In Afterlife, there was also a Terrigen Crystal, used by the Inhumans to awaken their bloodline.
But this crystal was small, and it could only awaken one Inhuman at a time, not large groups.
So they had to use a slower way—Jia Ying, as the leader, would travel the world. Whenever she found someone with Inhuman blood, she would bring them back to Afterlife to awaken their powers.
Though not smart, this method still worked. After more than ten years, many people had been changed.
Now, Afterlife had hundreds of Inhumans, and some were quite strong.
Their numbers could not compare to mutants spread across the world, but they were united.
At present, more than 80% of all Inhumans on Earth who had awakened their powers were members of Afterlife.
So, even though Inhumans still could not compare to mutants as a whole, Afterlife was already no weaker than many large mutant groups.
What they lacked was only top-level power.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed since Skye was brought to Afterlife.
Under Jia Ying's arrangement, Skye soon awakened her bloodline, discovering she could release vibrations. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel•fire.net
This power made Jia Ying somewhat disappointed, since it did not seem very strong, and after awakening it had little fighting value.
Having lived for thousands of years, Jia Ying was a firm believer in practicality.
Although she did not say it, Skye—who had been an orphan since young and was very sensitive to others' emotions—could feel her long-lost mother becoming colder toward her after the awakening.
This made Skye very upset.
Even though she did not agree with many of Jia Ying's views, after learning she was not abandoned on purpose, she had already forgiven Jia Ying and her father whom she had yet to meet.
As for Jia Ying's problems with Raymond, Beth, and David, Skye felt those could all be solved with communication, so they weren't a big deal.
But for Jia Ying to treat her more coldly just because her power seemed weak—that was something she could not accept.
Was this the parental love she had longed for?
Just because her power wasn't strong, she was looked down on?
Her heart suddenly sank in disappointment.
This was not the result she had been searching for.
At that moment, she found herself missing her life at the agency.
There, whether it was David or the unfathomably strong Raymond, they never treated her or Beth differently just because they had no powers.
Afterlife, however, was the complete opposite.
Here, though they claimed unity, everyone was ranked strictly, with status divided by how useful their power was to the group.
Everyone treated her with fear and respect only because she was Jia Ying's daughter, speaking carefully around her.
But she really didn't feeling.
"I wonder how Beth and the others are doing…" Skye whispered softly to herself.
"And I thought you already forgot about us!" a voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
Skye was first shocked, then overjoyed!
Because she recognized that voice—it was Beth's, though she had no idea why it was inside her head!
Just as Skye was still stunned and happy, she saw David and Beth walking openly in through the base entrance.
Beth was pushing a wheelchair, and sitting in it was a handsome, bald young man she didn't know.
As they walked past many Afterlife members, nobody seemed to notice them at all—as if they were invisible.
Seeing this strange scene, Skye couldn't help but gasp in surprise!
"This is the Professor, also the boss," Beth explained when she reached Skye, introducing the wheelchair-bound personality of Professor X.
Skye paused for a moment, then understood what Beth meant, and quickly greeted the Professor's sub-personality.
He smiled and nodded in return.
After greeting him, Skye asked, "How did you find me… and walking straight in , is it really okay?"
"Don't worry, child. In their eyes, we don't exist. You haven't spoken to anyone, and everything looks the same as usual," Professor X's sub-personality said kindly to Skye with a smile.
"This is your power, Professor?" Skye asked in surprise.
Before he could answer, Beth explained for him, "The Professor has powerful psychic abilities. Even if he controlled everyone in this base at once and made them all commit suicide, it wouldn't be hard for him. This is nothing."
After a week of teaching, Beth already had deep knowledge and understanding of psychic powers.
With her early training, she was now no weaker than some third-level mutants with mental abilities, and she still had room to grow.
Even so, the Professor's sub-personality was still impossible for her to see through.
If she focused fully, she could already make others unable to notice her. So it was no surprise that someone as unreadable as the Professor's sub-personality could do this so easily.
To Beth, it wasn't strange at all.
But for Skye, seeing it for the first time was shocking.
"Beth, you've awakened powers too?" Skye caught something new in her words.
"Yep! Now we're both superpowered, and we can fight side by side in the future!" Beth grinned.
"But my power feels weak…" Skye lowered her head sadly.
"Child, you're underestimating yourself," the Professor's sub-personality said warmly.
"Professor, you don't need to comfort me. I'm not that fragile," Skye shook her head.
"You think I'm comforting you?"
"Of course not," he smiled and shook his head. "The reason you think your power is weak is only because the people here believe it's weak…"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but from what I've seen, these people have very little vision—including your mother. I hope you don't mind me saying this."
Skye still found it hard to believe. "But my ability really has no fighting power. It's not even as useful as a gun. What use is it?"
"First, you must understand—in general, there is no truly weak power. It depends on how you use it and how much you improve it."
The Professor's sub-personality began teaching, "Of course, that's not completely true, since some powers are harder to improve, and even after training, may not become strong in battle."
"But your ability is different."
"I've already spoken with your boss about your power. He thinks very highly of it."
"Really?" Skye was shocked, then excited.
She never thought that the power her mother Jia Ying dismissed as worthless could actually be recognized by Raymond.
"I have no reason to lie to you," the Professor's sub-personality confirmed again. "He told me he knows someone with almost the same ability as you. That person can use vibrations to shatter space, raise tsunamis with one punch, and bring down mountains."
"A power like that is terrifying. If you develop it properly, your potential should be no less than David's."
"As for what these people think of you, do you really think it matters? They're just frogs at the bottom of a well. Why care about their opinions?"
The Professor's words were truly encouraging. Skye quickly regained her spirit. "Thank you!"
He waved his hand casually, showing it was nothing.
"Will you leave with us?" Beth suddenly asked.
Skye hesitated, then said, "Please give me a little more time."
"That's fine. The boss said it's your choice. If you choose to stay, he'll respect your decision… alright, then we'll come visit you in a few days." Beth smiled.
Watching the three of them leave, the once-disheartened Skye suddenly felt steadier.
So this was what it felt like to have someone backing you.
From what she just saw, her mother Jia Ying's Inhuman organization really was nothing in Raymond's eyes.
Just one sub-personality could wipe out Afterlife in an instant.
It matched what she thought from the beginning—Raymond never cared about Afterlife at all.
After talking with Beth and the others, she already wanted to leave. But before that, she felt she needed to speak with Jia Ying.
At the very least, she had to stop her mother from seeing Raymond as an enemy. Otherwise, the outcome would be very bad.
"Just now… did someone come to see you?" A woman's voice suddenly sounded behind Skye, making her jump.
She spun around and saw a charming woman in a cheongsam looking at her.
Skye recognized her. This woman was Raina, a newcomer Jia Ying had recently brought back—a new member who had just awakened her ability.
It was said her power was very important to Afterlife, giving her a special position in the group. Even Jia Ying treated her with extra respect.
"You saw it?" Skye asked in disbelief.
"Saw what?" Raina blinked in confusion.
Her reaction made Skye realize she was overthinking. She quickly shook her head.
Raina's eyes grew thoughtful. "So… someone really did come to you just now. But others couldn't see them, right?"
Her words made Skye's heart tighten.