Somewhere in the Emerald Star Cluster, an exploration fleet of a small conglomerate is traveling through space. Organizations like this, unable to occupy resource-rich planets, can only obtain some profits through normal exploration and employment. This is quite common in today's Shattered World.
Exploration ships and transport ships are the main types of ships in this fleet. As an expeditionary fleet, in addition to the essential crew members on each ship, it is equipped with additional human resources, who live in a dedicated passenger ship. The passenger ship is mainly equipped with living facilities and has a capacity far exceeding that of functional exploration ships. Most of the staff who do not serve as crew members live in the passenger ship.
This long-haul cruise ship is like a mobile space station, larger than the industrial transport ships in the fleet. It serves as a logistics and food supply unit for the Tu Shu staff, and is also equipped with a number of entertainment facilities to meet the recreational needs of the crew. In today's fiercely competitive Shattered World industry, it would be difficult to recruit people if you didn't offer daily benefits and simply wanted to treat employees as laborers. As a commercial conglomerate, employee loyalty is not a primary concern, and living conditions are an important factor in attracting employees.
The space station's lobby is a multifunctional social and entertainment venue, filled with entertainment facilities and various shops for the crew to enjoy. The lobby is on the ground floor, and the vertical floor structure is a ring corridor, meaning that the space above the lobby is a series of horizontal bridges made of transparent materials. You can look up and see pedestrians walking by. Overall, it looks like a bustling commercial plaza with a high volume of people.
One section of the lobby is the staff canteen, which is bustling and noisy, and you can see employees from all kinds of jobs here.
At this very moment, in a corner of the cafeteria, Evans sat alone at a table, eating his staff meal bite by bite. His cheeks puffed out with each chew, his eyelids were lowered, and he stared blankly at the table.
He was still wearing his yellow protective suit, with his hood open. He looked unassuming, just an ordinary ground crew member. Ninety-nine percent of the people who do this job are ordinary people, belonging to the lowest level of employees in the conglomerate.
Around him, the tables were filled with other ground crew members, eating and chatting, occasionally bursting into laughter. Occasionally, someone's gaze would sweep over the lonely Evans, but without lingering, treating him as if he were invisible.
Evans was already used to this. The ground crew members were mostly ordinary people, not very efficient, and many liked to slack off. In contrast, he was more diligent, never lazy, and often exceeded his targets. As a result, he was frequently praised publicly by his team leader and received a lot of bonuses.
Because of his behavior, some colleagues, perhaps out of jealousy or dislike for him as a former prisoner who had been released from prison, banded together a small group to isolate him, and gradually more and more people stopped associating with him.
Evans didn't care about being ostracized; he was never one to socialize with colleagues anyway, and after spending many years in prison, he no longer cared about what others thought.
"Hey, Evans, are you sitting alone?"
Just then, a familiar voice rang out beside him. Evans looked up and saw an acquaintance standing next to him with a tray of food; it was his ground crew supervisor.
The ground support department has many teams, and each team is further divided into subgroups. The team leader of this subgroup is just a low-level cadre with little status, and is Evans's direct superior who favors him.
"Is there anyone here? How about we sit at the same table? You don't mind, do you?" the squad leader said with a smile.
"No problem," Evans said, gesturing for him to sit down.
The squad leader sat opposite, eating his meal and chatting with Evans. The ground crew around them could no longer ignore Evans's table and turned to greet their superior.
Evans sighed and lowered his voice, saying, "Manager, you don't need to come to my rescue. I really don't care about being ostracized."
"That won't do. What if you're in a bad mood and slack off? Our team's performance targets might depend on you to meet them." The team leader shrugged.
Evans gave a wry smile. This supervisor was just an ordinary person, a nice guy who had taken good care of him and was quite friendly because of his outstanding work efficiency.
After quickly finishing his meal, Evans called out to the supervisor who was still eating, then got up with his empty plate, went to the cafeteria's recycling window, and threw the plate in.
Just then, several people wearing mechs walked into the canteen. They were all low-ranking mercenaries, and their faces looked strange, flushed with excitement. They were walking in his direction, attracting his attention.
"The superhuman... looks like he's taken some kind of stimulant and is high."
Evans glanced at the group a few more times, and was about to brush past them and leave the canteen when he suddenly heard the volume of the conversation among these low-ranking mercenaries rise sharply, with one of them seemingly quite excited.
"Don't believe me? I've discovered a new way to use superpowers! I'll show you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the excited mercenary clenched his fist, and the air howled and gathered, forming an invisible whirlwind. He then slammed it down at his feet, and the whirlwind exploded, turning into tiny wind blades that scattered in all directions.
