Now it seems that's not the case at all. The headquarters of the superpowers is not in the suburbs or underground; on the contrary, it is very close to a bustling area, more like a resort or a large research institute. Apart from the three-meter-high railings on all four sides that make it look somewhat mysterious, it is almost exactly like a resort.
The hotel, gym, swimming pool, entertainment venues, and various large buildings, along with a tree-lined garden, didn't look like a mysterious superhuman base at all; in fact, it was more luxurious than even the most well-equipped residential communities. The only surprising thing was that the headquarters' main gate was tightly shut. There were no security guards or watchmen on duty. The bolt was bolted shut and secured with a heavy padlock. Judging from the rust on the lock, the gate hadn't been opened for quite some time, meaning no one had come out.
To the right of the gate stood a simple wooden sign with the words "Confidential Unit, Pedestrians Prohibited" written in neat Song typeface. Opposite the gate was a third-class street; while pedestrians and vehicles were few and far between, they passed by every now and then, but no one seemed curious about this mysterious resort-like establishment. Most hurried past without even glancing at it. Ling Yun thought to himself, "Most people probably just assumed that something was wrong with the resort and it was closed for renovations."
Suddenly, Ling Yun felt a chill. He had just tried to use the panoramic view to probe the scene behind the headquarters, but the panoramic view failed for the first time. As soon as his perception entered the area twenty meters behind the door, a gentle but irresistible force immediately blocked his perception. At the same time, this force immediately transmitted along his mental field, as if it wanted to probe him.
Ling Yun immediately withdrew his senses, pulling back all his probes. Just as the force was about to arrive, he suddenly severed all the mental energy field circuits. The force instantly lost its search trail, and somewhat puzzled, it probed around a dozen meters in front of Ling Yun. Seeing no effect, it slowly retreated.
Ling Yun's pupils contracted slightly. Although it was only a fleeting touch, he clearly sensed that the power wasn't emitted by a human, but rather by the automatic tracking response of some kind of barrier. Even if it couldn't track Ling Yun, it could still create a valid record internally and transmit it to the person controlling the barrier. In a sense, this barrier was somewhat like a simplified form of artificial intelligence.
If Ling Yun wasn't mistaken, this force was indeed the defensive barrier of the Superpower Headquarters. He had merely triggered its defensive instincts. For a superpower organization, especially a powerful one like China's, the function of a defensive barrier was far more than simply preventing detection by outsiders. It should also possess other functions such as scanning and tracking, shielding, and even creating illusions. Some powerful defensive barriers could even be combined with Qimen Dunjia (a form of divination) to form a grand defensive array, trapping hostile superpowers who came to ambush or investigate.
Often, the more undefended a place appears, the more traps and security measures it contains, making it difficult to defend against. You never know what kind of attack might be waiting for you at any time. In contrast, heavily guarded bases with alarms and infrared capabilities are easier for superhumans to break into. This is because most of the security measures are superficial, which naturally increases the intruder's vigilance.
It is obviously almost impossible to secretly infiltrate the base of a superhuman.
The headquarters of superpowers is indeed hiding its true strength. The external defensive barrier alone has such power. I wonder which expert set it up. If I have the chance, I should study it in detail. Ling Yun thought to himself.
Xia Zhen smiled and glanced at him: "What, doesn't it seem like it? Isn't the Superpower Headquarters quite different from what you imagined? When Xia Lan first brought me here, I was also shocked, but I gradually got used to it. By the way, you absolutely mustn't use any supernatural abilities to probe the situation inside the Superpower Headquarters. It's said that this place has a defensive barrier set up by the first generation of superpower master instructors in conjunction with other instructors. It seems harmless, but as soon as you use your superpowers and the barrier can't recognize your identity, it will immediately track you down and trap you. I'll have to trouble Xia Lan to find an instructor to rescue you, so you'd better behave."
She spoke to Ling Yun affectionately, as if she were truly instructing her younger brother. Ling Yun was somewhat amused and exasperated, thinking to himself, "If you knew I had already used the panoramic view to detect it, and thankfully I cut off the detection circuit in time to avoid any impact, I wonder what you would think."
"The headquarters for superpowered individuals is not open to the outside world. The door is always locked, and there are no ordinary staff or service personnel inside. All facilities and places are maintained and cleaned by the personnel of the headquarters, including daily cleaning, operation and maintenance of the power, water, and technology systems, as well as information transmission to other places, and everything from food and clothing to accommodation and transportation. They are all self-reliant. In the words of the chief instructor, daily life is also part of cultivation, and the more ordinary the life, the more it reveals a person's character and will. Superpowered individuals are not some high-end existence; they are just ordinary people who have mastered great power. But precisely because of this, they are required to abide by worldly rules," Xia Zhen said, blinking.
