Deathsworn, Honkai Beast

The air raid shelter wasn't noisy. After waiting for hours, ninety percent of the people had pulled out their phones to relax. Only a few were anxiously searching for loved ones, with no interest in entertainment.

Then there was the unlucky soul whose phone and legs were both smashed after being buried under the rubble.

Zhao Qi was chuckling foolishly while holding his phone, and Gu Yan looked speechless. This guy was probably chatting with his goddess again.

He'd even offered Zhao Qi advice on how to woo her a few times. Zhao Qi had even used his own photo to trick the girl, claiming it was to attract her first and then build feelings, saying that once feelings were established, other things didn't matter.

It was worth mentioning that Gu Yan was incredibly handsome, with a refined and elegant demeanor, a tall and slender build, and cold, sharp eyes—a perfect image of a detached immortal.

Logically, with Gu Yan's photo and strategies, chasing a girl should have been easy. Yet, after several months, Zhao Qi had made no progress.

Slap!

"Chatting with your goddess?" Gu Yan playfully smacked the back of Zhao Qi's head.

Actually, he didn't want to disturb Zhao Qi's self-amusement, but the guy had been grinning like an idiot, and the surrounding people were starting to look at him strangely. Gu Yan already regretted knowing him.

"Huh? Yeah, Gu Yan, are you useless? Your photo had no impact at all; she's still cold."

You're the one who's useless!

Suppressing the urge to curse, Gu Yan's lips curved into a wicked smile, as if devil horns had sprouted from his head. "How about you let me see your chat logs? I'll try to come up with a strategy tailored to her personality."

Zhao Qi was about to refuse, but then he remembered how popular Gu Yan had been with girls since high school. He couldn't help but want Gu Yan to try. What if it worked?

Seeing Zhao Qi nod, Gu Yan snatched his phone, forcefully interrupting the foolish grin that was about to appear on Zhao Qi's face.

Let me see who dares to toy with my brother...

After quickly scrolling through the past few days' records, Gu Yan took a deep breath and looked at his good friend with utter speechlessness.

"Are you an idiot?"

Zhao Qi: ???

"She's an intern lawyer, from Huaguo. It's one thing to pretend you know what you're talking about to find common ground, but when you're searching for legal information on your browser, can you at least see which country you're looking at?"

"And you're using my photo as a devoted simp? Doesn't that feel awkward? Your persona is completely shattered; she probably thinks you're a scammer!"

Zhao Qi was struck by lightning.

Gu Yan was equally dejected. This dog is using my photo!

[Ding, Plunder activated, gained buffs: Primary Healing, Tenacity, gained passive: Honkai Creature LV2]

Primary Healing: Increases recovery capabilities and immunity. Tenacity: Greatly increases vitality and resilience.

The sudden system notification jolted Gu Yan awake.

The first two buffs were easy to understand, but the new passive...

Honkai Creature LV2: Honkai has descended. Honkai Energy output power increased by 20HW. All abilities enhanced by 20%.

"Get away from me, you lunatic!"

A furious roar snapped Gu Yan out of his thoughts. He looked around and saw two men wrestling violently.

The roar came from one of them, who was being held tightly by the other and was continuously shouting and cursing:

"Bastard, let go of me! Are you crazy? I'm not... Bastard, let go, ahhh!"

The "Furious Guy's" ear was torn off, blood gushing out, but the attacker wasn't letting up. He bit down on Furious Guy's side of the neck.

Several helpful people tried to step in and break them up, but it was too late. An artery had been bitten through, and blood sprayed out like a fountain. Furious Guy's struggles quickly subsided.

The attacker stood up, twisted and contorted, his face ferocious, his vacant eyes unfocused, and his blood-stained teeth even more terrifying in the dim light of the air raid shelter.

"Roar!"

A beast-like roar shattered the eerie atmosphere, followed by a wave of screams.

"He killed someone!"

Bang!

After a gunshot, the attacker fell, but the chaos continued to spread. More attackers appeared in the crowd, lunging at those around them.

Deathsworn!

Gu Yan finally understood the meaning of "Honkai Creature LV2."

The Honkai had descended, and those who died from Honkai infection had become these zombie-like, mindless husks: Deathsworn.

The target of the Plunder just now was a Deathsworn.

"Zombies! Are these zombies? Is it the end of the world?"

Zhao Qi was acting normally, completely unfazed by the scene.

"What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?" Gu Yan grabbed Zhao Qi, who was about to charge forward, and ran towards the exit.

