As the system notifications echoed in Luke's mind, the grocery store silently transformed into a hidden fortress.
All the mutations completed almost instantly.
The system's voice boomed in Luke's head, nearly deafening in its enthusiasm.
He looked around, seeing that the entire store was now filled with glowing letters marking freshly mutated objects.
Even if they were only Level 1 mutations, quantity was clearly on his side.
And the enemy? Just trained humans. Regular soldiers.
These mutations would be more than enough to deal with them.
Among them, the most terrifying was undoubtedly the camera, which had mutated into a laser weapon.
Its appearance remained unchanged, but its internal structure had transformed drastically.
A red dot glowed ominously from its lens, now trained on the forehead of every soldier in the store.
The soldiers were no fools, a thought immediately crossing all their minds.
Their hearts pounded. Someone, somewhere, clearly had them in their sights. Every soldier instinctively froze. Fear crept into their trained composure.
But before they could react, something even more unsettling happened.
Thump thump thump... roll…~
A fat husky came tumbling down the stairs.
The moment he spotted his beloved mistress with a gun to her head, his body darkened, radiating a deep crimson hue.
The temperature in the room surged instantly.
Doggo was starting to transform.
Everyone could feel it.
Not just a simple change, but a potentially catastrophic one.
If Doggo turned into the three-headed hellhound here, inside the tiny shop...
No one would survive, not the soldiers, not Luke, not even Wanda, they would all surely be roasted alive.
The room fell into a tense silence.
Everyone, Luke, the soldiers, even Doggo, froze.
And then, everyone moved at once.
"Doggo! Don't be impulsive!" Luke shouted, reaching out with a desperate hand.
Squad Leader Havok, eyes wide with panic, shoved his pistol harder against Wanda's forehead. "Don't move! Or I'll shoot!"
Doggo paused mid-transformation.
Whether it was Luke's voice or Havok's threat, no one knew, but he stopped. And that was all that mattered.
Everyone exhaled in relief, almost in unison.
The tension lingered, but the worst had been narrowly avoided.
Just then, Luke's system chimed again.
[Ding~ Your sister's forehead was extremely afraid, and has awakened a bulletproof function.]
'Her… forehead… mutated?'
He glanced at Wanda, and sure enough, a faint line of glowing text now hovered above her head.
His lips curled into a crooked smile.
This system… It's amazing.
Between Wanda's reinforced head, the trapdoor activation button at his wrist, and the laser turret overhead, Luke now had every advantage.
The panic and rage drained from his face, replaced by smug confidence.
He didn't even need to move.
These soldiers were already doomed.
But the soldiers didn't know just how thoroughly trapped they were. All they could see were the red laser dots painted across their foreheads.
They stood locked in place, waiting for any sudden move to mean death.
Luke stood quietly, thinking.
He wasn't angry anymore.
But that didn't mean he was going to let them off easy.
They threatened Wanda.
A little punishment would be more than justified.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft, shaky voice.
Luke turned, his heart aching at the sound. Wanda's voice trembled with emotion, sounding like she was about to cry.
"They're not here to buy anything!" Wanda cried, pointing at the soldiers accusingly, tears brimming in her eyes.
Luke stared at her, dumbfounded.
The soldiers blinked.
Even Doggo tilted his head.
There was a beat of silence before one of the soldiers muttered, "Is she serious?"
Did she not see the guns? The uniforms? Their aggressive entry?
Wanda's face was full of betrayal, like she'd just realized someone had come to a birthday party without bringing a gift.
Havok sighed, exasperated. "No, kid. We're not here to shop."
The soldiers all exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
Still, Havok found his eyes drifting to the empty shelves. There wasn't much here.
But then, for no apparent reason, he remembered something.
Didn't I break my ashtray last week?
His expression twitched.
Maybe, just maybe, he should use the chance to buy a new one, since he was already here...