After being so cautious for so long, poison has finally been detected.

"Tai Chi opening posture: inhale and lift the foot, exhale and lower the foot, inhale and expand forward, exhale and press downward. Stand with feet parallel, shoulders wide apart, arms rising slowly, elbows bent and palms pressing down. Keep the body upright, the waist relaxed, and avoid sticking the butt out. The height of the pressing palms should be level with the shoulders..."

During the lunch break of the "Special Skills Class One," Xu Chen decisively led the students in practicing Tai Chi.

According to a vast amount of research data, the emotional stability of ability users is crucial for preventing rampages. Practicing Tai Chi frequently to temper one's temperament naturally has its benefits.

In fact, Xu Chen had been conducting secret research behind the scenes.

Many years ago, he discovered that ability users possess a special perception of radiation and, without taking insulation agents, exhibit an ultra-high affinity for it.

Their tolerance is extremely high; it was just that the harmful substances implicitly contained within the radiation acted like a fatal toxin, inhibiting this affinity process.

If a method could be found to eliminate or reduce the side effects, the strength of ability users would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative leap. Once this obstacle was overcome, the Great Xia would have no choice but to acknowledge the existence of ability users.

Of course, this research was bound to involve sacrifices. No matter what method was used, human experiments were mandatory, forcing people to absorb that radiation energy full of impurities.

The reason Xu Chen joined the Special Operations Team was not out of any sense of conviction or sentimentality; he simply wanted to use the ability users here to achieve his own goals.

This was also the reason why he had only thought about saving his own skin when facing Tuorwa back then.

The research was not yet complete, and no matter what happened, he must not die!

It was a pity that Mr. Side had never quite agreed with him going too far.

Yet this time, facing the newly awakened ability users, he had to try his best no matter what, even if it meant resorting to private testing methods...

At this thought, Xu Chen's gaze fell once again upon the young man who carried his highest hopes. The boy's movements were standard and his attitude serious, entirely unlike the slack and casual behavior of the surrounding students.

He had always felt that Su Yu's life experiences would inevitably lead to the awakening of a remarkably powerful ability. The kid was definitely a damn genius, even though he had inexplicably taken a beating when tailing him that day.

Still, that was of little consequence. As someone utterly obsessed with research, Xu Chen was not one to give up easily.

"Why is this guy looking at me again..." Su Yu, currently practicing Tai Chi, keenly detected Xu Chen's gaze. Such a clumsy, stealthy way of peeking at someone, combined with the scale of his movements after observing for a long time, had already allowed Su Yu to identify this fellow as the stalker from the other day.

Could it be that his identity had been exposed during the fight that day?

Fortunately, just as he felt an itch in his hands, Xu Chen withdrew his gaze. Otherwise, Su Yu would surely have retrieved his blade and laid it back against the other's neck, sending this guy to heaven to meet up with the foreigner from the other day.

"Alright, students, let's stop here for today. If anyone feels upset or uncomfortable about anything, be sure to speak up. The school has already arranged psychological counselors for you."

"Especially those who already had psychological issues, who cannot control their emotions, who prone to sudden bursts of anger that harm others, and who exhibit extreme, willful behaviors—pay special attention..."

"The teacher will definitely keep a close eye on you."

These words quickly caught the students' attention, and they turned their heads one after another to look in Su Yu's direction.

Although the remark did not explicitly name anyone, Su Yu's notorious reputation preceded him. Even those from other classes or grades had heard of his exploits.

He had been pointedly called out without being named.

Su Yu tried his hardest through acting to turn his face into a blank, numb little plug, narrowing his eyes and pretending not to understand a thing.

Deep inside, however, he was quietly selecting a burial site.

Though burning them directly with flame-heart seemed to eliminate the need for burial altogether.

Unaware that his doom was approaching, Xu Chen remained immersed in his grand vision of nurturing the greatest ability user.

He didn't harbor any malicious intent; he simply wanted Su Yu to interact with him more to see if an awakening could be triggered.

Yet, for some unknown reason.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

Even though his head, mouth, and eyes all wished to stay and linger a little longer with these lovely experimental subjects,

his legs began to move on their own as if fleeing from something, completely ignoring his commands and sprinting outward. In the blink of an eye, he was out of the classroom, totally beyond his control.

Bizarre, simply bizarre.

"Su Yu, you're not angry, are you?" Mu Xiaowei, who had just finished practicing Tai Chi, raised her head and asked in a low voice.

"I'm not angry."

"But since Mr. Xu said that..."

"Shh—"

Su Yu made a prohibiting gesture toward the girl.

Displaying a rare, profoundly "benevolent" smile, he said,

"What he said applies to students with psychological issues, not me. I'm totally normal."

Fortunately, this foul mood did not last long.

