Chapter 23: Do You Have Depression?
Chapter 23: Do You Have Depression?
The second document titled “Selection and Training System for Superpowered Individuals” was much shorter than the monster encyclopedia but far more technical. To put it simply, every word made sense alone but became incomprehensible when combined—utterly bewildering.
Fang Cheng skipped the sections explaining principles and technical jargon, focusing only on the summary. Naturally born superpowered individuals did exist among humans, but they were extremely rare and weak. Their combat usefulness fell short of even a basic handgun.
Kanzaki Rin’s fire-manipulation ability, it turned out, stemmed from decades of scientific research on supernatural beings. Since the first industrial revolution, nations had captured and studied these creatures, accumulating substantial breakthroughs over two centuries. The most advanced achievement was artificial superpower technology—a fusion of supernatural genes and natural superpowered DNA to create enhanced humans.
Kanzaki Rin’s flames traced back to a Traditional Monster called Phoenix Flames, still spotted around Kyoto in Area 11. However, this technology only worked on those with specific genetic compatibility, identified through childhood screenings.
After reading the document, Fang Cheng realized the government’s elementary school vaccination program wasn’t for disease prevention but to flag children with talent. These candidates underwent multiple rounds of selection, with the final survivors becoming interns for the Disaster Countermeasures Department.
Fang Cheng accepted his lack of eligibility for artificial superpowers. Having been vaccinated as a child without being recruited by the department proved his genetic incompatibility. Even with access to the technology, the years-long training process made it impractical. Kanzaki Rin, for instance, had been selected in fifth grade and trained annually for six years to reach her current skill level. Initially, her flames couldn’t outperform a cheap lighter.
By nightfall, Fang Cheng finished skimming the materials. Kanzaki Rin remained in the living room, ensuring he deleted the files. He’d already photographed the vampire documents using his phone before letting her wipe the USB drive. Clearly, these weren’t top-secret materials—otherwise, she’d never have smuggled them out so casually.
“Starting tomorrow,” Kanzaki Rin announced before leaving, “you’ll undergo three days of special training. After that, we hunt other vampires.”
“That rushed?” Fang Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Three days seems too short.”
“We can’t wait. Police are reporting missing persons and blood-drained corpses. The vampires grow stronger daily—delaying hurts us.” She withheld another reason: the Disaster Countermeasures Department was preparing a ghost-hunting operation to purge Tokyo of vampires spawned by the Blood Queen. If they didn’t act fast, the creatures would be wiped out or driven off, leaving her—a mere intern—with no chance to claim achievements during the collective action.
Fang Cheng reluctantly nodded. Kanzaki Rin added, “The three days cover basics. Training continues whenever possible later.” She flashed a sly smile. “Don’t underestimate ‘basics.’ You might beg for shorter sessions.”
He narrowed his eyes. Was this woman threatening to crush him under the guise of training?
After Kanzaki Rin left, Fang Cheng continued his daily training.
This time, it took nearly three hours just to gain 1 Stamina point.
At this rate, even a full day of exercise might not earn another Stamina point.
This completely eliminated any chance of infinitely farming Stamina.
Fang Cheng wasn’t discouraged though – he now had alternative ways to gain power beyond training, including the grim joy of corpse looting.
After finishing his exercise routine, Fang Cheng booted his computer and copied the vampire documents from his phone.
As he finished transferring files, a LINE message arrived from Asaka Akihime.
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“Fang-kun, why weren’t you at school today?”
“Family matters.”
Fang Cheng replied absently while noticing Asaka’s updated profile signature had changed from “Do true heroes exist in this world?” to “Does paradise truly exist in this world?”
The new signature intrigued him. He typed: “Asaka, are you depressed?”
“No? Why would you ask that?”
“Let me rephrase. What’s your take on ‘I’m sorry for being born human’?”
“Fang-kun… did you do something bad?”
“Different question: Have you ever considered suicide?”
Asaka sent three question marks in response.
“Never mind. If you ever decide to end things, notify me first. I’ll handle your corpse.”
“Apologize now or I’ll get angry! o(≧口≦)o”
“Gomen’nasai.”
Apparently Asaka wasn’t the melodramatic type nor actually suicidal.
Fang Cheng shut down his PC and queued for ranked matches after showering. Luck smiled on him – that incompetent support player didn’t appear. He picked a dash-spamming hero, basking in teammates’ bewildered question marks before logging off satisfied.
Next morning, Fang Cheng was still brushing his teeth when Kanzaki Rin started hammering his doorbell with girlfriend-level persistence.
He opened the door to find her holding a plastic bag of fresh pig’s blood.
“Addicted to pig’s blood vermicelli now?” he asked.
Kanzaki’s eyebrow twitched. “Wasn’t this your request?” She made to throw it in the trash.
Fang Cheng stopped her. Free pig’s blood daily sounded fine – they could switch to duck blood if it got boring.
With no vermicelli available, Fang Cheng fried scallion tofu and made congee. Kanzaki demolished most of it, Fang Cheng’s gaze repeatedly dropping to her utterly flat stomach.
After breakfast, they left for his three-day basic training. Kanzaki arrived in an unmarked compact car.
“You have a license?” Fang Cheng belatedly asked after buckling in.
“Stop pestering.”
“So that’s a no? An enforcer breaking laws? Our taxes feed system parasites like you-”
Before he finished, Kanzaki flawlessly started the engine and slammed the accelerator, the car lurching forward violently.