"What happened?" Gero Leit, current head of the Leit Family, demanded of the soldier standing in his bedroom.

"Lord Gero, intruders!" the soldier reported.

"Hm? How many?" Gero pressed.

"Well..." The soldier hesitated. "From what we saw, just one. And Lord Bruce was injured by that person."

"What?! Uncle Bruce injured? Where is the attacker? Captured?" Panic edged Gero's voice. He knew Bruce's strength well—no one in even the mighty Light Hawk Clan could claim victory over him. Yet one person had felled him...

"Not yet. He fled to the basement. We've sent pursuit teams. He doesn't seem to want a fight—just keeps running!" The soldier glanced at his latest report: the chase had lasted half an hour with no capture.

"Lead the way! I'm coming myself!" Gero sprang from bed, grabbing his clothes.

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier didn't notice the flicker of killing intent in Gero's eyes as he turned away...

...

Meanwhile, Tran kept running. Fueled by his unique Superpower, exhaustion never touched him—his steps grew lighter with every stride.

He wasn't just running blindly. Along the way, he spotted cages holding all kinds of prisoners. One room resembled a hospital ward, bodies tangled in tubes. No time to investigate—he had to find Alice...

The soldiers chasing him weren't blessed with infinite stamina. They panted heavily, sweat soaking their uniforms. Yet as elite special forces, their Superpowers and physical prowess remained formidable.

"Hank, doesn't this feel off?" one soldier muttered to Hank.

"Yeah. We've been running three minutes straight. Why hasn't this basement ended? And the things down here..." Kedal trailed off. Everyone understood.

"This place reeks of secrets," Hank gasped between breaths. "Rushing down here blindly must have alerted the Leits. These aren't sights meant for outsiders."

"So... we're as screwed as the guy we're chasing?" another pursuer choked out.

The words froze all eight runners mid-stride. Cold sweat slicked their spines. If they'd seen forbidden things, the Leit Family wouldn't hesitate to erase them.

"Do we... keep chasing?" Kedal asked Hank.

Hank slowed to a stop. "No chase. We're the prey now. The Leits won't let us leave alive. Look there—" He pointed to a cell.

Every head snapped toward it. Jaws dropped.

A four-meter-tall humanoid monster filled the cage. Five faces—each twisted in a different agony—were embedded across its ashen-gray torso. It looked like a demon clawed straight from the Underworld.

The creature slammed against its bars, roaring. Its aura alone made the soldiers' bones vibrate with primal fear.

"We're dead," one soldier whispered, face grim. "Those Leit bastards won't spare us."

"Correct." A smooth voice cut through the panic. They whirled to see Gero Leit himself stepping from the shadows, flanked by seven figures cloaked in darkness. Each radiated lethal intent.

"Lord Gero, we swear silence about what we saw! Spare us!" Hank pleaded, fingers tightening around his weapon.

Gero gave a slow, regretful shake of his head.

In that instant, Hank activated his A-rank Superpower: *Thundercloud Ascension*. Lightning crackled around him as he vanished—reappearing before Gero with a submachine gun roaring. His teammates unleashed their own abilities simultaneously.

Ten minutes later, the gunfire and Superpower flares died. Only wreckage remained.

"Not bad," Gero clapped slowly, stepping over debris. "Elite special forces indeed. You cost me three Shadowguards." He'd brought ten—soldiers forged with immense resources, capable of assassinating Light Hawk Clan elders...

But these experiments mattered far more. With the Rod Family's alliance, they could not only resist the Light Hawks' expansion but dominate the neutral territories.

"Won't the Superpower Association hunt you for this?" Hank rasped. Charred and bleeding, he was the last survivor. He needed to know their plan before death took him.

"Hah! My uncle *is* the regional director!" Gero sneered. "Why fear them? Enough talk. Finish him."

"AHHHH! HELP!!" A figure sprinted toward them, screaming as if hellhounds snapped at his heels.

The seven remaining Shadowguards instantly formed a wall around Gero, weapons raised. Their eyes widened in horror.

Chasing the runner was a five-meter-tall monstrosity.

"That's the experimental 'Soul Gang' creature! It wasn't ready yet!" Gero gasped, bolting for the basement exit.

But the runner was faster. He skidded to a halt before Gero—a long-haired girl who made Gero's blood run cold. *The intruder.* Yet survival came first: that monster had clearly broken loose...

...

Ten minutes earlier.

Tran skidded to a stop at a deafening crash. He followed the sound to a vast, brightly lit chamber deeper underground. Three five-meter-tall monsters brawled inside—no tactics, just brutal fist-to-face collisions.

A door led downward. Tran slipped through.

Inside, technicians monitored the chaos, scribbling notes. Tran's entrance drew their stares.

"Which department are you from?" a bespectacled man snapped. "Final testing in progress! Can't you read 'Authorized Personnel Only'?"

"Oh! Sorry... I'll leave immediately," Tran stammered, playing along.

"Hold it." A woman blocked his path, eyes narrowed with suspicion—and a trace of envy at his striking looks. "My coffee's empty. Fetch me a fresh cup."

"Certainly, ma'am." Tran had waited tables for a week; this was routine. He grabbed a cup and headed to the water dispenser.

"Here you go..." He approached like a professional waiter.

Fate had other plans. His foot caught on scattered equipment cables. The coffee cup flew upward—

splattering scalding liquid across the main control console.