Light Barrier - Chapter 19: Dream Induction

Nan Jin brought Gu Shen to the second underground floor of a building.

This was a detention area of the Adjudication Bureau.

The lights in the prison room were glaring.

A few burly men in tank tops were bound hand and foot, their muscles bulging.

From the moment they were subdued until now, they had been struggling persistently. Moreover, their strength was astonishing, and the sounds of collisions were audible through the walls.

Gu Shen recognized these people at a glance. Judging from their physiques, they were the ‘fake investigators’ from last night!

He asked, “Are these the suspects caught last night?”

“Yes, and no…” Nan Jin shook her head. “They’re actually (American) football players.”

Football… players? No wonder! Gu Shen recalled the scene yesterday. The way those people broke through the cordon was simply like wild beasts!

Nan Jin turned on a holographic screen.

The information files of these people appeared one by one.

She sighed. “These people are all amateur football players in Oto City. They have always been law-abiding citizens with no criminal records. But because they were hypnotized by a mental-type transcendent, they have cognitive disorders.”

“Mental-type transcendent?” Gu Shen frowned. “Cognitive… disorders?”

“They think they’re raging bulls.” An unfamiliar female voice drifted over leisurely.

Gu Shen’s mind roused as he looked toward the source of the voice. There was still one transcendent who had not appeared last night. It should be the ‘senior sister’ Nan Jin mentioned.

A… young girl in a gray hoodie and a short skirt slowly walked out from a corner. She was petite in stature and had a youthful face with baby fat, looking no more than sixteen years old.

“That person hiding behind the scenes is very clever.” The baby-faced girl chewed her gum casually. “The interrogation over there just ended. Unfortunately, the guys you and Zhong Wei caught are only hypnotized pawns.”

The girl blew a big bubble from her chewing gum and sized up Gu Shen with interest. Standing behind in the shadows was a brooding and handsome young man, who was also casting a friendly and scrutinizing gaze at Gu Shen.

The girl smiled. “Is this the S-grade rookie protected by the pardon order?”

“Yeah.” Nan Jin nodded and introduced them to Gu Shen. “These two are Senior Sister Luo Er and Senior Brother Zhong Wei.”

“Senior Sister?” Gu Shen blinked in surprise. “Senior Sister, you’re so young. You look younger than me.”

A smile appeared on the originally expressionless face of the girl blowing bubble gum. “You have a sweet mouth. Keep the compliments coming.”

Senior Brother Zhong Wei smiled and looked at Gu Shen’s eyes.

The moment their eyes met, out of thin air, Gu Shen heard a voice in his mind.

It was Zhong Wei’s voice. “Many years ago, because of a transcendental event, Senior Sister Luo’s body became its current state, and her bone age forever remains at fifteen. In fact, she has been learning and cultivating under Mr. Tree for the longest time and is the strongest. She is the out-and-out eldest senior sister everyone acknowledges and respects.”

Is this voice another use of transcendental power? Gu Shen found that this handsome young man was completely different from the fierce appearance he had glimpsed last night.

Zhong Wei’s performance when hunting down the magician was fierce and decisive, akin to a cheetah hunting prey—swift, accurate, ruthless, and terrifying.

He was a ruthless person who showed no mercy to his enemies!

But he was incredibly gentle to the newcomer under Mr. Tree’s wing.

“Due to the influence of transcendental power, although Senior Sister Luo looks small, she’s truly powerful and at the ceiling of the Adjudication Bureau.” Zhong Wei’s voice was exceptionally solemn. “… You’ll understand the true meaning of ‘ceiling’ in the future.”

Listening carefully, Gu Shen looked at Zhong Wei gratefully.

…

In a corner of the second underground floor, there were two tightly guarded holding cells, both with extremely high specifications.

The ‘magician’ and ‘infiltrator’ from last night were imprisoned here.

“Although these two individuals are transcendents, their strength is very ordinary, and they haven’t even undergone systematic training,” Luo Er said. “The mental-type transcendent hiding behind the scenes likely possesses a similar ability to Dream Induction. He has cast multiple layers of dreams on these people, blurring their perception of reality and illusion, and then implanted subconscious guidance. Until now, these two transcendents are still unaware of what they’ve done…”

“Dream Induction?”

“Hmm… The method of pulling someone’s consciousness into an illusion is known as Dream Induction. Generally speaking, only mental-type transcendents can use it. As time passes, the dreams will gradually dissipate. The fact that they haven’t woken up yet indicates there’s a significant gap in strength between the two sides.”

Seeing Gu Shen’s puzzled expression, Luo Er frowned and asked, “Nan Jin, why doesn’t he know anything?”

“It happened so suddenly that I haven’t had time to teach him,” Nan Jin said. “Before the fire, he was just an ordinary person.”

Technically, I’m still one, Gu Shen lamented inwardly.

“Time is tight. We only have fifteen days.” She took a deep breath. “In fifteen days, Gu Shen will face the Adjudication Bureau’s assessment. This assessment is very important. The higher the ability rating, the more resources he can obtain.”

“During these days, we will also fully investigate the fire case.” Zhong Wei frowned. “But it takes time to extract and identify the genetic evidence in this case. No matter how anxious we are, it’s useless.”

“This plan has already alerted the enemy,” Luo Er said. “After they’ve failed, they know that it’s impossible to stop us from extracting the information at the scene, so they likely won’t take further risk. As for the interrogation of these ‘suspects’ caught last night, it’s meaningless unless we catch the mental-type transcendent behind the scenes.

“Okay, there’s no use discussing this anymore.”

Luo Er reached out to press a switch and said calmly, “Coincidentally, there’s a training ground on the second underground floor. Before the special training, let’s take a look at how good our future junior brother’s skills are.”

The wall at the end of the room turned.

A thick metal door swung open.

Suddenly, Gu Shen’s field of vision widened. It was difficult to imagine that there was a spacious area the size of a football field under this building. This was the training ground specially prepared by the Adjudication Bureau for transcendents. The first thing that entered his eyes was the gray and white tones everywhere. The room was permeating with a chilling atmosphere.

Basic firearms, targets, and melee weapons such as swords and daggers were placed on racks.

“I’ve seen the case file.” Luo Er said with a smile. “Indeed, the scene was astonishing. Two transcendents were slaughtered without being able to fight back. But what’s perplexing is that one was cut into pieces by blades, while the other was burned into ashes by flames.

“Due to the continuous resurgence of transcendental power all over the world, the Transcendental Spectrum Chart we produce is being updated and perfected every year, but the Adjudication Bureau can’t immediately determine if your awakened power is a known transcendental ability.

“But no matter what the specific ability is, it can’t escape the three main classifications—the mental type that controls the mind, the nature type that controls the elements, and the assault type that evolves the body.

“From the scene, you clearly displayed two completely different types of transcendental powers. Few in the entire East Continent can accomplish this. It’s a remarkable miracle.

“Now, let me see the depths of your skills.”

Luo Er looked at Gu Shen. “Use your awakened ability to attack me. Don’t hold back.”