Read Novel Full Chapter 156 - Banana Flavored Boss Gong (16)
Chapter 156 - Banana Flavored Boss Gong (16)
Translated by Hua Li ^_~
After Ji Guangyuan returned to Jiuzhou Base, the base once again issued a public notice of his misconduct, expelling him from the ranks of the ability user army and stripping him of all privileges.
His actions were universally despised, and even being associated with him was seen as a stain on one’s character. In no time, Ji Guangyuan became like a rat crossing the street—everyone wanted to shun him. Even Jia Nanzhu distanced himself and refused to meet with him.
His miserable days had only just begun, but Gou Liang didn’t bother paying him any attention.
Because Shi Buyu had already formulated a battle plan to take on a Class Five mutant beast near the coast—and more importantly, the story was fast approaching the plot point in Doomsday Chronicles where Shi Buyu was fated to die at the hands of a mutant beast.
After a brutal fight, Shi Buyu drove a lightning-forged longsword into the upper jaw of a Giant-Tooth Dragon Beast, dragging the massive creature ashore before it could sink into the sea.
Despite the victory, no one in the armored vehicle let their guard down. They kept their eyes on the energy detector until it confirmed no risk of a beast ambush. Only then did laughter and conversation resume.
“Boss, that move just now was epic!”
Qin Bei whistled and said through his Bluetooth earpiece, “Teacher Tang’s eyes must’ve gone wide, right?”
“Really now.”
Shi Buyu’s low chuckle came through the earpiece, tinged with a bit of pride.
Gou Liang said sincerely, “You’ve always been amazing.”
That made Shi Buyu laugh even more joyfully.
The armored vehicle pulled up beside the beast’s corpse. Shi Buyu handed the Giant-Tooth Dragon’s beast core to Yu Sen and strode quickly forward to catch Gou Liang as he leapt down from the vehicle.
The beach was a mess from the rampaging beast. Even after the tide had receded, a thick layer of sea mud remained. A careless step could sink you in ankle-deep. As Gou Liang clung to him, eyes fixed on the creature’s massive teeth, Shi Buyu teased, “What’s so interesting about that thing? Your way-cooler husband is right here.”
Having finished scanning the beast’s energy data, Gou Liang turned back to him and cupped his face. “It’s ugly. I’m cleansing my eyes.”
Shi Buyu kissed his dimples and said, “Cleanse away—take all the time you need.”
“Mhm!”
Gou Liang nodded emphatically.
Watching the two gaze sweetly at each other, the others felt emotionally struck.
“What’s so funny about this sappy nonsense?” they thought. “Dating must fry your brain cells. Tch.”
Waves rolled over the Giant-Tooth Dragon’s tail as Jiang Ren and Zhou Gao worked together to drag its massive teeth ashore for harvesting.
Even with Jiang Ren’s Level Four metal ability, they couldn’t cut through its hide. They had to slice along the wound left by Shi Buyu instead.
Qin Bei commented, “That meat looks like it’d chip a tooth. How long would you have to stew it to make it tender?”
Hearing this, Gou Liang glanced over and said regretfully, “Its meat has a terrible texture.”
Just by its appearance, you could tell the Giant-Tooth Dragon Beast was vicious.
Its oversized jaws, which made up half its body length, were lined inside and out with four rows of jagged, interlocking teeth—so densely packed, it looked like nothing but fangs from a distance.
Shi Buyu had fought it for twenty minutes before the beast used its ability. Its thick hide had absorbed his attacks, and its jaws snapped furiously, clearly capable of biting through anything.
Only after Shi Buyu had gathered enough data and unleashed his full power did the beast finally use its water-based ability.
By the ocean, the water gave it a tremendous advantage. Several times, hundred-meter-high waves swallowed Shi Buyu, making Gou Liang and the others incredibly anxious.
Fortunately, water’s conductivity worked in Shi Buyu’s favor. When he released a high-voltage positive current, the sea’s negative ions responded immediately. Shocked into a frenzy, the beast’s attacks intensified twentyfold, forcing Shi Buyu to struggle forward through the churning surf. Only after blasting its abdomen multiple times to extract its beast core did he finally claim victory.
Exhausted, Shi Buyu sat atop the armored vehicle, munching on a Level Four Hundred-Beast Pill that Gou Liang fed him while they watched Zhou Gao and Qin Bei sawing at the beast’s teeth.
