Chapter 143: Levels of Power

After reviewing all the materials, Lu Xin set the tablet aside and picked up the analysis report on ability users.

Gecko waited a while before finally asking, “Well?”

Lu Xin glanced at him, surprised. “Well what?”

“I mean…”

Gecko kept one hand on the steering wheel and gestured with the other. “I mean, what did you think of the intel?”

“Not much. There wasn’t anything particularly useful…”

Lu Xin shook his head, speaking calmly. “Looks like we’ll just have to go check it out ourselves.”

As far as he was concerned, the report really didn’t contain any useful information.

Reporting your itinerary and progress to Headquarters is standard procedure.

But at this point, it felt pretty useless.

Since Headquarters had agreed to let him handle this, they’d naturally accepted he would be leading the mission.

Lu Xin figured Headquarters was probably more worried about him *not* coming back than about whatever he might do on the mission itself.

Besides, the other point of reporting was to make rescue and investigation easier if something went wrong.

But heading into Happy Town now meant they couldn’t really count on either rescue *or* investigation.

…

…

The car started smoothly again, maintaining its speed, but it somehow lacked its previous swagger. Maybe it was because Gecko felt too uneasy to crack jokes, and the car seemed to have lost its cheerful vibe too.

Lu Xin understood what Gecko was feeling, so he kindly refrained from prodding him.

“Brother, you seem pretty confident…”

Just as Lu Xin decided not to bother Gecko, Gecko himself couldn’t hold back any longer.

He tried to look casual, every expression perfectly measured, but you could still sense a hint of nervousness beneath the surface.

“Heading to Highway 85… aren’t you scared at all?”

…

Lu Xin glanced up at him and chuckled. “Being scared doesn’t help.”

“Hmm…”

Gecko drew out the sound, then suddenly asked, “Hey, we’re pretty tight, right? Can’t you level with me?”

Lu Xin looked over at Gecko with some curiosity.

Gecko’s expression turned serious, though he still looked a bit shifty. “Brother, what level is your ability, really?”

“Level?”

Lu Xin didn’t quite catch his meaning.

Gecko quickly explained, “I don’t know if your training covered this yet, but abilities like ours are classified based on influence range, psychic power, and defensive capabilities. Generally, Spider-types like us start at C-level. But if you push your abilities to the max, mastering skills near their absolute limit, you reach B-level.”

“See? I’m B-level.”

…

Lu Xin glanced at Gecko, blurting out instinctively, “You’re actually B-level?”

“Hey…”

Gecko’s expression turned theatrical. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“I’m pretty damn capable, you know…”

…

“Oh, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean it like that…”

Lu Xin quickly tried to explain, though inwardly he was thinking, *He’s really B-level?*

*Wasn’t my own file tentatively marked “C+”?*

…

…

“You seem like a Spider-type, but you have other abilities too, right?”

Gecko pressed on, watching Lu Xin carefully. “Everyone’s pretty much figured it out, you don’t have to hide it from me. Since you want to go to that godforsaken place to grab someone, I’ll stick with you, of course. But you gotta give me the lowdown. Your ability is really…”

“…which level?”

Lu Xin pondered for a moment, then glanced at Gecko. “What about above B-level? Like A-level, what are they like?”

Gecko thought for a moment before answering seriously, “Above B-level, there’s A-level and S-level!”

“B-level includes people like me, whose own abilities are well-developed and stable, or those like Drunkard whose natural abilities have a wide range of influence. A-levels are powerful enough to potentially take on a small army of a few hundred people single-handedly… Of course, they could still die, but they can at least put up a fight…”

“And as for S-level…”

He paused, then said, “All I can say is… unsolvable!”

“Abilities at the unsolvable level are S-level.”

…

“Unsolvable?”

Lu Xin was intrigued by the word Gecko used. Gecko nodded seriously. “Our abilities are actually similar to Pollution Sources. They each have unique characteristics and a ‘Core Key’. These are what grant us our powers.”

“Under normal circumstances, stable Ability Users can develop three distinct abilities…”

“Take us Spider-types, for example. It sounds fancy, but our fundamental abilities boil down to just three.”

“First, complete control over our own bodies.”

“Second, self-healing far beyond that of ordinary people.”

“And third, precise manipulation of external objects…”

“You can probably see how these three abilities all stem from a single Core Key…”

…

Lu Xin nodded slightly. Gecko’s abilities did seem to fit that description.

*But Sister’s case…*

He glanced at his sister in the rearview mirror. There were similarities, but it wasn’t quite the same.

“So…”

Gecko continued, his expression turning very serious. “So, as long as someone understands the characteristics of our abilities, they can counter us. And if they figure out our Core Key… they can eliminate us specifically!”

“But S-level Ability Users… they’re the kind where you have no idea how their abilities even trigger. Or maybe even if you *do* know, you can’t resist it or stop it. Any other power is just reactive against them…”

“That’s what ‘unsolvable’ means!”

…

Lu Xin listened quietly to Gecko, mulling over his own situation.

*Can I be eliminated?*

*Of course.*

*Sister’s ability helps me heal faster, but I can definitely still die.*

*Is there a discernible pattern to how my abilities activate?*

*It seems… there probably is…*

…

…

He decided to be modest. “I’m definitely not unsolvable. A-level at most!”

“Hmm…”

Gecko nodded slowly. “A-level at most…”

He repeated the phrase, looking like he was about to cry. “Is that the best you can do for modesty?”

Lu Xin nodded.

It wasn’t really about wanting to be modest; it was mainly because Mom was sitting in the back seat.

When Gecko had been explaining the level classifications just now, she seemed to be listening intently.

And then… she had smiled, looking rather pleased…

…

…

“But… even if you’re A-level, there’s still a pretty big gap compared to an S-level mysterious restricted zone, right…?”

Gecko finally circled back to his original point, his face crestfallen. “So you’re not scared at all?”

“Of course I’m scared…”

Lu Xin sounded like he’d just realized it. “Who wouldn’t be scared of a place that weird?”

Gecko’s eyes widened. “You’re scared, but you’re still going?”

Lu Xin frowned, looking slightly confused. “What does being scared have to do with whether or not we go?”

“Those people are in there. Bringing them back is our job…”