Han He's test

Shen Bai took out a huge black cloth as he said:

"Sure enough, once things heat up, the cautious ones won't even spare their own pawns. The Evil Sin power left on that woman this time was probably level 3. To launch an attack of that strength from so far away, its main body must be at least level 5."

Huo Qiuliang also patted his chest, still somewhat shaken, and said:

"I couldn't disrupt the other side for even an instant... Its rank isn't low."

Liu Yiyi watched Shen Bai, who had already started sewing the black cloth onto the wall, and sighed.

"Forget it. At least we know there's someone like that out there. The trip wasn't wasted. We can go back and write up a short report. That's good enough-an unexpected bonus."

Huo Qiuliang nodded, took out his phone, and snapped a few pictures of the tiny amount of Purple Substance remaining. He also asked:

"Are these remnants safe?"

He was a little afraid that leaving this stuff behind might hurt ordinary people.

Liu Yiyi nudged a small piece of Purple Substance closest to her with her foot and said:

"Without the power of Origin, this stuff loses all its properties. Besides, my power can change a substance's inherent properties too, so this stuff is completely useless now. Don't worry."

Reassured, Huo Qiuliang abandoned the idea of collecting everything. He simply found a clean spot and sat down. Watching Shen Bai busily push his needle into the wall as though it were tofu, he thought:

The "Tailor" sewing a wall. Before I became Gifted, I'd definitely have thought anyone saying that was crazy.

"Damn, this is good. Do Hunters get a bonus to cooking too?"

Shi Yu stuffed Spicy Cabbage into his mouth, chopstickful after chopstickful, having completely forgotten his earlier misgivings about Han He staying at his place.

Only a lunatic would send someone away when his cooking was this good.

Han He shook his head, set the Sauce-Fried Zucchini on the table, and untied his apron. He served himself a bowl of rice too.

It was a pleasant mealtime, and Shi Yu lost himself in the food. Ever since he had started living alone, his own cooking had only been passable-not bad, occasionally good, but generally average.

School was the same. Just as Han He had said, "At school, all that matters is surviving."

Now that he had tasty food to eat, Shi Yu completely revealed his gluttonous nature. He really hadn't lied: he wasn't tall, but he could certainly eat.

Watching Shi Yu, who was nearly finished eating, Han He asked in puzzlement:

"You can eat plenty, can't you? Why does Grandma Sun say you need to eat more?"

Shi Yu tilted his head back and swallowed the eggplant in his mouth, so satisfied he wanted to burp. He answered Han He:

"It's because of my height. I'm not that tall, so Grandma Sun says I don't eat enough, then invites me over to eat..."

As he spoke, Shi Yu actually shuddered.

"I really don't want to hurt the old lady's feelings, but Grandma Sun's cooking is really... uh... So I can't eat much, and that makes her even more convinced I'm short because I don't eat enough. The two of us end up at a dead end."

After hearing that, Han He glanced at Shi Yu and said:

"Compared to the average height, you're not that short."

Shi Yu sighed at that.

"Not that tall either, huh."

The second year of high school was exactly when teenagers shot up in height. The boys were all heading toward the one-eighty-something range, let alone those two big guys, Han He and Hu Zihao, who were already over one eighty.

Shi Yu only just reached one seventy. When the three of them had stood together today, he'd noticed they looked a little like a "concave."

The thought annoyed him a little. Who knew how people grew taller, anyway?

But annoyance was one thing, and eating was another. It was essential to stay happy while eating.

Before long, he had polished off dinner like a whirlwind, eating until his stomach bulged.

Han He soon finished too, but just as he was about to stand up and clear the dishes, Shi Yu stopped him again.

"I'll handle it."

As he spoke, the bowls and chopsticks on the table floated up one after another and began flying toward the kitchen sink in order. They were set down in the sink one by one, as though held by an invisible hand.

Am I going to get lazier and lazier with this ability?

Thinking that, Shi Yu stood up and headed into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

For now, he could only move objects, not exert force on any of them.

Simply put, Shi Yu could move a pile of bowls and chopsticks, but he couldn't turn the faucet handle.

As for liquids, Shi Yu had tried, but he could only just gather a little liquid together and move it, spilling some along the way. So he still had to wash the dishes himself.

Behind him, Han He spoke:

"Sure enough, your eyes don't glow when you use Telekinesis."

