Chapter 2 - Chapter: The Superpower System and Uninvited Troubles

In this universe, the superpower system was divided into two major categories. Beyond warriors and warlocks—who developed and enhanced the mighty power of their own bodies—there were genetic warriors and mecha pilots, who relied more on technological means.The former gained physical and ability enhancements through injecting genetic potions, while the latter fought by piloting powerful mechas.Notably, although genetic warriors and mecha pilots depended more on the power of technology, when truly compared, these two systems were actually rarer than warriors and warlocks.Genetic warriors need no further elaboration: the requirement for genetic compatibility alone eliminated countless people. Moreover, the survival rate and success rate after injection were not high—saying that only one in a hundred qualified was by no means an exaggeration.As for mecha pilots... they were even rarer. Piloting a mecha, especially a low-level one, had not very high rigid requirements, whether through manual operation or neural connection. It seemed like a job that "anyone with hands could do." But as everyone should know, often the more seemingly low-threshold and easy-to-enter professions were, the harder it was to become powerful at them.This was because it involved something that no instrument could detect—talent.To give an example, it was like the professional leagues of games people were familiar with. There were hundreds of millions of players around the world; almost most people had watched professional matches and once had unrealistic dreams like "Coach, I want to go pro."But in the end, there were only a few hundred real professional players.The rarity of genuine mecha pilots was comparable to that of professional players among ordinary gamers—even rarer, in fact.Given the current situation, all prisoners in the prison were wearing electronic collars that suppressed abilities. Even if a superpowered individual had extraordinary skills, they could not use them at all.If the mecha in front of them could still operate, and a professional mecha pilot took control of the cockpit, that pilot could completely run amok in this prison.Of course, it would only be "running amok" and nothing more.Whether it was a single-soldier mecha or a combat mecha, their grading system was the same, ranging from lowest to highest: Private-class, Vanguard-class, General-class, Dominator-class, Titan-class, and so on.Lin Jie could tell that the combat mecha in front of him was only at the lowest Private-class.Not to mention its current damaged state—even if it were in perfect condition, at best, it could only bully other prisoners here and would never be able to break through the layers of defense of the Ninth Prison.What Lin Jie couldn't figure out was why such a mecha would appear in a prison, and why it looked like it had just been in a battle.The bald giant and the curly-haired young man walked forward with the mecha. Wherever they passed, all prisoners consciously stepped aside, not daring to block their way in the slightest.The two swaggered to the door of a warehouse-like room. The curly-haired young man stepped forward, pushed the door open, and revealed the scene inside.Lathes, welding torches, hinges, wrenches... all kinds of tools were neatly arranged in the room. Just one glance, and a strong smell of engine oil seemed to hit the face."So many professional tools... Are they trying to repair this mecha?" Lin Jie frowned.Even though he was far from the mecha, with his eyesight, it was not hard to tell that the mecha was on the verge of being scrapped.The cost of manpower and time required to repair a Private-class mecha in such a state was far less cost-effective than getting a new one.Could it be a collection? That didn't make sense.Lin Jie had another thought, but quickly dismissed it himself. There was no shortage of antique collectors in the universe. Some collectors, just like wealthy people on Earth who loved collecting vintage cars, had a hobby of collecting antique mechas.Judging from its appearance, this mecha was indeed old enough.But if it were a collection, why would they use this mecha in a battle?Lin Jie became even more curious. While thinking, he kept an eye on the two men's movements.The curly-haired young man took out many tools from the warehouse and began to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the mecha—from top to bottom, inside and out. The whole process lasted more than ten minutes. Finally, he walked up to the bald man with a disappointed look on his face and gently shook his head.In an instant, the bald man's expression turned even grimmer.Taking him as the center, the air pressure within a radius of more than ten meters seemed to drop, making people unconsciously feel heavy at heart.A strong one... Lin Jie narrowed his eyes slightly.Someone who, even with an electronic collar, could have such an obvious impact on the surrounding environment—his strength was definitely far beyond that of other prisoners. No wonder the other prisoners looked at this bald man as if mice saw a cat.Suddenly, as if sensing Lin Jie's gaze, the bald man turned his head and glanced in Lin Jie's direction.Just one glance, and Lin Jie felt as if he was being targeted by a ferocious beast—there was an overwhelming sense of pressure.Lin Jie quickly withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, lowered his head slightly, and stepped back two steps to signal that he had no intention of provoking.His top priority now was to escape from the Ninth Prison. Among the prisoners, he needed to keep a low profile as much as possible. Standing out too much would only bring unnecessary trouble.But... he didn't look for trouble didn't mean trouble wouldn't come to him.Before long, Lin Jie clearly felt that he was being targeted.He scanned his surroundings, and his gaze locked onto a tall alloy building behind him.There was a floor-to-ceiling window on the upper floor of the building. Behind the window, Jenna Downs stood with her arms crossed, a sarcastic smile on her lips.The moment their eyes met, Lin Jie suddenly realized a problem.I'm done for!During the interrogation just now, he had noticed that Jenna was testing his background.Although he still didn't know who had ordered her to do so, Lin Jie was well aware that if he had really revealed those secrets, Jenna would most likely have made a move against him.That was why he had kept attacking Jenna's weak spot during the interrogation, angered her, and forcefully put an end to the questioning.But now it seemed that his act of angering Jenna had backfired.This menopausal old woman was no longer afraid of the unknown regarding his background—she had made up her mind to kill him.You really can't mess with menopausal women... Lin Jie shot Jenna a deep look, then turned his head away.His sharp eyes quickly caught sight of two other prisoners approaching him.Both of them were warriors.This is trouble... Lin Jie frowned slightly.Warriors had far stronger physical strength than those of other systems. With everyone wearing electronic collars and their abilities suppressed, warriors could easily overpower people from other systems, like an adult beating a child.In the blink of an eye, the two men had blocked Lin Jie from different directions."You want to kill me?"Lin Jie looked left and right, cutting straight to the point. The two prisoners were stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Lin Jie to be so calm. But they quickly reacted. One of them nodded and showed a grim smile: "It seems you're already mentally prepared. Good—someone wants you dead.""Can we talk this over?""Talk it over?" The two prisoners looked at each other, then both broke into cruel grins. "Talk about whether we should leave you with a whole body?"Got it... Lin Jie narrowed his eyes.By this time, the others around had also noticed what was happening. They glanced at each other, then turned back to look at Lin Jie with great interest—even the bald man and the curly-haired young man were no exception.In the Ninth Prison, although the escape rate was zero, the mortality rate was not low.As long as the prisoners weren't particularly special or there wasn't a large-scale riot, the prison guards and security system would not intervene. Such fighting incidents happened on average every month.For their boring prison lives, this was somewhat of a "spice."However, the main part of this "spice" was not the fight itself—fights were not that interesting to watch. What they were more looking forward to was something else.For example, how a fragile young man like Lin Jie would react when facing notorious murderers.Would he break down in tears? Kneel and beg for mercy?Or maybe offer up his body?The futile struggles of cowards in the face of death always gave them an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.Unfortunately, this time, their expectations were destined to be dashed."You can't kill me..." After a moment of silence, Lin Jie showed a confident smile."Can't kill you?"The two prisoners laughed as if they had heard a hilarious joke. They rubbed their ears in disbelief: "Kid, who do you think you are? I can blow your head off with just one hand. What makes you say that?""Because of him!"Lin Jie smiled, raised his hand casually, and pointed.Everyone followed the direction Lin Jie was pointing—and just happened to see the bald giant with an annoyed look on his face.In an instant, the entire place fell dead silent.