My actions and whereabouts are up to me (2)
The noise of the surrounding crowd grew louder, but the carriage remained unusually quiet; neither of them seemed inclined to speak.
Shu Ningmiao looked out the window. Shi Yu had awakened his supernatural abilities two years earlier than her, but they enrolled at the same time because of the "spark" mentioned in the admission notice.
First, the superpowers they awaken do not arise out of thin air, but rather require resonance with an energy source called "Pandora" that exists in the world in order to stimulate the body's own potential.
"Fire seed" refers to the three years from age fifteen to eighteen.
These three years may be the most important period in a person's life, because they can truly "change one's life".
In Pinhea, the percentage of people with superpowers is less than one in 100,000, but a single excellent superpowered person can be better than thousands of well-trained soldiers.
Therefore, possessing Pandora and having "superpowers" is, in a sense, equivalent to having a ticket to transcend social classes.
The protagonist in the game was able to avoid the high tuition fees of Cornunos and enter this school through this method.
The awakening of superpowers mostly occurs between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. After this period, it is no longer possible to resonate with Pandora. These three years are also known as the "spark" of hope.
Once a person resonates with Pandora, the National Research Center of Pinheisburga can learn about it through a special device and then issue an admission notice from the Academy of String Light to the awakened individual based on the national registration information.
People may awaken superpowers at any point in the three years without warning, but once they reach the age of eighteen, they will never have superpowers again.
Therefore, no matter when they awaken their superpowers, they must wait until the "spark" ends and they can enroll in school at the age of eighteen.
Those who do not awaken superpowers will continue to pursue ordinary higher education; this is merely a watershed moment in their lives.
The rumbling of the train connecting to the tracks swept overhead. The public suspended track and the overpass intersected, mixed with bright noise and human voices, creating a low-pitched sound that echoed through the city. Shi Yu closed the car window first, shutting out all the noise, which disappeared without a trace.
You're acting strangely today.
The intelligent central control system in the front seat indicated that they were about to arrive at their destination. Shi Yucai took the initiative to start a conversation. His smile was like a semi-permanent mask tattooed on his face, which he almost never took off.
Shi Yu rested two fingers on her cheek and casually guessed, "Is it because you're nervous? Is your awakened ability not working very well?"
"If so, you're going to comfort me?"
Shu Ningmiao glanced at Shi Yu sitting next to her. This guy always had the same smile, which was infuriating. Even though her tone wasn't very nice, his smile remained unchanged.
The car came to a smooth stop at the school gate.
“If you need it.” Shi Yu walked to the car door, gentlemanly extending his hand to her inside the car, leaning slightly towards her. His white uniform shirt made him appear even more refined and distinguished. “Of course I would be more than happy to do so.”
Despite saying that, he showed no intention of uttering any sweet words. Shu Ningmiao raised her hand and placed it in his palm, revealing a cold smile in return.
As a couple in a relationship, they do indeed look like a perfect match from afar, like an oil painting. Shi Yu lives up to the "prince" title given to him by the game; he is tall and slender, gentle and elegant, possessing a beauty and strength that lies between a boy and a man, with a noble air and aloofness.
The girl smiled gently, letting him carry her bag and hold her hand with grace. Her simple uniform skirt accentuated her tall figure, and her exposed white neck was adorned only with a pearl necklace, yet it still exuded an aura of unapproachability.
The surrounding area was filled with whispers. Whether they were ordinary students without superpowers or superpowered individuals from the String Light Academy, everyone had to register at the Cornunos University's registration desk, which was packed with people.
"It's her, isn't it..."
"Yes, it's really beautiful."
The voices of the people behind them gradually grew louder. Shu Ningmiao couldn't hear them before, but after awakening her superpower, her five senses were also slightly enhanced. She could almost hear the girls in the last row discussing which brand of shoes she was wearing.
"They're both from String Light Academy, huh? I'm so envious. They used to take classes together when they were at the main school. I never thought they'd still be together after they awakened."
