The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 65, Section 80: A Feast That Never Ends Well! A Sword Drawn in Anger! [A Massive Chapter of 10,000 Words, Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

early morning.

Lu Chen was practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard, holding the manganese steel sword that had just arrived yesterday.

This sword is 1.1 meters long and weighs 3.7 kilograms. The blade has a matte finish, making it understated and unassuming. Its sharpness is not obvious, but it is absolutely formidable.

An ordinary person could easily break bricks with it, but Lu Chen, by channeling his true energy, could easily slice through steel bars as thick as a little finger, just like shaving wood, without the blade bending at all.

Such a sword, placed in a low-martial-arts world like The Legend of the Condor Heroes, would be considered a divine weapon. In terms of both sharpness and toughness, it would be comparable to the Azure Gang Sword, only slightly inferior to the unscientific Xuan Tie Heavy Sword and the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

These past few days, he's spent most of his time playing with Rong'er. Lu Chen's martial arts practice time is only an hour or two in the evening and three or four hours from four in the morning before he leaves for work.

Even so, his skills did not suffer.

His understanding of the "Sword Mark" has gradually yielded results. His swordsmanship has become increasingly refined in terms of its strength and softness, lightness and heaviness. He can now use a light sword weighing three pounds and seven ounces to unleash the power of a heavy sword weighing tens of pounds, and he can also make it tremble like a snake, soft and silent, as if it were a soft sword.

His rapid progress is naturally due to his profound and solid swordsmanship skills.

Before unlocking the Sword II mark, he practiced heavy and light swordsmanship in the sea, and had already mastered a lot of the principles of strength and softness, lightness and heaviness.

Based on this, by comprehending the more profound and subtle changes in strength, softness, lightness, and heaviness in Sword Two, one can make rapid progress.

During practice.

Huang Rong entered the courtyard and asked with a smile:

"Brother Lu Chen, is it okay for me to wear this out today?"

Lu Chen twirled his sword, then looked at Huang Rong.

She was wearing a long-sleeved round-neck T-shirt, casual trousers, and canvas shoes. Her hair was tied in a long ponytail, and she was wearing a baseball cap. She looked like a young and beautiful urban girl, and there was no trace of her "ancient person".

Lu Chen smiled and nodded: "That's good."

When she's at home, she can wear tank tops, short skirts, and denim shorts for Lu Chen to see.

But when she goes out, she doesn't even want to wear a short-sleeved top, let alone a short skirt or shorts that expose her legs.

Huang Rong chuckled and said:

"Breakfast is ready, come and eat!"

"it is good."

Lu Chen sheathed his sword, returned to his room to have breakfast with Huang Rong, and practiced the Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian with her twice to aid digestion. Then he took her out to the Qing Tu City Garrison Command to register as a superpowered individual.

Most people with superpowers are combat talents, so they naturally need to register with the military authorities.

However, the garrison command does not use military law to restrain superpowered individuals, and does not even manage them in normal times. They only summon superpowered individuals to help when demons cause trouble—regardless of their background, the power of superpowered individuals is a kind of "privilege" by nature.

As a country with a royal family, nobles, and aristocratic families, which openly displayed the law of privilege, Jing naturally recognized this "privilege."

However, this is contingent on the superpowered individuals being willing to register with the government and demonstrate a willingness to align themselves with the ruling group.

As for those unregistered individuals with superpowers who don't flaunt their abilities, it's fine if they're exposed to the authorities. But once exposed, the Jing Kingdom's authorities have always been ruthless in their crackdowns.

Nevertheless, there have always been staunch dissidents among the people who refuse to submit to the ruling group. Rumors also circulate that individuals with superpowers have formed a resistance organization and are secretly carrying out activities to overthrow the ruling group.

But in Lu Chen's view, without sweeping everything away, the key is to eliminate the power of demons. Therefore, the subversive activities of this underground resistance organization are destined to be fruitless.

The ruling class of Jing State was indeed inhuman, but their propaganda was excellent!
Under the continuous propaganda and brainwashing by the upper class of Jing Kingdom for a century, the people of Jing Kingdom have a strong belief in the social law that the strong take all, that the elites rule everything, and that the reason they cannot change the status quo is simply because they are not good enough or hardworking enough.

Just like the people of the beacon country in my previous life.

