"Stop! Stop right there, or I'll kill him!" A woman's voice cut through the chaos. Caroline looked up. Nelson was still out cold, and the woman had him by the collar. He was deeply asleep; being carried didn't wake him. He looked like a fragile sleeping beauty. The woman pressed a blade to Nelson's throat. "You kill one more person and I'll kill your friend right now!" she threatened. Caroline's brow tightened. She'd been wondering where Nelson had gone. Caroline hadn't wanted to waste her time with these people. She wanted to kill them all and find him. Now, Nelson had been taken hostage. Worse, he still hadn't woken. Jet and Raven stopped attacking and moved to Caroline's side. Handsy saw Nelson and tried to push up half his trunk, struggling to slither closer like a living tree reaching out. Caroline held Handsy back. "Don't move. I'll save him," she said. "Haha, bitch!" Andy said with a grin. "Pretty impressive, huh? But so what? Can you survive this apocalypse on your own? You'd be better off with me. Your friend's in my hands. If you want him to live, kill the two bastards next to you, especially that bird!" Andy laughed and wiped a scratch on his face where Jet had clawed him, glaring at the parrot with real bitterness. Jet ruffled his feathers and shouted with all his might. His voice ringing through the room. "Fuck you, asshole!" His voice was deep and rich. Everyone nearby jumped. "Bastard! Caroline, get rid of that bird, or I'll—""Arghhh!" He never finished. A woman behind them cried out in pain. Nelson, who had been unconscious just moments ago, suddenly opened his eyes. He completely ignored the blade pressed against his throat. Nelson snatched a pair of metal tweezers from the table and drove them straight into the woman's eye. She screamed, clutching her face as she collapsed onto the floor. Nelson stood over her like a man who'd just crawled out of hell—tweezers in hand, his body splattered with blood. But it wasn't hers. It was his own. When he'd first woken up, he realized he was being half-held by a strange woman. His skin crawled instantly. Nelson had severe touch aversion. He couldn't stand being touched by strangers. So the moment he felt her arms around him, he was in such pain that he wanted to die on the spot. When he noticed the blade pressed against his throat, that disgust turned to rage. He was actually held hostage and being threatened? What a disgrace! Without thinking, he reached for the nearest tweezers. But as soon as the woman noticed his movement, her hand jerked, slicing a shallow line across his neck. Nelson, quick as lightning, struck back. Years of lab precision guided his hand. He stabbed the tweezers into her eye—clean, fast, and deliberate. The smooth resistance of metal piercing soft tissue calmed him instantly. He didn't even care about the blood spraying from his neck. Instead, a faint smile crept across his lips. You dared to touch me? I'll kill you. And with that grim satisfaction, Nelson collapsed into a growing pool of his blood. Caroline saw it happen and stopped holding back her strike. She charged straight into the crowd. Raven and Jet followed right behind her. Together, they tore through the remaining attackers, cutting them down one after another.Andy desperately unleashed his power. He spread his hands, manipulating the air itself to block Caroline's advance. Glass bottles exploded across the lab from the pressure. "Stay back! I'm warning you! I'll use my full power!" Andy shouted, his voice shaking. Caroline raised a hand, signaling Raven and Jet to stay back. She'd already figured it out; Andy's ability only worked within a ten feet radius. Caroline didn't fear him. She could control the air around her too, using it to block his attacks with ease. But no matter how many times she struck back, her blows couldn't break through his defense. The air he controlled was thick, almost like an invisible wall. Frustration rose inside her. She clenched her jaw, stomped her foot, and rolled up her sleeves. "Alright then," she muttered. "Let's do this my way." With a wave of her hand, Caroline summoned the Zero System. The glowing interface appeared before her eyes. She glanced at her ability list. After taking in several new powers earlier, the number had climbed to nine. Now, three of them flashed on her screen with today's randomly unlocked abilities. It was ready for her to choose.