Durant heard a faint boom from outside, which seed to be an explosion.
He looked up towards the door.
BOOM!
The closed iron door, like paper wrapped around firecrackers, burst open right before his eyes.
The pieces of iron plate vanished as if they were water droplets falling into a lake.
Standing outside was a tall figure with hair shining brighter than gold and skin so pale it was almost transparent.
"Who are you?" Durant asked, though he already knew.
"My na is Dio," Aozawa said as he walked into the room, his voice filled with allure. "Durant, do you want freedom?"
"Of course I do. I can't just die like this. The darkness in this country is far from eliminated."
Determination filled Durant's face, and his eyes showed a flicker of appropriate suspicion as he asked, "What kind of explosives did you use? To blow up the door so cleanly without creating a huge shockwave."
"You'll see soon enough."
Aozawa grabbed his handcuffs, and a black Chrysanthemum pattern appeared on the silver-white cuffs.
As Durant watched in shock, the handcuffs exploded, causing him to instinctively fling his hands apart to avoid the blast.
Durant looked at his freed hands, then down at the ground. The handcuffs hadn't left even a trace of ash. "What kind of ability is this?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Superpower. Let's go."
Aozawa turned and walked towards the door.
Durant got up slowly, then quickly followed.
When he had heard from Minister Jack and Director John that Dio was a Superpower User, he had been skeptical, suspecting the two had been deceived.
It wasn't such an outlandish idea.
Before the infamous Ponzi sche was exposed, who could have believed that a person could entice others to keep investing based solely on empty promises?
Many scams are shrouded in mystery before they are uncovered.
But witnessing the door and handcuffs explode firsthand convinced Durant that the man before him was no fraud, but a true Superpower User wielding genuine Superpowers.
Such an explosion was beyond current technology; or rather, existing technology couldn't achieve such a precise detonation.
To blow up handcuffs without leaving even a hint of ash, yet not harm his hands, was utterly inconceivable.
Durant followed behind, asking, "Do Superpower Users really exist?"
"Of course. I am one," Aozawa answered, leading him out of the detention center.
The bright sunlight made Durant shield his eyes. Looking around, he noticed four policen lying motionless on the ground.
"Are they dead?"
"No, they're not dead. I just used a little trick to put them to sleep."
Before entering, Aozawa had used his Hypnosis Ability to send the guards at the door directly into a deep slumber.
Knocking them out would have been too difficult to control; Hypnosis was more convenient.
Cold sweat beaded on Durant's forehead, the Early Sumr heat seeming to drain from his body.
So this is a Superpower User. His thods were beyond anything Durant could have imagined. If I'm exposed, the outco definitely won't be good.
Aozawa turned his head and asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
"Continue to set this country on the right path. My grandparents paid a terrible price because of this country during World War II. Many families with experiences similar to my grandparents' never received the compensation they deserved. This country shows no remorse at all. It's wrong, and I must correct it."
Durant's reason was, of course, fabricated.
His hotown was indeed the Philippines, but his grandparents hadn't suffered the sa plight as other Filipinos.
At the ti, his family was in the United States.
He couldn't even truly claim to be Filipino.
But such details didn't stop him from crafting a persona.
The world knew that Japan's conduct everywhere during that era followed a single standard: they refrained from any act that could be considered humane.
"You really are extre," Aozawa comnted with a chuckle, then added, "but I like your extremism. For now, escape and survive. Co to Shinjuku tonight. I'll provide you with weapons to fulfill your ambitions. The rest of the ti, whether you can evade their pursuit will depend on your own skills."
Durant hadn't expected to join Dio's ranks imdiately. He asked, "Where in Shinjuku?"
"You'll understand once you get to Shinjuku."
Aozawa didn't answer further. His body gradually beca translucent, then vanished before Durant's eyes.
A living person had just disappeared like that.
Durant instinctively waved his hand forward; it didn't seem like optical camouflage.
With current technology, optical camouflage couldn't achieve such perfect invisibility. It still required specific movents and suitable locations to create a similar effect.
Disappearing instantly must be another of Dio's Superpowers, Durant realized. So that was why his superiors hadn't told him about Dio's Superpowers—to ensure his shocked expression would be completely genuine.
Now, he was the first agent to successfully get close to a Superpower User.
Could I also beco a Superpower User in the future? he wondered. With that thought, he didn't linger any longer and quickly ran off.
The CIA hadn't provided him with an identity, a place to stay, or any aid whatsoever, not even funding.
The reason was simple: they were afraid that providing anything might make Dio suspicious.
Durant had to be thrown into a genuine urban survival situation.
His thod of contacting the CIA was also very simple.
Durant stole a baguette and a bottle of yogurt from a bakery near the tropolitan Police Departnt.
