4/4/2019

  6:30 AM

  Because of so much obstruction near his area in the Northeast, the estimated time to head to the surrounding districts near downtown was dreadfully long. At least an hour to cross through the rubble and flames. Daniel drove his F-150 Raptor through much of the rough terrain caused by the blast. A few came along from his residence on their own pickup trucks, following behind him.

  “Darn, the fires are still strong,” Lian commented as she stared out at the view through her passenger window. “Yinhai. All these buildings can’t sustain any qi. They all crumbled into bits or burned to the ground.”

  “Thanks for renovating my house,” Daniel said. “It held on, as you and Empress Cai said.”

  Empress Cai and Lady Bian were sitting in the rear seats. Solomon was on the trunk.

  About ten minutes before arriving at the first destination, the patience dwindled. Daniel asked the three if it was possible to manipulate a vehicle with qi. Lady Bian tried it out by firing an energetic qi bubble. When it hit the floor, the bubble expanded and took over the F-150 Raptor for a brief second. The truck’s engine revved like it got a can of energy drink. The fuel gauge went up from half to full. Oil gauges went up to maximum as well. All from one small energetic qi bubble. Too impressive. The odometer screen went into multiple errors, and Daniel ignored it.

  “Here, we go,” Lady Bian announced, and the pickup truck went up a few feet in the air. “Daniel, you should take over. You already know how to manage your qi, right?”

  Daniel pulled his window down and let his left arm hang off the edge. He fired a wave of qi, giving it more leverage to the vehicle. Since this was his first time, his mind took a few observations before proceeding. He pulled his foot off the pedal while keeping his right hand on the steering wheel.

  “Woah,” he muttered, surprised by the quick jolt from the action of his left hand. Another noob articulation timing caused everyone in the truck to jolt, almost getting a whiplash like effect. Saved by Empress Cai and the headrest. “Sorry.”

  “It’s your first time. You’re excused,” Empress Cai said like a teacher, which Daniel found to be a little amusing.

  Being in the air saved time by at least five minutes. A few more gestures until Daniel finally got it. For now, he realized using the first three fingers was the best way to balance his gestures. His index finger has the most control, so he went on to use it aggressively while keeping the rest as comfortable as possible.

  “Over there,” Lian said, pointing to the right.

  Daniel made a hard steer to the right by steering the wheel all the way. ”Let the fingers and qi do the work.” He repeated it a few times in his head.

  A massive jerk of his index finger, going fully up. The F-150 Raptor dropped from the sky to barely above the street. Like a space shuttle landing, he wanted the vehicle to land with minimal damage.

  Three…Two. One…touchdown.

  The sound of friction when the rear and front tires landed on the avenue. Daniel stopped his qi control, brought his left arm back inside, and pulled his window up. His right foot was back on the pedal, and he floored it. The truck zoomed down ahead, swarming through intersections and crowded blocks. Lian showed signs of worry because it was too fast. She suggested he slow down, which he did halfway.

  Good thing she said it to him. And not even a mile ahead, there were pedestrians all over the place. Too much chaos proved that stability in Colemond was really flawed and lacking. There wasn’t enough help or services to cover, from the look of it.

  Passing by one more block, Daniel parked his truck to the side of the avenue. Seth’s Chevy Silverado drove by and parked in front. “You can do water, right?” the latter asked.

  Daniel nodded. “I can. What about you? I saw you perform with water two days ago.”

  The heat wave was very strong in this region. Standing out for less than a minute and already drenched.

  “Not that good. I can do ice and gas. My water performance isn’t that good, though.”

  “Try a hybrid approach,” Daniel suggested out of the whim. “Because this is magic, we can only find out through experience. Logic can’t help us on this one.”

  Simon thought for a moment. “If I can lower my temperature, then it might work…So, you want me to go left or right?”

  “All of us are going right. I’ll lead the way down.”

  “Lead the way.”

  Daniel sprinted down the avenue to get some power through his legs before launching up ten feet. He then flew to the site in high demand. He landed on the roof with the best view of the area, and holy damn, it was really bad. Rubble hills plagued multiple blocks.

  “Is it only this area we have to deal with?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “For now. There are reports that people are trapped in many of these piles of debris and rubble,” Daniel said while observing the scene. “If you look all around the street, neglecting them would have a domino effect on other districts. One pile burns, everything burns.”

  "I'll make a shield," Simon said. "And where's Solomon?"

  "He's in a different region. Don't worry about him. Solomon is very adaptable. He flies across multiple districts to assist whenever he can."

  Simon understood and leaped down to one end of the street. He fired out a high-pressure blast like a fire extinguisher on the intersection. A gigantic wall was formed, blocking any entry outside. He added an extension to both ends, turning it into a curved wall. The change in shape helped close any wide openings as each end was glued to a building.

  Daniel jumped to the top of a pile of debris. He punched right through, creating a shockwave. It hit through nearby buildings, tearing its roof and collapsing to the ground. The pile dropped in height, and Daniel unlocked his Level One, dispersing all smoke and ailments within a mile. His strength temporarily boosted, so he dug recklessly like a bull thrusting its horns. Despite the large debris hidden within, the strength learned through the Art of Magic made it child's play. Daniel's hand generated its own form of heat, burning solid material at an incomprehensible rate.

