It Really Was Tiberium

The tent was warm, with a Dyson heater blowing out a continuous stream of heat. The sounds of chewing filled the air, and various packaging bags were carelessly thrown on the ground, with Coke bottles lying scattered about.

The air is filled with a delightful fragrance, as if one were in a secluded forest, a land of a hundred flowers.

Although the expensive carpet was littered with household trash, and the tangled power cords, data cables, and headphone wires formed a Gordian knot, none of that mattered. Anyone who came here would be completely oblivious to the mess around them; all their attention would be drawn to the figure on the bed.

Her hair was casually tied into a bun and hung to one side. Her straight back, slender waist, and rounded buttocks formed a beautiful scene. The figure lying on the bed wore a loose t-shirt. Her pointed ears indicated that she was an elf. Two dazzlingly white thighs stretched out from under the hem of the t-shirt, and her calves swung in the air. Her slightly bent arches were small and exquisite.

Her shoulders were shaking.

The crackling and hammering sounds were incessant.

--Note that this is not a sound of impact.

In short, the elf lying on the bed stared intently at the laptop screen in front of him. Blood was flying everywhere, and in a first-person perspective, a thick arm was wielding a large chainsaw, cutting the strange, huge demons in half, half, and half again.

Then blast their mothers to smithereens with an incredibly awesome shotgun.

The light from the screen illuminated her face, revealing a stray strand of hair falling across her profile. Her high, straight nose and warm lips exuded stunning beauty; such a face could easily be described as breathtakingly beautiful.

A beautiful fairy, like a dream, should appear in a paradise of dreams, in a dazzling sea of flowers, in a quiet and secluded forest. She should be untouched by worldly affairs, should listen to the sounds of flowers and birds, should shed tears for the evils of the world, and should embrace and soothe all sorrows.

Meanwhile, amidst a pile of snack wrappers and trash, she played a game like a shut-in, transforming into a muscular hunk and beating the demons until they cried for their mothers, were scrambling for their lives, and their corpses piled up like mountains.

But that warm smile at the corner of his mouth is undoubtedly proof of good health.

Kang De stared at the peach-shaped buttocks barely covered by the T-shirt, wanting to raise his hand and slap them, but it was just a thought. He looked away, after all, the Parrot was using a vest, this was actually Dairila's body—seriously, who would have thought, this guy was also a natural birth type.

He kicked the leg of the luxurious bed. "Hey, stop playing around."

The Parrot ignored it.

Kang De shook his head and pulled the Switch out of a pile of nut packets while it was charging. By the charging progress, he could roughly estimate how long the other person had been playing the game.

"Damn," he said, "You stayed up all night again last night."

He turned on the screen and looked at the games. "Huh, aren't you playing Animal Crossing?"

The Parrot squinted and said, "Why should I play a realistic game where I have to take out loans to buy a house in order to enjoy more furniture and space, constantly sending money to capitalists under the drive of consumerism?"

"..."

After saying that, the Parrot stroked its chin and said, "But you know what, your capitalist system..."

Kang De snapped, "What do you mean, 'we're capitalists'? Watch your mouth!"

"Tsk." The elf rolled her eyes, then pondered, "You Earthlings' exploitative methods are pretty clever. I think they suit elves very well. Those idiots live too long, some for hundreds, even thousands of years. Their lives are too leisurely, and they lack perseverance. Whether they're soldiers, scholars, adventurers, or farmers, they get bored after a few decades and go to enjoy new things and try a different life. In the end, after seeing so many changes, they all become lifeless, lazy pigs who just want to eat and wait to die. That's not good."

She snapped her fingers and nodded, saying, "We need to get some overspending going, and hedonism needs an upgrade. The elves' fun is too low-level; we need something more exciting. Let these bastards be burdened with hundreds of years of mortgage payments and max out their credit cards every month. Let's see which bastard dares to change their lifestyle and pursue poetry and distant places..."

