Henry heard Edgar Hughes's screams and quickly shouted into his earpiece: "Colonel Hughes! Colonel Hughes!"

With no response from Edgar Hughes, Henry knew something was terribly wrong. In panic, he yelled over the radio: "Everyone, run! The enemy is too strong!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted again, one shot after another, in a relentless barrage.

The radio channel was filled with screams of agony. "Run!" "He can see us even in the violet mist! Don't just hide!" "He's coming! He's coming for us! Aaah!" "No! Don't kill me! I..." "Help!"

Henry's scalp tingled with fear; he dared not approach, as his combat skills weren't much better than most soldiers—going there would just be serving himself up.

He transformed into a bat, activating his stealth ability, and stealthily flew toward the last place he'd heard Edgar Hughes scream.

Quickly, Henry located Edgar Hughes's corpse.

Edgar Hughes lay there with blood streaming from his orifices, his eyes wide open as if witnessing something horrifying.

The iron armor that covered him was shattered and dull, likely the cause of his death. Its pieces were cracked and dull, with the forearm plates particularly distorted and severely dented.

On the ground lay a large sledgehammer, its once-sturdy head now deformed from impact.

"Colonel Hughes!"

Henry called out in sorrow, grabbing Edgar Hughes's ID tag tightly in his hand and hurriedly flying away with the sledgehammer.

In the violet mist, Hector William and Sofie Barnes were left utterly blank-minded; in just a few minutes, all their teammates had perished!

Even the formidable Edgar Hughes and the charismatic Jashen Gonzales were dead!

Footsteps echoed from the depths of the violet mist.

The two looked over in horror.

A young and handsome man walked out of the blood-soaked mist, approaching with a cold demeanor.

Sofie Barnes trembled as she spoke: "You! Who are you?!"

James Lone calmly replied, looking at the female officer: "It seems you haven't grasped the situation. Now shut up—I'll ask, you answer."

A system prompt appeared:

[Sofie Barnes][Age: 28][Rating: 8.5] (Heroic and Jolly)[Virtue: 10] (Virgin)[Overall Rating: 8.5][Ding! Meets System Requirements!]

If Sofie Barnes hadn't met the system's requirements, James Lone would have killed her long ago.

He wasn't inclined to spare an enemy ability user out of kindness.

But if he could gain her abilities, James Lone was willing to take a risk.

Sofie Barnes's willpower and metal board control ability were highly desirable to James Lone.

As he spoke, James Lone stepped forward and took the pistol from Sofie Barnes's belt.

Trembling, Sofie Barnes didn't dare resist.

Clack!

James Lone loaded the bullet and aimed it at the silent Hector William: "And who are you?"

He had noticed that even as they fled, the group seemed to implicitly protect this man.

Startled, Hector William replied: "Young man, don't be rash!"

Sofie Barnes quickly added: "Don't kill Professor William! He's a scholar! A leading figure in our country's biological field! Only Professor William can potentially end this apocalyptic evolution—he's humanity's hope!"

A scholar?

James Lone raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, he sensed the bat man flying to Edgar Hughes's corpse, seemingly inspecting something.

But James Lone pretended not to notice.

Judging from their attire, these people were likely from the same base as those from the broadcasting station.

Since James Lone had already made enemies with them, he wouldn't hesitate to finish what he started.

However, with so many ability users at the base, James Lone wasn't reckless enough to charge in.

Letting a bat escape meant the enemy would send someone for revenge, and as long as the ability users left the base, James Lone held a significant advantage.

In the vision-obscuring violet mist, it would be James Lone's territory!

Watching the bat fly away, James Lone remained patient, sitting down leisurely: "Professor William, do you think this apocalypse is a natural disaster or a man-made one?"

"What?" Hector William froze in surprise. He hadn't expected the young man, who had just slaughtered a group, to so calmly ask him such a question amidst the corpses.

He's a man meant for this chaotic world!

Sofie Barnes felt an overwhelming fear.

James Lone casually retrieved two bottles of pure water from his space, offering them to the two: "Relax, it won't help if you're tense, right? Here, have some water and talk slowly."

Hector William posed no threat to James Lone. Given his age and frailty, he was merely an ordinary man.

Sofie Barnes had a total of two abilities: one was a transportation-type support ability; the other was most likely willpower-related. And willpower-related abilities were what James Lone feared least.

With the added benefit of perceptual transparency, these two posed no threat to James Lone, allowing him to chat casually with Hector William.

Despite being unable to fathom James Lone's calm demeanor amid the violet mist, Hector William organized his thoughts and said: "I'm inclined to believe it's man-made."

James Lone asked curiously: "Oh? Why is that?"

At that moment, a large black cat appeared, crouched on a branch watching the trio.

The presence of the cat held the breaths of Sofie Barnes and Hector William.

James Lone merely cast a nonchalant glance at it.

Though the cat possessed no abilities, its body brightness paled in comparison to his own. Confident that he could beat it with ease, James Lone casually said: "It's just a cat, don't mind it."

Terrified, Sofie Barnes responded: "Can we talk inside somewhere? It's too dangerous out here."

Without Edgar Hughes and the soldiers' protection, the forest was perilous to Sofie Barnes.

Smiling serenely, James Lone retorted: "No rush. If the answers I hear aren't satisfactory, I'll leave your bodies out here instead, avoiding bloodshed indoors. Continue, Professor William."

Sofie Barnes began to tremble.

She didn't think he was bluffing—he had just killed a group of people!

Hector William, pale-faced, quickly interjected: "My assumption is based on the effects of various abilities."

James Lone pressed on: "Oh? How did you deduce that?"

Hector William answered quickly: "Because up to now, every ability effect I've seen is beneficial to the individual!"

"In reality, biological evolution involves random mutation, and 99.99% of mutations are detrimental to the organism. Only a tiny fraction of the lucky ones acquire beneficial mutations, giving them an advantage in survival and a better chance at reproduction, passing beneficial mutations down. At a larger time scale, this is seen as beneficial evolution."

"In reality, evolution is built on countless biological corpses.

"Abilities, however, are totally different. Let alone why ability fruits trigger varied adaptations; the crucial doubt is that all abilities are beneficial!"

"So I firmly believe this is a deliberate, man-made disaster!"

Sofie Barnes was stunned.

She had never thought of this angle despite having used abilities for so long.

"It's man-made..." James Lone mused.

He had always suspected something was off about the violet mist, but without the clarity of Professor William's logical deductions—his thoughts were just speculation.

To draw useful information from scarce intelligence is a true skill.

Professor William indeed had some insight.

James Lone asked further: "Do you think humans caused this, or some conscious, unknown intelligent beings?"