I am a hero of the former civilization.

Chapter Two: This is the Collapse

Blood flowed down the gravel, and the headless corpse continued to tremble due to the nerve endings, instantly adding a stench to the air, making people nauseous.

Swah——

With a flick of his spear, the remaining blood left a straight line on the ground. Ryan tiptoed and leaped over the stream of blood.

He wasn't a germaphobe; it was just that the terrifying truth hadn't been revealed yet, and he wanted to leave some illusions for those who didn't know the truth. Ryan simply swept his gaze across the yard, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Not only has the frequency increased, but the scale has also increased, and this area has been completely polluted."

The air is filled with energy invisible to the naked eye; this is the energy of collapse. This energy appears randomly and creates different levels of disasters depending on its concentration, including but not limited to infecting wild animals and humans, causing mutations or death, viruses, and natural disasters.

In layman's terms, energy itself can be seen as a deadly form of 'radiation'. Living things within its range will undergo mutations, and it can even cause natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions. The resulting catastrophes are collectively known as the 'collapse phenomenon'.

"Anyone without this kind of energy adaptability would die instantly if suddenly exposed to such a high level of radiation, without even the chance to become a monster."

Through the half-open door of the shed, Ryan could see a young man and woman lying dead on the bed, their skin showing unique crystalline patterns.

Honkai radiation is invisible and intangible, penetrating everywhere and posing a deadly threat to ordinary people.

"We need to speed things up, or Kevin will bombard us with questions."

He turned his gaze away and randomly chose a building to enter. There was no need to play hide-and-seek with these Honkai monsters; they would come out on their own at the slightest sound.

The sky had completely darkened, the streetlights in the corridor had long been taken away to sell for money, and the stench of excrement in the cramped corners, along with the constantly emerging deformed monsters, made everything look like a scene from a horror movie.

Ryan knew that once he became a suicide soldier, he could not recover. He simply swung his spear, accurately and efficiently killing one enemy after another, until he reached the fourth floor, where he paused slightly.

boom!

The floor slab shattered, and amidst the exploding rocks, a blurry shadow fell, landing right where Ryan had just been standing, piercing two large holes in the floor slab.

ho ho...

It lay on the ground, emitting a low hiss. It appeared to be a woman, but her body was already deformed. She was staring at Ryan with frantic eyes, and what was even more striking was that she had mutated into crystalline claws.

"Clawed Assassins?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow slightly. Just as everyone's Honkai energy adaptability varies, so too does the mutation strength.

"Unfortunately, this is not a good thing. Unless one can resist the erosion of consciousness by Honkai energy, it is better to have zero adaptability and die directly."

Ryan took a half step to the side and flicked the gun upwards with one hand.

clang!

Bright sparks exploded, the spear and crystal emitted a metallic hum, and the Claw Death Soldier was sent flying like a piece of paper.

But she was extremely agile, quickly adjusting her posture in mid-air, stepping on the wall like a cat, and then rushing back at a speed that was difficult for ordinary people to see.

"Without consciousness, killing everything on instinct alone, it's nothing more than a monster."

Ryan lunged forward, meeting the claws head-on, and just before the energy struck him—

He suddenly thrust forward.

An inch longer, an inch stronger. The spear pierced directly into Ryan's head and exited through his groin. The Claw Death Soldier flew over Ryan's head, using inertia to glide a few more meters before exploding in mid-air like an inflated balloon.

The gun was incredibly fast, splattering blood and bits of flesh all over the hallway. Ryan's shirt remained pristine white as he lightly gripped the slippery spear.

A moment later, white smoke rose from the gun, evaporating the blood. Humanity still has only a vague understanding of this energy, and very few people can control it.

“Fortunately, I am one of those who have embarked on this path of destiny.” Ryan turned around, spear in hand, and saw another Claw Death Slayer charging silently toward him. He immediately swung his spear at the other.

boom!

A person is as thin as a piece of paper; even a wall a foot thick can be smashed through it.

"Controlling this energy will make me like Superman, and that's the key to my survival."

Ryan didn't stop. He ran a few steps, stepped on the railing, and leaped off the fourth floor. Turning his head, he saw an entire wall behind him shatter, and several white monsters rushed out, spreading their wings and crashing into him like cannonballs.

Boom, boom, boom.

