My setting is above yours!

Chapter 131 You have thirty seconds. If you can't answer, your head will be chopped off! (4k4)

"Hey, kid over there!"

The gangsters charged in menacingly, and the overloaded prosthetic body couldn't stop, crashing directly to the ground and creating a mess.

But they simply dusted themselves off and stood up as if nothing had happened, glaring menacingly at Ron.

Soon, a group of people surrounded them. The burly leader adjusted his sunglasses and said:

"Judging from your appearance, you probably don't know that woman, do you?"

"It's alright. Our Black Dragon Gang isn't some kind of ruthless idiot who kills innocent people indiscriminately, and we have no interest in dragging you into this mess..."

He raised his chin and pointed to the test tube in Ron's hand:

"Give me the [Psionic Awakening Potion], and from now on you go your way, I'll go mine—we'll part ways like this, what do you say?"

Hearing the gang leader's seemingly considerate advice and warnings, which appeared to be from Ron's perspective and meant to avoid causing him any trouble, Ron inwardly chuckled with anger.

'And they even claim they're not indiscriminate killers... Don't you think these piles of blood, mangled corpses, and fragments of cybernetic bodies have anything to do with this?'

'Are you kidding me...? Does he really think I'm stupid? How can he tell whether I'm that female thief's accomplice or not?'

'The reason they're not attacking me now is probably because they don't know my background and are trying to test me...'

'You think you can make me hand this over like that... you're dreaming!'

Ron thought to himself, noticing that everyone's eyes were fixed on the test tube in his hand, and some people had their hands behind their backs, seemingly hiding something, as if ready to make a move at any moment. He immediately understood:

'So they were afraid I'd give up and smash this test tube...'

'Heh... You were so generous before, saying you'd make that female thief and the [Psionic Awakening Potion] die together, but now that things are like this, you still value this potion so much...'

He pondered for a moment, then a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face. He snapped his fingers excitedly and said with a sigh:
"Yes! That's the plan! I knew you had a good eye, you didn't let me take the blame..."

Ron spoke, his tone indignant, clearly genuinely angry:
"I was just strolling along the street when I ran into this kind of trouble. It's all thanks to your sharp eyes, brother, that you saw through that villain's scheme to sow discord at a glance!"

"Hey, there's no need to praise me to that extent..."

The burly gangster smirked contentedly, seemingly unguarded against Ron, and approached, grinning broadly:
"It's okay, bro, don't be too angry. That bastard Mira is just like that, she disgusts everyone indiscriminately..."

"Don't worry, after you return the [Psionic Awakening Potion], we'll definitely keep chasing her back to her hometown and make her pay some compensation—"

As he spoke, he patted his chest, looking confident and assured:

"Leave this to me—once we get the compensation, I'll share it with you, brother!"

'Give me a share of the compensation? I think you just want a share of those rockets you just fired...'

Ron thought to himself, watching these gangsters approach him more and more stealthily, and sneered inwardly:
'Even without activating [Omniscient Domain - Pseudo], I could see through such a crude sneak attack preparation clearly...'

Moreover, to ensure he didn't fall into danger, Ron had already switched back to the [Superpowered] class settings, activating [Omniscient Domain - Pseudo] with a snap of his fingers.

Now, Ron sees clearly what these gangster bosses are up to—

The one at the very front, leading the group, had his hands behind his back and was clutching a pistol.

The one who silently circled around to the back to flank me had an iron rod hidden behind his back, which he had been holding for a long time.

And those guys on the side with knives, I guess they'll be the ones getting ready for close combat soon...

'It seems they came prepared...'

But thankfully, Ron was too.

Ron sighed inwardly, but felt no fear whatsoever. Instead, he looked with great interest at the half-filled test tube of colorful liquid in his hand, watching it flow like stardust in the sky and slowly swirl like clay as it was shaken. Suddenly, he asked:
"This [Psionic Awakening Potion]... after taking it, will awaken ethereal psionic energy and allow you to control the ethereal field, right?"

Upon hearing this, the gang leader, who had been secretly preparing to draw his gun and was about to tear off the mask of hostility as he snatched the [Psionic Awakening Potion] from Ron's hand, was stunned for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"Uh... of course? Why would you ask that?"

