The man was dressed in a neat black suit and was even wearing a pair of sunglasses, making it a wonder how he could see clearly in the dead of night.
He looked at Chen Fei and said, "You need a dose of the Supernatural Ability Suppressant, this is an order from Manager Hanna."
Chen Fei was startled and asked word by word, confused, "What? A Supernatural Ability Suppressant?"
The man's attire looked familiar—wasn't it the uniform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Apocalypse Defense Group!
The man in the black suit and sunglasses explained, "Your special ability has just awakened. To prevent loss of control, it's best to inject the suppressant, then gradually learn to control it. This way, accidents are less likely to occur. The Supernatural Ability Suppressant has no other side effects; it's for your own good."
Actually, the side effect of the Supernatural Ability Suppressant is the suppression of supernatural abilities; its original use was for treating neurasthenia. It's another drug that deviated from its intended use but serendipitously hit the mark.
Blue Star does not reject magic and Battle Qi from Cangqiong Star and is very receptive to new things like special abilities. The rich rely on technology, the poor on talent; there's always a way out.
Chen Fei cautiously probed, "So, does this cost money?"
Considering that injectables for supernatural power users are generally not cheap, and given his current dire financial situation, if it were expensive, he would very regretfully have to give it up.
Chen Fei's question was somewhat unexpected to the man, who shook his head and said, "No, it won't cost you anything! The company covers it in full."
The company's policy states that formal contract employees who awaken their abilities can get fully company-funded suppressants to stabilize their abilities. Chen Fei, having signed a formal contract, was eligible to enjoy this provision and receive the Supernatural Ability Suppressant for free.
The retail price of a dose of the Supernatural Ability Suppressant was about 5000 Star Yuan, which was generally affordable for the ordinary working class.
In many countries, the initial dose of the Supernatural Ability Suppressant needed for the first awakening often has a high national subsidization rate, and individuals do not have to pay much. The first dose discount aims to control and reduce the destruction caused by uncontrolled abilities, as well as to stabilize public sentiment and retain talents for the country.
Many particular abilities are indeed better suited for governmental functions.
"That's great!" Chen Fei breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it was free, there was no problem. As he remembered something, he asked, "How many injections of this supernatural ability suppressant are necessary?"
"Just one will suffice, the effect can last a month, but it varies from person to person. Some may experience suppression for three months. Are you ready?"
The man in the black suit and sunglasses took out a small box, which held a needle-free syringe, the Supernatural Ability Suppressant already prepared.
When the Z-9 armed helicopter took off with Chen Fei and others from the cave, One-Eye, the female executive manager Hanna Gagar, used a satellite phone to inform her subordinates at the 911 Aircrew Base to prepare the Supernatural Ability Suppressant for Chen Fei.
If only considering the side effects of the drug, being able to last at least a month is quite severe and could even negate the value of the drug's existence.
However, for ordinary people without special abilities, this type of injection only has a therapeutic effect on neurasthenia, and the ability to suppress supernatural powers is completely redundant.
The broader use of this type of injection is often to limit the abilities of criminal supernatural power users; one honest injection a month, and with regular intervals of twelve injections, it can deprive them of their abilities for a year. Even the most potent abilities become indistinguishable from those of normal people during the effect of the drug.
Research on the Supernatural Ability Suppressant has not stopped; it is even said that a lab has produced a suppressant that works for a year.
However, for initial ability awakeners, a suppression period of one to three months is more advantageous for safely learning and mastering newly acquired abilities, without feeling helpless or causing unnecessary harm to themselves and others.
Chen Fei looked around and pointed down at his feet.
"Right here, don't worry. It'll be quick!"
The man opened the box and took out the syringe.
Chen Fei shrugged, rolled up his sleeve, and the man with the syringe immediately poked it towards him.
Biu—done in one shot!
It was over before he felt anything, which was very convenient.
Whether the suppression will last a month or three depends on the individual's constitution.
