Above the Blood Moon

The middle-aged woman sitting to Jockley's left was the first to speak.

Her hands were clenched tightly together on her knees, her knuckles turning white from the force, and her voice trembled as if she had mustered all her courage to speak.

"I want a level 2 medical-grade ability chip, preferably produced by Asclepius, but other companies are also acceptable. I'm willing to pay 500 Star Alliance coins."

five hundred.

The number echoed in the silent underground space. Seeing that no one else seemed to notice anything amiss, Jockley silently noted it down in his mind. The market price of a level-two ability chip was probably within this range.

No one responded. Those wearing masks and those not wearing masks simply sat quietly. No one raised their hand, and no one showed any interest.

Time passed second by second, and the middle-aged woman's breathing gradually became rapid.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, and that silent pressure was more embarrassing than a direct rejection.

The old man in black robes, seated in the center of the circle, sighed softly, then spoke. His voice was still hoarse, but carried a strange gentleness.

"Child, your mental state is more unstable than when you came last time."

Excessive pursuit of higher ability levels won't truly solve the problem; it can only postpone its arrival.

The middle-aged woman's body visibly trembled. She lowered her head, her fingers twisting together even more tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh.

After waiting for another ten seconds or so, and seeing that there was still no response, she finally gave up. Her shoulders slumped, and she slumped back in her chair as if all her strength had been drained away, no longer speaking.

Following the clockwise order, the next person to be seen was the young man with acne on his face.

He appeared much calmer than the middle-aged woman, even displaying a youthful arrogance and self-confidence.

He pondered for a moment, then took a small storage chip out of his pocket.

"I have a combat-type ability here, which I call 'Flame Attachment.' Its function is simple: during combat, you can use your ability to generate flames and attach them to any part of your body."

He paused, his fingers gently stroking the chip.

"Moreover, it can even be attached to bullets in firearms, so that the bullets will be fired with supernatural flames that can not only burn the flesh but also burn the opponent's soul."

Jockley's pupils contracted slightly. Burning the soul? That didn't sound like the ability a Level 1 ability user should have.

"What about the side effects?" A person wearing a bird-beak mask asked from the opposite side of the circle, their voice carrying a strange metallic quality as it passed through the mask.

"After use, your whole body will be temporarily paralyzed," the young man answered crisply.

"The duration depends on individual physical condition and the strength of the superpower. The shortest is thirty seconds, and the longest I haven't tried is probably a few minutes. However, the consciousness is clear during the paralysis, but the body cannot move."

He looked around and continued:

"This ability can be mastered by even the lowest-level combat-type ability user. I want to use it to exchange for a level 2 combat-type ability. Any ability is fine, as long as it is suitable for close combat. The price difference can be made up with Star Alliance Coins."

This time, someone responded.

A burly man sitting diagonally opposite the young man raised his hand. His exposed arms were all mechanical prosthetics, with thick hydraulic tubes protruding from the joints.

The two looked at each other, then closed their eyes at the same time.

Jockley noticed that the neural interfaces at the back of their necks were simultaneously emitting a faint blue light.

That's a manifestation of establishing one-way communication within a neural network.

This connection method can only transmit information and cannot read thoughts; it is essentially offline communication, and hackers cannot steal chat logs.

About a minute later, the two opened their eyes at the same time. The burly man nodded, and the young man smiled with satisfaction. The deal was done.

The next one was the old man with his eyes closed.

He remained in a dozing position, even emitting soft snores.

But no one urged him, and no one dared to disturb him. After waiting for about half a minute, the old man in black gently tapped the back of the chair.

"Pass."

His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

Then it was Jockley's turn.

More than twenty eyes were focused on him at the same time, and Jockley felt his throat go dry and his heart begin to race.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

After much thought, he decided to follow the example of that young man and sell one of his abilities.

Since this method of transaction is recognized, it should be the safest and least likely to expose one's true intentions.

He adjusted the voice output of the neural network, a built-in feature of his new system, which made his voice sound hoarser and even had a slightly synthesized quality.

"I have a Level 1 Support-type ability that I call 'Weakness Perception.' Its function is to perceive the opponent's physical weaknesses, such as muscle fatigue, joint damage, and even blockages in energy flow."

He paused, then added.

"However, there are two limitations. First, the higher the level of the opponent's superhuman, the more uncertain the effect of this ability becomes."

Secondly, if the opponent has defensive technological equipment, such as energy shields or devices specifically designed to interfere with the sensing of supernatural abilities, then those measures may also fail.

