Forgotten Milk?

Even though they arrived at nine in the night, the airport was still packed with reporters and the families of the victims.

Such a large-scale rescue operation had garnered significant attention from all corners of the country. Jinshan City was a top-tier international metropolis, not just for Huaguo, but many other countries had also suffered casualties.

Therefore, an accident of this magnitude was impossible to conceal.

As everyone disembarked the plane in silence, media personnel swarmed forward for interviews. The heartbreaking results they announced brought a hush to the bustling airport.

Thirty-two aircraft were dispatched, rescuing twenty-nine people, and eight died during the return journey.

Tens of thousands of compatriots perished overseas, their bodies even unrecoverable from the vast ruins.

Further rescue efforts would continue, but the difficulty of saving people amidst Honkai beasts and nuclear radiation was imaginable.

However, all they could tell the media was that there was still hope and that subsequent rescue operations would proceed.

"Relevant departments will contact you soon. I suggest you agree to join them. Your abilities are strong, with great potential for growth. Having professionals guide you will be beneficial."

Zhao Qi had already reunited with his family. Gu Yan was stopped by Xu Muchi before he could even leave the airport.

"Okay," Gu Yan replied, feigning appropriate surprise.

Xu Muchi nodded slightly and departed.

Gu Yan walked unhurriedly, bypassing the bustling crowd.

If I don't join an official organization, I might face many restrictions. I'm not a five-star citizen, so joining is fine.

As for freedom... living in a world targeted by Honkai, one either loses everything or rises to resist. As long as it's on the side of civilization, that's enough.

He had no intention of "saving the world" alone; that was impossible.

He lacked trust now, or rather, humanity wouldn't believe in Herrschers fighting for them in the short term. It would take time for them to accept it.

His identity as a Herrscher candidate definitely couldn't be revealed before then.

No, people now don't even know what Honkai or Herrschers are!

This is really troublesome...

"Xiao Yan!"

A familiar voice interrupted Gu Yan's thoughts. He looked up, and the person immediately hugged him.

"Sis? I thought you guys weren't coming to pick me up."

He wasn't saying this casually; his mother and sister were capable of such things.

Right, the airport they landed at was in Gu Yan's hometown, Haishi.

"Why didn't you come out with everyone else? Mom thought something happened and almost fainted. You scared her to death, thank goodness you're okay!"

Gu Li was usually cold and not good at interacting with people, rarely showing him concern.

His mother, however, was different – quite cunning. While other families had mothers comforting siblings who fought, in his family, it was mother and son fighting with the sister offering comfort, or mother cheering on the son and daughter during their fights.

Still, their family was interesting.

"I was delayed by some things just now. Where's Mom?" Gu Yan didn't reveal anything about his abilities; he knew his family wouldn't be at ease if they knew too much.

"She's in the car now, nothing major."

The two of them had come to wait much earlier, fearing Gu Yan might be injured.

"We didn't have time to eat tonight and waited for so long. She has a bit of low blood sugar, and she was very emotional earlier. She only recovered after going to the convenience store to buy some snacks, so don't worry, she's fine."

As she said this, Gu Li's lips twitched. She hadn't explained clearly that Mother Gu hadn't been feeling down after getting the snacks, acting like a child.

She bought Forget-me-not Milk, right?

The short distance took them twenty minutes. Gu Yan felt his sister's concern today was more than in the past decade combined.

"Oh, since when did you two siblings have such a good relationship?"

Mother Gu saw them approaching slowly and pretended to be surprised.

"Sis, did you hear Mom's voice just now?" Gu Yan opened the car door and got in.

"No? You must have heard things," Gu Li played along, a slight smile on her face.

"Tch, two unfilial children." Mother Gu sat in the passenger seat and opened a bag of snacks.

Only then did they notice the lingering moisture in Mother Gu's eyes. The snacks hadn't been opened before.

The car had already started, but the family was somewhat quiet.

"Mom's hungry. Let's go eat something good today, especially since Xiao Yan is home safe."

"Yay!" Gu Yan exclaimed.

"Why don't I get this treatment at home?" Gu Li seemed to be in a good mood too, talking more than usual.

"I added two eggs to the instant noodles I made for you yesterday. If you say that, Mom will be heartbroken!"

In the back seat, Gu Yan's lips curved upwards as he looked out the car window.

The skyscrapers stood tall, their lights illuminating the city's night sky. Cars came and went, while pedestrians were few and far between.

Some faces showed fatigue, others grief. Some people drank themselves into a stupor alone, while many walked in groups.

This was the multitude of lives in an era of peace. They had no idea what the future held, nor did they know that the life they were living, whether happy or hard, was about to be taken from them.

Disaster was coming, or rather, it had already struck across the ocean.

Perhaps such a mundane life was a rarity?

"I want to find a job."

Gu Yan's sudden words startled the mother and daughter in front of him.

Finding a job was just an excuse, of course. He couldn't possibly attend university normally while also shining brightly in an organization of Ability Users and saving the world, could he?

"No!"

Gu Mu was startled by Gu Li's abrupt declaration, dropping her snacks.

"I mean, not now. You just got home, rest for a few days first, and then you can decide the rest for yourself."

After such a disaster, a few days of rest would be good. Mother Gu also agreed with her sister's words.

"Uh, okay. What's the big deal? I'm perfectly fine." She thought her sister disagreed, but it wouldn't matter if she did.

"Listen to your sister. Rest well for a few days and forget those bad things."

Without further argument, Gu Yan propped his head up and continued to watch the scenery.

As long as they were reassured, that was fine.

In an office somewhere.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in," Qin Hong'an said gravely, reviewing the documents in his hands over and over.

"So it's Senior Xu. You've worked hard this time." He looked up and saw the visitor before putting down the documents, his solemn expression turning to respect.

Xu Muchi waved her hand. "You should have a grasp of the situation. What do you think?"

"This disaster in the Beautiful Country is very strange. Many things have gone beyond our understanding." He paused here, subtly observing Xu Muchi's reaction.

"You've already clashed with them. That woman named Ji hasn't appeared since then, but..."

Qin Hong'an brought over a report and handed it to Xu Muchi.

"This is what happened after you left Jinshan City. A giant humanoid creature appeared there."

Xu Muchi quickly read the report, her expression calm.

After they left, the unknown energy had given rise to a flame giant named "Surtur," with a surface temperature of four thousand degrees Celsius.

Surtur had already been killed by the black dragon Elfa, but according to the accompanying reconnaissance units, Surtur possessed high-temperature resistance, as well as extremely strong self-healing abilities and defense.

Its defense could easily withstand anti-tank missile attacks, and its self-healing ability was so potent that it would recover even after being beaten into a pulp by the black dragon, only to regenerate after some time.

Surtur was only successfully killed after the black dragon destroyed over three hundred unknown organs with high energy concentrations distributed within its body.

"Elfa preserved Surtur's intact head and handed it over to the Beautiful Country. They've invited us to provide technical assistance to decipher the information within Surtur's brain, hoping to obtain useful intelligence."

"Why are you telling me this?" Xu Muchi indeed didn't know about these follow-ups, but she didn't care.

"Senior Xu, have you misunderstood something? You are my superior. Isn't this what I should be doing?" Qin Hong'an looked helpless. Although Senior Xu didn't manage things, she was one of the founders of Huaguo's Ability Department.

"You decide. You've been doing a good job all these years, haven't you?" Casually pouring herself a cup of tea, Xu Muchi felt no awkwardness, even if she had genuinely forgotten about it.

"Oh, right. I do have something to give you while I'm here."