Chapter 7: Human Trafficker

Although he had gone through the whole "Skinner" incident and unexpectedly become a psionic, Li Yelan felt quite happy the moment he received his salary.

He hitched a ride on Yang Chen’s off-road vehicle and went on a wild shopping spree at the market.

He even managed to gain the upper hand in a war of words with several vendors.

At the same time, to ensure Li Yunyan wouldn't suspect anything, he specifically bought a backpack identical to his old one.

Just like that, Li Yelan carried his bags toward the apartment.

On the way, he pondered over what he had seen and heard today and determined his future path.

After gaining a preliminary understanding of the world's secrets, Li Yelan clearly realized that this world was extremely dangerous.

Even with the High Walls, even with the Disaster Response Department.

Ordinary people would inevitably encounter danger.

Psionics, Forbidden Objects, Sufferers, and Disaster Monsters—these were all threats.

Since he had already become a Disaster Response Officer, he would have to slowly grow stronger and gain enough self-preservation ability.

At the very least, he shouldn't get himself killed by his own bad luck.

While earning bonuses and collecting his salary, he also needed to prepare precautions for the curse that might exist on his sister.

It was said that high-level awakened psionics had high clearance. Perhaps they could suppress the curse on his sister without being discovered by the authorities.

'However, the risk of every awakening is huge. I wonder if there's a safer way.' As Li Yelan's thoughts drifted, he thought of that "Black Shadow."

Although he didn't know its purpose, it had indeed saved him.

The price was unknown, but he estimated that if he were to trade with it again, another chain on its body would break.

Once all the chains broke and the Black Shadow was completely free from its restraints, he didn't know what would happen.

'Those who trade with demons will have their souls taken away.'

Li Yelan thought of this sentence and shook his head silently. Unless it was a last resort, he must never trade with the "Black Shadow."

At this moment, Li Yelan suddenly noticed a gaze. At the entrance of a nearby alley, a woman dressed in black was holding a little girl's hand, staring blankly at him.

Li Yelan found it a bit strange. He followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the plastic bags in his hands.

There was nothing special in them, just some meat, vegetables, and a fish.

Although he was usually stingy, Li Yelan would still buy some good things to keep at home when he got paid.

After all, his sister couldn't go out. Buying groceries was a task left to Li Yelan.

The freshly killed fish still had blood dripping from it, creating a red patch inside the plastic bag.

What was there to look at?

Although he felt strange, Li Yelan didn't pay it much mind.

After the green light turned on, he crossed the street.

The woman's gaze, however, remained fixed on the bag of bloody fish until the little girl whined, "Auntie, let's go. I'm starving! Take me to eat something yummy, okay?"

Only then did the woman retract her gaze. She looked at the girl with a hint of struggle in her eyes, a forced smile on her face as she said, "Yes, I'm hungry too."

Then, she led the girl into the alley.

When Li Yunyan saw Li Yelan returning with bags in his hands, she wasn't pleasantly surprised; instead, her eyes went wide.

Before Li Yelan could explain, Li Yunyan immediately rushed to a photo in the bedroom.

She shouted, "Mom, it's bad! Big brother has been kept by an old lady! He's finally embarked on this path of no return!"

Li Yelan's face stiffened, and he shouted in exasperation, "What old lady? There is no old lady!"

"What? Not an old lady? Could it be an old man?" Li Yunyan's expression changed again.

Li Yelan felt so tired all of a sudden.

After much persuasion, he finally managed to pin Li Yunyan down and told her that he had sold a valuable antique and received a significant commission.

That barely made Li Yunyan believe him, though she still carried a hint of suspicion.

There was no helping it; Li Yelan didn't want his sister to know about the existence of psionics yet, nor did he want her to worry. He could only temporarily hide behind the identity of an antique shop employee.

At the same time, Li Yelan still had no clue about the curse on his sister.

After graduating from high school, Li Yunyan had received an admission letter from a university within the Border City.

One had to know that in the post-disaster era, a college degree was worth a great deal.

Once graduated, one wouldn't have to worry about finding a high-paying job.

Unlike Li Yelan, who only had a high school diploma and couldn't find a decent job.

But just as her life was about to change, Li Yunyan suddenly developed a severe psychological illness.

She suddenly became unable to touch or see any outsiders; she was even terrified of living sparrows.

She completely lost her previous lively and cheerful demeanor.

