Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 6 Disaster Resolver

Mimicry Eye Path?
Even those who are not psionicists of the Omnidirectional Path know how absurd this statement is.

Regular psionicists mimic or manipulate other creatures, while the ability of skinners to mimic the appearance of victims (humans) is quite rare.

Now, Li Yelai has disguised himself as a psionicist with a certain Spirit Eye Path and successfully unleashed the abilities of that path.

The ability to have two paths simultaneously? That's simply illogical!

It shattered the theoretical paths that many psionicists had explored over decades!

Meanwhile, in the headquarters conference room, the senior executives were stunned to see what was happening in the training room.

"Slice a metal cube in half with a single strike? What kind of ability is that? Even True Martial Arts practitioners at the same stage don't possess such power!"

"It's highly likely that he exploited a weak point in the Spirit Eye's path! His suddenly appearing double pupils precisely saw through the metal cube's vulnerable nodes! The so-called 'eyes' or 'acupoints'! With just a precise application of force, the target's structure can be dismantled!"

"Is that a mask on his face?"

"Database analysis might be a portrait of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu. But there are differences."

"Legend has it that Xiang Yu was born with double pupils, but was he actually a user of the Spirit Eye Path ability? How did Liu Bang win then? Was Han Xin also a psychic?"

"Let's not worry about how Emperor Gaozu of Han won. In any case, this Li Ye has definitely acquired the ability to mimic other psychics."

“He is definitely not a pawn of the Church of the Embers. Such a dark organization would not dare to release a psychic with such special abilities.”

"Do you think he only has one face?"

The last sentence silenced everyone.

Meanwhile, a metal cube with a huge crack cut into it suddenly crashed down on Li Yelai.

Fortunately, Li Yelai was prepared. After slashing out, he decisively retreated and dodged the falling metal block.

Perhaps his body had already adapted to this power, because this time, he did not feel any discomfort.

However, the bad luck or misfortune that followed made him feel somewhat troubled.

It seems I'll have to be more careful about my surroundings when using this ability in the future.

No, try to avoid using this ability.

I wonder if I'll still be afraid of dump trucks after becoming a psionicist?

We still need to intensify our training. Strengthening our psionic barrier and gaining the ability to protect ourselves in times of adversity is the top priority.

Li Yelai thought to himself, then turned to Yang Chen and said, "Brother Yang Chen, this is my ability."

Those double pupils looked around, causing everyone to be stunned and fall silent.

Li Yelai paused for a moment and asked, "What?"

A sense of panic crept into his heart. Could it be that this ability was too bizarre in the eyes of psionicists? What if they did something to him?

"It's nothing, it's just that your eyes are a little ugly." Cheese came closer and handed over a folding mirror.

Only then did Li Yelai see his reflection in the mirror after using his ability.

Looking at his own double pupils, Li Yelai couldn't help but click his tongue: "It is a bit scary."

"No problem, we don't mind," Cheese replied with a smile.

At this moment, Yang Chen, who had finished communicating with his superiors, took the lead in clapping, and the applause gradually spread throughout the venue.

The official psionicists looked at Li Yelai with increasing fervor, while the branch's civilian staff who were watching him also discussed among themselves.

This made Li Yelai feel somewhat flattered.

He has never received so much attention before.

At this moment, the robust young man at the edge of the training ground took a document from the civilian staff member and walked straight towards Li Yelai without saying a word.

Another handsome young man carrying a sword and shield grabbed his shoulder and asked in a deep voice, "Furnace, what the hell do you want?"

"What are you doing?" Furnace didn't even turn his head, shaking off the young man's hand and saying, "He and I are both on the Myriad Paths, so obviously we are destined to be together! What business is it of yours, Moonshadow, a mere Zero Path cultivator, to meddle in other people's affairs?"

"What a shameless person!" Moonshadow decisively stepped forward and choked Furnace, sneering, "You're addicted to snatching people, aren't you?"

"Exactly!" the bird-beaked doctor in the distance chimed in with a clear, feminine voice. "Our support team needs this kind of talent too!"

"You are the least qualified to say that!" Moonshadow and Furnace roared simultaneously.

As soon as they finished speaking, chaos erupted on the training ground.

Several psionicists quickly entered the arena, each carrying documents and pens, attempting to approach Li Yelai, but were blocked and restrained by even more psionicists.

Tripping, chokeholds, grappling techniques. The three groups were entangled in a chaotic melee on the edge of the area.

