Elysia quickly returned to normal, still as cheerful as ever. Aside from occasional spacing out, her lingering reluctance was now rarely seen.
As a result, she no longer rushed to enjoy her time. Her entire rhythm slowed down. She slept until noon and had fewer wild ideas.
She put on a magnificent long dress, yawned, and slowly descended the stairs.
"Good morning, Kalpas. Are you cooking again today?"
"If I waited for lazy slobs like you to get up and do something, I'd have starved to death already!" Kalpas, wearing a white apron, brandished a spatula like a sharp blade capable of cutting through laziness.
"Oh, the capable do more work! I love Kalpas cooking the most, it's even tastier than Ryan!"
"Really?"
"Super Ellie never lies!"
"That's more like it. I found a cellar last night. It seems to have bear meat. I'll roast it for you guys for lunch," Kalpas slightly raised his chin, then, as Elysia turned around, he suddenly said: "It's good that you're okay. That guy is annoying, but he doesn't make mistakes."
Hmm?
Elysia quickly turned around, only seeing Kalpas back heading to the kitchen, and the cute bow tied on his apron.
'Am I that obvious?'
Scratching her nose, she walked lightly into the dining room, naturally playing with Pardofelis's cat ears, then looked at Ryan, who was constantly fiddling with his tablet at the other end of the dining table.
"Ryan, you're really busy."
"I'm somewhat of an Supreme Commander. If I slack off for too long, Mei will truly get furious," Ryan rolled his eyes at her, continuing to look down at the intelligence. Then he smelled a fresh scent. Elysia had approached him.
"Let me see what important matters there are."
"Nothing major. The outpost is still in a tug-of-war. Since the Herrschers haven't appeared, we have the absolute upper hand. Kevin even killed a traitor yesterday. However, this person isn't in the database, so it's confirmed that Damian still has a research center capable of producing high-tier MANTIS."
Ryan spoke eloquently. He knew Elysia wasn't interested in these things, so he scrolled the screen, jumping to the dissection results.
"Klein has already done preliminary research and found that the cellular activity of this corpse is very low. It can be inferred that to increase the success rate, they overly overdraw the test subject's vitality. They're only half-baked, and will be discarded after a few uses."
Elysia covered her mouth. It was truly terrifying and evil. She couldn't help but worry: "Will Kevin and the others be alright, with a bunch of these monster-humans suddenly appearing?"
"Don't worry. Even using despicable methods, they don't have much population to waste. Mei previously conducted a global genetic test, and less than one ten-thousandth had adequate Honkai adaptability," Ryan remained confident, then scrolled to another report.
"The Herrschers aren't coming out. It seems they've been affected by us. After all, this sword is hanging over their heads. Until they find it, they must be cautious, and indeed, they've started searching. And Mei has already identified five Dominators. Hehe, a pleasant surprise."
He was a bit smug. 'Search all you want. If you can find it, I lose.' According to satellite images, the Ninth Herrscher even went into space, fearing Ryan might suddenly launch an orbital strike against him.
"Heh, my idea was pretty good, wasn't it? This way, Kevin and the others can safely carry out their missions," Elysia also grew smug, then was met with a roll of Ryan eyes.
"That was a fluke. Besides, Kevin isn't safe. By continuously bleeding them out like this, the Herrschers will eventually be forced to make a move. However, Mei has already distributed a large batch of Mirage systems."
Ryan smile grew more sinister. In terms of cunning, that woman was still above him. Soon, the jungle would be full of Kevins. It would be difficult for the Herrschers to quickly eliminate them.
"Mei is fishing, and the Herrschers won't bite the bait so easily. Let them scheme against each other. When an opportunity arises, I'll make my move. This time, I must catch two."
The hypersonic shuttle was parked not far away. Last night, Vil-V even worked overtime to boost the engine's output. Ryan could reach the front line within two hours at any time.
At that time, justice would descend from the heavens!
"So, any activities planned for today?"
"Today, let me think..."
Before Elysia could finish thinking, Kalpas had already placed a steaming hot iron pot on the ground and walked over menacingly.
"You tricked me here, did you forget the conditions?"
Elysia had indeed forgotten. Before Kalpas could lose control, Ryan proactively interjected: "Alright, we'll have a snowball fight this afternoon. You can vent properly."