Furthermore, the rulers of the main world have an even more advantageous condition than those of the Beacon Country.

That is the existence of "secret realms and demons".

The rulers of Jing Kingdom, or indeed the rulers of the world who wield the machinery of violence, are all unanimously using the threat of demons to consolidate their rule.

In their propaganda, without royalty, nobility, powerful families, and an army, you powerless commoners would all become food for demons.

Even if life is tough now, it's still better than being devoured by demons, right?
So, who is protecting you?

It is a powerful army that the rulers have built and maintained at the cost of countless resources!

The rulers not only created a stable living environment for you, but also provided you with countless forms of entertainment. No matter how hard you worked, you would never starve, and there were always plenty of entertainment programs to relax and unwind.

In the main world, every stable nation has invariably instilled these concepts deeply into the minds of its people, so that no matter how much they are oppressed, they can only silently endure it, at most uttering a few complaints.

Furthermore, the ruling group did not completely close off upward mobility channels.

If you are good enough, or if you awaken superpowers, you have the opportunity to become a member of the ruling group.

For the vast majority of capable individuals, is it easier to rebel or to join the upward mobility channel?
The answer is self-evident.

Therefore, in Lu Chen's view, to overthrow the existing order of the main world, one must not only be powerful enough to confront the ruling group, but also powerful enough to eliminate all threats from secret realms and demons.

We must let the common people see that even without royalty, nobility, or powerful families, they can still be free from the scourge of demons.

However, the reality is that the vast majority of powerful superhumans willingly submit to the ruling class.

Even without knowing the full story, Lu Chen could guess from this situation that the ruling group must have mastered some kind of more powerful and terrifying force...

Arriving at the Garrison Command building by taxi, Lu Chen glanced at the building, which was predominantly dark in color and exuded a sense of solemnity and grandeur. His expression remained calm as he led Huang Rong toward the main entrance of the building.

"Military restricted area, no unauthorized personnel allowed!"

Upon seeing the two teenagers approaching, a heavily armed sentry stepped forward, blocking their path, and spoke to them rather rudely.

The Jing Kingdom's military and police are tools of violence used by the ruling group, and they show no mercy to ordinary people.

"I am a superpowered person, and I am here to register."

Lu Chen said calmly.

"Superpowers?"

The sentry's expression changed slightly, and his tone unconsciously became much more polite:
"Please wait."

He then returned to the sentry post and made an internal phone call.

Soon, a young woman with light makeup, wearing a figure-hugging uniform, a pencil skirt, high heels, and flesh-colored stockings, came out and smiled at Lu Chen, saying:

"Hello, I am Lan Lin, the head of the 'Special Beings Division' of the Qingtu City Garrison Command. Are you both superpowered?"

In the official Jing Kingdom, the formal term for people with superpowers is "extraordinary person".

As for the common name, it is of course "superpowered person" or "person with special abilities".

“I am, she is not.”

Lu Chen replied.

Lan Lin did not treat Huang Rong coldly because Huang Rong was not a superpowered person. Her smile remained unchanged, and she gestured for her to enter.

"You two, please come with me."

Lu Chen and Huang Rong followed Lan Lin into the garrison command building, and on the way, they asked, feigning curiosity:
"As the head of the 'Special Beings Division,' why is Manager Lan personally coming out to greet us?"

Lan Lin smiled and said:

"Because my job as a supervisor is too easy. There aren't many superpowered people in Qingtu City right now."

As they spoke, Huang Rong led Lu Chen to an office and took out a form for Lu Chen to fill out. The form contained nothing more than his name, place of origin, ID card, home address, family members, and contact information.

Lu Chen's identity was perfectly legitimate, so he had no reservations and filled out the form truthfully.

For the last item, the nature of the superpower, Lu Chen thought for a moment and filled in:
Physical enhancements [Speed, Jumping, Endurance].

After filling out the form, Lan Lin looked at it carefully for a while, then asked Lu Chen and Huang Rong to wait in the office. She went to another office, asked the clerk to verify the information, and then made a phone call to order someone to prepare the testing site.

Lu Chen is a native of this area, so verifying his information is very convenient. Just enter his ID number into the computer, and all his information will be readily available.

"Hmm? My parents 'disappeared' four years ago during that demonic chaos? And they have no close relatives left?"

Orphans without close relatives should be treated with a bit more caution.

