“Hmm, what Special Ability did you awaken?”
“Eh?
Sister An Ning, why aren’t you even a little surprised?”
Staring at An Ning’s calm, serene face, Cyrene tilted her head, a puzzled expression flickering across her features.
Two seconds of silence hung in the air.
“Pfft~”
An Ning had been struggling to maintain a stern officer’s facade, but seeing Cyrene’s adorable, question mark-worthy confusion, she finally couldn’t hold back.
Her tightly pressed lips instantly betrayed her, releasing a soft, brief chuckle.
The fatigue that had accumulated between her brows from overusing her Special Ability seemed to dissipate significantly with that chuckle.
An Ning waved her hand, adjusted her posture, and tried to regain her composure:
“There’s really nothing to be surprised about.
I’ve suspected you had a Special Ability for some time.
Plus, you just asked me about Special Abilities yourself.
Connecting the dots, the answer became obvious.”
“Mmm…”
After hearing An Ning’s explanation, Cyrene scratched her cheek awkwardly, twirling a strand of pink hair around her finger.
“So my intentions were that obvious…” she muttered softly.
Then, she lifted her head, her gaze darting around before she hesitantly began to describe her “ability”:
“Um…
my Special Ability feels a bit strange.
It seems like I can imprint portions of other creatures’ memories, and then…
like watching a movie, observe and experience them?”
The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.
“Imprint other creatures’ memories…
and then browse and experience them?”
An Ning unconsciously repeated Cyrene’s words, her voice carrying a trace of bewildered incomprehension.
The next moment.
Her pupils constricted sharply, and her body, previously leaning back in her chair, snapped upright.
Bang!
An Ning slammed her palm heavily on the metal table, producing a deafening, muffled clang.
She shot to her feet, the chair screeching harshly against the floor from the abrupt movement.
Her eyes widened, fixed intensely on Cyrene, her voice strained with excessive agitation:
“You mean you can freely read other people’s memories?!”
“Eh?!”
Startled by the sudden commotion, Cyrene recoiled, instinctively shielding her chest with her hands like a frightened little rabbit, shaking her head vigorously from side to side.
“No, no, no!
Not random reading!
Absolutely not!” she insisted urgently, fearing that even a moment’s delay would lead to her being labeled a dangerous element, captured, dissected, and studied.
“It’s limited!
The subject must be completely unresisting, or unconscious, or lacking awareness!
If they’re conscious and resisting, I have absolutely no way to access their mind!”
“Must be unresisting or unconscious…” An Ning murmured to herself, her shock transforming into an unprecedented surge of excitement.
“This isn’t a problem at all!” she declared.
She spun around decisively and immediately strode toward the door, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.
Just as her hand reached the doorknob, she suddenly remembered something and whirled back around.
“Cyrene, don’t move!
Just wait here a moment, I’ll get the Captain right away!”
With that, An Ning flung open the door and dashed out, slamming it shut behind her with a loud bang as if fearing the precious girl inside might escape.
“This…”
Staring at the tightly shut door, Cyrene remained frozen in place, her hand still raised in a gesture of shock.
Silence returned to the room, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Is it really that unbelievable?
Cyrene blinked, her panicked expression vanishing as a thoughtful look settled on her face.
She knew memory reading was considered a god-tier skill in intelligence work, but she hadn’t even specified the range yet.
Why were they getting so worked up already?
Her original plan was simply to use her Special Ability to secure a cushy desk job, like an interrogation assistant.
That way, she could avoid frontline combat while still gaining legitimate access to captured Xenos or criminals, allowing her to secretly gather intelligence.
I just wanted to fish in troubled waters and quietly gather intelligence on the side…
Cyrene sighed, resting her chin in her hand.
Besides, even if she could read memories, she was still just one person.
At most, she could handle a few cases a day.
Why was the official response so overblown?
Before she could fully refine her future slacking plan in her mind, the doorknob turned again.
Click.
The door swung open.
An Ning had returned, this time with the young police officer who had previously interrogated Cyrene following behind her.
As soon as the officer entered, his stern gaze locked directly onto Cyrene.
“Miss Cyrene.”
