"Are you truly only an ordinary ability user?"
"Other than being an ability user, my only identity is that of a student. Who else do you think I could be?"
At times like this, Lu Renyi liked to play dumb and answer questions with questions. He had fooled the System that way several times. But this time was different. The System did not sigh or break down as it had before.
When Lu Renyi sensed nothing but silence inside his mind, he knew he would have to provide a serious explanation this time.
"Fine, I admit it. I'm probably a little more powerful than that pile of information you received makes me out to be."
The System had already noticed that much, but it had not taken the matter seriously. A comic world built on an original foundational script was inherently more stable than other types of worlds.
Such worlds also usually had an unspoken rule—regardless of everyone else's strength, the protagonist was always the strongest.
But given Lin Shubei's current strength, could he cover an entire floor with psychic power, place a smaller illusion within it as a smokescreen, and escape the observation of a high-level illusion-type ability user?
The System had great confidence in Lin Shubei. It believed he would certainly be capable of that in the future, but the current Lin Shubei could not possess such strength.
That made Lu Renyi even more suspicious. If he possessed such strength, how could a mole within the academy easily kill him a year later? How could he have received nothing more than a cannon-fodder role?
There was another possibility: the "Lu Renyi" in the script had not possessed such strength and was therefore assassinated, while the one bound to the System was an accidental bug that had escaped the plot's restrictions.
"Then, Host, can you tell me why you're so much more powerful than the version of you in the original plot?"
The System had read similar cases in its mission handbook about the effects a bug beyond the plot could have on its future development. If mishandled, that person would become the culprit who threw the entire small world into chaos.
"All right, all right. I didn't think it was necessary, but since you asked, I'll explain."
Lu Renyi acted as though the System had left him no choice. Relying on his current position as the leader of the group, with no one daring to object, he sat directly in the chair at the center. Only two of its legs touched the floor, and he rocked it back and forth.
"I remember you asked why my ability was psychic-type. According to your information, I should be illusion-type, or rather, under the predetermined plot, I should be illusion-type."
"At the time, I said the original test was wrong and that I later concealed it during my academy entrance evaluation. But that explanation wasn't entirely accurate."
Lu Renyi tapped lightly on the table, then dropped a small bomb on the System.
"I'm not an illusion-type ability user, and I don't know how to use psychic power to evade testing."
"I only happened to learn from a book that if one of a dual-ability holder's abilities is exceptionally powerful, then unless the tester is told in advance during an ability-level assessment, the test will assign a level to only one of the abilities."
"In other words, if someone possesses more than one ability, they need to tell the testing staff in advance when the ability testing center assesses their level. Otherwise, the ability level will be based only on the ability that manifests more openly, and in the public's eyes, that person will be nothing more than an ordinary ability user."
By this point, how could the System fail to understand what Lu Renyi meant? On its first independent mission with a Host, it had encountered something like this. Somehow, its prospects for promotion seemed hopeless.
Lu Renyi's next words shattered its final sliver of hope.
"Unfortunately, I don't possess only one ability. I have both psychic-type and illusion-type abilities. Luckily, those two abilities aren't very different to begin with, so I controlled them fairly well at the time."
The System felt that binding itself to Lu Renyi had given it many opportunities to experience the helpless emotions of a human.
"So when you awakened your abilities, you awakened two at the same time?"
Why had such a setting appeared not on a protagonist like Lin Shubei or the hidden final villain, but on someone originally positioned as cannon fodder!
"I awakened two abilities at the same time. Later, I thought it would be troublesome and planned to study only one. But studying one alone didn't seem as interesting as studying them together, so I trained both."
"So your 【Silent Prison】 really is a psychic-type ability technique?"
The System thought its former self, which had foolishly invented excuses and explanations for Lu Renyi and helped patch every hole, was tragic beyond measure.
After Lu Renyi finished speaking, he ignored what the System might think. Someone like him was probably an abnormal bug in the plot. If the System wanted to benefit its so-called department, it might even act against him.
But since Lu Renyi dared to speak, he naturally had the power to do so. If the System truly decided to "erase" him, he would make sure the System suffered too.
