Moments earlier, Cathy dragged her weary feet, supported by her taekwondo coach, Fu Yeseng.

Cathy, slick with sweat and pale, gasped, "Fu, Fu coach, I—I can't go on any longer. I need a break."

The weak American! Fu Yeseng cast a derisive glance her way, but wore a sunny smile on his face. "Sure."

Then he shouted in Korean, "Everyone, take a rest, please!"

A few burly Korean men, equally worn out, cursed under their breath.

"Damn this purple mist!" "I'm exhausted!" "The American army hasn't come to save us! This is outrageous!" "It's all mud! There's nothing we can do!" "Damn it! My shoes are caked in mud!"

They were members of the South Korean national taekwondo team, here to compete in the United States.

Fu Yeseng was their senior, having ranked as a runner-up in national taekwondo competitions.

After an injury forced his retirement, he opened a martial arts school in New York City.

Fu Yeseng had invited this group of active athletes to perform demonstrations at his school, hoping to raise its profile.

Instead, they had encountered the purple mist and found themselves trapped in the dojo ever since.

With them were over twenty young men and women, all students from Fu's dojo.

The remaining fifty or so survivors had diverse backgrounds and all clung to Fu Yeseng and Cathy for survival.

Nearby, a felled tree lay across the road.

Fu Yeseng helped Cathy to the side, and she sat on the tree trunk, recovering after a few minutes.

Seeing the mud surrounding them, Fu Yeseng disdained their surroundings and stood nearby, refusing to sit on the dirty tree stump.

His superhuman abilities had granted him great stamina—he hardly felt tired.

Cathy took a swig of the clean water and, panting, exclaimed, "If only my modified Wrangler was still around! Walking on this horrible road is exhausting!"

Fu Yeseng rolled his eyes. "I checked the map; that club you mentioned is way off the escape route. No vehicles are getting that far."

As Fu Yeseng noticed that Cathy had recovered a bit, he started looking around and surprisingly found a patch of relatively dry ground.

Unfortunately, about a dozen survivors had already claimed that space.

They had laid out several tarps on the ground, which served as a decent resting area.

Feeling pleased, Fu Yeseng swaggered over to the group of survivors, using broken Mandarin to assert his claim. "You all need to clear out! This space belongs to me now!"

The survivors were unwilling to budge.

"Why should we?" "This is our spot!" "Don't you know first come, first served?!"

Hearing the rising conflict, the taekwondo athletes gathered around.

The students from the dojo also joined in.

The atmosphere quickly turned tense.

The surrounding survivors, faced with intimidating young men, nervously reached for their weapons.

Seeing their advantage, the Koreans yelled in excitement.

"Get out of the way!" "The warriors of our proud nation deserve a clean place to rest!" "Get lost! This is our territory!"

Fu Yeseng brazenly activated his ability.

Golden light radiated from his body, making it clear he was someone exceptional.

The leader of the survivors, a burly man with a scruffy beard, felt a chill.

Fu Yeseng shouted, "Step aside, you American monkeys!"

Though furious, the bearded man knew better than to fight back; he turned to his companions. "Fine! We're leaving!"

The group of survivors felt enraged, but they had no superhumans on their side and lacked enough bodies to face down the Korean team.

As they listened to the Koreans' jeering, the bearded leader begrudgingly began to pack up.

"Leave the tarps!" Fu Yeseng insisted.

The survivors were reluctant; they had worked hard to haul the heavy tarps, and there was no way they'd let others take them.

The burly man replied, "Sir, these are our things..."

Before he could finish, Fu Yeseng kicked him down with a sharp, high front kick.

Bang!

Snap!

The bearded man's neck snapped upon impact, and he crumpled to the ground, dead instantly.

The weight of the situation hit the group hard.

They hadn't expected the sudden violence, and panic erupted as the survivors fled in all directions.

"Koreans are killing people!" "Run!" "Help!"

Fu Yeseng laughed maniacally. "Ha ha ha! Look at those foolish Americans!"

He strode forward, feeling invincible after defeating numerous superhumans.

Fu's confidence soared; he believed he was unbeatable in close combat.

The taekwondo athletes cheered him on: "Fu, your skills keep getting better!" "Taekwondo is unstoppable!" "Ha ha ha! They're running like frightened chickens!" "Look at that guy's neck—it's bent at a right angle, what a sight! Ha ha ha!"

The students from the dojo and their accompanying survivors looked uncomfortable.

They were all Americans, and hearing the Koreans denigrate them sparked annoyance, but no one dared to speak up.

Fu Yeseng's show of strength had intimidated them.

Only Cathy, who felt no resentment, eagerly grasped Fu Yeseng's arm, worshipping him. "You're amazing, Fu!"

Fu Yeseng smiled and replied, "And you, Miss Cathy, have powerful abilities too!"

The group stomped on the tarps, turning what was once a clean area into a muddy mess.

The mats were small, only enough for a few Koreans and the close students to claim for themselves.

The remaining survivors could only find their own spots to rest.

After a brief rest of about ten minutes, Fu Yeseng pulled out a crossbow and, along with a few teammates, ventured into the nearby woods.

Miraculously, they caught a 30-kilogram mutated rabbit.

Fu Yeseng had no qualms, boasting proudly, "Look! A rabbit!"

Cathy beamed with excitement. "You're incredible, Fu! Quickly! Someone go get some firewood!"

She could feel her mouth watering.

A few students gathered a pile of branches and set them in the open.

Cathy pulled out a lighter and ignited the fire.

With a flick of her finger, a yellow flame shot up into the air.

Her face paled slightly as the flames changed to a fierce blue hue, radiating intense heat that burned her face from two meters away.

Feeling her energy draining fast, she pressed on, pointing with her finger again.

The blue flames licked hungrily toward the damp branches and leaves.

Under that high temperature, the wet wood ignited instantly, sending up a plume of choking white smoke.

Cathy paused for a moment.

Though her strength was yet to fully replenish, this brief exertion drained her once more.

As she ceased, the flames reverted to red while the temperature began to drop.

Everyone watched her in awe.

This superpower was incredible!

Even Fu Yeseng was impressed.

The flames reached such high temperatures they could melt steel!

This power could be used for both cooking and combat.

Cathy was incredibly fortunate; if only she could harness this flame ability, she would be unstoppable!

After the fire was set, two students began throwing branches and leaves onto it.

Meanwhile, two others skinned the rabbit, cutting the meat into large chunks, and skewered it on branches to cook over the fire.

Cathy watched the roasting rabbit, drooling with anticipation.

Suddenly, the air filled with the rumble of a roaring engine.

A vehicle?

Cathy turned to look in surprise.

From the depths of the purple mist emerged a massive tank.

The tank's engine roared, making a fierce sound as it rolled past the group.

Trailing behind the tank were two modified RVs and a Hummer.

Everyone was left stunned.

"Is the military here?"

Cathy's eyes widened as she recognized the vans. "Those are our club's vehicles! That RV has Linkon's license plate!"