The exciting plot is about to unfold!!! Don't miss it if you're passing by!!!
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The next morning, in the base's lounge, we met the superpower user specializing in defense, the one Lin Xue had mentioned.
A seemingly unremarkable young man, about 20 years old, wearing casual clothes that looked like they came from a street stall, with a notably pale complexion, meticulously groomed mid-length hair, and apparently not very talkative. He only nodded when he saw the three of us before sitting to the side.
Lin Xue stood up and began introducing us: "This is Zheng Yiming, the superpower user in our organization who excels in defense. Though he isn't very talkative, he's actually a very enthusiastic person."
"Hello," Zheng Yiming gave a polite smile and nodded.
"This is my younger brother, Lin Feng. His ability is to manipulate compressed air for attacks." The shy-looking boy next to Lin Xue stood up, bowed to Pandora and me, and said, "I apologize profusely for attacking you last time. It was all my sister's idea. You can take revenge as you please."
...Truly Lin Xue's brother, hiding a scheming heart behind a shy appearance!
"Little Feng, I'll find time to beat you up." Lin Xue smiled at Lin Feng, then pointed to Qianqian and introduced: "This is Xu Qianqian. There's an archaeologist named Xu Feng among the missing exploration team, and he's her father. She'll be joining us in our actions thereafter. Zheng Yiming's primary task is to ensure her safety."
"Hello," Qianqian smiled at Zheng Yiming and said, "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll certainly do my best!"
"Lin Xue, you've been saying Qianqian will be helpful in the upcoming actions. Can you tell me now what exactly she can do? I don't want her getting into danger because of it."
"You'll see soon enough. Rest assured about Qianqian's safety; Zheng Yiming's defensive abilities are no joke."
Defensive abilities? Can they withstand Xyrin's phase impact cannon head-on?
I had made up my mind; regardless of Zheng Yiming's prowess, I would prioritize protecting Qianqian in the subsequent actions. Even if it meant the mission's failure, with the help of Xyrin Expeditionary Army soldiers, I need not risk Qianqian's safety personally.
"These two," Lin Xue pointed to Pandora and me, "are siblings and highly powerful superpower users."
"Superpower users?!" The always placid Zheng Yiming finally showed a shocked expression and then suddenly started looking at us with an expectant gaze just like Lin Xue had initially.
"Don't even think about it," Lin Xue waved her hand and said, "I've already told them before, but unfortunately, they firmly refused to join the organization. However, they agreed to help us when needed—like now."
"Oh." Zheng Yiming nodded with a disappointed look, and Lin Xue continued the introduction: "This is my sister, Pan Lili. Her special ability is mind communication, which will play a significant role in our team actions."
Zheng Yiming's eyes lit up as he praised: "A great ability... Huh? Your eyes."
"I can't see." Pandora said calmly, making Zheng Yiming feel a bit awkward, and he quickly apologized: "Ah, sorry..."
"And this is Dragon Armor. His ability is to generate high-temperature energy attacks in specific areas and seems capable of remotely controlling such attacks. He's very powerful in combat."
"Hello, Dragon Armor." Zheng Yiming said cooperatively.
...Should I be angry?!
"Alright, alright, no more jokes," Lin Xue saw my face starting to turn green and quickly concluded, "His name is Chen Jun—as for why he and his sister don't share the same surname, it's because they are orphans raised by different families. They recognized each other only after growing up, and their abilities awakened afterward."
After the introductions, Lin Xue suggested: "Now that we've met, it's best to familiarize ourselves with each other's abilities for smoother coordination in upcoming actions."
"Meaning, demonstrate our superpowers?" I nodded. This was indeed a good chance to witness real abilities.
Upon hearing a demonstartion of abilities, Qianqian got interested and excitedly said, "Great! Let me see as well. I've always heard about your powers but haven't seen them except for Lili's ability!"
"There's a closed training ground here," Lin Xue suggested, "We could go there..."
"Wait," I interrupted Lin Xue. "My ability has a large area of effect. Can we do it outdoors?"
Of course, it had to be outdoors. Xyrin Space weapons were fired directly from outer space. If I used them in the training ground, could I afford to fix a hole in the base?
"That's fine. This is a desert after all, and there's plenty of room outside."
Outside the base, the five of us superpower users, along with Qianqian who was eager to watch, were prepared.
