I Contracted Myself

Ten minutes later, Zhang Ping arrived at the small park.

Since he hadn't yet determined whether the other party was friend or foe, he decided to hide in a corner, using the darkness as cover, and waited for the other party to appear.

The Fire Eater ability had many aspects that could still be developed.

While waiting, he manipulated the fire elemental energy within his body, constantly strengthening his control over it.

The problem was that he couldn't release the fire elemental energy in its energy form; it could only circulate within his body. Once released, it would turn into flames, and he lacked the ability to control those flames.

To put it simply, he was like a gas cylinder. He controlled the switch, could release the gas, but once released, it would instantly ignite. He could control the output of the gas but not the burning flames.

The so-called flame-wrapping effect was essentially a layer of flames on his body surface.

The essence of the Fire Eater ability was to allow him to consume flames as food, not to control them.

Awakeners had all sorts of bizarre abilities.

In Mingzhu City, there were many Awakeners with similar abilities that were fundamentally different.

For example, two Awakeners who both manipulated flames might operate on completely different principles.

Some Awakeners had organs that secreted special fluids. When these fluids mixed with sweat and flowed out through sweat glands, they would burn intensely, turning the user into a fire person.

Others purely consumed stamina to create flames out of thin air.

There were also Awakeners like Zhang Ping who didn't need to consume flames; they could generate and store similar energy through daily food intake and then release it as flames.

Even Awakeners with the same type of energy could produce different effects due to personality differences.

Mingzhu City had a famous pair of twin brothers who both awakened to control lightning. The elder brother, with a fiery personality, developed a raging thunder ability, while the younger, with a calm demeanor, evolved into a static field.

Any ability, with consistent practice, would gradually shape itself to the user's habits.

This was why Zhang Ping constantly practiced his abilities.

The Contract Gem could be used twice a day, making it impossible to train with it. Night Walker was a passive ability, so the only abilities he could freely practice were the Appraisal Skill and Fire Eater.

***

At nine o'clock, the park was still empty.

Zhang Ping wasn't in a hurry. He pondered whether consuming certain special flames would produce different effects for the Fire Eater.

Suddenly, a black circle appeared beneath his feet. The moment he saw it, he tried to jump away, but the next second, he fell into the circle. The blackness inside wasn't the darkness of night but a void where nothing could be seen.

He felt himself falling rapidly but had no way to stop it. Even when he released energy through his feet, burning through his shoes, he couldn't stop the fall.

After about thirty seconds, he landed abruptly, his body covered in a black liquid that clung to him like a rubber suit, leaving only his head exposed.

"You have five minutes to prove you're human."

Before Zhang Ping could understand what was happening, a familiar voice spoke. He looked up to see a woman in white, wearing an ice mask, holding an ice sword.

As soon as he saw her, she placed the sword against his neck, the cold blade instantly clearing his mind.

Prove he's human?

He was human, but how to prove it?

Wait!

Zhang Ping's eyes widened as he asked, "Can't you identify the mutated beasts hiding in the city?"

"…"

The woman remained silent, her eyes behind the mask calm and unperturbed.

But from her silence, Zhang Ping got his answer. They couldn't accurately identify the situation in Mingzhu City or locate the hidden Tianchang Foxes.

They must have realized there was a problem in Mingzhu City through some indirect means.

But they didn't know the specifics.

No, that's not right!

Zhang Ping immediately overturned his own thoughts.

After all, the woman had stopped him from assassinating a Tianchang Fox cub before.

She knew it was a Tianchang Fox and even knew its abilities.

But they couldn't accurately find all the hidden Tianchang Foxes in Mingzhu City!

Only in such a situation would they need him to prove he was human because they couldn't determine the identity of every resident in Mingzhu City.

To them, everyone could be a potential mutated beast.

Zhang Ping calmed down, realizing why they were doing this, but he was troubled by how to prove he was human.

In his previous life, a DNA test could prove his humanity.

The problem was that they knew the Tianchang Fox's ability, which could distort perception, making ordinary methods useless.

"Can you give me a hint?"

Zhang Ping asked, looking at the woman in front of him, feeling a headache coming on.

Unsurprisingly, the woman remained silent, waiting for his proof.

