“Can we go to class now?” Ji Huan’s voice broke through Yuan Li’s thoughts.
Yuan Li took a deep breath. “Okay, where are we going?”
“To the training field. I want to show you a few things,” Ji Huan said.
Yuan Li nodded.
The Cleaning Department was actually quite large. Besides standalone buildings like the cafeteria and medical room, the training facilities consisted of two separate buildings.
Yuan Li had only been to the smaller training field before, not the larger one.
This time, Ji Huan led her to the big training field.
“The small training field is private—reserved for the three squads. Unless invited, you can’t go there. But this large training field is open to everyone, and all the equipment here can be used freely,” Ji Huan explained as they entered the elevator and pressed for the 11th floor.
“By default, the 11th floor belongs to our medical room. If you have time, you can come up. Not many people here like to cause trouble.”
Yuan Li: “……”
It seemed Ji Huan knew about the trouble she had been encountering.
But Yuan Li was more curious: “Is it normal that my appetite has increased?”
“Yes,” Ji Huan answered immediately. “After becoming an Evolver, the body’s demand for energy grows. But Mental power Evolvers require less food. Especially since you’re still only F-rank, that’s why you’ve only noticed a bigger appetite today.”
He then took out an icy blue potion.
“This is a Focus Potion. Drink this and see for yourself.”
The vial felt surprisingly warm and smooth in her hand, not cold like she had imagined.
Hesitant, she drank it all in one gulp.
The potion was only about 20 milliliters, but despite its cool temperature, it immediately cleared her mind—far stronger than any mint candy.
Her groggy thoughts from waking up vanished instantly.
“Did you use Mental power yesterday?” Ji Huan asked.
Yuan Li hesitated for a second, then nodded. “Yes. How did you know?”
“If you hadn’t drained your Mental power, it wouldn’t have triggered the sensation of hunger in you,” Ji Huan said, tapping his head. “So try not to overuse it in the future, or it’ll be hard to recover.”
Yuan Li was stunned.
She touched her stomach, trying to push aside her lingering doubts.
The Focus Potion cleared her mind, but the hunger remained.
Could it be that her hunger had nothing to do with Mental power?
She remembered faint hunger lingering since the moment she first woke—she had assumed it was the effect of sleeping too long. But what if it wasn’t?
Thoughts whirled in her mind, but she simply lowered her eyes and accepted the disappearance of the hunger as a “fact.”
Ji Huan continued, “I was supposed to teach you how to use Mental power today. But since you’ve already figured out how to use it, today’s session is just for practice. We’ve applied for five Focus Potions for you—one person can use at most five per day. Try them carefully.”
“By the way,” Ji Huan remembered something, “what kind of Mental power do you lean toward?”
Yuan Li glanced at her bag. “It seems like control… but I only controlled ShuangTang briefly, and I was exhausted…”
“You’re a Manipulation-type Mental power Evolver?” Ji Huan’s eyes widened.
Manipulation-type Mental power Evolvers were rare, and most focused on telepathy, perception, or purely offensive abilities. Manipulation was the least common.
In the past, even awakening as a Manipulation-type required at least a D-rank.
Ji Huan studied Yuan Li, taking in her pale face and frail frame. A trace of thought crossed his eyes.
Could her “imperfect” talent be related to her time in the lab? If so, it was a pity.
Only a few seconds passed in his mind before he saw her puzzled expression and simply explained: “Manipulation-type Evolvers evolve slowly. You’re F-rank now, with a shallow Mental power pool. But with training, once you reach C-rank, your Mental power pool will experience a qualitative change.”
He then gave her a brief lesson on Evolvers.
Both ordinary Evolvers and Mental power Evolvers shared the same rank system: F being the lowest, S the highest.
After awakening, one could develop 1–3 ranks through training.
So Yuan Li’s F-rank talent could at most skip E and D, reaching C-rank.
Ji Huan watched her closely while explaining. Seeing that she wasn’t discouraged by being F-rank, he relaxed.
He pulled two small white mice from the storage room. “Do you remember how long you controlled your pet just now?”
“A few seconds, I think?” Yuan Li said uncertainly.
“Alright, your first goal with the white mice is twenty seconds.”
Yuan Li blinked. “Wait… this much at once?”
“It depends on the size, weight, and rank of the target. These are just ordinary mice. Controlling them will consume far less power than controlling your pet,” Ji Huan explained.
Sure enough, Yuan Li controlled the mice to jump, roll, and even dance.
Afterward, Ji Huan’s expression subtly shifted. “Twenty-seven seconds. But you seemed relaxed.”
Yuan Li assessed herself. “It was easier. Controlling mice is much lighter.”
Twenty-seven seconds barely used a tenth of her Mental power.
When she had controlled ShuangTang, she could only last three seconds lifting its paws.
That meant controlling ShuangTang was over 90 times harder than the mice.
But ShuangTang wasn’t 90 times bigger—barely nine times!
Was ShuangTang… really just a smart little cat?
Almost instinctively, Yuan Li kept this to herself.
After the third round, though she still had seven-tenths of her Mental power left, she slumped. “I can’t continue. I need a break.”
“Use a Focus Potion,” Ji Huan suggested.
Yuan Li didn’t hesitate, finishing one in a gulp.
After three potions, Ji Huan finally let her rest.
She sat, drinking electrolyte water and petting ShuangTang.
Ten minutes later, Ji Huan returned with a sheet of paper.
“Your control limit over the mice is 1 minute 37 seconds. Remember how it feels to drain your power—don’t overuse it, or you’ll damage your foundation and talent. But frequent practice will strengthen your Mental power,” he said, handing her the last potion.
“This one, keep it for backup,” he added.
Yuan Li was stunned. “You’re giving me this? It’s expensive, right?”
“It’s yours to save. You’ve become skilled enough not to need it all. Congratulations—you’ve graduated from the Mental power practical course. I’m unemployed now,” Ji Huan joked.
Yuan Li suppressed her excitement, pretending to be serious. “What a pity.”
Her shallow 18-year-old high school mindset betrayed her joy, visible to Ji Huan, who only glanced at her and didn’t comment.
He finally asked, “So… are we friends now?”
“As long as you don’t covet ShuangTang, yes,” Yuan Li replied without hesitation.
“…Thanks then,” Ji Huan said, momentarily speechless, then remembered something and smiled oddly.
“Oh, and here’s good news: Squad Three will return tonight.”