After Officer Dong Hao's last visit, Dong Qi had already sensed that the imperial court was most likely aware of how superpowers were emerging.

  He thought he would be exposed because of Dong Hao's report, but he never expected Dong Hao to actually conceal the matter.

  Seeing the look of utter confusion on Dong Qi's face, Dong Hao sighed helplessly.

  "You know what I've been through these past few years. Many things announced by the court originally had good intentions, but after layers of distortion and misinterpretation, by the time they reached the lower levels, everything was already in chaos."

  "I suppose I had some selfish motives too. Since I couldn't predict the consequences of reporting it, I withheld your situation at the time."

  "I wanted to see what would happen after filing the report. If the outcome was favorable, I could always submit a supplemental report later. After all, with this kind of situation having suddenly appeared once, a second sudden occurrence would also be considered normal."

  "But if you think it's inappropriate, I can immediately file a supplemental report about your awakened superpower as soon as I return today."

  "Don't worry about my perspective. Whether you report this or not has little impact on me. It mainly depends on your own thoughts."

  Hearing Dong Hao say this, Dong Qi immediately spoke up.

  "Bro, you really understand me. It would be best if this matter could be kept secret. I really don't want others to know I've awakened a superpower."

  "Since you've put it that way, I won't hide it from you either. The superpower I awakened is pretty lame. I can only choose to enhance one item, and I chose to enhance my car."

  "After enhancing this old beater of mine, there haven't been any major changes. It's just become a bit more durable."

  "Even though the awakened ability is kind of weak, it doesn't really affect me much. After all, I'm not the troublesome type. You know what my daily life is like."

  After saying this, Dong Qi even knocked on the car door with his hand, wanting to prove his point.

  Dong Hao was somewhat familiar with Dong Qi's vehicle.

  After all, when ordinary families buy a car, they usually opt for a sedan or an SUV.

  Without specific work needs, very few people would buy this type of vehicle like Dong Qi did.

  Compared to sedans, vehicles like the Iveco are all about hauling capacity.

  Because of this, Dong Hao sometimes borrowed the car, so he had some understanding of its performance.

  The low, dull echo produced by Dong Qi knocking on the door already indicated significant changes in the vehicle compared to before.

  However, Dong Hao didn't inquire about the specific changes in detail.

  After all, Dong Hao occasionally read novels in his spare time and understood that the superpower each person awakens is their own personal secret.

  Unless the Awakened is willing to share voluntarily, it would be impolite for others to pry or study it.

  Before Dong Hao could speak, Dong Qi's expression suddenly became somewhat conflicted.

  After a brief silence, he spoke softly.

  "Bro, you know I've been writing novels for several years and reading them for even longer."

  "Recently, situations like global disasters with awakened superpowers have become a classic, old trope in novels."

  "So, no matter what happens next, there are already existing story templates in fiction for reference."

  Hearing Dong Qi say this, Dong Hao asked curiously, "Really? Don't talk nonsense about something like this. The court hasn't even issued a response strategy yet, and you're saying there are already templates in novels?"

  Faced with Dong Hao's skepticism, Dong Qi didn't directly refute it but instead explained.

  "As the old saying goes, by studying history, one can understand rise and fall."

  "If you look at Japan's modern history, you can actually see many similarities with what has happened here in recent years."

  "Don't doubt it. Basically, all the major events have analogous occurrences. You'll understand once you look."

  "If history can be so similar, novels are even more so. It's not me bragging, but many writers have incredibly expansive imaginations."

  "Even for the same event, different writers can provide different interpretations and extend the subsequent developments in varied directions."

  "As for scenarios like celestial disasters descending and ordinary people awakening superpowers, that's an important subgenre in novels, and a quite popular one at that."

  And there are hundreds of thousands of books within this genre.

  While many share similar themes, the sheer volume has given rise to numerous distinct subgenres.

  I won't delve into the others.

  Let's just focus on our current situation.

  We are essentially facing two possible paths forward.

  One is where the imperial court manages to maintain stability.

  The other... you can probably imagine without me spelling it out.

  But honestly, that's not even the core issue.

  Following the patterns commonly found in these stories, things should remain relatively calm for about another week.

  However, as time goes on—whether it's due to Awakened individuals causing disturbances or new calamities striking—major chaos is inevitable.

  There's little we can do about the larger picture.

  What we cando is use whatever money we have left while it still holds value.

  Stock up on food, medicine, and weapons.

  If we wait too long, cash will become utterly worthless.

  Oh, wait! That's not quite right either.

  Nowadays, it's all digital payments and QR codes.

  If society collapses, that digital money won't even be useful as toilet paper.

  Hearing this, Dong Hao looked at him with utter disbelief.

  "That's impossible. Don't talk nonsense," he retorted dismissively.

  Faced with his skepticism, Dong Qi felt he had to provide concrete examples.

  "Let's set aside the recent blizzards and the ever-present threat of earthquakes.

  During those kinds of natural disasters, how useful money really is... you know the answer as well as I do.

  So, let me describe a few types of disasters common in fiction but not yet seen in reality.

  Then you tell me if your savings would mean anything if they struck.

  First, take the ever-popular zombie virus.

  Sure, in the face of firearms, zombies don't seem as unstoppable as they do in horror movies.

  But you have to understand one critical point about the initial outbreak.

  The virus is incredibly difficult to detect early on.

  People only discover they're infected afterthey've already turned.

  The primary mode of transmission isn't being bitten by a zombie.

  It's far more insidious—spreading through the air we breathe or the water we drink, infecting people silently.

  Everyone knows modern weapons can mow down zombies.

  But that's only true if the person holding the weapon isn't already infected.

  An army might be powerful, but if the virus infiltrates its ranks unseen, it could be wiped out from within.

  Then there's the EMP—a disaster category only recognized in the modern era.

  This kind of event has probably occurred throughout history.

  But because it causes no direct physical harm to humans, it went unrecorded.

  An EMP's effect is to instantly fry all unprotected electronic devices.

  This applies to everything from household appliances to military hardware.

  In ancient times, with no complex electronics, such an event would have passed unnoticed.

  But in our world? The devastation would be unprecedented.

  Name an industry today that doesn't rely on technology far beyond simple mechanics.

  If such a disaster hit, it would bring entire sectors to a grinding halt.

  There are plenty of other disaster scenarios in these apocalyptic stories.

  So, Dong Hao, I ask you again: in the face of catastrophes like these, would the money in your bank account still be worth anything?"