Chapter 2: XS

What the hell is this? Am I hallucinating from writing code?

Before Xie Sheng could even process what was happening, a cold, fishy wind suddenly swept across the back of his neck. Instinctively, he dodged to the side.

Whoosh—

The sound of something slicing through the air passed by his ear, followed by the sharp crack of claws missing their mark behind him.

The Lizardman had silently closed in, lunging at him from right behind.

Though Xie Sheng dodged in time, the sharp tip of its tail still slashed a gash across his right calf.

Blood dripped from his pant leg as he knelt, using his right hand to fling the umbrella. The tip scraped across the Lizardman's spine, producing a sharp hissing sound.

But the Lizardman's metallic hide was too tough; the umbrella tip left only a shallow white scratch before bouncing off.

Xie Sheng narrowed his eyes and turned to run.

As expected, six legs couldn't outrun two. Just as he reached the middle of the corridor, a dark shadow flashed ahead.

"Huh?"

Damn it.

It can really teleport.

Xie Sheng slammed the umbrella against the ground to brake, spun around, and dove into the study off the side of the corridor.

Fu Hanhai disliked reading, but he insisted on setting a good example as a studious father, so his bookshelf was still filled with heavy tomes.

Xie Sheng and the Prince of Qin circled the pillar. The moment the Lizardman broke through the door, Xie Sheng darted to the other side of the bookshelf and shoved it with all his might.

Boom—

The entire bookshelf toppled, crashing down on the twisted body with a heavy thud.

But it would only buy him a few seconds.

Xie Sheng scrambled over it and sprinted out of the study.

The corridor was pitch-black, yet "his dad" relentlessly closed in, clearly not relying on sight.

Xie Sheng glanced at the clock on the wall.

Five minutes.

Five minutes until Fu Hanhai arrived.

He spun around and sprinted toward Fu Hanhai's room.

But a gash on his calf slowed him down, and the foul stench of the Xenogeneic quickly closed in behind him.

Reaching the second floor, Xie Sheng sharply turned and darted into the room.

He didn't have time to close the door, but the corridor instantly fell silent.

As expected.

Fu Hanhai's room could temporarily block the Xenogeneic's tracking.

Xie Sheng pressed his hand against the wound on his calf, his palm now slick with blood.

Leaning against the door, Xie Sheng let out a long sigh. The room was eerily quiet, the thick curtains blocking out the wind and rain, making even his own breathing sound unnaturally loud.

In this brief moment of safety, he suddenly realized something—

He seemed to have awakened an Ability.

In his vision, semi-transparent characters still flickered:

Ctrl+

SB

"..."

This was too abstract.

Who ever heard of an Ability that insults its own user?

Xie Sheng didn't even know where to begin to use his Ability.

Boom—

Lightning illuminated the room again, and at the same time, Xie Sheng tried to mentally press the S key.

Ding—

The image before him froze, then shrunk into a movable file that stored itself in Xie Sheng's mind.

Huh?

Ctrl+S was the save shortcut on a computer, but here it was taking a screenshot of what he was seeing and "saving" it.

How is that not a form of saving?

"..."

God-tier Preservation.

God-tier Ability.

Xie Sheng tried to mentally access a folder named "S" and opened the first and only file inside.

It was a photo, just as he expected.

It showed the scene he'd just witnessed: on Fu Hanhai's door, a Lizardman's face had been stuck there at some point. Its distorted features were stretched into a grotesque close-up, with two heads and four eyes staring straight at him.

Why did I even screen-capture this damn thing? To hang it by my bed as an evil ward?

Could this Ability be any more useless?

The next moment, a chill ran down Xie Sheng's spine.

No.

The Lizardman is still coming!

He looked up abruptly.

With the sound of wind and a foul stench, the Lizardman's pale, pupil-less eyes suddenly loomed closer, so close that Xie Sheng could see his own reflection in them.

Simultaneously, its thick, sharp tail whipped towards him. Xie Sheng gritted his teeth and blocked with the tip of his umbrella.

