CH 77

The Black Room has only one rule: no leaking any information about its members to outsiders, no matter who they are.

When there’s nothing going on, the Black Room serves as a place for everyone to practice and relax, but not all members are present at all times. Currently, three members are absent—one regular member and two masked individuals.

In other words, the Black Room has a total of nine people, including three masked individuals. With Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji, that makes eleven people, expanding the masked group to five. It’s a small organization, with barely enough people to fill a banquet table.

Each person introduced themselves briefly and exchanged names.

The young man writing on his face is called Wan Zijun. Originally, his profession was not farming but working as a copywriter in an advertising company. Ever since discovering his superpowers, Wan Zijun fantasized about becoming a superhero. However, his comical superpower didn’t make him a hero. Instead, it almost got him fired from his job, leading him to resign and inherit a few acres of farmland left by his grandfather in the countryside. He now stably supplies supermarkets and Chef Jin. Aside from the hard work, his income is actually quite good.

Of course, choosing to accept this inheritance was similar to what Chu Ge had in mind. It’s more convenient to train abilities in the outskirts. Usually, Wan Zijun rarely comes to the Black Room since he lives far away. Today, he made a special visit to meet the newcomers.

The fat guy’s nickname is Panda. He’s also a “jobless drifter” because he makes a living by playing online games and gold farming.

While everyone was chatting, a row of computers in the corner was automatically mining cryptocurrency. They were all using cheats.

Wait, are you treating this place as a training ground for abilities or as a gold farming studio for games?

“Is there still someone mining in World of Warcraft these days?” Chu Ge exclaimed in amazement. “Are many people playing on the nostalgia servers?”

“There are plenty of players on the nostalgia servers. The former student party now has money to spare…” Panda’s gaze at Chu Ge became even friendlier. Not only did they read the same book, but they also played the same game. The love and hate of internet addicts can be so simple.

“Third Brother, let’s exchange contact info. I’ll add you to our group.”

Chu Ge pretended not to understand. “What’s that?”

“It’s a book group of a recently soaring book, where we all gather and criticize the writer, Chu Ge’s writing.”

Qiu Wuji smiled mischievously under her mask.

Chu Ge weakly responded, “I think we should still show some respect for Chu Ge. His writing is good, it’s just that he’s not constantly updating…”

“Each to their own!” Panda laughed. “That group is really fun. We even have someone managing a cosplay of Qiu Wuji, doing it with skill. Unfortunately, they haven’t been very active these past couple of days.”

Chu Ge intentionally said, “Who knows, maybe that person really is Qiu Wuji?”

“Don’t kid yourself, Third brother.” Panda rubbed his fat chin, pondered for a moment, and suddenly laughed. “Speaking of criticizing Chu Ge, if that person really is Qiu Wuji, and they’re criticizing Chu Ge, does that mean they’re riding on their creator?”

Qiu Wuji’s smiling expression froze behind her mask. Chu Ge was astonished and instinctively protected his waist.

Panda asked Qiu Wuji, “Why isn’t Six Brother speaking?”

Who are you calling Six Brother! Qiu Wuji suppressed the urge to smack the fatty and took a deep breath. “Can’t you tell that I’m a girl? Did you think you could say anything vulgar in your lousy group?”

“Umm…” Panda’s fat face also froze for a moment. “It’s not my fault! You wearing a mask is quite misleading. The first impression is always that of a Cabalash brother, the kind with a distorted head.”

Qiu Wuji gritted her teeth. “I heard that you have equipment here for training abilities, which we were looking forward to, so we joined. So, is your so-called training just a load of nonsense?”

“We are indeed training our abilities here.” Panda pointed to his computer and said matter-of-factly, “When you’re playing a game, don’t you sometimes wish you could slap a stupid jerk on the other side of the screen? I’m accumulating emotions here.”

Chu Ge nodded. “Yes, yes.”

Wan Zijun held a mirror and continued drawing on his face. “This is also a form of training. If we don’t practice, who among you can write proper words on your own face? Not counting ‘one, two, three’ as valid.”

Qiu Wuji remained silent. We can’t write on our faces, and we didn’t plan to!

Unable to contain his curiosity, Chu Ge asked, “How did you first discover this ability, and what made you think of writing on your own face?”

“During a soccer match, I wrote ‘China team must win,’ and they actually won.”

Chu Ge replied, “I don’t think that’s caused by your ability, or rather, I don’t think your ability can reach that level…”

“Oh well, even though the joke fell flat, you don’t have to be so serious…” Wan Zijun smiled faintly. “Just like how we wouldn’t ask how you discovered your abilities, everyone has their own secrets.”

