76: Chapter 76 One Punch to the Soul! Beast Tide from All Directions Attacks! (Three-in-One)

Apologies, everyone. I didn't manage my time well, so I can only provide one big chapter. (o(╥﹏╥)o)

The lingering sensation of the drift hadn't yet faded, and Su Ming's gaze had already locked onto his next target.

A hundred meters away stood a massive black rock, as tall as a two-story building.

It was a Basalt Heavy Rock, its hardness comparable to C-grade alloy.

Su Ming flexed his right wrist; it was time to test another big treasure.

Shen Qingci leaned against Dahuang, arms crossed, watching silently. She already had a premonition that this guy was about to pull another stunt.

Su Ming turned to face the black rock, feet slightly apart, lowering his center of gravity.

The next second, the dark golden skill icon in his mind was activated.

[Mass Heavy Cannon]!

In an instant, Su Ming's right arm felt as if it had been stripped from this world.

The terrifying constraint of [Mass Concealment] applied at the micro-particle level was unleashed within a tenth of a second!

Ten tons of [True Mass], five times kinetic energy correction. Fifty thousand kilograms. All compressed into a single fist.

Hum— The surrounding air was rapidly displaced.

Shen Qingci's pupils constricted sharply. The light around Su Ming's fist... was twisting.

The mass density of that small patch of space was absurdly high, bending even the path of light.

A terrifying sense of oppression surged toward her, and she subconsciously took half a step back. Here it comes!

Su Ming didn't perform any charging movements; he simply threw a punch, plain and unassuming!

"Boom!!!" It wasn't a sound; it was a shockwave!

The moment his fist struck out, it rubbed against the air at high speed, directly dragging out a blindingly dazzling white sonic boom ring!

Before the shrill whistle of the air being torn apart could reach Shen Qingci's ears, the fist had already smashed into the surface of the black rock.

A translucent spherical shockwave erupted from the point of contact! It was like a hot knife through butter!

"Boom!!!" Gravel splattered in all directions like shrapnel.

The two-story-tall Basalt Heavy Rock exploded with spiderweb-like cracks, starting from the point of contact with his fist.

The cracks spread, Through the entire rock. Then, it collapsed with a roar.

Dozens of millstone-sized rocks rolled in all directions, and the ground under Su Ming's feet silently collapsed by half a meter. Dust filled the air.

When the view cleared again, the black rock no longer existed. Only a pile of jagged gravel remained.

The edges of a few pieces of gravel at the point of contact were slightly blackened from the high-speed friction, glowing with a dull red residual heat.

Su Ming looked at the white smoke rising from the knuckles of his right fist and blew on it with satisfaction. He turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Shen Qingci. Praise me, hurry up and praise me!

Shen Qingci looked at him somewhat blankly. After several seconds, she squeezed a few words through her teeth: "...You're really amazing."

The smugness on Su Ming's face instantly collapsed by half: "Senior, your reaction is too bland, isn't it? At least give me a scream or a look of worship!"

Shen Qingci bent down to pick up a beverage bottle, her eyes filled with a world-weary exhaustion. "From the moment you hammered the Wolf King to death without a scratch, I stopped being surprised."

I've seen bigger storms than this; what does this count for?

Su Ming: "..." Tsk, this is no fun. He felt a bit depressed. He'd gone to such lengths to show off, and the audience had already become desensitized.

After a simple breakfast, the two began to clean up the mess of a campsite. They prepared to break camp and return to Jiangcheng to turn in their mission.

But before leaving, a very realistic problem stood before them.

Su Ming turned his head to look at the quasi-Tier 4 behemoth beside him, which was five meters long, over two meters high at the shoulder, and sported two massive dog heads.

Dahuang was lying on the ground gnawing on wolf bones, occasionally breathing out flames from its left head to roast them, while the right head spat out golden sharp energy to cut the bones into small pieces. It was having a great time.

