The group approached the large tree in disbelief. Without the visual abilities of Amanda Fred, they had to draw within three or four meters to see its details.

The "rat" was indeed gone!

The ground showed no signs of human presence, and the foliage was undisturbed.

It must have been some kind of illusion ability.

Panic ensued:

"I swear, I saw him sleeping right here!"

"Damn it! It's one of his abilities. We've been tricked!"

"Where could he have gone?!"

"How did he know about General Campbell's ability? There must be a traitor!"

"Why lock us in here, unless..."

Boom!

Before the sentence could finish, an ability user stepped on a landmine James Lone had set.

Flames erupted, killing the ability user instantly and severely injuring several others nearby.

"Damn it! The rat set traps!"

"Hell, this guy is cunning!"

"Careful! Avoid the open! There might be more mines!"

Panicking, they moved onto the grass.

The earth-hand ability user summoned a giant hand once more, using it to pound the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several mines detonated, finally quieting the area.

The group sighed in relief.

Martin Stewart's face was livid as he shouted into the surrounding woods: "Bastard! You damn rat, show yourself! I know you're nearby!"

A silver orb, unseen by the others, floated from the deceased's body through the spatial barrier into the ground and merged with James Lone.

James observed silently, holding his breath, not even considering surfacing.

Who knew what bizarre abilities they had—what if merely being seen allowed them to attack?

What if they could bypass the spatial lock, like the silver orb?

What if what he was seeing was an illusion itself?

Better to stay hidden.

You're anxious? Good.

Patience had never failed him.

Through his abilities, he [saw] the tentacle monsters, alarmed by the mine blasts, leaping from the treetops.

After Martin Stewart's shouting yielded no response, his frustration climbed towards madness.

"Damn this sly rat—ever since that thunder strike, we haven't managed to touch him!"

Rock Campbell frowned. "I suspect he trapped us here intending to ambush the main force following us..."

Martin Stewart paled.

All the strongest ability users and elite soldiers were here; the rear was exposed.

Though numerous, the rest were support-type ability users or regular soldiers.

Especially with hundreds of survivors—if attacked and chaos ensued, the consequences would be dire...

Martin Stewart was about to speak when a massive tentacle descended, snatching an ability user by his side.

The individual screamed in terror: "Help! Save me!"

The call was cut short as tentacles shot from the forest.

"What the hell is this?!"

"A monster attack!"

Pandemonium erupted as many were seized on the spot.

A few quick responders narrowly escaped, but more tentacles slashed out from the purple mist.

"Shoot! Shoot!"

"Fire!"

Soldiers wildly fired into the sky.

Ability users with long-range attacks started unleashing their powers.

Bullets!

Lightning!

Acid rain!

Wood spikes!

All were directed towards the overhanging threat.

Crash!

A truck-sized tentacle monster fell from the canopy.

Its eerie appearance made everyone's skin crawl.

However, more tentacles kept coming.

With little time to analyze, the group was in a fluster.

After several tentacle monsters died, only Martin Stewart remained resistant; everyone else was captured with screams.

"Bastard! Come out! Damn rat!"

Martin Stewart, shrouded in a black mist, sliced through tentacles with every swipe of his axe.

Yet resistance seemed futile as more tentacles closed in.

Martin Stewart swung his axe frantically.

James Lone watched, wearing a faint smile, motionless.

"This guy's impressive."

Each time the axe glanced a tree, the trunk exploded with a large hole.

The black mist corroded them, visibly decaying.

"Melee prowess is one ability, and the black mist probably another. He also has two more—I recognize scent, but the last remains a mystery..."

James mentally cataloged the abilities.

He matched them to the light orbs observed through his Light of the Mind.

Going forward, he'll estimate unknown opponents' powers from these patterns.

Eventually, Martin Stewart could no longer hold out; his bursts quickly depleted.

Minutes later, he sluggishly succumbed to a thick tentacle.

Lifting him aloft, the forest canopy revealed dense clusters of tentacle monsters!

Every previously captured comrade was cocooned into strange pods, dangling from branches, glowing faint blue.

"Save me, General Stewart!"

"No! Stop! Please!"

"Help! I don't want to die! Sob!"

Martin Stewart, a mix of dread and anger, was unable to fight back.

The tentacles' grip was overwhelmingly strong, their bodies coated in thick mucus, rendering escape impossible.

Helpless, he watched as he became another trapped cocoon.

James Lone felt a satisfying calm.

"Excellent, all captured."

It was ideal—not a hint of danger to himself.

James had planned just to trap them within, watching the spectacle from underground.

Who knew he'd be locked outside instead?

"That works too. Time to trouble the rear group."

Given the tentacle monsters' MO, short-term survival for capturees was likely.

James phased to the surface, maintaining his incorporeal state, sprinting back toward the other squad.

After a half-hour, he located the trailing force.

There, chaos too reigned—survivors were rebelling!

During a rest interval, ability users, fretting over the base's rebellion and Erics Peterson's disappearance, sparked survivor curiosity.

A few overheard and spread the news rapidly.

Soon, all survivors knew.

With Martin Stewart and formidable ability users absent, survivors began fleeing en masse.

Officers attempted pursuit.

Survivors realized the limited threat soldiers posed without ability user coordination.

The purple mist obscured vision, diminishing firearms' effectiveness.

Courageous survivors tried seizing rifles, aiding them in skirmishing.

Complete chaos ensued.

James Lone arrived amid the mess.

Gunfire, corpses, and wounded cries painted the scene, people scrambled in panic.

Indifferently, James stood unthreatened by bullets in his phasing state.

He had no interest in the ordinary masses.

Roaming quietly, he soon [spotted] a small soldier team escorting ability users, sneaking away through a concealed exit.

"Found you!"

James tailed with ease.

Maintaining a ten-meter distance, he phased only a hand for drawing his pistol and opened fire.