Wang Lie took a bite of the sweet asparagus, closed his eyes, and savored it.

Everyone held their breath.

Then they watched him take another bite.

Everyone was speechless, thinking, Is he having afternoon tea here? Just as they were about to urge him on, he suddenly furrowed his brow, crossed his legs, and sat down on the spot.

With a thunderous boom, flames engulfed his entire body!

For a moment, everyone froze in shock!

Suddenly, someone snapped, “Oh no! Did Wang Lie lose control of his abilities…?”

“What do you mean by ‘lost control’? Don’t be ridiculous…” they protested, though their own hearts sank. They’d witnessed a fire-type ability user lose control just last year… Wasn’t it exactly like this—the body suddenly engulfed in flames?

“But how old is Wang Lie? He only awakened his abilities a few years ago. How could he lose control already?”

“Could it be because he ate that dish…”

Qu Yue roared, “Shut up, all of you! What happened will be clear once Wang Lie wakes up!”

Everyone immediately fell silent, especially the last speaker. He’d spoken too hastily and now felt uneasy. “Brother Cen, I didn’t mean…”

Cen An frowned and shook his head. He was worried too—not about the dish being problematic and unsellable, but about Wang Lie’s well-being.

Despite his laid-back demeanor, Wang Lie was fiercely loyal and had helped him countless times. It would be terrible if something happened because of his vegetables.

But then he thought, this didn’t make sense. Vegetables produced by the system might not be beneficial, but they certainly shouldn’t be harmful…

Wang Lie sat in meditation for over half an hour.

The flames covering his body started as a thin layer but grew larger and larger, roaring loudly, making everyone’s skin tighten.

The crowd had to step back, making space for him, leaving only two other fire-type ability users watching to ensure they could lend a hand immediately if anything happened.

“We can’t wait any longer,” a voice suddenly cut through the crowd. “Injure him… or… just cripple his ability.”

“What did you say?” The others glared at him. “Qi Yangze, what nonsense are you spouting? How many times has Wang Lie saved you? And now you want to cripple him just because his ability malfunctioned?”

“Like I have a choice!” Qi Yangze leapt to his feet, his agitation surpassing theirs. “Look at him! This is clearly a power malfunction! You’ve never seen a fire-type ability go haywire, but I have!”

His eyes burned red. “Fire-type ability users! Are you all just going to stand by and watch him burn himself to ashes before you’re satisfied?”

Seeing him about to charge forward, Cen An quickly stepped in. “Wait, hold on…”

Unexpectedly, Qi Yangze raised his hand and shoved him away. “Get out of the way! If it weren’t for you secretly cooking up some rotten vegetables, none of this would have happened…”

Though Cen An had been training daily on the mountain lately, his physique much stronger than in his previous life, he was no match for an ability user. The force of the shove sent him tumbling backward, but luckily, someone caught him.

That someone was Liao Wanwan. Supporting him upright, she shouted, “Qi Yangze, what are you implying? Are you saying Brother Cen deliberately harmed Wang Lie?”

The others immediately chimed in. It wasn’t that they didn’t care about Wang Lie, but Cen An wasn’t new to trading with them. If he truly wanted to harm them, wouldn’t the familiar cabbages and white radishes be a far better choice?

Besides, Cen An had offered the vegetables for them to sample today—how could he possibly be trying to poison them?

“Qi Yangze, what do you mean by that! Explain yourself clearly!”

“Exactly! Explain yourself!”

Qu Yue was furious, raising her hand to summon vines and teach him a lesson. “Qi Yangze! Didn’t I tell you—”

As the center of the argument, Cen An—now pushed to the back by the crowd—helped his forehead in exasperation. “Everyone, stop arguing. Listen first…”

But before he could finish, another focal point—Wang Lie, whom everyone avoided—made a move.

Flames now shot a meter high from his body, turning him into a human torch. Suddenly, the flames swirled like a vortex, violently compressing and then exploding outward!

A deafening roar accompanied the searing heat as it spread through the room. Everyone quickly raised their hands to shield themselves, and someone cried out, “Oh no! It’s on fire!”

“Where are the water-type psychics? Hurry up!”

Chaos erupted, even more intense than before. Black smoke filled the air. Cen An, shielded by Liao Wanwan and several other ability users, retreated from the house. Water-type ability users rushed forward to extinguish the flames, sending another wave of steam billowing upward…

After the chaotic commotion subsided, thick smoke billowed from the small cabin. In the courtyard, the ability users stood covered in soot, coughing incessantly.

Cen An, however, had been protected thoroughly, not even a speck of soot on him.

Amid the black smoke, a voice suddenly called out: “Ahem… What happened? Why did the house suddenly catch fire? Are you all okay?”

