New York, Godolkin University, outside the evaluation meeting room.
Wade Thompson held the interview script he had prepared in advance, muttering to himself repeatedly.
'I didn't expect... to go to university again.'
He had arrived here a month ago. After a long period of stealthy investigation, he finally discovered that this was a world where superheroes, villains, and ordinary people lived together.
His original body was an orphan from the Red River Institute under the Vought Corporation, a place specifically for detaining superpowered youth like him.
If they weren't adopted or didn't show their value, they would be forcibly transferred to the Elmira Adult Facility, which specialized in detaining out-of-control supes—the outcome wouldn't be good... Currently, The Seven were at the height of their fame, the version of The Boys in his memory hadn't emerged yet, and the conflict between ordinary people and supes wasn't that intense. It was an era of fanatical worship of superhero idols.
In his original world, he was a successful first-generation wealthy entrepreneur with a thriving startup. He never expected that after just one late night, he would wake up in this "peaceful" world.
'Since I have superpowers... I should learn them well. At least pass this immediate hurdle first.'
He glanced at the other superpowered students sitting upright in suits on the surrounding chairs, then looked at the old shirt he was wearing, which was issued by the orphanage.
'Should I keep acting humble? If they discover my abilities are exceptional and my personality has changed drastically, it won't match the long-term observation records from the institute...'
Wade had been frantically researching his superpower for the past month and had already drafted a general development path. However, he lacked an environment for further research and training, which was why he decided to apply to Godolkin University, a school dedicated to training supes, to seek more opportunities.
He lowered his head, his eyes darting around as he peeked at others, looking exactly like a low-level person who had never seen the world.
A young man in a blue and white school uniform pushed open the meeting room door and shouted into the hallway, "Is Mr. Wade Thompson here? Please come in..."
"Here, coming right now." Wade took two deep breaths, stood up, and walked into the meeting room.
Inside the meeting room, transparent glass divided it into two areas. Four pairs of eyes from behind a long table swept over him, with nameplates on the table indicating their identities.
Sitting in the center was a middle-aged Mexican woman, Dean Shetty.
On her left was a white-bearded man, Professor Brink, the Director of the School of Crimefighting. On her right was a beautiful white woman, Ms. Sera, the Director of the School of Performing Arts.
And sitting at the very end was the top student representative—Jordan Li. His eyes held unmasked disdain, as if he were looking at a fly that had accidentally wandered into a luxury banquet.
Wade withdrew his gaze and immediately took a seat, just about to prepare his self-introduction.
"Wade Thompson, from the Red River Institute. Power: 'Gas Manipulation'." Shetty examined the text in her hand, her tone flat. "As expected of an Asian, your written test scores are quite high..."
"Heh... Is your first choice the School of Crimefighting?" Brink glanced at the materials on the table and crossed his arms. "Written scores aren't our only criteria for selecting students. Show us your superpower first."
A staff member opened the door and pushed in a cart. On the surface were two transparent glass boxes, each containing a white rat.
They were frantically clawing at the hardened glass, letting out low, animalistic growls from their throats, clearly in a state of extreme frenzy.
Wade slowly raised his hand with trepidation, aiming his palm at the air hole on top of the cage.
'My original power's range was only one meter. I have to make it look convincing.'
Hiss—
Faint changes in airflow occurred around the glass cage, the sound growing louder, and the gas inside the cage was sucked out in an instant.
The white rat suddenly arched its back and began to twitch all over, opening its mouth to gasp frantically. Fine beads of blood welled up from its nose and the corners of its mouth. Its claws scraped aimlessly at the bottom of the cage, but it didn't even have the strength to stand steady.
Fifteen seconds later, the white rat's struggle stopped abruptly. It collapsed straight down as if all its strength had been drained, showing no further movement.
"Heh, that's it?" Jordan Li sneered. "Air is everywhere... this power is useless outdoors. It's not even worthy of fanning me."
Wade smiled and placed his hand over the other cage. "Senior, this one is simple."
There was also a hissing airflow sound from the glass air hole, but this time the commotion was much smaller.
He deliberately sucked out more than half of the oxygen in the cage, maintaining a low-oxygen, pressurized environment.
Twenty seconds later, the white rat's activity began to slow down, its reactions becoming increasingly sluggish. It curled up with its eyes closed and entered a state of deep sleep.
"Too slow," Shetty commented in a flat tone. "The intensity is also limited."
Wade withdrew his hand, panting slightly, looking as if he had exerted a lot of energy. "The range is small for now, but I believe that through training, I can continue to expand the range and the precision of various gases."
"Just in terms of controlling oxygen concentration: high concentration for sedation, combustion-support, or even auxiliary treatment; low concentration can create vacuum zones. I think... it should be useful in rescue and control scenarios."
Brink tapped the table and asked out of the blue, "Can you extract toxic and harmful gases? Is it effective against other supes?"
Wade nervously picked at his fingers and answered cautiously, "Theoretically, yes, but it requires a lot of training. Absorbing and manipulating large amounts of gas puts a heavy load on the body..."
"What about the visual effects? Superheroes need to put on a show!" Sera looked down at her nails and curled her lip. "Your Gas Manipulation is invisible and intangible. How are you going to get fans to buy in? Do you have to hold a press conference to explain the principles before every fight?"
Wade hadn't expected such a question. After a moment of silence, he replied, "I... I can learn to use dust or water vapor to create visible air currents..."
Just as he was trying hard to think of a further answer, Jordan Li stood up and walked into the partitioned area. "Talking more is useless. Why don't you show us..."
"Se-Senior... this is very dangerous," Wade said, looking at him with hesitation.
Shetty looked down at her watch and frowned. "You have one minute left..."
Jordan Li clenched his fists with a calm expression, not taking his opponent seriously at all. "Hurry up, stop dawdling... If you don't do something, I'll give you a few hits first!"
The person opposite him had Gas Manipulation, but so what?
In his male form, the "Invulnerability" superpower granted him not only super-strong physical defense but also physical functions and breath-holding abilities far beyond ordinary people.
It might be a bit troublesome in a completely sealed indoor environment, but he was confident that even if the other person sucked out the air for ten minutes, it wouldn't hurt him in the slightest.
Jordan Li was even already thinking of what to say—waiting for the other person to run out of strength and see that their ability was ineffective, then he would give them a good verbal beatdown.
After all, competition at Godolkin University was fierce. Not everyone was suited for enrollment, especially someone as timid as the person opposite him.
'Time waits for no one.' Wade clenched his fists and immediately came to his senses. 'If I have no value, I'll be eliminated!'
If he continued to hide his true self, he probably wouldn't even be qualified for enrollment.