The notification made Luke freeze. He immediately forgot all about the game he was playing.
'Master-level stock trading?'
His eyes lit up. Out of all the bizarre mutations happening around him, this was by far the most useful. This… this could make him rich!
He lunged for the phone he'd casually tossed aside before and saw a line of small text glowing at the top of the screen:
Mutation Type: Stock Ability
Description: Provide initial funding and leave the rest to it. Just sit back and watch your money multiply!]
Luke cradled the phone in both hands like a sacred artifact, his fingertips brushing it with near-reverent care.
Their days of scraping by might actually be over. Who needed a lucky cat when you had a phone that could master the stock market?
Financial freedom was no longer a dream, it was inevitable.
He smiled blissfully, gazing at the screen with a love-struck look.
But to Wanda, the scene unfolding in front of her was deeply unsettling.
There he was, her grown brother, cuddling his phone like it was his soulmate. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise her if he suddenly started saying my precious…
Her expression twisted in disgust.
What the hell is on that phone?
Was he… looking at those kinds of pictures? That would explain the weird look in his eyes. So tender. So obsessed.
A burning fury lit in Wanda's chest.
Unbelievable. A living, breathing girl stood right in front of him, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from some shameless internet hussy flaunting herself online?
She rolled up her sleeves, fists clenched. If he won't pay attention to me willingly, then I'll beat it into him!
And hey, physical contact during a fight was still contact, right?
Just as Wanda was about to storm over and pick a fight.
Someone was knocking on the door.
The knocking was light. Polite even.
Today was unusually busy.
Wanda instantly swallowed her anger and smoothed her expression. Making money always came first.
She had grown up in an orphanage. Her biggest dream was to earn so much money she'd never be able to spend it all, and to sleep in a pile of it!
Even beating up her stupid brother could wait.
Without questioning it, she walked to the door, still mentally calculating possible profits. She didn't even stop to wonder, why would someone knock at all? The door was always open during business hours.
Probably the gangsters earlier had closed it behind them out of politeness.
The sound came again.
She cast a glare at Luke, still glued to his phone, and pulled the door open with her trademark customer-service smile.
But what greeted her wasn't a friendly face.
It was the barrel of a gun.
Several soldiers in full camouflage stormed into view, rifles aimed forward. The one leading the squad, Havok, stepped up and touched the cold metal of his pistol to her forehead.
Wanda's blood ran cold.
She had only ever seen scenes in movies. But now, with a weapon pressed directly to her head, the fear was visceral. Her body stiffened as her mind screamed.
She began backing away as the soldiers advanced, heart pounding so loudly it drowned out every other thought.
Luke finally noticed something was wrong.
He looked up, then froze.
Five heavily armed soldiers had stormed into their humble grocery store, and one of them had a gun to Wanda's head.
The fear in his chest instantly twisted into something else.
A dangerous, seething heat surged through him.
Pointing a gun at his sister? Right in front of him?
They must have a death wish.
Luke didn't care that he wasn't strong. He didn't need to be.
Because he wasn't alone anymore.
And it was angry too.
Suddenly, the grocery store itself seemed to respond.
The walls trembled. The air thickened. Reality shifted.
[Ding~ Your grocery store sensed the owner's fury and has turned the floor beneath the intruders into a hidden trap. Press the red button on your watch, and they'll drop into the darkness below.]
A red button materialized on Luke's wristwatch.
[Ding~ Your surveillance camera sensed your rage and has mutated into a precision laser weapon. Targets locked.]
Red dots suddenly appeared, one on each soldier's forehead.
[Ding~ Your sister's coat sensed imminent danger and has developed a bulletproof function.]
Wanda staggered slightly as her coat grew heavier. She didn't know why, but suddenly, it felt like she was wrapped in metal plating.
The intruders had no idea they'd walked into a battlefield disguised as a grocery store.