Chapter 37

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Actually, there is another reason.”

Lin Hai was not bothered by Lin Yu’s thumbs up given to him earlier as he continued to speak after drinking some water.

“I believe you guys have been watching lots of recent news lately, so I wouldn’t be delving into much detail either. 10% of the news has been caused by Awakened Superhumans stirring up trouble, while 20% were caused by them strongly resisting the agents we sent to approach them. The rest were basically the result of 2D Lifeforms1.”

“What are 2D Lifeforms?”

Xu Zhaoyang questioned further.

“Dark energy was not the only thing unstable wormholes brought along. Sometimes, they would also bring along these 2D Lifeforms.”

Lin Hai sighed and said, “Most of the longer-lasting or higher threat wormholes were already isolated by agents sent from upper management. However, there is nothing we can do about the wormholes which appear randomly in the city as we can’t be stationed in every region and every part of our country. Besides, mechas are difficult to pilot; although the heavy artillery and massive firepower could kill these enemies, the collateral damage and loss to the city would be astronomically high.”

Lin Yu’s mind was the quickest thinking as he questioned, “So these Awakened Superhumans are not just simply making livestreams but are also responsible in taking care of these randomly-occurring 2D Lifeforms, right?”

“More or less, but it’s not a mandatory request and if the Awakened Superhumans were to accept an assignment, they would be given the assignment based on their combat assessment level and be rewarded when the assignments are completed.”

Lin Hai nodded and said, “The first point in using these Awakened Superhumans was as an emergency response toward the threat of the 2D Lifeforms. Next is shaping heroes as support for the common people to calm a widespread panic.”

“Then wouldn’t it just be like real-life superheroes? Well, no. This would actually be even more awesome than being an actual superhero as they can livestream at any moment they want.”

Upon hearing that, Xu Zhaoyang’s eyes lit up with excitement and he asked impatiently, “Uncle Lin, could you take a look and see if I could register? My superpower is combat grade without a doubt.”

“That’s right, an actual superhero. This operation is called Operation SLSH1. After some time, a specialized livestreaming channel will be set up.”

1Lin Hai had a sly look on his face as he said, “There’s no problem if you want to join us as our purpose here today was to approach the three of you. Upper management wants me to look for a group of people as an example so that it would calm any concerns other Awakened Superhumans might have.”

“That’s awesome.”

Xu Zhaoyang beamed with joy while excitedly pumping his fists up the air.

However, Lin Yu was a little confused as he questioned, “Three?”

“Alright, two. Who knows what the intel department was up to that the mechanical toy you made could even be mistaken as you being an Awakened Superhuman. It’s becoming more outrageous recently.”

Lin Hai lamented.

“Even by excluding me, there should only be two. Who is the other one?”

Lin Yu curiously probed further.

“You guys know who the other one is. It’s Zhao Xiaolu from accounting.”

While smiling, Lin Hai teasingly said, “Zhao Xiaolu happens to be an Awakened Superhuman with two abilities. Little Lin, if you’re interested in her, you should work harder to awaken three abilities.”

1Lin Yu was unsure why he was not surprised after hearing Lin Hai utter that name. Instead, he felt slightly better in his heart.

Perhaps the female academic genius from Alexander University had awakened a Superintelligence ability?

“… Uncle Lin, stop playing random matchmaking now. I’m not privileged enough to enjoy it.”

He felt a slight twitch in his heart as he questioned hastily, “Oh that’s right, Uncle Lin, am I allowed to join this Operation SLSH?”

Superhero livestreams. Based on the government’s knowledge, it was uncertain just how many Awakened Superhumans would be gathered. However, regardless of either views or benefits, both would be plenty.

Besides, his upgrade abilities depended on his views and exposure. If he could join them, his powers would improve exponentially.

“No, the superhero livestream channel is restricted to Awakened Superhumans only, and there aren’t any plans to allow regular people to register yet since the risks are high.”

Lin Hai immediately denied his request without hesitation.

Lin Hai frowned slightly after saying that and gave him some heartfelt advice, “Although superhero livestreams are fighting to gain views and exposure, without a doubt, they will be participating in fighting assignments against 2D Lifeforms. This is too dangerous for regular humans and besides, there is a high possibility for you, Little Lin, to take the risk and do rash things in the heat of the moment.

“Don’t blame Uncle for being unreasonable, okay. Even if you’re wearing your gauntlets, you’re still a human underneath them. Even to an Awakened Superhuman, when they’re facing against the weakest 2D Lifeforms, they would die ten out of ten times so don’t ever take the risk. Also, don’t wander around outside before the whole situation hasn’t calmed down yet, alright.”

“I… Alright. I understand, Uncle Lin.”

Lin Yu’s lips twitched slightly but he did not end up saying the words, “Actually, I’m also an Awakened Superhuman,” out loud.

It did not matter if he was an Awakened Superhuman or not as his ability was only limited to making support equipment. Perhaps if he had great potential but it was just as Lin Hai had said: he had no combat abilities.

1The truth was that the Exo suit was currently nothing more than a toy that possessed some lethal potential but was too dependent on luck and circumstances. His weakness was no different from any regular human; if he was to actually fight someone, he would be short of breath after even running a couple of steps away.

