Inside the armored cabin, the air conditioning unit groaned at maximum capacity, yet the ambient air grew suffocatingly dense.
Outside the reinforced windows, ordinary citizens who lacked cultivation bodies were already collapsing onto the boiling asphalt, their skin reddening under the sudden, brutal thermal surge.
Kirish silently thanked whatever lingering instincts had driven him into Kevin's transport.
The streets were absolute gridlock, but Kevin operated the steering column with a racer's cold efficiency.
His mind mapped the city's hidden bypasses, veering through low-density alleys where the panic hadn't yet choked the veins of the lower district.
Along the main avenues, vehicles with standard commuter tires sat stranded, their rubber tracks literally melting into gooey black tar. The luxury cars of the wealthy middle class—who only hours ago were enjoying the leisurely comforts of the district—now served as metal coffins.
[Music Transition: The high-paced drums drop out, replaced by a low, vibrating drone laced with dissonant synth pads.]
As the transport skirted the perimeter of City Park, the true horror materialized through the heat shimmer. Monstrous, rhino-esque behemoths with thick, plating armor were systematically overturning multi-ton transit buses. But they weren't the primary threat.
Darting between the wreckage were creatures the size of a double-decker bus—resembling flightless, prehistoric ostriches but possessing jagged, multi-pronged horns protruding from their skulls. Their bodies were completely devoid of plumage, covered instead in a leathery, grey hide that absorbed the intense heat.
They were terrifyingly swift, covering fifty meters in a single second as if they were merely gliding. The moment their pitch-black eyes locked onto a moving target, their velocity tripled.
"Tatoa Beasts," Kevin hissed, slamming his foot harder onto the accelerator.
The vehicle was still a few hundred meters out, but their luck ran dry.
The Tatoa beasts were natural predators; the sight of a fast-moving metallic object didn't scare them—it entertained them. Three of the alpha beasts pivoted, their muscular hind legs tearing up the asphalt as they began sprinting directly toward the transport.
'System!' Kirish yelled internally, sweat dripping down his temples. 'Give me a solution right now!'
["I can provide a solution, Owner. But the execution requires a high tolerance for structural pain,"]
the System replied, its voice entirely devoid of panic.
'Cut the bureaucratic crap and give it to me!'
[Music Cue: A sharp, digital chime signaling the activation of the System interface.]
["Item 1: Primordial Body-Enhancing Pill. Item 2: Sovereign Cultivation Acceleration Catalyst. Together, they will forcefully adapt your muscle density and accelerate your Qi Orbit by eight hundred percent. This will allow you to consolidate the entire First Order of Cultivation—spanning the Novice, Intermediate, and Peak stages—in exactly sixty seconds. Your total Qi capacity will be four times greater than a standard cultivator at the same level."]
The System window updated in real-time, flashing red numbers.
["If you survive the strain for ten minutes, you will break through to the Second Order. Furthermore, if you lease the 2-Star proficiency data for the 'Heart of the Sword' domain, you can survive until the military vanguard arrives. Total Cost: 60,000 W. I will also include a standard Silver-Alloy Longsword on a short-term rental basis for zero additional fees."]
Kirish's jaw tightened. Even at the brink of an apocalyptic beast tide, this godforsaken machine was calculating profit margins.
But logic dictated his response: money was worthless if his body ended up inside a monster's stomach.
'Process the transaction. Give me the pills!'
Two distinct capsules materialized directly into his palm—one a deep, blood crimson, the other a brilliant, sapphire blue. Kirish threw them back without hesitation, swallowing them dry.
[Music Cue: A heavy, sub-bass drop accompanied by the sound of tearing fibers and cracking bone marrow.]
The effect was instantaneous. Kirish's nerve endings contracted violently.
The skin around his face tightened, his features hollowing out slightly, making him look older, more withered.
But beneath that superficial degradation, his internal musculature was solidifying into iron.
Inside his dantian, the single Blue Star Orbit didn't just spin—it became a raging galactic vortex.
Kirish immediately crossed his legs on the leather seat, closing his eyes to anchor his consciousness within the storm.
Priyanka, sitting right beside him, watched in absolute silence.
She could see the veins along Kirish's neck glowing with a faint, volatile blue light.
A low, whistling wind began to circle his frame, gradually rising into a localized kinetic tornado within the small cabin.
She knew better than to disrupt a cultivator during a forced breakthrough, keeping her breath shallow.
Up front, Kevin pushed the transport's engine past its redline.
