Chapter 317: Chapter 315 New Superpower_1
"I’m very pleased to meet you, Madame Kochou."
Ponte did not continue to flaunt his personality. He knew how to present himself before certain individuals. In front of his subordinates, he could display his personality, but when dealing with peers, he showed respect. His long golden hair wasn’t loose over his shoulders but tied behind his back. He wore a white shirt, a black suit jacket, and trousers, transforming into a polite American gentleman.
"Your beauty is even more striking than the rumors suggest."
"Mr. Ponte, you flatter me. I was very busy yesterday and couldn’t receive you personally, which I deeply regret. I hope you can forgive my rudeness."
Madame Kochou had her jet-black hair put up, revealing a neck as graceful as a swan’s. Her fiery figure was wrapped in a wine-red evening gown, and her skin was so pale it seemed to hold the light on its surface. With just a simple necklace and ring, she already radiated an aura of distinguished elegance that deeply impressed those around her.
"That couldn’t be helped. To outsiders, we may seem to live lives of ease and pleasure, but who can know how busy one must be to maintain such a vast business empire? The last time I got busy, I didn’t go home for a whole year and even missed my daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony."
Ponte steered the conversation away as he walked with her towards the dining room.
In such settings, Phoenix Academy Maggie, who had been the hostess just the day before, now became a quiet little follower. She wasn’t dissatisfied with this change in status. In fact, she felt a sense of relief, as it meant she no longer had to feign politeness towards the guest.
The dining room was set with a sumptuous dinner. It wasn’t just for the three of them; it was enough for forty or fifty people to dine without issue. Madame Kochou typically disliked waste. However, when hosting distinguished guests, she wouldn’t be stingy. She would rather waste a large amount of food than let her guests feel she hadn’t put her heart into the hospitality.
"Maggie, go keep the other guests company."
"Madame Kochou, they are merely stray dogs that I keep. There’s no need for Miss Maggie to join them for dinner. Just find them someplace to eat."
Ponte’s face was wreathed in smiles, showing no outward hint of contempt. Yet, in a tone as casual as discussing eating or drinking, he uttered these words filled with a superior’s arrogance.
Madame Kochou said, somewhat surprised, "Those four seem to be powerful martial artists; they must have sizable reputations in the United States. Dr. Ditch, if I recall correctly, has won several major awards. Calling them ’stray dogs’ is a bit harsh, isn’t it?"
"Dr. Ditch is, of course, an exception. I was referring to Armaniyaz and the others," Ponte shook his head and added, "But I still cannot fathom Dr. Ditch’s way of thinking. He doesn’t care about money or material enjoyment. As a Harvard professor, his only desire in life is to consolidate the United States’ supremacy in the world. You don’t need to offer him anything special. Give him two hamburgers, and he’ll eat them with great relish."
Madame Kochou chuckled lightly, saying, "Is that so? It sounds like Dr. Ditch is quite a useful person."
"As long as it serves the United States’ pursuit of global supremacy, he is the most useful person."
Ponte had no doubt about this. However, he disliked Ditch for a simple reason: what suited the interests of America’s hegemony might not suit the interests of the Morgan Family. Moreover, scholarly individuals like Dr. Ditch never cared how others treated or perceived them. They were solely focused on maintaining America’s global dominance and took pride in that. To Ponte, and other major capitalists, people like him were akin to toilet paper in a restroom. When needed, they would be pulled out. When not, they would be tossed in a corner. Sometimes, they would even criticize Ditch for statements that favored American dominance.
"There’s no need for Miss Maggie to specifically keep company with such a stubborn person."
"That’s true." Madame Kochou abandoned that thought and lifted her glass, saying, "Mr. Ponte, I toast to you."
"To the friendship between our two families." Ponte lifted his glass, gently clinked it with hers, his face displaying a sincere smile.
Observing this, Phoenix Academy Maggie sighed inwardly. Even though she could handle such occasions, she still despised the hypocrisy where everyone wore a mask. It made her long for her time at school, in the manga club, and the days spent as Aozawa’s deskmate. Fortunately, tomorrow would be Monday, and she could once again enjoy those relaxed moments, far from such suffocating settings.
「The next day, early morning.」
The air in the bedroom was cool, and the phone on the bedside table suddenly lit up. The digits "6:00" appeared on the screen as the phone started ringing. RING! RING!
Aozawa was woken by the noise. He took a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes.
Superpower: Defense Barrier. He watched as the words gradually faded into the air.
Aozawa blinked, quickly getting up from the bed. He couldn’t yet test how much his Marvelous Resurgence superpower had been weakened.
Defense Barrier sounds like a superpower I can use within the confines of my bedroom.
