After hearing the answer Leon provided, although no one spoke up, the previously tense atmosphere noticeably relaxed.
As for the middle-aged man who had already started to doubt Leon's identity, even though the suspicion in his eyes had not completely disappeared, his expression softened a bit as he smiled and said, "Correct answer... Young Baskin, I hope you won't blame me for being overly cautious. After all, I am the leader and responsible for the safety of many people.
"And you were just an ordinary person yesterday, but after a little night breeze, you suddenly awakened an abnormal ability. This transformation is indeed a bit too quick, so just in case, the necessary tests can't be skipped."
Knowing there was no way to argue with the middle-aged man on such matters, Leon nodded calmly and replied casually, then directly asked as if nothing had happened, "Leader, as you just said, until yesterday, I was just a regular member and not familiar with everyone. Could you please introduce them to me?"
The middle-aged man nodded, then looked at the burn-scarred man beside Leon and said at a steady pace, "Sitting next to you is Teague, whom you already know, then there's Luke, Oliver, Phoebe, and Lucy..."
After simply reporting everyone's names and completing an introduction that couldn't have been more basic, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "As for everyone's abilities and so on, explaining them one by one is indeed a bit troublesome, and since there's a very important matter to discuss later, let's skip it for now. You can find them later on your own to learn more."
Later, go learn on my own...
Most of these people didn't seem to be in the valley; they each had other hidden identities. Where am I supposed to learn? So after all this, the only thing I get is a bunch of possibly fake names?
*With an expression of slight speechlessness, Leon watched as the middle-aged man shifted his focus, introducing him to the others:*
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Young Baskin, originally responsible for resource procurement in the organization, but awakened his abnormal ability yesterday and thus joined us.
"By the way, Young Baskin, what is your ability like? Mind sharing?"
*So, I went through all this trouble to infiltrate, not only to gain no intelligence but also to be probed for information?*
Leon squinted slightly as he looked at the middle-aged man, who clearly had already begun to be wary of him, then nodded amid the curious gazes of the rebels and revealed, "Of course, I can. My ability is quite simple, really. As long as the conditions are met, I can make anyone bow to me."
Make anyone bow to you? What kind of crazy ability is that?
Upon hearing Leon's words, everyone, including the inquisitive middle-aged man, was momentarily stunned. After not hearing further explanation, the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask, "And then?"
Leon shook his head slightly, saying with an honest expression, "That's all... or at least that's all I've discovered so far."
*Seeing the honest expression of "Young Baskin," and confirming he wasn't joking around, all the rebels inside the room exchanged glances, not knowing what to say for a moment.*
"Your ability... is quite unique..."
The middle-aged man gave "Young Baskin" a skeptical look, pondered briefly, then continued to ask, "So, how long can your ability last? How far can it take effect? How long between each use?"
Oh, right! These, too!
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's questions, the disappointed rebels inside the room suddenly regained interest.
Forcing others to bow sounded useless, but if it could compel someone to bow from several kilometers away all day, or continuously, it might not be entirely without merit.
As long as the conditions were right and used properly, such a seemingly useless anomalous object might have miraculous effects at critical moments!
"In terms of duration..."
Under the expectant eyes of the rebels, Leon thought for a moment and then answered, "It's about one bow; once bowed, it ends."
"The range must be face-to-face, about the size of a slightly larger room; further than that, it doesn't work."
"There aren't any intervals, but the ability requires persuading the other with words; if they don't let me finish speaking, they don't have to bow to me."
*Well, that's rather useless...*
*Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, the rebels couldn't help but show extremely speechless expressions after hearing about this seemingly useless yet thoroughly futile ability.*
To be honest, Young Baskin's lousy ability seemed less effective than a nail gun.
*Not only did it have to be face-to-face, and its effect was just one bow. With that time, you might as well pull out a gun and shoot them outright, wouldn't it be faster?*
And... what does it mean by persuading with words?
"That's literally what it means."
After the middle-aged man, on behalf of the rebels inside the room, asked this question, Leon "honestly" BS'd, "For instance, if I wanted to make everyone bow to me, I have to first find a way to convince you, make you sincerely agree with my viewpoint, then you would enter the range of my ability and bow to me according to my demand."