West District Public Security Bureau.
In the familiar interrogation room, Jiang Mian sat in the familiar chair.
"That's... what happened."
She cupped a mug of hot tea, head bowed, her eyes slightly red. She looked timid and withdrawn, as if she'd suffered a terrible shock.
He Yi sat across from her, his expression troubled.
Jiang Mian had first gone through a failed awakening, then struggled to make ends meet, only to be harassed by an Awakened student from her own school—and even followed home and threatened...
He felt awful about it.
Wasn't something like this a failure on the part of the Public Security Bureau?
But in Base City No. 144, it was a common occurrence. There was nothing he could do to change it on his own.
After all, the government's forces had always been concentrated in the first seven Base Cities.
The farther down the list a Base City was, the farther it lay from the Central City Circle, and the more the "order" at its lowest levels fell apart.
He Yi sighed and gently tried to comfort her:
"Don't be afraid. You're safe here."
"Mm..."
Jiang Mian gave a slight nod and murmured, "Thank you, Captain He..."
"Come on. Let's sit in the lounge for a while."
He Yi opened the door and led Jiang Mian out. They ran right into Lin Yun, who was hurrying over.
"Jiang Mian! Are you all right?"
Lin Yun looked anxious and tense as she pulled Jiang Mian into her ample embrace.
Caught off guard by the sudden warmth, Jiang Mian stiffened, instinctively feeling a little resistant.
Too close...
The distinctive scent of a [Myriad Spirits] Path Awakened rushed straight to her head.
So fragrant... She smells so good...
Almost all Awakened on the [Myriad Spirits] Path were healers. Their bodies brimmed with pure vitality, making them the Calamities' favorite "food."
Jiang Mian hadn't felt much when she'd read that in the materials. Now that she'd become half a Calamity herself, she finally understood how unbearable it was.
I can't... If I bite down, it'll all be over. Besides... Teacher's a good person...
She swallowed, then could only try to empty her mind and think about other things to distract herself.
"You must've been terrified, huh?"
Feeling the girl's stiffness and silence in her arms, and seeing her dazed expression, Lin Yun felt even more heartbroken.
"Teacher Lin..."
A few seconds passed before Jiang Mian spoke. She gently pushed at Lin Yun, her voice barely audible.
Only then did Lin Yun let her go. Seeing how pale she looked, she asked, "You look so pale... Is your heart bothering you again? Should I use my ability to ease it?"
At the side, He Yi's brows drew tightly together.
This girl... had a heart condition, too?
"If you're feeling unwell, the bureau's medical department can arrange a special examination..."
He Yi suggested.
"No, there's no need." Jiang Mian quickly shook her head.
According to "Jiang Mian's" personality, she didn't like troubling others—in fact, she was stubborn to an extreme.
Still, from someone else's perspective, she had a "weak heart" and had just been through something like this. It would surely affect her already "fragile" heart.
She had to put on a convincing act.
As for how she'd made herself look pale... All she had to do was stimulate her core.
The Calamity Core was Jiang Mian's source of power. She could control it with ease and affect the heart nearest to it, which in turn affected her entire body.
No human or Calamity would ever imagine that the Calamity Core could be used this way.
Humans didn't have an organ like a core; the source of their Sequence Ability's power was spread throughout the body. That was why Calamities loved to eat Awakened flesh.
Calamities, on the other hand, lacked such rich emotions. They could only mindlessly imitate human behavior.
This worked a lot better than mere acting...
"Teacher Lin, why don't you take Jiang Mian to the lounge to lie down first? I'd also like to ask you about Li Hao."
Seeing that Jiang Mian had refused, He Yi didn't press the matter.
She looked so fragile right now... He simply couldn't bring himself to be stern with her.
"All right."
Lin Yun nodded, then spoke softly to Jiang Mian:
"Go rest for a bit. I'll come keep you company in a little while."
After settling Jiang Mian in the lounge, He Yi and Lin Yun walked to the office area on the other side of the corridor.
"Teacher Lin, how did this Li Hao behave at school before?"
"Captain He, to be honest, Li Hao had been pestering Jiang Mian at school for a while. He said he wanted her to be his girlfriend."
"Anyone with eyes could see what he was after. It wasn't sincere courtship at all. He just..."
By this point, Lin Yun was seething with indignation.
"The school took his status as an Awakened and his background into account, and gave him nothing but a meaningless verbal warning."
He Yi's eyes narrowed. This kind of response was an old habit at the school. Whenever an Awakened student caused trouble, they handled it the same way. No wonder those students dared to act so brazenly.
Lin Yun continued:
"I don't know how he managed it, but he went straight to Jiang Mian's home! Captain He, that's already a violation of the Public Safety Regulations, isn't it?"
He Yi nodded and added:
"Not only that, he started a fight in a public place and injured someone. Even as an Awakened, he's done enough to spend some time in a cell."
In the lounge, Jiang Mian lay with her eyes closed, pretending to doze.
She didn't need to guess what the two of them were discussing.
In terms of order, Base City No. 144 sat somewhere in the middle. The privileges of Awakened there weren't worth a pinch of salt.
But with all the trouble this time, Li Hao would be locked up for at least a few days. That should give her some peace and quiet for a while.
Still, given his extreme personality, he'd probably come looking for trouble the moment he got out.
She'd use that time to do her best to reach the Second-tier.
From the guilt in He Yi's eyes just now, she could be certain he didn't suspect her of being an Aberrant at all.
She was golden!
She'd established her persona, and it would be her best camouflage.
If she were "shocked" again next time and accidentally "awakened" something—and Li Hao happened to be there when she "awakened"...
It would be the perfect excuse.
Thinking of the greedy look Li Hao had given her and his hideous face, Jiang Mian felt sick.
She had a man's memories and experiences, so she couldn't get interested even in the so-called handsome guys, let alone a piece of work like Li Hao.
Knowledge about this world's Sequence Abilities was basic coursework. She hadn't worn these glasses for nothing.
Jiang Mian knew the [Eye of the Storm] ability well. The Awakened themselves became the eye of the storm, creating a Wind Field, then attacked by mixing wind blades into it.
And... [Eye of the Storm] was a High-tier Sequence ranked in the top fifty.
In theory, the higher a Sequence's rank, the stronger it was. But there wasn't much difference between the abilities at the front and back of any given group of fifty.
To achieve the kind of power that could kill instantly upon awakening, she'd need an ability ranked at least in the top hundred.
But out of the top hundred, [Eye of the Storm] was the only one that seemed suitable.
She'd considered [Prairie Fire], too, but [Ignite] was her "hunting" skill. It was better not to reveal it in public.
Its rank was high, its effects were similar, and it ranked far above Li Hao's [Steel Bones], which was outside the top hundred.
Then, even if she "accidentally" crushed him to pieces, they could only blame him for being outmatched, right?
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