W immediately spoke in her ear: “Pei Ran?”
“Still alive,” Pei Ran replied in her mind. “Suddenly, I can’t move anymore. It must be this person’s doing. He attacked me like this—doesn’t that make him at least an L16-level dangerous individual?”
W’s tone was apologetic: “An attack causing minor injuries can only be preliminarily classified as an L5-level violent act. Handling such low-level crimes requires either a folding arm with good grip strength or a tranquilizer gun. Unfortunately, I have neither. Pei Ran, I’m sorry.”
Pei Ran: “…”
Pei Ran focused her mind, summoning the green light in her brain.
It had been working fine last night, successfully manifesting a small fragment of a medicine box. But now, it seemed to be in hibernation, refusing to appear again.
A faint sound of wheelchair tires rolling over the ground echoed, and the black rubber tires came to a stop in front of Pei Ran.
Pei Ran wanted to look up, but her entire body felt as if it were frozen stiff. She couldn’t even make the slightest movement, not even her eyeballs. She was like a conscious mummy.
She could only catch a glimpse from the corner of her eye as the long-haired boy in the wheelchair leaned forward slightly, tilting his head to examine her closely. His pale amber eyes were eerily mesmerizing.
When she had fallen earlier, her sleeve had been pulled up, revealing a small section of her black, matte-finished mechanical arm between her cuff and glove.
The boy stared at the mechanical arm for a moment, then tilted his head slightly.
The people beside him immediately understood his intention and hastily pulled Pei Ran up from the ground.
Pei Ran was as stiff as a wooden stick, instantly transitioning from lying horizontally to standing vertically. However, she needed someone to support her to keep from falling over.
As she was being pulled up, Pei Ran noticed that the green light on the boy’s pen tip had disappeared. On the open page of his black leather notebook were some intricate black lines, resembling a rough sketch for a comic.
Unfortunately, his fingers moved, flipping to a new page.
She didn’t get a clear look, but someone else might have seen it.
Pei Ran asked W in her mind: “Did you see what he drew just now?”
“I saw it,” W replied quickly. “And I zoomed in and took a picture. He drew a comic—a character with a ponytail and tape over their mouth, looking very much like you. There’s a full-body image of you lying on the ground, and in the bottom right corner of the frame, there’s a close-up of your face with foam seeping out from under the tape. Beside it, text reads: ‘Suddenly fell ill, body stiffened, collapsed on the ground, unable to move.'”
Pei Ran: He even went out of his way to draw the detail of foam coming out of my mouth. How meticulous of him. Thanks a lot.
So, she wasn’t the only one with special abilities.
The difference was that she used writing, while this person used drawing.
W suddenly said: “A fusion entity.”
Pei Ran didn’t understand. “What?”
W explained: “Fu—sion—en—ti—ty. Did you see that comic pen in his hand? Just now, there was a bit of green light on the tip, which means he is a fusion entity.”
He actually knew about the green light.
W continued: “The matter of fusion entities is a secret of the Ministry of Defense and Security. But given the current situation, it’s fine to tell you. About 700 million kilometers away from us, near the fifth planet, there has always been a rift…”
Pei Ran: Big brother, I’m still paralyzed here. Are you planning to start from the creation of the universe and the dawn of time?
Most of Pei Ran’s astronomical knowledge came from books in old storage devices. In the bunker world, 700 million kilometers away from the home planet was the fifth planet, a colossal entity over a thousand times the size of the home planet.
It seems this world also has a fifth planet, just like the other world.
W continued: “About thirty years ago, people observed some abnormal energy leaks near this rift. Along with the leaks, some peculiar green light spots infiltrated our planet. Some individuals’ bodies fused with this green light, resulting in special abilities. We call them ‘fusion entities.’
“Their most obvious characteristic is that this green light sometimes appears on their limbs.”
“Researchers discovered that these fusion cases exhibit three different tendencies. Dr. Yisi, who was among the first to study fusion entities in the Federation, classified them based on the nature of their abilities into Order, Collapse, and Frenzied.”
“fusion entities with ‘Order’ tendencies are the rarest. Their abilities usually exhibit rational tendencies, such as sensing crime scenes with their minds or reading words on a crumpled piece of paper.”
“Some people’s abilities lean toward ‘Collapse.’ Their abilities are typically more force-oriented, like bending a spoon from a distance or crushing an egg in the next room.”
It all sounds pretty minor.
W continued: “The Federation has recruited some of these individuals with special abilities to assist in solving cases and handling special matters, with very good results.”
“However, there is another special fusion tendency called ‘Frenzied,'” W’s tone shifted. “fusion entities in this state usually completely lose their human intellect, undergo non-human physical mutations, and exhibit extremely high aggression. They are very dangerous…”
Pei Ran interjected: “They turn into monsters?”
“Correct,” W replied. “You’ll know as soon as you see them—they are no longer human.”
Pei Ran had long suspected that W knew something.
Last time in the alley, she used the character “tear” to turn everything in the alley, including his metal ball, upside down. He wasn’t an idiot; such a bizarre incident, and yet he never asked her about it afterward.
