The Malice Perception ability functioned similarly to the Anomaly Discoverer Milestone's Effect 1, but with a key difference:
Anomaly Discoverer passively sensed anomalies.
Malice Perception actively detected threats.
As for the Malice-Bearer's ability to manifest weapons matching the threat—that was likely another power entirely.
Thanks to Malice Perception, Luo Shu detected the incoming AGM-158 JASSM.
But the missile traveled at 0.8 Mach (272 m/s).
100 meters? 0.3 seconds.
Not enough time to warn the Transformer pickup.
Self-rescue was the only option.
Dawn had broken, the highway nearly empty. No bystanders to teleport-swap with.
0.3 seconds. One move.
He flipped to Page 111.
Thankfully, thought was near-lightspeed. If the Anomaly Archives were a physical book, he'd be dead.
Cognitive Distortion!
Luo Shu visualized—and reality warped.
A "trapdoor" opened in the highway, swallowing the pickup.
It slammed shut as the truck plummeted under the overpass.
BOOM.
The AGM-158 struck the bridge above, raining debris.
Being a silicon-based lifeform, the pickup survived the fall—barely. Its bulletproof glass and tank-grade armor saved it, but the frame bent.
Luo Shu fed it another dose of Silicon-Based Intelligence, triggering self-repair.
Meanwhile, the 166th Aviation pilots gaped.
Target vanished.
No wreckage—just a crater.
Satellite replay revealed the truth: The pickup had "dug a hole" under the bridge.
General Bowe's order was swift:
"Keep bombing! Ten missiles if needed! He can't hide in the Earth's core!"
The fighters circled back for another pass.
But the pickup was already fleeing, absorbing roadside silicon to heal, leaving corroded pavement trails—a dead giveaway for satellites.
Luo Shu took command: "Ditch the highway! Head to downtown Albuquerque!"
Cities meant cover.
The pickup dove into a high-rise's underground garage.
Now Bowe faced a dilemma:
Precision strikes? Impossible without blueprints.
Bunker busters? Too slow to calculate.
Airborne troops? Two-hour mobilization.
After consulting "God," Bowe opted for brute force:
"Evacuate the building. Bomb it flat in 15 minutes."
Either Luo Shu stayed buried—or stepped into another AGM-158 ambush.
Soon, National Guard Humvees surrounded the block.
A megaphone blared:
"Terrorist Luo Shu is inside! He'll blow the building in 10 minutes! Evacuate NOW!"
(More blame-shifting.)
Luo Shu, underground, cursed. "Hurry. You've got 10 minutes."
Residents fled—some in Ford F-150s, nearly shot on sight.
When the deadline hit, multiple JASSMs struck from all angles.
The high-rise collapsed in seconds.
No sign of Luo Shu or the pickup.
Bowe reported the "success"—but "God" wasn't fooled.
"Dig. I want his corpse."
"That'll take weeks," Bowe protested.
With America's workforce decimated, even that was optimistic.
"God" relented: "I'll handle excavation. You seal the site. Nothing leaves."