Deathsworn, Honkai Beasts

The air-raid shelter was not noisy. After waiting for several hours, ninety percent of the people had taken out their phones to relax. Only a few were anxious because they could not find their relatives and had no mood for entertainment.

There was also some unlucky bastard who had been buried beneath the rubble, along with his phone and both legs.

Zhao Qi hugged his phone and chuckled foolishly. Gu Yan wore a speechless expression. That guy was probably chatting with his goddess again.

Gu Yan had even given this simp advice several times. Zhao Qi had gone so far as to use Gu Yan's own photos to deceive her, claiming that he would attract her first and then cultivate their relationship. Once feelings developed, everything else was unimportant.

It was worth mentioning that Gu Yan was extremely handsome, with an elegant bearing, a slender build, and a cold gaze. He looked exactly like an aloof immortal banished from the heavens.

With Gu Yan's photos and schemes, pursuing a girl should have been effortless. Yet after several months, Zhao Qi still had made no progress at all.

Smack!

"Chatting with your goddess?" Gu Yan teased as he slapped the back of Zhao Qi's head.

He did not actually want to disturb Zhao Qi's self-entertainment, but the guy had been grinning foolishly for so long that the gazes of those around them were becoming increasingly strange. Gu Yan was already regretting ever meeting him.

"Huh? Yeah. Gu Yan, are you no good at this? Your photos have no impact at all. She's still ice-cold."

You're the one who's no good!

Suppressing the urge to curse, Gu Yan curled his lips into a malicious grin, as though devil horns had grown from his head. "How about you let me see your chat history? I'll try to devise a strategy tailored to her personality."

Zhao Qi was about to refuse, but then he remembered that Gu Yan had been extremely popular with the opposite sex since high school. He could not help wanting to let him try. What if it worked?

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

Let me see what kind of immortal dares to fish for my brother...

After quickly browsing through the records from the past few days, Gu Yan took a deep breath and looked at his good friend with a thoroughly speechless expression.

"Are you a moron?"

Zhao Qi: ???

"The other party is a trainee lawyer from Huaguo. I can understand pretending to know what you're talking about to find common ground, but when you searched up laws in your browser, couldn't you tell which country they were from?"

"Don't you find it awkward using my photo to act like a devoted simp? Your entire persona collapsed into a complete mess. She might even think you're a scammer!"

Zhao Qi looked as though he had been struck by lightning.

Gu Yan was equally dejected. That bastard was using my photo!

Ding. Plunder successful. Obtained buffs: Primary Healing, Toughness. Obtained passive: Honkai Creature LV2

Primary Healing: Improves recovery ability and immunity.

Toughness: Greatly improves vitality and endurance.

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

The sudden system notification jolted Gu Yan fully awake.

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

Honkai Creature LV2: Honkai had descended, and output power increased by 20 HW. All abilities increased by 20%.

"Get away from me, you lunatic!"

A furious shout pulled Gu Yan back to his senses. Looking around, he saw two men grappling with each other.

The furious shout had come from one of them. The other man had him locked in a death grip, so he kept punching and cursing:

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

The hot-tempered man's ear was torn off, blood streaming everywhere, but the other man still refused to stop. He bit down on the side of the man's neck.

Several kind-hearted people tried to step forward and break up the fight, but it was already too late. The artery had been bitten through, and blood sprayed like a fountain. The hot-tempered man's struggles quickly subsided.

The man twisted as he stood up. His face was ferocious, his eyes vacant and unfocused, and his teeth were covered in blood. In the dim air-raid shelter, he looked even more terrifying.

"Roar!"

A beastlike howl shattered the eerie atmosphere, and screams erupted all around.

"Murder!"

Bang!

After a gunshot rang out, the biter fell to the ground. But the chaos continued to spread. More biters appeared among the crowd and pounced on the people beside them.

Deathsworn!

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

Honkai had descended, and those who died after being infected by it turned into these zombie-like walking corpses: Deathsworn.