In the end, she didn't even dare to leave the house. Even seeing a doctor had to be done through the door.

She had stayed at home like this for three years.

Li Yelan had tried many methods, but none were of any use.

Now it seemed that Li Yunyan, like him, was also affected by some kind of curse.

It was very likely that she was what the authorities called a "Liminal"—someone about to become a psionic.

Although she hadn't become a true psionic yet, some individuals were affected by curses.

Or could it be that she had already become a psionic without even knowing it herself?

Watching the girl eating heartily, Li Yelan pondered, "Looking at this silly look, she doesn't seem like a psionic. It seems I still need to find an opportunity to ask the authorities about methods to suppress such curses."

The next morning, just as Li Yelan walked out of the residential complex, he saw Cheese by the roadside.

She was driving a heavy-duty off-road vehicle; the pitch-black body looked like a sleeping giant beast. The height of the vehicle alone was estimated to be over two meters, while Cheese herself was only about 1.6 meters tall. Her petite frame didn't quite match the vehicle.

At this moment, she was waving at Li Yelan. The combination of a beauty and a massive car drew glances from passersby.

"I thought you'd drive a sedan or a sports car," Li Yelan said as he sat in the passenger seat.

"How could I? If we were in a chase and hit rough terrain, the chassis would get knocked off. Response Officers usually drive these." Cheese asked cautiously, "Are you sure the curse hasn't triggered yet?"

"Definitely not. I just passed by someone's balcony, and no potted plants fell down," Li Yelan nodded cautiously as well.

"You've even figured out the rules? You're really unlucky to have encountered this curse," Cheese teased, then stepped on the gas.

Soon, the two arrived near the East City Branch, but they didn't enter immediately.

Instead, they went into an indoor swimming pool on the ground level.

Li Yelan was a bit confused. Wasn't there supposed to be training for psionic barriers?

Why come here? Did he have to learn to swim before training for barriers?

The next second, he saw Cheese take off her hoodie and pants, revealing the white swimsuit that wrapped around her delicate body. The snow-white swimsuit outlined her proud curves and made her skin look even fairer, leaving Li Yelan momentarily stunned.

"Don't fall for me, okay? There are several other newcomers in training, and your progress is the slowest, so I'm giving you some extra coaching." Cheese looked at Li Yelan, handed him a swimsuit, and joked, "Hurry up and strip."

After saying that, she sat on a beach chair nearby and watched Li Yelan, striking a pose like a wealthy woman looking at a male model.

"Stripping here costs extra," Li Yelan muttered, not wanting to be taken advantage of by the female hooligan.

He found a changing room to put on his swimsuit and came out, asking, "Didn't you say we were training for psionic barriers?"

"This is part of the training." Cheese sat leisurely on the beach chair, her fingers interlaced on her fair abdomen, and said calmly, "A psionic barrier is a protection released by a psionic's subconscious. You need to train this subconscious to become an active ability in certain situations. For example, it's about to rain now; if you don't want to get wet, what should you do?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a large amount of water sprayed down from above the entire venue.

Li Yelan was startled, but he discovered that the water didn't land on him.

Instead, it was blocked by an invisible barrier. The droplets gathered into streams on the barrier and flowed down, revealing the circular shape of the shield.

Not a single drop touched Li Yelan.

"This is a psionic barrier. The moment you heard me say it was raining, your subconscious opened the barrier for you because your subconscious was refusing to get wet." Cheese wasn't wet either; she continued to sit on the beach chair and said, "Now, don't refuse the raindrops. Try to think that you want to take a shower."

A shower? Li Yelan was thoughtful and nodded silently.

Soon the barrier disappeared, and water droplets poured down onto Li Yelan.

"Very good. This is the most basic operation of a psionic barrier: refusal and acceptance. Your will will strengthen or weaken the barrier's intensity." Cheese continued to explain, "And at this moment, you are suddenly attacked..."

As she spoke, she suddenly threw a water balloon mixed with paint at Li Yelan.

Li Yelan's heart stirred, and the psionic barrier expanded again, carving out a dry area within the curtain of water and successfully blocking the water balloon's attack. The bright red paint spread across the psionic barrier and was washed away by the water flow.

Cheese nodded slightly, "But in an emergency, an opponent won't give you a chance to react. Bullets are also faster than this."

That was true. If it were a bullet, he would probably be hit before he could even perceive and "refuse" it. Unless his reaction speed was faster than a bullet!