At this point, Malegith propped her head up with her right hand, a half-smile on her face, lay on the bed, beckoned to Kang De, and gave him a captivating glance.

"Young man," she chuckled, "Come and join me in building capitalism and exploiting elves."

Kang De proudly declared, "I apologize, but I joined the noblest and most magnificent cause of mankind when I was in elementary school—to be honest, I was chosen long ago as the successor to communism!"

The previous Phoenix King raised his middle finger. "That's your human endeavor and concept. What does it have to do with elves? Building human communism doesn't conflict with exploiting elves."

Kang De declared righteously, "Who says there is no conflict? We must extend this magnificent and great cause to every territory, to every world, and to bring hope to every living being who yearns for freedom and equality! Even if I am in a foreign land, I will uphold my beliefs, my morality, and my ideals!"

The Parrot nodded. "Oh, but you're killing, setting fires, and chasing women in this other world, using weapons of mass destruction, engaging in nuclear blackmail every day, and even trying to commit bigamy. What about your beliefs, morality, and ideals?"

Kang De retorted angrily, "W-what bigamy! How dare you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?"

Under Malegith's gaze, Kang De blushed. "How can something that wasn't registered be called bigamy? I know the law!"

The Parrot let out a snicker.

Kang De, feeling slightly guilty, quickly changed the subject, saying impatiently, "Alright, alright, did you hear what I told you before? What was that thing?"

Malegith was clearly engrossed in the game; the words went in one ear and out the other. "What?"

"That's the one we discovered, the one that can erode living organisms and cause mutations in living tissue..."

Kang De then described it further.

The Parrot exclaimed in surprise, "Tiberium!"

"... Damn!" Kang De was even more shocked. "Tiberium really exists?"

Malegith blinked. "I don't know. It sounds a lot like the setting of the game you play, Command & Conquer, right? There are several installments. I remember you kept shouting things like 'Stupid EA' and 'Give me back Westwood,' especially when you played the fourth one..."

"--I'm not asking you to associate it with games! I'm asking what that thing is. Did you encounter it when you were fighting with the previous Fire Thief?" Kang De waved his hands. "It's that kind of thing, purple, that can mutate living things, and even amplify Magic Power..."

The Parrot slapped its thigh. "Originium!"

"--Hello!"

"Alright." The previous Phoenix King shook his head, his ponytail swaying back and forth. "Never encountered that before."

She held out her hand and beckoned to Kang De: "Give it to me."

"What?"

"Of course it's a sample," the Parrot rolled its eyes. "Or is it some kind of hereditary chromosome from your ancestors?"

"Even if you ask, I won't give it to you!" Kang De glared. "Now the cave entrance is sealed, and the samples we brought back have been sealed away by the Goth monks. There's nothing there."

"Tch." Malegith scoffed, "What are you pretending for? With your habit of hoarding all your items and saving every resource until you beat the game, wouldn't you secretly keep some for yourself?"

Kang De shrugged and looked around. "Here?"

"Otherwise?" the Parrot said. "Do you think I'd go with you to the White Mist World?"

Damn, if you can go, I'll pose you in every single one of those eighteen positions.

Here, Kang De is no match for the battle-hardened Phoenix King of the past, in terms of both strength and experience. But in the White Mist World, it's a different story. There, the laws of space are under Kang De's control, and even if he has only figured out the most basic applications, it is enough for him to be invincible.

He added, "Be careful, that stuff might be infectious."

The Parrot sneered, "Come and see! There's a primary school student here explaining disease prevention knowledge to a Nobel Prize-winning virologist."

Kang De retorted angrily, "Will I die if you don't insult me?"

Malegith raised her head and said, "You think you can shut me up?"

The only response he received was a middle finger. Kang De vanished through the dark portal, and the next moment, the corpse of a monster glowing with purple light was placed inside a transparent glass case and fell from the sky.

The Parrot wanted to make a few more jokes, but after glancing at the corpse a few times, its expression changed slightly. "Eh..."

Kang De asked, "What?"

