Chapter 64: Upheaval!

The power station in Black Mountain’s East District was still under construction. Workers moved busily back and forth across the site.

On the raised metal control platform, the radiation alarm suddenly shrieked, its piercing beeps cutting through the noise of the construction site.

The engineer in the yellow hard hat glanced at the display screen and froze. “Something’s wrong. The radiation levels are spiking way too fast!”

Jared Hall gave it a casual glance, his voice perfectly calm. “Don’t panic. This is normal.”

A low mechanical hum filled the air. On the rusted monitoring panel, the metal needles jerked wildly from side to side. The vibrations grew stronger.

“The neutron density is over the limit! The coolant is depleted!” the engineer cried in alarm. “We have to shut the reactor down!”

Jared pushed his glasses up. Behind the lenses, his eyes were dark and brooding. “I told you, this is normal. Just do your job. Nobody knows more about nuclear reactors better than I do!”

Every gauge on the main control panel began to tremble violently, needles slamming against their maximum readings. Deep clangs rang out from inside the metal pipes as strange tremors shook through them.

“I’ve only ever worked with fission power cells, but this neutron density is definitely abnormal—it’s already five times over the limit!” The engineer shoved his way forward, reaching desperately for the porcelain breaker switch.

All the strength seemed to drain from his body. Something cold and hard was moving inside him. His spine felt as if it had been crushed.

He looked down. Jared Hall’s middle and index fingers had stretched to an impossible length, their surfaces gleaming with a metallic silver sheen. They had pierced straight through his body and were still grinding and stirring inside him. Warm blood dripped from the wounds, splattering across the metal-paneled floor in large crimson blooms.

“You…” The engineer’s eyes widened. His hard hat slipped off as he collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

Outside the control platform, many people sensed that something was wrong. The radiation alarm kept shrieking, and those with keen senses also detected a faint scent of blood in the air.

“What happened?”

“Mr. Hall? What’s going on?”

“Can someone shut that alarm off already? It’s been screaming nonstop!”

Someone climbed the long iron ladder toward the control platform. At the platform entrance, he saw the bloody scene, and his eyes flew open. But before a terrified cry could leave his throat, a long silver rod shot out from inside the control station and pierced straight through his neck.

The silver rod retracted. Blood sprayed from the corpse’s throat as the body rolled down the stairs with a wet gurgle.

By this point, even a fool knew something was terribly wrong. The crowd panicked and fled outward in a stampede. The wooden scaffolding swayed unsteadily. Chaos engulfed the entire site.

On the balcony of a nearby high-rise, Darius Smith’s face was grave. He had sensed a terrifying crisis, and a chilling thought formed in his mind.

I hope I’m wrong…

Darius clenched his fingers and crushed the concrete railing of the balcony with a sudden, powerful grip.

“City Lord! Something’s happening around the reactor! You need to leave now! We’ll send people to investigate!”

“City Lord, hurry! You have to go!”

The officers around him were flustered and panicked, desperately urging Darius to leave the area.

Darius turned to face his subordinates. His gaze beneath the gray-white eyebrows was sharp as a blade. “Which of you has an ability that can bury the reactor underground?”

The officers fell silent and shook their heads one after another, signaling their helplessness. Their powers were more than capable of killing, but moving something as heavy and massive as a nuclear reactor was far beyond them.

“As City Lord, I cannot leave! In times like these, someone has to step forward!”

The moment he finished speaking, Darius exploded with power from his feet and leaped down from the high-rise balcony in a single bound. His figure soared through the air like an eagle, diving straight toward the power station.

……

On the desolate streets of Black Mountain’s West District, Jimmy pushed a flashy red highway motorcycle while walking side by side with Finn.

When they reached the residential building where Olivia lived, Finn drew his Desert Eagle and fired a shot into the sky.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed loudly across the area.

Olivia possessed X-ray vision, so she didn’t need to open a window to see Finn.

Soon after, she hurried down the stairs. Her hair had been quickly combed, and she wore a light rose-pink lipstick. She looked fresh and radiant, bright and captivating. Yet her eyes were red and puffy, with visible dark circles beneath them. It seemed she had cried heavily the night before and still hadn’t recovered.

“Why did you come?” Olivia lowered her head, twisting her hands together nervously.

“I came to return your motorcycle.” Finn waved a hand. Jimmy pushed the highway motorcycle over and parked it beside Olivia.

“Thank you. Are you leaving now?” Olivia’s hands twisted anxiously together. She didn’t dare meet Finn’s eyes. Sorrow weighed heavily on her heart, as if a massive stone wall had sealed itself inside her chest, leaving all the words she wanted to say trapped behind it.

She truly loved the man before her with all her heart and was willing to give everything for him, yet she could never accept becoming a slave.

She was like a stubborn white rose, preferring to bloom proudly across the barren wasteland rather than be plucked and left to wither inside a vase.

Finn hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Actually, when I mentioned a maid yesterday, I didn’t mean it the way you’re thinking. It’s not slavery. A maid only needs to follow my orders absolutely. I won’t interfere with your hobbies, interests, or personal growth.”

Olivia pressed her index finger to her red lips and nodded thoughtfully. A look of realization dawned on her face. “So it’s basically like being your subordinate?”

“That’s right. More or less.” Finn added, “Just with a closer relationship.”

“Alright then. I’ll be your maid.” Olivia’s cheeks flushed red. Nervously, she stepped forward and extended her fair, soft hand, wanting to take Finn’s.

Joy surged through Finn’s chest. His normally unshakable calm now rippled with powerful waves. Finally… he had recruited his first maid! Don’t worry, Olivia Hill. I’ll treat you well from now on.

Finn reached out with his broad, sturdy hand to grasp her small, pale one.

BOOM!!!!

A deafening explosion tore through the air. The ground trembled violently.

In the distance, a blazing white sphere of light erupted upward, sending crimson flames roaring toward the sky.

It struck like a tsunami. In a single instant, the shockwave slammed forward with overwhelming force, peeling up the ground, shattering residential buildings, and uprooting withered trees. Sand and stones flew everywhere as everything in its path was flattened.

Finn’s reaction was lightning-fast. He yanked Olivia into his arms and held her tightly while flinging out a strand of Profound Energy that condensed into a protective shield around Jimmy.

Even with the Profound Energy shield, Jimmy was still blasted off his feet. The shockwave hurled him upward as if he had been torn loose from the earth itself.

Olivia, however, remained firmly in Finn’s embrace, untouched by the raging shockwave storm.

Finn stood like an iron tower rooted thousands of meters deep. Even as the ground was torn apart around him, he didn’t budge.

“Playing favorites, huh…” Jimmy’s scream was swallowed by the roaring shockwave.

……

Half a minute later, the earth finally stopped shaking.

Devastation stretched as far as the eye could see. Not a single building remained intact. A terrifying silence hung over everything—no sound, no movement, not even the faintest sign of life.

Finn could sense enormous amounts of nuclear radiation spreading through the air. He expanded his Profound Energy shield and, after confirming there would be no second explosion, slowly released Olivia from his arms.

The golden-haired girl trembled violently. She stared at the hellish landscape in disbelief, her eyes vacant. She could hardly accept that the wasteland of ruin before her had been Black Mountain just half a minute ago.