Urban Powers After the Apocalypse

Holding the last blue intelligent Doomsday Fragment in his hand, Xu Mo hesitated for a moment. Out of the three Doomsday Fragments he had obtained, two had proven completely useless for his escape plan. He couldn't help but wonder if he had used up all his lifetime luck inside the Doomsday Illusion. If this final fragment turned out to be another worthless ability, he might have no choice but to sell these fragments for a good price during the upcoming negotiation.

After a moment of sincere prayer, Xu Mo clenched his teeth and fused the last fragment, pinning all his hopes on it.

Caw—!

"Uh... Oh my god! Are you messing with me?!"

As Professor Mo had once mentioned, blue intelligent fragments always produced some form of intelligent life. However, Xu Mo never expected that the one created by this fragment would be an exact replica of the big-mouthed crow from the Doomsday Illusion!

Xu Mo had a deep impression of this damn crow, but he simply couldn't understand why the creature that had originally dropped the Doomsday Fragment would be reborn from it. Did the fragments inside the illusion work differently from those in the real world?

The crow that Xu Mo loved and hated in equal measure flapped its wings and circled the tiered classroom once before transforming into a streak of blue light and shooting into Xu Mo's body. At the same time, a flood of information appeared in his consciousness, just like the details of his other abilities.

"Fallen Feather Crow? So this is its true ability?" Checking the crow's information, Xu Mo's eyes lit up with excitement.

It seemed that the goddess of luck hadn't abandoned him after all. The key to his escape lay in this crow!

The crow's cry seemed to have startled the guards outside. Moments later, hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor, and the door burst open. The middle-aged researcher in civilian clothes entered alongside a young military officer, both looking tense. They visibly relaxed upon seeing Xu Mo still standing where he was, but their expressions quickly turned wary when they noticed the crow perched on his shoulder.

The young officer didn't know what to make of the sudden appearance of the crow, but he sensed that something was off. His right hand twitched slightly behind his back, and with a practiced motion, a small pistol slid silently into his palm from his sleeve.

The officer thought his movements were discreet, but to Xu Mo—whose reflexes had been enhanced to near-human limits—his actions were as obvious as a pole dancer in a subway car.

Without hesitation, Xu Mo raised the documents in his left hand over his right arm, which was covered in flames, and made a motion as if to burn them. "Drop your weapon! Don't push me, or we'll all go down together!"

"You dare?! Do you even realize what you're doing? You're gambling with your own life! You're making an enemy of the entire nation!" The young officer, seeing that his intentions had been exposed, pointed the gun directly at Xu Mo, abandoning persuasion in favor of threats.

"Calm down! Everyone, calm down! Let's talk this through!"

The middle-aged researcher, sweating profusely, quickly held the officer back. Xu Mo was clearly still young, and if pushed too far, he might really burn the documents. That was a consequence neither of them could afford.

The Fallen Feather Crow on Xu Mo's shoulder flapped its wings lightly. Smiling nonchalantly, Xu Mo said, "Don't throw big accusations around. From birth until now, I've always been a law-abiding citizen. I protested when foreign dignitaries visited controversial shrines. I donated during the southwest drought. My patriotism is no less than yours… Since I promised Captain Li I would hand these documents over to the nation, I will keep my word. I just don't like being threatened at gunpoint."

As he spoke, Xu Mo kept his eyes locked on the officer's hand, slowly moving the documents away from the flames and placing them on a nearby chair.

His cooperation seemed to surprise the two men. Just as the middle-aged researcher was about to step forward to check the authenticity of the documents, the young officer suddenly noticed a violent distortion in the space in front of Xu Mo.

"Get down!" he shouted, raising his gun without hesitation.

Bang!

As the researcher hit the floor, a bullet whizzed just above his head.

At that moment, the Fallen Feather Crow on Xu Mo's shoulder suddenly exploded into a shower of feathers. The black plumes scattered like falling snow, completely covering Xu Mo. In the same instant, as they touched the ground, Xu Mo vanished without a trace.

Escape—successful.

...

The Fallen Feather Crow's sole ability was a random teleportation within a ten-kilometer radius.

Xu Mo had always thought the most frustrating part of this ability was the twenty-second activation time and the fact that the crow, after shedding all its feathers, would remain bald for twenty-four hours before growing them back.

However, he soon realized he was gravely mistaken—the true frustration lay in the word "random."

As the scenery around him twisted and shifted, Xu Mo found himself in a small, brightly lit space. Just as he regained his balance, his foot suddenly slipped, sending him tumbling forward.

Out of reflex, he reached out to steady himself against the nearest wall—only to realize that it wasn't a wall at all, but an unlocked door.

Even with his enhanced reflexes, the sudden shift in his center of gravity left him unable to recover in time. His instinctive reaction only managed to make his fall look slightly more graceful… though that hardly mattered.

With a dramatic forward lunge, Xu Mo crashed onto the ground. Before he could take in his surroundings, his gaze fell upon a pair of black-stockinged legs less than thirty centimeters away.

Someone was here?

To prevent his identity from being recognized through his mask, Xu Mo willed the silver mask back into his fragment space before standing up and straightening his clothes. He then politely asked the woman before him, whose face was plain but whose figure was quite decent, "Excuse me, but where am I?"

"Jin… Jin Xing Shopping Plaza…" The woman stammered, seemingly startled by Xu Mo's dramatic entrance.

"Uh, could you be more specific?"

Jin Xing Shopping Plaza was the largest shopping center in Shangshi City. Xu Mo had only been there once during its grand opening, as most of the stores sold luxury goods far beyond his budget. His only impression of the place was that its layout was as confusing as a labyrinth.

"Building B… Third Floor… East Wing restroom…"

The woman, a mix of fear and caution in her eyes, slowly backed toward the door before suddenly letting out a loud scream and bolting.

Great, a restroom… Wait, what?! A restroom?!

No wonder he had smelled that familiar deodorizer scent upon arrival—the damn crow had teleported him straight into the women's restroom!

"Pervert! Get the pervert!"

Hearing a man's voice, two middle-aged women stormed out of the stalls and began beating Xu Mo mercilessly with their handbags, which felt like they contained bricks. Seeing stars from the blows, Xu Mo had no choice but to flee.

As if his luck wasn't bad enough, just as he escaped the two raging aunties, he ran straight into two mall security guards at the stairwell. One of them, seemingly a retired soldier, grabbed Xu Mo and threw him onto the hard tile floor, nearly making him cough up blood.

Hearing that a "pervert" had been caught in the women's restroom, several indignant men from the crowd stepped forward, eager to deliver some street justice. Fortunately, the security guards stopped them in time, or Xu Mo might have ended up with even more injuries.

Xu Mo was utterly speechless. Nearly a hundred people had just witnessed him running out of the women's restroom. He couldn't exactly explain that a bald crow had teleported him there. His reputation was now irreversibly tainted.