Su Ming rubbed his temples. Jiangcheng, a D-grade satellite city. The city defense system had zero tolerance for Source Beasts above Tier 3. If he brought this thing back, Dahuang would be turned into a sieve before they even reached the city gates.

Dahuang seemed to sense something; both heads lifted at the same time, four eyes looking at Su Ming with a pitiful expression. The scene was as bizarre as it could get.

Shen Qingci packed up the last piece of equipment and walked over: "Are you really planning to bring it back to Jiangcheng? Its energy level is about to break through to Tier 4. Once it enters the city defense range, the radar will lock onto it as an intruder."

Su Ming thought about it, and she was right. Besides, even if he brought it back, where would he put it? His ten-something square meter low-rent apartment—if Dahuang went inside, he'd have to go sleep on the street. Plus, the lease was almost up.

He looked at Dahuang with a serious expression: "Do you want to stay here?" Dahuang's two heads shook frantically, its eyes filled with "don't want, don't want, don't want."

"Then do you want to go to university with me?" Su Ming asked again. Dahuang froze for a moment, then nodded frantically.

Su Ming turned to ask Shen Qingci: "Which school has a pet class?" Shen Qingci rolled her eyes.

But looking at the expectant Dahuang, she couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted. She also liked this dog, although calling it a "dog" at this size was a bit of a stretch.

After a moment of silence, she said: "My dad... should have a way."

Su Ming's eyes lit up. Right! Right! How could I have forgotten my cheap father-in-law!

Old Shen had a large family business; the backyard must be much bigger than his own rental apartment. Besides, the old man was retired; shouldn't he be petting cats and walking dogs to enjoy his golden years?

Such a majestic big guy like Dahuang—how much face would it bring if taken out! Plus, Dahuang ate metal. Putting it in the Scrap Yard, wouldn't that be like a VIP member at a buffet restaurant?

In the future, if he wanted to give Dahuang an extra meal, and he could mooch a bite for himself on the side, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Besides, with Dahuang as a lubricant, in the future he could use the excuse of "visiting his beloved dog" to run to the Shen family every other day, mooch food and drink, and incidentally exchange martial arts insights with the long-legged senior... Perfect!

At the same moment. Thousands of kilometers away. Deep within the Source Abyss, an absolute dead zone listed by the Federation as "Forbidden Zone No. 6."

In the black toxic miasma that never dissipated all year round, a huge throne, built entirely from the ghastly white bones of high-tier Source Beasts, loomed in and out of sight.

Upon the throne, a man leaned lazily. Purple slit pupils, pale skin, delicate features, draped in dark purple feather armor.

Between his slender fingers, he was boredly twirling a dark golden syringe.

On the tube of the syringe, a badge of crossed swords was clearly imprinted, and below the swords was the character "Eight"—the mark of Federal Military Industry—Level 8 Top Secret Clearance!

Below the throne, a behemoth the size of an armored vehicle was kneeling in the bone debris, shivering. A Tier 3 peak Source Beast, [Mountain-Splitting Iron-Spine Rhinoceros]!

The purple-eyed man chuckled, seemingly very satisfied with the fierce beast's fear. He flicked his finger. The dark golden syringe turned into a stream of light, accurately piercing into the back of the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros's neck.

"Roar!!!" The Mountain-Splitting Iron-Spine Rhinoceros erupted in a painful roar, its massive body trembling violently, muscles bulging out.

A surge of violent energy, far exceeding its life limit, exploded within its body! In the blink of an eye, its aura skyrocketed, forcibly breaking through the shackles of its life barrier! Tier 4!

A dark red brand slowly lit up on the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros's forehead, identical to the brand on the forehead of the Red-maned Wind-blade Wolf King from before.

The purple-eyed man stood up, walked down from the throne, and casually patted the rampaging Tier 4 Iron-Spine Rhinoceros, "It actually advanced?" The voice was very light, and it was hard to tell if it was male or female.

