Chapter Forty-Nine: Two Schools of Thought

When the Gentle One and Old Jun hurried down to the first floor, the tall, thin man who had tried to escape had already been subdued and knocked unconscious by Qi Chen. However, Qi Chen himself had also lost consciousness; his once robust figure deflated like a punctured balloon, returning to his usual appearance.

“Tsk, tsk—so this is the new recruit rated A for potential?” A faint, ambiguous smile played on Old Jun’s handsome features as he regarded Qi Chen, who, though unconscious, still clung tightly to the tall, thin man.

“His talent’s not bad at all—just a little inferior to mine.”

The Gentle One had no intention of engaging with Old Jun; he found his arrogance insufferable. Instead, he hurried to help Qi Chen up from the ground, handing the subdued man over to Old Jun, and together they left the grand concert hall.

No sooner had they stepped out the exit than the command vehicle, with Fu Ying inside, arrived swiftly.

“Get in.”

…

…

The command vehicle sped toward the Department of Anomalous Affairs. Sitting in the passenger seat, Fu Ying glanced into the rearview mirror and asked in an even tone, “What’s the situation inside the concert hall?”

“All handled,” replied the Gentle One, anxiously checking Qi Chen’s condition as he reported everything that had transpired. “The anomalous source has been eliminated, but there are still a lot of citizens inside suffering from severe psychological distortion… I don’t know how we should deal with them.” In his view, a Special Operations Team should be dispatched at once to rescue the citizens, though with the source destroyed, they should be out of danger.

“We’d best wait for now,” Old Jun remarked lazily, his legs crossed. “We need to interrogate this guy first. If we send in the Special Ops team now, it’ll definitely alert the people behind all this.”

The Gentle One glared, making no effort to hide his displeasure at Old Jun’s suggestion.

But in the end, only one person had the final say.

“We’ll return first. The Special Ops team is already en route.” Fu Ying gave her decision without further explanation. As soon as the command vehicle stopped outside the Department of Anomalous Affairs, she was the first to push open the door and step out.

“Bring the mask and the special agent to me!”

The Gentle One and Old Jun exchanged glances, each hauling one of the unconscious men and following close behind Fu Ying.

It seemed their highest-ranking officer was in a great hurry.

…

…

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Qi Chen’s mind drifted in a haze, as though he were floating on water.

He remembered nothing of what had happened after donning the mask. When he finally opened his eyes, he felt utterly hollow inside.

Not even anger remained—he couldn’t sense any emotion at all.

“You’re finally awake.”

The first thing he saw was the Gentle One’s stubbled face, which startled Qi Chen so much he jerked back and toppled over, crashing to the ground with chair and all.

The Gentle One chuckled awkwardly and stepped forward to help his partner up.

Fu Ying’s voice, however, quickly cleared Qi Chen’s head.

“Mask, tell us what you overheard,” she said calmly.

Qi Chen snapped to attention. Still muddled, he tried his best to recall and recounted the conversation he’d overheard in the ventilation duct.

When he finished, he noticed both Fu Ying and the Gentle One looked troubled. Old Jun, standing off to the side, let out a derisive snort.

“A pack of sewer rats—do they really think they can turn the world upside down? They actually plan to target Old Li?!”

“Their goal seems to go beyond Old Li. They’re after the whole Third City,” added the Gentle One grimly. He turned to consult Fu Ying, only to see she’d already left. Her instructions came through the earpiece: “I’ll conduct the interrogation. You two, observe the mask’s condition.”

Hearing this, the Gentle One turned a concerned gaze on Qi Chen. He needed to have a serious talk with his partner.

Old Jun, though, had no such interest. With a murderous look, he strode out of the recovery room, likely in pursuit of Fu Ying for the next course of action.

Anyone threatening the Third City was their mortal enemy.

“How are you feeling now? Any better?” With only the two of them left, the Gentle One relaxed, pulled up a stool, and asked with concern.

Qi Chen described his current state—utter emptiness, his memory during the time he wore the mask even more fragmented than after a heavy night of drinking.

“That’s perfectly normal,” the Gentle One replied with a gentle smile. “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to reach this point so quickly.”

Qi Chen was puzzled, but he knew the Gentle One would explain.

“Anomalies are inseparable from the human mind—especially for Anomaly Walkers. You remember what the Institute theorized, right? An anomaly reflects a certain facet of the ability user’s inner self, whether in harmony or in conflict with it.

“In most cases, we keep the use of anomaly powers within reasonable, safe limits. This instinct comes with the awakening of almost every Anomaly Walker.

“That’s why, even if an Anomaly Walker’s mental strength matches a naturally occurring anomaly, there’s still a huge gap.”

Qi Chen’s thoughts cleared. He ventured, “What if you don’t hold back?”

“Then you unleash even greater power,” the Gentle One’s expression grew grave. “Just as you did in the concert hall: you fully embraced the aspect your anomaly represents, thus taking its power to a new level.

“But there’s a cost. When you do that, whether by choice or not, the anomaly’s psychic force becomes the dominant part of your mind.

“If you’re lucky, you just burn out and collapse. If not, you may lose yourself forever, coming to believe the anomaly is your true self—ultimately becoming an anomaly, or rather, a runaway anomaly.”

Only after hearing all this did Qi Chen realize how close he’d come to disaster—just a little further, and the rage and violence of the Overlord could have consumed his mind entirely.

“I didn’t hurt any innocent people, did I?”

The Gentle One smiled at the question. “No. In fact, you did very well.”

He recalled facing Qi Chen in his berserk state—Qi Chen could still distinguish friend from foe and hadn’t hurt a single innocent citizen.

That alone had deeply impressed the Gentle One.

“Since we’ve come this far, let me tell you something else. This way of unleashing anomaly power has led to a split among Anomaly Walkers—two main camps.” Here he paused. “One group believes anomalies are just pure power, not to replace our original selves.

“The other believes what the anomaly represents is their true self—they indulge in using anomaly powers, even seeking to become anomalies themselves.”

There was no need to ask which was mainstream in the Third City; all official Alliance Anomaly Walkers were of the former kind.

But in the vast expanse of the Mist, the latter were the majority.

“There are more distinctions, but that’s for the Institute to sort out.

“Mask, I have only one thing to say to you—something I’ve told you before.” The Gentle One’s expression was earnest as he locked eyes with Qi Chen.

“No matter what happens, never forget you are human. Never forget who you are.”

…