Moreover, even though they encountered a human officer from the Public Security Bureau yesterday, he showed no intention of asking them to take him to Black Well, as if he had already decided she was the one.
Pei Ran had guessed back then that he likely knew about her special abilities but chose not to say anything.
Sure enough, W continued: “Pei Ran, let’s just lay it out. Although I haven’t seen green light appear on you, I’ve seen your abilities. In that alley, there was no one else around, and everything was split in two, yet you remained unharmed. Is your special ability tearing objects apart?”
Pei Ran: “…”
Big brother, you guessed wrong.
Pei Ran didn’t answer, and W didn’t press further. “That was the first time I saw someone’s ability reach such a level. It seems your ability likely falls under ‘Collapse.'”
Pei Ran: You’re the one who’s collapsing.
W’s voice carried a hint of concern. “I suspect that as the energy from the rift intensifies, the abilities of fusion entities are also growing stronger. The boy in the wheelchair can control others through drawing, which seems like an ‘Order’ ability. He’s not easy to deal with, so be careful.”
While the two were conversing in their minds, the boy in the wheelchair tapped on his wristband, typing on a virtual screen:
[Search her]
The four people Pei Ran had knocked down earlier clearly weren’t with them. They completely ignored the ones on the ground and only came to search Pei Ran.
The one who approached was a tall man with a strange appearance. He had a piercing on his chin, fixed with a silver, antiqued metal scorpion. The scorpion stretched diagonally from his chin, across his cheek, and hooked onto his right ear.
The man with the scorpion on his face carefully searched Pei Ran. When he touched her rigid right arm, his hand paused.
He pulled up a section of Pei Ran’s sleeve, as if to say: It’s a mechanical arm.
The boy in the wheelchair couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
He wrote: [I already saw that. Check for something else.]
The scorpion man stopped paying attention to Pei Ran’s arm and continued searching her thoroughly.
He found something else, pulling out a medicine box and two tissues from the inner pocket of Pei Ran’s clothes, showing them to the boy in the wheelchair.
The medicine box clearly had the name of a common anti-allergy drug printed on it. The boy only glanced at it and didn’t even take it.
He typed a line on the virtual screen and turned it to show Pei Ran:
[With skills like yours, it’d be a shame if you died. You don’t want that, do you?]
With just a rough sketch of a comic, he had turned her into a mummy. Presumably, he could just as easily kill her.
He continued writing:
[Where are you planning to go alone at a time like this?]
He suddenly realized, [Oh, you can’t move.]
He picked up the pen again.
A bit of green light flowed from his fingertips, down the pen, and onto the tip.
He began skillfully sketching new lines.
Pei Ran immediately realized that his control over his ability was far more effortless than hers. The green light came and went as he pleased, something she absolutely couldn’t do.
He drew quickly, finishing in no time, then twirled the pen between his fingers.
The moment the pen spun, it was as if an invisible restraint had vanished. Pei Ran could move again.
However, her body felt weak, as if all her strength had been drained. Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed, but someone nearby grabbed her arm to steady her.
Pei Ran’s first instinct was to glance at the drawing in the black notebook.
It was in a typical comic style, with the page divided into two panels—one large and one small.
The main panel took up most of the page, drawn vividly. In it, she was depicted with a ponytail, her mouth taped shut, looking relieved. Beside her were the words: “The stiffness is finally gone.”
In the smaller panel below, she was frowning, with a thought bubble above her head. The largest bubble contained the words: “But after the episode, I feel completely drained…”
It perfectly described how she felt—like she had just recovered from a serious illness, utterly exhausted. Her vision was blurry, her legs too weak to stand straight, and even her mechanical hand couldn’t form a fist.
The boy in the wheelchair looked at her, chin raised, still waiting for her answer.
Pei Ran struggled to lift her arm.
Even this simple movement made her heart pound erratically, as if it couldn’t bear the strain.
Pei Ran wrote on his virtual screen:
[I need to go to Yehai. My family is there, and I have to find them.]
Earlier, she had seen on the map W sent her that Yehai was a city northwest of Baigang.
The boy nodded, then reached out and typed a line.
[Your home is in Yehai? I’ve been there before. I remember there’s a tallest building, I think it’s called the Yehai Tower. From the observation deck, you can see the entire city. The view is amazing.]
The little comic artist’s eyes gleamed with cunning as he wrote. He even paused mid-sentence, as if pondering. Pei Ran could guess what he was up to without even thinking.
He wanted to verify if she was lying.
Pei Ran raised her hand and wrote on the virtual screen: [Are you sure you’re remembering correctly?]
At the same time, she spoke in her mind: “W, what part of what he said is wrong?”
W was utterly speechless: “You don’t even know where he deliberately lied, yet you dared to write that directly?”
Pei Ran dared. She was one hundred percent certain that the boy in the wheelchair was talking nonsense. The only question was which part of it was nonsense.
W: “The tallest landmark in Yehai is indeed the Yehai Tower, but the upper part of the tower is completely sealed. There’s no observation deck at all.”
