Chapter 118 - 119: Psionic Shooting

Chapter 118: Chapter 119: Psionic Shooting

Chapter 119: Psionic Shooting

"The first batch," Dr. Seth Brundle said, holding up several freshly prepared shells with obvious pride, "I’m calling them High-Explosive Slugs." He handled them like a scientist showing off a successful experiment rather than ammunition, and Axel Vance immediately noticed that the finished rounds felt heavier and somehow more substantial than ordinary shells. Whatever Seth and Lionel had done, the components had clearly been designed around the supernatural properties of the enchanted shotgun rather than normal ballistic expectations.

"Let’s test them outside," Axel said, taking the antique double-barreled shotgun from the workbench. Seth and Lionel Cosgrove followed him into the backyard, where they had already prepared a heavy scrap target far from the house. Seth pulled his goggles into place and watched with the anticipation of a man who had temporarily forgotten every failed telepod experiment.

Axel raised the shotgun and wrapped his hands around the old stock. The moment his grip settled, the blood-red pattern formed by the Blood Jade seemed to awaken, sending a pulse of resentment through the weapon before linking naturally with his Psionic Power. The special ammunition responded almost immediately, drawing energy through the enchanted gun far more smoothly than anything Axel had tested before.

He fired.

The report rolled across the property like a thunderclap, and a burst of red supernatural light flashed from the weapon. The heavy target in the distance buckled violently under the impact before breaking apart, leaving Seth and Lionel staring at the wreckage in complete silence. Axel barely noticed their reactions because his attention was fixed on the sensation inside his own body.

A large amount of Psionic Power had been drawn into the shot at the instant of firing and released all at once. The process felt completely different from simply using the Chainsaw Sword, as though the firearm had turned his supernatural energy into a single concentrated discharge. A familiar blue system panel appeared before him almost immediately.

[New Skill Unlocked: Psionic Shooting Lv.1 — 6/1000]

[Psionic Power +0.1]

[Psionic Power: 2.8]

[Psionic Shooting: Channel Psionic Power into compatible ammunition to increase its supernatural effectiveness. Results depend on skill level, Psionic Power investment, and ammunition compatibility.]

Axel’s eyes brightened. The moment he saw the notification, he knew the path they had chosen was correct, because the system had formally recognized the combination of the Blood Jade shotgun, compatible ammunition, and Psionic Power as a new skill. Without wasting time, he fired the second experimental round into what remained of the test target.

Another violent supernatural impact tore through the wreckage. The panel updated again, showing Psionic Shooting EXP: 10/1000, confirming that the first result had not been a coincidence. Axel lowered the weapon with a grin that immediately made Seth suspicious.

Next, Axel tried ordinary store-bought ammunition. The difference was obvious the instant he attempted to channel Psionic Power into it, because the energy flow felt sluggish and resisted the enchanted weapon instead of cooperating with it. When he fired, the result was little more than an ordinary shot, and the system panel remained completely unchanged.

That answered the question.

The new skill depended on ammunition compatible with the shotgun’s supernatural energy circuit.

Axel turned toward Seth, his eyes almost glowing with enthusiasm. "Don’t stop now. We need more of the special rounds." Seth’s exhaustion disappeared at once as the experimental part of his brain took over, and he nodded eagerly.

"Now we have actual data," Seth said. "That means I can refine the process instead of guessing." Lionel sighed as though he already knew he had just lost the rest of his day, but he followed them back into the basement anyway.

For the next several hours, the mansion’s basement became a chaotic little research workshop. Seth handled the theoretical side and adjusted the supernatural compatibility of each new batch, while Lionel helped with the repetitive assembly work and Axel took care of the heavy workshop tasks. Whenever another set was ready, Axel carried the shotgun outside and tested it.

The results quickly became addictive.

[Psionic Shooting EXP: 90/1000]

Another batch followed.

[Psionic Shooting EXP: 100/1000]

Then another.

[Psionic Shooting EXP: 120/1000]

By late afternoon, the system finally displayed 550/1000. Axel had spent most of the day alternating between testing the enchanted shotgun and helping Seth prepare the next batch, yet the steady increase in experience made the repetitive work feel worthwhile. For the first time in days, the atmosphere around the mansion had shifted from frustration to genuine progress.

Axel was still working in the basement when someone knocked at the door upstairs. A few minutes later, Clarice Starling appeared at the entrance to the lab with an unusually complicated expression, and a woman stood behind her. Axel barely looked up at first, still focused on the equipment spread across the workbench.

"We’re busy down here," he said. "Give me a minute and I’ll come upstairs." Then his gaze moved past Clarice and settled on the stranger.

Axel stopped.

The woman was extraordinarily tall, enough that she stood noticeably above Clarice, with long limbs and a strikingly proportioned figure that looked almost unnaturally refined. At first glance she could have passed for a high-fashion model, yet the expression on her face completely contradicted that appearance, because her eyes were filled with fear and helplessness.

Clarice spoke first. "Axel, we have a problem." The seriousness in her voice pulled his attention away from the woman’s appearance, and Axel set down what he was holding before walking closer.

"Who is she?" he asked.

The woman looked up.

Her lips trembled.

"Axel," she whispered, "it’s me. Heather."

For several seconds, Axel simply stared at her.

"Heather?"

He searched the woman’s face again, mentally comparing it with the exhausted young woman he remembered from the Leatherface incident in Texas. The basic outline was still there, and the frightened look in her eyes was unmistakable, but her height, build, and overall appearance had changed so dramatically that Axel would never have recognized her without hearing her voice.

"What happened to you?" he asked, looking toward Clarice.

Clarice stepped aside. "You should hear it from her."

Heather walked farther into the basement, and the composure she had been barely maintaining finally collapsed. Tears filled her eyes as she said, "I don’t know what’s happening to me. I really don’t."

Axel’s expression hardened as he listened.

"A few days ago, my body started changing," Heather continued. "Every morning I wake up and I’m taller, stronger, different somehow. At first I thought maybe it was a good thing because I felt healthier than I ever had before."

She looked down at herself as though the body belonged to somebody else. There was no pride in her expression despite the almost impossible transformation, only deep unease. "Then it stopped feeling normal."

Clarice remained beside her in silence.

Heather swallowed and wiped at her tears. "And after that, I started hearing something."

Axel’s attention sharpened immediately. "Hearing what?"

Heather looked directly at him, terror returning to her eyes.

"A voice," she said. "There’s a voice inside my head."

Axel’s heart sank.

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