"Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Technique"!

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

A mosquito the size of a fingernail droned through the dark room. As its body grew larger, its appetite had grown by the day as well.

It had not tasted blood in a long time. It was starving.

After finally finding prey, it was just looking for the chance to strike and pierce flesh with its long proboscis for a satisfying drink when it suddenly felt an icy chill. An invisible force bound its body, and even its nimble wings became heavy.

Danger!

Just as it prepared to flee, a flash of white light appeared. It saw half a body drifting down, and it looked strangely familiar.

Oh, that was its own waist.

I've gotten thinner lately!

That was its final thought before it lost consciousness.

The mosquito split in two, while the Dogleg Knife silently floated in midair once more, waiting for its next prey.

This was the Qi Control Technique that made the Predators tremble in fear: controlling a blade with qi and killing from afar.

After the Great Cataclysm, large numbers of humans immigrated to New Star, while even more could only struggle to survive in the wastelands.

Affected by nuclear radiation, plants grew madly and countless beasts mutated. They became powerful and aggressive; even such feeble creatures as cats, rats, and mantises became exceptionally ferocious.

To survive in such a world, one needed a strong body and formidable means of self-defense.

Thus, the ancient martial arts and body cultivation techniques humans had abandoned for thousands of years regained their vitality. Tai Chi, Eight Trigram Palm, Five Animal Frolics, and Eight Brocades had all become nationwide fitness programs, while some people had fortuitously acquired even more miraculous cultivation manuals.

It was said that the humans of New Star also practiced these ancient martial arts to travel the vast sea of stars and wield all sorts of powerful weapons and equipment. Some inherited them through their families, some purchased them at great cost, and others sent all kinds of expedition teams to Blue Star in search of ancient royal tombs for greater opportunities.

After all, Blue Star was the birthplace of ancient martial arts. Though it was now ruined, countless immortal masters and great figures lay buried beneath its thick soil and stone coffins.

Clearly, Phoenix was one of those who had come to Blue Star seeking opportunities.

Thinking of Phoenix, Tang Fei could not help but sigh again.

Her skin really was so pale!

The cultivation technique Tang Fei practiced was called the Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Technique. It had nine levels. Each breakthrough granted the strength of one dragon and one elephant. Upon reaching the ninth level, the miracle of Nine Dragons Empowerment would appear. At that point, a Cultivator would enter the Transcendent realm and live forever, indestructible.

Of course, Tang Fei suspected Old Man was just boasting.

After all, Old Man had given him this technique, yet he had not even broken through the first level. He could not experience the "unreasonably tyrannical" strength of dragons and elephants Old Man had described.

Tang Fei had not slept well that night. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

He kept thinking about sleep. Old Man had said that eating did not mean the kind of eating Tang Fei had imagined, and sleeping did not mean the kind of sleeping he usually did.

They were both called sleeping. How different could they be?

There was an antique television at home, but it had long been unable to receive any signals because of electromagnetic storms. Left unused for so long, its internal components had rusted.

However, beneath Old Man's pillow, which gave off a powerful fishy stench, he had found several battered, incomplete magazines. Most of the men and women inside wore no clothes, but they did nothing to quench his thirst or teach him much useful knowledge. Instead, they only made him thirstier after looking at them.

"What kind of sleeping did Old Man mean?"

"Has he done it?"

"I already knew he had something going on with Sister-in-law Cheng at the village entrance. The way Sister-in-law Cheng looks at him is practically dripping honey, yet Old Man still refuses to admit it."

"I'll definitely make Old Man explain himself later."

Tang Fei lay in the woods, controlling the Dogleg Knife that could cut wood as easily as mud. Every slash was perfectly placed, cleanly cutting away excess wood or carving neat grooves into it.

After carving the final piece of wood into a shape he found satisfactory, Tang Fei blew away the wood shavings clinging to it.

Then he picked up the pile of oddly shaped wooden pieces by his crotch and began assembling them. His movements were swift, requiring almost no thought. The exact place where each piece belonged had long been etched deep into his mind. He moved like the wind, fluid and effortless.

