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Half an hour later, a large crowd emerged from the auditorium. Some looked excited, some were lost in wild fantasies, some were confused and bewildered, while others remained calm and detached.

In the past half hour, National Security 18th Bureau had thoroughly reshaped their worldview. Though outside was still the mountain base, and though only a few small, dim stars twinkled in the night sky, they felt as if the entire world had changed. Even the air seemed much sweeter.

They knew that this was—Aura Resurgence.

In East Asian cultural circles such as the Xuan Kingdom, it was called Aura Resurgence. In Western cultural circles led by the Pacific Federation, it was generally called Superpower Awakening.

Whether Aura Resurgence or Superpower Awakening, its defining characteristic was the emergence of a tiny number of people "with special talents." They had inadvertently awakened their abilities, as though they had been born with an extra leg or arm. They could manipulate the widely dispersed "aura" in space, much like dark energy, and unleash all manner of unimaginable superpowers.

According to Yu Kuangtu, one of the people "with special talents" had been aboard the artificial spacecraft launched by the Xuan Kingdom three months ago. That person had been able to conduct aura tests in the space environment, which showed that aura had not merely resurged on Earth. It might have been a tide occurring across the entire universe.

And since there were people "with special talents," there were naturally people "with ordinary talents." Through research, the Xuan Kingdom had discovered that the vast majority of these special talents had only begun appearing gradually half a year ago. The situation in other countries was much the same.

After gaining superpowers, aside from a few who chose to leave them unused and remained obscure, most of these special talents had chosen to become active in society, attempting to use their abilities to gain money and status. Many people overseas had tried to use superpowers to establish religions or gangs, or directly use them to intimidate people in high places.

Naturally, such incidents had also occurred in the Xuan Kingdom. However, these people were quickly brought under control by the police and immediately transferred to the Abnormal People Research Center for observation.

Yu Kuangtu said that although most superpowers were combat-related, quite a few could be used in production—for example, several special talents in research institutes had created superconducting materials. They had instantly secured a life of luxury without a care in the world.

As for those Superpowered Criminals who tried to bypass the state and violently seize residents' property through superpowers, once caught, they would not be executed. Instead, they would be handed to laboratories as "destructible materials" for thorough study.

When Yu Kuangtu said this, his tone was highly suggestive. He was clearly making an example to warn the rest, chilling the hearts of those restless civil servants below and making them obediently listen to his teachings.

At present, the state still could not accurately identify who possessed "special talents," nor could it identify the nature of those "special talents." However, several months ago, researchers had worked around the clock and quickly invented a way to identify those "with ordinary talents."

This method was first tested in the military, where it quickly identified a group of talented people. While assisting the state's aura research and cultivating the techniques provided by the state, their physical capabilities rapidly rose, and they mastered many special methods of using aura.

Then, these people were dispatched throughout the country to cooperate with the civil service and medical systems. Through physical examinations, they screened out civil servants "with ordinary talents," personally taught them, and developed them into the foundation of the Xuan Kingdom's cultivator system—

That was right. The National Security 18th Bureau members in Black Vests were the first batch of cultivators selected by the state from the military!

And people like Ren Suo were civil servants "with ordinary talents."

The so-called intensive training was for the Black Vests to teach people like Ren Suo how to cultivate, allowing them to master basic aura techniques and join the cultivator system. This training base was also a talent development base for the National Security Bureau. Besides civil servants, there were other qualified soldiers training here as well.

Of course, Yu Kuangtu had also said that every civil servant standing in this auditorium had a clean background and was a new-generation member of the ruling party. Once they learned how to cultivate, their files would be entered into the National Security Bureau's records. Neither they nor their immediate family members would be permitted to emigrate.

Once they left this base, they would be assigned to various branch bureaus and departments according to their progress. As grassroots cultivators of the state, they would be responsible for guiding, regulating, and restraining ordinary residents' aura studies!

"Just as I thought!" As he followed the group out of the auditorium, Jie Qiansi could not help saying, "Haha, joining the party and becoming a civil servant really does have benefits. Now we're going to become the state's first batch of cultivators..."

"The Black Vests were the first batch," Ren Suo said.

"...Even if those black cats were the first batch of cultivators, they definitely haven't cultivated for long. As long as we work a little harder, we'll surely seize the initiative in this great era of Aura Resurgence! Besides, only our Xuan Kingdom is this generous, directly allowing civil servants like us to cultivate and become superhumans!"

Even after failing to form a small clique, Jie Qiansi was not discouraged in the slightest. He remained immersed in his fantasy of being supreme above and below heaven. Ren Suo was not surprised, though—most people around him, regardless of gender, wore smiles on their faces, as if they themselves would be the next to rule the world.

Their generation of civil servant party members was nowhere near as grounded as those from the early years after the founding of the nation decades ago. Besides, they were constantly influenced by anime, games, novels, and the like, so their imaginations ran wild.

Even if they counted as steadier than most people their age, seeing themselves about to sprint from collectivism into individualism, it was hardly strange for them to develop this heroic view of history: "Heroes can drive history forward, and I am a hero."

