NOVPUBDeep down, Brooks didn’t entirely trust the words of the stranger on the phone.
Yet, the man knew a secret known only to Brooks and Alex.
There was no way Alex would share such an embarrassing incident, so this man surely held unnerving secrets of his own.
Brooks rushed to his car, slamming the accelerator pedal to the floor, his vehicle shot off like a rocket towards the Central Supermarket.
In the conference room, Daniel sipped his coffee leisurely.
The coffee beans from the Investigation Bureau were indeed top-notch, hinting at the substantial government funding they must receive.
But where was Mike?
He had been gone for quite some time now, even longer than his previous departure.
A realization dawned upon Daniel: he had used his precognitive abilities this time.
When Mike reported the circumstances, it must’ve caused a stir and possibly skepticism, hence the delay.
It made sense. Daniel anticipated Mike’s imminent return.
As if on cue, the conference room door swung open.
Mike stepped aside to let Julia, carrying a folder, enter.
She glanced at Daniel with an unsettling look.
"Daniel," she began, "we need to conduct a humanity test on you."
As she spoke, Mike, cradling the Truth Detector, closed the door behind them and placed the machine in the center of the room.
Julia was about to speak when Daniel interrupted, "That device is a Spiritual Artifact called the Truth Detector. Its spiritual energy can discern if my words align with my true thoughts. No one in this world can deceive the Truth Detector."
Julia was taken aback.
While the existence of the Truth Detector wasn’t a top-secret, it was believed to be known only within the confines of the Investigation Bureau.
How could Daniel be aware of it?
Shaking off her initial shock, Julia decided to press on.
"First..." she began, only to be cut off once again by Daniel.
Daniel began, "First question, I believe that Cthulhu embodies evil and chaos."
Julia and Mike exchanged a look of sheer astonishment.
Unperturbed by their reactions, Daniel continued, "Second question, if there were to be a massive invasion of Cthulhu-like creatures in the city, I’d choose to fight them."
"Third, I would never serve as a minion to these creatures. Even if they offered me eternal life and unparalleled power, I wouldn’t bend to their will. If my friends, family, or girlfriend were to become their minions, I would personally see to it that they are freed from that torment."
"Fourth, upon opening the Life Gate and becoming an Evolver, the first thought that crossed my mind was to enhance my power, unlock more Gene Lock chains, and exterminate every monster!"
Without giving Julia the slightest chance to ask anything, Daniel rattled off all his answers in sequence.
What left Julia and Mike even more flabbergasted was that the Truth Detector did not make a single sound throughout Daniel’s confessions.
This meant every word Daniel said reflected his innermost genuine feelings.
Once done, Daniel promptly rose from his chair, stating, "That concludes the test. We can go see Martin now. Let’s move." With that, he walked out of the conference room confidently.
Julia and Mike stared at each other, mutual disbelief evident in their eyes.
To them, Daniel appeared omniscient, somehow foreseeing every question they had prepared.
It was as if they were in the presence of a god.
"He must indeed be a seer!"
It took a considerable moment before the two could shake off their stupor, hastily leaving the conference room to catch up with Daniel.
Martin’s office.
Without hesitation, Daniel pushed the door open, recognizing the older man within, he greeted, "Martin."
The sight of someone other than Julia or Mike walking through his door clearly took Martin aback.
But his composure was quickly regained as he recognized the young man before him. "Ah, Daniel, I presume? Seems you’ve passed the humanity test."
"But how did you know my name? Did you foresee it?"
Without a trace of emotion, Daniel replied, "If I wish to, there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t know." 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
A hint of surprise flitted across Martin’s eyes, but he soon broke into a smile, "Daniel, since you’ve already foreseen who I am, I’ll spare the introductions. Please, have a seat."
Martin went behind his desk, pouring a freshly brewed coffee and placed it before Daniel, before taking his own seat.
He studied Daniel intently before beginning, "The discovery of the Gene Lock chain has been a part of our history for a while, yet in all these centuries, I’ve never heard of anyone possessing the ability to foresee the future."
