The once-lethal Obliteration Fist was split apart when I mastered the Eight Force Fist. Obliteration Fist burns way too much energy—no way I can pull it off now. But the external Shatter Force, which got separated out, is a lot easier to use and still packs plenty of the old punch.
The giant’s head looked like a specimen sealed in glass, its expression—epiphany, surprise, awe—all frozen in place.
Then—crack, crack! Everything beneath my fingers shattered like brittle glass. Fracture lines raced out, splitting through the giant’s skull, spreading into his brain, and slamming into his aura.
Break for me—shatter now!!
Boom! The shockwave blasted the rain far away, and the giant’s head exploded into a cloud of smoke. Thud—the headless giant toppled backward. Jill Young staggered, shaking her head as her vision blurred. But she couldn’t collapse yet—gritting her teeth, she powered through, chasing after the fallen giant with a heavy kick. No way was she letting this guy get back up while she had the upper hand!
But—smack! Her kick landed like it hit cotton candy. The giant’s rock-solid body suddenly turned to mist, drifting away before starting to re-form.
"Son of a—damn nature type!" Jill Young cursed, fuming. There was no way to deal a fatal blow right now. She glanced up at the sky—the plane was less than three kilometers from the building. Saving people was top priority!
Jill Young pushed off with all her strength, forcing herself to leap.
But her vision flickered—her energy drained, she was swept away by a flood of memories.
———————— June, 1986 ————————
"Adam, I’ve made a new discovery." Another private meeting—Susan Soo appeared straight in Adam’s office. The moment she materialized, she saw Adam poring over something. With a glance, Susan realized it was her old theoretical paper: the Conjectured Limit Theory.
Adam is studying my theory?
But why does his gaze look so strange—hopeful, scared, and... anxious?
What’s he so anxious about?
"Oh? Any progress?!" Adam could barely contain his excitement—his urgency almost felt off. "Did you crack the Superhuman Key? Is it ready to use on humans now?"
"No," Susan Soo shook her head. "It’s not about the Superhuman Key."
"Not?" Adam frowned, looking disappointed—almost too much so, his reaction oddly intense.
"The Moon Tide Team made a huge breakthrough," Susan Soo announced, ready to share her big find. "We used some special methods to scan the skies, and by observing and calculating the Kuiper Belt, I think the starry universe we see might be a spatial misalignment. In other words..."
"Forget the whole cosmic space thing, forget the Moon Tide Project!" Adam suddenly grabbed Susan Soo’s shoulders.
This wasn’t his usual smooth, romantic move—this time, his grip was tight, almost bruising her shoulders. His face was close, but there was no bedroom gaze, just a barely-contained madness: "Who cares if the universe is real or not, Sophia—put your genius into Project-X! Do the research, run the experiments, crack the Superhuman Key!"
Susan Soo’s expression stayed calm. "Our progress has already been pretty fast."
"Fast isn’t enough—I need faster, the fastest!" Adam Zade nearly roared, but managed to keep a grip on his sanity. He took a deep breath, relaxed his talon-like fingers, and apologized: "Sorry, Sophia, I’m just too worked up. This project means everything to me. I’ve poured in my money, my energy, my... soul. Sophia, I need you—no matter what, please help me this time. Crack the Superhuman Key as fast as possible and make the tech work for humanity!"
Susan Soo gazed at Adam Zade’s pleading eyes, her heart softening. "Alright, I promise—I’ll drop my other projects and throw myself into Project-X."
"Thank you, tha—" Whoosh—Susan Soo vanished, slipping right out of his grasp. Adam clutched empty air, his face twisting before he swept everything off his desk, roaring until his voice broke: "Faster! I need it even faster!"
......
Buzz—memory faded, and the material world snapped back into view. This time, the flashback was short and sweet; here one moment, gone the next.
In reality, Jill Young had just blacked out. Using the full Eight Force Fist drained her spirit so much that she passed out in an instant.
Eyes snapped open, wind whistling—she realized she was still flying, but her momentary blackout had thrown her off course. Channeling her energy, Jill Young was about to correct her trajectory when—crack!—a bolt of lightning shot up from below, chasing her down.
"Can’t underestimate you—almost got sunk by you. You really are a powerhouse, you really do deserve a front-row seat. So, keep your eyes wide open and witness the dawn of a whole new era!" The Divine’s body swelled to four meters tall, lightning crackling in both hands, and a massive electric whip snapped around Jill Young’s waist.
"Under the sky, I am invincible!"
A torrent of electricity slashed wildly toward Jill Young, engulfing her in a blinding sphere of lightning.
"Hahahahaha!!" The manic laughter cut through the storm. Every kidnapped person stared wide-eyed below, where two blazing orbs of light were linked by an electric whip, spinning and weaving together like twin stars and tearing through the city at breakneck speed. Boom, boom, boom—tower after tower was blasted through, red-hot molten scars gouged into every gap.
"You want to save people? Fine, I’ll give you that chance—let’s see what you choose!"
Whoosh—Jill Young shot through the air like a flung hammer. The Dreadwing Armor churned with dark energy, quickly dispersing the surface lightning and neutralizing the paralysis effect of the electric attack.
Jill Young flipped midair, steadying herself. But behind her, thunder rumbled—she turned to find herself right in front of the plane. With a nimble leap, she landed on top of it, standing on the roof and realizing the plane was now close to the World Trade Center.
Jill Young clenched her fist and took up a fighting stance.
"Thinking of blowing up the plane to save people?" The giant appeared from the clouds, spreading his hands like a gentleman. "Be my guest."
Huh?
Jill Young froze mid-move. She’d just heard something strange.
A child’s cry?
The whole plane was filled with the sound of children crying?
"Airbus A380, seats about 500, but if it’s kids, you can cram in 1,400." The giant sneered. "If it were me, I’d blow up the plane to save the building—after all, what do I care about a bunch of random kids? But you—what will you choose?"