Chapter 197

A strand of my hair?

Upon hearing the rebel leader's demand, Li Ang immediately grew wary.

Though the man's ability seemed tied to the "Gate," the rebels had ties to the Aquarius Director, who had created so many anomalies—he likely gave him one or more of them.

Could this anomaly, if it used hair to detect one's state, expose the identity I "borrowed" from the photo?

…

"Little Baggins?"

Seeing Li Ang didn't immediately pluck a hair but stood silent and motionless, the fat uncle beside him grew anxious and shoved him hard.

"Hurry up! What are you waiting for?"

"Sorry, I… I got a little too excited!"

Letting himself stumble forward with the uncle's shove, Li Ang slipped his hand into his chest, tapped the small mirror, beckoned the pup inside with a finger, then smiled gratefully:

"Thank you, Leader, for this chance! I'll pluck the hair right away!"

Amid the curious stares of the crowd, having played the role of a boy stunned by surprise, Li Ang swiftly pulled his hand from his chest and yanked a handful of hair from the back of his head.

"Leader, is this enough?"

"More than enough… actually, one strand would've been fine…"

Watching the small tuft of short black hair trembling in "Little Baggins's" hand, the middle-aged man smiled helplessly, plucked one strand, and lightly rubbed it against the inside of his wristwatch, following Aquarius Director's method.

"Squeak~"

With a faint sound like interlocking metal gears, a tiny gap suddenly opened along the side of the man's wristwatch, revealing its inner mechanical structure.

Under Li Ang and the other's "shocked" gazes, the bizarre six-hand wristwatch seemed to come alive—its brass gears, balance wheels, and lever arms, like tiny twisted fangs exposed from the gap, swallowed the black hair whole.

"A friend gave me this. It can detect, through hair, whether someone possesses 'special' power—the more needles move, and the farther they swing, the better your potential."

After briefly explaining the watch's function, the middle-aged man pressed a switch on the other side and flicked it lightly.

"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"

With an extremely faint rustle, five needles instantly sprang to life, racing rapidly toward abnormal ranges.

Past, body, soul, personality, emotion… Old Baggins's ordeal triggered only three needles. This child has anomalies in so many areas?

Glancing at "Little Baggins" with mild surprise, the man lowered his head, watching the watch eagerly—when the needles finally stopped, his expression turned regretful.

Three needles passed, but not one needle per category—past, body, and soul passed, while emotion and personality barely twitched, nowhere near abnormal thresholds.

Little Baggins had a painful past, but no great future; his body and soul were abnormal, yet his emotion and personality failed utterly, their fluctuations barely noticeable.

As I suspected, though he endured hardship, the Old Owen family cared for him—he never truly sank into darkness. His personality and emotions are merely slightly skewed from family trauma.

What a pity. Like his father, Old Baggins, he almost made it—but fell just short of the final step.

"I'm sorry."

Meeting the expectant gazes of Old Owen and his wife, the middle-aged man shook his head and delivered the verdict outright.

"Little Baggins isn't entirely without potential, but he still falls slightly below the minimum standard."

"Currently, he shows no aptitude for that path."

"…."

"I see…"

Hearing the leader's verdict, "Little Baggins," branded as talentless by the leader's own mouth, his eyes dimmed, and he slumped, hollow-eyed.

The fat uncle sighed deeply, patted his back in comfort, then forced a smile at the middle-aged man:

"Thanks, Leader. Even without that miraculous ability, we'll still find a way—if we work hard enough!"

At the uncle's words, the middle-aged man fell silent for a moment.

If effort alone could do it… then why, after countless attempts before and after crossing the Gate of the Other Side, did everything still slip into the abyss?

Some things in this world are simply beyond effort. No ability means no ability. No qualification means no qualification!

"Yes… effort is enough… it should be."

With a tight ache in his chest, the middle-aged man smiled, uttered a lie he didn't believe, stepped aside to open the path toward Wang Gong, and told Li Ang:

"Go home. Your money was probably drained by Old Baggins's drinking, and what's left will likely go toward fines for defacing the Memorial Wall—but he may not have carried all of it. There might still be some left at home."

"Check if there's anything remaining. If you're short later, go to Finance and request an advance—say I told you to."

"Thank you, Leader…"

Facing the middle-aged man's kindness, the shattered dream of "Little Baggins" nodded weakly, murmured thanks, then followed the whispering fat uncle, gloomy and silent, through the warehouse door, leaving the valley settlement behind.

After their figures vanished, whether from regret at not gaining a new anomaly or from sorrow at sharing the same helplessness, the middle-aged man sighed, turned, and walked toward the valley's center to plan the next phase of operations.

But he'd taken only a few steps when a sturdy figure sprinted toward him, sniffing the air eagerly, face alight with excitement—upon seeing the man, he rushed forward in ecstatic delight.

"Nathan… Leader! That's your scent? Why are you suddenly fragrant?"

"???"

What scent? What do you mean I'm fragrant?

Frowning, the middle-aged man sniffed his sleeve—no unusual odor. He asked sharply:

"Tiger? What are you talking about? I don't smell like anything."

"…."

No scent… or rather, not his scent—and it's fading fast…

Sniffing twice, close to the middle-aged man, the scarred, strange man shook his head in disappointment, then sneered:

"Leader… Nathan, did you meet a true powerhouse? Where is he?"