Chapter Five: First Encounter with Sera

On the hovercar, Tang Yi sat with his eyes closed, seemingly on the verge of sleep. This irritated Claire greatly; Uncle Peter was injured, everyone else was actively pursuing Sera, and yet Tang Yi, upon arrival, seemed to do nothing but nap in the car.

"Tang Yi, please wake up! We're in the middle of a mission," Claire said, pushing Tang Yi, who sat beside her in the back seat.

Tang Yi opened his eyes just a sliver. "I'm not sleeping. I'm searching for Sera."

"You don't look like you're searching at all. How are you searching?" Claire asked, bewildered.

"Ah, that's something you wouldn't know. Let me explain it to you slowly..." Tang Yi relished chatting with a beautiful woman, especially when she listened earnestly to his tall tales. The delight he felt was undeniable.

"Oh, is that so? But why have I never heard Uncle Peter mention it?" Claire asked skeptically.

"That depends on how your Uncle Peter uses his abilities. Maybe when I see him, I can help him recover his powers," Tang Yi said with absolute confidence.

"If that's possible, that would be wonderful. Let me thank you on Uncle Peter's behalf," Claire said, grateful for Tang Yi's good intentions, though she doubted his claims.

San Francisco—

"Sera! You can't escape!" Niall shouted at a man on the street. The man was strikingly handsome.

The street was mostly deserted, and those few who walked hurried along, wary of Sera.

"Oh, you managed to spot me even after I've changed into someone else? Ha, I must have that ability!" The handsome man's muscles twisted and morphed, and in moments he transformed back into Sera's appearance.

"Hmph! That's not so certain!" Another member of Team Three appeared—Bart. He reached forward, hands grasping the air, and the space around Sera blurred like dough. In the next instant, Sera seemed ensnared by an invisible net, unable to move a muscle.

"Ha, my turn now," said King Kong, who drew two specially reinforced tiger-head daggers from behind. These blades, sharpened to slice through steel with ease, could sever the anchor of a massive ship in a single stroke, a testament to King Kong's formidable strength.

King Kong moved—and vanished. In the following second, sparks erupted from Sera, accompanied by a harsh, hissing noise. The scene was bizarre. King Kong reappeared suddenly. "Damn it, Sera has a new ability. Look at my knives!" He held them out for Niall and Bart to inspect; both blades were chipped and battered.

Sera laughed wildly. "Now it's my turn to perform!" Though not entirely free, he managed to use some abilities.

"Why not watch my performance first?" A hovercar stopped, and a woman stepped out. She wore a yellow dress; a gust of wind lifted its hem, her glossy black hair billowing, framing a lovely, fresh face.

She raised her right hand, pointing at Sera. A thin black thread shot from her fingertip, instantly wrapping around Sera and binding him again.

"Nicely done, Chris," Niall said to her, then drew a stun gun—one designed for battling superhumans. With a voltage of two hundred thousand volts, it could paralyze the brain, preventing the use of abilities.

Niall fired at Sera—but the situation changed abruptly. When Chris bound Sera, he began gathering power. Seeing the stun gun drawn, Sera unleashed a hundred abilities at once, violently breaking free. Those who had used abilities on him suffered backlash, each injured to varying degrees. As the stun gun fired, Sera, blood at the corner of his mouth, launched a bolt of lightning at the electric discharge, causing an explosion in midair. Then he vanished.

"Is everyone alright?" Niall asked.

"We're fine, but it's a pity we still didn't catch Sera," Chris said, straightening her clothes.

"As long as everyone's safe. Sera isn't so easy to capture," King Kong said, looking helplessly at his damaged daggers.

"Let's contact the other teams, inform them of what we know."

Night, Washington.

Inside a small supermarket, now closed, a shadow flickered. Sera, having used a hundred abilities to break through the siege, fled here. Though he now possessed immortality, replenishing energy was still necessary. He grabbed a bottle of milk and drank, opened a box of instant noodles, poured in a bottle of mineral water, and put it in the microwave, setting the timer. He sat on the floor, breathing heavily, eyes shining with a strange light.

Meeting Room—

"Sera is incredibly powerful. Even under those circumstances, he escaped!" Tang Yi was astonished. To him, if Team Three had targeted him, it would be nearly impossible to get away—unless he used his time-space traversal ability from the start. Even now, Tang Yi still struggled with that power, often exchanging time for space. For example, going from the US Peacekeeping Headquarters to the Shanghai Special Ability Headquarters—someone like Nakamura could do it in less than a second, but Tang Yi needed three to four hours, about as fast as a plane.

"Alright, given Sera's temperament, he's surely hiding somewhere to recover. We won't find him for a while. Take the opportunity to rest. We'll regroup in a week. Meeting adjourned!" With that, Director Oriman left.

"Tang Yi, would you care for a drink?" Claire smiled at Tang Yi. Her smile was captivating, and he was momentarily stunned. "When a beautiful lady invites, how could I refuse?" he replied.

TT Bar—

Colored lights flashed, DJ music thumped energetically. Tang Yi sat in a secluded corner, ordering a cola. Drinking cola at a bar was odd enough, and his work attire made him seem out of place.

"Alright, tell me—what do you need help with?" Tang Yi asked Claire directly.

