Chapter 58: Ability Nullification and Absolute Defense

Zhao Yu had been in a foul mood lately. The reason was simple: a new neighbor had moved in next door. Before this neighbor’s arrival, Zhao Yu was assaulted daily by a dozen people. But since that person settled in, the attacks on him had markedly increased. Zhao Yu had even compiled detailed statistics: after the neighbor moved in, the number of times he was assaulted rose by an average of seven per day, with holidays offering an extra three or four incidents. Most of these additional attacks were meant for the fellow next door, but failing to find the right door, his assailants mistakenly targeted Zhao Yu instead.

As for why he was being attacked—well, that was a complicated matter. Firstly, he was a legendary Level Ten psychic. Yes, the stuff of urban legend. According to the rankings published by the city, he was placed second. Yet, he never believed he possessed any extraordinary powers and doubted that his second-place ranking was anything more than a mistake. As for the perennial first place, the famed “Lei Tian,” who had held the top spot for thirty-three consecutive years, no one questioned that. Thus, Zhao Yu, inexplicably ranked second, became the target of countless challengers unwilling to accept their own positions.

Rubbing his tousled hair, Zhao Yu stared at his reflection in the mirror, dark circles under his eyes and a look of bewilderment on his face. The mirror itself was barely usable, only a small portion remained intact, the rest covered in spiderweb-like cracks. He remembered: yesterday, someone from the opposite building had hurled a steel nail, which hit the mirror and caused the damage.

“What was that guy’s power called again?” Zhao Yu mused, pinching his chin, then stuffed his toothpaste-laden toothbrush into his mouth, brushing vigorously. “Oh right, it was ‘Momentum Granting.’” He thought aloud as he brushed, “Within a certain time span, he can add a fixed amount of momentum to any object his body touches—that’s how his power works, I think.”

At the center of the spiderweb cracks, where the damage was worst, was a small iron nail. Zhao Yu blinked, staring at it for a long time, then on a whim pulled it out. “So, that guy threw a nail—something with little mass—to achieve greater speed?” No sooner had he finished speaking than the mirror let out a mournful creak and shattered along the cracks, scattering fragments all over the floor.

“Ah…” Zhao Yu muttered weakly, toothbrush still in his mouth, staring in dismay at the debris. He felt awkward and at a loss. “It’s broken…”

…

“Is anyone home?” Zhao Yu raised his hand and knocked on the door to the room next door. Today, no matter what, he intended to have a proper conversation with this neighbor. Was this person similarly prone to attracting trouble? He seemed to draw about as many attacks as Zhao Yu himself—and share a portion of them with him. Zhao Yu knocked, but there was no answer.

“Anyone home!” He raised his voice, but still received no response. He ruffled his messy hair, noticing the door was ajar. “Anybody there? I’m coming in!” he called, then opened the door and stepped inside.

What greeted him was a pair of young people—a man of about twenty with hair as untidy as Zhao Yu’s, and a girl, a little younger, with shoulder-length hair, petite and still wearing a school uniform.

Hearing someone enter, both turned their heads toward the door.

The scene froze in that moment. Zhao Yu was stunned by what he saw: the man lay on the floor, the girl was sitting on his stomach, their fingers intertwined, their clothes a bit rumpled, both still slightly out of breath as they looked at him.

“Uh…” Zhao Yu blinked. “Carry on, sorry to interrupt, I’ll take my leave.” He proceeded to close the door and exit.

“Come back!” The girl screamed, and in that instant, blue sparks erupted from her fingertips with a crackling sound, shooting toward Zhao Yu at the doorway.

The entryway exploded, sending shards and dust flying everywhere.

“What have I done to deserve this?” Zhao Yu cried, staring at the ruined entryway, now resembling a honeycomb, half laughing, half crying. Clearly, the girl was not someone to be trifled with.

“Hey, miss, you’re a bit ruthless, aren’t you? If it were someone else, that blast would have peeled their skin at the very least.” Zhao Yu dared not turn around and look at the explosive aftermath. The girl shouted, “Turn around!” Her voice was magnetic, yet still unmistakably girlish.

She had already stood up. Nothing untoward had happened, as some might imagine. She straightened her clothes, and the young man on the floor got up as well. “Ah, ah, ah, my house! How could I be so unlucky!”

Zhao Yu realized he had apparently misunderstood. He turned around, his gaze lingering in surprise on the honeycomb-like entryway. “Impressive ability.”

…

“So, what did you see?” The girl, her cheeks flushed, looked fiercely at Zhao Yu. He blushed and mumbled, “Nothing really, just, um…”

“Raise your hand if your thoughts ran wild,” said the young man sitting behind. Without thinking, Zhao Yu raised his hand, and the girl grabbed a stool and smacked him in the face.

“Shuichi Uehara! You bastard!” she yelled, tossing the stool aside and shouting at the young man behind her, who scratched his head. “Who barged in unreasonably and tried to snatch my phone? You caused this mess, yet you blame me? And you, pay for my door! It’s expensive!”

“If you had just answered your phone!” she retorted angrily. “I just wanted to check what you were up to!”

“Huh?” The one called Shuichi Uehara made a strange face. “Do I have to tell you what I’m doing? Who are you, my mother?”

“You!” The girl’s face reddened, and she grabbed a nearby object to hurl at Shuichi Uehara’s face.

“Don’t! Not in front of company!” Shuichi Uehara raised his hands to protect his head, shouting. The girl’s hand paused mid-air, then she frowned and put the object down. She realized it was a figurine of a scantily clad girl. “Ugh, disgusting…” she muttered, her eyes full of distaste. Then she remembered the guy she’d knocked to the floor with the stool. She turned quickly, “Are you okay?”

