Chapter 196: The Nature of Single Soldier’s Power

“Doesn’t possess an ability?”

Mr. Su and Minister Shen both frowned slightly, instinctively looking up.

Even Chen Jing’s mouth formed a small “O”.

Such an absurd statement coming from a top scholar like Professor Bai felt somewhat unbelievable. If even a powerful Ability User like Mr. Lone Soldier was considered to have no ability, then what did that make the other C and B-level Ability Users?

“Correct. But my definition of ‘not possessing an ability’ differs from yours.”

Professor Bai stated gravely, “Let’s look at the earliest data we have on Mr. Lone Soldier, from when he was under surveillance as Observer Thirteen in the Second Satellite City.”

“At that time, Qinggang’s mental pollution defense system detected the presence of a potential Ability User in the Second Satellite City. So, as usual, we observed him for a long time. Later, Chen Jing even went there personally just to assess his ability and risk…”

“However, even when we observed his mental power growing strong enough to generate telekinesis and flip tables and chairs, we still didn’t know what specific ability he himself possessed.”

“It wasn’t until the mental pollution incident at the Corner Cafe, where he twisted his own form and used a Spider-type ability to eliminate that Mental Monster, that we finally determined his system.”

“But after confirming it, we discovered many of his behaviors didn’t align with Spider-type characteristics…”

“Including his own claim that this ability was borrowed from a sister others couldn’t see.”

“…”

“This was difficult for us to comprehend. We even considered he might have multiple personality disorder and raised his loss-of-control risk assessment.”

Professor Bai frowned as he spoke, “But what if he was telling the truth?”

Minister Shen, Mr. Su, and Chen Jing were all listening intently, yet they grew increasingly confused.

Minister Shen couldn’t resist slapping the file, declaring, “You just said Drunkard confirmed he doesn’t have any ‘family’!”

“His family’s manner of existence, or perhaps the concept, might be different from what we imagine.”

Professor Bai took a deep breath, his voice growing heavier as he offered his explanation:

“When the existing ability systems can’t explain something, it likely means our perspective has narrowed due to the limits of experience and cognition. After all, all ability systems were discovered first and then categorized by us. In other words, this relies on existing experience, and when existing experience becomes a framework, it easily restricts new understanding.”

“Therefore, at times like this, trying to broaden our perspective makes some things easier to comprehend.”

“…”

“My speculation about Mr. Lone Soldier’s ability is based on this principle.”

Professor Bai revealed his conclusion: “I found that once you change your perspective, Mr. Lone Soldier’s ability isn’t complex at all.”

“In fact, it’s extremely simple.”

After a pause, he stated softly:

“He merely possesses an exceptionally strong psychic magnitude but hasn’t developed a specific ability direction.”

“…”

Chen Jing could barely keep up as Professor Bai explained this point. It was unclear if Minister Shen could follow.

Mr. Su, however, clearly looked bewildered.

Having reached this point, Professor Bai smiled and looked at the others, saying:

“This hypothesis can explain why Mr. Lone Soldier was able to resolve that Mental Pollution Bomb beneath the South Wall.”

“When the Mental Pollution Bomb created a Mental Monster capable of self-destruction at any moment and distorting everything around it, only a mental power exceeding its own… at least double its power… could overwhelm and neutralize its strength.”

“Similarly, it explains how Mr. Lone Soldier could use those two Mental Monsters to locate the mastermind behind them.”

“Since those two Mental Monsters were directed to attack Drunkard and Mr. Lone Soldier, they must carry information about the mastermind and the true orders given to them.”

“Therefore, if his psychic magnitude was strong enough to overwhelm these two Mental Monsters… their magnitudes were both over a thousand, but initial estimates suggest they hadn’t reached two thousand, so the power capable of overwhelming the Mental Bomb could certainly overwhelm them… Mr. Lone Soldier could extract those orders from them and provide the answers we observed!”

“…”

“This…”

Chen Jing was momentarily stunned when Professor Bai revealed this answer.

She didn’t even pause to consider the logic, asking subconsciously:

“If he can really do that… then… how high must his psychic magnitude be?”

Minister Shen’s face was grim:

“Based on the reports I received at the time, the Mental Monster that appeared beneath the South Wall of the Second Satellite City had a magnitude of at least four thousand. If you’re suggesting Mr. Lone Soldier’s psychic magnitude was enough to directly overwhelm this bomb, then his magnitude…”

“…”

He didn’t voice the subsequent number, nor did Chen Jing.

