MasukIf they didn't strike first, what would happen when Jayzepan got its forces together and came after Gohaven instead?Sure, Jayzepan was small in terms of land area. But with a population over a hundred million, that was nothing to dismiss.More importantly, it was an island nation—completely surrounded by water. That meant a statistically higher chance of yielding golden snowflakes.So if Gohaven didn't move fast to take it down, it was only a matter of time before Jayzepan became a major threat.Ray found himself quietly agreeing with Ezra's logic.Jayzepan had always been resource-poor. Historically, Jayzepanese had constantly sought to expand outward, attempting to seize resource-rich Gohaven. Most of the time they failed—but in the modern era, they came dangerously close once.And after they lost? Did they show any real remorse?No. They just regretted losing. They studied why they failed. They never once reflected on the death, the destruction, the suffering they caused. If
There were four unsolved cases in total, and all of them followed the same pattern.The victims were young, beautiful women. The only difference was the sequence of abuse and death—some were violated before being killed, while others were killed first and then violated afterward. The killer's tastes were clearly twisted and abnormal.However, the method of killing was identical in every case: each victim had her throat severed by a steel wire. This strongly suggested a single perpetrator.Yet to this day, no one had been able to find them.The underground city had far too many blind spots in surveillance, especially outside the old districts, where conditions were rudimentary. At best, they only had basic electricity coverage.All the police could do was increase patrols and advise residents not to live alone.After a single glance, Ray moved on.He didn't need to analyze the case. All he had to do was open his spatial perception. If the killer struck again, he could immediately
After that, Ray could decide whether to fight or merely show his strength.After hearing Ray's choice, Ezra, Lawson, and Hannah all looked visibly disappointed. Lawson and Hannah were fine; they didn't particularly need a powerful ability user.But Ezra was different. He truly needed one.He had long harbored ambitions of expansion—first taking Jayzepan, then sweeping north to bring another foreign nation under control. After that, depending on the situation, he might continue northward to seize the vast northern lands, and from there, move east to other continents."Steve, think it over," he made one final pitch. "This is our best shot to expand our borders and wipe out every external threat against us for good."Yeah, we might be judged harshly by today's standards—but future generations will thank us for the lasting security we give them. We may carry the burden of this decision now, but our children will know nothing but peace because of it. If we don't strike against the Jayz
Hearing Ezra say this, even Ray couldn't help but feel a subtle shift in his expression.Killing ability users and seizing their abilities had always seemed like a matter of course to him. He had never once considered the possibility that one day, it might suddenly stop working.Could that really happen?Who knew.This extreme climate had been caused by mysterious cosmic radiation. If you tried to explain it scientifically, it bordered on the metaphysical; if you treated it as mysticism, much of it could still be interpreted through scientific frameworks.What if, one day, killing ability users no longer granted evolution energy? Was this only the initial primitive phase of accumulation, and from then on everything would depend on golden snowflakes?For a moment, Ray's thoughts drifted."Hey, hey, hey, aren't you people a little too fast?"A pleasant voice rang out as a woman walked in, swaying with a mature and alluring figure. She looked to be around thirty, exuding a fully d
So Ezra's energy level was probably around 1,000 units, making him the strongest person in all of Spark City.From that perspective, Spark City was far inferior to the six major factions that once existed in Guillory City.In Ray's view, however, this level was actually more "normal."Awakened ability users were limited in number. Even if they fought and killed each other endlessly, how much energy could one person possibly accumulate, even if all of it was concentrated into a single individual?So that explained it—the number of golden snowflakes here was lower?What about Lawson? He wasn't a physical enhancement type, so his ability level was easy to judge—around 200 units. Not weak, but completely insignificant in front of Ezra.And yet, he still dared to compete for talent with Ezra.What did that mean?It meant Ezra was extremely disciplined. Otherwise, with his strength, he could easily have turned Spark City into his private domain—or gone elsewhere and lived as a ruler
Seeing Ray's somewhat dazed expression, Ezra explained, "The Special Operations Unit belongs to the military. Our duty is to protect Spark City, and… to expand its territory!"Ray couldn't help but feel a jolt and looked at him.Even though this was the apocalypse, Gohaven was still Gohaven. Expanding Spark City from this small enclave to the entire country could hardly be called "expanding territory."Unless—A faint surge of interest rose in Ray.Was Ezra talking about breaking beyond the borders? Launching campaigns to the south and north?Ambitious. Very ambitious indeed.He couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. People really were different.Both were soldiers, yet Travis focused on defense and protection, while Ezra clearly leaned toward offense—toward carving out eternal achievements.'What a pity, I'm only here to investigate the situation. For now, I won't be marching off to trample or bully other nations with you.'Before Ray could refuse, another person arriv
Genevieve picked up the walkie-talkie. "Anything unusual?""No. He soaked in the bath for half an hour, then lay on the couch reading," came the immediate reply.Though the speaker couldn't be seen, it was clearly a woman.She thought for a moment, then added, "Captain, that guy has an amazing bo
Ray propped his chin on his hand. Guillermo was even more cunning than he had imagined.There were actually four relay stations like this. Which one connected to the next relay that could reach Guillermo was completely unknown.If he followed this trail step by step, how long would it take before
Katie immediately understood and rolled her eyes so hard it was practically audible. 'Are you sure this "extra training" is for me?'Still, after a moment of thought, she bit her lip and went along with it. With twelve women around, if she didn't want to be just a pretty vase, she had to make her p
Ray almost gave Mary a thumbs-up. She was the first person ever to enter a spatial portal and survive. "Huff… huff…" Mary panted heavily, her face flushed with lingering fear.She had come so close to dying! And she wasn't the only one shaken—everyone else's scalp tingled in shock.A living hu







