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Deputy Captain Hao's eyes were sinister; his disgust for the Ability Control Bureau made him lose interest in the game, and he turned and left.
Outside the crowd, Hua Ling stood motionless, her body stiff as a wooden block. She watched as the uniformed figures walked away, until they were too far to see clearly. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, her body went limp, and she hunched over, panting heavily.
She could no longer pretend to be at odds and rushed towards Yuan De's courtyard.
Snap—She pushed open the courtyard gate.
Looking at the two people inside, safe and sound, her eyes welled up with tears, and her voice choked slightly. "You..."
Although nothing happened, she felt a weariness as if she had experienced life and death.
She didn't know why the Guard suddenly wanted to leave, but if they didn't, she might really be in a life-or-death battle with them!
Ye Jiang was receiving treatment when she saw Hua Ling suddenly push open the door and appear at the doorway, and... and she was crying.
Hmm, why are you crying?
She paused for a moment, looked down at the patient in her hands whose breathing was even, thought for a moment, and then solemnly comforted the patient's family and friends, "Don't cry, he's still alive."
That's what doctors in movies and TV shows say to patients' families, but they usually say, "Don't cry, he passed away peacefully."
Hua Ling didn't know what the Healer was thinking, but she felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, so strange that she held back her tears.
She looked inside, where there was only silence.
"Hmm..."
Suddenly, Yuan De, a resident of the town, groaned, his eyes darting around under his eyelids, as if he were about to wake up. Ye Jiang showed a hint of surprise; this patient's recovery speed was much faster than she had expected.
Ye Jiang was unaware that this was because, while modified humans were extremely sensitive to Pollution, they were also extremely sensitive to drugs that removed Pollution and methods that treated Pollution. One pill a day made them almost immune to Pollution; otherwise, they would have no way to get close to Polluted or even fight Polluted, despite their superpowers.
Hua Ling forgot to tell Ye Jiang this, so Ye Jiang was unaware and somewhat surprised.
Despite her surprise, the treatment she received was not interrupted, and the transfer of her supernatural abilities continued. Soon after, Yuan De woke up.
Unexpectedly, he woke up as a human. Seeing familiar scenery and objects, Yuan De remained in a daze for a long time. He had clearly felt himself undergoing a transformation... Hua Ling reminded him that the Healer had saved him. He suddenly snapped back to reality, his tall frame about to bend down towards Ye Jiang. Ye Jiang reached out and stopped his downward pressure, her face expressionless, and said, "I'm just making a house call for a fee."
She accepted the room fee as payment, which is a normal transaction, so there's no need for excessive gratitude.
She declined the other party's gesture of gratitude. Yuan De didn't force her to do anything, but his eyes were full of gratitude when he looked at her.
Outside the courtyard, the townspeople crowded around, peering inside and whispering amongst themselves. They saw Yuan De, who was unharmed, as well as Hua Ling and the outsider Ye Jiang. But they weren't curious about when Ye Jiang had gone in or what she was doing there. The townspeople weren't that curious. After learning that Yuan De was alright, they gradually dispersed and went home.
As if nothing had happened, the town returned to its daily routine, still noisy and bustling, with constant disputes among its residents over matters big and small.
News spread throughout the town that visitors from the Ability Control Bureau were coming.
Judging by the timeline, our visit this year is approaching.
On a desolate country road, a figure clad in a Bureau of the Ability Control Bureau training uniform swiftly traversed the void towards a town surrounded by high walls. The flowing wind brushed against the still-youthful face of the traveler as the taciturn girl skillfully manipulated gravity to move forward. Closer, her mission location was just ahead.
Ming Xia, a reserve member of the Ability Control Bureau, received a mission: to visit a town inhabited by cyborgs and submit an observation report.
This was merely an informal visit preceding the official visit, a very basic and low-difficulty task, which is why the Ability Control Bureau set it as one of the points-earning tasks for the reserve personnel.
After awakening in the trial grounds, Ming Xia accepted the recruitment of the Ability Control Bureau Ability Control Bureau became a reserve member. Reserve members need to participate in the Bureau of the Ability Control Bureau's training, which involves experienced members mentoring new members to complete specific point-based tasks. Once they accumulate 100 points, they can become official members.
Normally, it takes three years to accumulate 100 points, and two years to complete a task independently without the guidance of a senior. However, Ming Xia was able to complete the task on her own in just a few months.
That's all.
Because she is a genius, the only one in history to awaken an A-Rank ability user.
Ming Xia accepted the mission to visit Shuiling Town; this was her second solo mission.
As Ming Xia hurried along, recalling the key points of her visit, a malevolent gaze suddenly descended from above, its malice almost tangible. A shadowy figure loomed over her, resembling... a bird.
Um?
