Extreme Sensitivity-The Insightful

The Extreme Sensitivity—Insightful route!

After a day and a night of deep thought, followed by a sudden, vicious brawl, Xiao Xiao finally settled on the choice that suited him.

His performance in that brawl hadn't been anything impressive. In fact, he'd suffered for it.

But precisely because he'd taken a small hit, he'd discovered the biggest problem he currently had.

His senses weren't capable of gathering enough information.

Even now, Xiao Xiao still didn't know whether his state of Mind Burst was a curse or an ability.

But without a doubt, this ability had played a major role whenever he faced danger.

Even if he could think more than others in the same amount of time, he still needed enough information to support those thoughts. In that brawl, for example, he could quickly plan how to dodge and counter attacks he could see.

But what about the attacks he couldn't see?

Whether it was a baseball bat swung from behind or a dagger slashing from a blind spot, either could be fatal.

As long as those blind spots remained, even if he took the Strong Physique route and became a monster with lightning-fast reactions and terrifying strength, he still couldn't guarantee his safety. Any sniper bullet fired from a blind spot could easily kill him. Put simply, the Strong Physique route only increased his destructive power, not his ability to protect himself.

But in this absurd world, the ability to protect oneself was undoubtedly the most important thing.

After sneaking home and seeing that his mother still hadn't gotten off work, Xiao Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He changed out of his bloodstained clothes, bandaged his wounds himself, then stuffed the clothes into a garbage bag and hid it under his bed, planning to take it out and throw it away on his way to work the next day.

Living in a world full of monsters, there seemed to be no need to go to such lengths.

But Xiao Xiao had discovered that his "mother" played her role very seriously. If she found out, she would inevitably worry again.

He didn't want to deal with that kind of situation. It was better to be careful.

Once he had finished, he took a deep breath and pulled out his dark-red card, placing it on top of the computer tower.

The old-fashioned computer immediately began to hum, with a few strange tones faintly mixed in.

Somehow, it seemed that many unnerving things had suddenly appeared in his dimly lit bedroom.

But Xiao Xiao was already used to it. He merely widened his eyes and stared at the computer screen before him.

A corresponding exchange page had already appeared on the computer, lines of dark-red text blurring and flickering.

He had to admit that when he first obtained this card, Xiao Xiao had been too shocked by the revelation that the entire city was a living creature to notice many details. Now, however, he had discovered that the will of this city truly held many mysteries.

For example, if outsiders wanted to communicate with the city, they all needed this card bound to them.

To put it simply, all transactions made by outsiders were governed by this card.

Yet to put it another way, the card was exceptionally convenient.

Any electrical device—whether an ATM, computer, or phone—could be bound and used directly through the card.

It didn't even need a card slot. Placing the card near the device's information-processing center was enough.

Each person had one account, and neither a login nor a password was required.

Extreme Sensitivity: 20 points/unit

Perceive with razor sharpness the malicious heart hidden beneath any smiling face; see through disguises to the truth beneath.

Heh, stop hiding. I see you.

"Huh? The description seems a little different from last time..."

Xiao Xiao was curious, but he didn't dwell on it. He merely fell silent for a second, then agonized over it for more than a minute.

Then his gaze hardened, and he clicked the purchase button.

A very humanlike "ding-a-ling" sounded, and the corresponding points were deducted.

Xiao Xiao's total points fell from 583 to 523.

Those 523 points were also the reason Xiao Xiao had enough confidence to undergo this enhancement.

This time, he wasn't planning only to purchase the Extreme Sensitivity element. Another thing he had long been looking forward to was finally within reach.

Of course, even after making the purchase, he still planned to save the points he had left.

Once he had saved more than 600 points again, he would complete his veteran-stage enhancement all at once.

"Ding..."

After the purchase succeeded, Xiao Xiao immediately held his breath, wanting to know how the item would be delivered to him.

The last time, he had completed the purchase while outside, and when he returned home, everything was already waiting in his bedroom. He had no idea how it had been delivered. This time, however, he intended to watch carefully and see how things purchased from the city were brought over.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Just as he was thinking about it, heavy knocking suddenly sounded from the gate outside the courtyard.

In the quiet night, it was exceptionally clear.

"?"

Xiao Xiao jerked upright, his ears practically standing on end.

The knocking continued, and it seemed to grow louder and louder, almost taking on a rough, violent edge.

Yet the bedroom and the street outside were unnaturally quiet. Even the three dogs next door failed to react.

The entire world was so quiet that the only sound left was the fan whirring inside the computer tower.

But the knocking rang out again and again, growing louder, as if the entire house were trembling.

