Chapter 12

The consciousness rises and falls, like falling into a strange deep sea.

This time, the future dream did not directly throw her into the peaceful square.

A chaotic flash of snowflake noise flashed before my eyes, accompanied by a sharp, system-interference-like noise. Then, the scene suddenly froze—

Instead of a sunny square, it was a dark, damp underground passage. The walls were covered with some kind of luminous moss, providing a weak light source, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant and rust.

People were coming and going in the passage, but everyone was in a hurry, their faces solemn. They wore the same gray-blue uniform that looked protective, and wore armbands on their arms. The pattern was exactly the same as the engraving on the metal box, a twisted lightning bolt running through an irregular circle!

[Information association confirmed: "Thunder Logo" is associated with "Safe Zone 7 (Underground)."] The system prompt tone seems to have stabilized significantly.

People were talking in low voices, and fragments of their words drifted into Chen Mengzhou's ears:

“…The turbulence near Exit 3 has increased in intensity again, and the patrol team lost two people…” “…Orders from above order that all collection missions prioritize the collection of ‘stable crystal clusters’, and the speed of energy block synthesis must keep up…” “…Have you heard? The ‘gathering center’ to the west was completely swept up in the large turbulence yesterday, without even a sound…” “…Serves them right! Those hyenas who resold inferior potions should have…” “…Shh! Keep your voice down! The ‘Overseer’ is coming…”

Was the Jiso destroyed? Swallowed by the turbulence of time and space?

Chen Mengzhou's heart fluttered. By choosing to come to this garage, avoiding the possible route to the collection center, it seemed he had inadvertently avoided a huge danger? Could the future be altered by the choices he made in reality?

At that moment, two men in uniform passed by her, carrying a sealed metal box. The box was emblazoned with the words "High Energy Reaction, Transport with Caution." As they passed, Chen Mengzhou felt the metal box against her body grow slightly hot.

At the same time, the spatial ability in her body operated autonomously, producing an extremely weak resonance with the things in the box!

Inside the box... is a large amount of purified "Erosion Core"? Or rather, "Energy Crystal"? And it's of extremely high purity!

The two men walked toward a heavy, airtight door at the end of the passage. The moment the door opened a crack, Chen Mengzhou caught a glimpse of the scene inside—a vast space filled with a maze of pipes and humming instruments. In the center was a massive reactor-like structure, its core surging with a heart-pounding, azure torrent of energy! The texture of that energy was the same as the turbulent energy she had absorbed and the potion in the metal box, but even more powerful!

[The prototypes of the "large energy conversion core" and the "genetic drug synthesis platform" have been detected... and the basic connection with the "contribution point" system has been confirmed...] System information flashed by at a rapid speed.

The door quickly closed and the scene disappeared.

But the next second, Chen Mengzhou's "perspective" was suddenly pulled up! As if it had penetrated through layers of rock walls and returned to the surface!

The scene before her shocked her heart!

No longer a peaceful square, the area was now in its current state—a massive, twisted, purple-black rift in space and time, like an ugly scar, spread across the land, covering almost a third of the area! Some buildings had been torn apart, their cross-sections smooth as mirrors. Horrifying energy turbulence raged through the rifts like a thunderstorm, emitting a deafening roar!

Only a small portion of the peaceful square I'd seen in my dream remained, tightly protected by layers of transparent barriers emitting pulsing energy. Outside the barriers lay a hellish scene; inside, panicked people busied themselves reinforcing fortifications and operating weapons capable of firing steady energy beams to attack the twisted tentacles that occasionally emerged from the cracks.

The future is not bright! The turbulence of time and space is eroding everything! The so-called "safe zone" is nothing more than an isolated island struggling to survive in the tide of doomsday!

At this moment, an unprecedented huge crack that spanned the entire sky suddenly fluctuated, and an indescribably huge claw covered with black scales slowly stretched out a fingertip from the crack as if it was bearing huge resistance!

The mere appearance of this fingertip darkened the entire sky, and all the barriers below flickered violently, as if ready to shatter at any moment! Everyone on the ground, no matter what they were doing, subconsciously stopped their movements and stared at the giant claw that seemed to have come from the abyss with despair on their faces!

The strong sense of crisis was like a cold water poured over his head, instantly kicking Shen Mengzhou's consciousness out of the future dream!

“Huh!”

Chen Mengzhou suddenly opened her eyes, gasped, her heart pounding wildly, and her back was instantly soaked in cold sweat! The oppressive feeling brought by the pitch-black giant claw almost solidified, making it difficult for her to breathe.

The garage was still dark and quiet, with only the faint hum of the battery-powered desk lamp.

But her body is undergoing changes!

The strong information just brought back from the dream of the future about the raging space-time turbulence in that area, and the image of the terrifying giant claw at the end, were like the most violent catalysts, triggering the turbulent energy that had not yet been fully absorbed in her body and the superpowers that had just been upgraded!

Buzz——!

The space around her began to twist and fold unnaturally, emitting a low humming sound! The pistol and dagger on the toolbox trembled slightly, and the dust on the ground moved without wind!

"Miss Chen...Ms. Chen?!" Zhao Jun, who had just barely fallen asleep, was awakened by the noise. He rolled and crawled off the camp bed, looking at Shen Mengzhou, who was enveloped by an invisible force and whose figure became blurred and distorted, in horror. He was scared out of his wits!

What happened to her?! What kind of terrifying ability is this?!

Chen Mengzhou had no time to think about anything else. She felt her perception of space expanding and refining at a frantic pace! The walls of the garage, the underground pipes, and even the outline of the alleyway beyond... all were clearly reflected in her mind!

At the same time, an obscure, yet instinctive, stream of information forcibly poured into her consciousness—

[Sensing high-concentration space-time turbulence information... Absorbing... Analyzing... Spatial ability strength increased to Lv. 3... Gained derivative ability: Spatial Mark (Elementary)]

[Spatial Mark (Basic): Leaves a faint spatial mark at a fixed coordinate within the perceptual range. For a certain period of time (based on the power's strength), the approximate location of the mark can be vaguely perceived, and a short-distance spatial jump (maximum distance based on the power's strength) to the marked point can be performed. Each jump consumes a significant amount of mental energy. Number of marks: 1.]

Space jump?!

Although it is only a short distance and has great limitations, it is undoubtedly a magical skill for saving lives and launching surprise attacks!

The restless energy in the body slowly calmed down, and the strange spatial phenomena around him disappeared.

Chen Mengzhou slowly raised her hand and looked at her fingertips. She could feel that with just a thought, she could leave a "mark" at a certain point within her range (such as the garage door), a mark only she could sense. If necessary, she could pay a huge price and move there instantly!

Future dreams not only provide warnings, but can also directly promote the upgrading of superpowers and the comprehension of new abilities? Is this because she has seen a higher level of "reality"?

"Miss Chen...Ms. Chen? Are you...are you okay?" Zhao Jun collapsed on the ground and asked in a trembling voice, almost not daring to get close.

Chen Mengzhou slowly turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes seemed even deeper than before, as if an invisible vortex was swirling within them.

Instead of answering his question, she raised her finger and pointed at the heavy alloy rolling door of the garage.

The mind moved slightly.

An extremely faint spatial fluctuation that only she could perceive, like a drop of water falling into a lake, was silently imprinted on the inside of the rolling door.

Space imprint, completed.

She put her hand down, her tone calm, but with a meaning that made Zhao Jun's bones chill.

"Break is over."

"We should get going."