287: Chapter 287 If you want to read it, then read it openly and honestly!

Ever since being rescued from that coastal peril, Ji Wushuang discovered something was wrong with her.

Specifically: her gaze would unconsciously drift toward that man, and it felt as if a string in her mind had been plucked, playing back the scene of him descending from the sky from time to time.

At this moment, Ji Wushuang was hiding behind a pile of discarded tires in a corner of the training field.

Holding a pair of broken binoculars, she was stealthily staring at Lin Yuan, who was currently patrolling the base in the distance.

Chewing on a grass root, Ji Wushuang muttered to herself.

"If this kind of person were placed in the wilderness outside, he probably wouldn't last three days."

Yet, it was such a seemingly non-threatening man.

That day, he had instantly killed the SS-class mutant sea beast that had driven her into a corner with a single blow.

"Could this be the legendary 'returning to simplicity'? Or is he simply not human?"

Just as Ji Wushuang was lost in thought, the alarm over the base blared without warning.

"Wooo—!!!"

The piercing alarm was like sharp claws, instantly tearing through the afternoon's tranquility.

Following that was a roar that made the earth tremble.

"Roar—!!!"

The sound was deep and long.

It seemed to come from the depths of hell, carrying a primal frenzy and a desire for destruction.

Ji Wushuang's expression changed, and the binoculars in her hand almost dropped to the ground.

As a Fire-type Ability User, her perception of auras was extremely keen. This pressure...

It was ten times more terrifying than the sea beast that almost killed her that day!

"SSS-class?!"

She without time to think, she leaped up from behind the tires and rushed toward the city walls.

...

Atop the city walls, the atmosphere was so heavy it could almost drip water.

Core members like Su Yuyan, Chen Hanyue, and Tang Shiyun had all arrived, their faces filled with gravity.

Three kilometers outside the base.

A giant beast, comparable in size to a small mountain, was slowly approaching.

Was that a mutant... gorilla?

No, it should be called a demonic ape clad in pitch-black armor.

Its entire body was covered in dark purple scales, each one looking like meticulously polished obsidian.

They reflected a heart-palpitating cold light under the sun. Three pairs of massive bone wings grew from its back.

Although it didn't look like it could fly.

Its hideous appearance made it look even more terrifying.

"This is... the Earth-shaking Demonic Ape, an SSS-class mutant creature."

Tang Shiyun pushed the glasses on the bridge of her nose, as red warning boxes flashed frantically on her tablet screen.

"The data is overflowing; our defense system... can't stop it."

"Even if we can't, we must!"

Su Yuyan gritted her teeth, her Vines growing wildly.

Although their strength had already exceeded standards by a lot, only Lin Yuan could probably face an SSS-class Evolved Beast with ease nowadays.

She constructed layers of green barriers in front of the city wall.

"As long as the Boss hasn't returned, we must hold the line even if it means death!"

Although the Female Warriors' faces were pale.

And their hands holding weapons were trembling slightly, not a single person retreated.

These were the soldiers trained by Lin Yuan; even when facing a certain-death situation, they could grit their teeth and face it head-on.

"Roar!"

The Earth-shaking Demonic Ape seemed very impatient with these tiny "roadblocks" in front of it.

It stopped, and two streams of white air erupted from its massive nostrils like steam pillars.

Then, it raised its right foot and lightly stomped on the ground.

Boom—!

A visible yellowish shockwave spread frantically along the ground, shattering rocks and cracking the earth wherever it passed.

The three vine defense lines Su Yuyan had painstakingly arranged.

Were as fragile as a piece of torn toilet paper in front of this stomp.

"Pfft!"

Under the backlash, Su Yuyan spat out a mouthful of blood, her face instantly turning deathly pale.

"Sister Yuyan!"

The women cried out in alarm.

Just a casual stomp had almost destroyed their defense line.

This wasn't a battle on the same level at all; it was a one-sided crushing.

The Earth-shaking Demonic Ape seemed satisfied with its masterpiece; it grinned.

Revealing a mouth full of fangs as sharp as daggers, it let out a strange cry resembling human mockery, then raised its pile-driver-like fist and aimed it at the base's main gate.

If this punch landed solidly.

Never mind the gate, probably half the base would be leveled.

Ji Wushuang had just rushed onto the wall and saw this desperate scene.

"It's over..."

Only this one thought remained in her mind, "I'm going to die here before my debt is even cleared? What a loss!"

Just when everyone thought they were doomed.