He strode to the table, braced his hands on its edge, and leaned forward, radiating an oppressive weight.
“An Ning tells me your Special Ability allows you to read other people’s memories, but only if they don’t resist or are unconscious?”
“Hmm…
To be precise, I first copy their memories into something like a videotape, and then read from that…” Cyrene ducked her head, her voice soft and meek, playing the part of an ordinary girl intimidated by the officer’s imposing presence.
“Copy a memory?”
The officer paused, his brow furrowing slightly as he processed the concept.
“After copying a memory, does it affect the person whose memory was copied?
Like causing brain damage or memory loss?”
“I don’t know.” Cyrene shook her head, her diamond-shaped pupils brimming with clear, feigned naiveté.
“I’ve only used it on myself and some stray cats and dogs I feed by the roadside, never on anyone else.
But the little cats and dogs are always so lively and energetic after they wake up, so…
it probably doesn’t have any lasting effects, right?”
“Risks unknown, then…”
The police officer scribbled rapidly in his notebook, then paused, looked up, and continued:
“What’s the maximum number of memories you can copy in a day?
Does it put a significant strain on your mental energy?”
“About…
one or two copies, maybe?”
Cyrene held up two fingers, then hesitantly bent one down.
“After copying one memory, my head starts to feel dizzy and I get really sleepy.
so tired, I just want to sleep, and I completely lose the energy to copy a third one.”
As she spoke, she even let out a timely yawn, squeezing two physiological tears from the corners of her eyes, vividly demonstrating the “side effects.”
“A mental energy-consuming Special Ability with pronounced fatigue side effects.”
The police officer nodded, the tip of his pen scratching across the paper.
“I understand.”
After finishing the recording, the officer closed his notebook and fell into a brief contemplation.
The atmosphere in the room grew tense once more.
Cyrene bit her lip and cast a pleading glance at An Ning, who stood nearby.
Her eyes seemed to say, Sister An Ning, did I say something wrong?
Receiving Cyrene’s pitiful gaze, An Ning shifted her gaze uncomfortably, looking up at the fluorescent tubes on the ceiling, pretending to study the dust inside the lampshade.
Though she wanted to offer a few words of comfort, the current procedure required strict formality, leaving her unable to help.
Seeing this, Cyrene could only sigh inwardly, maintaining her demure posture as she waited for what came next.
Fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.
The officer raised his head again, the sharpness in his eyes softened into a businesslike calm.
He pulled open a drawer beside him, retrieved a pre-prepared document, and slid it across the table to Cyrene.
“Ms.
Cyrene, we apologize for subjecting you to this ordeal.
Given the unique nature of your abilities and the supernatural phenomena you witnessed at the chemical plant today, we require you to sign a confidentiality agreement.”
The police officer pointed to the signature line at the bottom of the document, his tone grave:
“Regarding everything you witnessed today, as well as the details of your special ability, please refrain from disseminating this information to the general public to prevent unnecessary social panic.”
“Oh, oh, okay.”
Cyrene took the agreement with both hands and gave it a cursory glance.
The entire document was filled with official jargon, its core message boiling down to “Shut up, keep quiet, follow orders.”
After confirming there were no hidden clauses resembling a “lifetime servitude contract” or other traps, Cyrene picked up the pen on the desk and uncapped it.
Swish, swish, swish.
She decisively signed her name in neat, elegant handwriting.
Then, she pressed her thumb into the inkpad and firmly imprinted a vivid red fingerprint over her signature.
“All done.”
Cyrene handed the agreement back.
The police officer took the document, meticulously checked the signature and fingerprint, and, upon confirming their validity, tucked it into a blue folder beside him.
With the soft click of the folder closing, his tense expression finally relaxed.
“Very well, Ms.
Cyrene, thank you for your cooperation.”
The officer stood up.
Though his tone remained cool, it was no longer as aggressive as during the interrogation.
“You’re free to go now.
However, we may contact you again after we’ve assessed your abilities and completed our investigation into the chemical plant incident.
Please keep your phone accessible.”
With a nod to An Ning, he turned and strode out of the room.
Click.
The door shut.
In the cramped room, only Cyrene and An Ning remained, exchanging uneasy glances.