Chapter 24 - Setting Off Once More

Lu Xing didn't get a chance to see the scene unfold in the ruins.

Before the Fire Moth's Fifth Squad arrived, he had already swiftly departed the scene with "Little Purple" — although he didn't possess any skills like "Future Sight," he still had an instinctive sense of unease.

Staying there means death.

Such "premonitions" continuously flooded his mind, compelling Lu Xing to choose immediate escape... and facts proved his decision was exceptionally wise.

As for why he brought "Little Purple" along, there wasn't any particular reason other than simply wanting to test out his [Servant Domination] ability — this wasn't a combat skill, but a passive trait inscribed in his DNA.

High-tier Honkai Beasts could use this ability to command low-tier ones.

As a "Great Universe," commanding the "Purple-White Twins" to follow him wasn't difficult for Lu Xing.

He would never admit to such a cliché-ridden notion as "feelings developing over time."

At the same time, Lu Xing also verified something:

Honkai Beasts didn't necessarily have to absorb free-floating Honkai energy to grow; they could also... devour their own kind.

The Honkai Core — Lu Xing now also noted the difference between a Honkai Core and a Honkai Crystal — was a high-concentration凝聚体 of Honkai energy. "Eating" the Honkai Cores of other Honkai Beasts was far more effective than absorbing Honkai energy from the air, and not much worse than "siphoning" from a Honkai Fissure.

Now that the "spring" had been blown up.

Whether for healing or leveling up, he could only rely on the "friendly assistance" of other Honkai Beasts.

And in this godforsaken ruin, there were no other Honkai Beasts to be found.

The sun in the sky helped Lu Xing orient himself slightly.

Based on the flight trajectory of the "Banshee" aircraft from before, Lu Xing should head in the complete opposite direction (eastward) to find enough food... no, Honkai Beasts.

Incidentally, there should also be a large number of human armaments there.

"Little Purple."

Lu Xing turned and patted the Ranger-class beast, which had painstakingly pieced its body back together — its ability to temporarily recover from such a fatal injury was thanks to Lu Xing's selfless contribution.

Thanks to this.

Lu Xing's current Honkai energy reserves were at a pitiful less than 5%.

Fortunately, his current body was already relatively perfect; all potential "leak" points were sealed very tightly, preventing any Honkai energy dissipation.

Lu Xing couldn't take "Little Purple" with him.

Heading to the very front lines of the conflict between humans and Honkai — honestly, this somewhat contradicted Lu Xing's desire to "survive ignobly."

But choosing danger now was for the sake of a better life later.

From the recent battle, Lu Xing had come to profoundly understand a simple truth:

If you don't get stronger, you get beaten.

But "Little Purple" was different.

This guy was just an ordinary, hardworking Honkai Beast.

Taking it to the battlefield... well, having a follower sounded cool, but if it meant the other party might lose its life...

"You stay here."

The border between the city and the desert.

No humans, no Honkai Beasts, and no constant threat of death from war.

"It might sound strange coming from me, but... live well. Not as a Honkai Beast, but as a vibrant life form."

Only now.

Did Lu Xing finally have the chance to recall — recall, not mourn — those departed lives.

Some died because of him, some were killed by him.

It didn't matter if it was called posturing, but he knew, without needing to guess, that such things would happen many, many more times.

Let it be...

A "prayer" in advance.

Even if the god of this world was the very culprit behind all tragedies.

Having bid farewell to "Little Purple," Lu Xing once again embarked on a journey belonging to a Honkai Beast. He would find his own way to try and make this world not "so" full of suffering.

And Lu Xing, who turned and left with a flourish.

Had no chance to notice that "Little Purple's" previously dull and mechanical movements suddenly seemed to gain a soul, becoming "confused."

It looked just like... the birth of a new [Variant].

————

Lu Xing continued his journey alone.

He hadn't had the time before, but now, he could finally properly sort through the terrifyingly dense "read information" in his mind.

First, the System.

Lu Xing hadn't forgotten that the System had gained two new functions.

The first was "Achievement Forged in Iron and Blood." The name itself suggested it was likely an achievement system earned through "killing."

Simply put.

It was like the online novels from 10 years ago (in his original world), where you could get achievement rewards by killing various peculiar "BOSSes."

Currently, only skills were known rewards; it was unclear if there would be other items.

And this function had no detailed introduction — apart from "Slaying a Kinsman" marked with a "check mark" under its name, not even half a word of a hint could be seen.

After studying it for a bit, Lu Xing more or less gave up on this achievement system.

It was fine as an occasional surprise; deliberately trying to complete achievements was impossible.

As for the second function, "Random Mission"...

This thing didn't exist independently but was bound to the somewhat坑人 (annoying/deceptive), but still useful in critical moments, "Unlucky Player's Gacha Log."

They shared a long 7-day cooldown.

Lu Xing could choose to draw after leveling up, or give up the draw to start a timed mission that "needs to be completed before the cooldown ends."

Perhaps it was to prevent system holders from just wanting to "lie flat" and rely on luck.

An additional note was added after the gacha function: "Rewards obtained from Random Missions will be of a higher grade than gacha draws of the same level."

The game between "lying flat" (opting out) and "involution" (intense internal competition) was truly everywhere.

This was still attractive to Lu Xing — after all, everything he had drawn so far was of "Whiteboard" (common/basic) quality.

Even the extremely practical [Power Strike] did not escape the Whiteboard category.

If "Whiteboard" corresponded to the various basic skills of a Ranger-class.

Then, did that mean if he completed a random mission, he might be able to obtain a skill at the Knight-class level?

"Let's try."

With the mindset of experiencing a new function.

Lu Xing gave up his level 23 gacha draw and instead activated the Random Mission function—

"Ding!"

————

Mission: Shell, then eat a Tide-class

Reward: [A Salted Fish]

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Name: A Salted Fish

Type: Weapon

Grade: Whiteboard

Effect: You might not believe it, but the salted fish struck first.

Skill: [Fatal Thrust] — Generates 6-66-666 Salted Fish Phantoms to attack, based on user level, striking from underwater (or underground).

————

"???"

Lu Xing looked at the vast desert around him.

Never mind whether he could even defeat a Tide-class — this thing hadn't even appeared on his evolution branches, meaning it was at least one tier higher than a Knight-class — a big crab was different from a jellyfish; it definitely couldn't fly.

A Tide-class was pretty good at rolling, true.

But there was no way it could roll from the sea to an inland desert!

And to have him, a Ranger-class, use a slippery tachi... this thing was fundamentally different from an M4A1!

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