"Charge! Officer Huba!"
"I'm the strongest—Buzz Lightyear!"
Wanda and Chen Ying held the plush dolls they had just bought, happily repeating lines from the movie they'd just watched.
Pietro, on the other hand, stared blankly up at the sky, his entire expression one of lifeless despair.
When Li Qingyuan told Ward that he was busy, that hadn't been an excuse—he really was busy!
Damn these American teachers—so much more troublesome than the ones back home. Who assigns homework like this? Making the kids go to the theater over the weekend to watch a movie!
He seriously suspected the theaters must be suffering at the box office and had colluded with the schools to drive up ticket sales.
Still, when he saw Wanda's big, bright, watery eyes looking up at him, all his gloomy thoughts vanished. With a decisive wave of his hand, he took the three kids out to watch a movie.
Pietro had strongly insisted on watching Star Wars, but both Wanda and Chen Ying clearly wanted Toy Story. And, as everyone knows, Pietro's objections didn't matter in the slightest. So the four of them sat together for two hours watching an animated movie.
As for why Chen Ying had come along—
Chen Ying came from a single-parent family. Her father had reportedly passed away long ago, and her mother worked three jobs to make ends meet, leaving no time to take her daughter anywhere. Feeling sorry for her, Wanda had run back home to ask Li Qingyuan if they could bring Chen Ying along.
Of course, Li Qingyuan couldn't say no to something like that!
No—what he meant was, as a good person, he naturally had to help a poor girl from a single-parent household.
After a bit of playful roughhousing, Wanda and Chen Ying quieted down. After all, a little noise was normal for kids—but too much and they'd cross into "brat" territory.
Though Wanda was starting to show some signs of being a handful, Chen Ying was still far from meeting that standard.
No helping it—different backgrounds, different nutrition. Chen Ying's diet clearly wasn't as good as Wanda's, so when it came to energy and mischief, she couldn't quite keep up.
"It's already nine-thirty. Time to head back," Li Qingyuan said, glancing at his watch as the two girls continued playing.
Wanda needed to sleep early to make sure she had enough rest for proper growth, and Chen Ying needed to be taken home before it got too late.
"But the traffic's jammed!" Pietro pointed out the window. The streets outside were packed tight with cars, horns blaring and drivers shouting in frustration.
"Alright, we'll take the subway," Li Qingyuan decided, giving up on hailing a cab and leading the three children down into the station.
On weekends, most people preferred driving out for fun, so surprisingly, the usually-crowded subway was a lot quieter than usual.
After all, the city's floating population was relatively stable—when more people got stuck in traffic, there were naturally fewer in the subway.
But the moment he stepped into the station, Li Qingyuan felt that something was off.
Why did the air feel… strange?
Ever since the "Underworld Legend" world, aside from obtaining Michael's blood, he had also drawn a random reward from the system.
"Mind Root: The Six Senses of Life—Clarity of the Mind Root."
The skill description was brief—so brief that it was impossible to guess its full effect.
Still, though the system's descriptions were often frustratingly vague, its skills had always proven useful.
The "Mind Root" came from Buddhist teachings, one of the Six Roots. It was said that if one could achieve the purity of all six roots, and under the blessings of great wisdom and fortune, one could attain enlightenment of the Tathāgatagarbha—the Buddha-nature.
That might sound unfamiliar, but if you mentioned Ālaya-vijñāna, the Storehouse Consciousness—the so-called "Eighth Sense"—most people would have heard of it.
Those who achieved that level were said to be true gods or Buddhas. In Marvel terms, that would probably be around the level of the Ancient One or Odin.
Of course, such enlightenment was far too distant a goal. Even if he managed to awaken all six roots, he'd need five more lucky draws to complete the set. It was too much of a long shot to even think about.
For now, the biggest advantage the Mind Root gave him was the ability to sense danger ahead of time.
Compared to the "sixth sense" that top assassins developed after years of honing their instincts, his Mind Root might seem weaker for now—but its growth potential far outstripped any ordinary intuition.
"Come here," Li Qingyuan said quickly, his senses prickling with unease. He pulled Wanda and Chen Ying close, one in each arm.
"What's wrong?" the two girls asked, looking up at him with smiles, not yet sensing the danger approaching.
"We need to leave. Now." His tone was calm but firm. If danger was near, leaving was always the smartest choice.
After all, he wasn't a superhero out here to uphold justice.
And with two little girls in tow, even if there was trouble, he wouldn't be able to fight properly.
"Da-da-da-da—"
Before he could take a step, a burst of gunfire erupted from behind them.
"Ahhhh—!"
The station was instantly filled with screams.
Though New York had a reputation as a "city of crime," Manhattan was still considered one of the safer areas.
Especially Broadway. Who in their right mind would start shooting here?
"Da-da-da-da—"
The gunfire from behind seemed to be just a signal. In an instant, gunshots echoed from both sides as well—it was clearly a coordinated and premeditated attack.
From the rhythm of the shots and the screams around them, it seemed the assailants were only firing warning shots. But that was bad enough.
Given the dense crowd inside the subway, if even one of those maniacs fired into the people, the casualties would number in the hundreds.
"Stay down and don't move!"
Li Qingyuan crouched down, pulling the two girls tightly into his arms.
"Mm-hmm!"
Wanda and Chen Ying both nodded quickly, trembling as they hid in his embrace without daring to move an inch.
The chaos subsided soon after. Aside from those lucky enough to escape through the exits, at least two to three hundred people were still trapped inside.
So far, no one appeared to be injured. The attackers seemed intent on taking hostages—they ordered everyone to crouch in place and didn't act overly violent.
Of course, it also helped that New Yorkers had excellent nerves. After the initial panic and screaming, everyone realized escape was impossible. One by one, they knelt down, hands over their heads, obeying instructions with practiced calm—so much so that it almost felt like a movie scene.
Only then did Li Qingyuan finally have a chance to observe the attackers.
Around twenty to thirty figures in tight combat suits and masks were herding the hostages together.
Half of them held submachine guns—and the other half… were carrying katanas.
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(End of Chapter)