Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Wait, That’s It?
Dominic Trent was completely numb as he stumbled forward.
He stared back at Sue Lawrence, dumbfounded, his eyes screaming an accusation: ’If I die, I’ll come back and haunt you!!!’
The gunman also cursed, "He’s a man! What do you think you’re doing?!"
Sue Lawrence shrugged. "The woman in your arms is about to be scared to death. If she dies, who are you going to use as a hostage? It’s better to pick a man. At least he won’t be frightened to death right away, so you can hold him hostage a little longer."
Dominic Trent: .........
’What you said actually makes a lot of sense.’
The gunman froze for a moment, too. He’d been so focused on negotiating that he hadn’t noticed the condition of the woman in his arms.
He instinctively looked down and saw that the woman’s eyes were indeed rolling back into her head.
It was from the fear, and also the heat. It was already hot, and with all the commotion, everyone was starting to feel short of breath, some even struggling to breathe.
Fear, lack of oxygen, and the heat—how could the woman possibly take it? She really could keel over at any second.
The man clearly found this unlucky. He thought for a moment, then looked at Dominic Trent, who was right there. Not a soldier, just an ordinary person. They all lived together; he recognized the face.
After barely three seconds of thought, the man made his decision. He tossed aside the woman who was about to faint, dragged Dominic Trent over, locked him in a chokehold, and pressed the gun to his temple.
Dominic Trent: ......
He was completely numb. He stared daggers at Sue Lawrence, only to see her mouth a message to him: ’Use your Superpower!’
"........."
’Damn it!!’
’Are you serious? I didn’t want to come, but she made me. I don’t want to use my Superpower, but she’s forcing me to, isn’t she?’
’So that time in the warehouse, when my Space Ability was revealed—that was this woman’s doing too, wasn’t it?’
Dominic Trent nearly jumped out of his skin, but he couldn’t. There was a gun pressed to his head!
’Sue Lawrence!!’
Dominic Trent wanted to cry but had no tears left. ’You are one detestable woman!!’
But there was nothing he could do now. If he didn’t activate his Superpower, he might actually die. He noticed that neither Silas Hawthorne nor Theodore Frost was moving!
’Wait, why aren’t they moving? Am I not worth saving or what??’
Dominic Trent was fuming, but then he remembered what Sue Lawrence had said—that Silas Hawthorne and the others knew about everyone’s Superpowers in the base.
"......"
’So they’re waiting for me to do my thing?’
’Damn, damn, damn! Why does it have to be this way!!!’
Dominic Trent’s mind was a chaotic storm of thoughts.
But then...
Silas Hawthorne and Theodore Frost were actually both quite confused.
Neither of them knew why Sue Lawrence had pushed Dominic Trent out there. At least, Theodore Frost didn’t. But Silas Hawthorne took one look at the top of Dominic’s head and understood everything.
’A Debater?’
Silas Hawthorne glanced at Dominic Trent, who was still staring daggers at a certain someone. After a moment of thought, Silas decided to play along with Sue Lawrence. In a voice that wasn’t loud but was clear enough for everyone to hear, he said, "Good choice of person."
"I try, I try!"
The two of them were perfectly in sync.
Dominic Trent: ......
’I could cry. Looks like Sue Lawrence was right. It seems I really can only rely on myself now.’
"Ahem, hey, man!"
He instinctively activated his Superpower.
S Level, Debater!
"Shut up!"
"Hey, just hear me out. Look, the base’s general director, Silas Hawthorne, is right here. Why do you think he isn’t running? He’s human, too. He could drown just like anyone else."
The man faltered, quickly falling into Dominic’s line of reasoning.
’That’s right, why isn’t Silas Hawthorne running?’
A smile appeared on Dominic Trent’s face as he continued, activating Skill 3: I shape public opinion, and public opinion is truth.
"So, everyone, don’t you all agree? Right?"
The restless crowd gradually quieted down.
The Debater’s crowd-affecting Superpower, creating public opinion like a virus, spread rapidly through the people. Everyone seemed to believe his words, and the commotion stopped almost instantly.
’That fast?’
Theodore Frost was dumbfounded.
He was absolutely certain this man had some kind of Superpower, probably from the Spiritual System, and it couldn’t be a low level one. Otherwise, it would be impossible to gain control so quickly over such a large area!
’The commotion was pacified... just like that?’
But it seemed there were still a few clear-headed people in the crowd.
"Someone with a position that high must have a way to save himself!"
"Yeah, maybe he has lifeboats or something!"
"A submarine! It must be a submarine! When the time comes, there won’t be room for us, and they’ll just escape on their own!"
Dominic Trent laughed, continuing to use his Superpower. "That’s hilarious. A submarine in here? How would it even get out? If it hits a mountain, the submarine will be wrecked, too. I’m dying. Do you people have any common sense??"
’Would a submarine really get wrecked from hitting a mountain?’
No one was really sure about that, but with Dominic Trent’s Superpower at work, they felt like he had to be right. The logic seemed sound. ’If a person slammed into it, they’d be turned into a meat patty!’
"That actually makes a lot of sense!"
"Yeah, yeah, I think it makes sense too!"
As everyone chattered amongst themselves, Theodore Frost looked at them as if they were a bunch of idiots.
It couldn’t be helped. Those on the same level were basically unaffected by Dominic Trent unless his logic was rock-solid and they were familiar with him. But right now, his logic was flimsy and they weren’t familiar, so among fellow S Level Superpower Users, Dominic’s credibility was extremely low.
But it was more than enough to bamboozle these troublemakers.
"So, what are you all doing? If that door opens and the floodwaters rush in, wouldn’t it be game over for everyone?"
Dominic continued his spiel, and sure enough, everyone nodded in unison.
"Yeah, it’s safest to stay here!"
"Let’s go, let’s go. Mr. Lewis, it’s okay now, you can put the gun down!"
The gunman’s surname was Lewis. Only now did people who knew him start trying to talk him down.
"But I think I shot someone when I fired just now..."
Mr. Lewis was still hesitant.
Dominic Trent sighed and continued to bamboozle—ah, no, *debate*. "Hey, they’re not dead yet, right? So what’s going to happen to you? Besides, what’s the difference between being here and being in jail? You’re locked up either way."
’Oh, right!’
Mr. Lewis’s eyes suddenly lit up. ’That does seem to make sense!’
’I was just trying to survive, wasn’t I! Right!’
"I was forced into it! Saving my own skin is more important!"
Mr. Lewis was already starting to justify his actions. From within his grasp, Dominic Trent nodded earnestly. "Exactly, exactly! That’s the spirit!"
The people around them who had started the commotion also began whispering among themselves, expressing their agreement.
"In that case, we might as well just stay here!"
"We must have faith in our country, faith in the organization!"
"Alright, alright, everything’s fine now. Mr. Lewis, give the gun back!"
Dominic Trent: ......
’Heh. A minute ago when you were all swarming the door, I didn’t see you having much faith in the organization!’
And so, the people crowded at the door all turned and walked back, as if nothing had ever happened.
Theodore Frost, who had witnessed the entire thing: .........
’Wait, it’s over already? I, an S Level weapon, was deployed for... this?’
