Otherworldly Affairs Office

Looking at Pei Yan's cautious and vigilant demeanor, Gu Shenghui felt quite helpless internally, but he couldn't show it. He stood up, poured a cup of tea, pushed it in front of him, and said, "I heard from Wang Wenze that you haven't been feeling well recently. Is the head trauma still serious? If you're truly tired, you can take a break from Yuan Shaoqing's work. I can find someone else to do it. You should rest for a couple of days."

Pei Yan took the tea with a smile and said, "It's nothing. The occasional headache isn't as serious as Wang Wenze said. I can handle it, and Director Yuan has told me about the importance of this case. If we don't catch the person crossing the boundary behind it, they might commit another crime. The sooner we find them, the better."

"That's good. Take care of yourself," Gu Shenghui continued as he took a document folder from the drawer, unfastened the string on top, pulled out a document, and handed it to Pei Yan. "There is something the organization wants your opinion on."

Pei Yan accepted the document and started reading it in detail while Gu Shenghui slowly explained the origin and development of the matter.

After placing the document back on the desk, Pei Yan looked up at Gu Shenghui, who had finished explaining and was now pretending to sip tea from his cup, and asked directly, "Is there really only a fifteen percent chance of something going wrong? According to your explanation and the document description, if the most dangerous issue of internal rejection is not a problem, where does the remaining fifteen percent danger come from?"

Gu Shenghui nodded in satisfaction, happy Pei Yan wasn't immediately tempted, and set the teacup down with his hands clasped together on the desk, saying, "The remaining possibility is a consciousness issue. When merging abilities, apart from internal issues, the spiritual consciousness of two individuals will be closely connected. When I'm absorbing an ability, the other person willingly dedicates themselves, so for me, it's not a problem. But this time, you're going to merge with criminal Song Mingyuan's ability. He certainly won't willingly accept such an arrangement."

"What consequences might occur if he resists fiercely?" Pei Yan furrowed his brows slightly and asked.

Gu Shenghui lit a cigarette and replied, "There would be a fierce struggle for the ownership of the capability. If you win, you gain his ability, and vice versa. Of course, if Song Mingyuan wins, he will most likely suffer from internal fusion reflux leading to self-destructive explosion and death. To prevent such occurrences, we'll deploy the spiritual ability masters from the department to assist by suppressing Song's willpower, increasing your chances of successfully acquiring the ability. What do you think?"

"Do I have the right to choose?"

"Of course, Minister Cen personally ordered that you make the decision yourself. If you refuse, we won't raise the matter again!"

"Is it true that if I absorb the other's ability, my combat power will increase exponentially?" Pei Yan asked, staring into Gu Shenghui's eyes after hearing this.

Gu Shenghui flicked ashes from his cigarette, said nothing, placed his hand lightly on the table with a crisp bang, and Pei Yan watched as the entire solid wood desk in front of him collapsed. He was not surprised, as it was something nearly anyone on their team, including himself, could achieve.

What intrigued him was how the entire wooden desk and the items on it had shattered into delicate little blocks floating in midair. Before Pei Yan could get lost in thought, Gu Shenghui clenched his hand, and the blocks quickly pieced back together, restoring their original form.

Pei Yan reached out to feel the solid wood desk and teacup, intact and without a single crack. If it weren't for the spilled tea and scattered documents, he would've thought he was hallucinating.

Gu Shenghui didn't stop there but tapped the desk, freshly restored, with his finger. A thick liquid, reeking of ink, flowed from his fingertip, trickling towards Pei Yan's empty teacup. Pei Yan watched intently as the liquid wound around the cup, forming a wobbly word on the surface.

As soon as the word solidified, the cup shattered with a pop before Pei Yan's eyes into several pieces. While Pei Yan picked up a shard and examined it, Gu Shenghui spoke, "This is my innate ability. What I just displayed was an absorbed ability. Unfortunately, the abilities I absorb don't complement my innate ability. They merely equate to one plus one equals two, yet it far surpasses that of ordinary beings with similar abilities. If you were to absorb Song Mingyuan's ability and integrate it with your own, I believe your strength would surpass its current state."

Gu Shenghui intentionally concealed his true strength in this passage, yet he candidly reported on Pei Yan's potential ability increase, nurturing considerable hope.

Pei Yan didn't immediately respond, staring at the teacup shard in his hand, his mind rapidly calculating. The old fox was right: the key now is improving his strength. Upon witnessing Song Mingyuan's ability, he was envious, wishing he were his teammate.

Now, the opportunity to absorb his ability compensates for his body's electrical energy consumption, which would be like adding wings to a tiger. In the past, he would have agreed without hesitation, but now...

He looked up, locking eyes with Gu Shenghui, whose gaze seemed sincere. He finally made up his mind, pulling a cigarette from his pocket, standing up, and without hesitation, took Gu Shenghui's lighter to spark it up for himself. He casually brushed the lighter, tossed it back, leaned against the chair, exhaled the smoke, and said nonchalantly, "I agree! What preparations do I need to make for this?"

"You need to undergo special training for two months, bringing yourself to a higher state to prepare for the ability integration. During this period, all your external tasks are on hold."

"Agreed!"

Gu Shenghui was slightly surprised by Pei Yan's decisive answer, smiling, "I thought you would oppose and insist on continuing your missions."

"Rather than holding everyone back, enhancing my strength is more important!" Pei Yan replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head.

"Very good. Once you complete Yuan Shaoqing's task, we will send you to the troops for two months of targeted advanced training."

"Understood. Anything else I should be aware of?"

"Nothing more. You can leave now; don't spread word of this! Until you've absorbed the abilities, tell no one. I'll have Hu Wenjun find a suitable reason to temporarily reassign you."

Pei Yan nodded thoughtfully, took a few puffs of his cigarette, extinguished the butt in the ashtray, got up, and said goodbye. As he reached the door, he heard Gu Shenghui call his name. Turning back, he saw him pick up the lighter from the desk and toss it to him.

Pei Yan caught the lighter and heard Gu Shenghui say, "The lighter is yours. Off you go."

Stepping out of Gu Shenghui's office, Pei Yan looked down at the lighter in his hand and smiled, wondering if he had been found out. What an old fox!

With this thought, Pei Yan touched his nose, helplessly reclaimed the nanobots hidden inside, and casually pocketed the lighter, leaving without looking back.