The Hundred-Beast Pill was compressed to the size of a liqueur-filled chocolate. To avoid attracting other mutant beasts, Gou Liang had encased it in edible candy coating, spending much time developing different flavors.
Gou Liang’s favorite was banana-flavored, which Shi Buyu jokingly called “sugar beans.”
Though Shi Buyu wasn’t fond of sweets, he enjoyed watching Gou Liang contentedly savor the candy, cheeks puffed out and eyes squinting in delight. He even ate happily when fed by Gou Liang, despite refusing to share with the envious Yu Lin and others.
What Shi Buyu didn’t know was that the banana flavor coating was made with Soul-Returning Grass, and Gou Liang could only taste a faint sweetness. After each one, he’d sneak a taste from Shi Buyu’s mouth to enjoy a bit of the soul energy inside, just barely satisfying his craving.
For dinner, Gou Liang used the Giant-Tooth Dragon’s blood to make a massive pot of spicy blood tofu hot pot. The tender texture and fiery spice made everyone break into a sweat—and rave about the flavor.
Lately, aside from beast meat, their main dishes were various versions of blood tofu.
After advancing to Level Four, the energy they needed to level up was immense. Beast cores above Level Three could cause lower-level ability users to explode, so they set aside one day a month to hunt Level Two beasts and supply Jiuzhou Base. The rest of the time, they hunted high-level beasts intensively, but even so, the Level Three and Four cores they gathered were only a fraction of what they needed—still far from enough.
So, in the spirit of “even an ant has meat,” they made sure not to waste the energy in mutant beast blood either.
Boiled blood tofu, stir-fried, sour-spicy, mala-style… They had tried every variation. If not for Gou Liang’s incredible culinary skills and constant innovations, they might have long since grown sick of blood tofu at the mere sight of it.
Soaked in sweat from the spice, the seven of them cooked meat rolls at the table while discussing their next move.
Zhou Gao and the others had been observing Shi Buyu’s battle with the Class Five mutant beast for five or six days and were starting to get restless. He said, “Boss, there’s no way we can take on a Class Five beast. I’m thinking, maybe we should head back and focus on hunting Class Fours instead?”
Qin Bei quickly echoed, “Yeah, Boss, even five of us at Level Four wouldn’t be enough to fill that thing’s teeth. Sitting around like this is pointless—we might as well go collect some Level Four beast cores.”
Though Yu Sen and the others remained silent, their expressions agreed.
Every level up in ability meant a vast leap in power. Back when they were at Level Three, fighting a Level Four beast together gave them a sliver of hope. But now, trying to fight a Level Five as Level Fours—even with ten times the manpower—was nothing short of a fantasy. Hadn’t they already seen that not even someone like Shi Buyu, who matched the beast’s level in offensive power, could easily pierce its hide? Their own efforts would be about as useful as scratching an itch.
Shi Buyu had already been considering this. After a brief pause, he turned to Gou Liang and said, “In that case, Xiao Keng’er, why don’t you head back with them to the coastline—”
“No. I’m going with you.”
Before Shi Buyu could finish, Gou Liang interrupted firmly.
This was the first time he’d openly disagreed with Shi Buyu’s command, and his tone left no room for negotiation.
Shi Buyu gently wiped Gou Liang’s reddened lips with a napkin and said, “I promise, if I can’t beat it, I’ll run. I’ll come back every two days.”
Gou Liang repeated, “I’m going with you.”
Zhou Gao laughed awkwardly at the tension, “Come on, Teacher Tang, the boss will keep his word. The conditions are tough, let’s just bear with it.” But sensing the seriousness of the mood, he quickly quieted down. “Why is everyone so quiet?”
Yu Sen ignored him and looked at Gou Liang instead. “Teacher Tang, is there something we missed?”
They all knew Gou Liang was reasonable. He had gone ten days without seeing Shi Buyu before without complaint—he wouldn’t object just because of attachment.
“We know too little about Class Five and above mutant beasts. Plus, the parameters of the beast detectors are insufficient. Any oversight could be fatal. I need to stay.”
Gou Liang frowned.
His ability had evolved specifically to detect beast energy clusters. The area he could cover now had a radius of ten kilometers—not as large as the standard beast detector, but far more accurate.
Hearing this, Yu Sen and the others hesitated. Gou Liang made a good point, but his combat strength was limited. If danger struck, he would become a liability.
Shi Buyu, more than anyone, was concerned about Gou Liang’s safety. He couldn’t rest easy leaving him alone in the armored vehicle.
