Chapter 37: Gu Kunling’s Power

Chapter 37: Gu Kunling’s Power

But I was already bound, unable to move.

The net was tough. I struggled against it several times and could not break free. Cutting it was no use either.

I did have a small knife on me.

But the threads simply would not cut. I had no idea what material they were made from—whatever it was, it wasn’t in my knowledge base.

All I could do was watch helplessly as Zhu Zhaojie traded blows with that mist-shaped figure.

At least I had penetrating-wave ability, so I could still see the two of them fighting. Without it, I probably would have seen only Zhu Zhaojie throwing punches at empty air.

I couldn’t just sit there watching them fight, though. If the parasitic host called in reinforcements, we’d be finished.

Gu Qiutang had told me once that Soul Hunters were elite people too—that they had long since achieved human-brain interconnection and consciousness teleportation. Her accomplices could already be on their way.

I hurriedly activated my same-frequency sensing and electromagnetic-wave modulation, pushing everything I had into disrupting the parasitic host.

I sent thoughts hammering at her: I am the Court Chief. My name is Zhang Xiao. My name is Zhao Xirui…

I ran through every elite-person name I’d heard at the temple, one after another.

It worked—a little.

The interference rattled Zhu Zhaojie until she couldn’t help glancing toward me. That was all the mist-shaped figure needed. One crack of the Soul Hunter Whip and Zhu Zhaojie crumpled, knocked cold.

Then the mist-shaped figure reached over and dug the Wisdom Capsule out from the back of Zhu Zhaojie’s neck.

Zhu Zhaojie went limp all at once, like a patient whose last strength had given out, and folded to the ground.

The mist-shaped figure walked up to me and untied the net. “Move quickly,” they said. “Her accomplices will be here soon.”

Then they vanished without a trace.

I hauled Zhu Zhaojie up and ran for the park exit as fast as I could. I didn’t stop until I hit the main street, where I flagged down a taxi. Only then did I let myself breathe.

I told the driver to head for Mingguang Bridge. Gu Qiutang had mentioned a safe house there.

A safe house was one of the resistance organization’s hidden outposts scattered in various places—stocked with basic supplies and medical provisions, shielded against electronic detection.

I got Zhu Zhaojie there quickly.

Then I called Zhu Shiqing and handed her over to his care, telling the two of them to lie low there for the time being.

By then Zhu Zhaojie had regained consciousness. She was lying on the bed, her face tight with pain. But when she saw Zhu Shiqing, a faint smile crossed her face, and she managed to call out:

“Dad.”

That long-absent word broke Zhu Shiqing completely. Tears spilled down his face and he kept answering her, over and over.

I said, “Zhaojie took a bad hit this time. Let her recover here for now—I’ll need you to look after her. Don’t go out unless you have to. Give it some time, and I’ll find a way to ease her pain.”

Zhu Zhaojie had probably come back to herself. Fighting through the pounding in her head, she gave me a small nod. I went over and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Trust me. You’re going to be all right.”

Then I left the safe house and went straight home.

Given the Sweepers’ detection capabilities, tonight’s fight with the parasitic host would not have gone unnoticed—the Soul Hunters and Sweepers both would know about it. If I was home and they couldn’t locate Zhu Zhaojie, that was the safest arrangement for both of us.

I didn’t know whether there were other trackers on her. Fortunately, the safe house had shielding. Even if there were, they shouldn’t be able to lock onto her under normal circumstances.

That night moved slowly.

I slept deeply, though. The biggest threat that had been hovering beside me for so long had finally been dealt with. Something loosened in my chest.

I wasn’t afraid of the Soul Hunters coming after me—hiding would be pointless. Their detection methods made me essentially transparent. If they wanted to find me, they would.

But I had the immobilizing spell. At the right moment, it could save my life. That was my last resort.

The trouble was, the spell needed time before I could use it. Tonight had been a close call. When I fought the parasitic host, everything happened so fast there was no chance to join the two green jade tokens. That was a real weakness.

The next day, neither the Sweepers nor the Soul Hunters showed up. My opponents, it seemed, had their own plans.

Gu Kunling didn’t ask me anything. I didn’t seek her out either. I played it as though nothing had happened and went to work as usual.

I wanted to observe for a few more days—mainly because I was worried more Soul Hunters might surface nearby.

Two more days passed. Zhu Zhaojie was still in pain, but her physical wounds were healing.

I slipped away to find Gu Kunling, pulled her into the secret room, and told her everything that had happened two days before.

What I didn’t expect was Gu Kunling reaching into her pocket and producing a capsule. I knew what it was the moment I saw it—the one dug out of Zhu Zhaojie’s head. Unmistakable: flat and slightly deflated, like nothing else.

How had it ended up with her?

Seeing the bewilderment on my face, Gu Kunling laughed. Then she flicked my ear.

“Silly boy. I’ve saved you three times.”

I stared at her. “It was you?!”

“Who did you think it was? Your grandmother entrusted you to us. Keeping you safe is our responsibility.”

“Then how did you go invisible?”

Gu Kunling raised an eyebrow. “Want to learn?”

I nodded so fast my neck nearly gave out. “Yes. I always assumed that invisible person was one of the elite people. I never imagined it was you, Sister Kunling.”

“I’m not really an elite person. Neither is my father. We’ve only picked up a little of what they know—the surface of it. Come on. I’ll teach you the invisibility technique first.”