The underground space was silent, and everyone listened quietly.

"The side effect is fatigue after use, and the degree of fatigue is directly proportional to the perceived intensity of fatigue after use."

He did not mention the price.

Because he had no idea how much this ability was worth. If he valued it too much, no one would want it; if he valued it too little, he might expose himself as a complete novice.

After a brief silence, a woman wearing an iron mask sitting opposite him raised her hand, her voice echoing through the mask.

"One hundred and fifty Star Alliance coins, is that price acceptable to you?"

Jockley didn't answer immediately; his mind was racing.

One hundred and fifty sounds like a lot, but this is the first time he has sold his ability, and he has no reference. He looked at the old man in black robes in the center of the circle.

The old man seemed to sense his hesitation and slowly nodded.

"This is a normal price," the old man said, his voice revealing no bias.

"Similar perceptual abilities are not uncommon, especially auxiliary ones, and 150 is a fair price."

Seeing that no one else objected, Jockley nodded.

"make a deal."

The woman wearing the iron mask took out a memory chip from her pocket and handed it to Jockley.

"Insert a neural interface, and then control your ability just like you normally would," the woman explained.

"The chip will automatically record your energy fluctuations and operating patterns, generating a replicable template."

Jockley took the chip; it was cold to the touch. He hesitated for a moment, but did as he was told, out of trust in the priest.

The chip is inserted into the interface at the back of the neck.

Instantly, a strange sense of resonance emanated from the point of contact.

The chip seemed to come alive and began to actively demand more. Jockley closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and focused his attention on the space between his eyebrows.

Superpower state activated.

In less than a second, the chip's interior shone brightly, with pale blue liquid light flowing wildly, like a thirsty sponge absorbing water.

Jockley could feel that the unique energy fluctuations he experienced when using [Weakness Sense] had been completely replicated.

A few seconds later, the light from the chip gradually faded.

Jockley pulled it out and found that inside it there was now a constantly changing, pale silver halo, like a small imprisoned nebula.

The woman took the chip, examined it carefully, nodded in satisfaction, and then opened the neural network to bring up the transfer interface.

"Account ID".

Jockley rattled off a string of numbers.

A few seconds later, his nervous system jolted, and a transfer notification popped up:

+150 Star Alliance Coins

Jockley glanced at his account balance: 241.5 Star Alliance Coins, almost making up for all the money he had spent on Huang Shuangyan.

This number made him feel a little more at ease, but at the same time he couldn't help but think that these superhumans present were making transactions of hundreds of Star Alliance coins at a time, and they didn't seem to be short of money.

Why is he so poor?

Jockley, the tough guy, sheds tears.jpg

The transaction continues.

For the next hour, Jockley absorbed knowledge about superpowers like a dried-up sponge.

He listened as those people used concise, professional, and sometimes even slightly crazy language to describe all sorts of abilities and costs.

He learned that the basic ability of a Level 1 Construct-type ability user was [Energy Shaping].

This ability can shape alien energy into simple geometric structures, such as cubes and prisms. These structures are very unstable and can only be maintained for a maximum of thirty to sixty seconds, but they have a wide range of uses.

It can be used as a temporary energy shield to block bullets, as a simple staircase to climb over obstacles, or even condensed into an energy dagger for close combat.

"But be careful," a construct-type ability user warned in a hoarse voice.

"The structure is very fragile and easily breaks when impacted. Moreover, it requires a high degree of concentration to build and is basically immobile. So it's best to find a safe place or have someone cover you. I want to sell this Level 1 Ability User chip for 620 Star Alliance Coins."

Jockley took notes carefully.

He also heard about all sorts of other strange and unusual abilities.

[Visual sharing] allows you to briefly share your field of vision with another person, creating a completely immersive experience that is much better than observing a camera.

[Pain Blocking] can completely block pain for a certain period of time, but the side effect is that the pain will return in double after it ends. However, Jockley thinks this ability is not very useful, since stimulants or hallucinogens can also achieve this effect.

[Muscle Memory Replication] It is possible to replicate part of the target's muscle memory by contacting it, but this may also replicate some things that shouldn't be replicated...

Every skill comes at a price, and every trader bears the marks of a long-term dance with madness on their face or in their eyes.

Jockley gradually understood why the priest had sent him here.

This is not only a trading place, but also an intelligence hub for people with superpowers. Here you can see what the path of superpowers will ultimately lead to.

Of course, it's also possible that Jockley occasionally asked the priest questions about people with superpowers, and the priest was too lazy to answer them all. That's a possibility too; who knows?