Chapter 16: Chapter 16: All Members Unlock Superpowers

After dinner, Sue Lawrence pulled her father, Vincent Lawrence, to sit in the living room. "Dad," she said gravely, "I need to tell you something. Just play along with me."

Vincent was baffled, but before he could ask, Sue had already activated her Skill: [I can do whatever I want with my things].

This was her exclusive awakened Skill. It allowed her to transfer Superpowers she had acquired to other people. The higher their level of trust, the more complete the transferred Ability would be.

In an instant, Sue transferred both [Cricket’s Jumping Power] and [Perception] to Vincent in their entirety.

"Dad, get up and try jumping," she said.

Vincent, a man approaching fifty, was completely dumbfounded. He stared at his daughter, a series of question marks practically floating above his head. ???

The rest of the family gathered around. Elliot Lawrence leaned back on the sofa, a blatantly mocking smile on his face. "How old are you, and you’re going to ’do a little jump’?"

Vincent shot him a fierce glare. "You little brat," he snapped, his tone severe. "You’re asking for a beating!"

After scolding his son, Vincent scratched his head and looked at Sue, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "My dear daughter, don’t play jokes on your old dad. At my age, how could I possibly jump?"

"It’s fine, Dad. Just try it and you’ll see."

Sue persuaded him patiently. Goaded by his eldest son’s open mockery, Vincent had no choice but to slowly get to his feet and give a casual hop forward.

But that single hop sent him flying as if he were light as a feather. Before he could even process it, he had already landed steadily in the foyer.

In the Lawrence Family’s villa, the living room and the foyer were separated by a hallway that was at least a dozen meters long.

The moment he landed, the entire house fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared at Vincent’s back, too stunned to speak.

Elliot was the first to snap out of it. He pointed a trembling finger at his own father, his voice quivering. "Is-is this the return of the Midnight Phantom?!"

Vivian Young shot her son a look before grabbing Sue’s hand, her eyes shining brightly. "This is a Superpower, right? I’ve been binging apocalypse novels lately, so I knew Superpowers had to exist. Sue, did you do this?"

Sue’s heart skipped a beat. She had guarded the secret of her Taker Ability for a lifetime in her past life. Now, facing her closest family, she ultimately chose to be vague. "Yes. I can transfer Superpowers from small animals to people."

She didn’t mention the "taking" part at all, only the "transferring."

Elliot’s eyes instantly went wide as saucers. He spun around, dashed upstairs, and returned in the blink of an eye carrying an iron cage. Inside were six curled-up geckos, and next to it, he’d placed a box of spiders and a box of grasshoppers—all food for the geckos.

Leo Lawrence also came toddling over, holding a small fishbowl. The little goldfish inside swished its tail, its grape-like eyes staring up at her expectantly.

Sue: ...

’Alright then,’ she thought. ’Time for a family-wide attribute upgrade!’

[Underwater Breathing (Ten Minutes)], [High Efficiency Swimming: I’m a Happy Little Fish], [Grasshopper’s Jumping Power], [Perception], [Spider Silk], [Gecko’s Climbing Ability], and [Gecko Disguise]. Aside from [Cat’s Hearing] and her [Golden Left Hand], she distributed a share of every Superpower she had saved up to each family member.

"So this is Perception?"

Elliot clenched his fists and shifted his weight, full of energy. "I can feel that there’s not a single shred of danger around me!"

Jenny Norris also raised her hands in fascination. "Underwater Breathing? Can I really swim like a fish? I want to go try it right now!"

Vivian and Vincent, on the other hand, were more composed, as expected of their age. Only Vivian had a delighted expression, while Vincent acted as if nothing had happened, seemingly unconcerned.

However, one person’s reaction puzzled Sue. Even the adults like her older brother and sister-in-law couldn’t contain their excitement, yet her five-year-old son, Leo, showed neither curiosity nor any eagerness to test out his new Superpowers. Instead, he just sat silently on the sofa, watching everyone else.

