The deafening explosion echoed through the air. Smoke and dust billowed everywhere, blotting out the sky.
The road that had once been neatly paved with stone was now a complete mess, thick smoke hanging in the air. The choking stench made it impossible to breathe.
"Cough, cough…" Ye Xin coughed lightly, forcibly swallowing the blood rising in his throat and enduring the deep, aching pain.
"Brother (big pervert)!"
His exposed back muscles were charred black, some spots still burning as flames licked at his clothes. Blood seeped out, forming a stark contrast against the scorched skin.
"Ye Xin…" Su Momo glanced at his back, and something in her heart was suddenly stirred. She wanted to say something, but didn't know how to put it into words. This kind of grace was no longer something that could be repaid with a simple thank-you.
If he said he was fine, none of the three girls were fools. Ye Xin's trembling hands and tightly furrowed brows made it clear—he was enduring immense pain.
"It's fine… I… I'm okay…" Ye Xin forced out a smile, gritting his teeth through the pain.
The moment he said he was fine, all three girls broke down crying. Complex emotions tangled together inside them. Their small hands wanted to touch his back, but they were afraid of worsening the burns, afraid of making the injuries more severe. In the end, they could only cry helplessly.
With healing skills, as long as Ye Xin didn't die, he would recover sooner or later.
[I'm missing defensive skills… Hopefully next time I level up, I'll get to choose my hero.]
He had slaughtered 1,203 units. The system upgrade wasn't far off. When that happened, his combat power would rise to another level. At present, there was no one who could rival him. Still, just in case, Ye Xin had many things he wanted to ask Su Momo—he just hadn't had the chance.
At this moment, Zhao Ziming rushed over. Aside from pure admiration, he practically wanted to strip off his own clothes to clothe Ye Xin.
"Ah—!"
"Sss—!"
For some reason, the zombies—who had been quiet—suddenly began howling in unison.
Su Momo seemed to realize something. She looked up at the sky, then glanced at the time on her watch.
Eight o'clock at night. The blood moon hung high in the sky. The fourth turn of the apocalypse!
"We need to leave immediately. The zombies are about to evolve. Animals and plants will all undergo baptism!"
Zhao Ziming carried Ye Xin on his back, and together with Aunt Su Wu, who had rushed over, they headed back.
Under the bridge, Song Qiming patted his chest in lingering fear. "Good thing they didn't find me. These freaks… once I get stronger, I'll get my revenge one by one. But that man—he really can't be provoked."
The scene of Ye Xin transforming into a dragon and breathing dragon fire lingered in his mind. If he ever encountered him one day, there'd be no need to fight—he'd just run.
Back at the supermarket, Su Duoduo took on the role of a doctor. With the experience from the previous two times, this round of treatment was noticeably better.
At least, that was what Ye Xin thought. Her attitude had changed quickly.
"Miss… what should we do next?"
Xie Jiugē had already explained everything. Su Momo found herself at a loss for the moment. If they just went back like this, she felt unwilling—everything felt like it had come too early.
"Ye Xin… can I ask you a question?" Su Momo asked.
"Is it about my ability?" Ye Xin guessed. Other than that, he couldn't think of anything else that would interest her.
Su Momo nodded. Not just her—everyone was curious.
It wasn't really a secret. Even if he explained it, they might not understand. A guy might get it, though. After all, this world also had games similar to DOTA.
"Whether it counts as an ability, I'm not sure. What I use are skills from a hero character in a game. The way I level up is probably different from yours. The more zombies I kill, the stronger I get."
"Boss… I know! You're using heroes from Glorious Alliance, right? I know that game!" The moment Zhao Ziming heard the word game, he rushed over.
"A game?" Most girls didn't really play games, so their understanding was half-baked at best.
Ye Xin had no choice but to continue explaining. "Yes, a game. Each hero has an average of four skills. There are about 120 heroes in total. I can randomly obtain hero skills. Right now, I have two heroes—counting passives, that's around eight skills."
"This is way stronger than abilities. Even I don't know what kind of skills I'll awaken later. Once I get a god-tier hero—like Pangu, Nuwa, Wu Zetian, that kind of thing—damn it, in the late game, one ultimate skill could mean stars falling from the sky. Enemies would die without even knowing how."
Whether they believed him or not didn't matter. Zhao Ziming had already dropped to his knees and started shouting, "You're not my big brother—you're my dad! My real dad! From now on, I'm relying on you to raise me!"
That shout made even Chou Lijie want to smack him. But thinking about it carefully… he really was lacking a dad.
"Get lost!"
