Chapter 23 Metahuman

Xu Lingyun and Zhang Xiao stopped bickering and looked at Li Xiaoyin in surprise.

"You don't believe me?" Li Xiaoyin raised her eyebrows.

Xu Lingyun pondered for a few seconds, then raised his hand to feel Li Xiaoyin's forehead. "Are you running a fever?"

"Go to hell." Li Xiaoyin unhappily slapped his hand away.

Zhang Xiao was shocked. "That's too sudden. You're giving me no time to prepare..."

Zhou Jing scratched his head. "It's a bit of a surprise... but I believe you."

Li Xiaoyin immediately beamed, slammed the table, and said boldly, "That's my Jingjing, always so trusting."

"Stop calling me that, it's weird..." Zhou Jing said helplessly.

This news did surprise him, but not to the point of disbelief. After all, he had experienced the even more miraculous Star Realm Transmigration.

So Zhou Jing's acceptance level was unprecedentedly strong. Even if the Interstellar United Government announced its dissolution tomorrow, he felt he would still look like a dead fish.

But he still needed to ask carefully about the specifics...

But before the three of them could ask, Li Xiaoyin spoke generously:

"A few days ago, I don't remember the exact date, I woke up early in the morning and inexplicably had superpowers. I almost blew up my rented house and attracted people from the Metahuman Bureau. They said I had a runaway awakening, blah blah blah, and then they dragged me to do tests and register as a metahuman. I only got my official ID yesterday... I'll show you."

Li Xiaoyin took out a tattered little wallet full of cute stickers from her pocket. Inside was a photo of the four of them as children.

She took out a black card with silver lettering from her wallet and slapped it on the table. Xu Lingyun and Zhang Xiao curiously leaned over to look.

Zhou Jing also glanced at it, comparing it to the style of metahuman ID cards he had found online.

Hmm... a very serious ID card format, with name, date of birth, registration time, and a headshot, with the Metahuman Bureau's seal in the background. It's not a fake ID.

The Metahuman Bureau, formally known as the "Metahuman Management and Control Bureau," is an agency directly under the Interstellar United Community, responsible for coordinating and managing all metahumans in the civilization and resolving various problems of runaway powers.

Whether it's an awakening or a mutation, any metahuman must be registered with this agency to be officially certified as a "metahuman" and receive the corresponding treatment, rights, subsidies, etc.

Each member state has a branch of the Metahuman Bureau to facilitate the management of metahumans of various nationalities.

In the current era, metahumans are not uncommon. Ordinary people can see them display their divine power in the metahuman league, or follow their social media shares online, but there are few opportunities to come into contact with them in life. Metahumans are a relatively closed ecosystem to outsiders.

For civilians, the world of metahumans is separated by a veil, which can be seen vaguely but is difficult to touch. During the periods when metahumans do not appear in the public eye, ordinary people find it difficult to know exactly what they are doing.

'The metahuman information I currently understand is all collected from the Internet. I can't find some deep-seated things. Maybe I can ask Xiaoyin...' Zhou Jing thought to himself.

The social ecology of the metahuman community can only be fully understood by those who have personally experienced it. He has never had a way to inquire, and now there is someone knowledgeable around him... although she is currently just a newbie.

Speaking of which, he is still working hard to become a metahuman, and Li Xiaoyin naturally awakened and became one directly... Zhou Jing didn't have any other emotions, and his mentality was peaceful.

He already has Star Realm Transmigration, whose potential is difficult to assess, so what more could he want?

Moreover, he was happy for his childhood friend.

Among the four of them, Zhang Xiao's family was the wealthiest, with a family business. Although he was not well-liked by his family and was somewhat marginalized, he lacked nothing in terms of material things.

And although Xu Lingyun's background was bumpy, if they were to compare tragedies, this Li Xiaoyin was the real heavyweight.

Li Xiaoyin was a true orphan with no father or mother, and grew up in a foster home. When she reached school age, she entered school in a daze, but there were always ignorant children who ganged up to bully her.

