As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

Just as those countless dark blue tentacles were about to pierce the sky, at the moment when the hearts of seven billion people around the world were in their throats—

Time stood still.

No, it wasn't completely still. The waves were still churning, the clouds were still shifting, but the movements of "Abyssal Echo," and the attacks that all the S-class ability users were poised to unleash, seemed to have been paused.

Then, a figure appeared out of thin air in the sky above the sea between the monster and the human fleet.

There were no spatial fluctuations, no energy ripples, as if he was always meant to be there, but no one had been able to see him before.

He was a man wearing an ordinary gray trench coat, who looked to be around thirty years old. His appearance was... very ordinary, so ordinary that you would forget what he looked like as soon as you turned your head.

He stood lazily in the air, his hands in his trench coat pockets, looking down at the colossal object below, two kilometers in diameter, which had the whole world on high alert.

"Tsk." He made a disgusted sound. "You came here."

Then, to the astonishment of everyone—including the seven billion people watching via live stream—he reached out his right hand and gently grasped at the "Abyss Echoes."

There was no light, no sound, and no burst of energy.

That SS-class alien beast, that mobile calamity theoretically capable of destroying the continent, that existence that made the world's top combat forces feel like they were facing a formidable enemy, was all captured in this one grab...

It's shrunk.

It wasn't compressed, it wasn't sealed, it was more like... it was always only that big.

The two-kilometer diameter shrank to the size of a basketball, and the five-hundred-meter height shrank to the size of a fist. The dark blue geometric shape transformed into a smooth, deep blue sphere with a faint sheen on its surface.

The man caught the small ball, weighed it in his hand, and then casually stuffed it into his trench coat pocket.

"Excuse me," he looked up at the camera—or rather, at the global audience behind the camera—"My little toys accidentally escaped from my house. Did I scare you?"

The world is deathly silent.

On the destroyer's deck, the book in Lilith's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

The chill emanating from Hyotei instantly dissipated.

The Wind Whisperer's silk fan hovered in mid-air.

Aquaman had just surfaced from the sea when he saw this scene and almost choked on water.

The man rushed out of the cabin, dumbfounded: "Was I...was I seeing things?"

No one answered him.

Because everyone saw the same absurd scene.

The man patted his pocket to make sure the small ball wouldn't fall out, and then... he turned to look at Lilith.

His gaze lingered on Lilith for a few seconds, and then, on that extremely ordinary face, a vivid expression appeared, a mixture of shock, amusement, and disbelief.

"Pfft—" He couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Lilith? Is that you? How did you... become like this?"

Lilith frowned. "You know me?"

"Know each other? More than just know each other!" The man laughed so hard he almost fell over, even stomping his foot in the air. "My god, how did you shrink so much? Wearing this...this kind of little skirt? Your taste wasn't like this before!"

Lilith's face darkened: "I don't know you. And what I wear is none of your business!"

"Oh right, you don't recognize me." The man suddenly remembered something, slapped his forehead, and said, "Of course you don't recognize me now. But it's okay, I just think... hahaha, this is so funny!"

He floated in front of Lilith, circled her once, and looked at her as if he were examining a rare treasure—or rather, a particularly funny joke.

"A twelve-year-old's appearance? Permanently fixed? What kind of performance art are you playing?" He reached out to pinch Lilith's face, but Lilith turned her head away.

"Don't touch me."

"Still such a bad temper." The man withdrew his hand, not angry at all. "But it's alright, at least your personality hasn't changed too much. It's just that this look... Pfft, no way, I have to take a picture of it and show it to you later. I guarantee you'll laugh yourself to death."

As he spoke, he actually pulled out a cell phone—a very old model, like one from twenty years ago—and snapped a picture of Lilith.

The air around Lilith began to distort, a sign that her power was about to be activated.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry." The man put away his phone and waved his hand. "Just kidding. When old friends meet, shouldn't we lighten the mood?"

"I told you, I don't know you," Lilith said coldly.

"Okay, okay, I don't know you, I don't know you." The man raised his hands in surrender, but still had a smile on his face. "How about this, I'll do you a small favor as an apology?"

Before Lilith could answer, the man had already turned around, facing the vast Pacific Ocean, facing... the whole world.

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

A very light snap of the fingers, almost inaudible amidst the sound of the wind and waves.

But after that snap—

The Earth has changed.

It's not a change in the physical sense, but something deeper and more fundamental.

Everyone watching the live stream, everyone on Earth right now, no matter where they are or what they are doing, feels something inside their bodies "loosening".

It was like shackles being removed, like a valve being turned on, like dormant instincts being awakened.

Jiangcheng, Li Xian's apartment.

Li Xian suddenly sat up straight.

He sensed it—not a change in the [Universal Power], which remained dormant deep within his consciousness. Rather, it was the surrounding world… where the energy concentration was rising rapidly.

The energy fluctuations in the air instantly increased tenfold, a hundredfold, or even more.

The television screen suddenly flickered, and the live broadcast signal was interrupted for a few seconds. When the picture returned, the camera shook violently, capturing a scene unfolding on the destroyer—

Mingren—the "Absolute Defense" ability user with Sequence 030—suddenly clutched his chest, his face flushed red. The space around him began to distort, and a semi-transparent barrier spread out from him, its range... not fifty meters, but five hundred meters.

"My ability..." Akito stared blankly at his hands, "It's improved? No, it's... evolved?"

It wasn't just him.

The flames in the Ice and Fire Man's hands turned from orange-red to pure white, the temperature soared, and the deck beneath his feet began to melt.

