Press Conference, the Beginning of a New Era

Click, click, click!

Countless flashes went off without pause. Han Baekho sat in the middle of a long white table with his eyes closed, his posture upright. His terrifying body, over two and a half meters tall, was wrapped in a custom-made white suit. His muscles far exceeded the level of physique an ordinary human could attain through hormone injections or other methods.

Every strand of Han Baekho’s short hair stood on end. That, too, was not an effect created with hair gel. All the hair on his body was like needles, capable of stabbing outward at any moment.

Reporters from Korea, Japan, White Elephant, the Western Continent, the Free Federation, and other countries were inexplicably thrilled, snapping photos without cease. They knew very well that today’s reports would undoubtedly be recorded in human history.

Decades, even centuries from now, when humanity looked back on this period of history, there was a strong chance that their reports and bylines would appear in it.

Humanity’s roughly 65-million-year evolutionary history was now, in all likelihood, about to reach a new turning point. This would be the beginning of a new era, comparable to humanity’s first upright steps and first use of tools.

Ability Users—a brand-new kind of human beyond the explanations of existing science—had appeared and been confirmed!

Unlike the baseless rumors of the past, and unlike the endlessly disputed legends of aliens, the existence of these Ability Users had been successively acknowledged as genuine by the governments of the Free Federation, East Xia, Korea, and other nations.

And now, humanity’s first Ability User Agency would be established in Korea.

The reporters could not help thinking that perhaps, from this day onward, everything that happened in superhero movies and fantastical stories would gradually become reality.

Although there was currently no evidence indicating that these Ability Users possessed hereditary abilities or other means of transferring their powers, these ordinary reporters were still as excited as the billions of people watching through livestreams across the internet.

Jin Yue’an sat in the second row. She wore glasses with extremely thick lenses, making it impossible to see her pupils.

Yet through her eyes, she could clearly observe everyone’s subtle expressions, including the movement of their Adam’s apples and the dilation of their pupils.

"Heh, these mortals really are excited beyond measure."

Her voice was soft. The long-haired woman sitting beside her was clearly somewhat nervous and did not respond to the topic of mortals. Among Reincarnators, there were indeed many who distinguished themselves from ordinary people.

They believed that powerful Reincarnators and ordinary humans were no longer the same species, using "mortals" as a derogatory term.

Red Carp held a hand over her chest. She wore an oversized black suit over an expensive white shirt and sunglasses, giving off a cold and aloof air. But inwardly, she was nowhere near as calm as Jin Yue’an.

"Sister Yue’an, aren’t you nervous…?"

Jin Yue’an turned her head in confusion, only to find Red Carp’s face flushed—a sign of her heart beating too quickly. Frowning, she scanned the surroundings and discovered that it was not just Red Carp. More than half of the Agency’s Reincarnators were showing signs of nervousness.

Looking more closely, one would find that although Han Baekho appeared composed and imposing, his muscles were likewise stiff.

"You’re all nervous?"

"Why?"

Jin Yue’an truly did not understand. Their group consisted of Reincarnators, and more than half were "elites" who had surpassed their limits and entered the Second Tier—Supernatural Beings as defined by the Space. Why were they nervous in front of a group of mortals?

Red Carp knew that Jin Yue’an was one of the more extreme kinds of Reincarnators. Normally, she had not thought much of it, but now she found herself admiring people like her.

"The cameras… Sister Yue’an, aren’t you afraid?"

"If we use even a little power out of line at a time like this, the Space will probably erase us immediately."

"I heard from Number 77 that there are probably hundreds of millions of people around the world watching this press conference right now. With a Purge Mission on that scale, even a monster like Mercenary Tao would be dead for sure…"

Jin Yue’an’s frown deepened. She began to realize that even though they were all Reincarnators, and even though they had all joined this Agency, there were still plenty of idiots among them who had not realized the greatness of what Mercenary Tao had done.

