Chapter 11
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Chapter 11: Power Pairing
As El fell into a deep sleep, two golden prompts appeared before Lin Qingliu:
【【Bestow a Blessing】 has taken effect
Believer El has awakened
Current Level: One
Current Path (Unique): 【Space】
Current Ability: 【Approximate Exchange】】
【Triggered feedback effect of 【Bestow a Blessing】; you have gained a new ability
Path: 【Space】
Ability: 【Approximate Exchange】, 【Dimensional Shift】】
【Approximate Exchange: Swap the positions of two items with over 50% similarity within a five-meter radius (similarity follows objective rules and most human perceptions).】
【Dimensional Shift: Temporarily enter a higher dimension; can touch and cover nearby objects, selecting some objects partially.】
“Thank you, my second little pawn.”
Lin Qingliu looked at El, lying on the hospital bed, and felt that this little guy seemed even more likable than Wang Xiao, especially since he had awakened so effortlessly, without even dirtying his sheets.
He already had two quality pawns; he hoped for more.
As he pondered this, Lin Qingliu suddenly felt something strange in his body—a cool sensation seemed to emanate from his wrist.
He focused and realized that the metal bed frame was piercing through his wrist, yet he felt almost nothing.
“Eh?”
He quickly withdrew his hand, as if he had understood something, and began to experiment with the ability 【Dimensional Shift】.
“If I concentrate this feeling in my feet…”
Lin Qingliu focused on that strange sensation, and then…
“Swish~”
“Eh?”
“Bang!”
His body passed through two floors, moving from the second floor to the basement, and landed hard on the concrete floor, painfully hitting his rear. If it weren’t for the ability from the 【Flesh and Blood】 path, Lin Qingliu felt he would need extra time to recover.
“Overall, it’s still useful…”
Supporting himself on the staircase, Lin Qingliu returned to the second floor, surprised to find that many items in the room were trembling nonstop.
The knife and fork used for eating beef flickered, shook, and swapped positions; dozens of plates and bowls, along with several pairs of chopsticks, were moving chaotically; two suspended men shifted positions—one moment the second brother was on the left, the next the third brother was in front; several pieces of clothing of the same size in the wardrobe were randomly rearranging… everything seemed to be in an unstable state.
“You don’t dirty my sheets, but you ransack my room?!”
Lin Qingliu didn’t use more powerful abilities to interfere; instead, he intended to see how a First Level superpowered individual could manifest their abilities unconsciously.
Generally, during the initial awakening, there would be some overflow of ability, and everything would settle once the believer awakened.
After observing for a while, Lin Qingliu had not intervened when El suddenly awakened from his dream.
With the awakening of the silver-haired boy, everything returned to its original stable state, leaving behind the previous spatial disorder, though it appeared slightly messy.
"Even though I asked you this not long ago, I still want to say: ‘You’re awake~’"
"Yes, I seem to have had a very long dream…"
El, half-sitting up, clutched his head and said:
"I can’t remember much about it, but I think…"
"I understand, that was divine enlightenment."
El paused at the words, reached for the knife on the bedside table, and stared at the fork still on the plate. After taking a deep breath, the two items instantly switched places.
Just that one action left El a bit breathless, and Lin Qingliu felt that his performance was far inferior to his earlier unconscious state. He curiously asked:
"Can you do it without holding them?"
El tried a few times and shook his head:
"No."
Lin Qingliu snickered in his heart but spoke gently:
"The divine has bestowed upon you the ability; you can do what you wish.
"Don’t neglect your practice; don’t forget our agreement.
"The Paster has given you a gift, which you will understand once you leave here."
El nodded earnestly:
"Please don’t worry, I will keep my promise."
Lin Qingliu stood up and approached him, pressing a hand to El’s forehead:
"I understand. Now we come to the final step of the ritual; follow me and recite sincerely…"
—
"Come, come, come, take your healing gift and feel free to come again next time~"
To avoid drawing attention, Lin Qingliu only sent the rested El out of the clinic around noon. He handed a tote bag marked “Mental Health Clinic Discharge Commemoration” to him, inside were a dagger and a pistol from two members of the Brotherhood, as well as a piece of beef he had hesitated a long time to cut.
"Eat more to grow strong, and don’t forget our agreement."
"Okay, Father… no, Dr. Lin, I will."
A youthful smile appeared on El’s face as he took the tote bag and disappeared around the street corner.
Lin Qingliu glanced around, silently locked the clinic’s door, and returned to the second floor. He grasped the shoulders of each of his brothers, and the three of their bodies silently passed through the floor all the way down, entering the first floor, reaching the basement, and then into the soil beneath the concrete foundation…
In the underground cavern, there were two private rooms.
Five minutes later, Lin Qingliu stood at the same spot on the second floor, clapped his hands, and marveled:
“If you can find this, you deserve credit~”
Just now, he had conducted a simple attempt with the 【Space】 pathway ability. El’s unlocked ability, 【Approximate Exchange】, could instantly swap the positions of similar objects within a five-meter radius; the higher the similarity, the greater the success rate, and both objects’ exact positions had to be determined for the ability to trigger successfully.
Now, Lin Qingliu had also mastered 【Dimensional Shift】, which added a new dimension, similar to the traditional notion of "wall-passing" ability.
However, 【Dimensional Shift】 not only allowed for passing through walls but could also reach underground, traversing through thick layers of soil and rock, even carrying many items along.
But it required some air to be pre-mixed with oneself in space, or else he would face the tragically suffocating death from lack of oxygen.
If such a situation occurred, even if he didn’t die, he would endure unimaginable pain.
Lin Qingliu was very satisfied with the two unlocked ability pathways and planned to develop more smooth combinations.
He even began contemplating the consequences of using 【Dimensional Shift】 to insert his arm into an enemy’s body and then release the ability.
Even though this would cause mutual damage, Lin Qingliu could quickly heal, gaining the upper hand.
From this perspective, the abilities from the 【Flesh and Blood】 pathway perfectly complemented any potential damage from the 【Space】 pathway, demonstrating a clear “one plus one is greater than two” effect.
Throughout the day, Lin Qingliu researched the sparks created by the collision of different ability pathways, and as he grew more skilled with his abilities, the complete tableware at home became fewer and fewer… thus, the small mental health clinic welcomed a quiet day with no one asking for attention.
Meanwhile, four blocks away, a group of city safety officers and their captain were scratching their heads over a fresh murder case…
—
“Captain, this is the investigation report from the crime scene today.”
“Let me see.”
A mature and knowledgeable female voice rang out as Captain Zhuang Mian of the Eastern District Security Bureau took the report from her deputy Zhao Qi and began to read.
Moments later, after finishing the report, the captain’s expression turned one of shock. She flipped back through several key points and looked at her deputy who had left the scene, asking:
“So, your investigation results show that five individuals in the outer city died mysteriously, yet there are no traces or evidence at the scene and nothing was stolen?”