"Didn't expect you to become so honest too."
"Hehe, I'm looking forward to it too. Consider it a warm-up."
The two men exchanged glances, sharing the same bloodthirsty smiles, which inexplicably puzzled Eden, making her wonder if these two misunderstood what a 'snowball fight' was.
Rin was very good at reading expressions and immediately claimed she had a stomachache, so she wouldn't be going out this afternoon.
"Come and taste the roasted bear meat I made. It's thanks to that pretty boy that we found it."
So those two were the real adventurers last night.
Ryan glanced at Su. He didn't need to ask to know it was found using spiritual power. The fragrant smell wafted into his nostrils, making his appetite surge. He simply squatted on the ground and picked up a piece to put in his mouth.
Delicious!
Spicy and fresh on the tongue. How did Kalpas make this? It completely suppressed the gamey smell, and the cooking was just right; the meat was tender and juicy. This was 'zombie meat' frozen for several years, so achieving this level was beyond mere cooking skills.
By the way, although he had put a leash on Kalpas and kept tricking him, this guy was really putting in his full effort, seriously wanting to defeat him.
Ryan chuckled inwardly, feeling very comfortable. This leash was called 'family'. Otherwise, given Kalpas temper, he would have long since disregarded everything and fought to the death with him. For 'family', he could be bled by a group of ignorant natives, and he could suppress his fighting spirit.
"How is it?" His pale green eyes stared intently at Ryan, as if he would slap him across the face if he heard even a single word of disapproval.
"Perfect. I have to admit, purely in terms of culinary skill, you are now above me," Ryan decisively gave him a thumbs-up.
Hearing Ryan say so, Elysia and the others quickly picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and then their eyes all lit up.
"Brother Kalpas, you're amazing! This is even better than what Teacher makes."
"Mm, I once hired a national banquet master for a hefty sum. If he were in this environment, he truly couldn't do as well as you."
"Kalpas, you've earned my respect!"
With each compliment, Kalpas lips couldn't help but curl upwards. He felt that his recent hard work hadn't been wasted. Looking at the smiling faces, he couldn't help but clench his fist behind his back, trying to maintain a cold demeanor.
"Hmph, it's good that you know. I'm the strongest!"
"Yes, yes, yes, you're the strongest," Ryan quickly replied, pulling Kalpas to the side, "You've been busy for so long, eat quickly, otherwise they'll eat it all."
Kalpas then noticed that while they were praising him, their hands were not slow, and there were even signs of them trying to snatch food. He quickly picked up his chopsticks.
"This is mine! Don't you dare take it from me!"
The meal was lively. Soon, even the broth was drunk. With the hot roasted bear meat in their stomachs, everyone was sweating profusely.
Ryan didn't make Kalpas wait foolishly. While Rin was collecting the dishes, he proactively stood up.
"Let's have a snowball fight this afternoon, but with three rules: the commotion must be minimal. If the Herrschers detect it, Kevin and the others will be in danger."
As he said this, he stole a glance at Kalpas. Seeing the latter's grim expression but ultimate lack of objection, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Brother Kalpas now understood restraint too. Though he didn't say it, he was still very worried about his comrades on the front line.
The others had no objections either. Play was play, but it couldn't overshadow serious matters. A little activity would serve as a warm-up for the battles to come.
"Senior Brother, but there's no snow in the valley."
"That's easy. Follow me," Ryan put on his jacket and scarf, stepped out the door, and with a snap of his fingers, the weather suddenly changed.
A fierce wind blew the snowflakes back, pouring them into the valley. Snow accumulated at a visible rate, quickly burying the sea of flowers.
Seeing this fantastical supernatural phenomenon, several people showed surprised expressions.
"Authority can be used like this?"
"Authority is the manifestation of rules; it's not just for killing," Ryan stood with his hands behind his back, facing the swirling snow, vividly demonstrating what 'loneliness like snow' meant. Unfortunately, he couldn't maintain it for too long.
Slap.
A cold object burst on his face. His eyebrows instantly turned white. He turned his head somewhat stiffly, only to see Hua sticking out her tongue at him.
"Senior Brother, I won."
The girl looked a bit smug, then saw Ryan silently raise his hand. In the blink of an eye, a giant snowball condensed in his hand, as if he were holding up a Spirit Bomb.