The shop assistant, upon discovering the theft of the bread and yogurt, cursed a few tis. Later, during his break, he went to a café and ordered a coffee with no sugar and no milk.
No lettuce in the sandwich.
Upon receiving this specific order, the café employee went to a clothing store and made a purchase using a card.
The corresponding transaction record was captured by the CIA.
The surveillance team didn't understand what it signified but still delivered the report to the minister's office.
When Jack saw the transaction record, he knew Durant had gotten close to Dio.
Their plan had taken its first step.
What ca next was to see if Durant could gain Dio's trust.
At that point, another set of procedures would confirm it.
Jack called John, engaging in small talk about dostic matters, using coded language to convey the success of Durant's operation.
The procedures were so complex, naturally, due to the fear of eavesdroppers.
After hanging up, Jack felt a surge of exhilaration.
If the plan proceeded smoothly, as its proposer, his and the director's promotions were inevitable.
He might even beco one of the first people to beco a Superpower User through scientific ans.
ritorious service always brings rewards.
The more Jack thought about it, the more excited he beca. He couldn't resist opening his drawer, taking out a bottle of brandy, and pouring himself a drink. He had to celebrate properly with a small drink at noon.
「At noon, Brilliant High School.」
The tall osmanthus trees in the courtyard blocked the scorching sun, casting cool shadows on the ground where benches were placed for students to rest.
Ayatsuki Ayaka sat there, her hands cradling a bottle of orange juice.
"Sigh!"
She let out a long sigh, yet as she did, the corners of her mouth twitched into a slight smile.
This had happened countless tis already.
Takahashi Saeko couldn't hold back her thoughts any longer and said, "Iroha, one mont you're sighing, the next you're beaming. Not even a dog's face changes expressions as fast as yours. What on earth happened?"
As a Street Cleaner, she prided herself on her skill in observing people, but she could never quite figure out Ayatsuki Ayaka's thoughts.
This girl's very existence seed to be a testant to human diversity.
Ayatsuki Ayaka ca back to her senses and looked at her friend, feeling conflicted. Should I tell them about Aozawa? If I don't, knowing myself, I could think about it for ages and still not co up with an answer. If I do, I'll expose the persona I've maintained for so long. But is a false persona more important than Aozawa? This question flashed through Ayatsuki Ayaka's mind. The answer was obvious: Aozawa was more important than any false persona.
Ayatsuki Ayaka gripped her orange juice tightly. Perhaps telling them the truth will make Saeko and Maru laugh at for a bit, and it might even damage my image in Kaoru's eyes.
But she decided to say it anyway.
"Saeko, Maru, Kaoru, I have a shocking truth to tell you."
Seeing her serious expression, the three sat up straight, believing the information to follow must be significant.
They all pricked up their ears, listening intently.
"Actually, I have zero dating experience! I'm not a battle-hardened Hot Girl at all!"
Ayatsuki Ayaka mustered all her courage to shout this, her hands squeezing the orange juice, her head bowed, bracing herself for the three girls' shocked reactions.
The air was unexpectedly quiet.
Are they too shocked? Ayatsuki Ayaka wondered, cautiously glancing at the three. Each wore a calm expression.
"Iroha, we've known about this for a long ti."
"You weren't seriously agonizing over this all morning, were you?"
"What a dummy."
Looking at their nonchalant expressions, Ayatsuki Ayaka felt a bit dazed.
"Hold on, you've known all along? What's going on?"
Takahashi Saeko and Tama Chan exchanged a look. Saeko shrugged and said, "We've known from the first day we t you that you're that type of inexperienced, innocent Hot Girl. Maru and I even made a bet on when you'd finally confess. We never thought you'd keep it hidden for over a year."
"Ah, that's so an! So you knew I had no experience and deliberately kept it from ?" Ayatsuki Ayaka stood up abruptly, her cheeks puffed out in anger, feeling as though she'd been played for a fool.
"Weren't you also trying to keep it a secret from us?" Saeko retorted with a smile.
"That's... that's completely different!" Ayatsuki Ayaka's indignation suddenly deflated sowhat, and she weakly defended herself, "I was just afraid of embarrassing myself, okay? Both you and Maru are so experienced, and I'm the only one who isn't."
"Friends should be honest with each other," Takahashi Saeko replied, still smiling. "We kept silent to give you a chance to co clean, definitely not because it was amusing to watch you."
Tama Chan reached out and patted Ayatsuki Ayaka's head, consoling her. "Co on, you don't have to feel guilty for trying to hide it from us. We forgive you."
"Mm."
Ayatsuki Ayaka felt that sothing was off but still nodded. "Since you all know, then I'll just say it: I confessed to Aozawa!"
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