Chapter 123: The Qualitative Transformation of Superpowers

A group of fully armed men in black stepped off their vehicles and formed a line. Then, one of them opened the door of the middle car, and a person dressed differently stepped out.

Ma Jun was wearing casual clothes, looking sophisticated with rimless glasses, and puffing on a cigar. He stood with an air of authority, peering into the distance. Seeing the panicked expressions of Andrew and his friends, he couldn't help but smile.

"Begin the operation. Secure the area!" Ma Jun turned his head and ordered his subordinates.

Instantly, a group of bio-robots mobilized, rushing toward the cave entrance. A super-powered bio-soldier quickly subdued Andrew and his two companions, bound them with rubber handcuffs, and tossed them aside. The remaining bio-robots began unloading various apparatuses and equipment from the vehicles.

In less than twenty minutes, a temporary perimeter wall had been erected, completely enclosing the cave entrance. Additionally, several guard posts were established in the surrounding area.

"Boss, everything is ready. When will you go down?" a bio-robot approached him.

Ma Jun remained silent for a moment. "I'll go now. Everyone, stay on standby. I'm taking a camera and a microphone; you keep watching every second. If I encounter an unsolvable danger, come down and rescue me immediately. Also..." He looked toward Andrew and the others. "Once things are settled, let those guys go!"

"Yes, please be careful!" The bio-robot attached a camera and microphone to Ma Jun’s collar.

Ma Jun nodded slightly, strode over, ducked through a low temporary door, and approached the cave entrance alone. After a careful inspection, he didn't hesitate and leaped inside.

The cave entrance led to a downward-sloping tunnel emitting a faint glow. The passage was only half a meter in diameter with smooth walls, yet it bore no signs of artificial excavation.

Relying on his own abilities, Ma Jun moved forward rapidly. Before long, the sloping tunnel ended, leading into a curved, man-sized passage. After traveling through it for a while, he turned a corner, and a sudden, brilliant light appeared.

Ma Jun had to squint slightly. Before him sat an irregularly shaped crystal, emitting an eerie, multi-colored glow. A piercing "buzzing" sound filled his ears.

"This is..."

Ma Jun did not approach immediately, standing his ground to observe carefully. A moment later, an expression of surprise crossed his face; there appeared to be something inside the crystal. Through the blinding light, he could vaguely make out something black, and by observing a slightly clearer corner of the crystal, he could see that the black object had several spider-like legs that were actually moving slightly!

"Could this be some kind of creature?" For a split second, Ma Jun hesitated.

"In the original plot, Andrew and his two friends gained superpowers after coming into contact with this thing! Now it seems certain that it was the source of their powers. But... what on earth is this thing? An alien? Why would it grant them superpowers?"

After deep contemplation, Ma Jun made up his mind. Although he was a person who preferred to be cautious and calculated everything, that did not mean he lacked the courage to face danger. Furthermore, in the original story, several ordinary teenagers had undergone the crystal's baptism without suffering any life-threatening harm. There was no reason for it to go wrong for him!

Ma Jun walked up slowly, raised his hand, and placed it gently on the crystal.

Instantly, the massive, irregular crystal began to shift its light, and the piercing sound intensified. Up close, Ma Jun could clearly see that something was indeed moving inside the crystal; it looked like a biological entity.

Suddenly, Ma Jun’s entire body jolted. He felt a numbing sensation in his head, followed by waves of dizziness. Fortunately, there were no other symptoms.

In the original plot, Andrew and the other teenagers had bled from their noses after touching the crystal. They were just ordinary, still-developing youths. Ma Jun, however, was a martial arts master with innate strength who had also consumed a super-powered serum upgraded with the T-virus. His physical constitution far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Consequently, while undergoing the baptism of this mysterious crystal alone, he suffered only dizziness and no other damage.

As the dizziness grew more intense, Ma Jun had to support himself against the crystal to keep his balance. Meanwhile, the light became increasingly blinding.

He did not know how much time had passed when the crystal's light finally vanished completely. Ma Jun felt utterly exhausted, as if he hadn't slept for a week, and he swayed unsteadily. Feeling that he could no longer hold on, he spoke weakly into the microphone: "Immediately... send someone to get me. Try to... see... if you can store the crystal in the Qiankun Ring and take it away... don't force it..."

The next moment, a heavy sleepiness washed over him, and Ma Jun fell into unconsciousness.

...

When he woke up again, Ma Jun stretched his body, feeling full of strength and mental clarity. Looking around, he found himself in a tent, lying on a bed with signal-detection patches stuck to his body. Beside him, several super-powered bio-soldiers were monitoring a computer displaying his vital signs.

A super-powered bio-robot stepped forward. "Boss, how do you feel? You slept for a whole night. We have checked your body, and while we found no abnormalities in any of your indicators, your brain activity is exceptionally high!"

"I'm fine, no problems at all. In fact, I feel like my superpowers have improved!" Ma Jun slowly sat up.

"Excellent!" the bio-robot said expressionlessly. "Boss, we are currently at a temporary base in the wild. The students were released last night, and the scene has been cleaned up. However, after your contact, the crystal gradually dissipated and turned into sand. We analyzed it; it is just ordinary sand."

"It's fine!" Ma Jun shook his head. "Don't worry about that anymore. I'm afraid I have already absorbed all of its energy. I feel that my current superpower strength is dozens of times greater than before! Fortunately, my physical fitness is good; otherwise, if I were just an ordinary person, my head might have exploded from absorbing that much energy!"

"Boss, we have prepared a bathroom for you, and breakfast is ready, just the way you like it."

"Very good!" Ma Jun sat up. With a thought, the shirt by the bed flew over automatically, and he quickly put it on. "I'll go take a shower first. After I eat, I'll study my powers right here. You guys prepare to pack up; we can leave at any time!"

"Yes!"

Forty minutes later, after a shower and a hearty meal, Ma Jun walked to an open area. After a moment of thought, he retrieved a space shuttle from his Qiankun Ring. He walked a few steps away, stared intently at it, raised his hand slightly, and focused all his concentration.

The space shuttle, over ten meters long and five meters high, and incredibly heavy, actually began to lift off slowly. Ma Jun’s expression remained relaxed, a smile playing on his lips. "This is truly amazing!"

Soon, Ma Jun became proficient in his control, maneuvering the space shuttle around as if it were a toy in his hands. After a while, he put the shuttle away and released an SUV. This particular SUV had been specially modified for high hardness and durability.

Standing before it, Ma Jun formed a "dragon claw" gesture with his five fingers, frowned, and slowly clenched his fist. This time, his expression was slightly more intense. A few seconds later, the SUV began to deform and shrink at a visible rate! Through telekinesis, he had actually achieved this.

"Hahaha!" After totaling the SUV, Ma Jun laughed out loud.

It was a pity that the only audience members were the super-powered bio-robots, who lacked the capacity for appreciation. If Qian Xu were here, he would surely have buttered him up, making Ma Jun even happier.

"Alright, next, it's time to try flying!" Ma Jun calmed himself down.

Compared to his previous feats, using telekinesis to control his own body for flight was more difficult. However, in the original plot of *Chronicle*, all three protagonists were able to do it, so there was no reason Ma Jun couldn't. After all, they had split the crystal's energy among three people, while Ma Jun already possessed such powers and had absorbed the entire crystal's energy himself; his strength was immense.