Chapter Sixty-One Fifth Rank (Part One)

“I saw this guy sneaking around at the door and knew he was up to no good, so I knocked him out on the spot. Looks like I was right—he actually threw a gravity grenade.” Wendy tossed the man, whose face was so swollen it was unrecognizable, onto the floor and glanced at the blasted hole in the entryway, a hint of surprise on her face. “These grenades are only available to the military. How did he get his hands on them?” She bent down to search the poor fellow’s pockets and found two more gravity grenades.

“This man’s ability readings are almost undetectable to us. Why would he choose not to use his own powers to attack us? Instead, he picked a method that seems dangerous but can’t actually harm us.” Wendy crouched beside him, her pose revealing a generous view.

Xie Liu averted his eyes and muttered, “Maybe he’s just a powerless ordinary.”

“Powerless?” Wendy stood up, pressing her finger to her chin. “Recently, several groups formed by power-null individuals have appeared in the city. First they protested, then they staged mass strikes and school walkouts, and now they’ve even started attacking those with abilities.”

With that, she nudged the unconscious man with her foot and noticed a pitch-black mark on the back of his neck.

“A lightning bolt and a fist, crossed together.” Wendy’s violet eyes fixed intently on the mark. “It’s the ‘Iron Fist’ organization. These people are the most radical and have plotted multiple attacks against ability users.”

She then looked up and, seeing Xie Liu ogling her bare thighs and practically drooling, said, “By the way, what are you all doing here? And how did you end up with Miyuki?” Then, spotting Zhao Yu and Shuichi Uehara gathered around the hot pot behind Miyuki, she looked even more surprised. “How come you two are here as well? This is incredible.”

Zhao Yu grinned, pinching his nose, while Shuichi Uehara rubbed his chin with a wry smile.

“That’s a long story,” Xie Liu sighed. “Actually, I came looking for you.”

...

“This is the place,” Wendy led Xie Liu and the others to a small tavern. “I really don’t get it, Xie Liu—are you a magnet for trouble? How do you manage to stir up so much chaos just by looking for a bar?”

“Perhaps,” Xie Liu replied noncommittally, then gestured to the group trailing behind him. “And what are they doing, following us here?”

“Free food,” Miyuki replied, entirely unabashed. Wendy considered, then nodded. “Alright, you’re all welcome anytime.” She shook the large bag she was carrying. “I’ve already bought today’s ingredients. I’ll let you taste Angela’s cooking when we get back.”

“So, you just went out grocery shopping, happened to catch an Iron Fist terrorist and hand him over to the authorities, then brought a bunch of people home—all to justify being late, is that it?” Xie Liu said mercilessly.

Wendy laughed heartily. “You’re hilarious, Xie Liu. But you’re not wrong. If you all don’t back me up, Angela will probably scold me for ages. Every time she lectures me, I swear my brain cells want to rebel, declare independence, and set up a democratic republic. The final vote is always: never listen to Angela’s nagging again.”

“That’s pretty funny. I’ll remember it. For someone whose brain is ninety percent muscle, coming up with something so philosophical and witty with the remaining ten percent is quite impressive,” Xie Liu retorted without missing a beat. Wendy could only give an awkward laugh—she knew she was no match for Xie Liu in wordplay, so she led everyone into the tavern without further argument.

“Welcome to the Green Flag Tavern, under the Black family,” the elderly waiter greeted them, placing his right hand over his chest and bowing slightly to Wendy. “Miss Wendy, you’ve returned.”

“Yes, it’s a bit late. Is it still possible to get back in time?” Wendy asked, a little embarrassed. The old waiter nodded, “No trouble at all. Miss Franny instructed us to open the door for you at any hour.”

Wendy blushed and lowered her voice. “Got it, thanks. Give my regards to my sister. By the way, is she still not back yet?”

“Miss Franny went with her father to the city for a meeting about solutions for dealing with the powerless. She won’t return before tomorrow evening at the earliest,” the old waiter replied smoothly.

“So, my sister won’t be home tonight?” Wendy sounded disappointed. “What a pity—I finally managed to bring some special guests, and she isn’t here.”

“Come with me.” The old waiter led them past the bar’s front desk. “This is one of the entrances to the Hokkaido branch—a private passage. Only with the Black family’s permission can it be used. But Miss Franny has already instructed us: any friends brought by Miss Wendy are to be treated as her own guests. Please.” He opened the door to a back room, revealing a small courtyard.

“Is this bar by the sea?” Xie Liu asked in surprise. He looked out and gasped at the sight of the ocean. “I remember we were quite far from the shore.”

“Micro-spatial distortion technology,” Wendy explained. “That door you just passed through is a micro-spatial field transmitter. We’ve set up a receiver here as well. So, you get the illusion that walking through a door takes you thousands of miles.”

At that moment, Miyuki raised her small hand, blue sparks crackling from her fingertips. She studied the light for a while and said, “Besides that, you must be using a dematerialization circuit. Otherwise, you couldn’t compress such a vast space into a single doorway.”

