His current war bow was only five hundred pounds, which converts to about 225 kilograms.

With his current strength of 600 kilograms in both arms, it was simply too light and too weak.

In the past, Chen Shouyi did not mind. Although there were occasional invasions by otherworldly creatures in Hedong City, overall it remained peaceful.

In the past two months, there had been only two cases of otherworldly creature invasions in the lower district, with a total death toll of less than a hundred people, which was just a small portion for a district with a population of nearly a million and an annual death toll of close to five thousand.

However, with the advent of the second mutation and the sudden decrease in the power of firearms, the originally strong defenses at the passages quickly became vulnerable.

The standoff between humans and deities was soon broken. It might happen tomorrow, or it might be months away, but whether it was a day or a few months, war was inevitable.

The current chaos is just the twilight before the darkness; the real crisis has yet to arrive.

The storm is brewing. The only thing he can do is become stronger to protect his family in the coming chaos.

...

Then, with a sliver of hope, Chen Shouyi visited several cold weapon shops, only to return disappointed each time.

Walking down the street, an idea suddenly struck him, and he couldn't help but curse himself for being foolish. Why did he have to go to a cold weapon shop to buy?

He thought of two people.

Cao Zhenhua and Fang Shengjie!

The former, a member of the Pantheon lurking in Hedong City, had been killed by him long ago, and the latter was missing, likely deceased, though their relics might still be around.

Chen Shouyi took a mental note of this.

...

Back at the apartment building, he habitually walked to the elevator.

But upon seeing the extinguished electronic display, he realized and sighed slightly.

Quickly walking up to the fifth floor, he took out his key and opened the door:

"Dad, Mom, I'm home."

Hearing his voice, Chen Dawei and Mrs. Chen came out of the kitchen, Mrs. Chen eager to ask, "Why are you back so late? How is it outside?"

"It's fine, not much chaos!" Chen Shouyi said.

The streets were full of soldiers; it would be strange if chaos erupted.

"That's good, that's good!" Mrs. Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, by the way, Officer Bai came over earlier!" Chen Dawei said.

"Did he say what it was about?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Not really!"

Now the city's transportation was completely halted, and although walking was still possible, the only mode of transportation left was bicycles, making it unlikely they could get a hold of him in time if something happened.

Chen Shouyi then put this matter aside.

He opened the door to his bedroom and saw his suitcase nearby, giving himself a light pat on the forehead. He almost forgot there were still some items in there.

He quickly unzipped the suitcase and took out a large packet of roasted meat wrapped in a plastic bag. He untied the bag and took a sniff. There was no strange smell, and there were even some traces of frost on the surface.

Thanks to the recent cold weather, this packet of roasted meat stayed in the suitcase for two days without spoiling.

He took it to the kitchen, and Mrs. Chen instinctively took it from him: "What is this, so heavy."

"Meat from the otherworld, supposed to be quite nourishing."

"Did you go to the otherworld?" Mrs. Chen reacted sharply, asking.

"I just walked around the edge of the passage, it's not dangerous." Chen Shouyi explained.

"No danger, huh? One mishap, and it's a big deal. Don't go there again!" Mrs. Chen warned.

She didn't believe any of her son's reassurances now; if she didn't keep an eye on him, he'd fly too close to the sun.

"Did you hear me?"

"Heard you!" Chen Shouyi replied helplessly.

Just as he was about to escape back to his room, the door to his sister's room opened, and Song Tingting came out.

She had already taken off her bulky down jacket, wearing a form-fitting green sweater that accentuated her curves. Seeing Chen Shouyi, she said happily, "Senior, you're back."

"Ah, you're here too." Chen Shouyi retracted his gaze and asked with a smile.

"I didn't go to class today. My mom asked me to come over to your house. I'm currently practicing swordsmanship with Xingyue."

"Work hard then." Chen Shouyi said.

Just then, there was a sudden sound of cannon fire from outside, short and dull.

It was anti-aircraft artillery.

Chen Shouyi didn't have time to speak and quickly walked to the balcony.

In the distance, a massive giant bird circled above the city, numerous shells exploding into black smoke beneath it.

The weather had been bad lately, with clouds overhead. This giant bird hovered below the cloud layer, suggesting it wasn't flying too high, maybe only about a thousand meters, but the anti-aircraft shells clearly couldn't reach such heights now.

The giant bird circled fearlessly, refusing to leave, and slowly flew nearer.

"Senior, what is that?" Song Tingting asked fearfully beside him.

Chen Shouyi didn't speak, his expression grim.

It suddenly occurred to him that many spatial passages weren't on the ground but located in the sky. If humanity's military might could fully exert itself, these issues wouldn't be too problematic. However, now these passages were likely completely undefended.

"What's going on?"

At that moment, his parents and Chen Xingyue also heard the commotion outside and rushed out.

Watching the anti-aircraft artillery set up throughout the city repeatedly explode in midair, smoke spreading, they stood there dumbfounded, their minds blank for a long time.

Chen Dawei looked for a while and feigned a relaxed demeanor: "Nothing major, nothing to see here."

...

During dinner.

The anti-aircraft artillery continued to fire, though it became fainter, as the bird seemed to have flown somewhere else.

Mrs. Chen suddenly said, "We seem to be running low on rice. Should we go buy some more?"

"We have enough rice at home to last us six months. You're just worrying for nothing. The country has so much reserve grain; they're not going to let us starve." Chen Dawei said.

Mrs. Chen felt relieved listening to this but didn't let it show: "How do you know? What if things get chaotic?"

"Mom, isn't it the case that both brother and I are here? In a few years, I'll be a martial artist too." Chen Xingyue said, picking up a piece of unknown meat and putting it in her mouth: "What is this meat? It's so tough, I can barely bite it."

"Your brother brought it from the otherworld, it's supposed to be very nourishing!" Mrs. Chen said, turning to Song Tingting: "Tingting, don't be shy, eat up, make yourself at home."

"Thanks, Auntie!" Song Tingting quickly said.

...

At night, in the bedroom.

Chen Shouyi held the long sword, slowly executing each sword strike, the blade emitting an invisible sharp light.

A gentle wind suddenly rose out of nowhere, spirit-like, tugging at a napkin on the tissue box, rustling. Soon, the wind tugged the napkin out, and it floated towards Chen Shouyi.

The next moment, his wrist blurred, countless sword lights intertwined rapidly, forming a sheet of silver light.

The napkin slightly paused in midair, then turned into dozens of shreds, fluttering down. Before they hit the ground, another breeze blew over, sweeping the shreds into the trash can.

"My swordsmanship used to be grandiose but, compared to those veteran martial artists, lacked finesse. No matter how hard I practiced, it was always twice the effort for half the effect. But now that I've completed the meat refining, everything seems to come naturally."

Looking at the almost identically sized shreds in the trash can, Chen Shouyi thought to himself.

ps: Sorry, I came back late today.

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