Death Bringer

"An Ability User like you? You can't even start a fire! Get lost!"

After shoving the obstructive Zhao Qi aside, Gu Yan crouched beside the firewood.

A dignified Ability User like Zhao Qi had volunteered to start the fire, yet after fiddling with it for three hours, he hadn't even produced a single spark.

How was someone like this still alive and well? It was unbelievably aggravating!

Honkai Energy poured out, attempting to ignite the firewood. The violent energy swept past, and the wood before him turned to ash the instant it flared up.

Even more aggravating!

A certain ice maker's face had twisted from holding back his laughter, and he completely failed to notice the killing intent that seemed to flash through Gu Yan's eyes.

He knew my embarrassing past. This bastard couldn't be allowed to live.

Within a few minutes, Gu Yan had gathered another pile of firewood. He picked up one piece, and a faint amount of energy seeped out. Gu Yan slowly increased the energy output under his control, and the firewood began to burn.

It had been more than ten hours since they had left the air-raid shelter. The two of them traveled very slowly and hadn't encountered any Honkai beasts along the way. Occasionally, they even came across other survivors who had escaped by luck.

They hadn't gone very far, but at least they were no longer at risk of being surrounded by Honkai beasts. This place was at the foot of the mountains, with a water source nearby. It was pretty good.

"Zhao Qi, are you really up to this? How about I do it? Don't ruin my grilled fish."

Using Ice Cones to spear fish was incredibly convenient. Once they pierced a fish, the cone would bring it floating back up.

"Enough, enough. I used to work as a waiter at a barbecue stall. I learned a few tricks from the barbecue master, so just wait for your grilled fish, Brother Gu!"

Zhao Qi held four skewers of grilled fish in each hand and roasted them with practiced movements.

Heaven knew when he had made those wooden skewers.

The two of them had physiques far superior to ordinary people and impressive stamina, but they also had truly enormous appetites. These grilled fish might not be enough.

But... was it really okay not to gut them?

"The barbecue master was a professional. When he taught me, he never said anything about gutting the fish. If he didn't say it, then it doesn't need to be done!" Zhao Qi declared.

I see. I was the one being presumptuous.

Sitting against a tree, Gu Yan finally felt he could relax a little. The past few days had been truly disastrous. Every rotten thing imaginable had happened to him, as if he were being hunted down.

"I was planning to find a job at a company after returning home and live an ordinary, uneventful life. Then, if I got the chance, I'd use the movies, songs, games, and so on from another world to become a plagiarist, and comfortably spend the rest of my life."

Instead of spending every day thinking about how to survive the Honkai. This wasn't the life Gu Xianyu wanted!

Speaking of home, he still had a forty-year-old mother and a sister two years older than him.

They should know that something had happened across the ocean, right? There was no way such a huge disturbance could be kept secret.

"Zhao Qi, lend me your phone. I want to make a call and let them know I'm safe."

It was a little after seven in the evening. Even accounting for the time difference, he wouldn't be disturbing them.

"Brother Gu, take it yourself. My hands are occupied!"

Huaguo, Hai City.

"Xiao Li, let's order takeout today. Mom doesn't feel like cooking." Mother Gu said it casually, without even checking whether the other party had heard her.

No response meant agreement. Exactly!

Unfortunately, Gu Li was already sitting beside her, staring at Mother Gu with a resentful gaze.

Parents these days were so difficult to manage.

This family had excellent genes. The siblings were both attractive, while the mother and daughter resembled each other somewhat. Sitting together, they looked more like sisters.

"Oh, Xiao Li, my phone's ringing. We can talk about it later." Ignoring the gaze beside her, Mother Gu tried to muddle through.

"Mom, it's me." Gu Yan's voice came through, and the older sister, who had been about to leave, stopped as well.

"Xiao Yan, what made you think of calling home? I'd almost forgotten about you... No, no, Mom's been missing you terribly."

"..."

She had been about to say she'd forgotten her own son, hadn't she?

"I'm in Jinshan City, remember? Something happened here, so I was worried you'd be concerned. I called to let you know I'm safe. Why do I feel like I'm only getting in the way?" Gu Yan's tone also turned resentful.

