155: Chapter 155 Second Upgrade

The plane flew through the clouds; it was pitch black outside the window.

Lin Ning leaned back in his seat, scenes from the past few days flashing through his mind like a movie: the meteorite, Hao Hong's silly grin, Liu Zongxiang being escorted out of the hotel, the look of despair in Li Mei's eyes as she clutched her daughter and retreated behind the ox, and the cold, sinister gaze of the drug trafficking gang leader, Bartle.

And then there was Chen Zhi. He had asked him to return to Beijing—what on earth was it about?

Something that could make Chen Zhi summon him back...

He knew that Chen Zhi was not someone who relied on external forces. If Chen Zhi had sought him out, it meant the matter was either extremely tricky or incredibly urgent.

Just as he was thinking about this, a burst of golden light suddenly exploded before his eyes.

Lin Ning jolted, his eyes snapping open.

The golden light was emanating from his own body.

Just like during his first upgrade, his whole body was glowing. When he was alone, he could treat it like a spectacle, but now, in the enclosed environment of the plane surrounded by other passengers, he was under the gaze of everyone—Lin Ning froze completely.

In an instant, a flurry of thoughts and images flooded Lin Ning's mind.

Such an obvious anomaly...

An emergency landing, the airport on full lockdown, countless vehicles with flashing police lights surrounding the plane, countless burly men binding him up tight, escorting him off the plane, and then—white lab coats, metallic machinery, cold dissection tables...

He looked around in panic.

The golden light was still there, stinging his eyes until they felt sore.

But... everything around him was normal. The middle-aged man next to him was sleeping soundly. The girl across the aisle was watching a show with headphones on, and a flight attendant pushed a cart past from behind; no one glanced his way.

Only he could see it?

Just like how only he could see the colored names above people's heads! Only he could see it!

Lin Ning muttered to himself, his emotions on a rollercoaster. One moment he was filled with terror and despair, the next, ecstasy exploded in his heart. His fingertips trembled, he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling up, and he nearly laughed out loud.

After a while, Lin Ning finally calmed down. The golden light began to recede bit by bit, pulling back into his body like a receding tide.

Lin Ning let out a long breath. He had even subconsciously forgotten to breathe earlier, his chest aching from the strain.

He had upgraded!

Lin Ning grew excited again. Counting on his fingers, he tallied the people he had reported using his Golden Finger during this period, plus the number of gang criminals he had given to Officer Li Feng. He didn't have an exact number, but he estimated it was around a hundred. It seemed his deduction was correct.

The moment the golden light completely retracted into his body, Lin Ning felt dizzy. It was a contradictory sensation—both dizzy and clear-headed, and exceptionally clear-headed at that, like a stream of crisp, cold spring water washing over his brain and thoughts—it must have been an instantaneous increase in his Psychic Power.

At the same time, a solid sense of strength surged through his body. He looked down and clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. He could clearly feel the smoothness of his tensed muscles, possessing a bit more power than usual, and even his fingertips felt light.

He looked down at his hands, clenched his fist, and muttered to himself, "I didn't feel anything physical last time! What about this time?"

Such an obvious increase in Psychic Power and physical constitution. Could it be that after the first upgrade, the power that was supposed to increase at a steady rate hadn't been fully released, and because of the secondary upgrade in a short period, the power had accumulated all at once?

He didn't need to rush to explore the benefits; the new functions of his Golden Finger...

He couldn't wait to look up at the sleeping man beside him.

Green • [Zhang Quanjun, Programmer] •

Besides the dot for the Eye of Insight that was already there, there was now another dot after the text.

Lin Ning froze instantly—the dot in front was the "Cause" (past), so could the one behind be the "Effect" (future)?! He could see the past, and he could see the future?! The corners of his mouth shot up, and he screamed internally: "Holy crap, I'm fucking awesome!"

He stared at the dot for too long, a desire to know what it was lingering in his mind.

A sharp pain pierced his temples, as if someone were driving a nail into them.

Lin Ning quickly averted his gaze, clutched his head, and gasped.

It hurt!

He leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, his whole body trembling.

Only when the sharp pain slowly subsided did he let out a sigh of lingering fear.

The first time he had used the Eye of Insight, he had passed out instantly. If he had actually clicked on that little dot just now, the best-case scenario would probably have been passing out and ending up incredibly weak.

He was alone on the plane, and there was something waiting for him on Chen Zhi's end...

If he had gotten himself into that state, it would have been pure suicide!

He opened his eyes. The name above the man's head was still there, and so was the dot.

Lin Ning stared at the dot for two seconds, and his temples began to tighten faintly again. He quickly averted his gaze, though his heart felt itchy, as if little bugs were crawling on it—damn it, he really wanted to try it and see what it was!

By the time the plane landed, it was already past 1:00 AM.

Lin Ning walked out of the airport with his bag and hailed a taxi, heading straight for the small building in the east of the city.

On the way, he couldn't help but keep glancing at the driver's head.

Green • [Li Xue, Driver] •

He stared at the dot for two seconds, and his head began to ache faintly again, so he quickly averted his gaze.

The driver perhaps thought Lin Ning was strange, constantly observing him through the rearview mirror.

Lin Ning pretended not to notice and turned his gaze to the window.

The night in Beijing was still brightly lit, no different from when he had left.

One stop away from the small building, Lin Ning got out of the car and slowly walked the rest of the way.

On the way, Lin Ning dialed Chen Zhi's number.

The call was answered quickly, and Chen Zhi's voice sounded slightly tired and hoarse: "What is it?"

"I'm almost at the small building. What exactly is the situation?"

Chen Zhi: "..."

As there was silence on the other end, a sudden inspiration struck Lin Ning, "..."

A moment later, both spoke at the same time.

"I'll come back tomorrow afternoon and explain the situation to you."

"You didn't expect me to get here so quickly, did you?"

Both were silent again. Lin Ning felt a bit embarrassed; he had thought too highly of himself, mistakenly believing that Chen Zhi was in a rush to have him come and save the day.

Chen Zhi explained with a hint of relaxed amusement, "The situation is quite complex. We are doing a final check on our end, but it doesn't look good right now. I'll tell you the details when I get back during the day. Go back and get some rest first."

Having been caught off guard, Lin Ning felt a bit embarrassed and somewhat helpless—so he had rushed back in a panic, but the other party wasn't in a hurry at all.

He hailed a taxi back to his place, took a hot shower, and lay in bed, his mind filled with the new functions from the upgrade. He tossed and turned for a long time, but in the end, he didn't dare go out to test it on anyone.

He forced himself to go to sleep; there was Chen Zhi's matter tomorrow, and he couldn't afford to be delayed.

He woke up naturally in the morning and saw it was already 9:00 AM.

He called Jiang Yu; he hadn't told her he was back yet.

Jiang Yu was in class and was surprised to receive his call, "You're back? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have picked you up!"

"Wait a moment, let me ask for leave. Are you at home now?"

Lin Ning quickly stopped her, "I'll pick you up after school at noon for lunch. You don't need to ask for leave; I still have some things to take care of."

He finally managed to persuade Jiang Yu.

Lin Ning found that he was suddenly free.

But he didn't feel the relaxation of leisure, only restlessness. He couldn't figure out the new functions after the upgrade, and he had made a fool of himself by overthinking.

Lin Ning decided to go visit Officer Li Feng.

While his own suffering was certainly painful, the suffering of others was a source of joy.

Standing at the entrance of the Police Station, looking at the familiar street scene and the sign, a smile couldn't help but appear on Lin Ning's face.