The city skyline was draped in a wash of amber and gray as dusk settled, casting long shadows across Lin Chen's apartment. The evening felt unusually quiet. But beneath that silence, something simmered—not just in the air, but deep within Lin Chen himself. The events of the past forty-eight hours had pushed him to his physical and mental limits. But they had also pushed something else—something buried and dormant within him—to stir.
Lin Chen sat on the training mat in the center of the virtual battle simulation chamber, chest heaving. Sweat rolled down his temples, and bruises, though simulated, ached with realism. The System's virtual space had no concept of mercy. It punished flaws, honed instincts, and now, it whispered to him in lines of golden data.
[Training Summary: 234 Sessions Completed. Error Margin: Reduced by 18%. Reaction Time: Increased by 42%. Neural Focus Synchronization: 91% Achieved.]
"System," he muttered hoarsely, "how much more do I need to push to break past this threshold?"
[User Lin Chen has reached the threshold required for preliminary ability synchronization. Initiating Dormant Talent Scan...]
Suddenly, golden data streams surged around him like rising tide. His vision swam. The simulated training mat vanished, replaced by a massive black sphere floating in an endless void. It pulsed like a beating heart, each throb echoing with a heavy, muffled thump. The pressure weighed on his chest.
[Dormant Ability Detected: Sensory Enhancement – Type: Passive + Triggered. Initiating Integration?]
"Yes," he breathed.
Pain. Blinding, soul-piercing pain. It started at the base of his skull and surged like electricity down his spine. His limbs spasmed; he clenched his jaw to keep from screaming. Through the haze, he heard the System's calm voice.
[Sensory Enhancement Initiating: Warning – Neural Stress Exceeding Threshold. Risk of Rejection: 67%. Recommended: Abort.]
"No," Lin Chen gritted. "Do it. I can take it."
The black sphere shattered. A wave of crimson light erupted from its core, engulfing him. His mind was no longer in his control. He saw visions—flashes of faces, lights, sounds, feelings. But it wasn't random. It was data. Emotions, intentions, danger levels. His brain began to sort and decode them.
When the light faded, Lin Chen lay motionless on the floor of the chamber, chest rising and falling slowly.
[Awakening Successful. Passive Ability Unlocked: Emotional Perception. Triggered Ability Pending Activation.]
Lin Chen blinked. The simulation room looked the same, yet… different. When his gaze shifted, he saw halos of faint light shimmering around imaginary opponents. Some red. Some blue. Some yellow. Each glow pulsed with rhythm—not just visual, but emotional. Rage, anxiety, deceit, calmness. He wasn't just seeing his environment now. He was feeling it.
"What the hell..." he whispered. "Is this what it means to awaken?"
[Sensory Enhancement: Phase One Completed. Emotional Perception Active. Note: This ability allows User to detect emotional states and micro-intentions within a ten-meter radius. Integration Progress: 54%.]
As he exited the simulation space, Lin Chen returned to the real world—his high-rise suite in the heart of downtown. He looked out over the city, lights flickering like stars, but none could compare to the glow now ever-present in his vision.
He tested it during a late-night coffee stop. The barista's forced smile registered as a dull yellow with flickers of red—stress, mild irritation. A man at the corner table glowed green, calm, while the woman beside him burned crimson—anger barely contained.
This wasn't just a skill. It was a weapon.
The next day, the System notified him of an incoming event.
[New Event Detected: High-Stakes Networking Gala – Participants Include: Senior Investment Brokers, Private Equity Elites, Undercover Erebus Agents.]
Lin Chen adjusted his tie before the mirror. The System had automatically recalibrated his wardrobe with a clean-cut navy suit laced with nanoweave threading. But no amount of tech could mask what now simmered beneath his skin. He wasn't just a player in the game anymore. He had become something else entirely.
When he arrived at the gala, he moved through the crowd like a predator in a ballroom of prey. Emotional auras flared in his mind like radar.
A handshake.
Green.
"Pleasure to meet you. I've heard good things."
Lying. Blue pulse around the pupil.
He smiled politely. "Likewise."
A toast.
Yellow.
"To innovation and new blood in the industry."
Backhanded praise. Envy.
Lin Chen didn't just hear the words. He decoded them. Read between their breaths. And when he locked eyes with a tall woman in the corner, draped in a silk silver dress, her aura was blank.
Too blank.
His eyes narrowed. "Erebus?"
The System whispered: [Threat Potential Detected. Emotional Signal Masked. Use caution.]
She approached, her smile tight.
"Lin Chen, isn't it? You caused quite the stir with that chip auction."
"Just luck," he said calmly, trying to feel through her aura. But there was nothing. A void. Like staring into a mirror with no reflection.
Her voice lowered. "Careful. Too much luck attracts attention. Especially from the wrong kind of people."
She clinked her glass against his and walked away. For a moment, he stood frozen. Then the System pinged again.
[New Sub-Mission Added: Trace the Null Aura Agent. Warning: Unknown Variables Detected.]
That night, back in his apartment, Lin Chen stared at the skyline again. The city looked the same. But he had changed. The Simulation Chamber, the threshold breakthrough, the emotional perception ability—they had reshaped the battlefield.
From now on, every smile he saw, every handshake, every boardroom negotiation—he'd be playing a different game.
A game he was now uniquely equipped to win.
[System Notification: Sensory Enhancement Level Up Available. Proceed?]
He nodded, voice steady. "Let's begin phase two."
And as the interface blinked with golden light once more, Lin Chen stepped forward, ready for the next evolution.
End of Chapter 28