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***
The ice sculpture stood silently in the alley, while one man and two won watched from a short distance away.
"So cold."
Anby shivered lightly and leaned closer to Sol's arm.
The block of ice had appeared suddenly, forming only around that woman's body; the rest of the area remained dry and untouched.
Yet the chill radiating from the frozen figure was enough to make the sweltering air feel like the dead of winter.
A rough estimate would place the ice's temperature at least below minus fifty degrees Celsius—cold enough to freeze water midair and turn ice as hard as iron.
"Another ability…"
Anby glanced at Sol beside her, realizing with mild surprise that she wasn't very surprised at all.
To freeze soone solid in an instant was astonishing, of course—nearly as much as the lightning-charged Bangboo or that bottomless appetite for hamburgers.
But when awe beca routine, it was hard to build a new image that surpassed the man who could do anything.
She had long grown used to it. Sol was always full of surprises, always wielding powers she'd never seen before.
"Phew…" Jane exhaled, eyes fixed on the frozen figure in shock. "Unbelievable."
She had never witnessed such a terrifying ability.
And yet, none of the intelligence files from the New Eridu Public Security ntioned anything about this.
This man was danger incarnate.
The ice sculpture glead, clear and lifelike—it was hard to believe that just monts ago it had been a gangster lunatic with a bomb strapped to her waist.
Right—the condensed Ether bomb!
Jane's attention snapped toward it.
The crystalline Ether core shimred beneath the pale blue ice, its brilliant light unusually vivid.
"Unlike other forms of energy, Ether is highly unstable. And homade condensed Ether bombs are the most volatile of all," Jane murmured anxiously. "Extre cold or heat could trigger a reaction."
"And then… a chain explosion…"
In modern New Eridu, the Hollow towers had learned to channel Ether energy to power the entire city, stabilizing it enough for civilian use.
But the condensed Ether compounds used for bombs were nothing like that. They were a volatile mix of various Ether types held together by a precarious balance.
When untriggered, those conflicting energies remained barely stable. But if that fragile equilibrium broke, it would lead to the most violent reaction imaginable—an explosion.
Jane stared at the bomb encased in the frozen Leena. The ice's frigid touch made the crystal glow brighter, pushing it dangerously close to detonation.
She didn't run—there was no point. She couldn't outrun it anyway.
What she hadn't expected was to die so anonymously—not during an undercover mission, but blown apart by a random bomb.
Nothing to regret, really. Just… frustrating.
"Oh? Guess I'll need to make it colder."
Sol spoke calmly, releasing another surge of icy energy.
After all, even the legendary Kevin—after rging with Pavarti's power—could freeze the very Herrscher of Flas.
With similar strength, freezing a petty street-level bomber was child's play.
If the explosion ca from Ether imbalance, then all he had to do was drop the temperature so low the Ether couldn't react at all.
The pale blue sculpture deepened in hue, shifting visibly to a haunting, crystalline dark blue.
The Ether bomb on Leena's waist still glimred faintly—but beyond that, nothing happened.
"Haaah…"
Jane let out a shaky breath; her coat suddenly felt far too thin.
It had already been freezing before—at least minus fifty degrees—and now the temperature plumted even further.
The air itself had crystallized; frost blanketed the walls and ground.
Yet despite the biting cold, she stared in awe at the motionless figure. "Incredible…"
She'd thought freezing a person solid was the limit—but even a condensed Ether bomb had succumbed to his power.
That kind of bomb wasn't sothing you could just defuse—there was no fixed formula, no safe thod. It replicated controlled lab explosions through variable balancing.
Once the reaction started, detonation was virtually guaranteed.
And Sol… had simply frozen that process solid.
No wonder Public Security labeled him a "high-risk entity."
It was terrifying—but impressive.
Jane looked at Sol and said sincerely, "Mr. rcer, that was incredible. Otherwise, we'd all be in pieces by now."
If he hadn't frozen that bomb, she'd have been flying through the air—in fragnts.
Sol glanced at the sculpture, narrowing his eyes. "It's nothing. I just want to know why this woman ca after . Did soone send her?"
His good mood was gone. One mont he'd been chatting happily, planning hot pot with Anby—
Then a piece of street trash showed up, wired with a bomb.
Even if the explosion wouldn't have hurt him, Anby might have ended up seriously injured.
They were safe, sure—but having a fly buzz in your face was still annoying.
If soone had orchestrated this, he was ready to exercise so national justice.
New Eridu was getting a bit too civilized for his liking.
Jane, reading his tone, hurried to explain. "I think… this was just an accident."
Before following Leena into the alley, she'd already known Sol was far more dangerous than the gangster she was tailing.
If she gave the wrong explanation, soone in New Eridu was going to have a very bad day.
Pointing to the ice sculpture, she said, "Her na's Leena—third-in-command of the Black Panther Syndicate. She discovered my undercover identity by chance. I was chasing her down when she panicked and fled into this area."
"So, you're saying," Anby said, frowning, "we ran into this because of you."
Though thanks to Sol, no harm had been done, a live Ether bomb was no small matter to her.
"Apologies," Jane said earnestly. "Leena's cunning. She kept weaving through the crowd, and I couldn't neutralize her fast enough."
Her remorse was genuine. Had Leena not stumbled into Sol and Anby today, she might have escaped—with hostages, and possibly leaving innocent civilians dead.
That would have been Jane's failure as a Public Security officer.
"I'm fine."
Anby studied the seductive woman before her—gray fur-lined coat, tight miniskirt, torn black stockings, and an air of dangerous confidence.
If she hadn't said she was Public Security, she would've looked more like a mob boss.
So, this is what a real undercover looks like. Like those heroes of the Obsidian Division, fighting darkness from within it.
If that was the case, there was nothing more to argue.
Anby turned toward Sol, waiting for his opinion.
"The Black Panther Syndicate you ntioned…" Sol raised an eyebrow, his tone faintly curious. "Do they have a lot of Dennies?"
"Huh?"
Jane blinked at him, completely dumbfounded.
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