  A muffled sound reached his ears, prompting him to dig more quickly. When he felt within was like a hand, Daniel grabbed it immediately. He sensed it was a last effort of the person's energy. "I got you."

  With minimal effort, he pulled upward with his right arm. A little transfer of his qi to the buried individual.

  "Thank you," the man said before coughing out dust and dirt.

  Daniel kneeled. "Is there anyone else here with you?"

  "I don't remember. I was walking in the street for a night walk, and suddenly, I was trapped."

  "What I meant was, is there anyone walking in this street or in this block at the time this happened?" Daniel asked; he was certain that there was more foot traffic than one in any of the city's blocks at any time of the hour. To keep him talking, he summoned a bottle of water for the man.

  The latter drank a few sips. "Wait…You're the mayor!"

  "Everything was real, but save that for later. I need to know if people were walking on this street?"

  "Yes, there was. At least a few."

  After the confirmation, Solomon arrived on the scene. Daniel told him to help take the man to a safe zone in the west. However, he wanted to be efficient, so Solomon called for Simon. When the ice guy flashed right by his side, he told him. "Can you be the cooling guy for a few minutes?"

  "Are you asking me to watch him? Yeah, sure, but make it quick. Even though it's only eighty degrees, unguided qi is very corrosive." Simon pointed to a spare building where the paint on its walls had been scraped, leaving large marks as if a beast had given a hard scratch.

  "Can we do it in five minutes?" Daniel asked, planning a speedrun. He also realized the clearing of ailments was short-lived. His arm felt tingling from its effects despite his qi capacity being relatively high.

  Solomon agreed. "Don't hold back, and we can clear this street in no time."

  Daniel hopped down from the pile. He and Simon decided to clear the street by starting from opposite ends and meeting up on the last pile of debris.

  The two went on a demolition run. Daniel summoned his sword and deployed an array of pillar-shaped energy slashes in short range, crashing into the debris like a boulder. He intended to break it apart so it would be easier to rescue anyone. Solomon was watching him and Simon, ready to grab and free people from their misery.

  Apart from the two trying to be creative, time efficiency was necessary. The street was almost a mile long from one intersection to the other. Both picked up the pace drastically and didn't take one ounce of relaxation or seconds break.

  Solomon threw people across the street, using his qi to glide them down safely in a temporary safe zone made by Simon. It was like a slide, so they sustained no injuries during the rescue.

  For the last few piles, Daniel placed his sword on his back. He attempted to form a levitating barrier in front of him. His body’s qi fueled it, and when the barrier solidified, he charged right to the piles, tearing everything apart. Like juggling, all the remaining people were sent to Solomon, who guided them to Simon’s safe zone.

  Simon gave the last rescue to his spot, and the two reached the center of the street.

  Solomon looked at the time. “Watches are a gem…Four minutes.”

  The three looked at the people they rescued.

  “There's forty-three of them,” Daniel muttered while summoning water all over himself.

  "Not a problem. I can carry them all away from this chaos," Solomon said. Then, he looked up at the sky and raised his hands. A platform made of qi summoned above him. He guided the platform to the end of the street. One telepathic command told them to get on.

  The three watched them get on. Daniel counted the tally numbers, praying that it adds up to forty-three.

  Every ten hopped on the platform, the latter widened. Everyone has enough personal space to sit down crosslegged. Thankfully, all forty-three were on the platform. Daniel confirmed it, and Solomon formed the walls, raising them by six feet.

  "That'll do. They should be secured."

  "We will meet up in about half an hour," Daniel said.

  Solomon teleported to the end of the street. He slowly raised the fortified platform and flew up along. Next, they were gone.

  "Hmph…All of them will have a story to tell," Simon muttered, looking back at Daniel. "You think they might go insane?"

  Daniel disagreed. "I don't think so. They might become interested in it, especially after being rescued, thinking they were going to die in the piles of remains. Now they are saved, a new opportunity awaits them."

  "Where's the other three?"

  "I don't know…Never mind, I sensed them over there," Daniel said, pointing to a different block and street on the left.

  Kaboom!

  Daniel and Simon nearly lost their footing from the ten-second rumbling. Tower ice crystals appeared. Almost like a fever dream because what on earth was that?

  On the pinnacle of the tower, high-pressure water fired out of the top like a fire sprinkler system. Before it reaches the surface, it solidifies into snow white, crashing in the vicinity. A surge of ice and snow launched into the air, spreading further.

  Daniel thought it was getting cold, then turned to Simon. "We need to go now. You go. I'll head into my truck!"

  The two diverged. Simon flew first to the site of ice crystal towers. Daniel hopped into the air and boosted, landing a few meters away from his truck. He ran right into his F-150 Raptor. Seth's Silverado was already gone.

  Daniel pulled the gear stick to drive and floored the gas pedal, speeding out of the parking space.