Qi Yuan slowly accompanied the old woman to the venue.
"The townspeople mean no harm, they're just curious about the family," Madam Martha explained on behalf of the townspeople, then casually brought up what had just happened, as if chatting about everyday matters.
"Is there some important business that made you pretend to be an ordinary person? Is there anything this old woman can help you with?"
Instead of answering, Qi Yuan asked, "Why do you think I'm pretending to be ordinary? You weren't there for the earlier commotion, so couldn't it just be a misunderstanding on their part?"
The old woman chuckled and gestured for him to look at the flower pinned to his chest.
At first, he thought the flower was some special item, but he quickly understood after the middle-aged woman supporting the old lady explained.
"Mr. Oscar, wearing this flower means you have the qualification and are willing to let Grandma Martha use her spirit sight on you."
Who would have such a qualification? Of course, those who haven't awakened yet.
He could hear Adrian and the uncle at the door talking, but they hadn't mentioned this point. "Well, when he handed it to me, I thought everyone had to wear one."
"But you must have made him think you were ordinary, which is why Adrian applied for you."
"I can't deny that."
Without realizing it, the two had walked to the inner circle. Madam Martha said, "You're willing to help Adrian, so I believe you didn't intend to deceive. Since you're here, I hope you can enjoy a lovely afternoon. How about watching the children's courage test together?"
"Alright."
He turned his gaze to the field as Madam Martha stood in front of him. The middle-aged woman announced the start of the courage test on Madam Martha's behalf.
A large cage was wheeled out, covered with a red cloth.
This posed no problem for Qi Yuan; he could tell there was a D-level monster inside.
Children around ten years old were brought to the front of the stage one by one.
From their dress and appearance, it was easy to guess they were from wealthy families.
They seemed to have been told something by the adults, as they looked at the cage with a mix of fear and excitement.
However, when the red cloth was completely pulled away and the children were forced to stay around the cage, as the monster repeatedly crashed against the bars making noise, some quickly started crying for their parents.
Some parents looked at their sons and daughters with disappointment, feeling they had lost face and almost wanting to storm off right then and there.
Qi Yuan asked Madam Martha, "Will this make them awaken?"
"No, but when parents gather, they always want to show off something."
Madam Martha's cloudy eyes gazed at the scene, "When my birthday became a festival and gathering that could bring wealth to the town, it was no longer something I could decide. As long as it's not excessive, I'm just responsible for providing the prizes."
"Spirit sight? I'm very curious what you can see in me."
"Yes, the children who persist to the end can come to me once a month until the next gathering. As for what I see in you..."
Madam Martha paused here for a moment, "It's somewhat strange, the color of your ability energy is rather mottled, but that's not particularly rare. I once met someone whose ability energy was a mix of black and white, looking just like a panda from Dragon Country."
As expected...
He was currently using his shapeshifting ability, translation ability, spatial ability, and clone ability simultaneously.
The first thing to do when he got back would be to develop an ability with shielding functionality.
Qi Yuan casually changed the subject, "Pandas, that's quite interesting. Was his ability to turn into a panda?"
"I'm not sure about his ability, but it definitely wasn't turning into a panda. Come to think of it, when I was young, I once thought about becoming the strongest ability user and going to Dragon Country to steal a panda to raise."
Madam Martha laughed as she reminisced, "The name 'Witches' Gathering' was also a dream of mine when I was young - to become a mysterious witch, raise a black cat, attend gatherings in the dark of night..."
A thunderous applause erupted, and Qi Yuan and she noticed that only one child remained on the field.
Madam Martha stopped chatting and went forward to present the symbolic trophy.
Afterwards, some young wealthy heirs came forward, ranging from their teens to twenties.
Madam Martha used her spirit sight on them one by one, giving different evaluations, some joyful, some worried.
Finally, Qi Yuan could hear the gravity in Madam Martha's voice as she cautiously reminded them:
"I can only get some small hints from you, but the trajectory of fate changes with choices. Don't be too fixated on the evaluations."
With this, the inner circle activities ended, and the wealthy began to come forward to make donations.
Madam Martha then went to the outer area to check on the town's youth.
Qi Yuan followed behind her and easily found Adrian. He was surrounded by a group of young people, all looking expectantly at Madam Martha.
As evening approached, the square became sparsely populated.
Caroline and Lily bid them farewell, and the group, led by Adrian, headed towards his home.
Although Adrian had already decided that Mr. Oscar was a good person, words once spoken can't be taken back, so he had no choice but to host a barbecue.
It was also a good opportunity to celebrate for a few of his companions who had received hints of ability awakening from Madam Martha.
While the young men were drinking beer and celebrating in the courtyard, Qi Yuan and Dr. Malone sat at the dining table chatting.
"To have entered the Avilars Biological Research Institute at your age, you're truly accomplished for someone so young."
Dr. Malone remarked with admiration as he drank his beer, with the barbecue Adrian had brought over set beside him.
"I'm sorry for intruding."
"Not at all," Dr. Malone waved his hand, laughing heartily, "I haven't even thanked you yet..."
Qi Yuan pulled him into an illusion, giving a clear and concise command: "Jennifer and Wennie once asked you about the experiments, was what you told them true?"
"Yes."
He confirmed this several more times through other methods, always receiving the same response.
Dr. Malone felt a moment of confusion, then started laughing again, "Where were we just now? Getting on in years, the memory just isn't what it used to be."
"You were about to thank me, but there's no need. I'm not sure how Adrian explained it to you, but Hansen targeted me first."
"Oh right, regardless, as a father, I'm very grateful to you."
"Let's not dwell on that," Qi Yuan moved past the topic, turning to what he wanted to know, "I'd like to ask you about something."
"What is it?"
"Under what circumstances, and what kind of people, would be so persistent about fusing monsters and humans?"
"Oh, there are plenty."
Dr. Malone's serious expression, which he had just put on, instantly crumbled into a relaxed one.
"Ability users who want to increase their power, countries that want to manufacture more weapons, wealthy elites who want to extend their lifespans, and so on."
He swirled the drink in his glass, "Consuming some older ordinary people isn't much of a loss for a country."
He grumbled and complained, using the influence of alcohol to vent his dissatisfaction, proving to be just as much of an armchair politician as his son.