Chapter 4

 Read at: https://blogspot-translatedstories.blogspot.com/?m=1 

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Huo Yin and Yuan Chu slipped out of the market amidst the chaos, taking a different direction to continue their journey.

Creation Star was divided into 72 sectors by the people of Blue Star, with Sectors 1 through 32 serving as the primary zones of human activity. The two were currently traveling from Sector 31 toward Sector 32, traversing a vast expanse of rolling hills. 

The terrain was winding and clearly defined, rich in resources, and home to countless mutated beasts.

Huo Yin intended to enhance his strength here while simultaneously gathering Plant-type Source Cores. Though ten years of painstaking effort had been rendered futile by Ji Ming's betrayal, he had not given up hope. Even if he had to start from scratch, he was determined to train an exceptional Botanist for the Flower Nation.

"Roar!"

A bizarre, ferocious mutated beast pounced violently toward Huo Yin. With a slight flick of his fingers, two hair-thin wind needles rapidly materialized, piercing directly into its eyes. The beast let out a pained howl as it crashed down from mid-air. Eyes closed and bleeding, it charged frantically at Huo Yin.

Suddenly, a sudden depression formed in the ground. Stepping into the hole, the beast lost its footing and tumbled helplessly to the side in front of Huo Yin. Huo Yin raised his hand, aiming directly at its gaping maw, and delivered a condensed, tiny fireball right into its belly. 

The beast writhing on the ground in agony until, after a dozen seconds, it went stiff and motionless, wisps of dark smoke rising from its nose and mouth.

The individual elements of Huo Yin's superpower might not seem devastating on their own, but their versatility allowed him to kill enemies at minimal cost.

Yuan Chu walked up to the beast's carcass, wielding a small knife with practiced skill to gut it. She extracted a Source Core from its body first before processing the remaining parts.

Most beast-type mutated creatures yielded Enhancement Source Cores, differing only in rank and attribute. Enhancement cores were the standard staple for Evolvers, anyone could use them to boost physical endurance, strength, speed, and the five senses. 

However, physical enhancement had its limits, and reaching one's natural ceiling required a specific opportunity or breakthrough.

Before his injuries, Huo Yin's Enhancement Tier was 5 and his Elemental Tier was 7, placing him squarely among top-tier experts. After surviving the ordeal, his body fused with the Bone-Spine Vine's regenerative cells, once fully recovered, his Enhancement Tier would likely reach Tier 8 and continue evolving, while his Elemental Tier remained unchanged.

A campfire crackled to life, and Yuan Chu set up the cookware to begin preparing the wild game.

Because Huo Yin's body was still recovering, Yuan Chu continued to handle everyday chores. The two fell into a harmonious tacit understanding: One sat in the wheelchair slaying monsters, while the other handled butchering and collecting loot.

Huo Yin noticed that although Yuan Chu never participated in combat, she was remarkably adept at dissecting carcasses. Her blade flew effortlessly, slicing meat into neat, perfectly rectangular portions. She approached the task with a serious, solemn expression that, paired with her delicate features, gave off an endearing contrast.

"Done." Yuan Chu placed the roasted meat, hot broth, and side dishes in front of Huo Yin.

Huo Yin didn't move, merely staring at her.

Yuan Chu looked back: Why aren't you eating?

Huo Yin stared at her for a good long while. Once he confirmed she had no intention of feeding him, he slowly picked up his chopsticks.

Back when his limbs were stiff and unresponsive, Yuan Chu had fed him every meal. Now that he could manage on his own, he felt a strange sense of something missing.

His gloomy mood caused the air current around them to freeze. 

A falling leaf hovered unnaturally right above Huo Yin's head. Yuan Chu watched it for a couple of seconds before it finally dropped onto his hair.

She raised her hand and brushed it away.

Yuan Chu resumed eating.

Huo Yin: ...

His mood inexplicably improved.

The wind stirred once more, rustling the leaves until they fell in a neat circle around the two of them.

