Wuchang

Qi Lian stared at the young man before him, every nerve taut.

"Don't be nervous. I'm here to save her."

The young man pointed toward the bedroom, where Qi Lian's seriously ill beloved lay.

Just a few minutes ago, this young man had arrived at his residence, claiming he could cure his beloved's illness.

If the young man had produced anything to prove his identity, Qi Lian might have let him give it a try, but he had not.

Suspicious.

He looked as though he had emerged from the underworld, his entire body shrouded in shadows. The light could not dispel his darkness and only faintly revealed his outline. His long hair was tied up, and his clothes resembled ancient garb. Yet his eyes, which seemed to stare straight into one's soul, were exceptionally clear, sending chills through anyone who saw them.

"Who are you?" As a powerful man, Qi Lian rarely felt this tense. The pressure weighing on him was immense.

"My name is Xu Ying. You might not know me, but the people above you are accustomed to calling me Wuchang."

"I can save her. Go. The longer you can kill the monsters outside, the longer she'll live."

"I don't have time to explain. I'm here to take him with me." Xu Muchi walked straight toward Gu Yan and casually waved her hand, displaying her identity card as the honorary minister of the Ability Department to Gu Li.

Gu Li's pupils contracted slightly. She had no idea why someone of such high standing would come looking for Xiao Yan.

"No. I'm staying in Haishi." Gu Yan's expression was resolute.

"Your sister and the others are enough to handle Haishi. We need to provide support to the worst-hit areas." Xu Muchi did not force him, instead persuading him calmly.

"The Herrscher has appeared again!"

Gu Yan naturally understood the importance of the situation, but he truly could not feel at ease.

Until his family's safety was assured, he would not consider anyone else's life or death.

"Even so, no. Everything I have as a person is here. Do you understand what I mean?"

You try to force me, and I'll turn into a Herrscher right here.

Xu Muchi clearly would not understand what he meant, but she probably got the gist.

"...Fine. Help me clear the monsters in Haishi first. We'll finish this quickly!"

Gu Yan pulled the spear embedded in the road free and exchanged a glance with Gu Li. The two nodded slightly. Gu Li then drove back to headquarters, while Gu Yan followed Xu Muchi in sweeping through the city.

After applying the buff to Xu Muchi, the two rose into the air and split off from this location, heading east and west.

As long as they did not encounter an Emperor-class Honkai beast, nothing could impede them. Right now, every second counted!

Haishi was highly developed and covered a vast area, but even circling the whole city took Gu Yan only four or five minutes.

The Honkai outbreak had already reached a massive scale. Haishi was merely one of the less severely affected areas, yet Deathsworn and Honkai beasts could still be seen everywhere, with continuous cries and explosions filling the air.

Against the Deathsworn, Gu Yan did not need to stop at all. A single Ice Cone was enough to finish them off, and the same applied to Assault-class targets.

Fortunately, only minor underlings had appeared. As long as they cleared out the more dangerous Honkai beasts, the rest could be left to the Ability Bureau and the armed forces.

Under the night sky, Gu Yan flashed between the skyscrapers, his Ice Cones striking the monsters with pinpoint accuracy. From time to time, he dove down, his spear piercing through the bodies of Honkai beasts.

Naturally, he also encountered Ability Users using their abilities to fight back. Gu Yan's Plunder harvested quite a few abilities from them.

But to him, these abilities had little impact on his combat strength by now.

Haishi had not suffered too great a blow. An hour later, although Honkai beasts and Deathsworn continued to appear, their numbers had decreased drastically. The unrest had essentially subsided, no large Honkai beasts had appeared, and the Ability Bureau was fully capable of handling the situation.

Xu Muchi and Gu Yan met up again.

"Where to?"

Gu Yan did not feel tired at all. Dealing with a few minor monsters was still effortless.

"Rongcheng, Guangshi, the Bohai Sea..."

The two sped westward. When Xu Muchi listed more than a dozen place names, Gu Yan nearly plunged straight out of the air.

"All those places need help? If we go rescue them one by one, can we make it in time?"

"These are the more serious areas. We'll go wherever support is needed. I'll connect you to the communication network for this operation."

A point of flowing light sank into Gu Yan's brow. He felt himself intertwine with some nonexistent "network," through which he could freely transmit and receive any communications he wanted, including sharing his own perspective.

"Rongcheng needs support. There are several big ones here. The missiles can only scratch them."

"Suzhou is under control. An S-rank has intervened."

"The Bohai Sea is looking bad, but it's far from land. No reinforcements are needed for now."

A flood of messages surged into his mind. With a thought, Gu Yan shut off the automatic reception.

This was a network jointly maintained by dozens of Mental-Attribute users from the Ability Department. It required no external equipment and was extremely useful for the operation. Even a deaf-mute could communicate through it without hindrance.

Before the incidents broke out in each region, the Ability Department and national defense forces had both received orders and dispersed toward the disaster zones. Thanks to their swift response, casualties had been greatly reduced.

"You said earlier that the Herrscher had appeared again? Is it the same one as before, or a new Herrscher?"

At Xu Muchi's words, Gu Yan looked back at him. "Why do you think an existence as monstrous as that would appear again?"

"You didn't make yourself clear. I've seen how terrifying she is myself, and I don't want another one popping up." Gu Yan did not panic over the hole in his statement. He simply offered a reasonable explanation.

"It should still be the same woman. Three hours ago, a meteor suddenly entered the atmosphere. According to our observations, it was that Mechanical Dragon. It had been above our heads the whole time."

Gu Yan pondered this. The two continued onward in silence.

Cities and mountains fell behind them. Beneath the distant night, it was impossible to see what might be hidden there. The mountain peaks resembled the fangs of beasts, while the darkness seemed ready to devour the land.

"Why did you come looking for me? You seem to treat me differently from the others. You could have simply notified me in your capacity as my superior, but..." He paused, his puzzled tone carrying a hint of strangeness. "You chose to discuss it with me instead? You were even unusually polite."

Xu Muchi was silent for a moment before speaking. "You're extremely sensitive about certain things."

"You seem to lack trust in other people most of the time. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you should also try trusting your comrades."

She rarely explained herself to others, because in her view there was no need. This time, however, she evidently felt that there was "a need."

Perhaps it was because this person was her hope of returning home? Or perhaps it was because he was important to this world?

If someone bore the heavy responsibility of "saving the world," then he must—

Be very pitiful, right?

Xu Muchi even thought this way. If one person was entrusted with the hopes of everyone, carrying all their expectations, would he become conceited because of his strength? Would he collapse because of his helplessness?

"Comrades? You and me? Fine. If that's what you think, then I suppose it works."

"But you still haven't answered my question. Even as comrades, your attitude doesn't make sense."

"Because you're needed. A lot of people need you."

"Uh..."

He had not expected such an answer. It was too vague, and Gu Yan could not extract any useful information from it.

Was it because his support abilities were so powerful that he could save more people? That seemed reasonable enough.

"Actually, I still prefer being a slacker. You're putting a lot of pressure on me." Gu Yan looked aggrieved, as if he had been bullied.

"How about you give me a bonus or something to motivate me? I don't need anything else. Just give me a weapon that suits me."

"..."