Urban Powers After the Apocalypse

Although Xu Mo had already experienced the chilling sensation of being hunted by death itself while being chased by thousands of undead creatures in the illusionary realm, it was nothing compared to the sheer terror he felt now. At this very moment, he was practically dancing face-to-face with the Grim Reaper.

"I'll say it one last time! Get down on the ground immediately, hands on your head, or you will be considered a hostile target and shot on the spot!"

A cold ultimatum blared through the loudspeaker. Xu Mo now had a rough idea of why these soldiers were stationed here. It was obvious that Professor Mo and his team's disappearance the previous night had alarmed the authorities, prompting them to send in a military unit to guard this location as a precaution.

However, what the soldiers hadn't anticipated was that after the spatial reset of the Doomsday Illusion, they wouldn't be greeted by Professor Mo or their missing comrades—but by Xu Mo, an unfamiliar and highly suspicious individual.

"Wait! I have—"

Just as Xu Mo was about to retrieve the documents that Professor Mo had entrusted to him, he suddenly felt a massive impact against his forehead, as if he had been struck by a sledgehammer. The sheer force sent him tumbling to the ground, his mind thrown into chaos by the sudden shock.

A sniper!

Thanks to his enhanced brain capacity, Xu Mo recovered from the dizziness in mere moments and instantly deduced what had happened. Clearly, his movement to retrieve the documents had been misinterpreted as a hostile action by a hidden sniper. If not for the silver mask's durability, which had miraculously stopped the bullet, he would already be a headless corpse!

Without hesitation, Xu Mo rolled sideways several times to evade further attacks. A flash of blue light flickered in his right hand, revealing the Devil's Hand, its blue-white flames flickering ominously. Meanwhile, the document in his left hand was suspended just above the flames as he shouted, "This document was personally handed to me by Professor Mo! It contains all the secrets of the Doomsday Illusion. If you don't want it destroyed, withdraw all snipers immediately and have your soldiers lower their weapons!"

The flames of the Devil's Hand resembled tangible light rather than actual fire—they had no heat and certainly couldn't ignite paper. However, with no other means of intimidation at his disposal, Xu Mo could only use its menacing appearance to force his opponents to think twice before acting rashly.

"Hold your fire! Do not shoot!"

A middle-aged researcher in plain clothes, who had been watching from a distance, caught sight of the document in Xu Mo's hand as he fell. Recognizing the distinctive printing paper used by the National Academy of Sciences and seeing the dense text and images on it, he immediately realized the gravity of the situation. Wasting no time, he contacted the officer in charge of the operation. Moments later, all soldiers lowered their weapons and retreated several dozen meters, while the hidden snipers were ordered to stand down.

"Please remain calm. That shot just now was a misunderstanding. I can guarantee your safety. Could you hand over the document in your possession?" the researcher urged anxiously. After all, this document had been obtained at the cost of an entire platoon of soldiers and several researchers—losing it now would be an unimaginable failure.

Xu Mo shook his head slightly, still feeling the lingering dizziness from the sniper shot. That bullet had made one thing abundantly clear—he was completely at their mercy. If not for the document in his hands, the soldiers could have turned him into Swiss cheese at any moment.

As for the researcher's so-called assurance of his safety, Xu Mo wasn't naive enough to believe it. They only valued the classified information in his hands. As for him—a Doomsday Fragment wielder—he wouldn't be surprised if those plainclothes researchers were secretly hoping to dissect him and extract his fragments for study.

Even if they were willing to spare his life for his contributions, there was no way they would allow him to walk away freely with multiple Doomsday Fragments in a country where even knives over twenty centimeters were strictly regulated. A forced confiscation was inevitable.

From a strategic standpoint, Doomsday Fragments had already become weapons of mass destruction, akin to nuclear warheads. In the hands of a properly trained individual, their destructive potential could even surpass that of conventional nukes.

Xu Mo considered himself a patriot, but that didn't mean he was devoid of self-interest. Even when making charitable donations, people didn't bankrupt themselves for the cause—let alone when the stakes were the Doomsday Fragments he had risked his life to obtain. If they thought he would surrender them simply for the so-called "greater good," they were gravely mistaken.

"Prepare an empty room for me—I need to rest. Send someone in to negotiate in ten minutes... but let me make one thing clear—if anything like that sniper incident happens again, I'll take us all down together!"

Although Xu Mo had resolved not to surrender his Doomsday Fragments, he still had no concrete plan to escape from this heavily fortified encirclement. For now, his only option was to buy time and figure out his next move.

"Immediately requisition a nearby classroom! Block all electronic signals! Establish first-level security within a hundred-meter radius!"

Orders were relayed down the chain of command, and the military reacted like a well-oiled machine. Within ten minutes, a lecture hall near the desolate field had been transformed into a veritable fortress.

Xu Mo warily retreated into the lecture hall. After ensuring there were no ambushes inside, he moved to the very back of the room, where old sports equipment had been piled up for years. The three solid walls surrounding the area created a natural dead zone against sniper fire—unless someone fired directly inside the room, he was safe from any long-range attacks.

Now alone in the lecture hall, free from immediate danger, Xu Mo finally allowed himself a brief moment of relief. His nerves had been stretched taut for too long, but now he could finally calm down and strategize his next move.

Against the might of a professional military force, his individual strength—no matter how formidable—was completely overmatched. Negotiating or fighting head-on would be a foolish endeavor. His only hope lay in an unexpected and unconventional solution.

Laying out the Doomsday Fragments he had obtained from the Doomsday Illusion, Xu Mo couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had always preferred careful planning over reckless gambles, yet now, he had no choice but to bet his fate on these unactivated fragments.

It felt almost like scratching a lottery ticket—hoping that one of these fragments would grant him the ability he needed to escape. The odds weren't much better than hitting a million-dollar jackpot... but it was still better than waiting to be executed.

He had acquired five Doomsday Fragments in total. One red enhancement-type fragment had already been used for healing, leaving him with four remaining: a red enhancement-type, an orange chain-type, a cyan specialty-type, and a blue intelligence-type.

Xu Mo started by fusing the enhancement fragment, but to his dismay, the quarter-chance of obtaining a useful physical boost was once again wasted on increasing his brain capacity.

Next was the orange chain-type fragment—the first of its kind that Xu Mo had obtained. The fusion process felt as if blood was being drawn from his body. When activated, the orange glow naturally gravitated toward the red enhancement fragment, forming a subtle connection between them.

Once activated, Xu Mo sensed a gentle warmth flowing through his body, but he couldn't yet grasp how to use it effectively. It was evidently an ability that required practice to master.

Then came the cyan specialty-type fragment—what he got left him utterly speechless. After enduring an excruciating headache from the activation process, the information in his mind informed him that he had acquired an ability called "Unshakable as a Mountain."

This ability granted him immense defensive strength and nullified all pain sensations, but at a crippling cost—while active, he would be completely immobilized, unable to move at all except for breathing and blinking. No wonder it was named "Unshakable as a Mountain."

If he were a prisoner being tortured for secrets, this ability would be invaluable. Maybe he could even perform a stunt like breaking bricks on his chest. But right now, trying to escape a military encirclement? This ability was utterly useless—it would turn him into nothing more than a sitting duck.