A small mushroom cloud illuminated a patch of the night sky above the hill, turning it bright orange. Then, it slowly faded, leaving only a shower of falling flames.
Once the mushroom cloud had completely dispersed, the houses on the hill were almost gone; only burning ruins were visible within the inferno.
"Um..." Lu Yuan stared blankly in the direction of the hill, momentarily at a loss.
Lu Yuan was truly shocked. They even created a mushroom cloud! Anyone in the know would realize this was just a few people fighting; those who didn’t might think it was a war.
Images of recent explosion and fire incidents from the TV news suddenly flashed through his mind. Plus, the crows. It all connected. Everything was linked now. This was all the commotion caused by Yellow Bear members besieging the Crow God Sect.
"This is too over the top..."
It was one thing for a Modified Human to unleash energy beams, but to cause an explosion of this magnitude? Compared to this, what did a Martial Arts Extraordinary even count for? Could powerful individuals like Lin Zhiquin and Qin Feng survive such a massive explosion? Lu Yuan didn’t know.
But at this moment, he somewhat understood the true meaning of what Zhou Ling had told him before: "Modification is a much more legitimate and promising path than your Martial Arts... you’ll understand in the future."
"If I really had to choose, would I be willing to obtain such power by replacing my organs and body parts?" Lu Yuan asked himself. For now, the answer was naturally ’no.’
"Others practicing Martial Arts might not achieve it, but for me, it might not be impossible..." Lu Yuan looked down at his hands, at the intricate lines on his palms. "I have a Class Panel. I can add attribute points indefinitely and easily break through limits others can’t. Can a mere mortal body truly withstand mecha cannons...? If I don’t try, how will I know?"
Perhaps one day, when he found that the path of Martial Arts was truly a dead end, and if his obsession with power remained particularly strong, then he might consider the path of a Modified Human. Of course, it was too early to think about such things. He was far from the point where he needed to make that choice.
Lu Yuan shook his head, temporarily discarding these unrelated thoughts. Then he stared at the small, fiery hill in the distance, his expression thoughtful.
The battle seemed to have subsided, but the outcome was not yet clear to him. Who had won between the Crow God Sect and Yellow Bear? Standing so far away, Lu Yuan had no clear idea.
"Maybe... I should go take a look?" Lu Yuan ruthlessly crushed the thought the instant it surfaced. "Look at what?! Curiosity killed the cat."
His previous infiltration of the Crow God Sect’s lair had been a rash move. He’d only gone in after seeing his father, Lu Xinghua, and the others escape safely, believing nothing inside posed a significant threat. That, combined with his recent rapid increase in strength, had made him reckless. Fortunately, he had encountered Yellow Bear members afterward. But having learned his lesson once, Lu Yuan really didn’t want to be laid out on the chopping block a second time.
"What if the battle isn’t over? What if Zhou Ling and his team actually lost?"
"I’ll find out the result tomorrow from the news or by asking Ge Wenjun. Why go looking for trouble now?"
"Besides, even if Zhou Ling’s group lost, the Crow God Sect probably wouldn’t fare well either. After all, Burnt Rock is government territory."
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lu Yuan turned and started to run back, picking up speed as he went, heading straight away from the battlefield.
He had firmly decided not to turn back. He would go home immediately, get into bed, and sleep until broad daylight.
But just as he was about to leave the dirt country road and could see the cement highway ahead, the phone in his hand suddenly rang.
The caller ID read: Dad.
"Damn it!" Lu Yuan’s mood instantly plummeted when he saw the screen.
He was just about to head home, and now his father, Lu Xinghua, was calling him. No doubt, his sneaking out of his room in the middle of the night had been discovered.
The phone rang, one shrill burst after another, piercing the silence of the desolate countryside.
Lu Yuan had no choice but to quickly concoct a plausible excuse in his mind. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, then pressed the answer button.
"Dad." Lu Yuan tried his best to keep his voice steady and natural.
He tried to anticipate what his father, Lu Xinghua, would say and in what tone...
The next moment, however, a man’s amused voice came from the other end.
His hand, gripping the phone, stiffened for several seconds, his expression frozen. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suppressing the urge to get angry, he said coldly, "Isn’t this joke a bit much?"
Lu Yuan couldn’t believe it. The call from "Lu Xinghua" was actually Zhou Ling! That bastard! Taking advantage of me like that! Why didn’t the explosion kill him?
"Sorry..." Zhou Ling coughed lightly on the other end of the phone; he sounded a bit weak. "Just a little trick. I was mainly worried I wouldn’t be able to reach you."
"Why are you trying to reach me?" Lu Yuan’s anger had subsided by now. Zhou Ling calling him meant the outcome of the battle was clear, and he relaxed completely.
"I need you to do me a small favor..." Zhou Ling’s voice was low. "Time is tight. I’m afraid it’ll be too late by the time my reinforcements arrive. Can you come back right now?"
Lu Yuan turned his head and gazed at the distant hillside behind him. He remained silent for a moment.
Finally, he said, "Alright."
「Three minutes later」 Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveIꜰire.net
Lu Yuan returned to his original position.
The place was ablaze, the intense fire illuminating the surroundings as if it were daylight. Only now, seeing it up close, did he truly feel the power of the earlier explosion.
The entire outer wall of the house had been practically leveled. The four-story, self-built house was completely demolished and had collapsed into a heap of rubble, making it difficult to even make out the layout of the first floor.
The water tank and solar water heater, originally on the roof, were now twisted and charred, reduced to a blackened iron frame.
It was impossible to tell how many crows had burned to death. This, combined with the septic tank full of rotting corpses behind the house, filled the entire hillside with a thick, acrid smell of burnt flesh.
When Lu Yuan arrived, Zhou Ling was dragging a Yellow Bear member—or what was left of one—from the inferno.
He looked terrible. His entire body was blackened, and one arm was missing. A large gash ran across his left cheek, revealing dented metal beneath, as if something sharp had gouged it out. One leg was also injured, making him waddle comically, like a duck.
"I was careless." Upon seeing Lu Yuan, a bitter smile appeared on Zhou Ling’s handsome, battle-scarred face. "Didn’t expect to run into a Strong Divine Servant of the Crow God Sect this time. I almost got taken out by a rookie mistake..."
"What is a Strong Divine Servant?" Lu Yuan asked abruptly, his expression shifting.
"I’ll explain later." Zhou Ling tossed the half-bodied Yellow Bear member he was holding onto the ground in front of Lu Yuan.
Besides this one, two others lay on the ground—both Yellow Bear members Lu Yuan had seen before. Of course, they were all in a terrible state now, eyes tightly shut, each one looking battered and broken, missing arms or legs.
Lu Yuan even suspected some of them were already dead. At least, in his experience, ordinary people couldn’t possibly survive such severe injuries.
"Help me inject 1 milliliter of this into each of them. Make sure they don’t actually die. As long as they’re not completely dead, they can still be saved..." Zhou Ling somehow produced a syringe half-filled with a blue, unidentifiable liquid and handed it to Lu Yuan.
Then, with his "Duck Walk," he quickly hobbled back into the blazing ruins.
"I still have to go in a few more times. Please..."