The bonfire flickered, dispelling the cold and the darkness. Ryan looked up at the sky and thought that the world bubble was really interesting.
There was no universe outside of this place, so there was no sun. As long as he found the right method, even he could harvest a world bubble. So, even though Ryan was vigilant, he wasn't panicked at all.
With five authorities in his possession, plus the fact that the Herrschers of the Pre-Civilization were stronger than the ones in the Post-Civilization, even in the era of the Second Herrscher, his level would still be at the top.
At the very least, he wouldn't be much worse than Chimera Kevin. It would be no problem for him to be a big boss.
With nothing else to do, Ryan's mind wandered. At the very least, a high-level Fusion Warrior was above an S-rank Valkyrie. Even if the Celestial Master Fu Hua had accumulated five thousand years of experience, she wouldn't be much stronger than she was now. You have to know that she was the most ordinary type among the high-level Fusion Warriors.
"Senior brother, what are you thinking about?" Hua happened to walk over and saw that Ryan's eyes were a little blurry.
"Uh, some boring things. How is that Vita girl doing?"
"She's asleep." Hua pointed to the 'thing' across the bonfire, hugged her knees, and looked at the bonfire: "When can we go back to the intrinsic world?"
"Homesick?"
"A little. I don't know how Elysia and the others are doing. They must be very worried about us." Hua took a sharp breath, and then shook her head, "And I really hate this dark world. It's a good thing you're here, otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do."
"Then don't think too much. Just follow me." Ryan held the girl's slender shoulders and pulled her gently into his arms. Instantly, he felt a sharp gaze from behind him.
"Mobius is watching." Hua's intuition was also very sharp. Her muscles subconsciously tensed.
"Let her watch. She hasn't tied me up. Besides, your mental state is also important." Ryan was very frank. What's there to hide?
After a few seconds, the gaze actually moved away, which made Hua a little surprised.
The platypus didn't come to cause trouble? Did the sun rise from the west today?
It was a little unrealistic, but she didn't turn back. She just rested her head on Ryan's shoulder. She didn't have to think about anything. She just had to watch the firewood crackle and burn, and just answer whatever Ryan said.
This feeling of not having to use her brain made her relax all of a sudden. She even started to understand what Sister Sakura was thinking.
In this apocalyptic world, facing all kinds of unknown dangers, having someone to rely on was a great happiness, even if Ryan's questions were very serious.
"How much Honkai energy have you consumed?"
"I still have eighty percent. I feel like the recovery speed has increased a lot."
"The energy absorbed by the world bubble is gradually being released, of course, the replenishment will be faster."
"Huh? If that's the case, won't those two Herrschers recover faster?" Hua immediately found a blind spot and became nervous again.
"It doesn't matter. They can't replenish as fast in the Sea of Quanta as they can on Earth. I'm not afraid of them in a normal fight." Ryan waved his hand lightly, as if he knew how to encourage Hua.
Sure enough, with his assurance, the stiff body in his arms immediately softened again.
"I knew it wouldn't be difficult for you. By the way, are we really going to take Vita back with us?"
"It would be great if we could take her back. The secrets she holds should be helpful in dealing with the end. Don't ask why, it's just a gut feeling." Ryan licked his lips and changed the subject: "But I don't think we can take her back."
"Why? She's not willing?"
"Hehe, I've never been wrong about judging people by their looks, whether it's Calis or her."
Judging by looks?
Hua didn't react for a moment. She thought Vita looked a bit like Su, but their personalities were completely different. Before she could be confused, she heard a dull thump.
"Something's coming!"
Hua was like a spring, she stood up instantly and looked around vigilantly. Vita was also awakened and kept rubbing her eyes.
"What's going on?"
She asked groggily, and then saw Ryan staring at her from across the bonfire, and she couldn't help but be full of questions.
"Mr. Ryan, why are you looking at me?"
"Nothing." Ryan withdrew his gaze and was too lazy to think. He let Hua stay to protect her, "Mobius, you come with me to take a look."
"Okay." Mobius didn't slack off this time. She was obviously very interested in the monsters in the world bubble.
A cool breeze swept by, the bonfire flickered, and then Ryan disappeared directly from their sight. This magical disappearance made Vita's pupils shrink, and she was a little curious.
"Mr. Ryan really comes and goes without a trace..."
"Of course." Hua glanced at her, took a light breath, and said with infinite confidence: "My senior brother is invincible!"
Activating the Authority of Wind, Ryan appeared at the top of the snowy mountain at supersonic speed. With his hands behind his back, his gold double-breasted tailcoat swayed in the cold wind. Even though it was pitch black, he could still feel a huge creature climbing out of the canyon.
"What are you running so fast for!?" Mobius chased after him, gasping for breath, and gave him a displeased look. This bastard didn't even wait for her just to show off.
