Chapter 17
Gazing at the abandoned hut in front of him, Syd walked straight in.
He had just entered when he stopped.
"Who are you and why are you here?"
Two men and a woman emerged from a nearby room, their eyes filled with wariness.
Syd assessed the trio.
They looked to be in their twenties or thirties. The men's faces were covered with stubble, looking somewhat disheveled, while the woman looked slightly better, but not by much.
Their clothes were tattered, making them look more like drifters than the owners of the house.
Syd explained briefly, "I thought no one was here, so..."
Seeing his polite demeanor and that he didn't seem to be a threat, the three relaxed a bit.
"We've claimed this place, please leave," said Mark, the slightly older and more composed of the three.
Syd heard a hidden message in his words and asked, "So this isn't your house?"
"We claimed it, so it's ours now," Mark frowned, annoyed at the young man's audacity.
The other man and woman also seemed displeased, thinking Syd was being unreasonable as he still hadn't left despite seeing there were three of them.
The younger man, a muscular blond, said aggressively, "Leave now or we'll make you!"
At that moment, the hot-headed young man's body underwent a transformation that caught Syd's attention.
His body suddenly enlarged significantly, his muscles bulging, making him look like a giant gorilla.
"A mutant?" Syd's eyes flashed with intrigue.
Before he could act, the other two quickly became anxious.
"Kirill, are you alright?"
"Calm down, Kirill!"
Breathing heavily, Kirill managed to calm himself down, "I'm fine, just got a bit too excited and lost control of my abilities."
The other two sighed in relief and nodded.
"What should we do about him seeing Kirill's transformation?" asked Heidi, the young woman with red hair, frowning.
The three exchanged glances, malevolence flickering in their eyes.
By then, Syd had almost figured out the situation.
"So, three mutants hiding here. This should be easy to handle."
He pondered the next move.
Neither expelling them nor aggressive action seemed right, both would cause too much noise. He decided to subtly reveal his abilities and establish his identity as a fellow mutant.
As the trio's cold expressions turned to quiet consultation, Mark signaled to proceed as they had planned.
Just as they were about to collaborate silently to overpower Syd, a stunning scene unfolded!
A black particle beam shot out from Syd's fingertips, striking the ground before them with incredible speed.
[Black Particle Experience +1]
The sound of friction and cutting echoed as a hole the size of an egg appeared on the ground.
The trio gasped in shock, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.
Such power...
If that had hit them instead of the ground...
They couldn't help but imagine the outcome, a wave of fear overtaking them.
This young man's abilities were terrifying, far more potent than any bullet!
Recovering from their shock, and seeing the golden pupils revealed under the sunlight, Mark hesitantly asked, "Are you also a mutant?"
Syd nodded.
Though they had suspected, the confirmation made Mark and the others visibly relax.
Realizing he was one of their own, their hostility greatly diminished.
"My name is Mark. The big guy is Kirill, and the other is my sister," Mark introduced.
"Hello, I'm Heidi," the red-haired woman said with an awkward smile.
"You can call me Syd."
The trio nodded.
After exchanging names, the impulsive Kirill curiously asked, "Mate, how did you end up in a place like this?"
Glancing around as if to emphasize the decrepitude of the location, Syd thought for a moment before asking in return, "What about you?"
"We're... running from the law," Kirill hesitated, then added, "You know, got reported after showing our powers, and then..."
"It's similar for me," Syd casually replied.
Hearing this, the three quickly imagined a series of scenarios, even guessing why he was there.
They looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
"Syd, was that your power just now? It looked really cool!" Kirill asked with evident excitement.
"It's quite powerful," Heidi commented from the side.
Syd nodded vaguely, then curiously asked, "What about your powers?"
"You saw Kirill's. I have x-ray vision," Mark shared, "and my sister..."
He gestured to Heidi to continue.
"I have clairvoyance—I can see clearly up to a kilometer away!" Heidi said with a modest smile.
Before she could finish, Kirill excitedly added, "Hey, you wouldn't believe it, but their powers can combine!
It's really cool!"
"Heh, it's thanks to their abilities that we've been able to hide for so long."
"Of course, my keen senses also helped us to..."
As he rambled on, Syd thoughtfully murmured, "Combining powers, huh..."
He was familiar with this concept, having seen similar cases in past TV shows.
For instance, a brother and sister, both with ordinary abilities, could join hands to unleash power capable of demolishing a building!
Of course, such cooperation required a blood connection and compatible abilities.
"These two combined can probably see anything within a kilometer clearly," Syd mused.
After sharing their abilities, a certain trust was established. When Syd asked if he could stay the night, they hesitated but then agreed.
During the process, Kirill even enthusiastically helped him settle in.
After everything was set up, and seeing the trio discussing in the distance, Syd focused on his panel.
Looking at the energy points that were now over a thousand and still increasing, anticipation filled his eyes.
"This should be enough to awaken a new ability. I wonder what it will be, I'm really curious!"
With these thoughts and filled with anticipation, Syd poured all his energy points into the unlocking progress.
(End of Chapter)