The ambush had been planned well in advance. Gasoline and other fuels were splashed across the ground. "This is our turf. Want to pass? Pay up!" A thunderous shout rolled out from somewhere nearby. No one could tell exactly where. Caroline and her team jumped out of the car and tucked it into the storage space. The heat from the roaring fire ring made their skin crawl. They were sick of all this chaos. They just wanted a fresh start. Why did trouble always track them down? Caroline clenched her teeth and thrust her hand forward. A blast of water laced with ice shards shot from her palm. The wall of fire sputtered, shrieked, and died down almost instantly. The men behind the flames stumbled back into view. Clearly, they hadn't expected their carefully planned trap to be destroyed so quickly. But the real shock was yet to come. As dawn crept across the horizon, the sky flickering between dark and light, a chorus of howls rose. "Awoo—" One by one, near and far. Snow, trotting beside Tyler, let the wild power in her blood take over. She threw her head back and howled, "Awoo—" That was a call straight from her genes—raw and primal. Raven pressed close to Caroline, using his body to shield her. He didn't join the howl. Instead, his muscles tensed, every nerve alert. Silver and Jet shot into the air to scout. As soon as Jet got high, he shouted, "Dogs! Dozens of mutant dogs are charging this way!" The men surrounding Caroline froze at his warning. One tried to run, but a massive dog dropped from above, slamming him into the dirt.Its jaws snapped, clean and precise, severing his head in one bite. Its crimson eyes locked on Caroline and the others. Panic spread among the dozen men who had surrounded them. They were just ordinary people until they ran into someone who could copy their abilities from one person to another. That was how their fire abilities were duplicated. They had formed a team and had been robbing travelers in the area for days. Their system was tight, with traps set up at several intersections. No matter which way people ran, they never got away. They had even managed to take down a powerful ability user together. They called themselves "Charizard Gang," a name meant to sound intimidating. But they never expected the current situation! Their fire ring had been wiped out without effort, and now a pack of mutant dogs showed up. They weren't from any shelter—they were wild civilians who knew just how deadly mutant dogs could be. The gang hadn't seen any dog in a long time, and certainly not a whole pack. So, when one of their men had his head ripped off, panic set in instantly. The nightmare kept escalating. Another howl sounded, and even more mutant dogs poured in. They only went after the Charizard Gang, ignoring the people in the middle entirely. Caroline's group was stunned, too. They stood back-to-back, Nelson in the center, eyes on every angle, ready to react at a moment's notice. But even the first dog—the one with blood-red eyes—didn't touch them. It just tore into the gang relentlessly. In minutes, the gang was wiped out. The mutant dogs then circled Caroline's group, watching carefully.Her team stayed alert but had no interest in provoking dozens of dangerous dogs. They'd already seen enough. The mutant dogs weren't just fast. Many had abilities like wind, fire, or ice. Some had huge, dagger-like fangs, and some were over six feet tall. Any one of them could be lethal. Caroline even spotted a mutant Chihuahua. Once cute and cuddly, now it was all muscle, over three feet tall, standing on its hind legs. Its steel-lined teeth could shoot out like darts, and in an instant, it turned a man's head into a porcupine. As they watched in confusion, the mutant dogs went quiet. They even backed off slightly, almost like humans giving space.