Gu Li opened her phone and showed Mother Gu the news. This mother of theirs was truly impossible to reassure.

"Son, take care of yourself." Looking at the pictures in the news report, Mother Gu knitted her brows and urged him with concern.

The pictures had been taken by satellites. Countless tall buildings had collapsed into rubble, presenting an apocalyptic scene. The enormous crater in the city center, however, hadn't been photographed.

The official explanation for the incident was an earthquake. It was practically treating people like idiots.

After Mother Gu and his sister expressed their concern for him, Gu Yan hung up. Letting them know he was safe was enough. Phone charges were expensive!

Though, this wasn't even his phone. He'd miscalculated.

"Brother Gu, the fish is ready. Come taste it!"

Ignoring Gu Yan's dazed expression, Zhao Qi shoved a skewer into his hand and eagerly took a bite himself.

"Blegh~"

"It's awful!" Zhao Qi hurriedly covered his mouth so Gu Yan wouldn't hear, then forced himself to act as if it were delicious. He was practically a living accomplice.

Sorry, Brother Gu, but I can't eat this fish alone!

Automatic repair activating

Gu Yan frowned after taking a bite.

Automatic repair had actually activated. This had to be poison, right?! Was this guy a Death Bringer?

"Annoying fly!"

Pfft!

A massive splash rang out. The waves on the sea rose dozens of meters, as if some enormous creature had fallen into the water.

Ji descended from high above and stood on the surface of the sea after the waves settled.

She hadn't expected this world to contain such an interesting existence. It was just far too annoying.

"Nothing but a slightly larger ant, and you dare block my path? You don't know your own limits!"

If Ji hadn't been in a hurry to go to Jinshan City, she would have killed him here!

Unfortunately, that ant had thick skin and heavy flesh. Forget it. She would let him live a little longer first.

Another fighter jet approached from the distance, and annoyance flashed through her eyes.

Damn it!

Her authority activated. Eight azure spears appeared around her, with Honkai Energy clinging to them.

"Go!"

The spears plunged into the sea in an instant, baring their fangs at a certain target.

Under the surface, dark currents churned.

Ji paid them no further attention. She knew this wouldn't kill that oversized ant, but it would be enough to paralyze him for two days.

She lightly tapped the tips of her toes and leaped high into the air. Then she landed on something invisible and flew toward Jinshan City at high speed.

Beneath the surface, a pair of vertical pupils stared intently at Ji, filled with deep wariness.

"The target is flying toward E72. Third Formation, prepare to intercept! Use nuclear weapons directly!"

Along Ji's route, the Beautiful Country's military had mobilized no fewer than seventeen carrier formations to wait for her!

Even if they had to pay such a high price, killing her would be worth it. The secrets within her and her powerful abilities—

Would no longer be beyond their reach!

As long as they successfully hunted down this godlike girl and obtained some of her body tissue, the Beautiful Country would leave Earth behind and enter a new stage of civilization.

Therefore, they had appropriately reduced the explosive yield of the nuclear weapons, ensuring Ji wouldn't be turned directly to ash. Even with her powerful defenses, surviving such a devastating explosion would be difficult.

Of course, that was merely what everyone believed.

"The target is rapidly approaching. Prepare to launch!"

But at that moment, they had no idea just how ignorant they were.

Ji entered the kill zone in the blink of an eye, but she merely glanced at it without the slightest ripple of emotion, as if she were looking at a speck of dust.

Cold sweat broke out on everyone's foreheads as they tried to capture a trace of panic on Ji's face.

No one could possibly withstand a nuclear weapon head-on. They were certain they would succeed!

They knew nothing about Herrschers.

Boom!

A massive fireball expanded in the sky. The nearby clouds shattered and vanished, while the blinding light forced everyone to avert their eyes temporarily.

When the glare faded, their gazes gathered again.

"How is this possible?!"

Humanity's supposedly invincible nuclear weapons had failed to injure Ji in the slightest!

The pale-blue shield around Ji faded from view, and mockery surfaced in her eyes.

You know nothing about the Honkai!