Chapter 16: Lend Me a Hundred Thousand Taels First!

When the criminal with the superpower of instantaneous movement was successfully secured with a Genetic Lock, Ji Tianqi's first heroic action could be said to have ended very smoothly.

Although it revealed quite a few problems, whether it was Ji Tianqi himself, Bai Xiuchu, or the people from the Research Center.

Even Luo Xingyi expressed a high degree of recognition for Ji Tianqi's ability and attitude.

There were several key points worth mentioning, three of which stand out.

First, he did not harm Li Yuanhong.

Second, he decisively chose to pursue the criminal and did not give up.

Third, he did not harm the criminal.

"Although some aspects were not professional, it was already quite good,"

Luo Xingyi expressed his enthusiastic praise and thanks to Ji Tianqi before he left, then he frowned and made a reminder.

"Actually, when we execute a mission, the first priority is still to ensure our own safety. Capturing criminals alive in good condition is what we advocate for. But actions that cause harm to oneself for the sake of capturing a criminal alive... are not advisable."

"I know, he was too weak to hurt me, so I didn't go hard on him,"

Ji Tianqi happily explained.

"The criminal said he would take me up to the sky and try to drop me to my death. I told him if he dared to do so, I would kill him first, and then he surrendered."

"..."

Luo Xingyi suddenly felt his reminder was perhaps redundant for someone considered a psychiatric patient.

So he reminded him again, "Of course, we don't really advocate directly killing either. After all... you don't have law enforcement authority."

"I have a mental illness," Ji Tianqi replied with an as-a-matter-of-fact tone. "If I did kill a few criminals by accident, that wouldn't be a huge issue, right?"

"..."

Bai Xiuchu had not expected that getting Ji Tianqi to admit he had a psychiatric disorder would be so simple?

[Wait, could that be one of the main reasons Ji Tianqi is willing to stay in the psychiatric hospital?]

"..."

Luo Xingyi decided not to continue the topic. He forcibly maintained his enthusiastic demeanor and extended an invitation to Ji Tianqi.

"I noticed that some of your skills are not quite professional. In this regard, our Security Administration Bureau is actually quite professional, with systematic training that could..."

"Cough!" Bai Xiuchu interrupted, saying, "Although Ji Tianqi is a registered hero with the Hero Association, his most important identity is still as a researcher at our Research Center, which is affiliated with the Science Academy."

The Science Academy is an official institution in Dragon Country, which, besides the Security Administration Bureau and the military, has the most superpower users — the Hero Association is of semi-official nature, similar to a state-owned enterprise, and the only personnel that are truly official are the guardians assigned to each hero.

However, they mainly engage in scientific research, exploration, and related tasks and missions and do not get involved in actions against criminal offenders like the Security Administration Bureau does.

Within the Science Academy, there are departments similar to the Enforcers, Trackers, and Inspectors of the Security Administration Bureau. The three most famous departments are 'Explorers', 'Researchers', and 'Makers'.

The Shen City Non-Normal Human Research Center that Ji Tianqi belongs to is affiliated with the 'Researchers' department.

The earphone he was using, the retro alloy Longsword previously obtained from the 'Otherworldly', and many of the equipment and props used by official superpower users and heroes, mostly come from the 'Makers' department.

Upon hearing Bai Xiuchu's words, Luo Xingyi temporarily dismissed the idea of inviting Ji Tianqi to the Security Administration Bureau and of training him.

But he couldn't resist asking Ji Tianqi, "A researcher? What exactly are you responsible for studying?"

Ji Tianqi answered honestly, "Being researched."

"..."

Let's skip the irrelevant conversation; they parted ways thereafter.

-----------------

On the way back in the ambulance, Ji Tianqi kept staring out the window.

Shen City had no skyscrapers; as a small city, both residential and office buildings were around thirty stories tall.

Apart from the new district, the exterior of buildings showed considerable wear and tear, giving them an old-fashioned feel.

The roads were filled with streams of cars, with electric bicycles weaving through the service lanes, and when passing through densely populated areas, one could see many pedestrians, some in a hurry, others taking their time.

This was the bustle amid the old.

Compared to the era before the disaster that brought superpowers, the lives of the vast majority of people hadn't changed much.

As mentioned before, superpower users are akin to the wealthy, the powerful, and those with cutting-edge knowledge of that era, and these life circles are usually only observed from a distance by most ordinary people.

But there were changes.

When passing by a mall, Ji Tianqi saw an image of a planet on the advertising screen on the outer wall. Half of its surface was lush and green, while the other half was covered by red seas.

The advertising copy was simple and straightforward — Heaven Star! A real paradise!

This was the first planet discovered by humanity in the universe that was truly suitable for human habitation and it was said to lack intelligent life forms.

With the current level of human technology, interstellar colonization is naturally impossible, but some people had already gone, thanks to superpowers, Mythical Level superpowers!

[If I learn the skill of Acupoint, can I immobilize him so he can't use his superpower?]

Bai Xiuchu was unaware that Ji Tianqi was already daydreaming about using still unacquired abilities against a Mythical Level existence.

She, pondering the 'small conflict' before and trying to mend their relationship, proactively asked, "Is it because you haven't been out for a long time that you want to take a good look at the outside world? Don't worry, you will have plenty of opportunities in the future."

