Chapter 52: The Universal Element

One hour later, the three of them boarded the Camellia.

With an impassive face, Vena returned to the command center, leaving Li Nanke and Matthew in an empty crew cabin.

As soon as Vena reappeared, the team members in the command center crowded around her, eager to learn about the civilian extraordinary she’d gone to meet.

Vena ignored their questions, entering a private cabin with Bastian to make her report.

“Captain, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

Bastian smiled faintly. “I didn’t have high expectations for that civilian extraordinary to begin with. Can either really be considered good or bad news?”

“You’ll understand once you hear me out.” Vena steadied herself and continued, “The good news is that this extraordinary possesses three types of powers.”

Bastian’s smile froze. “Vena, you’re not joking with me, are you? A tri-aspect extraordinary?”

To possess three primary extraordinary abilities was nearly unheard of. If such a person could advance normally, they would inevitably become a figure of great importance.

Even a dual-aspect extraordinary was exceedingly rare and precious.

Though Bastian was usually unflappable, the so-called bad news now seemed obvious—perhaps the three powers this extraordinary possessed were all of inferior quality.

“Which three types of powers?” he asked.

“Physical, Electromagnetic, and Illusion.”

Electromagnetic was considered a high-grade category, with interference and pulse merely branches of the discipline. Its most formidable abilities lay in generating and controlling magnetic fields—flight and metal manipulation fell under its domain.

Illusion was even more formidable in some respects. Once advanced, it could not only manifest weapons and objects, but even conjure legendary creatures.

Bastian had heard that a high-ranking official in the Bureau of Control once manifested a dragon through this very power.

As for the Physical aspect, it was generally rated as inferior, far less impressive than the other two. Still, having both Electromagnetic and Illusion was already outstanding; Physical could be seen as mere embellishment.

Vena drew a deep breath and went on, “Captain, the Physical aspect isn’t the bad news. On the contrary, it’s the good news.”

“Vena, are you struggling to articulate yourself?”

Vena pressed her lips together helplessly. “The real bad news is that of his three extraordinary abilities, two are incomplete. For instance, with Electromagnetic, he only has interference and pulse—he’s completely incapable of generating or controlling magnetic fields.”

“And with Illusion, he can’t manifest things at will—only objects he has seen in natural dreams, not artificial ones.”

“Only his Physical power is relatively complete. The other two powers have little room for advancement. He’ll have to focus on the Physical aspect… In the end, just a brawler.”

“Damn it, that’s truly infuriating!”

Bastian’s smile faded entirely.

A tri-aspect talent was an extraordinary rarity—but this Li Nanke, for all his potential, might as well be a single-aspect extraordinary.

Vena herself had just experienced the rollercoaster of hope and disappointment. It was as if she’d taken the captain’s umbrella after getting caught in the rain herself; somehow, sharing the misfortune made it a little more bearable.

She suggested, “Captain, once we return to the city, let’s have him undergo a medical examination. Perhaps if we can cure his condition, things will improve.”

Bastian closed his eyes, stroking the stubble on his chin as he pondered for a long moment.

He suddenly spoke, “A tri-aspect extraordinary shouldn’t present such anomalies. I suspect there’s another possibility, one that matches your description. Vena, have you ever heard of the Omniform aspect?”

“Of course. The Omniform aspect can accommodate all extraordinary powers… Captain, do you mean Li Nanke is Omniform?”

“Your clearance isn’t high enough to understand the true significance of Omniform. While it can indeed accommodate all extraordinary powers, it comes with severe limitations.”

He continued, “All extraordinary powers exert a degree of psychic erosion, and Omniform is no exception. Dual or tri-aspect mastery is about the upper limit of what the human mind can withstand. If someone tried to master all powers, they would suffer a total psychic collapse, losing themselves to madness.”

“So the Omniform aspect can’t truly master every power—at most, it only dabbles in each, thereby mitigating the overwhelming psychic erosion.”

Vena considered this. “But doesn’t that make Omniform rather useless? Those with this aspect would be forever doomed to mediocrity.”

Bastian’s smile returned. “Vena, we must look beyond the surface. While Omniform may be weak in combat, it excels in other domains.”

“Don’t you think the characteristics of Omniform are perfectly suited for a researcher?”

After a moment’s thought, Vena suddenly understood. According to the captain’s explanation, Omniform would indeed be formidable in research.

The Crisis Control Bureau was a vast and tightly structured organization. In addition to the containment division, there were intelligence, logistics, research, and many other departments.

Containment operatives fought on the front lines, handling the dirtiest, most exhausting, and most dangerous tasks—most of them hailed from safe zones.

The research department, on the other hand, was exactly what its name suggested. Its main function was to study forbidden objects. Apart from the occasional field mission, most of its researchers spent their days in offices and laboratories. The researchers were all high-caliber intellectuals.

Some researchers possessed extraordinary powers, but these were rarely combat-oriented, instead serving research needs.

Yet forbidden objects came in infinite variety, some with properties so bewildering they defied understanding.

If a researcher possessed the Omniform aspect, they could absorb the pheromones left on most forbidden objects, forcibly peeling away their mysteries to quickly discern their properties. Not every forbidden object left pheromones, but this alone made Omniform a born researcher’s physique.

“Captain, did we just stumble upon a treasure?” Vena asked.

“Perhaps, but if anyone struck gold, it’s the research department, not us. And let’s not jump to conclusions. Lead the way—I’d like to meet this Li Nanke.”

…

In the crew cabin, Matthew had just brewed a cup of coffee and handed it to Li Nanke, offering comfort. “Don’t be discouraged. Talent is a gift from above, but your achievements still depend on your own hard work.”

“Physical powers may rate lower overall, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless. It’s just that their combat effectiveness is lacking in the early stages, their potential is lower in the long term, and it’s hard to match the fighting strength of other aspects at the same level…”

Li Nanke accepted the coffee with thanks. “Matthew, you don’t need to comfort me. Rather than being a containment operative, I’d prefer a desk job.”

After the unexpected events of the past few days, he’d experienced two forbidden dreams in quick succession. His body wasn’t exhausted, but his nerves were taut as a drawn bow, and without respite, the string would inevitably snap.

If he became a containment operative, he might be dispatched on another mission as soon as he woke from a forbidden dream. Staying in such a state for long, he feared the next absorption of a primary trait would break his mind.

But if he could become a desk worker who still had access to forbidden objects, that would be far preferable—after all, containment operatives lived with their heads tied to their belts.

Matthew was surprised. “You want to be a researcher?”

“A researcher… that actually sounds pretty good.”

Matthew sighed. “No way. You’d best focus on improving your physical aspect and become a containment operative.”

“Why not?”

“Do you have a graduate degree?”

“No.”

“Did you even go to college?”

“Maybe in a past life…”

“What about secondary education in a safe zone?”

“Made it halfway through… alright, stop. I get it.”

Just then, the cabin door swung open. Vena strode in, followed by a middle-aged man with neatly slicked-back hair. He wore the same black uniform with silver piping as the containment operatives, but his epaulets bore the insignia of a longsword.

The man’s face was square, marked by an omega jaw—what some called a “chin dimple”—and he had a trace of blue stubble.

Matthew immediately greeted him. “Captain.”

Bastian nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to Li Nanke. “Young man, do you want to be a researcher?”

Matthew was dumbfounded: ???