All of Francis's clothes were torn apart by the sudden blast of wind, shredded into tiny strips. The fabric was scattered through the air like confetti. Francis groaned and slowly pushed himself up, still dizzy. When he looked down and realized he wasn't wearing a thing, he froze. Then he noticed the awkward looks on the soldiers around him. Denton was standing there with that annoying grin, clearly enjoying the show. Francis's face darkened. "What the heck? Who took my clothes off?!" He swung his arm in anger. A sharp wind blade shot out and headed straight toward Denton. A second later, Denton's pants split open with a ripping sound. "Shit! Francis, I swear I'm going to kill you!" Denton yelled, clutching what was left of his dignity. Behind them, Caroline—half hidden behind a soldier—saw Denton's pants drop right to his ankles. A cartoon of SpongeBob waving cheerfully was printed on his underwear. Caroline couldn't help it. "Well, at least the kid's growing up fine." Tyler stood in the back. He had seen everything and didn't even know what to say. This time, he was pretty sure Denton hadn't done anything wrong. But for some reason, his hand itched, and he felt like he wanted to grab a wooden pole. Caroline sighed and quietly gave Francis's new ability a name in her mind: Stripburst. Francis had just awakened his power, and his entire outfit had exploded into shreds. The sleeping Alger beside him lost half his clothes too. And poor Denton, who had simply taken two steps forward, ended up as collateral damage, losing a pair of pants in the process. When Francis finally stood up, several young soldiers in the room, including Alger, also began to wake. They had all drunk the spring water Caroline had prepared earlier, so their recovery was quick.As more soldiers regained consciousness, the chaos began to settle. The few ability users who had gone rogue were taken down, some killed outright, the rest quickly subdued. Most of the others were just fence-sitters that followed the flow. Caroline stood by the window, still uneasy. Something in her gut told her the mutants would arrive soon. But she didn't know how to tell everyone without spreading fear. Just then, someone arrived from Building B. It was Lisa. She handed Francis a letter. Francis opened the letter, read the contents, and tossed it straight to the floor. "What's this supposed to mean? Are they trying to steal my people now?" Only then did he realize what was happening: Building B had sent an invitation to recruit the ability users from Building A. Anyone willing to leave with Building B would get generous rewards, plenty of supplies, better living conditions for their families, and higher social status. "Colonel Sutton," Lisa said with a polite smile, "everyone is entitled to choose whether they stay or come with us. You could always offer better terms to keep them." Francis's jaw tightened. The army had just been robbed clean, its entire storage wiped out. Now they didn't even know where their next meal was coming from. Francis had sent people to track down the one with the spatial ability, but since everyone in the army had been unconscious when it happened, no one had actually seen the thief. Finding that person was nearly impossible. To make things worse, Lisa didn't just stop there. When she saw Caroline and her group, she even turned her charm on them. "Ms. Sinclair," she said sweetly, "I'm sure you've seen what we're capable of. Join us. You'll find that teaming up with Building B is far better than fighting alone or siding with the army." Francis's face darkened. He waved his hand sharply. "Show her out! If anyone in this shelter wants to go with them, let them. We won't keep anyone here by force. But no one leaves until we find out who stole from the army! And from now on, stay away from our shelter. You're not welcome here." Within minutes, the place erupted in chaos. Many ability users decided to leave with the Building B team. As long as they didn't have spatial abilities, the army let them go. They would rather not hold innocent people for questioning. Still, a few came forward and pledged loyalty to the army, saying they were willing to serve and protect their country. Lisa, however, didn't leave. "May I ask," she said calmly, "where Professor Valdez is?" My boss sent me to personally ask for his decision." Caroline caught the serious look in her eyes. She knew immediately, Crow wasn't going to give up on Nelson. Since she couldn't answer for him, Caroline led Lisa upstairs to the 66th floor. But the moment they reached Nelson's door, Lisa got shut out cold.