Observer

Nelly didn't understand why an S-Class Ability User would carry a nuclear bomb.

She heard that Huaguo had a custom of setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve. Could it be...?

However, Nelly hastily withdrew her senses. She hadn't meant to pry and knew such behavior was impolite.

Gu Yan also felt a probing gaze. He turned and glanced, meeting Nelly's eyes.

"Thank you!"

"...It's nothing." He didn't ask any further questions.

The group got into the car in silence, heading for the Ability Bureau.

It was late, but there weren't many cars, and the road was clear. They would probably arrive soon.

The pedestrians and vehicles they passed by could never have guessed what kind of beings were inside the car they were brushing past.

"Do you want me to use my ability to help her?" Gu Li suddenly asked halfway through the journey.

"She probably doesn't need it. Let's not interfere unnecessarily."

The two in the back seat remained silent.

Nelly held Fornia's hand, curiously observing the night scenery of this Eastern metropolis. The various signs with strange phrases opened her eyes.

She recognized all the characters, but when they were put together, she couldn't understand them.

However, those with food names could be identified as belonging to the catering industry. She roughly noted down the ones with more customers and better business, thinking the dishes might be good. She planned to bring Fornia to try them when she had time.

There were also movie theaters, shopping malls, and so on, which she also wanted to visit.

"So sleepy..."

She had only woken up this afternoon, and now...

For some reason, a wave of drowsiness washed over her. In just a moment, Nelly fell asleep.

"Little Nelly?" Fornia called out softly. But when she turned her head, she saw in the light shining in from the car window that Nelly had actually fallen asleep.

With a doting smile, Fornia shook her head. Then, she too fell silent. The two of them were as good as nonexistent.

Neither of the three noticed that Nelly's eyes had opened a sliver, revealing a chilling gaze. The corners of her lips curved upwards, making her seem like a completely different person.

"Slow down! It's not easy to repair if this kind of instrument gets broken!" A burly man carried a metal case, staggering and almost falling. Zhang Yu quickly steadied him.

"It's fine, no problem!" The man's face was red, but he pretended to be relaxed.

"Go show off to some girls, why are you acting tough with me?" Zhang Yu picked up the remaining parts and walked towards the office building.

"Wait for me, Brother Yu!" The man tried to stride after him, but the heavy load on his shoulders wouldn't allow it.

"Hurry up!" Zhang Yu stopped helplessly and turned back to say.

"Heh heh..." The man walked over slowly. As he gradually got used to the weight, he asked:

"Brother Yu, why were you punished again today?"

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "Wang Yong, do you know?"

"There are three things you shouldn't do at the Haishi Ability Bureau."

Despite Wang Yong's sturdy appearance, he was a playful person and wouldn't miss such an opportunity. He asked, "What three things?"

"First, don't provoke Gu Li for no reason; second, don't bully the director's daughter."

He paused here.

"Third, don't ask Zhang Yu why he was punished!"

Before Wang Yong could react, Zhang Yu became animated again.

"Seeing as you're curious, I'll tell you why I was punished..."

Wang Yong looked expectant, waiting for him to continue.

"Because I did the first two things."

"..."

Wang Yong swallowed the words "serves you right" with difficulty.

As they were talking, they arrived in the lobby.

"Just put it here!" Zhang Yu set down his things and helped Wang Yong with his load.

"What is this thing used for?"

"All the ability management departments across the country, no, the world, are starting to be equipped with it. It was jointly developed by Huaguo and the Beautiful Country. It's an instrument for observing special energy, abbreviated as Observer."

"Special energy? Is it an ability?" Wang Yong scratched his head, confused. Didn't they already have equipment to detect abilities before?

"No, remember those monsters that appeared last time? It's that kind of thing."

Up to now, humanity has initially gained the ability to observe the intensity of Honkai Energy and is popularizing it worldwide to reduce casualties.

However, it can only observe Honkai erosion and outbreaks. While it's very useful against Deathsworn and Honkai beasts, it's useless against Herrschers who have obtained a core.

Unless the Herrscher intentionally revealed themselves, or simply didn't care.

Furthermore, relying solely on satellites is insufficient for precisely locating where Honkai occurs. The distance is too great, and Honkai Energy is too erratic and unpredictable. Satellites can only pinpoint a general area; for exact location, ground-based "Observers" are necessary.

After the two set up the equipment, they just needed to wait for professional personnel to calibrate and test it before it could be used normally.

This Observer consists of a display screen, underground probes, an above-ground receiving device, and a main chassis. Its display screen is no larger than a typical television.

"Something like this can actually do it?"

"Heh, won't we know if we try?" Zhang Yu, unable to sit still, began fiddling with the equipment, finding it novel.

"Brother Yu, got it, got it!"

"Let me see!"

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at the display screen. A bright red dot appeared in the location of Haishi.

However, the red dot only appeared for a few seconds. If the two hadn't happened to be staring at it, this brief moment would have been automatically classified as a false positive by the AI and not recorded in the database.

This was because Honkai events of such short duration had never occurred before, and the intensity value calculated this time was extremely abnormal.

The intensity was calculated based on individual Deathsworn. For example, if a single Assault-class Honkai beast appeared, the Observer would give an intensity value between 5 and 20.

"Wang Yong, you broke the instrument!"

But just now, the value given by the Observer was—

???

The group didn't notice Nelly's anomaly.

"An interesting world." Feeling everything around her, "Nelly's" thoughts fluctuated slightly.

She closed her eyes, but space was like her fingertips. By "touching," the entire Haishi was under her control.

Whether it was a crab eating on the eastern beach or a leaf falling on the west side, she could know anything she wished.

"Too peaceful. Let me find some fun for you!"

Her finger twitched almost imperceptibly, and a runaway truck suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the intersection ahead, making a sharp turn and rushing towards them.

"Watch out!" Gu Yan reacted instantly, and Gu Li quickly turned the steering wheel to dodge. But no matter how fast they reacted, they couldn't ignore the vehicle's inertia; a collision was imminent!

"Tsk."

Gu Yan's body phased, passing through the windshield, and he stood in front of their car, pressing down with one hand—

The vehicle instantly stopped, and a handprint was imprinted on the hood. Gu Li had decent physical fitness and the airbags provided cushioning, so she wasn't injured.

Gu Yan, however, was not so gentle with the truck. Several massive ice pillars rose up, lifting the vehicle into the air, rendering it immobile.

No one was injured, and there was no car accident, but traffic was paralyzed.

These actions took only a moment. Gu Yan turned to look at "Nelly," who had appeared beside him at some unknown time:

"What did you just do?"