In the small private room, the two sat facing each other.
The so-called dinner invitation was simple: stir-fried pork with green peppers, tomato and egg soup, and a stir-fried cabbage dish. That was it.
Zhong Buli looked at Chu Ge with a hint of resentment. Was this all the dinner invitation he had imagined?
Chu Ge sipped his soup and casually said, "What, you're being picky about dinner invitations? My money doesn't fall from the sky."
Zhong Buli sighed, "My real name is Zhong Yi. Those names are just online names, or maybe just a code name… Hello, Mr. Chu."
"So you do recognize me. You were deliberately bringing up Chu Da earlier to talk to me." Chu Ge laughed, "Were you with that fat guy and the writer yesterday? I didn't pay much attention to you; the writer completely took my attention."
Zhong Yi lamented, "Even if you only look at appearances, my handsomeness is still..." "Standing out from the crowd, it's really not right to have your attention stolen by some boring superpower." Chu Ge silently pulled up his phone's mirror and handed it to him: "Take a look." Zhong Yi: "..." He silently pushed the phone back and changed the subject: "Yesterday, seeing Mr. Chu involved in the nightclub incident, I felt you would come to see us again today. You should be able to tell that this is one of our hideouts, so I'm waiting for you here." Chu Ge: "I have no idea what kind of hideout this is, I'm just here to eat." Zhong Yi: "?" Did I overestimate you?
Chu Ge said, "I had a lot to say, but asking Lin Wuyang or Zhang Qiren didn't feel quite right. You were introduced by my mother… and since we've met, I'm not going to dwell on it anymore. I just wanted to ask you some questions." Zhong Yi picked up a piece of stir-fried meat and ate it. "They said you don't have any special abilities—and I still don't see any. It's more like you've practiced martial arts. So your parents think you should live a normal life. Writing books is great; you can earn money doing what you love, and many people envy that."
"When something you love becomes your profession, that love is ruined."
"Like when the woman you love becomes your wife?"
Chu Ge: "…" Zhong Yi said, "I see you not only still love it, but you love it even more. You update thousands of words every day, full of energy."
Of course, Chu Ge loved it even more, because it was no longer just a hobby or a profession.
It had become love.
"I don't think I'm here to discuss professions with you," Chu Ge said speechlessly. "Regardless of whether I have superpowers—whether practicing martial arts counts as a superpower of physical strength or not—I should be able to ask about things here, right?"
"Of course..." Zhong Yi smiled. "Actually, the origins of superpowers are quite ancient, not something that happened in recent years. Films and television shows exploring this topic can be traced back decades. However, back then, these abilities were extremely rare. Even when a few appeared, they didn't have much impact, existing only as superhero stories. Some simply faded into obscurity."
Chu Ge nodded. "So it's exploded in recent years?"
"Yes, you could call it a spiritual energy revival? We believe that spiritual energy, or immortal energy, primordial energy, magic... various names pointing to similar things existed on Earth long ago, leaving behind legends of gods or immortals in various countries. Of course, you could say that ancient people were ignorant, imagining and projecting onto things they couldn't understand about nature. That's not important. Various theories have been debated for so many years; that's not our focus—even if there was no spiritual energy before, we have it now."
Chu Ge hummed in agreement. Qiu Wuji could sense that the spiritual energy was denser than before, indicating that it was constantly increasing in concentration. Although the total amount was still thin for Qiu Wuji, it seemed sufficient to cause some ability mutations. Whether it existed in ancient times or not was unimportant.
Zhong Yi said, "Moreover, it's become increasingly obvious in recent years, causing greater and greater changes. So, your parents, who used to work ordinary jobs and raise their child, have become so busy these past few years that they're practically invisible."
I see… Chu Ge sighed, "Do you know the reason for this change?"
