This colossal puppet, over ten meters tall, previously couldn't fly.
It wasn't a divine life form, merely possessing destructive power at the mythological tier. In other aspects, it was far from mythological.
Furthermore, was it even stated that mythological beings could always fly?
Those below the non-human tier didn't inherently possess flight capabilities.
The ability to fly either came from an awakened flight-related ability or from extremely precise energy manipulation, coupled with a versatile ability that could create the effect of flight.
Take Pei Hongjing, for instance. His primary skill was 'Explosive Cards,' and his awakened ability was 'Attribute Attachment,' neither of which had anything to do with flying.
However, the blue-tier skill 'Explosive Cards' offered high operability, allowing the user to control the flight of cards. After Pei Hongjing cultivated 'Explosive Cards' to the expert level, he pioneered the 'Card Wings' application mode, enabling him to fly.
In short, flight required a special ability as its foundation.
The incomplete God-Slaying Weapon, 'Qian Hong,' before this, was limited to basic attacks that couldn't be finely controlled.
But now, after integrating flawless divinity, it could fly!
"God-Slaying Weapon: Qian Hong"
"Completeness: 57.5%"
The countless decimal places after 57.5 continued to fluctuate, indicating that the God-Slaying Weapon was still undergoing self-repair, albeit at a slow pace.
More materials were needed to feed it.
Qian Hong hovered in mid-air, emitting a terrifying pressure that stirred up a violent wind across the island, causing the near-subsiding downpour to resume with a torrential roar.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating its god-like, demonic figure.
A moment later,
The terrifying oppressive aura and the bloody glow surrounding it gradually subsided, and the puppet slowly descended from the sky.
"You... granted... me... new life."
Its voice was still neither male nor female, but no longer mechanical. It sounded like a nascent infant.
And so it was.
The flawless divinity seemed to have triggered a miraculous mythological reaction with the shell of the God-Slaying Weapon. Although the puppet was still a long way from being fully repaired, it had become significantly stronger.
It was as if it had gained life!
Fang You used a Recruitment Voucher on it, confirming that Qian Hong was indeed a life form.
A puppet life.
"You've gained abilities from the Bloodline series?"
"Yes... s..."
Its speech was still somewhat difficult but was gradually becoming more fluent. Its application of abilities was even more proficient.
This was likely Qian Hong's inherent 'talent' as a war weapon.
It had already absorbed and digested parts of the Bloodline sequence, acquiring skills like blood manipulation, bloody light calamities, and flesh and blood shaping. It was worth mentioning the marvel of God-Slaying Weapons; despite being a metallic puppet body, after absorbing divinity, it developed partial characteristics of flesh and blood.
This integration was seamless.
Qian Hong continued to slowly absorb and transform, and it could now generate life energy from within.
However, this process was still slow and the output minimal, far from enough to sustain true combat—it still required a large quantity of strange crystals.
This was a minor issue; Qian Hong's current strength made the investment worthwhile.
It was still not mythological-tier, nor did it possess a true level designation. However, well... once it fully absorbed this flawless divinity, it might be able to contend with true mythological beings?
This would provide Xinhuo with a trump card, a reusable one at that.
Perhaps one day it could truly restore the glory of a God-Slaying Weapon.
"That's too far off."
"If there were a choice, I'd hope not to need Qian Hong's intervention."
"A God-Slaying Weapon's roar costs ten thousand strange crystals!"
...
Donghuang, Huangdu, Investigation Bureau Headquarters.
Personnel came and went. Fan Anyuan had led the first batch of Xinhuo personnel to join. A few were in administrative roles, while the majority were assigned to field investigation duties.
Of course, most of the administrative staff at the Investigation Bureau had also served in combat.
Even if they couldn't fight on the front lines, they could serve as support personnel to deal with aberrations.
Fan Anyuan had joined yesterday and was gradually familiarizing himself with the work today.
"Only through personal experience can one understand how demanding an investigator's task is," Fan Anyuan remarked.
Opposite him was Sword Wielder Yang Chang. Yang Chang had also just returned from the Xinhuo base. He was now truly returning to the Investigation Bureau, bringing with him a group of exchange investigators who had graduated from the training base.
Their graduation time was shorter than he had anticipated, but the improvement they gained was much greater than he had expected.
According to the chief instructor of the Black Blade, from now on, they only needed to train diligently on their own. Their rate of improvement would naturally be slower, but many of them had already unlocked their potential and passed the rapid advancement phase.
It was time for them to graduate.
They couldn't occupy the study slots indefinitely; new batches of students could only be arranged once this group returned to the bureau.
However, Yang Chang believed that as the overall strength of investigators increased, social order in Donghuang would become more stable.
"In fact, with the guidance of your Xinhuo, the efficiency of eradicating aberrations has increased countless times. Otherwise, more effort would be spent on information gathering and investigation, and often, by the time aberrations escalated into disasters, it would be too late to discover them."
Yang Chang shook his head.