But Ron just smiled gently and said politely:

"No, there's no particular reason, I just wanted to confirm... Thank you for clarifying."

'This kid really seems a bit dim-witted... Doesn't he realize we're a threat?'

'Could it be that he really has nothing to do with Mira...?'

The gang leader paused slightly, but didn't actually let Ron go. Once he realized Ron was close enough, he immediately shouted:

"Brothers, do it!"

Without hesitation, he pulled out his hand from behind his back, the black muzzle of the pistol already pointed at Ron's head, ready to pull the trigger in the next moment—

But what he saw was a hazy gray fog.

The smiling, young face disappeared into the rising gray mist. The gang leader reacted swiftly, instinctively firing a shot into the mist...

But the shot itself was swallowed up by the gray fog.

The bullet pierced the fog, then vanished completely, disappearing from the world...

The next instant, the mist dissipated, leaving the area empty, as if nothing existed.

A look of bewilderment immediately crossed the faces of the gangsters, and a thin layer of mist suddenly appeared in their eyes—

The shrewd gangster carrying the iron bar, whose target was the clearest and who had already circled behind Ron to prepare for his sneak attack, now looked somewhat dazed and spoke:

"Boss... what were we just doing?"

What to do?

Right, what were we just doing?

The gang leader looked bewildered, but quickly regained his senses and shouted:

"What the hell are you doing!"

"What's so interesting about a dead body by the roadside? If we don't chase after it soon, that damned little wench will run away again!"

"oh oh!"

The gang members were immediately jolted awake and, following their boss, activated their flight prosthetics, taking to the skies and quickly heading in another direction...

And at that moment, right in the middle of where these gangsters had just surrounded them—

A thin layer of gray mist suddenly dissipated, and Ron stood there calmly, without moving an inch!
This is the [Unknowable Domain - False]!
Relying on the [First Power - Concealment], Ron simply "concealed" himself, disappearing into a hazy gray mist... However, perhaps because he was the one in control, the power of "Concealment" seemed to have more freedom when used on himself, allowing him to not completely conceal himself.

Therefore, Ron simply used [Unknowable Domain - False] to "hide" himself without expending too much energy, and even had the spare capacity to perform a bare-handed bullet-catching feat in the fog using [Vector Manipulation].

At this moment, he was frowning, looking at the bullet in his hand, deep in thought:
'This thing...something doesn't seem right...'

Just now, when he unfolded his personal reality and hid in the [Unknowable Domain - Pseudo], [Vector Manipulation] was also operating normally at the same time.

Attacks like pistol bullets had already been recorded in Ron's whitelist of [Omniscient Domain - Pseudo]. Under normal circumstances, they would be automatically reflected by Ron's [Vector Manipulation] and would not be able to enter Ron's personal reality range at all.

But this bullet… although its impact was weak, clearly just the output of an ordinary 9mm pistol bullet, it seemed to carry the personal reality of another person within it. It first momentarily canceled out Ron's personal reality before flying towards Ron—

Although Ron had been paying close attention to the bullet and easily used his computing power to catch it, its behavior still made him somewhat concerned.

Recalling the scene where the gang leader inexplicably shouted out tens of thousands and then unleashed a series of rocket-propelled grenades, Ron couldn't help but feel uneasy.
'It's almost like a creation of some kind of superpower; the bullets are solidified personal realities... Could that mob boss's ability be to manufacture firearms?'

'But if that's the case, this bullet should have vanished into nothingness after being neutralized by my personal reality. Why does it still exist?'

'This is clearly a real object that exists in reality...'

But what exactly is the reason?

He pondered for a moment, but couldn't find anything special about the warhead, so he had to give up.

'Never mind, it's not that important... I'll check the [Psionic Awakening Potion] first.'

With that thought in mind, Ron took out the tube of colorful reagent, rubbed his chin, and stared at the test tube, momentarily hesitating.

Although the actions of those gangsters clearly demonstrated to Ron the scarcity and importance of this item, and confirmed that it could indeed aid in awakening "etheric psionic energy" and controlling the [etheric field]—

But ultimately, Ron hasn't actually seen anyone use "etheric energy" and "etheric field" in reality.