"Very well, then go and see for this King... whether the defense lines of those ants are truly vulnerable."

Purple slit pupils pierced through the endless darkness, looking toward the world outside the Source Abyss, "The good show, it's time for it to begin!"

He casually threw the empty syringe into the bone pile and turned back to sit on the throne. Forbidden Zone No. 6 returned to deathly silence. Only the empty syringe glowed with a faint fluorescence in the darkness.

On the distant border line. A shrill alarm pierced the silence of the abyss. And this was just the beginning.

At the same moment, at different coordinates—Northern Tundra, deep in an ice cave. A pair of scarlet slit pupils opened in the eternal night. The frozen earth cracked, and a Tier 4 bear, covered in frost, broke through the ice and roared at the sky!

Eastern Sea, abyss rift. Viscous purple mist surged out. A Tier 4 sea python nearly ten meters long coiled around a cliff, emitting a sharp hiss like a baby crying!

Western Gobi, center of the sandstorm. In the dust that blotted out the sky. A Tier 4 sand scorpion crawled out from underground, its tail stinger, flickering with a ghostly blue toxic light, raised high!

East, West, South, North! The four battle zones. Four terrifying Source Beasts, forcibly catalyzed by a mysterious power, at the same moment broke through the shackles of the Source Abyss and charged toward the human defense lines!

Jiangcheng. Xinghuo Scrap Processing Plant, fifth underground floor, Void Prison. No lights, no sound, no matter. Only absolute darkness and nothingness.

Lu Beichen slumped on a ten-square-meter glowing floor, the only "entity" that could be perceived in the entire space. He leaned his back against the wall, his eyes hollow.

Four days. He had been locked in this ghost place for four whole days. That day, he followed that military inspector Liu Feng into this so-called "isolation room," and the moment the door closed, the world changed.

He had thought this fifth floor would be like the gravity room on the third floor, piled with high-tech equipment, but he hadn't expected it to be a void cage independent of the real world. This kind of technology, he had only seen in documentaries from the Federal Research Institute. It was a forbidden method specifically for imprisoning high-tier dangerous creatures. The cost was terrifyingly high.

A scrap collector, why would he have this kind of thing?

"Roar—!" Deep in the void, another vague and suppressed roar came. In these four days, this sound would ring out from time to time, and each time it made his heart jump.

Could it be... that this guy named Shen was privately raising Source Beasts? Or was he in league with the depths of the Source Abyss? The former meant prison time, the latter meant execution of the nine generations.

A flash of excitement appeared in Lu Beichen's eyes. This guy was too careless, actually revealing such a major secret to him!

But on second thought, he became a little uneasy. The opponent was so unscrupulous—could it be... they never intended to let him leave alive from the beginning?

Impossible! Lu Beichen shook his head vigorously. The two-person training mission his brother arranged for him was about to expire, and since he had been out of contact for so long, his brother Lu Beiyuan would definitely come to save him.

All he had to do now was hold on. As for asking the family for help? Over his dead body!

He, a dignified Lu family talent, failed to pursue a woman and was instead instantly defeated by a butler robot from a Scrap Yard, and even taken hostage? If this got out, would he still have any face left in the imperial capital circle?

He had to wait for his brother to come and save him silently, and then, make this Shen Hongyuan and that F-grade poor kid know what true despair was!

Just as he was playing out the drama of a king's return in his mind, the void in front of him suddenly rippled. Shen Hongyuan, wearing floral shorts and flip-flops, rolling two iron walnuts in his hand, walked in out of thin air.

He looked Lu Beichen up and down, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Four days had passed, and this kid hadn't cried, hadn't begged for mercy, let alone collapsed, and was still maintaining this arrogant attitude. He did have some backbone.

He casually tossed a light blue recovery potion toward Lu Beichen's arm. The potion turned into points of light and merged into his body, a warm current instantly flooding into his legs,

The long-numbed sensation quickly returned.

