NOVPUB
Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Join Us
Han Jiaojiao caught a glimpse of Han Yi with a grim expression and hurried over to him holding the rabbit, softly calling out "Brother".
She knew that her brother had always disliked her hanging out in groups of men, so she pulled Tian Xinyue and Liu Ling to her side and explained, "... Brother, Xinyue and Liu Ling were about to go to the ability team’s registration at the base to test for their abilities, and I was thinking of getting tested as well."
However, Lu Changyuan intervened, "There’s no need for that hassle; I’ve got a portable Ability tester right here."
Han Jiaojiao was pleasantly surprised, "Really?"
"Mhm, most ability users downstairs have one each, I just traded for one with supplies," Lu Changyuan took out a device resembling a wristwatch and handed it to Han Jiaojiao.
Holding it in her hands, Han Jiaojiao examined it thoroughly, excitedly asking, "How do you use this thing?"
Han Yi took Han Jiaojiao’s hand and helped her put on the wristwatch, "Position the black disk over a pulsating area, then press the button next to it, and the dial will display the Ability’s value."
The face of the dial was similar to an ordinary watch, but it only had one hand. As the hand moved making full rotations, numbers would change in the display area at the bottom of the dial. The numeric display was in units of ten thousand with three spaces available, capping at 999,000.
Since the appearance of the Crystal Core, the equipment at every base had been improved, expanding the testing range from two million to nine million.
Looking around, Han Jiaojiao saw that everyone was watching her wristwatch, and with a mix of excitement and nerves, she pressed the button.
"..."
The needle didn’t move.
Han Jiaojiao lifted her head somewhat embarrassed, looking at everyone.
"... Has anyone tried this wristwatch? Why isn’t it reacting?"
Yan Xiao craned his neck to look at the watch on her wrist and suggested, "Why don’t you press it a few more times? It worked for me when I used it—I tested at two million, Kerry at one million three hundred thousand, and the others haven’t tried yet."
These few individuals, having started using the Crystal Core earlier than others, had values that were significantly higher than those of regular Superpower Users.
Han Jiaojiao pressed several more times, but the tester remained unresponsive. She took it off in despair and handed it to Tian Xinyue, "Why don’t you and Liu Ling give it a try?"
Tian Xinyue accepted it somewhat sheepishly, put it on, and pressed the button—
Unlike Han Jiaojiao, the needle immediately started to spin rapidly! Every ten rotations signified an increase of ten thousand, and with each jump, the number in the space below would increase accordingly.
Tian Xinyue watched as each number increased, her whole being tense.
As the value reached three hundred thousand, the speed of the needle’s rotation began to slow down—slower and slower until it finally came to a steady halt, with the number below settling at 390,000.
With a slightly disheartened sigh, Tian Xinyue passed the tester to Liu Ling.
Liu Ling scored slightly higher than Tian Xinyue, 460,000.
However, it was clear that neither of their values were sufficient to join the Elite Team.
Liu Ling hung her head, her eyebrows knitted with worry.
Knowing that Tian Xinyue was Han Jiaojiao’s good friend, Lu Changyuan said, "Actually, you shouldn’t worry too much about this value. Abilities vary, and even with the same value, there can be a big difference. Your ability is enhanced hearing; a value of tens of thousands is enough for you to hear sounds from a great distance. But for someone with a Fire Ability like Yan Xiao, tens of thousands might only allow him to light firecrackers."
Han Jiaojiao also comforted Tian Xinyue, "Yeah, Yan Xiao’s Fire Ability was pretty useless early on, the Fireballs he threw would extinguish after burning briefly. But your enhanced hearing has been powerful since your awakening, able to hear people snoring from afar—how impressive is that!"
Yan Xiao grimaced, reminded of that dark Chapter in his past when his Fire Ability had no real offensive power, and he would always be assigned by Lu Changyuan to burn corpses...
Heartened by everyone’s words, Tian Xinyue’s eyes regained their sparkle.
"What’s your ability?" suddenly asked Lu Changyuan of Liu Ling.
Liu Ling hadn’t expected Lu Changyuan to speak to her, and she was momentarily stunned. She thought that after that incident, they would dislike her?
"I... uh, I have the Ice Ability."
Actually, Liu Ling was really overthinking it; only Han Yi, Han Jiaojiao, and Wei Jie had heard the nonsense she had spouted earlier. The others had no idea.
Lu Changyuan seemed very interested in her ability and turned to Han Yi, saying, "Among our people, there isn’t anyone with the Ice Ability."
Both Liu Ling and Tian Xinyue’s eyes widened upon hearing this.
What did he mean by that? Was it what they thought? Brother Lu, were you planning to keep Liu Ling?
Tian Xinyue immediately blurted out, "Brother Lu! Do you need a Superpower User with enhanced hearing abilities?"
After asking, she realized that it was presumptuous and chuckled awkwardly twice, her voice meek, "If you’re short-handed, maybe you could consider me..."
Yan Xiao started to laugh beside them, "Aren’t you and Jiaojiao close? Just mention it to Sister Jiaojiao and it’ll be sorted!"
With a blush, Tian Xinyue glanced at Han Jiaojiao, "I’m just... a bit embarrassed, you know..."
Han Jiaojiao laughed out loud with a "pfft".
"Can... can I also... stay?" Liu Ling asked nervously, glancing at them and speaking in a low voice.
Han Jiaojiao looked at Liu Ling in surprise.
She really hadn’t expected that Tian Xinyue and Liu Ling would actively request to join them. Was working under her brother’s command that desirable? Shouldn’t they be trying to stay at Lingchuan Base? Hmm... Does this indirectly imply that my brother is more reliable than the base?
Regardless, she welcomed their joining, but—
"I suggest you think it over," Han Jiaojiao said seriously, her smile fading, "Our situation definitely isn’t as stable as the base’s, and we might leave Lingchuan at any time. But if you’re willing to join, my brother and I will welcome you one hundred percent and will never let anyone bully you."
After speaking, Han Jiaojiao looked at Han Yi, her expression a bit triumphant as she asked, "Right, brother?"
Han Yi looked at her affectionately, a gentle smile on his face, "Mhm."
Tian Xinyue and Liu Ling exchanged incredulous looks. That Anke Wei had wasted so much effort for nothing, so why did it seem so easy for the two of them?
Oh! It must be because Anke Wei didn’t target the right people to please, right?
"Really... really?" After her excitement, Tian Xinyue couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy, "My ability isn’t very useful and... I’m not good at cooking either..."
Liu Ling’s face turned red too, and she said meekly, "Uh... I can’t cook either. I... I know a bit about the brewing process..." It seemed pretty useless.
What should she do? She felt so embarrassed...
"Two cute girls with abilities joining us, that’s a big win for us! Right, Brother Lu?" Yan Xiao glanced at Lu Changyuan with a crooked smile.
Lu Changyuan merely smiled and stayed silent. —Their team indeed needed a few females to ease the heavy male hormones here, as they had a long way to go in the days ahead.
Suddenly Hao Tian’s voice echoed down the corridor—
"Mom! One of Sister Jiaojiao’s rabbits is missing! Mom, come quick, there’s one less rabbit!"
Han Jiaojiao cried out, "Oh no," and hastily examined the rabbit in her hands, "It’s dying, it’s dying!"
Everyone looked at her in surprise and asked, "Didn’t you already cure it just now?"
