975. After the Crisis Is Averted / 976. The King in the Abandoned Factory

"Waaaaaah!!!"

A dozen or so children were flung to the ground by the giant dragon from a height of about ten meters.

On the ground, species were clashing violently, and before the children could even react, they were thrown into disarray and scattered.

"We can talk," the chubby boy in the red cloak said with a fawning smile to the group of ape-like monsters.

Meanwhile, Shana was surrounded by a group of plant-like monsters.

"Hehehehe." A humanoid tree monster, leading a group of walking trees, walked towards this side.

"If you keep yelling, I can't understand a word you say!!!! Stop yelling!!!" Shana yelled angrily, but her words had no effect whatsoever.

"Hehehe." The tree monsters continued to laugh, stretching out their vines towards Shana, trying to entangle her.

"Don't come any closer!" With a loud bang, Shana burst into flames, fireballs shooting from her hands and launching them towards the tree monster.

"Aaaaaah!!!" The large trees that were walking around screamed in agony as they burst into flames.

"Now you know how powerful I am! Here we go again!" Shana unleashed another fireball.

"Snap!" The tree monster leader tilted its head slightly, accurately dodging the fireball. With its head tilted back, strong vines lashed out like iron whips, aiming for Shana's head.

The little boy with the green, barbed broom-like hair stomped his feet on the ground and rushed to the girl's side like a shooting star, pushing her away.

Shana was thrown out and rolled several times on the ground before she came to her senses.

"Haotian!" She looked back and only saw the boy who had been thrown away while trying to save her.

"Aaaaaah!!! I'm angry!" Shana roared, her hair turning into flames, her entire body engulfed in flames, and she launched an indiscriminate fireball attack in all directions.

In the cramped space, the raging flames engulfed every corner, billowing white smoke, and creaking sounds filled the air. Parts of the iron walls were burned red-hot.

His upper body clothes had long since burned to ashes, and the exposed skin was gradually turning crimson, covering his entire body like armor. He had completely gone berserk, appearing as a savage as ever.

Its crimson eyes glared fiercely at the tree monster. The way it unleashed flames was no longer limited to its palms; flames began to emanate from its arms, coiling around its red arms and transforming into snake-like forms. These flames hurtled towards the tree monster's face, their scorching heat exuding an aura of destruction; if they struck, they would surely burn its head to ashes.

The tree monster showed no sign of panic, its wicked and eerie smile remaining unchanged. The power to ignite steel hadn't harmed a hair on its head, and its attire remained impeccably clean and appropriate. From the start of the fight until now, its sinister smile seemed unchanging, as ethereal and otherworldly as a fairy or witch from mythology...

At this moment, the tree monster truly vanished into nothingness, disappearing without a trace.

The flames, however, seemed to come alive, transforming into fiery serpents that flipped over and slammed directly into Rhyme's face.

Shana's hair instantly turned black again, and she collapsed to her knees, utterly exhausted.

The crimson armor on his body faded, and the scorching temperature around him gradually cooled down; the battle was over.

"Haotian, are you alright?" Shana whispered, looking towards the direction where the boy had been sent flying.

"I'm fine, Xiaona." The little boy lay on the ground, raised one hand high, gave a thumbs-up to the girl to show her she could rest assured, and laughed loudly, "Come on! This level of attack won't even hurt! Cough cough."

"Well done, I'll heal you now." At that moment, the blue-haired girl with a ponytail flew over and began to heal the two of them with Magecraft.

"Clap clap clap clap clap...!!!" One, two, three claps, the sound of fans being slapped came from the smoke, one after another.

"Gaga hahaha!!!" Several ape-like monsters were seen carrying the chubby boy in their mouths with their tentacle-like tails, slapping his face with their paws.

The chubby boy's face was swollen from the slap; his already round face now looked like a pig's head.

His once gentle demeanor was now replaced by bloodshot eyes, his pupils blazing with fury as if they were about to burst into flames. "Just because I haven't shown my teeth doesn't mean you can take me for a pushover!"

The chubby boy drew a sword and charged into the gorilla horde, but at that moment he was entangled by a golden chain and taken to the outer perimeter where monsters were scarce.

"Let's go to the outer perimeter. I can manage here by myself," the blond boy said softly.

"Huh? Oh, oh, oh." The chubby boy calmed down, looked at the dozen or so monsters around him, then at the scattered individual monsters outside, and nodded heavily.

"Then..." Gil turned her head, opened her red vertical pupils, and looked at the monsters here.

"Gods always like to decide everything for other life forms from a superior position, but humanity lacks a true ruler to unite them. Mediocre people only continue to divide themselves, creating races and factions—one side is pests, the other beneficial insects; one side is poisonous creatures, the other beneficial birds—and use this to demonstrate their superior status. Gods, in their God presence, equally take away their lives, thus showing that they are superior to any other creation."

Gil, the Gil boy, raised his right hand, his eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty red light.

