A faint breeze brushed past, but Jill Young moved far faster than the wind itself. Yet, energy transfer doesn’t work that way—it’s like how electrons aren’t actually speedy, but that doesn’t mean your lamp takes ages to light up after you flip the switch.
Thanks to Dream Monroe’s reminder and Jill’s own experience, she instantly figured it out: the opponent must be able to borrow the power of storms, maybe even have a never-ending supply of energy—basically, an infinite-energy cheat code. That’s a huge trump card. If you don’t know what’s going on, you’ll end up on the back foot, so Dream definitely deserves some credit here.
She wasn’t sure if this Stormbringer was the same person as the muscle giant they’d theorized about earlier. Who knew how many superpowered folks were running wild in tiny Tiberia right now? One thing was clear: if they were two different people, fine. But if one person had both muscle titan and storm cheat powers, taking them down was going to be a real headache.
"Just up ahead!"
You know how all rivers flow to the sea? Thanks to Tiberia’s layout, no matter how you zigzag or go straight, there’s only one way to the top-secret data vault. Jill dashed down that path, a streak of red light racing through the space. One quick glance showed just how many deadly traps and unbreakable barriers had once lined this long corridor—but now, it was all just rubble.
Her heart skipped a beat—yep, the rival was definitely headed here. And clearly, they were ahead of her.
Crack! The ground split as Jill picked up speed, charging forward like a dragon on the run. Her Supreme Power wasn’t much use for fancy footwork—instead, most of it went into protecting the old priest’s back. If she didn’t keep him safe, this grumpy old guy would probably snap his spine with all that wild acceleration.
Creeeak—up ahead came the nerve-grinding screech of twisting metal. Jill’s eyes flashed: at the end of the hallway stood a massive, super-thick door, just like the ones on the HEAVEN ship. That dome-shaped beast could shrug off depleted uranium shells, no problem. But now, this twenty-ton monster was groaning and bending, shifting out of place.
Huge hydraulic bearings burst with a bang, every mechanical part straining under that outrageous brute force. Once the lock was busted, the door’s own weight wasn’t going to stop anyone. The dome’s edge bent and warped with a chorus of creaks—the door was being forced open by some unstoppable power.
Jill’s eyes narrowed. This power was at least on par with the Three Dragons’ strength, but the real kicker? Even with her keen sight, she couldn’t see who—or what—was opening the door. It was just empty space, nothing there, like Magneto pulling off some remote-control superpower—wait, Magneto?
A spark flashed in Jill’s mind—she suddenly thought of that viral video on the World Observation Bureau forum, the one dropped like a bomb by the rising star hailed as the world’s Number Two—“God.” Sure, maybe it was a wild leap, but saints don’t just daydream for no reason. The stronger you get, the more you can sense the truth in the ether.
"No way…" Jill grimaced. "Is the world really that small? Is fate really that nuts? Out of all days, all times, and this whole eighty-thousand-kilometer planet, we just happen to land in the same tiny spot, hunting for the same thing? Seriously, what kind of cosmic joke is this! Oh, the door’s open—but still no sign of anyone. Are they actually Magneto?—Hey, girl, can you see anyone?"
"Magneto?" That one word made Dream Monroe snap to attention. Turns out Jill had just blurted out the secret of the 'Number Two,' which explained all the tangled karma. You don’t want to get mixed up with someone like that—otherwise, you’ll be stuck with a mountain of consequences. Dream instantly slowed down, shaking her head: "Don’t ask me, I’m not getting involved."
"Fine, ignore everything else, but at least take care of this old guy!" Jill waved her hand and sent Father Michael flying toward Dream Monroe. Then, channeling her lightfoot skills, she shot toward the confidential archive like a streak of light.
"Hey, hey, you—!" Dream really wanted to just stand back and watch, but seeing that tumbling old man, she couldn’t let him get hurt. She stomped her foot, grumbling as she caught Father Michael with a spell: "You’ve tricked me again! Just wait—I’ll get you back for this!"
Father Michael felt like he was riding a cloud, spinning so much he couldn’t tell north from south. In his daze, he thought he saw a perfect angel with wings—just like the ones in the Bible! His eyes went wide, he shouted twice, and promptly passed out.
