Chapter 115

“Why is it interesting? Because we’ve discovered that the factors affecting a superpower’s attribute aren’t singular—they’re varied.”

Gao Yuxuan listed them one by one on the whiteboard:

Occupation.

Background.

Interests and hobbies.

Mental state and inner desires.

Other.

But Zhao Yi said, “First, we need to rule out the three outliers: Jiang Cheng, Li Jiangbing, and Song Jingshuo. Or we can just put all three of them under ‘Other.’ They’re abnormal data points and will interfere with my conclusions.”

The phrase “abnormal data points” made everyone laugh again.

Jiang Cheng didn’t care.

Li Jiangbing: “Huh?”

Song Jingshuo: “......”

“Big Sister Pan said that Gao Yuxuan is an electrician, so he’s an electricity-type,” Zhao Yi said. “I deal with garbage, so I’m earth-type.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Even Aunt Pan laughed.

Zhao Yi admitted, “At this point, we believe Aunt Pan hit upon the truth.”

“The first factor affecting your superpower attribute should be your occupation.”

“I’m an environmental engineer, so I’m earth-type.”

“Yuxuan is an electrical engineer, so he’s electricity-type.”

“Master Guo is a real electrician, so he’s electricity-type.”

“Zhang Lesi is a medical student. Without a doubt, she went down the healing branch of the mental-type path.”

“Cui Haiyang majored in mechanical design and manufacturing, so he’s metal-type.”

“The second factor is your background. Your superpower may have nothing to do with the work you’re doing now, but it’s closely connected to your origins—to the things you’ve been exposed to since birth.”

Aunt Pan immediately raised her hand. “I’m from the countryside, so I’m earth-type.”

Everyone laughed again.

Aunt Pan was clearly in much better spirits than yesterday. When people had something to do and kept themselves busy, they could forget their sorrows.

Zhao Yi said, “People in the countryside have more opportunities to come into contact with nature than we do. Farmers are connected to the land from the moment they’re born. So, Big Sister, I actually think either earth-type or wood-type would make sense for you.”

Aunt Pan said, “I’m no good at farming. My father always thought I was useless. He’s a hundred times better at growing crops than I am. I was just messing around. I’m still earth-type—let’s not make me wood-type.”

But Zhao Yi said, “Your situation actually fits the third factor we mentioned too: interests and hobbies, as well as the fourth—your inner desires.”

“You’re not really all that interested in farming, are you? You’d rather go into the city to work and make money, right?”

Aunt Pan answered frankly, “That’s right. How much can you make farming for a whole year? If I work in the city, I get paid every month, and I can even save some money.”

Zhao Yi said, “So growing things isn’t a personal interest of yours, and your inner desires reject it as well. That’s why, between earth and wood, your superpower chose earth.”

“Big Sister Pan’s case is the result of several factors acting together.”

“It’s a bit like being assigned to a different major during the college admissions process.”

Someone suddenly raised a hand.

It was one of the security guards at the youth apartment, a man surnamed Zhao. His superpower had awakened that morning.

There was another security guard surnamed Wang, and his power had awakened that morning as well.

Little Zhao said, “I’m a farmer too, and I’m earth-type. But what happened with him? He’s a farmer too, so how did he end up metal-type?”

As it turned out, Young Wang, who also came from a farming family, was metal-type.

He was a freshly awakened, unrecorded wild sample who had yet to be included in their statistics.

Zhao Yi was just about to interview Young Wang on the spot when Young Wang explained himself.

“Even though I’m from the countryside, my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all made iron cookware. It’s a craft our family has passed down for several generations. I’m the last one. Nowadays, nobody buys hand-forged iron pots anymore. Everyone buys name-brand cookware. My family couldn’t make a living, so I came to the city to find work.”

It was practically a perfect explanation.

Gao Yuxuan silently gave him a thumbs-up.

Zhao Yi moved on to the next item. “Interests and hobbies.”

Little Huang suddenly raised his hand.

Zhao Yi said, “Little Huang, you go ahead.”

Little Huang said, “My junior, Wu Shuchen, is metal-type. He made the iron shoulder armor for me. His hobby is handicrafts. He told me that his father bought him several sets of tools, and he can even do welding.”

Another perfect sample.

Gao Yuxuan gave another thumbs-up.