For this tactless little brother, Ye Xin gave him a kick. He'd rather have a proper heart-to-heart talk with the girls.
"You sure can brag. You're already bad and perverted—now you've added bragging to the list." At first, they were interested, but the more outrageous he sounded, the more they felt Ye Xin was just messing with them.
"If what I said is fake, then what kind of ability lets someone heal, control fire, wind, shadows, and even turn into a dragon?" Ye Xin had known they wouldn't believe him. But since he'd already gone this far, if he didn't make himself sound powerful, how was he supposed to win over a loli's heart? The Goddess-Growing Plan had already taken root deep in his mind.
So many abilities—how could that be explained? Su Momo started to believe him a little. But if that were really the case, then why was there no such person in her prophetic dream?
Foreign races surged forth. Human cities turned into battlefields. Forces from all nations banded together, forming four major war zones. Each war zone was guarded by several eighth-tier War Gods.
Their Dragon Xia Nation, Flower Union Nation, Stick Nation, and Island Nation were unified in the Southeast Asian continent as the First War Zone. There were thirty-six eighth-tier experts guarding national borders, and Dragon Xia alone accounted for half of them.
In Magic City: Dongfang Hejiangyan, the Flame War God; Zhou Yan, the Blazing Sun War God; Jun Haotian, the Undead War God; Xiao Haoxiao, the Dragon War God.
In Province A: Qian Yi, the Scarlet Serpent War God; Zhao Hui, the Shadow Annihilation War God.
In Province B: Wang Yiming, the Rage War God; Shi Man, the Rock Demon War God.
In Province S: Li Donghai, the Extreme Frost War God; Xie Jiugē, the Extreme Flame War God.
In the Northern Frontier: Miao Yi, the Gu Poison War God; Miao Renfeng, the Gu Calamity War God.In Western Chu's Upper Liang: the Water Control War God Miao Huangsen, and the World-Destroying War God Chu Yunxiong.
The rest were stationed in the east. Among them, the Xia Family and Zhu Family had an especially large number of eighth-tier experts—yet the Su Family had already been wiped out early on.
Su Momo wasn't a transmigrator. She had simply glimpsed her original life trajectory—before Ye Xin's rebirth—through dreams, seeing it in advance.
"The apocalypse came a week early, so the extermination of my family will also be earlier. Even though Father has made thorough preparations, I'm still afraid something might go wrong. Ye Xin—only you can save our family!" Su Momo grabbed his hand, no longer caring about a young girl's shyness.
"Uh… Momo, could you call me something else?" To be honest, being called by his full name by a little loli felt a bit distant.
"Then I'll call you… ge… ge… alright." After hesitating for a while, Su Momo learned from Xie Wan'er and softly called him that once, her expression a little unnatural.
"Momo, don't rush. How much time do we have?"
"Probably a little over forty days… Within three days, they'll discover that zombie heads contain crystal cores that can enhance cultivation. Xia Tianba will keep devouring the crystals handed in by his subordinates, breaking through to fifth tier nonstop. By then, it'll be the Su Family's end. Calculating ahead of time, we have about a month."
"Then it's fine. In a month, I'll be charging straight toward seventh-tier combat power." That wasn't bragging at all. Ye Xin planned to form a team with the three of them and share experience. The experience they gained from killing would count toward him too. Wouldn't that leveling speed be insane?
"Really?"
At first, they all thought Ye Xin was exaggerating. Now, they had no choice but to believe him—the strength in front of them was undeniable.
"There's no benefit in lying to you. In a moment, you'll hear a voice in your head. Don't resist—just accept it."
Sure enough, an invitation-to-team prompt sounded in their minds. With Ye Xin's reassurance, the three girls exchanged glances and chose to accept.
Xie Wan'er hesitated a little. Among them, she still didn't fully understand her own ability—how could she even help?
"Momo… Duoduo… once I get stronger, I'll help you too. My grandfather is currently in National Security's Seventh Division. He should be able to help your family."
"Wan'er-jiejie, thank you…"
Su Duoduo felt a little guilty. Earlier, she had still been upset about Xie Wan'er getting close to Ye Xin. She hadn't expected her to be thinking about them instead.
[Jiejie… I like the big bad guy… Even if he doesn't become a god in the future, so what? Right now, Duoduo just wants to stay with him.]
[Duoduo… you're still young. Some things, you need to learn restraint.]Su Momo's heart was in turmoil. With a boy protecting her like this, she too was a young girl just awakening to love. Saying she didn't like him would be a lie.
What they didn't know was that their inner thoughts were heard clearly by both Ye Xin and Xie Wan'er—because in team mode, their connection worked exactly like that.