Chapter 113

Is the price a reduction in presence? How novel.

Price is equivalent to side effect.

As is well known, side effects of special abilities are divided into permanent and temporary.

Temporary ones will resolve on their own after a period of time, while permanent ones can be alleviated or treated through other means.

And the two types of side effects mentioned above all act on the body's ailments, the most common being dizziness, headaches, weakness, and so on.

This was the first time Bai Xuechao had heard that the price of someone using their special ability was a reduction in presence.

Since he first met Yu Ruolan yesterday, her presence has been very low. Judging from the reactions of others in the Apocalypse Society, this was a normal state, so it must not be a temporary side effect that can resolve on its own.

“A permanent side effect?” Bai Xuechao judged. As his rapid breathing gradually calmed down, he asked again, “Is it reversible?”

Yu Ruolan lowered her long eyelashes and answered in a small voice, “...It's irreversible.”

This was a bit scary.

If Yu Ruolan continued to use her special ability, her presence would become lower and lower. Would there be a day when everyone would forget about Yu Ruolan's existence?

But there was no fear or worry on Yu Ruolan's face. Her eyes just curved slightly, revealing a small and shy smile, and her voice was soft, “But my special ability… can help Brother Lan, and I'm very happy.”

Bai Xuechao: “…”

Well, he had a few things he wanted to complain about.

Had Yuan Lan fed her a love potion, making her so devoted?

However, this also showed from another perspective that Yu Ruolan's special ability was very useful, otherwise Yuan Lan wouldn't have kept her by his side.

Bai Xuechao didn't rashly ask about her special ability directly. Instead, he continued to ask questions in a casual manner, trying to get her to open up, “When was the last time you used your ability to help Yuan Lan?”

When Yuan Lan was mentioned, Yu Ruolan's words always became a little more numerous.

She probably had little guard up, or rather, she had little guard up against the person Yuan Lan had brought back and announced as a new member. Upon hearing his question, she just recalled for a moment and said, “About a week… ten days ago.”

So it hadn't been long since she last used it?

Seeing that she didn't show any resistance to his questions, Bai Xuechao probed further, “What did you use your special ability for? Is it convenient to say?”

“There's nothing convenient or inconvenient about it…” Yu Ruolan tucked the hair from in front of her ear behind it and said softly, “I used my special ability to help Brother Lan find someone.”

Find someone?

Bai Xuechao found that Yu Ruolan was becoming more and more relaxed in front of him, and she had little vigilance. So he boldly asked, “What kind of person?”

“A girl.” After Yu Ruolan finished speaking, she saw that Bai Xuechao's beautiful scarlet eyes were still looking at her, as if waiting for her to continue.

She seemed to find it difficult to refuse the willingness to listen that those eyes conveyed.

She tried hard to recall and told him everything she knew, “I only know that her family is in S City, she is currently a freshman at Minghua University in B City, she's slightly overweight, and has severe mandibular deviation and underbite.”

Mandibular deviation meant a crooked chin, and underbite meant an underjet, plus being slightly overweight, the characteristics were quite obvious.

But… was this the information Yu Ruolan obtained with her special ability? Although the characteristics were obvious, as the user of the ability, did Yu Ruolan only know this much?

Bai Xuechao asked, “Do you know her name?”

Yu Ruolan shook her head.

Seeing this, Bai Xuechao raised his eyebrows slightly and asked another question, “Is she a special ability user?”

Yu Ruolan still shook her head, and realizing that this might be ambiguous, she added, “I don't know.”

Bai Xuechao was lost in thought.

Why was Yuan Lan looking for this girl through Yu Ruolan?

Seeing that Yu Ruolan still had no guard up against him, he directly asked the most crucial question, “What is your special ability? Can you tell me?”

“Ah…” Yu Ruolan was only stunned for a moment, then nodded, “I can. My special ability is called…”

Her hands fidgeted with the fabric of her clothes, and her expression was a little embarrassed, as if she found the name of her special ability hard to say. She took a deep breath before saying, “It's called, the Guidance of Fate.”

Bai Xuechao understood her a little.

The name of this special ability had a bit of a cheesy vibe.

Seeing that Bai Xuechao didn't show any expression like pursing his lips to suppress a laugh after hearing the name of the ability, Yu Ruolan felt relieved and continued, “Ask me any question, and you, and you can…”

Her words were obviously not finished. She took another deep breath and said with her eyes closed, “Receive guidance from fate!”