Zhang Ping thought for a moment and decided to use the Appraisal Skill on her.

[Appraisal Failed]

[Appraisal Failed]

[Appraisal Failed * 8]

[Appraisal Failed * 20]

After a series of failures, Zhang Ping began to doubt if his ability was malfunctioning.

But he couldn't think of a better way, so he persisted, and finally, after two minutes, he succeeded.

[Appraisal Successful]

[Name: Liu Sishan]

[Race: Human]

[Potential: ☆☆​​​​​​​☆​​​​​​​☆​​​​​​​☆​​​​​​​]

[Lifespan: 122]

[Rank: High-Level Awakener]

[Level: 21]

[Talent: Water Element Manipulation: Stores water elemental energy by drinking water and can manipulate it at will.]

[Advanced Skills]

[Intermediate - Energy Compression: Compresses water elemental energy, greatly increasing the storage limit.]

[Advanced - Water Temperature Regulation: Adjusts the temperature of water elemental energy, allowing the temperature of converted pure water to range from minus 150 degrees to 200 degrees Celsius.]

***

So strong!

Zhang Ping had appraised high-level Awakeners before, but Liu Sishan's attributes still surprised him.

Especially her potential. Even as a high-level Awakener, she still had five-star potential yet to be converted into strength. How strong would she be if it were all converted?

A top-level Awakener?

Or a legendary King?

Zhang Ping closed Liu Sishan's attributes, not thinking further as time was running out.

The most important thing now was to prove he was human, not a mutated beast.

He originally wanted to confirm Liu Sishan's identity through appraisal and then search the original owner's memories to see if he knew her.

After all, the note indicated she knew Zhang Ping from childhood, so Zhang Ping should know her too.

The Tianchang Fox didn't have memory-reading abilities.

They appeared human to others, but it was a cognitive distortion, not a disguise.

So, as long as he provided information the Tianchang Fox couldn't know, it would prove he was himself, not a disguised Tianchang Fox. Even if disguised, it couldn't suddenly know unknown information.

Tianchang Foxes, when faced with unknown information, would often divert the topic due to cognitive distortion. Most people wouldn't notice, but Zhang Ping had been observing the Tianchang Fox's behavior and was aware of this.

The problem was the name "Liu Sishan."

Zhang Ping couldn't find any clues in the original owner's memories.

He guessed there were two possibilities: either Liu Sishan had changed her name, or she knew him, but he didn't know her.

"One minute left!" Liu Sishan said.

Zhang Ping frowned, recalling the original owner's childhood and listing all the girls he knew.

"Are you Liu Sisi? Are you Liu Xiaoxiao? Are you Liu Pingping? Are you Liu An'an?"

He looked at Liu Sishan, probing one by one.

Liu Sishan remained silent, but seeing Zhang Ping not stopping, she finally said, "This doesn't prove you're human."

True.

This information could be found through the orphanage. Although the Tianchang Fox would disdain such research, what if?

Zhang Ping thought Liu Sishan was most likely Liu Sisi, given the similarity in their names.

In the orphanage, Zhang Ping had few friends, most were acquaintances.

Liu Sisi was three years older than Zhang Ping, entering Mingzhu Academy of Powers three years before him. By the time Zhang Ping enrolled, Liu Sisi had graduated and joined the Investigation Team.

This was from the original owner's memory.

The original owner knew this because the last time he visited the orphanage, the old director mentioned Liu Sisi had donated money. The original owner, not yet awakened, didn't think much of it.

Now, Zhang Ping felt more certain Liu Sishan was Liu Sisi.

He racked his brain for information only they would know, something that could prove he was human.

The small park, martial arts practice…

Suddenly, Zhang Ping remembered that as a child, he had practiced martial arts with Liu Sisi for a few days.

It was just play-acting.

Liu Sisi had seriously taught him the "Earth-Shattering Sisi Invincible Fist," and he had taken it seriously.

"First move, Ha. Second move, He Ha. Third move, Ha He Ha, Earth-Shattering Sisi Invincible Fist."

Zhang Ping looked at Liu Sishan, feeling embarrassed, but to prove he was human, he recited the martial arts chant Liu Sisi had taught him.

Instantly, the calm and composed Liu Sishan's eyes behind the mask showed a ripple of emotion.