Ch 186: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

The first person to show symptoms similar to what Mu Xing had described was the head chef of a five-star hotel in the capital, a forty-year-old man named Lin Fusheng.

Two days ago and again this morning, he went to the hospital for checkups. Nothing unusual was found, but he kept having recurring fevers, sweating, and feeling weak all over.

He also mentioned that his sense of smell seemed sharper than before.

Naturally, Lin Fusheng was put under secret observation.

After a week, when he complained on the phone to his wife, also a chef, that he could no longer stand the fishy odor of her pickled fish soup, those observing him basically confirmed that he was indeed going through the awakening period.

Lin Fusheng was “invited” to a secret hospital. His wife and daughter were informed that he was now being treated at a national hospital and they needn’t worry.

During this same week, several hundred similar awakeners were gradually discovered across the country.

All of these awakeners were immediately taken to special hospitals under the guise of “treatment” for observation.

After long consideration, the leadership of China still issued a warning to the international community: at present, many people in the country were experiencing repeated unexplained fevers, and it was unclear whether this was a new type of flu. They urged other countries to be alert.

Unfortunately, no one paid attention. Many foreigners even mocked them for being overly timid.

When Mu Xing saw this online, he wasn’t surprised.

The ones mocking the hardest now were exactly the countries that would be thrown into the worst chaos in the original plot.

Time flew by.

A little over a month later, various strange news stories started appearing abroad.

Someone called the police at midnight, saying his wife’s body suddenly burst into flames. The fire didn’t burn her, but it set their whole house ablaze.

Others reported seeing someone sprout wings and fly in the sky, even capturing video footage and posting it online.

There were multiple eyewitnesses, and the strange events weren’t confined to one place. People with all sorts of bizarre abilities were appearing around the world.

While panic spread abroad, with people completely baffled as to what was happening—

*

In China.

At a secret base.

Mu Xing stood on a massive training ground, in front of a line of people standing neatly in formation.

Most of them still looked normal, but a few had undergone physical changes:

A towering two-meter-tall figure, muscles bulging with power.
Eyes turned pale gray.
Hair turned fiery red, like some delinquent punk.

These were China’s first known ability users.

Lin Fusheng was among them.

Perhaps due to his profession, his awakened ability was fire-based, allowing him to manipulate flames. Of all his senses, his sense of smell had been enhanced the most.

Mu Xing looked over them. Excluding those still in the awakening phase, the eighty people standing before him were the first batch of fully awakened ability users.

Many, upon realizing what they could do, had first reacted with panic and confusion.

But Mu Xing, as the first awakened in the world and someone already officially registered, served as their “instructor.”

He told them not to be afraid or anxious—they were not alone. Many others were awakening too.

The state knew about their situation and would not treat them differently.

As for the few who grew overly arrogant after gaining abilities, Mu Xing, smiling kindly, taught them to remain humble.

In short, this group of ability users soon felt at ease.

They thought: awakening powers isn’t really that special. Instructor Mu said many more people would awaken in the future.

And what’s the use of being “powerful”? Those who jumped around flaunting their abilities when they first awakened still ended up strung up and beaten by one of Instructor Mu’s vines.

They also realized that the state didn’t seem to regard them as a particularly special group. Other than some health tests and issuing them brand-new identification, nothing else was done.

They were kept here only because they still didn’t know how to control their powers.

So every day, they had to gather here to receive Instructor Mu’s lessons.

Two weeks later, when a new batch of awakeners arrived, Lin Fusheng and the others, holding their new ID cards, left the base.

That evening, China’s state television reported the news.

A dignified, composed anchor smiled calmly and said: now, all around the world, ability awakenings had begun appearing.

Then, the anchor described in detail the physical signs of an awakening.

Officials urged the public not to panic. If they or someone around them showed similar symptoms, they should immediately call the authorities for help, to avoid accidents during the awakening period that could cause injury or property damage.

The audience: ???

Then, the broadcast aired two interview clips.

The first was with Lin Fusheng.

When asked how he felt now, he cheerfully replied, “My sense of smell has become extra sharp. The downside is that bad odors bother me a lot more. But the upside is much greater—for a chef, this makes me much more precise in handling ingredients.”

He demonstrated his fire ability to the audience and cooked a fragrant, flavorful, perfectly presented Kung Pao chicken on the spot.