Just as Pei Ran had guessed, W knew everything.
It wasn’t surprising that the boy in the wheelchair would set traps for others to fall into. What was surprising was W, who repeatedly proved just how extraordinary he was.
He knew far too much.
From her identity records, to the model, configuration, and operating instructions of a forklift produced twenty years ago, to the internal structure of a tower—this robot from the Ministry of Defense and Security was supposedly designed for killing. There was no reason for it to have an encyclopedia in its head, let alone one far more extensive than any encyclopedia.
While pondering W’s peculiarities, Pei Ran continued typing weakly on the virtual screen:
[There’s no observation deck on the Yehai Tower.]
The boy in the wheelchair smirked slightly.
He wrote: [I might have mixed it up with an observation deck from somewhere else.]
[My name is Shige Ye. What’s yours?]
Pei Ran: So, after you paralyzed me and made me fall, I’m just supposed to forget all that and start chatting with you now, huh?
Pei Ran typed on his virtual screen:
[My name is Ni Jie.]
You’re the “brother,” and I’m your “sister.”
W immediately spoke up: “Pei Ran, ‘Shige Ye’ might actually be his real name. I found a published comic collection under that name, and after comparing the art style, it’s a perfect match.”
He could even look that up? His brain might as well be a library.
But a comic pen name might not necessarily be his real name.
W continued: “The name Shige Ye—I’ve seen it once before, by chance, in some documents about the Silent Ones experiment. He also participated in the Federal Military Academy’s Neta Wave brain experiment when he was two years old. He’s a Silent One too.”
Pei Ran asked: “So, can he also receive your voice signals? Can you talk to him like this?”
W replied: “He should be able to.”
Pei Ran asked: “Can he hear our conversation right now?”
Pei Ran and W were chatting so animatedly, yet Shige Ye showed no reaction, as if he couldn’t hear them at all.
Sure enough, W replied: “He can’t hear. The transmission and reception of signals can be directed to specific targets. You automatically designate the target in your mind using your consciousness, while I do it through machine settings.”
He added: “However, I don’t plan to communicate with him. His name isn’t on the official list of Silent Ones submitted to the Federation by the lab. Of course, that list was never complete to begin with. But I also couldn’t find any information about him in the Federation’s citizen database. This person likely has a special background and isn’t very trustworthy.”
Pei Ran: You think the little comic artist isn’t trustworthy, but you think a time traveler like me is. Such good judgment.
W continued: “He was paralyzed during that experiment.”
The experiment cost Pei Ran an arm and left Shige Ye paralyzed, which clearly showed it wasn’t a good experiment. What was strange was that they were both so young at the time—how could their parents have agreed to it?
Pei Ran asked: “Why doesn’t Shige Ye get prosthetic limbs?”
W answered: “It’s not just his legs. His spine is the issue—his lower body is completely immobile. He could actually install a semi-body intelligent mechanical exoskeleton to help support and move around. It’s practical, but not very aesthetically pleasing. I guess he doesn’t want to.”
He had also noticed Shige Ye’s refined and elegant style.
Someone had already brought over the backpack and the metal ball from the forklift.
The scorpion man immediately stepped forward, took the backpack, and searched through it. Aside from a pair of scissors and a fruit knife, which could be considered weapons, he found nothing noteworthy. He casually tossed the medicine box back into the backpack.
Shige Ye glanced at the metal ball and casually typed on the virtual screen: [Hai Po, check this.]
A young woman stepped forward from the crowd.
Hai Po looked about the same age as Pei Ran. Her short hair was a fiery, intense red—probably dyed, since her eyebrows and eyes were pure black.
Her mouth was sealed with a strip of silver tape, and her expression was indifferent as she reached out to take the metal ball.
She turned the ball over, examining it, then opened her wristband’s virtual screen and typed a line for Shige Ye to see.
[This is a Federal Ministry of Defense and Security O-2F patrol robot.]
She even knew the model number—very knowledgeable.
Hai Po continued typing: [These patrol robots are capable of carrying out pursuit missions. It’s said they are directly controlled by Federal Security Agents. No one else has administrative access.]
Pei Ran couldn’t help but glance at the metal ball.
Hai Po’s wording was: directly controlled by Federal Security Agents.
Pei Ran: W, how many more little secrets are you hiding?
Shige Ye motioned for Hai Po to bring the ball closer. He leaned down and peered inside through the crack in the ball’s surface.
The core processor was still glowing with a blue light.
Hai Po continued typing: [The core processor is still running. But under these circumstances, communication signals are severely restricted, and only images can be sent. This robot should no longer be under the agent’s control and is in a dormant state.]
W remained completely still, diligently playing dead.
Shige Ye looked up and turned to Pei Ran, asking: [Where did you get this?]
Pei Ran replied: [I found it on the road, thrown in a small alley full of garbage. It was all broken and battered.]
Every word of it was true.
Shige Ye asked expressionlessly: [Why are you carrying a patrol robot from the Ministry of Defense around with you?]