Ji Tianqi spoke his mind without reservation.

"I'm checking to see if someone is secretly escorting me. No one is, good."

"..."

"This is one small step for my complete discharge, and one giant leap for the evolution of mankind."

"..."

Bai Xiuchu didn't quite understand why Ji Tianqi's behavior and speech patterns were... unusual?

[Is it because he's been in the psychiatric hospital for so long that he has been influenced by the others there?]

"I can understand one small step for complete discharge, but what do you mean by one giant leap for the evolution of mankind?"

"If I can prove that I'm not mentally ill, that means that other people can't master the martial arts I acquired in the otherworldly realm simply because they're missing a certain necessary factor."

Ji Tianqi explained eagerly, "So if we resolve this necessary factor, everyone in our world would be able to practice martial arts and everyone would have the chance to shatter the void, thus achieving universal evolution!"

"..."

[The necessary factor might be something only you possess, the Power of Thoughts that can interfere with reality, powerful enough to drive you insane.]

Compared to Xiao Wu, who proposed this possibility, Bai Xiuchu preferred the term 'Power of Thoughts' over terms like 'Fantasy Materialization' for the superpower.

It sounded more conceptual.

As everyone knows, there are no weaklings among Concept Gods/Conceptual Abilities!

Bai Xiuchu didn't want to discuss this topic with Ji Tianqi because she was worried it might affect his condition.

So she changed the subject and asked, "Why didn't you use the Beiming Skill to absorb the energy of that criminal?"

"Because I need him," Ji Tianqi withdrew his gaze from the car window along with his Perception Ability.

He explained, "I plan to learn Control-type skills, but I'm not sure which Control-type skill can stop a superpower user like that criminal from using his superpowers, so I want to experiment with him."

Bai Xiuchu was startled for a moment. Although she knew that Ji Tianqi was normal when he was normal, it still took her some time to get used to it.

"Control-type skills?"

"Martial arts that include Acupoint Techniques. I figure this sort of thing is easier for a young person like you, especially one who's convinced I'm mentally ill, to understand."

"..."

[Actually, I really hope you don't have a mental illness because then I would have a chance to become an Extraordinary Individual.]

Bai Xiuchu dared not speak her dream out loud but nodded and said, "That is indeed necessary. I've already messaged the research team, and they're working on a plan. Um, do you have any suggestions?"

"I indeed have some ideas but I'm not sure how to acquire them."

Ji Tianqi pondered for a moment and then, under Bai Xiuchu's eager gaze, revealed his idea of an encounter that wasn't considered an adventure.

"I remember an inn where several retired the world of martial arts masters reside. One of the waiters who runs around, Waiter Two, knows a very powerful Acupoint skill called the Orchid Acupoint Skill."

Bai Xiuchu frowned slightly. She felt that the martial art Ji Tianqi mentioned sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember it at the moment.

However, that wasn't important since it was all Ji Tianqi's fantasy anyway.

So, she decided to follow Ji Tianqi's fantasy and asked, "If a master of martial arts is willing to retire and become Waiter Two, he probably doesn't have much ambition left, right? How do you plan to learn this skill from him?"

"I don't know."

Ji Tianqi pondered again and then tentatively asked, "How about you give me some money, and I go buy the martial arts from him? If that's not possible, how about I buy his inn and become his boss?"

Buy?

While Bai Xiuchu stood there stunned, Ji Tianqi continued with his idea, "If he's not willing to sell, I'll buy all the houses next to his inn, turn them into inns, and drive him out of business."

"Ah? Wouldn't that be a huge waste of money?"

"Uh?" Ji Tianqi looked at Bai Xiuchu with a peculiar gaze.

"In the otherworldly ancient world, the purchasing power of silver is strong. In modern times, isn't silver like six yuan a gram? One thousand taels, which is fifty thousand grams, 300,000 yuan?"

Ji Tianqi counted and suddenly felt a bit guilty because 300,000 was indeed a lot. And that was just for one thousand taels; it might not be enough.

Bai Xiuchu felt like the way Ji Tianqi looked at her was the same way others looked at Ji Tianqi.

She cautiously asked, "In the otherworldly realm you traveled to, does one tael also equal fifty grams?"

If the measurements in the otherworldly realm completely matched modern ones—it would be another piece of evidence that Ji Tianqi had a mental illness.

"It's more or less the same. That's not important. What's important is how much money you're willing to give me..."

Ji Tianqi, lacking some confidence, suddenly thought of a problem and lit up with excitement.

"You claimed I was mentally ill, right? And said that things I brought to the otherworldly realm would still be in our world, right? Then there's no problem, give me the money. I can't send it to the otherworldly realm anyway; it'll still be yours."

"Eh?" Bai Xiuchu's eyes widened with a look of clear confusion.

"No, not give me, just lend it to me."

Ji Tianqi saw the confusion in Bai Xiuchu's eyes and simply grabbed the communicator lying next to him.

"Hello, hello, are you listening? I'm talking about a figure here, ten thousand taels!"

The entire team at the research center, who had been eavesdropping and observing through the monitors.

"..."

[Why did the amount suddenly skyrocket to ten thousand taels when it came to borrowing? You really don't regard money as anything.]