Buildings collapse and structures explode with unfortunate regularity throughout the world. Yet a forty-story headquarters building cleaved perfectly in two by an invisible energy blade? That remained an exceptional sight.
Even Richard, who had executed the attack, witnessed such destruction for the first time. Though he had developed Heaven Severance some time ago, he had never deployed it in actual combat. His practice had been limited to felling trees or splitting boulders.
BOOM!
Gravity claimed the upper section of the Department of Mutant Affairs headquarters. It struck the ground with a thunderous impact that sounded like a massive explosion, raising a dust cloud reminiscent of a desert sandstorm and sending tremors through the earth as if a localized earthquake had struck.
Everyone who witnessed this spectacle—from gate security to administrative staff—stared in stunned disbelief. Everyone, that is, except Richard, who hovered calmly in the air.
What did he just do? Is he declaring all-out war against the Department? Where are the Operations Division agents? What about the Sentinel robots? Why haven't they been deployed yet?
These questions raced through the minds of the onlookers as they struggled to process the devastation.
Richard ignored the guards and staff, focusing instead on using his telepathy to locate nearby mutants. Only one type of mutant could move freely within the headquarters complex—the mutant agents of the Operations Division.
It required minimal effort to identify these operatives.
Nearly two hundred agents? As expected of the Department's headquarters—a substantial force.
After confirming their numbers, Richard sighed inwardly before immobilizing those agents lacking telepathic resistance.
With the targets secured, he immediately increased his psionic output.
Paralyzed by his initial telepathic hold, the mutant agents experienced no pain as their minds were wiped. Over 150 agents fell lifeless to the ground in peaceful silence.
After eliminating these threats, Richard activated his plunder ability without hesitation.
[New abilities gained: 187 (6 Alpha-level, 158 Beta-level, 23 Delta-level)!]
[Same type abilities obtained, ability fusion in progress!]
[Abilities of the same type enhanced!]
[X-gene mutant power list updated!]
[X-Gene Mutant powers: 12 Alpha, 25 Beta, 6 Delta]
Though he had absorbed 187 mutant powers including 6 Alpha-level abilities, Richard's total power count hadn't increased proportionally due to fusion enhancement.
Before this plunder, he possessed 8 Alpha-level, 14 Beta-level, and 2 Delta-level powers. Now, he had added only 19 powers in total—meaning 168 abilities had been fused and enhanced.
Despite the extensive fusion, Richard wasn't particularly surprised. He had anticipated this outcome.
After all, his four Alpha-level powers— Super Strength, Enhanced Durability, Accelerated Healing, And Energy Absorption —could integrate and enhance most strength, physicality, healing, and energy manipulation abilities.
Since the system no longer displayed specific abilities available at each level, Richard immediately examined his Alpha-level powers to identify the new additions.
[Alpha level: Super Senses, Gravity Control, Telepathy, Invisibility]
Telepathy and invisibility have been upgraded to Alpha level?
Richard's expression registered surprise. While the agents he'd eliminated couldn't resist telepathic invasion, that didn't mean they lacked mental-realm abilities. Nevertheless, he hadn't expected telepathy to achieve Alpha-level status at this juncture.
Similarly unexpected was the upgrade of invisibility—an ability he rarely utilized—to Alpha level.
Without delay, he reviewed the detailed descriptions of his three newly upgraded abilities.
[Super Senses: sensory abilities far beyond ordinary human capacity, including Enhanced Senses, super hearing, super smell, etc.]
[Gravity Control: manipulate the strength and direction of gravitational forces at will]
[Invisibility: render yourself or objects completely transparent, undetectable even by infrared and ultraviolet detection equipment]
After reading these descriptions, Richard checked his Beta-level power list, confirming that Enhanced Senses and invisibility had indeed been removed from that category.
Closing the information panel, Richard turned his attention to the mutant agents who had resisted his telepathic paralysis. Using the enhanced vision component of his super senses, he quickly identified these remaining operatives.
Only about thirty agents left.
As he examined them more closely, Richard's brow furrowed. It seemed implausible that all thirty would possess telepathy or mental shielding abilities.
Their resistance stemmed from two sources: two agents with complete telepathic abilities, and more significantly, the silver-white helmets worn by over half the remaining agents.
Though different from Sebastian Shaw's mental isolation helmet, these silver-white devices clearly served a similar function.
Eighteen! Richard counted eighteen agents wearing these protective helmets.
Although he had known mind-shielding technology wasn't limited to a handful of devices, the prevalence of these helmets at Department headquarters surprised him.
Has their manufacturing technology advanced? Or have they discovered new materials capable of blocking telepathy?
These questions flashed through Richard's mind, but he didn't waste time pondering them. Instead, he teleported instantly behind one of the telepathic agents.
SLASH!
The Masamune moved with lightning speed. Before the telepathic agent could react, the blade severed his neck, ending his life instantly.
After this kill, Richard didn't immediately use plunder. Instead, he teleported again, materializing before the second telepath.
SLASH!
Another swift strike—this time piercing directly through the heart rather than beheading.
These two agents possessed considerable talent. Their immediate use of telepathy to shield their companions demonstrated their skill. Unfortunately, against Richard's combination of telepathy and teleportation, they were effectively as vulnerable as ordinary humans.
With both telepaths eliminated, Richard once again immobilized the agents lacking helmet protection. Then, like an elusive death god, he systematically terminated them without moving from his position.
[New abilities gained: 17 (1 Alpha level, 16 Beta level)!]
[Same type abilities obtained, ability fusion in progress!]
[Abilities of the same type enhanced!]
[X-gene mutant power list updated!]
[X-Gene Mutant powers: 13 Alpha, 32 Beta, 6 Delta]
As before, Richard bypassed the newly added Beta-level powers, focusing immediately on the Alpha-level addition.
[Heat Vision: emit high-temperature beams from both eyes; power and range adjustable]
Richard sighed upon discovering the newly added Alpha-level ability was merely heat vision upgraded from Beta-level.
Though heat vision represented a formidable power, he rarely deployed it. More precisely, he had never officially used it in combat.
With his extensive arsenal of long-range attack options, he had no need to rely on heat vision as his primary offensive capability like Superman did.
Though disappointed by the lack of novel Alpha-level abilities, Richard quickly refocused, closing the information panel and preparing to eliminate the eighteen helmet-wearing agents.
At that moment, six towering figures entered his field of vision.
Sentinel robots!
The six towering forms were unmistakably Sentinels—the infamous "natural enemies of mutants."
Unlike those at the Los Angeles branch, these six Sentinels weren't black but silver-white. Their appearance immediately brought to mind another figure from the Marvel universe.
Colossus!
The gleaming Sentinels resembled the metallic form of Piotr Rasputin when he activated his mutant ability.
Though uncertain whether these Sentinels employed powers similar to Colossus or represented entirely new variants, Richard remained unimpressed.
They're still sending Sentinels against me? How insulting.
Three months earlier at the Los Angeles branch, he had demonstrated conclusively that Sentinels posed little threat to him.
While Department headquarters had undoubtedly addressed the programming vulnerabilities that had caused the previous robots to crash, improved software couldn't solve the fundamental problem:
These Sentinels couldn't possibly withstand his Judgement Cut End.
Richard activated the technique without hesitation.
As the Masamune completed its arc, the nearest Sentinel was enveloped in the distorted space created by Judgement Cut End. Simultaneously, crescent-shaped energy blades with devastating cutting power converged on the robot from all directions.
Chichichichichichi...
The energy crescents effortlessly carved through the Sentinel's body, reducing it to scattered fragments.
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