Chapter 23: Night Battle Resumes: Crisis Descends

“Tap-tap-tap.”

Fang Shi’s ear twitched as he was observing the energy core, hearing faint footsteps on the stairs.

He turned around and spoke to the empty staircase: “Hurry up, don’t dawdle—I need your help with something.”

With a flurry of hurried footsteps, Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan climbed up, faces full of resentment.

Hearing Fang Shi’s voice, they felt little more than surprise at his strength—he’d single-handedly killed that giant bird.

But when they heard he wanted their help, despair filled them.

If only they hadn’t been so curious—now they’d walked straight into a trap.

Fang Shi guessed their thoughts and smiled: “This isn’t hard labor—it’s a huge benefit.”

Constant exploitation won’t work; if you want the horse to run fast, you’ve got to feed it night grass.

These two may be weak, but for now they’re useful as laborers.

“What benefit?” Xiao Xi’s face showed no excitement—she deeply doubted Fang Shi’s words.

It made Fang Shi feel helpless. Was his reputation really that bad?

He’d never lied to them—only slightly increased their workload.

Besides, this labor wasn’t even significant; construction workers hauling bricks lived like this every day.

All it proved was that Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan were overindulged—they couldn’t even handle this little hardship, utterly worthless as cultivators.

In the apocalypse, an organization—or a faction—is indispensable.

Even the strongest cannot handle every task themselves; they’ll have no time left to cultivate and level up.

At such times, a faction serving the strong becomes critical.

They handle daily chores, consolidate resources and intelligence, freeing the strong to focus on cultivation.

Just like how Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan once moved supplies for Fang Shi’s leveling-up.

Fang Shi had already considered building such a faction.

Moreover, he didn’t need to build one from scratch.

His plan was simple: cultivate a few loyal subordinates who answer directly to him.

Order them to establish the faction, while he provides the necessary military backing—that’s all.

Most importantly, as a reborn man, he already knew who the key talents in the apocalypse were.

If he gathered them all, how could his faction fail to grow?

Of course, Fang Shi knew not all so-called talents were essential.

Some reached their level through luck, through opportunity.

Why did such a small Peixian produce so many founding generals and high officials? Was it because Liu Bang was destined by heaven and talents naturally gathered around him?

No—they were originally ordinary scholars and commoners, capable of governing a county.

As Liu Bang waged war for years and expanded his territory, their responsibilities grew larger, their abilities improved, and eventually they became pillars of the state.

What opportunity could rival Fang Shi’s as a reborn man?

If he took notice of someone and revealed even a little future knowledge, he could grant them extraordinary fortune, spare them countless detours, and lift them from mediocrity.

Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan had this opportunity—but in Fang Shi’s eyes, they performed poorly, so they’d only be temporary laborers.

“See that corpse?” Fang Shi pointed to the firewing bird’s body on the ground.

Night was deep; the entire Blue Star had no electricity, and Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan’s physical condition was far inferior to Fang Shi’s, limiting their night vision.

When they first arrived, they’d only smelled the heavy stench of blood and been distracted by Fang Shi’s voice—they hadn’t noticed the corpse.

Though mentally prepared, they were still startled.

The firewing bird’s body lay flat on the ground, its chest pierced by a massive hole.

Blood still oozed from the wound.

“Did you kill this monster?”

Zhai Yan phrased it as a question, but he already knew the answer.

He crouched beside the corpse, cautiously touching the terrifying creature.

“Your job now is to process this firewing bird—cut it up like pork and cook a meal.”

“But there’s no electricity—how do we cook?”

Fang Shi’s face darkened at Xiao Xi’s stubbornness.

“That’s your problem to solve. And is your brain made of pig dung? Can’t you think of a way?”

Zhai Yan, however, stroking the firewing bird’s body, mused: “Brother, is the benefit you mentioned… this meal?”

“Oh? You figured it out. Smart. Yep—that’s the benefit.”

“Alien flesh contains primal energy—huge advantages for those with low overall stats.”

“This level-3 firewing bird is perfect—its meat isn’t too tough, tastes just like beef.”

The more Fang Shi spoke, the more confused Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan became—what were alien creatures? What was primal energy? What was a firewing bird? They wanted to know.

After all, the apocalypse had come out of nowhere, turning the world upside down in an instant. Humans, beyond struggling to survive, were deeply curious about this new world.

It was an instinct etched into human DNA—the very reason humanity stood atop the Blue Star.

But Fang Shi showed no intention of answering them; his tone was impatient.

He urged them to get to work.

Zhai Yan noticed Xiao Xi was upset and whispered a few words to her.

Surprise flickered in Xiao Xi’s eyes. She couldn’t help but reach forward and touch the firewing bird’s corpse.

Then, eagerly, she began working.

…

“Clang!”