Lu Beichen pushed himself up from the ground; his broken kneecap had completely healed.

He felt like he was back in the game.

"Hmph!"

He looked at Shen Hongyuan, his gaze becoming arrogant once again.

"What? Did you finally look into my Lu family's background? Are you scared out of your wits now, looking to beg for mercy?"

Shen Hongyuan frowned, watching him quietly.

Seeing the other party remain silent, Lu Beichen became even more smug, assuming the other party had been intimidated by the Lu family's reputation.

"Let me tell you, my brother, Lu Beiyuan, is the youngest Chief Engineer at the Federal Research Institute and a peak Tier 3 Silver Awakened."

"My father, Senior Researcher Lu Zhenbang, is the current head of the Lu Group and a Tier 4 Gold—"

"Your father, Senior Researcher Lu Zhenbang, is a Tier 5 Platinum, in charge of the Lu Group's energy industry in the south."

Shen Hongyuan interrupted him.

"Your brother, Lu Beiyuan, has decent talent, but unfortunately, he took the wrong path."

"Your grandfather was named Lu Chengde, who died in a beast tide thirty years ago."

The walnuts spun once.

"As for your great-grandfather, Lu Zhiyuan, who has been in seclusion for twenty years, he is merely a Tier 7 Causality-type Awakened."

The tone was as flat as if he were reciting a menu.

The expression on Lu Beichen's face froze instantly.

How... how could he know about his great-grandfather?!

This was the Lu family's highest-level secret!

He was stunned.

Knowing that his family had a Tier 7 ancestor backing them, shouldn't he have knelt down immediately?

Why was he still wearing that deadpan face?

"I hate two things the most."

Shen Hongyuan finally spoke, his voice turning cold.

"First, someone targeting my daughter."

"Second, someone acting arrogant in front of me."

"Unfortunately, you've managed to do both."

Lu Beichen's Adam's apple bobbed, his lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

"I had hoped your family would come and take you away sooner, letting you get lost. But since they aren't coming, I don't keep idlers here."

Shen Hongyuan held up one finger.

"That recovery potion from just now, one million."

He held up a second one.

"The food and accommodation fees for these four days, five hundred thousand a day, totaling two million."

The third one.

"Starting today, for every extra day you stay, there will be an additional one million in detention management fees."

Shen Hongyuan stood up, looking down at him.

"Now, get to the first floor and tighten screws for me! You leave when you've paid it all off!"

He snapped his fingers.

Before Lu Beichen could react, the scene before his eyes spun dizzily.

In the next second, he appeared in the sorting workshop on the first floor of the factory, with a pile of rusty screws and a wrench by his hand.

Several porters nearby glanced at him, then lowered their heads to continue working.

Lu Beichen stood there, his mind completely blank.

Him, a young master of the Lu family, heir to a top-tier imperial capital family... tightening screws?

Shen Hongyuan's figure appeared in the first-floor office area, still grumbling.

"Damn it, these youngsters nowadays. Not as tough as I was back in the day, but they sure can posture better than I ever did!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, the walnuts clicking loudly as he spun them.

Just as he was annoyed, his phone vibrated.

He looked at the caller ID—beloved daughter.

Shen Hongyuan's face instantly switched from Yama mode to doting father mode, his wrinkles smoothing out.

"Hello! Daughter!!!"

"Dad, the mission is over."

Shen Qingci's voice came from the other end, carrying a rare touch of lightness.

"Did the mission go smoothly? You weren't hurt, were you?"

"Very smoothly."

Shen Qingci's voice carried a hint of pride, "Dad, my heavenly pride ranking points are now 7100, ranking fifth in the school."

Shen Hongyuan sprang up from the sofa.

"Fifth?! Fifth in the school?!"

"Mm."

"Good, good, good! That's my daughter for you!"

