Chapter 14: Three Eyes (Part 1)

As more and more similar videos appeared and spread further, many people gradually wavered, beginning to believe that some people truly possessed powers that transcended those of ordinary humans.

If one were to view the world as a piece of draft paper, then the growing number of Awakened were like drops of ink falling upon it, constantly spreading and radiating outward; even if certain countries wanted to prohibit the spread of such information to avoid affecting the public heart, it was ultimately in vain.

In just a single week, the greeting among many young people became, "Have you Awakened today?"

And in WeChat Moments, the content shifted from posting selfies, showing off affection, displaying food, and sharing travels to reposting various videos or news—some showing people using Superpowers to kill, others using Superpowers to perform various high-difficulty stunts.

But these were basically spread by foreigners; the Chinese, who are well-versed in keeping a low profile and self-restraint, really had few who exposed themselves, except for those who Awakened under extreme circumstances, and even they were quickly and consciously cold-treated by the media.

……

After a weekend meal, Zhang Wei and Bai Guagua leaned back on the sofa, satisfied and patting their bellies; on the dining table lay a pile of scattered black bones—those were the braised pig trotters and marinated chicken feet the little girl loved.

"I even suspect you're a fake Zhang Wei." Bai Guagua, off to the side, looked melancholy as she watched the good student who usually buried himself in piles of books now completely degenerate into a total phone-addict.

Zhang Wei didn't even turn his head, his fingers tapping rapidly on the phone screen as he said, "So you've realized? Fine, then how about this... you go wash the dishes, and I'll let the real Zhang Wei out."

Absorbed Bai Guagua's Resentment, +174

"Don't even think about it... I'm telling you, my power control isn't good right now; if I'm not careful, I'll drop the bowls."

Hearing this guy ordering her around again, the little girl was fuming.

Zhang Wei said with a solemn expression, "That just means you need to wash the dishes even more. Simply increasing power is like a child waving a hammer; if you aren't careful, you'll hurt others and yourself. Only by controlling power, manipulating power, and having it move as you wish and operate as you desire, is it truly power that belongs to you! Otherwise, it's just a hammer that will slip out of your hand at any moment, look..."

As he spoke, Zhang Wei pulled up his sleeves and lifted his pant legs; they were covered in blue and purple bruises, all masterpieces of Bai Guagua from these past few days.

Seeing so many "internal injuries" on his body, the little girl felt a rare sense of shame and lowered her head, muttering as if she knew she was wrong, "You talk so pretentiously... but it seems to make some sense."

"Of course!"

With encouragement in his eyes, Zhang Wei taught her earnestly, "Things like washing dishes, mopping the floor, wiping tables, doing laundry, and so on, are all ways to train in the use of power. When you can do these things well, that is when you have mastered this transcendent power! Do you understand my painstaking efforts?"

Absorbed Bai Guagua's Resentment, +666

Zhang Wei praised inwardly: A single girl is worth a hundred netizens! Over this past week, his Resentment Value had accumulated to over ten thousand, but he could only sit on such a massive "fortune" without being able to use it effectively, only able to dump it into the pit of the Lucky Draw; just thinking about it made him angry.

Bai Guagua was not a girl easily fooled; perhaps it was because Zhang Wei had been repeatedly injured at her hands, or perhaps it was because he had been exceptionally generous today and let her eat her fill, but in the end, she obediently went to wash the dishes, which brought great comfort to Zhang Wei's heart.

He opened his versatile Moments again; his friends list had grown significantly under the guise of him posting the latest news on Superpowered individuals. Although he didn't know most of them, it didn't affect his daily harvesting.

The latest post was: The new headband I bought is so tight, it's hurting my head; it seems these things shouldn't be bought online after all.

Zhang Wei thought for a moment and replied underneath, "I didn't expect Zhu Bajie to wear a Tightening Fillet Spell too."

A few minutes later, the other party replied, "You're crazy!"

Absorbed Li Jianjun's Resentment, +56

Zhang Wei was instantly shocked; this guy is a man! Why on earth is a man wearing a headband???