Phoenix Fire suddenly appeared, golden flames swirling through the void and filling the room. It didn't burn anything, but its sacred light enveloped and illuminated the monster's corpse.

It made a buzzing sound.

"This thing is quite interesting."

She extended her finger and gently touched it. The glass plate, reinforced by Kang De, shattered and vanished without a trace. Phoenix Flame shone in Malegith's eyes, and an invisible force instantly dismembered the monster's corpse into eight pieces: bones, blood vessels, muscle tissue, internal organs, brain, nerves... all clearly separated and arranged.

Then, various colors of light shone within it. In every part, the invisible force and the shining rays revealed the results. The Fire Thief's vision observed complex changes in Element. Although he couldn't understand them, Kang De knew that in that instant, Malegith had conducted a great many experiments and measurements on this corpse sample, far surpassing the work done by the Goth wizards.

Then, purple mist rose from these dissected parts and gradually gathered.

It condensed into purple droplets.

"Damn," the Parrot muttered, "This thing really is Tiberium..."

Kang De stared at the purple liquid. "How so?"

"It purifies elemental power in a complex way... even transforming it into a pure form of Magic Power. In other words, this thing can almost be considered a natural magic crystal, capable of rapidly replenishing the Magic Power of any spellcaster, and can even aid in meditation."

"This is the principle behind its ability to amplify spell effects—"

The Parrot looked at Kang De.

On the island, besides the A Xing, she had the best relationship with Kang De, or rather, on a spiritual level, she was even closer to Kang De, because she was intelligent and insightful, and even after a long period of time, she never gave up thinking, and even as Parrot, she was able to communicate with Kang De to some extent.

So she became Kang De's listener, learned many of Kang De secrets, and developed a common language with Kang De. In other words, she could use words and expressions that Kang De could fully understand to explain complex issues, just like she is now.

"The energy revolution, Kang De," she said, "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Kang De said in a deep voice, "But in novels, movies, and games, when people discover a completely new energy source or power and use it to achieve a new technological leap, what happens next is pretty obvious... I think it might be a gift from the devil."

The Parrot said calmly, "Be more confident, and remove the 'maybe'."

"Then..." Kang De said gravely, "Should we get rid of it? Eradicate it completely?"

He came this time specifically to ask for the Parrot's opinion.

This substance, when converted to Earth, is essentially equivalent to a dream element capable of achieving nuclear fusion or even micro-nuclear fusion. Even if its origin is questionable and it carries risks, it would be difficult for any nation to refuse it. The same applies to other worlds; even the Dusk Moon Dynasty and the Human Empire would not be unmoved by it.

How to deal with this newly discovered, terrifying substance is a difficult problem facing the Duchy of Goethe. If not handled properly, the country may face a situation even worse than the Goth-Moon War.

Even Kang De couldn't make up his mind about this, so he came back.

The Parrot smiled upon hearing this.

"Don't rush." A mysterious light gleamed in her eyes. "A gift from the devil is still a gift."

Kang De frowned. "Isn't this playing with fire?"

Malegith nodded, gesturing for Kang De to look at the paused game screen. "If a demon were to give this guy a gift, do you think this tough guy would be so scared that he'd immediately stomp on it, smash it, and bury it in the ground?"

"... That's a game, just fantasy."

The Parrot rolled its eyes at him. "Where do you think you are right now? What are you doing?"

She raised her fist and punched Kang De in the chest. "You're the Fire Thief, have some self-confidence. Do you think we did things back then? Screaming like molested little girls, wielding baseball bats and home-running every piece of bad stuff that fell on this planet?"

"... It doesn't seem so?"

"Of course not."

A hint of reminiscence flashed in Malegith's eyes, then she chuckled softly, "How do you think the so-called Golden Age came about? The period when the last Fire Thief was active was an era of rapid development for many Civilization across the planet. Why then did a technological explosion occur? Every disaster is both a bad thing and a good thing. We must never hide in a cage and passively resist... One day, we will be unable to resist."

