James Lone, puzzled, asked, "Why are you all so excited? And why does everyone have a dagger? Is someone coming?"

Shirley Inr Won replied, somewhat embarrassed, "No, I just wanted everyone to be prepared." She awkwardly explained her earlier precautions.

James Lone smiled with satisfaction, "Shirley Inr Won, well done!"

Maintaining a clear head in an apocalypse is commendable. In this perilous world, he couldn't always be there to protect them. If danger arose, the women needed to fend for themselves. The powers James Lone granted them were for handling sudden crises. Surprisingly, Shirley Inr Won, a second-generation official student, adapted better to the apocalypse than the other women. Impressive!

James Lone said cheerfully, "No need to worry. Everything's under control. I'll go wrap things up. Keep an eye on this woman; she's not much of a threat."

He left Tailsa Evans and stepped through the portal again.

Shirley Inr Won and Elsa Thomas, being the strongest, easily moved Tailsa Evans into a room and watched her alongside Sofie Barnes.

Tailsa Evans was astonished to see Sofie Barnes tied up as well.

"So Sofie Barnes was captured too," she thought.

Sofie Barnes asked, "Where were you captured from?"

Before Tailsa Evans could answer, Shirley Inr Won curtly commanded, "Shut up! No talking!" To prevent them from coordinating stories, Shirley had their mouths gagged.

Things weren't over yet; these two women were still theoretically enemies from the base, requiring caution.

"Okay," Lydia Johnson complied with Shirley's orders.

While Sofie Barnes didn't struggle much against the gag, knowing resistance was futile—each woman there had powers.

Tailsa Evans quickly pleaded, "I won't talk! I won't say anything! Ah! Don't use a sock...mmph! Mmmph!!"

Stepping through the portal, James Lone arrived at the location where Martin Stewart and his men were captured. He [saw] them all cocooned and hung from treetops.

Some people's feet had already begun to dissolve, spawning more tentacle monster juveniles.

Expressions varied from pale and shivering to terrified screaming.

Some cursed Martin Stewart, blaming his poor leadership for their demise. Others cursed Erics Peterson.

The situation had reached a point of complete collapse.

Curious, James Lone touched the spatial lock's barrier. It was cold and smooth, like glass.

He punched it hard. DUANG!

The barrier didn't budge.

James felt the substantial recoil, forcing him back a step. He tried stabbing it with a dagger, only to have the dagger tip chip while the barrier remained unscathed.

"Incredible," James remarked, waiting in silence.

After a while, Crack!

The spatial lock ended, shattering like glass, disappearing without a trace.

Approaching gently, James Lone stopped about 20 meters away, the maximum range for absorbing willpower fragments.

He equipped a silencer on his handgun, targeting a silent ability user. PIU!

The target fell dead, garnering little attention—both due to the dense mist limiting visibility and the general preoccupation with everyone's own fate.

A silver orb flew into James Lone's chest, integrating with his willpower weapon that solidified ever further, nearing materialization.

James Lone continued shooting. PIU! PIU! PIU!

Each shot sent silver orbs toward him. Finally, with a hum, the willpower weapon fully solidified—James instinctively knew it was complete.

Raising his hand, a shimmering, shifting silver orb appeared. At his will, it transformed into a massive two-handed greatsword, radiating brilliance like translucent crystal.

Manifesting the willpower weapon drained his energy and stamina quickly, but he was too thrilled to care.

He swung it, silently cutting through a tree trunk, leaving a deep gash. The sword, seamless, proved incredibly sharp, slicing like a hot knife through butter.

"Finally, a weapon to my liking!" James exclaimed joyfully.

This drew attention, and the surviving enemies shouted in fear, "Damn it! Someone's sniping us!" "It's the rat! That rat is here!" "He's here! Don't kill me! Please!"

With that, James no longer hid, swiftly dispatching the remaining ability users.

Silver orbs emerged from their bodies but couldn't merge further, dissipating instead. Had he reached the limit?

Curious, he speculated, activating gravitational distortion, floating before the last man standing.

Martin Stewart, glaring at James Lone, spat, "You're the rat! You can fly, too!"

Silent, James slowly raised the greatsword.

Panicked, Martin Stewart pleaded, "Don't kill me! Spare my life, and I'll follow you! If I die, the base's strength diminishes, risking New York City's salvation!"

James smiled, a hint of irony, "Salvation? By enslaving survivors?"

Martin Stewart retorted, "That was merely a necessary sacrifice for the greater good, to save more lives, we must—"

James interrupted cheerfully, "Excellent, then you too are a necessary sacrifice—for my strength!"

Swish!

The greatsword slashed, cleaving Martin Stewart and his cocoon in two. The thick mucus of the tentacle monsters was no match for the willpower weapon.

"Truly unstoppable!" James praised, though he acknowledged its extraordinary drain on his energy and stamina.

In just a minute, James felt weary. Recalling the weapon back into a light orb in his chest, he stopped the drainage.

Scanning the treetop mist, he noticed the alert, swarming tentacle monsters converging on him.

"This pest breeds too fast!" he frowned, recalling the tentacle monsters near the New York Film Academy, close to Sunshine Garden Towers.

Regular checks were necessary to avoid getting surrounded.

A tentacle darted out, aiming for James Lone. He phased calmly, letting it pass through.

Surveying briefly, noting none of the tentacle monsters carried the mutated flesh he sought, he lost interest. Releasing the gravitational distortion, he descended underground and through a portal back home.

The haul this time was substantial and required thorough processing.

With James Lone's return, the ominous weight lifted from the women's hearts.

Some prepared meals, others tended to him, and some readied a bath.

Liveliness returned to the room, bringing comfort in the apocalypse—the greatest happiness was surviving safely.

After their meal, James Lone didn't rush to deal with Sofie Barnes or Tailsa Evans. Instead, he retrieved a laptop from his personal space.

He planned to review all the information gleaned from Erics Peterson, including the mysterious USB drive.

Given Erics Peterson's secretive nature, it likely contained more than just explicit videos—perhaps critical secrets!