Chapter Twenty-Five: Top Secret Files
On September 1st, Ji Cheng, who had spent the night in the dormitory of the Parliament Building, walked downstairs with his two roommates.
As they reached the lobby, an armored bus was already parked on the concrete outside. It wasn’t one of those modified vehicles suitable for traveling in the wilderness beyond the city, but a standard bulletproof bus—proof that their destination lay within the city, not beyond its walls.
Hopefully, it really is just an internal selection, Ji Cheng sighed to himself. Even with ample mental preparation, any reduction in risk was welcome.
A man whose neck was ringed with fish scales whispered to Ji Cheng, “I heard that all the original gene injectees from other cities have been gathered here in Southport, and will head to the destination together.”
This was Ji Cheng’s roommate from the previous night, Ma Jingwu. The other roommate, Feng Cai, was more withdrawn, standing quietly to one side.
“Why start from Southport?” Ji Cheng asked casually.
Ma Jingwu scratched his neck. “Who knows? The higher-ups make all the decisions. Maybe the selection site for the empowered is right here in Southport.”
They chatted idly for a while as people gradually gathered, and soon the bus departed from the Parliament Building.
...
Southport Airport.
The city’s only airport, generally reserved for military use and so well hidden that it was usually deserted. Now, however, the armored bus rolled slowly onto the airfield.
“Didn’t expect we’d end up at the airport,” Ji Cheng thought, surprised, sharing the shock of the others as they were ushered inside.
Upon entering the terminal, they found over a hundred people already waiting. Some tall, some short, dressed in various styles and ages. A few had hair grayed by age and faces carved with deep wrinkles, their bearing somber and weary; others were young, in their prime, no more than twenty or thirty years old. What united them was the presence of mutated organs—silent, orderly, they stood in ranks.
At the front was an elderly man, stern-faced, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed through the glass wall at the runway, immobile. This was Xu Mingxiong, known as "Ember," the first empowered to discover Ji Cheng’s original assimilation rate.
Beside him stood two men and two women, their aura no less imposing—clearly empowered individuals as well.
Behind them, the assembled ranks were tense and grave, while the empowered at the front conversed quietly, until Ji Cheng and his group entered. Xu Mingxiong stepped forward and called out in a sonorous voice:
“Quiet, please.”
Once the crowd had calmed, he continued:
“As you know, each selection for empowered individuals differs somewhat. This time, the selection will take place on an island in the Tunan Sea. In a moment, you’ll board a plane here and depart.”
So that was it, Ji Cheng realized. No wonder participants from other city-states had gathered in Southport—Southport New City was built at the mouth of the Tunan Sea.
The Tunan Sea was an inland sea, reaching deep into the continent, surrounded by wilderness and archipelagos, connected to other waters only by a narrow strait. Aside from Southport New City at the mouth, the rest of the coastline belonged to the wilderness, dominated by rogue defense systems and mutated beasts.
“May I ask, what is the selection process?” someone inquired.
“The specifics are decided by the leaders of the major city-states; even I don’t know the details,” Xu Mingxiong replied. “But as long as your will is firm and your fundamentals solid, you have a chance.”
...
After Xu Mingxiong finished his speech and words of encouragement, a dozen staff members wheeled out large carts.
Upon them rested hundreds of pistols, each reflecting a metallic sheen, in various models.
...
Pistols... Ji Cheng had a faint suspicion.
Firearms were strictly controlled. The silenced PZ-845 he’d obtained in the laboratory on Black Island had been confiscated by security, and now they were distributing guns openly.
The intent was clear: blood would be shed; lives would be lost.
It seemed the casualty figures quoted by that middle-aged man yesterday were likely true.
Over two hundred participants queued quietly to select their firearms. Most didn’t fully grasp what choosing a gun entailed, but they still deliberated carefully. Most of the guns were modern, silenced pistols—high concealment, equipped with infrared sights, powerful muzzle energy.
Yet power and lethality are not the same. Power depends on muzzle energy; a powerful gun’s bullets penetrate well, useful against special targets or in anti-materiel scenarios. But here, the opponents were living humans.
