Chapter Sixty-Two: Level Five (Part Two)

“Nice to meet you.” Zhao Yu extended his hand, entirely indifferent to Wendy’s appraisal of Xie Liu. Xie Liu shook his hand; after all, it was merely a level ten superpower. The other man was human, so what was there to fear?

“Introductions are over, so follow me inside. Tonight, you’ll have the pleasure of tasting Princess Angela’s cooking.” Wendy finished speaking and led the group into the manor, pushing open the heavy wooden door, striding in first.

“I’m back!” Wendy held her parcel high and shouted loudly. The reply came from a slightly vexed female voice, “Wendy, where have you been playing this time? You’re only just back—we’ve been waiting for ages. Did you bring the ingredients?”

A charming-faced young girl appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed lightly with only a kitchen apron wrapped around her. Her tone carried a hint of reproach, but spoken softly, it made everyone feel oddly comfortable.

“Ah, Angela, well, I ran into some trouble, you see.” Wendy laughed, not taking Angela’s scolding to heart at all. Angela planted her hands on her hips, “You’re always like this, Wendy, I…” She stopped mid-sentence.

Xie Liu and his companions emerged from behind Wendy. Xie Liu’s eyes lit up when he saw the lively girl standing on the steps in her apron. He waved and smiled, “Hello, Angela. Nice to see you again.”

“Ah!” Angela, at that moment, was like a startled kitten whose tail had been stepped on, letting out a soft, childish cry. Under everyone’s gaze, her flawless white cheeks flushed a pale red. She covered her face and turned to flee.

“What happened to her?” Xie Liu’s hand remained frozen in a wave, awkwardly glancing at Wendy. Wendy burst into unrestrained laughter, “You’re too ugly, you scared our little Angela.”

“Is that necessary?” Xie Liu’s smile stiffened on his face. Wendy turned, flicked his forehead, “Of course it is. Besides, you sinful wretch, what’s so good about you?”

Wendy’s words left Xie Liu perplexed, as if she were mocking him. He frowned, “Did you tell Angela bad things about me? You can’t do that! You’re ruining my image—I’ll sue you for slander.”

“Go ahead and sue.” Wendy showed no sign of backing down. Zhao Yu blinked innocently, sidling up to Shuichi Uehara and whispering, “Why do I feel Angela is just shy? Maybe she likes this Xie Liu guy.”

“Hmm, quite likely.” Shuichi Uehara mused, only to be silenced by a glare from Wendy. Xie Liu, lacking Wendy’s sharp hearing, hadn’t caught their exchange.

Tianhe Miyuki watched everything unfold, her big eyes darting around. They say girls mature early, and she could already guess what was happening. Seeing Xie Liu’s confusion amused her, so she kept quiet, showing a mischievous smile.

…

In the end, Xie Liu and his group didn’t get to eat Angela’s cooking. But there was no shortage of chefs in the manor; after a simple meal, Wendy led Xie Liu to the lounge. The two sat face-to-face, and Angela didn't reappear throughout.

“Speak. What did you come to see me for?” Wendy sat imperiously on the sofa, questioning Xie Liu. She glanced up at the corner of the second floor, where Angela, peering over, hastily withdrew her head. The look resembled a cat caught stealing its owner’s fish.

“This silly girl.” Wendy sighed, turning her gaze back to Xie Liu, who seemed to notice Angela spying but didn’t mind. He remembered she was shy, so her nervousness was normal.

“I really did come to see you,” Xie Liu said, pulling a report from his pocket and handing it to Wendy. She glanced at it and exclaimed, “Why have your numbers risen so fast?”

“I’m not sure. After fighting you all, my ability stats have been climbing rapidly. It feels unstoppable. I think there’s an issue, and you’re the expert, so I came to ask.”

Wendy put down the paper after thinking, “You’re asking the wrong person. The one who knows most is Sister Franny, but I do know a bit.”

…

“Wasn’t he here to see me?” Angela poked her head out from behind the wall, sneaking a glance at Xie Liu chatting with Wendy, then shrank back, sitting on the floor and puffing her cheeks in a mix of relief and annoyance.

