Chapter 222
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 222: "Tower Collapse"
To better harness the abilities of the superpowered individuals, professionals devise various enhancement strategies.
For the teammate with bipolar disorder, her specific enhancement involved a psychological suggestion.
Upon activating her ability, she made a gesture akin to adjusting a knob, which helped stabilize her power.
It appeared as though an invisible machine materialized before her, as she silently rotated her right hand from her concealed position in the shadows.
Soon, she glanced at Ink Drench with a look of disbelief and said, “Captain, I can’t sense any changes in their hormone levels. I’m unable to make any adjustments.”
Ink Drench, puzzled, responded, “Weren’t you able to sense them during the day?”
“It’s not that they lack hormones; it’s more like… they seem entirely unaffected by external influences, almost as if it’s all an illusion.”
Ink Drench pondered this; noticing the four were nearly at the summit, she suggested, “Try another layer, all the way to the top.”
“Alright.”
Bipolar disorder didn’t elaborate further and shifted her focus to the three individuals on the third layer.
As expected, she failed once again.
“Keep moving upward.”
She adjusted her range of ability higher, targeting the three individuals on the second layer.
This time, she finally received feedback. Under the influence of the psychological suggestion, the invisible knob in her hand seemed to offer some resistance.
At that moment, Zhang Tong and the three others stood at the very peak, each facing a different direction, clearly preparing to act.
But suddenly, the two individuals beneath Zhang Tong went limp.
They disconnected from the others, one leaning backward and the other forward, both tumbling from the tower several meters high.
Without the support from below, Zhang Tong tilted and rolled off the side.
The human tower, now missing three members, became unstable, and the remaining individuals didn’t seem to have the reflexes to adjust.
Quickly, the tower composed of ninety villagers collapsed.
The five superpowered individuals in the shadows quietly observed this scene, seeing the humans piled on top of each other, yet not a single one moved.
If it weren’t for Wind Whisper shaking his head to dismiss the notion, Ink Drench and the others might have believed time in the square had frozen.
Everyone maintained their positions in the tower, as if they were anticipating something…
After about five minutes, their joints seemed to suddenly come alive, and they no longer held their rigid poses but instead began to move with some fluidity.
Soon, they broke free from the stillness, slowly extracting themselves from the human pile, and with vacant gazes, began to head toward their rooms, as if everything had returned to the beginning, as if nothing had happened in the last half hour.
Zhang Tong and the others also appeared with vacant expressions, their paths seemingly predetermined as they walked little by little toward their rooms.
The group hid in the shadows behind and beside the buildings, pondering under the moon hanging in the sky.
Five minutes later, Wind Whisper shook his head, signaling that everything was fine, and the group tiptoed away from the village, returning to their camp.
"Collective Sleepwalking?"
Upon returning to the camp, the group found themselves unable to sleep and began discussing the recent issue. Mercury quickly helped them eliminate one incorrect option.
"Impossible."
The others chimed in unison, and bipolar disorder added,
"If sleepwalking involved doing some daily activities, I could somewhat accept that. Even writing or painting wouldn’t be too strange, but stacking people…”
"Well, I actually knew that! I just saw everyone looking a bit unhappy and wanted to help."
"Your silence is the greatest help."
Ink Drench lightly commented,
"Mercury, you are different from others; don’t waste time on logical reasoning."
"Understood, Captain."
The man said no more and took on the role of a listener, waiting to hear the others’ theories.
"What are your thoughts?"
Ink Drench asked,
"Feel free to share any discoveries."
"These people have issues, especially the outsiders."
Bipolar disorder seemed unable to hold back and expressed thoughts that had been brewing since the discussion began.
"Even if they have regressed, they shouldn’t lose their hormone regulation mechanisms. Humans need these to manage themselves.
"Either they are special humans so stable that nothing affects them, or… they aren’t humans at all."
"Currently, the second possibility seems more likely."
The Beast Pack thought for a moment and said,
"My extraordinary beasts have reported that these villagers smell different from regular humans; they lack the sense we emit."
"Could it be due to long-term vegetarianism?"
Mercury asked without much reason.
"Be quiet and listen carefully."
"Okay, Captain."
"So what were they doing just now?"
Ink Drench pondered and said,
"Recently, the theory of the biological field has made some breakthroughs. This theory states that all living things on this planet create a field around them that humans cannot perceive.
"The biological fields of the same species will overlap, while the fields of different species will influence each other, competing in unseen corners. A strong biological field can erode a weaker one to some extent, affecting aspects such as self-awareness and emotional state.
"So, if this theory is true, then their recent actions might be related to overlapping biological fields."
"What’s the use of that?"
"I don’t know. Perhaps it’s to connect with other settlements or to avoid certain blockades; in any case, it doesn’t seem like a good thing."
"Did they succeed in the end?"
Ink Drench thought about the humans who had shown almost no reaction after the human tower collapsed and shook her head:
"We can’t be sure yet, but we must remain vigilant."
"What should we do now?"
Wind Whisper asked.
Ink Drench, usually decisive, rarely fell into contemplation. She thought for a long time, so long that Mercury started yawning.
"Everyone should rest first. Wind Whisper and Mercury will keep watch. Tomorrow, we’ll visit Zhang Tong again, and I will prepare questions and corresponding solutions."
The next morning, the group finished breakfast at the camp and planned to visit Zhang Tong again.
As the leader of this settlement, he would always be found in the same few places, even given his busy schedule.
The villagers seemed to have given up on gathering in this direction, likely due to their basic wariness of the intruders…
Soon, the group encountered Zhang Tong again. He still wore the same glasses, patched multiple times, with no changes from yesterday, only that the area around his cheekbone seemed slightly red and swollen.
Clearly, he had fallen last night.