Crack!

Against a Xenogeneic, human strength was pathetically insignificant.

The moment the umbrella tip collided, Xie Sheng's entire right arm went numb, his joints nearly dislocated. His only weapon flew from his grasp and skittered several meters across the floor.

...Damn it.

With the door blocked, he turned and ran toward the window.

The Lizardman's right head let out a piercing, frenzied shriek. Its hind legs pushed off the ground, and it lunged at Xie Sheng's back.

The Lizardman moved with blinding speed, its sharp claws slicing through the air with a whistling sound. Xie Sheng could feel its claws piercing his ribs in the next instant.

In that life-or-death moment, his mind exploded with a thought, almost instinctual: Ctrl+B!

Bang!!!

The instant Xie Sheng burst through the window, the Lizardman lunging at him abruptly enlarged—its body forcibly stretched horizontally to twice its original size.

Boom—

The Lizardman's upper body, complete with its two heads, had already crashed through the window with Xie Sheng, but its six grotesque claws and legs remained firmly wedged in the window frame.

The massive impact shook the entire villa, causing the walls to groan and crack. The accumulated rainwater on the eaves was instantly shaken off, cascading down like a waterfall and splashing against the concrete floor in a cloud of mist.

Xie Sheng slid into the downpour, rolling to his feet and using the Lizardman's momentary confusion to roll two meters away. Gritting his teeth, he staggered to his feet.

Wiping the water from his face, he turned back to see the creature half-in, half-out of the window frame, resembling a giant, foul-smelling cockroach stuck to an air vent. Its human-like face contorted in a grotesque expression, letting out a piercing shriek.

Fortunately, this was a wealthy district, and the high-end detached villa was well-constructed enough to withstand the Lizardman's impact without collapsing.

Xie Sheng rubbed his right arm and offered a sincere apology.

I'm sorry.

My Ability isn't useless.

Computers are truly the greatest invention of the 20th century.

"Xie Sheng!!!"

Suddenly, the roar of an engine pierced the rain-soaked air, and headlights cut through the darkness as a dark SUV skidded to a halt beside him.

Three figures leaped out, splashing through the puddles. Ji Anping already held an inextinguishable fireball in his hand, its blue flames steaming and billowing. The fireball hurtled toward the Lizardman trapped in the window frame.

But in the next instant, the Lizardman vanished.

The blue flame ball, however, continued its unstoppable trajectory.

"My villa!" Fu Hanhai roared.

Yin Lanxing immediately raised his hand and pressed it against Ji Anping's arm.

As if erased by a pen, the fireball vanished just before it could smash into the villa.

Xie Sheng: B-rank Combat-type Ability User. Can summon and control fireballs for attacks.

Yin Lanxing: B-rank Special-type Ability User. Can temporarily strip others of their Ability authority and directly nullify released Ability attacks.

Xie Sheng scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Thanks, Senior."

Yin Lanxing smiled gently and steadied Xie Sheng's still trembling right arm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Xie Sheng replied.

He glanced at the villa's main entrance, where only shattered walls and lingering claw marks remained.

Fu Hanhai frowned deeply. "What the hell was that Xenogeneic? Why was it targeting you?"

"I got a screenshot," Xie Sheng said.

Xie Sheng: "I just don't know how to send it to you."

Fu Hanhai: "?"

"I feel a bit nauseous. I want to take a shower."

Xie Sheng stood up. His ankles, pant legs, elbows, and the scratched parts of his calves were all covered in a sticky, foul-smelling liquid mixed with rainwater, which dripped steadily downward.

"Besides him, the Poker Killer also came to our place."

Fu Hanhai: "??"

"Oh, right."

Xie Sheng remembered something. "I also awakened an Ability."

Fu Hanhai: "???"

______________________________________

"Lizardman, C-rank Crawler-type Xenogeneic. Its shell is highly resistant, partially deflecting physical and low-tier Ability attacks. Its six claws and tail are powerful, capable of repelling and piercing. It can teleport short distances, but with a significant cooldown period."