The target he had just plundered was a Deathsworn.

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

Zhao Qi performed as usual, showing no fear at all in the face of this scene.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to die?" Gu Yan grabbed Zhao Qi, who was about to rush forward, and ran toward the exit.

He could not afford to worry about whether danger still waited outside. Once the air-raid shelter fell, tens of thousands of Deathsworn would appear before long. He was not afraid of dozens or hundreds, but against tens of thousands, his current abilities would be nowhere near enough.

Save people? With a phone smashed into eight pieces and a superhuman body? Sorry, but his abilities were limited right now. He could not do it.

The two of them sprinted all the way. Gu Yan used his enhanced physique to clear a path ahead. After only a dozen minutes, the exit appeared in his vision.

Ding! Plunder successful. Physique +10. Obtained buff: Assault. Honkai Creature upgraded to LV8.

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

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

"Gu Yan!"

Sshk!

Zhao Qi suddenly shoved Gu Yan aside. A flash of silver streaked past, followed by the sound of air being torn apart.

With Gu Yan's physique, the attack just now would not actually have injured him, but its speed still left him stunned.

The two of them looked toward the silver flash and saw a strange creature.

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

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

Damn it, Honkai beasts have already appeared!

The attack just now had been produced by the flapping of the Assault-class Honkai beast's wings. As a silicon-based life-form, its body was extremely hard and sharp.

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

Zhao Qi walked toward the Honkai beast in an extremely chuunibyou manner, leaving Gu Yan with a mysterious back. He waved his hand grandly, and several Ice Cones formed before stabbing toward the target.

Ding! Ability obtained: Ice Cones

At the same time, the system notification sounded.

It seemed that to plunder an ability, the target had to use that ability first.

As expected of my good brother. We even share abilities!

The Assault-class Honkai beast specialized in speed. It nimbly dodged the incoming Ice Cones, while Zhao Qi had clearly undergone little training and could only rely on dense attacks to prevent the Honkai beast from getting any closer.

Ding!

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

Even a weak Assault-class Honkai beast was difficult for an ordinary handgun to damage effectively, after all.

That single hit slowed it for a moment. Zhao Qi seized the opportunity and sent out even more Ice Cones in succession.

Clang, clang, clang!

"They can't break through its defenses at all! Gu Yan, run!"

Running away after fighting an Assault-class Honkai beast would be too humiliating. He did not know whether there were more Honkai beasts ahead. The Deathsworn in the air-raid shelter would not make it up for a while, and an Assault-class that only possessed high speed should be dealt with now—

The permanent buffs remained active. A slender Ice Cone appeared in Gu Yan's hand, and he used it as a dagger, channeling Honkai Energy into it.

The Ice Cone turned pale purple from the Honkai Energy. Its flowing radiance drew Zhao Qi's attention for an instant.

Sshk!

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

The Honkai beast collapsed onto the ground and stopped moving. Zhao Qi was astonished.

Some people seem to have no abilities on the surface, but they've already practiced their combos and are actually incredibly strong. They were just waiting to make a sneak attack.

From now on, I'll be a sixth man too. I'll work hard in secret and crush all of you.

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

"Ah, yes. My ability can copy other people's abilities. It just requires me to be nearby, and there's only a chance of success when the other person is using their ability."

Feeling that something was still missing, Gu Yan added, "Actually, my ability is support-oriented."

Gu Yan scratched his head. I'll bluff my way through this for now. It's impossible for me to never use my abilities in front of other people for the rest of my life.

"Oh~ Got it. I'll keep it a secret for you, good brother!" Zhao Qi did not take it to heart. He understood that nobody wanted others to copy their techniques. If Gu Yan's ability were exposed, others might ostracize him and keep their distance. That also explained why Gu Yan had hidden his ability from him.

Good brother, I understand you!

But why is Gu Yan so much stronger when he uses it than I am?

After being depressed for 0.1 seconds, Zhao Qi decided not to think about it anymore. Hugging onto a powerful ally was enough!