Qi's mother tiptoed behind Qi Yuan, who was busy putting on his shoes.
She placed her small backpack, prepared for refuge, in the entryway and unexpectedly spoke up.
"Why haven't you left yet?"
Qi Yuan, once again startled by his mother's silent footsteps, almost jumped and stepped on her.
In response to her question, Qi Yuan was left with a puzzled expression.
Are you being too heartless?
I only received the call a few minutes ago!
"You can still hear the phone with your brother around?"
"I don't recall hitting menopause, do I?"
Qi Yuan finished putting on his shoes, stood up, and took the opportunity to quip, "Stop obsessing over the hundred ways of communication. The more you listen, the more it sounds like cryptic gossip."
"Fine."
Qi's mother swiftly switched tactics, throwing a familiar direct punch, "Before leaving, say a proper goodbye to the people who take care of us in this city."
"Okay."
Qi Yuan nodded solemnly, turning to his mother, "Don't worry."
...
Cheng Yizhou was rescued by Wu Xiong and two others, with other B-level ability users quickly arriving.
"Attack!"
A mist appeared out of nowhere, signaling the start of the assault.
The mist swiftly surrounded Beauty Phase, attaching droplets to its body.
A duty officer quickly approached, waving his hands towards the mist.
Ability - Heat Absorption.
In just a moment, he absorbed most of the heat from the water vapor. The water droplets, deprived of heat, instantly turned into ice fragments, absorbing and conducting the heat emanating from Beauty Phase.
Beauty Phase twitched its branches, seemingly slowing its pace under the influence of the ice fragments.
A sigh of relief swept through the onlookers.
It works!
The A-level monster isn't as formidable as imagined...
Seeing teammates successfully slowing down Beauty Phase indirectly, another duty officer aimed a water cannon at its roots. Though the water cannon didn't cause any damage, it successfully covered the ground beneath it with a thick layer of water.
The water duty officer nodded to his partner.
Concentrating, he closed his eyes, activating his ability.
Ability - Venom.
He transformed water into a highly corrosive liquid.
The liquid made a sizzling sound upon contact with Beauty Phase's roots, but unfortunately, it only managed to clean the surface stains.
Beauty Phase, unruffled, played with its food.
Having stayed in Qipan City for so long, it was well aware of the city's strength.
Even when moving its roots, it was merely cleaning the blood and flesh residues left by consuming humans.
Such a provocative act not only failed to anger the duty officers but instead, they all revealed triumphant smiles.
"You..."
Sensing danger, Beauty Phase realized too late. Suddenly, it felt its body lifted into the air, beginning to descend.
The ground beneath the building melted into a large hole due to the highly corrosive liquid, leaving Beauty Phase with no support for its roots in the liquid.
It plummeted to the floor below.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
Pre-set bomb traps and reinforced ability users were already in position.
As Beauty Phase fell into the trap, a barrage of explosions ensued.
This was their plan discussed early in the morning.
With their strength, penetrating the ability protection directly to cause damage was like a fool's dream.
However, indirect damage like this, relying on physics and chemistry, could yield results.
The power of a bomb enhanced by a reaction and infused with heat is several times stronger than regular explosives.
"Hurry, it's about to explode again."
A well-known duty officer directed his teammates.
Upon hearing the warning, several B-level supernaturals brought along a special duty team to evacuate.
The Beauty Phase, unscathed by the attacks of several supernaturals, let out a howl amidst the smoke.
The monstrous howl mixed with the Beauty Phase's unique hallucinogenic effect caused the supernaturals to pause, almost being hit by the aftermath of the explosives.
"Let's keep going, we're running out of time."
Wu Xiong and the others pushed Cheng Yizhou towards the blockade team and returned to the battlefield.
After assessing the Beauty Phase's condition, Wu Xiong and his companions wished they could run away.
The Beauty Phase, screaming in agony, reappeared after the smoke cleared.
Several of its roots were severed by the explosion, and a few drops of juice dripped down before quickly regenerating.
The ethereal and beautiful face revealed a poignant expression, accusing them of their violent actions.
Was it a bit too much?
As soon as Wu Xiong had this thought, he raised his arm and bit down fiercely.
Just a few roots severed, was that too much?
After confirming that their mental state and values were intact, Wu Xiong looked at his two brothers.
His two brothers had clearly experienced the same things as him, knowing that the other possessed a captivating ability, they were constantly scrutinizing their own hearts.
Seeing that no one was falling for the Beauty Phase's charm, the stunning face displayed a look of anger and embarrassment.
"You men who don't know how to cherish beauty."
Its petals began to close layer by layer, its upper body curling into the flower chamber, and its roots extending downward, piercing into the ground.
After rooting itself in the soil, the root stem grew rapidly, reaching tens of meters high in no time.
After a few breaths, the closed petals reopened, and pollen sprayed into the sky from the flower's heart, stopping in mid-air before falling down.
Moonlight shone on these pollen grains, causing them to sparkle with a soft light, resembling stars hanging in the sky.
Although the effect of the pollen was unclear, the enchanting fragrance of the flower warned the blockade team leader, who immediately made a decision.
"Intercept the pollen, don't let it pass our blockade line."
"The captain is too late."
The evacuating crowd, pushing and shoving, still nervously watched the direction of the battle, afraid that something might happen to the duty team before they could evacuate.
Suddenly, there were twinkling lights in the sky, and consciousness froze in place.
"So beautiful..."
The Beauty Phase's unparalleled beauty lingered in their minds.
Their gazes were blank, staring fixedly at the Beauty Phase in the sky, starting to walk back in the same rhythm.
The blockade team was jostled by the returning crowd, and the team leader, in the chaos, commanded, "Block the scene, don't let the crowd enter the battlefield."
The original intention was to protect the crowd from being harmed by the aftermath.
Now the blockade team was being overwhelmed by the crowd, unable to do anything in the middle.
The duty team outside quickly arrived, some using their abilities to control the crowd, while others subdued and pushed them onto crude carts, allowing logistics personnel to drag them away.
Everything was just beginning to fall into place, developing in a positive direction.
A sudden anomaly erupted as crimson roots burst from the ground, snaking into the crowd and ensnaring several citizens, dragging them below.
Amidst the chaos, several B-grade psychics found themselves at a loss.
"Damn it, why is this so difficult?" muttered one officer under his breath, their sense of triumph evaporating in an instant.
The infuriated Beauty Phase wasted no time in dispatching the collaborative efforts of the B-grade psychics.
If it weren't for Lin Cang relying on parasitic absorption of the Beauty Phase's energy, coming through at the crucial moment, they would have perished long ago.
"Hasn't the rescue arrived yet?" Wu Xiong lamented inwardly. What on earth was going on?
High above, flowers continued to exert their influence, hallucinatory petals and pollen refracting the light, their enchanting fragrance and captivating beauty luring humans incessantly, with the radiation range continuously expanding.