Xiao Xiao saw that the hanging light bulb overhead seemed to be swaying as well.

He took a deep breath, left the bedroom, and slowly walked toward the gate. After steadying himself, he suddenly pulled it open.

The instant the gate opened, Xiao Xiao held his breath, every nerve taut, and looked outside.

Yet there wasn't a single person in the dark alley.

Only the three hunting dogs next door had all risen onto their hind legs, glaring fixedly at something deep within the alley.

But when Xiao Xiao looked up, he still couldn't see anything.

He could only faintly sense that, in the deepest darkness beyond his sight, something seemed to be writhing as it crawled away.

After a long while, Xiao Xiao slowly withdrew his gaze and looked down.

It was a somewhat old-looking video cassette, lying quietly in front of the metal gate. A label had been stuck to it:

"Recorded Interview Footage of Patient No. 000!"

"..."

Looking at the tape, Xiao Xiao fell silent for a moment.

"The last time I exchanged for the Violence Factor, it was delivered to me in the form of an intermediate gene-enhancement drug from the Black Forest Biological Laboratory."

"But this time, I exchanged for the Sensitivity Factor, and they gave me a cassette like this?"

He found it strange. He quickly carried the tape back to the bedroom, only to see a line of notification already displayed on the computer screen:

"This footage contains a mysterious influence. Watch with caution."

"After purchase, it may be viewed three times. After the third viewing, the footage will be automatically destroyed."

"..."

"So I only need to watch this cassette to complete the corresponding enhancement?"

Xiao Xiao couldn't understand the principle behind it, but after remaining silent for a while, he got up and found the multifunctional player at home. He connected it to the computer, locked the bedroom door, and inserted the tape.

"Click, clack..."

The old multifunctional player groaned and clicked as it struggled to operate. Soon, an image began playing on the computer.

The picture looked somewhat blurry. It seemed to be inside a hospital.

The camera was aimed at a gentle-looking, slender woman in her thirties. She wore a patient's gown, yet still possessed an outstanding bearing and attractive features. However, in front of the camera, she appeared uneasy, constantly twisting her hands together. Occasionally, she raised her head and looked forward, though not directly at the camera. Instead, she was looking beside it, probably at someone questioning her.

"How have you been feeling recently?"

A voice began to play from the footage. It belonged to a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, presumably the interviewer.

After a moment, the woman silently nodded. "Pretty well."

The interviewer's voice sounded very patient and gentle. "Have you been experiencing hallucinations lately?"

The woman raised her head slightly, then lowered it again and said softly, "No."

The interviewer continued patiently. "Do you still feel that everyone around you wants to harm you?"

"Even your mother? She's been waiting outside this whole time."

"..."

The woman's body trembled almost imperceptibly. She struggled to control herself, then shook her head. "No."

"Mother wouldn't hurt me. Neither would... the others."

"..."

There was a faint scratching sound, as if a pen were moving across paper. The interviewer seemed to be recording something. After a while, his questioning resumed. "Then, shall we arrange for you to be discharged today?"

The woman's body suddenly jerked. She shook her head repeatedly and shrank back into the chair.

"You've recovered, haven't you?"

The interviewer spoke patiently. "When you first arrived, you thought that everyone around you wanted to harm you, that none of them had good intentions. You also had countless wounds on your body, and said that other people had stabbed you. You even claimed that you'd killed your mother..."

"But as you can see, your mother is perfectly fine outside right now."

"The wounds on your body were also self-inflicted."

"As for your claim that the people around you had shed their skin and turned into monsters, I already showed you the surveillance footage, didn't I?"

"No one turned into a monster. They were only kind people trying to bring you to the hospital..."

"..."

The woman lowered her head and said nothing. As if forcing herself, she nodded.

The interviewer seemed to see through the reluctance in her heart. He softened his voice. "Don't be afraid. It's not a serious problem."

"Sometimes, when we're under too much pressure, we do let our thoughts run wild."

"As long as you take your medicine properly and cooperate with the treatment, you'll be discharged soon."

"You can still return to the city and continue living a normal life..."

"..."

"No... No..."

Before the interviewer could finish, the woman began shaking her head forcefully. Her movements grew more and more violent, and her shoulders trembled badly.

"I don't want to leave. I just... just want to stay here..."

"Why is that?"

The interviewer asked patiently, "Once you've been cured, you have to return to the normal world. Especially since you're still so young..."

"There is no normal world anymore..."

The woman suddenly shouted through her tears. She jerked her head up, her eyes filled with terror so intense it seemed almost tangible.

"A gigantic monster is devouring our world..."