"Monster! Drop dead!"
In the exquisitely beautiful Lunar Pearl that was Copernicus City, a discordant scene was unfolding.
Several youths were surrounding a thin, frail-looking boy who appeared to be only eight or nine years old.
Their malicious expressions were clearly visible under the simulated sunlight.
It was a mixture of jealousy and hatred, and this familiar sight deeply pained Kira's heart.
Though only eight years old, Kira was mature enough - yet he hadn't expected to encounter this situation.
Ultimately, Copernicus was no different from Earth.
He wanted to run away, but found himself completely surrounded, unsure of what to do.
If he fought back, the local security forces would inevitably side with the Naturals. Besides, he didn't want to fight, and he especially didn't want his mother to find out he had been in a fight.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? I thought you Coordinators were supposed to be good fighters?"
"Or maybe your mother didn't adjust you to be the fighting type."
"You..."
Watching their ugly, increasingly aggressive faces, Kira suddenly looked up, clearly stung by the comment about his mother.
Like anyone else, he didn't like people insulting his mother.
Seeing that his provocation had hit its mark, the lead youth's smile grew even more malicious.
He could already envision this young Coordinator being expelled from Copernicus.
Among the watching students, some showed discomfort on their faces, but most wore expressions of amusement.
They maintained an attitude of detached observation.
In these times, nobody wanted to get involved in such troubles.
Most Coordinators who came here wanted to live low-profile lives and wouldn't offer help.
"What a shame."
Watching the scene from afar, several Coordinators hidden in the crowd sighed.
Actually, Copernicus hadn't always been this chaotic.
But there were always bad apples, and this guy was one of them.
From what they remembered, this person had already driven out numerous Coordinators using similar methods.
And he had powerful backing.
Rumors said his father was an inspector in Copernicus' security agency.
To make matters worse, the guy was psychologically disturbed, specifically targeting Coordinators.
"Are we just going to let him act so arrogantly!?"
A Coordinator girl with beautiful features couldn't help but clench her teeth.
"Letting these inferior species lord over us like this! I'm going to teach them a lesson!"
"Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed!"
Hearing the girl use the term "inferior" so openly, a boy quickly covered her mouth.
"That leader not only has connections, but he's been training in karate since childhood! Ordinary Coordinators without combat adjustments can't gain the upper hand against him!"
The physical difference between males and females was obvious. Even if Coordinators had advantages in strength and technique, the other side had superior natural combat genes plus the advantage of size. Those without significant combat gene adjustments really couldn't expect to fare well.
"But that boy is about to get expelled!"
The girl wasn't wrong - up ahead, the surrounded boy was clenching his fists, about to attack.
Whether he won or lost, he'd be expelled.
And most likely, he wouldn't win.
Even they, as twelve-year-old Coordinators, weren't confident about fighting against that already fully developed, burly youth, let alone a boy who looked only eight years old.
"Then I'm going too! I'll fight them with everything I've got!"
The girl said fiercely.
"Wait, someone's stepping in!"
Before the boy could even move after speaking, the leader was already sent flying by a figure that suddenly appeared behind Kira with a single kick.
The figure moved with such incredible speed that even in the boy's eyes, only a blur remained.
Such speed, and the strength to kick away that mountain-like burly youth—was this a Coordinator specialized for combat or athletics? Or perhaps a Second-Generation Coordinator.
While the boy was still astonished, let alone the beautiful girl he was holding back, her originally fierce, demon-like eyes had now become sparkling bright.
As for Kira, his eyes widened as he stared at the crimson-red back before him.
He saw it clearly—this boy who looked about twelve or thirteen years old rushed up from behind him in just a few steps and kicked the pervert who had been looking down on him several meters away.
As if the artificial gravity here was nothing but a decoration.
So powerful, so cool—he must be a Coordinator too, right?
Thinking this, a wave of guilt rose in Kira's heart. Just because he couldn't afford to offend them didn't mean this Coordinator brother before him could afford to either.
"Boss!"
Watching their boss get kicked several meters away and even lose consciousness, the two stared in terror at the boy with fiery red hair before them.
His handsome, jade-sculpted face still carried a gentle smile, as if he were a celestial being descended from the heavens.
If they hadn't witnessed the entire scene with their own eyes, they would never have believed that this child, who was a head and a half shorter than their boss, could kick their boss so far away, seemingly knocking him out cold.
After all, the Coordinators they usually picked on were all at the kid stage—they had never encountered such a Waterloo before.
"Shall we continue?"
Fred's gaze swept over the two, his calm eyes carrying an unusual aura of intimidation.
The two couldn't tell if they were overthinking or if this boy was truly that terrifying.
But they didn't hesitate, pulling up their unconscious boss from left and right and standing up.
"You just wait! Our boss won't let you get away with this!"
With their boss unconscious and his condition unknown, revenge wasn't their priority now. Moreover, facing this Coordinator who could kick their boss flying with one foot, they were nothing but cannon fodder—there was no point in trying anything.
As for retaliation, they'd let their boss handle it when he woke up.
The boss couldn't see them now anyway—what was the point of showing loyalty?
"I'll be waiting."
Fred glanced at the three indifferently before looking away. He'd heard about this guy before—after all, Copernicus wasn't that big.
This could be considered eliminating a public menace—otherwise, things would never be peaceful.
Thinking this, Fred turned his attention to Kira behind him.
He never expected to see Kira nearly getting ganged up on here.
He wondered if this happened in the original storyline, and how Kira would have escaped if he hadn't shown up.
That's right—Fred was a transmigrator.
And one who had been reborn from birth.
His previous life was simple—living aimlessly, working an ordinary job that kept him from starving but didn't pay much, then getting sick and dying after suffering through illness.
Here, his full name was Fred Allster.
Brother of Flay, son of George—the future Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of the Atlantic Federation.
His identity, as a matter of course, was that of a Natural.
As for why he, as a Natural, was so exceptionally capable in combat, this had to be traced back to his golden finger.
His golden finger was neither simple nor overly complex.
[No Upper Limit]
Just these three words—nothing else.
As long as he read, his knowledge would increase; as long as he trained, his physique would strengthen.
Although the progress was relatively slow, it was stable, and he had been transmigrated as an infant.
After twelve years of hard work, he had achieved quite a lot.
By his estimation, he had likely reached the level of an average Combat Coordinator Soldier.
His goal was similarly straightforward: to grow stronger step by step, retire early, travel the world and the universe, enjoy the life he hadn't experienced in his previous existence, and incidentally rectify some regrets here—that was all.
Though he said "that was all," he also knew it required his own efforts.
So for these twelve years, starting from birth, he had never slacked off.
He had grown weary of the life he led in his previous existence; heaven only knew how many regrets he had in the end.
Regrets about not visiting more places, regrets about not telling his parents he loved them, regrets about never pursuing his dreams.
Whether to avoid future regrets or simply to enjoy the life ahead,
with this new opportunity, no amount of hard work was too much for him.