Tracking and Investigating Supernatural Phenomena

"What do you mean...?" Li Xianfeng asked, frowning.

"Cooperation, of course. Your side is planning to launch a satellite, isn't it? We can share information. Cooperation won't hurt either of us, and reinventing the wheel will only waste our resources. Times are hard for everyone now. Why not join forces to study the Mysterious Zone and rescue the survivors of those three teams?"

"We'd also like to obtain the relevant data... from tomorrow's satellite survey."

Li Xianfeng remained silent.

Professor Peter continued, "If you agree to cooperate, we'll provide you with some of our research materials as a show of good faith."

"If you'd rather not, we won't insist. May our friendship endure."

Li Xianfeng considered this for a moment. "There are quite a few hostile factions on your side. Can you keep the opposition in check?"

"Mr. Li, times have changed. Past hostility doesn't reflect our position now," Professor Peter said unhurriedly over the phone. "Whatever happens, there's a Pacific Ocean between us. Neither side could go to war directly with the other, could it?"

"We both have enough room to survive. There's no point in going to war."

Li Xianfeng forwarded the proposal for cooperation to his superiors.

A moment later, an elderly man's voice came through. "We can cooperate."

"The global situation is changing rapidly. Seizing every opportunity to strengthen ourselves is what truly matters."

Once they reached an agreement, the intelligence offered by the other side of the Pacific Ocean was transmitted to their computers via satellite.

"Tracking and Investigating Supernatural Phenomena in the Hawaii Region."

Li Xianfeng took a deep breath. Just reading the title told him how valuable this file was.

The closer one was to a Mysterious Zone, the greater the likelihood of mutant creatures emerging and people acquiring superpowers.

Although a tsunami had scoured Hawaii, it was the closest location to the Mysterious Zone in the Pacific Ocean, making it an ideal research site.

After browsing the file for a while, the experts began discussing it, delight in their eyes. The room buzzed with excitement.

The file presented three conclusions in total.

First, following their investigation, the United States team of experts believed that the probability of humans possessing superpowers was fairly high—at least ten percent. It was simply difficult for some people to activate them, while others could do so easily.

Big-data analysis showed that physical abilities accounted for over ninety-five percent of all powers. The remaining five percent consisted of unusual abilities such as invisibility, breathing fire, discharging electricity, entering dreams, and so on.

"Pretty much the same as our findings. Their data is just more detailed, and they have more of it."

"But aside from increasing the cost of maintaining public order, the emergence of people with superpowers doesn't mean much, does it? However strong someone is, can they compete with an excavator? Would someone with superpowers even want to haul bricks for a living?"

The experts discussed it all at once. "Not necessarily. Those with exceptional intelligence would be well suited to scientific research."

"Those with quick reflexes would be better suited to handling guns."

"Besides, as disasters become more frequent, humanity's productivity is falling sharply. Once guns and artillery become too expensive, we'll have no choice but to send soldiers into hand-to-hand combat to cut costs. People with superpowers would also be better suited to jobs such as police officers and soldiers."

At this topic, everyone let out a soft sigh almost in unison.

The economy was now paralyzed, and supply chains had collapsed. Great Xia followed a strict Ever-Normal Granary system and had ample food reserves, so people were not yet starving to death.

There was no longer any way to count how many people had died in the outside world. They could only be left to fend for themselves. At this moment, the Malthusian trap brought home to humanity just how merciless nature could be.

Even more despairing was the fact that things were still relatively good. Every day to come would be worse.

Their generation had at least lived through an age of prosperity. Though it had been far from perfect, it was still the most peaceful period in human history.

But from the moment the next generation opened their eyes, all they would see was a vast expanse of ruins. Electronics from the old era would be luxuries to them, while its novels, animation, and television shows would be treasured possessions. Their entire lives would be spent battling poverty, war, and disease.

"Maybe there won't even be a next generation. No one's having children at all. Under these conditions, who would? Would the birth rate even reach one in a thousand?" A young researcher shook his head helplessly.

Great Xia's birth rate had already been low. Could it possibly rise now that disaster had struck? Of course not.

"Even without a mortgage, who would want children if life was miserable?"

The gray-haired Academician Ge sneered. "What's the rush? There were only two thousand people during the Ice Age, and humanity still survived, didn't it?"

"Besides, reproduction is a need of the population, a need of society. Society used to have enough slack to let a small minority of couples choose to be DINKs."

"If most couples chose to be DINKs, and the population fell so low that society couldn't function, human society would naturally develop a corresponding moral code to punish those DINKs."

"Do you think humanity really embodies truth, goodness, and beauty?"

There was truth in those words.

In Fusang, where population aging was most severe, people said, "The best way to solve population aging is to make the elderly commit seppuku," and, "The elderly should work until seventy."

This meant that social morality was not immutable. Morality existed only to keep society stable.

If society became unstable, then morality would change.

"All right, all right. We all know the future looks bleak, but what matters is the path beneath our feet. Pessimists are always right, but only optimists can win the future."

"Comrade Zhang Ming in Zone 16 is still hanging on. What do the rest of you have to sigh about?"

"As for having children, I suggest everyone have at least one."

Li Xianfeng cleared his throat. "Let's keep reading the file."

The report's second conclusion was that eating the flesh and blood of mutant creatures had a chance of activating an ordinary person's superpowers.

Of course, Great Xia's team of experts already knew this.

They had even conducted a few small experiments.

Why?

Because young Zhang Ming in Mysterious Zone 16 had once written a line on the beach: "Eating crab meat makes you stronger!"

That was what his words implied.

Although mutant creatures were relatively rare, drawing on the resources of the entire country still provided enough for a few experiments.

The chance of activating superpowers was not particularly high. It was slightly higher for professional athletes, at around one in ten, and slightly lower for ordinary people, at one in twenty.

Given how rare mutant creatures were, this kind of

experiment was quite a poor return on investment.

"We still need to take the information Zhang Ming gives us seriously." Li Xianfeng rubbed his temples, then smiled and promised the experts around him that he would use the report sent by the United States to request more funding from his superiors and run a few more experiments.

"At the very least, we can't run fewer experiments than the United States. Wouldn't you all agree?"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.