The two of them headed for the Inspectorate together.
Jiang Qi learned the name of the bespectacled Bald Uncle.
As they walked, he considered what might happen next.
They would definitely ask whether he had Ascended successfully and about his ability.
He had barely demonstrated his ability related to rust at all.
The Mad Laughter Controller could easily let the Inspectorate know.
That would raise his standing and give him a legitimate reason to get involved in the Fire investigation later.
At the same time, he badly needed to find out just how strong he was.
The only thing Jiang Qi was worried about was whether the Inspectorate had some way to test or verify abilities.
Could he keep the fact that he had two abilities hidden?
He decided to test the waters first.
“Officer Chen...?”
Chen Ren glanced at Jiang Qi from the side.
“I’m an Ascendant too, but I do research.”
“I don’t like being called Inspector Chen. You can call me Researcher Chen or Old Chen.”
“All right, Old Chen.”
Jiang Qi took the mile when offered an inch.
Wait.
Too?
Jiang Qi didn’t know whether Chen Ren meant Inspector Wang or him.
Suddenly, he didn’t want to ask anymore.
Following the principle that saying less meant making fewer mistakes, he changed the subject.
“Why have I been called to the Inspectorate so suddenly? Is something urgent?”
Standing beneath the Inspectorate, Old Chen pointed upward.
“Chief Inspector Shen wants to see you.”
The Chief Inspector was the highest-ranking official in the Fourth District.
Jiang Qi recalled Inspector Wang’s final blow, the one that flattened the wasteland.
Someone stronger than Wang Huan. His steps grew heavy.
The two walked silently toward the elevator.
Old Chen began explaining things to Jiang Qi.
“The Inspectorate has 21 floors in all. The first floor deals specifically with ordinary legal matters...”
The two stepped into the elevator.
“The sixth floor is where you woke up last time. From the sixth floor up, the offices are for Ascendants.”
“There are that many Ascendants?”
Jiang Qi was astonished. The Ascension Ritual was far more difficult than he had imagined.
He seriously suspected that the one-in-two-thousand ratio was a smokescreen.
Were nearly all the Ascendants in the Safe Zone gathered in this building?
“Depends how you look at it. Most people above the sixth floor are Ascendants, but nearly all of them are rookies like you.”
“Their abilities are all over the place, and they’re not much use in a fight. They mostly handle odd jobs.”
“There are only a handful of people in each district who can really go onto the battlefield.”
Old Chen glanced at Jiang Qi, then changed the subject.
“Generally speaking, the longer you’re stuck in the Ascension Tower, the stronger your ability.”
“You were only in there for eight hours, so you’re barely around average. They’ll test you in a bit.”
“Old Chen, how did you know I became an Ascendant? Because I was in there for eight hours?”
Since Old Chen had brought it up directly, Jiang Qi decided to ask.
“Some people stay for a whole day and still fail in the end. It’s hard to say when it comes to perseverance.”
Old Chen smiled inscrutably.
“There are all sorts of ways. Anyway, in front of Ascendants who are far beyond you, rookies like you don’t have any secrets.”
“All right.”
Jiang Qi silently counted in his head.
The elevator doors opened with a chime.
The twentieth floor.
The space before him opened up into a vast area, far too spacious to be an ordinary floor in a building.
It looked more like an independent medical center.
“The twentieth floor is the Medical Level. The twenty-first floor belongs to Chief Inspector Shen alone.”
“Come on. It’s right here.”
The Medical Level was actually on the second-highest floor?
Jiang Qi silently swallowed the question.
The twentieth floor was much larger than he’d expected.
After walking for several minutes, they finally reached a patient room.
Old Chen knocked, then led Jiang Qi inside.
Five people were sitting in the room.
From left to right, there was Shen Yuehuai, expressionless, sitting beside a pretty older sister in a doctor’s coat.
In the middle sat a young man in black with messy hair. On the right were Bald Uncle Old Chen and Inspector Wang, lying in a hospital bed.
Jiang Qi’s gaze immediately landed on Wang Huan.
“Inspector Wang looks completely fine except for his injured right arm. How long has it been?”
“Could he have been holding back?”
He looked again at the young man in black sitting in the center.
“The Chief Inspector? He’s so young, and he has the same surname as Officer Shen...”
Wait!
The exact same bald head. The exact same glasses.
It was Old Chen.
But Old Chen... wasn’t he right behind him?