Everyone froze, looking up to see Wang Lie waving his hands as he emerged. “Everyone okay? Nice move, abandoning me inside while you all escaped? How’s Brother Cen? He’s fine, right?”

After he finished speaking, he noticed everyone staring at him as if he were a ghost. Confused, he asked, “What’s wrong? I…”

“You bastard! You really are unharmed!” Qu Yue strode over and slapped his shoulder hard. “We thought your ability had gone out of control!”

The others finally snapped out of it. “Wang Lie! You really are incredibly lucky!”

“Impressive, Brother Lie. Recovering from a power surge like that.”

Qi Yangze’s eyes widened. “You… you’re okay?”

He lunged forward, grabbing Wang Lie’s shoulders. “You’re fine? You broke free from the power surge? Tell me, how did you do it? Tell me!”

Wang Lie frowned, glancing at him then at the burning house. Realizing what was happening, he said gravely, “Who said I was losing control?”

Qi Yangze froze. “But just now…”

Wang Lie shook off his hand. “Just now… I was leveling up.”

The statement brought an even more sudden silence than before.

Three full breaths passed before the courtyard erupted. “Level… what levelling up?”

“What level?”

“Holy… shit! Ability upgrade?”

Their astonishment was understandable. In this world, upgrading abilities was extremely difficult!

Think about it: ability users could only restore energy by absorbing crystal cores, and absorbing too many would cause psychic backlash.

What did they use to upgrade? How did they upgrade?

This wasn’t to say that ability users couldn’t be upgraded—they could. Take Team Leader Liao, for instance. When he first awakened, he was a Level 2 Earth ability user. Now he was Level 3. That happened during a life-or-death crisis when his latent potential erupted, granting him a sudden upgrade.

Qu Yue and Zhao Wu also started at Level 2.

But no one had ever upgraded so effortlessly—just sitting at home, munching on a vegetable leaf, crunch, and then the delivery room announced the good news—upgraded~

Had they not witnessed it themselves, had Wang Lie not stated it himself, they would’ve sworn it was a joke.

Even so, they found it hard to believe…

Wang Lie didn’t explain to them. He wasn’t stupid. Hearing the crowd mistake his ability for a violent outburst, he instantly pieced together what had just happened.

He promptly spotted Cen An in the crowd—easy enough, really, with all those black gourds scattered about, only their brother Cen remained clean and pale—then ran over, grinning broadly. “My brother Cen is just awesome! New veggies can actually boost abilities! Thanks, Brother Cen! Sister Qu used to say you’re her real brother, but from now on, you’re my real brother too!”

Cen An wasn’t surprised by this outcome. Initially, when Wang Lie sat in meditation and began burning, he had indeed worried. Yet, checking Wang Lie’s status revealed nothing unusual. However, when the flames on Wang Lie’s body suddenly surged, a line abruptly appeared in his status bar: [Ability Upgrading]

Even with his limited understanding of abilities, he knew this wasn’t a bad thing.

Precisely because of this, he had tried to stop Qi Yangze from intervening.

Wang Lie’s words were like pouring a ladle of water into a boiling oil pot. The already excited crowd nearly screamed!

What? That little vegetable leaf is responsible for the ability upgrade?

What? Eating Brother Cen’s vegetables actually boosts your abilities?

Holy moly, holy moly, holy moly… What kind of ancestral blessing is this?!

Finally, Qu Yue bellowed, “Shut up, everyone!”

The young people, all raised under her watchful eye, still feared her. So, no matter how excited they were, they all shut their mouths, their eyes sparkling as they stared at Cen An.

Cen An exchanged a few words with Qu Yue and Wang Lie. Turning around, he met those pairs of foolish yet clear eyes and couldn’t help but laugh. “The new vegetables do indeed enhance abilities.”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Though they’d already overheard, hearing him confirm it stirred excitement anew.

Cen An continued, “But Wang Lie’s reaction was so strong because he’s been stuck at the peak of Level 2 for ages. He just needed a tiny push to break through. For you lot, eating it will probably only give a slight boost.”

These details were explained to him earlier by Wang Lie, who had elaborated extensively, likely to prevent misunderstandings.

The others nodded in agreement. Excellent news! While they desired to enhance their abilities, they also feared weakening their foundations. This gradual approach was perfect!

Besides, they’d previously had no means to boost their abilities. Now that a method was offered, would they really complain about the pace?

Cen An continued, “Because sweet asparagus enhances psychic abilities, and I don’t know much about that myself, I won’t be accepting individual purchases of it here. I’ll hand over all the sweet asparagus to Sister Qu, and she’ll distribute it to you all.”

This was what Qu Yue had just told her. Qu Yue’s exact words were: “For the sake of the team’s overall strength in the future.”

In truth, Cen An knew full well that Qu Yue was protecting him.

