"By the way, Grandma, how much longer until you reach Hillock County?" Kanna asked about her arrival time.
"Hmm, let me see. About four to five days!" Outcast on the other end said after a brief silence, giving her approximate arrival time.
Kanna turned to look at Misery, who pulled out a map and glanced at it.
"If we pick up the pace, we should also be able to reach Hillock County around that time."
"Alright then, Grandma, we'll meet in Hillock County. See you there!"
"Okay, see you there!"
After hanging up the phone, Kanna breathed a sigh of relief. Her group's timing was perfect. If she could enter Hillock County at the same time as Outcast, then no matter what, she was confident that everyone would leave safely.
Sitting on a nearby stool, the system, which hadn't made a sound in years, suddenly chimed.
Kanna opened the system interface and found the record stated:
Successfully completed hidden mission (
Not One Less: Complete a mission with a team of no less than ten people, and all members return safely.
Completion Reward:
Atomic Collapse (Skill source: "A Certain Scientific Railgun," LV4 Mugino Shizuri: Effect is the ability to continuously maintain electrons in a pure electronic form, preventing them from becoming particles or waveforms. Because electrons, like light, can exhibit both "particle" and "waveform" properties depending on the situation, the caster possesses the ability to forcibly manipulate "ambiguous state electrons" that exist between the two. What is emitted is neither radio waves nor particles, but the electrons themselves.)
This ability looked very complex, but Kanna quickly realized after manipulating it between her fingers that while it was called Atomic Collapse, it should actually be called Electron Micro-Manipulation. Being able to directly control electrons also meant being able to freely control and convert electrons between "particle" and "waveform" states, thereby achieving control over the three states of electrons.
In other words, Kanna could now unleash a powerful laser cannon like Atomic Collapse, and by switching to the other two forms, she could perform a wide-area ultra-high-speed charged particle stream impact (solar wind) on her surroundings, or a wide-area electromagnetic wave impact to achieve electromagnetic radiation or ionizing radiation effects.
Although Kanna's physics grades weren't top-notch, she was well aware of the horror of the latter two. Many "superpowers" in movies, unbeknownst to most, came from these two effects causing mutations. Of course, she didn't think most people would become mutants after facing these two situations; instead, they would die very miserably.
Although she could use this "spell," she felt it was better to keep it sealed for now. After all, she had no idea of the true power of this spell. If she lost control of it, then the continent of Terra would probably have to initiate a Human Instrumentality Project.
Nian, who was nearby, watched Kanna's hand movements and subconsciously focused her attention on them. This glance almost scared her to death.
She only saw that the gap between Kanna's fingers contained enough energy to instantly destroy a city, and the girl controlling this mass of energy was still in a daze, completely unaware of the terrifying consequences if she were to let go of her hand.
Nian swallowed hard with some regret. At this moment, she only hated herself for being so nosy. What was she looking at? How much better it would have been if she hadn't seen it. As long as she remained ignorant, she wouldn't be as terrified as she was now, fearing that Kanna would suddenly release her fingers and send herself and everyone in this city to the afterlife.
She tremblingly walked to Kanna's side, then mustered her courage and gently squeezed Kanna's hand, preventing her fingers from separating due to external reasons.
"Hmm?" With Nian squeezing her hand like that, Kanna also emerged from the system and her thoughts.
She had initially thought that the lilies of Yan had bloomed, but seeing Nian's tense expression, it was clearly not what she had imagined.
"Do you know what's between your fingers?" Seeing that Kanna hadn't released her fingers, Nian first let out a sigh of relief, then asked through gritted teeth.
Hearing Nian's words, Kanna looked down and realized that Nian had discovered her secretly practicing when she acquired this ability. From Nian's nervous expression, it was clear she thought the thing between her fingers was incredibly powerful.
"Don't worry, I know the limits of my spell." After saying that, Kanna slowly opened her loosely clasped fingers, to Nian's horror.
A series of tiny electric currents wrapped around her fingertips and then crackled open, finally dissipating in front of Nian.
"See, there's nothing there!" After saying that, Kanna even reached out and pinched Nian's cheek.
And Nian, watching the massive energy in Kanna's hand dissipate, felt her whole body go limp. It was just too horrifying. It was only because Kanna, this girl, was young and naive.
If it were someone a bit more normal, they wouldn't casually conjure a huge, potentially explosive energy mass in their hand to play with.
"Speaking of which, I just came up with an interesting spell. Sister Nian, how about we find a place to test it out? You can also help me evaluate the pros and cons of the spell?"
Although she didn't dare to experiment with the two types of spells she had guessed at the moment, she could use Atomic Collapse itself. And because of her inherent qualities, she didn't need to rely on tools like Mugino Shizuri to achieve the strongest and widest range of output; she could effortlessly emit powerful special electron beams into the areas she could perceive around her.
"That thing just now? Forget it, I'm a bit dizzy. I'll take a nap first..." Nian felt uncomfortable all over at the thought of the feeling she had just experienced, as if standing on a small mountain piled with Originium bombs, and firmly refused to go along.
"Don't worry, it's not that exaggerated! Come with me and take a look, after all, I trust your judgment the most!" Kanna tugged on Nian's hand, reluctantly pulling her up from the stool, and then walked towards the door.
"Are you two going out? Do you need a guide?" Seeing Kanna and Nian walk out of the room, Ku Gen asked enthusiastically.
"No need to trouble Uncle Ku Gen... We'll just wander around ourselves. But Uncle Ku Gen, is there any open and uninhabited place nearby?" Kanna shook her head, politely declining Ku Gen's offer. Then, thinking that the actual effect of Atomic Collapse seemed quite exaggerated, it would be best to test it in an open area far from people, so she asked.
"Uninhabited and open?" Ku Gen rubbed his chin and said,
"If you follow the Infected district to the city's edge, there are many abandoned houses and open spaces there. Because many of them are dangerous buildings, people generally don't go there. What are you two going there for?"
"Nothing, Nian-chan and I are going to test a spell I just thought of. We'll be back soon!" After saying that, Kanna eagerly pulled Nian and walked out.
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