Chapter 97: Chapter 97: We’ll All Die Together

A cat’s supreme hearing, an ant’s collective Perception and pheromone transmission, and a gecko’s mimetic camouflage—three Superpowers fused perfectly within Sue Lawrence.

The next second, her figure vanished from sight as if she were a trace of ink dissolving into the air.

Even the battle-hardened Victor Keller’s pupils contracted as he tensed reflexively. Though stunned, the other team members pressed their lips together and held their breath—any sound now could compromise the entire plan.

Sue Lawrence crept along the cold wall. The drawback of her gecko mimicry was speed; if she moved too quickly, the seamless blend between her body and her surroundings would shatter, exposing her instantly.

Like a silent shadow, she glided to the first doorway. Her A Level Observation Power instantly pierced the crack in the door, taking in the entire scene.

Without looking back or speaking a word, she sent out a wave of ant pheromones—an invisible signal that precisely targeted Silas Hawthorne’s nervous system.

It was an uncanny link that transcended words and sight. No sound, no image, yet it projected everything she saw directly into Silas Hawthorne’s mind. The higher the Superpower Level, the clearer the shared vision. An image of the room instantly materialized in his head: four figures. A thug with a machete was hiding behind three medical workers, who were crouched with their hands over their heads. The man was using them as human shields, his gaze sinister.

Silas Hawthorne’s fingers twitched, making a silent hand signal. His eyes instinctively followed in the direction Sue Lawrence had vanished.

She was already creeping toward the second room. No one could perceive her, and even the keenest eye would dismiss the faint, rippling distortion near the wall as a mere trick of the light.

The entire squad held its breath, hearts seemingly still, waiting for her report.

A few moments later, Sue Lawrence had scouted every room on the floor. She tapped a predetermined signal on the wall with her fingertips, then silently rounded to the opposite corridor to clear every blind spot.

Once she returned to the squad, the slaughter began.

Thanks to Sue Lawrence’s precise reconnaissance, everyone knew the enemy positions and hostage distribution perfectly. Victor Keller’s team members were lethally accurate shots. The thugs inside, armed only with melee weapons, had no chance to fight back. The gunshots were muffled and brief—all headshots. In just a few minutes, the floor was secured.

The medical staff, oppressed for days, collapsed to the floor, hugging each other and sobbing as their long-suppressed fear and despair erupted. The young nurse they’d rescued from the upper floor was shaking, her voice trembling as she looked around. "What about the... the vice director?"

"Dr. Jensen’s son... Is he still here?" another doctor asked, his voice trembling. The air grew still.

No one answered.

The answer was obvious.

Dr. Jensen’s son was still in the hands of Blade and Rex, the Superpower User with C Level Instant Teleportation.

And bringing his son back had been the doctor’s dying wish.

Silas Hawthorne’s eyes went cold. He pinned down the one man they’d left alive, his tone like ice. "How many of you are left? Where’s Blade? How many hostages?"

The thug looked horrified. ’How could they know everything inside without even entering the rooms?’ he thought. ’They must have a top-tier reconnaissance Superpower User. It’s the only way they could be so precise in this basement where all signals are blocked.’ He opened his mouth and managed to get out the words "underground parking garage" before he violently coughed up a mouthful of black blood. His head lolled to the side, and he was dead.

Silas Hawthorne’s brow furrowed. With the signals blocked, his recon drones were useless. He instinctively looked to Sue Lawrence.

Sue Lawrence lowered her gaze and rubbed her fingertips together. The ant-like Perception spread downward like a fine spiderweb, and a vague sense of danger prickled at her nerves.

She looked up, her tone flat but filled with unshakeable certainty. "Sixth sense. It’s dangerous downstairs. They have firearms, and most likely explosives."

’Whether Silas Hawthorne knows or not, I’m not going to reveal all of my Superpowers,’ she thought. ’That’s my bottom line.’

She paused, then added, "My Perception picks up three to five people down there. The smell of explosives is strong, but I can’t pinpoint their exact location."

"Same as before. You scout ahead," Silas Hawthorne said grimly.

"Okay."

Without another word, Sue Lawrence activated her gecko mimicry again. Her form melted into the shadows as she moved silently toward the second basement level.

The air on the second basement level was thick and foul, a mixture of gasoline, rust, and blood. Her feline hearing amplified every faint sound. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

In the distance, she heard low voices, the scraping of something heavy being dragged, and... the faint hiss of a fuse.

She crept along a load-bearing column, her mimicry making her a part of the pillar itself. Even her breath seemed to merge with the cold concrete. As she rounded a corner, her gaze pierced the darkness and locked onto the central area.

Five men stood around a junked car. Blade, his face a mask of brutal muscle, toyed with a large machete, his eyes savage. Rex stood beside him, while the others watched the floors above them intently.

Sue Lawrence activated her Eye of Barrier Breaking, quickly locking onto the one with the Instant Teleportation Superpower.

’Not bad,’ she thought with a click of her tongue. ’He’s evolved from D Level to C Level. His teleportation range has expanded to three meters.’

Sue Lawrence had made a depressing discovery: Superpowers didn’t evolve once she took them, but they did for their original Awakeners. ’Probably the difference between being born with it and stealing it,’ she mused.

That was why, if a target’s level was too low, she now preferred to let them "ripen on the vine" and improve their Superpower before she took it. But in this case, that clearly wasn’t an option.

Sue Lawrence continued her observation. A boy was tied up in the back seat of the car, trembling. It was Dr. Jensen’s son. He was gagged, his eyes filled with despair.

Still no sign of the vice director.

’Strange, where on earth is the vice director?’

She scanned the area again. Her Perception, her A Level Observation Power, even her feline hearing—none of them could locate him.

More importantly, coils of black explosives were wrapped around the car’s chassis. The detonator wires led to a simple remote, which was currently in Blade’s hand.

Sue Lawrence transmitted every detail to Silas Hawthorne, leaving nothing out.

Silas Hawthorne’s face darkened as he received the information. He immediately signaled for the team to spread out and encircle the area, hissing in a low voice, "Five hostiles, Blade and Rex are there. One hostage. There are explosives under the car, and Blade has the remote. Watch out—Rex can use Instant Teleportation. Securing the remote is the priority!"

The team members held their breath as they crept toward the entrance to the second basement level. They chambered their rounds and locked their sights on their targets.

Sue Lawrence remained plastered to the pillar, not making a move.

Her gecko mimicry couldn’t handle rapid movement. She had to wait for the perfect moment to strike.

Blade seemed to sense something. He snapped his head up, his gaze sweeping the area as he cursed, "It’s gone quiet. Don’t tell me all those losers got themselves wiped out."

Rex’s expression was grim. "They’re probably watching us from somewhere."

"What’s to be afraid of?" Blade slapped the remote in his hand and gave a vicious grin. "Worst comes to worst, we all go down together! There’s enough explosive here to bring down the whole damn basement. If they want to save him, they’ll have to die with us!"