Because such people, once they have power, can easily become invincible.

but……

Since the government provides many preferential treatments to people with superpowers, it must have a way to control them.

Otherwise, people would really think that the government of the Great Jing Kingdom is a charitable organization.
They neither manage those with superpowers nor strictly restrain them with military law, allowing them to come and go freely. They even provide them with monthly stipends, allow them to refuse conscription, and offer many other hidden benefits...

There's no such thing as a free lunch. After receiving so many benefits, it's natural to expect something in return.

Ordinary people are naturally unaware of the methods the government uses to control people with superpowers.

Even with the convenience of the internet today, given the strict control that the upper echelons of Jingguo exercise over information, ordinary people without access to such information would absolutely not be able to find it.

Those who know the secret and try to leak it will surely suffer a terrible death.

Thinking about those bizarre and cruel methods of preventing leaks, Lan Lin, as the head of the Extraordinary People Division of Qingtu City, who was naturally also in the know, couldn't help but shudder.

With the documents approved, Lan Lin returned to Lu Chen and Huang Rong's office and said with a smile:

"Congratulations, Mr. Lu has passed the initial review. Next, you only need to pass the ability test to officially register as an official 'Outsider'. Please follow me."

After saying that, he led the two to the elevator lobby, took the elevator down to the third basement level, and went to the test site.

The test items were naturally the ones that Lu Chen filled out.

Speed ​​is measured in a 100-meter sprint.

Jumping ability is measured by standing jump and running jump.

The shuttle run tests endurance.

Lan Lin was quite satisfied with the test results.

"100-meter dash 3.7 seconds, vertical jump 5.8 meters, running high jump 10.7 meters, standing long jump 7.6 meters, running long long jump 12.9 meters... 50-meter shuttle run for ten consecutive minutes, the speed was consistently maintained at around 4.8 seconds for the 100-meter dash..."

"His abilities are quite good. Although he doesn't have much destructive power, with proper training in combat, firearms, and other individual combat skills and tactics, coupled with suitable equipment, he could potentially wipe out an entire company by himself in complex environments such as cities and forests."

She didn't know that Lu Chen hadn't actually used his full strength.

If we give it our all, the data will be even higher.

After passing the test, he had his ID photo taken. Not long after, Lu Chen naturally received a newly issued "Superhuman Certificate," and from then on, he became a registered superhuman receiving government subsidies.

Lan Lin then explained to Lu Chen the benefits and obligations of official superhumans, the details of which were largely the same as what Lu Chen had found online.

For example, the monthly stipend after registration is not determined by ability, but by contributions made to the official team. The more merits and contributions, and the higher the rank, the more generous the stipend.

Lu Chen just registered and has no achievements to show for it, yet he can still enjoy a tax-free allowance of 10,000 Jingyuan every month.

This basic allowance alone far surpasses that of many graduates from prestigious universities, demonstrating the privileges afforded to superpowered individuals.

In addition, Lu Chen can come to the garrison command at any time to receive free individual combat and firearms training.

When recruited by the garrison command for combat missions, they will receive advanced individual equipment provided by the garrison command. Furthermore, for each successful mission, they will receive generous cash rewards and contribution points based on the mission's difficulty and specific achievements.

Contribution points can be used to level up, exchange for equipment, and access rare resources that are absolutely inaccessible to ordinary people.

In addition, Lan Lin also subtly mentioned that if someone accidentally hurts or even kills someone, as long as they are not a big shot or someone with a powerful background, there is no need to worry about being arrested by law enforcement; the garrison command will intervene on its own.

Of course, you can't go too far.

Making a mistake once in a while is acceptable, but if you go on a killing spree without restraint and accidentally get exposed online, the consequences will be severe.

After all, Lu Chen isn't a powerful superhuman like "Super Heavy Cannon" Lei Long, so the higher-ups might not be willing to go to great lengths to protect him.

From the perspective of a superpowered individual, judging solely from the treatment provided by the government, one would undoubtedly feel that the Jing Kingdom government is extremely generous. Just registering once is enough to achieve a preliminary upward social mobility, and even obtain a limited "license to kill."

If one is not a pure idealist, then joining the government and becoming a reserve member of the ruling group, happily lording it over others, would be a pleasant thing.

And 90% or more of those with superpowers probably think this way—becoming superior to others is the instinctive pursuit of most people.

