"Hey, hey! It's scorching down here!" Cleyna felt like she was dying.
"Hold on! Just find the switch and flip it back!" Li Xiaoya wasn't faring much better. The heat below was brutal, but up here in the command center's power core? It was a death gamble.
"Qin Fan should’ve gathered all the Gigantic Strength Ability Users inside by now. We just need to secure this place." With no signal, Li Xiaoya could only estimate by time. The base moved roughly one kilometer every two minutes—they had less than an hour. And since there were no S Rank or higher Gigantic Strength Ability Users in the command center, gathering them was just a precaution.
"Ahhh… There are so many! Do you even know what that thing looks like?"
Cleyna’s mind was breaking. Switches covered every surface, a labyrinth of unknowns. To halt the base’s movement without a stop command meant forcing a shutdown.
"How should I know?!" Li Xiaoya was near her limit too. She’d never been here before.
"Just pick one! Flip whichever looks right, ahhh!"
"Okay."
Cleyna balled up her gym uniform jacket, wrapped it around her hand, and yanked a switch.
*Screech—*
Nothing.
"Seriously?"
She’d guessed wrong. She flipped the next one.
*Screech—*
Still nothing.
"Hey! Are you even capable?" Li Xiaoya was already regretting this…
"It’s fine! I’ll try again!"
*Screech—*
*Wail—*
Red lights flooded the room. Alarms blared.
"What the hell did you turn off?!"
*Screech—*
Even the red lights died. Power cut.
Li Xiaoya cursed herself for trusting Cleyna’s jinxed luck…
………………………………………………………………
"Uncle Commander? What are you doing here?"
Lixin had been rushing back to the command center when she spotted Wang Wei hauling bags.
"Lixin?"
Wang Wei’s eyes flickered with surprise at the black wings on her back, then hardened into calculation.
*How? Didn’t they eliminate her? Not a scratch…*
"Uncle Commander, the people you asked me to save—and the rescue teams—they ended up like this." Lixin projected photos from her watch. "I had no choice. I took them out. Blew the whole place up. Hope that’s okay."
*What kind of monster is she…?* Cold sweat drenched Wang Wei’s forehead.
"Uncle Commander, why so sweaty? And this luggage… This is Preyas territory, you know…" Lixin’s tone shifted. Wang Wei felt a chill.
He scrambled for an excuse, but his tongue tangled.
*Why’s my heart racing?*
"Hey, Uncle…" Lixin’s smile darkened in his eyes.
*Whoosh—*
A strand of black hair floated down.
"*Phew!* Scared me. Barely dodged that." Lixin snapped her head back, scolding him. "Seriously, Uncle! Ambushing me out of nowhere?!"
"No more games. I have to kill you now." Wang Wei dropped his bags. Lixin was a threat. She had to die.
"Uncle… so you admit it? Sending me to rescue them, cutting the signal—it was all you. I didn’t even know…"
*Please stop acting cute with those dead-fish eyes.*
Wang Wei attacked without hesitation. His pupils glowed an eerie green. A vortex erupted beneath Lixin’s feet, swelling into a tornado that ripped trees and buildings from the earth.
S Rank wind manipulation. Whatever that earlier unease was, he’d crush this C Rank student.
"Tch. If she destroyed the lab, where do I go now?"
*Wait—why’s my tornado turning black?*
He didn’t know much, but he knew he had to act. *Now.*
***BOOM—!***
High above, the storm clouds parted. A typhoon-like eye formed, air swirling unnaturally within.
***"HAH!"***
A roar split the sky. The wind eye *slammed* down a colossal blast of compressed air—an air cannon of apocalyptic force.
The shockwave hurled Wang Wei dozens of meters back. He barely stabilized himself with his power.
"Uncle," Lixin called, wings spread. "You’re tied to Preyas after all. Sorry about this~"
Before the words registered, a blade of black wind swept away his lower body. His hollow head hit the ground. Lixin flew past, the gust scattering fallen leaves over him. In this desolate place, no one would ever find him.
