Chapter Thirteen: Concerns

Lin Lei returned home with the little one. After all, he lived alone in the apartment, and the second bedroom was usually used for storing odds and ends, so moving in a little girl was hardly an issue.

The Investigation Bureau only knew that Lin Lei had made a mistake; they assumed the person was a boy, which conveniently aided Lin Lei in concealing the truth.

The real trouble lay in the child's identity. She had neither a household registration nor an identification card.

For anyone else, Lin Lei could have easily used the Bureau’s resources to arrange such things—it wasn’t difficult—but now, he had much more to consider.

In the short term, the girl could stay with him, but for the long run, he would have to find a way to solve these problems.

Using morphing abilities, Lin Lei disguised himself and purchased a variety of girls’ clothes and a wig for her, bringing them home.

Before the mirror.

Lin Lei stood before the girl, dressed in a white dress with the wig draped over her shoulders, looking every bit the little princess. He gazed solemnly at her.

“From now on, you’re my distant cousin, Lin Xiaoshi. Remember—never use your abilities in public!”

Thirteen stared at her reflection and nodded earnestly.

Lin Lei smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. “Alright, go watch some TV.”

The little one loved watching television.

Within a couple of days after Lin Lei brought her home, he discovered her remarkable capacity for learning and imitation. Her language and communication skills, however, still needed improvement; she could only utter a handful of phrases.

Lin Lei often had to guess and piece together her meaning.

Through these difficult and earnest attempts at communication, Lin Lei learned that while she had been at the research institute, she knew nothing—no one had ever taught her to speak, and the researchers had never spoken in her presence.

It was only in the past few days, by observing others converse and watching television at Ling Da’s home, that she began to grasp language.

To reach this level in mere days—there was no doubt Thirteen was a genius.

Lin Lei also felt firsthand the cruelty of the Serpent Devouring Its Own Kind, and understood why the little one had so quickly grown attached to Ling Da.

He took her hand and settled her on the sofa, beginning another round of communication.

“Do you remember how you first came here?” Lin Lei asked, returning to the subject.

The little one paused, a look of confusion flickering across her face: “Fighting, scared, riding in a car. Fighting again, then—whoosh—I ended up here.”

Lin Lei did his best to decipher her meaning.

It seemed the research institute had been attacked; someone had taken her away, but then some accident occurred, and she used her ability to transfer herself nearby.

“Li Xueshu’s deduction was correct—someone brought her to the vicinity after all...”

Lin Lei’s brow furrowed; those who had brought the girl so far would not simply abandon her. They knew her general whereabouts better than the Serpent Devouring Its Own Kind.

Still, these people likely bore her no ill will, so there was little to fear.

Over the past few days, Lin Lei began to test the girl's Gift abilities.

She could transfer large objects within her immediate vicinity, though moving living things or objects of substantial size required much more energy.

Generally, the maximum range for inanimate objects was about five or six meters.

She could transfer herself, but the range was even smaller—not even a meter—and bringing others along was out of the question.

“That night, Ling Da was hunted down, and only escaped by using the girl’s spatial transfer ability—the range was far more than a few meters, tens or even hundreds. The discrepancy between what she accomplished then and her current abilities is considerable.”

Puzzled by this, Lin Lei went to consult Li Xueshu.

Li Xueshu replied,

“If an ordinary Source Energy awakener has just become aware of their powers, even an S-rank Gift wouldn’t achieve such a feat. But if it’s a test subject of the Serpent Devouring Its Own Kind, it’s not impossible…”

“Do you remember what that fake Gao Yue said after I used Absolute Zero?”

Li Xueshu suddenly brought this up, and Lin Lei’s eyes flashed. “Was it ‘Gift Liberation’?”

Li Xueshu’s Absolute Zero had left a deep impression on Lin Lei; he recalled vividly the fake Gao Yue’s words.

Li Xueshu nodded.

“Gift Liberation is a move that unleashes the full power of one’s Gift; generally, only Source Energy users of the third tier or higher can do it. Using this move almost always means desperation—a ‘burn the boats’ tactic. Unless a user has a special Gift or the aid of other Source Artifacts, their energy will be exhausted…”

“And you, back then…” Lin Lei’s expression was subtle.

Li Xueshu answered, “Absolute Zero isn’t my Gift Liberation ability; the fake Gao Yue simply misunderstood.”

Lin Lei’s expression froze.

Li Xueshu continued,

“Test subjects of the Serpent Devouring Its Own Kind can’t be viewed as mere Source Energy users. This little one probably used Gift Liberation ahead of time under special circumstances, which explains the exaggerated effect.”

Lin Lei licked his lips.

Others, through Gift Liberation, could unleash their Gifts with greater power.

If he himself reached the third tier and used Gift Liberation, what would the result be?

He shook his head, returning his thoughts to Thirteen.

“The little one isn’t even a Source Energy practitioner—she’s relying solely on her innate talent, not having opened her First Source Essence, yet she could transfer someone such a great distance. If she awakened her First Source Essence, imagine the possibilities.”

He needed to find her an Enlightenment Potion.

He promptly asked Li Xueshu if there was any way.

Li Xueshu shook his head.

“In the Bureau, Enlightenment Potions are tightly controlled—even more so than breakthrough materials. No Source Energy user, regardless of rank, may apply for a second Enlightenment Potion. The only way to obtain one is through underground channels or extraordinary organizations…”

Lin Lei’s eyes flashed; he had anticipated this.

Source Energy cultivation was perilous.

Those with inadequate talent or unstable minds who took the Enlightenment Potion could suffer mental collapse at best, or at worst, lose control of their energy and mutate into monstrosities. Such things needed careful supervision.

There were many in the Bureau’s reserve department, each extraordinary in their own way, yet few ever received the Enlightenment Potion.

Li Lei shook his head and asked, “Have you ever dealt with members of other extraordinary organizations?”

Li Xueshu squinted. “Occasionally, during missions, I’ve come into contact with people from other groups, but my knowledge is limited…”

“As a Bureau member, connections with other extraordinary organizations—even those not aligned with evil—are strictly forbidden. Transactions with them are out of the question…”

“You’ll have to handle this yourself. I can’t help you.”

Lin Lei raised his eyebrows at her words.

He understood Li Xueshu’s concerns.

“No rush. As my strength increases and I gain more experience, I’ll eventually have opportunities to meet those people. With my morphing abilities, I can easily alter my identity and contact them, perhaps even secretly join another extraordinary organization…”