No wandering at will

Zhao Xun took the hair out of his mouth, then clenched his fist to test his strength.

He was considerably stronger than usual.

Although he only had half the effect of Strength Enhancement, his own base strength was far from weak. Now, he felt he could try taking on that burly No. 018 head-on.

Then No. 019, who had the full [Strength Enhancement]...

Zhao Xun looked at No. 019, who was already asleep.

Even in her sleep, the girl seemed uneasy, her brows slightly furrowed.

...would probably be hard to handle.

Even if No. 019's base strength was low, the increase built on that foundation was still not to be underestimated.

No wonder the frail-looking No. 019 had won the competition. Fortunately, he hadn't acted rashly.

Having to give up on No. 019 as a target didn't disappoint Zhao Xun.

He hadn't come away empty-handed, either. With [Strength Enhancement], he had more options now.

After a moment's thought, he turned to look at the tall, thin man, No. 013.

He observed him carefully for a while. Only after confirming that the tall, thin man was sound asleep did Zhao Xun lean down and gently bite his sleeve.

The description of his special ability placed no limit on how many times he could "devour" each day. It only said that devouring a second ability would overwrite the first.

So he didn't need to worry about whether the new ability would be useful. After all, he still had No. 019's hair.

Three seconds later, another notification popped up before him.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the special ability [Eyes of Clairvoyance], overwriting the special ability [Strength Enhancement].]

[Due to the effects of "Devour," [Eyes of Clairvoyance] has only half its original effectiveness, and this ability cannot be upgraded.]

Zhao Xun sat up straight and activated his ability to see through things.

His vision couldn't penetrate very far. He could only see the second layer.

For example, if someone wore five layers of clothing, he could only see what the second layer looked like, and nothing beneath it.

Still... that was enough.

Zhao Xun lowered his gaze slightly and clearly saw No. 013's ticket hidden inside his shirt.

No. 013 wore only a loose, long-sleeved T-shirt. A tiny pocket had been sewn into the inside of its hem, and the ticket was tucked inside.

With his ticket practically handed to me, it would be rude not to pick No. 013.

Zhao Xun carefully reached out and slowly lifted the hem at No. 013's waist.

If he could steal the ticket without the man noticing, it would cause less commotion and certainly be better than overpowering him.

Zhao Xun kept a close eye on the tall, thin man while slowly slipping one hand beneath his shirt.

With his ability to see through things, he easily located the inner pocket and could see exactly where his fingers were.

The tall, thin man slept deeply, completely unaware that his shirt had been lifted.

Zhao Xun slipped his index and middle fingers into the pocket and carefully pinched one corner of the ticket.

Even his breathing grew lighter, though his heartbeat quickened despite himself.

His movements remained steady, neither hurried nor slow.

He slowly drew out the ticket without making a sound, then swiftly moved it from the tall, thin man's pocket into his own sleeve.

Got it!

Zhao Xun quickly withdrew his hand, but just then, the tall, thin man suddenly raised his own hand to scratch his cheek.

Their wrists bumped into each other.

In that split second, Zhao Xun immediately reached out again and gave the tall, thin man's arm a push.

The tall, thin man then opened his eyes, looking somewhat dazed.

"What is it?" He looked at Zhao Xun, seemingly still half-asleep, and didn't notice any difference between the two successive bumps.

"I need to use the bathroom. Could you let me through?" Zhao Xun kept his voice very low, but his tone was natural, and there was no trace of nervousness on his face.

Since Zhao Xun occupied the middle seat, he would have to wake the tall, thin man in the aisle seat to get out.

The tall, thin man suspected nothing and stood to make room.

Zhao Xun left his seat and headed toward the bathroom.

Even with his back to the tall, thin man, he maintained an unhurried pace to avoid giving anything away.

His right hand remained tucked inside his sleeve, tightly gripping the tall, thin man's ticket.

Only after entering the bathroom and locking the door did he take the ticket out.

Like his own ticket, it was exceptionally smooth. It looked like paper, but felt slick and cool, with a metallic texture.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhao Xun ran quite a few tests on No. 013's ticket.

Simply trying to tear it did absolutely nothing.

So he took out the small tool kit he carried with him and tried its little awl, scissors, knife, pliers, and everything else. None left so much as a scratch on the ticket.

He then took out his lighter, but that couldn't damage the ticket either. Its temperature didn't even change; it remained ice-cold to the touch.

Clearly, this ticket was no ordinary object, and it couldn't be damaged by human means.

The best way to prevent No. 013 from retrieving his ticket would have been to destroy it. Since that wasn't possible, Zhao Xun had to settle for another method.

No matter where he hid the ticket, as long as it remained on the train, it could be found.

Even if the chances were slim, that wasn't safe enough.

To make absolutely certain, the best option was to throw the ticket off the train.

With that thought, Zhao Xun pressed the squat toilet's flush button.

On most trains, waste from the toilet's outlet ultimately fell onto the tracks. Sure enough, this train was no exception.

Looking into the open outlet, Zhao Xun used his ability to see through things and just barely made out the vague shapes of railroad ties through the thick darkness.

Without hesitation, he dropped the ticket down it.

The ticket fell through cleanly, and the outlet closed again.

Zhao Xun flushed once more and used his ability to confirm that the ticket hadn't stuck to the train's body. Only then did the corners of his mouth lift.

Then he bit down on No. 019's hair, overwriting [Eyes of Clairvoyance] with [Strength Enhancement] again.

Once that was done, he washed his hands and left the bathroom.

When he returned to his seat, everyone else was still asleep, but No. 013's eyes were open.

No. 013 froze for a moment when he saw Zhao Xun return, but quickly stood to let him through.

After Zhao Xun sat down, No. 013 asked in a hushed, astonished voice, "Didn't the train rules say you can't wander around between midnight and dawn? You left your seat, and nothing happened to you?"

After Zhao Xun left, he had stayed awake specifically to find out what would happen to Zhao Xun for breaking the rules.

He hadn't expected Zhao Xun to return in one piece, apparently without having suffered any punishment at all.

"The rule says 'no wandering at will,' not 'you must remain in your seat and cannot move at all,'" Zhao Xun explained, since he was in a rather good mood. "Going to the bathroom is a bodily need, not aimless strolling. It doesn't count as wandering at will."

Besides, he had left his seat to complete his personal task. With a legitimate reason like that, his actions naturally wouldn't be judged as "wandering at will."

Before acting, he had deliberately gone over the train rules several times. That was why he had been able to identify the best solution in the split second when his wrist bumped into No. 013's.

But he wouldn't reveal that.

No. 013 thought blankly for a few seconds before nodding. "That makes sense."

Then he quickly stood and hurried to the bathroom.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have held it in. He had been so afraid of breaking the train rules that he hadn't dared to move a muscle.

He had held it in until his stomach hurt.

Watching No. 013 run toward the bathroom, Zhao Xun wasn't nervous. He was certain the ticket had fallen off the train, and he had left no traces in the bathroom. He wasn't worried that No. 013 would discover anything.

Zhao Xun settled into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes, letting sleep come.

He still had plenty to do tomorrow. Tonight, he needed to get some rest.