Official Website

On the ability panel derived from "Restraint Belt Detection," Su Zimai's Superhuman Species category was listed as "Exorcist."

Ji Minghuan remembered that when he had created his game character, the system had mentioned that there were three major Superhuman Species in the world.

At the time, he had only encountered two species—Espers and Anecdote Envoys. It seemed the final piece of the puzzle had now been filled in: the last Superhuman Species was the Exorcist.

"Heavenly Drive," a power unique to Exorcists. Judging from its description, it seemed they could grow stronger by making contracts with demons. But what exactly were demons? Could humans other than Exorcists see them?

Probably not. Otherwise, how could one explain the fact that, all these years, Espers had been the only Superhuman Species in the public eye?

"Forget it... I can hear the Instructor's introduction to 'Exorcists' and 'Anecdote Envoys' tomorrow anyway. There's no need to waste time sorting it out myself."

With that thought, Ji Minghuan dismissed his lingering train of thought, opened the browser on his phone, and tapped the Official Website of the Esper Association Chinese Branch.

The screen flashed white, then a dark-blue login page popped up. In the center was a large line of text: "Welcome to the Esper Association Official Website," with an English line beside it: "Welcome to the Superhuman Association."

The Association's Official Website then came into view. Its background was still dark blue, and it had so many sections that it was dizzying.

The homepage automatically played greeting videos recorded by popular Espers. Even Blue Arc was among them. The purpose was to make the site feel more approachable—at a glance, users could always spot an Esper they liked. In this era, their fame surpassed that of any internet idol.

Ji Minghuan casually scanned the page layout, then tapped the top of the webpage. A chart of the Esper ranking system established by the United Nations popped up before him.

According to the danger level of Espers, the chart ranked them from highest to lowest as follows:

T0 Sequence: Restricted Class (According to Esper Association statistics, only one Restricted Superhuman had ever appeared in history. That Restricted Superhuman had been confirmed dead. Their information was strictly confidential and would not be made public.)

T1 Sequence: Calamity Grade (Standard for this grade: "Rainbow Wing Members"—only Espers who had reached Calamity Grade in the Association's ability assessment were qualified to enter the candidate list for Rainbow Wing membership.)

T2 Sequence: Dragon Grade (The backbone of the Esper Association.)

T3 Sequence: Chief Grade (The cream of the Esper crop.)

T4 Sequence: Quasi Grade (Stronger than Harmless Grade, but Espers whose overall abilities were relatively mediocre.)

T5 Sequence: Harmless Grade (Espers at this grade possessed harmless abilities. Their personal freedom would not be restricted by the authorities, and they could do the same jobs as ordinary people. Example: an ability that turned one's hair into "spinning bamboo-copters.")

"Only one Restricted Superhuman in history, and they're already dead... Could they be talking about me?" Ji Minghuan shrugged. "My life in that laboratory was barely any different from being dead."

Then another thought occurred to him. If the Restricted Superhuman on the Official Website really is me, then were those people at the laboratory truly from the Esper Association?

If that really is the truth, then the day I go to war with the laboratory's researchers, wouldn't that be the same as declaring war on the United Nations? When that happens, Rainbow Wing's twelve Calamity-Grade Superhumans will definitely come to stop me.

Would I really have to take them on alone while under the effects of suppressants? Honestly, that sounds dicey. Maybe... I should find a way to bring this whole family in as muscle?

If I make good use of my identity as their "fake family," guiding them won't be difficult. Besides... because of Mother's death, they already harbor hostility toward Rainbow Wing. That would make it even easier to get them onto the same side. And if I include the people they can call in for help, that should be a force not to be underestimated.

At that thought, Ji Minghuan glanced at Gu Qiye's back, then searched the Official Website's "Esper Archive" with great interest for his dear older brother's Esper codename—"Blue Arc."

The screen flickered, and the search results quickly appeared.

He opened Blue Arc's file and saw that it did not mention Gu Qiye's real name or identity. It only listed his height, measurements, the apparent effects of his ability, and his status within the Esper Association.

Blue Arc was an A-rank Esper, already the highest rank of Esper. Above that were S-rank Espers, who could also be called Rainbow Wing Members. In other words, Gu Qiye might be only one step away from being recommended into the Rainbow Wing organization.

But that single step might also take a very long time to cross.

At such a crucial juncture, a bizarre figure like Black Cocoon, who knew all his secrets, had suddenly appeared. No wonder Gu Qiye had been so tense last night.

Ji Minghuan lowered his gaze to Blue Arc's sequence rating. Four conspicuous words were written in the sequence column: "Quasi-Calamity Grade" (meaning he had not yet fully reached Calamity Grade, but had already touched its threshold).

The Association's estimated potential for him was "Calamity Grade." In other words, through training, Blue Arc was very likely to advance to the Calamity-Grade sequence in the future.

After thinking for a moment, Ji Minghuan also searched for the evil Esper who had severely injured Blue Arc last night—Ghost Bell.

The file that appeared showed a figure wearing a Z-shaped Breathing Mask engraved in metal and draped in a long black cloak. Cold, sinister light gleamed in his blood-red pupils.

This was Ghost Bell's usual appearance as an Esper criminal. He was unquestionably an S-Rank Wanted Criminal of the Association. The United Nations had given him the same sequence rating—"Quasi-Calamity Grade"—putting him at the same level as Blue Arc.

"Since my older brother is currently at the same level as him, how did he get beaten so badly... Was it because he didn't understand Ghost Bell's ability?"

Thinking this, Ji Minghuan looked again at Ghost Bell's ability. The Official Website's records contained only a vague partial description: Ghost Bell's ability seemed to create a massive clock tower behind him, along with a gigantic humanoid shadow. Its exact function was not written in the file.

Ghost Bell's ability mechanism seemed extremely complicated, with varied manifestations. Even though Association personnel had encountered him many times, they had yet to fully figure out the patterns of his ability.

At that moment, Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow as a thought suddenly struck him. "Then let's see what tier our rising star Black Cocoon is at."

He opened the Official Website's "Wild Superhumans" section and browsed through it. Before long, he found the file of the Esper who had only made his debut last night—Black Cocoon—among the newly added records.

The file photo showed a black insect cocoon hanging upside down beneath a billboard. When he opened it, it changed into a tall, slender figure wearing a pitch-black mask and a black swallowtail windbreaker. The copy of "The Stranger" in his hands had also been captured with perfect clarity.

Resting his chin on his hand, Ji Minghuan scrolled through the page and looked at the sequence rating the United Nations had officially assigned to Black Cocoon.