Chapter 20: Heart of Strange Fire

For the past two days, Nina Jacobs had been training her Fire Element Superpower whenever she was alone.

In her past life, Liam Grant had been a Thunder and Fire Dual Element Superpower User, but he preferred to develop his Thunder Element Superpower.

This was the drawback of being a Dual Element Superpower User: if you wanted to make one Superpower stronger, the other had to be suppressed.

Nina Jacobs didn’t think the Fire Element Superpower was inferior to the Thunder Element Superpower. She even believed its power could surpass the Thunder Element.

Unfortunately, Liam Grant didn’t see it that way. After all, the Thunder Element Superpower was much rarer.

Gazing at the Fireball that ignited in her palm, Nina Jacobs began to control it, morphing it into various shapes and sizes.

The Fireball would become a ring floating in mid-air, then a shield, then an arrow...

’I need to upgrade my Superpower as soon as possible to increase its power.’

A Superpower User’s Superpower could be upgraded. These upgrades depended on the user’s talent and their mastery of the Superpower. Of course, their own Superpower Energy was the most fundamental requirement.

The higher the Superpower Level, the greater its power.

There were no shortcuts to leveling up—only diligent, arduous practice.

Nina Jacobs decided to kill the two zombies in the basement right now.

It was now the dead of night, and everyone else was fast asleep. Nina Jacobs went down to the basement alone.

Daniel Hale’s villa was lavishly decorated, and when Nina flipped the switch, the basement became as bright as day.

The two zombies snarled behind the glass door, desperate to get out.

Nina Jacobs pressed the switch on the wall, opening the door.

Watching the two zombies roaring and charging at her, Nina Jacobs felt not a single ripple of emotion.

Egg-sized Fireballs struck the zombies’ shoulders, thighs, and arms in succession. Instantly, the foul stench of burnt flesh filled the air.

’My aim is decent.’

Nina Jacobs continued her test as she dodged their attacks.

She discovered that the more Superpower Energy she poured into a Fireball, the greater its power. The Fireball she’d infused with the most energy punched a clean hole right through Ben Stone’s shoulder.

’Effective.’

Nina Jacobs grew interested. In just a few moments, Ben Stone’s body was riddled with holes of all sizes, scorched and perforated.

"ROAR!!"

As if enraged, Ben Stone roared and lunged forward with renewed speed.

’Perfect timing.’

Nina Jacobs hurled an even larger Fireball.

The Fireball burned straight through the right side of the zombie’s head. Ben Stone collapsed heavily to the floor.

Next was Jenna Sullivan. A Fireball struck her squarely between the eyes, and the basement fell silent.

[Host has completed their first kill using the Fire Element Superpower. "First Zombie" title triggered. Rewarding Skill: "Heart of Strange Fire".]

’A Skill reward?!’

Nina Jacobs opened the "Heart of Strange Fire" Skill description. She realized it was an incredible, heaven-defying Skill exclusive to the Fire Element Superpower.

It increased Attack Power by 30% and, as long as it was supplied with Fire Element Crystal Cores, could be used with no cooldown!

’Fire Element Crystal Cores, huh?’

Nina Jacobs recalled having plenty of them in her storage grid in her past life. It was a shame she hadn’t brought any back with her.

Just then, a strange noise came from nearby.

Drawn by the noise, Leo Hale arrived to see the scene in the basement and froze on the spot.

"You... did all this?" Leo Hale was still clutching a frying pan.

He had been too worried to sleep. When he heard the commotion and rushed over, he found two dead bodies.

"Yeah. I’m going to bed.

Make sure you clean this place up."

Leaving a stunned Leo Hale behind, Nina Jacobs walked right out of the basement.

’How did she do it...?’

Leo Hale stared at the gruesome state of the two corpses. ’Did she use some kind of incredible firearm?’

’Otherwise, how could a girl who couldn’t even fight off a couple of thugs kill these two ferocious monsters...?’

Nina Jacobs didn’t go back to her room to sleep.

The system’s Free-for-All Mission 9 had already started. She wanted to complete as many of these "free shopping" missions as possible during this acid rain period before the zombies appeared.

However, after activating her "Five Senses Enhancement" Skill, she picked up Renee Strong’s voice amidst the dense patter of the rain.

"...A lot of places outside are flooded. Are you sure our supplies in the Six Paths Crossing Garage won’t be submerged?"

"Don’t worry. I know the area around that garage better than anyone. Other places nearby might get flooded,

but that place won’t."

Liam Grant replied.

"Even so, we can’t be careless. Once we find a suitable Space Superpower User in a couple of days, we need to collect those supplies immediately."

That was Simon Abbott’s voice.

After the sound of a stool scraping against the floor, he spoke again.

"Don’t push yourself too hard. Soaking in ice water for days will wreck your body.

Even if you can’t awaken a Superpower in the next few days, there will be other chances later."

A few seconds later, Simon Abbott seemed to leave. Liam Grant remained silent.

Then Renee Strong’s soft, comforting voice could be heard. "Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Those who are meant to awaken a Superpower eventually will.

Take Wyatt Jacobs, for example. He awakened late, but that didn’t stop him from becoming powerful.

Nina Jacobs awakened early, but what good did that do?"

"You’re right. I’m most familiar with the Thunder Element Superpower.

Even if I awaken a few days late, I’ll still be able to level up faster than anyone."

Liam Grant replied.

"Of course! If it weren’t for you, would we have been able to build the base back then?

You’re the one who made sure we never had to worry about food or shelter.

If it weren’t for you, I never would have strived to become an Advanced Healer..."

A hint of shyness crept into Renee Strong’s voice.

"Renee, in our past life, I was also very grateful to have you..."

After Liam Grant spoke, the only sounds left were their panting.

Nina Jacobs sneered and deactivated "Five Senses Enhancement".

’The garage at Six Paths Crossing? How convenient.’

Six Paths Crossing was a street, and her Free-for-All mission happened to be near it.

There was only one garage on that street, one slated for demolition.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nina Jacobs locked her bedroom door and jumped out the window.

She landed with a small splash in the standing water below, the sound completely masked by the downpour.

No one noticed the figure moving through the curtain of rain in the dead of night.

Nina Jacobs chose not to drive. In many areas, the floodwaters were already waist-deep, making it impossible to travel by car.

She pulled up the system map and picked out a few relatively clear side roads. Then, from the back of the garage, she wheeled out a waterproof electric scooter.

This kind of scooter could run normally even in standing water. She had found it two days ago at a dealership that was about to be flooded.

The scooter even had a mount for an umbrella. While it couldn’t completely block the pouring acid rain, it would at least reduce the pelting of the large raindrops on her body.

With the system map to guide her, Nina Jacobs reached the mission location in just half an hour.

[Apocalyptic Survival Mission Initiated: Free-for-All Mission 9

Mission Details: In one day, the Donwall Supermarket Chain will be contaminated. To prevent waste, please clear out at least 90% of its supplies.

Mission Rewards: System Storage Grid Slot x1, Experience Points +90.

Mission Difficulty: ★★★]

The Donwall Supermarket Chain was one of the largest warehouse-style supermarkets in City D. The warehouse itself served as the store, so clearing out its supplies would certainly take some time.

But Nina Jacobs didn’t mind.

After all, the supplies inside were worth millions.