Chapter 18: The Wondrous Green Jade Token

by cnwebnovels

Liu Biao was probably interested in my ability because I hadn’t installed AI.

That’s what they couldn’t understand. Honestly, I couldn’t either.

Later, I went to another deeply hidden place, probably in the northernmost corner of the base.

Two doors. One of the off-limits places.

The first door was an identification door. I slipped through with my cargo-code trick.

The second required a passcode. For most people, this would be hardest—fingerprints, irises, codes could all be forged, but a passcode was a memory inside a person’s brain. You could not forge that.

For me, though, it was easiest.

My ability was to sense people’s minds.

I waited at a distance. When someone used it, I easily obtained the passcode.

Past the passcode door, I found a special area.

There were armed guards.

I stayed hidden just inside, watching from afar.

The center looked like an exercise yard, brightly lit. Quite a few people running, walking, exercising—all in identical clothes.

I watched awhile but saw nothing especially unusual. It looked as though prisoners were being held there. I was about to turn back.

Then I spotted someone inside.

Xuanhong.

Xuanhong wasn’t exercising with the others. He sat quietly cross-legged in a corner, meditating. I wanted desperately to wave to him, but I was afraid the guards would see me, so I never dared make a sound.

After observing, I decided to try using my will. He was fairly distant, but at least I could see him.

After strenuous effort, Xuanhong responded.

He pretended to glance casually in my direction, then made a stopping gesture with one hand.

I looked around. Guessed he was telling me not to approach.

I crouched in shadow and waited. Then he pointed to his head.

Did he want mental communication?

I didn’t know if he had sensing power like mine, but I could communicate one-way. In Gao Minjun’s basement, I’d even communicated through walls with Zhu Zhaojie mentally.

I fixed my gaze on Xuanhong and sent several questions with my mind.

He responded. His feedback was weak, though—I had to confirm repeatedly to understand.

He told me this was the Sweepers’ special detention area for important prisoners.

I asked why we looked so alike.

He hesitated before answering.

He was, in fact, my backup.

Backup?

I didn’t understand what he meant.

Human cloning? Bionics? Replication?

He said none of those.

The feedback was too weak—I still couldn’t grasp his meaning.

Suddenly he cut off communication and, pretending to be casual, walked to the very edge of the area, all the way into a darker patch. The guards shouted at him before he stopped.

No idea what he was doing.

As he walked back, saying something to the guards, something slipped from his sleeve as if by accident. Then he secretly kicked it outward.

What was it? For me?

A whistle sounded. He and the others returned to their rooms.

The yard emptied instantly.

I waited until the guards withdrew, then moved slowly toward the object.

Just as I reached it and was about to pick it up, a big foot suddenly stepped down over it.

“Liu Biao?!”

I looked up. Liu Biao smiled down at me, then picked up the object.

My heart plunged.

Done for.

I’d forgotten he’d been watching all along.

Liu Biao examined it carefully—a green jade token, almost identical to mine except the pattern seemed slightly different.

I still didn’t know what the green jade token Grandma had left me was for. I’d thought Gu Qiutang might know, but he’d said he didn’t.

Xuanhong had an identical one and wanted to give it to me. The two tokens might be a pair.

Liu Biao held it, studying as he said, “What did Xuanhong say to you?”

He’d clearly guessed we communicated. Just couldn’t intercept what passed between us.

“What?” I said. “I don’t understand. I only saw someone drop something and wanted a look. That’s all.”

I edged closer, wanting a better view myself.

“Don’t treat us like fools. You have one too, don’t you?”

As he spoke, he suddenly reached out and snatched the token from my chest.

“Hey—what are you doing? Robbery? That’s a family heirloom!”

Liu Biao compared both tokens. “Look. These are so similar they must belong together. We’ve examined yours many times and found nothing abnormal. But these two match so perfectly in quality and style, it can’t be coincidence. Xuanhong left this for you to do something. So tell me—what are you planning?”

I smiled. “You overthink things. I’ve only heard of Xuanhong. Don’t know him at all. Just saw him drop something, wanted to look. If you want it, take it. But give mine back—Grandma left it to me.”

“I can return yours, but tell me how you communicated.”

Still convinced we’d exchanged information. Nothing I could do—he was a professional criminal investigator.

I could only improvise.

“Communicated about what? I only wanted to pick something up. Xuanhong looks like me, so naturally I’m curious, but I truly don’t know him. Only heard his name from the disabled. You’ve checked all that.”

I’d communicated mentally—he had no evidence. Besides, this ability wasn’t scientific or easily explained. They couldn’t confirm it. If they had, why keep asking?

“Nonsense,” Liu Biao said. “Do you think we’re blind?”

He waved. Two more black-clad men appeared. “Let’s go. Come back with us. I want to see exactly what secret was hidden inside those green jade tokens.”

So I was taken back to the Cultural Intelligence Department’s interrogation room.

Liu Biao ran his usual electronic scans and tests on both tokens.

I could tell he found nothing.

He sat across from me, constantly playing with the two green jade tokens.

No idea what he was thinking. He desperately wanted to know what secret they held. Honestly, so did I.

Unwilling to give up, Liu Biao kept fiddling with them, turning them over as he thought.

Suddenly, he fitted them together.

With a crisp snap, they locked into place.

Whoosh—

The instant the two green jade tokens came together, an intensely white flash spread through the interrogation room like electricity, bursting into dazzling brilliance as an unprecedented stream of information rushed straight into my brain, nearly knocking me unconscious.

I didn’t know if I truly passed out.

For a while I was lost in a daze, as if someone had forcibly crammed vast amounts into my brain.

When I came to, I realized:

All things had fallen silent.

Everything had stopped.

Liu Biao, the clock, the two officers sitting in on the interrogation—all frozen in fixed states. Everyone like statues, utterly motionless.

What kind of power was this?

In disbelief, I walked to the window and looked out.

The people outside were frozen too. Even the Tyndall effect in the lamplight looked like a solidified body of glass.

Unbelievable.

I took the joined tokens from Liu Biao’s hand and examined them from both sides.

Uniquely shaped. The two pieces fit seamlessly, but didn’t seem to form a complete pattern.

I placed them on the table and studied them carefully.

I reached a conclusion:

The complete token should consist of six pieces. If all six joined together, they’d probably form a lotus-shaped disk. These two were only two of its petals.

If two petals together produced such wondrous effects, what kind of wondrous scene would the final pattern create?

I was looking forward to it.

Very much so.