"Even after hearing the report from Julia and Mike after their visit to your place, I still find it hard to believe. "
"I hope you don’t take offense; it’s not a slight against you. It’s just that most who’ve just unlocked their Life Gate as Evolvers generally exhibit basic powers. "
"For instance, those with fire abilities can merely produce tiny fireballs, and those with water abilities can only project small water attacks. "
"But your precognition, Mr. Daniel, seems exceptionally potent."
Daniel took over the conversation smoothly, "I understand, you feel my abilities don’t correspond with my level."
Martin nodded, "Exactly. We have Evolvers with special abilities at the Investigation Bureau too. "
"For example, with teleportation, a Level 1 Evolver can only teleport a distance of one meter. Or with earth traversal, a Level 1 Evolver can only burrow half a meter underground. "
"Their abilities seem rather unimpressive, but you, Daniel, are entirely different. "
"You even foresaw Julia and Mike coming to you, and could predict the lottery numbers for the following evening."
"If you were a Level 4 or even a Level 3 Evolver with such potent precognitive abilities, I might understand a bit. "
"But you’re just a newly initiated Level 1 Evolver who has just unlocked his Life Gate. "
"By conventional wisdom, your powers should be somewhat rudimentary. "
"For instance, perhaps you could only foresee events a mere three or four seconds, or even just the next moment into the future," Martin asserted.
Daniel countered, "Mr. Martin, have you ever considered that this world inherently has its geniuses and its mediocrities?"
Martin chuckled in concession, "Of course, the world has its prodigies. A first-grader solving problems meant for third or fourth graders, even fifth graders, that’s a genius."
"But imagine a toddler, fresh from kindergarten, answering college-level questions. Wouldn’t that seem utterly preposterous?"
Daniel responded with a placid demeanor, "What’s so preposterous about that?"
Martin found himself momentarily at a loss for words at Daniel’s retort.
What does he mean, "What’s so preposterous?" What isn’t?
For some inexplicable reason, Martin suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to vent his frustrations, perhaps even resorting to a physical outlet.
This man was proving to be utterly unyielding.
It became evident that Martin would need to peruse Daniel’s humanity report to get a grasp on the kind of person he was dealing with and ascertain whether his ability was genuinely precognition.
At that moment, the office door swung open once more. Julia and Mike entered.
Seeing them, Martin immediately inquired, "What took you two so long? Daniel’s been here for quite a while before you showed up."
Julia and Mike remained silent, sharing an awkward, sheepish smile.
Martin turned to Julia, demanding, "Where’s Daniel’s assessment report?"
Julia momentarily froze, then stuttered a few seconds later, "Sir, I didn’t write the assessment."
Martin’s brow furrowed in an instant, "Julia, you better have a good explanation for this!"
Julia hurriedly gestured with her hands, trying to explain, "It’s not that I didn’t want to write it. I simply didn’t have time. Before I could even ask the questions, Daniel... left."
The revelation sent Martin’s blood pressure skyrocketing.
"What?!" He had specifically sent Julia, a seasoned investigator, to assess Daniel.
Not only was there no report, but the questions hadn’t even been asked!
Julia, sensing the urgency, quickly continued, "Please hear me out, sir! I had barely settled into the conference room when Daniel, without any prompt, began rattling off the answers to the questions I intended to ask, in perfect order, no less. And his responses? They were impeccable, a veritable full score. What’s more, the Truth Detector didn’t emit a single anomaly throughout."
Hearing this, Martin suddenly felt the gravity of the situation.
He turned to gaze at Daniel with a mixture of awe and shock, his mind a maelstrom of thoughts.
There was high-definition surveillance in the conference room, and Julia had no reason to deceive him.
This meant one thing: it was all true.
Daniel truly possessed the power of foresight. He was a seer.
After what felt like an eternity, Martin finally managed to regain his composure.
Out of curiosity, he inquired, "Daniel, just how potent is your precognitive ability? Can you activate it at will?"
Daniel shook his head, "Not exactly. Precognition consumes far more energy than other abilities. The Resonance reaction it triggers is also much more potent. The longer I peer into the future, the higher the risk of losing control over this power, and the consequences can be grave."
The implication was clear: a catastrophic implosion of one’s body.
Upon hearing this, the expressions on Julia’s and Mike’s faces turned notably grave.
