Chapter 702: The Enigma of Tyrant

He possessed an ability so powerful it defied comprehension, yet he wasn’t even an ability user.

So, what could it be?

The conversation in Professor Bai’s office didn’t clarify the question, but the answer seemed startlingly clear.

…

Among the various assessments of Single Soldier’s abilities, several reports remained unanalyzed.

Every report tested different aspects of Single Soldier’s skills, both the mysterious and the known.

For instance, that warped ability.

It was the earliest confirmation of Single Soldier’s Spider-type ability, codenamed “Sister.”

According to intelligence from Flame City, Qinggang had obtained surveillance footage titled “Human Spider Web.” Mr. Su, Minister Shen, and others had all seen that enormous “spiderweb” covering Central City’s Flame Zone.

Although the footage didn’t directly prove that this web was spun by Single Soldier, his free movement along it in the recording—and later his coordinated combat maneuvers against certain monsters at the Stadium—firmly linked the gigantic web to him.

Could this surveillance, which had amazed Spider-type ability users worldwide, be another manifestation of Single Soldier’s power?

A Fourth Stage Spider-type ability?

It was almost unimaginable, since the Spider-type power usually only manifests on a superficial level.

Unlike other abilities, Spider-type had always been too overt, lacking the subtlety, coverage, and spreading potential.

Earlier studies in Qinggang even claimed that achieving the Fourth Stage with Spider-type was nearly impossible.

So how could Single Soldier possess such a power?

…

…

“The researchers’ instincts were right,”

Professor Bai responded affirmatively to the doubts marked by question marks on the assessment report.

Without elaborating further, he turned to the next page of the report.

There, it documented an unknown, mysterious ability of Lu Xin.

It hadn’t been named, but the tests accurately confirmed that this power could annihilate any mental force it touched.

He studied the page for a long moment before speaking softly:

“Spider-type abilities rarely reach the Fourth Stage; even the Third Stage only functions in crowded conditions.”

“Thus, I suspect that when certain mental forces connect with Single Soldier, they undergo some kind of warp or alteration.”

“As for the source of this distortion… it might be found here…”

“The very essence of his power is what earned him the codename ‘Tyrant’…”

…

“Tyrant?”

Minister Shen and Mr. Su perked up, exclaiming, “What exactly does that mean?”

During Lu Xin’s confrontation with the Sea Country’s S-level ability user, Professor Bai had excitedly mentioned those two words.

Yet afterward, he never explained them to the two men.

“Ideally, I wasn’t supposed to explain this to you…”

Professor Bai sighed and said, “It involves a secret agreement.”

Minister Shen’s face stiffened as he could not help asking, “This isn’t like when you first arrived in Qinggang… What secret?”

Professor Bai replied, “It concerns our illicit peeking into the top-secret files of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute.”

“?”

Both Mr. Su and Minister Shen were stunned, “What on earth?”

“Just think about it…”

With a note of resignation, Professor Bai continued, “Back when we were training at the Research Institute, chaos reigned everywhere.”

“Some people jumped from a hundred-story building, and others stole the entire lab along with its high-ranking experiment subjects. Our ranks were so low we knew nothing except that the lab was in utter disarray.”

“As a young researcher with ambition…”

He paused before adding, “How can one not satisfy one’s curiosity by sneaking a peek at classified matters?”

Mr. Su and Minister Shen were dumbfounded, exchanging glances while thinking, “Can curiosity really justify such a breach?”

“Isn’t this clearly against the rules?”

…

“I used to be too afraid to mention it…”

After a moment of thought, Professor Bai softly sighed, “But now it doesn’t matter. With Single Soldier’s antics growing larger and more people paying attention, some of his secrets are no longer secrets. In turn, I don’t risk leaking classified information.”

“At least I don’t have to worry about being hauled back by a high-level capture team from the Research Institute!”

…

He exhaled deeply and then stated firmly, “Tyrant is nothing more than a codename.”

“It’s the codename given to an experiment subject.”

“It represents a unique kind of mental force.”

“In the early days, the Moon Eclipse Research Institute collected certain experiment subjects to study the mutation of mental powers.”

“These were deeply polluted children, serving as the initial samples.”

“From them, the Institute extracted and analyzed various abilities and mental forces, helping us build the earliest ability system charts. This benefited not only the Moon Eclipse Research Institute, but also the Technology Church and labs across the country.”

“You could say that those children were the most promising ability users the Institute had ever identified and screened.”

“Among those experiment subjects, one child was exceptionally unique — codenamed Tyrant.”

“And his ability was…”

After a pause, Professor Bai murmured, “…he had no ability.”

…

…

Mr. Su, Minister Shen, and even Chen Jing, who was listening in as an assistant, were taken aback: “No ability?”

“Yes.”

Professor Bai nodded slightly and said, “He truly had no ability, appearing just like any ordinary person.”