Jiang Qi felt goosebumps rise on the back of his neck. He was about to turn around and check.
“I’ll be off, then.”
A familiar voice came from behind him.
The Old Chen in the room raised a hand.
“Take care.”
Jiang Qi whipped around. The Old Chen who had led him upstairs smiled at him, turned, and left the patient room, closing the door behind him.
Thud.
“What kind of ability is that...?”
A bead of cold sweat slid down Jiang Qi’s face.
“Don’t go around saying ‘ability’ all the time, Jiang Qi. Didn’t I just say I’m a researcher?”
“An ability is just a tool. What matters is how you use it.”
“Mine just happens to be convenient for slacking off.”
Old Chen walked over to Jiang Qi’s side and stood in exactly the same spot as the other Old Chen had.
“Let’s start with the test. We can do introductions afterward. How does that sound?”
The other four had no objections.
“Is that all right with you, Jiang Qi?”
Jiang Qi felt several scrutinizing gazes on him.
He steadied his breathing and nodded.
Old Chen took out a wristband that looked like a virtual halo and put it on Jiang Qi’s right wrist.
“Don’t be nervous. This is the standard-issue Synchronizer for official Ascendants. It’s used for testing and communication.”
The band encircled his wrist, but he couldn’t feel it.
A band of white light flowed around once, then settled against his skin. A halo of light enveloped Jiang Qi.
“This kid was only in there for eight hours. I doubt his ability is anything special. Its Scale probably won’t go above five.”
Wang Huan objected.
“Don’t say that. Jiang Qi’s an orphan, and he just went through a life-or-death ordeal. The fact that he Ascended successfully is already impressive.”
“The usual upper limit for Stage One is only ten. Reaching five is enough to earn a place at the Inspectorate.”
Doctor Chi also spoke with a smile, her voice pleasant and tinged with teasing.
“Well, maybe misfortune has turned into a blessing. This kid seems pretty composed. Just wait—he might blind you all in a moment.”
“Composed? Doctor Chi, what makes you think he’s composed?”
Everyone in the room began talking over one another.
Shen Yuehuai silently watched the halo.
“Please select your Ascension Path.”
A mechanical electronic voice rang in Jiang Qi’s mind.
He could choose for himself?
Jiang Qi’s heart stirred. The chance of exposing himself had just dropped considerably.
He made his choice without hesitation.
“Spirit.”
“Spirit resonance will begin shortly.”
Jiang Qi slowly closed his eyes. His consciousness was instantly pulled away, plunging into a pure white space.
A beam of light descended from above and illuminated him.
The light seemed to resonate with him on a spiritual level, searching for the deepest form of Jiang Qi’s soul.
The feeling of being probed made Jiang Qi very uncomfortable, but it also brought a strange, tingling sensation.
He couldn’t help letting out a chuckle.
In reality, the Scale beside him jumped from zero to four.
“Four. About what I expected. Looks like his Special Trait isn’t in this area.”
Chen Ren pursed his lips.
But the white light in the spiritual space continued to intensify.
The gentle probing suddenly turned rough!
The white light began crushing Jiang Qi’s spirit!
A wave of agony struck!
Jiang Qi’s laughter grew louder, and the Scale kept climbing.
Five, six, seven...
The atmosphere in the patient room began to change.
Something was wrong.
Eight... nine...
Wang Huan sat up straight.
Old Chen narrowed his eyes.
Ten!
The Scale had reached the theoretical limit for Stage One!
But it still hadn’t stopped!
The white light grew ever stronger, nearly tearing Jiang Qi’s consciousness to shreds!
Yet amid the agony that brought him to the brink of collapse, Jiang Qi felt an unprecedented ecstasy!
At the moment he shattered, a crimson light flashed through his mind!
Images of the Black Inferno and torrential rain twisted and intertwined!
“Ha... hahahaha!!”
Jiang Qi suddenly opened his eyes. His laughter grew more and more unhinged as he doubled over.
His laughter broke through the halo’s restraints, spreading through the entire room with a bizarre, penetrating force!
His Psychic Shockwave failed to touch anyone in the room.
It vanished as if sinking into an ocean of spirit.
But the room fell into an eerie silence.
“This...”
The smile had long since frozen on Doctor Chi’s face, her eyes full of disbelief.
“Huh??”
Wang Huan clutched his right arm and cried out!
Impossible...
Chen Ren stood up, the shifting numbers of the Scale reflected in his lenses!
16!