But for Chen Fei, it didn't really make a difference, as he wasn't in a rush to use it.
Chen Fei inspected the place where the injector poked, not even a little red dot was there.
"Try your special ability, it should start taking effect now. What is your ability?"
The man in the black suit and sunglasses put the syringe back in the box. His task was complete. Manager Hanna had not revealed what ability the young man had just awakened over the phone; she had only instructed to prepare the suppressant.
The Supernatural Ability Suppressant takes effect in ten seconds, almost immediately visible.
Chen Fei paused for a moment before tentatively saying, "Emmmmmm...eating bullets, does that count as a special ability?"
The other person stumbled, damn eating bullets.
The supernatural abilities of the Blue Star People are quite strange, there are all kinds of them, so maybe... there really is one that specializes in eating bullets?
Ding-a-ling-a-ling...
The tablet on the bedside table rang loudly.
Chen Fei struggled to open his sour, heavy eyelids, yawned a long yawn, but still felt extremely exhausted.
Yesterday, setting up the WIFI relay communication link for Teacher Shen Fei entailed at least twenty kilometers of trekking. He was then kidnapped by unidentified armed individuals posing as bandits, fortunately found the opportunity to fight back fiercely, and barely managed to escape with his life.
He was already drained, exhausted, and a mere three hours of sleep was nowhere near enough to replenish his vitality and spirit.
But earning money is hard, repaying debts even harder, there was really no excuse to continue lying in bed. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to get up, rushed through his bathroom routine, and his eyes still looked bloodshot in the mirror.
He reclaimed his Magical Beast Bird, the Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu, from Mr. Abel, the head chef of the base's cafeteria.
The little guy was exceptionally excited to see Chen Fei and immediately flew over with flapping wings, hopping back and forth on his shoulder, chirping non-stop, and occasionally pecking at his earlobe as if a little upset about why he hadn't come back to pick him up on time yesterday.
As the first to know, Mr. Abel was happy that Chen Fei came back unharmed to the base, but seeing the young man yawning continuously, he knew that he must have had a tough day yesterday. Already back at work, it seemed too hard on him.
He frowned and said, "Are you still going to work ? Why not rest for another day?"
"Gotta eat, you know! I'll adjust tonight and will recover, no worries, Mr. Abel!"
Chen Fei waved his hand, still young, he recovered quickly, and could bear it by gritting his teeth.
If he skipped work without any reason, he could foresee that Big Brother Xiao would be quite unhappy.
Even Chekhov, that Big Bear, couldn't avoid getting hammered and yelping, so it was better not to offend the seemingly cold-but-warm-hearted maintenance chief, if possible.
"Here, wait a second!"
Chef Abel then filled a large pot with strong black coffee for Chen Fei, adding a good amount of cocoa and honey.
The taste...was a bit weird!
But the effect was quite invigorating.
Chen Fei did not refuse, he truly needed it.
After leaving the cafeteria, with Xiao Jiu in tow, he wandered through the labyrinth of standard stacked containers, saw a steel structure shack, and knocked on the door.
"Is that Little Chen?"
An elderly voice came from inside, belonging to Old Master Barut, the Neanderthal.
Then the door opened.
No one had come for the shift change last night, and the phone was unreachable; the old man must have stayed up all night.
With an apologetic tone, Chen Fei said, "I'm very sorry, Grandpa Barut, there was a bit of an accident yesterday."
Had it not been for that group of unidentified armed men, he wouldn't have missed helping Chef Abel and the overnight shift here at Barut's.
Barut smiled kindly and said, "No worries, it must have been some very troubling accident, right?"
The fact that this young man remembered to come and apologize was somewhat unexpected for him, and he certainly wasn't angry about it.
"This...I'm very sorry!"
Chen Fei sighed and shook his head.
This darned bad luck; it's a long story and hard to explain in few words.
"Work time is almost here, you better go now!"
Barut accepted Chen Fei's apology and sincerity (a generous breakfast and a bottle of dry white wine).
The young man is not bad!