Three months had passed.
Inside the Federal Bank headquarters on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
"Sir, we cannot approve your loan application." The clerk behind the counter adjusted his glasses, his tone formulaic.
The applicant was a middle-aged man, his face flushed red. "What do you mean? My credit record is good, and I have sufficient collateral!"
"I'm sorry, but this is a decision from headquarters."
The man slammed the desk. "You bankers only know how to bully ordinary people!"
Anger burned in his chest, and he suddenly felt some kind of power stirring within him. The ability he had been assigned three months ago—the power to sense the internal structure of metal—lost control under the surge of his emotions.
Boom!
The vault's steel door suddenly twisted out of shape. The thirty-centimeter-thick alloy steel plate was wrung into a spiral like dough by an invisible force.
"Ah!" Screams erupted.
The entire bank lobby descended into chaos as depositors scattered in panic. The man himself was terrified too. He had no idea what had just happened.
Similar incidents were unfolding all over the world.
Inside a bakery on Baker Street in London.
"This bread is from yesterday! Are you trying to cheat me?" A customer pointed at the shelves in protest.
The owner shook his head. "It was definitely made today. Look at the date label."
"Lies!"
The customer grew agitated, and his newly acquired ability—the power to control the rate at which organic matter decayed—suddenly erupted. The bread in every bakery along the entire street instantly sprouted green mold and gave off a rotten stench.
On Tokyo's Yamanote Line subway.
Driver Tanaka had already been working for twelve straight hours, and his eyelids were growing heavier and heavier. As the train passed Shinjuku Station, his consciousness blurred for an instant.
The