70: Chapter 70 Mental Power

Had he been exposed?

Stay calm!!

Lin Ning took a deep breath to steady his emotions.

A moment later, he stood up and stretched, clasping his hands together and reaching them over his head, rotating his upper body from side to side, pretending to stretch his body.

Lin Ning's eyes wandered as if aimlessly; all around were pedestrians, some in a hurry and some leisurely, along with cars speeding by—there was nothing unusual ahead, behind, or to either side.

Anxiety rose again, so he simply sat back on his vehicle, closed his eyes, shut out his sight, blocked out his hearing, slowed his breathing, and carefully began to sense his surroundings.

An indescribable power slowly radiated from him, like invisible water ripples, carrying a tactile sensation that grasped at the information elements around him.

It was as if his five senses were blocked, yet he could clearly "see," "hear," and even "smell" everything nearby.

Lin Ning was stunned; what was this? In that split second of distraction, the state he had just been in was broken. As that mystical feeling vanished, Lin Ning opened his eyes—the gaze was a downward sweep coming from the upper floors of the building.

It didn't look like it was aimed at him; it was possible some bored office worker was just looking out from a height during their break.

But the instinctual unease was completely different from being looked at normally. What was the observer's purpose? At the very least, it had to have something to do with him.

Lin Ning firmly believed in his judgment. As the days he used his Golden Finger grew longer, especially after it had upgraded, he knew that the perception acting upon his soul was real, especially during the incident with Ou Jiarui.

At this moment, a white BMW slowly drove out from the underground parking garage exit.

When Lin Ning saw the car he had been "waiting" for finally appear, in a flash, he had a guess—a lookout!

Without thinking twice, Lin Ning stood up and walked directly toward the building's main entrance.

The moment he moved, a gaze stuck onto him, but it quickly shifted away.

He had bet correctly.

He had moved, and the scan had turned into a fixed stare.

He didn't pay attention to the white BMW and moved in an unrelated direction, and the gaze vanished.

His guess was verified; it was a lookout!

Lin Ning walked quickly to the area directly beneath the building, a spot where the upper floors couldn't see, and quickly turned to look at the driveway.

The white BMW was already just a distant rear end, and it soon vanished from sight.

It was heading south on Chengchun Road.

Lin Ning turned and entered the building with a blank expression, found the first-floor restroom, and went through the whole charade.

In his mind, he had already deduced the trajectory of the process that had just occurred: Sofiani was leaving, and a companion was observing her surroundings from a height to see if any person or car was following her.

This was a typical lookout pattern.

What kind of person would be equipped with a lookout? Under what circumstances would there be sentry protection? The answer was obvious.

This was the first time he had encountered a target so professional and so well-equipped.

Shaking the water off his hands, Lin Ning returned to his e-scooter with a blank expression.

He waited in place for a while, and the feeling of being scanned was gone—the lookout had withdrawn.

He started his vehicle and, still being cautious, left in the opposite direction of the white BMW.

Early summer; this was the most comfortable time in this city.

The sky was clear as if washed, the sunlight was bright but not scorching, and even the color of the sky was that soothing light blue.

Yet, Lin Ning felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

With his life experience as a commoner across two lifetimes, even though he knew the world was divided into black and white sides, it was still a superficial understanding.

After transmigrating, he had truly come into contact with the dark world, but he had mostly seen it from the role of an observer or a passive participant.

He was either surrounded by police or national security agents, so he had felt confident then, firmly believing that those monsters and demons hiding in the dark would vanish into dust the moment they saw the light.

But he had forgotten that to drag those hiding trash out into the sun to be exposed, one needed to delve deep into the darkness to do so.

So, in that moment of being shrouded and peered at by darkness, he had witnessed the danger, complexity, and difficulty in this process, just like an abyss's gaping maw from his imagination suddenly appearing in reality; he had faced it directly and felt that devouring power.

This was different from when he faced an assassination attempt alongside Ou Jiarui.

Back then, anger and tension outweighed fear; perhaps it was just like the difference between a head-on battlefield and the biting schemes behind the scenes.

He could die on the road while charging with his companions, but he did not want to fall in an unknown corner or die mundanely in a car accident.

As the aroma of coffee from the roadside permeated the afternoon on this street, Lin Ning was pulled back to his senses by the scent, while also being drawn to the leisurely and cheerful people in the cafe's outdoor seating area.

He parked his e-scooter on the side of the road, walked straight in, sat down, and casually ordered a cup of coffee. Copying the young lady next to him, he leaned back in the sofa chair, face turned toward the sky, letting the sunlight wash over his entire body, as if it were a purification ritual.

He was conflicted about whether to hand over the situation regarding Sofiani directly to Chen Zhi.

After all, the situation just now had proven this woman's danger level and importance; continuing to tail and investigate her might risk alerting the enemy, so it would be better to leave professional matters to the professionals.

Chen Zhi and his people, after all, had more manpower and resources, and even possessed unlimited authority.

But Lin Ning was unwilling.

Was he only going to act as a human radar from now on? Finding some piece of trash, then notifying Chen Zhi to take over, watching them bleed and sweat? Besides, he didn't want to just be a tool!

He saw the difficulties and dangers; if he took a step back and stood in a safe place, then he would forever only be watching the fire from across the river.

He would be just like those people who watched summaries of major cases across a screen—knowing about the danger but not understanding it. And without understanding it, he wouldn't know how to deal with or solve it when truly facing it.

Without the ability to truly solve things, how could he have any sense of security?!

The sun was warm, shining on his face as if melting something away. Lin Ning's thoughts drifted back to that eerie power and wonderful feeling that had just occurred within him.

Now that he thought about it, it was somewhat like the Psychic Power described in novels!

What exactly was his Golden Finger? How had sci-fi plot points appeared?

This was only the first upgrade; wouldn't he evolve into a non-human, a superhuman, or something like that in the future?

Who could refuse becoming stronger and new, novel things? Anyway, Lin Ning was a bit excited right now.

He took a deep breath and shifted into a more comfortable position again.

Abandoning his five senses, he used his feeling to guide his perception to explore the surroundings.

It wasn't working!

He couldn't find that feeling from before!

Was it because his thoughts were too chaotic?

He slowed his breathing, lowered his heart rate, discarded specific thoughts, and kept only the pure intent to explore.

Slowly, Lin Ning felt his physical body disappear; there was nothing around him, just complete calm.

Invisible energy, like water ripples, radiated outward from him as the center.

That fluctuation was invisible and intangible, yet it constantly grasped at the information elements around him.

His perception kept expanding; although he couldn't "see" or "hear" everything around him, he knew they were there.

Physical objects were very blurry, yet the feedback of various emotions was very clear.

He wasn't satisfied.

He felt he could be stronger, could "see" more clearly.

Suddenly, the blurry, abstract perception became clearer and clearer—images, colors, sounds, and even smells...

"Boom!" A loud noise, like something being broken, echoed in Lin Ning's mind. At this moment, he felt like a god in this space; without listening or looking, he knew everything—

The whispering crowds around him, the cars passing by, the sparrows flying overhead, the insects crawling slowly...