"It devoured a C-rank Ability User who was a programmer, evolving its Ability. It can read a target's shallow memories, perform highly realistic simulations and restructuring of a designated object, and slightly alter the target's memories. However, its combat effectiveness is poor during disguise, and it suffers from delayed actions. Returning to its original form takes some time."

With Ji Anping now driving, Yin Lanxing selectively read the database information before handing the computer to Xie Sheng. "Based on your description of its abilities and appearance, it must be this one, right?"

"Yes."

A band-aid was stuck on Xie Sheng's face, but he recognized the father-like features without needing to compare them to the mental screenshots. "It devoured a programmer? No wonder it's bald."

Fu Hanhai instinctively raised a hand to touch his head, feeling a sudden chill.

Yin Lanxing continued, "It's been very active in the Yicheng area recently, which is why Ji Anping noticed something was wrong. What's strange is why it suddenly targeted you."

Fu Hanhai frowned. "A C-rank Xenogeneic definitely has a Xenogeneic Domain. Why attack Xie Sheng directly instead of pulling him into the domain? Why the rush?"

Fu Hanhai was a high-level Ability User. Having grown up with him, Xie Sheng was well aware of the existence of special abilities that defied scientific explanation.

Humans could awaken abilities and become Ability Users . Anything non-human—living Lizardmen, pens, lines of code, or even unexpressed emotions—could undergo a transformation triggered by some unknown force, becoming Xenogeneics .

The Xenogeneic Domain , which Fu Hanhai had mentioned, was a Xenogeneic's innate advantage. It allowed them to influence and sever a small region of reality, such as transforming a normal old building into a haunted house. Alternatively, they could construct a sealed space detached from the real world, where their own rules and systems of judgment prevailed. Ordinary people or Ability Users could be trapped within these domains, forced to play by the Xenogeneics' cruel, twisted, and malicious "game" rules to escape.

This was similar to Mobile Catastrophes and Infinite-style Instances , where survival depended on following the Xenogeneics' deadly and distorted "game" rules.

Ability Users and Xenogeneics could devour each other, allowing their abilities to Evolve .

This was a war that had raged for a century and showed no signs of ending.

Though bloodless, it was utterly brutal.

To combat the Xenogeneics and maintain social order, nations jointly established the General Extraordinaries Management Agency (GEMA).

______________________________________

It was eleven o'clock at night, but the GEMA building in Yicheng remained brightly lit.

Xie Sheng finally got the shower he'd been longing for. After a healing Ability User treated and bandaged his wounds, he and Fu Hanhai came to the Ability Analysis Department.

GEMA had seven major departments: Command, Operations, Scientific Research, Ability Analysis, Xenogeneic Analysis, Abnormal Containment and Lockdown Management, and External Coordination and Information Management.

Fu Hanhai was currently the deputy director of GEMA's Yicheng branch. The director was over fifty years old, and Fu Hanhai was poised to take over the position soon.

Fu Hanhai's ability was A-rank Analysis. Years ago, before the Ability Analysis and Xenogeneic Analysis Departments were separated, he had served as their minister for over a decade, becoming intimately familiar with the equipment and procedures of both.

Although Xie Sheng had claimed his ability was Ctrl+SB, the standard procedures still had to be followed.

"First, let's check his ability's physiological response threshold," Fu Hanhai told Ji Anping. "Go operate Contact Pod 01."

"Okay, Uncle Fu," Ji Anping replied.

Xie Sheng lay down inside the fully transparent, high-pressure acrylic chamber.

The entire process took over thirty minutes. Fu Hanhai leaned back in his chair, Xie Sheng lay on the bed, and only Ji Anping busied himself, working and taking notes.

Brain Domain Response Simulation: Image Loading Failed Active Activation Experiment: No Ability Index Fluctuation Domain Resonance Value: 0 Mental Threshold: 0 Energy Capacity Value: 0 Static Adaptation Test: Stable readings, no resonance or reaction. Mental state completely normal. Heart rate unusually stable, indicating "sleep state."