"Damn it, what's the point of someone like that even awakening superpowers? Can't life have some imperfections?!"
"Shh..."
Shu Ningmiao walked into the reporting center as if she hadn't seen anything. There was a queue outside, which was a bit crowded, but it was much more spacious inside. There was only one staff member sitting in the circular transparent workbench.
The staff gestured for her to place her finger in the groove on the workbench. This was a gene recognition device that could quickly confirm her identity. More importantly, it could verify whether her body had a connection with Pandora. The String Light Academy used this gene recognition mechanism to admit people with superpowers.
She withdrew her hand and waited listlessly for the test results. A staff member at the workstation struck up a conversation with her: "It seems like the Pandora inside you is very strong."
"Really?" Shu Ningmiao remained calm, pondering whether to sound surprised or give a polite smile. In the end, she smiled and nodded to the staff.
The staff member had an extremely ordinary face. Shu Ningmiao looked at him twice but couldn't remember any of his features. However, upon hearing her words, the man seemed to have been granted permission to chat with her and suddenly became more talkative: "I saw from your information that you were studying at the main school of Cornunos before. You only need to get a new name tag to transfer to String Light Academy... Oh, your surname is Shu. Are you from that person's Shu family?"
Shu Ningmiao nodded gently.
"You were always ranked first in GPA at the main campus of Cornunos?" The staff member's eyes flashed with surprise as he looked her up and down. "...That's quite rare."
He looked at the girl in front of him, who was dressed exquisitely from head to toe, wearing well-tailored and expensive clothes. Even the terminal she took out was inlaid with pearls and gems. He had already prejudged that she was probably the pampered young lady from Lingtian's wealthy neighborhood.
He had seen many girls like this. They didn't come to school to study at all; they just wanted to get married and make a good impression. He only struck up a conversation with this girl because she was so beautiful.
Shu Ningmiao did not respond, already somewhat impatient, her lowered eyelashes casting a small shadow on her fair face.
Sensing her coldness, the staff member, realizing their mistake, awkwardly activated the screen in front of her and asked her to fill out a registration form.
There wasn't much she actually needed to fill out on the registration form. The most important thing was registering her superpower. Shu Ningmiao filled in the name "Absurd Original Sin." Once a superpower is formed, it will have an objectively existing name, which will become a kind of subconscious existence in the individual's mind. This is something that the individual cannot arbitrarily change.
The registration form at String Light Academy does not require students to write down their specific superpower information. If someone awakens their superpower a few days before adulthood, like her, they might not even know it themselves.
The staff member's screen showed the blank space after her ability was displayed: "At least we can confirm what type it is, please fill it in, we need it to make the name tag."
She could clearly sense the tendency towards supernatural abilities, and Shu Ningmiao had checked the box for the offensive type.
Superpowers encompass a vast and complex range. Depending on a person's own abilities and inclinations, the resulting superpowers are incredibly diverse and can only be broadly categorized into three types: offensive, supportive, and special.
Apart from those abilities that exhibit strong offensive and supportive tendencies, most others are classified as special types.
"Special type" is a very subtle category. Shu Ningmiao once heard of a special type ability that can cut off any part of one's body without injury, like a gecko. Although it is very powerful, it seems to be useless. There are also many bizarre abilities such as sex reassignment and lactation. However, because of its diverse forms, the special type is also a category that is extremely prone to producing strong individuals.
The name tag was quickly updated. Shu Ningmiao took the name tag handed to her by the staff. It featured her standard but stiff smile, and on the right side it said Cornunos University, with the sparkling String Light Academy and Attack Department marked in smaller print below.
"You should have already received the course schedule for String Light Academy along with your admission letter."
The staff member handed her the remaining textbook requisition forms and other receipts: "According to the schedule, you will have regular classes at the String Light Academy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You can freely choose cultural elective courses at the main campus of Cornunos during the rest of the time. By the way, the String Light Academy is located in the central Zhunti Pagoda, the tallest building in the school. You should have seen it when you arrived."