They mocked her for not having parents, hid her schoolbag in the boys' toilet during breaks, and even tore up her textbooks filled with study notes.

But even though her background was miserable and she had to face various difficulties, Li Xiaoyin was not affected. She faced everything with a smile and developed a cheerful and outgoing personality.

After all, after beating up all the people who bullied her, there was nothing to be depressed about.

Especially the boy who tore up her textbook. Li Xiaoyin kicked down the classroom door during class and dragged him all the way from his seat into the girls' toilet. Amidst the boy's heart-wrenching cries, she very kindly lectured him, making him deeply reflect on his mistakes and feel ashamed enough to not return to school for half a month.

Li Xiaoyin grew up stumbling along, always living alone, and her economic situation was not well-off.

Now that she has become a metahuman, she will never have to worry about making a living again. The Metahuman Bureau's allowance alone will allow her to live a comfortable life, many times better than now. Her fate has been reversed, and Zhou Jing is truly happy for her.

At this moment, Xu Lingyun suddenly pointed to a column on the ID card and asked curiously, "Hey, it says 'Provisional Metahuman' here."

"Yeah, I haven't taken the exam yet, so of course I'm provisional," Li Xiaoyin said matter-of-factly, explaining.

There are various metahuman systems in the world, each with its own cultivation methods, and each has its own standards for dividing realms. Some superpowers cannot even be cultivated or developed.

Therefore, in order to facilitate statistics and management, the Interstellar United Community does not divide the strength of metahumans according to the realm of any system, but rather allows metahumans to take exams themselves!

The Metahuman Bureau stipulates the strength level of each level of metahuman. No matter what ability a person has, as long as the strength reaches the indicators of the corresponding level and passes the relevant assessment, they can be assigned to different levels.

The higher the level, the better the various treatments.

The current metahuman level system is divided into seven levels, each with different badges and names, but most people directly refer to them by numbers for convenience.

Levels one and two belong to the grassroots, levels three and four belong to the backbone, and their actual strength is already very amazing, while level five and above belong to the category of advanced metahumans.

As for the top level seven metahumans, even today, with a total civilization population of trillions, there are only a few dozen people.

Newly registered metahumans are provisional because they have not had time to take the exam, and they only have the most basic treatment. Li Xiaoyin is in this situation.

"I see..." Zhang Xiao said suddenly, shaking his double chin, curious. "So what is your ability? What level do you think you can reach?"

Xu Lingyun rubbed his stubble, analyzing seriously: "Xiaoyin... oh no, Sister Yin! You're usually so violent... I mean, you can fight, so the ability you awakened must be something like super strength, right?"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao nodded sharply, greatly agreeing: "Maybe like a metahuman league player, you can directly transform into an ape beast!"

"Yes, yes, yes, this ability is simply tailor-made for Sister Yin!" Xu Lingyun gave a thumbs up.

"...Do you two want to loosen your skin?" Li Xiaoyin's eyes twitched, and she clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking.

Zhou Jing smiled and interjected, "So what exactly is your ability? I'm also curious."

"Yes, no more jokes." Xu Lingyun waved his hand, his stubbly face full of interest. "Sister Yin, show us a couple of tricks and open our eyes."

"Um... the Metahuman Bureau made me sign a lot of agreements, one of which is that I shouldn't use my ability in daily life unless necessary, or they'll deduct my allowance." Li Xiaoyin blinked.

Zhang Xiao quickly said, "Then don't use it here. We can't let you lose money."

Hearing this, Li Xiaoyin raised her eyebrows and smiled indifferently, waving her hand: "Hey, screw those agreements. Since you guys want to see it, I'll just use it a little. It's just a little money, let them deduct it if they want!"

After speaking, she didn't wait for the three of them to continue asking and directly raised a finger, carefully tapping it on the table.

*Poof.*

A faint white aura suddenly bloomed around the point where her fingertip touched the table.

