In the suite next door, under dim light, Lu Jingze and the others lay sprawled across the beds, sofas, and even on the carpet. The quiet room was filled only with the sounds of rising and falling breaths and the occasional murmurs of painful dreams.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the wall clock ticked, its hands slowly approaching five in the morning.
Lu Jingze was the first to awaken from his slumber. His head felt heavy and foggy, as if he were recovering from a hangover.
As soon as he moved, stretching his stiff limbs, he noticed a strange golden light gathering in his palms. The light leapt and flickered as if it were alive.
He sat up abruptly, eyes wide as saucers, staring at the unusual phenomenon. His heart pounded violently in his chest.
Almost simultaneously, not far away, Cai Yan slowly woke up. He lightly patted his head—it hurt a little—and he felt extremely thirsty.
He reached for the cup of water placed nearby, but the moment his hand touched it, the water in the cup began to freeze slowly before his eyes.
“What the hell?”
Cai Yan exclaimed, dropping the cup. His face was full of shock; he could not believe what was happening.
Soon after, Sun Ye woke up. He yawned and, without thinking, glanced out the window. The previously dark night suddenly became extraordinarily clear to him; the street trees and distant buildings were visible in sharp detail, as if coated in a faint layer of light.
He was so shocked he could not close his mouth. Rubbing his eyes, he found that his extraordinary vision remained.
As the others gradually woke, the room filled with exclamations and shouts. Everyone discovered they had gained incredible supernatural abilities, excitement and astonishment written across their faces.
Before long, everyone gathered in the living room.
Lu Jingze spoke first, his voice filled with uncontainable excitement: “Have you all awakened your supernatural abilities too?”
As he spoke, the golden light in his palm flashed again, and the metal soup spoon he casually held slowly reshaped itself into a circle, then changed into several different shapes according to his thoughts.
Sweat began to bead on his face; controlling the power was becoming difficult. He paused, looking at the others, signaling them to demonstrate their abilities as well.
Qiao Xia concentrated on the energy in her body, and a small flame flickered at her fingertips. It danced for a moment before extinguishing with a soft pop.
Although the flame appeared only briefly, everyone watched attentively. In the dim living room, even the faint glow was clearly visible.
Soon, everyone began to demonstrate their abilities in turn. Eventually, it became clear that all of them had awakened supernatural abilities.
Bai Qingyu could heal minor injuries. Sun Ye, in addition to his vision, had increased speed. Jiang Lijia could emit a small stream of water from his fingertips. Wang Facai could manipulate the soil in a flowerpot.
It appeared that President Ji had been right: the apocalypse had arrived. Everything happening to them proved that the situation was far from ordinary.
After gaining their supernatural abilities, all discomfort in their bodies vanished. Their senses were enhanced, and their strength had increased significantly. However, these enhancements were minor compared to Sun Ye’s extraordinary vision and speed.
After the initial exchange of experiences, although excitement filled their hearts, they were also anxious, uncertain whether these changes were good or bad. For now, however, it was better than nothing.
“Adapt to your supernatural abilities first. I’ll go report to President Ji about the situation.”
After collecting his thoughts, Lu Jingze went to the neighboring suite and knocked on the door.
The door soon opened, revealing Ji Heng, looking well.
“President Ji.”
“Hmm, is everyone alright?”
“Yes.”
“Then have them all come over for a meeting.”
“Understood.”
Lu Jingze was about to mention the supernatural abilities when he heard Ji Heng’s instructions. He decided it was better to have everyone gather first; they could discuss any issues together.
Five minutes later, the group sat together in the living room once again.
By then, the sky was slightly brightening. Seeing the scorched chaos on the table and walls, along with the faint smell of burning in the air, everyone was left dumbfounded.
Who could be so reckless as to do this right under President Ji’s nose?
Ji Benxiong noticed the skeptical looks and cleared his throat.
“Alright, let’s talk while having breakfast.”
“Tian Le.”
“I’m here.” Tian Le had just spent time in the kitchen salvaging whatever food was still edible from the fridge and had prepared a pot of stew.
“Finally, we can eat. I felt like I was starving to death after waking up,” Qiao Xia said casually.
“Yeah, I’m really hungry too.” Wang Facai had initially thought he was just eating a lot and got hungry faster than the others. Seeing Qiao Xia express hunger, he felt he had found an ally and nodded sheepishly.
“I’m hungry too.”
“Me too.”
“Me too…”
“Stop saying ‘me too.’ Go grab your own utensils and help yourselves. Don’t just wait for Tian Le to serve you.”
Lu Jingze looked at his team, who were sitting there calling out their hunger but not taking any action. Tian Le was no ordinary assistant; he remembered that President Ji had introduced him as a babysitter. In other words, he was basically President Ji’s partner—another boss of theirs. This group of fools was hopeless. He could only help so much.
The team didn’t know what Lu Jingze was thinking. They had met Tian Le a few times—he was an assistant at the Secretary’s office and lived close to President Ji—but they didn’t know him well.
Once Ji Heng brought a bowl of porridge, everyone scrambled to take one, each wolfing it down.
“I finally feel alive again,” Cai Yan said after drinking a bowl, no longer feeling as hungry, finally able to speak.
“I thought I might faint from hunger,” Bai Qingyu said gently, noticing Sun Ye eating without any decorum: “Ye Ge, slow down, be careful not to choke.”
“Cough, cough, sorry, my bad.”
Ji Heng and Tian Le had woken earlier and had already eaten once. They moved more leisurely now.
“Waaah~” suddenly, a loud, urgent baby cry came from the bedroom.
Remembering his babysitter role, Tian Le got up quickly and rushed to the room.
Yesterday, apart from Lu Jingze, no one had seen Ji Tianyi; the baby had been asleep in the bedroom when the others arrived, so they were unaware of a child’s presence.
Hearing the cries, they froze momentarily.
“Why is there a baby crying?” Qiao Xia voiced the group’s curiosity, all eyes turning toward the bedroom.
Then they saw Tian Le, moving with practiced ease, carrying a baby. The baby looked only a few days old, with round, shiny eyes staring at Ji Heng on the sofa.
“Dad~”
“Clang! Thump!”
The sounds of cups and plates colliding and bodies falling to the floor echoed.
Lu Jingze watched the team members’ stunned expressions. Seeing their disbelief, he finally realized how impressive he had been yesterday, sitting alone in thought—so unlike these people, who were utterly foolish.