Chapter 21: Remarkably Powerful
Perhaps the reason Yu Lanfeng had personally come to this small battlefield was because of that Ability Beast.
Otherwise, given his status, he would normally send one of his capable subordinates to command the operation.
He himself should have remained on the front lines, where danger was greatest.
This Ability Beast was extremely unusual.
Perhaps it was the first case discovered within the Empire.
So...
Nan Yu took a deep breath.
Now wasn't the time to think about that.
What he needed to do now was help these dedicated officers in this room and remove their Mental Contamination.
At the very least, he wanted to alleviate their suffering.
Although they had regained their basic consciousness, the tightly furrowed brows on their faces made it easy for Nan Yu to see how uncomfortable they still were.
They were all grown men, far older than him, but seeing them like this still made his heart ache.
Unfortunately, there was no time to indulge in sympathy.
Nan Yu quickly sat down in a chair nearby. Using his wide sleeves to conceal his spatial button, he carefully took out the Nianshen Grass.
The moment it appeared, it was already hidden inside his loose outer sleeve, making it impossible for anyone else to see.
Moreover, the officers' mental states were still poor, so no one noticed anything unusual.
He half reclined in the chair with his eyes narrowed, appearing to rest.
Inside his sleeves, however, he held a miniature potted Nianshen Grass in both hands and concentrated on restoring his mental power.
Honestly, the effects were excellent.
Although the Nianshen Grass absorbed a tiny amount of his mental power each time, the benefits it returned were equally remarkable.
As his mental power circulated through the Nianshen Grass, it became much purer.
The greater the purity, the stronger his control became.
And the stronger his control, the better his ability to remove Mental Contamination.
Eventually, quantitative changes would lead to qualitative changes, allowing him to break through into the realm of High-Tier Mental Power Users.
About two hours later, Nan Yu felt that he had recovered fairly well.
He put the potted Nianshen Grass away and walked over to the first bed.
“Now we're beginning the second round of Mental Contamination removal.”
“After this treatment, you'll be able to move around freely, but you're not allowed to return to battle.”
“Tomorrow morning, I'll come over for a third treatment. Only after I nod my head will you be allowed to go out. Understood?”
His voice wasn't loud, but the room was silent, so everyone heard him clearly.
Soon, the man lying on the first bed raised his hand.
“No problem. They're all officers like me, but they're also my men. If they don't listen, I'll beat them up for you.”
Nan Yu smiled.
“All right, then thank you in advance. Now close your eyes and relax.”
“And just like before, don't resist my mental power. Otherwise, the effectiveness of the treatment will be greatly reduced.”
During the first treatment, he had encountered considerable resistance, which caused him to expend more energy.
But after experiencing it once, everyone had become much more accepting of his mental power.
As a result, the second treatment proceeded much more smoothly.
The first treatment had been the hardest.
The second round was much easier.
This time, it only took about five minutes per person.
By the time everyone in the room had been treated again, several more hours had passed.
This time, he was truly exhausted.
He collapsed limply into a nearby chair, closing his eyes and holding his head, looking exactly like someone whose mental power had been excessively depleted.
The officers in the room had all regained their ability to move normally, and they looked at him with concern.
“Captain, what do we do?”
Nan Yu knew they were worried about him.
In truth, he wasn't seriously affected.
His mental power had simply been overused, giving him a headache.
“I'm fine. I just want to go rest for a while. I'll be fine after some sleep.”
But after saying that, Nan Yu suddenly realized something.
He didn't actually have a place to rest.
The highest-ranking officer in the room—the same one who had said everyone here was his subordinate—immediately picked Nan Yu up in a princess carry.
“Don't worry. We don't need to stay in bed anymore anyway. Take whichever bed you want and get some rest first. We'll go get you something to eat.”
Before Nan Yu could even react in surprise, he had already been placed on one of the beds.
Although the mattress was hard, it was better than having nowhere to sleep.
“T-Then... thank you, Uncle.”
Uncle...!
Everyone held back their laughter.
None of them dared laugh openly at their captain.
The consequences would be miserable.
Almost everyone immediately turned away and covered their mouths, afraid that they might accidentally burst out laughing.
No matter what, the first one to laugh out loud would definitely receive the harshest punishment.
Fortunately, the captain quickly accepted the title.
After all, this kid looked only ten-something years old.
As an Ability User over a hundred years old, many Ability Users his age were already great-grandfathers.
Though he had never married, there was certainly nothing wrong with being called Uncle by such a young boy.
But just because he accepted it didn't mean he was willing to tolerate being laughed at.
“All personnel, attention!”
“Stand up straight! Form ranks! Forward, march!”
Their destination was the cafeteria.
And so, countless people along the way saw this perfectly organized formation heading toward the mess hall.
At that very moment, Yu Lanfeng had just returned from outside.
“Hm?”
He happened to run into the squad head-on.
“Marshal!”
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
“I remember you people are...”
“Marshal, the Mental Power User assigned to us said we can move around freely for the time being.”
Yu Lanfeng observed their conditions.
Though they hadn't recovered enough to return to the front lines, they were indeed capable of normal activity.
There was no need for further inspection.
Alarm systems were installed throughout the base.
If someone whose Mental Contamination exceeded the danger threshold wandered outside, they would be detected within five seconds.
The fact that these people could openly move around meant they had already recovered to a safe level.
“Who is the Mental Power User responsible for you?”
“He's new. His name is Nan Yu. He's an incredibly powerful Mental Power User. It hasn't been long, but he already got us back on our feet.”
If it had been other Mental Power Users, it would have taken at least five Low-Tier Mental Power Users working around the clock for three or four days to achieve this.
Yu Lanfeng was shocked.
Truly shocked.
Originally, he had only thought that Nan Yu's arrival would ease the shortage of Mental Power Users somewhat.
But now it seemed he had underestimated him.
He really hadn't expected a mere Mid-Tier Mental Power User to accomplish something like this in less than a day.
“Marshal...”
Yu Lanfeng interrupted.
“Where is he?”
“Reporting to the Marshal! Mental Power User Nan Yu is resting in the ward right now. He's completely exhausted.”
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
“All right. Dismissed.”
Afterward, he headed straight toward Nan Yu's ward.
He knew exactly which ward those men had been assigned to, so he found it quickly.
When he pushed the door open, he saw that Nan Yu had already fallen asleep.
His slender body lay quietly on the bed beneath the blanket.
His face was flushed red, and he was sleeping soundly and warmly.