Before Shi Buyu could refuse, Gou Liang added, “I’m the fastest one among us. I can run if I have to.”
The author of Doomsday Chronicles knew very little about Shi Buyu. The novel only described how Jia Nanzhu and his group finally reached Jiuzhou Base after countless hardships. Only at that point did they hear vague mentions of Shi Buyu’s deeds. Soon after, the legendary Shi Buyu fell.
It only mentioned a rough time and location—there were no details on the danger he faced.
Thinking about this gave Gou Liang a growing sense of urgency. He even regretted choosing a support-type ability instead of a combat one.
The reason he made that choice was because he was sick of the killing in the apocalypse, and afraid his violent side would resurface in battle. That’s why he hadn’t participated directly in the Lord God’s “gift game.”
He had assumed that with Shi Buyu’s strength, victory would be easy. He hadn’t expected the Lord God’s consciousness in this world to be so unbalanced—letting mutant beasts start at the highest tier from the beginning while human ability users had to grow slowly. It was simply unfair.
A flood of mixed thoughts passed through Gou Liang’s mind. He pushed aside his unspoken complaints about the Lord God and declared firmly, “Shi Xiaoyu, I want to fight by your side.”
Shi Buyu licked Gou Liang’s lips, which were swollen from the spicy food, and said, “Alright. But you have to control your curiosity, okay?”
Gou Liang smiled and kissed him, “I’ll be good.”
Shi Buyu’s last bit of hesitation melted away. He pulled Gou Liang into his lap and began diligently fishing out vegetables to feed him.
Yu Lin and the others thought about saying something, but then realized: Gou Liang had the strongest speed and physical strength of all of them—even stronger than the boss. If he needed to flee, he definitely could. And if it ever reached a point where even Shi Buyu couldn’t protect Gou Liang, then whether he stayed or not wouldn’t make a difference… No, no—bad thought!
They quickly shook off the ominous notion.
After some discussion, Shi Buyu marked out a temporary base not far from the coast. Yu Sen would lead a team to hunt Level Four beasts. Shi Buyu and Gou Liang would return to regroup with them every night and build a few emergency shelters along the route.
Time slipped by in a monotonous cycle of hunting. Before long, March of 2124 was coming to an end. But some things, no matter how carefully avoided, were bound to happen.
On the final day of March, Gou Liang and Shi Buyu encountered a Vertical-Pupil Four-Winged Dragon Mutant Beast by the sea.
This kind of beast had unique habits—it slept in the air during the day and became active in the water at night. But for some reason, one suddenly woke up and charged straight at them.
It was well known that Vertical-Pupil mutants almost never appeared in daylight. When they did, they were in a berserk state.
And worse—it was a Class Six mutant!
They had just reached a critical moment in hunting the Class Five beast. Sitting cross-legged on the armored vehicle, Gou Liang immediately raised the alarm.
“Class Six warning! Shi Xiaoyu, forget the beast core—we need to go!”
But the speed of the Four-Winged Dragon exceeded expectations. Before his voice had faded, the beast was already within visual range, having crossed ten kilometers in seconds.
Shi Buyu’s expression changed as he abruptly pulled out of the fight.
The Class Five beast, already in a frenzy near death, tried to chase him, but upon hearing the dragon’s roar, it instantly dropped to the ground in terror.
When the winged dragon flew over its head and chased after the fleeing Gou Liang and Shi Buyu in the distance, the giant beast finally turned and fled back into the ocean with all its might.
Gou Liang shoved all the beast cores he had into Shi Buyu’s mouth and, sensing the rampaging Class Six energy storm approaching, pushed his speed past the limits of his Level Four physique. Clutching Shi Buyu’s hand tightly, he accelerated toward their pre-designated shelter.
Just as they leaped into the underground entrance and Gou Liang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a loud rumble echoed from the reinforced metal foundation below them.
It was a wind-type ability attack from the Class Six four-winged dragon!
Gou Liang’s expression changed drastically. “What the hell? Why is it chasing us like this?”
The attack came without warning—not even the system had time to sound an alert!
Shi Buyu didn’t understand either—not until much later, when he dominated this sea region, did he learn that the twin-winged sea dragon he had killed back in the Southeast Sea was actually the offspring of this four-winged dragon. The beast core he had consumed was the reason it was hunting him now—but this was no time to dwell on the past.
He pulled Gou Liang through the collapsing concrete, blasting through the debris with lightning as they fled, all while launching thunderous counterattacks at the four-winged dragon.