Shen Hongyuan was so excited he stopped spinning the walnuts, "Truly the makings of a Martial God! When you get back, Dad will make you braised pork ribs!"

Shen Qingci was a bit embarrassed by the praise, cleared her throat, and continued, "Dad, there's one more thing."

"What is it, tell me!"

"We also subdued a... Tier 3 canine-type Source Beast, and we want to bring it back with us. Is there any way you can help?"

"What the hell?"

Shen Hongyuan's voice instantly went up an octave, "Subdued? A Tier 3 Source Beast? Daughter, you aren't joking, are you?"

Source Beasts are inherently violent and almost impossible to tame.

To make a Source Beast acknowledge a master is something that can only be done by at least a Tier 7 Awakened through a soul contract.

Did his daughter really get this kind of dumb luck just by going out for training?

"To be precise, it's a Wasteland Mastiff that, while evolving, fused with the Source Beast bloodline of a peak Tier 3 Wolf King."

Shen Qingci corrected him, "It has already acknowledged a master, it's very safe."

Shen Hongyuan was silent for two seconds.

"Are you serious?"

"Serious."

"...Fine, I'll give Old Qin a call later."

"Thanks, Dad!"

Shen Qingci smiled brightly.

Listening to his daughter's laughter, Shen Hongyuan's heart skipped a beat on the other end of the line.

His daughter's tone... why did it feel a bit off?

He carefully probed, "Then... that kid you're teaming up with, is he still alive? He didn't hold you back, did he?"

Shen Qingci recalled Su Ming beating up the Wolf King and drifting with ten tons of weight, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Hold her back?

It would be a miracle if he didn't lead the entire team into a ditch.

"He's alive, living just fine."

She said irritably, "Dahuang is the one who acknowledged him as master."

Shen Hongyuan: "What did you say? Dahuang is that Source Beast? Acknowledged him as master!!!"

"Dad, the reason our mission points are so high is basically all thanks to him."

Shen Qingci seemed to have opened the floodgates.

"He killed nearly a hundred exotic beasts all by himself!"

Silence on the other end of the line!

"...How many?!"

Shen Hongyuan suspected he had misheard.

"Besides those Tier 1 and Tier 2 ones, there was also a Tier 2 Source Beast Shatter-Void Bat, a peak Tier 2 berserk Wolf Guard, a peak Tier 3 Red-maned Wind-blade Wolf King, and that last Wolf King even broke through to quasi-Tier 4..."

With every sentence Shen Qingci said, the breathing on the other end of the line grew heavier.

When she finished speaking, only silence remained in the receiver.

After a long while.

"I... holy sh*t!?"

An earth-shattering, heaven-defying curse erupted from the mouth of the Imperial Capital's Master Shen.

...

Jiang City, City Defense Command.

Commander Qin Luo was furrowing his brows, staring at the energy reaction map of the constantly expanding Source Abyss crack on the big screen.

Just then, the red encrypted phone on the desk rang without warning.

Seeing the surname on the caller ID, Commander Qin Luo shuddered, almost sliding off his chair.

He lightning-fast pressed a button on the wall, and the doors and windows of the entire office were instantly sealed by alloy plates, entering the highest security state.

He took a deep breath, straightened his military attire, and then carefully answered the phone.

"Hello, Zhennan Yuan..."

"Stop!"

The voice on the other end carried a hint of impatience, "Old Qin, how many times have I told you, in private, call me Old Shen."

"Yes, yes, yes, Old Shen, what... what are your orders?"

Commander Qin Luo's waist bent involuntarily.

"It's like this," Shen Hongyuan's voice came through, "My daughter is over at the No. 3 entrance, and she needs to bring a Tier 3 Source Beast into the city. It's an evolved fusion, it has acknowledged a master, it's absolutely safe. Help me process the paperwork for a 'military auxiliary Source Beast'."