The conglomerate has a rule that supernatural powers are not allowed to be used in public places, with penalties ranging from fines to dismissal. However, these Grade D- rank mercenaries, who had just been given stimulant drugs, were in a state of euphoria and had completely lost their minds, forgetting this rule entirely.
Chaos erupted instantly, the ground was covered with cutting marks, and the nearby employees were caught in the crossfire, scrambling to get out of the way.
Because the typhoon's power was limited, the others were not seriously injured, but Evans, who was closest to it, was blown away by the wind pressure, and his protective suit was torn to shreds.
A splash of bright red appeared in everyone's eyes.
"There are people injured!"
Many people immediately gathered around to watch the commotion. Ground crew members squeezed in and, seeing that it was Evans who was injured, suddenly stopped, hesitating whether to go forward to help him up. Just as they were struggling with their decision, the team leader had already strode over, anxiously helped Evans up, and checked his wounds.
"Where are you hurt? Let me see."
"It's just a minor injury, I'm fine, ouch..."
Evans' face was tense, but the twitching at the corner of his eye showed that his wounds were quite painful. His body had been cut open by more than a dozen wind blades, and blood was gushing out, quickly staining his protective suit scarlet.
At that moment, several patrolling guards heard the commotion and ran in.
What's going on here?!
The squad leader, his face contorted with anger, pointed at the mercenaries, "They violated the rules by using their powers in public, causing friendly fire."
The guard frowned, glanced at the scene, noticed Evans was injured, then looked at the mercenaries and asked in a deep voice, "Is it true?"
After this accident, the group regained some composure. The mercenary who threw the whirlwind coughed, "It was an accident, not my doing. I'll go and receive my punishment later."
"Well, thankfully only one person was injured. At most, they'll be fined a little, nothing serious." Seeing this, the guard reassured the mercenary a few times, then turned to look at Evans, his gaze lingering on Evans's ground crew uniform for a moment, and casually remarked:
"Your name is Evans, right? It's just some minor cuts and bruises. You'll be fine after a quick bandage at the medical room. You won't die."
"That's it?" the squad leader said, displeased. "Not even an apology?"
"It was my oversight, I apologize." The mercenary who committed the offense glanced at Evans, offering a perfunctory reply that revealed an arrogant disdain and a complete lack of sincerity.
"What kind of attitude is that!" the squad leader exclaimed indignantly.
At this point, the guard impatiently interrupted, "Alright, he's already apologized. He'll be fined later anyway, so don't keep arguing."
Although the guard acted strictly by the book, his attitude revealed a difference in treatment. He was also a superhuman, and seeing that the mercenary had only accidentally injured an ordinary ground crew member, he felt it was no big deal. In his view, although the mercenary had committed a crime, as long as he accepted the punishment, it was best to appease him appropriately, which was more important than dealing with an ordinary person.
The mercenary, acting as if it were perfectly normal, stopped looking at Evans when he saw he wasn't dead and started chatting with his companion.
This scene, witnessed by those around them, evoked mixed feelings on the faces of many ordinary people.
Most superhumans don't care much about the impact they have on ordinary people, and ordinary people are well aware of this. Even if the other party obediently apologizes and accepts punishment, their attitude remains indifferent. Seeing this, many people feel a surge of inexplicable anger.
The privileges afforded to superhumans are a universally accepted rule, creating a class divide between them and ordinary people, which is a persistent problem of class antagonism.
At this moment, Evans tugged at the squad leader, propped himself up on his knees, and stood up. Blood dripped onto the ground, splattering into small flowers. He endured the pain and said, "It's nothing, just bad luck. Come with me to the medical room."
The squad leader glared at the person opposite him, gave up on arguing, turned around and helped Evans out of the crowd.
"It's alright, it's alright, everyone disperse." The guard waved his hand.
However, in that instant, a sudden change occurred!
Bang!!
The spaceship jolted violently, as if it had stopped instantly. Even the internal shock absorption system couldn't eliminate the enormous inertia, and everyone present staggered and fell to the ground with thuds, panicked and bewildered.
What happened?
"It seems the spaceship has been forced to stop!"
"Have we run into space pirates?!"
Just as everyone was scrambling to their feet in a panic, about to rush out of the mess hall to take refuge, the ship's internal loudspeaker suddenly blared, echoing throughout the entire ship so that everyone could hear it.
"This is the Black Star Army. Your ship has been temporarily brought to a halt by us. Don't panic. Our target is only one person. His name is Evans, and he is one of your ground maintenance crew members..."
As soon as he finished speaking, all eyes in the room focused on Evans.
Brush!
In an instant, Evans's surroundings became a blank space, everyone scrambling to avoid him like the plague, their faces filled with astonishment and uncertainty.