’Strange,’ she thought. ’My son seems much quieter than before. He’s lost his childish liveliness and gained a sort of quiet gravity.’

Just as she was pondering Leo’s strange behavior, Vivian suddenly spoke up casually. "There are still a few soft-shelled turtles in the cold room."

Sue: ...

’Fine,’ she thought. ’[Turtle’s Defense], coming right up!’

Her train of thought was quickly interrupted. Overnight, every member of the Lawrence Family had unlocked a Superpower.

That night, using her [Cat’s Hearing], Sue overheard her parents whispering in the master bedroom. "...I won’t have to worry about supervising the mine renovations anymore. I can just climb to the top of the mine shaft late at night to check on things, and no one will ever find out..."

Sue couldn’t help but smile, and she slept soundly all night.

The next morning, the family split up to handle their respective duties. Jenny Norris stayed home to guard their supplies, and even Vivian Young grabbed a shopping bag to join the procurement army.

There were now only 12 days left until the apocalypse.

As for Sue, she was heading to Tiana Lynch’s engagement party. To be precise, she was going to watch a carefully prepared joke unfold—to see how hysterical Tiana would become when she discovered her entire roomful of treasures had been stolen.

She had deliberately put on bright, glamorous makeup, picked the most eye-catching luxury car from the garage, and brought Leo along with her. Since *they* were so disgusted by the child, she would deliberately bring him along just to spite them.

Tiana had said ten o’clock, but Sue paid it no mind, intentionally delaying her arrival until she was fashionably late at noon.

She casually glanced at her phone. The text from Mia Keller had been sent an hour ago.

[Mia Keller]: Sue, everyone’s waiting for you at the entrance. No idea why they won’t just wait inside.

Sue smiled. She had to hand it to Tiana; the woman had incredible patience. Even if it meant waiting outside, she was determined to wait for Sue to arrive before going in together.

On the surface, it looked like she wanted to show everyone how much she valued Sue. In reality, she just wanted to secretly savor Sue’s initial reaction.

But this time, Tiana was destined to be disappointed.

As soon as she reached the entrance, Sue was met with the sight of Tiana Lynch’s stormy face.

The plan was supposed to have been for Sue to wait for an hour and be ridiculed. Instead, they were the ones who had been waiting anxiously for over an hour, and they were already fuming with pent-up frustration.

"Sue, you’re late. Was there traffic? But there shouldn’t be at this hour, it’s not like it’s the morning rush..." Tiana said pointedly.

Maeve Walsh snorted. "She definitely did it on purpose. Tiana was kind enough to invite you. Who are you putting on airs for?"

Sue didn’t even spare her a glance. She just smiled, but her eyes looked as if they were staring at a juicy piece of meat that had delivered itself to her doorstep.

’So you’re the one with the Space Ability? Is it full? What did you fill it with? Is it even enough for a snack?’

At her side, Leo mimicked his mother’s expression, the corners of his lips curved in a faint smile, but his eyes were cold. The mother and son stood side-by-side, a duo facing a crowd, yet they didn’t seem outmatched in the slightest.

Mia Keller looked from one side to the other, then lowered her head and continued playing the part of the little spy.

Tiana suppressed her anger and forced a magnanimous smile. "Forget it, let’s go inside. We haven’t even opened the doors because we were waiting for you." She had already made her calculations. ’When Sue sees everything Jason Sterling has prepared for me, the mountains of gold and jewels, she’ll go mad with jealousy!’

Sue remained silent, still smiling, but her heart was filled with scorn. ’Let’s see if you can still smile once that door is open.’

The two groups, each with their own hidden thoughts, smiled at each other, each smile brighter than the last. But only Sue’s brilliant smile was truly genuine.

Tiana personally reached out and pushed the door open, her voice rising in a showy boast, "Sue, look! This is everything Jason prepared for me... AHH—!!"

The gleeful laughter instantly turned into a heart-wrenching scream. The sound was incredibly pleasant to the ears.