He expressed that he really couldn't fathom it.

He then went to click on the other person's Moments, wanting to dig for more resources, only to find that it displayed that he couldn't browse because they weren't friends, indicating he had been deleted; Zhang Wei could only secretly feel a pity.

Once something is manifested in a digital form, its magic is infinite, not to mention it had all sorts of mysterious uses. This left Zhang Wei with no heart to study, spending his whole day pondering how to provoke people.

"Zhang Wei, have you noticed that I seem to have changed recently?" Bai Guagua came out of the kitchen and shone a light on her little hands.

Zhang Wei looked at her seriously and discovered that the girl's previously sallow complexion had become fair and rosy, and much smoother; her somewhat yellow and split-ended hair had also become black and shiny. The whole person had indeed changed significantly.

Was it because of the richer diet this week? Or was it caused by the Awakening?

"You should thank those poor, tragically deceased little pigs and chickens; it's the meat on them that made you become even more... vain." Zhang Wei looked at her with compassion.

Absorbed Bai Guagua's Resentment, +456

Bai Guagua felt a bit unwell, pouted, and said, "You make it sound like I ate it all by myself. Do you dare say your stomach isn't filled with the vengeful spirits of Brother Pig?"

Ha! The little girl's tongue had become sharp.

Zhang Wei took out a bag of potato chips from behind him and waved it in a show of force: "Want some?"

Bai Guagua's eyes lit up, her throat moved: "I want some!"

Zhang Wei said seriously, "The word 'want' represents all kinds of human aspirations; 'want' is a beautiful wish. However, we need to put in effort to realize it, otherwise, it is getting something for nothing."

"I knew you were up to something." Bai Guagua had anticipated this long ago and said fearlessly, "Tell me, what kind of trick is it this time?"

*Cough cough*, this girl is getting harder and harder to handle.

Zhang Wei pondered, "Let's play rock-paper-scissors; win once and you get one chip, that way everyone has a chance to eat."

Bai Guagua looked at him with disdain: "Low! So low! I stopped playing this game in the third grade."

Zhang Wei was expressionless: "Are you playing or not? One word."

"Play!"

……

In the old bungalow, inside the messy room, both of them wore confident smiles, keeping their hands behind their backs, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to their opponent.

Zhang Wei, Bai Guagua: "Rock, paper... scissors!"

A big rock against a small paper; Zhang Wei lost.

Bai Guagua smiled triumphantly, picked up a chip, put it in her mouth, and crunched it loudly.

Zhang Wei watched the 200 Resentment Value being deducted and felt terrible. He had fully expected to win over Bai Guagua by relying on "Pig Oil Blinds the Heart," but he hadn't expected that he would be the one to fail.

Not only did it not work, but it also deducted double the Resentment; is being an Awakened so amazing?

"No, that's not right." Zhang Wei rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought: "It's normal for ordinary people and Awakened people to have different consumption values, but there's no reason for it to have no effect..."

Ever since he obtained this thing that was like a skill but not quite a skill, he hadn't delved into how to use it, assuming he could disrupt anyone's sanity at any time.

But now it seemed that was not the case.

At least, disruption that didn't make logical sense was impossible; just like a person living a perfectly fine life couldn't be made to jump off a building and commit suicide. The last time he was able to make that man go streaking, it was largely because the seed of "streaking" was already in the other person's heart; the only difference was whether they would compromise with the woman or ignore the shame of streaking.

Come to think of it, even without this Resentment-absorbing thing, when humans are filled with negative emotions, aren't they prone to doing many foolish things? Not to mention streaking, there are many examples of suicide, murder, and anti-social behavior.

In that case, "Pig Oil Blinds the Heart" was just a way of applying Resentment; simply put, it was guiding the situation to make someone confused at a critical moment, act on impulse, and make a foolish choice.

After roughly deducing the reason, Zhang Wei handed the potato chips to Bai Guagua and said generously, "They're all yours."

Ignoring the other's suspicious gaze, Zhang Wei got up and returned to the bedroom, intending to use up all the remaining thirteen thousand Resentment Value!