“Kagome!” Mason called out, but received no reply.
Staring at the room where figures showed, he slowly made his way up the stairs.
Calling out was merely a tactic to keep whoever was inside from acting rashly by letting them know someone was coming.
As Mason moved up the stairs step by step, a dark gun barrel slid out through the crack in the door.
*Well, well.* That confirmed they definitely weren’t the good guys, which made things even simpler.
Mason had long since tested the limits of his Sharingan.
Facing a gun barrel alone—even without divine power reinforcement—he had a fifty percent chance of dodging vital strikes in focus mode.
The only reason he couldn’t dodge bullets entirely before was that his physical attributes couldn’t keep up with his reaction speed.
Now, with divine power boosting his body to a whole new level, the only firearm threat to him might be a long-range sniper rifle.
If he ever got the chance to analyze spider genes down the road, Spider-Sense would cover his perceptual blind spots.
At that point, guns really would be nothing more than toys.
Mason chuckled softly.
“Here’s Johnny!” As Mason barked the words, a flash of fire erupted from the gap in the door, accompanied by a muffled pop as a suppressed pistol fired.
Mason jerked his head aside, hearing a thud against the wall behind him.
Two more bullets followed in rapid succession.
Prepared for this, Mason ducked low, letting both rounds whistle overhead.
Seizing the opening, he drove off his right leg, turning into a blur of shadows.
Bear Squat—Iron Mountain Lean.
As Mason slammed into the door, the narrowly cracked wood blasted open, revealing the entire interior of the room in an instant.
It was a small room.
To the right of the entrance was an open bathroom with no one inside.
Further in sat a bed, and facing the bed were a vanity and a television.
Kagome and her aunt were bound at the wrists, forced into the far corner past the bed.
Aside from the shooter who had been sent flying by the door and now lay unconscious—or dead—at the foot of the bed, there were four other men in the room.
To better intercept Mason, they had spread out in the open area near the doorway—one left, one center, one right, and one behind.
The center gap was clearly where the shooter had stood before being catapulted away.
Including Mason, there were five people crammed into a space of barely a hundred and fifty square feet.
One against four.
Time to get to work, boys.
The men inside clearly hadn’t expected the shooter at the door to fail, nor had they anticipated him being smashed back into the room.
Caught completely off guard, none of them had guns drawn yet, and it was far too late to pull them now.
Mason lunged to the right, closing the distance with the target on his right using the Bajiquan frontal technique: Three-Fold Gate Breaker.
Stepping inward, he thrust his right fist straight at the man’s chest.
This was Bajiquan’s close-quarters aggressive assault style—no dodging, no weaving, only speed and brutality to shatter the opponent’s defense down the center line.
A dull thud echoed as the man’s chest caved inward from the blow.
Shifting his stance, Mason hooked his right arm around the man, locking him in a tight grapple.
Dropping his hips, he whipped his core around, flinging the man into the attacker farthest to the left, taking out a second enemy.
Having eliminated the two on the flanks in an instant, Mason had no time to pause.
The remaining two men in the center-back had already reacted: one lunged forward aggressively to tackle and restrain him, while the last reached into his jacket to pull a gun for suppressive fire.
Bajiquan had an exact counter for a violent tackle.
Mason lowered his center of gravity into the Crouching Tiger Stance, standing firm as a mountain.
With a sweep of his left arm, he caught the attacker’s momentum and redirected him sideways, using his divine strength to fling the man aside.
Mason surged forward, his right palm striking upward with blazing speed.
He slammed his palm against the wrist of the last man drawing a gun.
A deafening gunshot echoed as the weapon fired harmlessly into the ceiling.
Taking full advantage of the man’s wide-open chest, Mason stepped hard with his right foot, exhaling sharply as he sank his hips.
He launched a devastating Iron Mountain Lean, plowing into the gunman and launching him into the air to crash by the bed footboard.
Heavy as the blow was, the knockback distance was controlled—sinking the hips focused the energy, while the exhale delivered explosive short-range inch-force.
Professional Martial Saint precision—enjoy your stay in the ICU, buddy.
Mason pivoted and stepped back toward the attacker he had thrown aside earlier.
Inhaling and hollow-chesting as he raised his right hand, he executed Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain.
Curling his fingers like an imperial seal, he brought his hand down with crushing force.
A single blow slammed the rising man headfirst back onto the floor with a heavy thud.
The guy went limp—another VIP candidate for the ICU.
Looking around, Mason noticed the man he had bowled over earlier was still twitching.
He stepped up and drove a heart-piercing kick straight into his chest.
The strike knocked the breath out of him, sending him sliding backward until he hit the wall hard and went completely silent.
Add one more to the ICU list.
Mason scanned his surroundings.
Seeing no further movement, he exhaled softly and relaxed his stance.
Job done.
In a span of barely fifteen seconds, Mason had executed multiple offense-defense transitions.
Fortunately, Bajiquan was second nature to him, and paired with his divine power and the spatial control granted by his enhanced vision, he handled the situation without a trace of panic, perfectly composed and effortlessly in control.
Meanwhile, Kagome, seeing Mason in such a ferocious fight for the first time, was left breathless and utterly captivated despite the lingering danger.
With no time to chat with his little fangirl just yet, Mason first disarmed all the downed hostiles, tied them up securely whether they were dead or alive, and then stepped forward to untie Kagome and her aunt.
“Are you alright?” Before he got an answer, the girl broke protocol and threw herself into his arms, crashing into his chest.
In front of her aunt, however, Mason found himself in an awkward spot—neither holding her nor pushing her away.