He still hasn't forgotten.

Shi Yu acknowledged him and began washing the dishes, recalling how he had activated his ability in front of a mirror after coming home.

Shi Yu had watched a layer of silver gradually spread over his brown eyes as his conviction strengthened.

It had looked like a layer of inorganic refraction.

Shi Yu stopped reminiscing and scrubbed the chopsticks in his hands clean.

It's already come to this.

With that thought, Shi Yu squeezed out some dish soap, spread it over a plate, and focused on washing the dishes.

Shi Yu worked quickly. After finishing the dishes, he returned to the living room and saw Han He looking at his phone with the little wolf plush in his arms.

Why does everyone hug the little wolf? Kumamon is clearly cute too.

Mentally protesting on his little bear's behalf, Shi Yu shook the water off his hands and reached out, pulling Kumamon into his arms from a distance.

Seeing Kumamon being snatched away, Han He rolled over and turned his face toward Shi Yu.

He was unexpectedly at home, showing none of the restraint of someone in another person's house, which surprised Shi Yu a little.

Over these past few days of interacting with him, Shi Yu felt as though he was constantly overturning his old understanding and building a new image, creating a sense of detachment he couldn't quite describe.

After joining Liu Yiyi's "Snow Cedar," Shi Yu had also put an end to his wavering. He didn't want to keep oscillating between doing something and not doing it either. Having a clear goal made him feel much better.

Shi Yu wiped his hands on Kumamon and was about to ask Han He what he was playing when the other man spoke first:

"I'm looking up the key points of nurses carrying out doctors' orders."

Looking into Han He's dark eyes, Shi Yu began to wonder.

Sometimes Han He gets things right out of nowhere, as though he can read minds, but he always guesses wrong... How strange.

Those thoughts didn't stop Shi Yu from speaking:

"Oh, right, this morning. You didn't notice anything wrong with that nurse?"

Han He nodded.

That made sense. Han He was actually faster than that woman. If he had noticed something wrong with her beforehand, he could have subdued her all by himself.

Shi Yu sat down on the stool beside the sofa, flicked out a coin, and controlled it to strike the switch, turning off the kitchen light.

"That nurse had plenty of holes in her story. The most obvious was that 'the drugs will react with each other.' The morning IV was around seven, and it was past eight when it finished. It wasn't even ten when we got there."

A touch of mockery appeared on Shi Yu's face.

"What drugs stop reacting after just over an hour? The human body doesn't metabolize things that fast."

Han He sat up as he listened to Shi Yu. He nodded and asked:

"What else?"

Looking at Han He, who resembled an earnest student, Shi Yu answered his question:

"The second point takes a little knowledge. When a doctor orders an injection for a particular condition, it has to be administered immediately. In other words, if the doctor ordered that injection for Hu Zihao yesterday, he should have received it yesterday, not this morning. So there was definitely something wrong with that nurse. Add in that stuff about drug interactions, and we could be completely certain she was an impostor."

Han He listened very intently, looking as though all he lacked was a pen to take notes.

Shi Yu nodded, turned, and "took" the drink from the table, taking a big gulp.

But when he turned back, he found Han He still staring at him.

"Anything else, student Han?"

Han He raised an eyebrow at Shi Yu's choice of address but didn't otherwise react much. He said to Shi Yu:

"I want to test your abilities."

"Hm?"

Shi Yu froze for a moment, then looked at the serious Han He and asked:

"How?"

Han He remained silent, simply looking at Shi Yu.

Being stared at made Shi Yu uncomfortable all over. Just as he was about to ask what Han He was up to, he suddenly saw Han He's wrist flick slightly, and a blur flew swiftly toward him.

"Fuck!"

Caught off guard, Shi Yu instinctively leaned back while trying to seize the flying object with Thought.

Thump.

But he was still a step too late. Before Shi Yu could focus, he felt a springy object strike his chest.

Shi Yu hurriedly looked down at where he had been hit. After finding nothing wrong, he looked at the "hidden weapon" that had begun rolling across the floor.

The fresh, orange-colored tangerine rolled a couple of times with a rumble, then obediently came to a stop.

"So you can't react in time to a surprise attack?"

Han He's voice came from beside him.

Shi Yu looked up at the culprit calmly drawing his conclusion and came back to his senses.

We're starting already? Isn't this a bit fast?

