Chapter Twenty-Three: First-Order Ability—Perception Unveiled!

Suddenly, Su Cheng felt as if every cell in his body were about to burst apart!

An intense wave of agony washed over him. His muscles began to twist and writhe beneath his skin. It was an incredibly grotesque sight, as if his body were losing its human form and disintegrating.

Su Cheng hurriedly grabbed the D-grade reinforcement serum and downed it. After consuming two bottles, his muscles calmed, and the pain vanished as quickly as it had arrived. However, he immediately lost consciousness and collapsed.

"Damn it! Cousin, did you really just drug yourself to death?"

"No-Brain" reached out to catch Su Cheng, his eyes scanning him with biological detection beams. He went to wipe his own forehead, but finding nothing, he wiped his metallic body instead. "Phew, thank goodness. He’s just passed out, not actually dead."

Meanwhile, Su Cheng’s consciousness had sunk into a void of darkness. He reached out into the nothingness, groping around, but there was nothing but shadow. Even when he brought his hands right up to his face, he couldn't see a thing. He could clearly feel his hands and his face, yet his vision was gone. There was no sound, no sight, no sense of direction. Only the rhythm of his own breathing and heartbeat reminded him that he was still "alive."

In such an environment, anyone would surely go mad. Su Cheng went from the panic of sudden blindness to a state of restless frustration. He ran about aimlessly, but the more he moved, the more panicked he became, as if he were trapped in a void. Finally, he stopped, took a deep breath, and forced himself to fully calm down.

*If I can't see anything, then I won't look.*

He closed his eyes and stood still, sensing the passage of time.

He didn't know how long had passed. Suddenly, a sound echoed through the darkness.

*Drip...*

The sound of a water droplet. Su Cheng snapped his eyes open. The "darkness" before him behaved like a calm lake disturbed by a single drop, sending out countless ripples in an instant!

He could see! It was still dark, but there were fluctuations! He felt as if something hidden deep within him had been unsealed.

Immediately after, the darkness was torn asunder. It was like a giant door suddenly being flung open, and endless light flooded in. The sunlight wasn't blinding; instead, it felt warm and soothing to his eyes. Finally, the light reached its zenith, and the space turned completely white.

***

"Hiss..."

Su Cheng frowned and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, and everything he saw appeared in double images.

"Cousin, you're awake! I thought you’d kicked the bucket from that overdose. If you’re going to die, at least wait until you’ve upgraded me first!" No-Brain set down the bottle of nutrient solution he had been holding.

Su Cheng looked at No-Brain and noticed that his movements seemed much slower.

He blinked and looked again, focusing carefully—No-Brain’s movements were even slower!

"Hey, what's wrong with you, cousin?" No-Brain waved his hand.

That was it! It really was slower! Su Cheng could clearly track the trajectory of No-Brain’s hand, and he could even discern the subtle differences in every movement.

He quickly closed his right eye. Everything went back to normal. Looking through his prosthetic eye alone was perfectly fine. *Could this be the ability I gained from breaking through the first genetic sequence?*

Su Cheng instantly understood why this was happening. Was it slowing down the opponent? No, it was more like he was seeing the opponent’s actions with much greater clarity and speed. He could "see" further and faster.

He opened his right eye again.

"What are you doing?!" No-Brain pushed Su Cheng away in disgust. "Are you batting your eyelashes at me? I only like female robots."

Su Cheng rolled his eyes and swiped at No-Brain.

"Hey! Caught red-handed—you’re embarrassed!" No-Brain immediately raised his hand to block.

In Su Cheng’s eyes, No-Brain’s motion was incredibly slow, and he could predict the exact trajectory of the strike. Su Cheng shifted his hand just a fraction to the right, slipping past No-Brain’s guard and striking his body squarely.

"Eh?" No-Brain’s optical sensors widened in surprise. He had calculated the block perfectly, but Su Cheng’s hand had shifted just a tiny bit at the last second, causing him to hit nothing but air.

"What's going on? Are my sensors glitching?" No-Brain rubbed the camera lens where his eye should have been, though it was a futile gesture.

Su Cheng clenched his fist. This ability was too powerful! And it was incredibly practical. In combat, this was a lethal trump card. To see through an opponent's attack and calculate exactly how much to move to counter it—it was incredible! This was the power of the genetic source! To think that human genes contained such immense potential!

However, he felt a sharp ache in his right eye, and tears began to well up involuntarily.

No-Brain said dryly, "Seriously? You hit me, so why are you crying? I’m the one who should be crying."

"It's nothing, I just got some sand in my eye." Su Cheng blinked, feeling a little better. The ability faded away.

No-Brain scoffed, "Psh, who are you kidding? Even if we weren't compatible, you don't have to be heartbroken about it."

"Hit me again." Su Cheng wanted to test how to control the ability. Otherwise, it would be useless in a real fight.

"Hit you?" No-Brain raised his fist. "My punch packs a punch, you know. Come on..."

Before he even finished speaking, he threw a sneak punch. Su Cheng’s nerves tightened, his right eye locked firmly onto the fist.

*Here it comes!*

Everything slowed down again! He saw the trajectory of the strike and leaned slightly to the side, dodging it with ease.

"Damn it! How is that possible!" No-Brain stumbled, missing his target and falling to the floor. He stared at his own fist in shock. He had clearly been about to land the hit, but at the last second, he had merely brushed past Su Cheng's clothes.

"I saw through your intention." Su Cheng realized that as long as he focused on his opponent, he could trigger the ability.

Suddenly, a wave of intense pain hit his right eye. He couldn't help but shut it tight. It seemed this ability couldn't be used too frequently, especially since he had just acquired it. He also realized a limitation: while he could see through an attack, the actual act of dodging still depended on his own physical reflexes. Just now, even though he dodged, No-Brain had still grazed his clothing. Of course, if he had activated the ability sooner, he could have dodged even more effectively.

Fortunately, his body had been reinforced, allowing him to barely keep up with what his eyes were seeing. If his body were stronger, the perfect synergy with his vision would make his combat prowess even more formidable.

No-Brain scrambled to his feet, shaking his head. "Saw through it? Give me a break. That’s a skill from *Black Myth*, the Great Sage’s ability—'Deflect'."

"Then let's call it 'Deflect'." The name fit his ability perfectly.

The first genetic sequence ability: Deflect!

"Again!" Despite the pain in his eye, Su Cheng was too excited; this was the first time he had ever wielded such a miraculous power.

"Again my foot." No-Brain grumbled, "I can't beat you, so why would I keep trying? Are you stupid, or are you just stupid?" He walked over to the sofa and turned on his game. "I have it too. I'm going to go practice the Great Sage's Deflect."

"..."

Su Cheng, seeing this, decided to pull out his Hunter’s card to look up information on genetic sources. But there was nothing there. The Hunter rank restrictions were too severe; he needed to hurry up and complete more bounties.