Chapter 26: Funeral Procession

The handler who had arrived on the scene first wore a well-tailored suit and had meticulously styled hair, looking like a white-collar worker from some corporation.

He was a veteran handler with a high number of awakenings who had rushed to the scene immediately upon hearing the alarm.

He had arrived even faster than Li Yela and Xinghuo.

But now, he stood by the roadside with a numb and indifferent expression, straightening his suit as if preparing to attend a funeral.

Then, he looked toward Xinghuo in the car and extended an invitation: "Go, Xinghuo. Come with me to see him off one last time."

"Don't worry, this is his final message stored in his communicator. It roughly says that if anything unexpected happens, you are to see him off. He also hopes that some mysterious materials can be preserved within his Well of Souls to craft a psionic armament for you." The handler spoke flatly, as if he were merely inviting Xinghuo out for a meal.

Xinghuo's face turned ghastly, and his body froze momentarily.

He reached out to open the car door but failed.

After successfully grabbing the handle a second time, Xinghuo gritted his teeth and pushed the door open.

"How could he really... He was perfectly fine when I saw him yesterday. Why would he suddenly lose control like this?" Xinghuo still couldn't believe it.

Just yesterday, he had been on the phone with 'Motor.' On the other end, Motor had been enthusiastic and magnanimous, even encouraging Xinghuo not to be anxious or overly competitive.

How had it all become so distorted now?

"The cause is unknown; that is something we will investigate later," the handler said calmly. "For now, come with me to see him off. Xinghuo, this is the path you must walk. It is the responsibility every official handler must bear!"

All psionic users carry the risk of distortion and loss of control.

There are two specific scenarios where the probability of a psionic user losing control spikes sharply.

The first is during a breakthrough or advancement.

This is especially true for high-awakening psionic users.

Because the more times a psionic user has awakened, the larger their Well of Souls becomes, and the stronger their connection to the Void Realm. Consequently, their projection within the Void Realm also becomes more massive.

Therefore, they are more susceptible to the influence of the Void Realm's power, and may even attract the attention of Void creatures.

Under the infiltration of Void power or the malicious inducement of Void creatures, a psionic user may undergo distortion and lose control, ultimately devolving into a monster they themselves would loathe.

Thus, during a breakthrough, psionic users must be extremely cautious. Those with the means will arrange for teammates to act as guardians to prevent distortion.

This realization struck Li Yela; it was why Cheese had said she was glad she could still brag to him after her breakthrough three days ago.

Having successfully broken through, she had essentially walked through the gates of hell.

The second scenario for losing control...

...is when, for certain reasons, one completely loses mastery over their psionic power.

Psionic power is a double-edged sword. When a user masters it, they are naturally invincible.

But once that power begins to spiral out of control, it becomes a nightmare that drags the user into the abyss.

There are many triggers: it could be emotions or psychological knots that create a void deep within the user's heart, allowing psionic power to seep in and cause a loss of control.

There was once a rogue psionic user who, in a desperate attempt to resurrect his child, performed evil rituals repeatedly. After successive failures, he suffered mental breakdown and eventually underwent distortion.

The reason Headquarters had asked Li Yela to interact frequently with the Doll was the fear that years of loneliness would crush her, causing her to distort and lose control.

But 'Motor' was not so lucky.

In the end, he lost control.

He fell from a handler to a victim, from a law enforcer protecting the people to a monster that had to be eliminated immediately.

But he had made preparations. He had even used his communicator to inform the contact on the other end in advance, recording his last will.

He hoped that the junior he had mentored—Xinghuo—would be the one to clean him up.

This was the final kindness left by his senior, Motor. In his estimation, Xinghuo would grow from this, earn merit points, and if luck was on his side, he might even leave him a psionic armament.

But Xinghuo was on the verge of collapse; the demand to kill his close comrade placed an immense psychological burden upon him.

Facing the handler's invitation, Xinghuo stood rooted to the spot.

Li Yela could understand his feeling. If Yang Chen or Cheese were to suddenly lose control...

Li Yela let out a low sigh.

Motor and Xinghuo had known each other for a long time; they were friends even before Xinghuo became a psionic user. Motor was the one who had guided Xinghuo into the Handler Department.

To now be forced to face each other with blades drawn—that was the greatest tragedy of all.

