Li Ge was imagining his wonderful future.
Without realizing it, he pulled his hands out from beneath his head, clenched them into fists, and pumped them hard in front of him.
His grin nearly stretched from ear to ear.
"Hehe, what are you doing?"
A clear voice suddenly rang out beside Li Ge.
His waving hands froze, and even the upward curve of his lips grew a little distorted.
Now Li Ge felt like a clown who had suddenly been caught indulging in his private chuunibyou antics.
He lowered his hands, wiped away his goofy smile, and forced himself to calm down.
Li Ge sat up on the grass without standing, turning his head toward the voice.
A girl about his current age stood a short distance to his right.
Behind her was a boy of the same age.
Li Ge recognized them at a glance. After all, they had appeared quite often in the movies from his previous life.
But he showed no sign of it, instead looking at them with a feigned expression of confusion.
"Hello, I'm Kitty Pryde. You can just call me Kitty or Shadowcat."
"Hi, I'm Bobby Drake. Just call me Bobby. My codename is Iceman."
The two introduced themselves openly and looked at Li Ge.
"Hello, I'm Li Ge. You can call me Li. As for a codename, I hadn't planned on choosing one."
"But seeing that you both have one, I'll have to give it some thought."
Li Ge introduced himself as well without any hesitation.
Getting acquainted with other mutants was just that straightforward.
They both gave their codenames when introducing themselves, so I can't be the odd one out. Looks like I'll have to think this over.
My ability could be called all-powerful, and what caused me to transmigrate was the tribulation lightning of a mighty cultivator undergoing his tribulation. Looks like I have a connection with immortals.
In that case, that settles my codename.
"Immortal! From now on, my codename is Immortal!"
Iceman and Shadowcat had already sat down beside Li Ge of their own accord, as though they knew him very well.
"Immortal? As in the immortals from the legends of the mysterious East?"
Shadowcat was clearly the sort who warmed up to people right away, and she asked quite naturally.
Iceman, beside her, was not as immediately friendly as Shadowcat. He was a little more reserved and simply watched Li Ge and Shadowcat with a smile.
"Yes, Kitty. I chose Immortal as my codename because that's the goal I've set for myself."
"To be undying and indestructible, to command creation and destruction, to reverse life and death, and to transcend the world!"
Li Ge made no attempt to hide his pursuit, his words filled with longing for immortality.
"Wouldn't... wouldn't that make you just like God?"
Shadowcat clearly had not expected Li Ge to set such a goal for himself, and her eyes widened as she spoke.
Iceman's mouth also fell open in surprise. So choosing a codename could also mean setting a goal for yourself?
Is my codename, Iceman, a little too ordinary?
"Li, is your ability really powerful?"
"Can you tell us about it?"
Iceman began to grow curious about Li Ge's ability. After all, if he could set himself such an ambitious goal, his ability had to be very powerful, right?
Shadowcat had thought of this too and looked at Li Ge with the same curiosity.
"My ability is design and manifestation. I can design anything."
"I can even design abilities, and give them to other people!"
Li Ge did not mind letting more people know about his ability.
As for what the Professor and the others thought?
That did not matter!
If nobody knows about my ability, how am I supposed to spread power?
Am I supposed to go out of my way to give power to other people?
Of course I should spread word about myself and let people come seeking power on their own!
Whether those who came were good or evil, he could achieve his goal of spreading power.
"Design abilities?!"
"Give them to other people!?"
Just as Li Ge had expected, two shocked faces appeared before him.
It suddenly occurred to him that seeing other people's shocked expressions every time he introduced his ability was rather entertaining too.
For some reason, Li Ge felt cheerful now, and he thought he could give them some benefits.
With that in mind, he decided to ask what they thought.
"That's right. I really can do it, but I don't give abilities to just anyone!"
"Kitty, Bobby, you're the first mutants my age I've met. Are there any abilities you'd like?"
Neither of them was stupid. How could they fail to understand such an obvious hint?
"Li, are you serious?"
Shadowcat eagerly sought confirmation.
Her radiant face was almost pressed against Li Ge's, her eyes wide.
Iceman said nothing, but he leaned over as well, staring straight at him.
"Of course I am. But let's be clear: I can only give you the foundation of an ability. What it becomes later will depend entirely on how you develop it."
Li Ge spoke with a calm expression.
After receiving Li Ge's confirmation, they instead found themselves at a loss.
Should we accept or not?
If we accept, what ability should we ask for?
If we don't, will we never get another chance?
They were young, after all. Having received so much information at once, their brains did not know how to process it.
Seeing their bewildered, helpless faces, Li Ge decided to choose an ability for them himself.
Hmm... neither of their abilities has any obvious shortcomings, and I don't have any good ideas for now. I'll just give each of them something versatile.
"Since you don't have anything in mind, how about this?"
"I'll give each of you telekinesis. You should like an all-purpose ability like that."
Yes, Li Ge ultimately decided to give them telekinesis. An all-purpose ability like that was convenient no matter what it was used for.
"Yes, let's do that. We trust your choice. We'll definitely like it."
"Do we need to do anything? Should we lie down?"
Iceman and Shadowcat had yet to recover their composure from the shock and delight, and their words were growing a little incoherent.
"Hehe... you don't need to do anything!"
"Just stay like that. Don't move!"
Amused by their reactions, Li Ge pressed an ability orb against each of their foreheads, one in each hand, before they could react.
Seeing them actually obey and remain completely still, Li Ge could not help marveling inwardly. They really are naïve!
If I wanted to hurt them, they wouldn't have any chance to resist.
The Professor's education really has turned them into greenhouse flowers, naïve and adorable, without any ability to withstand risks!