Urban Powers After the Apocalypse

"But…"

"But you still can't let go of what happened to Ning Ning." HeShang glanced at Xu Mo, sighed heavily, and put down his PSP. "That was just an accident. Are you planning to blame yourself for the rest of your life? Bro, you need to move on. Life doesn't come with a reload button. Since you've made your decision, hold on to your chance... though, honestly, I don't think you have much of one."

"Maybe… you're right."

The sky, once covered with light clouds, seemed to clear up. Xu Mo patted HeShang's shoulder gratefully, then stood up and walked toward the edge of the basketball court—just a meter away from Xu Bilin.

Noticing Xu Mo's approach, Xu Bilin gave him a polite smile before turning back to watch the game. She cheered excitedly whenever her class's team scored.

"You… really like basketball?" Xu Mo wasn't sure how to start a conversation and ended up blurting out such an awkward question.

"Yeah! Soccer can go on for half an hour without a single goal, but basketball is much more fast-paced. Though I don't really understand the rules, I just love the thrill of scoring points. You know, I've always thought that a guy is at his most attractive when he's sweating it out on the basketball court, fighting for victory…"

The more she spoke, the more excited she became, even gesturing animatedly. Her unpolished movements were oddly adorable.

"It's a shame our school doesn't even have a basketball gym, and the high school league never gives us a chance for a home game." She sighed regretfully.

"Actually, before you transferred here, the principal mentioned that the school's basketball gym would begin construction next spring. It'll be built on that empty lot to the west of the school, along with a soccer field with stands. Unfortunately, our class will have graduated by then."

"The empty lot to the west?" Xu Bilin's expression turned a little strange. She glanced around cautiously before lowering her voice. "I heard people say that place used to be a mass grave. When they first chose this site for the school, weird things kept happening during construction, so they moved the main buildings east to where they are now…"

Her nervous look made Xu Mo chuckle. He waved a hand dismissively. "You must've heard that from the girls in our class, right? That place was a mass grave, but all the graves were relocated when the school was built. As for all those so-called supernatural incidents, they were just made-up stories from bored students over the years. The dorm students sneak out there all the time at night, and nothing's ever happened."

"So… it was all fake…"

Just as their conversation was getting more relaxed, a sudden shout erupted from the basketball court. A player had lost control of the ball while passing, and it was now flying straight toward the spectators outside the court.

The passer was less than five meters from the court's edge, and he had thrown the ball with force. It moved so fast it was just a blur, giving the onlookers no time to react as it hurtled directly at Xu Bilin.

"Ah!"

Xu Bilin instinctively shut her eyes, unable to even raise her hands in time to shield her face. The reddish-brown basketball completely filled her vision.

SMACK!

No one saw exactly when Xu Mo moved. But the next thing they knew, after a loud impact, Xu Mo was already standing in front of Xu Bilin, blocking the ball with his hand. A ball that could have disfigured her had been stopped cold.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you trying to kill someone?!"

Xu Mo didn't know why he was suddenly so furious. Without hesitation, he charged forward and punched the stunned passer, knocking him to the ground.

"Class 1 is picking a fight with Class 3? Brothers, get him!"

Seeing their teammate get hit, Class 3's basketball players weren't about to sit back. Several tall and strong students rushed forward, and the basketball court instantly turned into a battleground.

"Enough! Stop it, all of you!"

A single shout brought the chaos to an abrupt halt. The voice belonged to the player Xu Mo had just punched, who was now getting up from the ground. He seemed to have quite the authority in Class 3.

He stepped forward and pulled back his teammates before sincerely apologizing. "I'm really sorry. This was my fault. Luckily, your friend wasn't hurt. Please accept my apology."

This player, wearing the number 6 jersey, was half a head taller than Xu Mo. His tanned skin and chiseled muscles were visible on his exposed limbs. While he wasn't strikingly handsome, his features were sharp and symmetrical. His bright, white smile made him the perfect image of an athletic, sunny guy.

Not just Xu Mo—everyone in their grade recognized this No. 6 player. He was Ouyang Ning, Class 3's sports representative and the captain of the school basketball team.

Since Ouyang Ning's attitude was so good, Xu Mo found no reason to continue the fight. Xu Bilin also hurried over to apologize on his behalf. Though some of the Class 3 players were still unhappy, they didn't press the matter under Ouyang Ning's authority. The game resumed.

Xu Bilin wanted to take Xu Mo to the infirmary herself, but he refused her offer, enduring the pain as he left the court alone.

"Damn… those Class 3 guys don't hold back…"

In a single-occupancy stall on the third floor of the school building, Xu Mo carefully lifted his shirt, grimacing at the bruises on his body.

Fortunately, despite having dozens of bruises, thanks to the Red Doomsday Fragment's reflex-enhancing ability, he had managed to dodge all the strikes aimed at his vital areas. Most of the bruises were on his chest, back, and limbs—places where his skin was thick enough to take the hits. The only real eyesore was the purplish-red bruise at the corner of his eye.

Though he had put on a brave front, Xu Mo knew he couldn't go home like this. His parents didn't care much about his grades, but they definitely wouldn't tolerate him getting into brawls. Just thinking about his father's long-unused "household discipline" stick made him shudder.

Even with the best medicine, these bruises would take days to heal. The infirmary wouldn't help either. That's when Xu Mo thought of the Green Doomsday Fragment he had just acquired.

Since it could bring someone back from the brink of death, there was no way it couldn't handle something as minor as bruises.

More importantly, he was eager to see what new abilities this Green Doomsday Fragment would grant him.

Moments later, just as Xu Mo predicted, the fragment completely healed his bruises. This confirmed his theory—only unused Doomsday Fragments had this miraculous healing effect.

But what intrigued him the most… was the mask in his hand.

That's right—a mask. To be precise, a futuristic-looking, silver-white, half-face mask.

It had no visible straps, yet once worn, it adhered perfectly to his face. It extended down to just above his lips, allowing for easy breathing while leaving no gaps.

As soon as he put it on, his vision brightened instantly. The dimly lit restroom suddenly looked as bright as midday—this mask had night vision!

Walking to the window, Xu Mo glanced outside. He soon discovered that when he focused on something for a few seconds, the mask's lenses would automatically zoom in, similar to a 3x telescope.

Too bad it didn't have x-ray vision—otherwise, it'd be the perfect mask…

"Huh? What's that?"

While playing with the mask's zoom function, Xu Mo suddenly noticed something strange. In the large, empty lot west of the school, a faint, nearly imperceptible mist was rising.

The mist covered the entire area, tinged with a subtle purple hue. Even as sudden gusts of wind blew through, the mist remained completely unchanged, eerily still.

Just as Xu Mo was about to zoom in for a closer look, he suddenly heard a crowd of students approaching the restroom. Alarmed, he quickly stored the mask back into the fragment space.