With a series of muffled thuds, the apartment building across the street exploded into clouds of dust, shards of glass and stones flying everywhere. Ryan was pulled down by gravity, stabbing his spear into the third-floor wall. He gripped the gun with both hands, spun around like a gymnast on a horizontal bar, and then squatted on the trembling gun handle, staring at the dust cloud across the street.

"Oh, it's a Breakthrough-class Honkai Beast."

Unlike the zombies mutated from humans, these strange creatures are pure aggregates of Honkai energy, and are therefore simply called Honkai Beasts. Generally speaking, their strength is proportional to their size, but these Honkai Beasts, which are not even as big as humans, are jokingly called mosquitoes.

Just as Ryan regained his footing, several sharp whistles came from the air again, and a blurry white shadow flew back from the opposite side. Ryan raised his hand, gripped the spear, pulled it out with the strength of his waist and abdomen, and then struck it forward repeatedly as he fell.

Slingshot gun.

Clang clang clang—thump!

Sparks flew as the spears and the Honkai Beasts' hard hides were knocked away like balls, embedding themselves in the walls and causing the entire apartment building to tremble. Meanwhile, people were silently counting in their minds.

One, two, three...

After counting to five, Ryan, who had also been thrown back into the corridor by inertia, quickly turned around and rushed to the front of the Honkai Beasts as they spread their wings again, holding the end of the spear in his hand.

There were no fancy skills; the spear moved like a dragonfly skimming the water, accurately piercing the bodies of each Honkai Beast, while the outer skin, which even rifle bullets could hardly penetrate, was pierced straight through.

Five shots, reaping five lives. Ryan didn't look at the Honkai Beast's corpse. He let out a slight breath, turned sideways, and held the black gun upright at his side.

Boom, boom, boom!

A series of sounds of walls breaking came rapidly closer, and a knight-like figure pounced in front of them. The humanoid creature on its back held a huge lance horizontally, and Honkai energy formed a spiral of airflow at the tip of the lance.

Shila-

Ryan had already positioned himself to the side, watching the lance create a large amount of sparks as it rubbed against the center of the black spear. Just as the Honkai Beasts passed by, he suddenly jumped up, moving much faster than before.

"Get out of here."

The raised spear slammed down with a muffled thud like a tolling bell. The long-neglected corridor shattered completely, sending the several-hundred-pound Honkai Beast crashing through three floors before landing directly in the courtyard littered with corpses.

Ryan didn't stop. With a twist of his wrist, his entire body fell backward, flowing like water as he sent the spear flying backward.

A shot turned back.

Another Knight-class Honkai Beast was already behind them, preparing to launch a surprise attack from behind, but unfortunately Ryan's gun was faster and sharper.

puff.

The spearhead pierced through the body, but the Honkai Beast's powerful vitality propelled it forward, continuing to thrust its lance towards the opponent's chest. However, Ryan had already turned around, crouching on the ground in a horse stance, using his left hand as leverage.

挑！

The black metal bent slightly, and the hundreds of kilograms of Honkai Beast flew up, followed by two muffled thuds.

The Honkai Beast that was launched into the air smashed the wall to pieces. At the same time, another Honkai Beast that was knocked down had half of its body embedded in the ground. It raised its head and saw Ryan falling through the hole right behind it. Man and gun became one, like a red meteor.

A falling star.

Like a streak of crimson lightning passing through the crumbling apartment building, the clamor instantly subsided into silence.

"Solved. This must be the hundredth Knight-class Honkai Beast." Ryan stood in the center of the corpse that had been cut in half, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and closed his eyes to sense it carefully.

Killing Honkai Beasts was beneficial to him; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to come out and do good deeds in the middle of the night. However, a moment later, when he opened his eyes, a hint of disappointment flashed in his gray eyes.

The group of suicide soldiers, five assault-class Honkai Beasts, and two knight-class Honkai Beasts remained unchanged; the amount of Honkai energy he could control was still limited.

"My path has reached a bottleneck. This level of Honkai Beast is no longer enough for me to advance, and I haven't learned of any of its special abilities."

Ryan stroked his chin. Fate was the core power of the Starry Sky Railway world. He felt the call of Fate when he first encountered the Collapse phenomenon ten years ago. Unfortunately, this thing was not a system and would not give him any convenient cheat codes. He had to explore it himself.