They are all psionicists from different teams, and they are friendly and helpful to each other. They are all good comrades and good comrades-in-arms.

But at this moment, the captains 'Crucible', 'Moonshadow', and 'Plague Doctor' clearly wanted to recruit Li Yelai as a companion, so their friendship was temporarily put aside.

They began to entangle and fight, each trying to win over Li Yelai, a psychic with great potential.

Fortunately, they were all rational and did not use any of their abilities. But the fight between psionicists was still quite shocking.

Li Yelai was stunned by what he saw.

Yang Chen responded with a chuckle.

As the guide, Li Yelai was naturally his teammate.

As the team leader himself, he didn't care about the three parties' attempts to poach his partner.

Because he had already seen Li Yelai sign the document that Cheese handed over.

"Hmph, young upstart!"

Yang Chen chuckled at everyone and left the training ground with a bewildered Li Yelai and Cheese.

Three teams of psionicists were left staring at each other in bewilderment, along with civilian staff who were simply watching the show.

The psychic dressed in the frog mascot costume looked in the direction Li Yelai had left and raised the advertising board in his hand.

The words immediately appeared on the billboard: [Old ginger is spicier (￣▽￣)~*]
On the other side, Li Yelai, having removed his mask, followed behind Yang Chen, listening to Yang Chen introduce the branch's situation.

“Don’t worry about them. Those people were just the branch captains. There are six captains in the East City branch. You’ve seen four of them, including me,” Yang Chen said. “As for the one in the mascot costume, his code name is ‘Mascot.’ Due to his extremely special curse, he doesn’t usually leave the branch. We can talk to him later when we have time.”

Li Yelai nodded slightly and noted down the code names of the captains.

“Besides the official psionicists, there are even more civilian staff here. Although they are not psionicists, they are also on the front lines of the fight against the calamity.” Yang Chen pointed to the office area not far away.

Each workstation has several computer screens.

An office worker was wearing headphones at their workstation, communicating with someone on the other end.

"Their job is to provide off-site support for the psionicists on site. Intelligence, strategies, fire support, or mission information will all be deployed through communication headsets," Yang Chen said. "Later, you will also have your own dedicated support person so that you can receive off-site support when facing emergencies."

For example, you can request the police station or city defense forces to seal off the scene, or even, if necessary, request strong support from the border guards.

Of course, by then, the dispatchers from each team will probably have arrived on site. It's going to be a tough battle!

“Then, here comes the point.”

Yang Chen arrived at a dark elevator, but instead of approaching it, he said to Li Ye, "This is the most heavily guarded and also the most dangerous location in the branch. A team of personnel must be stationed here at all times, and no one is allowed to approach without permission."

"A black prison that stores all sorts of forbidden items!"

"Forbidden items? What are those?" Li Yelai asked, looking at the elevator.

"You can think of it as the physical manifestation of the power or living entity of the virtual realm. Its abilities and effects vary, and its level of danger also varies." Yang Chen did not approach the elevator, as Li Yelai did not yet have the authority to enter the Black Prison.

So Yang Chen explained it outside the elevator.

"We divide them into four levels: A, B, C, and D."

"Class D and Class C prohibited items have limited impact and harm. However, if they fall into society, tragedies will inevitably occur."

"Let me give you an example. A scavenger once found a compass in the wilderness. It could point to the location of anything its owner desired, except for intelligent life, at will. But the price was a sacrifice of flesh and blood. The more precious the desired item, the more sacrifices would be required."

In the end, in pursuit of greater wealth, the scavenger ruthlessly murdered his companion. And that compass was a forbidden item of the lowest rank.

"Category C is even more dangerous. The case involves a wanted poster. Simply place a photo or portrait of the target on the wanted poster. Within three days, a powerful humanoid monster will appear beside the target to hunt them down. Even if the monster is defeated, it will revive after three days and attempt to assassinate again."

The target remains inactive until it is confirmed to be dead, or the user cancels the target.

The reward is tied to the target's strength. If the reward cannot be paid, the monster will kill the user and all living beings around them until it deems the reward sufficient.

"As for Class B forbidden items, there is a Black Dragon Armor that will tempt anyone who sees it to wear it."

After donning the armor, the user will instantly gain strength comparable to a psionicist who has undergone five awakenings.

But once donned, it cannot be removed. Furthermore, the wearer becomes corrupted by the armor, growing dragon claws and scales, transforming into a runaway monster. The dragon slayer becomes the dragon. Only death can remove that armor.

