Chapter 700: A Disturbing Report on Stolen Realities

He…

Minister Shen couldn’t help but speak as he looked over the few simple lines on the document.

There was a note of barely contained excitement and incredulous suspicion in his tone.

But Professor Bai merely raised his hand gently to silence him.

“I know this report is bizarre, but before we start questioning it, perhaps we should review the more detailed evidence.”

As he spoke, he signaled to Chen Jing.

Understanding, Chen Jing picked up the document pouch and carefully tipped out several boxes of videotapes.

These tapes were the supplementary materials attached to the final report, serving as explanations or proof.

She rifled through them and selected one box.

She moved to the recorder position, inserted the tape, and pressed a few buttons to start playback.

Professor Bai, Minister Shen, and Mr. Su suppressed their excitement and turned to watch.

On the television screen, a sealed laboratory appeared.

Inside, the layout was extremely simple—aside from several cameras, there was only one shelf at the center topped with an apple.

Every camera was pointed directly at that apple.

The frame remained still, except for numbers in the corners that kept jumping, indicating it was not a static image.

After an indeterminate time, as Mr. Su hesitated whether to have Chen Jing advance the tape, the image suddenly started to flicker.

It was as if a massive electromagnetic interference had struck, causing the picture to jitter wildly before twisting into countless entangled lines.

After two seconds, the clamor reached its peak, then the picture abruptly became normal again.

The frame was still the same, but what they noticed was that the apple where the cameras had been aimed had vanished…

……

……

“What the hell is going on?”

Both Mr. Su and Minister Shen froze for a moment and straightened up.

Their faces bore expressions of surprise mixed with baffled confusion.

“Rewind,”

Professor Bai looked at Chen Jing. As the footage was rewound a few frames, he added, “Stop…”

At that moment, the image halted during the most frantic phase of the line distortions—a scene of complete chaos, barely showing anything clearly.

But Professor Bai stared at the screen for a long while, then slowly rose and pointed to one area of the image.

In a soft voice he asked, “What is that?”

Mr. Su and Minister Shen tilted their heads, scrutinizing the scene closely.

After a while, Mr. Su hesitantly said, “A… hand?”

After a moment, Minister Shen could only nod in agreement.

Though the footage was distorted to an extreme, a careful observation and a bit of imagination revealed that among the chaotic lines, there was a faint outline of a hand, eerily reaching toward the apple on the shelf.

It looked like an abstract painting—one that required imagination to discern.

“Yes.”

Professor Bai nodded slightly and said, “That is a pale, distorted hand.”

He then took a sheet of paper from the second set in the document pouch and said:

“This experiment was designed to test a newly acquired ability by Single Soldier.”

“Previously, the old building he lived in suddenly disappeared and reappeared, which caused us a great deal of trouble.”

“This experiment, which involved object retrieval through space, in a way explains the mysterious disappearance of that building.”

“At the time of the experiment, Single Soldier was 300 kilometers offshore.”

“Yet the cameras captured the scene at an underground experimental base in Satellite City No. 4 of Qinggang.”

“The sealed room had walls made of precision reinforced glass, and eight cameras filmed the apple on the shelf from various angles.”

“Furthermore, all the experimenters were evacuated, and observers outside the glass wall monitored the scene with their naked eyes.”

“In other words, while ensuring that no one could touch the apple—even ordinary ability users couldn’t affect it through the reinforced glass—Single Soldier managed, from 300 kilometers away, to seize that apple using his ability.”

“The distortion in the footage was caused by the immense mental power at the moment, which even affected the cameras.”

“Additionally, according to the researchers who witnessed the event, at the moment the apple disappeared they all experienced severe headaches and auditory hallucinations, as if they were subjected to intense mental radiation through the glass wall. Yet they could still see a pale hand, which seemed to be impaled by a nail, piercing through the invisible glass and extending into the lab.”

“It was that hand which took the apple.”

“This event also corresponds with what the observers at the old building’s location reported earlier.”

……

Mr. Su, Minister Shen, and Chen Jing listened with a mix of incredulity and doubt as Professor Bai spoke.

Was it a hallucination, or was there really such a hand?

The use of abilities is usually accompanied by many hallucinations and auditory distortions—that’s common knowledge.

While Professor Bai explained further, he also signaled Chen Jing to continue. After seven or eight more seconds of recording, the footage once again turned chaotic.

That apple reappeared on the shelf, albeit with a bite taken out of it.

“Single Soldier bit it.”

Professor Bai stated, “Post-experiment tests detected his DNA on the apple, confirming the experiment’s authenticity.”

Mr. Su and Minister Shen understood, yet there was not the slightest relaxation on their faces.

Instead, their facial muscles tensed to the extreme, and they exclaimed in astonishment, “Remote object retrieval? Or is it affecting reality?”

Either way, they were horrified, finding it almost impossible to accept.

“To be precise, it should be described as theft…”

Professor Bai slowly explained, “A while back, the Moon Eclipse Research Institute shared records of several unknown abilities.”

