Ever since the second "dual cultivation," Gwen felt her World had completely changed.
Strength, speed, endurance, reaction ability... all had received terrifying, visible improvements.
Walking on the street, she could clearly hear car horns several blocks away; see tiny paper scraps falling from tall buildings with the wind; and even smell the lingering perfume scents from different people in the air.
Her five senses were infinitely magnified, and the entire World became unprecedentedly clear and... slow in her eyes.
What surprised and slightly panicked her the most was that the strange adhesive sensation was becoming more and more obvious.
One time she was reaching for a book on the top shelf at home, her foot slipped and she almost fell. In a panic, her palm instinctively pressed against the wall—and then she was horrified to find that her palm was stuck to the wall as if glued by superglue!
It took a lot of effort to "pull" it off, and the sensation of being stuck still lingered in her palm.
"What... what exactly is going on?" Gwen murmured, looking at her palm.
She began frantically searching for related information online. "Superpowers," "Mutants," "genetic mutation"... these terms, which used to only appear in comics and movies, might now be closely related to her.
And the source of all this pointed to the mysterious Eastern man next door—Michael.
She had gone to Michael, subtly asking questions.
But Michael always smiled without speaking, or used ambiguous words to brush her off, only telling her: "This is your deserved gift; feel it, control it."
A gift? A gift exchanged for her body?
Gwen felt ashamed internally, yet she couldn't deny that she was increasingly infatuated with the sense of control that this power brought, and... Michael himself.
This afternoon, Gwen was walking home with her backpack, her mood a bit complicated.
She had just declined her bandmates' invitation to practice, and her mind was still replaying the feelings from "dual cultivation" with Michael last night. Each energy fusion made her feel one step closer to being a "Superman."
Just as she turned a street corner, a piercing scream suddenly rang out!
"Robbery! Someone stole my bag!"
Gwen looked in the direction of the sound and saw, not far away, a man in a hoodie running frantically with a lady's handbag, while the robbed lady sat on the ground in a panic.
Bystanders around either gasped or instinctively recoiled; for a moment, no one stepped forward to stop him.
In the past, Gwen might have felt scared and helpless, like most people.
But now...
It was almost an instinctive reaction!
As she saw the mugger about to run past her, the power within Gwen was instantly mobilized!
Her body, like a compressed spring, shot out!
The speed was incredibly fast!
In the mugger's astonished gaze, Gwen's figure appeared like a phantom in front of him, blocking his path.
"Drop the bag!" Gwen's voice was clear, yet carried an undeniable strength.
The mugger paused, then a sinister grin spread across his face: "Get lost, little girl! Are you looking to die?"
With that, he actually pulled out a gleaming folding knife from his pocket and lunged at Gwen!
"Ah!" Gasps rang out from the surroundings.
However, in Gwen's infinitely magnified senses, the stabbing knife moved as slowly as a snail.
She could even clearly see the cold light reflecting off the blade and the mugger's ferocious expression.
Her body reacted faster than her brain!
Gwen slightly shifted her body, easily dodging the incoming knife, and at the same time, her right hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing the mugger's knife-wielding wrist.
"Crack!" A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed!
The mugger let out a bloodcurdling scream, the knife in his hand clattered to the ground, and his entire arm twisted at a bizarre angle.
Gwen herself was startled!
She hadn't expected her subconscious grab to be so powerful!
But at this moment, she couldn't worry about that.
The mugger was wailing in pain, still clutching the handbag tightly with his other hand.
Gwen frowned slightly, raised her canvas-shoed foot, and seemingly casually kicked the mugger's knee.
"Thud!"
The mugger's legs gave out, and he fell heavily to his knees, the handbag slipping from his grasp.
The entire process was as fast as lightning, clean and decisive!
The surrounding passersby were stunned!
What just happened?
This seemingly slender and delicate blonde girl actually... actually subdued a knife-wielding robber in just a few moves?! And that strength and speed... it was almost inhuman!
The robbed lady also stared blankly at Gwen, momentarily forgetting to pick up her bag.
Gwen picked up the handbag from the ground and handed it back to the lady, saying with a hint of embarrassment: "Are... are you alright?"
"Ah... no, I'm fine! Thank you! Thank you so much, little girl!" The lady finally reacted, excitedly speaking incoherently.
At this moment, the surrounding crowd also burst into exclamations and discussions.
"Oh my God! She's amazing!"
"I didn't even see how she did it!"
"Is she Superman?"
Listening to the discussions around her and looking at the mugger groaning in pain on the ground, Gwen's heart pounded.
Not because of fear, but because of... excitement!
An unprecedented sense of excitement from controlling power and punishing evil while promoting good!
So, this is what it feels like to have power!
She subconsciously turned her head, looking in the direction of her apartment.
All of this was given to her by that man.
She suddenly felt that perhaps... she could use this power to do more things?
Just then, the sound of police sirens came from a distance.
Gwen's heart tightened; not wanting to cause trouble, she nodded to the lady and the people around her, then quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd in a few flashes, leaving behind a trail of exclamations and speculations.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a building not far away.
Michael stood in the air, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
Everything that had just happened was seen by his spiritual sense.
"Not bad, she's already initially learned to use her power," he murmured to himself. "It seems my 'investment' is starting to pay off."
His gaze penetrated through numerous obstacles, landing on the rapidly departing, agile and vibrant figure.
This seed was taking root and sprouting at an astonishing speed.
And he, from behind the scenes, only needed to quietly water it and wait for the harvest.