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

Late at night, in the western district of Jiangcheng, in Fat Orange's kingdom.

Fat Orange squatted on its "throne" (the highest pipe), listening to the report from the "sheriff," Scarface Tabby, below.

Everything is normal within the territory today; there has been no invasion by foreign enemies.

The collection of "tribute" went smoothly, and two new "supply points" were even developed.

A bakery often has leftover cake scraps, and the owner is willing to save a little for the cats every day.

An elderly woman who lives alone loves cats and offered to provide them with clean water and cat food.

The fat orange cat meowed in satisfaction, as a sign of reward, and said that more of its "brothers" could be arranged to help them catch mice in the future.

However, after reporting, Scarface the Tabby did not immediately leave, but instead meowed a few times hesitantly.

"Hmm?" The chubby orange cat glanced at it with its heterochromatic eyes.

Scarface the raccoon cowered for a moment, but still mustered the courage to continue reporting: "Something's been going wrong lately in the area north of our territory, near the abandoned dock by the river."

There's always a "smell" that makes the cat very uncomfortable at night.

It was neither an ordinary beast nor a human, but something... cold, with a rusty, dark energy about it.

Several of the underlings responsible for patrolling that area returned looking rather listless, as if they had been frightened.

Fat Orange's ears perked up.

An unpleasant smell? Dark energy? Did it scare the cat?

It stood up, walked to the edge of the pipe, and looked towards the north dock.

In the darkness of night, only a few scattered lights could be seen, with most of the area shrouded in darkness.

As a B-grade exotic beast, Fat Orange's senses were far more acute than those of an ordinary cat. It concentrated its attention and carefully sensed its surroundings.

Indeed... a faint trace of energy emanated from the north, yet it was instinctively repulsive to cats.

Cold, obscure, and carrying an ominous feeling.

The chubby orange cat's tail swished gently.

How could its territory be disturbed by such an unknown entity?

"Meow." (Translation: I understand. Tomorrow, I, the Great King, will go and see for myself.)

Scarface the tabby bowed his head respectfully.

Fat Orange lay down again, its heterochromatic eyes gleaming eerily in the darkness.

It seems that being the boss isn't just about enjoying yourself; you also have to be responsible for solving problems.

But that's what makes it interesting, isn't it?

It licked its paws and began planning tomorrow's "royal expedition".

---

The second day was a live-fire exercise observation day.

Training ground for the senior high school section of Jiangcheng Potential Development Experimental School.

This is a huge, semi-open arena with a standard battle platform in the center and tiered spectator seating around it.

At this moment, more than twenty little ones from the Qiming Class in the preschool department, led by their homeroom teacher, Ms. Li, and several teaching assistants, sat in the front row area with the best view.

The children were very excited, turning their little heads from side to side as they looked at the empty battle platform and the older students who were entering one after another.

Lingdang and Lin Wanwan sat together.

Lingdang had the old binoculars from home hanging around her neck, and held the small notebook and pencil that Li Xian had given her in her hand.

Lin Wanwan was fully armed, carrying binoculars.

An "energy detector" and a notebook are lined up in a row, their expressions serious like those of a general about to go into battle.

"Observer, ready."

Lin Wanwan said in a low voice.

"Understood, Witch!"

The bell also lowered its voice, its little face flushed with excitement.

Teacher Li walked up to the children and comforted them with a smile.

"Class, quiet down. Today's observation is to give you a more direct understanding of how superpowers are used and how to fight. Please watch carefully and listen attentively to the explanations, but no talking, no running around, and absolutely no using your superpowers to interfere, understand?"

"Understood!" the children answered in unison.

Soon, the high school students also lined up and entered the venue.

They were wearing matching training uniforms, looking energetic, and their aura was noticeably stronger and more focused than that of the preschool children.

Especially a tall boy standing in the front row with dark red hair and sharp eyes.

He radiated obvious heat, and was the "Flame Fist" ability user of Sequence 188 and Rank C that Bell had mentioned before, named Zhou Yan.

Lingdang tried her best to sense it and could indeed feel the scorching and vigorous energy in the other person's body, which was much stronger than her own 19 points of mental strength, and even the fission was not as good as the other person's.

"That's Senior Zhou Yan!"

A child nearby who knew the inside story whispered.

"I heard he's incredibly powerful! He can heat a steel plate red-hot with one punch!"

"So handsome!" a little girl exclaimed softly.

Bell curled her lip, thinking: I, Old Deng, can make things disappear with a flick of my wrist (space folding) or make things bloom on their own (energy construction), I'm much more powerful than him!

However, she only dared to say these words in her heart.

The drill officially began.

The first part involves some basic skills demonstrations and teamwork drills.

