Chapter 171: Reality Bender |
'A Reality Bender?'
Shi Rang listened for a little while longer. Once he confirmed that the chatter from the accident site was nothing but technical jargon and lacked any new intelligence analysis, he finally left the office and exited the main building.
'Is A Piao a Reality Bender? Or perhaps an Anomaly with reality-bending capabilities?'
Having experienced so much, Shi Rang deeply understood the importance of information. He had been feverishly cramming all sorts of data from within the Management Authority, making sure to thoroughly research concepts he had only glossed over in the past.
According to the Management Authority's definition, the ability to reshape the surrounding reality according to one's own will was considered Reality Bending. Telekinesis, mind control, creating people and objects out of thin air, moving mountains and filling seas, creating Anomaly Projects...
The upper limit of a Reality Bender's power was impossible to estimate.
It was hard to imagine that the Management Authority's list of Containment Objects included no less than ten Reality Benders designated as capable of triggering K-Class End-of-the-World scenarios.
Heaven only knew how they managed to capture those people.
If A Piao possessed such immensely powerful reality-bending abilities, then teleporting, leveling a mountain, or destroying a site would be a walk in the park.
Reality Anchors were precisely the greatest nemesis of Reality Bending.
No wonder A Piao had originally planned to deal with Site 009 alone. Given the abilities it had displayed, it only needed to waltz into the site and twist everyone it encountered into being "friendly," effortlessly forcing the entire facility's security doors to open wide for it. Even if it encountered Reality Anchors, it could just use the assistance of subordinates to dismantle them.
Shi Rang could not remember exactly how he had managed to get close to A Piao and end up participating in the operation.
For now, he guessed that it was because he had provided intelligence by eavesdropping through his Communication Device, or perhaps something went even deeper...
At that thought, he exhaled a breath into the curtain of rain, opened his umbrella, and walked toward the entrance of the Operations Zone.
From the orphans' residential area came the sound of many cries and panicked questions. Caretakers were busy comforting the children, who had been terrified by the booming noises and the Helicopter. For those orphans rescued from war zones, the sweeping roar of a Helicopter was nothing short of a howl from hell.
Shi Rang walked quietly along the path, passing by the boundary line.
'If only I had reality-bending abilities,' he thought. 'The power is so versatile—great for both offense and defense. It can even enhance one's own body and directly materialize objects, without the need to rely on a medium like I do.'
However, when it came to operations on both the microscopic and macroscopic scales, Shi Rang could perform much better.
After all, Reality Benders could not eavesdrop on others from thousands of miles away, nor could they issue a nonexistent order. Their range of ability was limited, and they were easily detected due to their unhideable Hume Index—a Management Authority term that could roughly be understood as the degree of reality stability.
So far, Shi Rang did not have this problem, because the skills he possessed were mostly active abilities.
The rain was not heavy. By the time Shi Rang reached the parking lot and met up with Jing Zi, who had been waiting for a long time, the rain had almost stopped.
"Did everything go smoothly?" Jing Zi asked, stepping forward to open the car door for him.
Jing Zi was not qualified to know the details of the plan, but he could tell from Shi Rang's unusually late off-duty hours and the Management Authority's dispatch movements that something major had occurred.
"Smoothly. The next step is dealing with the aftermath. You and A Wei need to be careful for a while. If nothing unexpected happens, we will be heading back to the Second District very soon."
The vehicle merged smoothly onto the road, heading toward their residence on the edge of the small town.
Along the way, military transport trucks constantly overtook them, driving one after another in the direction of Site 009.
"Looks like martial law is being declared..."
Shi Rang withdrew his gaze from the window.
It was time to pause his espionage work for a while and lay low.
The next day, July 1st, at the Operations Zone's affiliated hospital.
The call button at the head of the bed buzzed with static before a voice spoke out, "Wu Nian, you have a visitor."
Wu Nian, who was lying on the hospital bed watching television, grabbed the remote and turned down the volume. "Who is it?"
