Chapter 278: Fragments

"Even so, it's quite peculiar, and it's somewhat different from the rift related to the fog incident."

York extended his right hand, releasing his telekinetic powers to encircle a specific area within his palm, while his eyes glowed with a deep red magic, causing his pupils to show a deep red ring.

"The rift from the fog incident directly altered the environment, creating an overcast of white fog, allowing creatures from the fog world to navigate the air composition, which is proof of that."

York stared at the small area forcibly enclosed by his telekinetic powers above his palm, seeing mineral fragments invisible to the naked eye within it.

These particles, like impurities in the air, seemed harmless when inhaled by humans, and indeed they were harmless. Over time, they might even bring about some inexplicable changes in humans.

These fragments were like the countless bacteria encountered in daily human life, appearing insignificant among them.

"If only it were bacteria, but these are substances transmitted from the world inside the rift..."

York thought to himself, allowing magic from his palm to dissolve the invisible fragments completely.

After completing this step, York turned to look at Hill, who was frowning and busy with something, and asked, "How's it going? Can the magic array you just set up prevent the spread?"

He had not hidden the situation of the rift from his personal monk and the deaconess since their lives were bound to his, akin to a contract, elevating their relationship above even familial ties.

"It's difficult, Bishop," Hill replied, holding a notebook and looking at the screen with some regret. "While the magic array also has the power to dissolve, it cannot completely destroy these billions of fragments unless it can maintain a continuous supply while consuming energy."

Hill then explained proficiently, "And the magic array you just set can only last for a day..."

"Is that so."

York stared at the huge rift in the void before him and continued, "So the only challenge is maintaining continuous delivery, right?"

His omnipotent magic seemed to uniquely counter these fragments.

"Yes, theoretically, that's the case," Hill nodded.

"Heh, it can last a day."

York smiled and, under Hill's astonished gaze, another slowly expanding magic array appeared under his feet.

"What I'm least afraid of is this kind of consumption."

Seeing this, Hill couldn't help but say, "Bishop, the consumption on you..."

He was interrupted by York before he could finish, "It's okay."

The magic array under his feet only consumed ten points of his magic, which equated to ten attribute points and could be restored in just ten minutes.

And this magic array composed of ten magic points could last a whole day.

Seeing this, Hill raised his eyebrows and did not attempt to persuade further, knowing his bishop's character all too well.

Even he could only see these things because the bishop had enabled him to.

Although he didn't understand the situation, the bishop's miraculous methods excited him!

York glanced at Hill, who was excitedly showing a fanatic believer's demeanor, not fully understanding but impressive nonetheless, and continued to channel his magic.

The new magic array, combined with the old one, created a spectacle in the air.

The rising magic was dissolving the fragments emitted from the rift, one by one.

It was a magnificent sight, involving countless fragments.

Unfortunately, only York could see this, as Hill, standing outside the range of the magic array, felt something unusual due to the dissipating magic in his eyes, though he could still sense what was happening.

At this moment, York, through the holographic map, saw the situation outside and walked out from the center of the array.

"Let's go, it's about time, the delivery should be here."

York patted Hill, who was closing his notebook, and walked out of the building specifically created for the rift.

Hill shrugged, glanced at the huge rift in the void, and followed behind.

He didn't know why, since arriving in Korea, the bishop had only ordered fried chicken, along with some Chinese dishes he hadn't tried before.

The Chinese food didn't quite suit his taste, but the bishop seemed to relish it as if he couldn't get enough.

Following the bishop through the empty corridors, Hill entered a room where Erin, the deaconess, was already prepared, along with fried chicken and other food on the table.

"Wow, that's a hamburger, I remember the bishop only ordered fried chicken," Hill naturally sat down, watching Erin handing some documents to the bishop, and smacked his lips.

"Is this your order, Sister Erin?"

Erin didn't respond, merely glancing at Hill. She had grown accustomed to his way of doing things; ignoring him was the best response and action.

Instead, York took the documents from Erin's hands and sat down to speak.

