Chapter One: The Transfer Student (Please add to your favorites, please recommend)
Earth Federation Ninth District, Fuxiang City.
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Fuxiang City now has a population of three million, seven hundred and ten thousand, making it a mid-level city.
Two months ago, Xia Yan won the championship of the thirty-seventh Criminal Survivor Tournament, earning himself a gene serum and freedom.
This district of Fuxiang still harbored his faint memories from before he turned six. In truth, little had changed over the past decade or so. Many things remained untouched.
Here was the world of humanity. His past, however, belonged to the world of criminals.
Two utterly different worlds.
Xia Yan had once sworn to earn two million credit points to ‘redeem’ Ding Li.
But... Ding Li did not wish for him to commit crimes for that purpose. And in Xia Yan’s heart, he had long grown weary of that war-filled existence. What he hated even more was the hypocrisy of human nature.
He wanted to be an ordinary person, to live as a human being on this land—just a regular human. No longer needing to fight mutated beings, battle humans, or struggle against demons. He wished only for quiet days, peaceful and harmonious, nothing more.
He had been deeply wounded by a woman he once loved. Since then, he felt as though even his soul had been sealed, living numb and detached. He tried to find work, but each time, his personality led to exclusion.
For Xia Yan, perhaps living so arduously in this world was the most complete experience. Yet he found it difficult to earn two million credit points to redeem his brother, Ding Li.
His frozen heart led him naturally to escape, to hide, falling time and again.
...
The residential area at the intersection had cheap rent. Xia Yan rented a suite nearby, living a numb and monotonous life.
He once believed that no one in this city would recognize him. Even if someone did, ten years of twists and turns would surely fade their memory.
But one person shattered that rule.
She was a girl in a white dress, fresh and elegant, her single ponytail adding a splash of color. Her features were beautiful and delicate.
Most importantly, her smile radiated warmth.
Amid the bustling marketplace, streams of people flowed endlessly, yet only they stood motionless.
“Xia Yan? Are you Xia Yan?” Gu Yue’er ran over, her face brimming with surprise.
“Ah... ah...” She quickly realized her faux pas, blushing and apologizing, “I’m sorry, you look so much like a childhood friend of mine, so I couldn’t help myself...”
“I am Xia Yan. Are you Gu Yue’er?” Xia Yan broke the awkward silence, gazing at the girl.
The memories sealed in his mind gradually opened.
This girl was his childhood playmate. Gu Yue’er had been a kind-hearted child, often moved to tears by sad stories.
He never expected that the tides of time would transform her from a little girl into a fresh and radiant young woman.
“Xia Yan, where did you go? We haven’t been in touch for years, and you suddenly disappeared,” Gu Yue’er’s eyes reddened, her tone full of reproach. “I thought you moved away, but you couldn’t possibly have left the city...”
Moving was once a ‘joke’ of a term, for citizens living in the city couldn’t move, nor was there any application for it.
“Yes, I left for a while...” Xia Yan responded lightly. “And you? Did you become a member of the Ability Training Institute?”
Xia Yan clearly saw the badge on Gu Yue’er—it was proof of membership in the Ability Training Institute.
“Yes, not only did I become a member, I’ve also developed my own ability,” Gu Yue’er smiled, her face serene and comforting.
She spoke the words with such calm. Yet Xia Yan knew well how rare it was for a human to develop an ability. It was an honor worthy of pride. Among millions in the city, perhaps less than one in ten thousand could do so.
From that day forward, Xia Yan finally had his first friend.
Gu Yue’er was entirely different from the criminals he’d known before. In her, Xia Yan saw the true meaning of the word ‘human.’
She was a very special girl. Whenever Xia Yan interacted with her, he often felt a sense of wonder.
If he accidentally touched the back of her hand, she would blush for a long, long time. Her personality was timid and gentle, yet she always found the courage to help others at critical moments. She loved beautiful clothes and accessories, and would happily ask him if they suited her.
On her, there was no guard or pretense, no deceit or malice, no evil or duplicity. She possessed qualities utterly absent in criminals—the essence Xia Yan once sought but never found.
His sealed heart opened just a crack because of this girl.
After two months of knowing Gu Yue’er, Xia Yan finally made a decision. He could not continue to escape from himself, nor live this way. Even if he despised the crimes of his past, he should not bury his strengths completely.
That day, in a quiet neighborhood, the two walked together.
“Yue’er, I want to join the Ability Training Institute,” Xia Yan said to Gu Yue’er.
