"Captain, I'm here. You called us over so urgently. Is something important happening?" Aila asked.
"Huro came here and attacked Tracy. He's been taken away now, but I'm worried his partners might try to take revenge. So I need you to stay close to Tracy and protect her for a while," Cris said.
"Got it, Captain. Don't worry, I'll protect her. I won't let anything happen to her," Aila replied.
"By the way, Tracy has awakened lightning powers. While you're protecting her, you can also teach her some basic knowledge about power users. Tomorrow, I'll take her to get registered," Cris said.
"No problem, Captain. You can count on me," Aila nodded.
"You stay here with Tracy. The others, come with me. We're going to catch Huro's partners. We were careless this time and let them get the formula to make gene enhancement drugs. Tracy awakened her power after being injected with it. We need to report this and try to reduce the danger as much as possible," Cris added.
After finding out that Huro and his group had the correct formula for the gene enhancement drug, Cris and the others quickly reported it to their higher-ups.
The higher-ups took this seriously and immediately sent more people to help. Together with the police, they quickly caught Huro's group. This time, they had no chance to escape. The special power team had been watching them, and the prison security was even tighter now.
Although they caught the group, they received bad news. The data had already been sent back to their home country. So catching these people didn't help much.
This situation was serious, but since it had already been reported, Cris and the others didn't have to worry about it anymore. Let the people above handle the mess.
Now that Huro's partners were caught, there was no more danger for Tracy.
"Captain, you're here so early. Weren't you leading the team to catch Huro's partners?" Aila asked.
"They've been caught. You can return to the team now. I'm here to take Tracy for registration," Cris said.
Tracy had thought she would have to wait for days and wouldn't be able to visit the Dimensional Shop. She didn't expect that in just one night, Huro's partners would be captured. That was surprisingly fast.
But it was a good thing. She was worried that if she didn't show up in the Dimensional Shop, and hadn't told the survivors, they might arrive and not find her. That wouldn't look good.
It was very difficult for those survivors to come to the shop. There were many dangers on the way, and Tracy didn't want anyone to risk their lives only to find an empty shop.
Last night, Aila told Tracy a lot about power users. She also learned some hidden truths about the real world.
Cris mentioned that crystal mines were actually a type of crystal, but they contained energy that power users could absorb, making them very valuable.
Ordinary people couldn't collect these crystals, and private digging was not allowed. If discovered, the crystals would be taken by the government.
This was one way the government controlled power users. Because power users were powerful, if they didn't follow the rules and acted recklessly, it could cause big problems.
By controlling the resources needed for power growth, the government encouraged power users to join them. Those who joined would get resources and become stronger. In return, they would work for the country. It was a win-win situation.
Those who didn't follow the rules had no resources and couldn't grow stronger. Even if they wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn't be very dangerous. The government's power users could deal with them easily.
Tracy didn't think the government was wrong to do this. In fact, she thought it was a good thing. At least it helped keep society stable.
"Thank you for last night. I felt much safer with you there," Tracy said.
"No need to thank me. It's my duty. But... are you really not planning to join the special department? Lightning powers are very strong, and you have great potential. It would be a shame to waste it," Aila said.
"I'm just an ordinary person. I want to live a normal life. The world of power users may be exciting, but it's also full of danger. That kind of life may not be right for me," Tracy replied.
"Well, everyone has their own path. But if you ever change your mind, you can come find me," Aila said.
She felt a little regretful. She could tell that Tracy was a kind girl. Her power was strong too. If they could bring her into the special team, they would have another powerful teammate.
But since Tracy wasn't interested, she couldn't force her.
Aila really liked Tracy and hoped she would be happy. Even if she didn't join them, it didn't matter. Tracy was right. Even though joining the government's department brought many benefits and resources, it also meant facing danger all the time.
"We're here. This is the place," Cris said.
This was the Yanhuang division in the city, where the special power team usually worked.
Tracy looked at the building Cris pointed to. It looked very normal from the outside. But once she went inside, she found it was completely different.
On the surface, there was nothing unusual. But the multiple layers of security checks showed that this place was special.
Tracy was a bit confused. It was just a registration. Why bring her to such a place? But she trusted Cris. He wouldn't hurt her.
So even though she was curious, she followed him without question.
"Don't worry, it's just for registration. I brought you here so you'll know the place. Even power users who aren't part of the government team can enter here.
We also help freelance power users. This place is also a trading hub for them.
Once you register and get your ID card, you'll be able to come and go freely," Cris explained.
"Are there many people with powers in this city?" Tracy asked.