Investigator's work was indeed arduous, but the warriors of Xinhuo were silently guarding the dark side of the world, true heroes in the absence of light.
They deserved even greater respect.
He paused and said, "Director Huang has decided to make aberrations and awakened beings public."
Fan Anyuan had heard about it and was still concerned, "Will this cause social unrest?"
Yang Chang replied, "There will definitely be some unrest. The bureau has made thorough preparations. Moreover, it's no longer an option to keep it secret. Western countries have already disclosed it, so we must also announce it proactively and guide public opinion to maintain the current stability."
Fan Anyuan nodded; these were things he needed to learn.
Yang Chang continued, "The disclosure is scheduled for tonight. It will be broadcast simultaneously on all national television channels. This is basically assured. However..."
"Compared to this matter, another issue is causing more headaches for our bureau."
"The number of aberrations originating from our Blue Star is increasing. You are surely aware of this, right?"
Fan Anyuan nodded.
A trace of worry flickered in Yang Chang's eyes.
The number of aberration disaster incidents within Donghuang had significantly decreased compared to a few months ago, thanks to Xinhuo's ability to track aberrations. However, the rising number of aberrations could not be overlooked.
"Especially if a two-star aberration appears in a densely populated urban area, it can cause casualties in a short period."
"If a three-star aberration were to emerge within a city, then..."
There had been no precedent for a three-star major aberration to be born within a city, but based on current trends, it was only a matter of time.
Even if the Investigation Bureau had enough strong individuals to eliminate a three-star aberration by then, it wouldn't prevent the disaster from spreading.
A three-star aberration, such a terrifying monster, could affect areas hundreds or thousands of meters away simply by its existence.
Within a city, a radius of thousands of meters—what a catastrophe that would be!
"Our mentor has considered this problem," Fan Anyuan said.
Hope flickered in Yang Chang's eyes, "What can be done?" He could barely contain his excitement.
Fan Anyuan asked, "Let's talk about your original plan first. You must have had some ideas, right?"
Yang Chang suppressed his excitement. "We did. The bureau had planned to build several massive base cities. However, the threat of aberrations often comes from within, not from outside."
The base city plan had to be abandoned.
They then sought other solutions, but no matter how they researched and searched, the answers they found were always despairing.
None!
The demise of Blue Star seemed inevitable.
The Investigation Bureau certainly wouldn't accept fate, but the fact remained that they couldn't find an effective solution.
Fan Anyuan stated, "In fact, even if you hadn't mentioned it, we would have proposed the base city plan. Building a safe haven requires the sincere cooperation of both of us."
Yang Chang was surprised, "So, base cities can truly prevent the proliferation of aberrations?"
Fan Anyuan explained, "Base cities alone are not enough; miracle buildings are also needed. However, our mentor also said that the time is not yet ripe, and there are special requirements for the location of the base cities."
"But this requires the Investigation Bureau, and indeed all of Donghuang, to be prepared so that the base cities can be rapidly established once the opportune moment arrives."
Yang Chang was invigorated after listening.
This was a long-term plan. Today, the Investigation Bureau's focus was on public disclosure of the truth.
Nothing could go wrong.
...
Baiyun Province, Baiyun City, a university dormitory.
Ye Luo was worried.
As he browsed more information by climbing over the wall, the true nature of the world became increasingly terrifying in his eyes.
He didn't want to be cannon fodder!
His roommates, however, seemed disbelieving.
"No way, no way, you don't actually believe in the existence of superpowers, do you?"
"And invisible monsters? You're kidding me!"
His roommate was currently watching a livestream in the dance section.
Suddenly, the livestream feed flickered and switched to a familiar press conference background.
"Damn it! Why did it cut out at such a crucial moment!"
He switched to other livestream channels, but they all displayed the same press conference background.
The internet was already abuzz at this moment.
Some vaguely sensed that something was amiss, and a very small number already knew the truth. But the majority were still driven by their natural inclination to spectate and enjoy the show.
They widened their eyes, waiting for the press conference to begin.
There was no choice but to wait.
At this moment, the game was forcibly shut down, videos switched to corresponding channels, and all television programs displayed the same image.
"I feel like something big is about to happen."
"I heard that a very serious disaster occurred abroad a few days ago, and many people died."
"Huh? Don't people die abroad every day? It's normal."
"This time it's different."
"Is it related to the recent class suspensions?"
"Speaking of which, the authorities have consistently warned us to stay away from sparsely populated areas..."
"Could the events of '99 be exposed?"
"Not kidding, but I think I can spit fire now."
"The one before, you've awakened and gained the power to fight monsters."
Ye Luo immediately jumped down from his upper bunk, staring intently at his roommate's laptop, his eyes wide open.
Anxious yet expectant.
He didn't know what he was expecting.
His roommate, watching the barrage of comments scrolling by, gradually began to question his own reality.
Could it be that supernatural abilities truly exist?
Has the world changed?
And will *I* be the protagonist?