Zhao Yi continued with his examples. “Here, I have to mention Auntie Lin and Auntie Qian.”

Everyone looked over.

The two aunties said, “I’m especially good at growing flowers, and she’s especially good at growing vegetables. During the last zombie outbreak, I switched to growing vegetables too. She gave me all the seedlings.”

“Back then, everyone was stuck at home eating plain rice and dry steamed buns. We were among the few who had vegetables to eat. Vegetables were incredibly valuable in those days.”

“Sigh. There were so many people growing flowers and vegetables with us—men and women alike. None of them are still alive...”

The two aunties were wood-type. But there were other wood-types in the youth apartment too.

Many people couldn’t help turning their heads to look at Song Jingshuo.

Song Jingshuo was wood-type, which was completely at odds with his personality. It had surprised quite a few people.

Apparently, it had surprised him too. His face was practically black with irritation.

“Stop looking at him,” Gao Yuxuan said, laughing. “I told you, he’s an abnormal data point.”

“We interviewed him. He has absolutely no interest in growing flowers or vegetables.”

Growing flowers would have been one thing. At least it had a certain elegance to it.

But “growing vegetables” and Song Jingshuo simply did not belong in the same sentence. The more people thought about it, the more awkward it seemed. And now that everyone knew, Song Jingshuo might actually have to grow vegetables someday.

Quite a few people were laughing so hard their shoulders were shaking.

Song Jingshuo had once prided himself on his mastery of facial expressions and emotional control. Now, his eyes were rolling so far back they looked ready to reach the heavens.

His wood-type superpower was clearly heading straight toward vegetable farming, and all his dignity was crumbling.

But Zhao Yi felt that Song Jingshuo, who had recently started letting his true personality show instead of putting on airs, was much easier on the eyes.

It was a good thing.

People shouldn’t keep acting so pretentious. Sooner or later, they’d get struck by lightning.

Zhao Yi said, “All right. Occupation, background, and interests may look like three separate things, but they’re actually one and the same.”

“Your work, your origins, and your hobbies cause you to spend a long time in contact with a particular element.”

“Um, Zhang Lesi... Let’s tentatively treat ‘patients’ as an element too, all right?”

“Whether you like it or not, long-term contact with a particular element creates an affinity between you and that element.”

“Your cells and genes react most strongly to that element. Their activity is highest there.”

“So when the zombie virus acts on your body and begins sorting and classifying you, it selects the option with the highest activity.”

Everyone looked thoughtful. After considering it carefully, they all nodded.

Zhao Yi pointed to the fourth item, “Mental State and Inner Desires,” and said, “Let’s skip this one for now and talk about the others first. The others are easier to explain.”

“The most common type under ‘Other’ is fire-type.”

Wu Jiancheng laughed and explained to everyone, “I work in sales. I don’t have any hobbies.”

As for the other fire-type, Cao Jiacai, although he was also from a farming family, he had been sent to a martial arts school at the age of six. He lived at school year-round and trained in martial arts, so earth and wood had nothing to do with him. He didn’t have any particular hobbies, either.

He said, “All I’m into is smoking and drinking.”

People like them—physically strong and without any particular preferences—ended up fire-type.

Zhao Yi said, “Actually, we think that every person’s body contains all five elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—developing side by side. All those careers, backgrounds, interests, and hobbies serve to activate one of the elements. When there’s no particularly strong factor pointing toward a specific element, I believe the activation is random.”

“If that’s the case, then Jiangbing and Jingshuo could both be lumped into ‘Other.’”

Li Jiangbing shouted, “That’s not scientific! That’s not scientific! If it’s random, then why didn’t I awaken the Fire element?”

Li Jiangbing firmly believed that if he were Fire-aligned too, there was no way Cao Jiacai would still be the one calling all the shots.

Damn it all.

Gao Yuxuan explained, “If Fire could be fixed in advance, then it wouldn’t be random.”

Li Jiangbing huffed angrily.

Aunt Pan, however, cut in. “No, wait. How can Jingshuo’s be random? I already told you—he makes money, so he’s aligned with Wood. Isn’t that based on his profession?”

This was not the first time Aunt Pan had said it.

At first, everyone had ignored her and let it pass.

Now that she had repeated it, people started paying attention.