Ling Yun listened with great feeling and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, cultivating in daily life, rather than just focusing on the improvement of strength, can not only improve the character of the superhumans, but also educate them at any time. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone. The chief instructor seems to be a wise man. His understanding is already so profound. I wonder if there is any hope of meeting him and listening to his teachings."
Xia Zhen shook her head and said, "That's impossible. Let alone the head instructor, we can't even see the other deputy head instructors. These are the most high-ranking and mysterious figures in headquarters. They can communicate directly with the country's top leaders and don't need to report to anyone. Even trainee ability users like us and senior ability users like Sister Xia Lan rarely see each other once a year. The ability headquarters isn't like the hierarchical national organization you imagine, where everything is strictly ordered from top to bottom. The management here is actually quite relaxed. Apart from a few rules that must be followed at work, ability users have a lot of freedom. Moreover, apart from trainees, many of the headquarters' official ability users aren't here; they've all been sent out on missions. You'll find out once you've been here longer."
"Hmm." Ling Yun nodded in response. It sounded like the Superpower Headquarters had its own management system, which might not be so different from the strict discipline of a national secret security department that he had imagined. Perhaps this kind of management was more suitable for the way superpowered individuals existed. After all, superpowered individuals are not the military. Each superpowered individual is a unique individual and an important force for protecting national security, so they need to be managed in a targeted manner.
"Then how do we get in? If we just rush in like this, we might trigger the defensive barrier, right?" Ling Yun asked.
Xia Zhen's eyes flashed with blue light as she said, "With the Clear Spirit Eye, you can see another hidden door on the railing on one side of the main gate. We can go in from there. This is the only passage for people with superpowers to enter and exit. Of course, we need to undergo identity verification before entering, but it doesn't matter. I already told Xia Lan before we came, and the passage will let us in automatically."
A blue light flashed in Ling Yun's eyes as he looked in the direction Xia Zhen pointed. Sure enough, under his clear vision, a passage made of silver-white light appeared on the railing to the right of the gate. The passage was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass through at a time. It seemed to be the hidden gate that Xia Zhen had mentioned.
Under the psychic gaze, the headquarters presented a completely different scene. A gigantic, semi-circular, transparent light shield rose from the railings on all four sides, enveloping the entire headquarters like an inverted greenhouse. This light shield must be the defensive barrier Xia Zhen had mentioned. Like a curved mirror, it reflected an illusory scene, which was the resort Ling Yun had seen. Ling Yun's heart stirred slightly; it seemed the true appearance of the headquarters was not what he had seen before using the psychic gaze—it was merely a smokescreen to deceive ordinary people.
A flash of silver light appeared in his eyes again. This time, Ling Yun added the Eye of Illusion to himself. The Eye of Illusion has the effect of seeing through all concealment. Its level of special ability is many times higher than the Eye of Psychic Communication. Naturally, it can see the true face of the headquarters of special abilities.
As expected, under the gaze of the Eye of Illusion, the protective barrier's light shield underwent another change. The outermost, largest layer of light shield only served as an illusion and a means of emission, while also providing physical defense. Inside the shield, there were two smaller, invisible light shields, the function of which Ling Yun could not discern. Moreover, inside the invisible light shields, there was a glowing, spindle-shaped core, constantly scattering intense light like the sun. Even with Ling Yun's keen eyesight, the intense light was somewhat dazzling.
Chapter 154 Trainee Ability Users
"Let's go in, Lingyun. You can observe it more closely once we're inside." Just as Lingyun was about to further explore the internal structure of the barrier, Xia Zhen's voice suddenly came from beside him.
With a slender twist of her waist, Xia Zhen stepped into the silver portal first. Ling Yun quickly abandoned his interest in continuing to observe the defensive barrier and followed closely behind. Of course, after entering the passage, he didn't forget to use his Eye of Illusion to scan the magical passage. His copying ability was intensely analyzing the barrier's data. A massive amount of unprecedented data combinations flooded into his mind. Every second, strange barrier structures that shocked and excited Ling Yun entered the permanent storage area of his brain.
Each structural point of the barrier is the essence summarized by the senior experts of the Superpower Headquarters. It is not only profound but also highly characteristic and complex. Then, through this characteristic and complexity, the unique function of the barrier is manifested. Strictly speaking, this huge barrier can no longer be called a simple barrier. It has the meaning of traditional Chinese formations. It has the basic function of a barrier, but it has added many functions of Qimen Dunjia.
