At this moment, everyone watching—whether in front of televisions, computers, or mobile phones—was staring at the scene with bated breath.
Many people instinctively made the sign of the cross over their chests, silently praying for those trapped below.
Others, driven by different beliefs, fell to their knees and began worshipping the figure on the screen. It was clear that, in their eyes, Lucas had already become a god.
Lucas himself was unaware of this.
What he needed to do now was to disperse the millions of people as quickly as possible into cities across the region.
Under normal circumstances, at his original flying speed, he could circle the Earth in a very short time.
But now, carrying several million people at once, the pressure was on an entirely different level.
Even so, Lucas steadily transported more than six million people, relocating them one group at a time to other unaffected cities across California.
Only after delivering them to nearly twenty to thirty different cities did he finally finish evacuating everyone.
"Lucas, I must thank you again."
This time, Ellis personally called him.
"On behalf of the federal government—and on behalf of the millions of people you saved—thank you."
"I accept that," Lucas replied calmly.
He did not act modest, because saving that many lives had indeed cost him an enormous amount of energy and mental strength.
He deserved the thanks.
"Lucas… may I trouble you once more?" Ellis asked hesitantly.
"You want me to help evacuate the surrounding cities affected by the quake?" Lucas replied, already understanding.
"Yes," Ellis said gravely.
"Los Angeles itself is no longer the main concern, but the surrounding cities have suffered earthquakes of magnitude 5 to 6 as well. If we do nothing, there will still be massive casualties."
"So I'm asking you to help again. Those are all living, breathing human lives."
Lucas paused briefly before replying.
"Alright. You're lucky I'm in a decent mood today. But remember this—never try to morally coerce me again. There are times when I truly won't care about human lives."
Ellis fell silent for a moment, then said firmly,
"I understand the weight of that. I won't forget."
"Good," Lucas said. "Have the command center keep feeding me target locations."
Almost immediately, a new destination was transmitted to him.
A nearby city had suffered an earthquake exceeding magnitude 6.
Lucas's task was simple—evacuate everyone as fast as possible.
Once again, he unleashed his power, lifting the entire population into the air and transporting them to pre-arranged rescue zones in other cities.
Under countless gazes, Lucas turned and flew off again, heading toward the next disaster site.
---
Nearly half an hour later.
After relocating the final group of civilians, Lucas descended to the ground and leaned against a large rock.
Although the surrounding cities were nowhere near as large as Los Angeles, they were still major population centers—each with hundreds of thousands of residents.
The continuous, extreme exertion had taken its toll.
Even in his Super Saiyan full-power state, Lucas was beginning to run a deficit in energy.
Still—
He had done it.
"Lucas… this is unbelievable."
Ellis's voice came through the phone, filled with shock and awe.
"Do you know how many people you saved today? Ten million. You saved ten million lives."
Lucas rested silently against the rock, listening.
After Ellis finished speaking, Lucas suddenly said,
"While I was rescuing people earlier, I sensed something strange beneath Los Angeles."
"The feeling was… unsettling."
Ellis frowned. "Do you know what it was?"
Lucas shook his head.
"No. The presence was faint, and it vanished quickly. But I'm certain it's closely connected to this earthquake."
Ellis responded immediately,
"The head of the USGS just reported to me that Los Angeles reached magnitude 8.5 ten minutes ago."
"And there was absolutely no prior warning."
"What's worse," Ellis continued, his voice growing heavy,
"neither the Los Angeles basin nor the San Andreas Fault beneath it showed any energy signatures beforehand."
"Even now, their instruments haven't detected a single warning signal."
Lucas frowned deeply.
"The earthquake is already this severe, yet there were no alerts at all?"
"Exactly," Ellis said.
"Under normal circumstances, an earthquake of this scale would send seismic waves rippling through cities several regions away."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"You're saying the surrounding cities didn't suffer the expected level of damage?"
"Yes," Ellis replied.
"It's as if some mysterious force enveloped Los Angeles and nearby areas, trapping the seismic waves at the center."
"That energy couldn't spread outward. Instead, it rebounded inward, intensifying the quake again and again—eventually affecting the deeper fault layers."
Lucas inhaled sharply.
"If this continues, the entire geological structure around Los Angeles will be destroyed."
At that moment, a White House aide hurried over to Ellis, carrying a stack of documents.
After whispering urgently in his ear, the aide placed the files down and left.
Ellis's tone turned even more severe.
"Lucas, we've just received confirmation. The quake may soon exceed magnitude 9."
"But the most terrifying part is this—the energy still can't dissipate. It's continuing to accumulate."
"If this goes on, it will become a geological bomb."
"The worst-case scenario is that it triggers the San Andreas Fault completely, causing nearly half of the American continental shelf to collapse."
"In that case… America itself could be torn apart."
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
"Then how do we stop it?"
Ellis replied helplessly,
"There are only two options."
"Either allow the seismic energy to disperse outward in all directions…"
"Or completely absorb or dismantle that energy. If the energy disappears, then even with that mysterious barrier in place, it won't pose a threat."
Lucas took several deep breaths.
In the next instant, his body flashed—transforming into a streak of golden light as he shot straight back toward Los Angeles.
___
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