He picked up the dumbbell he used for training, just about to toss it over his head, when he suddenly realized that if the Defense Barrier was too strong, the dumbbell could very well be smashed by the barrier or be flung up to the ceiling.
Considering these scenarios, Aozawa decided to hold off on testing the strength of the Defense Barrier for the time being. He only activated the Defense Barrier.
In an instant, a peculiar sensation rose in his heart, as if a stream of water was flowing swiftly down from the top of his head, then expanding outwards in a circular shape at his feet. Then, although he couldn’t see anything, he felt something rise up within a one-meter radius around him. It formed a cylindrical barrier enveloping his body, leaving no gaps above his head or beneath his feet.
But this one-meter space was by no means the limit of the Defense Barrier. It was just that Aozawa didn’t want to expand it too much in his mind, so he condensed the Defense Barrier to this range. He had a feeling that if he wanted to, the Defense Barrier could extend much farther. As for how far, he probably needed to find an open space to test it out.
He didn’t rush to try it but instead walked over to the bed. The invisible Defense Barrier didn’t push the bed away but naturally encompassed it.
Is this based on my own perception, or does the Defense Barrier simply not react to inanimate objects? These thoughts flitted through Aozawa’s mind as he took off his clothes and changed into the uniform of Brilliant High School.
He twisted open the door and called out, "Chitose, good morning."
"Mmm." Morimoto Chiyoda hummed in response, continuing her camel pose. This posture required the practitioner to arch their chest like a camel.
On any other day, Aozawa would have surely focused his gaze on that prominent arch of her back. But today, he saw something different: a glint of light was shining on Chitose’s forehead.
What is that? A flicker of confusion crossed Aozawa’s mind. He felt that the shining light was similar to the Defense Barrier around his own body. With just a thought, he could make the spot of light larger or make it disappear.
Aozawa suppressed the urge to experiment. He absolutely could not let Chitose be the first test subject. If he were to experiment, he would definitely have others try it first. He would only use this superpower on Chitose once he was sure it was safe and purely beneficial.
If I could give the Defense Barrier to Chitose, what would that feel like? Could Chitose feel it? Or would she not feel anything at all, and the Defense Barrier would just automatically work in times of danger? A series of questions passed through Aozawa’s mind.
Seeing him staring, Morimoto Chiyoda felt a touch of pride, guessing he must appreciate her camel pose.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and brush your teeth." Morimoto Chiyoda hadn’t actually spilled a teacup, but as Aozawa continued to stare, she felt a growing unease, as if her pants were about to suffer the disastrous fate of having a full teacup overturned onto them.
"Mmm." Aozawa withdrew his gaze. He didn’t try to explain his behavior and walked into the washroom.
After enjoying breakfast, Aozawa headed to school. On the way, he intentionally got close to some pedestrians but noticed nothing unusual. The Defense Barrier easily encompassed their presence.
If they pose no threat to me, then the Defense Barrier won’t activate. If so, it’s quite a convenient superpower. It’s also possible that if I perceive someone as harmless, the Defense Barrier won’t activate. For things beyond my sight and perception, the Defense Barrier would likely activate. Between these two possibilities, I hope the Defense Barrier can automatically discern threatening attacks from non-threatening ones. In an era that promotes automation, it would be best if the Defense Barrier could also keep pace and become an intelligent defense system. That would be very convenient for him.
Additionally, he noticed that everyone seemed to have a faint light on their foreheads, though none were as bright as Morimoto Chiyoda’s. Some were so dim they were nearly invisible, indicating that person’s defenses were very weak.
He wondered how long the Defense Barrier could last. Since, unlike his other superpowers, this one didn’t seem to affect his daily life, Aozawa planned to keep the Defense Barrier active until it dissipated on its own.
However, this plan was discarded when he arrived at the Kendo club. Aozawa couldn’t guarantee that during Sword Dao practice with others, such intense confrontations wouldn’t trigger a counterattack from the Defense Barrier. If the Defense Barrier judged the club members’ movements as hostile, he didn’t want to be responsible for annihilating the entire Kendo club in the dojo during Sword Dao training.
Aozawa deactivated the Defense Barrier superpower before joining the Kendo club’s training.
The number of people in the Kendo club gradually decreased. When it was just Aozawa left practicing, he still didn’t use the Defense Barrier superpower.
School and the road were different. Aozawa’s considerations needed to be much more extensive here. If Hojo Tetsuji or Phoenix Academy Maggie suddenly decided to startle him by approaching from behind, it could trigger the Defense Barrier, which would be disastrous. Following the principle of ’better safe than sorry,’ he decided he first needed to understand what triggered the Defense Barrier and the extent of its power to avoid accidentally harming allies.