"There aren't that many to begin with. Even in this city, there are only a few dozen of them. But aside from powered individuals, others come here to trade too. So, this trading place still has a fair number of people," Cris replied.
"But didn't you guys develop the gene-enhancing serum? I thought people could become powered after injection. Why are there still so few?" Tracy asked.
"The gene-enhancing serum was just developed recently. It's still unstable and only exists in labs. Honestly, if it weren't for Huro and the others stealing the data, it might have taken several more years before it could be used publicly," Cris explained.
He knew this kind of information shouldn't really be shared, but since Tracy was already involved in the situation and knew a lot, telling her this wasn't exactly breaking the rules.
Tracy was really interested in this place Cris had talked about. But for now, she had nothing to trade. She could only follow Cris to register and get her ID card first.
The registration process was really simple. Tracy just needed to take a photo, leave a fingerprint, and release a small amount of her power.
After registering, her file would be transferred to the local system, and her identity would be protected. Normal people wouldn't be able to access her information.
"Is that it?" Tracy asked.
"Yep, that's it. Your ID card will be ready in about thirty minutes. Want me to show you around the trading market? There are a lot of weird and interesting things there," Cris offered.
Tracy was curious, so she didn't refuse. She followed him to the trading market.
But it wasn't what she imagined.
It wasn't lively at all, but considering the small number of powered people, that made sense.
There were only about a dozen vendors. The currency used here wasn't RMB but crystal ores or something of equal value. It looked like she was only going to window-shop.
"You can take a look and see if there's anything you like. I can buy it for you," Cris said.
"No need. I'm just looking," Tracy replied.
"No need to save my money. My salary is decent. Consider it a gift to celebrate you becoming powered," Cris said.
"These things are rare and valuable, but I don't really need any of them. If you really want to celebrate, how about just treating me to a meal?" Tracy replied.
"Come and look, everyone! This is a fresh Green Bamboo Herb I just picked from Shennongjia. It's perfect for strengthening the body!" a middle-aged man shouted.
"That really is a Green Bamboo Herb, and it looks like it's over a hundred years old. With such quality, why aren't you using it yourself instead of selling it?" someone nearby asked.
"I'm powered. I don't fight with physical strength. This herb would help me a little, but I'd rather trade it for something that boosts my powers," the vendor replied.
"I see. I've got one hundred low-grade crystal ores. Would you consider trading?" Mr. Yan said.
"Mr. Yan, aren't you being too cheap? A hundred-year-old herb like this is worth way more than that. I'll give you 150 low-grade crystal ores. Sell it to me," said an older man named Song.
Mr. Yan's face turned red. A hundred was indeed a bit low, but it wasn't as ridiculous as Song made it sound. A herb like that was generally worth around 120 ores.
He wanted to raise his offer, but he didn't have the money. Plus, he didn't want to get into a bidding war and end up paying too much.
"Hmph. Song, you're so old already. A herb like this won't help you anymore. Are you really spending that much just to outbid me?" Mr. Yan snapped.
"Who says it won't help? I just took in a student. They need this to strengthen their body. This herb is perfect for them," Song said.
Mr. Yan wasn't happy, but he didn't want to waste money. He scoffed and walked away.
Song, pleased to have won, didn't mind spending 150 ores just to annoy Mr. Yan. They had been rivals for years. Getting one up on him felt worth it.
He hadn't really planned to buy the herb at first, but since Mr. Yan showed interest, he jumped in. Still, it wouldn't go to waste. His student could use it.
Tracy stood watching from the side, surprised by what she saw. A single plant could sell for so much?
Before, Irish had told her some basic info. One low-grade crystal ore was worth 100,000 RMB—and that was if you could even find someone selling. Most people wouldn't sell at all.
Now a herb was going for 150 ores? That was crazy.
"There are really spiritual herbs in this world? I feel like everything I believed in for the past twenty years is falling apart," Tracy said.
"Well, if powered people exist, isn't it normal for herbs like this to exist too? Actually, there are even some rare beasts out there. They just don't show up often," Cris explained.
Thirty minutes later, Tracy got her ID card. It looked really high-quality. There was a lightning symbol on it, showing she had lightning-based powers.
"Thanks for bringing me here today. It's getting late. I should head back now," Tracy said.
"No trouble at all. This is part of our job anyway. I'll drive you back," Cris said.
"No need. I'll just call a cab," she said.
"No need to be so polite. We don't really have much to do when there aren't missions. It won't take long. Come on, I'll take you back," Cris said.