Chapter 14: Level‑2 Supernatural Ability
1563 Words
The ground had been blasted into unrecognizable ruins by quantum guns and particle cannons. Aside from the trio of Chen Lillian, everyone had already thought of the mining area and surged toward its entrance. When Chen Lillian, Yuan Vincent, and Uncle Zhao arrived, a large crowd was already gathered.
“Take the lift,” Chen Lillian ordered.
“Hey—you three, two cripples and an old geezer—what’s the point of trying to escape? Why don’t you let others have a chance to live?” Someone from behind grabbed the back of Yuan Vincent’s clothes.
Yuan Vincent’s face darkened; his striking lips pressed into a thin line. Uncle Zhao’s expression soured as he tried to step onto the lift but couldn’t move forward, nearly losing his balance as he was pulled back.
Instantly infuriated, Chen Lillian didn’t hesitate—she kicked that man square in the shins. “Get the hell out! If you want to die, go die on your own!”
The offender, caught completely off guard, was sent sprawling to the ground.
“Uncle Zhao, you both go ahead,” Chen Lillian declared, positioning herself protectively behind Uncle Zhao and Yuan Vincent, her eyes blazing with murderous intent. Others, intimidated by her glare, kept their distance.
The man who had been kicked up recovered, his face twisted into a snarl. He charged at her, throwing a punch. Chen Lillian merely smirked and delivered a clean, swift leg sweep, sending him flying once more.
One well-placed kick was not enough; two proved it wasn’t because that man was weak, but because this one‑armed woman was no ordinary opponent.
The trio boarded the lift, which then plummeted rapidly downward. The lights in the underground mining area came on, bright as daylight. In mere seconds, the lift reached the floor after descending dozens of meters.
“Head that way,” Chen Lillian said, pointing in a direction based purely on instinct.
Uncle Zhao followed without hesitation, but Yuan Vincent cast an astonished look at her—he noticed that rather than heading toward the area where he and Uncle Zhao were excavating, she chose a different direction. Moreover, he distinctly felt an intense, lethal aura from her powerful kicks—an aura he had only experienced from a battle-hardened veteran who had served on the front lines for over ten years. Yet Chen Lillian was only eighteen. Such raw, killing intent was startling.
If it weren’t for the fact that a missing arm can never be faked, he might even question whether she was truly the Chen Lillian of the Chen family.
Why did she choose that direction? Naturally, it was because she sensed a strong “source” of metal here. Normally, the Star Pirates kept a strict watch—when they weren’t working, they worked; any lapse and a quantum gun sweep would reduce a person to dust, so she rarely had a chance to harvest any metal source. Now, however, an opportunity had presented itself.
Chen Lillian dashed toward the area where the metal “source” was most concentrated. “It’s here,” she declared, pressing her whole body against the rock wall. Her ethereal power—fine as strands of hair—detached and surged toward the richest metal source.
Uncle Zhao, having set Yuan Vincent down, turned and saw Chen Lillian pressed against the wall. Thinking she must be tired, he said, “Sit down if you need to rest; after all, we aren’t any cleaner than the floor.”
“You’re right,” Chen Lillian replied with a smile, and immediately sat down. In that moment, her power, having feasted briefly, returned to her body.
Though her body had been weary for days, now it was temporarily eased. However, to protect herself, Yuan Vincent, and Uncle Zhao, her current Level‑1 power was far from enough. She had to boost her supernatural ability quickly.
Rising, Chen Lillian announced, “I’ll take a walk nearby; I don’t know when the fighting above will end.”
“Go ahead—stay safe,” Uncle Zhao replied, dismissing her as overly curious.
Yuan Vincent, however, watched her departing figure and fell into deep thought.
“Don’t worry; young madam is a person of deep loyalty. She wouldn’t leave us behind,” Uncle Zhao reassured him.
Yuan Vincent frowned, “I don’t think that’s the case.”
Though Chen Lillian had never seen a Blue Key Stone, she knew that the “source” within it was the purest metal energy she had ever absorbed—this was beyond doubt. Her curiosity about Blue Key Stone grew more with every step.
