Jill Young crossed her arms in a hurry, blocking the attack as best she could.
Boom! With a thunderous crash, Jill Young—who could only glide using True Qi, not actually fly—was knocked off balance, tracing a straight arc through the air and crashing down toward the Haihe River below.
Swish! Jill Young twisted her body again, drew in another breath of True Qi, and skimmed across the river’s surface like a seagull riding the wind, kicking up a massive wave as she shot through the arch of the Brooklyn Bridge and kept flying into the distance.
"Water is also the domain of Divinity." From above, The Divine extended his left hand, palm aimed at the water below.
The Haihe River surged, waves towering high. Suddenly, like a water demon stretching out its claws, a giant wave smacked right into Jill Young.
……………………………………
In 1986, under the leadership of Susan Soo, research on the Superhuman Key finally got on track.
Directly studying the Superhuman Key itself was a dead end—Tiberia’s current biotech was nowhere near advanced enough to crack the extraordinary info hidden inside. So Susan Soo decided to tackle it from the genetic angle, going all-in to break through the Key’s "unknowable" nature.
"Extract gene fragments from the Superhuman Key, pull samples from Earth’s lifeforms, and run gene splicing experiments."
From the very first algae, to increasingly complex creatures, one experimental subject after another flashed by. Massive clusters of bloated algae, giant humanoid salamander test subjects, terrifying segmented worms—one bizarre, freaky creature after another got created. You could say, under Susan Soo’s command, the research team kept busting through the "unknowable barrier" like it was nothing short of miraculous.
Research on the Superhuman Key was speeding ahead, but the scientists were starting to get nervous.
Watching these creepy, born-to-die experimental monsters, even the bravest scientists couldn't help but shudder. These folks weren't clueless muggles—some were pioneers in cutting-edge biotech, and they'd seen plenty of freaky stuff.
"But this is different. Seriously different," one scientist told Susan Soo, worried. "Those artificially created lives are nothing like what I've seen before. The old ones were just test subjects, but this... I swear, it feels like my natural enemy. Every time I see them—even the corpses—I get the chills. Only when their genes collapse into mush do I finally breathe easy. Chief, where on earth did this Superhuman Key come from?"
"God," Susan Soo replied solemnly. "Overcome fear, break through the unknown, understand the world, and create divinity. That’s exactly the mission of PROJECT-X."
………………………………………
Humanity’s only true nemesis is divinity.
Brooklyn District.
Bang bang bang bang! A streak of white, trailing dust and debris, shot through building after building, each one collapsing into miserable wreckage in the storm and rain.
"Damn it—my head, my head hurts!"
A massive beam crashed and flew off, and Jill Young blasted through the rubble onto the street. She’d just spaced out and taken a heavy hit, but honestly, that Dreadwing Armor was the real deal—she looked a mess, but she wasn’t actually hurt.
Her head was pounding—like it was about to split open.
She’d just rubbed her temples when a six-colored halo descended from the sky. The Divine floated down, feet not even touching the ground.
Rain swirled around him, endless divine energy circling in a protective vortex. At this moment, The Divine looked every bit the part.
Seeing Jill Young emerge completely unscathed, The Divine squinted and spoke in an even tone: "You still don’t get it, do you? You’re not getting away."
The Divine’s face was impossible for normal folks to see, but Jill Young could clearly make out a self-mocking, crazed smile: "That guy, Master Nature—his whole plan is to make us fight each other to the death. Back when the Black Death Emperor sealed off Shanghai and twisted the city’s dimensions, Master Nature couldn’t pull off something like that, but you can bet that old fox has some tricks up his sleeve."
He pointed at the roaring clouds overhead: "Inside the hurricane is my turf. Outside? That’s his trap. You’re not leaving New York City."
Talking? In the middle of a fight, this guy suddenly starts talking?
Talking is great—love it when the enemy won’t shut up. That’s basically helping me stall for time!
"Looks like we’ve got a common enemy. So why are we still duking it out? Why let that punk play the fisherman and scoop up all the spoils?" On the other end of the mindlink, Mom was still charging ahead, a stone egg chasing close behind, her brain stuck in an endless TV drama loop. Honestly, wasn’t this the perfect time for some family chit-chat?
So Jill Young clapped her hands: "How about this—we strike a deal."
"A deal? You want to make a deal?" Man, nothing pisses me off more than people trying to make deals with me! The thought flashed through the giant’s mind, but he actually gave a friendly smile: "Alright, I’m listening—what’s the deal?"
"Easy. You do your thing, I do mine, we each go our separate ways. I beat you up last time, now you’ve beaten me up—call it even." Jill Young gestured behind her. "I’ll head off to the side and leave you alone. Do whatever you want."
"Is that so?" The giant looked amused and said something that really surprised Jill Young: "Sure, that’s reasonable."
"So reasonable!" Jill Young took two steps back and turned to leave.
"But since you’re here, you might as well watch." The Divine’s voice floated over: "Since you asked me to judge your moves before, I’ll invite you to witness the start of my grand enterprise."
"Oh, uh, I’ve actually got something to do, so I’ll just—"
Zzzzt—A thick red beam shot down from the sky like a giant laser cannon, carving a molten arc in front of Jill Young. "You’d better stick around and watch."
Jill Young stomped her foot, then turned back, looking none too happy.
Stalling for time is one thing, feeling lousy is another, but even if she couldn’t win, Jill Young wasn’t about to let herself get played like this.
The Divine looked down, his expression odd: "If you don’t watch, you might miss out on a lot of fun stuff." He turned his head toward a distant skyscraper: "Look, that used to be the world-famous Twin Towers. On September 11, 2001, a plane crashed into them, shocking the world and kicking off a grand drama. Thirteen years later, America built a new tower on the site, like it could heal the scars and claim victory over us. But today, I’m going to repeat that feat. Oh, look—the plane’s coming."
Jill Young’s eyes flashed. Out west over New York, a huge passenger jet was fighting its way through wind and rain, wobbling straight toward them.
"Great enterprises deserve to be inherited and expanded, but I’m not here to copy someone else’s tricks. So I’ve prepared a special gift for the whole world." The giant raised his hand, and a massive bolt of lightning blasted down, tearing a hole in the new World Trade Center. Shattered glass rained down, revealing a crowd of people bound, restrained, and locked inside.