"I ordered it. Aren't you always saying you can't get used to Korean food?"

"Bishop!" Hill exclaimed, visibly moved.

"Good heavens..."

York couldn't help but use the documents to hit the young man, cutting off his words.

"Just eat your food, don't make a fuss!"

"Heh heh."

Despite being hit, Hill didn't mind and instead looked pleased, casually picking up a hamburger in front of him to eat.

York internally sighed, starting to go through the documents, turning to Erin who also sat down and asked, "The National Security Enterprise Department and the Intelligence Agency of Han? Is this the Korean agency managing superhumans?"

Hearing the question, Erin, who was responsible for this matter, nodded.

"Yes, Bishop, they created this agency to find and train superhumans. Importantly, our investigations revealed that these superhumans are just tools to the agency..."

Erin paused, picking up a piece of fried chicken and looking at her bishop: "The first batch of superhumans seems to have realized this and is hiding, but they don't know that the Korean side has already discovered their traces."

York stared at the information in the document, squinting his eyes.

Indeed, the fragments emitted from the Korean rift resulted in the emergence of superhumans.

The appearance of superhumans was a direct impact of these fragments.

And this impact was discovered by the Korean side, who, after thorough searching, found the first batch of people affected by the rift, the so-called first batch of superhumans.

Thus, this so-called managing agency was formed under these conditions, known as the National Security Enterprise Department and the Intelligence Agency, involved in a wide range of activities including assassinations and protection, but all were underhanded and dirty tasks.

Moreover, this agency also compiled very detailed profiles for these superhumans.

"And the first superhuman they found is named Kim Dou-shik..."

York paused on a personal file, seeing a handsome man.

"His ability is..."

York's eyebrows raised slightly as he read on.

The man named Kim Dou-shik, codenamed "Munsan," was rated as an S-class.

"His ability is flight." York shook his head internally; the impact of these fragments was indeed significant.

Considering that many in the church couldn't fly, one could imagine the impact on the world if the rift's development was left unchecked.

Superhumans could appear, but it couldn't be universal, and they must be controllable.

That was the conclusion he had come to.

If superpowers appeared universally, even he couldn't imagine the outcome

.

Human nature is complex, and powerful abilities can lead to impacts both good and bad, which no one can predict.

He could delve into and empathize with his past life's mindset.

What would he do if he had superpowers in that world?

Thinking this, York involuntarily took a deep breath; he really didn't know.

Thus, if superpowers became universal, the world would inevitably go through a series of chaos.

It would take who knows how many deaths to achieve peace.

Staring at the profile named Kim Dou-shik, codenamed Munsan, York silently flipped through his personal achievements.

"Mostly dirty tasks..."

York sighed internally and continued to flip through.

The emergence of this first superhuman resulted in nothing but dirty tasks, ultimately being used by the agency threatening his wife and child, sending him on an assassination mission to the north, and finally declared missing, dead or alive unknown.

Seeing this, York had no desire to continue reading and opened the second superhuman's file.

This time, it was someone he knew, the owner of the fried chicken shop, Zhang Zhouyuan.

Zhang Zhouyuan, codenamed Jiu Long Po, rated as an A, his ability was rapid healing.

His situation was somewhat better, although he too did many tasks, but after a mission where his wife died accidentally, he realized he couldn't continue to be exploited by the unscrupulous agency, and one night, he took his daughter, erased all traces, and fled the agency.

He now lived under a new identity, running a fried chicken shop.

Remembering his first encounter with this man, whose character seemed somewhat naive.

Hit by a car, he could still get up without any issue; York had seen with his own eyes how the man, clearly with a broken bone, could instantly recover.

This bizarre moment left a deep impression on him and also led him to identify the changes brought by the rift to this world.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to know what this rift had brought to the world.

And precisely because of this, he was able to quickly and accurately find the central issue and attempt to block the spread of the fragments.

Even the bishops stationed here, including the rest of the clergy, were clueless, completely unaware of the world inside the rift subtly transforming their world.