Jingguo is a privileged society where "elites" control everything. It is normal for superpowered individuals who have been exposed to this ideology since childhood to pursue becoming superior and enjoying privileges.

Idealists are absolutely rare.

After distributing the documents and explaining the benefits to Lu Chen, Lan Lin gave him a black card and said with a smile:

"This is a membership card for the Extraordinary People Club, which only accepts people with superpowers. Mr. Lu can use this card to enter the Extraordinary People Club and enjoy exclusive internal discounts. Occasionally, official auctions will be held where you can bid on some rare items that are absolutely unavailable outside. Some of these items can even help with the growth of your superpowers and extend your lifespan."

Extend life?

Something!

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow, knowing that this meant he had officially obtained a channel to access the "inner world." He smiled as he accepted the black card and thanked Lan Lin.

"By the way, Mr. Lu, your registration has been successful. As is customary, the city's community of extraordinary individuals will be hosting a welcome dinner at the club. I wonder if Mr. Lu is free tonight?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said:

"available."

Lan Lin smiled and said:

"Then the welcome dinner will be held tonight at eight o'clock. I will inform all the superpowered people in the city. As is customary, basically all the superpowered people in the city will attend to welcome the newcomer and get to know each other. After all, we may be fighting side by side in the future."

Lu Chen asked curiously:

"How many people with superpowers are there in Qingtu City?"

There are no celebrity superpowered individuals in Qingtu City.

At least Lu Chen had never seen any news about local superpowered individuals on television or the internet.

Lan Lin had previously mentioned that there weren't many superpowered individuals in Qingtu City, which left her, as the supervisor, somewhat idle.

"Because of what happened four years ago, there are only seven registered superpowered individuals in Qingtu City, including Mr. Lu."

Lan Lin said with a smile:

"However, Mr. Lu can rest assured that the Great Green Mountain Secret Realm is currently under control. At most, demons may occasionally escape, but there will never be a large-scale demon tide like four years ago. Mr. Lu does not need to worry about being conscripted to fight a large group of demons. Furthermore, Mr. Lu has not yet received training, and we will not conscript an untrained superhuman to participate in combat missions."

This treatment did indeed sound very generous, and Lu Chen nodded gratefully, a hint of impulsiveness befitting his age and experience also showing:

"If demons cause trouble, I'd still really like to give it a try..."

Lan Lin nodded and smiled understandingly.
"There will be a chance."

She paused, glanced at Huang Rong beside Lu Chen, and continued the conversation from the previous dinner:

"Mr. Lu is welcome to bring a female companion to the club dinner tonight."

Lu Chen nodded:
"Okay, I'll be there on time at eight o'clock tonight."

Lan Lin's lips curled slightly, a subtle smile appearing in her eyes, and she gave a slight bow.

"Then we will await Mr. Lu's arrival."

After leaving the garrison command building.

Huang Rong suddenly whispered:

"That Lan Lin, there's something strange about her."

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about the other person.

She just instinctively felt that after Lu Chen agreed to attend the club's welcome dinner on time, the subtle emotions revealed in Lan Lin's eyes seemed a little off.

This is certainly not some special perception.

The martial artists in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes do not cultivate spiritual awareness and do not possess that mysterious and profound spiritual perception.

She's just naturally perceptive and good at reading people's expressions.

Lu Chen also sensed something was amiss.

As a transmigrator, he possessed a completely different cognitive system from birth, unlike the local people who were passively shaped by the Jing Kingdom's government from childhood. He had a very clear understanding of the Jing Kingdom's government's inhumanity.

"There might be problems with tonight's welcome dinner."

Lu Chen said softly:

“When I was researching before, I always found it strange that the government treated people with superpowers far too well. As long as they registered, they could receive a stipend for nothing and even had the right to refuse to be drafted. Even if they refused to be drafted twice in a row, they would not be punished, only their stipend would be suspended... Even as natural privileged individuals, this treatment was really too privileged…”

Huang Rong continued:

"And they don't have to be strictly managed, they can come and go freely, and they can even injure and kill people without being punished. There is no such thing as a free lunch. No government can support a group of unrestrained strongmen for nothing."

Lu Chen nodded:
"The Jing Kingdom government is very powerful. But its excessive leniency towards superpowered individuals doesn't fit this powerful image at all..."

