Chapter Sixty-Five: The Extraordinary Power of Cabbage

Chapter 65: The Cabbage's Special Ability

A string of triumphant laughter rang out as the cargo truck’s doors were slammed shut with a bang.

The vehicle soon began to lurch and jolt along the road. Unfortunately, the three of them were locked inside the truck’s cargo hold, unable to see any hint of the outside world, let alone guess their destination.

Inside the container, a heavy silence lingered for quite some time before Young Master Xu finally spoke up, forcing himself to sound cheerful. “We don’t need to worry. These guys have a purpose for kidnapping us. As long as we’re still useful to them, they won’t harm us.”

Cabbage seemed to murmur her agreement, but said nothing more.

Young Master Xu gazed at her for a long moment, his expression complicated, before sighing. “Sorry, it’s obvious this was meant for me. I didn’t expect you, a girl, to get caught up in this...”

Chen Xiao, lying on the ground, was unable to move his body, but his tongue and eyes remained free. He spoke up, “Xu, let’s skip the formalities. We’re friends, and now we’re all in the same boat. We should work together.”

Young Master Xu gave a wry smile and helped him to a sitting position. Chen Xiao looked at Cabbage. “Cabbage... I have something I need to ask you. Since we’re in this together, we might as well be honest with each other. Earlier... well, let’s put it this way: you can turn invisible. What’s the story behind that?”

Cabbage’s face stiffened, but after a moment’s silence, she finally responded, her voice low, “I... I discovered a few years ago that I could turn invisible... Do you think I’m a monster?”

She looked anxiously at Chen Xiao and Young Master Xu as she finished.

The two boys exchanged a glance, and then Young Master Xu burst out laughing, deliberately making a show of it. After a good while, he finally said loudly, “Monster? Don’t be ridiculous! Compared to you, Xiao Wu’s superhuman strength is much more monstrous! Look at him—he got smashed into a wall and didn’t break a single bone. He’s the real monster.”

Seeing their sincere expressions, Cabbage breathed a sigh of relief.

She then began to explain her situation:

A few years ago, Cabbage had an accident—she fell down the stairs and hit her head. Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury. But after she recovered, she gradually noticed some peculiar changes. For instance, sometimes when she looked in the mirror in the morning, she’d find her reflection missing. Anyone would be startled by something like that! But when she looked again, everything seemed normal.

At first, she thought she was just groggy, half-asleep and seeing things. But as it happened more and more frequently, she could no longer write it off as a dream. The turning point came one day as she brushed her hair after a shower, only to find her reflection had vanished. Now she was certain it wasn’t a dream—something truly strange was happening.

In the beginning, these episodes brought her endless trouble because she couldn’t control when she’d suddenly become “invisible.” Imagine sitting down for a meal with your family, and halfway through, your parents look up to find their daughter has vanished...

During that period, Cabbage was tormented daily, nearly to the point of a nervous breakdown, always dreading the next occurrence. She dared not even go to school—she started skipping classes.

After two months, with a few “incidents” barely covered up with excuses, her ability finally stabilized. Gradually, she realized she could control her invisibility.

No longer terrified, she became curious about her power. Through quiet experiments, she came to understand the specifics.

In short, she conducted various tests on herself and found that under normal circumstances, she could remain invisible for about two and a half hours. Any longer, and she would feel extremely exhausted, unable to maintain the state.

She also discovered her invisibility could extend to objects in contact with her body. In other words, anything touching her—a person, animal, or most objects (excluding metal)—could vanish with her.

But there were conditions: First, the object had to be in direct physical contact. Second, metallic objects were excluded.

Through repeated tests, Cabbage found she could make objects up to twice her own body volume invisible (including people, animals, and most non-metallic items). However, the more she took with her, the shorter the duration.

“For example, today I could at most take both of you invisible with me, but that would only last for ten minutes at most.” Cabbage’s voice sounded weary. “And I’ve discovered that if I push myself beyond my limits, I’ll always fall seriously ill afterward.”

Young Master Xu immediately looked concerned and moved closer, putting a hand on her forehead. “Are you feeling unwell right now? Are you sick?”

Cabbage’s face flushed at his touch, but she forced herself to glare at him.

“That’s the gist of it.” She sighed. “It’s amazing, but... if I told anyone, they’d think I was a monster. Not even my parents know. If it weren’t for today’s danger, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

She paused, then smiled bitterly. “Besides, what practical use is this power—unless I become a thief. Otherwise, what good is invisibility?”

Well... that was true, in a sense, but...

The truck jolted along for nearly an hour before finally coming to a stop. The three inside tensed as they heard the cargo door being unlocked from the outside.

