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Translator's note: This chapter's good, except for the last paragraph. The interior monologue was too blunt and stupid. The author's intention to manipulate readers' negative emotions is clear as day.
Yang Ming couldn't believe it. He had never seen or even heard of a psychic with two abilities. It seemed impossible, like having two minds in one body.
Fang Xiu calmly nodded, "Yes, Foresight and Pain are my abilities."
His words shocked everyone, as if some common knowledge was shattered.
Yang Ming suddenly realized something and said, "This explains it. Mr. Ma, the major events you talked about, Fang Xiu could have faked them. But when he first came to the Investigation Bureau, he predicted many small things, like future calls and even lottery numbers. Mr. Ma, you must be mistaken. Fang Xiu definitely has two abilities."
Ma Xingbang scoffed, "Very nice of you to make excuses for him, but psychic abilities are varied. And with the Pokers behind Fang Xiu, it's more than easy to create an illusion of foresight. And Fang Xiu, I already guessed you'd say that. Indeed, having two abilities is rare, yet it is possible. We have an agent in the headquarters who has not just one, but multiple abilities. I've copied his abilities before, but your case is different. From what I can see, you only have one ability."
The others were starting to doubt Fang Xiu again.
Fang Xiu responded lightly, "Is it possible that your plagiarism is too weak to detect my foresight?"
"My ability is weak?" Ma Xingbang was shocked. Since he awakened his ability, everyone who knew about it was amazed. And now Fang Xiu was calling his ability weak?
Unacceptable!
Wang Dehai tried to smooth things over. "It's possible. Maybe foresight ability is of a high level. It make sense you can't just copy it randomly. Besides, Fang Xiu has proven himself many times. If he arranged one of his success, does it mean he arrange for all of them? That doesn't sound feasible. Let's just end this here."
Wang Dehai and the others trusted Fang Xiu more than Ma Xingbang. After all, they had witnessed Fang Xiu's miracles multiple times.
Yang Ming then said, "Right. If Fang Xiu was really with the Pokers, why would he go through so much trouble to pretend to have an ability he doesn't have? They could just send someone with a strong ability to get the Investigation Bureau's attention."
Seeing everyone siding with Fang Xiu, Ma Xingbang's expression darkened.
Yang Ming and the others believed Fang Xiu because they had seen his abilities. Meanwhile, Ma Xingbang didn't believe because he trusted his own ability.
Standing on different sides led to different conclusions.
Ma Xingbang pressed on aggressively, "Hmph, even if I can't copy Foresight, how do you explain the Specter scent on you, Fang Xiu? You might deceive others, but not me. I once copied a smelling ability, allowing me to clearly detect a person's Specter scent! People from the Pokers have mostly transplanted Specter organs, becoming partly Specterized. They all carry Specter scent! How do you explain that?"
Everyone was a bit confused again.
"It seems you really got me wrong, very deeply," Fang Xiu said calmly.
Ma Xingbang sneered, "Really? I'd like to see how you explain this."
"Why would I need to explain anything to you? What makes you think you deserve my explanations?" Fang Xiu said calmly.
It stunned everyone, especially Ma Xingbang, whose face darkened further, with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
Yang Ming silently gave Fang Xiu a thumbs up. He didn't care about Ma Xingbang's so-called evidence; all he knew was that Fang Xiu saved Bai Qi and Greenvine City. Nothing else mattered.
He thought that if Fang Xiu hadn't extorted 200 spiritual coins from him, he would have been considered a very good person. Even now, he was still good, just not entirely.
The two men became extremely tense.
"I'm a consultant sent by the headquarters, and I have the right to demand a reasonable explanation. If you refuse to give one, I'll take it as you admitting to my speculation."
Wang Dehai quickly intervened, "Mr. Ma, Fang Xiu is a hero of Greenvine City. The Nightmare event has attracted global attention. Doubting a hero at times like this could damage our image significantly, and I believe the higher-ups wouldn't want to see that happen."
Wang Dehai was an experienced politician. His official-sounding speech skillfully leveraged the organization's image and the pressure from the headquarters to sway the argument.
Ma Xingbang became hesitant. Clearly, he understood the implications, but he didn't seem willing to back down easily, as it would make him a laughingstock.
"Director Wang, you make a good point. Without concrete evidence, I indeed can not doubt a hero. But what if there is concrete evidence?" Ma Xingbang sneered.
"What do you mean by 'concrete evidence'?" Wang Dehai asked.
Ma Xingbang replied, "I also have the ability to probe minds. My previous conversation with Fang Xiu was telepathy. If Fang Xiu allows me to use my mind-probing ability, I can find out if he's a spy."
Everyone was surprised at Ma Xingbang's versatility. In just a short time, he had revealed so many abilities.
Setting aside his aggressive personality, his abilities were indeed extraordinary.
With such abilities, Ma Xingbang would surely have a place even among the many experts at the headquarters.
However, the mind is the most private part of a person, and probing into someone's mind is something most people would resist.
Ma Xingbang seemed to notice everyone's concerns and said, "Don't worry, Fang Xiu is a hero of the Investigation Bureau, and I wouldn't do anything to harm him. You all can supervise. If you find any inappropriate behavior during the probe, you can intervene at any time.
"Fang Xiu, I've made my position clear. If you still refuse, I have every reason to suspect that you're guilty and afraid of being inspected. The headquarters won't allow someone with an unclear identity to participate in training, nor will they award a suspected spy."
This speech was deliberate—if Fang Xiu refused the inspection, it implied guilt, potentially costing him the opportunity to go to the headquarters. This could lead to losing the reward for solving a Grade-S event and even making himself a key suspect.
Faced with Ma Xingbang's aggressiveness, Yang Ming and the others looked unhappy. But they felt helpless, as the opposition was leveraging the power of the headquarters with seemingly legitimate reasons.
Ma Xingbang stared directly at Fang Xiu and challenged, "Fang Xiu, you're not afraid of an inspection, are you?"
He sneered internally, 'Heh, kid, you're no match for me! So what if you're good at handling Specter incidents? What's the use? It's all about your background in this world! I'm an representative sent by the headquarters, how dare you defy me?'