"Win what?! It's just begun!"
The snowball flew like a cannonball, and then the people standing by the door dispersed at an invisible speed. For a moment, everyone displayed their unique skills, making Ryan eyelids twitch.
'Damn, I forgot to set rules.'
He had originally wanted to imitate Elysia from last night, prohibiting the use of Honkai energy, but he had already used it. It was too late to rectify it now. Fortunately, everyone still remembered it was a snowball fight.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Snowballs flew like rapid-fire arrows, forcing Ryan to retreat quickly. Finally, unable to dodge anymore, he slapped them away with his hands.
His eyes constantly scanned his surroundings. There were dense barrages everywhere. A dark shadow suddenly emerged from the ground. It was a nearly ten-meter-tall penguin robot. It opened its mouth and spat out snow it had swallowed with its tail.
'I wondered why I hadn't seen Vil-V! So she came prepared!'
Ryan felt even more pressured. He reluctantly advanced into the city, using buildings for cover. But soon, the center of the building was shattered, and Kalpas burst out, holding a giant, mountain-like snowball in his hand.
The shadow covered Ryan, making him slowly open his mouth wide.
'Wait, why are you all unleashing firepower on me?!'
Fortunately, Hua charged from the side, a snowball forcing Kalpas to block.
Boom—
The snowball hit the ground, making the windows rattle. Rin stared wide-eyed as shadows moved across the pale ground, the thrown snowballs as dense as machine gun fire.
'Wait, what kind of snowball fight is this?!'
This was a superhero game. For an ordinary person like Rin, let alone participating, it was hard to even understand.
A high-speed, chaotic melee of mutual attacks, she couldn't clearly see the figures, only some white blurs flying through the sky and colliding with each other.
The splashing snowflakes were like razor blades, even capable of cutting cables.
Fortunately, everyone still remembered the rules and didn't use too much Honkai energy for defense.
If Kalpas or Ryan used fire, the snow in this valley wouldn't be enough for the two of them to burn. The snowballs themselves were also very soft, naturally shattering upon impact.
However, Ryan felt the firepower was still strong, especially Vil-V iron penguin. Relying on its 'impenetrability,' it rolled over, dozens of cannons extending from its body, rapidly firing with a continuous crackle.
"Hey, isn't that cheating?"
Ryan hid behind a wall. Snowflakes splashing on his face brought a chill. He then poked his head out, seeing Kalpas and Hua locked in fierce combat.
The two constantly weaved and glided between buildings. The snowballs they threw collided in mid-air. Kalpas was thoroughly enjoying himself, while Hua struggled to keep up, feeling like she was in a real battle.
"As expected of my good junior sister, knowing how to care for me," Ryan pulled his head back, then suddenly stepped forward. A snowball exploded on the wall, and with a padded step, he instantly rushed hundreds of meters away, spotting a feline-like figure stealthily hiding in a chimney, poking out half its head.
"And then, you traitor, you dare to ambush me."
"Ahahaha, that wasn't me who threw it just now!" Pardofelis scratched her head, just about to slip away, when she was lifted up. "No, Teacher!"
Ryan used the pitiful kitten as a human shield, blocking in front of him. Elysia, who was giving chase, immediately found it difficult to attack, and could only leap onto the rooftop.
"Ryan, you're too despicable! Using Pardofelis as a shield!"
"Heh heh, utilizing all means to achieve victory, that's my way of fighting." Ryan felt no shame. Instead, he completely hid behind Pardofelis, listening to her loud, piercing screams, and shuttled through the town using the buildings for cover.
'With a shield to block, I can get close, aim, and take you two out first.'
Thud, thud.
Two muffled thuds. Eden and Aponia, whose abilities were least suited for combat, were both hit and had no choice but to raise their hands in surrender. They then saw Ryan, advancing like a berserker with his shield.
"He's serious now. Like a child."
"Ryan desire to win is indeed strong. His words might not be tough, but his heart is very competitive."
"No wonder he and Mobius are like arch-rivals. It's a shame Mobius isn't here, otherwise it would be even livelier," Eden mused, then suddenly looked up: "He's charging at Elysia, using Pardofelis as a shield. He's really despicable."
As Eden said, Ryan had entered an invincible, shameless state. He quickly closed in. Taking advantage of Elysia inability to attack, he simply raised his right hand.
