Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Barrier Shattered, Ascending to the King Level

After defeating Liu Qiang, Gu Sha lifted the crate and prepared to leave. Han Ze chased after him, shouting, "Mr. Gu!" Gu Sha turned and asked, "What is it?"

"My apologies," Han Ze said. "I never expected things to escalate this far."

Gu Sha raised his hand and glanced at his watch. "No need for such pointless words. We have roughly eighty minutes left."

Han Ze hurriedly replied, "Mr. Gu, I’ll arrange for your evacuation—"

"There's no need. I won't be leaving just yet," Gu Sha responded.

"What?" Han Ze was puzzled.

"Farewell. I hope we'll meet again."

Gu Sha offered no further explanation and strode off with the crate.

Now, countless zombies and mutant beasts converged; for Gu Sha, it was a trove of corpse cores and anomalous bones. He had no intention of leaving. The despair brought by this catastrophic disaster was for ordinary people, not for someone like him—an extraordinary warrior about to ignite his inscription and ascend to the rank of Battle King.

Smoke and dust filled the air. Han Ze gazed deeply at Gu Sha’s departing figure, his eyes shining.

"President Han," the head of the Yang family approached Han Ze and said, "I am also an extraordinary, but I cannot fathom your near-blind adoration for Gu Sha."

Han Ze shook his head. "That’s because you lack perspective. If you were among humanity’s elite extraordinaries, and if you understood that humanity’s hope rests with these warriors, you would know why I revere Gu Sha. To me, he is a god—my god. His character, his consciousness, are far ahead of our time. When I face him, I always feel as though he holds the reins of this era’s fate, or rather, that he is defining it. One day, he may truly become the god in the eyes of all extraordinaries."

The Yang family head’s gaze hardened. "He is human."

"Are extraordinaries not human?"

Silence fell between them.

…

On the summit of a mountain overlooking the ruined city, Gu Sha placed a crate of corpse cores and a dozen anomalous bones before him. He strapped the king-tier beast bone to his backpack.

The earthquake was imminent; the mountain itself was not truly safe, but Gu Sha sought less trouble. In the visions of the future he’d glimpsed, this mountain would collapse but not split or sink, nor would it attract hordes of zombies or beasts.

He channeled the inscription power from the king bone to shield himself, then began absorbing the anomalous bones and corpse cores. After previously absorbing eleven anomalous bones and breaking through the fourth tier of his abilities, he had made progress toward the fifth. With these new bones acquired from the city’s heart, he was confident in breaching the fifth tier.

As he expected, upon absorbing the dozen anomalous bones, he naturally broke through to the fifth tier.

But during this process, the earthquake struck—a calamity of apocalyptic proportions. The city became ruins in moments, with countless buildings collapsing and explosions erupting everywhere.

Gu Sha paid no heed to the evacuation; he doubted it went well. Time was too short. An hour might seem long, but not when evacuating a metropolis of millions besieged by zombies and beasts, with swarms of flying mutant beasts circling above.

From his perch, Gu Sha saw many planes plummet from the sky. The relentless thunder of artillery underscored the hopelessness. Survival depended entirely on luck—who fared better against the zombies and beasts.

As Gu Sha began absorbing corpse cores, a deluge of corrosive acid rain fell, compounding the disaster. Yet his heart remained unmoved. The cave he sheltered in collapsed, but the inscription’s power protected him. He quickly absorbed the cores.

After an indeterminate time, he slowly opened his eyes. The corpse cores before him were gone, yet the path to king-tier remained distant.

He emerged from the rubble, took a specially crafted umbrella from his backpack, and opened it. This umbrella, manufactured by the Association of Extraordinaries, resisted the acid rain's corrosive effects. Though his genetic advancement rendered him immune to the rain, his clothing was not. He had no desire to run naked through the ruins, even if no one was likely to see him.

Moreover, immunity to the rain did not mean he wished to be drenched. The mountain had lost half its height, now seeming much lower. Gu Sha gazed down at the city, once lively and bustling, now nothing but ruins and debris.

Through the wreckage, zombies and mutant beasts prowled; flying beasts circled overhead. Occasionally, one would spot Gu Sha and swoop down, only to meet its death.

When the rain stopped, Gu Sha descended the mountain. Entering the ruins, he saw shattered bodies everywhere. Many had died in the quake, their corpses devoured by zombies; others survived the quake only to fall to the monsters. Some zombies and beasts were buried beneath the rubble as well.

Gu Sha roamed the ruins, collecting corpse cores. When faced with groups of zombies or beasts, he slaughtered them without hesitation. He wandered the city, killing zombies and beasts wherever he found them, resting when tired. Day and night blurred together, time losing all meaning.

Several aftershocks occurred, though none as fierce as the initial quake. Occasionally, Gu Sha encountered survivors—some called for help from the ruins, others fled from monsters. If he heard them, he saved them, but never lingered, nor allowed them to plead for anything. He departed as swiftly as he came.

This was the apocalypse, this was the wasteland. Anything could exist—except hope.

For a month, Gu Sha prowled the ruins, daily slaughtering zombies and mutant beasts. The city, once the hub of human activity, had become the epicenter of the monsters. Every day, hordes arrived, and Gu Sha harvested a vast number of cores and anomalous bones.

His persistence paid off. Over the month, his abilities broke through to the sixth tier. At last, as an extraordinary, he ignited his inscription—ascending to king-tier.

(End of chapter)