A figure abruptly appeared outside the city wall, in mid-air.

There was no earth-shattering entrance; he hadn't even changed his clothes.

Still in those casual clothes.

He just stood there casually, hands in his pockets, back to the crowd, facing that Earth-shaking Demonic Ape that looked like a demon god.

"Master!"

"Lin Yuan!"

The women's cries were filled with the joy of a narrow escape.

Ji Wushuang's eyes widened, staring fixedly at that back.

This was her first time watching Lin Yuan confront an SSS-class creature from such a close distance.

"Hey, big guy."

Lin Yuan's voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly spread throughout the scene.

It even drowned out the demonic ape's roar.

He looked up slightly at the sky-blotting beast before him, his tone as casual as chatting with a neighbor.

"You broke my ground. How do you plan to compensate me?"

The Earth-shaking Demonic Ape was stunned for a moment.

As an SSS-class creature standing at the top of the food chain, it had long since developed intelligence.

A tiny bug actually dared to despise it?

The demonic ape was furious. Its dignity had been insulted, making it angrier than failing to step on a bunch of ants earlier.

"Roar—!!!"

It roared, and the fist that was originally aimed at the gate suddenly turned.

Carrying a world-destroying momentum, it smashed fiercely toward Lin Yuan in the air!

This punch.

The friction with the air produced a violent sonic boom, and wherever the wind from the punch passed, space seemed to distort.

"Be careful!" Ji Wushuang couldn't help but shout.

However, Lin Yuan didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.

He just tilted his body slightly and, as if shooing a fly, casually kicked out with his right leg.

Yes, it was the kind of movement where you see a soda can on the side of the road and give it a casual kick.

But in Ji Wushuang's vision, the moment this kick was delivered, the entire world seemed to stand still for a second.

An illusion?

No, space was being compressed!

"Boom—!!!"

A disproportionate collision.

A human's tiny leg collided with the demonic ape's fist, which was the size of a truck's front.

The expected image of Lin Yuan being smashed into meat paste didn't appear.

On the contrary, that majestic Earth-shaking Demonic Ape.

Was actually sent flying backward instantly, as if hit head-on by a high-speed train traveling at the speed of light!

"Whoosh—"

It truly "flew" out, tracing a graceful arc in the sky, flying several hundred meters away before crashing heavily into a discarded building.

Dust rose everywhere, and debris flew.

Total silence.

Ji Wushuang's jaw almost smashed through the floor beneath her feet.

Her eyes, usually as shrewd as a fox's, were now as wide as copper bells.

"Is... is this still human?"

She couldn't help but curse, her entire perception of Lin Yuan completely collapsing at this moment.

But that wasn't all.

Lin Yuan seemed to feel that the previous strike wasn't enough to vent his frustration.

Or perhaps he disliked the dust from the collapsing building for dirtying the air.

He raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the distant ruins.

The space where the ruins were located was suddenly squeezed by an invisible giant hand.

The Earth-shaking Demonic Ape, which was still struggling in the ruins and preparing to counterattack, didn't even have time to scream before its body instantly froze.

Then.

Squelch—

The SSS-class demonic ape's indestructible scales, which even missiles might not penetrate, became more fragile than tofu at this moment.

Countless pitch-black spatial rifts intertwined around it into an airtight net.

Instantly slicing it into countless pieces of meat.

The cuts were as smooth as mirrors, terrifyingly neat.

This was the art of power, the aesthetics of absolute crushing.

The SSS-Class Beast King, which was just now arrogant and had plunged the entire base into despair, had now turned into a pile of neatly arranged ingredients.

Lin Yuan withdrew his hand and patted the non-existent dust off his sleeve.

He turned around and looked at the group of petrified women on the wall.

"Extra meal tonight, braised monkey brain... forget it, that's a bit disgusting. Let's just dig out the crystal core."

He muttered to himself; his voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear on the silent battlefield.

Until then, the women woke up as if from a dream.

Cheers erupted instantly, almost lifting the roof.

"Long live!"

"Master is so handsome!"

"I want to have a monkey for Master... wait, no, Master killed the monkey!"

Amidst the fanatical cheers.

Ji Wushuang still stood dazed in place. Her hands gripped the railing tightly, her knuckles turning white from overexertion.

Her heart was beating wildly—thump, thump, thump.

Not because of fear.

But because of an unprecedented emotion called "admiration," growing wildly in her heart like weeds.

In this Apocalypse, the strong are respected.

Ji Wushuang always thought she was realistic and rational enough.