It was lunchtime now, and having managed to suppress the negative impact and barely return to stability, Su Yu, no matter how dissatisfied he felt, wouldn't kill Xu Chen right here at school in full view of everyone and blow things out of proportion.

He reached into his shoulder bag and took out the food he had brought from home.

Because of the school cafeteria mushroom incident the other day, he had deliberately brought a meal along this morning.

This was top-tier stuff, the culmination of Su Yu's recent research results.

"Lard-baked bread spread with blueberry jam and sandwiched with Jiangqiao pickled mustard tubers."

Nutritious, versatile in flavor, and extremely enticing, it had almost driven Lorich to tears with craving when it freshly came out of the oven this morning.

Yet, just as he opened the plastic bag containing it and before he could even take a bite, a teacher outside the classroom door suddenly pushed a food cart in.

"Dear students, for the sake of your health and to facilitate subsequent check-ups and tests, the school has specially prepared nutritional set meals for everyone."

With that, the teacher distributed boxed set meals into the hands of every student.

"Damn, steak?!" He Cheng, quick-handed and sharp-eyed, spotted the contents of the meal box instantly, which could already be described as luxurious.

Marbled beef with an even distribution of fat and lean meat—though he couldn't tell the exact grade, it was undoubtedly high-end goods, not to mention the surrounding assortment of fruits and vegetables.

Moreover, the school seemed cognizant of the huge appetites of ability users, providing exceptionally generous portions.

The lunch box looked like an iron basin.

Eating for free—looking at it this way, it wasn't bad at all...

Su Yu looked at the food handed to him and suddenly felt that the lard bread in his hand no longer seemed appealing.

However, Su Yu dared not let his guard down regarding food provided by outsiders. Out of habit, he patted Lorich's back, signaling her to step up and test for poison.

Receiving the command,

Lorich, who had spent the last two and a half chapters flipping through the dictionary, habitually saluted, came to his side, and tapped her fingers back and forth over the meal box.

In an instant, the girl's expression changed, her eyes turning icy.

"Sir, this thing is poisonous. Tests indicate it is a chronic neurotoxin. The dosage is small, but its stealth is high, making it difficult for ordinary instruments to detect."

"Repeated consumption may cause mental confusion, extreme and irritable temperaments, and lead to death for those with lower resistance and physical strength."

"Huh?"

Su Yu's gaze narrowed. Ever since his return, he had been testing for poison daily, and having Lorich made it much more convenient, yet this was the first time he had actually detected poison in food.

And it was a neurotoxin at that. How vicious...

This was precisely the kind of poison that newly awakened individuals feared the most.

Once they lost control and fried their brains before fully mastering their abilities, they would end up either fools or madmen in the future, with unimaginable consequences.

Could this have been engineered by that person named Side?

That seemed entirely unnecessary, though. There were far too many ways to kill these students; there was no need to be so roundabout and go to such great lengths.

Furthermore, administering a chronic poison that required repeated doses clearly indicated they weren't trying to keep it hidden.

It seemed there was a mole within the Special Operations Team managing the school...

"Hey, don't eat!"

Just as Mu Xiaowei had taken out her disposable chopsticks and was about to dig in, the meal box was snatched away by Su Yu.

"Ah! What are you doing? Your tastes are so weird, I'm not eating yours." Mu Xiaowei looked at the unnamable object in his hand with displeasure.

"Let's trade. Come taste my special mini-hamburger."

Su Yu said, holding out the newly opened meal box. Sitting at the very back of the classroom, by the time the meals reached him, everyone else had already started digging in with huge bites. The poison had already been ingested, and it was too late to stop them.

At the very least, Mu Xiaowei was close enough for him to save.

However,

looking at that unnamable lump in her hand, Mu Xiaowei fell into deep contemplation. "Your taste is too weird, I'm not swapping. Besides, don't you have your own?"

"Don't ask so many questions. I made this specially for you just so you could try the flavor."

"Specially made for me?" Mu Xiaowei smiled faintly, suddenly finding the bread in her hand looking much more palatable, and she nodded.

Since her appetite hadn't increased, she didn't need to eat that much anyway, and this morning's meal hadn't been fully digested yet.

Having succeeded, Su Yu placed both meal boxes in front of him and glanced sideways at Lorich, asking in a low voice,

"What dosage would be required to cause harm to me?"

Staring at the meal box before her, Lorich paused. "Calculated based on the physical test evaluation given to the chief last time, and assuming no restrictions whatsoever, multiplying this toxin dosage by fifty thousand times might induce insomnia."

Lorich immediately added, "That's assuming such a massive dose is injected within one minute. However, at high temperatures, this toxin degrades and loses efficacy."

"Oh, then it's fine."

Su Yu nodded and quietly opened the meal box. To him, this toxicity was no different from eating a fatal amount of salt.

Toxicity aside, though, they certainly had a lot of nerve trying to poison him.

"This time, they die."