Lucas darted again, narrowly evading the next attack.But he was wounded, and his injuries had slowed his reflexes."Ahhh—!" he screamed as his left foot scraped against a sonic-speed stone.A mere graze from one of those stones was horrifying enough. A chunk of flesh had been sheared away, revealing stark white bone beneath.Cold sweat poured down Lucas's face. Pain, yes—but fear even more.If Ray struck a few more times, his entire leg could be stripped of flesh. Could he even stand after that?If he couldn't dodge, facing Ray's relentless onslaught meant one thing: death.Pleading for mercy? Not a chance. At this point, he wasn't the type to surrender.There was only one option—fight with everything he had.The problem was that he couldn't even see Ray. How could he fight blindly?'Thrown into the jaws of death, I will survive!' he thought grimly. The next wave of attacks came—and he resolved to charge straight at them, regardless of the risk. This was his only chance.He

Just over an hour later, Ray stepped out of the villa.A wave of relief washed over him. All the side effects had finally subsided.He smiled faintly and returned to the villa where Celine was staying. By now, the sky was just beginning to lighten. A long day had finally come to an end.Checking on Celine, he saw that her fever still burned high, showing no signs of easing. Around ten o'clock, she regained consciousness, and Ray fed her some porridge, milk, and a few pieces of fruit. Food was essential—without it, she could starve or dehydrate.He didn't linger any longer. He moved Celine into the hidden chamber, leaving her some bread and water, then departed. He couldn't devote all his energy to just one person.With Hope Camp secured and this place now a safe haven, he could bring all his women back and let them continue to enjoy wealth and even luxury in the apocalypse.It was time to set off.He pulled out the hovercraft. But his first stop wasn't Greenbow Tower—it was Mall

"Evolving?" Molly and the other eight women all gasped in unison.Ray nodded and explained his theory.The nine women froze, stunned.They had assumed that ability users were born lucky—chosen by fate. After the disaster, the rarest, most fortunate people would naturally emerge. But Ray said it could be cultivated after the fact. Exposure to toxic hail—or even enough cosmic radiation—could give anyone the chance to evolve.Of course, the odds of success were abysmally low.One percent? 0.1%? Maybe even lower."So, according to your theory, even if we stay indoors every day, we're still being affected by cosmic rays. Eventually, the accumulation could reach the point where evolution begins?" Molly asked.Ray nodded. "It's possible."The women's reactions varied.Honey and Lola were scared. Molly and Jess, on the other hand, were excited, eager to try. Katie and the others were undecided, wavering between curiosity and fear. It all depended on personality."And if evolution fai

What was Ray planning to do?He wasn't just going to observe the three "patients"—he was planning to actively intervene. Perhaps in the entire world, only he could do this.Spatial Perception combined with Spatial Severing gave him that capability.And what was he intervening with?The energy seed.Ray suspected that if this energy seed could successfully form, evolution would succeed. If it failed, evolution would fail. And that meant… he could potentially manipulate the outcome.So he acted.Inside the brains of the three patients, the energy seeds struggled to take shape. Every time they tried, the energy collapsed instantly, and the process had to start over. Yet, the energy in all three bodies continued to accumulate. After enough failed attempts, the intensity would surpass the body's limit, causing the person to literally explode.If the seed successfully condensed, could the person then control their internal energy and become an ability user?That explained the result

A night passed.A new day dawned, yet the weather showed no sign of clearing. Temperatures stubbornly lingered around minus forty degrees, refusing to climb even a little. Ray had long since grown accustomed to it.After breakfast, he first checked on Celine.As his Spatial Perception swept over her, his brow furrowed.Because… energy was truly flowing through her body.This confirmed his suspicions.First: Celine had genuinely begun evolving.Second: cosmic rays could directly trigger human evolution. There was no absolute need for the poisonous hail to strike. Normal radiation in the air alone could initiate the process—though far later than a direct hail impact, which acted instantly. Touch it, and it was life or death.Was this good news?Half and half.Everyone—willing or not—would embark on the path of evolution. This was a mass evolutionary event. Only a tiny fraction would be fortunate. Ten percent would survive. The vast majority would die.At the Hope Camp, over a