Spinning Catmobile!
He threw Pardofelis out, like a screaming, spinning catmobile. Elysia subconsciously caught her, but before she could even defend, she was 'hit' in the head. The icy touch made the girl shriek.
"Ryan, you tricked me!"
"Thanks for the compliment, hehe, you're out," Ryan felt no shame. Hearing a rumble behind him, he quickly turned his head.
He saw the steel penguin hit by a mountain-sized snowball, completely buried in the snow, turning into a snow pile.
Then, a man stood erect on the snow pile, his fists clenched with surging fighting intent: "Hey, your junior sister couldn't stop me!"
He saw Hua 'planted' in the snow, her two legs flailing wildly.
"Indeed, even in games, combat prowess can be determined. As expected of the fourth person in the Fire Moth."
"Bastard! Who are you calling the fourth person?!"
Ryan squinted at him, then both he and Kalpas turned their heads simultaneously, looking at the gray-haired youth who was slightly narrowing his eyes to one side.
Su seemed to be stared down by two fierce beasts. He froze for a moment, then threw the snowball in his hand directly at his own face, and raised his hands.
"I self-destruct. I surrender."
So clever! He got away.
Their gazes collided again. Ryan seemed to see sparks. He thought, 'Good thing I set rules, otherwise Kalpas would have lost his head.'
Even when serious, a game is still a game. Not seeing Kalpas release his Fires of Destruction, he knew this man was a man of his word, and still able to restrain his fighting spirit.
"Kalpas, I'll seriously play with you for a bit. I know you've been quite pent up lately."
"Couldn't ask for more!!"
Amidst someone's cheering of 'Kalpas, avenge me!', the two men, a hundred meters apart, vanished simultaneously. Two straight vertical lines cut through the snow, and when they reappeared, they were less than two meters apart.
Crossing, turning, rapid firing.
Bang, bang, bang...
Dozens of snowballs collided in the center between them. Their hands had become blurs, but such rapid attacks failed to harm a single hair on each other. Over a meter of thick snow was quickly dug out.
Ryan retreated rapidly, unleashing a dense barrage. Kalpas pursued, his right leg raised high above his head.
Boom!
A downward kick, as if raising waves of snow, completely annihilated all the snowballs Ryan had thrown. Then, he rapidly condensed snow towards the center. The snowball rolled larger and larger as the man charged, eventually looking like he was pushing a small house.
Ryan didn't continue to retreat. He launched off his toes, beginning a counter-charge, also rolling a snowball, only his expanded faster as he absorbed the snowflakes in the air.
Bang—
Two ten-meter-diameter snowballs collided, sending waves of snow flying everywhere. Then, both men simultaneously raised their hands, grabbed, compressed, and threw!
"Are those two really having a snowball fight? Nothing bad will happen, right?"
The onlookers stared dumbfounded. The pace was too fast; it didn't look like a game at all.
One could say that aside from not smashing their fists into each other's faces, this was no different from a fight to the death. The rapid combo attacks left them breathless.
"No, Ryan didn't use Authority, and Kalpas didn't use his ability. But they sure look good fighting," Elysia squatted on the wall, holding her face, watching without blinking. "Ryan is truly gentle. He saw that Kalpas hadn't fought in a long time and let him vent properly. Kalpas is also very trustworthy, restraining his fighting intent even now."
Gentle? Restrained?
They blankly watched Ryan leap out of the snow. His foot kicked up snow, and his fist, hidden under his ribs, punched out. With a shockwave from his punch, the snowball slammed into the wall like a cannonball.
Then they saw Kalpas dodge, grab Ryan collar with a backhand, and push him back relentlessly, crashing through several resort villas.
Gentleness was not apparent, but there was some restraint.
Even at such close range, Kalpas didn't punch him in the face. Instead, he felt that the distance was too close for him to throw snowballs properly, so he pushed Ryan away.
Just as he was about to praise Kalpas for following the rules, he heard a thunderous boom.
Kalpas stomped on the ground, sending snow flying hundreds of meters around. Then, accompanied by a teeth-grinding metallic tearing sound, he violently pulled down a signal tower, stirring it in the displaced snow.
Covered in white snow, even if the appearance was a bit off, it was still a snowball!