Ryan ignored her and just snapped his fingers. A ball of lightning floated in the air, and its pale light illuminated the valley.
"Hmm, this thing..." Mobius immediately lost the mood to blame Ryan. She saw a lump of black mud crawling out of the canyon.
At first, it was black, then it gradually became a layer of dark blue, and then it changed like a lump of clay, gradually forming a human-like shape.
"It's evolving? It doesn't seem to be the same as the Honkai beast samples?" As Mobius observed, she saw that the monster really turned into a slender, blue human-like body.
It had no facial features, but it had slender limbs. Its feet were floating in the air, and its arms were holding two dark blue scythes, with a strange sense of beauty.
"What do you think of its energy level?"
"How would I know? It's probably at the level of an Emperor-class Honkai beast. But with that strange energy, it should be a little more difficult to deal with." Mobius answered based on her intuition.
"Oh, it seems I've been underestimated. You dare to show off this little test." Ryan put his hands in his pockets and nudged Mobius: "Hurry up and deal with it. We still have to collect the Super Mutation factor. This kind of monster should be more useful."
"I'm not that wooden stake. If you want to fight, go yourself." Mobius raised her head proudly. It had always been her who ordered others around.
"You, you're really not cute."
Ryan knew he couldn't order her around. He also had an urge to pinch her like bread after being so decisively rejected. But he caught a glimpse of a blue light from the corner of his eye.
The dual-scythe monster floated in the air for a moment and instantly disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already above Ryan's head. The scythes crossed and slashed down, but they hit an invisible air wall and could no longer move forward.
'Hmm, this is interesting.'
Ryan tilted his head. Although he was looking with the corner of his eye, he could clearly see that the monster wasn't moving fast or tearing space, but it was still a little curious that it was so close in an instant.
Just as he was thinking, the monster above his head disappeared again. The scythes swept towards his waist from behind without any warning. This time, it was even more powerful and finally penetrated the air wall.
Clang.
The blade of Judgement of Shamash accurately blocked it. The flames had just ignited the blade, and before it could counterattack, it disappeared again. This time, it returned to the top of his head, holding its dual-scythes horizontally, and spun down like a top.
There was no sound of piercing the air, and it was extremely sharp, but Ryan hesitated for a moment.
'It's not teleportation, it's more like a stealth?'
He had seen a lot of teleportation. In essence, it was tearing a gap in imaginary space, suddenly closing the distance like a wormhole. But this thing was different. It was more like diving into the sea, swimming underwater, and then suddenly jumping out.
The advantage was that it consumed less energy and could catch people off guard. Unfortunately, this still couldn't close the gap in combat power.
Oblivion.
The greatsword was plunged into the ground in front of his feet. The pillar of fire that rose from the ground dispelled the eternal night. The pitch-black world bubble suddenly became bright. The remaining embers illuminated the entire valley like daylight.
"Is this quantum superposition?" Ryan looked at the monster in front of him that was completely on fire. Its dark blue body became semi-transparent, and its energy was spreading outwards, forming layers of energy that looked a bit like fish scales, which were trying to extinguish the remaining embers.
'It actually withstood a single blow from the Seventh Divine Key. Its defense has already exceeded its energy limit.'
While observing, Ryan raised his right hand, because the monster in front of him suddenly disappeared. He probably understood what this was.
Quantum Leap.
Ryan turned around, saw the scythe slashing at his neck, and stretched out a finger.
Boom.
A lightning strike descended from the sky, making the monster's body thinner. Then the Judgement of Shamash was pulled out and slashed, splitting it into two.
"Mobius, why are you hiding so far away? It's your turn to work."
"Tsk, I was afraid of getting caught up in your attack." Mobius trotted over, poked the two halves of the corpse with her foot, and then gathered the dark green lightning.
'You have so little faith in me?'
Ryan didn't ask her how to extract the Super Mutation factor. He was quite satisfied with this monster. He thought that if he didn't have time to deal with the Brahma Hundred Beasts, this thing would be a good alternative.
Using the power of the sea to fight the Honkai of the tree, isn't this very logical?
He didn't think too much about it. He took a step with his right foot, and his whole person disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already on a mountain two kilometers away, standing right in front of the girl who was puffing and panting as she climbed the mountain.
"Mr. Ry-Ryan!?"
The man who appeared like a ghost scared Vita into sitting down on the ground. His aura was too sharp, and the remaining electricity on his body was indeed very frightening.
"The break time is over. Take me to the shuttle remains. It should not be far now." Without any discussion, Ryan used a commanding tone.
"It's... it's not far. Just a few more mountains to cross." Vita raised her hand a little scared and pointed to the depths of the pitch-black mountains.
This distance, if he were to carry her, it would take a few minutes at most, but Ryan had no intention of doing so. He just turned around silently.
