In the conference room of the special training camp, two cups of tea sat on the long table. Tea leaves floated up and down in the water as steam slowly rose, but the atmosphere in the room was unusually tense.

Behind one cup sat a middle-aged man with a crew cut and a square face with sharp features. His expression was serious as he wore a military green short-sleeved shirt. There was nothing superfluous about him, and his whole being exuded a decisive, ruthless aura.

A terrifying scar stretched from the corner of his left eye down to his neck. It was hard to imagine what kind of monster could have left such a horrific mark. Even more terrifying was the fact that the man had survived such an injury!

As soon as the man spoke, the entire room was plunged into turmoil.

"Why Jiang Bai?" he demanded.

The instructor Old Ma sitting across from him just silently stared down at his tea, saying nothing.

"Do you know what the [Cicada] Project means?" the man said coldly. "It's using up resources from the entire country, even globally. The Cicada Project only has less than 20 spots, and our country only got 9 of them. There were over a thousand candidates sent from all over - what qualifies Jiang Bai to join the [Cicada] Project..."

Old Ma suddenly interrupted, bringing up an unrelated matter:

"Do you remember Winter Cicada?"

"Winter Cicada? Is Jiang Bai Winter Cicada's son?" The man's brows furrowed, his expression softening slightly and his tone becoming less harsh.

"Winter Cicada, a mysterious powerful figure who emerged 3 years ago. Male, 40-45 years old, skilled with a spear. Single-handedly dealt with 1 world-ending disaster, assisted with 1 world-ending disaster, independently handled 12 city-destroying disasters, killed or arrested 126 criminal Ability users..."

The man was very familiar with these details, reciting them from memory.

Without a doubt, Winter Cicada was a legendary figure. In terms of combat power, he was not inferior to himself. In terms of achievements, they were evenly matched.

However, there had been no news of Winter Cicada for nearly a year!

Various rumors claimed Winter Cicada had died in the last disaster!

He had been caught up in a world-ending level disaster. Although he prevented the catastrophe from occurring, he himself had vanished without a trace.

Most likely dead. After all, it was a world-ending disaster!

If Jiang Bai was Winter Cicada's son, even if Jiang Bai's own potential was limited, the country had a responsibility and obligation to take care of him, given his father's contributions.

After pondering for a moment, the man slowly said:

"If he's Winter Cicada's descendant, he doesn't need to join the [Cicada] Project at all. I can extract his Ability, it won't be too painful. After the Mysterious Tide passes, he can still live a good life. I can even replace his Ability for him..."

"You still don't understand the situation," Old Ma interrupted.

"He's not Winter Cicada's son. He is Winter Cicada."

"Impossible!" The man abruptly stood up, his face full of shock. A terrifying aura erupted from his body, causing the entire space to tremble. Spider web-like cracks appeared on the windows of the conference room!

"This is impossible!"

"Control your emotions!" Old Ma had somehow already retreated to the doorway, looking at the man warily, one hand holding his belt, the other holding up his pants.

"Do you want to get everyone here killed?!"

After the Mysterious Tide appeared, countless superhumans were born. The man before him was among the most powerful of them all.

His very existence was considered a strategic weapon, a national treasure.

It was precisely because of this terrifying combat power, coupled with his impressive achievements, that the man had the qualifications to participate in the Cicada Project, and even question Jiang Bai's eligibility.

Ability users, while wielding terrifying power, were also unstable factors themselves.

If the man before him went berserk, no more than five people in the entire training camp would survive!

Old Ma believed that kid Jiang Bai would definitely survive.

The man took a deep breath, gradually calming down. The terrifying aura receded, and at the same time, the tiny cracks on the windows slowly mended themselves, as if they had never appeared.

Noticing this detail, Old Ma's expression sank again.

This guy has gotten even stronger...

The man sat back down and said coldly:

"Without proof, why should I believe he is Winter Cicada? Moreover, the timeline doesn't match up. 3 years ago, he was only 15 years old. Winter Cicada's famous battle was with a foreign powerhouse, who was very certain that Winter Cicada was a middle-aged man over 40..."

"Can you let people finish talking?" Old Ma said irritably as he stuffed his belt back in.

"Winter Cicada isn't just one person. To be precise, Jiang Bai is the third generation Winter Cicada."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Winter Cicada wasn't just one person?

Hearing this, the man pondered thoughtfully.

"The first generation Winter Cicada lost contact during the first world-ending disaster..."

Old Ma's eyes were filled with pain as he mentioned this.

He slowly continued:

"The second generation Winter Cicada was severely injured while dealing with a city-destroying disaster. He was accidentally saved by Jiang Bai and chose to pass on Winter Cicada's legacy to him. He is the third generation Winter Cicada. In the last world-ending disaster, only Jiang Bai was involved in handling it. No one knows how he stopped that catastrophe, but he survived, likely paying a terrible price."

