Chapter 166: Rebirth from the Flames

The Grand Rear certainly did not know that Zhou Liming was causing trouble. The layer of dust had rendered them blind for several hours.

By the time the sea breeze blew away the dust layer, everything below was exposed. The fact that half of the city had turned into ruins was heartbreaking, but remembering that the city of Yue B was still in the hands of the Fierce Beasts, and wondering when it would return to human control, those who had just felt heartache quickly calmed down.

Under the surveillance of multiple cameras, no targets were found, and everyone smiled.

To confirm that these two Fierce Beasts were dead, after communicating with the United States, they temporarily called upon American spy satellites and conducted life-sign scanning tests. After confirming that there were no signs of life in the entire city of Yue B, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. They hugged and laughed, celebrating this success: they had successfully eliminated two Fierce Beasts that posed a threat to humanity in the future.

The other countries that witnessed the entire Nuclear Strike process did not react to the use of nuclear weapons. If it were them, they would have executed the same plan.

However, the Nuclear Strike also exposed a problem: no one could prove how strong the defense of such Fierce Beasts was, or whether they could withstand the attack of a Heavy Electromagnetic Cannon. The two Fierce Beasts died too cleanly, leaving not even a trace behind, so naturally, no data could be obtained.

Compared to the celebration at the Grand Rear, Zhou Liming was like a laborer, carrying these two creatures that were currently at the top of the Fierce Beast hierarchy, flying in the low sky.

“Hmph, what is a Level Six Fierce Beast? What I am holding now is of the highest level. Should I steam one of the Bullhorn Fish or braise one? Haha!” Holding onto the spirit of Ah Q, Zhou Liming occasionally let out laughs. For Zhou Liming, the weight of the two Fierce Beasts was not much of a burden, but flying with them was a bit cumbersome.

After all, the body of a Bullhorn Fish could be over ten meters long, absolutely a colossal creature.

Having left the city of Yue B, Zhou Liming now understood why the Nuclear Bomb could not kill these two Fierce Beasts.

The Flame Bird belonged to the element of fire. Attacks from fire were almost ineffective against it. So, although the Nuclear Strike produced bizarre thermal radiation and rolling flames that could burn everything, it was not fatal to the Flame Bird. The Flame Bird, having unleashed its full power, managed to withstand the thermal radiation with its main body. It only lost its skin surface and feathers. Although its interior was heavily injured, its powerful physique allowed it to survive.

The logic for the Bullhorn Fish was the same.

What was the extremely low temperature of the water pattern in a Bullhorn Fish? When the thermal radiation of the Nuclear Strike encountered this ultra-low temperature, its power was naturally greatly reduced. Moreover, the Bullhorn Fish’s scales were a bizarre existence. After the thermal radiation finally broke through the water pattern, it was blocked by the scales. However, since the thermal radiation’s power far exceeded that of the water pattern and was extremely domineering, the Bullhorn Fish survived, but it also suffered heavy injuries. Its injuries were not worse than those of the Flame Bird.

Actually, it was the principle of the Five Elements overcoming each other that was the real reason they could survive the Nuclear Strike.

If it were ordinary Fierce Beasts, unable to possess a Body Skill and not in a counter-argument situation, they would probably indeed, like the Grand Rear celebrated, leave not even a trace behind when facing a Nuclear Strike.

But no matter what, for the Flame Bird and the Bullhorn Fish to survive a Nuclear Strike, even with heavy injuries, made them extremely bizarre existences. The Grand Rear did not know the principle of the counter-acting Yin and Yang and Five Elements. With their trust in Nuclear Weapons, they had reason to believe that any kind of Fierce Beast could be eliminated by Nuclear Weapons.

Returning to Gui Province, Zhou Liming did not go back to the Small Town. Instead, he darted into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and found a place with a stream, throwing the two guys onto the ground.

Zhou Liming’s rude behavior naturally caused the two Fierce Beasts to let out weak screams. Their outer layers were almost cooked, and a casual touch would cause a piece of meat to fall off. Yet Zhou Liming threw them so rudely that the result was predictable; the pain nearly suffocated these two Fierce Beasts.

After scooping up a few handfuls of water from the small stream to drink, Zhou Liming found a large leaf, rolled it into a funnel shape, and gave some water to these two Fierce Beasts. Then, he silently sat under a rock.

Zhou Liming needed to organize his thoughts properly. Going deep into the Radiation Zone again made him worry in his heart.

Like when he was in India, he had changed overnight. Returning to Gui Province from Yue Province, carrying these two guys, plus sneaking around, had taken him an hour and a half. Now hiding here, no matter how powerful the satellite was, it could not find him.

The Flame Bird and the Bullhorn Fish, a pair that had fought to the death earlier that day, could only helplessly lean against each other, occasionally letting out a hoarse low croak.

Zhou Liming had no time to care about them. He took to the sky again and returned half an hour later, carrying a wild boar weighing over a hundred jin. He arrived by the stream, his Bone Spur appeared, and he slit its mouth open, opened its belly, and emptied its innards. After cleaning it thoroughly, he gathered branches, started a fire, and began roasting it.