But the dragon was far too fast, dodging both of his killing strikes.
Unscathed, it only became more enraged. With a ferocious roar, it beat its wings, sending wave after wave of wind blades hurtling toward Shi Buyu.
Realizing the truth, Shi Buyu shouted, “It’s after me! We split up—Xiao Keng’er, go find Yu Sen and the others! Be careful!”
As he spoke, he let go of Gou Liang’s hand and ran in the opposite direction to lure the dragon away.
Sure enough, the dragon ignored Gou Liang and went straight after Shi Buyu.
Gou Liang broke character for a rare moment and swore loudly, accelerating to catch up to Shi Buyu and yanking his hand back in a frenzied sprint.
“Try letting go of me again, and see what happens!”
Shi Buyu was shaken. The dragon’s relentless attacks left no time to be touched. He immediately rolled on the ground with Gou Liang to dodge another incoming wind blade.
Cracks split open the earth; any cover was shredded instantly. Seeing Gou Liang refuse to leave, Shi Buyu gave up on fleeing blindly and took the offensive.
【Xiao Si, activate stasis ability.】
【Yes, Master!】
The dragon dodged Shi Buyu’s attack again, draining his energy. Though the system hadn’t sounded a critical warning yet, Gou Liang couldn’t stand by any longer.
He dared not overdo it—he froze the dragon for just one second using his stasis ability, but in battle, one second could decide life or death.
Shi Buyu finally locked onto the dragon, unleashing a full-powered thunder strike!
The dragon shrieked as one of its wings was destroyed. Enraged, it began lashing out in a blind frenzy. Shi Buyu shielded Gou Liang, but even with his speed, a wind blade tore through his combat suit.
It was the first time Shi Buyu had ever been wounded in battle—just a shallow cut on his arm.
But Gou Liang’s eyes widened in shock—
From that small gash, a wave of energy even denser than a Class Six beast core leaked from Shi Buyu’s body. Though the wound closed quickly thanks to his healing ability, the blood that dripped to the ground gave everything away.
ROAR!
ROOOAR!!
The mutant beasts went berserk.
Class Five, Six, even Class Seven beasts all stampeded toward their location!
Gou Liang, now at the center of a maelstrom of energy signatures, swallowed hard as the system issued a mechanical warning:
【Ding! Executor NO.00401, please note! Target lifeform is under extreme threat. Immediate emergency action required!】
Shi Buyu also realized the change at once. Blocking the four-winged dragon’s wild barrage with his Heavenly Inquisition Sword, he shoved Gou Liang away and yelled, “Go!!”
But it was too late.
Over a hundred Class Seven flying beasts, arriving first, appeared within Gou Liang’s sight—and launched their attack.
“Shi Buyu!”
Gou Liang leapt forward and shielded him with his own body.
【Xiao Si, Level Nine spatial stasis! Hurry!】
【Yes, Mas—】
In the instant before time froze, Shi Buyu’s hands, shielding Gou Liang, touched the wound left by the Class Seven beast’s attack on his back. The blood was scalding hot and instantly dyed Shi Buyu’s fingers red—and his eyes too.
The system’s voice abruptly vanished.
Lightning erupted.
With a deafening roar, silver-violet bolts rained down from the sky. The mutant beasts shrieked—and vanished into nothing in an instant.
A Level Nine lightning ability?
No—what was destroyed wasn’t just their physical forms, but also their very soul essence.
This was…
Gou Liang raised his head, stunned, watching the beasts being consumed by the void. He couldn’t believe it—this power didn’t belong to any known ability. This was the Law of the Lord God.
He turned to Shi Buyu in shock.
The deep, emotionless void in Shi Buyu’s eyes no longer reflected any trace of humanity. Everywhere he looked, the beasts created by the Lord God disintegrated and vanished into oblivion.
Judgment descended. All life extinguished.
“Shi Buyu…”
Gou Liang jolted, instinctively hugging the man before him as if afraid someone would take him away.
Shi Buyu lowered his gaze. Within his cold stare, Gou Liang’s face was reflected. He looked at him silently for a long time, and just as Gou Liang grew too nervous to speak, he suddenly let out a soft sigh.
The thunder faded into the horizon. Shi Buyu raised his hand, touched Gou Liang’s dimple, and kissed his forehead gently.
“Silly Keng’er, how many times have I told you—not to get hurt for me again… I’ll go insane.”
【Ding. Executor NO.00401, please note: Mission progress updated. Current mission progress: 99%!】