Leaving the Underground City

Blasting off the stone skin was like being reborn. Her clothes were still intact, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Daisy didn't care about the polluted air that might cause her to develop pneumoconiosis. She touched her body all over, verifying that all her facial features, hands, and feet were intact. The defects she had been worried about as an Inhuman didn't seem to have occurred in her case.

'Perhaps those defects were deeply hidden?' She consoled herself.

Feeling relaxed and comfortable, as if she had shed dozens of kilograms of burden, Daisy clenched her fists and experienced the newfound strength.

Her figure was still slender, no different from before. However, there was a new vitality emanating from her cells, enhancing her speed, reflexes, and endurance significantly.

Her physical fitness was now on par with soldiers who underwent rigorous training, despite her lack of formal training.

The Terrigen mist had brought about a radical transformation, from her cells to her organs, blood, lymphatic system, and bones—her entire body had experienced a rebirth.

While body strengthening was a positive side effect, her superpowers were the key.

The Terrigenesis went as expected, but the stone door didn't open automatically, probably requiring a switch outside. Alone in the underground city, she had to find a way to open a passage from the inside.

Daisy understood that possessing an ability was like having a possibility, but harnessing and mastering it depended on her efforts. Just acquiring the power didn't make her an expert; she needed research, development, and training to turn it into a unique skill.

Daisy carefully felt the peculiarities in her body—her seismic abilities. Her newfound ability wasn't a continuous flow of energy, and it wasn't restricted to any specific point in her body. Rather, it felt like a new mode that she could activate at her will. She could make objects vibrate, though she needed to learn how to control them effectively.

According to the markings, she found her way back to the entrance and reached out to touch the massive stone door.

The door was half a meter thick, and Daisy wasn't sure if she could shake it open. If her strength was too weak, she couldn't move it; if it was too strong, she might cause the entire underground city to collapse.

"Buzz." The first attempt failed; the stone door didn't budge. Her vibrations hadn't even reached the door; they were automatically retracted within her body.

This wasn't a conscious retraction of her power; some kind of subconscious force was at play.

Try again! She attempted to vibrate once more.

Daisy tried to resonate with the stone gate, recalling her limited knowledge of physics. She remembered that all objects had their own vibration frequency. She found the gate's frequency and adjusted herself to achieve resonance so that she could destroy the door.

Just as she vibrated the door twice, she felt her whole body ache. This ability was a bit of a double-edged sword—it harmed both the enemy and herself. However, her tenacity outweighed the discomfort, and she suppressed the unease, striving to adjust the frequency.

With a muffled thud, Daisy shattered one-third of the stone door, but she quickly stopped her actions.

The area affected by the vibrations was quite extensive; the entire stone door had been affected. However, she couldn't guarantee that if this door fell, it wouldn't trigger a chain reaction, causing the other five doors to collapse, and the entire temple along with them. If that happened, she would be ready for her next journey to the afterlife.

Staring at the cracks in the stone door, she found the most severely damaged spot and initiated her third attempt at vibration.

This time, she narrowed the vibration area, increasing the precision required but reducing the strain on her body.

'Hang on, go slower. Limit the range, and use less force.' She encouraged herself continuously.

With a loud crash, one-third of the stone door crumbled. Daisy didn't dare to let her guard down and she immediately rushed out.

Checking the marks on the ground, she swiftly ran back along the same path.

The journey back had no obelisks to provide illumination, and it was pitch-black. However, her enhanced senses allowed her to faintly see the path ahead in the darkness. Her hearing and sense of direction had also improved, enough to ensure she maintained a straight line as she ran through the two-meter-wide, two-meter-high tunnel.

While she didn't possess Daredevil's exaggerated sensing ability, in this three-by-two-meter corridor, it was already more than sufficient.

Her steps were light, her running powerful. It felt as if her entire body was filled with strength. Even without professional training, Daisy believed that her current speed wouldn't lose to that of professional athletes.

Moreover, she had more endurance and explosive power than them.

To reduce her load and increase her speed, she threw away all the unnecessary items from her backpack.

Daisy was afraid that the next moment would bring the sound of the underground city collapsing—water rushing in, self-destruct mechanisms activating, and so on. It wasn't just her scaring herself; such scenarios had appeared too frequently in movies. She didn't dare to slow down, relying on her ample stamina and resilient character. In 3 hours, she ran back the distance she had travelled in one day, returning to the sentry tower.

"Indeed, movies are deceiving..." she commented as she sat on the ground, panting heavily.

The sentry tower was still as filthy as before. She didn't linger and quickly left, tidying her backpack and changing into summer clothes to look less conspicuous. She calmly walked out to the city.

Back at the hotel, she took a refreshing hot bath, put on a bathrobe, and tied up her hair. Looking at herself in the mirror, her bright eyes carried determination, and her high nose bridge seemed more delicate.

At the same time, she had grown an additional centimetre in height. Originally, Daisy was 1.7 meters tall, and now she was 1.71 meters.

Returning to the bedroom, she took out her laptop and searched for local information. To her relief, she didn't find any negative news related to her appearance. However, she did come across a communication from the San Juan Police Department, which was an internal request to seek assistance in locating her missing parents.

As she lay on her bed, Daisy contemplated her future and made a firm decision to concentrate on developing her vibration ability.

During her journey back, she had been studying and experimenting with her powers while running. It suddenly occurred to her that she could concentrate her seismic power on her feet, enabling her to bounce and jump while running. Though this might appear somewhat comical, it undeniably increased her speed.

Furthermore, as she continued to run and familiarize herself with her abilities, she steadily gained better control over them.