Jill Young pointed at a bespectacled newcomer busy at the core workstation: "See that four-eyed kid over there? He's an enchanter specializing in magic-side enchantments. According to him, this set of armor has survived temporal turbulence and some mysterious forces, so its quality has leveled up. Once you activate it with the magic sigils, it can give you resistance to spatial chaos. Big Brother also thinks this armor already has a mental link function that boosts stability. Plus, Paladin brought in tech from the Pacific World, so after a round of tinkering, we added even more features. It should help out at least a little. By the way, this armor already comes with protection against harsh environments, vacuum survival, radiation shielding, and thermal insulation—perfect for Mom."
"I see." John Yang hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't help asking: "By the way, daughter, about your mom and that... boxing thing—what's up with that? And that obviously off-the-charts punching power, what's going on there? Weren't you saying ordinary Earthlings can't get stronger?"
"Oh, that? Just an extra layer of insurance, really. Mom's been feeling something big coming, and with Stephen's help, she might finally recover memories about the Heart of Tiberius. If she really gets those memories, it could trigger that alternate space and cause unpredictable changes. To boost her safety, I've been funding resources, and a bunch of Chosen Ones pitched in. We've leveled Mom up to peak human. Technically, she's still within normal Earthling standards. Realistically, she's at the absolute limit of what a human can do."
John Yang carefully pressed on: "So, what's the absolute limit for a human, exactly?"
"Hmph!" Over there, Susan Morrow let out a breath and threw a punch in the air, sending a sharp gust of wind whistling through the room.
"That's the level." Jill Young pinched her chin, thinking, then found a good example: "Purely in terms of physical ability, if you know what Chen Zhen could do, that's what Mom can do. If you know Bruce Lee's level, that's what Mom's at." She patted her dad's shoulder, leaving him with a "reassuring" smile: "Dad, if you ever get caught in a nightclub, well, you're on your own."
"Ha!" Off in the distance, Susan Morrow glanced over and threw another punch into the air, the wind whistling so sharply it was scary.
A familiar melody instantly played in John Yang's mind:
Quick, use nunchucks—hum hum ha he~
Quick, use nunchucks—hum hum ha he~
The classic 'Sick Man of East Asia' move—
And my husband's thick skull—
All kicked wide open by yours truly—hiya!
Just picturing my wife swinging nunchucks around like that made John Yang shiver from head to toe. Terrifying—truly terrifying! Honey, is it too late for me to come over and apologize? Sure, you caught me at a nightclub, but I swear I wasn't up to anything shady!
On the other side, Charlie leaned in and quietly asked Jonathan Black, "You said our enemy is 'at least' one of the Heavenly Ranking Top Eight—so what's the worst case scenario?"
Charlie was genuinely concerned about this. The fewer Heavenly Ranking Top Eight enemies, the better. If more show up, there’s no way we’ll hold out.
"It's just a prediction, but it's very likely to come true," Jonathan Black explained quietly. "If it weren’t for the Black Death Emperor being an even bigger distraction, the Heart of Tiberius itself would be a world-shaking event. A hyperspace that bridges any distance, a mysterious stash of unknown materials, and black tech that works right here on Earth—any country would fight tooth and nail for that."
"It’s only because the Black Death Emperor is hogging the spotlight, covering up this whole thing, that the hyperspace battle has stayed a relatively small, behind-the-scenes affair. Countries can’t flex their muscles, but individuals are free to act. We know very little about the Heavenly Ranking Top Eight—except for the Black Death Emperor, that leaves seven others. Besides the one we’ve already identified as 'God,' we don’t know who they all are or what they can do, so we can only make rough guesses."
Jonathan held up one finger: "Best case scenario, only 'God' shows up, so we’d be facing just 'God' and the Zade Family together."
"And what about the worst case?" Charlie let his imagination run wild—always plan for defeat before victory. "All seven of the Heavenly Ranking show up at once, fighting over the treasure, and we end up with a superpowered brawl that levels Tokyo?"