Standing in subspace felt like standing inside a giant water droplet. James Lon could see buildings and roads outside, but their shapes kept twisting and trembling, tangled together like a painting marred by water.

To find his target location, he had to pick it out from a mess of distorted forms. Eventually, James Lon pinpointed the location of the National Security Agency. Immediately, another problem arose. Observing buildings from subspace was like watching seaweed sway at the bottom of a river, making precise targeting difficult.

If a portal was opened accidentally inside a wall, underground, or at high altitude, even April Jones couldn't exit. Additionally, April Jones could only open two portals a day, leaving one reserved for returning home. This restricted her to only one attempt per day. If she chose a bad location, she'd have to wait another day to try again.

James Lon smiled slightly. "Doesn't matter to me; I can phase through walls!"

With a click, his portal opened three meters underground beneath the National Security Agency. Activating his phasing ability, James Lon calmly stepped outside the portal. He didn't immediately surface because his senses had detected dozens of survivors on the NSA's third floor, gathered in a few rooms.

Among them were three ability users! James Lon closely observed these three. Two men and one woman. Judging by their attire, one man and the woman seemed to be members of the National Security Agency, while the other man was a 70-something-year-old elder.

The male officer and the elder's "ginger" auras were green, like James Lon's. Their lights weren't particularly bright, only marginally stronger than ordinary humans. The female officer's "ginger" was a dull gray, but her aura shone brightly. Although still about half as strong as James Lon's light, she was the strongest ability user he'd seen yet.

Exercising caution, James Lon didn't approach them directly. Instead, he observed and quickly located the room storing guns and ammunition. James Lon immediately phased through the ground towards it.

Soon, he was inside a basement. The room housed four large metal cabinets, locked with fingerprint scanners combined with mechanical keys. Using his perception, James Lon saw two cabinets filled with neatly arranged rifles and pistols, while the other two were stocked with ammunition.

The guns and ammo were perfectly arranged, looking untouched. With strict gun control in place, firearms were managed by dedicated custodians of the armory. Likely, when the purple fog descended, the custodian met with an accident, leaving the armory sealed.

"These are mine now!" James Lon laughed, attempting to store the metal cabinet but failing.

He pushed the cabinet, finding it affixed with expansion bolts to the wall. His spatial backpack could only store detached items. Retrieving a crowbar from his backpack, he forced it between the wall and cabinet seam. "Open up!"

With brute force, he pried open a large gap. After several tries, he dislodged the cabinet from the wall.

......

At the NSA branch on Pinghai Road, on the third floor, three ability users sat around a small table.

Teresa Taylor glanced worriedly towards the survivors' room, saying, "Things are getting bad for everyone; we need to leave. It's becoming harder to collect food."

Male officer Lincoln Field sipped some water, surveyed their surroundings to ensure no eavesdroppers, and gently entreated, "Teresa, like I said, we can't save everyone. Given the current situation, we're struggling to take care of ourselves. Right, Old Yang?"

Mike Brown nodded deferentially, "I follow your commands, of course."

Field sneered, "Tch! Bootlicker!"

Teresa Taylor corrected, "Mr. Yang, I'm just a security officer, not a commander."

Mike Brown fawningly replied, "Hehe, same thing. Old Yang owes his life to you both, so whatever you say goes!"

Mike Brown was a security guard employed at a nearby residential area. After the purple fog descended, consuming a black Nephelium unexpectedly gave him an ability that allowed him to hear faint sounds. This ability helped him survive until Teresa Taylor, following superior orders to rescue nearby survivors, brought him in.

Resolute, Teresa Taylor declared, "By orders, we must escort these survivors to the nearest TV station gathering point."

Lincoln Field was frustrated: "We haven't heard from headquarters in ages. Who knows what conditions are over there!"

The times were chaotic enough! Blindly following orders? Are you insane?

Stubbornly, Teresa Taylor refused to budge, "No, I follow my last orders. If you want to leave, go; I won't stop you."

Lincoln Field was vexed. If not for Teresa's good looks and his lingering interest, he would have forcibly taken her, abandoning the stragglers. But just imagining it, given her national level martial arts and superpowered skills, Field would end up a pig-headed mess if he tried.

Resigned, Field urged, "Teresa, we..."

Sternly, Teresa interrupted, "Lincoln Field, once more: Don't call me Teresa. We're not in that kind of relationship; it's inappropriate."

Field sighed heavily. His companion continued, "We're low on weapons. We're facing stronger beasts, and to better protect the public, our top priority is securing those armory guns!"

Field sighed again, "The weapon storage is in the basement, secured by two heavy-duty doors. No key means no entry. Old Wang can't be reached, presumed dead; nothing else we can do."

Calmly, Taylor responded, "If nothing else, find something! Lincoln Field, you're a veteran here, familiar with the surroundings. Think of ways in, maybe through air ducts?"

Field helplessly exclaimed, "Miss, that's a well-fortified armory, more secure than the director's office. No chance for a flaw like that..."

Suddenly, Mike Brown interjected, "Commanders, I hear something below! Loud banging!"

Field's expression changed; he pulled out his pistol, suddenly on edge.

"Hmm?" Sharply, Taylor asked, "Is it a subterranean creature?"

Listening closely, Brown puzzled, "Unlikely an animal, more of a metallic clinking, like someone's hammering?"

Someone hammering underground? A zombie risen from the dead? Lincoln Field shivered, panicked, "Old Yang, don't speak nonsense!"

Once a skeptic of ghosts, the worsening state of the world had shaken his skepticism. Curtly, Taylor pressed, "Where?"

"There," Brown pointed to the floor, "Roughly three or four meters down."

Taylor focused on his direction, puzzled, "Lincoln Field, isn't that towards the armory?"

Field froze, suddenly realizing, "Yes! Exactly there, and depth matches too!"

Someone was stealing the guns! Teresa Taylor's expression turned serious, realizing how chaotic distributing firearms would worsen the situation. This couldn't happen!

Swift as the wind, she vaulted through a window, landing from the third floor, racing towards the armory, curious about how someone had entered.

......

Satisfied, James Lon had pried loose four large cabinets. Violently opening one, he pulled out a handgun, fascinatedly feeling its weight in his hand—the first time he'd held a real gun, curiosity overwhelmed him.

Just then, something caught James Lon's attention, causing him to peer at the ceiling. His perception sensed the female ability user's brightness surge near to his own, rapidly approaching.

Startled, James Lon thought, "She detected me?"

Unsure of her abilities and unwilling to risk a confrontation, he opened a portal, stepping back into subspace.