Chapter 25: Awakening

Zhou Yang fell face‑up on the crumbling cement road, a fatal blow to his chest piercing straight through his torso.

Half of a lung lobe was ripped apart by the bullet's shockwave, and blood‑soaked water kept gushing from his mouth and nose.

A hoarse "ho‑ho" like a bellows being pulled came from his throat, severe hypoxia darkening his complexion as his vision gradually blurred.

In the haze he vaguely saw his father Zhou Yong crazily brandishing a knife, charging at the three Sakura Nation Warriors.

But the next second a massive black club‑shadow slammed into him, sending him flying backward and crushing his chest inward.

He also saw Captain Lei Hong's sword‑hand soar upward, then a short blade pierced his chest.

He heard the sniper rifle's boom, and a woman's muffled moan came from not far away.

His field of view grew darker, yet a stubborn thought burned wildly inside him!

"No, I can't die!"

"I finally managed to transmigrate, I have parents, I have friends, I haven't even properly enjoyed any of this!"

"The endless star‑sea shines brilliantly, and I still haven't taken a look at it!"

"Holding a treasure like Meteor Tear, yet dying in a newbie village on Earth."

"I'm not willing to accept it!"

"Yes, Meteor Tear! Its Life Energy can heal!"

"Damn, why can't I control it!"

"Come out quickly."

His lingering consciousness struggled wildly, roaring.

Finally, before his vision was completely swallowed by darkness, a mysterious torrent dozens of times stronger than usual surged out of his chest.

A few minutes later, a young man cradling a massive sniper rifle arrived beside the three Sakura Nation Warriors.

At the three's feet lay several bodies sprawled haphazardly.

Perhaps they weren't truly dead, for their chests still rose and fell faintly.

The youth with the sniper rifle stepped before Zhou Yang, gave his "body" a light kick, and wore a mocking grin.

"Never expected you to be a Spiritual Thought Master; such a young Spiritual Thought Master, if alive, would have limitless prospects!"

"Too bad, too bad, tsk tsk…"

The short Sakura Nation Warrior glanced at him, his face showing displeasure.

"Tengyuan, why did you fire outright? I could have handled these people easily; you ruined my mood for teasing mice!"

"Don't blame me; if you must blame someone, blame it!"

The young warrior patted the sci‑fi‑styled massive sniper rifle in his hand and exclaimed:

"The TAC‑90 heavy sniper rifle, the newest model from the EU nations, boasts the longest range, and its supreme power can even wound a low‑tier Lord‑level monster!"

"This thing is a regulated item; if not for this mission, I'd never get my hands on this treasure!"

He stroked the sniper rifle with a smug grin and said:

"Shanben, to help you I wasted an expensive God‑slayer series bullet; you owe me thanks!"

"Hmph! I can handle these people single‑handed!" The short warrior remained irritated.

He ignored the armed warrior and began riffling through the backpacks the Wind‑Chasing Squad had tossed on the ground.

The moment he opened one, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

"Sure enough it's Ghost‑Face Spider silk, and so many other materials? These little critters yielded a good haul!"

While leafing through, he glanced at the dark‑faced middle‑aged man standing nearby and said mockingly:

"Li Sang, your Li family hunting team is too stingy; this side gig almost matches the reward you gave."

The dark‑faced man showed an embarrassed yet ingratiating smile and said:

"Shanben, I'm right, aren't I? Hunting these Martial Artist Squad members is far easier than chasing high‑tier monsters."

"Notably, Li Sang, your wisdom is… huge!"

"Lord‑level monsters are each cunning, hard to hunt; these high‑rank beast‑general level monsters also scatter, making them a massive time waste."

"Still, these little fat lambs are cuter…"

The short Sakura Nation man gave a perfunctory thumbs‑up, then sighed regretfully, "Too bad, these little fat lambs are rare, and we can't do this too often, otherwise it'll draw the attention of your Huaxia Nation Military Zone."

He tossed the ground‑spilled backpacks to the other three, one each, slung two onto his own back, then said to the dark‑faced man:

"Li Sang, the building over there—go get it!"

