The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

"this......"

"That's too strong."

Zhou Jian swallowed hard, his pupils contracting sharply for a moment.

A thought flashed through my mind.

"return."

The wisp of mist vanished again, returning to his fingertips and obediently coiling around them, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

He changed his target.

Not far away, a steel bar, as thick as a child's wrist, protruded from a break in the ground and was covered in rust.

"go."

The grayish-white mist shot out again.

This time, Zhou Jian saw it clearly.

The wisp of mist encountered no obstruction the moment it came into contact with the steel bars.

It is not a cut.

It's not like it penetrates.

It's like an eraser, directly wiping away the "surface" of the steel bar that was in contact with it.

The steel bars are still standing there.

But Zhou Jian knew it was broken.

He stepped forward, extended his finger, and gently pushed the upper part of the steel bar.

Clang—!

The upper half of the steel bar slid down the extremely smooth cut surface and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Zhou Jian squatted down and ran his fingers over the cut surface.

It is cool, smooth, and without a single metallic burr.

This is something that cannot be achieved through physical cutting.

As an expert in cold weapons, he knows better than anyone where the limit of "sharpness" lies.

Whether it's a high-frequency vibrating particle knife or a single-molecule cutting line.

When cutting an object, forces are inevitably generated, resulting in energy loss and transfer.

But this wisp of mist...

It seemed to ignore all of this.

It ignores hardness, structure, and the laws of physics.

In its presence, there is no difference between solid steel bars and soft tofu.

This is no longer within the scope of weapons.

"If this is the power of runes?"

"That's way too strong..."

......

Inside the laboratory.

A complex medicinal smell filled the air.

Lin Mo was staring intently at the glass test tube in his hand, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead and sliding down his cheeks.

Intermediate gene therapy.

This was the seventeenth time he had tried to prepare it today.

The first sixteen attempts all failed at the final fusion stage.

Lin Mo held his breath and carefully picked up a microsyringe containing a dark blue catalytic solution.

Success or failure hinges on this one move.

He concentrated intently and slowly injected it into the test tube.

Just then.

boom--!

A sound that wasn't loud, but was unusually abrupt, exploded in the silent laboratory.

It was that damned sparrow that knocked over some metal frame.

Lin Mo's hand suddenly trembled.

The catalytic solution in the syringe was injected instantly.

Lin Mo froze in place.

It’s over.

The thought had just crossed my mind.

The test tube in my hand hadn't even been thrown away yet...

Bang-!

A dull thud, extremely muffled, erupted from his hand.

At the same time, a plume of black smoke, mixed with a burnt smell, rose up, covering Lin Mo in soot.

The entire laboratory was a mess.

Lin Mo: "..."

He slowly, inch by inch, turned his head to look at the culprit who had caused the trouble.

"Damn scraggly bird!"

"Are you trying to die?!"

A suppressed roar echoed through the laboratory.

However, the sparrow perched on the shelf completely ignored him.

He didn't even glance at Lin Mo.

His body stiffened, and his small head suddenly turned in one direction—the location of the rune tower.

An unprecedented shock, even horror, emanated from him.

[Power fluctuations indicate authority within the safe zone!]

It is the power of death!

The sparrow's shrill chirping exploded right next to Lin Mo's ears.

Someone has gained power?!

Although that fluctuation was extremely weak, so faint as to be only a trace, it was the rule, and there was absolutely no mistake!

That is the power of authority!

【impossible!】

[And how could that be?!]

[How could the Rune Tower obtain such power as Authority?!] Sparrow was completely dumbfounded.

This was completely beyond his comprehension.

The anger on Lin Mo's face also subsided considerably.

authority?

The power of death?

He wiped the soot off his face, no longer caring about the pile of precious materials that were now completely ruined.

"Let's go out and take a look."

Lin Mo strode out of the pharmaceutical factory.

The sparrow perched on his shoulder was scanning the entire safe zone at a terrifying speed.

It quickly locked onto a target.

[Over there!]

[Below the Rune Tower!]

Lin Mo followed the directions and walked over quickly.

From afar, he spotted a figure.

The man was standing in the open space in front of the rune tower, with his back to them.

It was Zhou Jian.

At this moment, Zhou Jian was extending a finger, and a wisp of grayish-white mist was swirling around his fingertip, dissipating, and then re-condensing.

He seemed completely absorbed in testing his new abilities and didn't notice Lin Mo's arrival.

Until Lin Mo walked to within ten meters of him.

Zhou Jian's body stiffened abruptly, and he turned around abruptly.

It's a beast-like intuition, one that doesn't need to be confirmed with the naked eye.

Only after recognizing Lin Mo did his tense body relax slightly.

"Manager Lin Mo..."

Zhou Jian was somewhat surprised.

Lin Mo's gaze, however, fell on the strand of grayish-white hair that was wrapped around Zhou Jian's fingertips.

This is it.

He could feel a power attached to it that made his heart pound.

Although faint, its essence is extremely profound.

Lin Mo didn't say anything more on the spot; there were too many players here.

He gestured with his chin toward Zhou Jian.

"Let's go to the store and talk."

Zhou Jian was stunned for a moment. Although he was full of confusion, he nodded, put away the mist from his fingertips, and followed behind Lin Mo.

Back at the grocery store.

With a loud bang, Lin Mo locked the door shut with his backhand.

The atmosphere inside the shop instantly became tense.

Zhou Jian stood there, his body ramrod straight, his hands hanging at his sides.

He wasn't in a hurry, quietly watching Lin Mo and waiting for his explanation.

Lin Mo didn't waste any words and got straight to the point in just a few sentences.

"The power you gained from the Rune Tower is not runic power."

Zhou Jian didn't speak, he just listened quietly.

Lin Mo pulled out a chair and sat down, then raised his hand to gesture for Zhou Jian to sit down as well.

"To put it another way, combat ranks, from F to A, are essentially just about the use of energy."

"Fire, lightning, or other abilities you've seen before all fall under the category of energy."

"But above Grade A, there is Grade S."

Lin Mo paused for a moment, giving Zhou Jian time to process what he had said.

There is only one way to advance to S-rank.

Lin Mo looked at him and said, word by word.

"That is, to seize power."