"Keep up. We have one more break at most. We have to get there within ten hours."
He walked at the very front. Because of his preconceived notions, he could already confirm certain things.
If this was a test, then it had undoubtedly failed. Either the mastermind behind this would personally come out regardless of the danger, or they would create another coincidence, for example—
He rubbed the silver-white bracelet on his wrist, feeling a bit of anticipation.
Let me meet two old friends.
...
After a short interlude, the team of four continued to move forward. There was no sign of human life in the depths of the snowy mountains, but monsters kept appearing.
But Ryan only acted in the first fight, and let Hua deal with the other battles. Even if some monsters had the strength of high-level Honkai beasts, they still couldn't stop the girl with the Divine Key.
Even though the fight was a bit difficult, Hua had no complaints. She seriously carried out every single one of Ryan's orders and literally carved a path of blood.
Although the travel speed was very slow, they were getting closer and closer to their destination. When they crossed a mountain, Ryan saw a wide flat ground in the valley. At the edge of the snow-covered flat ground, there was a protruding object, and the mark it left when it fell even formed a shallow canyon.
Following the mark, he looked to the right again. The top of the mountain was smashed with a gap, which was obviously a mark left by a high-speed landing.
Is it real?
As a physicist, Ryan judged from the marks that this was not faked. He had imagined many possibilities, but he never thought that Vita was actually telling the truth.
As for why the shuttle wasn't destroyed? This mark couldn't be hidden at all. Did they really think Ryan was an idiot for accurately destroying a piece of junk?
"Good. The shuttle doesn't seem to be damaged." Vita also seemed to be relieved. She then turned to Ryan: "Sir, with all due respect, the shuttle's engine is damaged, and there are no suitable parts to replace it in this world bubble. It can't fly."
"Since I asked you to bring me here, I must have a way. You two set up a tent over there. Hua, stay with her."
Vita wanted to follow, but she could only stop. This girl named Hua was very kind, but she had a hint of surveillance, and she was extremely strong. It wasn't something she could easily get rid of.
From beginning to end, she couldn't even have a few words with him. Her tests were also completely useless. What exactly did these people want to do?
Looking at Ryan's back as he walked away, she felt helpless. This man had no flaws all over his body, making it impossible for her to find an opening.
"Hey, how do you fix this thing? It doesn't look like Vil-V's broken toys." Mobius stepped into the cockpit and found that the technology level was on par with Earth.
It had a spindle shape, made of alloy. The space wasn't big, but it was more than enough for an expedition team. He couldn't see any weapons or equipment, and the technology tree was completely different.
For example, the engine and energy were very strange, as if they had been burned out.
"According to her, the energy from her hometown that came from praying all exploded, so how did she get to this world bubble with this thing?"
"Maybe it's a small probability coincidence?"
"I've encountered too many coincidences in this ghost place." Ryan snorted. He ran his fingers over the smooth metal: "It's not hard for me to leave this world bubble, but I haven't finished what I need to do. And it's more troublesome to fall into the Sea of Quanta like a headless fly. Besides, there's no need to fix it at all."
He pressed his hand on the machine. Abundant Honkai energy was poured in, forming a stable form under the control of a Herrscher. Mobius then heard a 'humming' sound, and her mouth formed an O-shape.
'He can do that???'
The silent electronic lights flickered, and after changing to another energy source, it started again. Ryan perfectly demonstrated what it means for Honkai energy to be omnipotent.
"You're not really leaving, are you!"
"I said I'm not leaving until I'm done. Why would I leave?" Ryan withdrew his hand to avoid wasting Honkai energy: "I'm just showing my determination and ability to make the mastermind behind this anxious. As long as they're anxious, there will be a flaw."
He tapped the cold metal with his finger. Ryan's face had the unique joy of a schemer.
"As long as there's a flaw, I can use it for my own purpose."
Although the humming of the shuttle only lasted for a moment, this machine that had been abandoned for many years was no longer junk. Hua, of course, had a look of course, while Vita was stunned.
It actually started? His control over Honkai energy is too stable.
It was easy to use a type of energy to cause damage, but maintaining it at a constant frequency, that kind of control was amazing. She didn't expect Ryan to come so quickly and be able to solve the problem immediately.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy to leave this world bubble?" Hua tilted her head to look at her. Her blank face was a little scary.
"Not at all. It's just that if we leave like this, what will happen to everyone else? I can't leave them behind." Vita put her hand on her chest, full of worry.
"That's because you've had too much contact with the natives. We're different. Besides you, we haven't remembered anyone's name or had any contact with anyone in this world bubble."
No connection, so no emotion. No one could fault that. Vita's mouth moved. From Ryan's perspective, there was really no need for him to meddle.
This was very frustrating. Not to mention testing, even getting close was difficult. The other party was still hidden in a fog. And because of his swift actions, in just twenty hours, they were already at the edge of leaving.