Huang Rong's expression was solemn:

"Money, beauty, and power are very effective on ordinary people. That club of superhumans probably uses these kinds of tactics to win them over. But superhumans wield great power, and the powerful government probably won't be at ease relying solely on these methods."

"Therefore, I suspect that the Jing Kingdom government probably has some powerful means to ensure absolute control over superpowered individuals. That is why, on the surface, they do not impose any restrictions on superpowered individuals who voluntarily register, but instead offer them various preferential treatments."

Lu Chen sighed softly:
"Superpowered individuals believe that by aligning themselves with the government, they can achieve upward mobility and leap over the dragon gate, but... this may just be voluntarily jumping into a cage, becoming a ferocious beast with a tight headband on its head, being raised by others."

Huang Rong chuckled:
"So, what powerful methods will the government use to control superpowered individuals? Could it be some kind of restriction similar to my family's 'Bone-Attaching Needle'? Or some kind of Gu worm or poison that requires taking an antidote at regular intervals?"

Lu Chen smiled:
"Who knows? However, given the power of the Jing Kingdom's government, they probably won't do it too crudely, but the specific methods should be no different in essence from bone-attaching needles, Gu worms, and poisons."

Even in low-level martial arts worlds, there are various restrictions that control people, such as Master Huang's Bone-Piercing Needle, Tianshan Child Granny's Life and Death Talisman, Ren Woxing's Three Corpse Brain God Pill, and the Divine Dragon Cult Leader's Leopard Fetus Tendon-Changing Pill, etc.

Given the power level of the main world, how could it not have similar methods?

The methods are similar, but the level of power and the degree of supernaturalness should far exceed them.

After all, this is a world with superpowers and demons.

Beyond superpowers and demons, who knows if there are even more bizarre and powerful forces unknown to ordinary people.

"Shall we go tonight?"

"Of course I'm going," Lu Chen said calmly. "Let's see what they're up to. If things don't go well, we can always find another place."

Firstly, he possesses the intent of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword, so he can escape with Rong'er at any time if things go wrong.

Secondly, Qingtu City is a city that is slowly dying. Including him, there are only seven superpowered individuals, and none of them are well-known celebrity superpowered individuals.

Superpowered individuals are not all-rounders; most are fragile sorcerers or glass cannons.

If they get close enough, even the "Super Heavy Cannon" Thunder Dragon Lu Chen is confident he can take them down in one move, let alone the six unknown ordinary ability users in the area.

Thirdly, and most importantly, based on the abilities he has demonstrated today, he is far from being a "celebrity" superpowered individual. He is merely an ordinary physical enhancer who can run fast, jump high, and has strong endurance. He has neither powerful destructive force nor has he received any combat or firearms training.

In Lan Lin's eyes, his abilities are probably "safe and harmless" compared to other superpowered individuals. He still needs to undergo some training and be equipped with suitable equipment to have decent combat power.

So, for a "safe and harmless" newcomer like him, even if there were problems with tonight's welcome banquet, it would be impossible for them to put on such an outrageous show.

That's making a mountain out of a molehill and a waste of resources.

Being too arrogant and unrestrained is certainly not good, but taking yourself too seriously, and when you are still unknown and have not shown any confrontational emotions or great power, you always imagine that others will treat you as a great enemy, walk on thin ice, and carefully scheme against you, or even imagine that an invincible powerhouse is ready to descend from the sky to suppress you at any time, then you are absolutely insane.

Do you now deserve to be treated with such fanfare and solemnity by the government?
Surely we'll cause some serious trouble first?

Lu Chen even guessed that tonight's welcome banquet would most likely be amicable.

The "control methods" that he and Huang Rong suspected would likely appear in a subtle, insidious way, or in a form that is irresistible and even readily accepted.

He told Huang Rong about his idea. Huang Rong thought for a moment, then opened her left hand, clenched her right fist, and gently tapped her left palm, saying:

"Very likely! They might bring out a magical potion that greatly enhances... oh, superpowers, as a gift for newcomers? That potion is probably genuine; it can indeed enhance abilities, but it definitely contains hidden dangers that only the government can control..."

Lu Chen laughed:

"Then let's wait and see if they will, as Rong'er said, bring out a precious medicine as a gift for me."

……

7:50 p.m.

Lu Chen and Huang Rong got out of a taxi and arrived in front of a five-story building with a rather understated exterior.