“I’m not some Herrscher who’s born with the ability to control Honkai energy; nor am I an ordinary Adaptor, since they can’t control more and more of it. So my way of survival is still in my fate.” Ryan walked back and forth among the corpses, the moonlight serene, making his thoughts light as well.

【Destiny】is invisible and formless. In the terms of fantasy, it is the 'Dao' of the cultivation world. In the terms of magical reality, it is the so-called 'sequence'. And its apex sequence '0' is the omnipotent star god.

The so-called Star Gods are mysterious beings who wander in the deep space and starry sea. Intelligent life can only vaguely perceive that the Star Gods tread on a path of destiny that mortals cannot see, and exercise their immeasurable power with a certain ideology. Those who walk on a certain 'sequence' are the travelers of destiny.

Whether one is obsessed with destruction, steadfast in preservation, devoted to intellect, or intoxicated by pleasure, there are countless paths in life. But as long as there is no Star God at the end, the traveler who reaches the ultimate path can become the new Star God.

Therefore, Ryan's destiny lies in pioneering; only through him can he become a special being. As for the ideals of pioneering...

"Do I need more powerful Honkai Beasts or even Herrschers to help me understand Honkai so that I can move forward?"

Ryan became more and more focused as he thought about it, but just then, he heard a rumbling sound and looked up with some displeasure.

Under the moonlight, several helicopters were circling in the air, their rotor blades whipping up a gale that sent sand and stones flying across the ground.

Ryan didn't run either. He stood at the edge of the open space, quietly watching the landing helicopter and the fully armed soldiers rappelling down. At the tail of the helicopter, he saw a prominent symbol—

It was a moth drawn to the flame.

Chapter Three: The Moth Chasing the Flame

Wuwuwu——

The helicopter's rotor blades kicked up dust and debris, causing Ryan to squint uncomfortably and tilt his head back to look around.

Searchlights focused on him, and the six-barreled machine gun on the hatch was also aimed at him. Soldiers in black combat uniforms and tactical vests rappelled down continuously, and they quickly occupied various high points. Snipers and observers guarded the surroundings.

"As expected of the elites selected from various countries, the Moth Chaser is still as professional as ever," Ryan muttered to himself. He knew this group all too well.

As a secret force fighting against the Honkai, the supranational organization, Moth Chaser, possesses the most advanced weaponry, the most abundant supplies, the most professional soldiers, and a variety of extraordinary talents.

They have branches all over the world, and they will come to deal with it when the Honkai energy reaches the disaster level. For example, this abandoned apartment area will definitely be dealt with properly before dawn, so that most people in the world can live in ignorant peace.

Back in the present moment, Ryan watched as a dozen soldiers, armed with heavy-duty firearms, surrounded him from all sides. He showed no sign of tension, nor did he offer a French salute; he simply shouted:

"Hey, this isn't funny at all."

Ryan found himself transformed into a 'red dot' man, his body covered in projections of laser pointers, while the soldiers in front of him were armed to the teeth, not a single inch of skin showing, making his white shirt stand out conspicuously.

No one stopped, or rather, everyone had been fooled by the special assassins. The Moth Chasers acted either by arresting or killing, without any rhetoric. Fortunately, a female voice came from the back of the crowd.

"Alright, they're all on our side, put your guns down."

The voice was quite cheerful, and the special forces of the Fire Moth were indeed well-trained, lowering their guns almost simultaneously.

Several people walked up from behind them. The person in the lead was also wearing a black combat suit. Judging from her body shape, she was a woman. She waved her hand, signaling her subordinates to scatter. As she approached Ryan, she removed her thick helmet.

Her long red hair suddenly cascaded down, revealing a rather beautiful face. It was dangerous to be directly exposed to such a concentration of Honkai energy, but the woman didn't care at all.

She leaned closer to Ryan, scrutinizing him for a moment before giving him a teasing smile: "Little Ryan, how come you've stolen my job again?"

"Himiko, you know I'm a kind-hearted person. It wouldn't be good if there were any casualties while I'm so close to the academy." Ryan shrugged lightly and slowly disassembled the spear.

The red-haired woman was speechless. After receiving the message, she immediately took action. It was clearly this guy who had provoked the Honkai, but she didn't think much of it. It was normal for a boy this age to want to play the hero.

"Kind-hearted? Let me think, didn't you just wipe out an entire illegal organization two years ago?"