He was tired of the trick of striking with chains one after another. He raised his hands, and a golden lake appeared in the sky, on which Noble Phantasm emerged, swirling and then shooting towards the ground, exploding as they fell.

"If I were to categorize them, even if humans are the worst pests in the world, their survival shouldn't be decided by others!!!"

Chapter 975 After the Crisis Was Resolved

The Noble Phantasm from the Gate of Babylon are bombarding the monsters on the ground, hitting them almost every time and slaughtering them all.

"Shirou! If you can't beat me this time, then relinquish your position as leader! Let me, as the king of all mankind, lead you to live on Mars!"

"Hmph! I don't trust leaving it to a self-centered guy like you, so I'll take care of it myself," Shirou replied without hesitation.

An invisible space unfolded around him, within which dozens of bows floated, moving in sync with the bow he held in his hand. The pseudo- Spiral Sword, pre- Projection within the Inherent Domain: Unlimited Blade Works, rested on the bowstring and then transformed into a red meteor, soaring into the sky.

The arrow grew larger and larger high in the sky, then reversed its direction and crashed down to the ground.

As arrows rained down one after another, like meteorites hurtling straight down, they exploded with even greater power. The small fragments that shattered and flew out became like burning bullets, possessing immense destructive force. If they had only broken some things, it wouldn't have been so bad, but when the meteorites struck the monsters, it was like igniting a flammable explosive, such as crashing into a car's fuel tank, detonating it once again, blasting the entire battlefield into a cratered mess, leaving not a single flat spot.

"Wow!" The chubby boy's mouth dropped open, unable to close. He was still feeling proud of himself for single-handedly holding off so many chimpanzee monsters, but he never expected that these monsters would be no match for Shirou and Gil, and would be easily defeated. Is the difference between people really that big? They're all just elementary school students.

"Do we really need to fight here?" Haotian, with his broom-like hair, asked in surprise, wiping the dust that had been splattered on his face.

"That's what I mean." Shana nodded blankly.

"Alright, it's better than anything else if everything goes smoothly." Xiao Mei patted her younger siblings' heads and said with a smile.

Originally, Shirou hadn't intended to use them this time; he just wanted to familiarize them with combat as soon as possible.

The battle ended without serious incident. Although some children were injured, they were all minor injuries that would heal within a week. The monsters were all wiped out, with only a few escaping outside and unlikely to return for the time being.

The boy smiled proudly; they had protected the expedition team several kilometers away.

After that, nothing more happened, so Xiao Mei summoned the Red Dragon again, which carried everyone back home.

To reward the children for their hard work, Shirou held a celebration banquet at the orphanage.

"I've bought snacks and drinks." An older man walked in from outside carrying several bags.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Haotian, Little Fatty Akai, and the others ran up excitedly.

"Hey, it's not cold." The chubby boy picked up a 3.8L tub of Mars Cola, but didn't feel the expected icy coolness, and said with disdain.

"Don't be so picky. Where are you going to find so many refrigerators on Mars? It's good enough that we can buy food at this hour." The boy was also quite helpless about this, but it wasn't his fault, so he changed the subject.

"Look what I found! Spicy cockroach cakes, dried Mars rats, and Mars chocolate!"

"I want it! I want it!"

"Alright, alright, come in, Shirou's cooking is getting cold," said Xiao Mei came out from inside.

"Oh, oh, Shirou's cooking the most!" The children immediately ran back upon hearing this.

At the dinner table, Xiao Mei used a little magic, and ice crystals appeared on the rim of the glass in her hand, with cold air emanating from inside, instantly turning an ordinary glass of Mars Coke into an ice-cold Coke.

"Me too, sister." The chubby boy smiled ingratiatingly and handed his cup to Xiao Mei.

Xiao Mei glanced at the chubby boy silently, but still chilled his cup.

"Sister Mei, we want some too!" The other children looked over expectantly.

As expected, everyone wanted chilled cola.

At this moment, some of the children who heard the noise sneaked out, now either closing the door or peeking out from behind a wall. After Shirou and the others left, many of the remaining children couldn't sleep. After all, they hadn't awakened yet, but they were all family.

"Come on over, you guys can't sleep anyway, right?" Shirou greeted his younger siblings with a smile; he had prepared portions for the children from the beginning.

Haotian, a boy with a broom-like hairstyle, recounted the events of a previous battle to a group of kindergarten children, embellishing his own performance many times over.

"Alright, stop bragging. It's all thanks to Shirou and Gil. Showing off will get you struck by lightning. You're punished by having to perform a talent." Someone said with a laugh and a scolding tone.

"Then I'll give you a demonstration." Haotian stood on one leg, his hands forming a triangle above his head, and shouted, "Lightning rod! All lightning attacks are ineffective against me!"

"That's nothing!" Shana retorted.

Everyone burst into laughter.

The fat man sipped his iced cola, then handed it to the younger woman, saying as he walked, "Let me do it."