The uninvited guest, previously struck by her, was now sitting on the floor, grinning as he watched her and Shuichi Uehara argue. When she spoke, he smiled and said, “Carry on, carry on.”

“Are you a cockroach? That hit didn’t faze you at all.” the girl remarked, recalling how when she blew up the entryway, he didn’t dodge or flinch, yet wasn’t harmed in the slightest. Zhao Yu scratched his head, “That’s the main feature of my ability—resistance to damage.”

The girl blinked, then smiled, forgetting the earlier awkwardness. She extended her hand to Zhao Yu. “Nice to meet you. I’m Miyuki Amakawa, Level Nine in Electromagnetic Control.”

…

Half an hour later.

“So, you also moved here because you couldn’t stand being attacked all the time?” The three sat inside, Zhao Yu glancing at the taped-together fragments of the wooden door, feeling a bit embarrassed.

They were currently part of the Hokkaido branch of Fantasia City, though the branch was tiny—just a few thousand people. The area was even smaller, so people like Zhao Yu and Shuichi Uehara were assigned to live externally. Their dormitory was one of the city’s outlying buildings—a clear example of shoddy construction.

“That’s about right,” said the young man, placing a hand on his chest. “Let me introduce myself: I’m Shuichi Uehara, Level Ten, currently ranked eleventh.” He smiled wryly. “Honestly, my ability isn’t strong at all.”

“I’m Miyuki Amakawa. You might not know me, but you’ve definitely heard of my brother—Chiba Amakawa, Level Ten Electromagnetic Control, ranked seventh.” She finished with a proud pat on her undeveloped chest.

Zhao Yu stared in surprise at these two big shots. “You guys are impressive.”

Miyuki Amakawa tilted her chin proudly. “Of course, I—”

Before she could finish, Zhao Yu said, “My name is Zhao Yu. Level Ten. Currently… well, number two.”

“Wha—” The two cried out, crowding close and peering intently at Zhao Yu’s face. “You’re really that second-ranked guy? What’s your power? How did you get ranked second?”

“Hey, Miyuki, it’s not polite to ask directly about someone’s ability,” Shuichi Uehara chided. The girl stuck out her pink tongue, “Haha, just slipped out.”

…

“No worries, no worries. I can show you.” Zhao Yu smiled amiably, pointing at Shuichi Uehara. “Come, punch me in the face.”

“Huh? Are you crazy?” Shuichi Uehara was baffled. Zhao Yu grinned. “It’s fine, just do it.”

Shuichi Uehara eyed Zhao Yu, half suspecting the guy’s brain had been damaged by Miyuki’s stool earlier.

But since he’d been offered a friendly knockout punch, he couldn’t back down. He stepped forward, “Brace yourself, okay!”

He swung and punched Zhao Yu squarely in the face.

…

“Where am I?” Zhao Yu groaned as he woke, seeing Shuichi Uehara and Miyuki Amakawa watching him anxiously. “What happened?”

“Sorry, man, my fault—I shouldn’t have hit so hard.” Shuichi Uehara pressed his palms together in apology. “And I learned my lesson: no face shots next time.”

“Wait…” Zhao Yu’s eyes snapped open. “Ah, ah… What is this feeling? Pain?” He clutched his face. “Impossible! How can I feel pain?” He struggled upright, and under the confused gazes of Uehara and Miyuki, staggered into the washroom, checked his face in the mirror—it was swollen.

“Did I knock him silly?” Shuichi Uehara whispered. Miyuki nodded. Then Zhao Yu tumbled back out, grabbing Shuichi Uehara’s collar. “You, what’s your ability?”

Looking at Zhao Yu’s grotesquely swollen face, Shuichi Uehara barely suppressed a laugh. “My power’s not really useful—people exaggerate it. They call it ‘Ability Nullification.’ Anyone I touch, I can suppress their ‘external powers.’ That’s all. Nothing special. I’m not actually strong—no reason I should be Level Ten.”

“Ability Nullification?” Zhao Yu touched his face, grimacing. “What a bizarre power. Well, guess it’s just my bad luck. My ability is called ‘Absolute Defense’—I can block all damage. Since I awakened it, nothing has been able to hurt me. So that punch—was the first time in years I’ve felt pain.”

“Absolute Defense? It blocks all harm?” Miyuki Amakawa asked in amazement, recalling how Zhao Yu had shrugged off her explosive entryway and the stool hit.

“I can’t be sure—I’ve never tried surviving a nuclear blast, or a doomsday weapon. But based on the data, I should be able to withstand it.”

“Are you even human?” Miyuki blurted out. Shuichi Uehara rolled his eyes at her. Zhao Yu didn’t mind, focusing on Shuichi Uehara. “When the city ranks abilities, it doesn’t simply go by fighting power. Our abilities being Level Ten makes sense. Mine’s essentially immortal—so Level Ten is reasonable. If I carried a bomb capable of destroying a base and charged into the heart of an enemy stronghold to detonate it—tell me, who could stop me?”

“Me!” Shuichi Uehara raised his hand. Zhao Yu wished he could punch him. “See, power isn’t just about combat.”

“By the way, what’s for dinner tonight?” Zhao Yu abruptly changed the subject, smiling at the two. They paused. Zhao Yu pointed at the kitchen, which had also been damaged by Miyuki’s earlier explosion. “And it looks like your kitchen got hit too!”

Shuichi Uehara groaned, “Oh, you bastard!”