Chapter 2: The Nemesis of American-Style Iaido

The Human Empire that once dominated the galaxy had divided psychic powers into twenty-four ranks, which can be simplified into seven for "Positive Psychic Power."

F-rank: Ordinary people with no psychic manifestations.

E-rank · Low-level Psychic: Manifests only in high-pressure environments, but cannot be effectively controlled.

D-rank · Mid-level Psychic: Can be aware of the existence of psychic power and can be controlled through training.

C-rank · High-level Psychic: Shows psychic talent at birth, posing a potential security risk to the Empire.

B-rank · High-risk Psychic: Only a faint possibility of appearing in every few billion people; shows extreme tendencies from a young age and must be forcibly controlled.

A-rank · Super-risk Psychic: Extremely rare and dangerous; at necessary times, the "Astra Militarum" is allowed to be summoned for forced execution.

The Research Department of the Galactic Human Empire indicates that the current level of human evolution does not possess the possibility of controlling A-rank (Alpha-level) psychic power; nearly all A-rank Psykers suffer from mental illnesses of varying severity, and their mental states are extremely unstable.

A professionally trained A-rank Psyker can tear apart a hundred-meter-tall Titan-class construct made of adamantium with a single thought, destroy a formation of interstellar armed forces with a single spell, and crush a space battleship with a few gestures; if they go all out regardless of the cost, they can tear apart tectonic plates and forcibly stop a planet's rotation.

After that, there is the highest, rarest, and most dangerous S-rank · Calamity Tier.

S-rank · Calamity Psychic: A monster that cannot be accurately defined; its existence is a catastrophic threat to the material universe. If there is no 100% chance of capture, once discovered, it must be executed on the spot at all costs, even if it means destroying the planet or burning the star system.

Theoretically, there is nothing a professionally trained S-rank (Alpha+) Psyker cannot do: extinguish stars, tamper with local time flow, summon legions of Greater Daemons...

The above is "Positive Psychic Power"; where there is "positive," there is naturally "negative."

"Negative Psychic Power" is the nemesis of "Positive Psychic Power." Because they lack a "soul" or have completely severed their connection to the "Warp," they are immune to the influence of "Positive Psychic Power" on a mystical level, commonly known as "Blanks."

To understand it simply in gaming terms, "Negative Psychic Power" can be seen as 99.99% magic immunity + a bit of fixed magic resistance.

They are the "hunters" of "Psykers," such as the famous "Sisters of Silence" of the Human Empire, who capture and hunt down unstable factors threatening the Galactic Human Empire in formations.

There are no two identical psychic powers in the universe. According to the Psyker's performance in the material world, the Empire roughly divides psychic powers into five major categories.

Biomancy, Pyromancy, Telekinesis, Telepathy, and Divination.

……

And now, the "psychic monster" these hyenas are facing is demonstrating one of the basic, common abilities of "Positive Psychic Power · Telepathy": "Psychic Attachment · Puppet Driving!"

"What are you afraid of! People die when they are killed, and Psykers are human too!"

"So what if it's the Telepathy school? Find its main body and kill it!"

The man in black from the gang raises his large-caliber hand cannon and pulls the trigger continuously. The puppet, under the bombardment of guns and cannons, seems to have some kind of "network latency."

The hyenas, suffering from mental interference, see an "opportunity," grinning ferociously with various sharp weapons in hand, stepping on the dark green foul-smelling fluid on the ground to surround the puppet from left and right.

"Go! Kill this puppet, find the 'Psyker's' main body, and take him to trade for the qualification of the 'Upper Hive District'!"

Shouts of killing, roars, the sound of firearms firing, the sound of bodies being cut by sharp weapons...

The scavengers, rushing one after another, submerge the puppet in the crowd, attacking the puppet's various fatal parts with extreme cruelty.

Head, throat, heart, spine—many vital points are attacked, and the nearly crashed puppet does not resist.

As if it were an illusion, the corners of the mouth beneath the cracked white devil mask actually reveal a satisfied smile.

*The distance is very close; it doesn't matter if one is missing.*

*Then—Activate · Body Explosion!*

The explosives embedded in the puppet's body are activated. This time there is no "network latency," and the puppet explodes decisively.

Sharp iron fragments, metal projectiles, highly toxic pollutants, etc., along with a sky full of blood and wreckage, shroud a radius of more than ten square meters, equally "gifting" all the hyenas and jackals a grand present.

Contacting the explosion at such close range, the attack, comparable to a grenade, blows the hyenas and jackals beyond recognition; shrill wails and curses resound through the night, and they die before long.

A large number of "teammates" die instantly, and the extreme fear allows the gang man to barely break free from the mental interference, turning and fleeing in a panic.

*Psychic Impact — Psychic Scream!*

The black-haired youth lying on the roof of a three-story building nearby hooks his finger at the fleeing gang man.

Invisible and intangible mental power transforms into a sharp blade and steel knife that destroys the enemy's mind and soul.

The gang man's running motion stops abruptly, and he falls to the ground, sleeping soundly without a sound.

Sleeping as soon as he says so—young people have good bodies; perhaps this is why the strong never complain about their environment.

The identities of hunter and prey are swapped.

Turning the encirclement into a counter-encirclement and successfully completing the "black-on-black" heist, Meng Yi stands up slowly, his finger pressed against his brow as he whispers.

*Psychic Diffusion — Wide-Area Mental Detection!*

The psychic power, which can be called vast, sweeps through every corner within a radius of five kilometers in a hemispherical three-dimensional structure.

A building, a body, a pebble, a drop of sewage... all appear clearly and distinctly in Meng Yi's mental vision.

"Phew—very good. It seems there aren't many people fishing for me."

"I can't hang around the 'Black Gun District' recently. Time to clean up the harvest and go to the next district over."

In less than half a minute, Meng Yi has probed 78.5 square kilometers of land; unless there is "untouchable material" that isolates psychic power, his mental detection will not have errors.

Even if there are buildings piled with "untouchable material" or equipment made from it, they will appear as "invisible" black domains in the field of mental detection.

Meng Yi barely sets his mind at ease, leaping down from the top floor of the three-story building with agility, reaching out to grasp a rusty railing to slow down along the way, curling his body before landing, rolling twice on the ground, and standing up gracefully.

Walking leisurely to the place where the gang man fell, Meng Yi kicks the gang man's wrist, and the large-caliber hand cannon that flies up is accurately caught by Meng Yi.

Playing with the "American-style Iaido" twice, Meng Yi jokes to himself.

"Your American-style Iaido is strong, but is Meng's psychic sneak attack not also effective?"

After checking and closing the safety, he tucks the large-caliber hand cannon into his waistband.

Meng Yi's gaze falls on the brain-dead gang man who has fallen into a vegetative state.

"I lost a 'puppet' in the 'Black Gun District' today, and in the blink of an eye, I got another one back from the 'Black Gun Gang.' A drink and a peck are determined by heaven."

*Psychic Attachment · Puppet Driving!*

Dividing a wisp of will, Meng Yi rubs his slightly sore brow and quotes a famous line from the "filial son · Lich King Arthas."

"Warriors of the Hive City wasteland, rise!"

As the words fall, the crashed gang man climbs up from the ground with some "network latency." ===== CHAPTER 3 =====