The Meaning of Foresight

Just as Kuo Ming had said, Jiang Xin's workplace exploded the next day for some unknown reason. Everyone there was killed except the director, who had escaped because he was away at a meeting.

Jiang Xin was still worrying about Kuo Ming in his new home when, two hours after the explosion, Kuo Ming appeared before him without a scratch.

After living there for three days, Kuo Ming brought up the matter of joining the Pitch Black organization before he left.

"Jiang Xin, with your abilities and potential, living an ordinary life would be a waste. You're the curious type, so joining Pitch Black would be perfect for you. Pitch Black has collected information on all the strange events that have happened in the world. If anything new happens, we can get the details right away. The organization is also very relaxed, so you can think it over. I'll come back in a few days."

Jiang Xin had actually wanted to accept right away, but he decided to put it off for a few days. He didn't know the real reason himself. In any case, he had tacitly agreed, and when Kuo Ming returned, he would ask to join Pitch Black.

After changing into clothes suitable for going out, he walked to the street. Looking at the passersby of all kinds, Jiang Xin felt that it was becoming even harder for him to fit in with other people. He walked to a small park, found a seat, and sat down.

The park was fairly quiet. At least, no one was making much noise. Jiang Xin sat on a stone bench, lost in thought.

A loud bang interrupted his thoughts. He looked toward the source of the sound and saw a person in black holding a gun and pointing it at a woman lying on the ground. He couldn't tell what the person was saying.

Jiang Xin wasn't one to meddle, so he stood up and prepared to leave.

Just as most of the people in the park had left, Jiang Xin suddenly glanced back and saw that the woman had stood up.

Her whole body was convulsing violently as she let out a shriek. At the sight, Jiang Xin immediately turned around.

The person with the gun backed away a few steps and fired several shots at the woman, but she seemed to have entered some kind of state and didn't fall.

The woman kept screaming, her body convulsing even more violently, as if something were about to burst out of her. Then, with one final shriek, her entire body burst apart. A black humanoid figure stood in the pool of blood, its features impossible to make out.

One thing was certain: it wasn't human. It had black wings and horns on its head.

Jiang Xin had seen this kind of creature on television, and he had also seen its corpse. Though that had been over a year ago, he could still tell that the creature standing there was Ning, which he had once studied closely. These creatures were born when aliens died after inhabiting human bodies. They were highly aggressive, so they were always eliminated as soon as they were discovered.

Jiang Xin was glad he hadn't left in a hurry. From a distance, he watched the person with the gun.

The person didn't seem surprised by Ning. He waved and called another companion over.

Another person in black appeared behind Ning, holding a spear. He lunged at Ning, but it leaped high to dodge.

The gunman immediately fired several shots at Ning as it was about to land. The impact of the bullets kept it from landing properly, and it crashed headfirst into the ground. As it tried to get back up, the spearman had already driven his weapon into Ning's head. Green liquid splattered everywhere, and Ning died without making a sound.

The two people in black came together. The gunman looked at Jiang Xin and said, "Hey, aren't you going to copy its power?"

Jiang Xin was startled. He walked up to the two of them and asked, "How did you know I had Copy Power?"

The gunman chuckled. "Heh, I have Insight Power. I can see other people's powers directly. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Deng, and this is my partner, Zeng. We're the Asian Twin Eagles, currently active with a guild in Japan."

Jiang Xin smiled faintly, then went over to Ning and copied its power.

When Jiang Xin finished copying it, Deng said in surprise, "You're lucky. It's Combat Power. If you use it well, it might turn into Omnipotence Power."

Jiang Xin smiled wryly. For someone like him, Combat Power didn't seem like the kind of power he would want.

Just then, Zeng received a call. It seemed urgent, so he called Deng away with him. Before leaving, Deng gave Jiang Xin their contact numbers.

Watching Deng and Zeng leave, Jiang Xin remembered that they belonged to the Prey Guild, an organization that took on special missions which members could choose freely. He committed their contact numbers to memory.

After looking once more at Ning lying on the ground, Jiang Xin left the park and returned to his new home. He fell onto the bed and went straight to sleep.

The next day, Jiang Xin got up late. He hadn't slept this well in a long time.

After tidying up a little, he went out. Until Kuo Ming showed up, he supposed he could only wander around.

The park from the day before had been cordoned off by the police, and the news had reported on Ning. For some reason, however, the reporters hadn't covered the scene itself.

Jiang Xin grabbed a quick lunch at a nearby restaurant. Just as he was about to leave, someone called out to him.

"Hey, are you the guy from last night?"

Jiang Xin turned around and saw Zeng and Deng. He hadn't even had time to tell them his name yesterday...

Jiang Xin paused, then said, "Yeah, I forgot to introduce myself yesterday. My surname is Jiang, and my given name is Xin."

Deng smiled and beckoned Jiang Xin over to sit with them.

Once Jiang Xin had sat down, Deng said, "We've recently taken on a mission involving a giant Ning that's about to be born. Naturally, the goal is to eliminate it. But after investigating for several days, we found that it can already control its host's movements, even though it hasn't fully transformed into a humanoid yet. It lives right below your apartment, and I want you to help us eliminate it."

Jiang Xin furrowed his brow and asked, "Why ask me? I don't have any real combat experience."

Zeng spoke up. "Kuo Ming asked us to find you. He said to treat it as a little test before you join Pitch Black."

Jiang Xin smiled helplessly. "Well, I guess I don't have a choice. When do we move?"

Deng smiled. "Right away. We have to deal with it before it hurts anyone."

Jiang Xin picked up the chopsticks on the table and asked, "What's my role?"

Deng stood up. "Just take care of an ordinary Ning. Come with me."

Jiang Xin nodded in agreement, but he wasn't confident. He had Combat Power, but he had never actually fought before...

When they reached the room Deng had mentioned, Zeng kicked the door open and rushed inside. Deng and Jiang Xin immediately followed.

Two Ning had already finished transforming inside. One was much bigger and had no wings, while the winged one was about the same size as the one Jiang Xin had seen before.

Zeng charged forward with his spear. Deng turned to Jiang Xin and said, "You have to attack a Ning's head to do any real damage. The rest of its body is pretty tough. It mainly attacks with its claws and kicks, so just be careful and dodge. I'm going to help Zeng." With that, he drew the handgun he carried and began firing.

Jiang Xin nodded, then charged at the Ning...

Would Jiang Xin make it through his first battle? Find out in the next chapter.