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Translator's note: He can absorb his own pain now. LOL, he's making himself much like a robot. He'll be able to fight as long as he's conscious.
A first-tier psychic successfully handled a Grade-S Specter event. The news was as shocking as if a primary school student had mastered controlled nuclear fusion.
There had been Grade-S Specter events in the country before. Often, each Grade-S Specter event led to severe societal losses. Sometimes, they couldn't be fully resolved and had to be contained by various means.
So, Fang Xiu, as a first-tier psychic, solving a Grade-S Specter event shocked the psychic community.
At the Investigation Bureau headquarters, in a secret meeting room, several top officials were discussing.
They each had a file in front of them, notably labeled Fang Xiu, Yang Ming, Bai Qi, and others. Fang Xiu's file was at the forefront.
"All these individuals' potentials are to be upgraded, especially Fang Xiu. I recommend you move him into the top ten of the National Psychic Talent Database."
"Agreed."
"Seconded."
"Yang Ming, Zhao Hao, Liu Shuai all into the top hundred, Bai Qi into the top two hundred."
There was some opposition.
"I have no issues with Yang Ming and Bai Qi. But Zhao Hao and Liu Shuai are just two rookie psychics. Although their performance is commendable, there is still a big gap compared to others. I think placing them in the top thousand would be more appropriate."
"Their potential is substantial. To my knowledge, Zhao Hao's ability allows him to gain powerful combat strength at midnight. With only 1% of his Spiritual Energy, he can match a second-tier psychic; when 5% of his Spiritual Energy is active, he can secure a victory. This shows a huge growth in his combat capabilities. Just imagine, once he reaches second-tier, he will be able to match a third-tier combatant. And if he reaches third-tier? Think about it. It's so promising. "
The others pondered and then nodded in agreement.
"What about Liu Shuai?"
"Liu Shuai is the same. With 1% of his Spiritual Energy, he can only teleport 10 centimeters in an hour. But as his Spiritual Energy grows, his teleportation ability increases rapidly. This is non-linear growth. If he reaches second-tier, his power will explode. It's possible he could teleport endlessly if his Spiritual Energy doesn't run out."
They all agreed with this.
"Also, I suggest we recruit these individuals for training at headquarters soon and give them awards for dealing with the Grade-S Specter events. The global situation is getting worse, and we need to focus all our strength on overcoming these challenges. I don't want internal instability at this time."
As soon he said that, the others showed interest. They didn't even listen to the last part; they were more interested in the first part.
Bringing these people in for training meant they could get closer to Fang Xiu and the others. They were especially interested in Fang Xiu, because ability to foresee events could be a great asset.
…
In the shadow of a skyscraper in Greenvine City, Ace of Spades and King of Spades stood hidden, wearing poker masks on their faces. They watched as people strolled on the street.
Their strange outfits didn't catch anyone's attention. To the people passing by, the shadow cast by the building just seemed like a normal shadow, nothing out of the ordinary.
"It's surprising that Fang Xiu, not Yang Ming, solved the Nightmare event this time. It seems God's Plan doesn't always help him as we thought," Ace of Spades said with a cold laugh.
King of Spades shook his head, "Maybe, this is just another way God's Plan works. When a crisis comes, someone always steps up to help him. Isn't that God's Plan?"
"Hmph! You're just making excuses," Ace of Spades retorted.
King of Spades sighed, "You always focus on the process and ignore the outcome. Haven't you noticed? Whether it was Yang Ming breaking through to third-tier or solving the Nightmare event, the processes were complicated, but he succeeded in the end. I've said it before, President Zhou Qingfeng is never wrong. If he believes in Yang Ming, then it must be Yang Ming."
Ace of Spades fell silent, not arguing anymore, but he was still not convinced. He was jealous because he had followed Zhou Qingfeng earlier, yet Zhou Qingfeng valued Yang Ming, someone he had never met.
King of Spades didn't realize Ace of Spades was planning something else. Soon, a plan against Yang Ming formed in his mind, with Fang Xiu being the key.
…
It was night, and the stars twinkled in the sky. Fang Xiu, now recovered, walked alone on the deserted streets.
After the Nightmare event, citizens were afraid to go out at night. Even though Specters had nothing to do with sunlight, those people instinctively feared the darkness now.
Walking home, Fang Xiu thought about his abilities after becoming second-tier, particularly his ability to absorb pain.
He had been busy this past month. Despite being seriously injured, his Spiritual Energy had recovered, and he had been experimenting with his abilities.
He concluded that he could absorb not only his own pain but also that of others, as long as he had physical contact with them.
He had been severely injured, but when he used his pain-absorbing ability, he found that he no longer felt pain. His pain was gone, although his injuries didn't heal.
Later, he wandered around the hospital, absorbing the pain of the patients there.
Absorbing pain turned out to be much more effective than painkillers. With this ability, Fang Xiu was even sure he wouldn't need anesthesia for surgeries.
The pain he absorbed could be stored inside him and then released all at once. This became a secret weapon for Fang Xiu. As long as he absorbed enough pain, he could use it to defeat most enemies instantly when he released it during a fight.
Besides his pain ability, Fang Xiu's increase in Spiritual Energy also significantly boosted his physical strength. His strength and speed reached superhuman levels, a complete transformation.
This meant he could handle more Specter power in his scalpel, making him even stronger after transforming.
As for Nightmare, although Fang Xiu claimed it was dead, it was actually trapped forever in his dreams.
Now, whenever Fang Xiu slept, he could see Nightmare. Its power was greatly weakened, and since the dream was Fang Xiu's domain, Nightmare became his plaything. It suffered inhuman torture every day, amusing Fang Xiu.
Sleeping and tormenting Nightmare became Fang Xiu's happiest moments each day.
He also found another benefit to this arrangement. He seemed to become somewhat immune to attacks on his consciousness. With Nightmare in his psychic world, Fang Xiu could use it as a shield against mental attacks, like memory erasure.
Moreover, Nightmare was somewhat immortal, serving as a solid shield.
Overall, the past month had been very worthwhile for Fang Xiu. His overall strength had increased, and he had also gained two secret weapons and a significant reward.
Wang Dehai had mentioned that this was Greenvine City's first Grade-S event. The event was too huge, so the local office didn't have enough money or resources to reward Fang Xiu.
They had reported to the headquarters, and after things settled down, Fang Xiu would be able to collect a generous reward. Whether it was cash, spiritual coins, spiritual incense, or even the headquarters' treasured Specter Gadgets, they would have whatever Fang Xiu wanted.
If he was lucky, he might even get a spot for training at the headquarters.
Fang Xiu wasn't much interested in spiritual coins or incense, but he was very curious about the Specter Gadgets. He clearly remembered the shocking scene when Yang Ming used three Specter Gadgets during his fight with Bai Qi.
As Fang Xiu was deep in thought, suddenly, the shadow behind him moved. It seemed as if the shadow came to life, standing up and turning into a solid figure.