let tonight's cave exploration begin!"

"Hey, wait, shouldn't we be going back now?"

But Steve ignored him completely, leaping down and slipping nimbly into the hole.

"Matt, seriously, we should... Hey! Wait! Steve!"

By then, Steve had already disappeared entirely into the hole.

"Get down here, guys! This place is super interesting!"

Matt was already itching to try it. Ignoring Andrew's objections, he was the second to crawl into the hole.

Andrew had no choice but to turn to Gu Qing.

"Erik, let's just wait for them to come back up here, okay?"

Gu Qing was only fourteen, and even smaller than Andrew.

That gave Andrew some sense of comfort around him.

But then Gu Qing merely shrugged at him. "If we don't go in and take a look, then we came here for nothing tonight."

With that, he crawled into the hole as the third person.

"Oh, shit, are you all crazy?"

With no other choice, Andrew could only follow them down.

"It's so dark in here. Andrew, shine your light around."

Soon, the four of them gathered together and felt their way forward.

"It stinks in here, Matt."

"Look at those rock walls. They're completely vertical. We might've gone down forty or fifty feet already."

"Can you not say that?"

"Haven't you read Plato's Allegory of the Cave?"

"No, Matt. Let's get this over with quickly."

Gu Qing placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder. "Relax, buddy. There are four of us."

Steve said, "Erik's right. Even if there's danger, I can protect you guys. Don't forget, I'm on the football team."

Matt said, "Holy shit! Come look at this!"

"Matt, I'm not joking. I can barely breathe. We should get out of here."

"Andrew, toughen up and come look at this!"

The four of them felt their way around a corner.

A massive crystal appeared before them.

It gave off a faint blue glow.

Looking closer, the crystal was filled with black, fibrous matter like human nerves, and it was even constantly writhing.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Oh my God, this is unbelievable!"

Gu Qing stepped forward and placed a hand against the crystal.

He was certain this thing had an extraordinary origin.

Perhaps this world had deeper secrets that the movie's plot had never shown.

But that had nothing to do with him anymore.

At least according to the movie, being exposed to this thing's radiation had no side effects.

Just as they were getting excited, the crystal suddenly emitted an even more piercing whine.

Before long, the crystal began to glow red.

"Shit! What's happening?"

"Matt, I told you, we really need to get out of here."

"Steve, your nose is bleeding."

"Oh, thanks, Erik. Wait, Matt, your nose is bleeding too."

"Damn it! It feels like an earthquake! Move, or we'll all be buried in there!"

The four of them quickly scrambled out of the cave.

Even under those circumstances, Andrew did not abandon his camera.

Sitting on the grass, they all felt lingering fear.

When they looked back, the hole had completely collapsed and been thoroughly buried.

Strangely, the earthquake had vanished completely.

It seemed to have affected only this place. Everywhere else was perfectly normal.

Steve wiped the blood from his face haphazardly with his shirt.

Andrew asked with concern, "Are you two okay?"

Steve said, "The bleeding seems to have stopped. I have no idea what happened."

Matt said, "Andrew, you're bleeding too."

Andrew touched his nose and found it warm and wet.

"I think we should get checkups tomorrow."

"There's no need to make such a big deal out of it. We'll be fine."

"Hey, Andrew, you recorded everything just now, right?"

"Probably. My camera seemed to get some interference."

"Erik, why are you the only one who didn't get a nosebleed?"

At that moment, Gu Qing felt something mysterious.

His mind seemed to have undergone some sort of change, granting him a power that could affect physical reality.

Though this power was still weak, it was steadily growing stronger.

Telekinesis!

He had gained Telekinesis too!

The crystal's radiation seemed to affect people differently.

Steve and Matt had lower potential, so they quickly reached their limits and began bleeding from their noses.

Andrew had greater endurance, only beginning to bleed after leaving the cave.

As for Gu Qing, perhaps it was because he had already activated his X-Factor before being exposed to the radiation.

He absorbed the radiation perfectly and suffered none of the nosebleed side effects.

The adventure had left the young men shaken.

They were in no mood to attend the party anymore and soon went their separate ways.

Gu Qing walked through Seattle in the night.

He carefully sensed the changes within himself.

"System, how long can I stay in this world?"

The host may leave at any time.

Gu Qing nodded slightly, fairly satisfied with that answer.

Of course, he would not leave just like that.

With his current strength, he was not even remotely capable of threatening Schmidt!

So Gu Qing intended to gain enough power in this world first.

Then he would go back and take revenge!

At the thought of Schmidt, Gu Qing's gaze gradually turned fierce. A vicious fury gathered in his heart, making him feel stifled and miserable.

"Hey! Kid, were you looking at me just now? What was that look? You're making me very uncomfortable!"

A young man with tattoos visible on his neck blocked Gu Qing's path.

His companions wore mocking smiles as they blocked off both sides.

"If you don't want a beating, you know what to do."

"That's right, kid. Hand over everything valuable you've got."

It was only a little past nine in the evening, not even ten yet.

Yet there were already very few pedestrians on the street.

He had not walked far before running into some thugs robbing people at knifepoint.

Gu Qing could not help but sigh. This really was a land of freedom.

"Maybe we can talk in there."

Gu Qing pointed toward a secluded alley nearby.

The lead thug froze for a moment, then the group burst into laughter.

"Sure, but don't try anything funny."

As he spoke, he revealed the dagger in his hand, the threat obvious.