Volume Two: Life and Death at Speed in the Northern Border - Chapter 117: A Battle of Wits (?)

"Ah, Sister Ye, you said it was an enemy attack, but I didn't know anything about it—wait?"

Ailin stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, looking at her wrist in surprise, where a few small pieces of wood were stuck.

"When did it get stuck on? Ugh... wait... I can't get it off?"

Ailin tried hard to remove the sawdust, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't budge, as if it were permanently attached to her hand.

"Let me see... hey!"

I pulled hard and finally got the sawdust off, but a strong suction suddenly burst from my hand, and the sawdust stuck to me instead.

No... it's less like sticking and more like being sucked in.

"Careful!"

Ailin suddenly screamed, and I immediately conjured a crystal shield to protect myself. A piece of steel that had been piled in the corner flew towards me at an extremely fast speed and crashed heavily into the shield. The crystal shield shook, trying to shake off the steel, but the steel just stuck to the shield and wouldn't move.

"Could it be... that we're attracting them?"

The words had barely left his mouth--

Crack! Crack! Crack! A series of ominous sounds rang out. We quickly looked around and saw that all sorts of things in the warehouse— Psionic Brick, wooden boxes, steel, stone, and all sorts of small items—began to shake violently, reminiscent of a ferocious beast about to pounce on its prey.

"... Ailin."

"... Um?"

"Head down!!!"

Ailin immediately covered her head and lay prone on the ground, while countless objects—whether Psionic Brick or junk—all hurtled towards us at a speed that could kill a person!

"Crystal Flower Bloom!"

Centered on me, countless blood Crystal Spike spikes bloomed like crimson petals, meeting all the hard objects we "attracted"! In a flash of red light, the bricks and rubble shattered into countless fragments upon contact! But before I could even catch my breath, those countless small fragments continued their relentless assault on us!

"Blood Crystal Body!"

I immediately hugged Ailin, and at the same time, countless blood crystals wrapped us tightly like armor, barely blocking the storm of fragments outside!

"Woo!"

I was a beat too slow. Just before the crystal armor closed, a sharp shard of Psionic Brick struck my arm. But that wasn't all! The shard writhed like a leech, burrowing into my skin, embedding itself in my arm, and heading towards my heart!

I was terrified. I quickly channeled the blood in my arm, enduring the excruciating pain as I forcefully expelled the fragments from my body. What a dangerous ability! It allows a person to attract surrounding objects, which then relentlessly move towards the body, continuing even after being shattered into pieces! Without any special defensive measures, being hit by this is certain death!

"There's too much stuff in the warehouse! Let's go outside!"

"Yes--"

Covered in crystal armor, the two staggered towards the door, various random things attaching themselves to them along the way, piling up with the previous fragments. Although none of them were enough to break through my defenses, the weight we carried was becoming increasingly unbearable!

"Come on, Ailin... you're only... a few steps from the door!"

"Hmm... but it's so heavy!"

Struggling to lift the heavy object, I spurred my trembling knees toward the door. Five steps left, four steps, three steps...

BOOM!!!!!!

The warehouse's iron door suddenly detached from its frame and slammed into us with tremendous force! Caught off guard by the impact, we fell backward just two steps from the door! At the same time, countless objects rushed up and pinned us down!

"Waaah... Sister Ye!"

"It's okay, watch me--"

A spurt of blood shot out, transforming into a giant hand that flew towards the door and tightly embraced a rock.

OK! That's it, take us out!

However--

Crack! Crack! Crack! The dirt and rocks outside the warehouse rushed towards the Blood Hand, and under the intense pressure, the Blood Hand, which had not yet formed blood crystals, immediately disintegrated!

So that's how it is—my blood is also part of my body, so it attracts objects! But to pull us out, we need blood that can expand and contract freely, not hard blood crystals... Tsk! If I could, I'd like to dig a hole or something and crawl out underground, but my body would attract soil and rocks, causing the tunnel to collapse instantly, not to mention I'm carrying Ailin along.

When faced with a troublesome ability, one should skip the superpower and go straight for the body. With such a powerful superpower, the body can't be too far away! I could easily unleash a massive Earth Spike hundreds of meters in diameter for indiscriminate slaughter, but... the problem is I'm not alone right now. Ailin is right beside me, so let's leave that aside for now. If I really unleash my ultimate attack, I'll definitely accidentally hurt Givinia and Ally!

What worries me even more is that since we're under attack, Givinia and Ally must be in no better shape! I'm the only one truly capable of direct combat, Ally can barely hold her own, but as for Givinia... damn it, what do I do!

"What the hell is going on?! Sirius is rebelling?!"

"Calm down, Ally! This must be the enemy's ability!"

Givinia returned to Sirius earlier and was about to put down her things to help the other two when the unexpected happened.

