In the living room, shards of the shattered balcony glass door littered the ground.

The man, fully armed, lay on the floor. Listening to the sound alone, one could never imagine he was pinned under a barbell, unable to move.

Such stubbornness, and that familiar voice, made Okayama Buji think of an acquaintance who served as a squad leader in the SAT.

"Shima Village, why did you come in from there?"

"COUGH. COUGH."

Shima Village coughed a few times, seeming to have broken quite a few bones. The vague sense of pain caused cold sweat to break out on his forehead as he replied, "I just saw that the task force had quite a few women, so I wanted to test their skills. It seems they're indeed not weak."

At this point, even with his chauvinistic nature, Shima Village struggled to bear the pain and said, "Rather than catching up, I think it's better to call an ambulance. Although I've only broken a few bones and it doesn't seem too serious, trying to get up on my own is still a bit difficult."

Morimoto Chiyoda holstered her gun and tilted her head. "Are you sure this live wire is with the SAT?"

Okayama Buji responded with a wry smile, "That's just Shima Village for you, always too stubborn to admit he's wrong."

Katerina shook her head, stepped forward, and single-handedly lifted the barbell off Shima Village.

Emily peeked out from the bathroom, corners of her mouth still frothed with white toothpaste, and blinked. "Didn't they say the SAT is an elite force? Why would they have someone who doesn't follow commands?"

The three pairs of eyes in the hall focused on Emily.

She blinked, suddenly realized something, and immediately exploded with anger, "You bastard! You weren't looking down on me, were you?"

The man on the ground, Shima Village, remained silent. He had seen Emily's photo from the Police Director, and his first impression was, This task force must be a joke. As the squad leader of SAT's first team, an elite among elites, how could I accept leadership from a group of women? I just wanted to give them a taste of an elite force's shock. Instead, I was the one who got taught a lesson. I'm lucky to be alive. These women in the task force are all monsters. The black-haired woman, needless to say, her reactions were incredibly fast, leaving me no time to even pull the trigger. Her marksmanship was also extremely precise; three consecutive shots hit the exact same spot on my index finger, completely disabling the finger I could have used to pull the trigger. And the tall blonde woman was even more something else. A man's strength should surpass a woman's, but the weight of that barbell was beyond my imagination. I can lift a 300-kilogram barbell at the gym, yet I couldn't handle this one. As for Okayama Buji, he's someone I've recognized for a while and tried to recruit into SAT several times, without success. Placing such talent in this task force actually makes him seem unremarkable by comparison. This makes me not underestimate the girlish Emily, but I won't back down either.

"Tsk, call an ambulance for him. Get this idiot out of here," Emily snapped.

She withdrew to the bathroom, washed her face with a towel, then came out. Ignoring Shima Village on the ground, she began assigning tasks. "Our priority now is to investigate those Sect Hierarchs, temples, and shrines to see if any of them possess genuine abilities."

Morimoto Chiyoda asked in surprise, "Do you have any idea how many religions there are in Japan?"

"Of course, I do. Over 180,000 registered religions."

Emily massaged her temples. These religions have intricate ties to politicians, who would never expose them as fraudulent. Instead, they'd claim these groups possess real powers. To distinguish truth from falsehood, we'll have to scrutinize each one. It's a grueling task, but an unavoidable part of the investigation. Detective work isn't what people imagine; it's less about sudden inspiration and more about meticulous, step-by-step examination of every available clue.

"We'll start with the people in Tokyo."

"Do we need to visit each one individually?"

"No need. They'll come to the police station voluntarily. We just need to determine if they have any real abilities."

Emily headed to the bedroom to change out of her pajamas and get to work.

She could only imagine how many of them were charlatans. But searching for clues about Superpower Users is like finding a needle in a haystack. It all hinges on whether any of them genuinely possess real abilities.

「At Brilliant High School, in Classroom 2C.」

Phoenix Academy Maggie felt an irrepressible urge, a huge secret weighing on her heart like a mischievous kitten constantly clawing to get out. She wanted to tell someone, but she held back.

It was inconvenient to reveal such matters to Yoshikawa Sayuri and Makoto. Hojo Tetsuji would be suitable, but the moment he handed in his manga manuscript, he would just collapse on his desk to sleep. This prevented her from confiding what she wanted to, so she swallowed her words, feeling increasingly stifled and growing indifferent to the storyline of the manga manuscript. All she wished was for a certain person to hurry up and arrive so she could finally get it off her chest.

Phoenix Academy Maggie flipped to the last page of Hojo Tetsuji's manga.

Right on time, a familiar figure appeared at the door.

Aozawa and Ayatsuki Ayaka parted ways, walking to their respective desks. Aozawa smiled, "Maggie, you look like you're in good spirits. Did you sleep well last night?"

Phoenix Academy Maggie no longer suppressed the urge to confide and said excitedly, "I didn't sleep well, but I'm full of energy! The Iwasakis have been wiped out."

