[This book has no heroine, everything is as it was at the beginning, and the story continues.]
Stars twinkled, and the Black Mist descended.
The dark night was eternally silent, and taboos bred.
Sixteen years ago, a blood-red meteorite cut across the dawn, and the human-known world suffered erosion from the Black Mist; no one knew what terrifying unknown entities the meteorite had actually drawn in.
Yet from that day onward, the world suffered the invasion of bizarre creatures...
A black night.
A balcony glimmered with faint firelight.
A youth with handsome features lay on an old rocking chair; he held an eight-fold paper fan, shaking it leisurely, and gazed with a hint of nonchalance at the red Moon hanging in the sky, murmuring,
"Mhm... I shouldn't have rented this place."
"Cutting off the power every other day is truly a bit torturous."
However, it was merely a complaint; he just rocked the rocking chair so leisurely. At this moment, a gust of breeze blew over and completely extinguished the faint light of the single lit candle.
He fell into deep contemplation—perhaps he really ought to find another place to live.
In the scorching summer, without the support of electricity, he would be steamed to a crisp lying in bed.
"Forget it... I'll go take a look tomorrow when I have time... Sigh." Letting out a sigh, a breeze brushed across his cheek as he pondered the housing issue in this manner, and he slowly fell asleep lying in the rocking chair.
Until a burning sensation on his skin the next day caused him to wake up abruptly.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he looked at the dilapidated, hanging old clock in the rundown house, his gaze turning extremely solemn.
"Crap, I'm going to be late!"
Magic City.
Inside an exceptionally magnificent academy, a youth sprinted through the already deserted academy grounds like a phantom.
Class 163.
A man wearing a suit and gold-rimmed glasses stood on the podium, looking with an expression of utmost seriousness at the slouching students below, somewhat helpless.
After all, it was early in the morning, and most students did not go to sleep that early every night; their energy was never placed on studying.
Just as he was deep in thought, a shout of "Reporting" interrupted his train of thought.
Outside the door, a youth was wiping the sweat streaming down his head, panting heavily, that pair of eyes looking at him with a seemingly apologetic expression.
The teacher was silent for a few seconds, his expression neither happy nor sad, and finally squeezed out a sentence.
"Come in, there won't be a next time."
The youth was stunned for a few seconds, appearing somewhat shocked, and hurriedly walked into the classroom, finding his exclusive window-seat; sitting down was accomplished in one smooth motion.
Perhaps even he himself had not expected that he would be able to sit down so peacefully today.
The teacher continued with his previous words, yet he seemed to repeat what he had said before all over again.
"Sixteen years ago, a blood-red meteorite landed on the world we inhabit; from that day onward, our world underwent a drastic change."
"Yet no matter how the government at that time searched for that meteorite, it vanished without a trace."
"A shroud of Black Mist likewise descended upon the present entire world, completely swallowing all nations previously beyond our borders, so that now the whole world has only our Xia Kingdom..."
The teacher's words caused many students to grow drowsy, because this sentence was something the teacher had to lecture on every single day; they had long since heard it countless times, and could even recite it backwards.
The youth sitting by the window was staring blankly out the window at the bright sunlight, which made him feel very unreal.
At this moment, a voice interrupted the dazed youth.
"Hey... Hey... Li Chen, why did you arrive so late today?"
Naturally, Li Chen knew who it was, and immediately turned his head to look over. He did not speak, but instead used his gaze to point toward the teacher on the podium, signaling to talk after class.
Yet at this moment, a stern reprimand rang out.
"Li Chen! Still daydreaming during class, right?"
"That gaze of yours is about to drift up to the heavens; did you think I couldn't see?"
"Get out and stand, the matter of being late just now will be punished together!"
Li Chen's expression carried a hint of bewilderment, but he still familiarly stood up and walked outside; clearly, this was not his first time.
As for the desk-mate who had spoken to him, he was currently trying to suppress a smile, burying his head very low as if everything had nothing to do with him.
However, the teacher's words were not yet finished.
