Quake vs. Lash

Lash’s immense strength and physique gave him Superman-like speed. His explosive power was astonishing, and he nearly left afterimages behind.

Skye’s expression did not change as she watched Lash charge at her.

Two shockwaves erupted from her raised hands. Their crests and troughs overlapped, causing their power to surge instantly.

The next moment, Lash was sent flying backward even faster, slamming heavily into the polymer wall and leaving behind a huge dent.

His whole body looked as though it had been embedded in the wall—a rather striking mural!

But immediately afterward, Lash forcibly struggled free from the wall while enduring Skye’s shockwaves, trudging forward step by step.

After transforming, his body density had increased by at least three or four times. It involved the conversion between energy and matter, and his weight had increased accordingly. His feet stomped against the ground like pile drivers, shattering one bluestone slab after another. It was a terrifying sight.

"Darling, can Skye handle this?"

Watching Lash approach their daughter step by step, Jia Ying grew worried and instinctively grabbed Carl’s hand.

Lash’s performance was simply unbelievable.

She had seen Skye manipulate shockwaves with her own eyes, causing avalanches and even landslides. Now that the power was concentrated within such a tiny area, crushing a person’s heart should have been as easy as crushing a sesame ball.

Yet Skye’s shockwaves could not hurt Lash at all. How was that possible?

"Our daughter is far stronger than the two of us combined. Don’t worry."

Carl’s voice trembled slightly as she gripped Jia Ying’s hand, sweat forming in her palm. "Besides, isn’t Little Wang here?"

Jia Ying hummed, feeling much more reassured.

That was right. Little Wang was the most reliable—far more reliable than Carl.

With him here, there was nothing for mother and daughter to fear.

Gordon’s expression darkened.

He had sensed powerful energy fluctuations and teleported over out of concern for Jia Ying’s safety, only to be force-fed a mouthful of romance.

Forget it. This place was no place for a person. The recovery room was quieter, with only Lincoln lying motionless in bed.

Two pitiful people ought to lean on each other and keep warm together.

That was where he belonged.

The elders all widened their eyes, watching the savage and ferocious Lash on the screen with inward alarm.

The change in Lash’s appearance was nothing, and his enlarged physique was nothing either. There had even been people in history who transformed into giants three or four meters tall.

But none of them had looked as terrifying as he did. His explosive strength was incredible. With one stomp, even the extremely hard bluestone slabs could not withstand it. If that stomp landed on a person, they would probably turn into meat paste in the blink of an eye.

"There are powerful energy fluctuations coming from him. His energy level is very high."

A young Inhuman tapped away at the instrument keyboard, and rows of numbers appeared on the screen.

At the same time, Lash raised his right hand with some difficulty. A stream of white energy shot out, resisting the shockwaves.

Jia Ying raised an eyebrow. "He can manipulate energy too?"

His body was immensely powerful, and both his offense and defense were astonishing. He was practically invincible in close combat, yet now he could manipulate energy and attack from afar as well. That was absurdly overpowered. How was anyone supposed to fight him?

Her gaze swept over Old Wang. Seeing his calm expression, Jia Ying felt immensely grateful.

Thank goodness Little Wang was here.

Without him, there would be no Lash. Afterlife would never have gained such a powerful newcomer. Even on the moon, there probably were not many Inhuman powerhouses of this level.

Afterlife’s foundation was growing ever deeper, and Jia Ying felt tremendous pressure.

As the leader of Afterlife, she had never ruled through force. She relied on wisdom, knowledge, and experience.

But that was ultimately her weakness.

Although she had drunk plenty of Azeroth Essence wine, and the True Qi within her grew by the day at a rate comparable to Old Wang’s, it would still take at least several years for her to reach Lash’s level.

After being leader for so many years, she was tired. Weary.

It was time to step down and yield her position to someone worthy.

Skye could stand against Lash head-on. She had inherited Jia Ying’s beauty and Carl’s wisdom, making her the most suitable candidate.

With Little Wang as her backing, with the support of Hellfire, Yo-Yo, Flower Skirt, and Lash—not to mention Gordon, Lincoln, the Council of Elders, and the other Inhumans—there should not be much of a problem.

I devoted my entire life to Afterlife. Now, I should enjoy a life that belongs to me.

There were still too few Inhumans in this world. They should make more…

Skye, now is the time to prove yourself and establish your authority. You must defeat Lash. It would be best if Little Wang doesn’t have to help…

Wait!

A flash of insight struck Jia Ying.

Could this be what Little Wang intended all along?

Old Wang smiled faintly.

Of course it was.

Skye was the destined leader of Afterlife, a true Inhuman king. She possessed leadership ability, and her potential was no less than Black Bolt’s. In a certain parallel universe, she had even served as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It was time for her to take the throne!

"Stop playing around. End it," Old Wang suddenly said.