Even when attending a dinner party, the two of them did not dress very formally.

Lu Chen was dressed in sporty casual clothes, and Huang Rong was dressed the same as during the day, except she added a sports jacket, and her pockets were filled with a lot of glass marbles the size of soybeans.

The two walked hand in hand toward the gate.

Two security guards dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses late at night greeted us at the door.
"Mr. Lu Chen? Welcome to the Extraordinary People Club."

Lu Chen wasn't surprised that they recognized him at a glance.

In the entire city of Qingtu, including him, there are only seven people with superpowers.

The employees of these superhuman clubs must have memorized the hero list and know the information of each superhuman by heart, right?

Even for someone like him who just registered today, it's the same.

He showed a hint of shyness befitting his age, nodded to the two of them, and after they opened the door for him and Huang Rong, he whispered a thank you before entering the hall behind the door with Huang Rong.

After a while.

Lu Chen and Huang Rong were led by a beautiful woman dressed in an ancient-style robe to a small bar-style hall.

It was nearly eight o'clock, and there were already seven people in the small hall.

One of them was Lan Lin, who was wearing a fitted evening gown, her long hair was tied up, and she was dressed quite formally.

The other six people, five men and one woman, were of varying ages. The oldest looked to be over fifty, while the youngest looked to be only in his early twenties.

Seeing Lu Chen and Huang Rong enter, Lan Lin smiled and said:
"A newcomer has arrived! Everyone, this is Mr. Lu Chen, the new superpowered individual who has joined the Extraordinary Persons Division!"

The six people immediately stood up, smiling and clapping. Just as Lu Chen had expected, the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Of course, he also noticed that the men's gazes were mostly fixed on Huang Rong, and their eyes were filled with amazement.

Especially that young man in his early twenties, whose eyes even held a hint of greedy covetousness—the government's treatment of superpowered individuals was too lenient, which would undoubtedly fuel their greed.

If one's character is not strong enough, the powerful personal strength, coupled with the preferential treatment or even indulgence of the government, could very well cause a superpowered person to develop evil thoughts, or even become a greedy and shameless villain.

Lu Chen pondered inwardly, but on the surface he adopted a shy expression and said:

"Hello everyone, I'm Lu Chen... Um, Manager Lan, could you please introduce everyone to me?"

Lan Lin said with a smile:

"That's exactly what I was going to tell you."

She pointed to the oldest man, who looked to be in his early fifties, and said:
"This is Elder Feng Baiyu, a user of telekinesis."

"Hello, Elder Feng." Lu Chen greeted him respectfully, behaving like a well-behaved child who respected the elderly, showing no trace of the ferocity he displayed when he slapped the paralyzed white-haired old man and pointed at the snake-raising old man from the Western Regions.

"Hello, Xiao Lu."

Old Feng had a friendly smile and looked like a kind old man.

"This is Brother Rocchiro."

Lan Lin then pointed to a burly man who was two meters tall with broad shoulders and a thick waist, and said:

"Brother Luo is a power user with immense strength. He once swung a motorcycle in each hand and smashed a monster to death."

Lu Chen was filled with respect and admiration:
"Brother Luo is amazing!"

This power user might be even stronger than Lu Chen.

But since Lan Lin only mentioned his strength, given that most superpowered individuals have only one type of ability, and considering his overly tall and robust physique, it's likely that he lacks agility. Killing him might only require one sword strike—strength-type superpowered individuals generally have more resilient and denser muscles and bones than ordinary people.

But no matter how tough and dense it is, it is not made of steel and cannot withstand sharp weapons.

The truly strong and resilient superhumans must possess body-changing superpowers.

For example, Fang Lin, a superhuman with special abilities in Jingguo, can transform his entire body into a special alloy. In this transformed state, he is as agile as an ordinary person, his body is invulnerable to blades and bullets, and his strength far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Such superpowered individuals are truly fearless against sharp blades, and even heavy artillery cannot kill them.

However, without transforming, "Iron Man's" body is only slightly more robust than that of an ordinary person.

Even "Iron Man" Fang Lin cannot maintain his transformed state for 24 hours, because transforming also consumes energy.

After introducing Luo Qi, Lan Lin introduced the other four people one by one.

