Beneath the Bohai Sea

"That's the last one. Do you need to rest for a while?"

Xu Muchi's voice came through Gu Yan's mind.

"No need. Let's go straight to the next location."

"Alright. But to improve efficiency, you head to the Bohai Sea first while I go support Guangshi. Before we subjugate the Herrscher, all high-end combat forces, including you and me, have to assemble. Let's split up for now."

"Huh?" Gu Yan was utterly confused.

"You're planning to provoke her?" He did not know exactly what had happened, but things seemed to be heading in a different direction. Humanity's hostility toward the Herrscher seemed to have reached an extreme level.

Maybe that's a good thing, he thought.

"We're not provoking her. She's threatening us."

"Whatever. The result is the same. We'll have to fight either way."

"Alright, get moving. Contact me through the communications network if anything happens."

At their speed, there was no time to waste. Gu Yan rose into the air and headed north.

It had been only a dozen or so days since the First Herrscher's descent, yet the entire world had already fallen into chaos.

As he traveled, Gu Yan's thoughts continued turning. Judging from his previous battle with the Herrscher, she could fight two Xu Muchis of that caliber at the same time.

He had never encountered an S-Class Ability User, so he did not know how strong they were. However, he estimated that they were about as strong as him, or perhaps even weaker in pure combat power. If so, it would take at least five S-Class Ability Users to deal with the Herrscher.

And that was only the previous Herrscher. The others remained unknown, and it was equally unknown whether the First Herrscher had become even more difficult to deal with.

Gu Yan let out a soft sigh, his heart heavy with worry. If dealing with a single Herrscher required so many powerful figures to act together, what about the ones afterward? What kind of waves could S-Class Ability Users stir up during the Great Honkai?

Unless he could apply his buffs to every powerful fighter with no cost and for an unlimited duration, humanity's combat power could double.

Unfortunately, he could not do that.

Gu Yan looked into the distance.

Could the Herrscher of Reason really be this easy to deal with?

Rongcheng was a great distance from the Bohai Sea. By the time Gu Yan arrived, the sky was already bright.

There were no tourists left along the coast, and all the fishing boats had returned to port. Only warships and fighter jets remained between the sea and sky.

Only he possessed the ability to stand in midair without having to worry about stamina.

In the direction of the numerous cannons, the sea was eerily calm, its waters a dim blue-green.

"Who are you? Please show your identification."

Gu Yan landed on a warship and was immediately surrounded by armed personnel on alert.

"Senior Xu Muchi asked me to come help." He raised both hands to show that he meant no harm, but he did not take out his Ability Certificate.

One of the Ability Users made an inquiry through the communications network. After a moment, he nodded, and the others finally let go of their suspicions.

"You're Gu Yan, Brother Gu, right? Please forgive us for being so cautious during this extraordinary period! Let me explain the situation to you."

The Ability User stepped forward and greeted Gu Yan with a smile. His resolute, weathered face showed some fatigue. He was clearly a veteran employee of the Ability Department who had been monitoring the situation beneath the sea.

"My name is Li Shi." Gu Yan shook his hand and waited for him to continue.

"You may not know much about this, but it isn't a secret. The day before yesterday, a team of researchers from our country took a special flight to the Beautiful Country overnight. Yesterday afternoon, they provided us with some information."

As he spoke, an image was transmitted into Gu Yan's mind.

"This is the image. Those red spots mark the areas where disasters have appeared around the world. You've probably seen those monsters too. The disaster that struck the Beautiful Country two weeks ago was basically the same."

"You can see that the most severe area within our country is the Bohai region—in other words, this place. Yet while other cities have suffered destruction, this area has remained calm, except beneath the sea."

"The Beautiful Country's observations are sent over once every ten minutes. The energy fluctuations here are growing stronger and stronger. There may be something extraordinary gestating underwater."

Li Shi let out a long sigh and glanced at Gu Yan, who was deep in thought, before continuing. "Our underwater equipment loses contact as soon as it approaches the light source, so neither Ability Users nor ordinary people can easily descend. We've also tried attacking the light source, but unfortunately, within a certain range, the seawater seems to have become another substance. We can't break through it."

