The Global Era of Superpowers

Long County, Haicheng.

Haicheng University, Xigang Campus, School of Biology, Class 1, Life Engineering.

Inside the spacious and bright classroom, students chatted and laughed in small groups, or watched videos and played games on their phones.

"Jiang Luo has made a new prophecy!"

A male student with freckles on his face exclaimed in surprise.

"On June 18th, a meteorite with a diameter exceeding two kilometers will collide with Earth!"

"Damn it, it's two kilometers in diameter. Maybe we need to restart our civilization."

Jiang Luo is revered by netizens as a prophetic goddess, and all six of her previous prophecies have come true.

The classroom fell silent instantly.

After a few seconds of silence, one student said, "What are you afraid of? We still have the Genius Council. They're said to be full of S-class ability users. It's just a meteorite, what's the big deal?"

"That's all made up by netizens for fun; it doesn't exist at all. If you ask me, it's better to rely on yourself than on others. It's a dog-eat-dog world; only the strong deserve to live."

A burly male student raised his right fist and waved it, then looked at a thin boy wearing glasses sitting in the corner of the last row, and deliberately raised his voice, saying, "If disaster really comes, being good at studying won't help. We're all trash, and we'll all die!"

The boy named Zite was completely absorbed in the data on the tablet, oblivious to everything around him.

A petite girl vanished in a flash, then reappeared behind the big guy and patted him on the back of the head.

"Zheng Xinjian, you may be a D-level strength-type ability user, but that's a meteorite. You know what a meteorite is, right? Wake up!"

The big guy curled his lip and said, "I can't do anything about meteorites, but aren't you the same? Teleporting is nothing special. If you could teleport out of Earth, I'd kowtow to you right now."

The teleporting girl wanted to retort, but was interrupted by the handsome class monitor.

"If disaster really strikes, as someone with superpowers, in addition to saving myself, I must also protect ordinary people without superpowers."

"Especially those students who don't have special abilities but are very good at studying. After all, they are recognized geniuses by the academy and the future elites of the Federation."

As he spoke, the squad leader glanced meaningfully at Qi Te.

"The class monitor is right," the petite girl echoed with admiration.

A figure rushed into the classroom from outside, arriving beside Qi Te with such speed that it almost left a blur. Before he could even catch his breath, he had already helped his best friend confront the attacker.

"Cao Yingchong, why don't you change your name? I think 'Lemon Spirit' would suit you perfectly."

"Ji Chenyu, what did you say?" The teleporting woman immediately became unhappy.

"none of your business."

Ji Chenyu ignored the infatuated girl and took out his phone from his pocket.

Ding!

"Your 57 orders have all been completed. We are now processing your payment."

Ji Chenyu casually tossed his half-long hair that was covering his eyes, took out two cups of milk tea from the delivery box, and handed one to Qi Te.

"Successfully timed the move, hehe~"

Qi Te glanced at the time on the computer: 15:09, one minute left before class started.

"You're working way too hard, squeezing every last drop out of your ten-minute break between classes."

"My academic genius brother, with your grades and Lao Liu's favoritism towards you, your spot in the doctoral program is definitely secure this time. You'll be promoted immediately after graduation. As for a mediocre student like me, graduation means unemployment. I'll take advantage of the less competition in the college and earn whatever I can."

Ji Chenyu took off the vest with the "Flying Legs" logo, took a big sip of his milk tea, sat comfortably in a chair, and took out his phone to settle his payment.

"Why is there no signal? Is the school network down? Wait, I have enough data..."

Qi Te finally looked up from the computer, glanced at the label on the milk tea cup, and frowned, saying, "22 yuan, that's so expensive. Don't buy it for me next time."

"I ran into Senior Sister Wanwan when I was picking up my order at the bubble tea shop. She bought it especially for you, and I didn't spend a penny, plus I got a free cup." Ji Chenyu said with a sly grin, lowering his voice, "Tell me honestly, are you two dating?"

Qi Te said expressionlessly, "My senior sister asked me for some experimental data last week, just to express her gratitude."

"Senior Sister Wanwan is the most beautiful girl in the department. So many people are eager to buy her milk tea, but what about you?" Ji Chenyu shook his head in exasperation. "Seriously, are you even a carbon-based life form? You spend all your time in the lab, tinkering with those dizzying amounts of data. You're nothing special."

"First of all, from a biological perspective and by universal aesthetic standards, my senior sister is indeed an impeccable beauty. Secondly, I have tested my own various values, and they completely match all the characteristics of carbon-based organisms."

Qi Te adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "Finally, I'm a non-superhuman, which puts me at a natural disadvantage. The only thing I can rely on is hard work; otherwise, how will I compete with you superhumans in the future?"