“The world of prodigies is beyond me,” Xie Liu quipped, stepping forward to examine the door he’d just exited. Embedded in a stone, it looked quite creative. “Oh! You’ve set the door into a rock—very inventive. I like it.”

“And now?” Xie Liu walked backward, a vast sea behind him. “Why are we at the shore? Weren’t we looking for the Hokkaido branch? Where is it?”

“Look carefully,” Wendy said with a triumphant smile. Xie Liu blinked, looked again, and was stunned—the sea had vanished, replaced by a brightly lit city below. They were standing on high ground, overlooking a small but dazzling city.

“Wow, how did you do that? It’s right here, yet invisible unless you look from the right angle,” Xie Liu marveled, stepping back; the city vanished, replaced once more by the glittering sea.

“I see—it’s parallax technology, isn’t it?” Xie Liu exclaimed. “You’re projecting refraction particles above the city, using human visual errors to create the illusion that, unless viewed from a fixed angle, there’s only ocean.”

“Oh, you’re all geniuses,” Xie Liu laughed excitedly. Wendy rolled her eyes, “Weren’t you just saying you didn’t understand the world of prodigies? Now you’re pretending to be one?” Xie Liu laughed it off, unwilling to argue further. Wendy led them to the perfect vantage point to take in the city, then pointed to a mansion at the foot of the mountains. “That’s where we live. Come on, it’s still quite a walk.”

...

“I truly don’t understand the world of the wealthy,” Xie Liu said, gazing at the estate sprawling over half a mountainside, feigning deep sorrow. “Does your lady have someone she’s interested in?”

Wendy glanced at him in surprise, then laughed. “Are you scheming something again? I’ll have you know, my sister has high standards—you don’t stand a chance.” She paused, then seemed to recall something. “Then again, maybe you do.” She gave Xie Liu a peculiar look. “Who knows, you might really end up a part of this estate.”

“What do you mean?” Xie Liu’s curiosity was piqued. Wendy pouted, “Not telling.” She then grabbed Miyuki, who was eavesdropping, by the ear. “What exactly are you here for? To snoop on people’s secrets?”

“Ow, ow, let go!” Miyuki protested as Wendy dragged her into the manor. “With my sister away tonight, I’m in charge of everything.”

Though the estate was vast, the central building was of a more reasonable size—a Gothic mansion exuding an ancient aura.

“This house is six hundred years old. When the city was first founded, someone marked out this mountainside as a natural harbor, and my sister’s ancestor built a city here. This house was built then and has weathered centuries of storms alongside this branch. During the Second World War, it was bombed and half-destroyed, but later expanded on the original foundation,” Wendy enthusiastically explained to Xie Liu. Miyuki and the two boys were already quite familiar with the place.

“You know, Xie Liu, you’re quite lucky to have run into Miyuki and her friends.” Wendy pulled Miyuki into a hug, her hands roaming despite Miyuki’s protests. “These two guys, do you know? They’re both rank-ten ability users.”

Although he’d suspected as much, Xie Liu was still astounded to have it confirmed. Wendy pointed at the spiky-haired boy. “That’s Shuichi Uehara, ranked thirteenth among the rank-tens, with the ability ‘Nullification.’ He can erase all abilities except for physical mutations. Because of the absoluteness of his power, he’s classified as rank ten.”

Xie Liu stared at him in amazement—an unremarkable appearance, but an extraordinary ability and strength beneath it. But what truly caught his attention was Miyuki, who seemed to be an electromagnetic user. Wait, why did this setting feel so familiar?

“This one’s even more incredible. His name is Zhao Yu,” Wendy pointed at the other, an unassuming guy with short cropped hair and stubble. “He’s the second-ranked ability in the entire city: ‘Absolute Defense.’ They say even Mr. Lei Tian can’t break through his shield. If his power wasn’t only passively triggered on himself, he’d be number one.”

“Usually, rank-ten abilities mean overwhelming destructive power, but these two have none. That’s why so many people try to take them down, hoping to make a name for themselves by defeating legendary rank-tens.”

Xie Liu gazed at them in astonishment. Wendy finally ruffled Miyuki’s hair, grinning, “And this girl is even more remarkable.” She pinched Miyuki’s cheek. “Miyuki is only fourteen and already a rank-nine electromagnetic controller. It’s only a matter of time before she becomes rank ten. Oh, and she has a rather extraordinary brother—Chiba Tenwa, ranked seventh among the rank-tens, ‘Absolute Current.’”

“Incredible, a whole family of monsters,” Xie Liu sighed. Miyuki bristled, waving her fists and shouting angrily, “Who are you calling monsters?”

“And finally, let me introduce this shameless fellow,” Wendy said, jabbing a finger at Xie Liu. “He’s a nobody, yet he has the gall to pursue my sister—a scoundrel, a street punk. A mere rank-four physical mutant, with nothing going for him except a half-decent brain. His name is Xie Liu. Introduction complete.”

Wendy laughed and pointed at Xie Liu, giving her completely irresponsible introduction.