Moreover, it was all due to his level up ability that drew more attention and exposure in the public eyes but since the current situation was shrouded in uncertainty, he was unsure if it would be a good thing or not.

Besides… He was honestly slightly hesitant and reluctant to join as an Awakened Superhuman.

It was ironic since he had, just moments ago, racked his brain to set so many self-limitations within the Academic Genius System that he had now placed one on himself.

Was there a larger emotional pressure than lying to the chancellor of Huake Institute and the nationwide ‘Related Department’ officials?

He wanted to become the academic genius that everyone imagined to be. So… he forced himself to be a true academic genius.

Truth be told, such a thought was probably foolish as even he felt that it was.

Therefore, he went ahead to look for more excuses for himself.

Reasons like he was viewed through the eyes of his followers to be a tech nerd. However, if he was exposed, someone out there might work to tear down his reputation; moreover, he would be a regular member among a whole group of Awakened Superhumans…

Even using the identity of a regular human to create tech props would relate better to plenty of people’s imagination and would bring him even higher amounts of EXP points than if he assimilated into the group of Awakened Superhumans. While his views to EXP ratio would increase exponentially, he would not be able to appeal to everyone and would see his reputation growth gradually slow down after a certain point. When that happened, the only thing limiting his potential and powers would be EXP points…

However, he was unable to realistically convince himself with those reasons.

His Superhuman Ability was special and he was well aware of that. All he required to upgrade all kinds of Hack Tech was gaining popularity. If the ‘Related Department’ knew about this, there would only be two possibilities for him. One would be suppressing his growth, while the other would be giving him tremendous support to help it.

The latter possibility seemed more likely based on the interaction Lin Hai had shown as willing cooperation with the ‘Related Department’ meant they would not carry out any drastic measures onto him. The only risk would be him becoming a target to ‘criminals’ but for that, he would be protected by the country.

Ratings and popularity would not be an issue to him if he had the country’s support. Even by using the most idiotic method of forcing the entire country to watch his equipment, it would be more than enough for him to upgrade all kinds of equipment with such a huge population. He would be able to walk the path of becoming a national treasure after gaining fame from making all kinds of equipment.

This single point alone was enough to completely derail all his previous reasoning. Besides, most people were in the pursuit of fame and fortune.

“But… I’m only able to upgrade my stuff with my Superhuman ability. What if my Superhuman ability, along with all of my props, faded away one day?”

1“Besides, I’m not even sure if the Level Up Menu was actually my Superhuman ability or not. Others have dark energy fluctuations and can fire and waterbend. All I have is a digital display menu, and even my dark energy fluctuations are completely undetected. So what right do I have to be special? Is it because I’m the main character?”

3Lin Yu was conflicted on the inside but still searching for a reason to convince himself before he regretted anything.

“Just think of this…as me being rebellious for once. If I am left without a choice, then I will only speak the truth. Having options means having more paths to choose from. The best option would be joining them as a non-Awakened Superhuman. If I can’t, I can join when my powers and Academic Genius System is better.”

The image of his anxious mother waiting for his SAT results flashed in his mind, his father chain-smoking cigarette after cigarette while sighing silently. The constant relentless and painful advice and lectures given to him and all of his inner struggles were presented in his mind as he let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

‘I have said it before… I will.’

“Don’t be sad, Third Brother. We haven’t awakened our Superhuman Abilities too and you’re always slightly better than us.”

Zhou Jie, who was standing on the side, assumed Lin Yu was depressed after Lin Hai’s refusal. He gently patted his shoulder while comforting him.

“Initially, I was only slightly disappointed, but after hearing what you said, I’m even more depressed now.”

Lin Yu shook his head while playfully scolding him as he slapped Zhou Jie’s hand away.

“Hey, what do you mean by that? Believe me, I can awaken my Superhuman Abilities and dominate the world at any moment.”

Zhou Jie was instantly displeased.

“Don’t worry too much about the whole thing with Awakened Superhumans. Based on how things are currently progressing, the dark energy emitting will only be even more concentrated in the future and everyone will have a chance to be awakened.”

The few of them were fooling and roughing around as usual. However, Lin Hai noticed a shred of disappointment from the corner of their eyes and started speaking again, “Even if you guys don’t awaken your abilities, that’s fine too. Just think of Awakened Superhumans as another career choice. I can’t guarantee what is happening overseas, but I dare say that the whole situation in our country is extremely chaotic.”

4His voice sounded exceptionally powerful during the latter half of his statement.

After comforting everyone, Lin Hai, Professor Li, and the rest did not linger too long. They left Lin Yu with their name card—it had their names and numbers on it—before leaving.

Awakened Superhumans and Wormholes, plus the whole plan with the Superhumans’ livestream channel. It seemed without a doubt that the ‘Related Department’ was extremely busy recently.

After the inspectors had all left, Lin Yu, along with Xu Zhaoyang and the others, immediately let go of themselves and casually chatted for a long while. Lin Yu was only able to calm himself down at approximately 4 to 5pm. After that, he transferred the finished Academic Genius System’s folder into his phone before heading home.