As Chen Lillian strolled through the mining area, others eyed her warily at first. But once they noticed her empty right arm, their guard quickly dropped, and they paid her no further mind.
Chen Lillian smiled ruefully—turns out, having a missing arm had its advantages.
Over the course of an hour or two, she roamed most of the mining area, absorbing every trace of metal source her power detected. In doing so, her ability advanced from Level‑1 to Level‑2. The metal source from the Blue Key Stone was very pure, though the quantity was low. If she could get just a bit more, she was sure she’d advance again.
She wondered how large this mine was and how many more Blue Key Stones might be hidden.
All of a sudden, Chen Lillian found that she wasn’t so averse to mining after all. Compared to the promise of boosting her power, the hardships of mining were trivial. After all, in her previous life, fighting zombies was far more dangerous than a bit of mining.
“Young madam, you’re back,” Uncle Zhao said as soon as he saw Chen Lillian, visibly relieved. “If you don’t return soon, we’ll have to come look for you.”
Chen Lillian smiled apologetically, “The mining area is huge—I nearly got lost.”
“Once you know how big it is, don’t wander about aimlessly,” Yuan Vincent’s deep voice replied.
Sitting down beside him, Chen Lillian added, “I’m here to scout the area. We don’t want to end up like headless flies when we try to escape.”
Yuan Vincent studied her, “I feel like when you come back, you’re not quite the same as before.”
Chen Lillian raised an eyebrow, “How so?”
A mysterious depth shone in her eyes. In his heart, Yuan Vincent thought she might be questioning him—like, “You, a Mecha Design student, should know better!” But he simply said, “Oh, perhaps I’m mistaken.”
Chen Lillian’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Listen—the sound of cannon fire above has ceased,” Uncle Zhao announced.
Then, a series of harsh, clanging gongs rang out—a sound not of a whistle, but a copper gong.
Chen Lillian’s heart skipped a beat. Has the mining area come under new management?
Yuan Vincent, too, had sensed the possibility; his face grew sombre.
“I wonder if the new mine boss will be kinder to us,” Uncle Zhao murmured, voicing his concern.
Chen Lillian and Yuan Vincent exchanged looks, an unspoken sense of shared fate passing between them.
“Miners, listen up! You have ten minutes to all reach the surface, or your fate will be death!”
The blaring of a loudspeaker echoed through the mine.
“Let’s go,” Chen Lillian said. They had no mechs, no starship, no weapons—not even food or water. Being two disabled individuals and one old man, resisting was futile. They’d better obediently continue mining.
The new Star Pirate seemed surprised that two disabled people could still work. Upon seeing Chen Lillian and Yuan Vincent, he frowned, “You two can actually work?”
“Of course,” Chen Lillian declared proudly, “We may be physically impaired, but our will is strong. I operate the stone cutter as well as anyone, and my husband is even more capable—he repairs every stone cutter in this mine.”
At the mention of “my husband,” Yuan Vincent’s face flushed red, though his grayed face gave nothing away to onlookers.
“Really?” the new pirate asked doubtfully.
“If you don’t believe it, you can just supervise us when we work,” Chen Lillian said firmly, her voice commanding respect.
The pirate’s eyes narrowed as he randomly pointed his gun at someone, “That cripple with no legs—can he really repair a stone cutter?”
The man so targeted trembled and replied, “He does, indeed.”
Satisfied with the answer, the pirate glanced disdainfully at Yuan Vincent, who was standing behind Uncle Zhao, “Since he’s useful, we’ll keep him for now.”
The shelter had been reduced to rubble by explosions, leaving only black fragments scattered on the ground and a pit over a meter deep. The new Star Pirates hadn’t provided any building materials—instead, they gave everyone just one day to scavenge locally and build a shelter to sleep in. If they failed, they would be forced to sleep outdoors or in the mine tunnels.
Chen Lillian surveyed the barren surroundings. There was nothing but dirt and stone here.
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