The Black Star Army specifically requested this guy?!
How did he provoke the Black Star Army to cause them to go to such lengths to find him? Could he have some other background?!
At this moment, Evans's ordinary appearance suddenly became mysterious in the eyes of everyone around him.
"The Black Star Army?" Evans was also stunned.
Isn't this some high-level power I have no access to? What do they want with me...? They must have the wrong person.
He turned to look at the squad leader, who had already shaken off his hand and was hiding far away, looking terrified.
Just as Evans was about to say something, he suddenly noticed that the guards and mercenaries had come up and were subtly surrounding him.
What are you doing?
"To prevent you from escaping, since the Black Star Army wants to see you, you'd better wait here obediently," the guard said coldly.
Evans clenched his fist suddenly, his chest heaving rapidly. After a moment, he clenched his fist weakly and said helplessly, "Don't worry, I won't run away. I also want to find out what happened."
After waiting for a while, footsteps sounded outside, and a group of people walked in. The usually arrogant high-ranking officials were now all bowing and scraping to a group of the Black Star Army warriors. The captain of the warriors, who was leading the group, was a Grade B superhuman, radiating a powerful energy aura. To these low-level employees, he was already a very important figure.
The scene became so quiet you could hear a pin drop; no one dared to breathe loudly.
The group approached Evans, and the fleet commander pointed, "He's the one you're looking for."
"Hmm." The Black Star Army's Grade B warrior looked him up and down expressionlessly. "You're Evans?"
Evans took a deep breath. "That is indeed my name, but I have no connection with the Black Star Army. I think you may have mistaken me for someone else."
Upon hearing this, the Grade B captain produced a resume and displayed it, saying, "This is your resume, right?"
Upon closer inspection, Evans was startled. He nodded reluctantly, his face full of doubt and confusion.
Is the Black Star Army really looking for me?
"That's it, you're the one I'm looking for. Come with me." The Grade B captain nodded.
"Wait a minute, I want to know, why are you looking for me?" Evans couldn't help but ask.
Everyone present perked up, listening intently for what was to come.
They also wanted to know the reason why the Black Star Army would go to such lengths to find an ordinary person.
Upon hearing this, the Grade B captain's face suddenly broke into a smile, and he extended his hand warmly, saying:
"You're the talent that Lord Black Star specifically wants to recruit, brother. Welcome to the Black Star Army."
After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent for a moment.
Boom!
Then, as if a bomb had exploded, a sudden uproar erupted!
"What!!"
The squad leader shuddered, dumbfounded. The guards and mercenaries from before were frozen in place, utterly horrified.
Everyone present looked utterly shocked; some even thought they were hallucinating. Countless incredulous gazes were fixed on Evans.
Did we hear that right?
That infamous Beyond Grade A Black Star actually specifically recruited an ordinary person?!
Is he someone even Beyond Grade A talent would be interested in?!
You can't tell from normal circumstances; he must be deliberately hiding his talent.
You can't judge a book by its cover!
Awe filled everyone's eyes, and they were filled with admiration.
Especially those colleagues who usually ostracized Evans, hurriedly shrank back and lowered their heads, sweating profusely, afraid of being noticed by Evans, and filled with regret.
"Recruit... me?"
Evans was dumbfounded.
In that instant, he was plunged into deep self-doubt.
What have I done to deserve such interest from Beyond Grade A individual?
Is it really like what I fantasized about when I was a child...?
--The power of the wicked and arrogant cosmic overlord, the Lord of Destruction, the Dark Lord, is sealed within my body?!
Meanwhile, in a remote Ancient Star Desert, at a mysterious base, several figures were discussing the news of the emergence of Chaos Mysterious Energy in a private conference room.
"Another Primordial Esper Ability Entity has appeared."
"It's Chaos Mysterious Energy! We need to find a way to get it."
"It fell into Black Star's hands. Black Star is a newly emerging Beyond Grade A in the last few decades, with an astonishing growth rate, and he's not easy to deal with."
"Black Star can live a long time, but we don't have that much time to wait. The Primordial Esper Ability Entity is the key to opening the Third Sanctum, and we cannot afford to lose it... Let's use the products we've developed over the years. Chaos Mysterious Energy is an important material for synthesis, and we must reclaim it."
"Unfortunately, the Sorokin's body fell into the hands of the Crimson Dynasty; otherwise, his supernatural abilities could have been the best tool."
"Speaking of which, the crops in Manison are almost ripe too. They should be ready to be harvested in a while."
"We must prepare the awakening ceremony before the appointed date arrives."
May the glory of the First Ones never fade.