Trickster

As publicity efforts intensified, the popularity of the "Mutant Competition" skyrocketed, and countries around the world began to increase their search for Mutant.

In the past, China's search policy was relatively covert, choosing a search method that did not involve excessive publicity. The main purpose was to protect the true information of the Mutant, so that it would be easier for them to start a new life after it was confirmed that Mutant abilities were not suitable for combat.

However, with the preparations for the "Mutant Competition," China also changed its search strategy, shifting from having the Special Response Department handle the search alone to cooperating with local departments. The strategy involves first Collection clues, and then having the Special Response Department confirm identities and negotiate.

Within just one week, the Special Response Department obtained more than a dozen pieces of information about Mutant. Although the authenticity of this information still needs to be confirmed, it at least represents an opportunity.

Xiao He and Ye Wanqing are mainly responsible for scientific research projects and daily training, and occasionally go to school to attend classes. These tasks of communicating with Mutant are handled by other members of the Special Response Department.

Of course, Xiao He and Ye Wanqing are now practically inseparable, even attending classes together.

"Little Pufferfish, it seems like everyone's talking about the school beauty's engagement?" Xiao He whispered to Ye Wanqing while browsing the school forum during class that day.

"You don't need to stand so close, I can hear you..." Ye Wanqing's ear tickled from Xiao He's breath, and she quickly moved away. "After all, she's the school beauty, very popular."

"Is that really all there is to it..." Xiao He pursed his lips: those boys who cried and loudly announced that they were completely heartbroken seemed to be high-quality boys in their school, usually possessing at least one of the following qualities: rich, talented, or good-looking.

"These guys don't lack girlfriends? That's really funny." Xiao He thought to himself, reaching out to smooth a stray hair sticking up on Ye Wanqing's head. "Why does your hair always stick up like that?"

Ye Wanqing pouted, a little unconvinced. "The hair salon owner said it was because of the wrong position of my hair whorl."

Xiao He touched her head and realized that it was true; her hair whorl was located at the very tip of the back of her head, and because her hair was quite stiff, the shorter strands easily stuck up.

"Hey? So cute." Xiao He chuckled, patting her head. Ye Wanqing playfully punched him, a little annoyed. "Stop patting me! We're in class! Didn't you see the teacher glaring at you?!"

"He's not my professor, so I don't care..." Xiao He pouted.

The surrounding students were thinking, "They're forcing this PDA on us in public, can't they just leave already...?"

Just then, Xiao He's phone vibrated. He glanced at the message and saw that Cui Man had given him another task. This task was different from the previous ones; it involved "negotiating" with a confirmed Mutant and persuading them to the Special Response Department.

"Another mission?" Ye Wanqing leaned her head closer to look; the way she was perched on her arm looked as cute as a kitten.

Xiao He nodded. "Not difficult. The target's identity has been confirmed, so it should be easy."

"You're leaving this afternoon? Then I'll wait for you to come back for dinner tonight," Ye Wanqing said.

Because the Special Response Department has been extremely busy lately, they have deployed many more personnel. However, Xiao He's "Yinglong" identity remains too special, so Cui Man always accompanies him on every mission. As for Xia Yu and Xie Haining, they have been assigned new Special Response Department "Executives" to assist them in carrying out their missions.

However, the Special Response Department's busy schedule also kept him busy. During the day, he had to continue to improve the blueprints for the Antimatter Generator, so much so that he didn't even have time to take Ye Wanqing out to play.

Xiao He was originally planning to take Ye Wanqing to the Riverside Beach again during this time. This time, he was determined to see the night view of the Riverside Beach and then confess his feelings! Anyone who dared to stop him was Lin Tiannan!

After lunch and a short rest, Xiao He set off in the afternoon to meet up with Cui Man, while Ye Wanqing only needed to stay home and change her name.

"Listen carefully, although we know the identity of this Mutant, we don't know his specific Superpower," Cui Man explained on the Helicopter. "He wants to meet you before considering cooperating with the Special Response Department, which is why we have today's mission. But I want to remind you, don't kill him instantly. Use this opportunity to study his Superpower."

"Okay." Xiao He nodded confidently, then took the tablet and looked at it.

The target's name was Zhang Ming, eighteen years old, who had just finished the college entrance examination and entered university this year. The young man was quite handsome, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but his temperament was a bit gloomy, giving people a cunning feeling.

Zhang Ming's grades in school were average. He went to a third-tier university and majored in economics and management. He rarely attended classes and preferred to stay in his dorm playing games. His specific Superpower are unknown.

Just as Xiao He was reviewing his information, the name "Zhang Ming" blurred for a moment, then changed to "Lin Tiannan".

