Chapter 1 The Beginning
Main world, July 28th, 8:30 AM.

Zhou Jing leisurely returned to his family's house and rang the doorbell.

There was movement inside, and footsteps quickly approached. Zhao Jing opened the door.

"Third Brother, you're back."

"Yeah."

Zhou Jing nodded and entered the house, finding that his family had gathered together again for the rare occasion.

Zhou Wei'an sat on the sofa, squinting and smoking one cigarette after another, the smoke swirling around him. His eldest and second elder brothers sat on the other sofa, turning their heads to look over.

The immigration bureau's home visit would also notify the family, so everyone was waiting today.

Once the final home visit procedure was completed, the immigration quota would be truly set, and there would be no more changes. Even the eldest brother had taken a day off specifically to witness it, seeking peace of mind.

Seeing Zhou Jing return, Zhou Wei'an paused his smoking.

He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words, so he just made small talk:

"How have you been lately?"

"Fine."

Zhou Jing's tone was calm as he walked up to Zhou Wei'an, took the cigarette from his fingers, and extinguished it in the ashtray.

Zhou Wei'an: "?"

"I've always hated the smell of smoke."

After doing this, Zhou Jing found an empty seat and sat down, closing his eyes to rest.

Zhou Wei'an frowned and took out another cigarette from the pack, continuing to smoke on his own.

His gaze passed through the thin smoke, frequently studying Zhou Jing.

Although it had only been seven or eight days since he last saw him, he felt that Zhou Jing's temperament had changed greatly, but he couldn't quite put his finger on how.

Beside them, the eldest and second brothers looked hesitant.

They wanted to say something, but looking at the closed-eyed Zhou Jing, they didn't know why, but they were a little afraid to speak.

For some reason, the two felt that Zhou Jing had gained an unspeakable aura, becoming somewhat unfamiliar.

It had only been a few days, and they didn't know what had happened to him… The two didn't dare to ask.

Zhou Jing didn't speak, and the others remained silent.

In the strange atmosphere, time passed by, slowly reaching nine o'clock.

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang.

Zhou Wei'an immediately jumped up from the sofa, strode to the door in a few steps, and opened it.

Outside the door stood two people in silver and red uniforms, a man and a woman.

Zhou Jing opened his eyes and took a look.

The woman was Cheng Li, with whom he had had a video call.

The man was someone he hadn't seen before, tall and sturdy, with tactical webbing added to his uniform. He looked like a soldier or bodyguard, without a gun, but with a dark, gleaming baton at his waist.

Cheng Li presented an identification, a polite smile on her face, and said:

"Is this the home of Mr. Zhou Jing? We are staff members of the Interstellar Immigration Bureau's West Sea City Branch."

"Yes, this is it. Please come in, both of you." Zhou Wei'an put on a smile, stepped aside, and made a gesture to invite them in.

The two immigration bureau staff members entered the living room.

Cheng Li glanced around and found Zhou Jing, immediately turning her head to look at him, revealing a formulaic smile, and said:

"Hello, Mr. Zhou Jing. I'm Cheng Li. We've spoken before. I'll be responsible for your immigration work before you board the spaceship. Today is the scheduled home visit."

"Hello."

Zhou Jing nodded politely. After all, it was their job, and he didn't want to give them a hard time.

At this time, Zhou Wei'an extended his hand, smiling, and said:

"Nice to meet you. I'm Zhou Wei'an, Zhou Jing's father."

Cheng Li raised an eyebrow and politely shook his hand in response: "Hello."

Zhou Wei'an then turned to look at the male staff member, also extending his hand: "Hello, may I ask who you are…"

The tall man directly ignored his outstretched hand and didn't say anything, his expression indifferent.

Zhou Wei'an's expression stiffened, and he withdrew his hand, pretending to be natural.

Cheng Li smiled and explained: "You don't need to mind him. He's just a colleague who ensures I can carry out my work smoothly. He's not responsible for immigration matters, only for handling unexpected situations."

"Unexpected situations?"

Cheng Li's smile remained unchanged: "Sometimes, when immigration bureau personnel conduct home visits, they encounter immigration candidates who are overly agitated and display strong resistance. After many similar incidents, the immigration bureau now sends a superpowered bodyguard with staff members during home visits to prevent the situation from escalating."

This person is a superpowered individual?

Zhou Wei'an subconsciously took a step back, a little afraid.