......................

In the global era of superpowers, humans are in an awakening period between the ages of 16 and 18, and everyone has the potential to awaken. Once someone is over 18 and has not awakened superpowers, they will be stuck as an ordinary person for the rest of their life.

Latest data shows that nearly 70% of federal citizens possess supernatural abilities.

However, most people still can't escape the monotonous nine-to-five grind. After all, having superpowers doesn't guarantee financial freedom. Superpowers like turning stones into gold are, while not entirely impossible, certainly extremely rare.

The world hasn't become a better place just because there are more people with superpowers, and the vast majority of them haven't seen their value skyrocket. Of course, reaching level C in ability, or having an ability that matches your chosen profession, can give you an absolute advantage.

For example, elemental ability users can become firefighters without taking an exam if they have fire-type abilities, and engage in fishing or underwater salvage if they have water-type abilities, and so on.

Rare talents include those with telepathic abilities, chosen lie detectors, surgeons with X-ray vision, perfumers with an extraordinary sense of smell, paparazzi with exceptional hearing, and so on...

The most common physical ability users, those who reach Rank D, can enlist without taking an exam. Rank C users are highly sought after by the military or investigation agencies.

Ji Chenyu's superpower is speed, but unfortunately, he was rated D-level in all three tests. His maximum speed is 1 meters per second, but he can only maintain it for 10 seconds, otherwise his heart cannot withstand it.

He's 21 years old and has a lot of potential for growth, but for now, he can only deliver food.

Ordinary people who haven't awakened any abilities either end up doing low-level jobs or getting stuck in a cycle of poverty until they die.

"That's true." Ji Chenyu glanced at his best friend with a hint of sympathy.

Senior Sister Wanwan is a healing-type ability user. Although Qi Te has an exceptionally strong learning ability and is quite good-looking, ability users usually don't marry those without abilities. After all, even if they don't consider themselves, they have to think about their offspring.

In the global era of superpowers, everyone hopes their children can integrate multiple superpower genes and have a stronger competitive edge.

"Why hasn't Professor Liu arrived yet?" Qi Te looked at the classroom door, frowning in surprise.

Ji Zhenyu glanced at the time on the tablet: "It really is, it's been 5 minutes already. Old Liu is late! Where did the sun rise today?"

Qi Te frowned slightly, a strange unease rising in his heart.

Professor Liu Baichuan is an anomaly at Ocean University of China. He has no special abilities, but he is a genius in scientific research.

He has published numerous groundbreaking papers in the field of biology. The Oasis, the premier bioengineering institute in the federal government, extended an offer to him three times, but he rejected them all.

The reasons given were: "The pork ribs stir-fried with rice cakes in Haicheng are delicious, my students like me very much, and the treatment that Haicheng University gives me is something you can't afford."

According to Qi Te's understanding of this mentor, the first one is guaranteed to be genuine, while the latter two are pure nonsense.

In the lab, Old Liu was stern and unsmiling, devoid of emotion. In the classroom, however, he was humorous and eloquent. The former was his own opinion, but in reality, most students were thoroughly fed up with this old man who loved to run overtime.

The college had stopped funding the lab, so Lao Liu went to the dean's office and threw a tantrum. Unable to afford the equipment, the dean simply shrugged and said there was no more funding this time, so Lao Liu went to the Ministry of Education to complain. He even followed the mayor around, eating and drinking for almost a month, successfully breaking the mayor's spirits and securing the equipment funding.

Professor Liu's temperament is eccentric and hard to describe, but he is always very punctual, even when he is sick...

Qi Te recalled that he had never seen Professor Liu sick. In short, Professor Liu couldn't have been late without a reason.

"I hope nothing bad has happened to Lao Liu."

"Hey, Coach Liu is annoying, but don't say it like that..."

The students whispered among themselves and took out their phones to check for group messages.

"Hey, why is there no signal? What's going on?"

"My phone has no signal either..."

Squad leader Cao Yingchong stood up and said, "Qi Te, go check on Instructor Liu's office..."

Before he could finish speaking, a loud 'bang' was heard.

A figure suddenly flew in from outside the door, knocking over the podium.

All the students immediately stood up, then stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

Then Professor Liu Baichuan was seen sprawled out on the ground.

Seeing Lao Liu's disheveled appearance, some students couldn't help but laugh out loud.

However, the next second, everyone was stunned.

A group of armed men dressed in combat uniforms, wearing masks, and carrying live ammunition stormed into the classroom.

Immediately afterwards, a slender man in a black suit walked to the podium.

The man raised his hand and waved, and Liu Baichuan floated up in place like a puppet on a string.

"Calm down, don't yell."

"I hate noise!"