Chapter 20: Spatial Rifts, Alien Beings

When the last glimmer of light in the sky vanished, the earth plunged into complete darkness.

The already lifeless city grew unnervingly silent, every faint sound amplified infinitely.

Fang Shi leaned against the door behind the rooftop staircase, gripping a steel sword, silently waiting for the arrival of the alien beings.

Alien beings, as the name suggests, are creatures from another world.

After the apocalypse began, countless spatial rifts opened across Blue Star.

These rifts varied in size but all connected to the alien world.

Due to these space channels, alien beings could freely enter and exit Earth.

Unlike frail Earth lifeforms, the alien world brimmed with primal energy; its creatures had long shattered evolutionary chains and were terrifyingly powerful.

Every alien being entering Blue Star possessed at least Level 3 strength.

Imagine countless Level 3 creatures flooding Earth, each as strong as a Level 3 Elite Corpse—or even stronger.

How could the surviving humans possibly stand against them?

This was why Fang Shi dared not venture out at night to hunt.

Even though he had abundant combat experience and attributes far surpassing his level,

he could fight a single Level 3 alien being, but not a group.

Fortunately, due to cosmic restrictions, alien beings could not move freely or attack humans hiding in buildings before the first wave arrived.

Moreover, nighttime spatial rifts were mostly small, allowing only a few alien beings to enter.

This gave humanity a brief reprieve.

After spending the final hour relentlessly grinding monsters,

Fang Shi had leveled up to Level 3, his combat power rising another notch.

He now had full confidence he could escape safely when facing multiple alien beings.

Of course, there was another crucial reason.

Once a character’s experience accumulated to the level-up requirement, experience gain efficiency decreased regardless of whether the player leveled up.

For example, leveling from Level 2 to Level 3 required 3,000 experience.

When Fang Shi reached 3,000 experience, whether or not he leveled up, he would suffer an experience gain penalty.

Previously, at Level 2, killing a Level 1 Corpse granted 5 experience and 1 survival point.

Once experience hit 3,000, killing a Corpse granted 0 experience and 0 survival points.

Plainly put, the attribute panel completely forbade players from stalling levels or hoarding experience.

You level up when you’re supposed to—don’t try to suppress your level for Fengkuangshuajingyan .

Fang Shi ruthlessly exploited Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan not only to prepare for the first wave’s crisis,

but also because if he reached Level 3 before nightfall, he could act at night to hunt alien beings and accumulate experience.

This was far easier than facing countless alien beings tomorrow.

Otherwise, why would Fang Shi smash doors and search room by room for Corpses at night if he lacked enough experience to level up?

With his current strength and a steel sword in hand, he could break through one door per swing—extremely efficient.

He would surely gather enough experience to reach Level 3 before dawn.

But Fang Shi was ambitious; after realizing each first-time event granted rewards,

he wanted to obtain as many as possible.

This would greatly boost his strength and better prepare him for future crises.

Don’t assume martial artists who crush mountains and rivers, or sword immortals who traverse the heavens, can live Wuyou in the apocalypse.

Otherwise, how could the human settlement Fang Shi lived in before his rebirth have been overrun by monsters?

Only by staying one step ahead can one survive future, greater dangers.

…

Two hundred meters above ground, where nothing should have been, a faint silver glow shimmered.

As time passed, the silver glow grew brighter,

expanding in size.

Gradually forming a disc like liquid mercury.

Then a ripple spread across the silver disc, and a crimson-glowing bird head abruptly appeared atop it.

“Ang!”

With a cry, a large bird, about two meters long, emerged from the silver disc.

Its wingspan stretched an astonishing five meters; standing upright, it reached a human’s height.

The bird’s entire body glowed golden-yellow, its feathers beautiful and smooth, radiating crimson light.

Especially its tail feathers—exceptionally long—flaring like a streak of flame across the sky as it flew.

This was a Firewing Bird from the alien world, at least Level 3.

Legends claimed it carried a trace of Phoenix blood, hence its innate flame affinity and ability to wield fire.

Some Firewing Birds even possessed the ability to rebirth from ashes.

Even excluding these supernatural abilities, its beak and talons were razor-sharp, hooked like blades.

Capable of tearing prey apart effortlessly.

These alien Firewing Birds would, for a long time ahead, claim Ancheng as their territory and kill all intruders.

