Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 88: New Ability

Apart from being astonished by the number of people awakening, Chen Mu was also worried about one thing.

The abilities of the three people he killed unexpectedly had side effects!

Could it be that everyone's abilities had side effects, but some were just more apparent while others couldn't see it for the time being?

Fortunately, at present, he hadn't noticed anyone else having this issue.

"You said all of you have awakened, so what is your ability?"

"To be honest, I'm not very clear about it, but if I have to describe it, I can make things lighter."

"Reduce the mass of objects?" Chen Mu was taken aback.

"Something like that."

"Does everything else remain unchanged?"

"It should, I think..."

"Volume, temperature, hardness—none of these change?" Chen Mu unconsciously picked up the pace.

It seemed that Lu Shanshan was a bit perplexed by the questions. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded hesitantly and said, "I'm... not very sure."

Clearly.

Lu Shanshan and her group had much less knowledge about abilities compared to Chen Mu, Tang Jing, and others. They only had a rough idea about it.

This was understandable; after all, they struggled just to have three meals a day, so they had no time to research their abilities.

But Chen Mu was very interested in Lu Shanshan's ability.

Reducing the mass of objects.

The first impression this ability gave was that it was convenient for transporting goods.

By making things lighter, combined with the strength of someone like Wei Dalei, they could transport things that were unimaginable before.

Like a whole box of instant noodles?

Of course.

For Chen Mu, this ability held a deeper meaning.

It seemed he couldn't let her go.

However, he then thought of He Ying.

Their abilities seemed somewhat similar.

"Can you reduce your own weight?" he asked further.

"No." Lu Shanshan immediately shook her head, apparently having attempted such a thing before.

Chen Mu subconsciously looked towards He Ying, only to find that she was also looking at him. Their gazes briefly met before she turned her attention to Lu Shanshan.

He Ying's question was directed at a boy named Lu Liangliang, the same guy who had a brief encounter with Chen Mu.

Clearly, He Ying had also learned about Lu Shanshan's ability from him.

Chen Mu suddenly realized something and asked, "What's your relationship with that Lu Liangliang?"

Lu Shanshan glanced subconsciously towards Lu Liangliang, who was standing far away, and then lowered her head, saying, "He's my older brother."

"Your actual brother?"

"Yes, he's one year older than me, but we're in the same class."

"What's his ability?"

"It's the opposite of mine; he can make things heavier."

Chen Mu was dumbfounded after hearing this. Did abilities run in families?

Was the awakening of abilities related to bloodlines?

He wondered if there could be connections between parents and children, mother and daughter, or more distant relatives.

Since he had no other references, Chen Mu didn't know if this was an isolated case or not.

But clearly, the manifestations of abilities were much more diverse than he had imagined. For example, the three people who died at his hands had a combination of abilities he had never encountered before.

And if it wasn't a coincidence, Lu Shanshan and Lu Liangliang might unveil another layer of mystery about these abilities.

Chen Mu now even felt somewhat fortunate that these people launched a night attack tonight, but at the same time, he regretted that if they had come earlier, there might have been more subjects for research.

He seemed to understand Tang Jing's state of mind a little now.

Thinking of Tang Jing, Chen Mu turned his head and glanced at her. He saw the top student smiling while inquiring about a boy named Cao Zishan.

Cao Zishan seemed to live up to his name, being tall and sturdy, only slightly smaller than Wei Dalei, but a bit more muscular than Qian Fei.

At this moment, he was nodding and smiling foolishly at Tang Jing, evidently being extremely obedient to her.

"What ability does this Cao Zishan have?"

"He... is somewhat special." Lu Shanshan organized her words and then said, "His ability is to have infinite strength."

Chen Mu was slightly taken aback.

So far, he hadn't seen any two abilities that were the same or even similar. He didn't know if this was a fundamental rule of these abilities. Perhaps in this world, identical abilities couldn't coexist, or maybe when one esper died, there was a chance that their ability would appear in someone else.

Of course, all of these were just speculations he and Tang Jing had come up with. After all, they had only encountered a few espers and couldn't draw many conclusions or patterns.

But now, upon hearing Lu Shanshan's words, it seemed like Cao Zishan and Wei Dalei were quite similar in terms of abilities. However, Lu Shanshan's tone suggested that it wasn't that simple.

"What do you mean by 'special'?" Chen Mu asked.

"Cao Zishan's infinite strength has one limitation – he can't have anyone around him..."

"No one around him? What do you mean?" Chen Mu couldn't grasp it for a moment.

"I'm not really sure how to describe it. His ability is unique; it's like the farther people are from him, the stronger he becomes. On the other hand, if someone is right next to him, he is just like an ordinary person and can't use his ability at all."

Chen Mu was speechless.

Wow.

There really are all sorts of bizarre abilities.

Having infinite strength when there's no one around? It sounds ridiculous.

Does he have to find a secluded place just to do some physical labor?

Although this ability might not be entirely useless, it felt strange. At least in terms of combat, he couldn't rely on it. He wondered if the limitation only applied to humans or to all living creatures.

If it was the latter, it would be truly absurd.

He would be like a mere labor machine?

Or rather, an uncooperative machine!

Of course.

The effects of abilities often require a long time of exploration and investigation to discover their advantages. Moreover, the proficiency and mental strength also have a significant impact, and one cannot judge the superiority or inferiority of an ability at first glance.

Overall, the abilities of these four individuals are quite decent.

Chen Mu naturally thought about whether to recruit them into the team. If they were not lying and considering their current situation, they shouldn't refuse.

However, it was only their first meeting, and strictly speaking, they were still in an adversarial relationship, so it would be best to observe them for a while before making a decision.

Besides, the other side might not be willing to join either.

Based on Lu Shanshan's previous behavior, it was evident that she had a good relationship with the three individuals who died at Chen Mu's hands. Could this become a point of contention between them?

Chen Mu raised all the other questions he thought of, and Lu Shanshan answered them smoothly, indicating that she wasn't intentionally concealing anything.

After about half an hour, all the questioning was done.

After leaving Wei Dalei to watch over the four captives, Chen Mu, Tang Jing, and the others gathered together.

After cross-checking with each other, they found that what these four people said mostly matched.

It seemed that they were indeed not lying.

Dong Junwei asked, "How should we deal with them?"

"They don't seem to have any malicious intent; it's just that they wanted to steal some food. Since we don't have any grudges, I think we can consider accepting them."

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