"But this is one of the responsibilities a handler must carry," the handler said, his tone still flat. "If your teammate loses control, what you must do is end their suffering."

Then, the handler looked at Li Yela: "You are the Night General, right? As a member of the Champions, you will eventually understand the heroic feats your captain performed for his teammates."

Heroic feats... teammates...

At their peak, the former Champion Team 1 struck fear into the hearts of countless enemies of humanity. There were even rumors that they had once suppressed the entire handler departments of other megacities.

But at a certain point, they suddenly faded into obscurity, eventually becoming the current Team 1.

Was the decline of the Champion Team related to distortion and loss of control?

Li Yela's heart skipped a beat, but he did not ask further. Suddenly, he no longer wanted to know the truth.

Xinghuo, however, remained hesitant.

At that moment, a non-human roar erupted from the room upstairs.

"He is moving. We can't wait any longer." The handler looked at Xinghuo with regret. "I must eliminate him."

He was very strong; it wouldn't take much time to deal with a distorted Motor. He had waited this long solely to honor Motor's final wish.

"No, I'll... I'll do it..." Xinghuo replied through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

He picked up a glove—a weapon he had custom-ordered from the branch's equipment department.

It looked like an elegant cloth glove, but through friction and snapping his fingers, it could generate sparks or flames.

Combined with the flame manipulation of the Zero Path, Xinghuo's abilities were unleashed. With a single snap or a rub of his palms, he could release fire directly.

This was much more practical than Li Yela's jet-powered axe and much easier to conceal.

There was no helping it; the Zero Path's abilities were simply that powerful.

Xinghuo put on the glove with bloodshot eyes, but spoke calmly: "Motor is a second-awakening psionic user. Night General, can you cover me?"

He knew Motor's strength; he might not be able to "see him off" on his own.

"Of course!" Li Yela responded, his heart feeling heavy.

He gripped his Great Black Umbrella and ensured the Summoning Silver Bell was tucked in his pocket. With his own psionic armament, the help of the Dual Blade Knight, and Xinghuo, they should be able to fulfill Motor's final wish.

Only then did Li Yela glance at the handler.

"Go. I won't intervene unless it becomes absolutely necessary," the handler replied with a strained smile. "Be careful. Motor is a second-awakening user of the Myriad Path. His first ability is Void Beast Speech, which allows him to control animals and even transcendent creatures. His second ability is the Mimicry Wolf Howl, which is a sonic attack."

Li Yela and Xinghuo nodded. Then, using Air Steps simultaneously, they leaped one after the other onto the third-floor balcony of the residential building.

Upon entering the balcony, Li Yela noticed something wrong with the room. What should have been a master bedroom was now fitted with numerous iron bars, and chains hung from the ceiling. The room had been turned into a prison.

The figure in the police uniform stood with his back to them, facing the corner, hands braced against the wall, emitting non-human roars.

"Old Ma, are you okay? Let's go back and have some BBQ..." Xinghuo called out softly, filled with a desperate hope. He hoped this was a misunderstanding, or that Motor could still be saved.

The figure paused at the sound and slowly turned around.

What revealed itself was a terrifying, distorted face. His jaw and facial features protruded like those of a canine, but there was no fur—only flesh and bone growing rapidly beneath the skin, with blood dripping from sharp fangs. Furthermore, his limbs had twisted, reversed, and elongated, and sharp claws had sprouted from his fingers.

"Hehe..." Motor let out a raspy sound. He turned his body toward Xinghuo, arching his back, his elongated arms pressing against the floor.

Clearly, he had entered an attacking stance.

"You bastard... how could you..." Xinghuo shook his head in utter despair before snapping his fingers violently. Sparks flashed between his fingers.

Then, the blaze rose!

Fierce flames instantly ignited the entire room. Startled by the fire, Motor let out a roar and charged out of the room at extreme speed.

Hearing his friend's wails, Xinghuo's eyes were bloodshot and streaming with tears.

He did not stop; he waved his hands to extinguish the room's flames and gave chase.

As Motor ran up the stairs, Xinghuo snapped his fingers again.

Enveloped in flames, Motor screamed as he tumbled down the stairs.

But the moment he regained his footing, he opened his maw wide and let out a deafening wolf howl.

The howl echoed through the corridor. Xinghuo felt as if his brain had been struck by a hammer; he felt a moment of trance, and his vision blurred momentarily.