Because those closest to the rift hadn't developed any superpowers.

"It's good we came in time, the affected are only so many..."

"..."

As York flipped through the file on Zhang Zhouyuan, he also thought about the changes brought by his life value breaking two hundred.

"A bit different, this guy only rapidly heals, his body can't regenerate."

Thinking, York subconsciously looked up at his personal panel.

Now, as time passed, through accumulated fixed task attribute points of 0.5, his life value had long broken two hundred.

[Life Value: 202]

The changes brought by breaking two hundred made him appear much younger, like a man in his twenties, though he was nearly thirty. Apart from this change that amazed Hill, there was also the power of regeneration.

Compared to before, this ability was monstrous, incomparable to his previous state.

This regenerative ability differed from Zhang Zhouyuan's rapid healing.

Rapid healing only healed but couldn't regenerate tissue, while regenerative ability was like the father of rapid healing, including both healing and regeneration.

For instance, if a finger was cut off, Zhang Zhouyuan's healing ability could only seal the wound and stop the bleeding instantly, while his regenerative ability could quickly grow a new finger...

"And this regenerative ability will become even more powerful as the life value increases, possibly regenerating instantly after a finger falls off... What kind of monster am I?"

York internally marveled at his own power and continued to browse.

Until finally, he stopped browsing.

In general, these Korean superhumans were truly pitiable; they did so much dirty work for the agency and enjoyed no benefits, only receiving undeniable orders.

Now, even their children were at risk of being used.

Yes, this first batch of escaped superhumans thought they were well-hidden, but their traces had already been discovered by the agency.

Furthermore, the agency had detected changes in their children and had created a high school specifically for these children and other potential superhumans, named Jeongwon High School, attempting to use deception to replace the first batch of superhumans with these children.

York also saw some dirty work; if these superhuman children joined another high school, the Korean agency would do everything possible, by any means, to create conditions for these children to join Jeongwon High School.

For example, Zhang Zhouyuan's daughter, Zhang Xiuxiu, was manipulated based on her personality into a bullied character, which led her to intervene, eventually leading to a fight with the bullies and her expulsion from that school, and then Jeongwon High School grandly offered an olive branch...

"But these fragments are really powerful; not only do they grant humans superpowers, changing their genetic makeup, but they also allow superhumans to pass their abilities to their children, meaning generation after generation could possess superpowers."

York packed up the document bag, with one thought in mind.

Superhumans could emerge, but they couldn't be universal, so the world-changing rift needed to be eradicated.

Placing the document bag on the table, York casually took the gloves Erin handed him and picked up a chicken leg.

"Did no one from the Han side try to stop our investigation?"

Upon hearing this, Erin stopped eating and lightly threw out a sentence.

"Bishop, they wouldn't dare; this document bag is the result I personally obtained by walking into that agency with my team and conducting a search."

Hearing this, York pointed at Erin with a smile, internally marveling, "No wonder it's so detailed, Erin, you've really changed a lot."

"Have I?" Erin responded calmly.

York looked at Hill: "If you don't believe me, ask Hill, who saw you in your naive days."

Hill, holding a burger in both hands, nodded in agreement: "Compared to back then, Sister Erin has indeed changed a lot."

Upon hearing this, Erin silently picked up another piece of fried chicken, having realized after learning about the rift incident that what she wanted to change the most was: to strive harder, to not be an outsider, and to be able to help the bishop.

"Bishop, I will strive to become stronger." Erin ignored Hill's expression, seriously addressing her bishop.

Suddenly hearing this, York was taken aback, looking at Erin's serious face with a smile, he could only nod slightly to acknowledge, though a thought surfaced in his mind.

"Let's see and study it further, if it's safe, we might try to bring some changes to Erin and Hill, which could save magic power,

but I don't know what specific conditions are needed to trigger a chain reaction with the fragments to produce superpowers..."

Thinking this, York spoke up.

"Erin, isn't today the day that girl named Zhang Xiuxiu comes to do part-time work?"

"Yes, Bishop."

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