"Don't worry. Other countries will definitely develop their own superpower departments soon enough," Ren Suo said with a smile. "The technology for detecting people 'with ordinary talents' certainly won't be difficult for a country to develop. Otherwise, the state would never make such a big spectacle of this. For all we know, other countries may already know about our intensive training."

Jie Qiansi did not understand. "Why?"

"If the detection technology couldn't be replicated or had technological barriers, then the state definitely wouldn't train so many people at once. Everyone here may be vetted party members, but once we leave, we'll be assigned all over the place. How could it possibly remain completely secret? Besides, this is only Lotus Province. According to the deputy director, civil servant training is being conducted nationwide. Word will definitely get out."

"That's right." A round-faced young man nearby overheard their conversation and said, "The only explanation is that the detection method is extremely simple—so simple that any country that researches those special talents could develop it without spending much time. That's why the state is racing against time to seize the initiative."

"After all, in an environment like Aura Resurgence, where individual strength gradually surpasses collective strength, every additional person who cultivates, and every person who starts cultivating earlier, will increase the nation's overall strength all the more."

"But it would be nice if we could stay here and cultivate. We only get five days of training before we have to leave for work, while those soldiers can keep training here the whole time." The round-faced young man looked envious.

Ren Suo nodded. Yu Kuangtu had not explicitly said any of this, but once one viewed matters through the lens of "globalized aura," these details were easy to see.

Ren Suo said, "It's like playing a game. We're combat engineers with short production cycles who can be put to use quickly. Those soldiers who have to remain at the base and keep cultivating definitely face no fewer challenges than we do. Blessings and misfortunes go hand in hand."

"But in the age of Aura Resurgence, the faster you move, the greater the advantage you build," the round-faced young man remarked. He then turned to them and said, "My name is Yuan Dang. It seems that over the next few days, we'll be studying together as a squad."

The three exchanged introductions. Jie Qiansi deliberately glanced at Ren Suo—did this person have some affinity with him or not? Ren Suo naturally kept his mouth shut and went over to Li Qingxuan, trying to strike up a conversation.

However, Li Qingxuan, Qiao Muyi, and the others had already become familiar with the other girls from Eighth Team. A group of girls chattered away merrily, and Ren Suo could not find an opening to join in.

Soon, after the large group reached the Dormitory Building, they began to disperse. Eighth Team followed their instructor, Zhao Jingzhong, to the foot of Building Six. A great many clothes had been laid out downstairs, separated into piles by size.

"Now, I'll call roll and assign dorm rooms. Come collect your keys and uniforms. Women will live on the upper three floors, men on the lower three. Quilts and pillows are provided in the rooms, four people to a room. You can move in right away. You remember the big supermarket we passed earlier, right? It has all the daily necessities you need. Just buy them directly."

"Do they sell condoms?"

The crowd instantly fell silent. Ren Suo and the others looked around in every direction, wondering which handsome bastard had dared say something like that—these were practically all civil servants who did not know one another, yet someone was already trying to become a gunner!?

But just like the previous few times, no one could find the person who had spoken.

Zhao Jingzhong took out the roster and began calling names, starting with the girls. Ren Suo gloomily watched Qiao Muyi and the others take their keys and uniforms upstairs, chatting and laughing—apparently, a nighttime raid to feel around for keys would not be very feasible.

Then it was the men's turn. Ren Suo was actually assigned to the same room as Jie Qiansi. At this point, Yuan Dang came over and said he wanted to share a room with Ren Suo and the others, trading keys with another young man.

"Why? We didn't seem to know each other before, did we?" Ren Suo asked curiously.

Yuan Dang smiled. "We're all strangers anyway, so isn't it the same no matter who I room with? But talking with you guys seems like it'll be more interesting."

Besides Yuan Dang, their other roommate was Zhao Huo, a tall, handsome young man with an earring—party members could wear earrings these days?

Seemingly noticing their stares, the young man pointed to his ear and said, "I'm from an ethnic minority. This is one of our customs. A girl gave it to me."

"Oh... a lovey-dovey bastard." Everyone collectively gave Zhao Huo that label. Then they went to their dorm room, 6-213, to put down their uniforms before heading to the supermarket for daily necessities.

After going downstairs, Ren Suo told them to shop first. He waited downstairs for a while and, sure enough, Qiao Muyi and the others came down—he remembered that they had not gone to the bathroom at the dining hall, so now that they had reached the dormitory, they would definitely need time to use the bathroom.

"What a coincidence!" Ren Suo said with absolute confidence. "Going to the supermarket? Let's go together!"

Qiao Muyi pulled Li Qingxuan aside to whisper in her ear. Li Qingxuan blushed and playfully swatted Qiao Muyi, while the girls all dissolved into laughter, leaving Ren Suo completely baffled.

But Ren Suo did not mind. At least they did not dislike him now.

Once everyone spent a few days getting acquainted, perhaps Ren Suo's request to have Qiao Muyi sleep while he touched her for a few minutes might be approved...

Meanwhile, a blonde woman in a Training Suit arrived at the towering Taidamia Mountain Range. She had delicate features and a resolute expression...