“To pick out all the noted human psychic power that has appeared through history and treat it as a historical research subject,” a scientist wrote in ‘Expanding the Basic of Somatic Science’.
In the 80s, a wave of psychic energy study swept across the globe. This was not a coincidence but could be accredited to certain events that transpired within that period. When it came to Elder Tong’s time, the fad had not faded away. If anything, the field had become a taboo, a poisonous cancer that desperately needed to be cleansed, so when Elder Tong came up with his ‘disconcerting suggestions’, it only confirmed Phecda’s suspicion of his madness.
“Are there actual spells in this world?” Elder Tong looked at the three silent members with a smile. “I know there are and you know there are because we have all experienced it personally.”
Indeed, Gu Jun knew that there were spells. He had seen them in action and had even gone so close as casting one himself. He had in fact blown up a parchment with a spell on it. But what had Uncle Tong experienced? Wu Siyu? Even a ten-year-old boy who was a whiz in math had similar experience?
“First, let me first introduce the terminology that was popular during my time studying psychic powers,” Elder Tong said as he listed down the following on the whiteboard.
Extra Sensory Perception
PSYCH-K
Telepathy
Precognition
Superhuman Talent
“At the time, the culture made everything out to be more exaggerated than it was, and it seeped into the public mindset. But it went nowhere in the end. Only the Scientific Research Department still had a few unimportant studies going on, but it’s pointless because they went the direction wrong from the start. The authenticity of these phenomena aside, they had to find the correct subjects to do the experiments. It’s meaningless to conduct studies on people who claim they can control Qi and so on; they are mostly just frauds. Only talents such as yourselves will do.” Elder Tong turned to look at the three, and greed colored his eyes again. “Wu Siyu, your talent is related to ESP; Xiao Xu, yours is related to superhuman talent; Gu Jun, you… well, you probably have a little of everything. If one is to master spells, one must be gifted with these talents. The mission I have given myself is to figure out a way to help you learn to activate, control, and utilize your talents!”
With sweeping gestures, Elder Tong wrote down some terms on the board in large letters.
Activate, Control, Utilize.
Gu Jun’s interest was immediately piqued. What Elder Tong said was exactly what he was looking for…
He had blown up that parchment to destroy the channel and Malformed Banyan Disease, not because he did not want to study them. Foreign spells or other spells, it would be unfair if only the enemy had access to them. Furthermore, he still had other needs. The mysterious system aside, he also needed to control the ability to trigger the illusions. That should be considered a type of ESP talent too. He also did not know how to control the power and consciousness of the Son of Steel and the Son of Misfortune. The last time he tried to do so, his heart had stopped.
“Elder Tong, what is your suggested training method?” Gu Jun could not help but ask.
“Of course, the training will be related to breaking through many of your self-imposed limits.” Elder Tong looked sincere and reliable. “But to do that, I need all of you to be as honest with me about your situation as you can. That way, I can come up with the most effective training plan.”
“Elder Tong, I have a question.” Wu Siyu waved her hand lazily. “In return, will you be honest and share all your secrets with us?”
“Oh.” Even Elder Tong, who was so experienced, was surprised by this question. “I temporarily will not do that, but I can share with you the number that I believe will come up in the lotto next week.”
“Hmm, then that makes it difficult for me to be honest with you,” Wu Siyu grumbled. Her facial expression seemed to be saying, ‘You have failed to gain my trust, dirty old man.’
Gu Jun shrugged silently, but that was enough to state his intention of keeping to himself. If this was a set up, then this was too easy a trap. If it was not, then… what kind of strange unit was this? The superior had his own secrets, and every member had their own secrets.
“Fine, in that case, I’ll pick all kinds of training for you, so just tell me if any of them work.” Elder Tong sighed as he shook his head. “Kindness is only trampled on nowadays. It was me who saved you guys from the cells of the Correctional Department.”
Elder Tong turned to them with a smile. “Never mind, I expected such stubbornness from all of you. Therefore, the name of the unit I’ve registered for us is—Problematic Team!”
“The name of this team tastes like… well, it’s impossible to describe,” Wu Siyu chided softly.
‘Problematic Team?’ Gu Jun thought that was quite a fitting moniker.
“Gu Jun, you’ll be the leader; Wu Siyu, Xiao Xu, both of you are vice leaders.” Elder Tong appointed them with seriousness. “This is not a joke. During this training, all of you will learn the basics of leadership. Currently, the team only has the three of you, but our numbers will only grow. You might also be asked to support other units at any time, so study hard and have faith in yourselves.”
Gu Jun had enough confidence in himself, but to know that he was being trained as a team leader… that came as a surprise.
“The training will officially begin tomorrow,” Elder Tong said with confidence. “The next month will be incredibly tough, so take this down time to rest. I can guarantee that even your dreams will be filled with nightmares in the coming month. Alright, meeting’s over. Since none of you are willing to share with me your secrets, I’ll go busy myself with something else.”
With that, Elder Tong swaggered out of the room with his beer. His gait was shaking. He did not close the door and wandered away.
“Er, leader?” Wu Siyu called Gu Jun.
The greeting was so unfamiliar that it took Gu Jun a while to register. “Yes?”
“Are we allowed to leave?”
“…I guess so.”
So, the three left the activity room, and the workers led them to their accommodation. But since Gu Jun was technically still in quarantine, he was led to a rather isolated building away from the main base and was placed inside an isolation room. Thankfully, the room was spacious and large enough with a living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Most importantly, it had Wi-Fi. After half a month, he finally returned to the online world. Gu Jun removed the protective gear and paced it in the living room. He logged into WeChat and Phecda’s Classified Chat. There were a bunch of unread messages. Lee Yuerui was still sending him memes. Cai Zixuan and Wang Ruoxiang asked about his health and situation… They pinged him basically every two days. The questions were mostly about whether he was online, how was he doing, and whether he could communicate with them.
The messages warmed his heart. Before this, he had been briefed on the confidentiality state of his situation. He replied to them one by one. The content was basically: “I’m still alive and kicking, currently in a special training program.”
It was dinner time. Many people instantly replied to him. Gu Jun believed that meant that they were not on duty. This was a good thing because it proved that the Medical Department did not have to deal with an overload of patients. After chatting with his friends, Gu Jun felt the lightest he had felt in a long while. The Afterlife Cult had suffered a temporary setback. Perhaps he would get the chance to enjoy some peaceful days ahead.
For the special training period of a month, Gu Jun decided to make it a goal for himself. No matter what Elder Tong was up to, he would make use of this chance to make himself better and stronger!
Since he was now the leader of the Problematic Team, he would rise to the occasion and be the best leader he could be.