Ka.
At the moment the lock bolt retracted, Li Rui yanked open the door, muscles from his back shoulder to forearm tensing simultaneously, and slashed out with a knife.
Compared to passive defense, he always preferred to strike first.
He wasn't worried about any misunderstanding, since the murderous intent outside the door was no less intense than when a construction truck charged at him. In his eyes, the person at the doorstep could easily be identified as an ill-intentioned home invader and murderer.
However, in the next second, his blade halted mid-air, partly because the man outside caught the blade with two fingers, and partly because of the glaring national emblem on the certificate he held.
"You're quite aggressive and perceptive, young man. I like that."
The man in the suit nonchalantly pushed the door open and walked into the room.
Li Rui couldn't resist, as the strength in the man's two fingers was overwhelming, no less powerful than a construction truck.
"Brother, which department are you from?" He gave up resisting, mainly because the murderous intent had vanished.
The suited man sat down at the table by himself and picked up the unused empty bowl Li Rui had prepared for himself.
"Baby cabbage tofu soup, no MSG, I like it. The department I'm from is one you haven't heard of. My suggestion is that we sit down, eat, and talk."
Li Rui was slightly reluctant but said nothing in opposition. Sometimes he could be a bit... unconventional, but he wasn't an idiot. In the face of absolute power, his sense of murderous intent was useless; there was no need to act too aggressively now.
Moreover, it was clear that this unexpected visitor was no ordinary person. Just the two-finger chopping knife technique was enough to say a lot.
"Slurp—"
The man dressed in a meticulous outfit, but his table manners were average. "Let me introduce myself briefly. Muamuamua, my name is Wu Sun, from the National Anomaly Management Division, known as the Superpower Division. I'm here today because of this thing."
He set down the soup spoon, rolled up his shirt sleeve, and displayed a "bruise" on his hand.
"We usually call it an imprint, which is the thing on the back of your hand that hasn't yet formed. To help you understand your current situation, let me put it simply: this afternoon I was at the community police station, ostensibly to retrieve a file, but actually to wait for you."
"The reason I knew you would be there in advance is because our organization's Prophet predicted a newcomer would appear, so I arrived at the police station at the precise time. After you left, I used enhanced smelling abilities to track you, following you to school, skipping class and buying groceries at the market, even seeing you give a big biscuit to a stray dog before you went home."
"Hiss, I just mentioned superpowers, aren't you surprised at all?"
After Wu Sun said a barrage of words, he voiced his question.
Li Rui asked out of nowhere, "How's the dog?"
"Huh?"
Wu Sun was taken aback, "It came to bite me, and I lifted it aside. I'm an agent with supernatural abilities from the Secret Realm; it couldn't... hold on, could it be..."
Li Rui finished his meal in large bites, then said, "As long as I give it a big biscuit, it'll bark at strangers following me. It's our secret signal. Those itinerant thieves from out of town last month were chased off by the dog."
He noticed me since the afternoon?!
Compared to Li Rui's nonchalance, Wu Sun's complexion paled significantly. He couldn't believe that a seasoned Extraordinary like himself would be discovered by a student.
Seeing his shock, Li Rui comforted him, "Don't mind it. I thought you were just a petty thief."
Actually, this implied that Wu Sun was well-concealed. Despite having the skill to catch a machete with two fingers, he hadn't fully alerted his sense of murderous intent during the stalking.
However, in Wu Sun's ears, it meant...
He was despised?!
He never anticipated such a situation before entering the room.
Li Rui said, "You haven't said what that imprint is."
As a Secret Realm agent, he must be resilient!
Wu Sun rubbed his face, regained his spirits, and stretched his arm across the table, "Don't look at the biggest number first; look at these smaller ones below."
Li Rui leaned closer and saw that beneath the number 15 there was another set of numbers.
[86:44.]
Before he could ask, the number began to squirm, turning into 86:43.
"Time, measured in minutes."
Li Rui's gaze continued downward, seeing another line of Chinese characters beneath the timer.
[Floating Zen Monastery☆☆☆☆.]
"I really don't understand this; it's like a place name in a game." He was never afraid to admit when he didn't know something.
"You're very smart."
Wu Sun chuckled, "Just like I said earlier, supernatural powers exist in our world, though the public is unaware. Once the countdown ends, my spirit, or soul, will traverse to this Secret Realm called the Floating Zen Monastery. Not only me, but all Secret Realm agents will undergo the same experience."
Li Rui had already forgotten about eating, "So you're saying that the thing on the back of my hand will eventually become like this, and I'll also enter the Secret Realm when the countdown ends."
He didn't even need to ask to know that the non-human powers surely come from the Secret Realm within the imprint.
"Correct."
Wu Sun snapped his fingers and began serving himself a second bowl of baby cabbage tofu soup, "Your imprint hasn't been fully formed yet. I reckon it'll be done by tomorrow. You wait at home, and I'll drive over in the morning to pick you up."
Li Rui frowned, "I have classes tomorrow."
Wu Sun reluctantly replied, "Young man, you need to understand something. Once you have an imprint on your hand, your life will no longer align with ordinary people. In the future, your classmates won't even be in the same world as you. If you're not interested, you don't even need to get your college diploma, let alone attend classes."
After a bit of pondering, Li Rui accepted his explanation and continued asking, "You haven't said what the biggest number on the imprint is."
"That's the level of a Secret Realm agent. Someone will explain it in detail tomorrow. Today, I'm just here to give you a psychological heads-up. See you tomorrow."
Wu Sun stood up, "Also, don't mention this to anyone; the consequences would be severe. Hmm? What's wrong with you?"
Li Rui wasn't looking at him, only staring at the empty bowls in front of him, squeezing out a stiff smile, "I'm not full."
He wasn't a Prophet; he didn't foresee someone freeloading when he made the meal.
Wu Sun blushed slightly, "It's still early; go buy something. You're a big guy; it's normal not to be full just eating cabbage and tofu."
Li Rui continued to smile and nodded, "My daily expenses are limited. I had a chicken leg for lunch, so no meat for dinner."
This was purely a spontaneous fabrication, but Wu Sun reacted as if struck by lightning. His cheeks flushed a deeper red, spreading rapidly, "I, I'm sorry, I didn't think..."
In a fluster, he fished out his wallet and placed several red bills on the table, "Take it, buy something nutritious."
He couldn't even recall how he left the small apartment, as he spent the entire time afterward berating himself: Oh, Wu Sun, you really are a rookie! Coming to a financially strained orphan's home to snatch his meal.
After he left, Li Rui took out his phone to open Meituan, planning to reward himself with a little barbecue for his extra gain tonight.
Once the takeout arrived, he ate joyful barbecue with sugar-free cola, digesting everything he had learned from that Superpower Division agent's mouth.
The sudden turning point in his life caught him slightly off guard, so much so that even after midnight, he lay in bed too excited to sleep.
Another person who couldn't sleep that night was Wu Sun.
Lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he mentally gave himself a big biscuit.
"I really am a rookie!"