Chapter 460 - 409: Black Hole and White Stone

Chapter 460: Chapter 409: Black Hole and White Stone

Wenren Yizhi?

The moment Guan Tong saw her, he immediately recalled the time when the first of the Apocalypse Rules was announced.

Back then, when Fang Qian had visited his home, she had mentioned that Wenren Yizhi was her idol. Wenren’s 72-hour live stream of her playing Go had drawn a great deal of attention. Afterward, just as everyone had expected, her initial Psychic Power limit was a staggering 117 points, placing her among the top-tier Ascenders of that time.

But after that, aside from the public knowing she had been recruited by the government, there were no other channels to learn more about her. And since that live stream, she had never streamed herself playing Go again.

As for Guan Tong, after his falling out with Fang Qian, he paid Wenren Yizhi no further attention. That was why, before seeing her in person, he never would have imagined that she had joined the Strategy Research Room and would be participating in this operation as one of his teammates.

Guan Tong’s gaze fell on the wheelchair beneath her. ’No wonder Li Meng said she had mobility issues.’

He just didn’t know what had happened in the last two years. He remembered that when the news had reported on Wenren Yizhi winning championships, there was never any mention of her having an illness or physical disability.

"Wenren Yizhi?!"

Yang Ran let out a low cry after a few seconds of stunned silence.

Aside from Li Meng and Silver Fox, who were already in the know, everyone else was undoubtedly surprised. They hadn’t expected the former national champion to be their teammate.

"Let me make the introductions."

Li Meng proceeded to introduce the team members to Wenren Yizhi.

"You’ve met Silver Fox before. This is Bai Xuewu; she joined the Strategy Research Room around the same time you did and can summon and pilot a combat Mecha. This young lady is Chen Na. She also joined the Strategy Research Room a long time ago and possesses a certain range of Perception Ability. This is Yang Ran, who has the ability of Fire Control..."

With each person Li Meng introduced, Wenren Yizhi’s gaze would land on them.

Her eyes were as distinct as the black and white of Go stones, without a hint of impurity. Anyone she looked at could feel the purity and tranquility within her gaze.

"And this is Guan Tong," Li Meng said, introducing him last. "Unlike the rest of you, he isn’t affiliated with the Strategy Research Room, but he’s a trustworthy teammate and will be serving as the captain this time. As for his ability... it’s complicated. I think you’re all probably more familiar with his nickname than his name, ’Guan Tong’."

Li Meng looked at Guan Tong, who gave a slight nod.

Guan Tong didn’t mind revealing his identity to teammates he would be heading into battle with, fighting side by side.

Otherwise, if even his teammates didn’t know the state of his abilities, how could they possibly cooperate?

Receiving Guan Tong’s approval, Li Meng continued, "He is ’Shadow’."

"Ah!!!"

The cry Yang Ran let out was much louder than when he had learned their final teammate was Wenren Yizhi.

He stared at Guan Tong in disbelief. "You—you’re the Shadow God?! This..."

He remembered their first meeting in the park, how he had wanted to challenge Guan Tong to a match... He finally understood why Li Meng had told him not to provoke Guan Tong.

’He really is someone I can’t afford to provoke!’

Because "Shadow’s" fame didn’t come from his ranking in the previous rules, but from his tangible battle record—from his legendary feats of taking on an entire country single-handedly on several occasions.

Compared to Guan Tong blowing up the Andai Kingdom’s royal palace and attacking the Sakura Prayer Mansion, his own proudest achievement of using Fire Control to burn down a building was utterly eclipsed.

In an instant, the defiant look in Yang Ran’s eyes vanished, replaced by worship.

Silver Fox and Chen Na already knew Guan Tong’s identity, so they weren’t surprised. Chen Na, however, watched Yang Ran with a hint of schadenfreude, finding the expression on his face after learning Guan Tong’s true identity quite amusing.