"Yes, Mr Shanben!"

The dark‑faced man's smile turned especially ingratiating as he rushed toward the building where Zhu Xia had hidden, soon returning with a massive backpack.

"Mr Shanben, these people aren't completely dead yet, do you need—"

At this moment, the pale‑faced middle‑aged warrior who had been quietly standing aside stepped forward and asked, simultaneously making a throat‑slitting gesture.

"no, no, no!"

The short Sakura Nation Warrior waved his hands repeatedly, his face now showing a cold smile.

"Your crude killing methods have no artistic value!"

"I've broken all their leg bones and destroyed their communicators."

"Tengyuan, fire to draw the beast herd over, give those brainless brutes some snacks."

His smile grew twisted, "Watching their flesh being gnawed piece by piece, trying to escape yet unable to, that desperate scream must be beautiful~~~"

"This"

The white‑faced middle‑aged warrior hesitated, trying again to persuade, "That's not right, what if—"

"No ifs, do exactly as I say!"

The short warrior's tone turned cold, and he barked impatiently.

He sneered contemptuously in his mind, thinking that if an accident really occurred, at worst he could simply avoid entering the Huaxia Nation's base city later.

"Ha ha, Yamamoto, your fetish is truly… even I, a pervert, think it's perverted!"

The young Warrior holding the massive sniper rifle laughed heartily.

He flickered, quickly leapt onto the rooftop of a nearby building, used the sniper rifle's scope to scan for a moment, then swiftly fired several shots in multiple directions.

"Bang, bang, bang"

The huge gunfire roared, and a monster's roar came from not far away.

The young Warrior fired a few more rounds in succession; after confirming the startled beast herd had locked onto that direction, he then leapt down from the building.

"Let's go!"

The four of them didn't linger, grabbed the huge backpacks and hurried away in the opposite direction.

A few seconds after they left, Zhou Yang, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes!

At the spot of the Meteor Tear on his chest, a massive surge of mysterious energy erupted, swiftly enveloping his shattered lung lobe and chest wound.

Under this mysterious energy's embrace, the broken lung lobe and muscle tissue regenerated at an astonishing speed.

A cool, tingling sensation rose simultaneously; Zhou Yang's consciousness gradually cleared, and the strength in his body began to recover.

"Rumble—"

At that moment, he heard the herd of beasts thundering and roaring not far away.

"Not good!"

He was startled, sat up quickly, the movement tugged his right chest wound, bringing a searing pain.

He scanned the surroundings swiftly, seeing Lei Hong and other members of the Pursuit Wind Squad lying motionless on the ground, his heart tightened instantly.

But seeing their chests still faintly rising and falling, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

As long as they're not dead, that's enough!

This is the world of Swallowed Star, where countless rare materials and powerful elixirs exist; as long as you don't die, everything else is manageable.

You don't even need those treasures; you can do it yourself!

The massive mysterious energy at his chest continued to surge, and the penetrating wound from the deadly bullet had healed more than half, granting him barely enough ability to move.

He had no time to think further; Spiritual Thought Power surged outward, forming an invisible giant hand that swiftly seized Lei Hong, Zhou Yong and others' weapons, shields, alloy belts, and lifted them into the air!

"Go!"

Spiritual Thought Power attached to the alloy combat boots, his body shot upward, carrying Lei Hong and the others as they swiftly flew toward a ruined building a kilometer away.

There was also another member of their squad there!

Just a few seconds later he arrived near the building where he had hidden before, but when Spiritual Thought Power swept through, his complexion instantly turned grim!

Inside the building, a woman in a fiery red combat suit lay quietly on the ground; her figure, wrapped in the tight suit, remained hot and sexy.

However, the woman's forehead was completely shattered, leaving only a half‑mangled, bloodied skull.

In the concrete wall behind her, a blood‑stained bullet was deeply embedded.

In that instant, Zhou Yang felt a surge of hot blood rush to his mind!

(End of Chapter)