Chapter 23: Fighting Again at Night, Crisis Descends

"Tap, tap, tap."

Fang Shi, who was admiring the energy core, twitched his ears and heard a faint sound from the stairs.

He turned around and said to the empty staircase, "Hurry up and come up, stop dawdling. I happen to need your help with something."

Following a series of hurried footsteps, Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan walked up with unwilling expressions.

Hearing Fang Shi's voice, they felt nothing special, merely surprised by his formidable strength that allowed him to kill the giant bird single-handedly.

But upon hearing Fang Shi ask for their help, they were filled with despair.

If only they hadn't been so curious, they would not have walked straight into a trap.

Fang Shi guessed their thoughts and smiled, saying, "This time it's not some hard labor, but a huge benefit."

One cannot simply exploit; to make the horse run fast, one must also feed it night grass.

Though these two's strength is mediocre, they can still serve as temporary laborers for now.

"What benefit?" Xiao Xi's face showed no excitement; she was full of suspicion towards Fang Shi's words.

This made Fang Shi feel a bit helpless; was his reputation really that bad?

He had never deceived the two of them; he had only slightly increased the workload.

Besides, this hardship was nothing; construction workers moving bricks on a site were about the same.

One could only say that Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan were too pampered; they couldn't endure such hardship and had no potential for cultivation.

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

After all, though the strong are powerful, if they handle every matter personally, they will have no time to cultivate and level up.

At this time, a faction serving the strong becomes crucial.

In daily life, they handle trivial matters for the strong, integrate resources and intelligence, and save the strong time for cultivation.

Just like before, when Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan moved miscellaneous items for Fang Shi's level-up.

Fang Shi also had the thought of establishing such a faction.

Moreover, he did not need to build a faction from scratch personally.

According to Oath's Thought, he only needed to cultivate a few subordinates directly responsible to him and loyal to him.

Order them to build the faction while he provides the necessary military guarantee; that would be enough.

Most importantly, having been reborn, he had a good grasp of most talents in the apocalypse.

If Fang Shi gathered them all, why worry about the faction not growing strong?

Of course, Fang Shi also understood that some so-called talents were not essential.

Some people reached this level relying on opportunities and platforms.

Just like why a small Pei County produced so many founding generals and high officials: was it because Liu Bang was destined by heaven and talents were born in abundance?

No, they were initially ordinary scholars and common people with the ability to govern a county.

But as Liu Bang fought for many years and his territory grew wider, the matters they handled became larger, their abilities gradually improved, and they eventually became pillars of the nation.

And what opportunity could compare to Fang Shi, the reborn one?

As long as one gained Fang Shi's appreciation and he revealed some future information, some people could obtain fortuitous encounters, avoid countless detours, and rise from mediocrity.

Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan originally had such opportunities, but since their performance in Fang Shi's eyes was poor, they could only be used as temporary workers.

"Do you see that corpse?" Fang Shi pointed to the Fire-Winged Bird corpse on the ground and said.

At this time, the night was deep, there was no electricity on the entire Blue Star, and since Xiao Xi and the other's physical constitution was not as high as Fang Shi's, their visibility in the dark was limited.

When they first came up, they only smelled a heavy scent of blood and were attracted by Fang Shi's words, so they didn't notice the corpse on the ground for a moment.

As a result, although they were mentally prepared, they were still startled.

A Fire-Winged Bird corpse with a large hole in its chest lay flat on the ground,

with blood water still oozing from the wound.

"Did you kill this monster?"

Zhai Yan used a question, but he already had the answer in his heart.

At this moment, he was squatting beside the corpse, carefully touching the monster that made them feel fear.

"What you need to do now is help me dispose of this Fire-Winged Bird, cut it up like pork, and make a meat meal."

"But without electricity, how do we cook?"

Regarding Xiao Xi, this contrarian, Fang Shi showed impatience.

"That is something you need to consider. Besides, is your brain a pig's brain? Can't you think of a way yourself?"

Zhai Yan, however, touched the Fire-Winged Bird's corpse and pondered, "Big Brother, is the benefit you mentioned this meal?"

"Oh, you figured it out? You have a brain. Yes, it is this meal."

"The flesh and blood of otherworldly creatures contain primal force; for those with low total attributes, the benefits are many."

"This level 3 Fire-Winged Bird is just right; the meat is not so tough and tastes like beef."

The more Fang Shi spoke, the more doubts Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan had; what otherworldly creatures, what primal force, what Fire-Winged Bird, they all wanted to know.

After all, the apocalypse came inexplicably, and in an instant everything turned upside down; besides struggling to survive, humans were also full of curiosity about this new world.

This is an instinct engraved in human DNA and the reason humans can stand atop the Blue Star.

But Fang Shi had no intention of answering the two at all; his tone was full of impatience.

He urged them to start working immediately.

Seeing that Xiao Xi was a bit unhappy, Zhai Yan whispered a few words to her.

Surprise appeared in Xiao Xi's eyes, and she couldn't help but move forward to touch the Fire-Winged Bird's corpse.

Then, she cheerfully started working.

"Ding!"

The Fire-Winged Bird swept past like a sharp arrow, its beak clashing with the steel sword.

