Chapter 13: Seeking Allies

When I woke early in the morning, only the third brother and I remained in our four-person dormitory. The absence of the second brother’s blaring alarm and the eldest’s endless phone calls made the place feel unavoidably quiet.

The third brother picked up his washbasin and left for the communal bathroom. I could tell he was only feigning composure. I sent messages to Lin Wan, Chen Hao, and Coalhead, asking them to meet up. There were some matters best discussed and decided together.

Right now, the only known ability users were the five of us. There was also Zhang Yisheng, but he wasn’t close to any of us, so we left him out of it. For now, forming a small group in the shadows could only help us survive in the days to come. I left a message for the third brother and gathered my things before leaving the dormitory.

We’d arranged to meet at the library. Since Lin Wan was from the School of Engineering, we picked a location that was equally convenient for everyone.

Next to the lobby on the library’s first floor was a café. We found a secluded corner, exchanged a few pleasantries, and got straight to the point.

“Lin Wan, how much do you actually know about all this?” I asked directly, not bothering with pretense.

Chen Hao and Coalhead also turned their eyes to Lin Wan, the only one among us with any real knowledge.

Facing our questions, Lin Wan didn’t intend to reveal everything. He only told us a few things.

“You should understand, the playing cards only enhance your own combat abilities. It doesn’t mean you can’t be killed by ordinary people.”

“And remember, among the ability users, there are two jokers. They’ll do whatever it takes to eliminate the others.”

“Unless absolutely necessary, don’t reveal your identity. The jokers could be right beside you.”

“Lin Wan, are the jokers the big and small ones from a deck?” Coalhead asked seriously. “Wouldn’t their marking make them easy to identify?”

Lin Wan shook his head. “Jokers can kill ability users and then disguise themselves as their suit, inheriting their abilities.”

“So, keeping your identity secret is the wisest choice.”

“In other words,” I concluded, “if the jokers haven’t disguised themselves yet, their top priority is to kill an ability user.”

“That’s right.”

“Uh... I don’t really get what’s going on,” Chen Hao interrupted, “but I’ll protect everyone.”

“Tomorrow’s death match will probably claim many lives. Remember, don’t try to save everyone.”

“And don’t say you know me.” With that, Lin Wan glanced around and left. I understood his caution. There was already friction between the School of Engineering and the School of Business, and tomorrow’s death match would certainly draw battle lines. Our business school would stick together.

“Coalhead, Chen Hao, since the three of us are close, let’s share our abilities so we can look after each other.”

Coalhead was my steadfast friend, trustworthy beyond question. Chen Hao’s straightforwardness also made him dependable, if a little slow on the uptake.

“No problem,” Chen Hao agreed at once, eager for his turn to speak. “I’m the Two of Diamonds.” He started to lift his shirt, but Coalhead and I quickly stopped him—someone might see, which would be dangerous.

Coalhead reminded him to keep his voice down.

“My ability is enhanced arm strength. I can boost my power for a short period.” Chen Hao struck a pose with satisfaction. Given his martial arts background, a bit more strength suited him. Still, physical enhancements like his wouldn’t be of much use in supernatural crises.

“My ability is projection,” I said. After absorbing the playing card, I discovered I could absorb energy and release it as an attack. The light beams I could emit were weak, but I could strengthen myself by drawing energy from nearby sources.

Coalhead hesitated before describing his power. “Mine is infinity. I don’t really know how to explain it; it feels like all my bodily functions have been enhanced. Maybe I’ll figure it out later.” Vague as he was, I trusted Coalhead not to hide anything from us—he genuinely didn’t know how to explain it.

For now, I categorized his ability alongside Chen Hao’s, in the realm of physical enhancements. Thankfully, their powers weren’t obvious in use. My own ability, though, exceeded natural limits. If I were caught using it, I’d be exposed immediately.

“Tomorrow’s death match will probably split everyone into factions,” Coalhead voiced my earlier thought. “We should try to ally with one or two other schools, in case we end up isolated.”

“Which school should we approach?” Chen Hao’s eyes gleamed. “How about the School of Literature or the School of Arts? They’re full of girls!”

“Pervert,” I scoffed. “We should ally with schools that have some combat strength. At least pick the boys’ schools.”

(At D University, the schools are all single-gender.)

“The guys in the medical school are arrogant, but they’d know best how to save—or kill—someone,” I suggested. “Allying with them sounds reliable.” Zhang Yisheng was in the medical school, and he was an ability user too.

“The guys in the agricultural school don’t seem like fighters,” Coalhead added. “But the biology and chemistry schools might be worth considering—they probably know how to use poison. We wouldn’t want to oppose them.”

“What about the girls? The School of Literature, Law, and Arts—shouldn’t we befriend at least one?” Chen Hao protested, obviously smitten with someone.

“Then the School of Literature.” I mumbled, not entirely impartial—my good friend Han Xue was there. If we allied with the literature students, I’d be on the same side as Han Xue.

“Makes sense. If the three girls’ schools united, they’d be a force to reckon with. So we should at least ally with one of them.”

After about ten minutes of discussion, Coalhead and I decided we’d aim to ally with the School of Literature and the School of Biochemistry. Chen Hao, meanwhile, served more as an audience.

The School of Arts was ruled out because their leader was too domineering, and the medical students were too arrogant to ally with us. The Law and Agricultural schools were simply too weak to consider.

As for how to secure these alliances, that would fall to Coalhead and me. After what happened yesterday, there were only a handful of spirited people left in the business school, and we two had the most influence. Chen Hao, once again, was left out.

No time to waste—we set out separately to approach the leader of the School of Literature and the top guy in the School of Biochemistry.

The Biochemistry building was just behind the medical school dorms. I walked straight in, immediately struck by the same metallic tang of blood. I was used to it by now. Sure enough, the same carnage had unfolded here. The entire floor was deserted—no one in sight.

On the second floor, someone blocked my way. “Who are you?”

He was clutching a mop, barely holding it together. His eyes were wide, his hands trembling. Clearly, he was still traumatized from yesterday. I gently pushed aside the mop he pointed at me.

“I’m here to find someone.”

Before I could finish, several glass bottles came flying at me. I hurried back into the stairwell, but the other guy wasn’t so lucky. One bottle shattered against him, its contents spilling out and burning into his flesh. He didn’t scream, just convulsed violently, his teeth clenched against the pain. I hadn’t expected the bottle to contain strong acid—they were clearly hostile to outsiders.

“Whoever’s hiding in the stairwell, you’d better come out, or you’ll be the next to get burned!” A gruff voice shouted, followed by a bang as the first-floor door was slammed shut.

It seemed I had no choice but to confront them face to face. If it came down to a fight, I wouldn’t hesitate to use my ability to kill.

But as I reentered the second-floor corridor, the lights abruptly went out.

“Damn it. This is bad.”

Without a light source, my ability was nearly useless.