But as they cleared the final bend before the highway entrance, a massive wall of abandoned vehicles blocked the path entirely.
"Damn it! The evacuation route is totally blocked!" Kevin slammed his palms against the wheel.
"Priyanka! Senior! We have to move on foot right now!"
Kevin killed the ignition and threw his door open, the 75°C heat hitting his face like a physical blow. "Senior, get down from the vehicle!" Priyanka urged, stepping onto the boiling asphalt.
Kirish didn't open his eyes. His voice, modulated by the dense Qi swirling in his lungs, echoed from inside the cabin. "Go. Run. I have my own path of egress."
Kevin's expression turned into a mix of disbelief and frustration. "Senior, this isn't the time to play the eccentric master! If you stay in that metal box, you're bait!"
But Kirish remained motionless. Knowing every second wasted was a step closer to death, Kevin grabbed Priyanka's wrist.
Kevin's physical reinforcement allowed him to sprint at nearly fifty meters per second. According to his calculations, the lead Tatoa beast would reach Kirish's vehicle in exactly fifty seconds. He had to ensure Priyanka was clear of the blast radius.
Inside the transport, Kirish was systematically tearing through the sub-stages of the First Order.
Novice Stage... Breakthrough.
Intermediate Stage... Breakthrough.
Peak Stage... Consolidating.
The massive concentration of raw, unrefined Qi radiating from the vehicle acted like a lighthouse for the monsters.
The lead Tatoa beast shrieked, its predatory instincts locked onto the cabin. Within seconds, fourteen more Tatoa beasts veered away from the fleeing crowds, their sights set entirely on Kirish. Unwittingly, his breakthrough had given the surviving civilians a precious window to escape.
[Music Cue: A deafening, localized sonic explosion.]
BOOM!
The reinforced, bulletproof glass of the transport shattered outward in a brilliant spray of crystal shards.
The chassis buckled as a shockwave of blue Qi expanded across the intersection.
A hundred meters away, Kevin and Priyanka skidded to a halt, turning back toward the source of the blast.
The vehicle's frame was completely torn open, its heavy alloy doors hanging off their hinges like charred wings.
From the wreckage, a figure stepped out through the smoke.
Kirish's shirt was half-shredded, his chest bare, revealing lines of glowing blue veins that pulsed in tandem with his breathing.
The atmospheric heat around him seemed to warp, drawn into his pores like a vacuum.
"You absolute bastard of a System," Kirish hissed aloud, his fingers twitching.
"You conveniently left out the fine print about the side effects, didn't you?" His skin was burning with an agonizing combination of deep muscular pain and intense, subcutaneous itching.
["Apologies, Owner. The tactical scenario was critical, so I omitted the medical footnotes,"] the System responded with a synthetic smirk.
["To clarify: the Crimson Pill grants immediate physical density but induces acute nervous inflammation. The Sapphire Pill accelerates your Orbit, but once the ten-minute threshold expires, you will require fifteen days of absolute bed rest to repair your cellular walls."]
Kirish ground his teeth, but before he could curse, the interface flashed again.
["However, let us discuss business. The Tatoa beasts hunting you possess high-density carbon bones and localized fire-cores. If you harvest their remains, I will purchase them at an immediate rate of 5,000 W per specimen. You are currently surrounded by fifteen targets. Total potential yield: 75,000 W."]
Kirish's current account was virtually empty after the forced transaction. The realization that these fifteen terrifying predators were actually walking sacks of currency acted like a soothing balm over his burning nerves.
A cold, predatory smile crept onto his face.
He reached down, his fingers wrapping around the hilt of the standard Silver-Alloy Longsword that had materialized on the ground beside him.
"Time to do some manual grinding," Kirish whispered, his eyes locking onto the oncoming pack. "And you better calculate every single coin properly, you greedy machine. I'm keeping score."
[The background score hits a heavy, rhythmic martial beat before dropping into a sudden, icy silence.]
[To Be Continued...]
Chapter Analytics:
Kirish's Current Status: First Order (Peak Stage) — Temporary State.
Debt / Investment: -60,000 W (To be cleared via monster subjugation).
Active Domain: Heart of the Sword (2-Star Proficiency — Active for 10 Minutes).
Enemy Count: 15 Class-2 Tatoa Beasts (Value: 5,000 W each).
With a fifteen-day bed rest penalty ticking away, can Kirish slaughter all fifteen beasts before his body collapses from the side effects?