"Huh?"

Ji Anping froze when he received the report.

Fu Hanhai straightened up. "What's wrong?"

Ji Anping rubbed his eyes, double-checked the report to make sure he wasn't mistaken, and said, "The system results show that Brother Xie Sheng has no ability."

Fu Hanhai was also stunned. He rushed over and snatched the report.

The conclusion, written in black text on a white background, read:

Summary: No ability response detected.

Both men were dumbfounded.

"Xie..."

Fu Hanhai looked up at Contact Pod 01, which was deathly silent. Even with the loud conversation outside, Xie Sheng hadn't reacted at all, proving he was deeply asleep.

"Though this kid sometimes acts like an automaton, he wouldn't lie about something as crucial as an ability, nor would he have any reason to."

Fu Hanhai ran the analysis on his computer multiple times, confirming the system wasn't malfunctioning.

...Wait.

He noticed an anomaly in the data.

Though it didn't affect the final result, Fu Hanhai suddenly recalled something, a flash of inspiration.

"Xie Sheng."

He knocked on the pod's hatch.

"Xie Sheng!"

Xie Sheng was sleeping soundly. He jolted awake, instinctively sitting up, and nearly hit his head on the pod's ceiling.

"..."

He blinked, orienting himself. Bending his knees, he slid back to the foot of the bed and slipped out of the Contact Pod.

"Finished the test?" Xie Sheng yawned, smoothing his rumpled clothes.

"No." Fu Hanhai replied. "Activate your Ability and run it again. When I call your name later, press Ctrl+S."

"Oh."

He retreated into the Contact Pod.

Fu Hanhai's voice came through the pod's speaker: "Activate your Ability."

With a slight mental effort, Xie Sheng activated his Ability.

In that instant, all sleepiness vanished.

Unlike the first time he'd seen it, the display now split into two parts.

At the top was a narrow input box with a cursor blinking rhythmically like a heartbeat.

Below it, a pale blue, translucent virtual keyboard filled nearly his entire field of vision. The Ctrl, S, and B keys on the left were highlighted, while all others remained gray and unusable.

V, VR keyboard? Chosen One programmer??

Xie Sheng was startled and sat up abruptly.

Thud—

His head, as expected, collided with the ceiling of the pod.

Xie Sheng: "......"

Damn it.

He rubbed his head and slowly lay back down.

After staring blankly at the keyboard screen in his vision for a while, Xie Sheng suddenly sensed something and mentally focused on the S key.

Just like how hovering over a game skill shows its description, a line of small text appeared above the S key:

I took a screenshot but don't know how to send it to you.

He then moved to the B key, and similar text appeared:

I know you like it thick~ hehe~

Xie Sheng: "..."

Why is this Ability so cheeky?

Well, what else could you expect from something that started by calling him an idiot?

As he was thinking, Fu Hanhai's voice came from above: " Ctrl+S ."

Xie Sheng took a screenshot of the blank white ceiling of the Contact Pod, and a second image appeared in his mental folder.

He discovered he could name these image files, but only using the letters S and B .

Xie Sheng: "......"

He immediately named the Lizardman's hideously ugly face SB , so the Ability would insult the Lizardman instead of himself.

Perfect.

Xie Sheng was quite satisfied.

He deactivated his Ability.

With no new orders from Fu Hanhai for the time being, Xie Sheng found himself drifting back to sleep.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, Ji Anping finally came to wake him. "Brother Xie Sheng."

"Huh?" Xie Sheng replied.

Ji Anping opened the cabin door. "Uncle Fu said it's ready. Come out."

"Oh," Xie Sheng said.

"This time, Uncle Fu wrote the program himself, so it took a while. He's still working with Little M on it."

Abilities also evolved over time. A decade ago, GEMA had recruited several Ability Users specializing in AI. The General Bureau then assembled them to create an AI-assisted system called Little M, combining their Abilities with algorithms and continuously upgrading it.