"It's under research, and there are no conclusions yet. This has become a key research topic in recent years, and various countries are paying close attention. The only certainty is that, given the rate at which the spiritual energy is becoming denser, a widespread resurgence of supernatural abilities is impossible; at least for the next few hundred years, they will remain a minority."
Chu Ge retorted, "Then why do I see so many supernatural beings just by going out?" "Yes. My roommate is, my neighbor is, my classmates are, even some readers are."
"There's something called the 'law of gathering extraordinary individuals,' and there's also something called the 'protagonist halo.' Which do you think it is?"
"..."
"Actually, it's not that mysterious. If you were an ordinary person, you wouldn't go to the nightclub with us to watch a show, then you wouldn't see any of this, let alone participate in the conflict. So it's not that you can see everything just by going out; it's that you yourself are special, which is why you see things that others can't." Chu Ge thought it made sense. If he and Zhang Qiren weren't special at all, they would have always thought Yueying was a hostess. The world of underground boxing would never have appeared before them.
"But what about that fatso punching me through the internet?"
"If you're a normal person, you'd just think you're hallucinating from being online too much... like when people see Ah Jun with 'handsome' written all over his face, they'd just call him a jerk. Of course, their blindly revealing behavior isn't advisable; we generally don't support it."
"Are they also unofficial members like you?"
"No, actually, even I might not be. Gu Ruoyan wanted to recruit us, but we refused." Zhong Yi chuckled: "We're just a bunch of... idiots who don't want a proper public service job, don't want to be lackeys for rich people, don't want to use their abilities for bad things, yet are unwilling to settle for mediocrity, and feel that their useless superpowers should at least have some use..."
Chu Ge: "emmmm..." "That feeling is a bit like mine..."
"A group of similar people, brought together by some coincidences, partly for their own amusement and partly for mutual support. We tried taking on some interesting jobs, even helped the police catch wanted criminals, and thus gained a little notoriety. Outsiders call us 'The Black Room,' like we're some kind of mysterious organization, hahaha!"
Chu Ge said blankly, "Outsiders wouldn't give us such a nickname. If you guys hadn't called it that yourselves, I'd rip my head off and use it as a chamber pot."
Zhong Yi: "...It's self-proclaimed. We had a long vote and a lot of arguments. In the end, we thought this name sounded more mysterious. Actually, it just started because one day someone was posted a nude photo in the book club group and was locked in the 'black room' for 24 hours."
Chu Ge lowered his head and ate, secretly recalling when he had ever locked someone up for so long.
"It's not your book, forget about it."
"..."
"You really think your readers are all superhumans... It's only because you're popular lately that a few book lovers went to read your book and then joined the group."
For some reason, this rather embarrassing "truth" made Chu Ge breathe a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Zhong Yi said, "I have more contact with the authorities. I submitted my file, underwent the assessment, and am considered an unofficial member. Actually, I'm not afraid to tell you, it's just to make things easier for us in the 'black room' and save us some trouble. If the authorities really need us to do anything, we'll cooperate anyway, it's only right."
"Then why didn't Lin Wuyang contact you? He complained about not having enough manpower, doesn't he know your identities?"
Zhong Yi laughed: "He knows, Gu Ruoyan told him, this..." "Isn't it because of a lack of trust? He's not the one we're dealing with. Lin Wuyang is under a lot of pressure too, afraid that everyone is a mole and he'll lose his job. If anything goes wrong, he'll lose his position." He paused, then said seriously, "Trust needs to be built. If he knew it was us who called the police before, it would probably be much better. He knows you were the one who stopped him, so he trusts you. You can tell him that it was us from the Black Room who called the police, and that he can contact us if he needs anything in the future, and we'll help." Chu Ge nodded: "Okay."
"Actually, the country has a lot of people with superpowers, but they're stretched thin when it comes to local areas. There's nothing we can do about it; it will take time. For example, if they really absorb us, then… um…" Zhong Yi suddenly looked up and thought for a moment: "That's useless anyway; all our superpowers are idiots."