"First, my ability is perception," Lin Xue said. "I can precisely sense the surroundings and the flow of energy and use my sixth sense to predict things that'll happen in a short time—not as exaggerated as prophecies but just the likelihood of an event occurring. For instance—there will be a gust of wind in 3 seconds strong enough to blow Qianqian's hat off."
"Huh?" Qianqian instinctively pressed down on her hat.
Three seconds is a short time; almost as soon as Qianqian pressed down, a considerable wind blew by. Because she had held her hat, it didn't get blown off as Lin Xue predicted.
"That's how it works; I can foresee a gust of wind in 3 seconds that could blow off Qianqian's hat. However, reality can still diverge from my intuition. As for my observation ability—Qianqian's motion of holding her hat consumed 0.132 kilojoules of energy, though I can't prove it."
Pandora's voice echoed through the spiritual connection: "It's 0.13185 kilojoules. In terms of energy perception alone, Lin Xue's ability is on par with a very skilled Xyrin Explorer. Her short-term foresight is even stronger."
What an impressive superpower! She's practically half a prophet!
Noticing Qianqian's and my astonished expressions, Lin Xue smiled smugly and said, "Alright, who's next?"
"This is my ability." Pandora's voice resonated simultaneously in everyone's minds; then there was silence.
...Such a typically brief Pandora demonstration.
"My ability is Wind Blade—Yiming, would you assist me?"
Zheng Yiming nodded, moved a dozen meters away from us, and indicated he was ready.
Lin Feng took a breath, then suddenly swung his right hand forward!
Several nearly transparent, twisted air currents flew rapidly towards Zheng Yiming. At the same moment, a light blue, semi-transparent shield-like barrier appeared in front of him. The Wind Blades struck the barrier, creating wave-like ripples before dissipating, while several intentionally missed blades split a distant sand dune in two!
Do not underestimate the Wind Blades' attack power just because sand dunes are soft. Remember, sand significantly dampens various forces. A dune with a radius exceeding a hundred meters can't be penetrated even by the strongest sniper rifle!
"It's like a movie..." Qianqian muttered, mesmerized by the spectacular scene.
"If it's just about attack power, I'm not the strongest." Lin Feng smiled modestly, then with a hint of dread added: "Wait until you see Chen Jun's ability; you won't think I'm powerful..."
I smiled slightly and stepped forward.
Since Pandora's Heavy Equipment Corps arrived in this world, my connection to Xyrin Mother Star had strengthened significantly. Though not to the extent of daily chats with Gaia, I could make some use of that massively restricted command set.
Once I confirmed the successful connection, I steadied myself, controlled my thoughts, and assumed a calm posture, exuding an aura of confidence—
"If you keep posing, we'll leave," Lin Xue said blandly from the side.
"Heavenly Light!" I yelled powerfully, waving my right hand forward while mentally requesting cross-space support.
A bright white light beam several meters thick descended from the sky, accompanied by a low buzzing, and quickly drilled into the sand a hundred meters away.
A nearly ten-meter-diameter magma pool...
A collective intake of breath could be heard behind me.
"Chen Jun...is this your true power?" Lin Xue's face twitched, and inside she was already thinking: Oh my god, this kind of power, can it even be explained by superpowers? Good thing I didn't really anger this guy back then, or else...
Lin Feng was also breaking out in cold sweat. He'd been hunted for a whole day and night back then! (Little did they know, it wasn't me who attacked them but Pandora, the seemingly harmless loli.)
Zheng Yiming was stunned too. Although he had confidence in his defense abilities, could he last even a second against this kind of attack?
Only the oblivious Xu Qianqian was unaware of the sheer scale of this power, instead staring at me in admiration.
"Actually, the extent of my attacks is very limited," I explained with a forced smile, "Firstly, it consumes a lot of energy so I can't use it continuously. Secondly, the range control is terrible, and each attack requires a long charge time—like when I posed just now..."
"Oh—" everyone nodded, seeming a bit more at ease.
Lin Xue appeared to have naturally assumed the team leader role. After everyone snapped out of their daze from the earlier sight, she raised her voice: "Alright, now that we have a basic understanding of each other's abilities, does anyone have questions?"
Pandora for mind communication and intel, Lin Xue for detection and short-term foresight, Zheng Yiming as the main tank with his defense power, Lin Feng and I as the main DPS, plus Qianqian as the key NPC, hmm...
"Lin Xue," I raised my hand and said, "we still need a healer!"
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Though not very popular, I still want to shout: The exciting plot is about to unfold!!!!!!