Upon hearing this, Commander Qin Luo immediately patted his chest in guarantee: "No problem! Don't worry! Let alone a Tier 3, even if you wanted to bring out a Tier 7 from inside as a pet, I'd keep the door open for you!"

"Get lost!"

Shen Hongyuan laughed and cursed, "Come over for tea when you have time."

Hanging up the phone, Commander Qin Luo let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his back was soaked.

To make this gentleman call personally, it seems that Source Beast is very important to his daughter.

He was just about to give orders when an intelligence officer rushed in, looking flustered.

"Report, Commander! Urgent military intelligence!"

"The Northern Tundra, Eastern Sea, and Western Gobi, three A-level war zones have simultaneously reported that Tier 4 Source Beasts have rushed out of the Source Abyss and are attacking the defensive lines!"

Commander Qin Luo felt a chill in his heart.

"Simultaneously? What a coincidence?"

"There's more!"

The intelligence officer's voice was trembling, "Outside the No. 6 restricted zone, that peak Tier 3 [Mountain-Splitting Iron-Spine Rhinoceros] we've been monitoring has now completely broken through to Tier 4! It is rampaging at an extremely fast speed and has already destroyed two of our outposts!"

"Damn it, what is going on!"

"Immediately initiate the highest state of combat readiness! Evacuate all trainees and mercenary groups inside the Source Abyss!"

Commander Qin Luo made a prompt decision, "Predict its movement!"

"Report! Its movement route... is rushing at high speed from Area 2 towards the No. 3 entrance area!"

Wait, "You, you said rushing towards... which entrance?"

Commander Qin Luo suddenly remembered something and jumped up from his chair.

"Report, Commander, it is rushing towards the No. 3 entrance!"

"Damn it!"

Commander Qin Luo wanted to cry right now!

How he wished he had misheard!

He grabbed the communicator and roared into it.

"Who is the closest Tier 5 Platinum-level to the No. 3 area?!"

"Report! It is Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng who is currently off-duty!"

"Send him there immediately! At all costs, you must stop that beast outside the No. 3 entrance!"

Commander Qin Luo's hand had already reached for another phone.

He hesitated for a second.

Should he... call that person?

No.

Let Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng hold the line first.

That person's daughter is at the No. 3 entrance, there must be absolutely no mishaps... otherwise...

He didn't dare to think any further.

"The whole city enters Level 2 combat readiness! All trainees and mercenary groups inside the abyss and the outer Ash Belt, send out the evacuation signal immediately!"

"Yes!"

The sound of alarms echoed throughout the City Defense Command.

Meanwhile, outside the No. 3 entrance of the Ash Belt.

Su Ming and Shen Qingci were riding side by side, each on a dog head, rushing back.

A hint of fishy sweetness suddenly appeared in the wind.

Dahuang's two heads pricked up their ears simultaneously, a low warning growl emitting from its throat.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!!!"

From far to near, it became increasingly intense.

It was as if something was crushing towards them with unstoppable momentum.

Su Ming yanked Dahuang's mane.

"Stop."

Dahuang's four hooves nailed into the ground, both heads turning to the southeast simultaneously, the low growl in its throat turning into a sharp whimper.

Shen Qingci jumped to the ground; she crouched on one knee, her left hand pressing on the ground, the sensory ability of her Geng Metal Blade Bone talent resonating with the earth operating at full power.

"At least Tier 4!"

Tier 4?! How could one appear in the outer area?

Immediately after, her terminal warning light flashed violently.

A line of scarlet text projection appeared.

[City Defense Command Emergency Notice: Source Abyss abnormal riot, Tier 4 Source Beasts have simultaneously broken through the blockade lines in all four war zones. All trainees and mercenary groups within the Ash Belt must evacuate immediately! Repeat, evacuate immediately!]

Shen Qingci's expression changed drastically!

All four war zones, rioting simultaneously!

This could never be a coincidence!

The Source Abyss catastrophe... is it really coming?!