The fact that it had forcibly bound itself to him against his will for some "cannon-fodder self-improvement mission" already revealed how disgusting its wretched department was. If it also resorted to the idea that those not of its kind must harbor different intentions, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty escape.
That would be terribly uninteresting.
The System said nothing more. It had probably gone to seek instructions from its superior, as it had before.
Lu Renyi took the opportunity to merge the small illusions he had scattered earlier. The entire floor was now under his control. Neither the floor's layout nor the movements of its people could escape his notice.
Just as he prepared to check Lin Shubei and the others' positions, the System appeared. It did not speak, but the familiar energy fluctuations alerted Lu Renyi to its return.
"Well? What have you decided to do with me?"
Lu Renyi continued tapping the table unhurriedly, but his tense body revealed how seriously he took the matter. The System's next words made that seriousness seem entirely out of place.
The System's tone was strange, carrying a sense of grievance as though it did not want to speak but had no choice.
"Our Chief Director and the head of the Creative Department said to give you more screentime."
Lu Renyi: ?
***
Lin Shubei swore that at first, he had genuinely intended to use his identity as a guard to explore this floor properly with Qi Yue. But could someone explain why they had encountered two teams of ability users fighting and been dragged into it!
Lin Shubei's face was dark, and his inner monologue was extremely lively, but he remained silent. Qi Yue could not understand what he was thinking either.
"Linzi, what are you thinking about? Hurry over and accept the punishment. If they notice something wrong, we'll be thrown out like those people just now."
Qi Yue leaned close to Lin Shubei's ear and reminded him in a whisper.
They had been pretending to patrol nearby when they heard the sounds of fighting. They came over to enjoy the spectacle and watch people from centuries ago make fools of themselves, only to discover that the fighters were their classmates.
Even more unexpectedly, they were not the only ones who had followed the noise. The captain of the guard for this floor also came. Because Lin Shubei and Qi Yue arrived late, he only assumed they had neglected their duties. The others had long since been expelled from the trial ground because the captain judged their behavior abnormal.
Lin Shubei suspected their scores would not be high. But compared with the others, he was more worried about the punishment the captain of the guard had assigned them.
Although their behavior had not been exposed as abnormal, Lin Shubei and Qi Yue still had to be punished for coming to watch. As the two walked through the corridor on the second underground level, waves of cold wind swept past, carrying a heavy stench of blood.
"Can feeding the aberrants on the second underground level really count as a punishment? I thought we'd be slapped or have our hands chopped off."
Qi Yue also knew the punishment could not be as simple as feeding them, but no matter how hard he thought, he could not identify the punishment's true nature. Surely they did not expect the aberrants to be so ugly that they would kill them with their appearance.
"Who knows? Maybe we're supposed to be the aberrants' food."
Lin Shubei spoke absently to Qi Yue, his head lowered as he focused on the positions of the other three displayed on his watch. He did not immediately notice that Qi Yue had stopped walking.
"Linzi, what did you just say?"
Qi Yue's voice came from the wrong place. Lin Shubei turned in confusion and found Qi Yue standing five steps behind him with a stiff expression, one hand pointing ahead.
"Just now? What did I say just now?"
Lin Shubei's attention had remained on the watch, and he had no recollection of what he had just said. Only after Qi Yue repeated it did he remember.
"You just said we're the food."
"Oh, right. Why..."
Lin Shubei and Qi Yue arrived at the same thought and abruptly turned toward the end of the corridor. Dozens of iron bars connected the ceiling and floor, sealing the path. From a distance, the densely packed bars formed a single mass, pitch-black like an iron box.
But Lin Shubei saw more than the dense upright bars. A door in the side stood open, and a pair of scarlet eyes watched them through it.
"Linzi, you really need to control that jinxing mouth of yours once in a while. It doesn't have to come true this accurately."
Qi Yue walked up and slapped Lin Shubei on the shoulder, sounding close to a breakdown.
