This time, the original order of human society in this world was shattered.
The government deployed well-equipped soldiers and highly trained police units in an attempt to capture the rebelling superpower users.
But the superpower users who came from the Will of Ruler were all ruthless figures.
What they faced this time were not ordinary superpower users burdened by family ties and hesitation, people who could be easily manipulated.
They were invaders from beyond this world—beings who treated ruling and destroying civilizations as "exam content" in their daily lives. Their methods were brutal and decisive, and they did not value life in the slightest.
The top brass of the Far East military hoped to draw out the leaders of the superpower users wreaking havoc across various regions.
They publicly released a statement online, claiming they wished to hold direct talks with the superpower users, attempting to ease tensions and regain the initiative.
However, things did not go as they wished.
Superpower-related incidents across the country not only failed to decrease because of the military's actions—they escalated further.
This wave of resistance had erupted too suddenly, and superpower users all over the world had acted at once.
Those who had long been hiding in the shadows—dissatisfied with the status quo and yearning to resist—seized this chaotic opportunity to join in, pushing the situation further out of control.
At the same time, a series of shocking documents were suddenly exposed online. They revealed the truth behind the so-called Enemy of Humanity, as well as the government's secret executions of superpower users and the inhumane experiments conducted on them.
At last, everyone understood that the "Enemy of Humanity" was nothing but a fabrication. Its true identity was the superpower users themselves.
Enraged by lies and oppression, the superpower users could endure no longer and launched a massive wave of resistance.
Yet in the eyes of the members of the Will of Ruler, this resistance was nothing more than a minor disturbance, incapable of stirring any real storm.
To them, its only value was drawing some of the world's attention and further complicating an already chaotic situation.
In their view, rebuilding a new social order would still require their own direct intervention.
To suppress the rebellion, the military and police were deployed repeatedly, but every operation brought fresh trouble.
From time to time, there were heavy casualties among soldiers and officers.
The government was overwhelmed by these endless crises, yet had no effective solution.
Under such chaotic and urgent circumstances, the military's attitude and actions shifted dramatically.
They no longer prioritized capture. Instead, they became aggressive—if a superpower user made even the slightest move, they would open fire and kill on sight.
Maria and Kiana left the hotel and strolled along the city's streets.
The streets were now filled with protesters holding signs, the scene utterly chaotic.
Some raised placards reading "Kill All Superpower Users," their rhetoric fierce and uncompromising. Others angrily condemned the government's actions, demanding accountability.
The crisis triggered by the superpower users' rebellion had become a storm affecting the lives of every ordinary person.
The city's power supply had suddenly been cut off several days earlier.
In this modern society so heavily dependent on electricity, losing power meant that nearly everything ceased to function.
Traffic was paralyzed, factories shut down, daily life plunged into disorder.
And this blackout was not limited to a single city. Many quickly realized it was the result of superpower users deliberately sabotaging power grids and power stations. Panic spread rapidly through the crowd.
Looking back at this world's history, ever since superpower users first appeared, they had been seized by the government for research and subjected to various injustices. This had led to multiple wars between ordinary people and superpower users.
On a societal level, the mainstream attitude of ordinary people toward superpower users had always been negative. The hostility between the two sides ran deep.
As Maria and Kiana observed the chaotic streets, dozens of people in the crowd suddenly exploded without warning, bursting into clouds of blood mist.
The thick stench of blood quickly spread across the street, the acrid smell making people retch.
"Ah... someone's dead!"
"Run!!"
Terrified screams rang out one after another as the crowd scattered like startled birds.
Maria's brows knitted tightly. "What's going on? How are people suddenly exploding?!"
Kiana speculated, "Probably some kind of transmissible virus or something similar."
Maria looked astonished. "How can you tell?"
Kiana explained calmly, "Look. Choosing a densely populated area to trigger explosions, but with relatively small destructive power—methods like that are usually viral attacks."
Maria's face filled with disbelief. "Are you saying someone is indiscriminately slaughtering innocent people with a virus?"
Kiana tilted her head. "Indiscriminately slaughtering innocent people? In war, these people are resource units of the enemy.
"Besides directly joining combat as manpower, they participate in war-related production—manufacturing weapons, ammunition, food, and other supplies. They provide logistical support. They're vital labor resources within the war economy."
Maria felt her heart tremble. She had not expected those from the Will of Ruler to view ordinary people from such a cold perspective.
In their eyes, there were no innocents—everyone was an enemy that needed to be purged.
When facing an entire nation or civilization, and when one's own strength was relatively limited, such covert attack methods were adopted to avoid exposing oneself and engaging powerful enemies head-on.
Moreover, the superpowers in this world were bizarre and unpredictable. No one knew what kind of anomaly they might encounter. Abilities like time reversal or time stop truly existed. This was also why the government constantly feared superpower users and even fabricated lies to mislead the public.
Kiana took out her phone, intending to check the latest news online.
Under the relentless assault of an artificial intelligence supervirus, computer systems were either paralyzed or remotely controlled.
The internet was flooded with content inciting superpower users to rebel, all under the slogan: "This is not a rebellion. This is a revolution."
With the network under control, it had become nearly impossible for the government to guide public opinion or stabilize society.
Maria stayed close beside Kiana. Looking at the city now plunged into total chaos, her emotions were complicated.
Because both of them carried guns, pedestrians on the road dared not approach. Only then did Maria understand Kiana's intention in bringing firearms—they were meant as deterrence.
At that moment, a deafening explosion erupted ahead.
Maria instinctively looked up and saw a high-rise building collapse with a thunderous crash. Dust billowed into the sky as chunks of debris rained down, smashing everything around into ruin.
Then came terrified shouts from nearby.
"Bugs! So many bugs!"
Maria quickly turned toward the source of the screams and saw numerous passersby being chased and bitten by a swarm of flying purple beetles.
Those bitten flailed desperately, trying to swat the beetles away before fleeing in panic.
But after only a few steps, their vision went dark. They collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Even more disturbingly, not long afterward, the bitten victims staggered back to their feet. Their eyes were hollow, their reason gone. Like zombies, they began attacking the people around them.
One purple beetle noticed Kiana and Maria. It swiftly flew to them, hovering in midair as if confirming something. After circling them a few times, it flew off in a specific direction.
Seeing this, Kiana said, "That bug probably belongs to the Insect Queen. Let's go take a look." With that, she grabbed Maria's hand and followed it.
The two trailed the purple beetle all the way to a nearby area of collapsed buildings.
The sight before them was overwhelming. Dense clusters of purple insects swarmed wildly as they attacked military forces.
"Retreat! Retreat!" the commanding officer shouted in terror.
The soldiers fired while scrambling backward, streams of bullets pouring toward the incoming swarm.
Batch after batch of purple beetles were shot down, yet new ones immediately filled the gaps. They seemed endless, impossible to eliminate.
Within the military unit, a superpower user had deployed a protective barrier shielding the others. Without that barrier, they would likely have been drowned by the swarm instantly—annihilated to the last man.
The military had originally confirmed that the target was inside the building and had planned to blow up the entire structure, figuring that even if the target survived, they would at least be severely injured.
But they had never expected that the explosion would unleash countless insects, pushing the situation completely out of control.