NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71: Black Room
In a private booth, the two sat facing each other.
The so-called dinner invitation was simple, with dishes like stir-fried green peppers with pork, tomato and egg soup, and stir-fried cabbage. That was all.
Zhong Li’s gaze at Chu Ge held a hint of disappointment. Was this what he imagined a treat would be like?
Chu Ge casually sipped his soup and said, “What’s the matter? When someone treats you to a meal, you shouldn’t be picky. My money doesn’t fall from the sky, you know.”
Zhong Li let out a sigh. “My real name is Zhong Yi. Those names are just usernames or aliases… Hello, Mr. Chu.”
“As I suspected, you recognized me,” Chu Ge chuckled. “Were you with that fat guy and the others yesterday? I didn’t pay much attention to you. The face writer had everyone’s full attention.”
Zhong Yi lamented, “Even if you only look at the surface, my handsomeness stands out from the crowd. It’s unfair for some boring ability to steal all the attention.”
Chu Ge silently took out his phone mirror and handed it to him, saying, “Take a look.”
Zhong Yi remained silent and pushed the phone back, changing the subject. “I saw that Mr. Chu ventured into a nightclub yesterday, so I figured you would come looking for us today. You should have deduced that this place is one of our hideouts, which is why I waited here for you.”
Chu Ge replied, “I had no idea this was some kind of hideout. I simply came here to have a meal.”
Zhong Yi’s expression turned puzzled. “I overestimated you?”
Chu Ge replied, “I had a lot of things on my mind, and it didn’t feel quite right to ask Lin Wuyang or Zhang Qiren. You were introduced to me by my mom… Since we happened to meet, I won’t dwell on it. I have some questions to ask.”
Zhong Yi took a bite of stir-fried meat and said, “They said you have no abilities—up until now, I haven’t seen any evidence either. It seems more like you’ve trained your body. So your parents think you should live a normal life. Writing books is great, being able to make money from a career you enjoy is something many people envy.”
“When something you love becomes your profession, that love can be destroyed.”
“Just like when the woman you love becomes your wife?”
Chu Ge remained silent.
Zhong Yi continued, “I can see that not only do you still love it, but you love it even more. You update every day, full of vitality.”
Of course, Chu Ge loved it even more because it had become more than just a hobby or a profession. It had turned into love.
“I don’t think I came here to discuss careers with you,” Chu Ge said helplessly. “Regardless of whether I have abilities or not—does training my body count as some kind of extraordinary physical ability? Anyway, I should be able to ask about things related to this place, right?”
“Of course you can…” Zhong Yi smiled. “Actually, the origin of supernatural abilities goes way back, it’s not just a recent phenomenon. Discussions and depictions in films and television related to this topic can be traced back several decades. However, back then, such abilities were extremely rare. They would occasionally appear in isolated cases, but they didn’t have any significant impact. They were merely part of superhero stories and remained largely unknown.”
Chu Ge nodded. “So there has been a surge in recent years?”
“Yes, it can be called the resurgence of spiritual energy. We believe that long ago, the Earth had spiritual energy, or fairy energy, elemental energy, magic… various terms referring to similar phenomena. These legends of gods and immortals have been left behind in various countries. Of course, one could argue that ancient people were ignorant and resorted to imagination and metaphor to explain the unexplainable wonders of nature. But that’s not important. After years of debating various theories, it’s not the focus of our exploration—regardless of whether there was spiritual energy in the past, the fact is, it exists now.”
Chu Ge responded with an “Mm.” He had noticed that the concentration of spiritual energy was stronger than the last time, indicating that it was continuously becoming more potent. Although the overall amount was still scarce for Qi Wuji, it seemed feasible for some abilities to undergo variations. As for whether it existed in ancient times, it didn’t matter.
Zhong Yi continued, “Moreover, in recent years, it has become increasingly apparent, and the changes it has caused are also significant. That’s why your parents, who used to have regular jobs and took care of their children, have become so busy in recent years that people can hardly see them.”
That makes sense… Chu Ge rubbed his forehead. “Do you know the reason for these changes?”
