"You're the first person I've come across who doesn't know how to absorb a Soul Bead. Are you really a Star Martial Warrior?" The speaker was a woman with long, flowing hair; judging by her voice, she was quite young.
Although she was wearing a mask and her face couldn't be seen, Wang Lan imagined she must be a valiant and handsome female warrior.
"I only awakened yesterday, so it's only natural I don't understand."
"But you don't look like you're thirteen or fourteen. Hold the Soul Bead in your palm, sense the Star Power within, and try to move it."
Following her instructions, Wang Lan tried it. He found it incredibly easy; like sucking jelly, he SLURPED the Star Power from the Soul Bead into his body. Moreover, the pure Star Power was instantly assimilated by Wang Lan's own Star Power.
Skill point +1.
Wang Lan hadn't expected that Soul Beads, besides replenishing Star Power, could actually grant skill points. Does the system expect me to slay Demons or Exotic Beasts in the future?
With the new Star Power, the Self Healing skill activated once again.
"Zeng Xiaomo, Captain of the Starlight Team, 3rd Squad, 1st Task Force of the Suzhou City Tianjian Bureau's Action Department, reporting to Director Qin. Is Director Qin unharmed?"
"Thanks to this young man, I'm okay. However, there must be many Demon Warriors still in the secret realm, so you should be extra careful."
"Don't worry, not a single Demon in the secret realm will survive," Zeng Xiaomo's tone was light, but the overbearing aura in her words was unmistakable. A woman showing off is truly more pleasing to the eye than a man doing the same.
WHIRR—
There was a sudden tremor in his mind. "Mission: Guard complete. Rewards: 1,000 experience points, 100 skill points."
The moment the notification sounded, Wang Lan instantly felt a warm current flow through his body, keenly aware of the increase in strength. He quickly dived into the system for a swift look and saw he had risen by two levels, reaching Starlight Level 4. Wang Lan had no idea how long it normally took for a first-time awakener to reach Starlight Level 4, as this ten-level distinction only existed for him.
However, Wang Lan knew that most senior students from the Star Martial Arts Campus were still at the Starlight Stage. Only the top third managed to reach the power of the Star Shine Stage before graduation.
In just one day, he had reached Starlight Level 4. If he had a few more experiences like this, could he catch up with his peers by the start of the school year?
At this thought, Wang Lan suddenly felt a chill. Yes, to possess such talent was terrifying, even to himself. A phrase even surfaced in his mind: "This boy is too demonic; he absolutely cannot be allowed to live!" He shivered.
However, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him and looked up to find Zeng Xiaomo curiously observing him.
"Miss Zeng... is... is there a problem?"
"Did you just have a breakthrough?" Zeng Xiaomo's eyes, like pearls, fixed on Wang Lan's. "You've only absorbed three Soul Beads and advanced from the early to the mid-Starlight Stage?"
"No... not yet to the mid-stage," Wang Lan hastened to deny, though he wasn't lying. Mid-stage is level five, right? Being one level short still means there's a gap. I didn't lie.
"What are you afraid of?" Zeng Xiaomo snorted coldly. "You weren't afraid when fighting nine Demon Clan warriors alone, and now you're scared?"
"I didn't have time to be scared then, did I?" Wang Lan pointed to the Demon corpses on the ground. "These are the warriors of the Demon Clan? The ones invading us? They're indeed very strong."
"They are the lowest-ranking bioengineered soldiers, not true Demon Clan warriors. They can be mass-produced, like cannon fodder, just as we manufacture firearms. A true Demon Clan warrior... anyone below the Star Shine Stage facing them means certain death. So, you're quite lucky."
"That's true. Surviving really is a miracle." Wang Lan didn't want to dwell on the subject and quickly ran back to the bus.
The children's crying had stopped. Song Jia was tightly clutching her own arm, searching for injuries, only to be puzzled by the absence of any wound where one should have been.
"Jiajia, your brother's awakened Star Martial Skill talent is an Undying Body. Cool, huh?"
"Really?" Song Jia was young and gullible. Though normally cunning, she tended to believe what people told her when it came to serious matters.
"Absolutely!" Wang Lan patted Song Jia's head. "I didn't expect you liked me so much. You cried so terribly when I was nearly killed."
"Not at all! I brought you out, so I had to bring you back. If you were gone, Mom would've killed me. You're annoying! Don't tease me about that in the future, or else... I'll bite you."
"Okay, okay. Jiajia..."
"Hmm?"
"Why are you pinching me?"
"To see if the Undying Body is real!"
"..."
"Stop pinching, it still hurts!"
Wang Lan kept looking out the back of the bus, where Qin Weimin was recounting the incident to Zeng Xiaomo.
Suddenly, shadowy figures flickered in the distance, moving rapidly. Though there seemed to be only about twenty people, their sprinting conveyed the momentum of an army of thousands charging forward.
Each one wore a mask, their bodies stained with green blood.
"Are they all dealt with?"
"Dealt with. We also found seven or eight survivors in a canyon on the other side of the dense forest. They were lucky; they hid in some burrows and escaped disaster," a man reported to Zeng Xiaomo.
Soon enough, seven or eight parents were brought over by some members of the Tianjian Bureau.
"Mom—"
"Uncle—"
Excited cries came from the children on the bus, but Wang Lan's expression abruptly darkened. He swiftly stood up and jumped off the bus.