Mr. Su, however, did a quick mental calculation and slowly said, “Based on multiples… approaching ten thousand?”

That number sent a shiver through both Minister Shen and Chen Jing.

Professor Bai, however, smiled and shook his head.

“Currently, no humanoid creature can withstand a psychic magnitude of ten thousand, or even close to it.”

“Mr. Lone Soldier can’t either.”

“So, you needn’t worry so much. According to the reports, there was a fierce struggle before he dealt with the Mental Monster. It’s highly likely he first weakened it before overwhelming it.”

“Calculated this way, I believe an estimate between four thousand and six thousand is more appropriate.”

“…”

The meeting room fell silent. For a moment, no one refuted or responded to Professor Bai.

Professor Bai simply smiled and continued with his deduction:

“Once you accept the fact that he possesses immense psychic magnitude, I can explain the following conclusions.”

“To make it easier to understand, you can think of Mr. Lone Soldier as a Pollution Source.”

“A powerful Pollution Source.”

“However, he is a non-polluting Pollution Source… much like pure water doesn’t conduct electricity.”

“…”

Minister Shen, Chen Jing, and Mr. Su were full of questions but listened patiently, refraining from interrupting.

Professor Bai continued:

“Because he lacks a specific ability, he only possesses the inherent traits of mental power itself: distortion, perception, imitation, and so on.”

“And this allows him, when needed, to leverage his immense psychic magnitude to analyze and reconstruct certain abilities.”

“Of course, this requires him to be extremely familiar with that specific ability.”

“…”

His voice still echoed in the meeting room, but Chen Jing, Minister Shen, and Mr. Su could no longer interject.

Professor Bai let out a slight sigh, “And this also explains why he has three ‘family members’.”

“He doesn’t have multiple personality disorder, nor does he truly have three family members.”

“…”

Facing the people in the office, he smiled and slowly stated his hypothesis:

“I suspect that during the initial stage of his ability awakening, he did encounter three such individuals, or perhaps, abilities.”

“We all know he’s connected to the Escaped Lab, but we don’t know what he experienced.”

“If I were to guess, it would be that during the experiments, he encountered three such people. For some reason, he then used his own powerful mental strength to imitate and deconstruct three types of abilities. These retained abilities differ in nature from his own mental power but share the same origin. Thus, he feels close to them, yet they don’t belong to him…”

“It’s like an actor playing another role.”

“These are roles that made a deep impression on him, roles he poured a lot of effort into.”

“These roles are him, yet not him; they are reconstructions based on his own understanding.”

“…”

Professor Bai picked up a pen and drew a large circle on the whiteboard, then drew three smaller circles inside it. On the leftmost small circle, he added two strokes upward, turning it into a face with two small pigtails, indicating it was the sister. Then he said:

“For Mr. Lone Soldier, when he deconstructed these three abilities, he must have felt some confusion and bewilderment. With psychic magnitude as strong as his, he would inevitably develop logic different from ordinary people. So, in the process of tolerating and accepting these three abilities, he inevitably assigned them a position based on his own understanding, a position he could comprehend.”

“At that time, he was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old child who had lost his orphanage and was living in chaotic times.”

“Therefore, the position he assigned these three roles was ‘family’.”

“He accepted these three abilities as family members that others couldn’t see, allowing them to accompany him.”

“…”

Having said all this in one breath, he gently put down the file, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He whispered, “This is my speculation about Mr. Lone Soldier’s own state, based on all currently available data!”

“A psychic magnitude reaching six to seven thousand already falls into the dangerous category.”

“If coupled with a corresponding ability, it often reaches an unsolvable state, classified as S-level.”

“But in reality, Mr. Lone Soldier only possesses the corresponding psychic magnitude without an ability he can truly control. His powers are all imitated and reconstructed by him, unable to fully unleash his psychic magnitude. Therefore, he is inherently a tier lower than a true S-level.”

“So, regarding his ability rating, we can now provide an answer!”

Putting his glasses back on, he wrote Lu Xin’s updated profile on the whiteboard behind him:

Codename: Mr. Lone Soldier

Ability: None (or Unawakened)

Level: A-level

Loss-of-control Risk: 65%