Chapter 24

Flames surged forward like a river of molten lava, about to engulf Fang Shi.

In fact, this Fire-Winged Bird had arrived long ago; seeing Fang Shi fighting two of its own kind alone without falling behind, it realized his strength.

Recognizing Fang Shi's might, it suppressed the flames around its body and slowly flapped its wings to hide its form in a nearby building.

There, it accumulated flame power, intending to deliver a devastating blow to Fang Shi.

To the Fire-Winged Birds' perception, the aura of the laws of the Body's Method on Fang Shi far exceeded that of the other survivors.

It was an exceptionally rare delicacy; as long as the prey was killed, whether it was an ambush or not did not matter.

Besides, in the apocalypse, neither humans nor monsters ever considered an ambush shameful.

As long as one could survive, any means were justified.

The Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird before Fang Shi, as a creature controlling flame power, possessed extremely high resistance to flame damage.

It did not dodge its own kind's flames; instead, it took the opportunity to extend its beak and strike Fang Shi, sealing off his retreat.

If Fang Shi dared to dodge the flames, the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird's attack would land on him, taking his life.

In such a critical situation, Fang Shi felt no panic in his heart.

Compared to the various crises he had experienced since his rebirth, this attack was merely a minor trouble.

Long ago, when preparing to hunt Fire-Winged Birds, he had mentally simulated various scenarios.

In extreme cases, he had even considered being besieged by ten Fire-Winged Birds.

Although battles change in an instant and it is impossible to exhaustively predict every situation.

A general framework still existed; with a rough contingency plan, his reaction to sudden situations would inevitably be slightly faster.

Do not underestimate this slight edge; sometimes, this slight difference is the gap between life and death.

Fang Shi took a deep breath, fully activated the Shi Breathing Method, and fiercely slashed toward the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird ahead.

At the same time, just as the new force had faded and the old force had not yet arisen, a new force appeared out of nowhere within his body to replace the first force.

This caused the power of Fang Shi's slash to increase by thirty percent out of nowhere.

This was the combat skill specialty—【Multiple Force】.

Do not underestimate this thirty percent; this is something no survivor can achieve.

The structure of human muscles is naturally fixed; no matter what, even if very short, there must be a contraction period, making it impossible to exert force a second time immediately.

But this does not mean Fang Shi cannot do it; the reason is simple: Fang Shi is no longer human.

As a breathing method invented only after the apocalypse, the Shi Breathing Method is naturally not that simple.

If it were simple, why were there so many breathing methods before the apocalypse, yet none were as miraculous as those after the apocalypse?

Breathing methods invented after the apocalypse, regardless of strength, all have the effect of altering the fundamental nature of human life.

Otherwise, relying solely on the innate physiological structure of humans, no amount of training would ever exceed 18 points.

Even 18 points is merely the limit for a handful of individuals.

Breathing methods reference the process of life sublimation after advancement, allowing humans to slightly alter their fundamental nature of life before entering a rank.

This enables the Double Force, which should only be usable after reaching the First Rank, to be used before entering a rank.

Of course, for ordinary people to use it is not that simple; it requires long-term training.

But for Fang Shi, it was merely replicating the techniques from before his rebirth.

Since it only slightly altered the fundamental nature of life and had not yet formed a specialty, the Double Force with double attack power could not be perfectly reproduced.

However, under these circumstances, thirty percent was still sufficient.

The sudden increase in speed left the Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird unable to dodge; under Fang Shi's immense kinetic energy, the entire bird was directly split open.

A large gash was carved from its chest to its shoulder, exposing the writhing internal organs within, blood spraying across the sky.

Fang Shi did not mind the filth of the bird's corpse and lunged directly at the Fire-Winged Bird.

While smashing the Fire-Winged Bird's internal organs,

he also dodged the flame attack.

"Blunt attack activated."

"Target received fatal damage."

"You dealt 12.5 damage to the target."

"Target dead."

"Extracting target's soul energy; you gain 120 experience points and 12 survival points."

Truly worthy of being a Level 4 Fire-Winged Bird; the experience provided is abundant: a base of 100 experience points plus a 20% bonus for exceeding the level, totaling 120 experience points.

But what Fang Shi focused on was not this, but another piece of information.

"As the first player to kill a Level 4 monster."

"You have obtained an Iron Chest."

Haha, it really exists; Fang Shi felt a surge of joy in his heart.

At the same time, his movements did not slow down even slightly as he moved toward the Fire-Winged Bird spewing flames.

Seeing Fang Shi slay two of its own kind in succession, that Fire-Winged Bird was terrified, caring nothing for the laws of the Body's Method anymore.

It flapped its wings and flew away.

It wished it could grow two more wings to accelerate its flight back to the other world.

Fang Shi had no ranged attack means and could only watch helplessly as the third Fire-Winged Bird escaped.

Like a streak of fire crossing the sky.

Fang Shi felt some regret; if he does not kill the lone Fire-Winged Bird now, it will be hard to kill tomorrow.

He thought for a moment and decided to end tonight's hunting operation here.

First, because there were not many Fire-Winged Birds nearby; only a few remained. Sensing the aura of their fallen kin, they probably would not dare to come tonight.

After all, they were not mindless zombies; they feared no death in their pursuit of the power of the laws.

Otherwise, so many treasures capable of enhancing bloodline power in this other world would have been seized one by one by powerful creatures.

If they all threw themselves into the fire like moths, the Fire-Winged Bird clan would have gone extinct long ago.

Secondly, Fang Shi had been fighting for a long time, and having unleashed the Double Force, his muscles were even more exhausted and needed a good rest.