He charged with this snow-spear, going in a straight line down the town's main road towards his opponent.
Ryan was equally unyielding. 'You want to play with mutated snowballs, huh? Fine, I'll play along.'
He also extended his hands, tore down two electric poles, also covered them in snow, and charged straight forward.
"Ryan is so despicable! Bullying an honest person again!" Elysia suddenly exclaimed. She then saw the iron tower and electric poles collide violently. The force was so great that the snow coating shattered from the impact.
Kalpas was caught up in the excitement. The several-ton iron tower was like a wooden stick, spinning lightly in his hand, then smashing towards Ryan head from the other side.
"You have no snow on it! Foul!"
Kalpas abruptly paused. Indeed, he saw all the snow on the signal tower had been shaken off. The shockwave had even cleared the surrounding snow, making it impossible to gather more for a moment.
It was this momentary pause that allowed a heavy blow to land on his head. He spun through the air, crashed through a wall, and sat somewhat dazed in the snow.
"I won!"
Ryan burst into laughter. He had used his Authority to block the shockwave, and the electric pole in his left hand was still a cylindrical 'snowball'. He saw Kalpas eyes instantly turn fierce and quickly retreated half a step.
"A man who loses should admit it! You're not going to cheat, are you?"
Kalpas panted heavily, his fiery eyes slowly calming down. Ryan hadn't really cheated, because the only rule was 'no making too much commotion', and it didn't prohibit the use of Authority. Ryan used his power lightly and precisely, one could say.
The commotion was indeed very small, but such silent infiltration was abnormally terrifying. As a warrior, he knew that Authority had been completely mastered by Ryan like his own limbs.
In a contest of strength, he was confident he could determine superiority with Ryan, but if 'Authority' was added, he would have no chance of winning.
"You won one round, I won one round. We're even for today," Ryan walked over, extending a friendly hand, his eyes filled with recognition.
Rage was Kalpas calling card, but being able to restrain that rage truly made him a friend. Kalpas ability to swallow his anger was truly unexpected.
"Get lost." The man slapped away the hand in front of him, snorting as he stood up, his eyes still spitting fire.
'Annoying!'
Even more annoying than before. That soft, squishy thing was like hitting an ox across a mountain; it had none of the passion of fist-to-fist combat. That feeling of stopping halfway through the satisfaction was too unbearable. He even wanted to fight Ryan to the death right now.
But he saw Elysia and the others rushing over, saw several snowballs hitting Ryan head to avenge him. The invincible man was clumsily dodging, accompanied by giggling laughter.
'No matter who between him and me dies, this family will be torn apart by my own hands.'
Kalpas suddenly felt hesitant and reluctant. He gritted his teeth: "Hey, I'm going to the front line now! I don't care who I replace!"
At this, Elysia and the others, who were avenging him, finally stopped.
"Are you serious?" Ryan eyes flickered.
"Yes! I'm too frustrated! I want to fight, I want to kill! And they're the best targets for venting!" Kalpas clenched his fists, adding fiercely: "Don't refuse, or I'll kill you right now!"
The roaring fighting intent made everyone's muscles involuntarily tense. Then everyone's gaze fell on Ryan, who seemed to consider it for a while.
"Then go. I'll tell Mei to prepare your [Deliverance] team. I know you haven't even met all of them yet, so consider that a prerequisite."
'What damn detachments? I don't need them at all.'
Kalpas mind flashed with this thought, but he gritted his teeth and agreed: "Alright, I'll try my best to listen to that woman."
Dropping these words, he turned and left, clearly unable to restrain himself any longer. He only paused briefly as he passed Aponia, looking at her somewhat impatiently, as if he had heard something.
And with a perfectly good game turned into such a mess, everyone else also felt a bit disheartened, and were equally surprised that Ryan could suppress Kalpas anger.
Whether out of concern for Kalpas or simply feeling lost, only Elysia quietly approached Ryan, sighing softly.
"Ryan, you're bullying an honest man again and again."
"Nonsense! Haven't you read my 'Guide to Getting Along with Kalpas 2.0'? He was already at his limit. I just sped things up a bit and gave him a buff," Ryan smiled faintly, knowing that looking at the report at noon had leaked some things, but it didn't matter at all.
"The time is almost right. It's time to throw a blazing fireball into this stagnant water."