“Yet compared to a normal person, he displayed many unusual traits.”

“Observers noted that he was quiet and obedient, rarely speaking for long stretches.”

“Aside from occasionally showing an overwhelming sense of loneliness, he appeared as just a normal child.”

“However, unlike ordinary children, he seemed devoid of emotions, showing little emotional fluctuation and no typical desires.”

“Sometimes he would gaze curiously at the world, mimicking others, and at other times, he simply appeared indifferent.”

…

Professor Bai, his brow furrowed, continued,

After a brief pause, he added:

“During various experiments on him, he cooperated seamlessly, which made him seem weak.”

“But the researchers soon found that his cooperation stemmed from curiosity.”

“He was curious about what these people intended to do to him, as if seeking their hidden purpose.”

“Unlike other children who would fear and resist when faced with needles and injections, he did not.”

“He would merely watch as the needles, inserted into his blood vessels to slowly draw blood, or the shining foil patches attached to him, along with the instruments displaying intricate lines, and the curious glances from the staff…”

“To an ordinary person, he was unremarkable, just another child.”

“Yet ability users invariably exhibited unusual hostility and awe towards him.”

“Later, the researchers discovered why these ability users were so intimidated by him.”

“Although he had no ability, when in contact with other ability users, he could easily overpower them, even…”

“…kill them.”

“…”

Professor Bai paused before adding, “It’s important to note that”

“Under normal circumstances, he rarely showed his temper—even if knocked to the ground by a hostile child, he would just sit there, wiping the blood streaming from his nostrils, with a curious, almost excited expression.”

“But once he harbors the desire to harm or kill someone, no one can stop him.”

“All the researchers and security personnel are powerless to intervene.”

“Everyone can only watch as he kills another experiment subject right before their eyes.”

…

…

“The most crucial point is…”

In the end, he softly exhaled and said, “After he killed those experiment subjects, some researchers even tried questioning him about why he harbored the desire and took action to harm or kill other mental entities…”

“He didn’t answer; he only smiled.”

“But from that smile, the researchers deduced the answer: he killed those experiment subjects…”

“…simply out of curiosity!”

…

Mr. Su and Minister Shen trembled slightly as they listened.

If they remembered correctly, Professor Bai was now describing a child…

A child who, without batting an eye, killed other experiment subjects purely out of curiosity—and no one could stop him.

Was he an experiment subject or a monster?

…

…

“I only saw this child’s file back then, and that was all.”

Professor Bai shook his head lightly and said, “But it left a deep impression on me, and I remembered his codename:”

“Tyrant.”

…

After a moment of silence, he softly sighed, “He must be a very unique experiment subject.”

“Central City had previously shared data on Zero Ability Users.”

“When I first saw the Zero Ability User profiles, I immediately thought of this child.”

“I am convinced that the foundation for Zero Ability Users was drawn from this child’s experimental data and mental power analysis. You could even say that all Zero Ability Users are crude copies, imitations of this child…”

…

Upon hearing this secret, Mr. Su and Minister Shen could hardly stay calm and hurriedly asked, “And then?”

Professor Bai replied, “I know almost as much about the subsequent events as you do.”

“After the Escaped Lab incident, that initial Zero Ability User was also among the missing experiment subjects.”

“Later, we saw the establishment of a Red Moon Orphanage in Qinggang, followed by an explosion at the orphanage.”

“And afterwards, we detected a Mentally Altered Person who was recruited.”

…

“But Single Soldier is completely different from that child you just described…”

Minister Shen couldn’t help interjecting, “Firstly, he isn’t a Zero Ability User. Secondly, his character is quite decent. Thirdly…”

He paused before adding, “He has plenty of flaws—not exactly the emotionless creature we expected…”

“Precisely because of that, I took a while to be sure.”

Professor Bai continued, “Back then, I secretly viewed the files on ‘Tyrant’ and they were incomplete.”

“I only remembered the child’s characteristics and his connection with the Escaped Lab.”

“But ensuing events added more pieces to the puzzle, and I gradually became certain.”

“The child once codenamed ‘Tyrant’ must be none other than today’s Single Soldier.”

“However, for some reason, that child grew up and underwent many changes…”

“Now, we have no idea how he underwent so many changes.”

“But we believe that the once emotionless and extreme ‘Tyrant’ may still reside within him…”

…

“You…”

Minister Shen suddenly realized something and blurted, “You don’t mean to say…”

“That Single Soldier’s current demeanor is all an act, isn’t it?”

…

Faced with the question, Professor Bai fell silent for a long while before gently shaking his head, “I’d rather hope so.”

“Because if it wasn’t, I can’t fathom who could have caused such a drastic change in him…”

“Nor can I imagine how this child, now endowed with humanity, peacefully bears the weight of Tyrant’s power for so many years. Of course, we still wonder how such fragile humanity can continue to support such a terrifying force…”