Within a 100-meter radius of Teresa Taylor, everything was exposed to James Lone's perception.

Behind the tunnel walls where Teresa Taylor was, dozens of soldiers stood guard.

They were silently monitoring the trio through surveillance cameras. Among them, five individuals carried the "ginger" marker in their bodies, indicating they were ability users.

Above Teresa Taylor's head, about ten meters up, was a massive armory stocked with heavy weaponry like tanks and armored vehicles.

"This must be an underground military warehouse," James Lone thought. "It must have been activated after the arrival of the violet mist."

Given the harsh environment outside, even tanks, the kings of land warfare, had lost their purpose and now sat idle in the warehouse.

Beneath Teresa Taylor, a spiraling tunnel extended downward endlessly, its destination unknown.

Eventually, Teresa Taylor, Elen Hawkins, and the warehouse officer arrived at a steel gate.

The officer responsible for managing the warehouse carefully entered a code into the keypad.

"This code absolutely cannot be entered incorrectly. If it's wrong, an alarm will sound, and every ability user in the base will hear it. If the correct code isn't entered within 15 seconds, poison gas will be released. Even the strongest ability users need to breathe, so they'll be dead for sure. This place is very secure—no one can break in!"

The officer's tone was slightly ingratiating.

After all, Teresa Taylor had just arrived at the base and was already receiving an ability fruit. She was bound to become a significant figure in the future, and it was wise to curry favor with her.

Teresa Taylor couldn't help but think of James Lone. To him, this level of defense would be completely ineffective.

The base's leadership was still too rooted in old-fashioned thinking, relying on past methods to defend against the ever-changing abilities of the present. It was far too naive.

However, she didn't say anything. Instead, she nodded politely and said, "This system is dangerous, but it's very thorough."

James Lone, who was several kilometers away, wouldn't bother coming this far. Why waste energy overthinking?

The officer added, "Honestly, we could strengthen security further with infrared detection, night vision, and lasers, but resources are scarce, and we can't gather enough materials."

Teresa Taylor nodded again. "That makes sense. This air-raid shelter was originally designed for war; no one could have predicted something like this would happen."

The officer sighed wistfully. "Who could have? It's tragic!"

Elen Hawkins waved his hand dismissively. "Why demand so much? This is already more than enough. With transportation cut off, it's hard for anyone outside to even reach the base, let alone steal from it. We've stored dozens of ability fruits here, and not a single one has ever been stolen."

With that, the officer and Elen Hawkins pushed open the heavy steel door.

The door, at least 30 centimeters thick and made entirely of steel, led to a room filled with several explosion-proof glass compartments.

Only three compartments were lit. Inside each, a plant held a single black Nephelium fruit.

The rest of the compartments were dark, suggesting the base's electrical power was limited.

Four surveillance cameras were mounted on the walls, aimed at the compartments from various angles, likely monitored by someone in a control room.

Elen Hawkins said, "There's a bamboo plant, an evolved apricot tree, and a leek plant. Pick whichever you like. No one can tell what abilities these fruits grant—it's all down to luck."

Teresa Taylor didn't have a clue how to choose and randomly pointed at the bamboo plant. "This one, I guess."

The officer made a hand gesture toward the cameras.

The explosion-proof glass protecting the bamboo plant slowly lowered.

Teresa Taylor stepped forward and plucked the ability fruit.

Elen Hawkins said enviously, "Go on, eat it. Let's see what ability you get."

Teresa Taylor frowned. "You trust me this much? I just got here. Aren't you afraid I'll take the fruit and run?"

The officer smiled and replied, "Every ability user summoned to the TV station was personally selected by Director Peterson. He never makes mistakes."

Another mysterious figure, Teresa thought. She frowned. "And who is Director Peterson?"

Elen Hawkins replied casually, "Erics Peterson, the big boss of the New York TV Station Base."

Without much hesitation, Teresa Taylor ate the ability fruit.

The two men watched her expectantly. "What's your ability?"

Teresa Taylor stood there for a long moment, looking puzzled. "Uh... I don't know."

In a monitoring room, a group of base executives was watching Teresa Taylor through the cameras.

The reason the ability fruits were stored in this highly secure room, with poison gas defenses, was to ensure ability users ate the fruits on-site.

If someone awakened a dangerous or uncontrollable ability, the base could immediately seal the area and eliminate the threat, preventing irreparable damage.

In fact, beneath the floor of this room were numerous anti-tank mines.

No ability user could survive if deemed a threat.

Erics Peterson, a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit, pondered for a moment and asked, "Professor Cooper, what do we do now?"

Teresa Taylor's situation was not uncommon.

Many abilities were subtle and took a long time for their users to understand and develop.

Professor Clark Cooper, a refined and scholarly man, responded eagerly, "Send her to the lab. Let Olivia Brooks evaluate her first, then follow the standard testing procedures for ability users. However, she's only been here a day. Is it risky to let her leave the warehouse area with an unknown ability?"

Erics Peterson focused on the screen, his eyes flashing briefly with a mysterious violet glow. After a moment, he sighed and said, "Teresa Taylor still harbors naive fantasies about the nation. I believe she can be controlled and used safely. Professor Cooper, proceed with your plan."

Ding! Teresa Taylor consumed 1 Enlightenment Fruit – Refinement. 1,000 duplicates have been added to your personal space!

[Enlightenment Fruit (Refinement): 1-Star. Grants the Refinement ability. Repeated consumption may upgrade the ability's star level.]

What does it do? James Lone curiously pulled out one of the fruits and ate it.

[Refinement: 1-Star. You can extract the essence of metals.]

James Lone's curiosity was piqued. He pulled out a large chunk of raw iron from his personal space and placed his finger on it.

Immediately, a massive amount of stamina drained from his body.

Before his eyes, the raw iron visibly decayed, as though it had aged thousands of years in an instant.

After about ten seconds, even with his stamina of 90, James Lone was left drenched in sweat. What remained was a small, needle-thin piece of refined metal.

The needle gleamed like silver, hard and unyielding. Even with James Lone's immense strength, bending it required significant effort.

"What's this for? A weapon?" James Lone muttered, holding the needle.

This was far too inefficient. How long would it take to gather enough for a sword? Why not just use steel directly? It'd be much easier.

Unable to figure out the purpose, James Lone decided to stop overthinking it.

"I'll just level it up first."

Taking out a large handful of Refinement fruits, he began eating them.

However, the results were disappointing.

James Lone consumed over 80 fruits to raise the ability to 2 stars.

Ding! Refinement upgraded to 2-Star! Stamina consumption during refinement is reduced.

James Lone wasn't sure how much the reduction was, but he was already drained. Testing further would have to wait.

More importantly, there were still two other fruits to acquire.

"First, I need to recover my stamina. Then, I'll get the other two Enlightenment fruits!"

James Lone pulled out some grilled mutant frog meat and began eating.