Lin Fusheng was especially delighted: “Ever since awakening this ability, my control over heat has reached an incredible level. My cooking skills have leapt forward. I can’t wait for my wife to try my new dishes.”

The second interviewee was a seventeen-year-old named Li Jin.

He was currently a high school sophomore in the sports track.

On the 400-meter track, Li Jin showed off his lightning speed.

The camera could only catch an afterimage.

He scratched his head: “I was originally a sports student specializing in sprints. My awakened ability is speed-related. Right now, my running speed has reached 100 meters per second, which is about the speed of a high-speed train.”

What he didn’t mention was that this speed might continue to grow in the future.

Li Jin pulled a long face: “I called my coach and told him about it. He said I can’t compete anymore, because it wouldn’t be fair to others.”

…

When this news broke, the whole country was stunned.

Under the official platform’s account, countless comments appeared:

[Is this real? It’s not April Fool’s Day today, right?]

[Even if it were April Fool’s Day, the official news channel wouldn’t joke like this.]

[Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap!]

[What the hell, Li Jin is my classmate! A little over a month ago he wasn’t feeling well, then he took leave saying he was going to the hospital for treatment. Didn’t expect this! Damn, he’s an ability user?!]

[Am I hallucinating, or has the world turned into a fantasy novel?]

[Holy crap, haven’t foreign countries been reporting stuff like this lately? Angels appearing, people spontaneously bursting into flames? Turns out we have it here too!]

[Man, hearing the first part: holy crap! Ability users! Sci-fi movies are real! Then the second part: wuwuwu where does Chef Lin work, can I go eat there?]

[Damn, I started having a fever last night. I didn’t think much of it, so I didn’t go to the hospital. Am I about to awaken too?!]

[Am I the only one worried? If this news is real, these ability users have way too much power compared to normal people. If they wanted to do evil, wouldn’t we have no way to resist?]

[Since the state dared to announce it, they must already have measures in place.]

…

This news was no doubt timely and effective.

It was impossible for most ordinary people to hear the words “ability users” and not feel some fear or unease.

Besides, if awakenings spread on a large scale, it couldn’t be covered up anyway.

After high-level discussions, they chose not to hide it.

Not only did they not hide it, they openly and formally told the public about ability users.

They even released several interview videos.

Before the public even had time to panic, they realized: oh, even after awakening abilities, they’re still just ordinary people.

Chef Lin awakened a fire ability, but he just went back to his hotel kitchen. His fire power simply lets him cook tastier food.

Li Jin gained supersonic speed, and his first reaction was that his coach didn’t want him anymore.

Everyone was still thinking about their own jobs and futures. That’s not so different from us!

Public opinion quickly lightened up.

The hotel where Chef Lin worked even released an official statement saying they were giving him a raise, and that for the next two weeks, all of his dishes at the hotel would be half price.

The hype spread instantly.

As for Li Jin, things got even more ridiculous.

Multiple companies like Parkour Delivery and Fengxing Express @-ed him on Weibo, saying they were willing to hire him at a high salary as a part-time courier.

Netizens laughed: good guy, if he really did that job, I’d definitely order from them every day.

Meanwhile, chaos was already brewing abroad.

Many countries were still choosing to conceal things. This move from China clearly caught them off guard.

But it was too late for them to copy.

Not to mention, their awakened ability users didn’t listen to them at all.

And more and more people were still awakening.

By now, Mu Xing’s title, besides being a consultant for the Special Action Unit, had become that of an instructor for the “Dragon Fang” division of the ability users.

Dragon Fang was a newly established department. From among the awakened, they selected those with suitable temperament and abilities, brought them under state control, and trained them uniformly to prepare for any possible incidents.

After all, not everyone would behave obediently. Such a force was absolutely necessary.

Mu Xing had no desire to be any kind of instructor. He was completely pushed into it.

Of course, his role was largely symbolic, a figure of deterrence more than anything else.

The training plans were developed by the research institute after studying ability users. Implementation and supervision all fell to Gu Zhao and the others.

Mu Xing was basically a mascot.

After Gu Zhao and his team fully awakened their own abilities, Mu Xing didn’t even bother pretending anymore. Every day he just lounged comfortably, watching others grind their teeth under Gu Zhao’s devilish training.

Occasionally someone would protest, pointing at Mu Xing: “Why doesn’t he have to train?!”

Gu Zhao: “…”

He kept a straight face: “Because I can’t beat him. If you were stronger than me, I couldn’t force you to train either.”

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