“We are currently studying it, and there are no conclusive findings yet. It has been a major research topic in recent years, and countries all over the world attach great importance to it. The only thing that can be determined is that considering the rate at which spiritual energy is becoming dense, it is impossible for an abundance of ability users to emerge on the streets. At least for several hundred years, they will remain a minority.”
Chu Ge complained, “Then why do I see them everywhere I go? My roommate is one, my neighbor is one, my classmates are, even some of my readers.”
“There’s something called the Law of Extraordinary Individuals Gathering, and there’s also something called the Protagonist’s Halo. Which one do you think it is?”
“…”
“It’s actually not that mysterious. If you were an ordinary person, you wouldn’t follow us to the nightclub and witness everything, let alone personally get involved in conflicts. So it’s not that you see them everywhere you go, but rather because you are unique yourself, you can see things that others can’t.”
Chu Ge thought about it and realized it made sense. If he and Zhang Qiren weren’t special themselves, he would have always believed that Moon Shadow was just a hostess. The world of underground boxing would never have appeared before him.
“But what about that fat guy who punched me through the internet?”
“If you were an ordinary person, you would think you’ve been online for too long and started hallucinating… Just like when others see Jun writing ‘handsome’ on his face, they would curse him as a stupid idiot. Of course, their behavior of blindly exposing themselves is not commendable, and we generally don’t support such actions.”
“Are they also freelancers like you?”
“No, actually, I might not even be considered one. Gu Ruoyan wanted to recruit us, but we refused.” Zhong Yi smiled. “We are just a group… We don’t want to live a typical official life, nor do we want to be lackeys for the rich, and we don’t want to misuse our abilities. Yet, we also refuse to settle for a mundane life and feel that our somewhat useless abilities should be put to some use… We’re a group of clowns.”
Chu Ge: “Hmm…”
Why does it feel like I can relate a bit…
“A group of similar people who, due to some coincidences and opportunities, came together. it’s a form of self-entertainment and mutual support. We take on interesting tasks, and we have even helped the police catch fugitives, gaining a bit of fame. People outside refer to us as the ‘Black Room.’ It feels like we’re some mysterious organization, hahaha!”
Chu Ge responded blankly, “Outsiders wouldn’t come up with such a nickname. If it weren’t for you guys calling yourselves that, I could twist my head off and use it as a chamber pot.”
Zhong Yi: “…It’s a self-proclaimed name. We had a long argument and vote about it. In the end, we thought this name sounded more mysterious.”
Chu Ge silently lowered his head to eat.
“Do you really think all your readers are ability users?… It’s because you’ve been getting popular recently that a few book lovers went to read your book, and that’s when the group was created.”
For some reason, even though the truth was quite embarrassing, Chu Ge felt relieved and let out a sigh of relief, saying, “That’s good.”
Zhong Yi continued, “I have more contact with the authorities. I filed my profile, underwent assessment, and became an unofficial member. To be honest with you, it’s just to keep things low-key for our Black Room and save ourselves some trouble. If there’s anything the authorities really need us to do, we would actually cooperate. It’s only natural.”
“Why doesn’t Lin Wuyang approach you guys then? He complained about not having enough manpower. Does he not know about your identity?” Chu Ge asked.
Zhong Yi chuckled, “He knows, Gu Ruoyan has informed him. It’s just a matter of lack of trust. Besides, he doesn’t directly deal with us. Lin Wuyang is under a lot of pressure and fears having an undercover agent on his team. If something goes wrong, he’ll be the one taking the blame.”
He paused for a moment and then said seriously, “Trust needs to be cultivated. If he knew that it was us who reported the incident earlier, things would probably be different. Now that he knows it was you who stopped the person, he trusts you. You can tell him that it was our Black Room that reported the incident, and if there’s ever a need, he can approach us, and we will help.”
Chu Ge nodded, “Okay.”
“In reality, the ability users in this country are quite powerful, but when it comes to specific locations, they face limitations. It’s unavoidable. It will take some time. For example, if they were to absorb our abilties, well… uh…” Zhong Yi suddenly looked up and pondered, “That wouldn’t be of much use either. Our powers are all idiotic.”