"The Little Pufferfish is quite diligent," Xiao He thought to himself, putting the tablet aside.

After the Helicopter arrived at their destination, they boarded another vehicle and began their journey into the wilderness.

"Because of your special status, I arranged to meet him in a secluded place," Cui Man explained as she drove.

"Whatever, everyone knows me anyway," Xiao He said lazily. Cui Man frowned slightly. "You'd better try to minimize your public appearances right now, the less you expose yourself, the better. The M Country has recently intensified its investigation into you; we've intercepted several groups of '500,000' at the airport."

"How do you know they have 500,000?" Xiao He asked Cui Man, puzzled.

"We have a Superpower with the Superpower to detect lies," Cui Man said with a smug smile, raising an eyebrow. "And it's 100% accurate. He doesn't even need to be on-site; he can tell the truth just by hearing the sound. He can work remotely."

"Is that so!?" Xiao He was somewhat surprised.

Cui Man nodded. "In addition, we are also investigating foreign nationals in the country one by one. We are currently upgrading our search engine with the 'Cosmic Core Algorithm' you provided. After the upgrade is complete, these people will have nowhere to hide."

But then the car suddenly came to a slow stop. Cui Man looked at her phone and said, "We've arrived?"

Xiao He got out of the carriage, looked at the ruins in front of him, and fell silent.

This place seems to be a remnant of the urban village redevelopment project. No one lives here anymore, but most of the buildings have not yet been demolished. The building in front of them is a school building, which looks gloomy even in the daytime. The broken windows are covered in dust and the corners are covered with cobwebs. The faded red wooden door looks particularly eerie, and you can vaguely see some dark shadows moving around in the classroom.

"Darling, are you afraid of ghosts?" Cui Man asked in a slightly teasing tone.

"It's a shame," Xiao He chuckled, "I'm not afraid of anything except insects. Don't you know? My favorite pastime is watching horror movies. If it weren't for the Little Pufferfish, I would have projected them onto a big screen in the living room for a much better viewing experience."

"That's good, now you can protect me." Cui Man smiled and hid behind Xiao He. "I'm most afraid of ghosts..."

"This is a scientific world, where would ghosts come from..." Xiao He frowned and said, but at this moment he suddenly realized that his Superpower had been triggered: this meant that the other party was already within his perception range, but he just hadn't noticed it.

Xiao He glanced around the scene and found no enemies. But he wasn't particularly worried because his physical strength and defense had been enhanced, so the enemy's attacks couldn't hurt him.

The next moment, a dark figure suddenly crashed through a window and lunged at him. As it got closer, Xiao He realized that it was a man with a ferocious expression, covered in blood, and with pale skin.

Cui Man screamed in fright and hid behind him.

Xiao He looked at the ghostly figure with some confusion: although the voice came from right in front of him, he could smell blood, and the enemy was right in front of him, the enemy in front of him did not pose any threat to him.

But his intuition told him that the enemy was somewhere else.

Therefore, Xiao He ignored the sinister and terrifying man rushing towards him and instead swung his hand back to the air to his left. With a muffled thud, a figure was sent flying from what should have been an empty space. He bounced off the wall and crashed heavily to the ground. He tried to get up, but ultimately collapsed and remained motionless.

The ghostly figure in front of them vanished, proving it was merely a hallucination.

"Superpower an illusion?" Xiao He raised an eyebrow and said, "It's not just sight; hearing and smell can also be manipulated. So, it seems touch and taste can probably be controlled too? It's just that the Mutant's physical abilities don't seem very good..."

"Didn't I tell you not to kill him instantly?" Cui Man whispered from behind him, her pretty face pale with fear.

"..." Xiao He was silent for a moment, then said, "Mine."

"But this kid really has a twisted sense of humor... making such terrifying things." Cui Man observed Zhang Ming on the ground and frowned as she spoke.

"He's just a brat." Xiao He shook his head and sighed, then stepped forward, picked Zhang Ming up from the ground, and flicked his forehead with his index finger.

The child seemed to have been slapped, bounced back half a circle and fell to the ground. Then he sat up abruptly, looked around, and then looked at Xiao He in front of him.

"How... how did you know I was there?!" Zhang Ming asked in astonishment. "Your sight, smell, and hearing are all controlled by me; there's no way you could have known!"

"Intuition," Xiao He uttered softly.

Actually, he thought the kid's ability was quite interesting, and it could be very powerful if used well. It was just a pity that he had run into him. As long as the kid's name was Lin Tiannan, no matter how skillfully the kid used his ability, it was useless against him.

Because his intuition could directly tell him the kid's location, and judging from the feeling of the attack just now, Zhang Ming's physical abilities had improved slightly, but not much, probably only at the LV1 level.