When it was almost roasted, using some wilderness knowledge taught by Huang Dazhuang in the Squadron, he found a few wild herbs, crushed them into powder with his hands, and sprinkled it on the meat.

Now that the two Fierce Beasts could not move, Zhou Liming ate his fill first, and then tore some meat crumbs and threw them beside them.

The two proud King-level Fierce Beasts seemed to resist, but the smell of roasting mixed with the spices made their eyes wide open. Today, to resist the Nuclear Strike, they had used up all their strength, even their milk-drinking strength. With their bellies rumbling from hunger, they finally put aside their pride and started gnawing on these food scraps.

Zhou Liming leaned against the tree, looking at these two Fierce Beasts with a guffaw, grinning foolishly. Anyone who saw such fierce Fierce Beasts in such a state would feel satisfied in their heart.

At night, Zhou Liming did not sleep. He just sat there until dawn. The radiation mutation he had received in India had not yet appeared. This made Zhou Liming feel a bit disappointed but also somewhat happy. However, he still had a hidden worry: “Could it be latent in his body, waiting for a few years or even ten years to erupt?”

Thinking about the future days, always having to worry about this problem, Zhou Liming cursed a few more times.

What surprised Zhou Liming was that these two Fierce Beasts were indeed bizarre. In just one night, the skin layer charred by the thermal radiation on their bodies began to crack, forming a series of cracks. Through these cracks, it could be seen that fresh, tender new skin was growing inside.

Perhaps because they were doing better, these two Fierce Beasts finally had the strength to make sounds.

But strangely, the two parties that were originally mutually exclusive, like fire and water, could actually stay together peacefully.

Yesterday, Zhou Liming had only eaten a little of such a large wild boar, so there was no need to hunt again today. He started a fire, cooked more wild boar, and then tore off a piece of dripping pork, biting into it in large mouthfuls. Strange to say, the Ten Thousand Great Mountains were very rich in wild animals, and they did not face the crisis of extinction due to the arrival of the Fierce Beast Era.

“Cheep cheep” and “Gurgling” sounds. Zhou Liming turned his head and found this Fierce Beast looking pitifully at Zhou Liming.

The Flame Bird was a bit better off, as it was only slightly larger than a giant eagle. But the Bullhorn Fish was completely like a giant shark. The little meat he gave it yesterday could only fill the gaps between its teeth.

“I hope you two are not ungrateful wolves!” Zhou Liming had already made up his mind regarding them. Naturally, he would not withhold food from them. Moreover, from their expressions, he could already see their changes; they did not seem to hold hostility towards him, did they? “Could it be that my blood yesterday played a role and created some kind of contract?”

Zhou Liming shook his head and patted his forehead. He had not found any signs of mental connection or the like. The so-called contract was just his own wild imagination.

More than half of the wild boar was really not enough for them to eat. Forced to do so, Zhou Liming worked hard again. This time, what he carried back was a wild boar king weighing at least four or five hundred jin. Its head had been pierced by Zhou Liming’s Bone Spur, creating a bloody hole, and almost its entire head had disappeared.

Cut into more than a dozen pieces, then placed on a rack, and roasted.

The next few days, Zhou Liming truly witnessed the terrifying power of a King-level Fierce Beast. Suffering such heavy injuries, the charred outer layer cracked more and more, eventually being replaced by new skin layers. These charred outer layers fell off, revealing their tender skin.

The Flame Bird was still bald, but small bumps appeared on its skin surface, with a faint red glow, indicating that its feathers were growing and preparing to break through the skin.

On the surface of the Bullhorn Fish, layer after layer of fish scales emerged, pale yellow, looking like a goldfish.

For some reason, Zhou Liming felt that they had made a qualitative leap. Although they had not fully recovered, the aura they exuded was more oppressive than before, as if they were even stronger than before. The aura that only Kings possessed was growing stronger and stronger, startling Zhou Liming greatly.

“Could the radiation have promoted their advancement? Just like when I was in India?”

This guess made Zhou Liming tremble all over. If it were not for the fact that these two Fierce Beasts had no hostility towards him and seemed somewhat close, Zhou Liming would have fled faster than a rabbit long ago when he drew this conclusion. After advancing to the King-level from the Sixth Stage… wasn’t this the Seventh Stage King-level? What kind of existence was that?

A few more days passed. The Flame Bird, whose feathers had not yet grown, could already run around everywhere. Only the Bullhorn Fish, lacking small wings, could not fly into the air and could only roll around on the ground.

But Zhou Liming noticed that the tips of the Flame Bird’s feathers had just emerged. These new feathers were fiery red, incredibly bright, countless times more beautiful than its previous dark red feathers. The scales on the Bullhorn Fish were no longer pale yellow but a golden color like gold. Under the sunlight, the dazzling golden light could blind one’s eyes.

Witnessing the changes in just over a week, Zhou Liming truly understood what “Rebirth from the Flames” meant.

But Zhou Liming did not know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing… The answer to his big gamble on them had not yet been revealed.