Additional Uses for the Core

West District Public Security Bureau.

Inside the familiar interrogation room, Jiang Mian sat on that familiar chair.

"That's... how it all went down."

She held a cup of hot tea, head lowered, eyes slightly red, her whole demeanor shrinking and timid, as if she had suffered a tremendous shock.

He Yi sat across from her, his expression unpleasant.

Jiang Mian had first failed her Awakening, then struggled to make a living, only to be harassed by a fellow Awakened student from her school, who even chased her to her doorstep to threaten and intimidate her...

His heart felt heavy.

For something like this to happen, wasn't it also a failure on the Public Security Bureau's part?

But in Base City No. 144, this was a common phenomenon. With his strength alone, he couldn't change a thing.

After all, official power had always been concentrated in the first seven Base Cities.

The further the Code number, the farther from the Central City Circle, and the more the "order" at the bottom of the base city crumbled.

He Yi sighed and gently spoke to comfort her:

"Don't be afraid. You're safe here."

"Mm..."

Jiang Mian nodded lightly and whispered, "Thank you, Captain He..."

"Come on, let's go sit in the break room."

He Yi pulled open the door and led Jiang Mian out, just as they ran into Lin Yun, who had rushed over in a hurry.

"Jiang Mian! Are you okay?"

Lin Yun's face was full of anxiety and tension as she pulled her into her broad, warm embrace.

Caught off guard and pulled into a warm hug, Jiang Mian's body stiffened, and she instinctively felt a sense of resistance.

Too close...

The unique fragrance of a [Myriad Spirits] path Awakened on Lin Yun rushed straight to her head.

'Fragrant... so fragrant...'

Awakened on the [Myriad Spirits] path were almost all healers, their bodies brimming with pure, abundant life force, making them the Calamities' favorite "food."

When Jiang Mian had read that description in the data, she hadn't felt much. Now that she was half a Calamity herself, she finally understood how unbearable this sensation was.

'Can't... if I bite down, it's all over, and... Teacher is a good person...'

She swallowed her saliva, forcing herself to empty her mind and think about other things to distract herself.

"Scared, aren't you?"

Lin Yun felt the stiffness and silence of the girl in her arms, and seeing her somewhat dazed expression, her heart ached even more.

"Teacher Lin..."

After a few seconds, Jiang Mian finally spoke, gently pushing against Lin Yun, her voice barely a whisper.

Lin Yun then let go of Jiang Mian. Seeing her pale complexion, she asked, "Your face... is your heart acting up again? Want Teacher to use her ability to ease it a bit?"

He Yi, standing nearby, frowned deeply upon hearing this.

This kid... had heart problems too?

"If you're feeling unwell, the bureau's medical department can arrange a thorough checkup..." He Yi suggested.

"No, no need." Jiang Mian quickly shook her head.

According to "Jiang Mian's" character, she was the type who didn't want to trouble others, even stubborn to an extreme.

But from someone else's perspective, with her "bad heart" and having gone through something like this, it would definitely affect her already "fragile" heart.

She had to put on a show.

As for how she faked her pale complexion... she just needed to stimulate her core a little.

As the source of Jiang Mian's power, the Calamity Core was easy for her to control, and it could affect the heart closest to it, thereby influencing her entire body.

Neither humans nor Calamities would ever imagine that the Calamity Core could be used this way.

Humans didn't have an organ like a core; the power source of Sequence Abilities was spread throughout the body. That was why Calamities loved to devour the flesh and blood of Awakened.

Calamities, on the other hand, lacked such rich emotions and could only blindly imitate human behavior.

This was far more effective than mere Acting Skills...

"Teacher Lin, let Jiang Mian lie down in the break room first. I'd also like to ask you about Li Hao's situation."

Seeing Jiang Mian refuse, He Yi didn't press further.

She was too fragile right now... he couldn't bring himself to be harsh.

"Alright."

Lin Yun nodded and said softly to Jiang Mian:

"Go rest for a bit. Teacher will come keep you company in a little while."

After settling Jiang Mian in the break room, He Yi and Lin Yun walked to the office area on the other side of the hallway.

"Teacher Lin, how did Li Hao perform at school before this?"

"Captain He, to be honest, Li Hao had been pestering Jiang Mian at school, saying he wanted her to be his girlfriend."

"Anyone with eyes could see his intentions weren't genuine pursuit—pure—"

At this point, Lin Yun was already full of indignation.

"The school, considering his identity and background as an Awakened, only gave him a slap-on-the-wrist verbal warning."

He Yi's gaze sharpened. This kind of handling was an old tradition at the school—every time they ran into a troublesome Awakened student, it was the same attitude. No wonder they dared to be so arrogant.

Lin Yun continued:

"I don't know what method he used, but he actually found his way to Jiang Mian's house! Captain He, doesn't this violate public safety regulations?"

He Yi nodded and added:

"Not only that, he also started a fight in a public place, causing injury to others. Even if he's an Awakened, that's enough to keep him locked up in the station for a while."

Inside the break room, Jiang Mian closed her eyes and pretended to rest.

She didn't need to guess what the two were talking about.

Base City No. 144, where she lived, was middling in terms of order—those Awakened privileges were so blatant it wasn't even funny anymore.

But since this incident had blown up so big, Li Hao would at least be locked up for a few days. She could have some peace for a while.

With his extreme personality, though, he'd probably come looking for trouble the moment he got out.

In the meantime, she'd do her best to develop to Second-tier.

From the guilt in He Yi's eyes just now, she was sure he didn't suspect her of being an Aberrant at all.

Stable, right?

Her persona was solid. It would be her best camouflage.

If she got "stimulated" again next time and "Awakened" something by accident, and Li Hao just happened to be there when it happened...

That would be the perfect excuse.

Thinking of Li Hao's greedy gaze and ugly face, Jiang Mian felt a wave of nausea.

With a man's memories and experiences, even those so-called handsome guys didn't interest her, let alone a specimen like Li Hao.

Knowledge of Sequence Abilities in this world was basic curriculum—she hadn't worn these glasses for nothing.

She knew the [Eye of the Storm] ability well: using the Awakened's body as the eye of the storm, forming a Wind Field, and attacking by mixing wind blades into it.

What's more... [Eye of the Storm] was a High-tier Sequence that could rank in the top 50.

Logically, the higher the sequence rank, the stronger it was. But within every 50 Sequence Abilities, the difference between adjacent ones wasn't that big.

To achieve instant-kill upon Awakening, you'd need an ability ranked at least in the top hundred.

But among the top hundred, Jiang Mian looked around and decided [Eye of the Storm] was the most suitable.

She'd considered [Prairie Fire] too, but [Ignite] was her "hunting" skill after all—better not to use it openly.

High enough rank, similar effects, and far above Li Hao's [Steel Bones], which was ranked past a hundred.

When the time came, even if she "accidentally" crushed him to pieces, it would only be his fault for being outmatched, right?