Superhumans of the Dome City

"You overestimate me. Rather than being careful and cautious, it's more like I've always been someone who acts recklessly, is driven by emotions, and tends to be careless," Ah Ce said.

"Excessive modesty is a form of arrogance."

"And a mere statement of the situation can hardly be considered modesty. Do you want an ice cream cone?"

"You're terribly mistaken if you think you can buy me off with desserts." Qin Qianbai withdrew her hand, sat down in her seat, "I'll have chocolate flavor."

Bribery successful.

"Alright, alright, I'll get it to go."

Gongsun Ce spent five minutes buying the young lady's ice cream cone and his Set A (which included an explosive beef burger, golden chicken wings, and Bio·Mashed Potatoes). To him, freshly awakened from a nightmare, the fast-food restaurant's noisy environment was too much; Gongsun Ce stood up with the takeout bag, prepared to fill his stomach on the way home.

·

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the crossroads where they were to part; the pedestrian signal turned from green to red, and the two preparing to cross slowed down. A screeching sound, loud as a sports car engine, came from the left side of the road; four tall horses pulling an antique carriage rushed past on the motorway, stirring up a wind tainted with a strange odor. The horses' eyes were bloodshot, and they were marked with bizarre, circuit-like green patterns—one glance was enough to confirm that these were bioengineered creatures unique to this city.

"Ah Ce, are bioengineered carriages really eco-friendly?" Qin Qianbai asked while eating her ice cream.

Gongsun Ce disdainfully fanned away the air, trying to dispel the horse sweat odor: "I think something that stinks this bad doesn't deserve to claim it's 'eco-friendly.'"

A private sports car up ahead seemed to develop a competitive edge against the bioengineered carriage, beginning to speed up in an attempt to overtake it in downtown traffic. Paparazzi with cameras stood on saucer-like personal flyers, following the scene, hoping it might turn into a newsworthy story.

Gongsun Ce took a big bite of his hamburger, finding some solace in the spectacle before him. This place was always absurd, but for the residents so accustomed to it, it was just another part of their peculiar daily life.

The light turned green, Gongsun Ce swallowed the last bite of his burger, and noticed that the girl next to him hadn't taken a step.

"Another dream about that incident three years ago, huh?"

Qin Qianbai, having finished her ice cream, continued to pursue the matter.

It looked like he needed to tell a different kind of lie.

"I admit it's a nightmare about that incident three years ago," Gongsun Ce packed up the food wrappers, "Did I ever tell you about the time when I had just taken a shower, was wrapped in a bath towel writing something, and got caught searching for R-rated images for reference?"

"A disaster on the level of a car crash at a fire scene," nodded the young lady.

"This utterly disastrous scene was etched deep into Mr. Gongsun's heart, so much so that I still occasionally relive that cruel past in nightmares," Gongsun Ce sighed, "Well, your curiosity should be satisfied now; I'm going to skip class and head home to rest."

That was also a lie.

It was merely exchanging one fact for another, a lie just as different from answering the question. This kind of lie could express an attitude: I don't want you to delve any further into this matter, please maintain a proper distance.

Three seconds remained on the green light. Gongsun Ce threw the packaging bag into a trash can, waved his hand, and stepped onto the crosswalk.

"Ah Ce."

The expressionless girl stopped him.

"The streets have been unsafe these nights; try not to go out alone."

"Advice received, thanks."

But even if that unknown criminal is audacious, he wouldn't have the nerve to attack me.

In the final second before the green light ended, Gongsun Ce crossed to the other side of the street alone. As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of a sports car colliding with a carriage, a minor car accident occurring amid the cursing of drivers.

This coincided, like a cruel twist of fate, with what his friend had cautioned him of when they had parted ways, which didn't sit well with Gongsun Ce. The arriving traffic police sounded their sirens, and he dispersed the unexplained restlessness in his heart, walking towards home amidst the piercing noise.

Nothing worth mentioning happened during the five-minute walk, and Gongsun Ce smoothly arrived at the entrance of his apartment building. Superpowered brawls rarely happened in safer areas, and one or two car accidents were nothing more than a common street scene in the Thorn District, as placid as its hundreds of unfallen white towers. Apart from a vexing nightmare, today was, from any perspective, an utterly ordinary day in February...

"——Aaaahhh!"

Until a heart-wrenching scream descended from the sky, tearing through the calm of everyday life with its shrill sound.

An object, trailing a stench of blood, plummeted from the high skies, its whistling mingled with a madness that would send chills down a common person's spine. A heavy thud marked the creature's landing as dust rose at the front door of the apartment building, and a green shadow smashed viciously onto the ground in front of the building, with the force of a meteor strike!

"Wow," Gongsun Ce said.

This humanoid creature sported a head crowned with a rooster's comb, dripping green blood, endlessly hissing like a venomous snake. It had three-fingered hands with talon-like nails, and its mouth bristled with sharp teeth, terrifying as those of a giant insect. Raising its head, it gazed at Gongsun Ce, the small eyes revealing a beast-like cruelty and slyness.

Gongsun Ce noticed black arrows embedded in each of the creature's ankles, which were likely the cause of its grave injuries. These days, no one used cold weapons anymore, but it wasn't that unusual in this city.

"Hiss... Hiss..."

The green, comb-crowned head flicked its tongue in and out as if sensing prey, eager to strike. Gongsun Ce shrugged his shoulders, deciding to greet it amicably: "Hello? Domo? Do you need help?"

"——!"

The comb-crowned creature howled, opting for action over words: it leaped up from the ground, its claws retracting sharply, and its pointed tips lunged for Gongsun Ce's chest like spears!

Gongsun Ce watched the frenzied assailant with calm eyes. Even as the sharp claws nearly grazed his clothing, he showed no sign of panic.

"It seems you don't need any."

A moment later, the brutal predator was hurled into the air.

There was no third party intruding on the battleground, and Gongsun Ce was no master of martial arts with lightning-fast punches. He simply made a very simple motion, clenching his right fist, imagining the strike in his mind...

His thought, in the world of reality, transformed into a genuine, tangible "force."

A violent gust surged, the heavy punch was thrown, and an invisible colossal fist materialized out of thin air, smashing upward into the comb-crowned creature's jaw!

Its head jerked upwards grotesquely, its sharp teeth spraying out with blood from its mouth. In a mere breath's time, the comb-crowned creature was utterly overpowered by a force far more savage than itself, the strength of the punch tearing away the arrows from its ankles and sending it flying five meters into the air!

Gongsun Ce unclenched his fist, pressing his palm downwards. The overwhelming power formed a wall, smashing the airborne comb-crowned creature back to the ground. The predator looked up bewilderedly at him, its eyes shifting from greed to terror.

"...You?!"

"You needn't be so surprised, Mr. Nameless," Gongsun Ce adjusted his glasses, "since you find yourself in the City of the Heavens..."

"In this city, home to 5.7 million superpower users, it's not all that unusual for a college student you randomly meet on the street to have telekinesis, is it?"

Just as he said, like most students in this city, the 19-year-old Gongsun Ce—

was quite a formidable superpower user.