First came the car seat cushions, then small ornaments, followed by various daily necessities, all suddenly flying towards the two of them. Now even the steering wheel, gearshift, and doors are creaking and could detach from the car at any moment!

"It must be a superpower that attracts surrounding objects to our bodies. We have to get out! The suction is getting stronger and stronger; eventually, the entire vehicle will collapse into a heap!"

"Then hurry up and release it--"

"I think you might as well die in the car!"

A male voice suddenly rang out, and a man in a green racing suit stood about twenty meters away from them, looking at them smugly. Behind the man was the same green light truck from before, with several team members, also dressed in green, sitting inside, each wearing a cold smile.

"With a leading position and a beautiful duo, you're quite the formidable opponent... Although the rules forbid killing, it doesn't matter. No broadcast airships are passing by yet, let's take you down now!"

The attraction suddenly intensified, and more and more objects clung to them, gradually overwhelming the car's interior parts, creating a very dangerous situation!

"I can give anyone who enters my ability's range a 'suction force,' pulling surrounding objects towards me at high speed! The longer it lasts, the stronger the suction becomes. Your other two companions are probably already dead, but don't worry, you'll be joining them soon!"

"What did you say? Ailin and A Ye— "

"Whether it's true or not, don't let him sway you!" Givinia immediately interrupted Ally, remaining calm even in such a dangerous situation.

"Hey, you in the green shirt, I just want to ask you one thing—you said you could give people 'attraction,' right? Does every part of a person have attraction?"

"Need I say more? It's not just hair and fingernails that have suction, even bodily fluids! So you can forget about escaping!" The man became even more smug.

"As expected... Hehe, that puts my mind at ease."

"You're relieved? What do you mean—wait!?"

The voice came from beside him, and a ghostly figure that looked exactly like Givinia appeared next to him, looking at him indifferently.

"Is this your special ability? Is it something like creating illusions? Anyway, the winner is—"

He was interrupted.

A flying rock struck his side, causing him to clutch his stomach and fall to his knees.

But that wasn't all; grass, trees, clods of earth, and even the truck behind him began to move towards him! A large number of objects flew through the air, forming a dense barrage of projectiles from all directions!

"W-What's going on?! Why am I also--"

Then, he discovered it.

It wasn't him who attracted the object, but rather the illusory image of the girl right next to him.

Countless objects converged towards the virtual image because he was so close to it that even he and the team members in the truck were affected!

"You just said it, didn't you? Every part of a person has an attractive force. If hair, fingernails, and bodily fluids are all part of a person, then a person's will should count too, right...?"

"Idea!?"

"That's right, mind!" The beautiful girl with light brown hair smiled confidently. "My ability isn't about creating illusions. The image you see is a projection of my own 'mind' onto the external environment. It's a part of my mind, and to put it another way, it's also 'a part of myself'! So, it's only natural that it has a suction force!"

Countless objects rained down on the man, who struggled to break free, but—

"I won't let you escape."

Dozens of phantom images appeared out of thin air, surrounding the man and the truck, turning them into sitting ducks!

"Yes, we're sorry, we admit defeat!"

The man deactivated his supernatural power, and the objects that had been charging forward immediately lost speed and fell to the ground. However, a few that were moving too fast didn't fall immediately and struck the man on the head. The man groaned and passed out.

"Phew, that was easy. Hey, you guys!" Givinia shouted into the truck.

"Yes, yes!"

"Get this idiot out of here. To be honest, we should have killed you all, but unfortunately, we don't have anyone with direct combat capabilities. We'll let you go for now. Leave all the supplies in your vehicle, and then get out of here! Don't ever show your face again!"

"Yes, sir..."

The three team members, all dressed in green, immediately got out of the vehicle, carried the man away, leaving behind a large amount of dry rations and Psionic Brick before fleeing in disarray. Having lost their leader, they completely lost their will to fight and dared not fight any longer.

"What? It was Givinia who solved it?"

The pile of objects that had been pressing down on us suddenly fell away, and that's how we were saved. After we got back to the car, they told me what had happened, and I was truly shocked.

"Hehe, how was it?" Givinia rarely showed a slightly smug expression, and puffed out her rather full breasts.

"Impressive... To be honest, considering your ability doesn't have any direct offensive power, I was thinking you'd be the first to suffer."

"How rude of you, A Ye! You know, many battles aren't about brute force," Givinia said, tapping her head.

"--It's not about using your brain, it's about using your brain!"

I am completely convinced.

"Alright, the car isn't actually damaged, so we've weathered this crisis safely. Let's move on! The next stop is the finish line of the first stage— Arkham Town!"

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This superpower is quite powerful if you imagine it well. I originally wanted to give it to a member of the organization, but I think I'll pass.