Otherwise, events like zombies evolving into Iron Zombies or interdimensional tiered creatures invading the Blue Star might happen again.

With his strength incomplete, he might just end up losing his life.

In the kitchen, Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan gathered by the gas stove, watching the foam boil in the pot, their saliva uncontrollably dripping from the corners of their mouths.

Three days, a full three days, they had not eaten a single cooked meal.

At first, they thought it was quite nice, with snacks being delicious, but later they began to feel unwell.

Human intestinal bacteria had long ago evolved during their prolonged growth into a flora adapted to cooked food.

Without cooked food for a long time, the intestinal bacteria began to feel unhappy, secreting various substances that affected people's appetites.

Now, Fang Shi had provided Fire-Winged Bird meat and forced the two of them to work.

The lazy pair could finally eat a cooked meal.

"Zhai Yan, thanks to you finding a small gas canister; otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to start a fire."

Xiao Xi snuggled in Zhai Yan's arms, not minding that he had sweated all day and smelled terrible.

On the contrary, under the suspension bridge effect during this period, there was even a hint of sweetness.

Zhai Yan grinned proudly; ever since the residential area had generally undergone natural gas pipeline renovations, it should have been extremely difficult to find gas canisters.

But they said the residential area they lived in was an old one, where some owners were unwilling to pay the renovation fees, which naturally gave rise to the gas canister business.

This gas canister was found by them in a room downstairs, which Zhai Yan had originally spotted while searching for supplies.

It was fortunate that the location was lower down; otherwise, today during the day, it would have been smashed down to the ground by Fang Shi.

"It was all thanks to Xiao Xi's reminder; otherwise, I would have forgotten there was a gas canister downstairs. But, Xiao Xi, if we don't continue cutting the meat, will that person get angry when he comes later?"

"Zhai Yan, people say you have a stubborn mind, and they were right. In this situation, having something to eat is what prevents anger; no matter how well you cut the meat, if that demon comes down and sees the pot empty, then he will truly be angry."

Zhai Yan was an honest man, and under Xiao Xi's education, he was trained to be completely obedient.

"Stop talking; I'm starving to death. I didn't even have the appetite to eat much of the biscuits today." Xiao Xi saw the pot was nearly ready, left Zhai Yan's embrace, and held a rice bowl, preparing to start eating.

"Aren't we waiting for that person?"

"Waiting for what? We cooked two pots; let's eat ours first. We're not afraid that he'll come down later with nothing to eat."

"Oh, oh."

Speak of the devil, and the devil appears; just as the two were about to ladle out the soup, a figure flashed into the kitchen.

For a moment, the stench mixed from blood, sweat, and zombie fluids seemed to completely mask the fragrant aroma of the meat.

At this moment, Xiao Xi dared not act out any further; he forced a smile and said, "Big Brother, the meat is cooked. We were just about to serve it to you."

In the firelight, Fang Shi could still see Xiao Xi pinching his nose.

He felt somewhat embarrassed for once; fighting while covered in blood was indeed a bit uncouth.

Now that his strength had improved, he cared less about zombies, and since the Fire-Winged Birds recognized people through the power of the laws, he indeed needed to wash himself.

Moreover, the foul odor was also an anomaly source, making it easy for enemies to detect him.

However, the most important thing now was eating; after two consecutive battles, he was already starving.

"Not bad, you did well. I smelled the fragrance from far away and came down after killing two Fire-Winged Birds."

What? Two more? Is this demon's strength so terrifying?

The first one could be called luck, but two more could only be attributed to strength.

Sigh, why think so much? No matter what, we can't beat him anyway; instead, there are two more, meaning more work.

Xiao Xi began to sigh in his heart.

"Boss, you are so powerful. We saw more than ten people wiped out by Fire-Winged Birds back then."

Zhai Yan didn't have many thoughts; instead, he looked at Fang Shi with a bit of admiration.

"Oh, where?"

Fang Shi very decisively lifted a pot directly, disregarding the scalding heat of the meat chunks inside, and used chopsticks to pick them out.

After blowing on it slightly, he took a bite directly with his mouth, chewed continuously, and then forced it down.

"Right in front of this building. Unfortunately, the corpses were eaten long ago by those Fire-Winged Birds."

As Zhai Yan was speaking, his face suddenly turned pale; looking at the bird meat in the pot, he suddenly found it tasteless.

"There are plenty of Fire-Winged Birds; it doesn't have to be this one. Besides, it's the apocalypse; why be picky? Just don't eat the organs."

Fang Shi, on the contrary, didn't care; even if Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan's cooking skills were poor and the ingredients were limited.

But the meat of the Fire-Winged Bird itself was very fresh and delicious, no less than the so-called premium ingredients before the apocalypse, and he ate with great relish.

Hearing Fang Shi's words, the two of them felt a bit better; human adaptability is strong. Smelling the meat aroma, they quickly forgot the slight discomfort and began to ladle out the meat.

Especially once the meat entered their stomachs, a thread of warmth circulated from the stomach throughout their bodies, making their muscles feel tingly and numb.

Like soaking in a hot spring, today's fatigue was swept away completely, and the soreness and pain disappeared as well.

This magical change made them even more like gluttons, devouring the food voraciously, as if they wanted to swallow their own tongues.

After eating half, Xiao Xi suddenly said, "By the way, it's strange that Hong Yuankai and the others went crazy and tried to run out only after obtaining a key."

To his surprise, Fang Shi's eyes narrowed, and he said seriously, "What key?"