Two Seconds

Xiao He knew that his physique hadn't improved much; he was only slightly stronger than usual, probably around LV2. So he must have some kind of special Superpower.

"Let's try it without using my Superpower first," Xiao He thought to himself. He got into position, took a step closer to Xie Haining, and threw a right jab.

But the moment his fist was thrown, Xie Haining had already dodged to the side. Rather than saying that he dodged because he saw the fist, it would be more accurate to say that Xie Haining had already judged the trajectory of his punch when he raised his hand and dodged in advance.

To those around them, it seemed as if the two had planned their actions in advance with perfect understanding. Xiao He made a gesture towards thin air, while Xie Haining took the opportunity to close in. However, Xie Haining did not attack; instead, he patted Xiao He's left shoulder.

"Don't let your guard down just because of the attack," Xie Haining reminded him. "Keep your left hand in a defensive posture at all times."

"Oh, okay..." Xiao He raised his left hand, somewhat shocked. Only when he actually faced Xie Haining would he realize how terrifying he was.

Just now, when Xiao He's fist was dodged, his center of gravity had already shifted forward, and he couldn't change his movement without regaining his balance. But Xie Haining's attack had already arrived before he regained his balance.

The result was... Xiao He was completely defeated without triggering his abilities; he couldn't even touch Xie Haining, while Xie Haining could KO him in one round.

However, Xie Haining is now "Lin Tiannan".

"Let's see what this Superpower is all about..." Xiao He thought to himself, raising his hand towards Xie Haining who was approaching.

A ripple spread from Xiao He's hand, and the whole world went silent in the next moment. Xiao He was startled and looked around. Everyone and everything around him had stopped and turned into a black and white world.

Time Stop...

"Wow! That's impressive!" Xiao He took two steps back, muttering in astonishment to himself.

However, this Time Stop effect only lasted for about two seconds before disappearing, and time resumed its flow. Xie Haining, who had regained his mobility, stood there stunned, looking at Xiao He with some surprise.

"Old Xiao, you..." Ye Wanqing covered her mouth in astonishment.

"Brother Xiao, you just teleported!" Xia Yu said, pointing to the spot where Xiao He had been standing.

Xie Haining seemed to understand something. "It's Time Stop, right?"

"How did you know?" Xiao He laughed.

Xie Haining laughed too, "If it's acceleration, no matter how fast you go, you can't escape my eyes. But if it's spatial teleportation, your actions before and after the teleportation can be connected. But just now, to me, it was like watching a video where a few frames were dropped in the middle, and a segment was skipped directly. That must be Time Stop."

"Yes, it's like Time Stop," Xiao He said excitedly. Now he can do a lot of things.

"What a terrifying ability..." Ye Wanqing said, clutching her chest in fear.

"Time Stop! This is truly unprecedented!" But Cui Man was incredibly excited. "Let's test it out! Let's see what you can do Time Stop! No, I want to participate in the test myself!"

"Sister Man, aren't you afraid he'll take advantage of you?" Ye Wanqing asked hesitantly.

"It's worth sacrificing for science," Cui Man said eagerly. "Come on, Darling! Use me as an experiment!"

"I'm not that sleazy, okay..." Xiao He said irritably.

Everyone stood aside, leaving only Xiao He and Cui Man.

Xiao He focused his mind and activated his ability again, following his previous intuition; time around him stood still once more.

Because of the limited time, he didn't have time to do anything else. He tried to push Cui Man, but it felt like pushing a rock, which was extremely hard, and she didn't budge.

The molecules are also at rest, so they don't deform, therefore everything is hard and solid... Xiao He thought to himself. And at that moment, all his interest in this ability vanished instantly.

However, after the Time Stop was lifted, Cui Man lost her balance and stumbled back two steps before falling to the ground.

"Did you push me?" Cui Man asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, but you didn't move when Time Stop, and you only started moving when it was released..." Xiao He explained.

"This is really interesting..." Cui Man stood up, resting her chin on her hand and laughing. "We need to continue researching this ability more, to see what you can actually do in those two seconds. The first thing we need to test is whether you can shoot or throw objects while Time Stop."

What followed was a series of tedious tests regarding "Time Stop".

This ability lasts for two seconds, with a four-second cooldown between uses.

"This is a tranquilizer gun, and the bullets inside are also tranquilizer darts, but they haven't been injected with anesthetic," Cui Man said, handing him a gun. This was the first time Xiao He had ever handled a gun.

It actually looks similar to a real gun, except for the range and the bullets inside.