Therefore, Zhang Ming's encounter with him was like a magician facing a monster immune to magic—completely helpless.

"I've received a new buff," Xiao He thought to himself. "But I've triggered this ability before, just like when I found the Yangtze finless porpoise."

Xiao He nodded in satisfaction. "On the day of the Mutant Competition, I'll change all these guys' names to Lin Tiannan and hang them on the sidelines to boost his abilities. Then he can easily defeat all the foreign Mutant."

"So, didn't you come to us to negotiate? Why did you attack us?" Cui Man asked, arms crossed, clearly dissatisfied.

"Is that even a question?" Zhang Ming looked at Xiao He, clenched his fist, and laughed, "Of course I want to defeat Yinglong, the strongest Mutant in history! If I defeat him, I'll be the strongest in the world, right?! How cool would that be!"

"And the result? You got instantly killed?" Cui Man said, tapping her arm lightly with her index finger.

Xiao He thought to himself, "They're just kids in their teens, their minds are full of things like being the strongest in the world and fighting and killing. I don't think I was that immature at that age."

"That's because I wasn't prepared!" Zhang Ming said irritably. "Let's do it again!"

Xiao He turned to look at Cui Man, Cui Man nodded in agreement and whispered, "Don't kill him instantly this time. Study his Superpower more thoroughly!"

"Hmm." Xiao He responded, then stepped forward and beckoned to Zhang Ming with his index finger. "Let's go then."

In fact, Xiao He has now roughly figured out his own enhancement pattern. When he encounters Lin Tiannan, he will enhance him in both offense and defense. First, he will enhance his defense to the point that no matter how the enemy attacks, he cannot be injured. Then, he will enhance his offense to a way that can counter the opponent, thereby defeating him.

Therefore, Xiao He was not worried at all. As long as this brat was still called "Lin Tiannan", his attacks would not be able to hurt him.

"Don't regret it! Dare to underestimate me? Whether you're Yinglong or Gluttonous Beast, I'll defeat you all..." Zhang Ming laughed with fighting spirit, then his body suddenly swelled and grew larger, transforming into a muscular man over three meters tall, and he threw a punch at Xiao He.

However, Xiao He simply turned his head and stared at a certain spot, then followed suit, turning around all the way.

Zhang Ming, who was in "invisibility" mode, was terrified. Logically, since he had controlled Xiao He and Cui Man's vision, they shouldn't be able to see him. But this man's gaze was fixed on him, as if he could see him directly, which sent chills down Zhang Ming's spine: Is this Yinglong? This is terrifying...

Xiao He ignored the illusion and continued to stare at Zhang Ming. The huge, muscular man punched him, and a shockwave spread out, but it was only a visual impact, and Xiao He himself did not feel anything significant.

But that's the strange thing: although the sensation is not obvious, he still feels something, like being punched, only without pain.

"Sure enough, this kid's ability is to control his five senses," Xiao He whispered to Cui Man. "He can even control his sense of touch."

"Does it hurt?" Cui Man asked curiously. Xiao He raised an eyebrow. "A little, but it doesn't affect me. Maybe it's because my Superpower blocks my sense of pain?"

Next, two flying swords appeared out of thin air and flew over from the darkness, but Xiao He knew that they were illusions created by his Superpower, so he did not dodge and let the two flying swords pierce through his chest. He felt as if he had been shocked by static electricity and could not help but shudder.

"Hey, you!" Zhang Ming emerged from the darkness, pointing at Xiao He and asking, "Don't you feel any pain?!"

"So you really have controlled your five senses?" Xiao He chuckled.

However, while this Superpower causes pain, it cannot cause any real harm; it merely distracts the enemy. But if the pain reaches a certain level, it could lead to some serious consequences, depending on how well Zhang Ming can control his pain.

"You're almost done? Then it's my turn?" Xiao He asked, clenching his fist, then turned to Cui Man, "Sister Man, I think it's about time, isn't it? I promised Wanqing I'd go back for dinner tonight. Let's bring him back, then you can test him slowly."

"Alright then, let's resolve this as soon as possible." Cui Man nodded.

Xiao He immediately turned to Zhang Ming took a step back in fright and waved his hand, sending a barrage of flying knives flying towards Xiao He. But Xiao He completely ignored these attacks and charged straight at them. The flying knives pierced his body, and blood splattered everywhere, but Xiao He knew that these were all illusions. He only felt a very slight stinging sensation in his body.

Xiao He dashed out in one stride and then took to the air.

"Just like with the Yangtze finless porpoise finless porpoise... it not only provided intuition, but also mobility," Xiao He mused to himself.

However, compared to the Yangtze finless porpoise, Zhang Ming is a superior Trigger because, in addition to intuition and mobility, Zhang Ming also provides him with "Physical Strength" and "defense".

