Go on, Keep Laughing!

Locking the room, Hong Fei turned and headed to another spot.

Pushing open the door, he saw Frank with his legs propped up on the table, frowning slightly as he stared through a massive one-way glass at the Leader, who was grinning eerily on the other side.

"When did he wake up?"

Frank didn't look back. "Woke up this morning."

Hong Fei pulled up a chair and sat beside him, gazing at the Leader's unsettling smile. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. "I feel like he can see us over here."

"Hmph, just playing tricks," Frank said coldly. "But you're right—he might actually have some kind of psychic power, like mind control. The guy watching him almost let him out earlier."

"What happened to him?"

"Knocked out and carried off." A trace of confusion crept onto Frank's face. "Is there really such a thing as superpowers in this world?"

Hong Fei nodded. "Of course there is. Seeing is believing—we've got to learn to accept new things. But why are you sitting here yourself? Aren't you afraid he'll control you too?"

Frank scoffed disdainfully. "Control me? He's not there yet."

He tapped his head. "I can actually feel something trying to burrow into my mind, but my resistance is clearly stronger."

"That's right. A strong will can resist a certain level of mind control. He just mutated and got his powers, so he's definitely not fully in control yet. But that ability might be growing, so don't let your guard down either."

Frank gave a slight nod.

Just then, Hong Fei sensed an unfamiliar force pressing against his own consciousness. With a single thought, his energy surged, instantly blocking it out.

At the same time, the Leader's grin in the next room stiffened slightly.

Hong Fei couldn't help but chuckle. He stood up. "I'm going over to see him."

"Wait, aren't you afraid?"

"If you're not, why should I be?"

"Didn't you just say not to let my guard down?"

"I'm stronger than you."

After passing a password and iris scan, Hong Fei entered the Leader's room.

The man was bound to an alloy chair with thumb-thick chains, only his head free to move.

When he saw Hong Fei walk in, he turned and flashed that same eerie grin.

Hong Fei smiled back. As he drew close, he suddenly raised his right hand high and brought it down fast, the broad palm growing huge in the Leader's eyes.

Smack!

The sharp, crisp slap sent the oversized head spinning a full one hundred and eighty degrees. Next door, Frank couldn't help worrying whether that massive noggin might just fall off.

Snapping his head back, the Leader—Samuel Sterns—stared with shock and bewilderment, his face momentarily unsure what expression to wear.

Hong Fei grinned. "Go on, laugh. Keep going."

Samuel didn't flash that creepy smile again. Instead, he stammered, "Who are you?"

Hong Fei sat on the table. "Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is—do you know who you are now?"

"I'm Samuel Sterns. I'm a scientist. I—"

Hong Fei shook his head repeatedly. "Wrong."

"Wrong how?"

Hong Fei's smile widened. "Right now, you have one and only one identity: my prisoner."

Samuel froze.

From the forehead down, his head was still normal, but above the brow, it had started growing wildly upward after the mutation, and it didn't seem to have reached its limit yet.

So his dazed expression looked almost comical.

But Hong Fei wasn't about to underestimate him.

The Leader's head wasn't just for show. As his skull expanded, his brain capacity grew, and so did his intelligence—intuition, calculation, memory storage, logic, and more. His head was still growing, meaning he had room to improve.

Right now, Hong Fei couldn't tell if his act was real or fake. The best move? Beat him up first.

Hong Fei undid the chains binding him. "Come on, let's fight. Win, and I'll let you go. Lose, and you stay."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Samuel raised a hand to stop him.

Hong Fei didn't care. He stepped forward and drove a front kick straight into Samuel's chest.

Next door, Frank watched Samuel curl up with his big head and fly backward, shaking his head. "Here we go again..."

Samuel hit the ground with a thud and dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach, face twisted in pain. "What do you want? I don't know how to fight..."

Hong Fei grabbed him and yanked him up, then slammed his forehead right into Samuel's massive dome.

Samuel's vision swam, dizzy and dazed.

No matter what Samuel said next, Hong Fei ignored him and kept beating him.

A minute later, when Hong Fei stepped close again, something sharp and needle-like jabbed at the energy-coated surface of his mind.

Immediately, Hong Fei had to channel more energy to force it back inch by inch.

"That's more like it. Why bother hiding?"

He raised his leg high, the sole of his foot landing squarely on Samuel's chin, sending his big head and body flying before crashing down.

Samuel had a breath stuck in his chest, unable to exhale or inhale. He coughed wildly while scrambling backward on all fours.

"Cough, wait, hold on, cough... I give up, I cough... no more pretending..."

What he got was a side kick from Hong Fei.

"It hurts, I'm done fighting!"

"I really know I was wrong!"

"I won't dare again!"

"Stop hitting me, I really tried my best, hit me more and I'll die..."

Three minutes later, Hong Fei struck Samuel in the chest with a palm, sending him flying. When the back of his head slammed heavily into the wall, he immediately passed out.

Hong Fei withdrew his hand, looking at Samuel's body with a regretful shake of his head.

Another defeat without dropping a Skill Card.

He was certainly eager for a supernatural ability like telepathy—that elusive, unpredictable power would pair perfectly with anyone.

Turning around, Hong Fei saw only a huge mirror, unable to see through to the other side.

He waved his hand. "Get someone to treat him."

After a moment, under the joint surveillance of Hong Fei and Frank, Samuel was carried to a hospital bed and hooked up to an IV.

They left the monitoring room.

Frank: "Why did you hit him?"

"He wasn't obedient."

"But what exactly do you want him to do? Join us in action, or let him focus on the scientific research he's good at?"

"Both." Hong Fei nodded. "His ability is rare; it might come in handy at a critical moment. Plus, he'll keep getting smarter—whether for planning and executing missions or scientific research, he's an excellent helper."

Frank pondered for a few seconds. "Then why didn't you just tell him your goal directly?"

Hong Fei frowned abruptly. "I didn't?"

"You didn't."

The atmosphere grew a bit awkward.

Hong Fei's eyelid twitched, and then, as if flipping a switch, his face beamed with a spring breeze as he patted Frank on the shoulder. "Go check the first room on the left in the equipment storage."

Frank looked puzzled.

Hong Fei: "Go on. I put something good in there—it'll blow your mind for a whole year!"

Frank walked over skeptically, while Hong Fei stood in the hallway, smiling without a word.

A moment later, a loud, trembling WTF echoed through the corridor.

Hong Fei couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.