Travel

The initiation and Holy Son Pill distribution ceremony concluded perfectly. A banquet was scheduled for the evening at the winery, but some impatient guests had already found excuses to leave, eager to return and report to their families.

They believed that starting today, the Hirosue family would leverage their early investment in the Holy Infant Society to return to the ranks of the top-tier families.

Most guests remained; gatherings that brought together so many elites from various industries were rare, and they felt that networking and meeting new people could never be a bad thing.

The five individuals who had consumed the pills today were undoubtedly the focus of the entire room.

The two from the Special Affairs Bureau were shielded by their companions and had apologized to Nakai Hayato to leave early, while the two elderly men were heads of major conglomerates; only a select few were qualified to converse with them as equals.

At this moment, they stood in the center of the banquet hall, whispering about something unknown. Those of insufficient status dared not approach, fearing that even the slightest dissatisfaction from these figures could lead to the ruin of their own families.

With that in mind, everyone's gaze inevitably shifted toward Jamie Walton, the second son of the Walton Family heir.

No one knew how much the Walton Family had paid for this spot, but as long as he stepped into the transcendent realm, all previous investments would be worth it.

People already knew that the most basic function of the Holy Son Pill was to cure all diseases and extend one's lifespan.

Beyond that, the most commonly awakened ability was "Super-Density Defense." Stronger manifestations included Toyokawa Jousei's special life-saving ability, as well as Nakai Hayato's immense offensive and defensive power.

Information that was difficult for ordinary people to access was no secret to them.

Now, many were curious about what ability Walton had awakened.

If it were merely a common defensive ability, they wouldn't consider him to have truly entered the transcendent ranks; after all, that was an ability almost everyone gained upon taking the pill, lacking offensive power and failing to stop high-powered firearms like rifles or sniper rifles.

Consequently, people from several friendly families kept trying to fish for information.

"Oh, thank you, Holy Infant. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will speak of it, but for now, please let me keep it confidential. My spot was secured by my family, so I must consult with them regarding all of this."

Facing probes from all sides, Walton seemed indifferent to their opinions, refusing to budge and deflecting everything by claiming he needed to discuss it with his family first.

The local red wine, which he had previously looked down upon, now seemed to have a uniquely wonderful taste as he swirled and sipped it.

This was a level of attention he had never received before, but he was well aware of where everything he had came from.

Therefore, he would not be foolish enough to cast aside the family that provided such immense support at this moment.

However, if he ever had the chance to truly rely on the Holy Infant Society and gain even more transcendent abilities, he would likely abandon his family without hesitation.

"President, perhaps we can win him over."

Nobuo Hirosue glanced at Jamie Walton, the center of attention, and whispered to Nakai Hayato beside him.

"No need. The Holy Infant does not care for such things. Believers will receive the blessings of believers, and traitors will suffer the tribulations of traitors."

His time with the Holy Infant and the Ninth Guardian had taught him that the Holy Infant held an attitude that the Holy Infant Society itself could be discarded at any time. To continue serving the Holy Infant, one had to demonstrate their own value.

His hypothesis was that the more people who awakened abilities, the more the Holy Infant would be pleased.

Therefore, his next step was to organize various team-building activities for the society that hovered on the edge of life and death, just as he had achieved his own breakthrough while surrounded by heavy fire.

For this batch of people who joined through interest-based exchanges, Nakai Hayato's policy was neither to reject nor welcome them; if they wanted to become core members, they had to demonstrate loyalty to the Holy Infant.

Meanwhile, the Special Affairs Bureau had already begun testing the abilities of their two colleagues.

"Takashima Yumi's ability, in addition to 'Super-Density Defense,' includes 'Super Strength.' Her performance is very similar to that of Sato Tomomi back then; she is strong in both power and defense, truly a super-soldier like those in films."

"Nishikido Jun's ability is quite interesting. Aside from defense, his strength has doubled. Of course, such an increase is quite small for a transcendent, so I suspect this is an effect brought about by his other ability."

"I have tentatively named it 'Sword Saint.' Specifically, Nishikido Jun has acquired terrifying proficiency with bladed weapons. It is no exaggeration to say that once he grips a hilt, he becomes a different person. His offensive and survival capabilities have greatly increased; even bullets cannot escape his eyes."

"He is truly a contemporary Sword Saint!"

Both Special Affairs Bureau personnel who took the pill had awakened skills with decent combat capabilities, which brought a great sigh of relief to Kuroki Niizumi, who had screened and submitted the list.

Upon learning of this, the Minister of Defense called specifically to praise her performance and ordered that the two, along with Toyokawa Jousei, be officially formed into a Special Assault Force to train their combat awareness and coordination, aiming to curb the increasingly frequent transcendent chaos.

Toyokawa Jousei faced hellish special training once again.

What they did not know was that the source of all transcendent chaos in Tokyo, the mastermind behind the Holy Infant Society, the master of playing both sides, and the beloved father whom the Supreme Saintess could not forget—Shiraishi Wataru—was preparing to slip away to America for a vacation.

Yes, his primary goal was tourism, his secondary goal was to see if the vibrant New York City held any hidden talents, and his tertiary goal was to conduct a trivial little experiment.

Ever since he gained the "Demon Declaration" ability, he had been eager to test what would happen if he used this declaration on inanimate objects.

Through his experiments during this period, he learned that the larger the size or energy of an entity, the greater the evil intent it could carry, and naturally, the higher the threshold.

Take the sun, for example: the moment he raised the thought of declaring the sun a demon, his temples began to throb, warning him not to court death.

If he actually declared it, the cost would likely fall directly upon him, to the point where even rescue would be impossible.

Stepping back to other planets, his heart would still receive warnings; the evil intent had not crossed the threshold, and the declaration would surely fail.

Through these mental probes, he discovered that he could judge whether the "existence" he wanted to declare could become a demon, and whether it posed a "high threat" to him, based on his internal warnings. This prevented him from accidentally creating an unstoppable demon without knowing it.

As for energy phenomena like earthquakes or typhoons, there was very little evil intent before they caused damage. By the time they did, the earthquake was long over, and the typhoon was likely nearing dissipation.

Therefore, using it in that regard was not very realistic. Shiraishi Wataru turned his focus to inanimate objects, and after careful consideration, decided it was better to target objects that existed as a single whole.

Thus, on a clear morning in July, a Western face from a small European country used a visa-free entry to board a flight to New York.

Tourism, naturally, required his true body to enjoy, so Shiraishi Wataru used his [Alienation] ability to turn his true body into the person on the passport, while the owner of the passport was parasitized to take on Shiraishi Wataru's appearance and continue being a shut-in at home.

Sitting in economy class, he was reading an American magazine with great interest, just like any other pilgrim looking forward to visiting the lighthouse of the world.

"Oh, this travel magazine is quite good; it introduces many attractions that even the locals don't know about."

A female voice came from beside him. Shiraishi Wataru looked up and found a beauty who resembled Jennifer Connelly from his previous life. She appeared to be in her early twenties, though Westerners often matured early, so her actual age was likely younger than he guessed.

"Hello, Jennifer Miller, exchange student."

"Hello, Owen Garcia, a down-and-out traveler from Western Europe."

"Haha, is there anywhere you particularly want to go? Perhaps I could offer you a suggestion—no tip required."

"The place I want to go most is actually quite ordinary: it's right here."

Shiraishi Wataru closed his magazine and showed the cover to Jennifer.

Jennifer looked over and revealed a knowing smile; as a foreigner, it was only natural to want to go see that place.

The cover of the magazine featured none other than the irreplaceable, proud symbol of America and witness to history—the Statue of Liberty.