The firewing bird shot past like an arrow, its sharp beak clashing with the steel sword.

Each burst of speed exceeded twenty meters per second.

Combined with the firewing bird’s flame-infused attacks, the steel sword’s blade had reached over a hundred degrees.

Even the hilt was fifty to sixty degrees.

Fang Shi gritted his teeth against the searing heat and kept attacking.

This firewing bird was clearly different from the last—one size larger, roughly 2.3 meters long.

Either it had killed humans, or it was a prodigy.

Though its speed hadn’t increased due to its bulk, its strength had more than doubled—minimum 14 points.

“Damn, I hate monsters with elemental attacks.”

“Fire is disgusting, ice worse, lightning and earth no better.”

“Without elemental resistance, the longer you fight, the worse it gets.”

Fang Shi mentally complained—but honestly, a single level-4 firewing bird was no threat.

Level-4 versus level-3? Just more HP, higher stats, slightly stronger supernatural power.

For Fang Shi, that was merely a difference between ten strikes and dozens.

It shouldn’t have led to such a stalemate—let alone the steel sword heating up this much.

“Whoosh!”

“Here it comes,” Fang Shi thought.

The steel sword snapped back, blocking the sound from behind.

“Clang!”

The beak of another, slightly smaller level-3 firewing bird struck the tip of the steel sword.

Fang Shi twisted his wrist, letting the beak slide along the blade, sparking a trail of fire.

Simultaneously, he sidestepped, avoiding the level-3 firewing bird’s body.

The firewing bird dove from above—its kinetic energy was immense; Fang Shi dared not block it directly.

Added to that, its speed was so great he relied entirely on his 19-point perception to defend.

But precisely because it was so fast, its own 17-point agility couldn’t react in time—its attacks were direct and easy to predict.

But that wasn’t the end—the level-4 firewing bird seized the moment Fang Shi’s blade struck the other.

It lunged, aiming for Fang Shi’s eye socket.

Fang Shi remained calm, tilting his neck slightly to dodge.

His left hand swung out, striking the level-4 firewing bird’s neck—CRASH—it was flung aside.

But the blow did nothing to the level-4 firewing bird.

It shook its neck and charged again, rescuing the level-3 firewing bird from certain death.

This was why the stalemate occurred—it wasn’t one firewing bird, but two.

In combat, 1+1 never equals 2; humans only have two hands and two eyes. One more attacker means ten times the danger.

This ambush was classic: the level-4 firewing bird acted as the main attacker, tying Fang Shi down, while the level-3 waited for openings.

It was the standard tactic for hunting firewing birds—now Fang Shi was experiencing it firsthand.

The difference? Fang Shi was the one being hunted.

Actually, Fang Shi wasn’t surprised. One-on-one combat was always idealized.

In the apocalypse, no human had ever escaped being ambushed.

This was even mild—before the first wave hit, firewing birds near the compound were rare; two attacking at once was already the limit.

If by tomorrow, two attacking creatures are merely appetizers, five or six are normal, and a dozen aren’t even many.

This is why Fang Shi was on full alert for the first assault.

Creatures like the Firewing Bird rank low in the other world, but on Blue Star, they are legendary raptors.

A single one can crush an entire survivor team; without effective organization, no matter how many humans there are, they cannot stand against them.

A single flap of its wings lifts it high into the sky, letting it strike from above with unstoppable advantage.

After the first assault, the number of Firewing Birds surged dozens of times, and they were no longer limited to appearing at night.

Such an absurd number poses a far greater threat to humans than the undead.

“Sshh!”

Another wave of attacks came, and Fang Shi finally found his opening.

As the Level 3 Firewing Bird lunged again, he spun and drove his sword straight into its skull.

“Piercing Attack activated.”

“Target received fatal damage.”

“You dealt 24.5 damage to the target.”

“Target deceased.”

“Extracting target’s soul energy. You gain 60 experience points, 6 survival points.”

During these rounds of combat, Fang Shi had learned the Level 3 Firewing Bird’s attack patterns.

Through mental simulation, he predicted the angle of this next attack.

Seizing the moment, he thrust his sword into the Firewing Bird’s head, ending its life.

Of course, this move carried risk—if he failed to kill the Firewing Bird instantly, even if he dodged its beak, he would still take damage.

That would reduce Fang Shi’s combat power, possibly becoming the straw that breaks the camel’s back, leading to his death.

But before his rebirth, Fang Shi had survived three years in the apocalypse, doing whatever it took to stay alive.

He never lacked the courage to trade lives for lives; risky moves, desperate gambits—even if it left him maimed—he would use them if they broke the deadlock.

Only one remained. Fang Shi pulled his sword free and turned to finish off the Level 4 Firewing Bird.

But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of red—a torrent of flame surged toward him.

“There’s a third Firewing Bird!”