“For instance, some mentally altered individuals can steal others’ knowledge or even memories. Some can directly steal someone’s identity. The most notorious incident occurred during the identity impersonation case in Satellite City Seven of Central City…”

“A high-ranking official from a Central City government department was reported for multiple charges including corruption and bribery.”

“However, during the investigation, the man completely denied it and had no memory of the events.”

“At first, we thought it was a routine administrative breach, but further inquiries revealed inexplicable anomalies that alerted the Moon Eclipse Research Institute. They then dispatched senior investigators to uncover the root of the problem.”

“It turned out that a certain ability user, who had infiltrated the official’s inner circle, was responsible for these issues.”

“At key moments, he stole the official’s identity and used it to negotiate with the bribe givers and stakeholders, collecting benefits in exchange.”

“Everything initially went smoothly, but in the bribe givers’ eyes, they believed they were dealing directly with the official.”

……

Professor Bai’s explanation was clear, yet Mr. Su and the others still wore confused expressions.

“Simply put…”

After a moment’s thought, Professor Bai looked up at Minister Shen and said, “If that ability user is present here, then when he comes into close contact with you, he could assume your identity in dealings with others—even directly trigger the overclocked electromagnetic cannon of the City Defense Department. Those he contacts would only see you… Of course, the number of people who can be deceived is limited; the more people there are, the harder it is to fool them.”

“Likewise, the stronger his ability, the more people he can deceive.”

……

“Don’t use that example…”

Minister Shen, getting more and more on edge, couldn’t help but grit his teeth, “This is…”

“…simply too terrifying.”

……

Mr. Su was even more anxious, “Is Single Soldier’s ability of the same kind?”

“No.”

Professor Bai shook his head, “Single Soldier’s ability appears to be of a higher order.”

“Those who use camouflage-type abilities and others operating on the same level typically only experience theft in terms of emotions, memories, or self-awareness during the first or second stages. Their manifestations differ accordingly.”

“Each application of mental power affecting a person’s seven aspects can produce seven different ability manifestations.”

“Although we haven’t gathered enough cases, we can already infer these seven types based on current theories.”

“For example, if the power of theft affects perception, it can steal your sensory input.”

“He might, through his ability, appropriate your field of vision—seeing what you see, stealing your sense of hearing to listen to what you hear—or even directly steal your sense of touch so that he knows what you’re handling. Worse still, he could deprive you of the sensation altogether.”

“It’s like touching a red-hot iron; he could steal your perception.”

“In that case, he would feel the burning pain of scorched flesh, yet you wouldn’t feel a thing.”

“He might endure that pain, but you would be roasted alive by the red-hot iron.”

……

After a brief pause, he continued, “And when it comes to emotions, he can steal your joy or sorrow; when it affects desire, he can rob you of your infatuation, your love, or your hatred.”

“When it comes to memory, he can steal your knowledge, your secrets, even your life’s story.”

“When it touches instinct, he can leave you unresponsive in the face of danger, making your heart beat without your awareness…”

“And when it affects cognition, he can rob you of your understanding of the world…”

……

……

“Enough, I get it…”

Unable to hide his shock, Mr. Su waved his hand as his face turned pale. “Do all these abilities really exist?”

“In theory, yes.”

Professor Bai nodded and said, “The cases we’ve recorded don’t cover nearly everything; many ability users have yet to be discovered.”

“Not every ability user is as conspicuous as those with spider-type powers or the Doll type—they’re better off hidden among the masses.”

“Relying solely on discovery and documentation, it would be impossible to capture them all within just thirty years.”

“What we need to do is summarize and infer, analyzing the abilities that could theoretically exist.”

……

After finishing his explanation, Professor Bai returned to the main point, looking up at the television screen and saying:

“Single Soldier’s ability should fall under the category of theft.”

“However, his ability is far more advanced—he has even managed to traverse space and directly steal tangible objects from reality.”

“Essentially, his theft of that apple is the same phenomenon as the mysterious disappearance of that old building.”

“Then…”

Minister Shen’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, “He can directly steal an entire building? If he grows any stronger, wouldn’t that mean…”

The rest of his sentence went unspoken, but everyone understood.

If he can steal one old building, might he be able to steal two? Perhaps even an entire city?

Or could he even steal secret, forbidden weapons?

Needless to say, confidential documents and such were out of the question…

“I know what you’re thinking…”

Professor Bai shook his head slightly and said, “But for now, there’s no need to worry too much.”

“Based on the tests of Single Soldier’s ability and his own explanation, his theft comes with prerequisites.”

“First, he must know the target’s exact location, or his theft will fail.”

“Moreover, the higher the quality and attention a target receives, the more mental power is required.”

“For instance, he can steal that apple in the secret lab.”

“But if an entire city is watching that apple, his success isn’t guaranteed…”

“And as for that old building, it defies conventional logic.”

“You know, that building has undergone top-level modifications—it’s no longer an ordinary physical structure.”