"So... I can't easily deactivate the psionic barrier. Do I have to stay in a state of refusal?" Li Yelan asked.

"No, there will always be moments your subconscious accepts. That's when you'll be in danger; you must have more refined techniques." Cheese said, deactivating her own barrier.

Instantly, the rain soaked her entire body, her wet short hair falling down. But she threw a water balloon above herself and didn't even look at it.

A few seconds later, the water balloon fell, but it didn't hit Cheese, who was soaked by the heavy rain; instead, it burst in mid-air.

Li Yelan understood this scene: while "accepting" the rain, Cheese had "refused" the water balloon's attack.

"This is the more refined technique. Once you master this, your safety coefficient will increase significantly. You won't have to worry about being sniped," Cheese said. "Now, it's time to let your subconscious distinguish between what to refuse and what to accept."

"Refuse while accepting?" Li Yelan pondered and nodded slightly.

Then, he deactivated the psionic barrier, and the rain soaked his body again. He closed his eyes.

He recalled the battlefield when he obtained the Overlord mask.

The Overlord, holding the dead woman in red, walked calmly through the sky full of arrows, reaching out to catch a flying flower and placing it by the woman's ear.

He re-experienced that feeling, the refusal and the acceptance.

Cheese, seeing Li Yelan close his eyes, nodded approvingly.

This was related to the subconscious; using one's eyes would actually be useless.

Back then, it had taken her half a month to master this technique.

'I wonder how long it will take him,' Cheese thought, while her hands quickly threw several water balloons.

The next second, Cheese's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but sit up straight.

Because, in front of Li Yelan, who was still being pelted by the rain, several water balloons burst into thin air. Not a single drop touched Li Yelan!

Once! She had only demonstrated it once!

Li Yelan had mastered this technique? Even the most talented "Doll" had taken ten minutes to master this technique.

Looking at Li Yelan with his eyes closed, Cheese's face was full of astonishment.

"Did I succeed?" Li Yelan asked with his eyes closed.

Cheese immediately retracted her surprised expression and replied calmly, "Very good, you succeeded. Remember this feeling and practice it more."

Li Yelan opened his eyes, looked at Cheese, and asked, "Does this count as fast? Is there any thought of 'this child is terrifying, he must not be left alive'?"

"Laughing to death, I passed it in one go back then, okay?" Cheese snorted in response.

"Oh," Li Yelan scratched his head, "How much progress do I still have compared to the other newcomers?"

'Progress? What progress?' Cheese was complaining internally.

Techniques that other newcomers spent over half a month or even longer to master, you got it in one go. And you're asking about progress?

Suppressing her internal complaints, Cheese remained calm and shamelessly said, "A great teacher produces a great student. I'll take you to surpass them now!"

Thus, when Cheese brought Li Yelan to find the instructor for this batch of newcomers, that instructor's eyes almost popped out.

'How long?' the instructor asked with a wink.

Cheese silently held up one finger.

'One hour? Holy crap! He's almost caught up to Doll!'

Cheese thought for a moment and didn't correct the instructor's mistake.

After all, when Yang Chen heard the report, he also felt she was bragging.

The instructor was surprised internally, but his face remained stern. After nodding slightly to Li Yelan, he said to Cheese, "As it happens, we plan to handle a missing person case. Come along."

"Does a missing person case require so many Response Officers?" Cheese looked at the few newcomers and asked, "And that's the duty of the Guard Hall."

"I can't exactly take newcomers to hunt down Sufferers, can I? Not every newcomer has been blooded." The instructor looked at Li Yelan again and replied, "Besides, one of the newcomers happens to have the 'Spirit Eye' tracking ability. Let them adapt to missions in advance."

As he spoke, he took out a photo. In the photo was a delicate-looking little girl, about six or seven years old.

"She has been missing for a whole day since yesterday. The Guard Hall checked many surveillance cameras but didn't find her. We suspect kidnapping, but we didn't find the girl in the city's entry and exit information. She should still be in the Great City."

Li Yelan looked at the photo, feeling like he had seen it somewhere before.

After thinking carefully, he spoke up, "I think... I've seen this girl."

The instructor asked, "When and where?"

"Yesterday evening, at the entrance of a small alley not far from my residential complex. A woman in her thirties was holding her hand," Li Yelan recalled his memory from yesterday.

"Very good!" The instructor sneered, "The kidnapper won't be able to run!"