When facing the human body, and with only powder weapons—just pistols to choose from—selecting one with high lethality was the safe bet.
When Ji Cheng’s turn came, most had already chosen, and as expected, most went for powerful, quiet, modern pistols.
Ji Cheng rummaged through a few carts and found a Vulture pistol, satisfied as he accepted a box of matching ammunition and a holster from the staff.
The Vulture had a short range and a primitive aiming mechanism—a classic, old-school gun, but one of the few capable of loading heavy, pointed lead rounds. These bullets had heavy tips and light tails; upon entering the body, their balance was disrupted, causing them to tumble and fragment, tearing tissue and creating cavities. The damage was immense.
A hit to the torso would incapacitate with a single shot; a limb could be blown clean off.
Ji Cheng weighed the gun in his hand—the polygonal barrel was thick and sturdy, giving a reassuring heft, and the grooved mechanical sights were prominent, the reason for its name. He toyed with it briefly before holstering it.
Behind him, someone impatiently pressed forward, and Ji Cheng tactfully stepped aside, joining the queue.
“That guy in the mask actually picked a Vulture,” someone snickered nearby.
To most, the latest silenced pistols represented cutting-edge technology; only the ignorant would pick a gun with short range and mediocre power.
Ji Cheng’s gene original boosted his senses, especially his hearing, so he caught their remarks clearly. Rather than anger, he felt a mischievous amusement:
“Wait till you get hit by my rocket—you’ll see that old tricks are the best.”
Once everyone had their guns, the empowered leaders brusquely called, “Let’s go,” and headed for the boarding gate.
The gene original injectees scrambled to catch up, only to find the empowered all stopped at the entrance, making no move to board.
“Stay calm. Don’t touch anything,” Xu Mingxiong said, unmoved by their confusion, his tone merely reminding them.
A staff member carrying a lockbox approached. Xu Mingxiong took it, opened it, and removed a recognition device.
“Two hundred and twenty participants in the empowered selection. Last verification of your identities—line up, and come forward one by one when your name is called to scan your ID and board.”
“Xi Jia.”
A woman stepped forward and swiped her ID.
“Look at the camera,” Xu Mingxiong instructed.
Beep—
[Name: Xi Jia]
[Age: 33]
[Original assimilation rate: 90%]
The staff beside him retrieved an earpiece from the box. “This is your communicator. Keep it safe; once the selection begins, we’ll contact you through it.”
...
Xi Jia clipped the communicator to her ear and glanced at Xu Mingxiong.
“Go ahead,” he said, waving her through. She nodded and entered the boarding tunnel.
“Lian Yingcai.”
“Qi Yan.”
“Li Dali.”
...
Xu Mingxiong read the names quickly; each called stepped forward, scanned their ID, received a communicator, and the queue visibly shortened.
“Ji Cheng.”
After twenty or so names, it was finally his turn. Ji Cheng hurried from the line, jogging to the gate.
Beep—
His ID was scanned.
[Name: Ji Cheng]
[Age: Classified]
[Original assimilation rate: Classified]
Classified?
The previously noisy queue fell silent.
Everyone was stunned. This was the final, supervised verification before the selection; even the highest authority would have to reveal their true identity here! How could someone’s information be "Classified"?
A man with a wolf’s tail exclaimed in surprise, “Is the machine broken? Why isn’t any information showing?”
“Must be a faulty scanner—how could anyone’s details be confidential in this situation?” murmurs rose behind him.
Xu Mingxiong snorted softly at the gate. “The machine is fine. Board.”
He was the first to discover Ji Cheng’s potential and had attended the internal meeting; he knew Ji Cheng’s data had been placed in the empowered database, inaccessible to this device. Its clearance was too low.
Ji Cheng took the communicator and slipped into the boarding tunnel, unfazed.
Those left behind erupted in confusion. Impossible—the machine was fine?
“So that masked man’s information really is classified? That’s absurd.”
Most couldn’t believe or comprehend it; in such a formal, solemn setting, how could anyone’s details be confidential?
Even more astonishing, the empowered leader didn’t find it odd at all.
What a strange affair...