She crossed to a cabinet and took out a small device, speaking as she worked the controls.

“You’re a special case. Unlike the rest of us, you don’t have to rely solely on installing an AI micro-bio brain–computer interface.”

“An AI micro-bio brain–computer interface?” I asked quickly. “Isn’t that just a Wisdom Capsule? Aren’t you afraid the Sweepers will detect it?”

“It’s not that simple,” Gu Kunling said. “Not every AI micro-bio brain–computer interface is installed so conspicuously. We developed these long ago—ones that can be implanted directly inside the brain, like an electronic worm. Entirely biomaterial. The CPU is biomaterial. The power it draws comes entirely from the body’s own biological energy. The Sweepers and Soul Hunters have no equipment that can detect it. Think of it as connecting an AI biomatter auxiliary brain inside the human brain.”

“Two brains?” I said. “No wonder the Soul Hunters planted a parasitic host here to watch us. They must already suspect something.”

“Of course they do. They put people inside every intelligent company. The Du Group is no different—they’ll have their people there too. Nothing to be done about it. Because ours is a new company, and we screen applicants very carefully, they sent Zhu Zhaojie. Someone else might not have made it through. Because we are the resistance. You understand that now?”

“I do,” I said quickly. “I’ve felt it. Grandma must be part of it too.”

“She is our head,” Gu Kunling said. “Every piece of technology you see here—all these AI micro-bio brain–computer interfaces—she taught us. Many of those technologies are more advanced than what the elite people have. That’s the real reason they’ve never been able to catch us.”

“Then where is Grandma now?”

“Don’t ask me that. Your grandmother said we are not to say. Understand?”

Grandma said that.

She didn’t want me finding her. No wonder Gu Qiutang had always been so evasive—he wasn’t allowed to say anything either.

While she talked, Gu Kunling helped connect the terminal of the device to me.

A warm current of electricity moved through my brain.

She was transmitting the invisibility technique to me. What kind of technology was this? I waited with something close to wonder.

I closed my eyes and let the changes come.

It felt something like the time Yellow Hair Zhang Yu helped me replicate the remote detection ability—when I’d gone deep into the core of the Qiankun Department supercore through his equipment.

Slowly, my brain began to tingle. I seemed to see a new structure taking shape inside my mind. I tried running it, and an invisible force spread outward, forming a membrane around my body that I couldn’t see but could feel.

I was aware of my own presence. What I didn’t know was whether anyone else could see me.

I unclipped the terminal, stood up, and walked to a mirror.

What looked back at me was a misty shape—like the outline of bones through fog. I turned to Gu Kunling.

“Sister Kunling—can you see me?”

She looked uncertain. “You mean you can see yourself?”

“Yes. A mist-shaped figure. I got this ability from the killer at the Pingdu detention center—it lets me modulate penetrating waves. Back at Bi Deyuan’s place, I couldn’t see you at all. I could only sense your presence through same-frequency sensing. But after I replicated that killer’s function, I could make out a faint outline of invisible people. I saw a little during your fight with that invisible killer in the detention center. And again tonight, during the fight with the parasitic host.”

A shadow crossed Gu Kunling’s face. “That’s a problem. It would mean the elite people have developed a new product—something that can detect our invisibility membrane.”

“That’s what you call it? An invisibility membrane?”

“Yes. It’s a form of electromagnetic invisibility wave—it uses the principle of light refraction to form a nanoscale light-circulation membrane around the body. The light waves reaching other people’s eyes are refracted so they carry the view from behind the body, making the person invisible to the eye. During the Human–Machine War, invisibility suits were popular for a while, built on a similar principle. AI saw through them quickly. You can still find that kind of suit on the black market now, but it’s not worth much. The membrane we developed is different—an electromagnetic wave that adapts continuously to its environment. It looks like nothing, like air, but it’s actually a physical ion field. The elite people use this technology now too. Are you telling me they’ve already cracked it?”

“It still needs to be confirmed,” I said. “When I absorbed the killer’s penetrating ability, it overlapped with my existing same-frequency sensing and remote detection. The effect was cumulative—my original penetrating vision became something I could tune, like adjusting a wavelength. I don’t know if anyone else could do the same. If you can’t tune it, then plain penetrating vision only shows you still skeletons and organs. It can’t see through light bending around the body.”

Gu Kunling nodded slowly. “You’re saying this ability may have mutated when it entered you. I hope that’s true. Because if it hasn’t, using that function at a critical moment could get our people exposed. That would be very bad.” She paused. “Either way, we’ll have to be more careful from now on.”

I nodded. So Gu Kunling couldn’t see me with the naked eye. That settled it.

“Maybe this is actually useful,” she went on. “At least you can spot them before they spot us. That’s a real advantage.” She held out the Wisdom Capsule she’d taken from Zhu Zhaojie. “Now sense this parasitic-host capsule. Some of its functions may be worth having. Do it here—don’t take it out with you. Outside, it might be detected.”

Drawing on my earlier experience, I took the capsule and slowly brought it to the back of my head. Countless wriggling cilia reached out from its surface and sank into my neurons—a tingling, half-numbing sensation—and then information and skills came flooding in like a tide, more than I could track.

Then, cutting through everything else, a pulsing signal began to flash inside my mind.

Soul Hunter receiver?

The thought surfaced in my consciousness without warning.