Chapter 34: The Aberrant Beasts Came Following the Scent

"Jayce! Don’t go too far! Don’t think you’re the only Superpower User in the entire base!"

Jayce sneered. "I don’t think I’m the only Superpower User in the base. But at least I know *you’re* not one yet. When you finally become one, you can use your Superpower to fight me! I’ll be waiting!"

The words weren’t a physical blow, but the insult was devastating.

Hugo Cheney’s face practically turned green with rage, but all he could do was glare, unable to utter a single word.

"Alright!" Jayce waved his hand dismissively. "If you don’t have any other business, get out of the way. My time is precious, and I don’t have any to waste on you here."

Jayce turned to look at Sierra Sullivan. "Sierra, let’s go!"

"Okay!"

Sierra Sullivan agreed and got into the car with Jayce.

Seeing this, Douglas Ziegler quickly gestured for the others to get in the vehicles.

The car door slammed shut with a loud BANG, making Hugo Cheney jump.

When he saw the car start up and begin to drive toward him, Hugo Cheney didn’t dare stand his ground any longer. He quickly pulled Autumn Lynch aside.

Several vehicles roared past, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Hugo Cheney stared gloomily in the direction the cars had gone, his expression even uglier than before.

’That Jayce is getting more and more out of line!’

Autumn Lynch looked worried. "Hugo, are you okay?"

Before Hugo Cheney could answer, Autumn Lynch’s eyes were already red. "Hugo, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have—"

"Autumn!" Hugo Cheney cut her off. "That’s not it. Jayce and I have never gotten along! It has nothing to do with you!"

’This base can’t have two leaders forever!’

’If the Cheney Family is here, there’s no room for the Everett Family!’

’Whether it’s Jayce or the Everett Family behind him, there’s only one possible outcome: they will disappear from this world!’

A vicious glint flashed in Hugo Cheney’s eyes. When he looked back at Autumn Lynch, he smiled. "Autumn, don’t you worry! Sierra Sullivan is only acting this way because she has Jayce to back her up! Once Jayce and the Everett Family are gone, you can do whatever you want with a nobody like her!"

"Thank you, Hugo!" Autumn Lynch’s face lit up with delight, her voice turning syrupy sweet.

Hugo Cheney leaned in closer. "If you really want to thank me, just saying ’thank you’ won’t be enough. When we get back from our mission, you..."

Hugo Cheney’s voice trailed off into a whisper.

But Autumn Lynch’s cheeks grew redder and redder.

Autumn Lynch gave Hugo Cheney a gentle push. "Hugo, we should get going too! What if they’re heading to the same place? It would be bad if they got there first!"

"Hmph!" Hugo Cheney’s face turned cold. "If we are going to the same place, then that’s perfect. We’ll just make sure they never come back!"

’That old man, Kevin Everett... of his three sons, Jayce is the only one with a Superpower.’

’If Jayce were gone, Kevin Everett would surely be devastated.’

’And the Everett Family could forget about being on equal footing with the Cheney Family ever again!’

At this thought, Hugo Cheney grew even more excited. "Let’s go!"

’Let’s move out now!’

He couldn’t wait to kill Jayce!

Autumn Lynch was just as excited as Hugo Cheney.

’Jayce is Sierra Sullivan’s only backing. Without him, what does she have to compete with me?’

’When the time comes, I won’t kill Sierra Sullivan right away. I’ll make her crawl on the ground with a dog leash around her neck. She’ll be my dog!’

’Only then can I avenge my past humiliation!’

’For years, I’ve been the one acting like a dog in front of Sierra Sullivan. I must get my revenge for that!’

-

As the vehicles drove out of the underground garage, Sierra Sullivan felt the full force of the sandstorm.

Back home, looking out the window, she had thought today’s sandstorm seemed rather small.

But now, watching the fine, dense sand swirl everywhere, battering the car windows and obscuring her vision, Sierra Sullivan’s heart sank.

’You never truly know how dangerous something is until you’re in the middle of it!’

Fortunately, the vehicle’s performance was excellent, and the driver was experienced, so they made it out of the garage smoothly.

Once outside the residential complex, the vehicle drove steadily along the road. It picked up a little speed, and the sand no longer clung to the windows, allowing them to see the outside situation a bit more clearly.

As far as the eye could see, everything was a dusty yellow.

The once bustling and lively buildings were now shrouded in sand and dust, their forms blurry and indistinct.

Besides the sound of the vehicle’s engine, the only other noise was the SHH-SHH-SHH of sand hitting the car.

In that moment, Sierra Sullivan felt as if they were the only people left in the world.

However, Sierra Sullivan didn’t have much time to be dazed or sentimental.

Not long after leaving the complex, the Aberrant Beasts, drawn by their scent, arrived.

It was a flock of Skitterwings.

They didn’t all look identical; each had its own strange features.

But what they had in common were their extremely sharp beaks and oversized talons.

Their eyes weren’t particularly large, but they gleamed with ferocity.

They dove straight down from the sky, pecking at the windows and the car’s body with their sharp beaks. The impacts produced a piercing metallic screech.

Although the vehicle was sturdy, they couldn’t just let the creatures keep damaging it.

There were firing ports on the sides and back of the vehicle.

As Jayce opened a firing port, he warned Sierra Sullivan, "Sierra, be careful! Don’t let them scratch or peck you!"

"I know!"

Sierra Sullivan replied, her movements not slowing in the slightest as she also opened a firing port.

The results of her previous shooting practice were being tested at this very moment.

It proved that what she had learned wasn’t just for show; it was genuinely useful.

Every shot hit a Skitterwing.

The hit Skitterwings dropped directly to the ground, twitched a few times, and then went still.

Inside the car, everyone except Jayce shot her a look of astonishment.

Although they didn’t say it, they had all previously thought that Sierra Sullivan was just a "clinging vine" who depended on Jayce.

But now, seeing her marksmanship firsthand, they realized just how ridiculously wrong they had been.

’It makes sense, though.’

’If Sierra Sullivan were really just a clinging vine, why would Jayce have brought her out of the base?’

’She’s already with Jayce. Even if she did nothing, she could live a life of comfort in the base. Why would she come out here to risk her life!’

The way the others looked at Sierra Sullivan now held a trace of embarrassment.

Sierra Sullivan could feel it, but she didn’t care.

’How other people see me is their business.’

’I just need to be myself!’

The vehicle had already come to a stop.

After they dealt with the last few Skitterwings, they waited a moment to confirm there were no other Aberrant Beasts in ambush, then quickly opened the doors.

Two Space Ability Users were escorted out of the vehicle. They quickly collected all the Skitterwing corpses on the ground into their spatial storage and then immediately returned to the car.

The vehicle moved on. A female Space Ability User took a Skitterwing out of her space and handed it to Jayce.

Jayce took it with one hand. In his other, he held a dagger that glinted coldly, and he stabbed it directly into the Skitterwing’s head.