Jayce’s words might have sounded a little too harsh.

But of everyone present, no one thought Jayce was out of line.

Even Joy Warren herself didn’t feel there was anything wrong with Jayce’s attitude.

Joy Warren had a hot-headed and impulsive temper, but that didn’t mean she was brainless.

Once the initial excitement wore off, she calmed down instantly.

"I’m sorry!" Joy Warren apologized sincerely. "I got too carried away just now. It won’t happen again."

Seeing her admit her mistake, Jayce dropped his cold expression. "As long as you understand, that’s what matters. Alright, you all should get going."

The window was already spiderwebbed with cracks, and with a sandstorm this intense, it wouldn’t hold for long. It was better to break it intentionally and get a look at what was going on outside.

Nathan Thorne wanted to stay, but he knew he wouldn’t be much help if he did; he might even just get in the way.

"You two be careful," Nathan Thorne urged. "If you run into anything you can’t handle, just shout. We’ll come back you up immediately!"

Sierra Sullivan and Jayce might have been the strongest of the group, but there were still quite a few of the others.

If something really happened, they could at least help a little, even if it was just with their superior numbers.

"Don’t worry!" Jayce nodded. "If there’s real danger, I promise I’ll call for you first!"

Hearing this, Nathan Thorne let out a huge sigh of relief. "That’s a relief!"

Nathan Thorne and the others quickly went to the master bedroom.

Although the master bedroom’s window was larger, the room itself was spacious enough to hold all of them.

After they left, Jayce and Sierra walked to the window together.

They exchanged a glance, understanding each other’s thoughts without a single word.

The window was already cracked. Jayce condensed a ball of water and threw it, not using much force, but the glass still SHATTERED and fell to the floor.

As the glass hit the floor, a fierce wind immediately blasted in, carrying sand and dust.

Even though she was fully bundled up, Sierra Sullivan could still feel grains of sand finding their way in through unseen gaps in her clothing.

Some stuck to her skin, while others trickled down.

The sensation was unpleasant, and she had to fight the subconscious urge to brush it away, forcing herself to endure it.

Sierra did her best to ignore the discomfort, shining a high-powered flashlight into the storm and peering out along its beam.

She had just looked out when she was met with a pair of perfectly round, crimson eyes.

And even more striking than its eyes were two sharp beaks!

Even though she’d seen plenty of Aberrant Beasts since the apocalypse began, Sierra’s eyes still widened at the sight.

’Am I seeing things?’

’What kind of bird actually has two beaks?!’

The two sharp beaks grew side by side. They were an earthen yellow and, in the beam of her flashlight, glinted like metal.

The instant the light hit it, the bird seemed to be provoked. Its wings beat faster as it charged straight for Sierra Sullivan.

It was so fast that Sierra barely had time to react.

Luckily, using her Superpower was already second nature to her.

Before it could reach her, Sierra had already conjured a wall of sand in front of herself.

Though made of sand, the wall was incredibly solid.

The two-beaked bird was incredibly ferocious in its charge, but its beaks simply drove into the thick sand wall like nails, failing to penetrate it.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sierra used her Superpower to make the wall of sand even denser and harder.

Even with all its might, the bird couldn’t struggle free.

The bird was so close, Sierra could clearly hear the frantic flapping of its wings.

The sound alone told her how desperately it was struggling.

"Jayce!" Sierra looked over at Jayce.

No more needed to be said; Jayce already understood what she wanted.

A massive, sharp Water Blade materialized in front of Jayce.

The Water Blade sliced down swiftly, hugging the surface of the sand wall.

With a short, piercing cry, the bird’s beaks were sliced clean off.

Just as the bird began to fall, Sierra enveloped it in sand.

And just like that, the wild bird was now a caged one.

"Let’s go!" Sierra said to Jayce.

They had stayed behind to see what was happening outside, and now that they had captured the suspected culprit, there was no reason to remain.

The two of them quickly arrived at the master bedroom door. Before they could even knock, it suddenly swung open.

Nathan Thorne’s voice came from within.

"Don’t just stand there, you two! Get in, quick!"

Sierra Sullivan and Jayce immediately slipped into the room.

Nathan Thorne quickly shut the door behind them.

Sierra had barely gotten her footing inside the room when she heard the door being shut.

Two small table lamps were on in the master bedroom. It wasn’t very bright, but they could still generally make out the scene inside.

It was then that Sierra Sullivan noticed that it wasn’t just the door and window; even the surrounding walls were now coated in a layer of metal.

It was obviously the work of a Gold Element Superpower User.

Noticing Sierra Sullivan’s gaze, Dominic Crawford quickly explained, "To keep the window from shattering again, I went ahead and reinforced it. And since I was already doing that, I figured I might as well reinforce the door and walls too. We can all feel a bit safer inside. It’s just... we can’t see what’s happening outside anymore."

Listening to Dominic Crawford’s explanation, Sierra Sullivan nodded. "There are always trade-offs; you can’t have all the good things. Safety is the most important thing. You all did the right thing!"

Joy Warren had already come closer and was staring curiously at the birdcage of sand floating in the air.

Through the gaps in the cage, one could vaguely make out the bird inside. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Without its two sharp beaks, the bird looked even more bizarre than before.

Especially its blood-red eyes, which were filled not just with terror, but also with murderous intent and venomous hatred.

Joy Warren never imagined that in her entire life she would see such emotions in a bird’s eyes.

For a moment, she was so frightened that she subconsciously took two steps back.

Dominic Crawford was the first to notice something was off with Joy Warren and quickly asked with concern, "How are you? Are you okay?"

Joy Warren shook her head, but she was still shaken. She patted her chest lightly. "I’m fine!"

She said she was fine, but her expression clearly showed otherwise.

Dominic Crawford wanted to show more concern but didn’t know what to say. Instead, he glared fiercely at the bird in the cage. "You’re already a prisoner! You’d better start acting like one!"