Good grief, the cheesy vibe was getting stronger.

If this were a real person with Chuunibyo, they would probably have called themselves “the mortal agent of the Goddess of Fate” on the day they awakened their special ability.

Bai Xuechao completely understood why Yu Ruolan was so embarrassed to introduce her special ability. How was this any different from asking a person with social phobia to shout “I have a mysterious power within me” in a commercial street?

However—

“Any question?” Bai Xuechao asked.

Yu Ruolan opened her eyes, her amethyst-like pupils looking at him, and said in a small voice, “Mm… any question.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xuech-ao was slightly stunned. He almost instantly thought of how and where to use Yu Ruolan's special ability. Given that the side effect of her ability was permanent and irreversible, he also thought about what questions to ask her to maximize the benefits.

No wonder Yuan Lan kept her.

Being able to get guidance on any question was truly too useful.

For example, when searching for special ability energy crystals, with guidance, he wouldn't have to rely on luck like he was now.

Perhaps, Yuan Lan also occasionally used Yu Ruolan's special ability during his experiments. For example, when faced with hundreds or thousands of experimental variables, Yu Ruolan's ability could greatly shorten Yuan Lan's experiment time, without the latter having to test them one by one. Of course, this might be an exaggerated guess, but the principle remained the same.

Bai Xuechao was already tempted to poach her.

He asked, “Why is it the ‘Guidance of Fate’?” He emphasized the words “of Fate.”

Yu Ruolan thought about it seriously, tidied her long hair a little self-consciously, and said in a low voice, “Probably because… every time the guidance is like a god-woman's ramblings? Whether the problem can be solved or not still depends on the luck of the questioner.”

In layman's terms, it depended on fate.

But even so, Yu Ruolan's special ability was still very useful.

Bai Xuechao couldn't help but ask, “How did you and Yuan Lan meet?”

“Eh?” Yu Ruolan seemed not to have expected Bai Xuechao's topic to jump so much, from her special ability to this. She widened her eyes in a daze for a moment, then answered as if she had realized something, “Brother Lan and I are… childhood friends.”

She avoided a term like “childhood sweethearts” that had a hint of ambiguity.

“We were neighbors, and went to the same kindergarten and elementary school.” There was a hint of a smile in Yu Ruolan's eyes, as if just mentioning Yuan Lan would make her feel at ease and happy. She became more talkative, saying, “I've never dared to talk to others since I was little. I didn't have any friends until I went to elementary school, and I was even bullied by my peers. It was Brother Lan who took the initiative to be friends with me and play with me.”

“Brother Lan has been very popular since he was little, and he has many friends. I felt like he didn't need me. Especially since he skipped grades so quickly, we weren't in the same school after a couple of years, and our routes to school weren't the same. We should have been people from two different worlds…” At this point, a smile appeared on the corner of Yu Ruolan's lips, and the smile in her eyes grew even gentler. She said, “But he was always willing to take me along. Even though I was timid, cowardly, and couldn't make friends, he never looked down on me. It felt like…”

“I was saved.” Her tone was serious and solemn.

Looking at her attitude, poaching her was probably not possible.

Bai Xuechao thought for only a second before asking, “When did you awaken your special ability?”

Yu Ruolan seemed to have a deep impression of this. Her eyes shone with a brilliant light, as if she was remembering something that made her extremely happy.

She immediately replied, “First grade of elementary school.”

Bai Xuechao: Heh.

Listening to Yu Ruolan's account, Yuan Lan probably only became friends with her in elementary school, and if he wasn't mistaken, it was after she had awakened her special ability.

But the two of them should have known each other since kindergarten.

Yuan Lan only befriended Yu Ruolan after she awakened her special ability, and he had always taken her along since they were young. To say that he had no ulterior motives, even a ghost wouldn't believe it.

Only someone as naive as Yu Ruolan would think that she was saved by Yuan Lan.

But Bai Xuechao couldn't say anything, nor could he say anything.

After so many years, Yu Ruolan's trust and dependence on Yuan Lan had reached a height that was difficult for others to reach. Plus, besides him, only Yuan Lan could notice Yu Ruolan's presence now. Even if he wanted to drive a wedge between Yu Ruolan and Yuan Lan, it wouldn't be easy.

Bai Xuechao didn't intend to drive a wedge between them. The best strategy now was to focus his energy on gathering intelligence.

However, if he had any energy to spare, it wouldn't be a bad thing to get on good terms with Yu Ruolan.