Translator: Strivon

  Luo Nan’s fingers paused to reveal two yellowish-green pieces of paper pressed between the pages of the loose-leaf notebook. The paper appeared rough, but was surprisingly shiny.

  These were the paper talismans that Papercut had given him. They were of high quality, personally created by the rather famous psychic, Mr. Gao, of the branch. Luo Nan used it to train in soul strength activation techniques and strengthen the applications of his interference ability.

  He had crafted small paper men last week at Ocean Sky Cloud City. It was a successful application of soul strength activation.

  This was originally a good method to ’dispose of milk.’ Back then, Luo Nan had relied on it to consume his excess soul strength and reduce the pressure upon his body.

  But after Luo Nan comprehended the technique of coupling, forming the frame of the God Gear and Body Gear, his interference ability was no longer bottlenecked. He could reach ten times the effect, consumption, and the like when compared to before from using just a bit of force. He could rest.

  But he had yet to abandon soul strength activation. He would always take the time to practice. Right now, just two paper talismans remained, but he had saved around two dozen small paper men. These paper men were pressed between the two paper talismans.

  With a single breath of air, the tiny paper men fluttered into the sky, only to be scattered onto the bed and the floor. They turned alive like little monkeys the moment they touched solid ground. They seized Luo Nan’s clothes and cuffs, striving to be the first to jump back onto him. Some simply crawled onto Luo Nan’s shoulder, treating Luo Nan like monkey mountain.

  These were no paper men. These were clearly paper monkeys!

  Luo Nan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He shook his shoulders, flinging the group of paper monkeys off.

  This was the Heart of the Ape Technique Papercut had taught him, but it was far too lively. Luo Nan wanted to seek Papercut out later to learn the Intent of the Horse Technique. This technique could do the same things as the paper horse talismans of fiction. They could carry heavy loads and travel with haste. They could soar across the lands. They were quite magical.

  Luo Nan’s anxiety had eased a lot when he saw how lively the paper men were.

  He had been depressed by the occurrence of his symptoms over and over, and had lost his calm. He thought once more. He had the coupling technique as a foundation. His situation wasn’t as difficult and bad as it was in the beginning. What did it matter even if his soul strength had another explosive increase in growth? If opening the eyes orifice wasn’t enough, then he would open the second orifice, the mouth and tongue orifice. If this still wasn’t enough, then he would open the ears orifice, life orifice, and the death orifice. Wouldn’t he reach equilibrium after achieving success in the six roots of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind?

  Luo Nan patted his cheeks and collected the paper monkeys. He stuffed them one by one between the pages of his notebook, taking the time to organize his thoughts. Finally, he contacted Papercut through the HexaEar.

  "Brother Papercut, is there a large move in soul strength activation?"

  "A large move?" Papercut was outside chatting with people in a tea house. He didn’t immediately respond when he received this message.

  "A move that’s very powerful and consumes a lot of energy. Can we use soul strength activation to bestow power in a charm or amulet, preparing for a big move in advance without worry?"

  Papercut heard Luo Nan’s words and nearly choked. He apologized to the female friend opposite of him, stood up, and walked to an empty corner. He chuckled, "My Boss Luo. If I possessed such a big move, then don’t you believe that I would have broken through to B-rank by now?"

  Luo Nan was a bit disappointed. "Then that means that you don’t have one."

  "Let’s disregard whether or not I know of such a move for now. The problem lies in the limit to how much the paper talismans can sustain. Old Gao’s paper talismans are of the best quality in all of Xia City. However, when the interference power reaches a certain degree, there is naturally nothing more to discuss. Therefore, activation classes on my level live a life in a supportive role. We rely on flexibility to live our day to day. Boss Luo, you have the strength to be more than this. You can transform yourself to the control class. You have this gift."

  Papercut had a very good temperament and personality. Even though Luo Nan had interrupted his date, Papercut was very patient. Not only did he explain to Luo Nan, he even offered a suggestion, "I spoke of this with you before. The Society has dedicated combat machinery. Though they may not compare to the Deep Blue Walkers as a whole, their might is still considerable. With your realization and level in interference ability, and with you learning the subtle operations and mechanical theory from Old Zhai, you can certainly create great stuff!"