All of this was like a fish in water for Ling Yun. Without the Copying Ability and the Eye of Illusion, even if he saw the wonders of the barrier, he would be helpless without knowing the layout of its internal structure. But the power of the Copying Ability lies in this: it can analyze the fundamental data behind all supernatural arts and powers, and transmit it to Ling Yun through recombination. Even when encountering special individuals or beings that can conceal themselves, combined with the Eye of Illusion, no unknown holds any mystery for Ling Yun.
Of course, only Ling Yun in the entire world could accomplish this. In fact, even Yu Xiujie couldn't understand why the fifth-stage simulation would automatically bestow these two almost impossible extraordinary abilities upon Ling Yun. Although the barrier was created by Yu Xiujie, after it started operating automatically, it had effectively broken free from Yu Xiujie's control and become a self-sustaining system. In fact, the barrier could no longer be called a barrier; if it had to be given a new name, the only one Ling Yun could think of was: the world.
As the two entered the passage, the Eye of Illusion could see countless silvery-white threads of light wrapping around them. These threads were different from the silver threads of the mental energy field; they appeared to be just infinitely thin straight lines. Although they touched the two, the mental energy field could not detect them. The copied data indicated that these threads possessed probing properties, but their intensity was just below the minimum threshold of a superhuman's perception. This explained why they could be seen with the Eye of Illusion but not sensed. Of course, if Ling Yun didn't use the Eye of Illusion, he wouldn't be able to see the silvery-white threads either.
The light threads touched Ling Yun and Xia Zhen briefly before returning, then transformed into a strangely shaped yet subtly rhythmic pulsation that stretched along the silvery-white light band above the passage, seemingly transmitting some information rapidly. Ling Yun secretly guessed that this must be the identification Xia Zhen had mentioned. After the two entered the passage, the identification would transmit the information the light threads had gathered from them to the headquarters of supernatural abilities. The headquarters would then use this information to determine whether to allow the visitors to enter. If their identities could not be identified, he and Xia Zhen would likely be immediately trapped inside the barrier—a truly wondrous situation.
A bright light appeared before Ling Yun, revealing a green meadow. Golden rays shone down from the sky. Turning around, the two had already exited the passageway of the Superpower Headquarters. Although the outside world and the Superpower Headquarters were separated by only a wall, it felt as if Ling Yun had walked for at least a minute after entering the passageway. In that time, even at their slowest pace, the two could have covered a width of sixty meters. It seemed to be another illusion. After experiencing Lin Nami's delusions and Lieutenant Dreiser's illusions, Ling Yun had become exceptionally good at distinguishing between illusions and delusions.
"This is the real headquarters of the superpowers. What we saw outside was just an illusion created by the headquarters' barrier." Xia Zhen pointed ahead and introduced it to Ling Yun, completely unaware that before she even started explaining, Ling Yun had already used his Eye of Illusion to see through the real headquarters.
What comes into view is a huge square, covering an area of about 10,000 square meters. On the east and west sides of the square, there are neat flower stands painted white. Pots of lush and brightly colored orchids, hibiscus, crane flowers, and other beautiful flowers that Lingyun doesn't know the names of are arranged on them according to their colors. The colorful flowers bloom everywhere, bringing a lively touch to the gray marble ground.
A young girl was standing in front of the flower stand on the west side, leisurely watering the flowers with a silver tin funnel. Ling Yun noticed that there was a water inlet on the opposite side of the funnel, made of rolled-up sheet metal. The funnel itself was empty, but a jet of water as thick as an arm was continuously pouring into the inlet. The source of the water jet on the other side was the musical fountain pool in the center of the square. The water jet formed a beautiful parabola in the air, and when viewed through the sunlight, a colorful rainbow appeared. Seeing the rainbow, Ling Yun's heart was suddenly touched by something, as if some dormant memory had been awakened within him.
The musical fountain in the center of the square was playing soothing, relaxing music. Five young people, four men and one woman, sat on a bench with their backs to Xia Zhen and Ling Yun. They didn't speak to each other, sitting upright as if they were silently cultivating something. Ling Yun couldn't help but smile. Although the five young people appeared to be sitting on the bench, they were actually several centimeters above the surface, as if they were floating in mid-air. They were obviously practicing the balance of their mental energy field against gravity, which was similar to the way Ling Yun practiced meditation when he first entered Yu Xiujie's barrier. However, the space and conditions for practice were not comparable to those inside the barrier. Moreover, judging from their focused expressions and the fact that they couldn't even project their mental energy field, their mental energy field was clearly still not very strong.