Before long, a small wooden bird appeared in his palm.

He twisted the spring at the bird's tail, and it gave a series of "creak, creak" cries.

When he felt the time was right, he suddenly hurled the bird into the sky. Propelled by inertia, it actually flapped its two wooden wings and flew.

Flap, flap!

One meter, two meters, three meters.

It climbed upward step by step.

Just like a real bird.

Tang Fei watched with an expectant face, his hands clenched into fists. Come on, come on!

Suddenly, black smoke began to rise from the bird's rear. Flames soon ignited, and the wooden bird turned into a firebird that plunged straight down. With a bang, it smashed into the ground and shattered into pieces.

Tang Fei sighed softly. Just like before.

To make this little bird fly, he had already conducted thousands of "test flights." Unfortunately, every one of them had ended in failure.

"Of course, the progress is obvious," Tang Fei comforted himself inwardly.

At the beginning, the bird could not fly at all. The moment he threw it, it would fall straight down. The highest point it reached depended entirely on how much strength Tang Fei used.

Then it was one meter, two meters, three meters, until now, when it could fly over treetops more than ten meters high.

It should still be a problem with the wood's structural strength, Tang Fei thought. The spring is carved from wood. The higher it rises, the stronger the power source it needs. The spring spins faster and faster. Once it spins too violently, friction sets it on fire.

It would be great if I could make the spring from steel. But even if the spring were steel, the bird's body would still be wood. Wouldn't that just be making fire by drilling wood?

Unless the entire bird were made of steel...

Abruptly, Old Man's mean face surfaced in his mind.

"A wooden one can't even fly, and you want to make one out of steel? Dream on."

What an annoying bastard!

"Brother!" Little Fatty's voice called out.

Tang Fei turned and saw Little Fatty approaching with the pale-faced Phoenix.

Phoenix studied him with a strange look, as if she had discovered a new continent.

She probably had not expected that, besides his handsome appearance, he was also so talented.

Mechanic. He had heard it was a highly sought-after profession on New Star.

If he became an outstanding mechanic, he would never have to worry about sleeping...

Huh? Why was he thinking about sleep again?

Damn Old Man!

Tang Fei stared at Phoenix warily, thinking, This woman isn't plotting something against me, is she?

I'm still young...

She can dream on!

Tang Fei looked at Phoenix and asked, "Why did you come out? Are you all better?"

"Much better. After taking your medicine and drinking a bowl of meat soup, I felt much more comfortable when I got up today. The scars on my body have started healing too," Phoenix explained.

Although being stranded in this unfamiliar, savage land filled her with despair, the concern this young man showed her sent a warm current through her heart.

It was such a strange feeling. In the past, people had constantly surrounded her with concern and attention. She had only thanked them politely, sometimes even feeling annoyed.

Sure enough, people craved whatever they lacked.

On the ruins, even the slightest bit of concern was an immense comfort to her.

"Mm, don't rush it. The wounds will itch a little while they heal, so don't scratch them with your Hands. That's a normal reaction after applying Snake Skin Tree sap."

"In a few days, scabs will form over the wounds. Once they fall off naturally, your skin will return to how it was before. There won't be any trace of injury at all. It might even be softer and fairer than before."

"So miraculous?" Phoenix exclaimed.

On New Star, the latest skincare products and cosmetic medical devices could also remove scars and marks, leaving no trace behind after an injury.

Yet here in the ruins, Tang Fei had merely chewed a few leaves and placed them over her wounds, and they could achieve the same effect.

Sure enough, after the Great Cataclysm, the ruins were full of treasures. One simply needed to dig for them with care.

"Of course." Tang Fei nodded. "Go back and check again. See whether there are any places that have not healed. If they haven't healed properly, I'll chew up some more Snake Skin Tree sap and apply it. A few more treatments and you'll be fine."

Phoenix nodded. "It's all right. I know my own body. I'm just still a little weak."

"Mm. It's good that you're fine." Tang Fei smiled.

