Before the Silver Corpse—still sprinting wildly down the street—could even register the threat, a flash of golden light descended from above and cleaved it cleanly in two, reducing it to ash and erasing it from existence.
“With that, the first wave of three-star abyssal beasts that breached through the rift has been dealt with.”
Having slain twenty-four abyssal beasts over the past twenty minutes, Dao Yan pocketed the Silver Corpse’s beast core, let out a long sigh of relief, and silently reflected.
“Now, before the next wave of three-star abyssal beasts shows up, it’s up to the others to show what they can do.”
She lifted her gaze toward the distant shelters and murmured to herself.
……
“Here they come! A whole horde of abyssal beasts is heading this way!”
Watching the endless stream of abyssal beasts charging toward the No. 4 Middle School shelter from afar, the military’s constant bombardment had drastically reduced their numbers—but there were still over a hundred of them left.
“Can this Grim Reaper finally take the offensive now?”
Tearing her gaze away from the distant abyssal beasts, Si Yexing turned to the person in charge of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau beside her and asked.
The official, though slightly pale in the face, nodded firmly at the sight of the beasts surging toward their shelter, and replied, “Then we’ll be counting on you, Miss Yexing. Our bureau members will join you as well, to wipe out these abyssal beasts encroaching on the shelter.”
“Then I’ll go on ahead. You all can catch up later.”
Receiving the response from the No. 4 Middle School shelter’s bureau chief, Si Yexing tossed out those words and didn’t linger inside the shelter’s temporarily reinforced walls. Hoisting her reaper’s scythe, she gave a light leap, cleared the wall, and landed outside.
Once safely on the ground, unwilling to waste any time and eager to quickly eliminate the invading abyssal beasts, Si Yexing sprang into action, charging straight toward them.
Watching her jump out from behind the wall—and because she had deliberately suppressed her aura—the attacking abyssal beasts had no idea just how much of a threat she posed. They roared and surged toward her, each vying to be the first to kill her and devour her flesh.
“Good, good. Keep gathering toward me. That way, I can wipe out all you monsters in one fell swoop.”
Seeing the abyssal beasts scrambling toward her, Si Yexing—well aware of their intentions—couldn’t help the smirk curling at the corner of her lips.
As the distance closed and she could now make out every detail on the beasts’ forms, knowing it was time to act, Si Yexing didn’t hesitate. She unleashed her supernatural power as the Grim Reaper—a beautiful teenage girl—and erupted with the aura of a three-star peak transcendent. Wielding her reaper’s scythe, she plunged straight into the thick of the beast horde.
Sensing the sudden shift in her aura, every abyssal beast instantly realized one horrifying fact: this human—who had charged right into their midst with nothing but a scythe—was a terrifying existence far beyond their own one- or two-star strength.
Coming to terms with this brutal truth, the abyssal beasts tried to halt their advance and scatter in all directions.
But because they had clustered so tightly together, they couldn’t change course fast enough. One by one, they crashed into each other, piling into a tangled heap.
Watching the mound of abyssal beasts form right before her eyes—and knowing exactly why it had happened—Si Yexing let out a soft chuckle. Then she raised her scythe and launched a ferocious assault.
“Disappear from this world, in the name of this Grim Reaper.”
With that, she unleashed her full transcendent power. A casual swing of her reaper’s scythe was all it took to effortlessly harvest the souls of every abyssal beast, drawing them into the blade.
Not one to let vile creatures like abyssal beasts linger within her scythe for long, Si Yexing gave the weapon a light tap during a brief lull, releasing all the trapped souls.
Gazing upon the souls—twisted, agonized, and filled with hatred, devoid of any spark of spirit—Si Yexing swung her scythe once more. In an instant, the souls shattered and vanished, their bodies crumbling to ash alongside them, erased from the world entirely.
“Miss Yexing, how are things on your end?”
Just as she finished off all the attacking abyssal beasts and was busily collecting the beast cores scattered across the ground, the bureau chief of the No. 4 Middle School shelter finally arrived with her colleagues. Looking around at the suddenly empty city streets—which should have been swarming with abyssal beasts—she asked with a mix of surprise and confusion.
“This Grim Reaper’s situation is excellent. Every abyssal beast that dared to attack has met its final, destined end.”
Hearing the bureau chief’s question, and feeling a bout of chuunibyou acting up—wanting to show off in front of them—Si Yexing replied in a deliberately profound and cryptic tone.
The bureau chief, working with Si Yexing for the first time and unfamiliar with her temperament, froze on the spot. After a long pause, she snapped back to reality and cautiously asked, “Miss Yexing… do you mean you’ve already eliminated every abyssal beast here?”
“Mortal, if that is what you believe, then this Grim Reaper tells you—that is the truth.”
