Jiang Jialielie was completely immersed in the movie, completely unaware of the interaction between Zhou Ming and Gadelia. After the movie ended, she was still a bit unsatisfied, discussing the plot with Zhou Ming all the way back. Although Zhou Ming hadn’t watched closely, he kept nodding along in agreement.
“Goodbye, Zhou Ming, and Jiang Jialielie.”
After bidding them farewell, Gadelia headed alone to the Sequence Society’s stronghold in another dimension. Gadelia’s original form could tear through space, but she rarely traveled to the stronghold this way. Moreover, her ability would cause severe mental pollution to those around her, so she had to deliberately suppress it to avoid affecting others.
After entering the stronghold through a portal, she no longer suppressed her ability, and the members inside were already accustomed to it. Entering the administrative district, Gadelia made her way to the Supervisor’s small office, pushing the door open without knocking.
The Supervisor was handling documents of the Yucheng Sequence Society. Hearing the door open, he looked up with some displeasure, but upon seeing Gadelia, he immediately put on a flattering smile.
“Lady Gadelia, what orders do you have for me?”
Though somewhat displeased by her sudden visit, he was well aware of his position. The Sequence Society’s “Sijie” had the authority to directly replace local leaders while carrying out missions in various regions, and even handle all affairs personally. That Gadelia had not removed him from his position was already a stroke of luck for him. Moreover, she was a founding member of the Sequence Society—Gadelia Roderigus. A superior who could take responsibility and distribute resources—who wouldn’t like that? For someone like the Supervisor, who came from a humble background and was nearly sixty, it was inevitable that he would be unfamiliar with foreign names and might mispronounce them. Gadelia didn’t mind.
“In the next few months, restrain the members recruited from underground gangs. Shut down the pornography and gambling businesses first. Then, screen a batch of clean personnel for me.”
“My lord, what about the reduced income during these months…” The Supervisor hesitated. Those gray industries accounted for a significant portion of Yucheng Sequence Society’s monthly revenue.
Gadelia gave him a faint glance. “I will increase the research funding for the Yucheng Project later.”
The Supervisor’s eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded. “Understood. Please rest assured, my lady. The Yucheng Project will definitely contribute to the Sequence Society!”
Who would complain about having too much money? Moreover, research funding was far more stable than those gray income sources. As for him skimming a little off the top… as long as he wasn’t caught, it was nothing.
The Sequence Society’s grand ideals didn’t hold much appeal for him. Continue human civilization, eliminate supernatural creatures? Then why not join the Jingquan Union instead of staying in an organization wanted by all countries? But the Sequence Society could give him power, wealth, and protection. That was enough. Since it could satisfy his own interests while serving the organization, what was wrong with that?
Didn’t Gadelia know all this? Of course she did. But she wouldn’t overuse her ability. Once, she had controlled an entire country, providing resources and support to the Sequence Society. Later, when countries joined forces to hunt them down, she had to unleash her ability at full power, making the entire world briefly forget the Sequence Society’s existence to buy time for their retreat.
After that, whenever she encountered difficulties, she couldn’t help but think of that power. If she just controlled them, everything would run according to her will. It was as if someone was whispering in her ear, tempting her to abandon her principles and use her ability wantonly. Even though reason constantly warned her, she still feared that one day she would lose control and completely become a monster.
She had even thought of using her ability on herself to keep her thoughts stable at all times. But if she could control her past self, how could she guarantee that her future self wouldn’t deviate again? Relying on ability to restrain oneself was itself a danger. Therefore, she tried not to abuse her ability. Moreover, she couldn’t let her identity as the Sequence Society’s “Sijie” connect with her everyday self. Her ability could prevent people from remembering her true identity and appearance—this was also why she could operate for a long time without being noticed.
Rubbing her temples, Gadelia forced herself to calm down and began to think about her arrangements for Zhou Ming. “Zhou Ming…” she softly uttered his name, her expression complicated. Soon, she suppressed her emotions and regained her composure. “Sorry… but I can’t let the Sequence Society fall like this.”
On the other side, after parting ways, Zhou Ming and Jiang Jialielie returned to school, ate dinner, and then went to their respective dorms. In the boys’ dorm, as soon as Li Ning saw Zhou Ming, he started gossiping.
“Zhou Ming, you’d better come clean—are you in a relationship? I saw you going out with a girl from another department today.”
“She’s my childhood friend. We haven’t confirmed anything yet.”
“Doesn’t that mean it’s almost there?”
Zhou Ming couldn’t be bothered to respond and turned to go wash up. “He’s shy!” Li Ning jeered from behind.
That night, Zhou Ming entered the dream again. Once again, he stood on a mountaintop, looking down at his hometown village. This time, however, his state of mind was much calmer. He had already been tested at the Jingquan Union during the day and confirmed that he was not affected, so he even had the mind to test whether he could use his abilities in the dream.
“Too bad, I can’t use any abilities at all.”
He had originally wanted to try out his newly acquired ability—“Immobilize.” He didn’t plan to report this ability. It completely defied the existing knowledge system. If exposed, he would probably be treated as a research subject, or even targeted by other organizations. Should he find Gadelia and ask her to help test it?
Just as he was thinking, the dream suddenly changed drastically—the ground quaked, the world turned upside down. Before he could react, a massive tentacle came crashing down at him! Zhou Ming rolled to the side to dodge, instinctively activating his ability. No response. He then remembered that he couldn’t use abilities in the dream.
Not far away, a huge monster was staring at him, brandishing its claws and tentacles. “Can’t you come up with something new?” Zhou Ming simply stopped dodging. After all, it was just a dream.
Smack!
A tentacle struck him hard, wrapped around him, and dragged him in front of the monster. It was a face full of wrinkles, greasy and ugly.
“Human, get ready to die!”