"So what do we do now? We don't know what that thing is or how many there are. And if we return unharmed, that man will probably notice something strange. Then things will become even more difficult."
For reasons unknown, the aberrant opposite them did not charge immediately upon seeing Lin Shubei and Qi Yue. It remained behind the door and silently watched their movements.
Qi Yue's concerns were the same ones troubling Lin Shubei. If they obediently went over and let it bite them, whether they survived was uncertain. But if they killed the aberrant, people would undoubtedly think something was wrong. Once their identities came under suspicion, they would still be hunted down.
"We need to go over and assess the aberrant. I'll control it and make it bite me, then smear some of my blood on you. That should fool them."
Lin Shubei considered this a relatively suitable plan. As long as they looked miserable enough, they should be able to fool those people. He had noticed many small explosives placed around the stairs when they came down. They carried traces of ability energy and were probably intended to prevent aberrants from escaping.
"We'll say we escaped to the stairs by chance and the aberrant was killed by the explosives there. If we make ourselves look miserable or simply pass out there, we should be able to cover everything up."
"Then we can meet up with Xie Qin and the others. Maybe we can even use my injury as an excuse to be demoted from guard to slave, then meet Lu Renyi. I..."
"Shut up!"
Qi Yue's expression grew increasingly ugly. He first noticed the aberrant opposite them stirring and beginning to approach. But what Lin Shubei had just said filled him with anger even through his concern.
"What's wrong with you? Do you think you're so noble? So selfless and admirable. Injuries suffered here won't follow you into reality, so now you're acting without restraint."
"Did you forget what my ability is? An ability user who can control metal is standing right in front of you. Isn't that enormous iron cage a ready-made tool for me?"
Qi Yue's rapid-fire speech caught Lin Shubei off guard. It took him a moment to realize that he really had been foolish just now. He had once again tried to complete the mission through self-sacrifice, as he had before.
After waiting so long without seeing Lin Shubei or Qi Yue move, the aberrant could no longer contain itself and rushed over. But the moment it stepped outside the cage, an iron bar controlled by Qi Yue blocked it.
Several bars around the small door bent slightly. They remained curved without breaking, barring the door and blocking the aberrant's path.
Qi Yue controlled them precisely and did not harm the aberrant. After all, they had not yet decided how to conceal the aftermath. Something had also been added to the bars, allowing them to withstand the aberrant's attacks.
Qi Yue and Lin Shubei approached cautiously, preparing to inspect the surrounding layout first. But when they came within five meters of the aberrant, their watches lit up and a bonus mission appeared.
[Congratulations on triggering the bonus mission: The Aberrants' Origin. A terrifying wolf-type aberrant is imprisoned on the second underground level, and there seems to be more than one. Nor does this appear to be the only floor where they are kept... Why is that?]
[After the investigation is complete, the team may receive 10 bonus points. The score awarded will depend on the investigation's findings.]
[Do you agree to accept the mission? If more than 60% of the team agrees, the mission will be accepted. Countdown: 60, 59, 58...]
Their primary mission was worth 50 points and required them to obtain the Grand Elder's staff. Yet investigating the reason the aberrants were being raised offered 10 bonus points. Its danger was self-evident.
Nevertheless, Lin Shubei and Qi Yue exchanged a look and swiftly accepted the mission.
"Jianjian will probably accept too. I don't know about Xie Qin and Lu Renyi. If they refuse, a few of us can investigate by ourselves."
Lin Shubei took an easygoing view of the matter. He did not yet understand Xie Qin well, but Lu Renyi was undoubtedly the kind of person who refused to do extra work.
"No need. We can investigate together."
Qi Yue raised his watch and gestured for Lin Shubei to read the text displayed on it.
[Every member of Lin Shubei's team has accepted this bonus mission. Mission duration: 120 hours within the trial ground. Timing begins now.]
"Did Lu Renyi have a change of heart?"
"Host, did you have a change of heart?"
The System had not expected Lu Renyi to genuinely accept its suggestion. It still felt dazed as it watched him press accept.
"Didn't they say they wanted to give me more screentime? Then I have to do something interesting."