Fu Hanhai's Little M was even more unique. Using his Analysis Ability, he had optimized it a second time. As a result, Little M 2.0 could incorporate its own thoughts and judgments during processing, even simulating human emotions and tones, making it seem more human-like.

Xie Sheng walked over.

Fu Hanhai stood before the console, six or seven screens glowing in front of him, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

Not wanting to disturb him, Xie Sheng stood quietly nearby.

After a moment, he overheard Fu Hanhai muttering to himself.

"...That person was right. Xie Sheng's Ability is truly unlike anyone else's. Even if we can measure its value, all other data remains blank."

Xie Sheng: "Who?"

Fu Hanhai looked up and only then noticed Xie Sheng had slipped in unnoticed. He frowned. "What's wrong with your forehead?"

Xie Sheng: "..."

Changing the subject, Xie Sheng asked, "What's different about me?"

Fu Hanhai: "The skin on your forehead is redder than others."

Xie Sheng: "?"

Xie Sheng: "I meant, how is my ability different from others?"

"...Oh, right."

Fu Hanhai explained, "When we use a computer, pressing 'Control' alone doesn't issue commands. It needs to be combined with other keys. Your ability is similar. So, only by pressing 'Ctrl' + 'S' simultaneously can your ability be detected."

Fu Hanhai's expression turned serious. "Although you currently only have 'SB', it seems your ability can evolve continuously, acquiring more letter keys—meaning more distinct skills."

"I've already submitted an emergency report to the China General Bureau. An S-rank meeting will be held tomorrow at 8 AM. Your situation doesn't fit any existing Ability User classification standards. It's unprecedented and requires independent assessment and research."

Xie Sheng: "Oh."

Fu Hanhai closed the other light screens and logged into the GEMA official website on the central one. "I'll register you as an official GEMA Ability User first. That will give you access to the Ability User Forum, which contains all the theoretical knowledge about Abilities and Xenogeneics. Take a look for yourself."

Little M extended its mechanical arm toward Xie Sheng. "Please hand over your phone and watch. I'll load the GEMA official system and channels for you."

Fu Hanhai explained, "One of the A-rank Ability Users at the General Bureau has the Blockchain Ability. They serve as a core node, ensuring the entire GEMA system is tamper-proof with layered access security. With the current Xenogeneics developing advanced computational capabilities, we need to prevent them from hacking into the system."

Xie Sheng handed them over.

As a computer science major, he was familiar with blockchain technology.

Indeed.

The world was full of wonders. The collective grievances of programmers could sustain numerous advanced Xenogeneics, and as technology and AI increasingly permeated daily life, organizations like GEMA needed defensive and countermeasures against information pollution and technological mutation.

Fu Hanhai continued, "There are two Ability User Forums. The outer one is accessible to all Ability Users, but it's a mix of fish and dragons—you need to be cautious about the information you find there. The other is the GEMA official Forum, restricted to registered Ability Users. It's linked to your personal identity, and all posts are reviewed by Little M."

"Oh," Xie Sheng said.

Little M returned the phone and watch to Xie Sheng. "Download complete. You'll need to choose a codename now—it's your 'ID' in the Ability User world, used for mission scheduling, internal communications, and the forum. Every Ability User has one."

"Understood."

Fu Hanhai added, "We'll be using your codename for discussions during tomorrow's meeting."

Xie Sheng looked at the phone screen, which displayed:

Welcome to GEMA Official Ability User status!

Your codename is: **System prompt: Limited to simplified Chinese characters, numbers, and uppercase English letters. Once confirmed, it will be permanently bound to your identity file and cannot be changed.**

Confirm Generate Randomly

A large smiley face followed.

Little M added helpfully, "You can choose something meaningful, like something related to your hobbies, life experiences, or aspirations for yourself."

"Of course, you could also have the system generate a random alphanumeric code—but that would be rather bland. Currently, only 0.4% of registered codenames are like that."

"Most Ability Users choose something related to their Ability, but if you want to keep your Ability secret, you don't have to."