Ron had no idea whether this so-called "Psionic Awakening Potion" was dangerous, whether there were any contraindications to its use, or even whether it was for external or internal use.

Given Ron's style of doing things, there's absolutely no way he would swallow the vial of medicine like a clueless fool.

However, this doesn't mean Ron necessarily has to give up on the potion...

'Anyway, it was just a pleasant surprise... I might as well go find the source of this pleasant surprise and ask them.'

Ron thought to himself, quickly identified the direction, and flew directly in the direction the leather-clad girl had fled.

He hadn't forgotten that guy's appalling behavior just now...

Ron didn't really care about getting into any conflicts with those gangsters, since they hadn't actually posed any real threat to him. In fact, if Ron hadn't obtained the [Psionic Awakening Potion], they might not have even harbored any hostility towards him.

Furthermore, the potion might indeed have originally belonged to them. Ron always repays even the smallest kindness tenfold, so sparing their lives was an act of gratitude and a matter of course.

However, if you're facing a girl in a leather jacket...

Ron, who always held grudges, didn't even bother with this superficial friendliness anymore. Instead, he was rubbing his hands together, ready to strike hard.

After all, she had inexplicably pinned a huge blame on Ron when he hadn't provoked her at all—

Given the Black Dragon Gang's callous disregard for human life, if Ron really didn't have any ability, he probably would have already had his head blown off by a single shot and was lying on the floor with the fragments of those bodies killed by rockets...

He didn't think the girl in the leather jacket was unaware of the Black Dragon Gang's despicable ways of doing things!
Therefore, in other words, this person's actions were tantamount to murder to Ron—

Of course, while Ron is quite vengeful, there's more to finding that leather-clad girl than just revenge...

He noticed the strange and unfamiliar methods the leather-clad girl used during the fight with the gangsters...

That translucent, ethereal energy is clearly "etheric energy" itself...

Although that girl was stealing some kind of [Psionic Awakening Potion], she was already a psychic capable of manipulating "etheric energy"!

Finding the correct way to use the [Psionic Awakening Potion] and understanding the actual effects of "Aetheric Energy" and [Aetheric Field] are what Ron cares about most right now!

'And I can also see what she stole—she can just casually toss around a [Psionic Awakening Potion], so what more valuable things must she be hiding?'

Ron pondered for a moment, then activated [Vector Control] and flew in the direction the leather-clad girl had gone...

Judging by this speed, it's even faster than the accelerating hovercar!
At the same time, on the other side——

Having finally escaped the gang's pursuit, Mira let out a long sigh of relief as she returned to her hiding place. Leaning lazily against the wall of the small hut, her eyes sparkled as she looked at the red moon pendant she had just pulled from her bosom—

"The token for career advancement, a necessary material for the master thief's class change, is finally in my hands..."

Looking at the pendant in her hand, and imagining the mischievous things she would be able to do after her promotion, she couldn't help but smirk and laugh out loud.
"You think you can catch me? Hmph, wait until I become a master thief, then we'll see who can catch me!"

"No, no, it's because no one can catch me now!"

Thinking this to herself, she proudly raised her head—

Then, she saw a figure shrouded in gray mist, standing out of thin air on the wall, silently appearing above her head, having been observing for an unknown amount of time...

"A ghost—!!!"

The next moment, she rolled over and hid to the side, nervously looking around, only to find no one there. She suddenly paused, slightly taken aback:
"What...what was I doing again..."

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, an idea popped into my mind:
"No, wait! It seems someone is trying to steal my promotion token!"

Startled, she abruptly opened her clenched hand and looked inside—

The red moon pendant was still lying there quietly, which made her breathe a sigh of relief... or so?

A gentle voice came:

"Thank you."

A hand shrouded in gray mist reached out and gently picked up the pendant.

At the same time, a hand viciously gripped her throat—

"I'll give you thirty seconds."

That gentle voice still lingered in her ears, meticulously drawing up a list for her:
"【Psionic Awakening Potion】, 'Etheric Psionic Energy', 【Etheric Field】...and this pendant."

"Explain the uses and methods in detail... within thirty seconds."

The gentle voice, as it spoke, was ultimately tinged with a hint of murderous intent:
"If you can't say it..."

"Your head will be removed in thirty seconds!"

(End of this chapter)