Chapter 17: Magic Power

Guns, weapons, chaotic furniture, bullet holes, and cracked floors lay scattered everywhere.

It looked as though a massive brawl had taken place, yet there were no bodies on the ground.

According to the caller who reported the incident, there had been a shooting and a madman was massacring the public. But where were the bodies?

The police rushed to the scene, driven by the severity of the incident, arriving much quicker than usual—within about half an hour. But could half an hour really be enough time to remove all the bodies?

And what about the blood? The heads?

The bar was eerily empty inside. Although there was no bloody scene, the situation still felt bizarre and chilling to the officers present.

"John, go check the surveillance in the control room."

"Lena, go outside and interview everyone who was at the bar, and I also want to know if anyone has seen people entering or exiting the bar in the last half an hour."

The officers busied themselves following these orders, but ultimately, they came up empty-handed.

The surveillance footage had been taken, and no one outside had noticed any individual entering or leaving the venue within the last half hour. The only possible lead was that a few men and women at the bar claimed to have seen the perpetrator during the attack.

However, their descriptions were vague and almost fantastical.

What they saw was a female bartender being decapitated, her head flying through the air, and her body catching sparks and starting to burn amidst a shower of sparks. The assailant was wielding a cross sword, all amid the dim lighting of the bar and their instinctual decision to flee in fear.

Thus, they didn't really get a good look at the perpetrator.

These clues left the investigating officers completely baffled. What was going on here?

Had everyone gone mad?

Or was the perpetrator a mutant with special powers?

While the officers at Brooklyn's Stonewall Bar were still puzzled by the bizarre scene, Bi Xiao had already evacuated following his planned route. In the year 2000, surveillance cameras weren't as prevalent in New York.

At least for Bi Xiao, it was easy to find a route, or even multiple routes, without surveillance.

However, the area near his home in Queens had mysteriously increased its surveillance. He knew who was responsible, but naturally, Bi Xiao also had his ways. He never took the usual paths, choosing instead to return home directly from the upper floors of buildings.

His body had been enhanced many times, especially after slaughtering hundreds of vampires tonight. His jumping ability, explosive power, and coordination were now superhuman.

Leaping hundreds of meters was effortless for him. Purely in terms of physical strength, even the future Spider-Man was just a "little brother" in his presence.

Thus, parkouring across the rooftops was no challenge for Bi Xiao.

S.H.I.E.L.D. could never have imagined he would use this method to get home.

Easily, he returned to his own house.

After a quick glance around with his sharp memory and vision, he immediately knew no one had been there. Considering Natasha's level of caution as a top spy, it was unlikely she would barge into his home outright—that would be like flipping the table.

Maintaining distance and a tacit understanding was currently her strategy.

As for Bi Xiao, his wariness of S.H.I.E.L.D. and even human governments had been diminishing. He treated their distance as if nothing had happened, focusing solely on gaining experience. But if they failed to recognize the limits, they couldn't blame him for slaughtering S.H.I.E.L.D.

His attitude would always shift with his power.

Weak, he would lie low; strong, he would fear nothing.

Flexibility was his main strategy.

"The strong shall not be desecrated," a principle vividly demonstrated in this universe. Thor might look like a brute without a brain in the early stages, but his approach was typical of the powerful.

"I am stronger than you, I can tolerate you. You think you can be reckless, but if you dare to cross the line, the only outcome is decapitation."

Tonight's gains were significant. As usual, Bi Xiao cooked himself a fine meal, washed up, and went to bed.

The subsequent turmoil was of no concern to him.

Because the day after next, he proceeded with his second plan, finding a deserted, abandoned car park on the outskirts of western New York.

Calling it a car park was a bit of a stretch, as it was essentially a large building with nothing inside.

It was located in an undeveloped area of New York, about a kilometer away from any human habitation.

He chose this place because of the surging magical power within him.

The emergence of magical power opened up more possibilities for him; he needed to explore how to use this magic. His physical fitness was already exceptionally strong, and he didn't want to limit himself to a single path.

He needed to think about how to harness and develop his magical abilities to become even stronger.

This location was perfectly suited for his needs.

That day, Bi Xiao began the first step: learning how to use magic, creating techniques mediated by magical power that were uniquely his own. He already had plans for this.

Magic is a form of energy, and since it is energy, it has a core. By harnessing this core of energy, he could release it in specific ways to achieve the desired effects of destruction.

The first step was to master control over his magical power, achieving the most precise manipulation possible, whether it was in general use or for specific applications.

He gradually began experimenting, allowing the magic to flow through his body, to every part—bones, organs, muscles, and even cells.

As it flowed, he also tuned into the subtle changes occurring within.

The essence of life had comprehensively strengthened him, causing his mental power to grow alongside his physical abilities, arguably making him much more powerful than many sorcerers who meditated daily on their craft.

Continuing at this rate, he believed that surpassing Professor X in terms of mental power was only a matter of time.

Sensing the subtle changes within his body was easy for Bi Xiao.

It was precisely because of this that he realized, as the magical power covered and filled his organs, bones, and muscle fibers, he could feel a significant enhancement during this process.

This led him to a hypothesis.

For this hypothesis, he specifically concentrated his magic into his fist and stepped outside to the vast open space of the car park. He then fiercely slammed his fist into the ground.

Boom!