She looked down at the small purple lunchbox in her hands, its lid decorated with a cartoon teddy bear. After a few seconds, Angela sighed, “Forget it, I’ll go back.”

…

“I’ve encountered your situation before,” Wendy mused. “I call this phase ‘Physical Awakening.’ In your terms, it’s ‘rebirth through nirvana,’ though I’m not sure that’s accurate.”

“The human body is a vast treasure trove, full of potential—though most of it remains untapped because there’s a high threshold blocking the way.”

“For example, if you run regularly, you know you’ll feel tired after just a few steps, but if you push past that, you can run much longer without feeling exhausted. Similarly, developing physical abilities works this way. At first, we can use technology to unlock our bodies’ potential, but this development has limits. Once you reach that limit, progress halts—or even regresses.”

Xie Liu nodded; he had been stuck at level three for a long time, only recently advancing to level four.

“That limit is what we call the ‘superpower barrier.’ The vast majority get stuck below it because no matter how hard they try, they see no results and give up. But some persist and break through, entering the next phase: Physical Awakening, which is where you are now.”

“In this phase, you’ll feel your abilities grow rapidly—that’s normal, but it’s also where problems arise.” Wendy sipped her tea. “Physical mutation superpowers differ from mental ones. Regular abilities are boosted by cognitive development and can jump levels instantly if your computing power is strong or if you stimulate your brain in a short burst. But it’s like cramming for an exam—after the temporary boost, you drop back down, and it can damage your brain. So we don’t recommend that.”

“I digress. Back to the point: physical mutation abilities are a continuous process. Bodily transformation is slow, so we can’t upgrade too quickly or the body will collapse. You’ve been holding back for a while; I think your body is ready. You can advance to level five.”

With Wendy’s analysis, Xie Liu finally understood his problem. “Thanks for explaining. I’ll go home to upgrade.”

But Wendy shook her head, “No need. We have auxiliary facilities here. Upgrade right here—prolonged suppression isn’t good.”

Xie Liu found this reasonable and agreed.

…

“Remember, don’t think about anything else. Focus on your ability and explore your next phase. Your ability isn’t determined yet. Even at level five, there are variations in strength. According to the ‘Compendium of Magic Eyes,’ the strongest at level five is ‘Sword of the Pupil,’ the weakest is ‘Vision Aid,’ which is worse than your level one ability. Aim for the strongest if you can, but don’t force it. The most important thing is to find what suits you.” Wendy cautioned Xie Liu repeatedly before sending him into the machine.

“Got it.” Xie Liu nodded. “Just find what my heart desires, right?”

“I remember there’s X-ray vision at level five.” Xie Liu laughed. Wendy’s face darkened, “What are you thinking about? Focus! And X-ray vision doesn’t work on clothes, only metal. Forget about it.” She kicked him into the machine.

…

In the darkness, Xie Liu opened his eyes. His red pupils looked eerie in the gloom. “Level five—what ability will it be?” He pondered, searching his memories.

“What should I pick? No X-ray vision? That’s a shame. Is there an ability to see illusions, or create illusions for myself? That way, I could make what I love real in my eyes… That seems… not practical either.” A string of odd ideas flickered through his mind, all discarded.

“It’s really hard to choose.” Xie Liu closed his eyes in thought. Suddenly, a notion flashed in his mind. “My level four is infrared vision; if level five became X-ray vision, wouldn’t that be interesting?” He laughed; the ability seemed useless, basically overlapping with infrared. He was just daydreaming, certainly not—

He felt a sharp pain in his eyes, then his vision shifted to a black-and-white world like an X-ray photo. At that moment, his pupils turned grey-white. Level five ability activated, successfully!

Xie Liu stared blankly at the scene before him; he’d just casually thought about it, how did he actually trigger this power? “Heavens, are you playing tricks on me!” He wanted to cry, hearing a voice from the machine, “Ability upgrade complete, opening hatch.”

“Can I have another try?” Xie Liu cried silently in his heart, but it was impossible; once an ability was fixed, it couldn’t be changed. He felt like dying. At that moment, the machine hatch opened, Wendy stepped forward, “Congratulations, you’ve advanced to level five.”

“Damn, where did this skeleton come from!” Xie Liu glanced at Wendy and cursed under his breath.