After taking a shower in the hovercar that evening, Huo Yin changed into a set of dark teal loungewear. Yuan Chu glanced at him, casually pulled out a matching set of loungewear, and stepped into the bathroom.

Nights on Creation Star were perilous, and Evolvers rarely ventured out after dark, but they were by no means lacking in entertainment. Creation Star boasted a unique technological civilization, utilizing their own ingenuity, Evolvers had established the SkyNet, a network capable of handling communication, gaming, live streams, and more. 

However, SkyNet did not cover the entire planet. Instead, it was partitioned by sector, a deliberate design to prevent the network from developing a collective self-awareness. Without such precautions, the entire network could be wiped out in an instant.

Creation Star was just that kind of surreal world, a place where even your undergarments might gain sentience and fly away.

Wearing their matching loungewear, Huo Yin and Yuan Chu sat side-by-side on a makeshift bed, each holding a handheld device.

Huo Yin was quietly searching for news of his former teammates in Sector 32, though he refrained from making contact rashly. After ten years on Creation Star, he had built a team of his own. 

But because there were so few people from the Flower Nation, the vast majority of his team members hailed from other countries, making genuine trust difficult to establish. If even a fellow countryman could betray him, foreign allies were certainly no exception.

Had it been any other superpower, Huo Yin wouldn't have cared which nation his companions chose to serve, with the sole exception of the Plant type. Plant-type Evolvers held the key to purifying radiation, dictating the very survival of a nation. 

He and his brothers had made immense sacrifices to nurture Ji Ming into a rare Plant-type Evolver, only for Ji Ming to cast aside righteousness, abandon his homeland without hesitation, and betray his comrades.

Huo Yin clenched his fists, a murderous glint flickering in his eyes. Only when his gaze swept past the girl beside him did his emotions gradually cool, allowing him to refocus on his device.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, he didn't notice Yuan Chu's movements. Resting one hand over her handheld device without making any visible inputs, the screen scrolled rapidly as streams of data flashed through her eyes.

By the time Huo Yin turned to look at her, she had already withdrawn her hand, and a combat video was playing on her screen.

"Huh? Fang Muxiao?" 

Huo Yin stared at the burly man in black combat gear, murmuring, "He really is still alive."

In the video, Fang Muxiao was single-handedly battling a five-man team, yet he wasn't pushed back in the slightest.

Fang Muxiao was a pure Enhancement Warrior with no secondary abilities, a lone wolf through and through. Proud, distant, and sharp-tongued, he naturally drew endless hostility, spending his life either being hunted or on his way to hunt others.

Huo Yin had aided him once in the past and tried to invite him to join his team, but Fang Muxiao declined, offering a single favor instead. 

The last time Huo Yin had heard news of him was two months ago, when he was reportedly lured into a swarm of mutated beasts, his fate unknown. Given that this video was filmed five days ago, he had clearly made a successful escape.

The battle raged on screen for over an hour, culminating in a narrow victory for Fang Muxiao. The final frame froze on him turning toward the camera, his gaze sharp and sinister, so intimidating that the cameraman's hand visibly trembled.

When the video finished, it automatically skipped to the next clip. Appearing on screen was a young man wearing a mask, kneeling on one knee with hands loosely clasped. 

Energy swirled between his fingers, and a tender sprout burst from the soil, growing at a rapid pace. Within four or five minutes, it expanded into a plant over a meter tall with lush leaves and blooming buds, drawing gasps of awe from the surrounding crowd.

Huo Yin's expression darkened, storm clouds gathering in his eyes. He would recognize this man even if he were reduced to ashes.

"This is the brilliant newcomer Peiming from the Dali Nation's 'War Song' team! Absolutely incredible! Cultivating a plant into full growth in an instant, his rank must be at least Tier 8 or higher!" An exaggerated voice praised in the video.

"Heh... 'Peiming'?" Huo Yin sneered.

Yuan Chu watched Ji Ming, operating under the alias Peiming, displaying his power to harvest massive popularity.

