Morning sunlight streamed through the expansive glass windows, illuminating the apartment in an orange hue.

Seated on the sofa, Lucien stared at the small wooden table before him, the same one they had used their abilities on yesterday.

Sweat gathered on his brow as he stared at it with intense focus.

At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.

The table remained perfectly still. No shaking. No creaking. And no visible signs of movement.

Not even a single twitch.

Yet, if one paid attention, one would find out that beneath Lucien’s precise control, the table hovered half an inch above the floor.

Three seconds.

That was the time he managed to hold it for before carefully lowering it back down.

He let out a slow breath before wiping the sweat from his forehead.

His telekinetic control had improved considerably.

Back then, he had only managed to destroy Evelyn’s frost because it was fragile and light, as her progress was more towards the control and precision side.

But this?

This was different. Lifting an entire object while keeping it perfectly stable required a level of precision he hadn’t possessed before.

Power was one thing.

And control was another.

The fact that the table had remained completely steady throughout the process was enough proof that his mastery over telekinesis could now become useful in dire situations.

Lucien opened his eyes and glanced at the clock.

"It’s time."

Rising from the sofa, he walked out of his apartment, reached the one across from his, and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, Andrew opened it.

"Lucien? Did you need something?"

Without answering immediately, Lucien slipped a hand behind his back and retrieved a golden apple from his inventory.

He held it out.

Andrew blinked. "What’s that?"

"An Awakening Crystal," Lucien replied. "It can awaken supernatural abilities. Either use it yourself or on someone in your group you can trust."

For a moment, Andrew stared at the crystal.

Then realization struck.

His eyes widened as shock, disbelief, and confusion flashed across his face all at once.

His lips parted as if to say something, but no words came. He didn’t know what to say.

In the end, all he managed was a quiet, heartfelt, "Thank you."

"Use it quickly."

Andrew nodded repeatedly while accepting the crystal with hands that kept trembling just by holding the spiritual fruit.

As he closed the door, Andrew briefly considered talking to him about Kael.

The strange behavior, and the unusual urge to join someone when they had Lucien who kept providing them food, seemed suspicious.

However, it was nothing more than his speculation, bringing it up now might create unnecessary tension.

Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought.

Meanwhile, Lucien had already returned after handing the mid-tier spiritual fruit to him.

And no, he hadn’t handed it over out of generosity alone.

The awakened ferret was enough proof that the group wouldn’t become something that he needed to take care of all the time.

The crystal was likely to go to waste if he had just kept it with him as eating the spiritual fruit twice would not give any benefits, a knowledge he had received the moment he got the fruit from the gacha.

Not to mention the ferret seemed attached to Andrew and his daughter, hence he decided to hand it over.

Every additional awakened individual on their side increased their chances of surviving the hurdles they would need to face in this apocalyptic world.

As soon as Lucien returned to his apartment, he turned toward Evelyn’s door.

Before he could even give a gentle knock, it swung open.

Evelyn looked at him, however, she didn’t seem interested in exchanging greetings, and without hesitation, she raised her phone and showed him the screen.

The moment Lucien’s eyes landed on it, he understood.

---

[Aiden]: Lucien and Evelyn, you both are strong awakeners, so why aren’t you joining us in the fight against the so-called king?

If you don’t want to, I will have no choice but to see you as a threat and neutralize you both before we proceed any further.

You have five minutes to decide.

---

The community chat was flooded with messages. Some supported him, others mocked him, while a video recording of the previous confrontation spread rapidly through the group, probably taken by someone discreetly.

Straightforwardly, Aiden was asking them to submit.

And at the same time, he also announced his intention to challenge the self-proclaimed king of the residential complex, using Lucien’s cooperation as proof of his authority.

Five minutes.

That was all the time Aiden had given him.

But Lucien simply ignored the message and instead, opened his contacts and began calling Andrew and the group over to his own apartment.

Although being present in two different apartments could provide greater tactical flexibility, Lucien had no choice but to abandon the idea entirely because they lacked information.

More importantly, their strongest combatant was still the awakened ferret.

Even with its unusual space-related abilities, its combat strength was only D- rank. Against ordinary awakened individuals it might be able to dominate, but if several stronger combatants like Aiden and Clara struck at once, there was a real possibility it might lose and be killed.

A few moments later, he walked near a wall and brushed his fingers against it.

A faint glow spread across the apartment’s walls, weaving through the structure before connecting in multiple honeycomb-like shapes.

For a brief moment, a translucent golden barrier became visible before fading away.

Only after making sure that the formation was still active did Lucien check his inventory to make sure he was ready.

And only then did he relax slightly.

Before long, Andrew, Mark, Emily, and all the rest of the group arrived.

Among them was the new couple as well.

Lucien had only seen them briefly when they moved onto the twenty-second floor, so he didn’t pay them much attention.

Both of them were unawakened, making them far less important than the danger currently approaching.

Despite the number of people in the living room, no one spoke.

They all knew what was coming and they had decided to stick with Lucien till the end.

But what surprised Andrew was that Kael didn’t object this time when they were going face-to-face against Aiden, increasing his suspicion even more.

The atmosphere in the room gradually became tense. Finally, another notification sounded from everyone’s phone simultaneously.

A new message had appeared in the community chat, and it was from Aiden.

"Time’s over. I hope you don’t regret your decision."