RPDH Chapter 11

After a weighted pause, the man sharing her table continued, “Then you’ll be targeted by an organization known as Tarnished Bronze.”

He seemed determined to gloss over the implications in Li Li’s words, emphasizing again, “So you must never, never expose your ability.”

With that, those searing gazes gradually turned away. The feeling of being the sole center of attention soon faded away.

Li Li paused with chopsticks in hand.

“Okay, I’ll be careful then.” She drawled.

She only came over to try her luck because these guys looked like they were in cahoots. However, it seemed now that they weren’t human traffickers like Tarnished Bronze. She was surprised that this shifty fellow who took the initiative to approach her was actually a good guy.

Li Li stared at her chopsticks, wondering if she was thinking too badly of the manhua denizens.

Although everyone aside from the protagonist and his entourage did tend to have at least a couple of screws loose.

Oh well, she would knock on the next door then. Her goal was to cause trouble today, after all.

The breakfast stall was situated on a side street. Li Li intentionally avoided major intersections for a reason. Across the road was another small restaurant.

There was still one soup-filled dumpling left in the basket. A loud sound rang out before she could eat it and move on.

“Crack!”

The windows of the restaurant shattered without warning.

A figure was ejected back-first from the broken windows. He smashed hard into the street before rolling to the side as fast as he could.

An invisible attack struck the spot he had just vacated near instantly. A 2cm fissure appeared on the street.

Despite appearing in the blink of an eye, the shrill whistling ringing in everyone’s ears was real.

Li Li, who happened to be to the right and front of the fissure, was in the perfect spot to witness this strange occurrence.

“It’s Tarnished Bronze again.” The man at her table lowered his voice, “Ability type unknown. Untraceable, invisible, almost unavoidable…”

The teen who narrowly avoided danger stumbled to his feet as the man spoke. He was littered with injuries, the bone-deep gashes on his arms and waist most notable among them.

Yet the people seated around her from the same organization as the man at her table, despite looking perfectly able-bodied, didn’t even raise their heads at the commotion.

They didn’t even bother to look.

Self-preservation and not offending powerful ability users were core tenets of this world.

Therefore, no one tried to help the rough-up teen.

The man continued to speak despite his trembling lips, “…That’s a troublesome ability user that we have no hope of resisting!”

A black-robed individual leapt out of the broken windows a beat later as the teen tried to duck into a nearby alleyway. Several more whistling sounds rang out in quick succession. The teen lunged to the side as soon as he heard them.

Right in Li Li’s direction!

Fast, faster than the eye could perceive. In an instant, the tables split into two.

What remained of the bowl of Dragon Soup splashed on the ground. The dumpling that slipped out of Li Li’s chopsticks soon fell as well.

Li Li sat there with chopsticks in the air like her mind hadn’t caught up yet.

A strong wind buffeted her bangs. Only now did the soft black locks fall back down to frame her face.

Those dark eyes blinked slowly at the fissure just a distance away.

She was mere centimeters from death just now.

Abilities…

She mulled over the phrase.

She’s seen these abilities at work since coming to this world. The boss’ domain, Yi Ming’s metal-shifting, Qing Yuchen’s mind control, and that Rank C’s bronze manipulation.

She didn’t know the ability or even rank of this person. He’s never appeared in the manhua before. However, it was impossible for him to be a mid-rank ability user. There were only two mid-rank ability users in Tarnished Bronze, after all.

How wonderful, she thought.

This was exactly the controlled life-and-death crisis she was looking for.

…

There was a fire burning in Xu She’s chest.

He, along with all the diners around him and even the owner of this breakfast stall, belonged to the same organization. They strived to improve the living conditions of low-rank ability users and change the wretched laws of this world.

If might made right, then should the weak just go die? Xu She pondered on this question everyday.

He believed their organization was making strides towards their goal. Even today, they managed to find a stranger and warn him before harm could befell him. If the man needed help, they were happy to let him join their organization…

Yet when that familiar farce of the strong exploiting the weak happened right before his eyes again, there was nothing he could do about it.

Because he was just the lowest of the low-ranks, a Rank F ability user.

Using pyrokinesis as an example, Rank D pyrokinetics could generate flames in a radius of several meters around themselves, Rank E’s could ignite half their body, and Rank F’s could only ignite the tip of their finger. They were little better than a human lighter.