Carl and Jia Ying, who had still been worried, froze slightly.

What did he mean?

Skye had not gone all out yet?

"Fine."

Skye, who had been constantly adjusting her frequency in an attempt to defeat Lash through technique, gave up helplessly.

Lash’s body density was astonishing. Every cell contained powerful energy, and he could even absorb external energy before manipulating it. That ability was terrifying. It even faintly countered her Inhuman ability…

No!

More accurately, Lash countered almost all Inhumans—perhaps even everyone.

He had a powerful body, could absorb energy for his own use, and only grew braver the longer he fought. He was best suited for prolonged battles.

The longer the fight lasted, the more energy he absorbed, and the stronger and harder to deal with he became.

Wang was right. The best way to defeat Lash was to unleash all her strength at once and end the fight quickly.

Every ability had a limit. Lash could only absorb part of the energy. As long as the energy she released exceeded his limit, she could defeat him naturally.

Then let’s end this!

Skye erupted with power. Every cell in her body vibrated, turning her into a human-shaped vibration machine.

All the vibrations quickly synchronized into a single frequency, becoming the most terrifying shockwave and striking Lash.

Boom!

Lash was sent flying backward again, crashing into the wall.

Then he smashed through the wall and vanished from sight.

"H-How is that possible?"

The elders stood dumbfounded. One of them could not help muttering, "Seventeen walls were destroyed…"

Among all the elders, her psychic power was the strongest. She sensed Lash’s presence a full kilometer away. He had collapsed on the ground, completely unconscious, restored to his original appearance. His clothes had all burst apart, exposing his toned body.

He had smashed through five houses and seventeen walls in succession, more than half of them made of massive granite or limestone blocks. Yet he had not suffered even the slightest injury or shed any blood. He had merely passed out. His durability was utterly outrageous.

And Skye was clearly even more terrifying. She had blasted a behemoth weighing at least 250 kilograms through seventeen walls and sent him flying a kilometer away.

And it seemed she had not even used her full strength?

Sure enough, Skye, who had absorbed an entire Obelisk, was more powerful!

"Don’t underestimate Lash. He can become even stronger."

Old Wang suddenly said, "He has three Inhuman abilities: energy conversion, energy absorption, and energy manipulation. He can use many things as raw materials and directly convert them into energy. He hasn’t used that ability yet. He is also not skilled at manipulating energy and still needs training."

Skye, who had been feeling a little pleased with herself, immediately sobered up.

Wang had said that she must never let her guard down and never underestimate anyone, not even a seemingly kawaii little girl.

Because she would never know whether that girl was Galactus’s daughter or Loki in disguise.

"His negative emotions have been released, so he will remain rational for some time."

Old Wang stretched out a hand, scooped Lash back from a thousand miles away, and tossed him onto the ground. "His genetic defect is unusual. Every month, he must remain transformed for several days. It seems related to his mental state. When his negative emotions accumulate to a certain degree and his mental state becomes unstable, he transforms."

Jia Ying and the elders looked at one another. "What should we do, then?"

Other than Skye, no one in Afterlife could deal with Lash.

Otherwise, whenever he was about to transform, should they have Gordon throw him into some remote wilderness and bring him back only after he had vented everything?

"His genes are strange. Every transformation alters part of his genetic information, and the time he remains transformed will grow longer and longer until he eventually can no longer return to human form."

Old Wang said calmly, "Simmons should be able to develop an inhibitory serum, but it will take time. If he does not want to become a monster forever, if he wants to continue enjoying the pleasures unique to humans, then he needs to control his emotions as much as possible. I will take him away and send him somewhere peaceful and quiet. Someone there will teach him how to control his emotions."

The elders were stunned.

Such a place existed?

After undergoing Terrigenesis, every Inhuman became more or less irritable and prone to losing control.

If everyone could learn to control their emotions, the entire world would have far fewer troubles.

Jia Ying suddenly thought of something and asked, "Little Wang, are you going to K’un-Lun?"

Old Wang nodded. "You have already agreed for Afterlife to become one of Shengun Bureau’s bases, so it is time for me to leave. K’un-Lun is the second stop. Shengun Bureau needs K’un-Lun’s strength."

The elders had been won over by Old Wang’s sweet promises, so they naturally sided with him.

K’un-Lun’s potential and foundation might not be inferior to those of the Inhumans. Both were connected to aliens, so it had to be brought into the fold.

Besides…

It was time to see whether that old fellow, the Jade Emperor, had emerged from seclusion yet.

Ever since that battle, Old Wang had not encountered another opponent evenly matched with him. His hands were starting to itch.

After dinner and discussions with Skye, Jia Ying, and the elders about Afterlife’s organizational structure, as well as its rights and obligations, Old Wang left with Lash.

An orange portal appeared.

One step through it led to the Kunlun Gate.