  Luo Nan went, "Oh, oh." Papercut believed him to be emotionally stirred. Papercut also felt it was a bit unfortunate for Luo Nan to continue learning activation techniques. After all, Luo Nan was a talent, able to learn the psychic Heart of the Ape Technique in such a short period of time. There was no one like Luo Nan in the entire Xia City.

  Very few people showed interest in becoming an activation class. The activation class would find themselves weaker losing another up-and-coming youngster.

  However, Papercut maintained a bright and open mood from beginning to end. He smiled. "Excellent. I picked up a Flywheel Arm a while ago. Though I haven’t began sharpening it, it is still the most fundamental of combat machinery. If you want to get started, you can use it to experiment. I’ll bring it to you when you have a free day."

  "Okay. If you’re not busy, Brother Papercut, we can meet next week on Monday."

  Although Luo Nan had spoken this way, he really didn’t have much interest in shifting over to the control class. It was because this class would often cause him to think of Deep Blue Walkers. But the way Papercut talked made it quite awkward for Luo Nan to refuse.

  Moreover, he didn’t really want to possess a large move. He just wanted to find a channel to dispose of milk; that was all.

  Luo Nan was disappointed, and he prepared a few polite words to end the call. However, Papercut still listened to his circumstances with care. "Headquarters has been quite honest recently. It seems like Deputy Secretary-General Gong ate a big loss. He shut himself behind closed doors upon returning."

  "Things have been fine. The branch is taking good care of me."

  "Then you suddenly wishing to possess a large move…… Oh! Mrs. Yuan, you’re……?"

  "Sorry, something suddenly came up. I need to go handle it. Let’s chat later."

  "Uh, okay. Later……"

  Though she said they would chat later, the beautiful Mrs. Yuan didn’t have the patience to hear his words. She didn’t have the least bit of intent for ’later.’ She strutted out of the teahouse, and soon faded into the crowd of people.

  "Can you believe the nerve of that woman! She specifically came over to have the last word!" Papercut sighed, loosening his collar. He walked back to his original seat and leaned back, looking relaxed. A smile could be seen on his chubby face.

  "Brother Papercut?" Luo Nan was unable to see the circumstances on Papercut’s end, but he was able to surmise that something unpeaceful had happened. And it was largely related to his call with Papercut.

  "Am I disturbing you?"

  "It’s nothing, it’s nothing. The more good-looking the girl, the harder it is to coax her. Plus, I was harboring evil intentions because I think she’s beautiful…… Anyway, what were we talking about?"

  "Brother Papercut, since you’re busy, we can talk on Monday in person."

  "It’s nothing…… Waiter, give me another dessert." Papercut sounded quite relaxed, and he continued to chat with Luo Nan with all smiles. "If you really feel guilty, then later you can introduce me to a female student from Acumen College. Has to be at least twenty years old. I fear becoming a beast if she’s too young."

  Luo Nan stammered a few vague words. Even he was unclear on how to approach this.

  Papercut chewed on his dessert, his words muffled, "Oh, right. We were talking about large moves. If you really want to possess a large move, then you don’t need to seek it within the activation class. Open up your train of thought. There are many things that suit you in this world. For instance, you can focus on an honor point mission over at Headquarters. Its number is RT8313. Perhaps it will be a pleasant surprise for you."

  "Headquarters?" Luo Nan instinctively felt on edge.

  Papercut understood, so he continued talking to assure Luo Nan, "The mission is posted at Headquarters, but fundamentally it’s located in Xia City. You’ll know once you see."

  The operation of the HexaEar was a complete realization of telepathic control. As Luo Nan and Papercut talked, an intent flashed, and the interface switched to the official mission announcement board of the Wilderness Explorers Society. Luo Nan locked onto the relevant information.

  "RT8313…… Information gathering. Wu Zhao?"