Although each "Trigger" grants him different Superpower, they also vary in quality. For example, some Trigger can only grant him one type of enhancement, while Trigger can grant him several.

By gradually accumulating the reserves in the Mutant Prison and then properly screening them, perhaps two or three Trigger could give him seven or eight Superpower.

Xiao He moved with incredible speed, arriving in front of Zhang Ming in the blink of an eye. He reached out, but instead of turning towards Zhang Ming, he reached out to grab at the air beside him.

In a place where there should have been nothing, a figure was grabbed and slammed to the ground. A shockwave spread outwards, Zhang Ming groaned before coughing violently.

"We're completely helpless..." Cui Man said, somewhat embarrassed. "I really feel sorry for those 'Lin Tiannan,' who are completely suppressed and have no chance at all."

"Surrender! Surrender!" Zhang Ming shouted hurriedly, but Xiao He ignored him completely, picked him up and threw him into the Special Response Department's vehicle.

"So, Sister Man, are we going to take him to prison next?" Xiao He asked, pressing on Zhang Ming's shoulder. "Another weakness of this kid's abilities is that he's hard to escape once he's physically captured."

However, it was only because he came in person that Zhang Ming was able to make the enemy believe that he had captured someone else, when in fact it was just an illusion.

This ability could be quite powerful if trained properly, but unfortunately... Zhang Ming doesn't seem to be very bright.

"Well..." Cui Man looked at Zhang Ming with interest, waved to the driver in front, and said, "Drive to the helipad." Then she turned to Zhang Ming and smiled, "Little friend, on the way to the helipad, you have to answer my questions honestly. If you don't listen, I'll throw you into a prison for Mutant, and you'll never be able to come out, understand?"

"I will escape. Do you think you can keep me locked up?" Zhang Ming said defiantly.

"Of course a prison has security measures," Cui Man scoffed. "We'll have one of our Superpower mark you with a 'curse,' so if you escape, your intestines will rupture, and no one can save you. Besides..."

At this point, Cui Man turned to Xiao He beside her. "If by some chance you actually manage to escape, the one responsible for capturing you is this Yinglong over here. What do you think of his strength?"

"Flawless..." Zhang Ming swallowed hard.

Xiao He, meanwhile, stood silently beside him with his arms crossed, subtly showing off. "I wonder what this kid will think if he finds out the truth about his abilities."

"So, cooperate obediently." Cui Man nodded in satisfaction. "What exactly are your abilities?"

"Controlling the five senses..." Zhang Ming muttered defiantly, head down. Cui Man continued, "What about pain? Where does it come from? Can it be increased indefinitely? To make someone die from the pain?"

"It's not that powerful..." Zhang Ming shook his head. "The intensity of pain depends on the effect of the illusion... For example, if the visual effect is a needle prick, then it can only convey the pain of a needle prick. Higher levels of pain will be perceived by the enemy's brain as deception."

"This mechanism is quite interesting..." Cui Man said with interest, and continued to ask questions.

This time, Xiao He noticed it. Although Cui Man seemed to be chatting casually, asking questions here and there, she was actually occasionally weaving in a question related to a psychological assessment. Xiao He himself had gone through this process before, but he hadn't noticed it then because he was unaware of it. However, from an observer's perspective, he could clearly perceive those unusual questions.

"Hmm, I roughly understand." Cui Man nodded in satisfaction after asking her question.

"This woman is amazing..." Xiao He thought to himself. His seemingly casual, random questions not only completed the psychological assessment and ability inquiry, but also revealed her family, personal information, hobbies, and personality.

"Old Li, pull over," Cui Man instructed, and the car stopped beside a small path.

Cui Man gestured for Xiao He to get out of the car with her. After opening the car door, the two went to the roadside to discuss the evaluation results. But Xiao He suddenly picked up a pebble and threw it into the air. Zhang Ming screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his leg.

"If there's a next time, I'll break your legs. Let's see if you can still run then!" Xiao He warned.

Zhang Ming rubbed the spot where he had been hit, muttered something unconvinced, and sat back in the car.

Xiao He then turned to Cui Man and asked, "So, Sister Man, what do you mean?"

"Unstable." Cui Man frowned and sighed. "Although he hasn't done anything particularly bad, he's too impetuous, likes to show off, and is a typical narcissistic personality. Simply put... after gaining superpowers, he has no self-control and acts recklessly according to his whims. He only wants to feel different from others; he's not the kind of person who will follow orders."

"Then what should we do? Lock him up?" Xiao He asked with great interest.

"Take him back and discipline him," Cui Man said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "First, make sure he signs a contract with little Chen Ting, then we'll see how he behaves."