Chu Ge nodded thoughtfully and suddenly remembered something. He smiled at Panda and said, “So, I won’t add you on QQ, after all, I’m a masked individual.”

“That’s no fun.” Panda grumbled as he turned back to his computer. “You guys play by yourselves, I’m going to tease Qiu Wuji in the group.”

Take your time finding her in the group when she’s right in front of you.

Wan Zijun said, “Panda, let’s make a bet. Will Chu Ge upload a fifth chapter tonight?”

“Most likely!” Panda exclaimed.

“I bet he won’t,” Chu Ge replied.

Panda was not convinced. “Chu Ge uploaded four chapters today, he must have taken some aphrodisiacs, he’s definitely going to stay up. What should we bet?”

Chu Ge said earnestly, “Just give a slap on your fat face.”

Panda jumped up. “Deal! I won’t slap you, but you have to take off your mask!”

Chu Ge revealed a very simple-minded smile. “Deal.”

Qiu Wuji couldn’t help but smile secretly. Chu Ge’s bet was undoubtedly the most shameless bet in the world. He acted as both the referee and the participant, just like the wager he made with Yan Qianli in the other world.

Such a cheater.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji were both looking at each other, with smiles in their eyes. They both felt that this “organization” didn’t seem like an organization at all.

What’s the difference between this and a casual chat group gathering? Even the online literary association that Chu Ge participated in, known for being idle and having nothing to do, had a bit more organization than this.

But that was just fine, it suited their needs perfectly.

Being an ability user was indeed a lonely existence. It was nice to chat with a group of similar people, and wearing masks without revealing their identities didn’t affect their lives. Chu Ge thought of creating a QQ account later and adding them all, which would be nice.

“How’s it going?” Zhong Yi appeared beside him with a smirk. “We don’t have much pressure here, right?”

Chu Ge sighed helplessly. “The people are nice… but my main purpose is to train my abilities. How should I put it? It feels like these devices are just a gym.”

“This floor is indeed equivalent to a gym… If ability users need to confront others, at the very least their physical reactions should be up to par. Otherwise, what’s the point of playing if they get knocked out with a single punch? The fitness equipment here is top-notch, but this lazy bunch hardly ever use them.”

Chu Ge thought about his own treadmill at home, which was indeed incompatible with his current cultivation. Practicing techniques like the Golden Bell Shield, it felt odd to sit and meditate every day. Looking at the fully equipped gym here, even with punching bags, it seemed worth it to come.

However, there was a slight gap between his imagination and the reality. It was like seeing the sign for Buckingham Palace from the outside, but when you walked in, there was a row of KTV princesses greeting you.

But Qiu Wuji noticed something. “Just this floor? Does that mean there’s a whole different world upstairs?”

Zhong Yi patted Chu Ge’s shoulder. “Learn from Sixth Brother. Not only is she attentive, but she also speaks in a classical manner.”

Chu Ge: “…”

“Come up and take a look. It’s still somewhat interesting,” Zhong Yi said, leading the two of them upstairs. “The rooftop is set up with facilities like electric stance platforms for practicing footwork, but no one has ever used them. It’s a waste of money. The second floor has some special equipment rooms, mainly for training the mind, and there are also exercises for elemental perception. Although none of us in the Black Room use elemental abilities, it’s good to have them just in case.”

Now it’s getting interesting… Chu Ge thought to himself. These kinds of equipment are not something an ordinary person can obtain. It’s likely that Zhong Yi has official support here, while other organizations may have their own channels. In the development of ability users over the years, the training and development of abilities may be even more important than the abilities themselves.

And they even have facilities for practicing footwork… This directly hits Chu Ge’s needs, and he suddenly felt that this eccentric place wasn’t as eccentric as he initially thought.

“Here,” Zhong Yi pushed open a small room. Inside were some electronic instruments, a chair, and a helmet suspended in the air by various devices.

“Doing a CT scan?” Chu Ge joked.

“Close enough,” Zhong Yi said. “The helmet can detect brain waves to roughly determine your mental strength. Selecting different pressures also has some effects on training the mind.”

Chu Ge became interested. “Can it determine the specific type of ability of an ability user?”

“No, it can’t. Abilities are diverse and it’s impossible to collect accurate samples. This can only provide a rough estimation of mental strength, and it’s not very accurate,” Zhong Yi turned to look at Chu Ge, his eyes filled with meaning. “Do you want to give it a try?”