Claiming the cabbage and white radish was manageable—after all, they were life-saving items, and buyers practically begged him for them. But with combat-enhancing items like sweet asparagus, deciding who gets them and who doesn’t could easily make enemies.

Cen An didn’t possess any special abilities. If someone with a grudge sought revenge, it could be dangerous.

The others, unaware of the underlying dynamics, immediately cringed upon hearing it would be distributed by Sister Qu. The heated atmosphere finally cooled down.

Cen An breathed a sigh of relief himself. He’d anticipated the sweet asparagus would be useful, but hadn’t imagined it would be this effective—or cause such a stir… Still, whether for him or the Ability Squad, it was ultimately a good thing.

With the matter clarified, business could finally commence.

The final price for the sweet asparagus was set at 10 crystal cores per stalk.

This was only after Cen An had fiercely argued his case. Originally, Wang Lie had intended to price them at 50 crystal cores each—after all, a vegetable that enhanced abilities was unprecedented…

But then again, he wasn’t just selling this batch of sweet asparagus once. With a new crop ready every eight days—150 stalks per harvest—wouldn’t he be emptying the team’s pockets?

So he settled on 10 crystal cores.

Honestly, even at 10 crystal cores, he thought it was a bit steep… but Qu Yue and Wang Lie wouldn’t let him lower the price any further.

Of the 150 sweet asparagus plants, Cen An kept 30 for himself and sold 120.

The bok choy and white radishes sold out just as quickly.

These three batches of vegetables brought Cen An 1,670 crystal cores. With this, his total holdings reached 2,362 crystal cores.

An impressive amount.

A smile touched Cen An’s face as he tucked the crystal cores into his robe.

Two dark figures suddenly appeared before him. He looked up to see Wang Lie dragging someone along.

The man kept his head bowed—it was Qi Yangze.

Cen An’s smile vanished instantly. “What’s this?”

Wang Lie grinned. “Brother Cen, I heard this kid was disrespectful to you? I brought him to apologize.”

Cen An glanced at Qi Yangze and said flatly, “No need for apologies. I’m not human… Crystal cores? How could I possibly like every single one? Business is business. Cash on delivery is all that matters.“

Qi Yangze was Qu Yue’s man, and Cen An couldn’t very well refuse to sell him vegetables in the future. But he didn’t particularly like the man and had no desire to get entangled with him.

Wang Lie sighed softly. ”Very well, then.”

Cen An waved his hand and turned to leave.

Behind him, Qi Yangze suddenly spoke up, “Your vegetables… can they truly soothe psychic abilities?”

Cen An’s expression remained perfectly composed, though his inner impatience simmered. He had little patience for strangers. “So many people have eaten them. You’d be better off asking them.”

Qi Yangze fell silent. He had asked, of course. Everyone assured him it worked, that it truly did. Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that Cen An had pulled some trick.

How could it be that easy… So many had died from their powers spiraling out of control. So many people, trying so many methods. For centuries, no one had found a solution!

How could Cen An just show up and save people by eating vegetables?

They’re vegetables! Not ginseng or lingzhi mushrooms!

If saving people were that simple, then what about his father, his mother, his family who died from their abilities going haywire? What about them?

Wang Lie patted his shoulder and caught up with Cen An. “Brother Cen, are you heading to the forest to tidy up tonight? I’ll walk you.”

They walked all the way to the courtyard gate. Seeing Wang Lie still had no intention of leaving, Cen An sighed. “Got something to say?”

“Ah.” Wang Lie scratched his head. “Brother Cen, you noticed?”

Cen An casually scanned his surroundings, plucking any seasonings or edible wild greens by the roadside. “He and you are pretty close. Given your personality, you’d probably speak up for him.”

This “he” referred to Qi Yangze. Though stubborn and obsessive, his regard for Wang Lie was undeniable.

“It’s not exactly defending him,” Wang Lie continued, scratching his head. “Qi Yangze’s parents are both ability users—his mom’s a water-type, his dad a fire-type. Word is, when they got married, the whole village was amazed for ages. Who’d have thought two people as incompatible as water and fire could be so devoted to each other?”

“But his parents’ abilities went out of control very early. His mother lost control before she turned thirty. His father tried every possible solution, even abandoning his family and child for years, yet he still couldn’t find a way. Eventually, his mother died in an ability rampage.”

“After his mother died, his father fell into despair. Not long after, word spread that his father’s powers had spiraled out of control, too, followed by a violent power surge. Fire-type power surges are always the most dangerous. The uncontrolled flames engulfed their house, burning his seven-year-old brother and his baby sister, who couldn’t walk, to death. He was the only one who escaped.”

Wang Lie gave a bitter smile. “Brother Cen, do you know how grateful I am to have met you? If it weren’t for your cabbages and radishes, I’d probably have ended up the same way.”

