Emma was clearly fascinated by the Evolved, bombarding Liam with endless questions. What did it feel like to use his abilities? Were there side effects? Wasn't controlling so much hair troublesome?

  Fortunately, Liam had inherited the Brain Bug's vast knowledge reservoir, allowing him to barely keep up with her curiosity.

  The next morning, Liam decided to hunt mutants with special abilities for consumption.

  His Devour ability was like natural conception—attempting it didn't guarantee success. He needed to consume numerous mutants to have any chance of acquiring worthwhile powers. His parasites, by contrast, were like artificial insemination. Implant one into a mutant, and that creature's abilities became his guaranteed.

  But his parasites were depleted now, requiring time to regenerate. So Liam had no choice but to rely on mass consumption to strengthen himself.

  Liam had endured too much suffering in the year since the apocalypse, witnessed too much of humanity's cold indifference. He understood with absolute clarity: strength was the only foundation for survival.

  Riding the black dragon in circles above the city, Liam studied his interface. Whenever mutants appeared, he activated Creature Detection.

  Devouring was like eating—you couldn't overindulge without getting sick. So Liam specifically targeted smaller mutants this time, allowing him to consume several in one session. Ability potency had no correlation with size, after all. Though admittedly, mutant strength often did correlate with mass.

  Liam focused on selecting targets from his interface when the surrounding fog began thickening. Within moments, it had completely enveloped him and the dragon.

  He'd sensed something wrong the instant the fog appeared, but it moved too fast. Before he could command the dragon to turn, they were trapped.

  "Damn it." Liam cursed silently. This fog was definitely unnatural—possibly some mutant's ability.

  And now a crushing sense of danger pressed against him, dozens of times more intense than when the Ghost-Eye Venom Spider had marked him.

  "Black Dragon—Maximum Fire!" Liam ordered. Sufficient heat should disperse fog; after all, mist was merely microscopic water droplets.

  One of the dragon's heads opened wide, unleashing a massive torrent of flame—white at the core, yellow in the middle, red at the edges. Temperatures high enough to melt steel within moments.

  But this fog was bizarre. No matter how the dragon blazed, it refused to dissipate. Finally, Liam had to command a cease-fire. Even the mighty dragon couldn't sustain such output indefinitely.

  Suddenly, every hair on Liam's body stood erect. Overwhelming danger flooded his senses. The monster hiding in the fog was preparing to strike.

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  "Black Dragon—Ice Burst in all directions! Now!" Liam shouted, even as his hair wrapped around himself in protective layers.

  The dragon's ice burst wasn't actually ice but pure cold—bone-chilling寒气 that froze everything. Though mounted on the dragon's back, Liam still felt the cold penetrate to his marrow.

  "Shit, when did this bastard get such a broken mount?" A voice cursed from within the fog—clearly someone had been caught by the cold.

  That voice. Liam knew it too well.

  Lucas.

  In an instant, Liam pieced together the situation. Lucas had found another accomplice. This strange fog was likely that accomplice's work. As for Lucas himself—not to underestimate him, but that brain couldn't have orchestrated this.

  At least two enemies. And Lucas's ability remained deeply problematic. Though the dragon's fire and ice both countered him, this fog prevented Liam from locking onto targets.

  "Real tough break." Liam cursed again, immediately commanding the dragon to climb higher. The enemies should be on some abandoned building's rooftop. He refused to believe their fog could reach the stratosphere.

  But Liam quickly discovered that no matter how high they flew, white nothingness still surrounded them. He sensed danger continuing upward and finally stopped.

  "This fog's too strange. Why can't we fly out?" Liam was now as frustrated as Lucas had been—this fog was utterly broken.

  He opened his interface, only to find that even with it activated, his eyes saw only white. The interface's glow was completely invisible.

  Could any natural fog be this dense? Liam frowned. Unless he was staring at a water curtain, he should see something.

  Unless... the fog he saw wasn't actually fog?

  Liam started, the possibility crystallizing. The fog before his eyes was likely illusion or deception—there might be no fog here at all.

  But how to break such deception?

  Liam pondered, then suddenly commanded: "Black Dragon—descend."

  The dragon immediately dove. Liam closed his eyes, shutting out all visual input, focusing entirely on his hearing.

  Instantly, he caught wind sounds, mutant roars, then various creatures' breathing.

  "Found you!" Liam sneered coldly. His hair erupted in explosive growth, lashing wildly at the ground below.

  This attack was useless against Lucas, but that didn't apply to his accomplice.

  Sure enough, Liam heard a muffled grunt. Then his vision cleared—the fog finally dissipating.

  Now he saw Lucas and his ally standing on a high-rise rooftop. Lucas remained encased in corrosive liquid. His accomplice wore a black cloak, face hidden, but her figure was distinctly feminine—clearly a woman.

  "Lucas—die!" Liam roared, commanding the dragon to charge directly at him. Both heads opened wide, preparing simultaneous ice and fire attacks.

  Honestly, Liam's loathing for Lucas had reached its limit. The man was insane and greedy, the one who'd initiated hostilities in the first place.

  Lucas already knew how terrifying Liam's mount was. Without Olivia, he couldn't withstand a single hit. Both flame and cold were his ability's natural enemies, so he feared this dragon immensely.

  "Lucas—we retreat for now." Olivia spoke with difficulty.

  Lucas gritted his teeth, nodding immediately. "Fine."

  A pool of shadow appeared beneath Olivia's feet, rapidly expanding to encompass Lucas. Both sank into the darkness, which then contracted and vanished completely.

  "Damn it!" Liam watched them disappear, cursing furiously.

  That cloaked woman's ability was too bizarre—some kind of shadow-traversal technique. And how had she ended up with scum like Lucas?

  But then, few people remained normal after the apocalypse. Even Emma, who seemed normal, was actually abnormal in her own way. So a woman following Lucas wasn't particularly surprising. Liam could only ride back to Emma's apartment, thoroughly depressed.

  He couldn't stay at Emma's place anymore...