“This is similar to us psionicists; all power comes at a price,” Li Yelai concluded after listening to three cases. “When we gain power, we also gain the risk of curses and distortions. Forbidden objects, on the other hand, require the user to pay the price.”

“That’s right. The higher the level of the forbidden object, the more dangerous it is. Some Class A forbidden objects even possess self-awareness and are capable of destroying an entire megacity. Therefore, our responsibility is to safely guard or suppress them.” Yang Chen thought for a moment and said, “Of course, we will also apply to use forbidden objects when necessary. But the risks are very high. This is still far from your reach. For now, just have a basic understanding.”

Li Yelai nodded again.

Yang Chen led Li Ye away from the elevator, and after walking for a while, pointed to a noisy room and said, "This is our equipment area. All the equipment for our branch's processors is made here. In addition to technological creations, we can also have suitable psionic weapons made here."

"Psionic weapons? Weapons and equipment specifically for psionicists?" Li Yelai asked tentatively.

“Yes, because psionic weapons need to be powered by psionic energy.” Yang Chen nodded: “After a psionicist or a calamity monster dies, if their Soul Well is not completely destroyed, craftsmen can extract mystical substances from it. This allows them to create equipment that contains one of the psionicist's or monster's abilities.”

"The Well of Souls became the raw material? That means a psychic possessing several pieces of psychic weaponry is equivalent to possessing multiple abilities?" Li Yelai said, "The more weapons, the stronger, right? But what is the price?"

Li Yelai has now come to understand one thing: every power comes at a price.

This applies to psionicists, to forbidden objects, and to psionic weaponry.

"The price is a multiplied risk of distortion." Seeing that Li Ye had reacted, Yang Chen smiled and said, "Even I wouldn't dare use more than two psionic weapons at the same time. Every processor must use psionic weapons with caution. You are no exception."

"I can also have psionic weapons?" Li Yelai was taken aback.

"Of course, you killed the Skinner and gained 10 merit points, which you can use to apply for the corresponding level of psionic weaponry. However, you can only be sure that you can safely use the psionic weaponry after you have completed the training and obtained your own codename."

Yang Chen thought for a moment and said with some regret, "It's a pity. We weren't lucky this time; the Skinner's Well of Souls shattered. Otherwise, the craftsmen might have been able to forge you a psionic weapon that could alter your appearance, allowing you to better conceal yourself."

'After all, your abilities are quite special and require more protection and concealment,' Yang Chen thought to himself.

Upon hearing this, Li Yelai felt somewhat guilty.

The Skinner naturally wouldn't have any remnants of the Well of Souls. He had already become a sacrifice to the 'Shadow,' devoured alive.

After introducing the situation within the branch.

An administrative staff member approached Yang Chen.

"It seems your documents have been processed. This will be your proof of identity." Yang Chen smiled and handed the documents and a metal wristband to Li Yelai. "In the future, you can show this document to get help from the Guard Bureau and the City Defense Army."

Li Yelai examined the ID for a while. It had his photo and a complex code. However, his name was missing, and the code field was still blank.

He carefully put the 'Disaster Relief Certificate' into his pocket and began to examine the metal wristband.

"This is a communicator, and it works much like a smartphone. It can check information about psionicists, as well as your personal information and assets," Yang Chen said with a smile. "Speaking of which, the Skinner's bonus and merit points have already been deposited into your account. Merit points can only be used within the branch, but as for cash, you can withdraw it to buy yourself some things."

Looking at the 25,000 Giant City Coins in his account, Li Yelai became somewhat emotional.

This is a huge sum of money!

To put it in perspective, buying a house near the city center in the city requires more than 800,000 Giant City Coins.

And now I've suddenly earned one-fortieth of the points. If I work hard, my sister and I will be able to live in a nice house in just a few years.

"So what do I need to do on a regular basis? Patrol the streets?" Li Yelai instantly became enthusiastic about his work.

“No, you can continue working at the antique shop or whatever you want. We’ll contact you to head to the target location when a mission comes up,” Yang Chen said with a smile. “However, you’ll still need training. Cheese will come to pick you up and bring you here for training during this time.”

"They even offer pick-up and drop-off service? That's great!" Li Yelai nodded repeatedly.

Cheese looked at Li Yelai with a serious expression: "You'd better watch out for your curse, it's my brand new car!"

(End of this chapter)