Chapter 226
by Golden DragonChapter 226: Two People
The space was full.
Fog and clouds were defined as two separate things, each occupying their own slot.
Mi Xiaoliu patted her cousin’s head. “Get down.”
Her cousin, deeply displeased by this overfamiliar gesture, patted Mi Xiaoliu’s head right back.
Mi Xiaoliu blinked, confused, then patted her again.
Her cousin, feeling her dignity slighted, had to return the favor.
“I’ve never flown this high before.”
Her cousin gazed at the scenery below, not particularly eager to come down.
Living in a first-tier city with a strict no-fly policy meant that even though she’d been gifted the ability to fly, the law didn’t permit it. It was like city kids envying rural children who could freely set off firecrackers during New Year’s.
Though she lacked orange eyes and wasn’t officially registered, her cousin was an ability user.
Weight control.
Not gravity—just the weight of objects.
The rest was handled by balloons.
Not just one, either. She looked like a street vendor selling them.
Admittedly, it was a bit dangerous. The wind was strong, and they’d already drifted far from their starting point.
And then there was—
“Balloons!”
After landing, a kindergarten-aged girl stood at the entrance of an apartment building hallway, pointing at the cousin’s balloons with pitiful eyes before looking up at her mother.
Mi Xiaoliu pushed her cousin back.
Earlier, her cousin had promised the balloons to her.
The cousin glanced at the adorable girl, then at Mi Xiaoliu—who also wanted the balloons—and chose to ignore the child, handing them to her little sister instead.
—
Okulet barely managed to catch up using the psychic police’s grappling hook mobility gear.
He understood why his daughter wanted to be involved in this mess, but privately, he’d have preferred letting the elders capture the Easter members first, then letting Mi Xiaoliu vent her anger.
Heli had tested it—enhanced physique and spatial abilities didn’t accelerate the progression of the Black Element illness.
After six years away from the force, the superpowered police force’s equipment had become so flashy it baffled him. The gear was leagues beyond what he’d used back in the day.
Then again, this was Metropolis. Their resources outstripped everywhere else.
Still, something felt off. Anti-fog goggles were so plentiful here that they’d even lent him a pair. Meaning this thick fog, aside from making the air damp, did nothing to obstruct the psychic police’s vision.
Could a weather-controlling ability user sense movements within the fog? If so, he wouldn’t have been ambushed by Big Sis and the others earlier.
So did he have anti-fog goggles too?
According to the thief girl’s description, the eyeholes in his mask were just empty gaps, with faint glimpses of his actual eyes inside.
He seemed to have sharp olfactory senses—but that clashed with his wind-and-rain abilities.
If enhanced vision was ruled out, then the fog must obstruct his sight too.
If it only blinds him and not the psychic police, what’s even the point?
“Fog’s spreading seven kilometers southwest,” Auntie reported over comms.
A diversion—or a trap?
“Send a team, but he might not be there,” Uncle directed.
Okulet turned to his daughter. “Can you take the fog back out intact?”
Mi Xiaoliu nodded.
Hearing this exchange, the little girl’s mother hesitated before speaking up. “Excuse me… are you police?”
“More or less.”
Okulet flashed his badge.
Even after resigning, he’d kept it. It comes in handy sometimes.
In other cities, he’d never claim to be police—but in Metropolis?
He’d just been illegally swinging through the air. If he didn’t play the cop card, she’d probably report him on the spot.
“Are you chasing a weather-controlling ability user? He’s actually a good person. There might be some misunderstanding…”
The mother recounted what she’d witnessed—an invisible terrorist attack that punched holes through two skyscrapers, and how the masked man had saved her and her daughter.
Interesting.
“He didn’t explain this to the police?”
“No…”
Okulet stared at Mi Xiaoliu for a long moment, thinking.
Mi Xiaoliu clutched a large bundle of balloons and handed one to the little girl, who jumped for joy.
Okulet made a private call to Big Sis: “Can you create the illusion of the faceless man emerging from the fog at its source? Preferably using the fog itself.”
“Done.”
The ability to control colors could be quite versatile when mastered.
Changing an object’s color, splitting a single hue into multiple shades, even painting intricate patterns directly onto surfaces.
At Auntie’s level, she could even impose color where none existed—forcing pigment onto objects that inherently lacked it.
Can air have color?
Pure air, without any added gases, should be colorless.
Yet she could forcibly dye this transparent medium, crafting complex, photorealistic three-dimensional illusions. Creating a human silhouette was child’s play.