On Creation Star, Botanists and Healers were the only two protected specialized classes. The former represented invaluable talent every nation fought over, while the latter served as an indispensable support pillar for any team.

The video had been recorded ten days ago, Ji Ming was clearly laying the groundwork to reinvent himself. Once he built up Peiming's fame, he could legitimately return to Blue Star under a completely new identity.

Huo Yin watched the video to the end with a cold expression before tossing the device aside. 

"Let's sleep."

Yuan Chu complied, turning off her device and lying down beside him.

Huo Yin closed his eyes. Sensing the girl's quiet presence, his restless anger gradually dissipated. His mind relaxed, and within moments, he drifted into a deep sleep.

An unknown length of time passed before faint vibrations echoed from afar, shattering the silence of the night.

Huo Yin sat up abruptly, powering on the hovercar's monitoring screen to scan the surroundings. He quickly detected several abnormal energy fluctuations a thousand meters to the west.

Huo Yin had no intention of sticking his nose into other people's business and remained quietly inside the vehicle. However...

"Aaaaagh! Help meeeeee...!" A sharp, bloodcurdling shriek pierced the sky, rapidly approaching their location.

Huo Yin: !

Where did this idiot come from?! Screaming that loud, are you trying to attract every mutated beast in the area?!

Huo Yin started up the hovercar, preparing to leave the area, when the voice yelled again: "I'm a Healer! Is anyone nearby?! I need backup!!!"

Huo Yin paused: A Healer?

"Whoever saves me, I'll join their team! At least three years of service!"

Huo Yin operated the controls and decisively drove the hovercar toward the Healer.

Coincidentally, another hovercar approached from a different direction, creating a pincer formation relative to their position.

The Healer burst out from the bushes in a disheveled mess. Spotting the two hovercars, he froze for a moment, caught in a dilemma.

Right on his heels, a pack of mutated beasts burst into view. Leading the pack was a leopard-like beast, followed by two stone-type beasts and a metal-type beast, with a swarm of strangely shaped minion beasts bringing up the rear.

Huo Yin: ... Why is a combat-useless Healer seeking death like this?

The occupants of the other hovercar seemed momentarily stunned as well, but several figures quickly charged out from their vehicle to attack the beasts. Huo Yin didn't hesitate either. Controlling his wheelchair, he flew down from the car to join the fray.

Seeing several fierce Evolvers charge out from one side, while the other side yielded... a wheelchair-bound uncle?!

The Healer decisively ran toward the larger group.

Huo Yin ignored him and focused on slaying the monsters. The beasts before them represented a bounty of Source Cores; even without a Healer, they were worth fighting for. If things turned south, he could always retreat in his car.

Yuan Chu sat quietly inside the hovercar, unconcerned for Huo Yin's safety. Four Evolvers above Tier 5 were more than capable of handling a few Tier 4 and Tier 5 beasts, especially with a half-crippled Healer nearby.

However, they couldn't afford to drag out the fight, as the Healer's earlier screams had already alerted nearby mutated beasts, which could swarm them at any moment.

"Kid, over here! Come with us!" A tall, burly man over two meters tall shouted to the Healer.

The Healer instinctively looked toward Huo Yin to see if he would make an offer.

However, Huo Yin offered no reaction whatsoever.

Glumly, the Healer followed the burly man into their vehicle, muttering under his breath, "I was gonna give you a chance, but you're so dense... turning down top-tier talent like me..."

The hovercar sped off with the Healer, leaving the battle area. Huo Yin wrapped up his fight and returned to his vehicle.

"Pity." He remarked casually.

Yuan Chu: No need to pity. That guy is a textbook jinx, whoever gets close to him dies. At least three teams have been wiped out because of him, and a fourth will likely join the list soon...

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Author's Note:

(Source Core Types:

Enhancement Type: Physical fitness, strength, speed, five senses...

Intelligence Type: Various technologies, simulation, creation...

Spirit Type: Telepathy, illusions, spooks/ghosts...

Propagation Type: Growth, elements, healing, space...)

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