She thought her definition of a strong person was whether they could beat her or keep her fed.

But today, Lin Yuan had taught her a lesson.

What is a strong person?

It's not about how many people you can beat, but when disaster strikes.

When everyone is wailing in despair, you only need to put your hands in your pockets and give a light kick to send the disaster back to where it came from.

That effortless elegance, that calm control over everything, that dominance that viewed all living beings as ants...

"How is this even human..."

Ji Wushuang murmured to herself, her eyes shining with an unprecedented light.

It was a mix of shock, awe, and an obsession she hadn't even noticed herself.

"This man... just how strong is he?"

She felt her face heating up and her mouth going dry.

At that moment, that figure had returned to the city wall at some point.

The surrounding Female Warriors made way one after another, eyes full of stars.

Lin Yuan walked straight toward Su Yuyan.

He checked her injuries and casually threw out a bottle of potion:

"Drink it, and don't push yourself in the future. If you can't win, run. You're my asset; if you break, you're hard to fix."

Su Yuyan blushed and nodded obediently.

After handling the business, Lin Yuan didn't leave immediately.

Instead, he suddenly turned his head, his gaze landing accurately on Ji Wushuang, who was hiding behind the crowd and still dazed.

Ji Wushuang's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively wanted to dodge, but those eyes, deep as the starry sky, seemed to have a magic that made it impossible for her to look away.

Lin Yuan stepped toward her.

One step, two steps.

Each step seemed to land on the rhythm of Ji Wushuang's heartbeat.

"What does he want? Did he find out I was complaining about him earlier? Or is he going to settle the score for me not rushing up as cannon fodder just now?"

Ji Wushuang's mind was a mess, so nervous she even forgot to breathe.

Lin Yuan stopped half a meter in front of her.

This distance was so close she could smell the faint, fresh scent on him.

It didn't smell like he had just killed a monster at all; instead, it was like he had just finished a bath.

Ji Wushuang swallowed and spoke stutteringly:

"I... I was just... observing the enemy situation! Yes, I was calculating the monkey's parabolic landing point so that..."

"Have you seen enough?"

Lin Yuan suddenly interrupted her clumsy excuse, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Huh?" Ji Wushuang was stunned, her mind going blank.

Lin Yuan leaned in slightly, close to her ear, his voice deep and magnetic:

"I said, down there just now, watching for so long with those binoculars, have you seen enough?"

Boom—

Ji Wushuang felt all the blood in her body rush to her head.

Her entire face turned as red as a ripe tomato, even seemingly hissing with steam.

So he had noticed long ago!

Her peeping like a pervert while hiding behind tires had been seen by the target himself!

This was too embarrassing, wasn't it? She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

"I... that was..."

Ji Wushuang was incoherent, wanting to explain, but found any explanation felt pale and weak in the face of absolute strength.

Seeing her distressed look, the smile in Lin Yuan's eyes deepened.

He didn't continue teasing but reached out and gently brushed off a piece of dried grass from her shoulder.

"In the future, if you want to watch, you can watch openly. No need to hide behind tires."

After speaking, he straightened up, gave a wave, and left Ji Wushuang with a graceful view of his back.

"The view over there isn't good. Remember to find a better spot next time."

Lin Yuan left.

Leaving Ji Wushuang standing alone, lost in the wind.

The surrounding Female Warriors cast various ambiguous and envious looks, but Ji Wushuang couldn't feel them anymore.

She only felt her heart beating so fast it was about to jump out of her throat.

Not because of shame or embarrassment.

But because of that final action, that one sentence.

He could have exposed her directly, making her lose face; he could have ignored her, like a stone on the side of the road.

But he didn't.

That attitude, which carried a bit of playfulness, a bit of tolerance, and even a bit of doting.

It was like a feather, gently scratching Ji Wushuang's heart, which had long been hardened by the Apocalypse.

"Watch... openly?"

Ji Wushuang touched her burning cheeks.

Looking in the direction Lin Yuan had left, the corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably.

The little notebook in her heart that said "run after paying the debt" suddenly became blurred at this moment.

Replacing it was a brand-new thought:

Perhaps, working for this man for a lifetime...

Wouldn't be a losing business?

As long as she could see such scenes every day.

Even without a salary... no, a salary is still needed, but even a twenty percent discount could be considered!

Seeing the loyalty color finally show a hint of yellow under his Superpower.

Lin Yuan's footsteps paused slightly, and a faint smile played on his lips.