"Aaah—!"
A shrill, hysterical scream burst from Han Lingxue's mouth.
Wu Bei frowned instinctively.
He could clearly feel it.
The body trapped in his grip was turning hollow, fading into something unreal.
That was when he understood.
Ordinary humans couldn't even touch aberrations.
Killing them was out of the question.
Ding. You have been selected as a Trialist. Talent draw in progress.
Ding. Congratulations. You have obtained a C-rank talent: Isolated and Helpless.
Isolated and Helpless: When clearing instances alone, all attributes increase by 10%.
Wu Bei's heart jolted.
Talents could be drawn too?
He had assumed the system merely advanced his previous-life talent.
He never expected to gain another one at the moment the apocalypse arrived.
And this talent…
It fit him perfectly.
After what he had gone through in his previous life, Wu Bei no longer trusted anyone.
Once the instances descended, he had already decided to clear them alone and take all the rewards for himself.
With Isolated and Helpless, that plan became even more viable.
As for it being only C-rank?
He didn't care.
He had evolution points.
Ding. Farewell Period countdown has begun.
Any human unwilling to see their loved ones turn into aberrations may sacrifice half of their lifespan to contract them and restore their humanity.
So it's finally starting.
Wu Bei slowly raised his head and looked at Han Lingxue.
She no longer resembled the girl she once was.
Before, she had looked pure and delicate.
Now, she was breathtakingly seductive.
Every glance, every smile carried an irresistible allure.
"Wu Bei," she said softly, "don't I look beautiful now?"
"Wouldn't you like to spend the night with me?"
"As long as you contract me and turn me back into a human, I'll marry you. I'll make you happy every day."
Wu Bei said nothing.
Both his arms transformed into Soul-Cleaving Blade Arms.
The instant she saw them, Han Lingxue's expression twisted violently.
Her mouth split open, nearly tearing to her ears.
"Wu Bei, don't push your luck!"
"In my eyes right now, you're nothing more than an ant."
"Contract me, and I might spare your miserable life."
"Refuse, and I'll make sure you suffer endlessly. Do you believe that?"
Wu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You're done pretending?"
"You worthless trash!" she shrieked. "You're just a pathetic simp. Who gave you the right to talk to me like that?"
"I order you—kneel and apologize, right now, or else—"
Slash.
Before she could finish, Wu Bei's blade arm pierced straight through her chest, lifting her into the air.
"Go on," Wu Bei said calmly. "Otherwise what?"
"I…"
Han Lingxue froze.
She had already become an aberration.
So why could Wu Bei still hurt her?
She couldn't understand it.
But she understood one thing clearly.
If she kept provoking him, she would die.
"Wu Bei, I was wrong! Please don't kill me!"
"I'll do anything you want. Anything!"
Wu Bei felt no pity when he saw her trembling plea.
Only disgust.
"You're not sorry because you were wrong."
"You're sorry because you're about to die."
When his other arm transformed into a blade as well, Han Lingxue completely panicked.
"You can't kill me!" she screamed. "I'm from the Han family! If you kill me, they won't let you live!"
Slash.
Her head hit the floor.
Ding. Congratulations. You are the first Trialist worldwide to slay an aberration. You have obtained the First Slayer title.
Ding. Would you like to enable real-name global announcement?
No.
Wu Bei rejected it without hesitation.
Standing out too much in a lawful society already invited danger.
In an aberrant apocalypse, revealing one's identity was suicide.
Global Announcement: Trialist XXX is the first to slay an aberration and has obtained the First Slayer title.
The announcement repeated three times, like thunder striking a calm world.
Across the globe, countless people were left stunned.
"I don't even know what's going on yet, and someone already killed an aberration?"
"Find him. Figure out who he is. See if we can recruit him."
Wu Bei ignored the chaos.
His gaze rested on the description of the title.
First Slayer: Grants +5 to all attributes. Immune to aberration temptation.
"No wonder the major powers went insane chasing records in my previous life," Wu Bei muttered.
This reward was absurdly strong.
Especially the immunity to temptation.
Aberrations were never terrifying because of strength alone.
Their true danger lay in how they corrupted the human heart.
"Equip First Slayer."
A surge of power flowed through Wu Bei's body.
His breathing quickened.
In his previous life, his beginning had been a complete disaster.
This time, he started five levels ahead of everyone else.
And now, he had secured the First Slayer title.
If this momentum continued—
The entire Han family would be erased.
Even their military backing wouldn't matter.
Wu Bei glanced once more at Han Lingxue's corpse.
He hadn't forgotten.
Aberrations could still be devoured.
Stepping forward, he crushed her head under his foot.
"System. Devour."
Ding. Devoured a Level 1 aberration. Gained 500 EXP.
Ding. First devour of a Level 1 aberration. Gained 1 evolution point.
"Tch. Useless."
Wu Bei clicked his tongue, then spoke internally.
"Allocate the evolution point to Isolated and Helpless."
Ding. C-rank talent Isolated and Helpless has evolved to B-rank.
Isolated and Helpless (B): All personal attributes increased by 10%.
Wu Bei's eyes lit up.
The restriction was gone.
At low levels, the talent didn't look overwhelming.
But once his attributes stacked higher—
He would be unmatched.
"I need more evolution points. Fast."
He checked the time.
10:59 a.m.
One minute remained before the global instances began.
The moment he stepped out of the concert hall, a new announcement echoed through the world.
Farewell Period has ended. All aberrations have returned to position. The Aberrant Apocalypse has officially begun.
All Trialists must clear at least one personal instance within one week. Failure will result in annihilation.
This week's personal instance: Mountain City Teacher.