This, I Can Accept

"What kind of strength was that?"

"That vicious look in his eyes just now-he was like a completely different person!"

Meng Jihe and the black-clad men all looked stunned.

Someone recalled the boy's merciless gaze and shuddered instinctively.

Meanwhile.

Another figure was plummeting through the sky.

It was the secretary, Rong Qian!

Because of the Half-Mechanical Crow's throw, she had begun falling a dozen or so seconds after Ke Qiming.

The intense sensation of weightlessness and the wind howling past brought Rong Qian out of her unconsciousness.

She happened to catch that scene, too.

The boy had leaped up and caught the fat man with the bald patches.

Then... as though he had gone mad, he had slammed the fat man into the ground!

But at that very moment.

The boy looked up and held out both hands, his face expressionless, ready to catch Rong Qian.

Rong Qian's face drained of color.

No!

But she had neither the time nor the means to react.

An instant later, she felt two palms press against her back, then the force coming from them yielded swiftly, soft as cotton.

The boy's arms swung like a pendulum, carrying Rong Qian through a circle in midair.

The beautiful secretary's heart clenched. I'm done for. It's the same move!

But the next instant, Rong Qian felt something solid beneath her feet. She opened the eyes she had squeezed shut in terror and slowly looked down, only to find herself standing safely on the ground.

And the boy named Qin Yiguan stood calmly before her.

Rong Qian's eyes widened. Once her heart had settled a little, she instinctively began running through the numbers, as though out of professional habit.

How could he be so strong?

What was his Fusion Rate?

The Personal Brain on Rong Qian's shoulder slowly rose and scanned Qin Yiguan.

God's Abandoned, perched on the boy's shoulder, also turned slightly.

"Some chick has a crush on you?"

"I'll give you a chance."

An instant later.

Rong Qian stared at the boy's information panel, then froze. "His Fusion Rate... is still zero?"

At that moment.

Meng Jihe and the black-clad men wore blank expressions.

Their Fusion Rates were not low, and several even possessed Reality Enhancement abilities of their own.

People with enhanced strength were rare, but they did exist!

Yet the boy's strength and technique still shocked them to their cores.

Could Reality Enhancement really achieve something like this?

He seemed like a different person!

What baffled them most was this.

How had that mechanical crow, which had descended like a demon god, vanished into thin air?

Meng Jihe strode over and looked at Qin Yiguan in astonishment.

After thinking for a while, he asked quietly, "That crow's appearance... had something to do with you all along?"

The boy nodded slightly.

Meng Jihe's eyes lit up. "That new system the Research Society announced, the mysterious brain Dark Zone..."

The boy did not deny it. He answered directly, "All of that is new to me, too. I haven't figured it out yet."

Meng Jihe looked as though a whole new world had opened before him, his eyes filled with bewilderment and shock.

Beside them, the secretary Rong Qian was still shaken. She stared blankly at the boy, then turned to glance at President Meng, whom she had once idolized.

Clearly, the President Meng she believed could see through the outward patterns of everything could see through nothing at this moment.

The boy lowered his head and looked at his hands, clenching them slightly. They felt no different than usual.

But the force he had unleashed just now must have exceeded a hundred kilograms!

That definitely had not been his own strength. It felt more like the strength of that judo expert from the Island Nation, and... it seemed to have been proportionally amplified!

After [Gestalt Collapse], [Shadow Syndrome] had appeared, too?!

And another thing.

Had [Conscience-Free Syndrome] flashed past just now?

Within the boy's heart, a door to a new world had likewise burst open.

Meng Jihe was thinking rapidly.

Was that figure from the rumors really his long-lost younger brother?

Meng Jihe glanced around and said quietly, "The real reason the Research Society wants to capture that crow is that they've taken an immense interest in you."

"If your identity is exposed, no one knows what will happen."

"If you're caught, endless tests will be waiting for you..."

"You need to do everything you can to hide this ability."

The boy felt a little warmth in his heart.

Boss Meng had witnessed his incredible ability from beginning to end.

Yet his first reaction had not been praise, flattery, or plans for their future together.

Instead, he had put the boy's safety first.

Boss Meng scanned their surroundings warily. "I'll arrange somewhere discreet and safe for you. Get some rest there while I go out and gather information."

The boy shook his head with a smile. "I think the smartest thing I can do right now is leave as soon as possible. As for you and your people, Boss Meng, just pretend you don't know anything. You saw the crow, but you have no idea where it came from or why it disappeared."

"If I actually hide in your building, I won't be the only one in trouble."

Boss Meng frowned for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

Qin Yiguan gave him no chance to persuade him to stay. He turned and left.

After a short walk, he reached a public transit platform.

The bullet train started up.

Gone at literal light speed.

-1200.

-1200.

-150.

'Balance: zero.'

'Debt: 1050.'

'Stopping shortly. Forced removal pending.'

The boy frowned.

Playing it cool came at a steep price.

As a rising superstar with a brain Dark Zone, he had gone bankrupt on the spot.

Thirty seconds later.

He watched the bullet train that had dumped him off speed away.

The boy pressed his lips together.

Ring, ring.

This time, it was a video call.

Just earlier, Meng Jihe had scanned God's Abandoned with his Personal Brain and saved the contact ID.

"Kid."

Meng Jihe's voice came through. "After all these years, you're still the same. You go your own way, shoulder everything yourself, and refuse to burden anyone else."

"All right, all right."

"That's a kind of courage."

"As your older brother, I sincerely hope that, someday, you can use that mysterious gift of yours to... rise to greatness! Shine for all to see!"

The boy smiled warmly. "Thank you, Boss Meng."

"Ah..."

Boss Meng sighed. "I'd originally prepared ten pieces of Source Matter for you. But now I see that stubborn streak of yours hasn't changed at all. You probably wouldn't accept my gift anyway. Heh, I still remember back at the orphanage, you were practically starving to death, yet you refused to accept food from anyone."

The boy looked puzzled. "Source Matter?"

"Oh."

Boss Meng answered, "It's an extremely precious mineral resource found in the Experimental Zone. Ordinary people don't have access to it. The currency exchange rate is one piece of Source Matter to 100,000."

Ten pieces of Source Matter meant one million?

The boy paused. "Boss Meng, this, I can accept."