“We’re here. Please step out, all three of you.”

Alice stood below, smiling up at them. As soon as Cabbage saw the fox-faced woman, her expression soured. She turned her head away with a heavy snort.

“My, such a feisty little lady,” Alice said, a glint of chill in her eyes, though her mouth curled in a mocking smile.

Chen Xiao and Young Master Xu helped each other out of the container, then lifted Cabbage down.

They found themselves inside a huge factory building. The truck had driven inside. All around was empty space, save for some discarded wooden crates and building materials piled in the corners.

A damp, musty smell filled the air, and from this, Chen Xiao guessed they might be in a remote area. The walls were streaked with rust, the row of ventilation windows above had battered metal frames; judging by the age and condition, this factory had stood for at least a decade.

In K City, only the far southern outskirts still harbored such disused factories.

“Alice, you’re late,” came a voice from the pile of crates in the corner. Chen Xiao looked closely—it was Autumn Eclipse, whom he’d met before!

He sat atop a crate, a cigarette pinched between his right fingers, exhaling blue-gray smoke with a melancholic air, while toying with a metal lighter in his left hand.

At the sight of the lighter, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but feel uneasy: another lighter... Last time, this guy had thrown piles of lighters to set off explosions. Just how many does he carry around?

“Hmph, ask T-Rex! That guy only knows how to use brute force!” Alice snapped.

Autumn Eclipse glanced at the giant emerging from another container—the nearly three-meter-tall T-Rex could only fit in the cargo area, not the cab.

Frowning, Autumn Eclipse sensed tension between his two subordinates. T-Rex had always been annoyed by Alice’s higher status, and Alice herself was not exactly broad-minded.

But this was no time to settle internal disputes. He shot both a warning glance, then approached the three young captives, nodding slightly to Chen Xiao in greeting. “We meet again.”

Chen Xiao looked at the man who had once injured him, his expression cold and silent.

Autumn Eclipse’s gaze moved past Cabbage to Young Master Xu. “Xu Yifan?”

“That’s me.” Young Master Xu eyed him warily.

“My apologies for bringing you here this way.” Autumn Eclipse actually smiled, free of any menace. “I can assure you, our organization values its reputation. So long as our business proceeds smoothly, your safety is guaranteed.”

Xu Yifan, son of a wealthy family, had experienced kidnappings before and been trained to handle such situations. He didn’t panic or get angry—he just smiled calmly. “Very well, I’ll play my part as the ‘hostage.’ Is that acceptable?”

“I hope so. That way, we’ll both have fewer problems.” Autumn Eclipse smiled. “Personally, I dislike mistreating prisoners. As long as you behave, you’ll have free run of this building. But don’t mistake my lenience for unlimited tolerance.”

Beside him, Cabbage suddenly burst out angrily, “Nice words! ‘Lenience’?! You just don’t dare touch us before you get ransom! Xu Yifan, don’t listen to his lies!”

She glared at Autumn Eclipse. “If you have the guts, just kill us!”

Young Master Xu’s face immediately fell. “Please, Miss... just say ‘me’—there’s no need to speak for all of us, okay?”

Cabbage paused, then growled, “Coward.”

He wasn’t offended, just replied mildly, “There’s nothing brave about an egg smashing itself against a rock. That’s not courage, that’s stupidity. Cabbage, let’s rest and save our strength.”

At that moment, Young Master Xu seemed like a different person—his eyes calm, showing none of the timidity or ingratiating smile he’d shown her at home. He even exuded a hint of the old patriarch’s steadiness.

“Sir,” he continued, smiling, “just to satisfy my curiosity... could you answer a question for me? Why me? I know I’m the Xu family’s son, but my father has several sons, and from your methods, you don’t seem like people simply after money. Why target me?”

“It’s simple. For now, your father is well protected. We don’t want a head-on confrontation.” Autumn Eclipse glanced at Chen Xiao, who was still immobilized from Alice’s toxin and could only stare helplessly.

“We don’t fear the Service Society, but we’re not reckless enough to pick a direct fight.” He frowned. “Alice, give our guest the antidote. This young man works for the Service Society. Mistreating prisoners is not the way of the gifted.”

Alice strolled up to Chen Xiao, a sweet, syrupy smile on her lips. Cabbage, seething, could only glare daggers at her.

“Hey, little one,” Alice whispered in his ear, blowing gently with a honeyed voice, “tell me, was that your first kiss? If so, big sister would be delighted.”

Chen Xiao looked a bit embarrassed, but quickly regained his composure. He glanced at her, coughed, and replied, “No... Miss, don’t you know? A man’s first kiss usually goes to a cigarette. Sorry, you’re too late.”

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