Song Jingshuo said, “Auntie, what exactly do you mean? I’m not following.”

“Aren’t you in the money business? Finance, right?”

“Yes, I work in finance.”

“Finance and all that—I don’t understand it,” Aunt Pan said. “But my grandfather used to say that in this world, only two things are real and tangible: making things and growing things.”

“My grandfather said that there was no grain in the ground to begin with. We plant seeds, and they grow into crops. That’s how people get food.”

“We sell the food, and only then do we have money.”

“Everything grows and flourishes before it can generate money.”

“My grandfather said that workers make things and farmers grow things. Everything else is empty and insubstantial.”

Everyone: Holy crap.

That grandfather had gone straight from farmer to philosopher.

The simple worldview of a farmer had smashed through all false prosperity and pointed directly at the essence of things.

Song Jingshuo’s heart... finally died.

“Lastly, let’s talk about the final category. This one is... well... somewhat vague and intangible, so we’ve saved it for last.” Zhao Yi pointed to “mental state and inner desires,” carefully choosing his words.

“As we said, this is actually shaped by a combination of factors. So your inner desires and spiritual aspirations will absolutely affect your affinity with a particular element.”

“Young Wang, your family has a homestead and farmland too, right? Yes, see? I guessed correctly. Farmers have land, even if they have some other skill.”

“But deep down, Young Wang, you see yourself as a craftsman who makes iron cookware, not as a farmer working the land. So in the end, you awakened the Metal element.”

Zhao Yi continued, “And then there’s Zhang Lesi.”

Zhang Lesi protested, “I just want to change careers. I mean it!”

Telling people to study medicine is a crime against heaven.

Gao Yuxuan laughed. “Stop struggling. You just want to save the world with your medical skills.”

Zhao Yi said, “You may say that, but why did you choose medicine as your major in the first place? Everyone knows how many years it takes to study medicine and how hard it is. Yet you still chose it. You must have had an original aspiration. Right, Lesi?”

Zhang Lesi flushed with embarrassment and anger. “Can’t I regret it?”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Zhao Yi swept his gaze over several people in the crowd and said, “All right, that concludes our summary. Now it’s time for questions and discussion. Does anyone have anything to ask?”

When it came to the final category—“mental state and inner desires”—Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan had deliberately avoided the genuinely representative examples. They had used Young Wang and Zhang Lesi as borderline cases, glossing over the matter.

Because the previous night, the two of them had once again shared a room and analyzed the issue until midnight.

“Old Dong betrayed everyone, fled at the critical moment, and even made off with the supplies. It’s only too appropriate that he’s Wind-aligned!”

The ability associated with Wind was exceptional speed.

It fit Dong Guangchao to a T.

“As for Little Huang... sigh...”

“His father died on the very first day. Sigh. A mother and son, orphaned and widowed, struggling to survive. Sigh.”

From the “orphan” in a mother-and-orphan household to the “man of the house” responsible for supporting the family, the boy had been forced to grow up at incredible speed.

He moved among adults, listening, understanding, taking things in, and responding as correctly as he could.

He was constantly studying people’s expressions and moods, teaching himself without anyone’s guidance. His mind was perpetually wound tight.

And so he awakened the ability to sense danger.

The influence of Dong Guangchao and Huang Xuetao’s intense inner desires on their supernatural abilities was far too obvious—so obvious that anyone could see it at a glance.

But under this theory, one person presented a particularly delicate problem.

That was Zhou Wang, respected and relied upon throughout Auspicious Garden. Even at the Youth Apartments, he received respect and courteous treatment, with people politely addressing him as “Brother Zhou.”

He really made you think.

Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan downed bottle after bottle until they had finished half a case of carbonated drinks.

They stared at each other.

“How are we supposed to explain this tomorrow?”

If they told the truth, they would be exposing Dong Guangchao in front of everyone.

They would be ripping open Little Huang’s wound in public.

And there was no way to explain Zhou Wang.

It would be unbearably awkward.

A shut-in might be antisocial, but he wasn’t stupid. He disliked dealing with people and social obligations; that didn’t mean he was incapable of understanding them.

In the end, Gao Yuxuan said, “Keep it brief. Keep it brief.”

They could use Zhang Lesi as a shield and hurry past the topic.

Let everyone figure it out for themselves.