Although traces of superpowered individuals can be found in all aspects of society and are not uncommon, ordinary people don't often come into contact with them in their daily lives.

Even with the management of the Superpower Bureau, which ensures that the vast majority of superpowered individuals abide by the law and integrate into society, they can easily cause accidents due to their extraordinary powers.

There are often similar news reports about superpowered individuals not controlling their strength while running, accidentally brushing against a passerby, sending the passerby spiraling into the sky, ending up in the hospital for three months, with the superpowered individual bearing full responsibility.

Superpowered individuals are no different from ordinary people online, and some even open social media accounts to share their lives, especially those players in the Superpower League, many of whom have fans and supporters.

But once they come into close contact with superpowered individuals in real life, many ordinary people instinctively become wary, an instinct to stay away from danger.

Zhou Jing was too lazy to look at Zhou Wei'an but became interested in the bodyguard.

Aside from the Otherworld, the only superpowered individual he had come into contact with in his life was Li Xiaoyin. Natural awakeners like her are highly valued and are unlikely to take on such grassroots positions.

Powerful superpowered individuals generally wouldn't choose such grassroots work. Those who are willing to do this are either hopeless rookies or officials following orders.

‘This person probably isn't very strong, most likely a super soldier from the military or security department, enhanced with gene serums…’

Zhou Jing speculated inwardly.

Speaking of which, Li Xiaoyin gave her gene serum quota to Xu Lingyun. I wonder how he's doing now… Hopefully, he didn't drink himself to death?

At this time, Cheng Li took out a special tablet device, with a formulaic smile, and asked:

"Mr. Zhou Jing, if you have no objections, shall we begin our home visit?"

"Okay."

The group came to the dining table in the living room and sat down.

Cheng Li placed the device on the table, fiddled with it a few times, turned on the recording function, and then took out a thick stack of documents from her bag, smiling:

"I'll ask you some related questions, and I hope you'll answer truthfully… But before we officially begin, I need to confirm with you one last time: are you sure you're doing this voluntarily?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Wei'an, the eldest brother, and the second brother all looked at Zhou Jing, slightly nervous.

"I am." Zhou Jing answered calmly, looking straight ahead.

The expressions of the others relaxed.

"Okay, I understand."

Cheng Li maintained her smile, pretending not to see the others' unusual expressions.

Having worked at the Immigration Bureau for so many years, she had seen all kinds of families. She had no emotional investment and only cared about her work going smoothly.

As long as she completed the process officially, she didn't care about anything else.

She cleared her throat and began the home visit interview according to the procedure, asking questions from the script, covering all aspects, sometimes asking about Zhou Jing's childhood, sometimes asking about his views on society.

Zhou Jing answered as briefly as possible, picking only the pleasant things to say, being politically correct.

The assessment was two-pronged: one was to conduct a psychological analysis of the immigration candidate, and the other was to assess the immigrant's value and ability, equivalent to an interview.

He didn't intend to feign madness or show off anything in this interview. He would just deal with it normally, just going through the motions.

After asking many questions, Cheng Li flipped through the documents in her hand and suddenly said, "You have a friend named Li Xiaoyin, correct?"

"…What about it?"

Zhou Jing's casual gaze suddenly sharpened.

The other party had his files, which must have included his friendships. He wasn't surprised that they knew he knew Li Xiaoyin, but he was surprised that they suddenly brought her up.

At this moment, the tall, taciturn bodyguard suddenly broke out in goosebumps, becoming alert and staring intently at Zhou Jing, his hand slowly pressing on the baton at his waist.

Zhou Jing glanced at him, his eyes clashing with his in mid-air, before he looked away.

Cheng Li was unaware of the momentary confrontation between the two and continued to ask her questions according to the procedure.

"Are you aware that Li Xiaoyin has become a superpowered individual?"

"I know."

"Has she mentioned to you that she has an assistant quota that can be used to purchase a gene serum for enhancement?"

"She has."

"Have you asked her for this quota?"

"No."

Zhou Jing's expression softened, returning to his previous nonchalance.

He understood why Cheng Li had brought up Li Xiaoyin. She probably thought that since he knew a newly promoted superpowered individual, if Li Xiaoyin gave him her assistant quota, then he wouldn't need to immigrate.

On the other hand, Zhou Wei'an was startled.

"What, that girl became a superpowered individual?"

As Zhou Jing's close friend, Li Xiaoyin had come to their house as a guest before, and Zhou Wei'an knew her, knowing that she was an orphan and not paying much attention to her.