"And these," Cui Man said, handing him some more marbles, "Try hitting Old Xie with these later."

Xiao He nodded, then turned to Xie Haining: "Old Xie, are you ready?"

"Anytime is fine." Xie Haining nodded with a smile and got into position.

Xiao He activated Time Stop, then raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Although the bullet was fired, it stopped moving in mid-air as soon as it left the barrel. The bouncy ball was the same; it could be thrown, but it would stop after being thrown.

Time continued to flow, and the tranquilizer darts and marbles flew towards Xie Haining together.

Xie Haining easily dodged the tranquilizer darts by sidestepping them, and then caught the marbles one by one in his hand.

"I see, that's how it works. When Time Stop, external objects can be considered as molecules at rest, so they can't be moved or deformed." Cui Man rested her chin on her hand in realization. "But strangely, the thing you're holding in your hand is unaffected."

After pondering for a moment, Cui Man reached out her hand to him and said, "Come on, grab me and enter a state of Time Stop. Let's see if I can escape the effects of time together."

"Won't there be any danger?" Xiao He asked hesitantly.

"Then be a little gentler with her," Cui Man said, feigning shyness.

Xiao He grabbed Cui Man's hand and activated his Time Stop ability.

At this moment, a miraculous scene unfolded: Cui Man was not frozen in place.

"Ha!" Cui Man snapped her fingers and laughed excitedly, "This is amazing! It can even bring others into a state of Time Stop! Is this the power of White Light?! It can even freeze time!"

"This works..." Xiao He himself was shocked: he could actually bring others into Time Stop together!

However, two seconds is too short to do anything, and time soon begins to flow again.

"This Superpower is truly extraordinary." Cui Man paced back and forth, muttering to herself, "In that case, I roughly understand what kind of ability the White Light is... In my opinion, it should be a power that can influence the 'laws'."

"What do you mean?" Xiao He asked, puzzled. Cui Man pinched his cheek and laughed, "There are some 'laws' in this world that everyone must abide by, but no one can explain why. The most typical example is time. Why can time only travel from the past to the future in our world? Because that's what the 'laws' of our world dictate. And White Light can break this rule..."

As she spoke, Cui Man nodded in satisfaction and said, "I speculate that the working principle of White Light is actually unrelated to 'energy,' but rather it resets the laws. Because stopping the time of the entire universe is an absurdly large thing in terms of energy; it can only be explained by 'laws.'"

Xiao He also thought it made sense. For example, he could lift objects weighing more than ten tons, which was a resetting of the laws of "mechanics"; and he could fly, which was a resetting of the laws of "gravity".

Of course, the White Light may have other uses, but this ability confirms that White Light is related to the "laws" of this world.

"But it's just speculation after all," Cui Man said with a relaxed smile. "Let's leave these to the scientists to study."

"Putting all that aside..." Xie Haining said with a wry smile, "This ability does indeed counter me quite a bit."

"Yes, this is probably the only Superpower currently available that can counter Old Xie," Cui Man pondered. "I don't think anyone else possesses this Superpower."

"That puts my mind at ease," Xie Haining said with a smile. "Now I can use it as a power trigger point for Little Xiao, right?"

"Yes, this ability will definitely be crucial in team battles, since it allows teammates to enter a time-stop state as well." Cui Man nodded in satisfaction. "We'll bring Yue Feng to enhance physical abilities, and then get a few Trigger from the prison to give Darling some special abilities. We'll be able to handle all sorts of situations. We'll teach those M Country a lesson in the Mutant Competition!"

Then, she turned to Xiao He: "Alright, Darling, just one more blood draw today, and your training can be over."

"Okay." Xiao He nodded, then turned to Ye Wanqing: "Why don't you go and wait for me? I'll meet up with you after I've had my blood drawn."

Ye Wanqing nodded, and then the two groups went their separate ways.

Upon arriving at the infirmary, Xiao He noticed that the blood draw was quite a large-scale operation.

First of all, the instruments the medical staff were using were much more sophisticated. The boxes looked like they had multiple functions, including refrigeration and sealing, giving them a high-tech feel. Moreover, there were several burly bodyguards following behind the medical staff.

"No, what's going on? Are they going to take my kidney?" Xiao He asked nervously, extending his hand.

"Oh, it's nothing. As you know, since the Miracle Factor was made public, more and more people want it. Mainly those with terminal illnesses like Old Xie." Cui Man shrugged. "People in despair are terrifying; you always have to consider all sorts of situations, just in case. So we increased security to prevent anyone from taking advantage of it on the road."