She gently patted Kang De's shoulder and sighed, "Even a few so-called heroes and demigods will eventually run out of power and be unable to do everything at once... This is a truth I only understood after you came."

Kang De didn't know what to say.

Because of this reunion, the usually carefree thief bird now showed a lonely and sad expression.

The Holy Seal Archipelago are the final resting place of the previous Fire Thief. Her altar stands there, and the heroes who followed Fire Thief have been transformed into magical creatures on the islands, imprisoned for countless years...

In the end, it still failed.

At least, there was no complete victory.

He hesitated for a moment, then moved slightly.

The Parrot immediately realized what he meant and looked at him warily. "What, trying to take this opportunity to give me a loving hug and then use your chest to feel these hopeful waves?"

She even reached out and squeezed it, emphasizing it deliberately.

Kang De reluctantly looked away; this was Dairila's body, and he couldn't be so disloyal.

He scoffed, "Petty mind."

The Parrot whispered enticingly, "It's super soft and feels amazing, exactly like Dairila's. I even touch it to sleep every night, hehehe, aren't you envious..."

"--Stop talking about this kind of thing! You're even more provocative when you go back to your original form!"

Kang De snapped, "We're getting down to business! What are we going to do now?!"

"Hmph."

The Parrot smiled and pointed to the purple droplet suspended in the air.

"Go, use the power of the Fire Thief to break it down and absorb it."

Kang De stared at the dismembered corpse, his expression a mixture of wariness and hesitation.

Numerous zombie-themed and zombie-like games and movies have taught him that if he discovers unknown substances or risks, he should never touch them, never get close, and always take precautions and disinfect.

"What are you afraid of?" the Parrot said impatiently. "You're Fire Thief, aren't you? If this piece of junk could kill Fire Thief, all life in this world would have died out long ago. How could you possibly be here playing Animal Crossing on this island?"

Kang De glanced at the Parrot, took a deep breath, then stretched out his hand, focusing all his attention on his palm, his mental energy enveloping it, and slowly touched the purple droplet.

Mental contact.

Enveloped.

Analysis.

Extraction.

Break down.

Unknown Element swirled in his palm, quiet and harmless, no different from the Element he usually Extraction. This mysterious, unknown power was controlled by the Fire Thief, quiet and tamed.

Malegith rummaged through the room, grabbed a magic lamp, pulled open the lampshade, took out the Radiant Crystal inside, and tossed it to Kang De: "Pump it in."

Kang De did as he was told.

The radiant crystal instantly blazed brightly, its brightness increasing rapidly.

The Parrot caught the crystal in its hand, tossed it around, and sensed it for a moment. "Perfect."

Kang De asked, "... What do you mean?"

Malegith did not answer, but instead took out another crystal from another magic lamp. This time, she directly extracted purple droplets from the corpse and dripped them onto the crystal. The crystal also shone brightly, but before long, cracks appeared on its surface, and it exploded, with purple mist scattering and drifting in all directions.

"Do you understand now?"

The Parrot said, "This substance can amplify elemental matter, but it also has an extremely strong corrosive and assimilative effect. Objects that have been corroded, whether they are element-rich substances or living things, possess the ability to proliferate and become secondary infectious... But if it is Extraction and processed by your Power of the Fire Thief, it's a different story."

She tossed the crystal back to Kang De.

"It is undoubtedly a gift from the devil. I don't care how it appeared, whether it came from outer space, underground, grew out in the last few days, or slumbered for a long time. The only thing that can be confirmed is that it came for this planet, and it was your arrival that triggered its arrival."

"Just like the meteorite that night."

Malegith's tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling aura.

"How to deal with it, how to utilize it, or whether to destroy and annihilate it is up to you, Fire Thief. This is your first formal challenge. All I can tell you is—the war has begun."

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PS1: Update... It's a bit early today. I can continue to increase the intensity of the Ring Fit Adventure. Goodnight.