It was the Myriad Path's Mimicry Wolf Howl!

By the time Xinghuo's vision cleared, Motor had already lunged at him.

Those sharp claws swung down, striking heavily against Xinghuo's psionic barrier.

As the claws slid down, a ripple appeared in the air before Xinghuo, actually tearing through his barrier with brute force!

The other claw thrust forward instantly before the barrier could recover, as if intending to disembowel Xinghuo in the next second.

Startled, Xinghuo threw himself backward while snapping his fingers once more.

At this distance, the power of his flame eruption was at its peak! It could consume the opponent's psionic barrier to the greatest extent or even ignite their body directly.

However, it was too late!

The distance between them was too close!

This was the weakness of the Zero Path: while the power of its abilities was the strongest among all paths at the same awakening level, its physical toughness was far weaker than other paths.

Once closed in upon, one could only rely on psionic barriers to tank attacks.

Once the barrier was torn, it all came down to one's reflexes.

"Hurry!" Xinghuo screamed internally.

Yet, at the exact moment Motor thrust his second claw, a faster flash of cold light streaked past.

Motor was forced back several steps, allowing Xinghuo to dodge the fatal blow.

The long blade had flown from behind Xinghuo!

The blade pierced directly through Motor's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

Motor lifted his hideous face and saw the sudden attacker.

It was Li Yela, following close behind Xinghuo!

The thrown blade had saved Xinghuo; it was the Overlord's Javelin!

It was also Li Yela's only current long-range attack method.

By utilizing psionic techniques, he could apply enough psionic energy to a weapon over a certain distance to neutralize an opponent's psionic barrier, achieving the element of surprise.

But Motor, pinned to the wall, did not attempt to pull the blade out and flee. Instead, he looked at Li Yela, and a trace of a smile actually appeared on that hideous face.

"Thank you..." He seemed to smile, whispering his thanks.

Li Yela's expression shifted, and he sighed: "Goodbye..."

Li Yela did not continue the attack, nor did he summon the Dual Blade Knight.

Because in the next instant, scorching flames drowned out all sound.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Xinghuo snapped his fingers repeatedly, sending waves of fire toward the immobile Motor, until the burning body of Motor fell from the long blade, motionless.

Only then did Xinghuo stop his attack, looking dazed at Motor's corpse.

He fell to his knees, staring at Motor's remains in deathly silence.

In the silence, Li Yela stepped forward and pulled out the crimson long blade. After patting Xinghuo on the shoulder, he turned and left without a word.

As Li Yela walked back down to the first-floor stairs, he heard the heart-wrenching wails coming from above.

Li Yela's body stiffened, but in the end, he left the residential building with an expressionless face.

Outside the building, over a dozen psionic users had already arrived.

They watched the building in silence, seeing their teammate off. Then, several psionic users, faces filled with grief and rage, rushed into the building.

They did not believe that their veteran teammate, Motor, would suddenly distort; there had to be a reason.

They wanted to find that reason, to find the culprit!

This had nothing to do with Li Yela, but he saw Cheese, who had just arrived.

She was sitting in her new car, her chin resting on her hand against the window, staring blankly toward the residential building.

The firelight reflected off her face, making her look blurred and beautiful, like a dream.

Seeing Li Yela approach, Cheese said softly, "If... one day... I also distort and lose control... please, I'll rely on you to liberate me. I'm afraid of pain, so make it quick."

Li Yela remained silent. Cheese reached out and poked his chest with a light laugh: "Don't be reluctant when the time comes; that would be my greatest release."

"Don't be a jinx," Li Yela replied in a low voice.

The scene just now had been a massive shock to him; it seemed he was learning for the first time the heavy burden of a handler.

To resist calamities, suppress taboos, and watch over the people, only to eventually have to draw a sword against one's own former teammates...

Could he truly fulfill these responsibilities? Was he worthy?

No, what was the point of doubting himself now?

Wasn't this the path he had chosen?

Li Yela exhaled slowly. The change in his mental state triggered a certain phenomenon.

It caused several nearby handlers to turn their gazes toward him.

And Li Yela felt a new change occurring within his Well of Souls.

It was expanding; it was pioneering...

Thus, Li Yela looked at Cheese and said softly.

"I am about to advance."