The Orphanage

Qi Yuan opened the computer and went to the Superpowers Official website.

He entered his Superpowers ID number and successfully registered an account.

The Superpowers Official website was divided into several modules, such as the library, trading zone, official announcements, and forums.

The forums were divided into several modules by region, and he went straight to the Chat section.

[Are there any experts willing to form a team to explore the suburbs?]

[Are ordinary people like oil cakes now, running into the Fusion Zone to awaken superpowers illegally...]

[Is Li Taoqiyun really the strongest superpowered person in Dragon Country? Don't come in if you're a blind fan or hater!!]

[Vote: Ranking of the most desired superpowers]

[I've awakened the superpower to make the taste of food more exciting. Is there any hope left for me?]

The mouse hovered over the screen, then clicked into that exciting post.

Qi Yuan said he couldn't control his curiosity.

[As titled, 1L Zhen Duniang]

[What a Zhen Duniang, this is the official forum...]

[Hahaha, more useless than my superpower to make people's balls ache when I stare at them...I laughed until tears came out]

[Let me check which district of this city, I'm planning to buy a house as far away from you as possible]

[Don't interrupt, OP should just bury yourself alive, no point in saving you]

He had wanted to find similar superpowers to see if there were any solutions, but the Chat section was too interesting that he was still amused reading until night.

His phone dinged with several messages in a row, the person on the other end had fast fingers, new messages kept popping up.

It was Shi Jianwen again, his deskmate was keen on sharing all kinds of gossips and celebrity news. Apart from occasionally eating his own made-up gossips, most of the time Qi Yuan was happy to be a carefree gossip monger with him.

But unexpectedly today it wasn't gossip, but serious information.

[Qi Ge, remember we're going to the legendary South Wu Orphanage in the adventure city tomorrow?]

[Anxious emoji.jpg]

[!!]

Followed by several meaningless emojis in a row.

Qi Yuan remembered that Shi Jianwen had contacted Ren Yang who needed to do community service, and used helping with homework as a price to let them participate.

If it was another place, he would have rejected such a suicidal act outright, but he knew about this orphanage.

Rumor had it that all the children and staff had disappeared overnight, and the reasons behind it made people shudder—

They had moved away.

When he used to live near the orphanage, his mother was on good terms with the dean, and she had told him during a casual dinner chat that the orphanage next door might be moving away.

Not knowing the truth, someone made up a story to get the kids to sleep earlier. For a while, urban legends spread and residents nearby gradually moved away.

With fewer and fewer people around, his mother was worried about safety, so they moved away too.

Wanting to figure out his superpower then, Qi Yuan had absentmindedly agreed.

After all, Shi Jianwen didn't really plan to court death either, choosing an orphanage on the edge of the city, and combat-type classmates would go along.

If something unexpected happened, Ren Yang and the others could buy some time, and the Patrol Team could arrive at the scene quickly.

Except for Shi Jianwen's self-proclaimed extra insurance—Qi Yuan, his plan could be said to be perfect.

[Didn't forget, we'll meet at the orphanage entrance at eight tomorrow morning, right?]

[My life depends on you guys]

Followed by a shy frog covering its face emoji.

Qi Yuan mercilessly sent back a subway old man phone emoji to end the conversation.

...

The next morning was a sunny day.

Not liking to leave too much time, but also not wanting to be late, the subway with no traffic jams was the best choice.

On non-working days, the number of people in the subway carriage had not reached crowded levels.

After getting on the subway, Qi Yuan found a corner to lean on and started swiping his phone.

The small group Shi Jianwen temporarily created was flooded with his messages.

[Shi Jianwen: Did you guys head out yet?]

[Shi Jianwen: Tell me when you arrive, I'll squat near the Patrol Cabin first]

[Beauty Warrior Maiden: I still have more than 10 minutes]

[Ren Yang: You're here so early?]

[Shi Jianwen: I was too excited to sleep]

Qi Yuan lurked and screened, then went to the forums to read some more.

After getting off the subway, he headed straight for the orphanage. The other four were already chatting at the gate.

The sharp-eyed Shi Jianwen spotted him from afar and shouted with dark eye circles, "Over here, Qi Ge!"

Ren Yang smiled and waved, "Long time no see, these are my two teammates, Jiang Wenyin and Zhao Zhen."

The girl with bangs and refined appearance gently bowed at Ren Yang's introduction.

She discreetly hid the big hammer behind her.

The muscular, bald head Zhao Zhen nodded, "Shall we go in?"

"Let's go, let's go."

Shi Jianwen's mind was fully on exploring. If he didn't go crazy once before graduating, after graduation, he wouldn't be able to afford to hire superpowered people to protect him anymore.

The gate in his memory had become rusty, moss crawling over corners of the walls. The untended yard was overgrown with weeds.

The only girl was combat-type. For them, this kind of gate wasn't an obstacle. After a few flips, they crossed over.

Except for a small interlude of Shi Jianwen briefly getting stuck under the gate, they all smoothly entered the interior of the orphanage.

The rustling sound of them treading on the grass, Jiang Wenyin used the big hammer to prod the grass ahead, to avoid accidentally stepping on snakes.

Creak—

The long unmaintained heavy gate made a grating sound as it was pushed open.

Dust fluttered down, and a small spider dropped down, quickly scurrying away.

Jiang Wenyin put down the big hammer, turned back to say, "Should be no ambush kill, let's go in."

Before going in, Ren Yang quietly walked to Qi Yuan's side, as if he had some shocking secret to share with him.

Shi Jianwen pricked up his ears, the sensitive gossip didn't miss any details.

"Qi Ge, later if there are Variant Animals or Low-level Monsters, don't make a move first, let us train our combat skills."

Variant Animals were animals that awakened superpowers. They had no intelligence and acted solely on animal instincts, usually not posing any threat.

The corner of Qi Yuan's mouth twitched.

You're thinking too much...

The gossip lover was disappointed, shrinking as he followed behind Zhao Zhen and Jiang Wenyin.

Seeing Ren Yang whispering with Qi Yuan, Zhao Zhen's gaze fell on Qi Yuan as he coldly snorted.

Apart from areas around high-level superpowered people having sky-high housing prices, housing prices in other areas weren't expensive.

As a public facility, the government had allocated a large enough area for the orphanage to be built on. This orphanage was pretty big.

Passing through the lobby, the long corridor brought an oppressive narrow feeling.

The corridor wasn't wide enough for everyone to walk abreast. They moved in single file, with Jiang Wenyin taking the lead, and Qi Yuan entrusted with the rearguard by Ren Yang.

Walking at the back, Qi Yuan kept feeling a chill down his back, wanting to look back every now and then.

The few of them circled around the first floor, not finding anything.

"Go upstairs to take a look?"

Jiang Wenyin's arm was also tired from holding up the big hammer. She heavily put it down on the floor, stirring up a circle of dust.

The cool guy-like Zhao Zhen took the initiative to say, "Let's split up."

Ren Yang shook his head in disagreement, "Just because the first floor has no danger doesn't mean other floors don't. Let's be more careful."

But Zhao Zhen had made up his mind, arguing, "Crowding together to move, just the first floor took 1-2 hours. At this rate, we can't finish searching the whole orphanage before dark."