"Watch me perform a Magecraft!" With that, the fat man opened his mouth wide, as if it had turned into a black hole, and swallowed the entire cake on the plate to everyone's astonishment.

The fat man tossed his head smugly and said, "Pretty impressive, right?"

The little girl was already in tears as she watched two-thirds of the cake disappear.

"You're amazing, my foot! Is that how you eat? I'll beat you up!"

After everyone ganged up on the fat man, the little girl finally stopped crying and started laughing.

Gil sat alone on the balcony, a glass of grape juice in her hand, admiring the Mars sky. Hearing the laughter and chatter from inside, a faint smile curved her lips.

After a chaotic mess, everyone worked together to clean up the empty bottles, jars, and plates, and then ran outside to look at the stars.

Shana sighed, "We really did it. Those ordinary days ended that day and will never come back."

However, now that she knew her brothers, sisters, and cousins were all 'new species,' perhaps it was better to let them suffer while she remained uninvolved—that would be too cunning. Therefore, Shana was glad she had gone to participate in the battle.

Thinking of this, Shana recalled the lonely figure of the boy who had rushed to the front lines and risked his life on the battlefield, and who, even after returning, still frowned over the future, reading a book all by himself.

Chapter 976 The King in the Abandoned Factory

"Shirou- nii, aren't you going to eat with us?" Shana walked up to Shirou's table and asked softly.

"You guys have fun. I already ate while I was cooking," Shirou said with a smile.

"Shirou- nii? Are you still worried? We defeated those monsters, didn't we?" Shana asked, puzzled.

"It's okay, everyone work together, we'll definitely find a way out. Things will work themselves out," Shirou said, patting the girl's head to comfort her.

"Really? That's good." Shana put her worries aside and ran back to her friends.

But what is the truth?

The switch for evolution has been flipped. Today's new species will be even stronger tomorrow, and in order to survive, every species will unleash enormous energy.

In order to survive, how much more sacrifice and cost must be paid?

After that, it was Monday again. After school, Shana was about to leave the school when she was pulled along by the chubby Akai and Haotian.

"Shana, keep up!" the fat man shouted, and together with Haotian, he led Shana quickly into the dark alley. Despite his plump figure, he was quite agile.

"Where are you taking me? Why are you being so mysterious?" Shana followed behind the two, vaguely remembering that this was an abandoned old factory area after the equipment upgrade...

After passing through the alley, Shana saw a new scene: a dense forest, full of flowers and lush green grass. The ground was paved with small stones, and children were playing and running around. It was no longer an abandoned place.

"When did this place become a park?" Shana asked the two of them, puzzled.

"Hehe, you don't know, do you? Probably very few people have come here in the last ten years or so. As for why it grew like this, come on, I'll take you to the secret base. You'll know when we get there." The chubby boy chuckled and led the way towards a flowerbed.

Shana turned her questioning gaze to the chubby boy and Haotian.

"Ah, there have been technological breakthroughs in recent years, and apart from some food factories, many have moved to industrial areas. So this place hasn't been around anymore. But since it's abandoned, it's perfect for us to use as a secret base; at least the quality is still acceptable."

Shana asked in surprise, "How did you find this place?"

"We just came here to explore, but we didn't expect to encounter something amazing. Look!" The fat man led everyone through a door, and there was a completely different world inside. The factory building without a ceiling had been transformed into a maze-like garden.

As Shana and the chubby boy navigated the maze, they discovered that the walls of what used to be a factory had been transformed into a rose garden, now covered in green vines. The roses growing on the walls were of various varieties—red, purple, white, and yellow—and there seemed to be wild roses and Chinese roses among them. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a rose garden.

After turning a corner, the chubby boy shouted, "We're here!"

Shana followed and saw a fluffy miniature figure lying in a cardboard box on a stone table in the center of the manor. It looked like a fairy from a fairy tale, with small, transparent wings and long hair that reached its waist and was dyed in rainbow colors.

"Is this a new species?!" Shana exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh, keep your voice down." Haotian pulled Shana back and said, "Calm down. Shirou also said that there are good people among the new species, right? This kid is a good person."

"But..." Shana was still a little worried, after all, Sister Mei had said that the new species and humans were in competition for survival resources.

"Yay~ ya~!" The little person in the cardboard box woke up upon hearing the sound. He rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Shuk Beta, you're awake!" the chubby boy greeted the little boy.

"Yay~! Shuke~!" The little elf saw the chubby boy and smiled adorably, then flew up and circled around him.

"Xiao Na, why don't you try greeting Shuke and Shuk Beta?"

"Oh, hello, I'm Shana, it's nice to meet you," the little girl said, shaking hands with the elf.

"Ya ya~ Shuke!" the little elf cried out in a melodious voice.

Seeing this, Shana lowered her guard; surely such a cute little creature couldn't be a man-eating monster?

"This is Shuk Beta. This park was created by her. She's amazing; all the plants here are under her control," Haotian said.

"Shuk Beta made this?" Shana turned to the chubby boy and Haotian, puzzled.