Don’t underestimate simple color manipulation. In the hands of someone like the Red Prince, this ability could turn everything within range pure white. The resulting traffic accidents would be catastrophic, and pedestrians would walk straight into walls.
Moreover, the effect was permanent. It wouldn’t fade outside her range. Theoretically, the altered colors would remain even after her death.
Many law-abiding ability users possessed city-leveling power—they simply chose to restrain themselves.
“Is it done? Any anomalies?”
“The silhouette distorted slightly. Barely noticeable.”
Auntie frowned.
She’d specifically prevented wind in that area to maintain the fog. Her control wasn’t so sloppy that her illusions would warp in still air.
Had someone immediately attacked her phantom, disrupting the air currents?
Okulet patted Mi Xiaoliu’s head. “Put the fog back.”
Mi Xiaoliu looked up at him blankly.
“Do it.”
He ruffled her hair again.
The fog returned to the city.
“What’s your play here?” Auntie asked.
“That earth-twisting pillar wasn’t the masked man’s doing. In fact, it wasn’t cover for his escape—it was an attack targeting him.”
The masked man likely wasn’t with Easter. Like that avenger who’d attacked Mi Xiaoliu before, he was probably another escaped test subject.
The Second Fractal had come—but not for Mi Xiaoliu. He was hunting this avenger.
They’d assumed Easter’s movements revolved around Mi Xiaoliu, and that they wouldn’t act recklessly with Okulet present. But many important test subjects had escaped that day—not just her.
Yet what made this masked man so special that Easter would abandon their usual caution to eliminate him at all costs?
“Mi Xiaoliu confirmed the pillar was the Second Fractal’s work. His ability controls solid matter—so why not control the target directly?”
It sounded similar to Riels’ power, though less refined.
But even Riels wouldn’t collapse buildings for show. If you can snap necks remotely, why cause massive destruction? Just to look cool?
“Are you suggesting the storm clouds and fog were meant to blind him? Is Easter so broke they can’t afford anti-fog gear?”
“Then he must have non-visual perception abilities. Combined with his matter control, he operates safely from extreme range to avoid counterattacks. Mi Xiaoliu says his effective radius exceeds fifty kilometers.”
Many Federation Level 5s shared this frustration—having immense range but ordinary human eyesight.
Okulet looked down at his daughter, hoping for more details about Supreme Heaven’s abilities.
“Sasha,” Mi Xiaoliu prompted.
“Apologies, Master. Your past encounters with Supreme Heaven were few. I estimated his range—he may have other abilities.”
The full picture would only emerge when they found the faceless man.
“Another oddity—if the fog blinds him, how did he track and attack the masked man through it?”
“Someone was watching the masked man from the start.”
Okulet didn’t elaborate further, but Auntie understood.
…
Meanwhile, the faceless man—
He was in a sorry state—body slightly charred, hair standing on end.
The price of forcibly breaking free from control.
He had only just dispersed the fog—how had it spread so quickly?
There was no time to ponder, not even a moment to catch his breath. The earth shook violently, splitting apart as a colossal hand of rock and soil surged dozens of meters into the air and slammed down.
If that hit landed, he wouldn’t be like Sun Wukong (Monkey King)—unharmed after five hundred years.
But he was still alive. The attack had missed.
Far away, Nikita maintained a distance of 6-7 kilometers—the maximum range where even the roar of his motorcycle wouldn’t carry.
His phone rang.
“Nikita, be honest with me—where are you right now?”
“I’m almost at the area where the fog just expanded. Why?”
This call, too, was private.
“I remember your supernatural police uniform being cyan. So why can’t I spot you?”
“I’m in civilian clothes.”
“Bullshit. Speaking of which, you and your cousin have been on bad terms for years, right? Now that Mi Xiaoliu’s back, don’t you have anything to say to them?”
“I’m ashamed.”
“Remember right before you were sent to the Fallen City? Back then, little Ao gave you his favorite pencil. You kept it all the way home—only to throw it away the moment you got back.”
“…”
“You can sense life force. If you really wanted to avoid us, we’d never find you. I’ll ask you once—answer truthfully or lie, it’s up to you. That year… Did you let the Red Prince escape on purpose?”
“…”
Nikita sensed Big Sis approaching.
The surroundings still retained their colors, but now looked like the crude textures of a low-budget game—devoid of depth, texture, or shadow.
The art style had shifted abruptly.
Against this backdrop, Nikita—still in his original appearance—stood out starkly.
“Then are you working with Easter?”
“No.”
“Don’t take me for a fool, little brother.”
The voice no longer came just from the phone.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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