Facing Barbie's aggressive gaze, Luoshu remained unruffled.
Although the Foundation could be problematic in some aspects, it at least followed rules—it wouldn't take coercive measures based solely on suspicion.
This was precisely why "God" had repeatedly resorted to underhanded tactics rather than using the O5 Council's authority to crush Luoshu outright.
At present, Luoshu's Hume level was somewhat abnormal, but not outrageous.
His reading didn't even reach the threshold of a Tier 1 reality bender—at most, it could be considered a strong "aura."
The term "aura" originally stemmed from Eastern philosophy and Taoism, where it was written as "炁场" (Qi Field), referring to the fundamental energy of the universe—as in the Taoist saying, "One Qi transforms into the Three Pure Ones."
Later, as Taoist mysticism was dismissed by materialist dialectics, "炁" was replaced with the homophonous "气" (qi), and "aura" gradually became a scientific concept.
Those who enjoy psychological tests have likely heard of Dr. Phil.
Dr. Phil McGraw, a renowned psychologist in the New World, ranked 9th on Forbes' Celebrity 100 list in 2019.
He said: "An aura can be attraction, magic, or even a kind of mystical energy spell. It ensures people's eyes are always drawn to you, making you the center of attention no matter what you do."
Indeed, according to modern psychological theory, "aura" (Aura) describes the invisible energy emitted by a person, reflecting their grasp of natural laws.
Doesn't this "grasp" share similarities with the Hume Index?
For every point increase in an individual's Hume level, the environmental Hume level weakens by one.
The more you "grasp" (or rather, plunder) the laws of nature, the stronger your "aura" becomes.
Thus, Luoshu realized: "Aura is just a diluted form of reality bending."
Every person with a powerful aura is a potential reality bender.
Every influential figure possesses a strong "aura" and, to some extent, could be considered a reality bender.
Their words and actions shape the world—just not as directly as the Foundation-defined reality benders. Their influence is more subtle.
Therefore, in a way, Luoshu's current Hume level of 105 might not be a side effect of Evolution Distortion—it could simply be his innate "aura."
If everyone with a Hume level of 105 had to be contained, then most prominent figures in society would end up in Foundation custody.
As he pondered the concept of "aura," Luoshu suddenly felt he was one step closer to the truth of the world.
"Qi is the origin of the world, and reality benders are fighting this world for that origin!"
That's why powerful reality benders could destroy the world with ease.
Was this part of the truth?
And what role did SCP-343 ("God") play in all this?
He possessed an extraordinarily high individual Hume level yet never eroded the surrounding reality. Worse, he actively participated in the Foundation's behind-the-scenes operations.
Was he the world's guardian?
But if so—why would a guardian of the world target a nobody like me?
Luoshu remained skeptical.
Enough digressing. Back to the matter at hand.
Regardless of what his Hume level of 105 signified, the facts were clear:
Through his surveillance system, Luoshu knew Omega-12 had estimated his individual Hume level at 350 during last night's incident.
That was all he needed.
Individual Hume levels couldn't be altered or concealed—whatever the reading was, that was the truth.
Take "God," for example. He could suppress his influence on the environment, but he couldn't hide his individual Hume level.
Or consider the Tier 6 reality benders—the true deities. Though they could annihilate the world with a gesture, they could restrain their energy to avoid distorting their surroundings.
Yet, a god is still a god—their individual Hume levels would be unmistakable under a Kant Counter.
In short:
Environmental Hume levels could be controlled.
Individual Hume levels could not—this was Foundation consensus.
Thus, since Luoshu's current reading was only 105, it meant he couldn't be the reality bender from last night.
With this logic, Luoshu met Barbie's gaze unflinchingly.
Even with her dual intuition as both a woman and a reality bender, she had no grounds to contain him.
After a tense staring contest, Barbie finally relented.
She was here to capture a reality bender, not to compete in a glaring match.
However, she didn't give up entirely.
After leaving the dice-rolling chamber, Barbie:
Continued searching Area-14 for traces of the reality bender.
Sent a team to Site-19 to verify whether the Energy Hourglass could indeed affect a person's individual Hume level.
A day later, both investigations concluded.
In Area-14, with Luoshu slipping through their fingers, Omega-12 found no sign of the reality bender.
At Site-19, research on the Energy Hourglass hit a snag:
The artifact required two weeks to recharge after each use.
Currently, its sand had turned gray—it wouldn't be usable for a while.
This was thanks to Site-19 researchers, who immediately experimented every time the device activated, leaving it perpetually drained.
The only silver lining?
Those who had used the Energy Hourglass exhibited elevated individual Hume levels—consistent with Luoshu's situation.
But as previously mentioned, "aura" was common. Slight deviations from the baseline Hume level of 100 were normal—some people had "strong qi," others "weak qi."
Luoshu's reading of 105 was on the higher end, comparable to social elites.
By contrast, researchers at Site-19 who had interacted with the Energy Hourglass ranged between 101-103.
Moreover, Omega-12 only measured their current Hume levels—they had no data on how quickly these levels decayed or if they remained stable.
Thus, it was impossible to draw definitive conclusions from this limited test.
In the end, Omega-12's operation yielded no results.
They had come—and left—empty-handed.