Remote Absorption?

Although the feeling had lasted only a brief moment, Ye Chenyang was certain it had been real.

In his Previous Life, he had been an eighth-tier powerhouse. With his understanding of his own abilities, he could absolutely have reached Third-tier in a short time if he wanted to. He simply didn't want to attract attention right now.

That feeling just now had seemed like... a Strange Resonance?

Ye Chenyang couldn't help glancing at Jiang Mian again.

She was looking down as she sorted through the materials. Since they had already been partially dismantled during the "cleanup," she didn't need to cut them up any further.

At that moment, Jiang Mian felt as if thorns were pricking her back.

She could clearly sense the gaze fixed on her. The other person seemed curious about her.

Curious about what? Surely not her height and measurements?

Jiang Mian reflexively stopped the Core Operation, and for a moment, she felt a little suffocated.

She could also clearly sense the other person's aura. Compared to the sweet-smelling Teacher Lin, this guy smelled like... Chili Fried Pork?

A little pungent, but incredibly fragrant... His sequence probably wasn't low.

But Jiang Mian didn't dare make a move. Without changing her expression, she continued her work.

A few seconds later, once the gaze had moved away, she relaxed her control over her core.

"Ahem."

Supervisor Chen cleared his throat, breaking the brief silence.

"Captain Cheng, we'll handle things here. You've been busy all morning, too. Hurry back and get some rest."

Cheng Qiao nodded. His instincts told him that Jiang Mian was a little strange, but this wasn't the right place to investigate with so many people around.

He had also noticed Ye Chenyang's brief pause just now. He didn't know what the kid was thinking.

Still, from what he'd learned about Ye Chenyang over the past few days, the young man seemed level-headed. He wasn't the type to lose his wits just because he saw a pretty girl.

"All right, we're heading out."

"Take care, Captain Cheng," Supervisor Chen replied.

Ye Chenyang also tucked away all his emotions and followed Cheng Qiao toward the transport truck.

The two got into the vehicle and drove smoothly away from the Special Affairs Bureau.

"What, got your eye on that girl?"

Cheng Qiao held the steering wheel with one hand and rubbed his twitching right eye with the other.

"I just... thought she was a little unusual."

Ye Chenyang didn't explain further. He only shook his head lightly.

"Unusual?"

Cheng Qiao raised an eyebrow, his gaze still fixed on the road ahead.

"Mm."

He'd been unloading when Supervisor Chen started talking, but he hadn't missed a single word.

"An ordinary person who's lived Inside the Wall since childhood, and after seeing this stuff, she can keep a straight face after just two or three days. She adapted too quickly."

Ye Chenyang's words piqued Cheng Qiao's curiosity. He deliberately countered, "You can't prove anything based on a feeling alone, can you? Maybe her family circumstances forced her to adapt."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. It just feels a little disjointed."

Before awakening, Ye Chenyang had gone through the same thing. He couldn't help sighing whenever he saw a scene like this.

"Wouldn't it feel disjointed? A quiet, gentle-looking young girl whose job is dealing with monster remains?"

Cheng Qiao changed tack, his words seeming to hint at something.

"These days... Heh. People are driven to it."

He tugged his lips into a smile and joked, "Besides... even if that girl is unusual, it's not like she could be a Calamity that came here to feed, right?"

After watching the transport truck leave, Jiang Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She'd assumed the transport team handled the delivery of remains from start to finish. She hadn't expected Security Officers to "moonlight" as couriers, too.

Fortunately, her abilities had only altered the area around her heart, leaving her outward appearance unchanged. As long as she made good use of her quiet, well-behaved looks, she could keep hiding.

When she'd first transmigrated, she'd still felt some regret over her little brother. But she'd soon come around.

Something that had been useless for over twenty years, or a real chance to stay alive—she'd chosen the latter without hesitation and quickly settled into her new life.

Jiang Mian lowered her head. Her gloved fingertips picked through the remains, sorting out the materials they needed.

That Ye Chenyang just now... He didn't look much older than her, so why did she feel like he could see right through her?

She'd heard that among [Soul] Pathway Awakened, there were some with abilities like a lie detector, while [Radiance] Awakened were extremely sensitive to the presence of Calamities.

Could the other person be one of those two?

Jiang Mian was certain that when she wasn't using her ability, her aura was completely contained within her core. Even her "kind" wouldn't be able to detect her.

As time passed, Jiang Mian finally finished processing the remains. The useless scraps were loaded onto a forklift and taken to the central processing area to be incinerated.

She sat on a little stool to rest for a while. From far away, she felt those Fire Seeds being Ignited.

According to Supervisor Chen, she still had to wait for the next batch to be processed. She didn't need to go to the processing area, which meant her workstation was fixed for now.

But... Jiang Mian closed her eyes. It seemed like she'd received a faint "feedback"? And it was still pouring in, bit by bit?

She'd thought she could only reap anything within ten meters. She hadn't expected to gain energy from a distance, too.

Compared to the fullness she felt after completely devouring a Calamity Core, this feedback was a mere cup of water against a burning cart. It was probably only a tenth as much.

It seemed that once the cores had been removed, these remains had lost most of their energy essence, leaving only these scraps behind.

Fortunately, this batch of remains was relatively "fresh." If they'd been left much longer, she probably would've gained even less.

This still can't compare to Aberrants...

Jiang Mian sighed to herself, but even a tiny mosquito was still meat.

Leaving aside the Mist Creatures, which yielded almost nothing, that batch alone had included nearly twenty Calamities. It showed how brutal last night's battle had been.

There were still a few more batches to come. They could push her progress quite a bit further.

In this walled city, chances to hunt complete Calamities were few and far between. Every bit of energy was precious.

This job at the Special Affairs Bureau was currently the only reliable way to get close to "Fuel," even if it was just scraps.

She'd signed a temporary contract for only three days. The first two days' gains had been decent.

The day's work finally drew to a close.

Supervisor Chen came over to take a look. Seeing that the sorted materials had been neatly stacked, he waved her off, signaling that she could go home.

"Same time tomorrow. Don't be late."

"Okay, Supervisor Chen."

Jiang Mian answered, then left the factory grounds. She sat on her Electric Scooter but didn't hurry to start it. Instead, she checked the state of her body.

The last two batches...

Perhaps because they'd been left out a little longer, they hadn't retained much power. But there had been plenty of them, and they'd still pushed her to the threshold.

She was just a tiny bit away from reaching Second-tier.

The biggest surprise was discovering the extra trait and absorption range of the [Ignite] skill.

Did this mean that if she wanted to harvest on a large scale in the future, all she had to do was set a fire?

Although she couldn't actively Ignite anything more than ten meters away, even a small external trigger would set it off.

If she made good use of this trait and combined it with other skills she could choose later, she could produce unexpected results against either a single target or a whole group.

"Hehe~ Finally made a little progress! Home!"

Jiang Mian was in a good mood for once. Humming a little tune, she puttered away on her battle-scarred Electric Scooter.