You couldn't even make out their faces clearly. But just from the shadows, you could see that there were already more than ten of them. Nadia watched the monitor and said for certain, "These aren't residents of the Hillside Villa District." Olivia peered at the screen. "Can you make out their faces?" Nadia shook her head, then pointed at the screen. "Look at how the first few are dressed—definitely not locals." She'd been here over two years and knew the Greenhaven Mountain crowd well. These aren't the usual rich folks—everyone here keeps up appearances; even in the worst of times, they dress neat and proper. But the few people we can see now are wearing sloppy lantern pants or faded, ripped denim vests—street-market stuff, not something you'd see in the Hillside Villa District. Harold said, "Those are the ones who tried to bomb my place earlier." He paused, puzzled. "I just don't get it—they blew one spot and left, then came and blew here ... What are they trying to do?" Olivia replied, "It's weird. They blew us up but didn't loot anything—what a waste of explosives!" Natalie and Cassian, who'd been quiet until now, exchanged a look. Natalie gave him a calming glance, then vanished from where she stood. While people were still processing the conversation, Dominic spotted something first. He clapped a hand over his mouth in surprise. "Natalie disappeared?!" At his shout, everyone reflexively looked toward the spot where Natalie had been standing. Harold made a small surprised noise. "Where'd she go?" Olivia jumped. "Nat??" Ghania glanced around, bewildered. The group was stunned. Cassian, calmer, stared fixedly at the monitor and clenched his fist with quiet tension. In the next instant, the missing Natalie reappeared. Cassian exhaled. "Well?" Natalie's expression was serious. "At least 200." She'd blinked out, slipped into the crowd outside, and in a few quick flashes, had counted their numbers. When Cassian heard "at least 200", his face tightened. Everyone else was still distracted by Natalie's sudden disappearing act. Dominic clapped excitedly. "She's like a superhero!" Harold rubbed his eyes and asked Ghania, "Mom, did she really vanish just now?" Ghania murmured incredulously. "Am I seeing things ... " Nadia's mouth hung open. "No, Ms. Ashford really did vanish." Olivia grabbed Natalie. "Nat, what happened just now?" Natalie looked at the shocked faces and explained casually, "I've awakened some abilities." She wasn't going to tell everyone about the spatial stuff—not even to Olivia or Harold. In an apocalypse where resources were scarce, a personal space stuffed with supplies or a hideaway estate was worth a fortune—more valuable than billions before the fall. Who would risk that kind of fortune just to test a friendship? But there would be plenty of fights ahead; her combat skills were something the group would eventually have to know. So she wasn't going to hide the Blink ability. Everyone froze at the idea that she'd awakened powers. After all, it was utterly bizarre. Harold reacted the loudest and shouted, "Powers?! Did you go invisible or teleported just now?" He'd always been a bit of a doomsday fantasist—when he was fixing up the 15th floor and stockpiling supplies, he'd daydreamed about someone suddenly manifesting superpowers. But obviously, he wasn't the protagonist of this story. He looked at Natalie with envy. "You're the real lead here." Natalie frowned. "Lead? What are you talking about?" Now isn't the time; there are over 200 hungry enemies outside! So she answered his question bluntly, "I teleported outside just now. I called it a Blink ability." She paused, then smirked. "And I took out a few guys while I was at it." She took out a few guys? Everyone snapped out of the shock about her powers and turned back to the monitor. Nadia, still worried about Roderick, asked. "Ms. Ashford, was Roderick in that crowd outside?"Natalie replied firmly, "No." Not Roderick, nor the three pets. Lucky's huge shape would have stood out in the crowd, so she'd have seen her. Nadia's eyes reddened again. Cassian said, "If they're not in the crowd, they must still be safe. Don't panic." Then he looked at Natalie. "Ready to make a move?"