273: Chapter 273 Ji Wushuang

In the suburbs of Jiang City, there was an abandoned industrial park.

"BOOM—!!!" A massive roar erupted, sounding as if a thunderclap had struck on flat ground.

A three-meter-tall S-rank expert power-type zombie, covered in bone spurs, was sent flying by a terrifying force before it could even unleash its signature roar.

It flew like a cannonball fired from a chamber, crashing through three reinforced concrete walls in succession before becoming firmly embedded in a scrapped heavy-duty truck, impossible to pry out.

"..." Lin Yuan stood to the side, still holding a half-eaten bag of potato chips. Watching the scene before him, he silently swallowed the crumbs in his mouth.

"Um..." He pointed at the zombie, which had now turned into a Picasso-esque abstract painting, and turned to look at Qin Ziyan, who was retracting her fist with an innocent expression.

"Ziyan, I recall saying... 'Leave it alive, I need to test my control over the Superpower fire,' right?"

Qin Ziyan blinked, her large, heroic eyes filled with the grievance of someone who felt she had "done her best."

"I... I really held back my strength!" She extended her slender, fair, and seemingly harmless little hand, gesturing a "tiny bit."

"I used less than ten percent of my strength and just gave it a light push... Who knew it was so fragile, like it was made of paper."

Lin Yuan: "..."

What the hell do you mean, a light push? Is that what you call a push? That's a human cannon launcher!

If this S-rank expert zombie had any consciousness in the afterlife, it would probably be angry enough to lift its own coffin lid—oh wait, it didn't even get the chance to sleep in a coffin; it was turned directly into meat paste.

"It seems the aftereffects brought on by the SS-Rank Expert - Ultimate Enhancement are even more severe than I imagined."

Lin Yuan sighed and walked over to examine the zombie's wretched state. Its sternum was shattered, its internal organs were mud, and its head had exploded like a rotten watermelon. Forget testing the Superpower fire; this thing couldn't even be pieced back together now.

"Forget it, be more careful with the next one." Lin Yuan waved his hand. "If you one-shot the monster again, I'm punishing you by making you bathe that husky tonight."

Mentioning the mutant husky they had picked up from the next street over—a dog with the potential to be a demolition squad director—Qin Ziyan's expression changed instantly.

"Don't! I will definitely control it! I swear!"

...

The two continued to advance northward. This area was originally Jiang City's heavy industrial zone, with a high density of zombies and quite a few mutant types.

But for the current duo, this was simply bullying noobs in the beginner village. Lin Yuan didn't even need to lift a finger; he just had to follow behind Qin Ziyan and cheer her on.

Until—

"Hmm?" Lin Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze turning toward the snow not far ahead.

There, where the snowfield should have been a vast expanse of white, a bizarre "bald patch" had appeared. The snow within a hundred-meter radius had completely vanished.

In its place was a patch of scorched black earth, along with countless ice crystals formed by instant high-temperature melting followed by rapid freezing... was that glazed ice?

"What a strange sight." Qin Ziyan walked over, crouched down, and gently tapped the ground with her finger.

"Clink, clink—" It emitted a crisp sound.

"This soil was baked into ceramic by high heat and then cracked by extreme cold." Qin Ziyan frowned. "What kind of power caused this? A missile strike?"

"No." Lin Yuan shook his head, his gaze burning as he stared at the very center of the scorched earth.

"It's fire."

"And... it's a very high-level fire."

In his sea of consciousness, the Origin Ember, which had always been in "idle mode," suddenly began to leap frantically, like a dog that had smelled meat buns. Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Waves of desire, so strong they were nearly greedy, constantly assaulted Lin Yuan's nerves. Lin Yuan's mouth twitched.

This damn fire seed was usually as aloof as a lord, but the moment it encountered something tasty, it turned into a mentally challenged child.

"Let's go, take a look."

The two cautiously walked into the center of the scorched earth. The further they went, the more obvious the residual high-temperature aura became. Even in this freezing winter of tens of degrees below zero, one could still feel a hint of sultry heat.

And at the very center, there lay a person. To be precise, a woman.

Dressed in red, she appeared exceptionally striking against the backdrop of black scorched earth and white ice crystals, like a Manjusaka blooming on the other shore of hell.

She lay there quietly, eyes closed, her complexion as pale as paper, a trace of dried black blood hanging from the corner of her mouth. Yet, even in such a disheveled state, it could not hide her breathtaking beauty.

It was a cold, sharp beauty. Even in her unconscious state, her brows were still locked with an arrogance that made one afraid to look directly at her.

"This is..." Qin Ziyan was stunned for a moment, and then her guard instantly went to the maximum. A woman's intuition told her that this mysterious woman in red was a formidable rival! Not just in terms of strength, but also... in terms of looks!

"What a beautiful woman..." Qin Ziyan muttered sourly. "Wearing ancient costumes in this freezing weather, is she playing Apocalypse Cosplay?"

Lin Yuan ignored Qin Ziyan's complaints. Because the Origin Ember inside his body was about to rebel. If Lin Yuan hadn't forcibly suppressed it, this thing would have probably rushed out long ago and latched onto this woman... to feast to its heart's content.

"System, inspect." Lin Yuan thought, and a semi-transparent attribute panel appeared before him.

【Ding! Inspection successful!】

【Name: Ji Wushuang】

【Age: 23】

【Identity: Goddess of the Hidden Ancient Martial Arts Ji Family, Inheritor of the Vermilion Bird Bloodline】

【Beauty: 98 points (Peerless beauty, comes with a cold aura)】

【Body: 92-58-95 (Golden ratio, classical beauty)】

【constitution: 1200 (Suppressed by cold poison, higher in her prime)】

【Spiritual Power: 2500 (Suppressed by cold poison)】

【Superpower: SS-Rank Expert Origin Divine Fire—Nanming Li Fire, S-rank expert - Ancient Martial Sword Technique】

【Trait: Inexperienced】

"So that's it." Lin Yuan crouched down and reached out to check the woman's breathing. He also sensed the flame fluctuation within her body, which, though weak, was of an extremely high essence.