“…”
“I see. Thank you, Miss Yexing, for holding off the abyssal beasts. Please come back with us and rest for a while. There will likely be more attacks later.”
After a brief hesitation, the bureau chief responded with a somewhat strained smile, thanking her and inviting her back to rest and prepare for the next wave.
“Very well. Then this Grim Reaper shall reluctantly accompany you back for some rest.”
With that, Si Yexing followed the bureau chief and the other members back across the open ground and into the No. 4 Middle School shelter.
……
“Director, approximately two hundred abyssal beasts are approaching the prison from the eastern district.”
Standing on the prison watchtower, a member of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau spotted the sizable—though not yet overwhelming—horde heading toward their shelter and quickly reported via radio.
“Understood. I’ll send someone out to deal with them immediately.”
Pressing the radio button and responding to the bureau member on the other end, Bai Yuling quickly switched channels to contact An Xiaoyu, who was stationed at another watchtower.
“Miss Xiaoyu, over two hundred abyssal beasts are approaching from the east. I need you to go out and eliminate them all.”
“Got it. Leave it to me.”
“Then I’m counting on you, Miss Xiaoyu.”
Setting down the radio, An Xiaoyu swiftly left her post on the western watchtower, exited the prison shelter, and rode the currents beneath her to the prison’s eastern flank.
“Oh, that’s quite a number. But the area around Canglong Prison is all lake. My combat power here isn’t as high as it would be in the ocean, but it’s still a decent boost.”
Watching the abyssal beasts charging toward the prison shelter, An Xiaoyu smiled to herself as she thought.
Without lingering any longer, she rode the waves straight toward the oncoming horde.
As the distance closed and the moment came to unleash her power as a mermaid princess, An Xiaoyu commanded the waters of the nearby lake to rise into a massive tidal wave, crashing down upon the abyssal beasts.
Seeing the dozen-meter-high walls of water surging in from all sides, the abyssal beasts—who had been charging toward Canglong Prison—suddenly felt an overwhelming threat.
But before they could react, the massive wave crashed down upon them. The water was infused with An Xiaoyu’s transcendent power, specifically targeting them. After being pummeled by the wave, they shattered into fragments, swept into the lake and vanishing from the world.
“I barely even tried, and you’re already down. How boring.”
Relying on her overwhelming strength far beyond these one- and two-star beasts, An Xiaoyu happily swished her fish tail, beaming as she watched the beast cores being drawn back to her, a hint of regret in her voice.
……
“Captain, a lot of abyssal beasts are attacking from the north side of the bomb shelter. Should we go reinforce them?”
One of the team members, part of the fifth squad alongside Yan Qi, asked Captain Shen An’an with a hint of anxiety after learning of the attack.
“Our squad’s mission is to hold the west. The north will be reinforced by others.”
After a moment of serious thought, Shen An’an gave her answer.
Hearing that, the team member still felt uneasy. After all, if the northern line was breached, what was the point of holding the west?
“Captain, I really think we should head north to help.”
Shen An’an turned to him and said, “I know what you’re worried about. But I can promise you—the northern defense line will never be broken by those abyssal beasts.”
“Why are you so confident, Captain?”
“Because here at the bomb shelter, we’ve got a heavy hitter from the Free Life Association to lean on.”
A certain blue-haired twin-tailed figure flashed through her mind. Knowing that as long as she was here, the shelter would never fall to these beasts, Shen An’an smiled and explained to her team member.
“Everyone, get ready—the abyssal beasts are about to hit us!”
“I’m so nervous… With this many beasts, I don’t know if we can hold them off.”
“We have to hold them, whether we want to or not. Don’t forget—there are real civilians behind us in that shelter.”
“Old Li, why are your legs shaking? Don’t tell me you’re scared?”
“Anyone would be scared in this situation. You’re trembling just as much as I am, you know.”
“Huff… I really don’t want to die in this godforsaken place.”
Just as the Supernatural Affairs Bureau members stationed at the northern line finished their exchange, steeled themselves, and were about to charge out from behind the temporary barricades to engage the incoming abyssal beasts—
A stirring melody, infused with transcendent power, suddenly blared from a loudspeaker nearby, reaching every one of their ears.
“What’s with this singing? The moment I hear it, I feel strength surging through my whole body!”
“I feel it too—like I’m brimming with power, and even my nerves have calmed down.”
“Isn’t this that electronic diva’s song? I always thought her music just made me feel good because it was catchy. Now it seems there’s more to her than I realized.”
“The electronic diva? You mean that super popular virtual singer online?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“But why is her voice playing here? Is she actually here in person?”
“She must be. Otherwise, how could this supernatural power that’s strengthening us be so obvious?”
“For Miss Ji Zige, and for the hundred thousand civilians behind us in this bomb shelter—today, we will destroy every last abyssal beast that dares to set foot here!”
“For Miss Ji Zige!!!”
