He said, "Sorry for interrupting your rest time."
"It's fine, you always do this anyway. You'll be the same next time, not even a half-hearted hello."
Ji Minghuan shrugged, teasingly, as he got out of bed.
He walked barefoot on the cold floor, dragging his lean body to the table, then pulled a chair to sit opposite the mentor. Resting his chin on his right hand, with his elbow on the table, he casually said, "So... why not just tell me what you want this time?"
"Then I'll be brief. I asked about some things from the orphanage where you stayed before," the mentor said. "They all said you liked to lock yourself in and wrap your body with rolls of tissue paper back then, so the kids at the orphanage called you 'weirdo.' Is that true?"
"Ah... did that happen? Anyway, I don't really remember."
Ji Minghuan tilted his head slightly, muttering as he reminisced. After a while, he looked up, glaring at the mentor with an odd tone, responding, "Even if what you said is true, Mentor, don't you think it's pretty normal for people to be silly when they're young?"
"That is true." The mentor chuckled, "The nurses also said you liked to sneak into the computer room to play games when you were at the orphanage."
"That's true."
"What type of games did you like to play the most?"
"Let me think... 'Edith Finch's Memory,' or 'Ruined City Story'?"
The mentor shook his head.
"What a pity, I've never heard of them."
"Oh, that's a shame." Ji Minghuan responded nonchalantly, drooping his eyelids. He tapped the table lightly with his finger, shifting his gaze from the surveillance camera on the ceiling to the mentor's face. Then he asked, "Speaking of which, since you insist I have a superpower, what exactly would my superpower be? Is it really as impressive as you say?"
"Based on our tests, you should be a 'reality influence' superpower user, which is considered the most dangerous category in our evaluation system." The mentor paused, "By the way, since you say you like playing games, there's a high chance your superpower will appear to you in a form related to 'games.'
"Why?"
Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows, his interest seemingly piqued.
Seeing the child's wandering gaze finally settle on his face, the mentor couldn't help but chuckle, thinking he was being quite witty by holding onto the suspense for a moment. Until Ji Minghuan's eyes started showing impatience, did he tap his fingers on the table and begin a detailed explanation.
"Any form of superpower will help the superpower user understand it."
"For example: If a superpower user was a trendy woman before awakening, she might suddenly dream of a huge LED billboard one night, which shows the 'selling points' and usage of her powers in rotation."
At this point, the mentor clasped his fingers together, looking up to meet Ji Minghuan's gaze.
"And you... since you like video games, your superpower may very well appear in this form—it will create itself as a game level to test you, guide you, and help you clearly understand how to use this superpower."
"Game level..." Ji Minghuan mused.
He looked up at the mentor and asked confusedly, "How come it feels like you're saying the superpower has its own mind, and can help the user adapt to its existence?"
The mentor shook his head, then adjusted the frame on his nose.
He said, "I originally wanted to deny this statement, but perhaps, as you said: superpowers may have self-will, after all, they are beyond the realm of science. Historically, many in the West have considered superpower users as children of God, seeing superpowers as divine miracles, thus believing they contain the will of deities, and those whose powers go out of control have angered God and thus suffer punishment, plunging into madness."
"I see." Ji Minghuan seemed to understand and yet not understand.
He thought for a while and then said, "Speaking of which, besides computer games, I also like playing paper cards. In the orphanage, these were the only things somewhat interesting, better than this damn place anyway."
"Then you..."
"So one day I might dream of a deck of cards, with each card detailing how to use my superpower?" Ji Minghuan interrupted and asked ahead.
"Exactly."
The mentor picked up the thermos on the table, sipping the warm tea inside.
As he screwed the lid back on, he looked at the young man across the table, smiling in his eyes, and asked, "How come you're suddenly interested in superpowers?"
"Because I'm really bored." Ji Minghuan mocked, "Besides... you guys haven't given me the right to have fun, what is there to do here besides reflecting in front of a wall? I'm bored to death, alright?"
"I'm sorry. We're really forced in this situation too."
There was an apologetic tone in the mentor's voice.
He smiled, quietly watching Ji Minghuan for a while, then slowly spoke, "By the way, the deaf-mute girl who came with you earlier... she's also an albino. That's quite rare."
Saying that, he looked a bit solemn, cautiously asking, "Do you want to know her current situation?"
At this point, Ji Minghuan's gaze suddenly paused, his eyes fixating on the table for a few seconds.