After crossing the space channel, this Firewing Bird felt intense discomfort.

Its flame power weakened drastically; the crimson glow on its body faded slowly, and its tail no longer trailed long flames.

Its entire body became ordinary, merely a beautiful large bird.

It lost all trace of supernatural grandeur.

The reason was simple: Blue Star lacked primal energy; for a Firewing Bird adapted to primal-rich environments,

it was like an ordinary person entering the Tibetan Plateau—completely unaccustomed to low oxygen.

A thought surfaced in its mind: better return; this hellish place held nothing worth staying for.

Better return to the warm forests, enjoying mutual preening with female Firewing Birds.

So, the Firewing Bird gladly followed its instinct, flew a short distance over Ancheng, then turned to re-enter the rift.

But suddenly, it sensed a presence—the very aura that had first drawn it into the rift.

It did not know the source of this aura, but its bloodline memory told it: find the origin of this aura.

And claim it—it would greatly aid its evolution, even enable bloodline transcendence and ancestral revival.

Then it could become king of the Firewing Bird clan, with many females to preen with.

“Shiu!”

The Firewing Bird reversed its flight, diving like an arrow toward the ground, heading for the aura’s source.

As it neared the ground, the aura’s sources multiplied, densely scattered across the earth.

The bird’s blood began to boil; residual flame energy surged through its veins.

Its supernatural traits reappeared.

A thin layer of flame formed around its body, reducing air resistance

while generating rearward heat thrust, accelerating its flight.

Like a meteor streaking across the night sky.

The Firewing Bird possessed night vision, with exceptional range in darkness.

In its eyes, below lay towering buildings, and the aura’s source hid within them.

Soon, it would plunge into the buildings and find the source.

…

“Ang!”

A cry of agony and helplessness erupted from the Firewing Bird’s vocal sac.

The bird had now dove to a window.

Under the crimson glow, a trembling human figure inside was clearly visible.

Thanks to its abilities, these flimsy security grilles could not stop it.

Even with only 12 strength, flame-enhanced force would easily tear through hollow stainless steel.

Then it could capture the human hiding inside.

At this close range, the Firewing Bird could clearly sense

that the aura it sought resided within this human, saturating their flesh and blood.

Instinct told the Firewing Bird: if it devoured this human, it could absorb the aura’s origin and achieve evolution.

But as it prepared to break the window, a deathly danger surged in its mind.

Along with it came a message.

The message warned: if it attacked any human inside a building, it would die instantly.

The Firewing Bird doubted it—until the urge to strike arose, and its entire body trembled uncontrollably.

It could not move a single muscle; its body instinctively screamed to flee.

It tried once—and not only did nothing happen, but its internal flame energy spiraled out of control, backfiring on itself.

It screamed in agony.

The message also warned: this was only a warning; a second offense meant death.

This punishment, like divine wrath, reminded the Firewing Bird of the gods described in its bloodline’s inheritance.

Legend says the gods wield authority, omnipresent and omnipotent within the scope of their dominion.

Any creature that dares offend a god shall be frozen to death by icy winds.

And death is not the end.

The soul shall be eternally buffeted by freezing gales, never at rest.

Thinking of this, the Firewing Bird could not suppress its terror.

As a fire-type magical beast, it feared cold above all.

Its kind never ventured north, nor had it ever seen snow.

Instead, it lived in the tropical jungles of the south, enjoying a climate perpetually like summer.

For it, dying of cold was the cruelest punishment.

Could it be that these humans were under divine protection, and it had offended the great god?

Just as the Firewing Bird trembled in fear, wishing to return to the other world, another wave of information came.

The new information told the Firewing Bird that it could freely hunt and kill any humans outside the buildings, without any punishment.

Not only would it not be punished—the very force of the Faze allowed it to absorb freely; this was its reward.

This message lifted the Firewing Bird’s spirits: the thing that had drawn it was the force of the Faze .

And the god’s protection of humans had its limits.

As long as it obeyed the god’s rules, it had a chance to capture humans.

To obtain the so-called force of the Faze .

In the end, the Firewing Bird hovered above the building, circling endlessly, unwilling to leave.

For the sake of bloodline elevation, for its own evolution, it resolved to summon its patience and wait for the humans inside the building to emerge.

Just as in the past, when hunting prey in the jungle, it would patiently wait for its target to appear, then deliver a fatal strike.