"And you, Suzhe, get out and stand as well. Did you think I didn't see you sneaking a bite of a steamed bun just now?"
Su Zhe was Li Chen's desk-mate separated by an aisle. His expression held a hint of shock, and after lingering in a daze for a few seconds, he hurriedly opened his mouth to explain.
"Teacher, I didn't eat any baozi. Those were mantou!"
His words made the whole class burst out laughing. Even the teacher was left with a black line across his face.
"I suggest you go outside now, or else..."
And so, the two hapless companions stood outside the window, silently watching.
Su Zhe pursed his lips, looking unconvinced. He whispered, "How do you think he saw me eating mantou?"
"I feel like I didn't give myself away!"
Li Chen didn't respond. At that moment, his thoughts had wandered off somewhere.
"Hey... hey... Chen-ge, don't scare me. You haven't been brainwashed, have you? You're still listening to the lesson?"
After a while, Su Zhe's incessant chatter finally interrupted Li Chen's thoughts.
Li Chen frowned and glanced at the chubby boy beside him. "I'm thinking about what to do about housing next."
"Housing?" Su Zhe asked curiously. Why did he need to find a place to live?
Li Chen explained helplessly, "Mm... I need to find a place."
"Maybe it's because summer's coming. The electricity usage in my neighborhood is pretty high, so the power at my place keeps cutting out. You should know how awful that is in summer."
"If only I could awaken an ice-type ability."
With a sigh, Li Chen could only shake his head helplessly. Just awakening an ability would already be a good thing. He wasn't about to hope for an ice-type ability; as long as he awakened something, that would be enough.
Feeling the temperature rise under the morning sun, Su Zhe knew how miserable it was to be without power in summer. He asked,
"Why not stay at my place? My house is pretty big, and my parents aren't home lately. We could make do together."
Li Chen shook his head and politely declined. He didn't like staying at other people's homes. It gave him an inexplicable sense of danger, and he didn't like troubling others. That was just the way he was.
Li Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "Don't worry, I still have somewhere to stay. At least I won't end up on the streets. By the way, have you felt that power inside you awakening lately?"
"I've seen quite a few people in class awaken already."
Awakening was a new stage in humanity's evolution. That was why he'd just said he wanted to awaken an ice-type ability. Though technology was still advancing in this world, the mainstream had long since changed: people now sought to awaken the power within their bodies. It had all started after the meteorite fell...
Su Zhe could only smile wryly and pat his round belly. "I haven't felt anything unusual in my body. I've just had a bigger appetite lately. I used to be full after ten baozi, but now I need a few more mantou. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been eating mantou just now."
Li Chen didn't find anything unusual about Su Pangzi's appetite. Fat people really did eat a little more than ordinary people.
Li Chen looked toward the classroom and chuckled softly. "Maybe you'll awaken a talent for being a foodie. At least that'd be a lot better than being ordinary."
In this world, having a talent and not having one were two entirely different things. Those with talent were called Sequence Users, and they held very high status. Some companies even hired only Sequence Users.
Su Zhe naturally knew about this kind of talent. He frowned, looking thoroughly disgusted. "Ugh, a foodie? I'm already this fat. If I awaken that kind of talent, I'll be screwed!"
Clearly, he didn't want to awaken a foodie talent, though his current situation seemed to fit.
A foodie meant exactly what it sounded like.
It was a completely useless talent. Better not to awaken at all.
The corners of Li Chen's mouth curled up slightly. He found Su Zhe's expression amusing, then looked toward the sunlit corridor, seemingly in a better mood.
Although Sequence Users—superhumans—had emerged in this world, the law hadn't been completely overturned. People were still people, and cities were still cities. The world was simply different now.
After a moment of silence...
Then Li Chen suddenly looked at a wisp of energy floating above Su Zhe's head and smiled. "Maybe you'll awaken a pretty good ability?"
"Believe in yourself. Believe in the future."
In an instant, Su Zhe's downcast face filled with hope again. That was right... he hadn't awakened yet, so what was there to fear? If it was a foodie talent, he'd rather be an ordinary person. He hoped his father would become a dragon.