"So all we can do is watch and wait?"

"That's right. Fortunately, this place is far from land, so we have enough time to evacuate the civilians and won't suffer too many casualties."

For that reason, there were not many combat forces stationed there. The high-end forces were all busy reinforcing the cities that had suffered disasters.

"How deep is the light source?" Gu Yan asked thoughtfully, his gaze falling on the surface of the sea.

"Seventy-two meters. The Bohai Sea is relatively shallow, so the light source is right on the seafloor."

Gu Yan nodded. "I'll go take a look."

He took out the spear he had casually seized earlier from Mustard Seed Space and arrived above the sea.

The system remained silent, and Plunder did not activate. That meant the distance was too great, or the target was too weak.

Gu Yan gripped the spear in reverse, wrapped it in Honkai Energy, and hurled it with force.

The spear turned into a streak of silver light and plunged into the sea, vanishing into the depths.

Because it carried his Honkai Energy, he could sense its location. In his perception, the spear's speed did not decrease after entering the water. At a depth of around fifty meters, it collided with some kind of barrier.

To his surprise, the spear shattered immediately afterward. Once the Honkai Energy seeped into the barrier, he lost contact with it, as though it had been swallowed.

"Should I go down and take a look?"

In truth, Gu Yan leaned toward ending things quickly. As long as he went down, he could break the barrier in no time. Unless something like a Herrscher or a Judgment-class Honkai beast was gestating inside, he could eliminate it before it finished.

Otherwise, once the thing broke out of its shell, it would have absorbed a tremendous amount of Honkai Energy and bring a massive disaster to the nearby warships and coastal cities.

But Gu Yan was accustomed to considering matters from multiple angles. If he dealt with this thing alone, many secrets would be exposed, perhaps bringing him a great deal of trouble.

Though he was very confident, if the worst happened and he failed to deal with it after releasing it, he would undoubtedly be acting without authorization. The Bohai Sea did not have enough combat power at present and would soon fall, with ten million lives treated as mere weeds. That was not what he wanted.

Li Shi watched Gu Yan's movements from a distance without stopping him. Gu Yan glanced at him and smiled politely. His gaze swept over the surroundings: blue-green water and a clear blue sky. Ignoring the danger, it was actually a beautiful scene.

No!

Why was he worrying about bringing trouble upon himself and hesitating at every turn? Just as Xu Muchi had said before, he was too sensitive. His original purpose was to fight the Honkai, so why was he still afraid of other people's influence?

The fusion of two souls had made him self-important. He had convinced himself that only he could be relied upon, and that everyone else would merely hinder him.

Gu Yan gave a self-mocking smile.

What? Have you started treating yourself like a god?

Whether his strength was great or weak, he was still a human being—even if he became a Herrscher in the future.

Those suffering from the disaster were his fellow humans, not dispensable flowers and grass by the roadside. As an individual within the species, he could not escape it, nor should he. Whether as a hero or an ordinary person, he—

So when facing an incident connected to the lives of countless people, he should at least not put his own minor interests first.

As for whether his stepping forward would lead to bad consequences,

That headache was not something a minor employee like him should be considering.

"I've reached the Bohai Sea, but the situation here is unusual..." Gu Yan contacted Xu Muchi and told her what he had seen, sensed, and inferred.

"I personally think we should attack the barrier. Otherwise, it's impossible to know whether an unpredictable change might occur."

"Are you worried that the Bohai Sea doesn't have enough combat power right now?"

"Yes."

"Do you have the ability to deal with it yourself?"

"Yes, but whether we should destroy it immediately to prevent the situation from worsening or wait for reinforcements to ensure greater safety isn't a decision I should be making." Gu Yan lowered his gaze and met that blue abyss.

Leaving this kind of decision to his superiors was the safest choice. He had some strength, but he could not match their judgment.

"You can decide for yourself. I'll cover for you if anything happens."

"Hmm???"