Bonus Chapter, Sort of... I technically owe you guys this chapter.
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When Charlie saw Melanie at the door, his first reaction was panic. Could it be that his nighttime escapades as a superhero had been exposed?
But after thinking about it, he figured it shouldn't be the case. The idea of someone remotely controlling superheroes from another world was too abstract to conceive.
More likely, she was there to investigate the sudden accident at school yesterday.
"Come in and sit down?" Charlie replied politely.
"Thank you, pardon me for the intrusion." Melanie entered the apartment and took a seat.
"Our team just finished some errands and was heading back to the headquarters. We happened to pass by here." Melanie explained, "The higher-ups said they have something to talk to you about and asked us to pick you up. Is it convenient for you now?"
Were their superiors looking for him by name?
This was unexpected. Charlie wondered if it was really an investigation, wouldn't the leader need to step in? Was there something special about him?
"Okay." Charlie thought momentarily and replied, "I'll go and change first."
He returned to his room, changed his clothes, and followed Melanie downstairs. A black van was already parked outside, with the bald detective from yesterday leaning against the side of the car, smoking.
When he saw Charlie, he let out a grunt in acknowledgment.
"We meet again." He handed Charlie a cigarette, "want one?"
"Thank you, but I don't smoke." Charlie waved his hand.
"Sure... come to me whenever you feel the need for a cigarette; we will have more chances to interact with each other in the future."
"Thanks, but I really don't smoke."
Charlie refused again, wondering if his words had other meanings.
But neither Ivan nor Melanie explained. They simply let out an indifferent smile, opened the door, and took him into the van.
Tanya, the logistics girl, was also in the car, still holding onto her tablet. She greeted Charlie politely when he got in.
One thing to say—in fact, Tanya is very good-looking; although her attractiveness index is not on the level of Charlie's, she's at least pleasant to look at. Although Melanie is also a beauty, she seems old (perhaps in her late 20s) and, frankly, not Charlie's type.
Everyone has their preferences.
After Charlie sat down in the back seat, the car started.
Ivan sat in the passenger seat, still smoking, while Tanya earnestly typed away on her tablet. Melanie flipped through the documents, her long legs crossed at the ankles.
Um, wait a minute. Who's driving the car?
Only now did Charlie notice that there was another individual in the car—a young man. With the young man facing away, Charlie couldn't get a good look at his appearance. However, looking at him from the back, along with the glimpses through the rear-view mirror, he saw disheveled black hair, a pale complexion, and dark circles under his eyes, which made Charlie wonder if it was a bad idea to let this guy drive.
The man seemed to notice Charlie looking at him and raised his eyelids in greeting: "Junpei Beichuan."
Japanese?
Of course, it's just Charlie thinking so. This world has no national boundaries, and names with characteristics of any country are not surprising.
But the young man, either shy or aloof, simply mumbled a self-introduction, stopped talking, and focused on driving.
"Let me teach you some basic knowledge first."
Melanie threw the stack of documents aside and sat opposite Charlie.
"You must still be wondering what happened at your school yesterday." She said, "To be honest, your classmates were infected."
"STOP!"
Charlie immediately interrupted her, "I'm just a simple student who dreams of becoming the pirate king...
Wait... Wrong script
"I want to live a peaceful life as the world's greatest stand-alone gamer.
so, before you continue, explain why you are telling me this."
Still maintaining her professional smile, Melaine replied, "I'll answer that query at the end. Now, as I've said before, your classmates were infected."
"Infection?" Slightly disgruntled by her dismissal, Charlie still played along. "Is it a virus?"
"It's not the kind people generally understand." Melanie shook her head, "No one knows the specific source, but since a particular day, the world has suddenly stepped into an out-of-control track.
An unknown ancient existence is waking up, and it uses various media to infect humans in various hard-to-guard-against forms.
The human spirit is often the first to be affected. In this regard, we have a dedicated monitoring system to conduct targeted assessments of infected individuals.
Individuals with an infection level of less than 10% are generally considered normal but are more sensitive, irritable, or prone to depression, with greater emotional ups and downs and impulsive behaviors.
With an infection level of 10% to 50%, the target shows obvious abnormalities, becoming extremely mechanical, numb, or crazy. The infected in this range lose consciousness, show intense aggression, and have the instinct to infect others.
The degree of infection between 50% and 99% becomes more serious. The infected person's physical potential will be developed to the greatest extent, reaching the human body's limit in all aspects. At the same time, infected individuals at this level may have strong vitality; however, this varies from person to person. We have seen cases where even severe injuries, like decapitation, is unable to cause the death of an infected."
Charlie immediately thought of the scene last night, where that Edge guy beheaded himself with a knife in the conference room of the Klein Building.
So, is that the infected person whose infection level is close to 100%?
This ancient existence's awakening, affecting the body and mind, made him have some strange associations.
From the beginning of the pollution, the sanity value drops, leading to craziness. When it drops low enough, the mental state reflects on the physical body, causing unexplained changes...
So, could the ancient existence she's talking about be similar to Garmr, Helheim's blood-stained guardian, who could be calmed only by a slice of cake?
"If the degree of infection is below 50%, the individual can still be saved. The lower the infection, the less the impact, and the easier the recovery." Melanie said, "Like your classmates yesterday, although they were infected, the degree did not exceed 40%, so they are fine."
Having said this, Charlie immediately thought of something. He pondered for a moment, then asked, "What if it reaches 100%?"
"Very few reach 100% infection. At the same time, 100% marks a watershed."
She paused, emphasizing her tone meaningfully.
"A watershed moment beyond the conceptual category of 'human'."
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[TL—Note: This is the original text after I've edited it: "So, could the ancient existence she's talking about be that the old man is named Ke and likes sugar?" I don't understand this reference, so I've changed it. However, I don't know if this is an allusion since we seem to be delving into the "true" plot. If anyone understands this reference, please post a comment here so I can fix it.]
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