Chapter Six: The Extraordinary Measures Act

A few days passed, and Su Wen enjoyed a rare stretch of leisure.

On a weekend morning, the television broadcast the latest important news:

[According to the latest data released by the Binhai New City Bureau of Spiritual Censorship: Our city is experiencing increasingly frequent instances of unstable 'special symptoms.' To ensure the safety of all residents, we ask that viewers and their families contact us immediately upon noticing any early warning signs.]

[Statistical data shows that after training, 89.7% of Transcendents possess the ability to control their own powers.]

"Controllable transcendent ability is the cornerstone of social progress; those that go out of control become special symptoms. That is all we have to say to you."

Su Wen sat in his courtyard, sipping the old-fashioned soy milk he had bought at the end of the alley during his morning exercise. Over the past few days, he had used his [Appraisal] ability many times, but he never found another treasure of a girl like Jiang Menghan.

As for the spiritual censorship mentioned on TV, every college student had undergone it, and he was no exception. However, it had failed to detect any overt transcendent factors. Assuming that potent 'bad luck' didn't count, Miss Jiang was the same.

But according to the information gained from [Appraisal]: [Cognitive Essence], [Sublimation Lineage], and [Origin Knowledge] each represented one of the three major directions of human civilization's progress, and all could achieve transcendent advancement. The Bureau of Spiritual Censorship could only check the [Gene Affinity] within the six minor points of the [Sublimation Lineage], so it was normal for them to miss a lot. At the very least, he was already ahead of the era in identifying invisible transcendents.

The next second, the countdown in his eyes began to tick:

[15 natural days remain until the 'Player's' scheduled death.]
[Timer started.]
[Do you choose to start the game?]

He had no right to refuse. He shrugged, sat down in front of his computer, and clicked continue.

[Transcendence Act]
[Game Type: Narrative Action]
[Real-world Time Span: Twenty Days]
[Game Difficulty: Low]

[Game Background: Time: Early Origin Era. Location: Palace of Westminster, House of Lords, England. Joseph Reinhardt, Duke of Bavaria, was invited to participate in the 'formulation of the Transcendence Act' and was assassinated in the banquet hall by the anti-social transcendent organization 'Zero-Sum Game.' Subsequently, Sophia Reinhardt succeeded as Grand Duchess, pushed for the establishment of the Northern Europa Transcendence Act, and influenced the formulation of United Nations regulations. After the 'Transcendence Act' was established, the restrictions placed on transcendents by the Watchers increased significantly. Moderate factions like the Clock Tower, the Great Library, and the College of All Souls gradually declined. Society fractured, civil stability plummeted, and the situation veered toward collapse, laying the groundwork for the subsequent 'Inner Ring Great Explosion,' 'Border Pollution,' and 'Herald' events.]

[Game Objectives:]
[One Star: Eliminate the 'Zero-Sum Game' assassins (3).]
[Two Stars: 1. Facilitate the establishment of the 'Transcendence Act.' 2. Change the mind of the Duke of Bavaria. (Complete one of the two.)]
[Three Stars: Hidden Objective.]
[Note: Completing the minimum score is sufficient to prevent the player's death in reality.]
[Trial Abilities: Language Proficiency (European Languages), Appraisal (No Cooldown).]

[Standing at the crossroads of civilization, how will you choose?]

On the screen, Su Wen appeared in a dark alleyway, dressed in black. He first checked his attributes. Nothing else had changed, but one column stood out:

[Sublimation Lineage: Life Tenacity (Benefiting from the slow gain of [Life Source Point—Trade Wind], your health points are higher than before.)]
[Psionic Affinity (Benefiting from the slow gain of [Life Source Point—Trade Wind], your psionic cohesion is stronger.)]
[Natural Correction (Benefiting from the slow gain of [Life Source Point—Trade Wind], your appearance will better conform to natural aesthetics.)]

[Overall Evaluation: You are more durable, but still a 'combat power of five.' It is not recommended to engage in any direct physical combat.]

It turned out that the strength index gained from morning exercise was not nearly as useful as lying in bed with a potted plant next to his pillow. Su Wen felt that having a longer health bar was quite nice. As a loyal fan of Soulslike games, putting forty points into the health bar was never a mistake. After all, health represented a margin for error. Looking at his health bar, now twice as long as before, he felt two things: peace of mind.

As a narrative action game, [Transcendence Act] provided plot guidance similar to *Cyberpunk 2077*. Su Wen, who had never been to London, didn't have to worry about missing plot points due to a lack of local knowledge.

[Tomorrow, the hereditary peers will hold a bill revision in the House of Lords at Westminster.]

[As the Duke of Bavaria and a European hereditary peer, Joseph Reinhardt is holding a banquet at the Cairns Hotel tonight.]

[Stage Objective: Infiltrate the banquet hall by 8:00.]
[First, you need an identity that can enter the banquet hall.]
[(Perhaps, compared to an invited guest, a waiter at the Cairns Hotel would be less likely to attract attention.)]

The game scene began. He walked out of the alley. Not far away was the magnificent and luxurious Cairns Hotel. Across from the hotel flowed London's famous River Thames. The river rippled with the golden lights of the second-floor banquet hall. Su Wen looked toward the riverbank and saw the distinguished guests gradually entering the venue. Although he didn't know much about these aristocrats who still held important family lineages in modern Europa, since the game suggested disguising himself as a waiter, he understood what to do.

"The transcendent assassins from 'Zero-Sum Game' are probably already mixed in among them, and their goal is likely very similar to mine."

Su Wen activated [Appraisal] and scanned the guests one by one:

[Appraisal: Duke of Bedford, Andrew Russell, 15th Duke of the Russell family. Transcendent Heritage: [Origin Knowledge]—[Knight]—[Devotion].]

He truly was a top-tier aristocrat, driving a Bugatti Veyron 16.4, one of only eighty in the world. Even during the time before he was struck from the records, Su Wen had never seen such a world-class bigwig.

[Appraisal: Kara Spencer, the most outstanding painter of the younger generation of the Spencer family. Invitee to the Kassel Documenta 'Future Theme.' Transcendent Potential (Inactive). Involves future timeline: [Swarm Effect].]

[Appraisal: Heron Campbell, 6th in line to the Dukedom of Argyll. Transcendent Potential (Leader, Activated).]

The resumes, framed in gold and purple, were indeed magnificent. Since Qin Mingyuan's appraisal background was white, representing a researcher, and these gold and purple backgrounds represented aristocrats, Su Wen deduced another use for [Appraisal].

"Color-coding it is a bit like a gacha game, but in this current scene, probably only a 'lucky European' could pull something like this off."

He locked his target onto a waiter whose appraisal frame was black.

[Appraisal: Evan Lucas (Alias), Tier 1 Transcendent Assassin of 'Zero-Sum Game.' Transcendent Trait (Agility Specialization).]

"You're the one."