"Nanming Li Fire..."

"And it's a divine fire suppressed by cold poison."

A meaningful smile curved on Lin Yuan's lips. This wasn't picking up a corpse; this was clearly a pie falling from the sky, and it was a pie filled with top-grade abalone!

To the Origin Ember, the origin divine fire inside this woman, which was fighting to the death against the cold poison, was simply a top-tier supplement. If it could swallow it... Or rather, swallow the energy it emitted...

"Lin Yuan, is she still alive?" Qin Ziyan watched Lin Yuan's increasingly perverted smile and couldn't help but shudder.

"She's alive, but she's also dying." Lin Yuan withdrew his hand, took a blanket from his space, and tossed it onto the woman.

"Bring her back."

"Huh? Bring her back?" Qin Ziyan's eyes widened. "This woman's origin is unknown, and she looks dangerous at first glance. What if she's from some hostile faction..."

"Dangerous?" Lin Yuan stood up, looked down at the unconscious goddess in red on the ground, and chuckled.

"Once in my territory, if you're a dragon, you must coil; if you're a tiger, you must lie down."

"What's more..." A pale blue flame flickered from his fingertip, gently grazing a strand of the woman's hair that had fallen to the ground. Sizzle— The strand of hair instantly vaporized.

The divine fire within the woman, seemingly sensing the aura of its natural predator, was instinctively... trembling.

"She is nothing more than a Vermilion Bird with broken wings right now."

"And..." Lin Yuan turned to look at Qin Ziyan with a playful look in his eyes.

"Didn't you keep complaining that the food lately has been too bland?"

"Look, the buffet has been delivered to our doorstep."

Qin Ziyan: "???"

She looked at the unconscious woman on the ground, then at Lin Yuan. Although she didn't know what "buffet" Lin Yuan meant, she felt that... this way of "eating" might not be entirely proper.

...

Half an hour later. Jiang City Shelter, underground medical room.

"Beep—beep—" The sound of the ECG monitor rang rhythmically.

Ji Wushuang felt as if she had had a very long dream. In the dream, she was placed in a ten-thousand-year ice cave, so cold that her soul was about to freeze.

Just as she was about to give up, a warmth... no, an incredibly overbearing heat current suddenly rushed into her world. That feeling was like the sun directly smashing into her face.

"Ugh..." She let out a pained moan, her long eyelashes trembled a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.

What met her eyes was an unfamiliar metal ceiling. The air was filled with the faint smell of disinfectant, and... the scent of a pleasant men's body wash?

"Awake?" A lazy voice came from the side.

Ji Wushuang was startled, her body instinctively wanting to spring up. As a goddess of an ancient martial arts family, waking up in an unfamiliar environment was a huge taboo!

"BOOM!" The pressure belonging to an SS-Rank Expert instantly erupted. Although she was severely injured, this aura was still enough to make an ordinary person kneel on the spot.

"What kind of rat are you! How dare you..."

Ji Wushuang's delicate shout hadn't even fully escaped when it got stuck in her throat. Because she discovered that she... couldn't move. It wasn't because of her injuries, but because two auras, far more terrifying and domineering than her own, were pressing down on her tightly!

On the left was a violent aura as scorching as the sun, carrying a ferocity that said, "If you dare move, I'll tear you apart." On the right was an aura of extinction, as deep as an abyss yet seemingly capable of incinerating everything. In the face of these two auras, her own prideful pressure was like a small flame in a gale, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

"Save your energy, beauty." Lin Yuan sat on a chair, legs crossed, peeling an apple without even raising his head. "The beds here are very expensive. If you break it, you couldn't pay for it even if I sold you."

Beside him, Qin Ziyan stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall, her eyes filled with criticism as she looked at Ji Wushuang.

"The figure is okay, but she's too thin; she doesn't look like she'd be good at bearing children."

"And this outfit... are you an extra who ran off from some film crew?"

Ji Wushuang: "..."

She, the dignified goddess of the Ji family, was actually called an extra? And... what the hell is "not good at bearing children"?!

"Who... are you?" Ji Wushuang gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing the shock and humiliation in her heart. She tried to mobilize the Nanming Li Fire within her to fight back.

However, a scene that filled her with despair occurred. When her consciousness touched the divine fire in her Dantian, the Vermilion Bird fire, which was usually unyielding and arrogant, was now acting like a mouse that had encountered a cat, cowering in a corner and playing dead! No matter how she summoned it, it wouldn't move!

It even transmitted back a spineless emotion: 【Don't move! Absolutely don't move!】【The big boss is on the other side! If we dare to move, we're dead!】【Quick! Kneel down and call him Daddy!】

Ji Wushuang: "..."

At this moment, the arrogant goddess's mentality collapsed. Is this really the legendary divine fire? Why does it feel like a traitor?

"Who I am doesn't matter." Lin Yuan finished peeling the apple and took a crunchy bite, the sound echoing in the quiet medical room. He looked up, his deep eyes staring straight at Ji Wushuang, a smile that was impossible to read curving on his lips.

"What matters is..."

"Your life belongs to me now."

"Since you're awake, let's talk about... how you plan to repay this debt of saving your life."

"There's no need to offer your body, after all..." Lin Yuan pointed to Qin Ziyan beside him, then to the group of beauties eavesdropping outside the door. "My waiting list here is already filled until next year."

Ji Wushuang: "???"