Chapter 214

Chapter 214

"..."

Chu Yi and the others soon returned from searching the warehouse with a good haul—weapons, ammunition, food, medicine, and daily necessities—they'd gotten everything they needed.

Second Brother Qi and his team had already gathered most of the prison's usable resources in one place, so there was no need to search elsewhere.

Just as everyone was about to leave, Cheng Jing suddenly stopped and distanced himself from the group.

"Brother Jing?"

Jiang Nian was the first to notice the sudden instability in his energy fluctuations. He called out cautiously without moving closer.

"It's fine, just hitting my limit... Chu Yi, get everyone into your pocket dimension and get out of the basement."

After speaking, Cheng Jing removed his gloves. The others watched as white steam started rising from his palms, followed by small bolts of electricity crackling across his skin.

Earlier, when using his superpower to burn up the zombie remains in several rooms, he had already felt close to his limit. Suppressing it until now, the moment he relaxed, he lost control.

"Brother Jing, come up to the surface with us. Otherwise, this place might collapse. The risk of a thunder-fire mutation breakthrough is too high. Let Tang Ji help stabilize you a bit before we go up."

After all, the advanced stage of dual thunder-fire attributes was akin to heavenly thunder and earthly flames—a disaster waiting to happen.

Everyone agreed it was better to go up. Cheng Jing agreed, but when Tang Ji tried to channel his own energy over Cheng Jing's, he was sent flying by a blast of scorching heat, slamming into the wall.

"Damn it!"

Tang Ji groaned, his head spinning. His teammates hurried to help him up—fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt.

"Seems like that won't work. It's fine. All of you, get inside Chu Yi's pocket dimension first. I'll try to hold out until we're outside... Nian Nian, if you stay out here, run fast."

The surrounding air was rapidly heating up. Cheng Jing frowned, stashed all his gear into his spatial ring.

Without delay, Chu Yi transferred all his teammates except Jiang Nian into his space, fully shielding them, then turned and sprinted for the staircase.

He had half-expected Jiang Nian to hesitate out of concern for his boyfriend—after all, that's how it always played out in dramas, with couples clinging to each other in emergencies.

But Jiang Nian obeyed without question, took off like a shot. By the time Chu Yi reached the stairwell landing, Jiang Nian was already on the surface, yelling for him to move his ass.

The sun had already dipped below the horizon. Fortunately, the entire military unit had withdrawn outside the prison gates.

The grounds of Guanshan Prison were wide and empty, providing ample space for Cheng Jing to release his energy during his superpower breakthrough.

By the time Cheng Jing emerged, sparks and lightning trailing behind him, the whole yard was already covered in Jiang Nian's superpower. Soon, a glow of purifying energy wrapped around him completely.

His vision blurring, Cheng Jing slumped against a pile of rubble and half-closed his eyes, relaxing his mind as he let his energy bleed out, merging with the purification.

Flames spread and surged, intertwining with crackling arcs of electricity in midair, gradually forming a maelstrom of fire and lightning. The sheer force was terrifying, and the temperature around them soared.

The searing heat scorched him from the inside out. Under normal circumstances, Cheng Jing would have lost consciousness, but with Jiang Nian's Purification Superpower, he remained awake, keeping his energy contained within the prison's exercise yard.

Jiang Nian noticed and adapted his approach.

*Whoosh—*

*Boom—*

Flames licked the air, and the sizzling crackle of lightning filled the air.

When the gathered thunderclouds erupted with a deafening explosion, Thunder Fire arced continuously, striking the ground and sending debris flying. From afar, it was a breathtaking sight, but getting near guaranteed obliteration.

Facing such a scene firsthand, one could truly understand why ordinary people—even authorities—feared combat-focused Superpowered individuals.

Just imagine if Cheng Jing were to go berserk unchecked, or if Jiang Nian’s restraining Superpower turned into an amplifying boost—the Southern City Base would’ve been leveled.

The real problem? Thunder Fire spreads like wildfire as long as there's a medium, making its destructive power overwhelming.

"..."

Chu Yi’s Superpower created a two-meter safe zone around him and Jiang Nian, shielding them from the blistering heat and arcs.

Gazing at Cheng Jing, wreathed in flames in the distance, Chu Yi asked Jiang Nian:

"Want to get closer?"

They were over twenty meters away—a little too far out.

Jiang Nian was truly different from the usual "needy spouse" trope—he didn’t bat an eye about his man.

If it were anyone else with their advantages, they’d probably rush right up to watch intently, using the mood to murmur sappy lines they’d normally be too shy to say.

"..."

Jiang Nian thought for a moment before shaking his head:

"No need. The effect is the same from here. Besides, Brother Jing’s outfit would go up in smoke."

"..."

Chu Yi chuckled:

"Damn, you’re territorial, huh? I’m not interested in Brother Jing—even if I saw, it’d just be strictly aesthetic."

Jiang Nian shook his head again, dropping that bombshell without hesitation:

"It’s not about you seeing him. I’m worried I’d get distracted if I stared."

Chu Yi dragged a hand down his face: "..."

Guess he read too much into it.

The two stood amidst the overwhelming Thunder Fire, sweat beading on Chu Yi’s forehead. Like Cheng Jing, he was a dual-element Superpowered, and he had already broken through to the high-tier earlier.

Still, maintaining his Superpower against the Thunder Fire’s relentless assault was no easy feat.

Thankfully, Jiang Nian kept Cheng Jing conscious, effectively restraining the energy within the designated area—otherwise, Guan Shan Prison would’ve been toast.

"..."

After nearly an hour of the Thunder Fire’s tantrum, Jiang Nian sensed Cheng Jing’s Superpower no longer leaking out. The chaotic Thunder Fire gradually stabilized, much faster than during his own breakthrough.

Another half-hour passed, and the range of Cheng Jing’s Thunder Fire began shrinking. The thunderclouds dispersed, and the flying debris turned into hazy embers.

Chu Yi exhaled, tension melting away. Once things settled, they could leave.

Night had fallen, yet the area glowed like high noon. Watching the lightning flicker over the fire, Chu Yi suddenly asked:

"Jiang Nian, have you ever been accidentally zapped by Cheng Jing’s lightning?"

Jiang Nian looked in the direction where Cheng Jing was and nodded:

"Brother Jing got zapped a little when he awakened his superpower. Left my head buzzing."

"Oh..."

Chu Yi asked again:

"Doesn't happen normally?"

"No, Brother Jing's got great control over his superpower."

As he spoke, Jiang Nian found his tone odd and glanced at him, asking in return:

"What's up?"

"Nothing, ahem..."

Chu Yi cleared his throat and carefully worded his response:

"I figured you guys might use superpowers to... y'know, spice things up."

"Wait, what?"

Jiang Nian was confused.

Seeing this, Chu Yi hurriedly said:

"Forget it... Just curious. Don't overthink it. I'm a stand-up guy."

He'd just had a sudden mental image of Cheng Jing crackling with Thunder Fire and let it slip.

"Pfft... How's that about being decent?"

Jiang Nian was getting more confused, but his brain was quick, and he quickly realized something. After a brief pause, he blurted out:

"Brother Chu, are you saying we should use Brother Jing's electric superpower to... uh, heat things up?"

Holy crap!

Turns out *he* was the prude here—all this time, it never crossed his mind to try a live-wire Brother Jing!

Talk about "can't see the forest for the trees"!

Well, now that the idea was in his head, it wasn't leaving.