She not only saw it when she arrived, but the iconic tower is also the background of the game "Secret Love," and she feels somewhat uncomfortable looking at it now.
"I have updated your terminal information. You can select courses on the school platform by opening your terminal. The cultural courses at Cornunos University and the courses at String Light Academy need to be selected separately, don't forget."
Shu Ningmiao opened the terminal as instructed. As a student of String Light Academy, she still had to study at the school for more than half of the time. Even if they awakened their superpowers, they could not afford to waste four years just studying them.
Even those who graduate from String Light Academy don't all choose to work in fields related to superpowers; academic studies are essential, especially for these "young masters and ladies."
She filled her academic schedule from the first period to the last before opening the schedule for String Light Academy.
Compared to the school's hundreds of courses, including languages, equestrianism, and philosophy, Stringlight Academy only has one course available, and it's grayed out and cannot be selected at the moment.
Her schedule had been arranged without her consent: "Understanding and Introduction to Supernatural Abilities" in the morning, "Physical Training" in the afternoon, and "Supernatural Abilities Practice" in the class she couldn't choose.
"That's all. After you collect your textbooks, you can go to the Zhunti Tower to report to your tutor." The staff member flipped through the documents: "Let me see, uh, your tutor is Weston."
His expression was somewhat strange for some reason.
Shu Ningmiao nodded. Shi Yu finished the formalities a little faster than her and waited for her at the door. The two walked side by side toward the Zhunti Pagoda. She remembered the staff's expression just now and suddenly felt a little concerned.
"Who is your mentor?" Shu Ningmiao shoved all the miscellaneous forms in her hand at him and took out her terminal.
“Weston.” Shi Yu’s voice was gentle, as if she had guessed what she wanted to ask, and she took the initiative to tell her everything: “He used to work at the National Research Center. According to the rumors I know, he should be a very difficult person to deal with.”
"Then why did he come here?"
The people at the National Research Center are a bunch of arrogant lunatics who look down on academics.
Even though Cornunos is already one of the world's top schools, being a teacher there is still far inferior to being a researcher at the Pinheis Institute—even the gene recognition device they just used was a product of the research center.
"Obviously, it's because he made some 'minor mistakes'." Shi Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, showing no remorse for the gossip about his future mentor behind his back: "He's been demoted."
After a few words, Shu Ningmiao had already guessed some of the details and scoffed without any politeness: "I bet he's in a really bad mood right now."
“So, don’t give him an excuse to lash out.” Shi Yu echoed her, then suddenly stopped.
A girl was pushed from behind and was about to crash into him.
Both of them were superhumans, so they could easily dodge at that distance and speed. The girl was pushed towards Shi Yu, so Shu Ningmiao only took a step back to the side.
Shi Yu also took a step back, leaving just enough space for the girl who had bumped into him to miss and fall to the ground. Their eyes met, and seeing that Shu Ningmiao had no intention of intervening, Shi Yu had no choice but to reach out and grab the girl by the back of her collar to prevent her face from making intimate contact with the ground.
The pranksters behind the girl, while jokingly saying "she wanted to crash into him," scattered like birds and beasts, laughing all the while.
Shi Yu gentlemanly helped the girl up, without asking about the details of the incident, which only deepened her embarrassment. The girl lowered her head and thanked him softly, her pinkish-brown hair casting shadows that obscured her features.
Shu Ningmiao had no interest in such trouble and declined it. She simply stood behind him and glanced at him, noticing that the other name tags on the girls' uniforms also had "Xuanguang Academy" written on the back.
It's strange. Since he's a superhuman, why is he being bullied by a group of ordinary students? It's not illegal for a superhuman to act in school; at most, they'll just get a demerit.
Feeling utterly bored, Shu Ningmiao casually opened the game on her device to see if there were any new notifications.
Her special ability status has been updated in the character information.
Shu Ningmiao clicked on it, and the original suffix had changed.
Superpower: Absurd Original Sin (Current Status: Pride)
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