Of the other two, Bai Xuewu was stunned for a moment. She finally remembered why Guan Tong seemed vaguely familiar. Of course, she and "Shadow" had crossed paths on Holy Grail Island, and that encounter had left a very bad impression on her.

As for Wenren Yizhi, she remained perfectly calm. Even after learning that Guan Tong was "Shadow," arguably the most famous Ascender, her expression didn’t change, as if she didn’t care much.

"Well then, the team is all here," Li Meng said with a smile. "This is the first time all the members have gathered. How about you young folks take a group photo to commemorate the occasion?"

"Yes!" Chen Na was the first to raise her hand, deftly pulling out her phone.

Besides Chen Na, Yang Ran was also very much in favor of the suggestion. He felt this was a rare opportunity to get a photo with famous gods like "Shadow" and "Wenren Yizhi."

Aside from those two, the others weren’t particularly interested in taking a picture. However, both Silver Fox and Bai Xuewu were close with Chen Na, and Guan Tong was also fond of the girl, so they naturally went along with her.

Li Meng said, "Come on, gather together, and I’ll take the picture for you."

"Mr. Li, you’re a member of the team too, so you have to be in the shot! I’ll just set a timer!"

"Haha, alright then."

They all tacitly moved to stand behind Wenren Yizhi. After setting the timer, Chen Na ran over to join them.

Then, with a CLICK, the photo was taken.

Chen Na went to check it and nodded repeatedly. "It turned out great! I’ll send it to you all."

Silver Fox reminded her, "Remember to use a beauty filter on your big sis."

"Silver Fox, why would you need a beauty filter!"

"Sigh~ Comparisons are cruel. Look at you all, young people in your early twenties. I’m the only one who’s almost thirty. It’ll be really obvious if I’m in the picture without a filter~"

"..."

"Ahem." Li Meng cleared his throat. "Alright, besides having everyone get acquainted, I also called you here today to do some combat coordination exercises."

"Combat coordination? Er..."

Yang Ran glanced at the wheelchair under Wenren Yizhi, wondering how she was supposed to fight.

Just then, Li Meng added, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Wenren Yizhi’s mobility issues don’t affect her ability to use her powers, right?"

Wenren Yizhi nodded lightly. "Take these."

She raised her hand, and several black and white Go stones from the table flew into the air. A pair of stones, one black and one white, hovered in front of each person.

This display of telekinesis was an eye-opener for everyone; even Guan Tong couldn’t figure it out.

He was standing not far from Wenren Yizhi, but he hadn’t felt any fluctuations of Psychic Power. This meant she wasn’t using Psychic Power Flow to move the stones. ’Could it be...?’

Guan Tong grabbed the black and white pieces hovering in front of him. They were warm and smooth to the touch, and he could feel a strange power flowing within them.

’Are these pieces themselves her Psychic Power tools?’

"The Black Piece is the Realm, the White Piece is the Chain."

Wenren Yizhi said softly.

"Infuse your Psychic Power into the Black Piece to deploy a Chess Realm that envelops you. The Chess Realm can be used to fortify your mind, protecting you from mental intrusions."

"Infuse your Psychic Power into the White Piece to deploy a Chess Chain, linking you with other holders of the White Piece. The Chess Chain will connect the life force of all linked individuals. When someone takes damage, the damage will be evenly distributed among everyone on the chain."

After hearing Wenren Yizhi explain her abilities, they all looked astonished.

’This ability is a bit over the top...’

Guan Tong looked at the black and white pieces in his hand and looked up to ask, "Are the pieces limited in number?"

Wenren Yizhi looked at him and answered, "Each piece requires my Psychic Power to create, and it permanently occupies a portion of my Psychic Power limit."

"...I see."

If each piece occupied a portion of Wenren Yizhi’s Psychic Power limit, then she couldn’t create an endless supply of them. The number of pieces must be finite, and likely not very large.