Every burst of speed exceeded 20 meters per second.

Moreover, the Fire-Winged Bird's attacks carried the power of fire, raising the steel sword's blade to over a hundred degrees.

Even the hilt reached fifty or sixty degrees.

Fang Shi endured the burning heat in his hand and continued attacking the Fire-Winged Bird.

This Fire-Winged Bird was clearly different from the previous one; it was a size larger, with a body length of about 2.3 meters.

It must have either killed humans or possessed extraordinary talent.

Although its speed did not increase due to its larger size, its strength had grown by more than a tier, reaching at least 14 points.

"Damn it, I hate these monsters with elemental attacks."

"Fire is disgusting, ice is even more disgusting, and Lei Ting and Earth aren't any better."

"Without elemental resistance, the fight just gets more unbearable."

Fang Shi muttered inwardly; in reality, facing a single enlarged Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird, he had no fear at all.

Compared to Level 3, Level 4 merely meant more health, higher stats, and slightly stronger supernatural power.

But for Fang Shi, such a gap was nothing more than the difference between a dozen moves and several dozen moves.

It would not lead to such a stalemate that the steel sword's temperature rose to this extent.

"Whoosh!"

"Here it comes," Fang Shi thought silently.

The steel sword flashed back, blocking the sound of air tearing behind him.

"Ding!"

The beak of another, slightly smaller Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird happened to strike the tip of the steel sword.

Immediately, Fang Shi twisted his wrist, letting the beak scrape past the blade, sparking a chain of sparks.

At the same time, he shifted his body sideways, dodging the body of the Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird.

The Fire-Winged Bird dove from high above; its kinetic energy was immense, and Fang Shi dared not meet it head-on.

Furthermore, the speed was too great; Fang Shi's defense relied entirely on his 19 points of Perception.

Yet precisely because the speed was so high, the Fire-Winged Bird's own 17 points of Agility could not react in time; its attacks were straightforward and easy to predict.

This was not the end; the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird took advantage of Fang Shi's sword attack toward the rear.

It also seized the opportunity to attack, pecking toward Fang Shi's eye socket.

Fang Shi showed no panic; he tilted his head and neck slightly, dodging the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird's attack.

His left hand simultaneously struck the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird's neck, sending it flying aside with a "Bang!"

However, such an attack was painless and itchy for the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird.

It shook its neck, charged at Fang Shi again, and at the same time saved the Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird that was about to be slain by Fang Shi.

This was the reason for the stalemate: Fang Shi was now facing not one Fire-Winged Bird, but two.

In a fight, 1 plus 1 never equals 2; humans have only two hands and two eyes; one more attacker means ten times the danger.

This siege was exactly like that: the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird acted as the main attacker, tying up Fang Shi, while the Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird waited on the side for an opportunity to strike.

This was also the classic tactic for hunting Fire-Winged Birds in the future, which Fang Shi was now experiencing ahead of schedule.

The difference, however, was that Fang Shi was the one being hunted.

In fact, Fang Shi was not surprised; one-on-one combat was always merely an ideal situation.

In the apocalypse, humans who were not besieged simply did not exist.

This was still the best case; before the First Impact arrived, Fire-Winged Birds near the residential area were scarce, and a siege by two was already the limit.

If tomorrow came, a siege by two would count as merely an appetizer; five or six would be the norm, and ten or so would not be many.

This was the reason Fang Shi was on high alert for the First Impact.

Creatures like the Fire-Winged Bird ranked nowhere in other worlds, but on Blue Star, they were peerless raptors.

A single one could crush a survivor team; without effective organization, no matter how many people there were, they could do nothing against them.

One flap of their wings sent them soaring high, attacking from above with unstoppable advantage.

After the First Impact, the number of Fire-Winged Birds surged dozens of times, and they were no longer restricted to appearing at night.

Such an outrageous quantity posed a threat to humanity far exceeding that of the Walking Corpses.

"Whoosh!"

Another round of attacks began; Fang Shi finally found an opening.

Taking advantage of the Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird's next attack, he thrust his sword backward into its head.

"Pierce Attack activated."

"Target received fatal damage."

"You dealt 24.5 damage to the target."

"Target deceased."

"Extracting target's soul energy. You gained 60 Experience Points and 6 Survival Points."

In fact, during these rounds of combat, Fang Shi had figured out the Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird's attack habits.

Through mental simulation, he predicted the angle of this Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird's attack.

Seizing the opportunity, he drove the sword into the Fire-Winged Bird's head, ending the Level 3 Fire-Winged Bird's life.

Of course, this move carried certain risks; if he had not killed the Fire-Winged Bird immediately, even if Fang Shi dodged its beak, he would still suffer some injury.

In that case, Fang Shi's combat power would drop; perhaps becoming the straw that broke the camel's back, leading to his death.

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

He never lacked the courage to gamble his life; so-called risky moves, dangerous gambits—even if it meant crippling his body, as long as it could break the deadlock, he dared to use them.

Next, only one remained. Fang Shi drew his sword, turned, and was about to finish off the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird.

Who knew that from the corner of his eye, he spotted a sliver of red light as a torrent of flame attack surged toward him.

"There's a third Fire-Winged Bird!"