Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: The Bloodbath Caused by Half a Pot of Beef

In the midst of the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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In the human brawl, a couple of red beetles would often be drawn to the scene. He couldn't stop the crowd from fighting over food, nor could he prevent the red beetles from being attracted by the commotion. The only thing he could do was quickly eliminate these detestable insects.

Pulling the rope tied to the rooftop, Chu Yunsheng swiftly glided over the heads of the crowd. The Ice Arrow shot out, effortlessly piercing through the red beetle's shell and freezing it along with the arrow.

Swinging over the red beetle, he reached out, grabbed the frozen arrow, and instantly released his primordial energy. In an instant, both he and the beetle were propelled into the air by the tension of the rope, landing on the opposite rooftop.

The cries and screams of the crowd abruptly stopped!

All the flashlight beams converged on Chu Yunsheng's back.

What was left for the crowd was only his lonely gray silhouette and the mysterious crossbow slung over his shoulder.

No one knew who he was!

No one knew where he came from!

He seemed mysterious and powerful, yet he never descended to the human world!

He came alone and left alone.

He only took the dying red beetle with him!

Thus, rumors about him gradually spread in the eastern district of Shen City.

More and more experts appeared in the city of terror, and some people who encountered them often talked about them. Chu Yunsheng was only occasionally mentioned. Most of his time was spent hunting red beetles in deserted streets.

Chu Yunsheng also heard some of these rumors. The most prominent were two individuals: one was a military figure with the nickname "Iron Beast," rumored to be able to kill a red beetle with a single punch. Chu Yunsheng was very curious about how many punches this person could throw in one breath.

The other was said to be a government security advisor—Ice King. This person's ability was somewhat similar to Chu Yunsheng's Ice Arrow, but he could freeze multiple red beetles simultaneously over a large area.

Standing on the rooftop of a three-story building, Chu Yunsheng pondered: If I can hunt enough red beetles, I can start making battle armor talismans. Once I have the battle armor, I might not be weaker than these people!

Lately, the more red beetles he killed, the more seemed to appear. He didn't know where they were coming from, but the number of lone beetles was decreasing, which troubled him.

As long as he killed fifty-four, he wouldn't have to sneak around and ambush them anymore!

Looking at the pig brain on the street, which he used as bait, it seemed to be ineffective now!

He had been hiding here for a long time, and his body was already stiff. He heard passersby say that the temperature had stopped dropping, but he still felt abnormally cold!

He should eat something, Chu Yunsheng thought, patting his cold stomach.

These days, he had been eating cookies and bread. Today, he decided to have something hot.

This three-story building used to be a luxurious restaurant. Chu Yunsheng didn't have much trouble finding the kitchen on the first floor. The utensils were still there, but they were in a mess, and all the edible things seemed to have been taken by others!

But it didn't matter. Chu Yunsheng had his own supplies. He lit the alcohol stove and, with his current resources, could only make a hot pot.

Beef, cabbage, vermicelli, and even some tofu pieces were mixed together, quickly filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

This was probably the first proper "human meal" Chu Yunsheng had had in a long time. Although he had plenty of food stored, he hadn't had the heart to cook a proper meal, and he wasn't particularly skilled at it either.

The warm cabbage and beef warmed his stomach, and he even shivered in comfort. It had been so long since he had tasted such a warm meal!

Ordinary meals had become a luxury in these times.

"Hmm? Someone's coming in?" Chu Yunsheng swallowed a piece of beef and quickly picked up his crossbow. There was still at least half a pot of food left, and he wasn't ready to leave yet.

The first to appear before Chu Yunsheng was a group of students in school uniforms, staring intently at his half pot of beef. Next came a group of men and women with various weapons, also staring at the beef.

The kitchen of the luxurious restaurant was not small, but with so many people, it felt very crowded.

Chu Yunsheng held his crossbow, stunned for a moment, and pointed at the half pot of beef, saying something that felt very awkward to him: "...Mine!"

A burly man with a long, bright red scar on his face, bald, and clearly a fierce character, held a terrifying machete and casually said, "Not anymore!"

"Hmm?" Chu Yunsheng snorted. He was soft-hearted but not weak-willed. If you pleaded with him, he might let it go, as he had plenty of food and wouldn't mind sharing a little. But if you tried to force him, his stubborn side would come out. Besides, he was no longer the weak office worker he used to be. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "You can try!"

The burly man laughed as if he had heard a joke, pointing his machete at his group and said, "Kid, don't be cocky! You only have one crossbow, and once you shoot, you're done. We have so many people, you won't stand a chance!"

Chu Yunsheng calmly replied, "Is that so? Who said I was going to shoot them? I only need to shoot you!"

The burly man snorted angrily, gestured, and said, "You've got guts! Fourth Sister, show him what you've got!"

Chu Yunsheng thought it was some trick, but he didn't expect a gunshot to ring out from the crowd!

He had been active on the front lines hunting red beetles and rarely involved himself in human disputes over food. His understanding of human behavior was still rooted in the sunny days of the past. He never expected such a quick resort to violence!

If Diao Dingguo were here, he would have cursed the burly man for being a fool, as he knew Chu Yunsheng's strength. Unfortunately, he wasn't here, and no one knew this young man's background. They only knew that someone who could cook a pot of beef broth must have a lot of food. Kill him, and his things would be theirs!

The bullet "ding" hit the ground, and the room fell silent, filled with an eerie atmosphere.

Fourth Sister had never seen anyone block her bullets. Since her awakening, no one had been able to do so.

Chu Yunsheng stood there, blocking her bullet without moving, which surprised her slightly. However, it wasn't enough to scare her. In her eyes, Chu Yunsheng was just an awakened person with some defensive energy, and she had seen such people before, one of whom had died from her gun.

Her first bullet carried no energy, and it was reasonable that an awakened person could block it.

Fourth Sister sneered. If you can dodge the first shot, let's see if you can dodge the second! She injected her strongest fire energy and fired the second shot!

Chu Yunsheng only reacted after the first shot, instantly enraged. He thought, just for half a pot of beef, you bastards want to take my life? I've lived this long, and I'm not even worth half a pot of beef!?

He didn't care about the bullet; the Six Jia Primordial Talisman completely ignored such attacks without primordial energy.

Chu Yunsheng immediately mobilized his primordial energy and drew the crossbow. Since the other party wanted to kill him without a word, he wouldn't hold back. When a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength!

The Ice Arrow shot out, carrying a chilling cold. The bald man was already prepared for defense, determined to take the arrow to give Fourth Sister enough time to shoot and kill the other person.

But he was wrong, terribly wrong. He had provoked the wrong person. Some mistakes, once made, have no chance of correction.

As soon as Chu Yunsheng's Ice Arrow was shot, Fourth Sister's fire energy bullet hit. In a small kitchen, the scene of ice and fire appeared.

The bald man was instantly frozen into an ice stick. If he weren't an awakened person, Chu Yunsheng thought he would be dead by now. The cold of the Ice Arrow was not something a normal human could withstand.

Fourth Sister's fire energy bullet accurately hit Chu Yunsheng's heart, but it didn't pierce through as she had imagined. Instead, it only sparked a faint flame, and the space in front of him slightly distorted, extinguishing the flame!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could this be?

Fourth Sister couldn't accept it. Her bullet could penetrate a red beetle's body, yet it couldn't break through this person's defense? He didn't even have his clothes burned!