"An outsider. The director of the Charity Foundation's procurement department."
"Alright, I'll keep things confidential."
Wu Nian reached out and shoved the approved sick leave slip from his bedside table into a drawer. He then shifted his body on the bed, adjusting the two large pillows propped behind his back into a more comfortable position.
Soon, the door to the ward opened.
A well-proportioned man carrying a fruit basket walked in. It was none other than the rumored "rich kid," Director Shi, who had supposedly parachuted into his management position relying on his old man.
Wu Nian scrutinized the man's face. He was very young, possessing features that couldn't exactly be called handsome and dashing, but rather kind and peaceful. However, as an Armed Personnel member, Wu Nian could detect a faint, almost imperceptible sharpness hidden between the man's brows—this was likely the source of the "chivalrous spirit" the foundation employees often mentioned when talking about him.
The two shook hands politely and then began to go through the motions.
The Management Authority had publicly declared the collapse of Site 009 to be a "landslide accident." The injured were naturally admitted to the Charity Foundation's hospital, with fake identities arranged for them as construction workers. Wu Nian had already met quite a few leaders of the Charity Foundation, big and small, that morning, and was almost numb to these formalities.
"I'm here representing the Charity Foundation's procurement department—are you feeling any better?"
For some reason, Director Shi had come to him first. Wu Nian was one of the most lightly injured, and the previous leaders had all started their visits with the critically wounded patients.
"Just some fractures. I'll be fine after resting in bed for a while," Wu Nian said, gesturing to his two legs encased in casts. Under the silhouette of the blanket, they looked rather like two thick pillars.
After going through the standard pleasantries, Director Shi showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he rubbed his chin and probed Wu Nian with a question, "I originally wanted to go see your coworker who just got some scrapes first, but it seems... well, he's not very willing to see outsiders."
"Who told him to hide in such an unfortunate spot?"
"Unfortunate spot?"
"He was the first one dug out, and suffered the lightest injuries—but as luck would have it, he was trapped in the toilet. When they found him, he hadn't even pulled his pants up. Give him a little personal space," Wu Nian chuckled. "But honestly, suffering a bit of embarrassment is a blessing. After all, it was a massive collapse. It's truly a miracle that nobody died."
"Yeah, truly a miracle," Shi Rang agreed.
As an accomplice, Shi Rang felt a twinge of a guilty conscience.
To avoid killing anyone, A Piao had actually put a lot of thought into destroying the site. It had precisely twisted the site's main support structure into a knot. Then, to prevent a landslide, it directly launched the mountain peak above into the sky and tossed it over a hundred meters away.
Even now, the gravity coefficient at the scene remained a few points lower than normal.
Reality Bending truly was a terrifying ability.
Having confirmed that Wu Nian was not seriously hurt and would soon be able to return to his post, Shi Rang placed the fruit basket onto the small mountain of get-well gifts in the corner of the ward and went on to complete the rest of his formalities.
After making the rounds in front of all the patients in the hospital—excluding that poor guy on the toilet—Shi Rang concluded this bizarre ritual and returned to his office.
Ready to diligently stamp a few documents and finish up his normal work duties, he stopped dead in his tracks the moment he reached his office door.
Inside the office, there were no less than five active Communication Device signals.
These uninvited guests meant trouble.
'Did they find some clues and come to take me in for an investigation, or are they here for something else?'
Shi Rang glanced at the device names, all starting with [Management Authority Internal Affairs Department], and pushed the door open.
The five individuals inside, all dressed in sharp suits, stopped what they were doing and turned in unison to face the doorway.
Shi Rang halted, feigning surprise as he looked over the group of unexpected visitors, entirely prepared to negotiate, deceive, or flee.
"Shi Rang," the leader of the group spoke up. "Please pack your belongings and leave the main building. Turn in all your work supplies and vacate the Operations Zone within the stipulated time."
"Why?"
"This position needs to be reserved for someone more capable. In short, you're fired."