"Huh? Didn't you say the Iwasaki's house has tighter security than the Prime Minister's residence?" Aozawa feigned surprise.

Phoenix Academy Maggie, showing no embarrassment at being contradicted, was instead filled with excitement. She lowered her voice, "Ordinary people can't get past those defenses, but Dio isn't an ordinary person. He's a Superpower User!"

The expected shocked expression didn't appear. Phoenix Academy Maggie paused, then emphasized, "I'm not lying, it's true! Dio has the ability to teleport, ignoring any defenses, just like in the movies—suddenly appearing behind someone and then, BANG! BANG!—shooting them. Only that can explain how he could suddenly appear in the control room, kill everyone inside, and then eliminate the others in the residence."

"Even if you say it so earnestly, I still think you're joking."

Phoenix Academy Maggie was a bit irritated. She slapped his arm and glared. "I guarantee with my integrity, this is absolutely true! Don't tell anyone else; the fact that Dio is a Superpower User is still a national secret. The only people who know are the six major financial groups, the Phoenix Academy family, the Prime Minister, the Minister of State, the Police Director, the special task force on this case, and Mayers, the forensic examiner who reached this conclusion."

"Who is Mayers?"

Aozawa was curious. It's not surprising that Emily revealed his identity as a Superpower User, but how did a forensic pathologist turn into a detective?

Phoenix Academy Maggie was slightly taken aback. Aozawa's focus is different from mine. Hearing about a Superpower User, shouldn't he be more interested in that, rather than a forensic pathologist? Wait a second... She spotted a blind spot, suspicion flickering in her beautiful eyes. Come to think of it, I complained to Aozawa about Iwasaki and the others yesterday, and by noon that same day, they were already taken out.

"Aozawa, where were you yesterday at noon?"

"I was sleeping at noon. Why do you ask?"

"I suspect you're a Superpower User, or connected to one."

Phoenix Academy Maggie's delicate, porcelain-doll-like face was etched with seriousness as she recalled another detail. "I remember on your first day of school, you asked me if I was a Magical Girl, didn't you?"

"I can't believe you've uncovered the identity I've hidden for over a decade! I won't pretend anymore. I am a Superpower User, and I have X-ray vision that can see right through your clothes to the fair skin underneath," Aozawa said, speaking the truth and not choosing to deny it.

"Be serious!" Phoenix Academy Maggie's stern expression quickly turned into a pouty annoyance. She slapped his arm again. "Stop talking nonsense. I'm trying to discuss something serious with you. Superpower Users really exist in this world!"

Her suspicion that Aozawa was a Superpower User had come quickly, and it vanished even faster. In her view, if Aozawa were truly a Superpower User, he would have denied it just now, not admitted it so candidly.

"Right, do you think Tetsuji might be a Superpower User?" Phoenix Academy Maggie suddenly turned her suspicion towards Kitahashi Tetsuji, who was sound asleep. "Drifting from an uninhabited island all the way to Tokyo—no matter how you think about it, it's unbelievable, right? If he has a teleportation Superpower, then returning to Tokyo would be perfectly normal."

"Maggie, how badly do you want to be the main character? Sorry to disappoint you, but we're not Superpower Users," Aozawa teased, then changed the subject. "By that logic, the class president is also highly suspicious. Those glasses she wears might be a seal for her Magical Girl powers. The moment she takes them off, she could transform!"

Phoenix Academy Maggie shifted her gaze to the class president at the front of the room, resting her chin on her hand. "Hmm, that does seem possible."

"Maggie, I was joking. You really shouldn't dwell on such things, or you'll turn into someone with a full-blown case of second-year middle school syndrome."

"But Superpowers are real! If Dio can have them, why can't I? What do you think is the prerequisite for awakening a Superpower?" Phoenix Academy Maggie began to discuss the matter earnestly with Aozawa. She really wanted to become a Superpower User.

Aozawa thought to himself, She's definitely asking the right person about this.

"It's simple. Just travel to a Different World, and you can become a Superpower User."

Thanks to the recent bombardment from Nomura True Wave and Yoshikawa Sayuri, Phoenix Academy Maggie had learned a fair bit about manga, including comics and novels about reincarnation in a Different World.

"Are you saying I need to find a large truck to hit me?"

"Hey, you're not serious, are you?!" Aozawa exclaimed, shocked. He was only kidding.

Phoenix Academy Maggie glanced at him, a sly smile playing on her lips. "HAHA, I was kidding too! Why so serious? Who would be foolish enough to get hit by a large truck?"

Aozawa breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, as long as you know. I was genuinely worried you'd get all fired up, shouting something like 'do or die!' and try to test the truck's hardness with your head."

DING DONG DONG—the class bell rang. Phoenix Academy Maggie turned around. "No more chitchat. Class is starting."

Even so, she wondered, how could she become a Superpower User? The question remained firmly lodged in her mind.