Thinking of her teacher, even though she had opened her mind, Ling Yun couldn't help but sigh sadly.
The young girl seemed to sense something, turned around and saw Xia Zhen and Ling Yun. Her face immediately showed a look of surprise and joy: "Team Leader Xia, when did you come back?" As she spoke, her telekinetic control became a little unstable, and the water column between the funnel inlet and the fountain pool suddenly fell down, forming a water stain on the square ground.
Ling Yun secretly shook his head. His telekinetic control was even worse than when he first entered university, far inferior to Xia Zhen's. It seemed these young men and women weren't official personnel from the Supernatural Abilities Headquarters; they were probably just interns like Xia Zhen. Hearing the girl call Xia Zhen "team leader," Ling Yun couldn't help but look at Xia Zhen in surprise. When did this girl become an official? He'd never heard her mention it before. Xia Zhen had always been the type of girl who couldn't hide anything; when had she become so reserved?
Xia Zhen smiled at him, proudly puffing out her chin, thinking to herself, "Finally, I've surprised you! I've kept quiet for so long because I wanted to see your surprised expression." Seeing Ling Yun's astonishment, the young girl was overjoyed, as if she had received a tremendous benefit.
As the water flowed onto the ground, a few drops splashed up, instantly hitting the neck of a long-haired young man who was struggling to maintain his balance. Already in a critical moment where he couldn't afford to be disturbed, the icy water caused him to collapse, gasping for breath. He rubbed the back of his neck and angrily said, "Who did this? They made me fall first! I have to treat everyone again today."
The others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw someone fall behind first. They all sat down on the bench and sneered at the long-haired youth, saying, "Xiao Yu, why are you always the worst off? You've been treating us for seven days in a row. I think you should use all your allowance this month to treat us to meals instead of spending it on yourself."
The long-haired young man, Xiao Yu, immediately became anxious. He jumped off the bench, ran to the opposite side of his companions, and pointed at the three men and one woman from left to right, saying, "Yun Cai, Li Zhongli, Fang Zhen, Tian Ma, listen to me, this has nothing to do with me. It was a drop of water that splashed on my neck and disturbed me. Otherwise, I would not have been the first one to fall. If you don't believe me, you can let the water droplet be my witness."
The young men refused to believe him and burst into laughter again. Xiao Yu couldn't explain himself and became so anxious that his face turned red.
Just then, the young girl who was controlling the water flow called out to them, "Come here quickly, Team Leader Xia is back." The young men turned around and their faces lit up with surprise as they rushed over.
The young girl walked up to Xia Zhen: "Team Leader Xia, is there anything you need to arrange this time you're back? Oh, who's this?" She pointed at Ling Yun. Ling Yun also looked the young girl up and down. She was quite pretty, though not as beautiful as Xia Zhen, she still possessed a pure and captivating charm. Her skin was especially beautiful, clear and flawless, like jade with a cool, luminous sheen. He couldn't help but marvel. It was obvious this girl had an exceptionally strong ability in some area, but such ability users often fall into extremes. Ability users' abilities are usually balanced; besides their specialty, they are often pitifully weak in other areas.
"Let me introduce you, Shui Zhu'er. This is my friend Ling Yun. I came back this time to introduce him to the Superpower Headquarters for an internship," Xia Zhen said with a smile to Shui Zhu'er.
Chapter 155 Perception and Devouring
Shui Zhu'er looked at Ling Yun in surprise. From Xia Zhen's smiling face, it was clear she valued this unassuming boy highly—something that had never happened before. Within the Superpower Headquarters, Xia Zhen was renowned for both her beauty and ability as a trainee superpower user; otherwise, she wouldn't have been appointed as the trainee superpower user team leader at the age of nineteen, overseeing everything about the trainees, arranging their training, and handling all other matters—her power was considerable. Even many formal superpower users, including instructors, showed her extraordinary attention.
Besides Xia Lan, Xia Zhen is always the center of attention wherever she goes. This pair of equally outstanding sisters are arguably the most eye-catching sight at the Superpower Headquarters. Many male trainee and official superpower users harbor feelings for Xia Zhen, but although she is usually cheerful and talkative, she is extremely strict in matters of the heart. She maintains a perfectly appropriate distance from others, forcing all suitors who harbor affections to back down.
Most people with superpowers are rational and self-respecting individuals, unlike some ordinary people who lack manners and upbringing and relentlessly pursue their desired aliens when their advances are rejected. Xia Zhen, for instance, didn't experience any harassment. On the contrary, she suffered these nameless troubles when she lived as an ordinary person at school.