Southeast Zhonghua Region, Asia. Shanghai.

One of the most bustling metropolises in the region, its skyline pierced by levitating roads woven from Higgs bosons. Ordinary citizens walked these aerial pathways, freed from gravity’s pull.

Thanks to the lev-roads and smart TAIX (taxis), private cars had nearly vanished. Even with crushing population density, traffic flowed smoothly.

Bathed in the glow of the lev-roads, the city shimmered like a single colossal gem. Vehicles and pedestrians moved in orderly streams.

**BOOM—**

A luxury high-rise exploded. Debris and fire erupted outward. Shards of stone and glass rained down from fifty meters onto the lev-roads and neighboring buildings. By sheer luck, no pedestrians were nearby.

Crowds turned toward the shattered tower. Many raised their WDs (Wearable Devices), recording the blast. Through the gaping hole in the wall, they glimpsed a fierce battle—and a silver-haired woman in tactical goggles who stole the scene.

"Surrender now," she declared, "and your safety is guaranteed."

Her silver hair streamed behind her. A black-and-white combat suit clung to her lithe figure.

Opposite her stood four men in crimson robes. On their backs, a skull’s hand gripped a black rose—the insignia of the Waste Law Society.

Though outnumbering the lone woman, their tense expressions betrayed no confidence. They faced the "Silverhaired Violeteyed Sorceress"—Atlantis’s strongest Mage. A being who could level a city alone.

To magic criminals, her name was a curse. Countless had fallen to her. Known for her silver hair and violet eyes, her true name was Bai Lingyue. Sixteen years old.

The four were Mages of the "Committee to Abolish Laws" (Waste Law Society), a terrorist group bent on shattering the legal order. Their mission in Shanghai: destroy City Hall, inching closer to their lawless utopia.

Never expecting the Sorceress here, now, they exchanged glances. Surrender wasn’t an option.

"Today, we test Atlantis’s strongest!"

All four unleashed their magic simultaneously. Their bodies glowed with overflowing Magic Power—crimson, gold, azure, amber.

The red-haired Mage thrust out his palm. A fireball bloomed, swelling instantly into a one-meter pillar of flame that roared toward Bai Lingyue. Two meters from her, it vanished—swallowed by a sudden Magic Array.

"Counter Magic?!"

A technique only a tier above could wield: negating an opponent’s spell by reversing its own principles.

While one gaped, the other three struck. Lightning. Earth spikes. Wind Blades. Bai Lingyue couldn’t counter all three elements at once. Her form flickered left—five meters—evading every attack.

The blasts cratered the floor. Through the smoke, the lower level came into view. Collapsed rubble pinned a man beneath it. Blood flecked his lips. A choked groan escaped his crushed lungs.

"Hold on. I’m getting you out."

Bai Lingyue focused her Telekinesis Magic, lifting the stones. But the rescue opened her defenses.

As the debris cleared, lightning and fire slammed into her. Her aura absorbed most of the impact, yet her body went numb and ached. She clenched her teeth.

The four had never expected victory—only an escape window. But this was too perfect to waste. Felling the Sorceress would skyrocket their status in the Society. Excitement flared in their eyes.

***Beep-beep…***

A message flashed on the WD strapped to Bai Lingyue’s left arm.

*"Authorization granted by Shanghai Municipal Government: Senior-tier magic permitted."*

A crisp female voice delivered the update.

Relief washed over Bai Lingyue’s face. Even as four spells converged on her from all sides, violet light flared behind her tactical goggles—

The fight ended in an instant. Three seconds after authorization, crushing gravity pinned all four terrorists flat to the ground.

*"Shanghai Waste Law Society cell neutralized. Four terrorists subdued. Primary target Bernie Butterworth not located."*

*"Task complete. Well done."*

Bai Lingyue exhaled. Her porcelain face showed no fatigue, though her small frame bore traces of the assault. Her combat suit hung in tatters—but beneath it, unblemished skin gleamed, untouched by injury.

Shanghai’s special response team arrived. They detained the four suspected terrorists and rushed to the trapped civilian.

Free at last, Bai Lingyue channeled restorative magic. Moonlight-like luminescence enveloped her. Within a minute, her shredded suit knitted itself whole.

Then she sensed it—the wary stares of onlookers.

Magic had reshaped the world in just twenty years. Yet the rift between ordinary people and Mages remained. Bai Lingyue believed that rift would heal. That belief fueled her fight.

She *could* have healed the injured man with magic. Magic could reshape matter—clothes, flesh, bone. But directly altering living tissue risked catastrophe. History had proven it, especially for non-Mages with no Magic Power resistance. An unspoken global law forbade it. So she held back. The risk was too great.

"Alice," Bai Lingyue addressed her WD, "when’s the flight back to Atlantis?"

*"New assignment confirmed. Satellite scan detected minor Magic Power convergence 125km from Shanghai—in Cloud Gate City. 86% probability: a nascent Mage. Target identified: Yan Lingxuan. 81% match probability. Mission updated: surveillance and guidance. Upon arrival, monitor Yan Lingxuan. Confirm Mage status, then initiate guidance protocol. Secondary note: Fugitive Bernie Butterworth likely hiding in Cloud Gate City. Due to high uncertainty, two additional Mages dispatched."*

Bai Lingyue’s brow furrowed slightly. Back-to-back missions were rare. As a combat operative, she never handled guidance duties. Why assign this to her? Alice’s calculations were infallible—the Association always followed them.

As if sensing her doubt, Alice’s voice chimed again:

*"Addendum: Genetic factor detected. Target Yan Lingxuan was formerly Bai Lingxuan. Monozygotic twin of Valhalla Academy’s top Mage: Bai Lingyue. Probability of Mage potential significantly elevated…"*

*Bai Lingxuan.*

She knew that name. Her twin brother’s name. Ten years had passed since she became a Mage. Ten years since they last met.

"Brother?"

The word slipped out, a whisper.

Even for someone once so familiar, a decade had turned "brother" into a stranger.