Nelson finally woke up. When he opened his eyes, everyone was gone—except for Jet. He perched beside him, faithfully keeping watch. Jet had stayed behind on purpose. He was waiting for Nelson to wake so he could tell him what had happened and remind him to rest. But when Nelson learned he'd gained a powerful new ability, his first thought was—Wow, that's incredible. It'd be a waste not to test it right away. So, the moment he got up, he rushed straight to the 65th floor, drew a vial of his own blood, and dove into his experiments. When Caroline arrived with Lisa, they found Nelson completely absorbed in his work. In this state, Nelson only responded to voices he trusted. Right now, that meant Caroline's voice alone. Lisa stood respectfully beside him. "Professor Valdez, I'm Lisa from Obsidian Fang. We'd like to invite you to join us." Nelson didn't even look up. He was peering through his microscope, studying his blood. Lisa tried again, still polite. "Professor Valdez, our boss said you can name any terms you want. We can give you everything you need—funding, equipment, materials—for all your research." Nelson placed the blood sample into a testing machine and stared blankly at it, lost in thought. Lisa's patience started to wear thin. She scowled and asked, "Professor Valdez, did you hear me? I'm Lisa from Obsidian Fang. Our base is right across from you—in Building B." Nelson suddenly snapped his fingers. "Hmm, maybe I should take a skin sample next. Let's see what changes I can find." Caroline sighed and stepped forward. "Nelson, take a break for a second. Someone's asking if you want to join their group." That got his attention—barely. His eyes shifted toward Lisa, unfocused, as if he were looking through her rather than at her. "Group? What group? I'm in the middle of studying skin tissue." Lisa was speechless. Is this man seriously ignoring me or just messing with me ?Caroline tried again. "Obsidian Fang wants you to join them. Are you interested?" This time Nelson actually processed the words. He frowned. "Obsidian Fang? Never heard of them. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here. I've got experiments to run. Unless the world ends or it's dinner time, don't bother me. Oh, and if Handsy causes trouble, then you can call me to deal with him." Then, Nelson grabbed a small scalpel, sliced a tiny piece of skin from his pinky, and placed it under the microscope. His eyes lit up as he disappeared back into his research world. Caroline turned to Lisa and shrugged. "You see? That's your answer. Let's go." Lisa clenched her fists and glanced at the time. She finally left unwillingly. Moments later, she boarded the boat. But just as she did, Caroline was standing at the window, binoculars in hand. Out on the water, she saw movement. A dark mass, slow but steady, heading straight toward them. She drew in a sharp breath and barked to a nearby soldier, "Go! Tell your colonel! Mutant creatures are approaching! Get every ability user ready to fight now!" By her estimate, the swarm was about 600 feet away. Moving slowly, but there were a lot of them. Too many. She couldn't make out what kind of creatures they were yet. One thing was clear: once they reached the building, the entire shelter would be surrounded. "Gather everyone!" Caroline shouted again. "Those without abilities! Get them upstairs! The higher, the better!" No one could stay safe if the whole place fell. Right now, Caroline could've taken Tyler and the others and left. She could've ignored the army and every civilian in this shelter, just walked away, and never looked back. But she knew what that meant. If she left now, she'd never be able to return. Caroline had already thought about it many times. Eventually, she would have to leave this building, probably soon after the great heat wave arrived. But at this moment, the idea of leaving everyone behind felt wrong. After all, she knew the mutant creatures were coming because of them. The energy released from their awakenings acted like a beacon. Even if they hid in the mountains, the energy from their powers would still attract mutant insects. The only difference would be scale—a smaller swarm, perhaps—but still deadly. She looked at Lisa and the others on the boat. They had clearly seen the approaching swarm too. The group was rowing faster, sharper, and more desperate with every stroke. At the front of the boat, Lisa stood tall, unflinching. The wind whipped through her hair. Instead of fear, a faint smile curved her lips. Caroline knew that smile. Lisa's ability allowed her to control mutant insects. She was likely planning to wait for the swarm to arrive, then tame the strongest among them. But Caroline didn't believe she could do it, at least not yet. Lisa had only just awakened her ability. Facing a full insect disaster alone was suicide. Which meant Building B would soon face a brutal fight of its own. Inside, Francis moved quickly. He barked orders and stationed soldiers to load their weapons, sealing off doors, and posting guards at every window.