Chapter 14: Living Is Truly Wonderful

Amidst the fiery inferno, the red-armored beetle let out a tragic howl. Its once proud armor could not withstand the burning flames that gradually drained its life away.

A few bullets, each containing the equivalent energy of two ice arrows, were not enough to end its life immediately, but they left it unable to continue its attack, suffering in the flames as it awaited its inevitable death.

The last red-armored beetle fearlessly crossed over its fallen companion, its massive pincer sweeping across with a force as overwhelming as a mountain, sending Chu Yunsheng flying and crashing heavily to the ground.

In that moment, Chu Yunsheng felt as if his entire body had disintegrated, unable to gather himself together.

His pistol was thrown far away, a distance he could no longer reach.

The red shadow of the beetle loomed larger in his pupils, and he could almost feel the breath of death.

The beetle's eyes were filled with cruelty, death, and endless darkness, even a hint of mockery!

Chu Yunsheng, unable to move, was effortlessly picked up by the beetle's pincer. He could feel the Hexagram Talisman on the brink of shattering. It seemed that if the beetle closed its pincer just a little, he would be split in two like the many half-dead bodies he had seen.

The red-armored beetle let out a triumphant cry, opening its sticky, filthy mouth and extending a long, sharp, straw-like appendage that pierced toward Chu Yunsheng's head, intent on devouring his brain alive!

Chu Yunsheng struggled desperately, but he could not budge the iron-hard pincer. His crossbow and pistol were gone!

But he still had his sword, a sharp, long sword.

This was his only hope!

His left hand quickly found the hilt of the sword, and with a slight infusion of energy, the sword was released from its sheath. His energy was down to less than one-sixth, but in this life-or-death moment, he poured all his remaining energy into the sword.

Gripping the hilt, he arched his body backward, raised the sword, and thrust it forward, piercing the filthy mouth and the sharp, tube-like appendage, driving the entire blade into the beetle's sticky mouth. Nauseating fluids splattered onto Chu Yunsheng's face, burning with a fiery pain. The Hexagram Talisman was about to fail!

A desperate counterattack, a fatal strike!

The red-armored beetle, in excruciating pain, thrashed its pincers wildly, screeching madly, and flung Chu Yunsheng's body away. Its robust body twisted and convulsed violently as it gradually died.

Chu Yunsheng coughed up blood, the depletion of his energy leaving him weak and powerless, and the intense physical pain made it impossible for him to move another step.

He didn't even have the strength to take out the Energy Absorption Talisman.

Focusing on the principles, he struggled to restore his energy, for there was still one ice-encased red-armored beetle that could break free at any moment, and he was now too weak to fight.

This was a race against time, a race to recover faster than the beetle!

The burning red-armored beetle was nearly dead, and under the red glow, Chu Yunsheng watched the ice-encased beetle, which was hissing and emitting a cold aura.

One second! Two seconds! Three seconds! ...

One minute! Two minutes! Three minutes! ...

Half an hour passed. The distant gunfire, the sporadic main gun blasts, and the screeching of the red-armored beetles reminded every corner of the silent city of Shanghai that it was no longer the glittering international metropolis but a city of terror!

Every bone in his body seemed to have been displaced. At first, he couldn't move, but as his energy slowly and orderly recovered, the lost strength gradually returned to his body. With a sudden surge, the remaining energy in his body finally circulated throughout, and the feeling of relief surpassed the excruciating pain. Chu Yunsheng let out a low moan as his bones seemed to be pulled back into place. He finally managed to crawl up and sit against the wall.

He looked up.

The broken street, the towering buildings, the dark sky—everything resembled a thousand-year-old wasteland!

The long sword was vertically embedded in the mouth of the third red-armored beetle, which looked up at the sky, dying with a look of不甘 (reluctance).

The flickering flames were eerily beautiful, and the ice sculpture "cracked" with a clear and heart-stirring sound in the quiet, dark night. The beetle was about to break free!

Chu Yunsheng leaped up like a cheetah, taking one step, two steps, three steps, and swiftly drew the long sword from the third red-armored beetle. In four steps, five steps, six steps, he leaped into the air, raised the sword, and struck. The beetle's head, just breaking free from the ice, fell to the ground, and green fluid splattered beneath the sword!

It was over, truly over!

Chu Yunsheng collapsed to the ground, looking at the three red-armored beetles. The second one had been burned to death, the third one had been impaled by the sword, and the first one had been beheaded last.

He had actually fought against three red-armored beetles at once!

But Chu Yunsheng felt no excitement. This victory had almost cost him his life, and he could not guarantee that he would survive if it happened again.

For the first time, he yearned for the realm of Duality Heaven, for only at that level could he cultivate powerful close-combat skills.

Exhausted both physically and mentally, he wanted to sit on the ground and rest, but the sound of hurried footsteps on the street indicated that people were coming, and not just one. He thought the fire and the sounds of battle had attracted them.

No matter what, he could not let his hard-won victory go to waste. Chu Yunsheng immediately forced himself to gather his strength and quickly stored the three red-armored beetle corpses in the Storage Talisman, retrieved his pistol and crossbow, and ignored the ice and other debris. There were more important things, like the food at the Hualian supermarket.

By now, even a fool would understand the importance of food. In the dark world, many plants had died, and the future was unknown. The existing food was the only guarantee for survival!

No one would complain about having too much of this guarantee, especially someone like Chu Yunsheng, who had such a convenient Storage Talisman. The more, the better.

Using the remaining firelight, Chu Yunsheng quickly collected the few items left on the shelves, regardless of whether they were useful or not.

Halfway through, a crowd rushed in, and Zhang Han was among them. Chu Yunsheng gestured for him to hurry and grab what he could.

He ran to a counter where no one was paying attention and looted all the cigarettes and alcohol.

With his crossbow on his back, Chu Yunsheng lit a cigarette and walked out the front door, ignoring the frenzied crowd fighting over the food. Looking up at the dark sky, he suddenly felt a sense of how wonderful it was to be alive!

The supermarket's stock was already limited, and after Chu Yunsheng had taken his share, the crowd even searched the warehouse, quickly dividing everything, even the last sanitary pad!

When Zhang Han came out, his face was bruised and swollen, clearly from the conflict during the looting. He wrapped the miscellaneous items he had grabbed in his clothes and silently watched Chu Yunsheng's back. He could no longer understand this man. He had seen him kill more than one red-armored beetle from upstairs, but there were none at the scene.

Moreover, this man, who still carried his crossbow, showed no signs of carrying any food. Why was that?

However, Zhang Han didn't dare to ask. He sensed that this man was now irritable and very dangerous.

"Let's go back. I need to rest," Chu Yunsheng said softly, flicking away his cigarette. He needed a safe place to quickly recover his strength.

He had not suspected that Zhang Han had deliberately provided false information to lead him into the trap of the three red-armored beetles. But then he thought, such a move would not benefit Zhang Han and his group; instead, it would cost them his protection. Even if Zhang Han, like Diao Dingguo, coveted the crossbow, if Chu Yunsheng died in the beetles' mouths, the group would not be able to retrieve the crossbow from the beetles' attack range. Therefore, the possibility of Zhang Han lying was almost zero.

Besides, even with his First Heaven realm and the aid of night vision, Chu Yunsheng had been deceived by the extremely cunning red-armored beetles. How much more so for Zhang Han, who had nothing?

Returning to the room where the remaining four were staying, Chu Yunsheng found a secluded room, locked the door, and immediately entered a state of cultivation.

To his surprise, this life-risking action had led to an advancement in his energy!