Chapter 72 Qiuqiu's Identity Is Looking Up

Honestly, Chu Ge thought their powers were pretty damn impressive. Take the one that wrote on a person's face — the fact that it had actually worked on Qiu Wuji was terrifying. Even if only the useless part had taken effect, that was still remarkable. It was just that they might not realize it themselves, or had never run into an opponent strong enough to prove it.

Then there was punching people through the internet connection. Everyone had memed about it so much that it felt ordinary, but when you really thought about it, that was incredible too. Even a top-tier hacker couldn't pin down someone's location just from a sentence they typed online — and this guy had already done it.

Chu Ge couldn't help himself. "If that fat guy's power were used to hunt wanted criminals, it'd be completely god-tier."

Zhong Yi laughed and shook his head. "He can throw the punch through, but he can't tell you where it's going. It used to be worse — he had no idea at all where the other person was. Now he can roughly judge the distance. For instance, he can tell you're very likely in Nanjiang, but not your exact address. Otherwise, wouldn't he have come to your door to deliver a razor blade by now?"

"Yours truly puts out ten thousand words a day — why would anyone send me razor blades? I'm about to make the combat-power leaderboard!" Chu Ge said angrily. "So I like ending on a cliffhanger a little..."

Zhong Yi eyed him sidelong and said nothing.

Chu Ge cleared his throat. "Anyway — the more you train it up, the further it gets from being a joke and the more practical it becomes?"

"Sure. But who knows how long you'd have to train, or how many bottlenecks you'd hit? We're all lazy bums here. Good enough is good enough..."

"So what's your power, then?" Chu Ge asked, curious. "Is it okay for me to ask?"

"Generally it's classified. But you... well, if you really had to know, asking your mom would probably get you an answer anyway, so there's not much point hiding it." Zhong Yi smiled. "I don't feel pain."

For a moment Chu Ge didn't even understand. He blinked, then it hit him. "You don't feel pain!"

"Isn't it just a lousy power that sounds useful at first, but on closer thought isn't as useful as you'd imagine — and even has side effects?" Zhong Yi said mildly, "Pain is, in a sense, a living creature's protective and warning mechanism. Lose it, and the consequences aren't necessarily good."

Chu Ge said nothing, turning it over.

"I don't even dare test it," Zhong Yi said. "Whether I can't die. Or whether, trained far enough, I'd stop being able to die."

"So you're pretty envious of that game character?"

"Shame I'm not him." Zhong Yi didn't dwell on himself, and shifted tack. "But if you want to train and don't have a suitable place, you can come train with us. We've got equipment and gear, and people to trade ideas with."

Chu Ge's heart thumped — this had been one of his reasons for seeking Zhong Yi out in the first place. He said, a little hesitant, "But I don't want my ability to be widely known."

"We don't go telling people."

Chu Ge still shook his head.

Zhong Yi thought for a moment, then smiled. "It's no big deal. Worst case, come in a mask. We've already got people who don't like their real identities known..."

"You have members like that?" Chu Ge said, surprised.

"Two or three," Zhong Yi said with a smile. "All friends vouched for by people we trust. Even so, people still don't trust them — we couldn't have brought one of them along on yesterday's operation, for instance. And they don't mind. They just want a place to talk. The truth is, plenty of espers carry this inexplicable loneliness around. They need to talk to their own kind."

Chu Ge let out a breath. "Makes sense. Then a setup like that suits me fine."

Espers are lonely... It was the first time Chu Ge had heard it put that way, and the more he thought about it, the more interesting it got.

Besides, judging by a setup like the Black House, there were probably other esper organizations hiding out beyond the authorities' reach. The wall-walker back then, for example, had likely belonged to one too — he'd mentioned a "circle." There might even be big organizations; no way Nanjiang could contain them all.

He thought it over, then asked, "So where's the training place?"

Zhong Yi's expression turned strange. "Right here."

Chu Ge: "?"

"I already told you this is a den. Would a place that's just for eating deserve a name like that?" Zhong Yi looked heartbroken. "Your parents are such formidable people. How did it come to you being such a doofus..."

Chu Ge's face went blank.

Are my parents really that formidable?

Never got that impression growing up... Wait, no, hold on — who says I'm a doofus?

"At least I know you didn't just start dealing with Gu Ruoyan," Chu Ge said with a straight face. "The way you talk, you've been in contact with the authorities for years! You were probably tasked with setting up this Black House."

Zhong Yi paused, then gave an awkward smile. "More or less."

So I'm not such a doofus after all...

"If this is the place, then the husband and wife who run it are espers too?" Chu Ge said. "What are their powers? Cooking-related?"

"The husband? He can make people find food incredibly unappetizing."

"What use is that for someone running a restaurant? It should be the opposite... wait!" Chu Ge's face twitched. "Is that why there aren't any other restaurants around here?"

Zhong Yi said nothing.

"That's vicious competition, you people! What about the wife?"

"She can make every dish look all shiny and sparkling. We've already banned her from using that one. What's the difference between that and writing 'I have a power' on your face?"

Chu Ge: "..."

Sure enough, they were all a bunch of utterly worthless powers. Under normal circumstances you couldn't think of a single thing to do with them — using the boss's to screw over the competition seemed to be its only application.

Though next time I bring Qiu Wuji here, maybe I could get the lady boss to show off a little? She might get a kick out of it.

Ugh, how does even that make me think of Qiu Wuji? Hopeless... Chu Ge twisted his head, as if to set it straight again. "So, is now a convenient time to take me to see the training place?"

"Not convenient, no. I'm not a leader who decides things on his own — I'm just the one who got everyone together. Adding a masked man isn't something I can settle by myself; it has to go through everyone's opinions. Besides, you'd better go home and think up an identity for yourself, and get hold of a mask, before you come back."

The words were said offhand, but it was as if a bolt of lightning split Chu Ge's mind. "You said identity..."

"Of course," Zhong Yi said, puzzled. "You'll have to introduce yourself, won't you? No need for your real identity — at least give a codename, what you're good at, that sort of thing."

"That's not what I meant... Say, could you get an identity for someone with no papers?"

Zhong Yi squinted at him. "Did you go buy yourself a Vietnamese wife?"

A Vietnamese wife would be great, honestly. At least there'd be records to check, and however much hassle it took, there'd be an official route to get her registered. Qiu Wuji is a whole lot harder than that... He couldn't even figure out how to explain it. All he could say was, "No, it's just — a person with no identity. Get them a household registration. Is there any way you people can do that?"

Zhong Yi opened his mouth and closed it again, looking like he had a whole bellyful of curses he was swallowing. What came out was a limp "Fine. Fine. Whether it's a Vietnamese wife or a magic trick that conjures a living person out of thin air, you give me the materials — name, age, ID photo, that sort of thing — and I'll figure out the rest."

"You really can?" Chu Ge said, suspicious. "I've asked plenty of people..."

Zhong Yi wilted further. "There is..."

"Amazing, Brother Zhong — you've got connections everywhere!" Chu Ge jumped up. "I'll go get it ready right now. Give me a couple days, I'll send it over in a couple days."

Watching Chu Ge leave all fired up, Zhong Yi rolled his eyes, too drained to even complain.

Yeah, yeah. Connections everywhere.

All I have to do is turn around and forward the file to your mom. He says it like it's so hard...

Come to think of it, your parents really did keep things sealed tight — they never even told you this... Zhong Yi shook his head, leisurely eating his now-cold stir-fried pork, and suddenly let out a laugh. "Well, isn't that interesting."