The wind whisperer's silk fan moved automatically without wind, and the surrounding airflow changed from a gentle breeze to a whirlwind, and then to a controllable tornado.

When Aquaman leaps out of the sea, what he creates behind him is not waves, but a water wall hundreds of meters high.

Mount Tai's gravitational field expanded three times, and the entire destroyer began to sink slightly.

Lilith looked down at her hands, her deep purple pupils reflecting intricate patterns—a manifestation of the essence of her power, clearer than ever before.

And Hyotei... the sea around him froze instantly, covering an area of ​​ten kilometers.

But this is only the change at the S-level.

Countless ordinary people around the world—

A high school student in class suddenly discovers that he can make a pen float.

A programmer working late into the night had sparks flying from his fingertips.

An old farmer working in the fields suddenly found the ground beneath his feet becoming soft and fertile.

A nurse on duty at the hospital had a healing glow emanating from her palm.

Awakening.

A large-scale, global, and unexpected awakening of superpowers.

Not just a few lucky ones, but... tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions.

And every person who awakens, the moment their abilities emerge, "knows" one thing:

What is your own ability called?

And... its position in the "sequence".

This sequence is not the numbering system previously established by the Supernatural Abilities Bureau based on energy intensity and potential. Rather, it is a more fundamental, more direct, and seemingly genetically ingrained understanding.

Some people have sequence 987, some have sequence 532, some have sequence 211...

And those original S-class individuals... their ranking has changed.

Lilith "knows" that she is no longer 002.

Instead, it's... 003.

Hyotei changed from 003 to 005.

The Wind Whisperer changed from 028 to 045.

Everyone's sequence is changing; some are rising, some are falling, but without exception, everyone clearly perceives their position in the new sequence.

It's as if a brand new, globally-covering ranking list has just been updated.

Above the sea, the mysterious man watched all this with satisfaction.

"Hmm, this looks much better." He nodded, as if admiring his own work. "The Earth before was too weak; it didn't even have a decent toy. Now... at least we can play a little longer."

He turned to Lilith and winked. "You're welcome, old friend. You may not recognize me now, but... perhaps we'll meet again someday."

"What did you do?" Lilith asked, her voice carrying a hint of... uncertainty for the first time.

"It's added a bit of spice to this world," the man said with a smile. "Don't worry, it's a good thing. At least for most people, it's a good thing."

He looked up at the sky, then at the ocean below, and finally his gaze swept over the still-shocked S-class ability users, over the camera lens, and over every dumbfounded person in front of the screen.

"Well then," he said, "the game officially begins. I hope you...have fun."

As he finished speaking, his figure began to fade, like melting ice, like dissipating fog.

Before disappearing completely, he seemed to remember something and added:

"Oh, right, I took that little toy. I'll keep a closer eye on it next time—if there is a next time."

Then, he disappeared completely.

The sea has returned to calm.

The wind continues to blow, and the waves continue to surge.

It was as if everything that had just happened was just a collective illusion that was too real.

But everyone knows that's not the case.

Because the superpowers are still there, and the understanding of the sequence is still there, the world... is completely different now.

A deathly silence lasted for a full minute on the destroyer's deck.

Then, Hyotei spoke first, his voice hoarse:

"What... just happened?"

No one can answer.

The live broadcast worldwide froze on the spot where the man disappeared.

The voice-over disappeared, and the director seemed unsure what to say.

The world has fallen into an unprecedented state of bewilderment.

Meanwhile, in Jiangcheng, in Li Xian's apartment.

Li Xian sat on the sofa, head down, looking at his hands.

Just now, the instant that man snapped his fingers, the instant countless people around the world awakened their superpowers—

His [All-Encompassing Power], that dormant sequence 001 deep within his consciousness, suddenly "vibrated".

It wasn't an enhancement, nor a change, but rather... like being "touched" by something.

Then, he "knew" one thing:

Its own sequence remains unchanged.

It's still 001.

But the "total amount" of the sequence... has changed.

Previously, the sequence was only arranged up to 999.

Now, the sequence has reached... 10000.

There are ten thousand sequences.

And his 001 remains at the highest point.

"Brother?" Li Yu's voice trembled. "Are you...are you alright?"

Li Xian looked up at his younger sister.

Li Yu's expression was complex—shock, confusion, and a hint of... fear that she herself was unaware of.

"I'm fine," Li Xian said, his voice so calm it surprised even himself. "How about you? How are you feeling?"

"I..." Li Yu clenched her fist, "My sequence has changed. It changed from 012 to... 016."

It dropped four places.

But she could sense that her abilities hadn't weakened; on the contrary... they had become stronger.

However, in this entirely new ranking system, there are many more people ahead of her in line.

"Where's Chen Zhe?" Li Xian asked.

"He just sent a message..." Li Yu glanced at her phone, "His sequence number changed from 021 to... 025."

It also declined.

But similarly, their abilities have been enhanced.

Li Xian nodded and slumped back into the sofa.

On television, the live broadcast finally returned to normal. The host stammered as he explained what had just happened, but clearly even he himself didn't know what had occurred.

The global internet crashed again—this time because too many people were trying to go online at the same time to share their awakening experiences.

The world is in chaos.

But... it all started again.

Fat Orange jumped onto Li Xian's lap, staring at him with its heterochromatic eyes.

"Meow?" (Translation: You... seem different?)

Li Xian patted the cat's head.

"Nothing's different," he said. "I'm still me."

But the world is no longer the same world it used to be…