Sharingan

"Have you contacted the municipal paranormal bureau?" She opened her eyes and asked her deputy, Chen Mo, behind her.

Chen Mo had just hung up, and his expression was grim too. "I've already contacted them. The municipal Paranormal Bureau does have psychic Awakened, but their strongest one took a team to deal with an A-rank Weird Domain. It'll be at least a week before they can get back."

"The others... aren't strong enough. They wouldn't be any help even if they came."

One week.

Three days.

Su Qianxue clenched her hands even tighter.

Zhao Gang and Li Wei were team members she had trained. She had led them against Nightmare, and her own carelessness had given Nightmare an opening.

If anything happened to them because of this mission, she would never forgive herself.

In her desperation, someone suddenly flashed through Su Qianxue's mind. Lin Jin!

That young man whose gaze was as still as a pool of stagnant water.

That "mysterious man" who clearly wasn't weak, yet knew nothing about Awakened realms or wraith ranks.

She felt she couldn't see through him.

She had investigated Lin Jin's records a few days ago, too. They were too clean!

Aside from being an orphan since childhood like Zhou Yan, there was nothing unusual about his life all the way through university graduation. His record was so clean that he hardly seemed like an Awakened.

And that very fact suggested there was more to him.

At that thought, she turned to Chen Mo. "Ask Zhou Yan for his friend Lin Jin's contact information."

"Lin Jin?" Chen Mo frowned. "Team leader, isn't his ability fire? Does it have anything to do with psychic power?"

Su Qianxue hesitated. "I don't know either, but there's much more to him than meets the eye. My intuition tells me he might have a way. Let's try anything we can. We don't have any other options anyway."

"All right!" Chen Mo nodded, took out his phone, and called Zhou Yan.

Once the call connected, Zhou Yan's voice came through. "Hello? Chen?"

"Zhou Yan, you have Lin Jin's number, right? The team leader needs to talk to him." Chen Mo got straight to the point.

Zhou Yan paused. "The team leader wants Little Lin? He's right next to me. Hang on."

Hearing that, Chen Mo handed his phone to Su Qianxue. "Team leader, Lin Jin is right beside Zhou Yan."

Su Qianxue took the phone. After some rustling, Lin Jin's voice came through.

"Hello?"

"Lin Jin? This is Su Qianxue."

Lin Jin raised an eyebrow.

"Need something?"

There was a second of silence on the other end before Su Qianxue spoke. The composure she had shown at their last meeting was gone, replaced by a trace of hope and caution.

"I wanted to ask... do you have any way to save people trapped in an illusion?"

An illusion?

Then you've certainly come to the right person.

But Lin Jin said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"Yesterday, our team went to deal with that B-rank wraith, Nightmare. We completed the mission and eliminated the wraith, but two team members fell under its illusion. They still haven't woken up." Su Qianxue paused.

"The medical team says they can hold on for three more days at most. We've tried everything, but nothing worked, so..."

Lin Jin still said nothing.

She took a deep breath.

"I just wanted to ask if there's anything you can do. If you can save them, our paranormal bureau will pay you. Any amount."

After hearing her out, Lin Jin was about to speak.

But at that very moment, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Ding! System mission issued]

[Mission: Save paranormal bureau members Zhao Gang and Li Wei, who are trapped in an illusion]

[Mission requirement: Remove the illusion affecting both of them]

[Mission reward: 100 points of world power]

One hundred points of world power.

Last time, casually killing that C-rank Shadow Wraith had earned him only ten points.

This is a good deal.

"Lin Jin?" Getting no response, Su Qianxue sounded a little anxious. "Are you listening?"

"Yes," Lin Jin said. "I can give it a try."

Su Qianxue froze for a moment.

She had only made the call on the off chance he could help, and had even prepared herself for rejection.

But she hadn't expected him to agree so readily.

"Are you... confident?" she asked tentatively.

"I'll know once I take a look." Lin Jin made no guarantees, adding, "But I'll need payment."

"All right. Name your price."

"You can decide on the payment once it's resolved."

Su Qianxue was silent for a second, then said, "All right. If you can save them, the paranormal bureau won't shortchange you."

"Send me the address." With that, Lin Jin hung up.

Zhou Yan leaned closer, his eyes wide. "Little Lin, you're really going? That's an illusion only a psychic Awakened can deal with. Can your flames burn an illusion?"

Lin Jin put away the phone and glanced at him. "Who told you I only had fire? Haven't you seen the lightning too?"

Zhou Yan paused.

Then he remembered the blue lightning crackling in Lin Jin's palm that night.

But lightning can't dispel illusions either, can it?

Zhou Yan recalled what Lin Jin had said earlier.

"Holy shit, don't tell me you have psychic abilities too?" Zhou Yan was stunned. "Little Lin, you're such a freak!"

Lin Jin ignored him and turned to leave.

"Hey, wait for me!" Zhou Yan hurried after him. "I've never been to the medical center either!"

Jiangcheng Paranormal Bureau, medical center.

Su Qianxue stood at the entrance, watching two figures approach from a distance.

Lin Jin walked in front at an unhurried pace, yet every step gave the impression of a mountain's steadiness.

Zhou Yan followed beside him, looking around like someone who had never seen the world.

"You're here." Su Qianxue went to meet them, her gaze settling on Lin Jin's face. "Come with me."

She turned to lead the way, speaking as she walked. "They're both in terrible condition. Nightmare's wraith energy is tangled up with their psychic power. We don't dare force it out for fear of damaging their mental seas."

Lin Jin said nothing and simply followed her.

Zhou Yan asked quietly, "Group Leader Su, um... what kind of illusion are they under?"

"Nightmare's unique inner illusion. It traps people in their most terrifying memories, leaving them unable to escape." Su Qianxue briefly paused in her stride. "I was careless and fell victim to it too, but my higher realm allowed me to break free in time. Those two were weaker and couldn't hold out."

As they spoke, the three arrived outside the observation room.

Su Qianxue pushed open the door and saw Chen Mo keeping watch inside. She stepped aside.

Lin Jin walked in, his gaze falling on the two beds placed side by side.

Zhao Gang, Li Wei.

Both were deathly pale, their lips cracked and brows tightly furrowed.

Zhao Gang's fists were clenched tight, his nails digging into his palms and drawing blood.

Li Wei's body twitched from time to time. Tear tracks marked the corners of her eyes, and she was murmuring something too faint to make out.

Lin Jin stood beside the beds, watching them quietly.

Standing behind him, Su Qianxue couldn't help asking, "Is there anything you can do?"

Lin Jin didn't answer.

He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, they had turned scarlet.

Sharingan!

Three tomoe slowly rotated in his eyes.

Su Qianxue froze.

What... was that?

Those eyes were as scarlet as blood, with three black tomoe evenly spaced within them, slowly turning and exuding an indescribable sense of pressure.

It wasn't a fire ability.

It was another ability involving his eyes.

But at that moment, she finally understood.

This man was far more unfathomable than she had imagined.