46: Chapter 46 Spark

The day "Spark" was officially opened, Xinhuo Hall was quieter than usual.

It wasn't that no one was speaking, but rather that everyone's attention was captivated by the central stele.

The expanded hall now featured a training projection area, with the floor resembling a spread-out dark golden star map.

The outline of Qinghe City floated on the star map, with every location that had previously experienced an anomaly—Old Street, the hospital, the riverbank, the West City Industrial Park, and the East Suburb Logistics Park—marked by the Grey Net.

Above the stele, a line of text slowly emerged.

[Core Standard Skill: Spark, officially opened.]

Zhao Ye's first reaction was not excitement, but looking at the exchange requirements.

Bai Ya noticed his action and chuckled, "You've already developed a conditioned reflex."

Zhao Ye replied expressionlessly, "Caution taught by contribution points."

Zero ignored them.

"Spark is a standard tactical mobility skill for official members of the Xinhuo Council.

Learners must possess official member status, have an Ability Seed bound, have completed at least one C-Rank or multiple D-Rank mission records, and have no disciplinary violations."

"Currently qualified to learn: Shen Qinghe, Zhao Ye, Bai Ya."

Lin Zhao stood on the outer ring; his eyes lit up, but he quickly saw his status.

[Status: Apprentice.]

[Spark: Details viewable, cannot learn.]

[Reason: Did not reach official member Rank.]

He wasn't disappointed for long, just reading the instructions more carefully.

Xu Minglan could also see all the information about Spark; the initial effects, limitations, and growth direction were all clearly written, but her status was also 'cannot learn.'

Tang Zhiwei and Zhou Yan had lower authority and could only view the public instructions and partial demonstrations.

This was the same as the Ability Seed catalog.

You can see the target, but you can't touch the button.

Zero continued the explanation.

"Spark is not a daily transportation skill. It cannot be activated outside of anomaly missions, pollution warnings, or Grey Net authorization.

Activation requires reliance on the Mark of the Torch, Grey Net coordinates, and mission authorization. The basic coverage area is the entirety of Qinghe."

Shen Qinghe asked, "What if the mission location is indoors?"

"Spark does not descend directly into unknown enclosed spaces. The default landing point is a safe coordinate near the target, which requires calibration combined with the Fire Seal, Grey Net paths, or teammate markers."

Bai Ya raised an eyebrow, "In other words, you won't crash headfirst into a wall."

Zero paused for a moment, as if judging whether this statement required an answer.

"Theoretically, no."

Zhao Ye immediately looked at Bai Ya, "Theoretically."

Bai Ya spread his hands, "You go first; you're more durable."

The training area lit up, and the first path pointed to a projection coordinate on the roof of an abandoned building in the north of the city.

Shen Qinghe stepped forward first. She wasn't the one most eager to go first, but she knew that if investigation members couldn't arrive at the scene of the rules first, many judgments would lose their meaning.

She pressed the Mark of the Torch on the inside of her wrist, and the Xin Huo Interface automatically switched to Spark training mode.

The Grey Net path extended from beneath her feet like a trail of fire that only she could see.

The next instant, Shen Qinghe's figure was elongated by the firelight.

She didn't vanish into a ball of fire; instead, she was like a point of cold white spark thrown by the night, streaking along the edges of the projected city's high-rises.

Upon landing, the firelight was very faint, with almost no impact, only spreading a circle of fine fire patterns beneath her feet.

Zero evaluated.

[Landing deviation: 1.2 meters.]

[Stability: Good.]

Zhao Ye watched, stunned, "It can deviate even with this?"

Shen Qinghe turned back, "At an anomaly site, 1.2 meters is enough for you to step into a trap."

Zhao Ye didn't speak again.

When it was his turn, the path in the training area was noticeably thicker.

The Evil Suppressor route's Spark was not as light as Shen Qinghe's; it was more like a compressed spark.

After Zhao Ye activated it, the Spark streaked heavily from above the training area, and upon landing, the evil-breaking short staff struck the ground first, with the fire patterns exploding in a half-circle.

Zero evaluated.

[Landing deviation: 0.6 meters.]

[Impact too high.]

[Recommendation: Reduce landing force.]

Bai Ya added slowly, "Like a meteorite hitting a construction site."

Zhao Ye rolled his shoulders, "At least I didn't hit a wall."

Bai Ya's Spark was completely different. When he activated it, the firelight was very thin, the trajectory was dim, and it almost grazed the projected rooftops.

Upon landing, there was no loud noise, only a wisp of grey-white embers remaining. The intelligence route made his manifestation trace lighter, suitable for approach and observation.

Zero evaluated.

[Landing deviation: 2.1 meters.]

[Trace concealment: Excellent.]

Zhao Ye finally seized the opportunity, "2 meters off and it's still excellent?"

Bai Ya replied nonchalantly, "I'm responsible for staying alive to see things, not for smashing into them."

Lin Zhao, on the outer ring, watched the three's practice; there was no jealousy in his eyes, only an irrepressible longing.

The moment Spark streaked across the training area, he finally understood that the difference between an official member and an Apprentice was not just a title.

It was the qualification to arrive at the scene of an anomaly.

Deep in the hall, Lu Chen looked at the three sets of training data and added a restriction to Zero.

[Consecutive use of Spark increases mental burden.]

[Practice beyond the limited number of times is prohibited in non-mission states.]

Zero recorded.

"Should practical combat use be opened?"

Lu Chen looked at the Grey Net map.

On the south side of Qinghe, a low-Rank warning point just lit up, then was quickly suppressed. There was no need to mobilize for the time being.

"No rush," he said.

"First, let them know that 'Torch Arrives' is not about flying over to show off."

"It is that when an anomaly appears, someone must arrive first."

The characters for "Spark" on the stele glowed slightly.

The first core standard skill for official members, from this moment on, truly entered the Xinhuo Council system.

Zero also displayed the growth range of Spark. Basic official members could only respond within the city, and Grey Net coordinates must exist.

Higher-Rank members could expand to the provincial level with the help of city anchor points, and only after that could they possibly enter national-level response. Currently, only Lu Chen possessed national-level Spark arrival authority.

This instruction made everyone in the hall quiet for a moment.

Spark was not wings for members to show off, but a path held in the hands of the Core of the Torch.

How far one could go depended not only on courage, but also on authority, contribution, mission records, and understanding of anomalies.

Zhao Ye looked at the four characters "within the city" and suddenly felt this was already exaggerated enough.

In the past, when rushing to a mission point, he had to calculate time, routes, and traffic jams; now, as long as an anomaly was marked by the Grey Net, he had the chance to arrive there first.

Zero finally added a warning.

"When Spark is activated, it will leave a brief celestial trace in reality. In low-risk missions, priority should be given to obscuring the landing point.

If witnessed by ordinary people, it should be handled as a natural phenomenon or a misidentification of firelight. Members are prohibited from intentionally using Spark to create deterrence."

After listening, Zhao Ye clicked his tongue regretfully.

Shen Qinghe looked at him, "Were you just thinking about it?"

"No," Zhao Ye replied quickly.

Bai Ya added for him, "He just regrets that he can't think about it."