"Brother..."
"Don't worry, I'll be right back."
After jumping off the bus, Wang Lan strode over to Qin Weimin's side.
"Wang Lan, what's wrong?" Seeing Wang Lan's solemn expression, Qin Weimin asked with a tinge of nervousness.
"There might be something wrong with those people. Do you remember Mr. Qiu?"
Qin Weimin's face changed. He quietly approached Zeng Xiaomo and the man, whispering something. The two nodded and swiftly moved towards the eight approaching parents.
"Pull the window curtains on the bus so the children can't see. It would be too traumatic for them; I'm afraid it might cause psychological damage," Qin Weimin hastily instructed.
Wang Lan saw Zeng Xiaomo and the others take the seven or eight parents to a more secluded spot. After only a few seconds, the sound of intense combat erupted. However, it wasn't long before the two returned, their expressions grave.
"The Demon Clan's goal is likely to infiltrate spies among the human race."
That one sentence was heavy. Anyone could infer that the Demon Clan had already begun to take action and that a new war might have already begun. Yet, no one dared to utter the word 'war'.
"Are all the children alright?"
"All twenty-five children are fine. Of the fifty people on the bus, eighteen parents were killed. Five injured parents haven't left the bus. Among the adults, only Wang Lan and I are okay," Qin Weimin said solemnly.
"This debt of blood will, sooner or later, be reclaimed from the Demon Clan. Director Qin, let's go. Can the bus still be driven?"
"No, it can't."
"Everyone take a child! Let's evacuate!"
Song Jia, of course, was carried on Wang Lan's back. He ran madly along with the Tianjian Bureau warriors. The space around them had begun to warp, threatening to collapse at any moment, and they had to escape before that happened.
The children were crying out for their moms and dads. The young ones were not even considering, or perhaps dared not contemplate, that their parents might never return.
Wang Lan felt immensely sorry for these children but was powerless to help them. This was the chaos of war—the saying that one would rather be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of turmoil was no empty talk.
With the assistance of the Tianjian Bureau, Wang Lan and the others successfully escaped the collapsing space. They returned to the Ring City National Highway, where seven or eight military vehicles were parked by the roadside. The group boarded the vehicles, which started up and quickly departed.
It was only at this moment that Wang Lan's heart truly began to calm down.
He had awakened his Star Martial Warrior talent only yesterday, and today he had already encountered such a thrilling event. Though the world of Star Martial Warriors was never short of danger and death, this had all come too quickly.
In the vehicle, Jiajia fell asleep in Wang Lan's arms. As he looked out the window at the rapidly receding scenery, he slowly closed his eyes to rest.
The sound of braking woke Wang Lan from his drowsiness. "Where are we?"
"The military hospital. Everyone needs to undergo examinations and treatment. The Demon Clan's methods aren't limited to killing—they have many plots and schemes beyond our imagination," Zeng Xiaomo said flatly.
A series of blood tests, ultrasounds, CT scans, and X-rays took more than an hour. Afterward, Wang Lan was placed in a separate ward to be questioned by the Tianjian Bureau. Although Qin Weimin had already given a brief account of the events, Wang Lan had to recount them again. It wasn't until 4:30 in the afternoon that he was told he could leave.
"I'm hungry!" On the way back, Song Jia suddenly clutched her stomach.
"We haven't eaten anything since breakfast. I'm hungry too. What do you want to eat?"
Song Jia pointed at a barbecue restaurant in front of them.
"Okay!"
"I want two steaks."
"No, let's get ten!"
The meal cost a thousand yuan. Besides the ten portions of steak, they ordered a variety of other dishes as if they were free. However, these frenzied orders didn't faze the well-trained waitstaff.
The appetite of a Star Martial Warrior could allow one to consume an entire cow in a single meal. Therefore, the staff were accustomed to clients like Wang Lan. The existence of Star Martial Warriors also meant the food and beverage industry was always one of the most profitable in this world.
Even running a noodle shop would be a sure profit, as long as the owner didn't make a strategic blunder.
After dropping Song Jia off at home, Wang Lan intended to leave, but Song Jia was scared, so he agreed to stay and keep her company. After showering and changing into pajamas, the two played video games in front of the TV, unaware that the sky had already turned dark.
"Why hasn't Mrs. Feng come back to cook?"
"You forgot you were supposed to be at Sky Curtain Lake for two days. There's no one at home, so Mrs. Feng must have gone back to her own place. She won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Are you hungry again?"
"Today's steak was really delicious. It's the first time I've realized how good steak can be."
"You, you should be starved a bit; otherwise, your picky eating habits will never be cured. People who have never truly been hungry don't understand how blissful it is just to fill one's stomach."
"You speak as if you've been hungry before..." Song Jia, now fully revived, not only talked back but also rolled her eyes at him.
"I really have been hungry!" Wang Lan replied with a slight smile. He recalled a time from his previous life when he had gone out to find work. His money was stolen, leaving him with only two hundred yuan. He had to survive on that for a whole month until he received his first paycheck.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Wang Lan stood up and answered, "Hello, Auntie, you're back in the country?"
"Where are you? I've been looking all over the hospital for you!"
"I'm not at the hospital; I've gone home."
"Stay at home and don't wander off," Auntie commanded, then hung up.