Yes, Jin Yue’an used the word "greatness" to describe what Moon Demon and Mercenary Tao were doing now.

She pushed up her glasses, the corners of her lips curling upward. It made her originally delicate features seem strangely bewitching.

By then, Han Baekho had completed his introduction. It had been exceedingly simple.

"I am Han Baekho, an Ability User with a powerful body. From now on, I will protect this country. Loy~al."

The Korean reporters on site seemed ready to smash their shutter buttons, frantically capturing every detail of Han Baekho’s face.

The world’s first Ability User Agency, the world’s first Ability User Agency dedicated to protecting a nation, had appeared in Korea!

This caused an enormous uproar in a country that desperately needed all manner of things to give its narrow-minded citizens a sense of satisfaction.

Cheers could even be heard from the streets nearby.

At that moment, a reporter from the Free Federation frowned as he looked at Han Baekho. He knew Korean and was a reporter stationed here. Once Consultant Han Yumin, who was hosting the press conference for the Agency, had finished speaking, he immediately raised his hand and fortunately obtained the chance to ask a question.

"Hello, Mr. Han Baekho, and all the Ability Users. I would like to ask a question that perhaps over a hundred million people are very curious about at this very moment."

Han Baekho slowly exhaled. The warm breath from his nostrils actually carried a faint tinge of red. The camera operators nearest to him suddenly felt a chill run down their backs, seized by fear for no apparent reason.

At that moment, two people standing on the viewing platform above the grand lobby of the luxury hotel were also watching the scene.

Li Qingzi’s eyelids were lowered, and there was no warmth in her expression. Everything was proceeding according to their expectations. Even if it failed, only a few useless Reincarnators would die.

Bai Cangshu, however, leaned against the side, watching below with leisurely interest, his gaze seeming to anticipate something entertaining.

After a somewhat oppressive silence, Han Baekho finally nodded.

"Ask."

He knew the answer to that question, and he also understood its danger.

But since he had chosen to stand in the spotlight for this country, he had already prepared himself to sacrifice his life.

The Reincarnator he admired and envied most was Song Xian, whom many called Hyena. He had been able to openly warn Reincarnators not to commit evil in East Xia amid the chaotic Infinite Dimensional Space.

Even though many considered him an idiot, Han Baekho admired that kind of loyalty.

He had always felt that, in a person’s life, there would always be some things that stood above all else.

The blond reporter nodded and spoke.

"May I ask—or rather, could you show us what these so-called Ability Users are actually capable of?"

"Everyone knows that many people still believe Ability Users are nothing more than absurd nonsense, like aliens. They think it is magic tricks, video editing…"

"There is nothing more direct than revealing the truth about Ability Users to everyone through so many official cameras, at an occasion like this."

Han Baekho looked at the endlessly flashing cameras and knew this was Miss Li Qingzi’s final test.

A Reincarnator using his abilities under the gaze of the entire world…

Though it sounded like suicide—and he himself believed it was suicide—he still had to do it.

Bang!

A sound rang out from behind him. The blond reporter suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forehead, and his vision went black as he fell stiffly to the floor.

Jin Yue’an rose to her feet amid everyone’s shocked expressions. She blew on her finger, then held it like a gun and pointed it at the others, unable to conceal the smile at the corner of her lips.

"Well? Do you still want to see more ability demonstrations?"

Han Baekho stared at Jin Yue’an in astonishment. Then his figure flashed, and he instantly leaped over the press conference table, quickly arriving before the blond reporter.

He pressed a hand down and felt a heartbeat. Jin Yue’an had not killed him.

"Ah!"

Cries of alarm rose one after another, while the shutters continued clicking without stop.

Jin Yue’an spread her hands and smiled with immense satisfaction under everyone’s watchful eyes.

She had been right. These mortals had indeed regarded them Reincarnators as Ability Users, as another species.

Using her ability had not triggered the rules!