"I'll be frank. Peter's condition is worsening," Claire said helplessly.

"Let's go to his house now. Maybe I can help," Tang Yi said, finishing his cola and rising. "Let's go, beautiful lady."

Suburban Villa District—

Screech—a red sports car braked sharply in front of a villa. Tang Yi climbed out, rubbing his shoulder. "Everyone's switched to hovercars, but you still drive a four-wheeler? These brakes are dangerous!"

"You're out of touch—this is called classic," Claire said, spinning her car keys disdainfully.

"Fine, a wise man doesn't argue with a woman. Let's go," Tang Yi said, resigned.

"Uncle Peter, I've brought a friend," Claire called out as she opened the door.

"It's Claire! Please wait in the living room, I'm in the kitchen," came a booming voice.

"Come in, Mr. Tang Yi," Claire said, turning. "Where are you?"

"Oh, I'm already inside," Tang Yi's voice came from the living room.

"Would you like something to drink?" Peter entered the living room and asked.

"Coffee," Claire said. "I'll make it myself."

"I'll have a cola," Tang Yi said.

Tang Yi opened his eyes slowly, speaking seriously to Peter. "I've found that you can only use one ability at a time because your superpower source has developed cracks. It's repairing itself now, so it's shut down your ability usage. My advice is not to use your abilities for a while. Once they've fully recovered, practice diligently with each one and you'll be fine."

"Thank you for the advice. I have a question—why haven't I discovered the 'sea of consciousness' ability? Theoretically, I should possess it, right?" Peter asked.

"I've thought about it. The only reason is that I come from another universe, which might explain it. I can't think of any other possibilities," Tang Yi shrugged.

Time passed swiftly—a week went by. Tang Yi enjoyed himself during this period, splitting his time between training with his new abilities in the facility and attending various gatherings with Claire, fully experiencing the extravagance of foreign parties.

Meeting Room—

"Based on intelligence, Sera has resurfaced and is retaliating fiercely. Over a dozen SWAT officers have been killed in Washington, likely by Sera," Oriman announced loudly.

"Sera is openly provoking us. I now declare—all four teams will deploy to Washington, our target is Sera. This time, we must capture him, no matter what!" By the end, Oriman was nearly roaring. It was no wonder—Sera's actions had severely tarnished the director's reputation.

The four teams took special hovercraft planes to Washington, which was now under lockdown. The streets were empty, except for squads of police with search devices—devices designed specifically for Sera. His multitude of abilities made his energy fluctuations much stronger than others, so the searchers could detect him. This was both Sera's advantage and his flaw.

The teams split in four directions. Tang Yi's group searched south. Liu Shanquan fiddled with the searcher—it was powerful, but limited. It could only scan straight ahead, up to 500 meters, and had to be manually rotated for circular sweeps. Tang Yi walked slowly with his eyes half-closed; he could now probe the sea of consciousness without closing his eyes.

"Sera is at four o'clock, eight hundred meters away," Tang Yi murmured. His probe range had expanded to an 800-meter radius. The absorption ability's effective range was 500 meters—so as soon as Sera entered Tang Yi's detection range, he was discovered.

"Impressive, Sera. By my count, he has nearly two thousand abilities, and his superpower source is enormous—much thicker than others," Tang Yi thought.

"Understood. Everyone, move faster and stay hidden," Claire whispered.

Inside a private residence, Sera's face was twisted, eyes bloodshot. He was in a killing frenzy, consumed by hatred. Lurking in the darkness, he ambushed searching police officers. But he was unaware he was being tracked, with people stealthily closing in on him.

Seven hundred meters, six hundred fifty, six hundred, five hundred fifty, five hundred. Tang Yi kept count in his mind. At four hundred meters, Sera's superpower source was fully within Tang Yi's absorption range.

"Time stop, time stop... Damn it, always fails at critical moments," Tang Yi muttered, trying to use the time-space traversal ability, but it wouldn't work. "Never mind, I'll absorb Sera's abilities first." He stopped, beginning to absorb Sera's comprehension abilities.

"I've been found—damn it!" As Liu Shanquan's searcher scanned Sera, he realized he'd been discovered. Without hesitation, he burst from the house, saw Liu Shanquan, and slashed with his hand, slicing the searcher in two. He moved his finger for a second strike, but Liu Shanquan dodged, and a geyser erupted under Sera's feet. Sera moved, launching himself at Liu Shanquan.

But just as Sera approached within twenty meters, his body froze and crashed to the ground. Hunter unleashed his superpower. Sera grunted and flew up again, only to be struck by a bolt of electricity, sending him flying dozens of meters.

Claire had seized the moment to fire. Sera rose, noting his formidable opponents. He saw Tang Yi with eyes closed, radiating a dangerous aura—exactly the same feeling Peter had given him. "Danger—better run," Sera thought. With a flash, he vanished.

Sera escaped again. Liu Shanquan and the others, disappointed, turned to ask why Tang Yi hadn't used the time-space traversal ability to catch him, only to see Tang Yi collapse to the ground once more, shamelessly fainting. "Damn it, failed at the critical moment," Liu Shanquan cursed.

Just then, Tang Yi's superpower source was undergoing earth-shattering changes—or rather, it was evolving.