Xie Sheng: "......"

Related to his Ability.

I couldn't just call myself a "Keyboard Warrior" or a "Code Monkey."

That would be too abrupt.

Xie Sheng turned to Ji Anping. "What's your codename?"

"Firebird."

Ji Anping rubbed his nose. "My ability is B-rank Fire-type. I can summon and control fireballs."

Xie Sheng: "Why not Phoenix?"

Ji Anping: "Someone already took it."

"Fair enough."

Xie Sheng said, "If it were me, I'd call myself Fledgling Phoenix."

Xie Sheng: "Waiting online for a Crouching Dragon."

Ji Anping: "..."

Xie Sheng asked again, "What about Yin Lanxing's?"

Ji Anping: "Factory Manager."

Xie Sheng: "?"

What factory? What manager?

Ji Anping: "Uncle Fu came up with it. He said Senior's ability can reset people to their factory settings."

Xie Sheng: "..."

Xie Sheng: "6."

Noticing a pair of expectant eyes on him, Xie Sheng looked over.

Fu Hanhai gave him a smile.

Xie Sheng took two seconds to get the joke. "Oh."

He asked, "What's Director Fu's codename?"

Ji Anping: "Heavenly Eye."

Xie Sheng: "Oh."

Fu Hanhai: "What's with that reaction?"

Xie Sheng: "No reaction."

Fu Hanhai: "Why no reaction?"

Fu Hanhai: "Isn't that cool?"

Xie Sheng: "Cool."

Xie Sheng: "You were born for this. Your code name screams 'righteous cop'—it gives you that full sense of security."

Fu Hanhai: "......"

Though Xie Sheng's expression remained impassive, Fu Hanhai could tell he was being sarcastic.

The air fell silent. Xie Sheng decided these code names were utterly useless.

Too tired to think, he simply entered his initials: XS .

Xie Sheng: "Done."

The system prompted for double confirmation. Xie Sheng clicked again and entered the forum.

The homepage was minimalist, with a high-tech feel and a blue-and-white color scheme. The bottom navigation bar had three sections: Main Forum , GEMA Forum , and My Account .

Clicking into either the Main Forum or the GEMA Forum revealed sub-navigation bars. The former had Chat , Paid Resources , Xenogeneic Bounties , and Trading . The latter had Announcements , Internal Discussions , GEMA Credit Missions , and GEMA Rankings .

Suddenly, Xie Sheng remembered something and asked, "You just said, 'That person was right—my ability really is different from everyone else's.' Who said that?"

Fu Hanhai pointed to his phone: " GEMA Rankings ."

Xie Sheng clicked on it.

China Esper Rankings (All entries are code names)

Updated: January 1, 2026

1. Maho Shojo 2. MD 3. Cat Lord 4. Novelist 5. Aether 6. Goodnight 7. ...

Fu Hanhai said, "The second-ranked one is Mu Die."

Ji Anping suddenly grew excited. "My idol! Let me tell you, MD is the only Ability User in China who has ever entered the S-rank Xenogeneic Domain. And rumors say her Ability is more complex than it appears—otherwise, she wouldn't be ranked so high."

Xie Sheng: "Oh."

Fu Hanhai continued, "What code name should I use for you in the meeting proposal?"

Xie Sheng: "XS."

Fu Hanhai: "?"

Xie Sheng asked, "Why does this MD chick know about my Ability? I only just awakened it. When did she tell you?"

Fu Hanhai looked up at Xie Sheng.

"A long time ago."

He seemed reluctant to elaborate, giving a dismissive answer. "I don't know why she knows."

Xie Sheng turned to Ji Anping. "So what's her surface Ability? Precognition?"

Ji Anping: "Made in China."

Xie Sheng: "?"

A look of reverence flashed in Ji Anping's eyes. "She can sense and control all Made in China objects within a certain radius—including, but not limited to, daily necessities, machinery, and electronics."

Xie Sheng: "???"

Holy shit.

Awesome.