"Th-this is too overpowered!" Yang Ran said excitedly. "Especially the White Piece, being able to share damage! Doesn’t that mean unless an enemy’s attack can kill all the linked people at once, it’s impossible to kill any of them?"

Wenren Yizhi shook her head gently. "If it takes too many hits, the piece will not be able to bear it and will be destroyed."

"Ah, I see..."

"I’m more curious about the Black Piece’s ability," Bai Xuewu asked suddenly. "It can create a barrier that protects against mental attacks. Does that mean it can resist the suspected Mind Controllers in the Fire Worship Cult? Also, can it resist mental fear, making it useful for this rule?"

"Yeah," Chen Na had thought of this too. "Wenren, for the Crimson Fear in this rule, can your pieces defend against it?"

"Nothing in this world is absolute. The effects of an ability are not set in stone. Perhaps it can resist the things you mentioned, perhaps not... I’m sorry, I can’t give you a definite answer."

"That’s right," Li Meng said. "The relationships between abilities—counters, advantages, disadvantages, even how they contend with the Apocalypse Rules—the outcomes are never fixed. Before making any rash attempts, you must think it through carefully."

After speaking, Li Meng waved his hand, had the others say goodbye to Wenren Yizhi, and they all left for the testing grounds.

After leaving Wenren Yizhi’s "Yi Pavilion" room, Guan Tong asked Li Meng, "With all the resources at the Strategy Research Room’s disposal, you still can’t find a way to get her back on her feet?"

He’d had this question since the moment he walked in and saw Wenren Yizhi in her wheelchair, but it hadn’t been appropriate to ask in front of her.

In his view, if things like curing Wang Yan’s terminal cancer and Silver Fox’s Limb Regeneration were possible, there had to be a special reason why an Ascender with such immense potential like Wenren Yizhi was still confined to a wheelchair.

"I know about this," said Silver Fox. "Dr. Zhang Minglu tried many methods to help Wenren walk again, but they all ended in failure. The fundamental reason is related to her ability."

"It’s related to these pieces?"

"To be precise, the pieces are just a byproduct of her ability. That Go board you saw in her room is her exclusive Psychic Power tool... Her inability to stand and walk seems to be related to that board, but I don’t know the specific details."

Silver Fox’s words left them all in silence.

It wasn’t actually strange for the use of an ability to come at a price.

It was just that this price was usually borne by others... For example, if Yang Ran’s flames went out of control or weren’t handled properly, they would burn those around him. Even Guan Tong’s own "Shadow" ability was extremely dangerous and could cause a great deal of collateral damage, requiring careful consideration with every use.

But the price of Wenren Yizhi’s ability seemed to be one she had to bear herself, which was relatively rare.

However, Guan Tong had been right about one thing.

He had previously thought that the final teammate’s ability might be related to healing.

As it turned out, the White Piece’s ability to "link and share damage" was, in essence, a different form of healing. And the Black Piece’s barrier against mental attacks would definitely be helpful for the upcoming decapitation strike in Fahe Country.

Adding her to the team was undoubtedly an excellent choice. The only pity was that she couldn’t move with them and could only provide remote assistance.

"We’re here. This is the training floor."

As Li Meng’s voice sounded, the elevator doors opened.

A vast, floor-wide space spread out before them, like a gigantic gym.

There was an countless variety of fancy equipment, combat testing robots, and more. Many of the base’s affiliated Ascenders were practicing in different areas, while data technicians, sparring partners, and others were responsible for recording data, providing feedback, and suggesting adjustments.

Of the group, only Guan Tong was visiting for the first time, so everyone was paying close attention to his reaction. But Guan Tong just gave the area a quick glance, showing no signs of surprise.

Yang Ran said with disappointment, "Such a huge place, and the captain doesn’t even react."

Ever since learning Guan Tong’s identity, he had consciously started calling him "captain," no longer questioning him.

"Guan Tong is a veteran of countless battles. A small scene like this is nothing to him," Li Meng said. "Let’s go. I’ll take you to the area we’ll be using."