Chapter 15 Urgent Need for Control Type Skills
Bai Xiuchu breathed a sigh of relief after understanding why Ji Tianqi kept using instant teleportation.
As long as Ji Tianqi didn't storm off in a rage because he was performed on, then the problem wasn't too serious.
Given Ji Tianqi's power, a Superpower User who can only perform instantaneous movement would at best manage to escape but wouldn't be able to harm Ji Tianqi.
"Why, oh why, does being a hero not require training before starting the job? No wonder the dimwits at the Hero Association are becoming more and more... cough!"
Luo Xingyi was still expressing his incomprehension, and unlike Bai Xiuchu who only had Ji Tianqi in her eyes, he was very eager to seize this opportunity to capture the criminal.
But Bai Xiuchu didn't respond; she was deep in thought.
And she realized something — the people at her research center had all fallen into a cognitive trap before.
Although Ji Tianqi had a century-old skill, knew the Nine Yang Skill, Beiming Skill, and Wave Striding Steps, and sounded unbelievably strong, he really wasn't an unrivaled master, at least not yet.
[As soon as Ji Tianqi crossed over, he ended up in the Otherworldly Kunlun Mountain, where he spent a year like a wild man, searching for the secret manual of the Nine Yang Skill.]
[Fortunately, his crossing wasn't permanent, and he could return for supplies, otherwise he would have surely starved or been killed by wild beasts.]
[For the next five or six years, he cultivated in the Kunlun Mountain, no, mainly in the real world, cultivating Inner Strength, which progressed slowly, so not many resources were invested in him.]
[In the Otherworldly realm, he encountered very few people, so few it could essentially be considered none.]
Thoughts continuously flowed in Bai Xiuchu's mind as she analyzed the reasons behind this situation.
[And as for the Cultivation Technique of the Nine Yang Power, he divulged everything about it, except for the main Inner Strength; none of his other Martial Arts skills were related to Acupoint.]
[Neither were Wave Striding Steps nor Beiming Skill!]
[You Yazi transmitted the Nine Yang Skill to him, but only had time to explain the nuances within it and warn him about potential issues he might encounter in future cultivation of the Beiming Skill; he didn't transmit any other Martial Arts to him.]
[You Yazi's disciple, Wang Xinghe, also died, so he came back right away, similarly without the opportunity to learn or cultivate other Martial Arts.]
[Therefore, he couldn't use Acupoint, and even his combat experience was extremely limited.]
[Some petty thieves were simply overpowered and killed with brute strength, which didn't require combat experience and didn't help to gain any either.]
Bai Xiuchu, as if she had an epiphany, sent a message to the research center, which was equally anxious and had also realized this 'cognitive trap':
"Ji Tianqi needs control skills! He needs combat experience! He needs new adventures! He needs the right opponents!"
After thinking for a while, she added another message.
"Or find a way to let Ji Tianqi fight against masters in the Otherworldly realm. If, indeed, that could increase his combat experience!"
After sending this message, she suddenly paused — if Ji Tianqi, in the fantasy world he imagined, really could gain combat experience by fighting those imaginary masters.
Then, is it really just fantasy?
At that moment, a piece of good news arrived; the Security Administration Bureau had finally located Li Yuanhong — no matter how fast the instant teleportation was, it couldn't compete with a car in an open area.
Moreover, the criminal had to keep changing the direction of his teleportation to evade Ji Tianqi's relentless pursuit, so despite hundreds of teleportations, he hadn't gone very far.
Finding Li Yuanhong alive meant that his life was not in immediate danger — as long as he wasn't dead, with the medical capabilities of the Security Administration Bureau and the miraculous powers of related Superpower Users, he couldn't die.
So what about Ji Tianqi?
"What is he doing?"
Li Yuanhong was capable of speaking; he had been rigid just because he was in a constant state of instantaneous movement.
After being rescued, and having just harbored resentment towards Ji Tianqi, he now began worrying about Ji Tianqi's safety.
"What on earth is he doing? Why doesn't he just catch the guy instead of striking that pose!"
The Security Administration Bureau personnel surrounding Li Yuanhong were a little puzzled — what pose?
"The stance he used when he caught me."
"..."
A colleague's eyes widened as he asked, "Are you talking about the way Ji Tianqi hugged you from behind like an octopus?"
"Yes! After saving me, he embraced the criminal that way and was teleported away by the criminal."
Once this was confirmed, immobilized Li Yuanhong motioned his colleagues to put the communicator next to his mouth.
"Hello, hello, hello, whoever it is, Bai Xiuchu, right? Is Ji Tianqi sick or something? Why does he like to use that posture when catching someone?"
"..."
Bai Xiuchu was at a loss for words.
Luo Xingyi frowned and reminded, "Li Yuanhong, mind your language. Ji Tianqi himself is mentally ill; he indeed has some residual issues, but they are not major, and besides, he is now our collaborator."
"Oh, sorry, my bad," Li Yuanhong apologized before asking again, "Then why doesn't he just catch people outright?"
"..."
Bai Xiuchu, again speechless, had a stroke of insight and replied, "He's trying to deplete the opponent's energy. Without a Genetic Lock, this is the most reliable way to catch someone."
"Makes sense," Li Yuanhong understood, but then had a new question, "Then why does the criminal teleport away with him? Logically, the criminal could just teleport away by himself."
Bai Xiuchu didn't understand either and forcefully explained, "That's one of his abilities."
[One of his abilities, huh?]
Li Yuanhong had no habit of prying into others' secrets, especially since it wasn't a criminal matter, so he let it go.