Now, suddenly hearing this, he was shocked.

Zhou Wei'an thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to Zhou Jing and said:

"Why don't you find a time to invite Li Xiaoyin out and ask her if she can give you her assistant quota? That way, you won't have to immigrate."

Zhou Jing turned to look at him: "That quota is very precious."

"You and Li Xiaoyin are friends, your relationship is so good. It shouldn't be hard for her to give you the quota, right? If she knew your situation, she should help you… If that doesn't work, the family can pool some money together to help you buy it," Zhou Wei'an said hastily.

"Her assistant quota has already been given to someone else." Zhou Jing looked away, his tone indifferent.

Hearing this, Zhou Wei'an was somewhat disappointed.

The male bodyguard next to him glanced at Zhou Wei'an strangely, as if suddenly realizing something, and faintly revealed a mocking expression, but didn't say anything.

Cheng Li didn't pay attention to the others' expressions and continued to ask her questions according to the script.

The home visit interview lasted for nearly two hours before ending, the sun reaching noon.

Cheng Li closed the thick stack of documents and nodded: "Thank you for your cooperation. The home visit is now complete. Sorry for the intrusion."

"No intrusion, no intrusion." Zhou Wei'an responded with a chuckle.

Cheng Li didn't look at him, self-consciously packed up the equipment, and smiled at Zhou Jing:

"After the video recording of this home visit is reviewed, I will send the subsequent immigration process to-do list and information on the target immigration planet to your phone. You will be notified when to check."

"I understand." Zhou Jing nodded calmly.

"Okay, then we'll be leaving now."

Cheng Li packed up her things and stood up, and the tall male bodyguard also got up.

Zhou Wei'an saw the two out the door, turned back to Zhou Jing, and couldn't help but say:

"Listen to me, go ask Li Xiaoyin for that assistant quo—"

"I'm leaving."

Zhou Jing interrupted him and left without looking back.

Arriving at the elevator lobby, they happened to meet Cheng Li and the others also waiting for the elevator. They nodded to each other as a greeting and took the elevator down together.

The elevator descended silently, without noise or vibration.

Zhou Jing looked at Cheng Li and casually asked, "Are you going to continue visiting the next family?"

"Yes, the next family."

Cheng Li returned a formulaic smile.

Zhou Jing nodded and didn't say anything more.

The elevator quickly reached the ground floor. Zhou Jing politely said goodbye and left on his own.

Cheng Li and the male bodyguard stood in place, watching Zhou Jing's figure disappear into the bustling street.

At this time, the tall male bodyguard suddenly said: "This person is too nonchalant, as if he doesn't care at all about his forced immigration."

Hearing this, Cheng Li looked at him with some surprise: "You usually don't care about these things, why are you suddenly concerned?"

The tall male bodyguard narrowed his eyes, his tone low:

"That person is a little dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

Cheng Li was stunned.

The home visit was very smooth just now. She didn't feel anything.

"I suspect he has blood on his hands, and not just one life."

The tall male bodyguard said in a deep voice.

Cheng Li looked astonished: "Is it your illusion? His file history is traceable, too clean. It's impossible."

"…Then maybe I'm mistaken."

The tall male bodyguard pinched his brow, not explaining further.

He paused and asked curiously, "What's your prediction for this person's evaluation result?"

Cheng Li curled her lips, not taking it seriously:

"The specific results need to be reviewed by the system… But based on my experience, most of his answers were perfunctory. The psychological evaluation is basically that of an ordinary person, needless to say.

As for the ability and value assessment, based on his resume and the perfunctory answers just now, I estimate that he will be placed in the basic value bracket."

Basic value naturally belongs to the lower bracket, representing an ordinary immigrant with low labor value, whose greatest use is basically reproduction.

High-value immigrants are often those with technical skills, high-knowledge professions, and superpowered individuals.

"Is that so…"

The tall male bodyguard was somewhat noncommittal.

Just now, for a moment, his intuition felt a heart-pounding threat from Zhou Jing.

As a superpowered individual who came from an official department and received long-term training, he didn't dare to ignore his intuition.

Although Zhou Jing seemed to be quite cultured and cooperative.

But he always felt that this person named Zhou Jing was probably not an ordinary person.

But looking at this family's performance… Could it be that they were unaware?

The tall man secretly curled his lips.

However, whether this person is dangerous or not is for the Immigration Bureau to worry about in the future.

What does all this have to do with him, a mere bodyguard?