“You want to join the Ability Training Institute?” Gu Yue’er was surprised. “The Institute’s admissions are in September every year, and they select suitable members themselves.”
The Ability Training Institute was the Earth Federation’s ‘Ability Development Center’ established in every city. It was more a government training facility than a school, with one sole purpose.
To develop each person’s unique ability!
“Yes, I’ve decided to undergo the development level certification and join the Institute mid-term,” Xia Yan smiled. “But I need your help to take me inside for the procedural development assessment.”
“Mm, that’s no problem.” Gu Yue’er was curious. “But joining as a transfer student requires extremely high standards. It’s very difficult to meet those requirements.”
It wasn’t that Gu Yue’er lacked confidence in Xia Yan. However, joining as a transfer student was a very rigorous process. She’d even heard that unless someone had already developed their ability, the Institute wouldn’t accept them.
Xia Yan hadn’t developed an ability. His brain domain development wouldn’t even exceed ten percent, which didn’t meet the admission requirements.
To join the Institute as a transfer student—impossible!
...
Earth Federation Ninth District, Fuxiang City, Ability Training Institute, Cultural Studies Lecture Hall.
The Institute had a very special nature. Members chose their courses, and since they often carried out missions, some were absent.
But for Cultural Studies, most members attended, making it the course with the largest attendance.
The city’s Institute had just over a thousand members at most. At this moment, perhaps five hundred were in the lecture hall, each with a holographic screen at their desk.
“Ahem, members, today’s course will be delayed by ten minutes,” the Cultural Studies professor announced. “Now, I will introduce the transfer students.”
Below, the members buzzed with discussion. What was going on? Someone was joining the Institute as a transfer student in March?
“Yue’er, you look so surprised—do you know some inside story?” The girl sitting next to Gu Yue’er, her best friend, teased her with a grin.
“Well...” Gu Yue’er was astonished, but she felt it was just a coincidence.
To join as a transfer student, one must have developed an ability. Xia Yan couldn’t possibly have done so; his brain domain development hadn’t met the admission standard.
For humans, the average brain domain development was five percent. The Institute required applicants to reach ten percent by age fifteen. Only after reaching fifteen percent could one develop an ability.
Xia Yan certainly hadn’t met that standard.
But the next words forced Gu Yue’er to believe.
“Member Xia Yan, please come forward and introduce yourself,” the Cultural Studies professor called to the young man waiting outside the door.
“Xia Yan? Is it really Xia Yan? But how could this be!” Gu Yue’er could hardly believe it, yet the person who entered was none other than Xia Yan.
Although she’d used her connections to have a mentor allow Xia Yan to undergo the development assessment, she never expected him to pass.
This—how could it be!
Xia Yan’s brain domain development surely hadn’t produced an ability! During their time together, Gu Yue’er was one hundred percent certain, for Xia Yan had told her plainly.
Gu Yue’er’s eyes were filled with puzzlement and confusion.
When Xia Yan stood at the podium, all the Institute members stared at him.
Such pressure was not something an ordinary person could withstand, for many here were ‘ability users.’ They were the true elite among humans, who had pushed their brain domain development past fifteen percent—each a genius among thousands.
Yet Xia Yan stood calmly and coolly on the podium, simply uttering four words.
“Xia Yan, human.”
After his introduction, he glanced at the professor’s expression and walked to an empty seat below.
Instantly, the hall erupted in noise.
“What an arrogant guy—such a brief self-introduction.”
“Well, he’s a transfer student; he has the right to be arrogant. I bet he’s developed an ability, stronger than eighty percent of the members here.”
“Even if he’s strong, being so arrogant is bound to cause trouble.”
“Right, so many ability users, but I’ve never seen one so cocky.”
“Human? I don’t believe he’s always been human.”
“Haha, maybe he really does have that confidence!”
Even in the Institute, members who had developed abilities were few. Those who entered with ten percent brain domain development received daily nutrient supplements and training, but still might not reach fifteen percent before turning twenty.
If they didn’t develop an ability while young, they might never do so in their lifetime, their brain domain development forever stalled.
To develop an ability was to be a genius, a standout, entitled to arrogance.
Without ability, one could only keep a low profile, without the right to boast.
And Xia Yan, in their eyes, was the former.
The Cultural Studies professor did not resume the lesson. He said, “Next, Member Tao Lu, please come in and introduce yourself.”
“What?” The members below murmured in surprise. None had expected there would be a second transfer student!