Landmine!
Thick smoke and flames instantly swallowed the area in front of the door, and Gloria lost consciousness and awareness in an instant.
Her sense of time blurred. It felt as if a year had passed, or perhaps only a second. But when she regained consciousness, she was no longer where she had been!
The explosion hadn't gone off directly in front of her, but off to the side, a little ahead. It was also much farther away now.
She looked at her son-David stood in front of her, his back to the blast.
"David."
But before she could get the words out, a violent wave of nausea hit her!
The shock wave and the intense, high-speed movement could cause her internal organs to shift unexpectedly. Her bodily systems couldn't withstand that kind of movement!
David caught his mother as her legs gave way, his other hand already gripping his pistol-
It didn't feel like the landmine had been meant for him, but he'd opened the door.
He didn't know whether whoever had planted the landmine might be targeting him, either.
Gloria fought back the nausea and raised her head, intending to tell David to run. Only then did she notice that David, standing slightly sideways, had had all his clothes burned away, and his skin was a bloody mess-
Revealing the high-grade military cyberware on his back.
For a moment, Gloria froze. Suddenly, her son seemed a little unfamiliar to her.
Since this was her first time being a mother, she didn't yet know that this feeling was actually the sense that her child had grown up.
Powerful military cyberware, a practiced grip on his gun, a stance coiled with strength.
Even his build had grown considerably.
David now was no longer the David who had once studied obediently-