He couldn't afford to worry about any potential dangers outside anymore. The air raid shelter had fallen. In a short time, tens of thousands of Deathsworn would appear. He wasn't afraid of a few dozen or a hundred, but tens of thousands? His current abilities wouldn't be enough.

Save people? With a phone smashed to pieces and a superhuman physique? Sorry, his abilities were too limited right now; he couldn't do it.

The two of them sprinted, Gu Yan clearing the path with his high physical stats. In just over ten minutes, the exit appeared in their sight.

[Ding! Plunder successful, Physique +10, Buff acquired: Charge, Honkai creature upgraded to LV8]

Charge: Movement speed (running, flying) increased by 50%.

Honkai Creature LV8: Honkai Energy output power increased by 80HW, all abilities increased by 80%.

"Gu Yan!"

Chiff!

Zhao Qi shoved Gu Yan away fiercely, a silver light flashed, and the sound of tearing air resounded.

In reality, given Gu Yan's physique, the previous attack wouldn't have caused damage, but its speed made him ashamed.

The two looked towards the silver light and saw a strange creature:

It had no limbs, its body was only the size of an adult's head, but its wings were nearly three meters long. It hovered in the air, its silvery-white skin reflecting a faint glow, with a purple halo on its head.

Gu Yan recognized it at a glance: it was an Assault-class Honkai beast!

Damn it, a Honkai beast has already appeared!

The previous attack was emitted by the vibrating wings of the Assault-class Honkai beast. As a silicon-based lifeform, its body was extremely hard and sharp.

"Gu Yan, I've actually been hiding something from you. The situation is critical now, so I won't pretend anymore. I'm actually an Ability User!"

Zhao Qi walked towards the Honkai beast with a chuunibyo flair, leaving Gu Yan with a mysterious back. He waved his hand, and several Ice Cones formed, stabbing towards the target.

[Ding! Ability acquired: Ice Cones]

At the same time, the system prompt sounded.

So, to plunder an ability, it has to be when the Ability User is using it.

As expected of a good brother, sharing abilities together!

The Assault-class Honkai beast's specialty was speed, and it nimbly dodged the incoming Ice Cones. Zhao Qi, clearly lacking much training, could only rely on dense attacks to prevent the Honkai beast from getting closer.

Ding!

It finally hit once, but the Ice Cones were too slow to penetrate the Honkai beast's shell.

After all, even a weak Assault-class creature was difficult for ordinary handguns to damage effectively.

The single hit slowed its speed by a beat. Zhao Qi seized the opportunity and unleashed more Ice Cones in succession.

Ding ding ding!

"It can't even break the defense. Gu Yan, run!"

Running away from an Assault-class creature is too embarrassing. Who knows if there are more Honkai beasts ahead? The Deathsworn in the air-raid shelter won't be able to get up for a while. And this kind of creature, which is only fast, should be dealt with now—

The permanent buff remained active. A slender ice cone appeared in Gu Yan's hand, which he used like a dagger. Honkai Energy flowed out and attached to it.

The ice cone turned a faint purple due to the Honkai Energy, its flowing light momentarily catching Zhao Qi's attention.

Chiff!

The Assault-class Honkai beast was pierced by Gu Yan, who suddenly erupted. The terrifying energy easily broke through its shell.

The Honkai beast collapsed on the ground, motionless. Zhao Qi was astonished: Some people appear to have no abilities, but in reality, they've already mastered their combos and are very strong, just waiting to play dirty. From now on, I'll definitely be a sneaky one, secretly working hard to outdo you all.

"Gu Yan, is this your ability? How..."

"Ah, yes. My ability can copy others' powers, but it requires close range and only has a chance of success when the other party uses their ability."

Feeling like it wasn't quite enough, Gu Yan added, "Actually, my ability is support-oriented."

Gu Yan scratched his head. Let's just bluff for now. I can't possibly avoid using my abilities in front of others forever.

"Oh~ I get it. Good brother, I'll keep it a secret for you!" Zhao Qi didn't mind. He knew clearly that no one wanted their abilities to be stolen. If Gu Yan's ability were leaked to others, he might be ostracized or distanced. This explained why Gu Yan had hidden his abilities from him. Good brother, I understand you! But why is Gu Yan using it so much better than me?

After being self-deprecating for a mere 0.1 second, Zhao Qi decided not to overthink it. Holding onto the strong guy was enough!