They are Yuan Gang, who has the ability to "invisibility"; Lin Xinyue, who has the ability to "sound waves"; Li Cheng, who has the ability to "absorb physical strength"; and Zhao Huan, who has the ability to "control fire".

Lin Xinyue is the only woman among the six ability users, while Zhao Huan is the young man with the strange look in his eyes.

After they introduced themselves, Lan Lin smiled and said:

"It's almost the end of the month, so let's take advantage of today's welcome party to distribute this quarter's benefits from the Department of Extraordinary People."

He then went to the bar and made an internal call using the landline.

A moment later, a burly man entered carrying a rather large silver briefcase. At Lan Lin's signal, he placed the briefcase on the table. Lan Lin stepped forward and entered the password. The briefcase hissed and emitted a puff of white mist. Then the lid slowly opened, revealing that it even had its own cooling system.

As the box was opened, seven tubes of crystal-clear liquid, shimmering with a pale blue light, were revealed inside.

Lu Chen noticed that Feng Baiyu and the other superpowered individuals almost simultaneously focused their gaze on the crystalline liquid, their eyes filled with eager longing.

"what is this?"

Lu Chen asked with a curious expression, just as appropriate.

"This is the 'Ascension' potion."

Lan Lin said with a smile:

"It is an auxiliary drug developed by the headquarters of the Extraordinary Persons Division specifically for superpowered individuals. It can enhance physical fitness and stimulate the growth of superpowers. Only officially registered superpowered individuals of the Extraordinary Persons Division can enjoy this treatment. Because of its scarcity, each person can only receive one free dose per quarter."

Lu Chen and Huang Rong exchanged a glance, both seeing the words "as expected" in each other's eyes.

At this moment, Lan Lin took out the "Ascension" potion one by one and distributed it to Feng Baiyu and the others. After receiving the potion, Feng Baiyu and the other six couldn't wait to open the test tube and then gulp it down in one go.

After taking the medicine, everyone became radiant and looked satisfied.

Lan Lin handed the last "Ascension" potion to Lu Chen and said with a smile:
"Although Mr. Lu just joined today, now that you are a member of the Extraordinary Persons Division, you will naturally receive this quarter's benefits as well."

Lu Chen took the medicine, a hint of hesitation appearing on his face at the opportune moment:
"Will this medicine... have any side effects?"

"The side effects are severe!"

Before Lan Lin could speak, Zhao Huan looked at Lu Chen with a provocative expression and said in a flippant tone:

"It's addictive! Once you've tasted it and experienced the feeling of your body being strengthened and your superpowers growing rapidly, no superhuman can resist its magic... So, kid, dare to drink it?"

Seeing Lu Chen's hesitant expression, Zhao Huan sneered, her face full of disdain:
"If you're too scared to drink it, just give it to me! I'll pay for it. Is 100,000 enough?"

"One hundred thousand?"

Lin Xinyue chuckled softly:
"Xiao Zhao, you're a newcomer who's only recently joined the Bureau of Extraordinary People. How can you cheat a kid like this? Ascension potions are extremely rare and only available through rationing. They'll never circulate on the market. You can't even buy one for 200,000 or 300,000, let alone 100,000."

She looked at Lu Chen with a smile:

"Little Brother Lu, I won't cheat you. How about this, if you're too scared to drink it, why don't you sell it to me? I'll offer you 500,000."

So, are you all just putting on a show?
Lu Chen found it amusing.

He knew that this "Ascension" potion was most likely a means for the Jing Kingdom government to control superpowered individuals.

Furthermore, its hidden dangers are definitely not as simple as "addiction" as Zhao Huan said.

Because the addiction Zhao Huan talks about is just the pursuit of a powerful addiction.

If one can restrain the desire for power, this potion is actually optional.

How could the Jing Kingdom government possibly control superpowered individuals with just this "addiction" that they can overcome on their own?
The Ascension Potion definitely harbors even more terrifying hidden dangers.

Lan Lin deliberately gathered all the superpowered individuals in the city to distribute quarterly benefits at the welcome banquet, clearly to create an atmosphere for Lu Chen that everyone was drinking with peace of mind and was extremely eager to do so.

If Lu Chen is still not at ease, then naturally someone will cooperate with the performance, asking to buy his potion, creating an atmosphere that the Ascension Potion is extremely precious and highly valued by every superpowered person, in order to increase the Ascension Potion's importance in Lu Chen's mind.