Meanwhile, Jill sliced through the air, whistling into the vault through the broken doorway. Her eyes swept the room, her crown chakra blazing with light, stretching time in the moment. The archive wasn’t crammed with fancy black tech—just stacks and stacks of paper files. Paper’s got its perks: hackers can’t just swipe, copy, or search it. For security, it beats any hard drive.
What she needed was somewhere in those files.
But right now, stacks of files were vanishing fast. No doubt about it—someone was using a storage space to swipe everything in a flash. So, not only could they turn invisible, but their stealth skills were top-tier—no Magneto-style remote powers here. Looks like this person’s got muscle titan, storm cheat, and now, master of invisibility all rolled into one.
Storage space magic is crazy fast—Jill once swept up treasures from the South Wasteland in just a few blinks. To normal folks, it’s like a snap and the whole room’s empty. But Jill’s eyes flashed lightning, stretching time out, and she punched straight at the spot where the files were vanishing: "Stop—right there!"
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Click next page to keep reading!
Friend or foe, who cares? First, lock them down—sort the details later!
BOOM! Thunderous blasts echoed as Jill’s powerful punch compressed the air into tight balls, then detonated, sending shockwaves through the whole room. The invisible intruder was still nowhere to be seen—she had to flush them out first.
Bang! Crackle—within seconds, most of the lights blew out. Bookshelves twisted and snapped, collapsing in a heap. Paper files are fragile—normally, they’d be toast under such force. But with Jill’s finesse, thousands of sheets just flew up, swirling everywhere like a blizzard.
Only by doing this could she quickly spot the invisible person. After all, invisible doesn’t mean nonexistent—if your heart’s beating, you’re breathing, and the wind’s blowing, you’ll always leave some trace.
But even with all her focus, Jill was shocked—the invisible guy still hadn’t slipped up! Not that there were zero traces, but they could control the airflow to hide themselves. The faintest clues vanished in a blink, and even Jill couldn’t catch them right away.
Whoosh—wind whipped up, sending thousands of papers swirling like a mini tornado. Nobody knew which sheet held the secret she was after. But Jill could see it clearly: one file after another was vanishing fast. Whoever it was, they had a clear goal, stayed cool, and didn’t bother fighting back—just focused on grabbing what they needed.
"Oh hell no! If you’re grabbing stuff, so am I!" Jill dove into the vortex, blitzing through with her Supreme Power, shredding the air currents. Like firing up a super-powered vacuum, she sucked up piles of files into her right-hand storage space.
Her left hand wasn’t idle either—spinning mid-air, she snatched up two boxes, crushed them, and tossed the contents out. Boom! The boxes exploded like flour sacks, releasing clouds of white dust everywhere. Not just any dust—this was the ashes of the cursed Zade Scions. Donald had mentioned it offhand, but Jill remembered. Who knew it’d come in handy today!
You might dodge the flying papers, but can you really dodge fine ashes?
Sure enough, a blurry figure appeared. They weren’t covered in dust, but with powder swirling everywhere, the one clean spot was way too suspicious! Jill bounced off the ceiling, launching herself like a streak of light.
The intruder reacted instantly, realizing the problem and unleashing a fierce killing intent.
Busted, so no more hiding! The intruder shook and suddenly ballooned from about 1.75 meters to over 2.5 meters tall. With one massive arm, they lunged at Jill—raw power crackled between their fingers, the grab exploding the air with thunderous force.
But Jill wasn’t worried about getting attacked—she just didn’t want the guy quietly swiping files.
Wanna brawl? Ha, that’s my specialty~~
CRASH————!!
A massive shockwave rippled through the floor, like two prehistoric T-Rexes colliding. Dream Monroe waited in the hallway, Father Michael at her feet—neither dared jump into the archive chaos. The explosion snapped Father Michael awake; as he opened his eyes, he saw the giant vault door smashed wide open like it’d been hit by a wrecking ball.
A giant figure shot out of the room, clearly booted out by a powerful kick. Unable to stay invisible after that hit, they faded into a hazy outline, rocketing past Father Michael like a cannonball.