The medical expenses for his sister soon arrived, and with their worries lifted, Yang Xi’s family gradually returned to normal life.
However, discussions about heroes and superpowered individuals became taboo at home. To facilitate his future plans, Yang Xi decided to move out.
He worked at the Lugang Evening News as an intern reporter, earning about 3,500 Azure Coins per month, with occasional bonuses for articles. But for now, he could only afford to rent a single room under 30 square meters in Mingyue Community, a relocation housing area on the outskirts of Lugang.
"Here’s your key. Rent is 1,500 per month, deposit is three months upfront, and utilities are separate," the landlord handed him the key and left.
The house, originally 140 square meters, had been divided into four single rooms. The other tenants greeted him as the newcomer.
The master bedroom was occupied by a mother and daughter; the mother, likely in her thirties, was a math teacher at the nearby elementary school, while the daughter attended kindergarten. Another tenant was a college girl in her third year, renting to prepare for graduate school exams. The last tenant was yet to return.
"Since we have a new tenant today, why don’t we all pitch in for a welcome dinner?" the teacher suggested.
The student girl shook her head. "I’m eating out tonight. You guys go ahead."
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Yang Xi smiled and declined as well. Given the dangerous nature of his current activities, it was best to avoid unnecessary socializing.
Honestly, he would’ve preferred to live alone, but Lugang’s outrageous rent left him with no better option.
Back in his room, Yang Xi searched for videos on psychic superpowers. There were plenty on BBNet.
Though only 1% of the population had superpowers, considering Azure Star’s 100 billion inhabitants across 53 districts, that still meant a staggering 1 billion superpowered individuals.
Getting into a formal Hero Academy was tough. For grassroots superpowered individuals, online educational content by various creators was the only way to develop their abilities.
Technically, under the Superpower Act, those without a Professional Hero License were prohibited from using their abilities arbitrarily. But since the United Council couldn’t monitor every superpowered individual 24/7, it was common for people to use their powers privately. Only when public safety or lives were at risk would the authorities or Hero Association intervene.
Yang Xi clicked on the most popular video, made a bowl of instant noodles, cracked open a cold soda, and started watching.
"Psychic users must learn to control their output, just like adjusting the speed of a fan. Mental energy is typically divided into multiple levels..."
Quickly absorbing the information, Yang Xi followed the instructions. He first identified the maximum level of his mental energy, then found the lowest level needed to activate his abilities, and finally subdivided the range into intermediate stages. The exact number of levels varied by individual.
At the end of the video, the creator—an uploader named “Omniscient Eye”—advertised a Mental Energy Scale for just 200 Azure Coins, claiming it could precisely measure one’s mental power.
Thanks to this video, Yang Xi finally learned the standard unit for measuring mental energy: Hertz (Hz).
Ordinary people had around 10 Hz of mental energy.Elementalists and other ability users who controlled objects typically had 20 Hz.Psychic users generally exceeded 25 Hz.Only those with physical-enhancement abilities had lower values, sometimes barely above ordinary humans.
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The widely accepted theory was that mental energy originated from the soul—power drawn from the depths of the mind.
Emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and fear could all influence mental energy fluctuations. However, these changes only affected the active usage of mental energy.
For example, someone with 10 Hz of mental energy would:
Emit only 3-5 Hz while asleep.
Function at 7-9 Hz during daily activities.
Peak at 10 Hz or beyond under intense emotional stimulation.
The Mental Energy Scale worked by measuring emitted mental waves—also known as mental particles, which supposedly exhibited both wave and particle properties.
Wanting an accurate assessment of his own strength, Yang Xi reluctantly purchased one from the uploader’s store.
"Over a million units sold?" he mused, surprised by how lucrative content creation could be.
Considering the decline of traditional print media, Yang Xi wondered if he should start a self-media channel to fund his activities.
"Maybe I should explore online content next—it could help with my expenses."
As he pondered this, time slipped by, and before he knew it, it was already 2 AM.
"Time to wash up and sleep—I still have work tomorrow."
Just as he grabbed his toiletries and headed for the bathroom, the front door swung open.
A young woman in her twenties staggered in. Her long black waves framed a face adorned with smudged eye makeup and bold red lips. A crop top and shorts revealed a pair of strikingly fair legs.
Being a man, Yang Xi instinctively glanced at them for a moment.
"Hello," he greeted politely.
The girl had clearly been crying. "I hope you don’t mind, but I need to use the bathroom first—ugh!"
Reeking of alcohol, she barely made it before vomiting violently into the toilet.
Yang Xi frowned. She’s completely drunk. I have a few guesses about her profession.
The white-tiled bathroom floor was now littered with her footprints and vomit. The once-attractive scene was significantly diminished by the mess.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Seeing the girl slumped over the toilet, unmoving, Yang Xi hesitated before giving her a light shake. She had passed out. Black tear streaks ran down her cheeks, and on the left side of her face, four distinct red finger marks were visible.
"Someone slapped her?"
Deciding to seek help, Yang Xi knocked on the teacher’s door.
A drowsy voice responded, "Xiao Yang, why aren’t you asleep yet?"
"Could you help her out? She’s completely out of it, and I’m not really comfortable handling this myself."
The teacher glanced at the girl and shook her head. "Just leave her be. It’s not her first time."
"I have work tomorrow too, Xiao Yang. Get some rest."
With that, she shut the door, leaving Yang Xi momentarily speechless.
Clearly, there was some history between them, but he had no interest in prying.
"Guess I’ll have to deal with this myself."
He tried shaking the girl awake again. "Hey, can you get up?"
No response.
Sighing, Yang Xi lifted her up. Fortunately, she was light.
Without her room key, he wasn’t about to rummage through her belongings, so he simply placed her on the communal sofa.
He considered covering her with a blanket but only had one himself. Instead, he draped his coat over her.
[Ability detected: "Cerebral Overclocking"]
Ability: Cerebral OverclockingDescription: Temporarily pushes the brain into overdrive, significantly enhancing computational abilities.Rating: F-tier—extremely promising, but the host seems unaware of their power.
Yang Xi raised an eyebrow.
Superpowers required training. While some prodigies awakened with A-tier abilities, most started at F-tier and had to develop their powers over time.
Many discovered their abilities in moments of crisis. His sister, Yang Feifei, had only realized hers when she unconsciously unleashed a psychic blast against a human trafficker.
"This girl probably just thinks she’s ‘sometimes smarter’ without realizing it’s an ability."
Unfortunately for her, Cerebral Overclocking paired with Psychic Shock was an insanely potent combination.
Yang Xi had already decided—he was taking it.
With practiced ease, he extracted the unfamiliar yet familiar energy from her body, forming a glowing red pearl.
[Ability "Cerebral Overclocking" successfully stripped.]