Even Zhao Huan's claim of "addiction" was a deliberately designed rhetoric to reassure Lu Chen.

These six superpowered individuals should have been firmly under control long ago.

They might not even have been instructed by the Bureau of Extraordinary People; they were just driven by some dark psychology, hoping that Lu Chen would be controlled like them. So when Lan Lin distributed the potion, they all tacitly agreed to cooperate in the performance and try to drag Lu Chen into the mess!
If Lu Chen really was just an eighteen-year-old boy who lost both his parents and became an orphan in his second year of middle school.

If Huang Rong beside him were truly just an innocent and naive young girl.

So their design might actually work.

An eighteen-year-old boy, at the age when he was pursuing power, watched his colleagues drink the ascension potion without any scruples. While he hesitated, they used provocative words to provoke him and competed to buy the potion that he dared not drink for the time being.

Under such stimulation, a naive eighteen-year-old boy might just tilt his head back and drink the medicine on the spot.

Unfortunately, Lu Chen and Huang Rong had already guessed the existence of the "precious medicine"!
Of course, Lu Chen didn't intend to turn against her for the time being. He still pretended to hesitate and said to Lan Lin:

"Can I take this home and drink it? Hmm, since this potion can enhance physical fitness and stimulate the growth of superpowers, I'd like to go home and find a quiet room to carefully experience its effects. Perhaps the enhancement effect will be even better that way?"

Lan Lin remained expressionless and said with a smile:
"Of course. However, the ethereal potion must be stored at a low temperature; it will become ineffective within three hours at room temperature..."

She wasn't worried that Lu Chen wouldn't drink the medicine.

With both parents killed in the chaos of demons, how could an eighteen-year-old boy who pursues power and is also ambitious resist the temptation of the ascension potion?
Even if he's still a little hesitant now, he'll definitely drink it.

After all, the other six superpowered individuals had all drunk it...

Just as I was thinking this, I heard Zhao Huan suddenly chuckle and say:

"Alright, this kid's probably got some tricks up his sleeve. This act's probably a disaster! This's boring, I'm not playing anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Lan Lin was immediately startled and looked at Zhao Huan:

"you……"

"Stop talking nonsense." Zhao Huan pointed at Lan Lin: "I'm tired of playing the white dragon fish disguise and pretending to be weak. Now, I can do whatever I want..."

As he spoke, he looked at Huang Rong with a smile:
"Let's get to know each other again. My surname is Pei, and my real name is Pei Huan. Have you heard of the Pei family? The Founding Duke! I'm from the Pei family. I've recently come to Qingtu City for a visit and was looking for some playmates. Little girl, you're in luck! Young Master Pei has taken a liking to you! Come with me!"

These words startled Lu Chen for a moment—in this day and age, are there still such brainless villains?

But then I thought about it again, and in my previous life I had seen quite a few second-generation rich kids online who didn't even act.

In the United States, there are even cases of police officers being killed in police stations, with the senator suppressing the news until it came to light six years later.

Those were just ordinary people without any extraordinary powers, who dared to be arrogant and domineering simply because they relied on the power of their fathers and grandfathers.

In this world, the ruling class wields power, even granting limited "licenses to kill" to newly registered superhumans. It's no surprise that the scions of aristocratic families are even more arrogant.

Among the top families, there are definitely quite a few eccentric individuals who don't eat beef or have crescent-shaped hairs pointing upwards.

Therefore, to think that all the scoundrels from aristocratic families are gentle, cunning, and shrewd, and that they are never brainless, is truly brainless.

Lu Chenzhen never expected that in Qingtu City, a city that was slowly dying and where there were hardly any superpowered individuals left, he would run into a brainless lunatic...

Pei Huan originally thought that by bringing up his family background, Lu Chen, a mere superpowered individual, would only dare to be angry but not speak out, so he brazenly reached out to grab Huang Rong's hand.

however.

Before his hand even touched Huang Rong, Lu Chen put his five fingers together and gently flicked his wrist.

Lu Chen's fingertips did not touch Zhao Huan's wrist.

Zhao Huan suddenly felt a chill on his wrist, and then saw his wrist slowly split open, his entire hand breaking off at the wrist, and he fell to the floor with a snap.

[Another long chapter of 10,000 words today, so this is the only one. Please vote with your monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)