Ming Xia looked up and met the gaze of a circling eagle-man Polluted.
Isn't this the teacher's car?
It's definitely the teacher's car.
The story of Ye Jiang, a superhuman with extraordinary abilities, taming an eagle-man as a mount is known to everyone in City A.
Shuiling Town.
When Ye Jiang walked out of Yuan De's courtyard, there was no one gathered outside anymore. Walking a little further out, she saw two townspeople arguing. The town was still the same town, unchanged because of the matter between the Guard and Yuan De. That level of oppression seemed to have become commonplace, and besides, Yuan De was alright, wasn't he?
Ye Jiang gazed silently at the town, watching the two townspeople arguing.
Suddenly, something like a feather floated down before her eyes, light and white.
It's snow.
Sky started snowing.
Ye Jiang paused, looked up, and saw the Sky filled with falling snow.
The two townspeople who were arguing stopped, raised their heads in unison, and simultaneously showed expressions of surprise.
Such expressions gradually appeared on the faces of every town resident.
"... Snow?"
It's not yet cold season, Shuiling Town enjoys a spring-like climate year-round, with temperatures never dropping below 20 degrees Celsius. As a result, the townspeople haven't seen snow for many years.
Why does it snow?
Is this snow?
"Is it snowing?"
The townspeople all rushed out of their houses and into the streets, astonished by this strange phenomenon. There were many superhumans in the town, but none of them had the ability to snow, let alone a snowstorm that covered the entire town. Such a large range of snowfall was impossible for anyone below the A-Rank, and the town only had two A-Rank superhumans, so this snow obviously had nothing to do with them.
So it was done by a high-level Polluted?
It doesn't seem so; the sensitive townspeople didn't feel that level of Pollution either.
so--
Is it a natural phenomenon?
No.
"... Look, isn't the snow only falling in this small town?"
Someone raised a question. In his view, he saw that the sudden snowfall only fell from the Sky above Shuiling Town, perfectly adhering to the wall, with not a single snowflake drifting outside.
Many people noticed this, and their surprise was gradually replaced by unease. Many townspeople silently retreated to their rooms.
But the snow didn't care whether the townspeople were surprised or uneasy; it fell quietly, seemingly harmless, like a beautiful landscape.
It grew larger and denser, soon covering the town in a thick layer, and then it continued to fall, turning the entire town into a crystal-clear white expanse.
The townspeople's unease deepened, and even the Guard watched the snow with grim faces, wondering if it was caused by some outsider who had entered the town. But it was just speculation, because they couldn't find any other reason.
Suddenly, for a moment, the snow stopped.
After blanketing the town in snow, it finally stopped.
The snow started and ended abruptly, lasting for about an hour.
When Ming Xia entered the town, the snow had stopped, and what she saw was a vast expanse of snow, which was very different from the town she was told about her mission. This made her frown as she stepped through the town's gate. Members of the Guard came after hearing the news, picked her up, and returned to the Guard's camp, not daring to linger in this strange snowy place for even a moment longer.
The townspeople were so wary of the snow, but in reality, it didn't cause any serious harm to the town; it just made it suddenly cold, causing a few townspeople to catch a minor cold.
But neither ordinary townspeople nor the Guard considered acting recklessly at this time. They all stayed indoors, and even the factories in town shut down.
A day passed, and nothing happened.
Two days passed, and nothing happened.
Three days passed, and nothing happened.
The snow just wouldn't melt, remaining unchanged.
Ye Jiang couldn't stay still any longer. Before the homeowner, Hua Ling, could keep an eye on her, she went out into the snow with a blank expression. When Hua Ling saw her, she was building a snowman in the yard with a tense face.
Hua Ling: "..."
She held her forehead, her eye twitching violently.
Actually, the town wasn't completely closed off. On the first day after the snow, the Guard went out and distributed three days' worth of medicine to the townspeople. This was the first time since the Guard was established that they had taken the initiative to deliver medicine to the townspeople, and for three days at a time. In the past, the townspeople would go to the Guard to collect their medicine once a day.
The reason is simple: a visitor from the Ability Control Bureau has arrived, and she's watching.
Three days have passed, and seeing that the Guard has not come to deliver medicine again, the townspeople have some ideas. They tentatively go out of their homes to the Guard's territory to collect their medicine.
One, two, three... Many townspeople stepped into the snow, hunching their shoulders and looking left and right, wary of any unusual activity as they headed towards the Guard.
Nothing happened.
More townspeople went out.
It seems there's nothing wrong; it's just ordinary snow!
"It's so cold today!"
Some townspeople breathed on their palms and muttered complaints.
Walking beside him was his neighbor. Since the Guard didn't dare to go out, their Guard, who were usually scattered throughout the town, had all gone into hiding. They took this opportunity to chat.