Time was very urgent. After some deliberation, the only ones she could use were them.
"What are you thinking? Senior brother and the others have come out. Since he can start it again, he'll be able to fix it soon." Hua held her hand in front of the girl's face, finally revealing a smile: "Stop being in a daze. Let's rest for a while, and then we can leave this ghost place without a sun."
At this time, she should have been happy, but the opportunity was fleeting. After a moment of thought, Vita made a decision.
Another bonfire was lit. Mobius didn't know where she was hiding to study the Super Mutation factor, and the snow on the shuttle had been cleared. The dark shell was reflecting the firelight.
Hua held the Divine Key on the mountain to be on alert. On both sides of the bonfire, only Ryan and Vita were left. The man closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, like a silent rock, not putting this beautiful girl in his mind at all. Only the cold wind blew over and over again, like a hand stroking his gray hair.
The silence was terrifying. This was nothing to Ryan, who was used to awkward atmospheres. He also knew that the girl across from him was secretly looking at him.
'I told you to tell the truth. Now you can't even have a conversation, can you?'
Ryan sneered in his heart. The other party still underestimated him. Of course, there was no other way. Who knew that he 'judged people by their looks'? From the moment they met, he was on high alert and targeted her in every way.
'If she didn't look like that, I might have fallen for it. After all, her identity is very interesting, and I could have been fooled if I wasn't careful.'
Like a tightening shackle, Ryan was pressing in step by step. The choices left for the other party were few, and he didn't have to say anything or ask anything. He just had to wait quietly.
His half-closed eyes opened slightly. There was firelight flickering in his gray pupils. The Scots pine ignited by Judgement of Shamash was still burning, standing on the mountain like a giant torch. It could be faintly seen even from dozens of miles away.
"That's his beacon."
The man with blood-red skin slightly raised his head. The firelight was flickering in his red eyes, and at his feet were dense piles of monster corpses, none of which were in one piece.
The Herrscher of Stars floated silently from the night sky, also silently watching the firelight.
The two of them had destroyed dozens of towns, making the world bubble's blood flow into rivers. Then they were besieged by these monsters. But the gap in their levels was too great, and they couldn't be stopped at all.
They killed a lot, but gained very little. What's more troublesome was that they felt the malicious intent of this world bubble. The 'farm' hypothesis had come true, but its owner didn't welcome the two Herrschers.
"We haven't fully recovered. Are we really going?"
"Nonsense. Are we going to wait for death here? These quantum monsters are consuming our physical strength. For the past twenty hours since the night fell, they have been attacking non-stop. How long can we last?"
The Herrscher of Stars was silent. The monsters were nothing, but the owner behind the monsters was very terrifying. There was no item in his mission that said he had to fight a decisive battle with a big shot in the Sea of Quanta.
Trapped here, they couldn't destroy human civilization, and if they didn't find a way to kill Ryan, the Herrschers would have no value in existence.
"How ironic. When did the plan become like this? I never thought I would fight him in the Sea of Quanta."
"A plan is useless against that man." The Herrscher of Blood pulled his hand out of the mountain-like body of the monster and slowly straightened his back, listening to the crackling sound of his bones.
"Hurry up. The energy concentration of this world bubble is still rising. If it reaches a certain point..."
"That person should also be coming, and we can't determine their stance." The Herrscher of Stars finished his sentence. Although it was frustrating to be led around by the nose, there was no other choice.
In that case, they could only take a risk. It seemed that ever since they came into contact with Ryan, they had never dealt with him calmly. He couldn't help but curse:
'Who the hell is the Herrscher, anyway?'
The two Herrschers were about to discuss a combat plan when the ground trembled slightly. In the darkness, countless shadows seemed to be moving, shaking the snow off the trees.
The expressions of the Herrschers changed at the same time. They exchanged glances and saw a hint of helplessness.
"They're here."
Ryan opened his eyes and happened to see Hua's serious face. Even Mobius ran out of the cave. The three of them froze at the same time and looked at the confused Vita.
If before it was Ryan's baseless speculation, now Mobius and Hua also believed it. It was as if an invisible hand was holding them, preventing them from leaving this world bubble easily.
So the question is, why don't they personally come out and stop them?
Is it because of some restrictions? Or is it a cautious test? Or do they hope to profit from their fight?
Ryan didn't expose Vita's identity. He held a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, and smiled a little cruelly.
"You came just in time. In a little while, I'll have to leave you two in the world bubble."
"Hehe, that would be simple, but you would definitely have a lot of regrets, wouldn't you?" Mobius hugged her chest, obviously understanding Ryan.
"You got it right. You two, come with me." Ryan didn't even look at Vita again. He just took a heavy step forward with his greatsword.
"I'm a perfectionist!"