The force was very light, and the bowls, plates, and cups on the table jumped at the same time, being pushed outwards.

Two plates even fell down, but fortunately Zhou Jing reacted quickly and caught them.

Li Xiaoyin raised her eyebrows triumphantly. "I'm not proficient yet, and I don't control the power very well, but luckily I didn't break anything... How is it? Do you understand?"

Xu Lingyun blinked, hesitated for a while, and nodded. "I understand. Your ability is to fart with your finger."

"Get lost." Li Xiaoyin scolded with a smile. "It's releasing a shockwave, you idiot!"

"That's right, farts don't have that much force, unless they're a bit runny." Xu Lingyun agreed deeply.

Zhou Jing couldn't help but interject, "Are you obsessed with poop and pee? I suspect you're deliberately affecting our appetite so you can snatch food later."

"Hey, you're so smart today?" Xu Lingyun was surprised.

Zhou Jing facepalmed, not wanting to continue to deviate from this dirty topic.

Speaking of which, the ability to release shockwaves seems quite powerful as long as the intensity increases.

In his many years of watching the metahuman league, this is probably another power-based style.

He turned to look at Li Xiaoyin, thinking thoughtfully. "Your ability should be quite strong. As long as you develop it well and increase the intensity, the destructive power will be amazing."

"Right, right, I think so too!" Li Xiaoyin nodded excitedly.

"Moreover, you clearly have an energy-releasing destructive ability, which is more than enough to participate in the metahuman league. Maybe you can become a star player by then."

"That's right!"

"If you don't want to fight in the metahuman league, the Internet says that joining the Metahuman Bureau directly is also a good choice. If you get an official position, you'll be on the path to a career."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"..."

Zhou Jing looked at Li Xiaoyin, who was nodding in agreement, and was a little speechless.

"Have you completely not thought about what you want to do after having superpowers?"

Li Xiaoyin scratched her head embarrassedly, her eyes narrowed, revealing a brilliant smile like a silly dog. "I was so busy sharing the good news with you that I haven't thought about this question carefully yet."

"...Still so carefree." Zhou Jing said helplessly, but couldn't help but smile.

Now that countries are conducting interstellar development, although there are some frictions, they are all minor problems, and metahumans are of little use. If they want to use their abilities in battle, they can generally only go to the metahuman league. That is a legal arena and the most popular program. If they become famous, they can become star players, with advertising endorsements, acting invitations, and other dividends. It is a popular choice for metahuman employment.

Although there are many other employment directions, they are generally similar to those of ordinary people, but the treatment is better, the form of work is somewhat different, and they are also more sought-after.

According to the information Zhou Jing has found, today is a peaceful era, and materially it can barely be called a prosperous age. Except for dealing with some terrorism and illegal metahuman organizations, there is not much need for the combat power of metahumans. Even interstellar development and interstellar exploration rarely use metahumans, so "management" is greater than "utilization."

Most of the time, even metahumans are just ordinary members of society. Although they don't have to struggle for life, they are not free to do whatever they want. The rule of law is still greater than everything.

Li Xiaoyin can release shockwaves, which seems to be much more powerful than the alien blood warrior system in the Otherworld, after all, the physical enhancement type is still a bit monotonous.

However, Zhou Jing is not discouraged. The alien blood warrior system is currently the only extraordinary power that has a chance to be obtained, and it is enough to make him a metahuman and meet the needs of the plan.

He doesn't have a strong competitive spirit and will never dislike what he can use just because others have something better, especially since Li Xiaoyin is his buddy.

Moreover, in the long run, Star Realm Transmigration has infinite possibilities. As long as he explores, he will have the opportunity to discover more extraordinary powers.

At this moment, Zhang Xiao suddenly spoke, saying something that stunned everyone: "It is said that every self-awakened metahuman will receive an assistant quota after registration, with the authority to purchase a genetic potion and give it to the selected assistant... Xiaoyin, why don't you sell this quota to me?"