"Ah... Give me a warning first, man. You scared the hell out of me."

This was indeed one of Thought's weaknesses.

If Shi Yu couldn't react to something's speed, then even if that thing met the conditions for him to move it, he wouldn't have time to act.

The simplest example was a bullet fired at him.

Shi Yu pointed at the tangerine lying on the floor and flicked his finger. The tangerine rose into the air, tracing an arc as it was tossed toward Han He.

Han He caught the flying tangerine and said evenly:

"It wouldn't work if I warned you. Let's try Thought next."

Han He had been the first person to learn the specifics of his abilities. He was also the one who asked the fewest questions about them.

In the past, Hu Zihao had always pestered him with endless questions, while Han He had never shown much curiosity. Shi Yu had thought Han He simply wasn't that inquisitive by nature.

Apparently, he had been saving up for something big.

But having someone to practice with was a good thing too. Shi Yu also wanted to better understand how his abilities worked in practice.

"Thought" could undoubtedly achieve decent results against ordinary people, but what about Heirs and the Gifted?

It was worth a try.

"So how do we test it?"

Han He didn't even think. He had clearly been planning this for a long time. He immediately said:

"Make me turn my head. I'll resist your idea."

Hearing Han He's test, Shi Yu tilted his head slightly, then focused his gaze on Han He.

Han He remained unmoved, sitting on the sofa like a statue.

The next instant, Shi Yu shifted his gaze, directing it somewhere behind Han He.

What's behind him? Humans always long to understand the unknown. This is a desire rooted in Origin, and my friend is no exception. He will turn his head now.

Han He settled his thoughts slightly, reminding himself not to turn his head.

The person before him has directed his gaze behind him, so he should grow curious. Turn around and look. What's back there...?

Shi Yu's eyes began to glow faintly, a flowing silver appearing in his pupils.

The Staircase of "Thought" was the Staircase of imagination!

The more meticulous the Gifted's thinking, the more logical it was, and the more sufficient the conditions, the more readily it could become reality!

At that moment, Shi Yu rose from the stool. Watching Han He, who was no longer quite so composed, he retreated step by step, then switched off the living room light right in front of him.

Click.

Darkness replaced the light, and Shi Yu seized the opportunity to deepen his thoughts.

Darkness, the underlying tone of panic. Danger comes from all directions. To protect himself, turning his head now is inevitable.

Shi Yu's pupils shone in the darkness with a cold, clear silver light, like unreachable stars in the night sky.

The drain on Origin was so distinct now that Shi Yu knew he had achieved his goal. He switched on the light.

Han He had already turned his head to the side. He blinked and offered unstinting praise:

"Impressive. I'd already turned my head before I even understood why."

Han He twisted his neck, producing a series of cracks. It seemed the resistance just now hadn't been easy for him either. After considering it, he said:

"It looks like people affected by you can't understand why they're doing it. It feels like an unconscious movement of their own. I was firmly determined not to turn my head, but by the time I realized it, I'd already turned."

Shi Yu breathed steadily. Honestly, the expenditure had been a little less than he had imagined-much, much less than making Huo Qiuliang have diarrhea.

He was mostly catching his breath because he'd been holding it. When Shi Yu used his ability just now, he had focused so intensely that he'd almost been unable to breathe.

Sure enough, I still need to work on my composure.

Shi Yu thought that, but Han He's words still made him a little embarrassed. With someone like Han He, everything he said felt earnest, which made it all the more embarrassing.

"Haha... It's all right, I guess. But it still takes some time to work. If we really got into a fight, I probably wouldn't have such good conditions. Who knows when I'll be able to advance."

Han He didn't deny Shi Yu's words. He stretched his arms, the muscles of his body shifting with his movements. He exhaled and said:

"Your ability isn't suited to sudden fights, and if you're unprepared, even some basic attacks can pose a threat to you. Improving your reaction speed and awareness should help a lot in the future..."

As he spoke, Han He turned and bent down to pick up the phone behind him. Before his hand touched it, he suddenly flicked his wrist, sending a little persimmon flying toward Shi Yu.

All Shi Yu saw was a small red ball rapidly approaching him, growing larger and larger in his sight-

Whoosh-

Shi Yu swallowed, looking at the little persimmon stopped at the tip of his nose.

The little persimmon floated there, less than two centimeters from Shi Yu, unable to move any farther forward.