The better Phoenix recovered, the sooner she could return to New Star, and the sooner he could receive the reward supplies.

He had already imagined himself hunting with a Pulse Rifle in hand and a flying car beneath him. He would be the coolest monster hunter on the planet.

Phoenix looked at Tang Fei and said, "I want to see where I crashed."

"You want to check your Escape Pod, right?"

"Yes." Phoenix nodded. "If the communications equipment inside still works, I can contact my family directly. When they come to take me home, they can bring the supplies I promised you as thanks. Wouldn't that put you more at ease?"

"Listen to you. What's there to be at ease about? From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were a woman worth trusting."

Tang Fei spoke with an indifferent air. "Still, contacting your family would be good. I hope you can reunite with them soon. After all, this isn't a place a woman like you should stay."

Phoenix smiled. "Where should a woman like me stay?"

"On New Star, in a place that shines," Tang Fei said.

Phoenix gave Tang Fei a meaningful glance. "A boy like you might be very popular with noble young ladies once you get to New Star."

"Really?" Tang Fei was overjoyed. "What would they like about me?"

"..."

Phoenix looked at Tang Fei's unwashed face and long hair clumped together with grime. She thought that she must have gone insane to say something so unreasonable.

"Your kindness," Phoenix said. Seeing that Tang Fei was still staring at her with blazing eyes and an eager expression, she could only force herself to answer. "And your courage."

"And my looks," Tang Fei said. "I just haven't washed my face. If I did, even I'd think I was unbelievably handsome."

"..."

Led by Tang Fei, the three found the place where Phoenix had crashed yesterday.

Phoenix rushed to the Escape Pod. After climbing inside, she immediately tried to start the main system.

"System damaged. Unable to start!"

She tried again, but the artificial intelligence's mechanical prompt sounded once more.

"System damaged. Unable to start!"

"The system is damaged." Phoenix looked regretful. Though she had long prepared herself for the worst and had anticipated this outcome, she still could not suppress her grief when faced with it.

She then tried to find the communications equipment inside the Escape Pod, hoping to use it to contact New Star. The result was equally disappointing: the communications equipment was severely damaged and unable to determine its location.

It could not determine her own location, much less New Star's. How could she contact anyone?

"You can't get in touch with them?" Tang Fei leaned closer and asked.

Phoenix was sad, and so was he.

If Phoenix could not return, he would not receive his well-deserved "gratitude gift package." What was he supposed to do?

Thinking of the Pulse Rifle, flying car, and ton of supplies slipping away from him, he felt even sadder than Phoenix.

Human sorrow and joy truly were connected.

"You saw it yourself." Phoenix could sense how eager this guy was to "send" her away. Pointing at the Escape Pod's control panel, she explained, "The fall from high altitude caused severe damage. The system can't start, and the communications equipment can't determine a location..."

"Do you have any other way to contact them?" Tang Fei asked.

Phoenix raised her arm to show her holographic smart communication wristwatch. "There's this."

"Then why... is it broken too?"

Phoenix nodded.

Silence.

Deathly silence.

After a long while, Tang Fei asked, "What are you planning to do next?"

"I plan to go back with you," Phoenix said.

It was the only choice, and the best choice at the moment.

After all, this man was her savior. If he could save her once, he could save her a second time.

If she left this place, who knew what villains or monsters she might encounter?

"What?" Tang Fei was shocked.

In his and Old Man's plan, they would send this woman back to New Star the moment she woke up.

That way, they would not have to take on any responsibility, would save food, and might even receive a generous reward.

Yet she wanted to go back with him?

First, once they returned, there would be another mouth to feed. He would have to hunt more prey.

Second, her identity was unknown, and she had crashed here after being attacked. What if her enemies came after her? They did not have a friendship where they shared blessings and hardships.

Third, if she did not return, when would he receive his reward? If she could not go back for the rest of her life and stayed by his side, she would affect his hunting efficiency.

"Name your price," Phoenix said calmly.

She had basically grasped the trick to communicating with this guy. As far as he was concerned, any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem.

Fortunately, she did not lack money.