The Favors of an Esper Are Never Repaid

"Where... is this place?"

Z City, the streets were bathed in flickering neon lights as a crisp, feminine voice echoed through the thoroughfare.

A woman holding a sword and dressed in classical white robes appeared abruptly on the city street, looking around with a face full of vigilance.

The young woman's gaze was filled with curiosity about the unknown as she looked at the surrounding high-rise buildings in confusion.

The furnishings, the layout, and the various creations here were vastly different from the place she had come from.

"I clearly remember resting in the Mist Cloud Pavilion, yet when I regained my senses, I had arrived here. And now, the sky is already bright. Is this some kind of spatial displacement technique used by a sect master to toy with a junior?"

The woman's clear voice echoed through the empty street, but after a long while, no one responded.

It was early morning, and as the woman scanned her surroundings, her body vanished from the spot in an instant, without causing the slightest ripple.

At the woman's original location, the modern surveillance cameras had faithfully recorded everything.

Early in the morning, Fang Can let out a soft yawn.

Because of the time difference between the two worlds, he had been burning the midnight oil listening to stories just a moment ago, only to arrive in the present world at dawn. In a few hours, he would have to put on his backpack and head to school.

As for whether he could skip school? That was, of course, impossible!

New Nation had extremely strict laws for ordinary citizens. Even skipping class was considered a crime; if you didn't have a valid reason for leave, the police would actually show up at your door to interrogate you about what you were up to.

And if you were the type of delinquent student who skipped class repeatedly, well, congratulations—you could just wait to be put on the list for the annual Carnival Day.

In any case, New Nation truly viewed ordinary citizens as mere cogs in a machine, and no deviation or overstepping was permitted.

Perhaps this was why the Carnival Day was able to pass so easily; after all, it was the only excitement they had in their daily lives.

This country, formed after the Great Cataclysm, possessed the paranoia of Japan, the "freedom" of America, the management of North Korea, the backbone of France, the chaos of Africa, and the labor laws and academic pressure of India... It was a collection of the worst traits from everywhere, and in terms of description, it was entirely accurate.

Fang Can had heard that there were other countries in this world, not just New Nation.

However, due to restrictions on the internet and official documents, and because even textbooks were forbidden from mentioning specific details about other countries, Fang Can had always been in a state of "not knowing there was a Han, let alone the Wei or Jin," and he didn't even know the names of those countries.

Battling his heavy drowsiness, Fang Can finished washing up and changed back into his Mid-City High School uniform.

Feeling refreshed, Fang Can couldn't help but sigh; bathing in the other world was simply not as convenient as it was in the modern era, and with his slight germaphobia, he always felt like he couldn't get clean.

He gently shouldered his backpack, left the house, and squeezed onto the subway, heading toward Mid-City High School alongside the commuters.

In Class 1, Grade 12, Fang Can had just walked into the classroom when he saw several classmates engaged in a heated discussion.

After moving closer, he realized they were excitedly debating which city would be chosen for this year's Carnival and guessing which "gameplay" would be voted in.

"I voted for Sin Approval, what did you guys vote for?" a student with freckles said gleefully.

A somewhat chubby boy laughed: "I still prefer Citywide Unlimited Combat. I only discovered three years ago that the real masters are among the common folk."

"Rapid Pursuit is okay too. I've always known the rules, but it's never been voted in."

As the classmates discussed, they saw Fang Can approach and smiled: "Fang Can, what did you vote for?"

"I didn't choose," Fang Can shook his head and said dismissively: "But if I had to choose, the Human Purge Project would be pretty fun."

Hearing Fang Can's answer, the group nodded in unison, agreeing with his taste.

As they were chatting, the bell for class rang, and the group, who had just been laughing and joking, immediately composed their expressions and returned to their seats.

Not long after, a middle-aged man carrying a lesson plan walked into the classroom.

The first class today was Chinese.

"Class representative, collect the homework assigned last period. Now, everyone open your books to page seventeen."

Following the Chinese teacher's words, everyone flipped in unison to the designated page.

"Last period, we reviewed the classic article from the previous era, Zou Ji Advises the King of Qi, but you must listen even more carefully to this section, as it is the key content for the upcoming exam."

Following the teacher's lead, Fang Can looked at the content on page seventeen:

<The Unpayable Debt of the Superhuman, the Satellite Shot Down in Earth's Sub-Orbit!>

The Chinese teacher adjusted his glasses: "Now, everyone read the content of these two pages together."

At the teacher's command, everyone, including Fang Can, recited the text on the two pages in unison.

[--Late at night, after finishing his official duties, F-Superman did not rest...

Facing his attendant's consolation, F-Superman, bearing his exhausted body, said: "With great power comes great responsibility. Although we superhumans possess superior strength, it does not mean we can be lazy."

As he spoke, F-Superman looked up at the pitch-black night sky and sighed: "If only the whole world could be as peaceful as this night sky."

After speaking, F-Superman bent down, picked up a pebble from the ground, and threw it into the sky, saying: "Damn enemies!"

The next moment, the sky suddenly brightened, and a white line streaked across the pitch-black night sky, illuminating the earth like a falling star.

Facing the attendant's puzzled gaze, F-Superman explained: "This was a surveillance satellite from another evil country aimed at us. I just used my super strength to shoot it down."

What a great F-Superman! What a great superpower!

The favors owed to superpowered individuals are never-ending, superpowered individuals...]

Inside the classroom, Fang Can followed his classmates in preparing for the exams, beginning to earnestly review the knowledge they had already learned once before.

Meanwhile, following the eruption of the Energy Tide, the New Nation had secretly entered a state of emergency alert.

Across the hundreds of cities throughout the New Nation, all cities located near the Energy Tide were undergoing strict inspections.

With the modern society's information network spread out and various pieces of intelligence converging, the investigation uncovered suspicious activity within just a few hours.

Inside the Dragon Group, which was composed entirely of superpowered individuals in the New Nation, a middle-aged man with a scar on his face looked over the gathered data.

His right hand tapped lightly against the wooden tabletop as his gaze remained fixed on the video clips before him.

During this period, more than a dozen humans dressed in ancient costumes, varying in age, gender, and appearance, had suddenly appeared within the surveillance range at the exact moment the Energy Tide erupted.

Thinking of a certain hypothesis, the middle-aged man couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth: "Twin World? Is there really such a thing? Interesting, truly interesting."

Having thought this, the middle-aged man spoke up: "Have the people from the Dragon Group make a trip and capture all of these... humans in the video."