At the Xia family.
The Executive frowned, holding his phone with a hint of unease.
"It's been over ten hours, and both the Golden Boy and Jade Girl are unreachable. Did something happen?"
Reason told him that the Golden Boy and Jade Girl were extremely powerful, rare A-grade experts of the Foundation, and it was impossible for Espers outside to possess stronger abilities than them.
Moreover, this couple was very strange, especially the Golden Boy; he belonged to the type whose fighting power grew stronger the more he was cuckolded.
"Did those two go crazy playing again, ignoring my calls?"
Just then, a subordinate reported, "Executive, the equipment and Xia family members are ready, just waiting for you."
The Executive nodded, picked up a small briefcase by his side. Inside, it contained the awakening serum developed by the Foundation's research department, extracted from the Poison Snow. Although the mortality rate was still very high, the success rate was also significantly higher than awakening through Poison Snow directly.
The underground May Square of the Xia family estate was brightly lit at this moment, filled with direct descendants of the Xia family. On the other side of the May Square, 20 peculiarly shaped devices were parked.
Xia Junfeng, the head of the Xia family, was currently standing with his hands behind his back, lecturing more than 30 direct descendants of the family.
"The reason I called everyone here tonight, I believe everyone is clear.
Now that heavy snow has sealed the sky and the apocalypse has arrived, our Xia family's past wealth and connections have vanished with this snow.
Now, it's a new era!
You should have seen online that Espers, or rather, super-powered individuals, have appeared all over the world.
I believe that in the future, the world will undoubtedly belong to Espers!
Fortunately, our Xia family has had the privilege of cooperating with the Foundation organization, allowing our Xia family members to awaken abilities in a relatively safer way first!
Moreover, the awakening serum developed by the Foundation is very targeted; the one provided to our Xia family is ice-attributed.
That is to say, as long as the awakening is successful, all our Xia family members will possess ice-elemental abilities, and then we won't have to fear the ice and snow outside anymore."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Xia family members became excited.
That was a superpower!
No one could remain calm under the temptation of superpowers.
Xia Junfeng coughed, "Now, those whose names I call, step forward.
Xia Qingyou!"
The eldest young lady of the Xia family stepped forward calmly, her cool and aloof demeanor drawing frequent gazes. There was not a ripple in her eyes, only full confidence.
"Xia Beichen!"
Xia Beichen stepped forward and stood beside his sister, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.
Xiao Zhu, for you, I will definitely succeed.
Wait for me!
"Xia Jian, Xia Fangyun, Xia..."
A total of 20 names were called out. Most of these people were young adults. According to the Executive, young adults had a higher success rate.
Among them, Xia Junfeng himself was included.
Xia Qingyou frowned slightly, "Dad, you are the backbone of the Xia family. Why do you need to take this risk?"
Xia Junfeng laughed heartily, "What's there to be afraid of? My daughter and son are participating, how can I, as their father, back down?
As the family head, one should lead by example!"
The Executive came over, looked at the 20 people in front of him, and said indifferently, "Let me state first, the success rate of the serum's awakening is not 100%. It will cause you to have a high fever and be accompanied by extreme pain. To succeed, you must possess strong belief and willpower!
If anyone wants to withdraw, do so early. I don't want to waste the serum on cowards."
The people who were just excited were instantly doused with cold water, yet not a single person withdrew.
Xia Junfeng cupped his hands and said, "Executive, please rest assured. For the future of the family, we are all prepared to make sacrifices. No one will back down."
The Executive nodded coldly, "Then let's begin!"
Soon, these people were arranged under the awakening equipment, quickly bound with restraints, and had oxygen masks placed on their faces.
The Executive carefully opened the suitcase, which contained 20 tubes of an unknown, eerie blue liquid.
After distribution, the injections began.
Similar to the symptoms of exposure to Poison Snow, for the first 5 minutes after injection, everyone felt no discomfort at all, only a cool sensation.
As soon as 5 minutes passed, a Xia family member instantly screamed.
"Ah!!! It hurts! It hurts so much, let go of me!"
Veins popped on his forehead, large beads of sweat fell, and his body twitched rapidly.
Xia Beichen's eyes narrowed. It's here.
Sure enough, intense pain rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, sweeping through every inch of his skin.
His body felt as if it was being pierced by countless red-hot iron skewers. Every muscle trembled, and every breath felt like tearing his internal organs.
The domineering CEO, who was usually fearless, now wished he could bite through his lips. It wasn't that he didn't want to scream; he simply couldn't.
Or screaming would only intensify the pain.
Blood seeped from between his teeth, his fists clenched tightly, knuckles white.
A hoarse and broken moan escaped his throat.
Screams echoed throughout the entire underground May Square.
"No! This is too painful, I can't take it anymore!"
"Help, Mom, tell them to let me down, I don't want to play anymore!"
"Ah!!! I'm f*cking #%&@#"
Those Xia family members who weren't selected were terrified, all gasping in cold air.
Finally, someone couldn't hold on. Their body twitched violently, large patches of blue appeared on their skin, and then their body suddenly went still, eyes wide and bloodshot, no longer moving.
"Xia Li!!!" A woman cried inconsolably, wanting to rush up and rescue her son, but was held back tightly.
Xia Li's failure seemed to be a fuse, as more and more Xia family members began to go still.
In the blink of an eye, 8 people had already died.
The entire Xia family was wailing, and some even wanted to attack the Foundation's people, but dared not move under the threat of guns.
The Executive watched silently with his hands behind his back. The remaining 12 people did not die immediately, indicating that they had passed the most dangerous stage, and the success rate of awakening had greatly increased. Now it depended on how long they could hold on.
After all, the longer they persisted, the stronger their ability would be after awakening.
Among them, the most noteworthy were Xia Junfeng and his family of three.
At this moment, the family head, Xia Junfeng, had also lost his graceful demeanor. His old face was distorted beyond recognition. On his machine, the serum fusion progress was displayed.
21%.
The Executive nodded secretly. This old fellow should be fine. Exceeding 20% meant he succeeded, and he was at least a C-grade expert.
His fusion progress finally stopped at 26%. The pain in his body instantly disappeared. Xia Junfeng gasped violently, still shaken. After a moment of rest, a terrifying and powerful sensation surged through his body.
"I... I succeeded?"
The restraints that he couldn't break free from earlier were easily snapped.
The Executive nodded with a smile, "Congratulations! According to the Foundation's grading, you are already a B-grade expert."
"B-grade?" Xia Junfeng clenched his fists, his eyes subtly glancing at the Executive.
This serum is so heaven-defying. If I kill him, can I...
Xia Beichen felt like his soul was about to shatter, his eyes bloodshot, his steel teeth almost ground to dust.
"Xiao Zhu! Xiao Zhu, wait for me!
I will definitely succeed!"