The high school students were divided into groups and demonstrated how to use different types of superpowers for offense, defense, control, and support coordination.

Fireballs collided with water arrows, evaporating into mist; wind blades clashed with earthen walls, shattering them; the students of the Enhancement Department displayed astonishing strength and speed…

The scene was spectacular and the control was precise, eliciting gasps of amazement from the children.

Lingdang watched intently, her pen scribbling crooked fireballs and water arrows on her notebook.

While reading, Lin Wanwan was quickly jotting something down in her "bible" while muttering to herself.

"The fire-type energy condensation rate is approximately 15 units per second, the water-type conversion efficiency is relatively low, and the wind blade trajectory can be optimized by 3.7 degrees..."

If Li Xian saw this, he would definitely sigh: This girl really treats observation as a research topic.

After the basic drills, the main event began – live-fire combat.

The first match was between Zhou Yan and a female player with the "Water Flow Manipulation" skill, who was at Sequence 410.

The two players stepped onto the battle platform, and the referee announced the start.

Zhou Yan let out a low shout, and his fists were instantly covered with scorching orange-red flames, distorting the air due to the high temperature.

He exerted force with his feet and charged towards his opponent like a cannonball, throwing a punch that sent a scorching wave of air crashing down on him!

The girl remained calm, waving her hands and instantly conjuring several high-speed rotating water shields in front of her.

At the same time, slippery water spread out underfoot, attempting to disrupt Zhou Yan's movements.

The flames and water collided violently, making a hissing sound, and a large amount of white mist rose up, covering half of the platform.

The children watched, holding their breath.

Bell also opened her eyes wide.

Is this what battles between C-level superhumans are like?

Their speed and strength are indeed much better than the childish scrambles they did in preschool!

That flame felt a hundred times more powerful than Zhang Yu's weak electric current!

The water shield is so flexible!

In the battle, Zhou Yan was clearly more experienced and stronger.

He seized an opening in his opponent's defense, suddenly changed his move, and punched away the Water Shield, then slammed it into the girl's chest with undiminished force (he clearly held back at the last moment).

The girl was forced back several steps by the force of the punch, and she staggered.

"Zhou Yansheng!" the referee announced promptly.

Applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

Zhou Yan extinguished his flames, nodded to his opponent, and then his gaze swept across the observation seats, pausing particularly in the direction of the little ones in the Qiming Class, with a hint of the arrogance of a strongman.

Bell felt that gaze and instinctively shrank her neck.

Yeah, this senior is pretty good... but still not as good as Old Deng! Old Deng doesn't even have to lift a finger!

The following matches were also quite exciting.

There are speed-based "Gale" users who can outmaneuver strength-based opponents, "Vine Manipulation" users who can use the terrain to trap enemies, and the rare "Mental Shock" ability that is impossible to defend against.

Lingdang was engrossed in reading, and her notebook was filled with all sorts of strange symbols and stick figures fighting.

Lin Wanwan's notebook was already several pages full, with neat handwriting (by the standards of a six-year-old), and she had also drawn some simple diagrams of energy flow.

As the observation progressed into its second half, the atmosphere became increasingly enthusiastic.

At this moment, Teacher Li received a communication, her expression changed slightly, she whispered a few words to the teaching assistant, and then hurriedly left the observation area.

The children weren't paying much attention, still engrossed in the exciting competition.

However, not long after, the lights in the venue suddenly flickered a few times.

A piercing static crackled through the radio, followed by a slightly hurried but calm female voice:

"Attention students and teachers. Unidentified energy fluctuations have been detected around the school, suspected to be caused by a group of strange beasts. For safety reasons, all classes currently in open areas, please proceed to the nearest safe house or indoor facility under the guidance of your teacher. Repeat, please proceed to the safe area in an orderly manner..."

As soon as the announcement was made, there was a slight commotion inside the venue.

The high school students remained relatively calm and quickly lined up under the teacher's guidance.

But the preschoolers were a little panicked, especially when they heard words like "heroic beasts" and "avoidance".

"A horde of strange beasts? Where are they? How did they end up in the city?"

"Will they eat people?"

"Teacher, I'm scared..."

The children chattered amongst themselves, and some even started crowding around the teacher.

The assistant coach leading the group quickly reassured them, "Don't be afraid, students! This is just a precaution! Follow me, we'll go to the indoor training hall next door, it's very safe there!"

Lingdang was also a little nervous and grabbed Lin Wanwan's hand next to her.

Although Lin Wanwan's face was also a little pale, she still tried her best to remain calm and held the bell's hand in return.

"Observer, don't panic. This is an emergency; just follow your master's orders."