The man's gaze turned to the window.

"Words alone aren't proof."

Even with Old Ma's guarantee, it was hard for the man to believe this.

The best way would be to spar with Jiang Bai once.

Whether he was Winter Cicada or not would be clear after a fight.

"You can't fight him. We can't be certain what price Jiang Bai paid in dealing with the last disaster. He hasn't used his powers since.

This special training camp was built just for Jiang Bai. From instructors to students, over half the people here are his bodyguards. The other half might be too..."

To convince the man, Old Ma had to use his trump card.

He took a deep breath, unbuckled his belt, broke the buckle in half, and placed it on the table.

The man looked at the belt buckle. It was actually hollow inside, containing half of a spearhead.

The man's pupils contracted slightly as he recognized it.

"Is this Winter Cicada's spear?"

"That's right." Old Ma said gravely.

"I am the second generation Winter Cicada. The first generation was my father. You can check the records - officially, he died of illness three years ago. In reality, he disappeared.

Winter Cicada's appearance wasn't a coincidence. We needed more flexible forces to deal with supernatural disasters. After my father gained his Ability, with approval, he became the first generation Winter Cicada. After he went missing, I briefly served as the second generation Winter Cicada in order to search for him, until I passed on the title to Jiang Bai..."

Listening to Old Ma's words, the man's expression fluctuated between light and dark.

If Winter Cicada had been just one person from start to finish, with these achievements, he would indeed qualify to join the [Cicada] Project.

But Winter Cicada had been three people in succession. Although Jiang Bai had dealt with one world-ending disaster, there were no details of how he handled it...

The situation was becoming more and more complex, and the man was still hesitant.

Seeing the man's hesitation, Old Ma took out an envelope and pushed it across the long table, placing it in front of him.

"This is the Chief's final response to you."

He believed the contents inside would be enough to convince the man.

The man stood up, carefully lifting the envelope with both hands and solemnly opening it.

The envelope contained only one brief sentence:

"It's not that Jiang Bai joined the [Cicada] Project, but that the [Cicada] Project was created for Jiang Bai."

The man looked at the contents of the envelope, falling into a long silence.

He had gotten the cause and effect backwards.

The moment he picked up the envelope, a portion of top secret files were opened to him, information instantly flooding into his mind.

Jiang Bai's mother was already a superhuman when she gave birth to him, during the first Mysterious Tide.

In other words, Jiang Bai may have inherited superpowers through genetics.

He had also survived the end of the second Mysterious Tide, a one-in-a-million lucky survivor.

During the third Mysterious Tide, Jiang Bai gained another superpower.

He had at least three Abilities!

Not yet 18 years old, involved with three Mysterious Tides, single-handedly dealing with a world-ending disaster...

The secrets Jiang Bai carried clearly exceeded the man's imagination.

This letter also thoroughly convinced him.

If Jiang Bai didn't qualify for the Cicada Project, then no one did.

After who knows how long, the man folded the envelope, carefully tucking it into his pocket before turning to leave, striding out of the conference room.

Old Ma followed behind him, calling out: "What are you going to do now?"

"I have my mission." The man paused for a moment, looking out the window again, his gaze falling on Jiang Bai in the training grounds.

"Apart from carrying out my mission, I will survive. I'll use every means to survive, to live until the day the Cicada Project succeeds..."

With that, his figure completely vanished beyond the doorway.

...

One week later, at a secret underground base.

Jiang Bai completed the final preparations and officially began the Cicada Project.

As nutrient fluid flooded the sealed chamber, Jiang Bai felt no sense of suffocation. Following the previous guidance, he began sealing away his Abilities bit by bit.

This process was excruciatingly long.

After one day, one participant successfully sealed their power.

After one week, two more participants succeeded.

Three months later, all project participants except Jiang Bai had successfully sealed their powers.

Half a year later, on the last day before the Mysterious Tide ended, Jiang Bai finally sealed away the last bit of his Ability.

A final thought flashed through Jiang Bai's mind:

"It takes me longer to seal three Abilities, does that mean it will also take me longer to awaken?"

"Oh no! I'm still a vir-"

Soon, this thought sank into endless darkness along with his consciousness.

...

Darkness.

Fucking darkness.

The eternal, boundless darkness continued for who knows how long.

Until a faint light pierced through, once again illuminating this world.

Jiang Bai slowly opened his eyes. Everything before him seemed unfamiliar. Objects overlapped and swayed in his vision, gradually becoming clear.

He heard a voice by his ear.

"Comrade... Comrade..."

Jiang Bai's consciousness also cleared.

Had the Cicada Project succeeded?

Had the fourth Mysterious Tide arrived?

"There's been a small problem, a very small problem. I assure you everything is under control..."

The researcher in a white coat wore a forced smile as he extended his hand to the newly awakened Jiang Bai.

"Comrade, welcome to the era of the Fifth Mysterious Tide."