Chapter 166

Chapter 166 Five Feet Further
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From the second–floor tower, Theresa gazed out over her territory, her eyes scanning the snowy horizon. The black greenhouses stood solid and peaceful in the storm’s white veil. At last, a rare smile of satisfaction softened her face. Read full story at ~net
Her camp had weathered the cold snap like a fortress.
After descending the narrow stairs, she pushed open the door and called out.
“Kyle, Goofy! Come here for your reward!”
Elias paused in the middle of his task. “Theresa, my name’s Elias. You can call me Eli, if that’s easier.”
“Eli sounds awful,” she shot back. “Goofy’s better. Goofy, come on over.”
Elias let out a sigh.
Goofy? Really?
He didn’t even think he was that silly.
“You’re my people,” Theresa declared, hands on hips. “And it’s the end of the year. That means double bonuses. Two down jackets each, two sets of thermal wear, and one hundred points to spend on whatever you want. Find Tessa if you want to buy anything.”
At that, Elias forgot about the nickname. “Deal! Thanks, Theresa!”
“Thank you, Theresa,” Kyle echoed beside him.
Theresa beamed. These two were good stock. Not tools. Not laborers. They were like her brothers. She riled them up with a few more words of encouragement, then added, “Go cook. It’s a snowy day—we’re having pot stew. Get a fresh fish and some pork ribs while you’re at it!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“You got it!”
With the boys off to work, Theresa turned to more important matters–her sixteen dogs. One by one, she dressed each in thick, festive outfits, then opened the door.
It was time to walk the dogs.
Well, they were going for a walk. She had something else in mind–teleportation practice.
Out in the forest, the dogs bounded through the snow, eager to chase her. But each time they got close, whoosh–she vanished, reappearing six to ten feet away.
They didn’t know what to make of it.
How could they chase someone who disappeared every time they caught up?
For Theresa, teleporting while dodging stampeding dogs turned out to be an unexpectedly fun training
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Chapter 166 Five Feet Further
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exercise. Over and over, she shifted through space, imprinting the motion in her muscle memory. And slowly, she started to understand the core of the ability.
It burned mind power. Not stamina, not physical strength–pure psychic energy.
Each time she blinked through space, she felt the drain. The same level of exhaustion she’d only felt before after running her omni–domain psychic radar for ten minutes straight.
So, teleportation had a cost. And not a small one.
She thought of Elias again–how, in the past life, he’d used this ability to rescue over a hundred people from a burning camp. That had to be willpower alone.
Still, his range had been short. Just a few feet each time.
She, on the other hand, had already pushed past ten feet.
Theresa continued practicing until she hit a wall. Fourteen feet. That was her current limit. Every time she tried to go farther, something invisible pulled her back–a tight, unmovable force pressing down on her from above.
A mental ceiling.
But if there was one thing Theresa hated, it was being held down.
Rebellion was in her bones. She didn’t care if the whole world said “stop“-she would push forward
anyway.
She locked her eyes on a pine tree seventeen feet ahead and focused. She compressed every ounce of her mind power to a single point. Her head throbbed, pressure building like a bomb about to burst.
Don’t relax. Don’t give up. That tree is the target.
A flash of light. A single, sharp sound, like a breath being sucked from the world.
The dogs all stopped. Their noses twitched.
Theresa was no longer where she’d been.
Instead, she stood beneath the pine tree, five feet farther than she’d ever gone before.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
The dogs barked like they’d seen a ghost.
Theresa clutched her skull, the pain ringing through her head like a bell. That one push had left her brain hollowed out. It felt worse than the time she’d used mind power to kill a group of zombies.
“My mind power’s still too weak,” she muttered, rubbing her temples.
If she wanted more range–more strength–she needed to grow. Fast.
There were only two ways to strengthen mind power: constant use of abilities, and consuming Evoloid made from gleamstones of zombies with mental manipulation abilities.
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Chapter 166 Five Feet Further
2007
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“I’ll ask Kl Camp if they’ve got any gleamstones from zombies with mental manipulation abilities. I’ll buy them. ”
Theresa turned back, the dogs trotting loyally behind her. “Only sixteen feet… still too weak,” she muttered.
What she didn’t realize was that if Elias, Lucas, or even Bennic had seen her, their jaws would’ve hit the frozen ground.
Sixteen feet in one teleport? And it had only been six months since the apocalypse began?
That was Elias‘ peak performance froin his entire last life.
Theresa had already reached it.
By all standards, her teleportation ability had reached Level 5.
Most people outside still hadn’t passed Level 1 or 2.
And that wasn’t even the full list of her powers. She had water–based, plant–based, mental manipulation, speed–type, and strength–type abilities–the last two amplified multiple times over.
She was a walking apocalypse. No one else even came close.
When she returned with her canine army, Kyle and Elias had already finished cooking. The warmth of stew and sizzling pork filled the air, welcoming her home like a banner of smoke and spice.
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