He could only raise his hands awkwardly and flash a polite smile at the young woman before him.
“Hello, Auntie.
My name is Mason Cole.
I’m Kagome’s classmate.
She’s mentioned you to me before.” It was the politeness ingrained in his Chinese heritage—he would have felt unsettled for hours if he didn’t greet an elder properly upon meeting them.
“Hello, Mason.
I’ve heard Kagome mention your name quite often over the past couple of months as well.
Nice to meet you—I’m Tina Dyson, an FBI agent.” Tina extended her hand as she spoke.
“Oh, right.” Mason quickly lowered his hands, extending his right hand to briefly shake Tina’s fingers, while nonchalantly placing his left arm around Kagome’s waist.
Tina glanced at his hand but said nothing.
Mason, thick-skinned as ever, kept quiet, and Kagome, still shaken from the ordeal, stayed silent as well.
Mason ushered Kagome aside to make room for Tina to step out.
Tina checked the injuries of the attackers, then shot another glance at Mason.
The young man certainly didn’t hold back—of the five men, the only one who got off with minor injuries was the guy who had been flattened by the door.
“The FBI assigned me to investigate a case recently,” Tina said, frowning as she turned to Mason.
“These men are likely connected to it.
I didn’t expect the waters to run so deep—as soon as I uncovered a lead, word leaked out, bringing these guys after an FBI agent.
I really owe you a huge thanks.
If not for you today, Kagome and I would both be in serious danger.
Since we haven’t figured out their true intentions yet, I need to bring these men back for interrogation immediately.
Could I trouble you to look after Kagome tonight?
Just look after her—do you understand?” Kagome lowered her head, pretending not to understand the subtext.
Mason had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Tina turned, pulled out her phone, and made two calls.
She then motioned for Mason to take Kagome and leave, while she drew her pistol and remained behind.
Mason and Kagome didn’t go far after stepping outside.
They waited until several black sedans pulled up outside the building, several agents rushed inside, and after discussing the situation with Tina, came back out.
Only then did Mason guide Kagome home.
Two blocks wasn’t far, and after a short walk, they arrived at the Parker household.
It was only then that Kagome realized—she was about to meet his family!
She hurriedly straightened her clothes, re-tied her hair, and pulled out a pocket mirror to touch up her makeup before following Mason into the yard.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May had picked Peter up from school and were playing with him inside the house.
Aunt May’s sharp eyes caught Mason walking home with a girl from the window.
She called Uncle Ben over to watch, and Peter squeezed between their legs, standing on tiptoe to peek outside.
“Looks like I’ll need to prepare a lavish dinner,” Aunt May said with a knowing smile upon seeing the girl fixing her hair and makeup.
Uncle Ben remained noncommittal.
Though cultural differences between East and West led to different aesthetic tastes, neither he nor May could deny that Mason was handsome.
Naturally, attracting young ladies was inevitable.
Still, he hadn’t expected him to bring a girl home so soon.
Weren’t Chinese people supposed to be reserved?
How did he move so fast in a different country?
Mason felt like someone was watching him.
Looking up, he saw three heads peering through the window.
Fearing Kagome would feel embarrassed if she noticed, he quickly ushered her indoors.
The three upstairs hurried downstairs.
“Let me introduce you.
Kagome, this is my classmate.
Kagome, this is Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and this is my little brother, Peter.” Mason introduced everyone.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May nodded in synchronization with a shared, tacit understanding, and Peter followed suit, nodding along.
“Oh~ classmate.” “Oh, I haven’t started dinner yet.
Kagome, dear, I could use some help in the kitchen.” Aunt May immediately found her lane and took the lead.
“Sure thing, Aunt May!
We often make a specialty dish at our family farm, and I’d love to make it for everyone tonight.” Young Kagome caught on instantly, stepping into the lane and pulling out her family roots for a nitrous boost.
Left in their dust, Uncle Ben, Mason, and Peter looked at one another and shrugged.
“I recall I have a bottle of good wine put away,” Uncle Ben said.
“I’d better retrieve it—tonight calls for a proper bottle.” With that, Uncle Ben left to fetch the wine.
Mason patted little Peter’s head, telling him to go play, and then followed Uncle Ben to the study.
“Her aunt is in the FBI,” Mason explained.
“Something happened after school today, so her home isn’t safe right now.
Her family farm is way out in the suburbs, which would make commuting for school tomorrow impossible.
If it’s alright, I was wondering if she could stay in my room for the night.
I’ll take the couch.” “Of course, son.
I knew your Aunt May when I was your age—no need to feel shy,” Uncle Ben replied.
“Though I should mention, the soundproofing in this house isn’t great.
Just make sure you don’t disturb anyone, especially since the little guy needs a full night’s sleep.
If you catch my drift.” *What are you on about, old man?
I don’t understand a thing.* Uncle Ben had no objections to seventeen-year-old Mason dating; in fact, he welcomed it.
He believed that the responsibilities tied to family life would better guide Mason along the right path.
“So, care to tell me what actually happened?” Uncle Ben asked, concern showing in his eyes.
“And how’s your body?
Are you hurt anywhere?” Uncle Ben was genuinely concerned about Mason’s future, so he decided to pry a little deeper to get the full story.
“It seems there was a leak in the case her aunt was investigating,” Mason said.
“Some thugs tracked her down, and I happened to run into them while walking Kagome home, so I lent a small hand.” Mason turned around in front of Uncle Ben to demonstrate.
“It really was nothing major.
See?
My clothes aren’t even torn.”