Even he believed he was closer to an ordinary person than an ability user.

The other members of the organization here at the moment, including the stall owner, were all fellow Rank F’s.

They weren’t on a mission right now. They were just patronizing the business of a fellow member.

Because no Rank D had tagged along, there was nothing they could do.

The fact only made him seethe more. Yet his feet remained firmly planted on the ground, even if the table in front of him had been destroyed and his soup was spilled.

The black-robed man advancing down the street towards the teen had no intention of explaining anything. The teen rebelliously raised his head and glared with gritted teeth as he futilely tried to get up.

Meanwhile, three more black-robed individuals crossed the glass-laden threshold. Xu She saw one of them draggin a young girl along by her collar. The girl’s eyes were tightly shut. Her state was unknown, but her features closely resembled the teen’s.

They were probably identical twins that accidentally exposed their abilities and became targets of Tarnished Bronze.

The black-robed man ignored the innocent bystanders he had involved as he strode single mindedly towards the teen.

Tarnished Bronze had always operated this way. Xu She never understood why so many people were willing to sell their souls to the devil and harm their fellow ability users.

He turned away, unable to stomach watching any longer.

It was then that he took note of the young man sitting across from him.

The young man was clearly not from these parts. He seemed rather young and thin.

Overly so, by Xu She’s standards.

He wasn’t as muscular or as tall as them. With his black hair let down like that, he appeared to be an obedient lamb.

But no lamb would show such an expression at a time like this.

It was not terror, fear, or even shock. The young man remained in his seat with calm indifference. One corner of his handsome lips slowly rose.

Xu She’s eyes widened.

He watched as the young man slowly raised his hand, letting go of his chopsticks in the process.

They fell to the ground with a crisp clatter. The deep, raspy voice that followed was even more deadly, piercing straight through his eardrums and into his violently beating heart.

“Hey, you from Tarnished Bronze. Wait a moment.”

The lamb revealed a faint smile

“Aren’t you going to compensate me for my dumplings?”

…

The air suddenly stagnated. The organization members at the breakfast stall turned to the dark-haired young man who spoke up in horror.

The black-robed man in question, the bully of an ability user no one had dared to hold accountable for so long, looked over as well.

They watched as the young man slowly rose to his feet and casually dusted off his black trenchcoat. The overly long belt dangling loosely swung gently as he strode over with a faint smile playing on his lips.

“…What do you think you’re doing?!” Xu She shot to his feet after recovering from his shock. He tried to save the young man he had just met. “Don’t go over there!”

But the young man didn’t even look back, like he paid Xu She’s words no mind.

His look of interest was reserved for the black-robed man alone.

The black-robed man made his move as well.

With a sudden stomp, a fissure sprouted from beneath his feet and shot in the dark-haired young man’s direction.

One second? Two?

No, instantly!

Another sharp whistle rang out. Xu She squeezed his eyes shut on reflex, unable to watch what was about to happen.

…

The changes were subtle, Li Li thought.

Accelerated heartbeat, adrenaline secretion, and racing thoughts. She was occupied with the invisible blade racing over to split her in two.

It appeared to be coming straight at her from the ground, but the rapidly flowing air currents just above told a different story.

Time seemed to stretch as the instantaneous attack slowed to a crawl.

And within this exaggerated moment, she perceived the ‘truth’.

[400 popularity has been deducted. Remaining balance: 979.]

[Item [Space Transformation] purchased successfully. Countdown: 3:00]

Standing there like a punching bag wasn’t the solution to a life-and-death crisis. Attempting to bring out your innate potential while fighting back was.

In the almost imperceptible delay, Li Li seemed to come into contact with something.

It wasn’t the imminent attack nor the razor sharp winds blasting her way.

It seemed to vanish without a trance when she reached out again.

She stepped forward, vanishing without a trace the instant before coming into contact with the fissure.

“He disappeared?!” Xu She couldn’t help but cry out. He had opened his eyes in the end and witnessed this shocking turn of events.

The dark-haired young man’s voice sounded right after, as if addressing his confusion.

“So that’s what’s going on, ah.”

The young man reappeared behind the black-robed man.

He tilted his head a fraction. “Now I know what your ability is.”