But recalling the embarrassment when Ji Tianqi had captured him, he couldn't help but say, "You guys at the Psychiatric Hospital better cure him soon, it's way too perverse to always catch people like that."
"..."
Bai Xiuchu found herself speechless for who knows how many times when her eyes suddenly lit up. On the tablet, Ji Tianqi's coordinates had finally stopped moving.
[Has the criminal's energy been drained? Or absorbed?]
-----------------
During the continuous pursuit by the Security Administration Bureau, Ji Tianqi was indeed somewhat passive, as Bai Xiuchu had worried, due to his own ability issues.
After several observations, he made an incredibly accurate prediction and used a Shock Bomb to disrupt the criminal's instantaneous movement.
After that, he calmly rescued Li Yuanhong.
But just as he was attempting to capture the criminal, even having essentially completed the arrest, he found himself continuously teleported along with the felon.
It was similar to the recent situation with Li Yuanhong, the difference being that it was harder for the criminal to attempt to inject Ji Tianqi with a needle than it was for him to break free from Ji Tianqi's restraints.
Having realized this, the criminal finally came to a stop.
He was forced to lie on the ground, furious and shocked, and questioned Ji Tianqi, who was entangled on his back like an octopus.
"Why can't I shake you off?"
Ji Tianqi answered calmly and with a bit of concealment.
"Because my power is inside your body, we have become one entity."
Before he was temporarily discharged from the hospital, the research team had cautioned him not to reveal the 'fact' that he knew martial arts.
"???"
The criminal was bewildered.
Of course, his inability to shake off didn't refer to escaping from Ji Tianqi's physical hold but to the fact that whenever he activated his superpower to teleport, he found he had to take Ji Tianqi with him.
From the moment Ji Tianqi caught him in that strange pose, he indeed felt something extra inside him, but he hadn't paid attention to it in his panic.
Now, as he felt carefully, he found it to be profound and also quite robust.
This realization terrified him, and he was extremely horrified—what a perverse ability!
It wasn't just the ability that was abnormal; the person was just as twisted.
The criminal barked angrily, "Then why don't you just arrest me, why torment me in this position?"
"..."
Ji Tianqi was a little embarrassed, but it was something that couldn't be helped.
He could easily injure or kill this criminal, but other than killing or knocking him unconscious, there was no way to prevent the man from using instantaneous movement.
He was reluctant to admit that he wasn't sure he could knock the man out without inflicting fatal injuries.
[It seems I need a control skill, such as acupoint locking!]
[Hmm… can acupoint locking affect the superpower of instantaneous movement?]
[Need to experiment, this criminal will do, it should be possible, so I must ensure his safe capture.]
Based on this thought, Ji Tianqi gave up on using the Beiming Skill to absorb the criminal's energy.
"If you don't like it, I can change to another position," he offered.
Having confirmed that his inner strength had penetrated the criminal's body and achieved the desired effect, Ji Tianqi switched positions—to a Head Lock!
This standard fighting technique was something Ji Tianqi was quite familiar with, despite not using it often. At this moment, although he wasn't applying his full strength, the hold was very tight.
The criminal, unable to break free, tried to teleport again in desperation, only to find Ji Tianqi still with him.
"What are you doing?" the criminal despaired. "Can't you just hold my hand instead?"
"No, I'm afraid you'd sever your arm to escape."
"..."
[If I were that ruthless, would I be a thief?]
"You're crazy," raged the criminal. "Just kill me quickly if you're going to, why torture me like this?"
Ji Tianqi answered honestly, "I'm a hero, not from the Security Administration Bureau, so I don't have law enforcement authority. I can arrest you but not kill you. Of course, that's if you pose no threat to me."
[So, if I were stronger and posed a substantial threat to you, you would disregard the fact that you have no law enforcement authority and just kill me outright?]
The criminal suddenly felt relieved about his 'weakness.' Apart from the superpower of instantaneous movement, he indeed had little combat capability—compared to superpower users like Li Yuanhong and Ji Tianqi.
Against ordinary people and ability users with counteracting powers, he was still very capable.
As the criminal wondered what to do, Ji Tianqi's earnest voice sounded again with an explanation.
"I have a mental illness, not a nerve condition—there is a fundamental difference between the two. Moreover, when I'm not having an episode, I'm quite normal."
"..."
Only then did the stunned criminal notice that underneath the vest-style anti-stabbing suit Ji Tianqi was wearing, his clothes resembled... hospital gowns!
"Fuck, you really are mentally ill?"
"Yes," Ji Tianqi continued seriously, "Though I'm reluctant to admit it, that's what they all say, and I can't be fully discharged. I'm only allowed out occasionally for a breath of fresh air."
"..."
The criminal was genuinely scared.
Both heroes from the Hero Association and superpower users from the Security Administration Bureau were bound by certain rules and restrictions.
But if it was a superpower user with a mental illness…
"What if, and I mean only hypothetically," the criminal started to ask, "I give it my all and teleport us about 200 meters up into the air, then let go for a free fall? How would you deal with that?"
"Two hundred meters, huh..."
Ji Tianqi considered this for two seconds seriously and then answered equally seriously, "I can't guarantee I won't get hurt, and I don't want to let you go. So, I'd use you as a cushion. And before we hit the ground, I'd try my hardest to knock you out to prevent you from escaping or endangering my safety."
"Trying your hardest to knock me out means what?"
"It means I might turn you into an idiot, or I might actually kill you outright."
"..." Taking a deep breath, the criminal announced, "I surrender!"
Woo woo, woo woo.
The sound of sirens grew rapidly closer, just like in a TV series.