Outbursts weren’t scary, nor was death. He was used to blood on his blade. What terrified him most was endangering his family and friends…

Cen An listened to his story, nodded, and offered a two-word assessment: “Pretty grim.”

But what did that have to do with him?

Among the children at the orphanage, who didn’t have a tragic story behind them?

Some were born with illnesses, others with disabilities, some were simply discarded because they were girls… There were even those who were perfectly fine until an abusive adult punched them, breaking their nose and disfiguring them, leading to their abandonment…

Take Cen An himself—abandoned at the orphanage’s doorstep during a blizzard. Had the director not ventured out that day, fearing the snow might collapse the roof, he would have frozen to death.

Hearing so many tragic tales eventually numbs you. In this life, everyone has their own script to recite. Some scripts are just a bit harder to read—but that too is a matter of personal karma.

Qi Yangze lost his family and home because his abilities spiraled out of control—what does that have to do with Cen An? Why should he bear the brunt of that rage?

As he said before, if he wants to buy vegetables, it’s a simple transaction of goods for silver. If not, then that’s that.

Seeing Cen An wasn’t angry, Wang Lie continued, “This incident gave me a wake-up call.”

Cen An looked at him.

Wang Lie: “We didn’t keep it too secretive that your vegetables can calm supernatural abilities. Letting people know you possess such a life-saving item was meant to protect you, Brother Cen. But now, I don’t think that way anymore.”

Wang Lie wrinkled his nose. His baby face made this deliberately childish gesture seem perfectly natural. “For ability users, what you have is a lifesaver. But for those who lost their abilities after the uprising, or people like Qi Yangze whose families died because of psychic uprisings… it feels more like…”

Cen An finished his thought: “Like justice delayed, salvation that never comes, making people think ‘Why did you wait so long? You might as well not have come at all!’ and ‘Why were they saved but not me?’—to the point where they might be targeted by the paranoid… or even face retaliation?”

Wang Lie chuckled, nodding vigorously. “Exactly. Times are tough, and there are plenty of mentally unstable people out there.”

Cen An smiled too. He hadn’t expected Wang Lie to take such a roundabout way just to remind him of this.

He patted Wang Lie’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

Then he suddenly asked, “So… someone really has been targeting me lately?”

Wang Lie startled, unable to control his expression in time. He shifted his gaze nervously, avoiding Ceng An’s eyes. “Ah, well… I don’t… I don’t know!”

Cen An didn’t press him, watching as Wang Lie made a hasty retreat.

Whether it was him, Qu Yue, Yu Fei, Tian Yuan, or Yu Lin—Cen An knew these friends were doing everything in their power to protect him.

During the Gloomy Rain Period, the sounds of the night were drowned out by the downpour—he might not have heard them. But the bloodstains appearing daily in the courtyard, and the handfuls of crystal cores piled on the table… Could he really not have guessed?

His friends simply didn’t want him to worry, so he pretended ignorance.

It seemed that he, an ordinary person without any special abilities, had truly caused his friends no small amount of trouble…

A faint smile touched Cen An’s lips. This feeling wasn’t unpleasant, strangely enough.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The Ability Squad Base.

Though called a base, ever since Qu Yue and the others stopped coming, this place had become Shi Long’s headquarters.

In the pitch-black room, Shi Long slowly opened his eyes from his seated meditation just as he heard a knock on the door.

He murmured a low response as his subordinate entered and placed a vegetable leaf on the table.

…Alright, a rotten vegetable leaf. Half of it was bruised and emitted a foul stench.

Shi Long’s expression was even more unpleasant than the smell. “What is this?”

Subordinate: “The vegetables you requested.”

Shi Long:?

The subordinate, meeting his incredulous gaze, hurriedly explained, “For some reason, Cen An’s vegetables are incredibly popular. We had people watch the doors of those who bought them, but we couldn’t even get a single vegetable root. Only Liao… Liao Yongzhi threw this half-leaf out of his room. We heard Cen An was selling new vegetables today, so he discarded the rotten ones.“

Shi Long took a deep breath. He wanted to throw that leaf in his face, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he shouted angrily, ”I told you to find a way to get the vegetables! And this is what you came up with—rummaging through their trash bins?!“

The subordinate thought for a moment and asked earnestly, ”Then what should we do?”

Shi Long: …

Shi Long roared, “Go steal! Go rob! Go swindle!” 

Furious, he raised his hand. A gust of wind sent splashes of water flying, hitting his men. “Get out there and find some!”

His clothes soaked by the water, then chilled by the wind, the subordinate shivered violently and dashed out. “Yes, yes, we’ll go find some right now…”

With a crash, Shi Long overturned the table behind him.

The door slammed shut again. Shi Long plopped heavily into his chair, panting like an old ox in rage.

He’d always thought these dim-witted fools were easy to fool, but he’d forgotten—these bastards couldn’t get shit done either!