Chapter Five: The Plan to Forge an Age of Transcendence

He weighed every angle, contemplating the past and the future, racking his brains, pondering deeply. He devoted himself entirely to the art of “concealing his existence.” After relentless training that paid no heed to the passage of seasons, Si Gu finally reached the point, just before graduation, where he could set foot in the top-secret facilities of governments around the world, gathering any intelligence that might pertain to “beings or forces beyond the realm of humanity.”

Area 51, the FBI, MI6, military headquarters, underground bases, backline fortifications...

For the first time, the world’s most secretive agencies, across every level, had their classified files consolidated—without any of them aware of it.

No one knew Si Gu existed.

Only a few ultra-high-precision cameras, in the blink of a thousandth of a second, captured a blurred shadow. Yet, once these sparse images were processed by data centers, the supporting AI dismissed them as “acceptable anomalies,” sending them straight to the trash.

And as for Si Gu himself—

After scouring the most confidential archives in all of human history,

He,

Without a doubt,

Just as expected,

—found nothing at all.

Most of the information he uncovered consisted of leftovers from the global wave of “parapsychology” and “psychic power” research that swept the last century. More than ninety-five percent of this material had been debunked as “fraudulent,” and the remaining five percent was “almost certainly false.”

Within these files, Si Gu even discovered records of several individuals he’d encountered in passing before, though their dossiers were considered the most mundane of secrets. Naturally, any “psychic” who could catch the eye of an ordinary youth like Si Gu was already a relatively well-known figure; intelligence and research agencies would certainly have noted their existence.

Beyond that, the archives were full of “UFOs,” “extraterrestrial civilizations,” “ancient super-technologies,” and the like—almost all either experimental new weapons or deliberate misinformation.

Having searched the classified repositories of every major power, as well as those of other famed nations, Si Gu finally understood.

He understood completely.

“So… am I truly the only one in this world with abilities?”

With this realization, Si Gu was left uncertain whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

The knowledge that he was utterly unique brought him a sense of peace.

And yet, despite this, Si Gu felt a certain loneliness.

Coinciding with his university graduation, he paused his investigations into the extraordinary and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the life of an ordinary student, savoring the pleasures of normal existence.

—Or so he told himself, but really, little had changed.

After all, even when Si Gu traveled to the far side of the ocean, it only took him ten minutes to run there. Circumnavigating the globe could be accomplished in an hour. So, his life remained filled with regular classes, standard exams, and the occasional gathering with friends.

To others, he was indistinguishable from any other student—just someone who preferred to stay in his off-campus apartment.

Compared to before, his lifestyle changed little, except that the time he once spent exploring the inexplicable was now devoted to novels, games, and anime.

—Though his physical abilities had long since reached levels rivaling the sun itself, Si Gu could still enjoy the simple pleasures of ordinary life, and this fact delighted him.

After all, he didn’t wish to become a soulless being.

…Yet, for all this, something still felt missing.

When playing games, his extraordinary reflexes allowed him to dominate opponents effortlessly, quickly reaching the top ranks and prompting many to suspect him of cheating. Micro-management was child’s play; for professional players, sustaining over a thousand effective actions per minute was a fantasy, but Si Gu could manage it with the blink of an eye. The fun rapidly faded, and he turned to story-driven games that required no dexterity.

While reading novels, he found characters who, limited by their own abilities, were compelled to bargain with so-called “demons.” Though he could empathize with their feelings, Si Gu couldn’t help but scoff inwardly—such “demons” would not survive a single blow from him.

After a period of reclusive leisure, even those joys dwindled.

He tried seeking employment, only to realize that he couldn’t relate at all to the ambition others felt for “climbing the ladder.” As for “power” and “status,” the very thought of being in a position of authority seemed more like forced labor.

—Ironically, his attitude was interpreted by others as “detachment from fame and fortune,” “steady temperament,” and, coupled with his stellar academic record and composed demeanor, earned him both the respect of his peers and the favor of his superiors. He was even selected for his company’s management trainee program.

Yet, as the satisfaction he found in the workplace diminished to nothing, Si Gu chose to resign, to the bewilderment of those around him, and returned to his reclusive life.

So, what should he do next?

Travel?

He had already seen every breathtaking landscape on the planet—though not by design, for Si Gu, the world’s natural wonders and historical relics had lost their appeal.

Pleasure?

He could now control his own hormones, flooding his body with dopamine at will, producing euphoria dozens or hundreds of times more intense than any drug. Of course, with such self-mastery, even this grew tedious.

So then, what was left to pursue?

Power?

From the beginning, Si Gu had found no joy in it.

Wealth?

Without meaning—he had seen dozens of ancient shipwrecks and treasure hoards at the bottom of the sea, but never took so much as a single ring.

Beauty?

Though he could adjust his vision to normal human resolution, if he wished, Si Gu could still see the worms and blood vessels beneath the skin of even the most celebrated beauties; long ago, he’d lost any interest in human appearance.

…

Everything humanity strove for within the bounds of social order had lost its allure for Si Gu.

…

Yet, as he interrogated his own heart, a new interest began to stir.

Day after day surrounded by the monotony of the mundane world, a vague restlessness began to break through the surface.

What Si Gu had always sought suddenly took on a new form in his mind, heralding fresh possibilities.

At last, he realized it.

He was astonished he hadn’t seen it sooner.

“If this world is so dull… if there are no aliens, no other psychics, no dark organizations, no underworld, no gods or demons or spirits…”

“Then why not create all these things myself?”