Everyone above was driven mad with worry, and those below were nearly at their breaking point too. A few hopeless navigators had spent ages wandering the underwater base without a map or guide, utterly unable to find their way out.
That’s how it should have been.
"Hold up—there’s light ahead!"
Chris immediately stopped the two who were about to charge forward. A staircase led upward ahead, its end faintly illuminated.
"Your ability’s not working, Teacher. Let me check it out?" Melly offered.
After all, she was probably the best scout they had left.
Chris hesitated briefly. "Be careful."
"No problem. If things go south, I’ll just phase back."
Melly slapped her chest lightly and crept up the stairs.
No traps awaited her. She sighed in relief—only to find a half-closed automatic door at the top, the corridor beyond brightly lit.
*Did I misfire my teleport? Did I end up on Sub-Level 1?*
Hesitating for just a moment, she stepped inside.
***SLAM!***
***!***
The instant her foot crossed the threshold, the heavy door sealed shut behind her.
"Hey! What the hell?!"
Panic flared. Melly pounded on the metal—uselessly.
***Thud-thud-thud…***
Footsteps swarmed. Within seconds, security officers surrounded her, menacing gun barrels leveled at her head.
"What? Aren’t these guys supposed to be dead? Since when do corpses use guns?!" Utterly bewildered, Melly tried to activate her ability—but it wouldn’t respond.
On the other side of the door, Lixin and Chris faced their own trouble—or rather, Chris sensed trouble. They’d noticed the door slam shut but hadn’t panicked immediately; Melly’s power should’ve let her escape anything. Yet minutes passed with no sign of her.
"Something’s wrong in there," Lixin muttered.
"I think *we’ve* got problems too." Chris yanked Lixin backward as pursuers closed in behind them.
"Can you break this door open?" Chris hammered the metal—solid as expected. Only an Ability User could force it.
"I’ll try…"
Lixin’s hand swept out. Instead of a gun, a massive iron hammer materialized.
***BOOM!***
The reinforced auto-door crumpled inward, ripped wide open.
Melly, still encircled by guards, flinched at the crash. The next instant, the door exploded—and the guards aiming at the breach had their heads violently obliterated in a chillingly familiar way.
"How are you the dead last in class with *that* strength?" Chris’s exasperated voice drifted through the hole.
"I just skip exams and classes…"
"That *is* dead-last behavior…"
"Later. Gotta seal this first—"
***CRUNCH…***
—Better block the pursuers behind them.
"Teacher." Melly’s voice trembled. "My ability… it’s gone."
………………………………………………………………
"So you’re saying they can’t leave unless they kill that person?"
"Yes, Principal. Should we send backup?" Cleyna’s worry was palpable.
*Sigh.* "Fate works in mysterious ways… No. We’ll retrieve them in about an hour." The Principal’s sigh was heavy. Lixin would never escape her ability’s "curse"—every mission demanded its use. All he could hope was that constant deployment might finally teach her control.
………………………………………………………………
"Why does *your* ability still work?" Chris realized his own power had vanished too—as if ripped away—while Lixin remained unaffected.
"My fault? Probably some creep hiding in the shadows, playing games again. I *hate* obliging jerks like that. Let’s wrap this up and get some sleep." Lixin’s irritation flared. Lately, she’d been dragged from bed constantly for missions, only to be toyed with. How could anyone stay calm?
"Should I just… demolish this place?"
No more wasting her precious rest time. Ignoring witnesses, she became a one-woman demolition crew.
***BOOM!***
***CRASH!***
***THUD!***
Hammers, blades, guns, jagged polyhedrons—Lixin’s brutal power ripped through the entire floor.
"Huh. Nothing here."
The stripped floor held no clues. She blasted upward, floor after floor, until she punched through the ceiling. She hastily sealed the breach—floodwaters would’ve crushed them all otherwise.
"Oh. Nothing above either."
Dead-fish-eyed Lixin seemed oblivious to the destruction. Chris and Melly could only stare, dumbfounded.
"Guess we go down then."
The words barely left her lips when crushing gravity slammed down, threatening to flatten them.
"Ah. So it’s *below*." Unfazed, Lixin knew her demolition speed outpaced the hidden foe’s.
***KRAKOOM!***
"Found it."
After blasting through three lower levels, she spotted a massive control room. Empty of people, but humming with active machinery.
"Teacher, shall we go down?"
Chris couldn’t answer. The crushing pressure hadn’t lifted; Melly had already passed out, and Chris was gasping for air.
"Oh. Right. Hold on."
Lixin leaped down, wings flaring for a soft landing.
Inside stood a woman in red robes, glowing an eerie green as she stared at Lixin.
"Oh dear~ The little girl who nearly wrecked my base? Quite impressive… Looks like today I’ll finally…" Her expression twisted into something unhinged. "...devour a cute little girl~"
"Oh? How’d you know I’m a girl? Got some creepy peeping ability? And seriously—turn off that green glow. It’s giving me the creeps."
"……" The woman blinked. The green light vanished. She threw her head back, laughing wildly.
"HAHAHA! You *are* amusing, little one!" Her gaze turned predatory, lingering on Lixin. "Yes… Your body looks utterly delicious~"
"...Ah."
*Definitely a pervert.* Lixin made a mental note to ask the Principal about any staff with peeping abilities—*permanently* removing them seemed wise.
"Yeah, yeah, creepy older sister. Done monologuing? I’m getting sleepy."
Lixin’s long spear materialized in her grip.
"How about we all finish this quickly… and go home to bed?"
