"Are you scared?"
Hansen kept advancing, making a throat-slitting gesture with his hand, full of menace.
"Stay away from me!"
Lily pushed Hansen back and quickly whispered to Qi Yuan: "No matter what he says, don't fight him. The gap between ordinary people and Superhumans is like heaven and earth. Courage alone can't change that, don't be foolish!"
Rachel stepped forward, shielding Lily, and coldly questioned: "You're a Superhuman trying to bully ordinary people. Does that make you a man?"
"Wait, Hansen. He's my friend."
Adrian held back his girlfriend's outstretched hand, signaling her to stay put.
He forced a smile and walked towards Hansen, "I'm Adrian. I don't know if you remember, but we were high school classmates."
"You are?"
Hansen squinted, trying to recall his high school days, "I seem to have a vague impression."
Seeing this, Adrian took two more steps forward, attempting to let Hansen see his face clearly.
Suddenly, Hansen grabbed Adrian's collar, lifting him up, and said through gritted teeth: "Thanks to you, I now remember you stole my girl back then."
"Huh? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Adrian grabbed Hansen's hands, trying to break free.
He had no recollection of such an incident.
"Let him go!" *3
The voices of three girls rang out simultaneously, with Lily and Rachel even assuming combat stances.
The scene before him was getting more and more ridiculous. Qi Yuan made a mental note that next time he changed his disguise, he should choose a strikingly handsome or menacing appearance. This average face wasn't suitable as a hiding tool for him.
Since he had decided to protect the world, he had a fatherly concern for every... seedling. A bit silly, a bit crooked, growing too fast - as long as they weren't harming other seedlings, it wasn't a big deal.
But...
Challenging paternal authority was another story.
Although it wouldn't be difficult to intervene, he had to live up to his motivation for choosing the surname "Oscar" in the first place.
Besides, ordinary people could also resolve conflicts. He was quite familiar with this.
"Mr. Hansen, I think you've misunderstood something."
Qi Yuan patted Lily's shoulder, signaling her to move aside.
Step aside, I'm about to show off.
However, Lily didn't budge, frowning as she said, "Don't make things worse."
Wait, his attempt to show off had failed before it even began. This wasn't going according to his plan!
Damn, he forgot!
He was currently disguised as an average Joe with a buff. In conflicts, he would be forgotten in a corner. Of course, no one would trust him or give him space to show off.
Fine then...
Qi Yuan could only stand up straight, stretching his neck and face over Lily's head to add some gravitas.
"I'm from the Oscar family. If Mr. Hansen insists on doing this, you might encounter some issues joining the Association of Superpower Users. From your tone, you seem to be students?"
The Oscar family?
Hansen stopped mid-punch and turned to look, "Never heard of it. How can you prove it?"
He habitually questioned others' abilities but didn't dare to continue his assault, waiting for Qi Yuan to provide proof.
Qi Yuan: ...This isn't the scenario I'm familiar with.
No one has ever asked me to prove I'm from the prestigious Qi family before.
How can your intelligence fluctuate so much?
"Ladies and gentlemen."
The crowd parted, making way for an elderly woman with graying hair, dressed in formal attire, shakily walking with a cane. A middle-aged woman carefully supported her.
"Madam Martha."
The crowd bowed to her in greeting.
Madam Martha smiled kindly, nodding in response to their greetings, finally arriving in front of Qi Yuan.
"Hello, sir. Welcome."
She then turned to Hansen and the others with a benevolent expression, "Everyone, please hear an old woman's plea. Can we turn this hostility into peace?"
Hansen's face turned ashen. Seeing the scene before him, he was one hundred percent certain that the Oscar family truly existed. Otherwise, Madam Martha wouldn't be so respectful.
Superhumans and ordinary people were clearly divided in their world, but there was one thing that could blur the lines: power and family background.
Especially those families in Bitford who liked to push others to the forefront while manipulating everything from behind the scenes. They were completely out of Hansen's league unless he became an S-level superhuman.
Hansen immediately withdrew his hand. Adrian clutched his throat, coughing dryly. Caroline quickly went to support her boyfriend.
"I'm sorry, Madam Martha. I'll take my leave now."
Hansen left these words behind as he hastily departed, fearing that staying a second longer might lead to the Oscar family coming after him.
Lily raised her eyebrows at Rachel, her eyes lowered and glancing to the side, mouthing: "Looks like we overreacted."
Rachel smiled and mouthed back: "I didn't expect such a low-key and approachable noble family. It's beyond my understanding."
Caroline stroked her boyfriend's back, watching Hansen's retreating figure. She felt a sense of vindication inside, cursing under her breath, "Damn barbarian."
Adrian held her hand, his speech gradually recovering from broken to fluent: "Caroline, if... you have the chance... to awaken superpowers, please don't give it up for my sake."
"Huh? You can't just because..."
Caroline looked into his earnest eyes and calmed down.
Her boyfriend might not be the most romantic or expressive, but she could feel Adrian's concern for her.
He was worried about situations where he couldn't protect her, so he wanted her to learn to protect herself.
"I will, I promise."
Madam Martha tapped her cane on the ground, "Please, everyone, listen to me. The gathering is about to begin. Let's settle down."
She turned to Qi Yuan with a smile, "Would you accompany this lonely old woman for a walk?"
"Of course."
He had sensed the old woman's superpower among the crowd earlier. Qi Yuan was also curious about the extent of her spiritual vision. It was impossible for her to see through his disguise completely, given his superpower protection, but that didn't mean his protective ability wouldn't reveal some information.
This would determine whether he needed to develop a specific superpower for this type of ability.
Apart from Dr. Marlon, this mission was also to test his disguise. Otherwise, he could have simply used an illusion to control Adrian.
The thug in the bathroom mentioned luggage issues, the average face problem, and now the spiritual vision issue - this mission was proving worthwhile.
Adrian and the others, hearing this, tactfully gave them space to talk.
"I'll come find you later," Adrian said, not forgetting Mr. Oscar's purpose for being here.
The onlookers, having witnessed quite a spectacle, were more than happy to seamlessly transition to the start of the gathering.
They whispered among themselves as they gathered towards the inner circle.
"The Oscar family, I wonder what they do?"
"For a family that can wield power over the Association of Superpower Users, you should be asking what they don't do."
"Whew! Is this family really that powerful? Earlier, Demi was sneaking glances at him, and I glared at her a few times. We won't be in trouble, right?"
"Probably not... I hope. I don't know, I glared too."
"Me too..."