Chapter 512: The Fortieth Day of Transmigrating into an Alien War Novel

Chapter 512: Day Forty of Being Thrown Into a Mutant War Novel

An Cheng asked, his voice trembling slightly from excitement.

As he spoke, his gaze softened, his eyes full of tenderness as he looked at An Yi: "This is great, Xiao Yi. This is really great."

An Yi smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners: "Yeah, it really is."

An Cheng stepped forward and embraced An Yi again, this time holding on tightly, as if trying to merge this person into his own body.

"Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi." He buried his face in An Yi's shoulder: "Thank you... for giving me this chance..."

An Yi gently patted his back, his movements tender: "You earned it."

They held each other for a moment, then let go.

An Cheng was still excitedly studying the flame he had condensed in his palm.

He tried making the flame grow larger and smaller, tried making it leap between his fingers, tried shaping it into different forms...

The flames obeyed him perfectly, like a part of his body, like an extension of his will.

He played with it, completely absorbed.

An Yi watched him, a smile dancing in his eyes.

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed from the distance.

The footsteps were deep, each one landing like a sledgehammer hitting the ground, making the ground tremble slightly.

An Cheng looked up, turning toward the sound.

Then he saw a massive creature heading their way.

That creature... he couldn't find the words to describe it.

Like a dragon from Western mythology, but with no wings on its back, its body was at least fifty meters long. Every scale gleamed with a dull metallic sheen, reflecting an eerie light beneath the dark red sky.

Its head was enormous, covered in thick bone armor, and its vertical pupils held pools of water, like small lakes.

It walked forward, each step making the ground shake, its heavy feet leaving deep furrows in the scorched black earth.

An Cheng instinctively moved in front of An Yi.

The flame in his palm flared up instantly, growing from a candle flame into a blazing fireball, orange-red flames dancing in his palm with crackling pops.

He stared at the approaching beast, every muscle tensed, ready to fight.

But An Yi gently pressed his hand down.

"Relax," An Yi said, his voice calm. "It won't hurt you."

An Cheng froze and turned to look at An Yi.

An Yi smiled at him, then looked toward the beast.

The beast walked over to them and stopped.

It lowered its head, its bone-armored skull leaning in, its vertical pupils studying An Cheng curiously—or more precisely, the flame in his palm.

Those eyes were enormous. Being stared at by eyes like that might make an ordinary person's legs go weak, but An Cheng just tensed up, refusing to back away.

Then the beast snorted a blast of cold air from its nostrils.

That cold breath snuffed out the flame in An Cheng's palm instantly.

An Cheng was speechless.

An Cheng stared at his now-empty palm, dumbfounded.

His flame... got blown out by one breath?

The beast looked at his dumbfounded expression and let out a low, rumbling sound from deep in its throat—a noise that seemed like laughter, dripping with condescension and contempt.

It shook its head, turned, and slowly ambled away.

Its massive body left a deep trail across the ground, its tail sweeping across the scorched earth, kicking up a fine dust cloud.

That little creature wasn't all that impressive after all!

the beast thought, a little disappointed.

And it looked exactly like the other one, too!

An Cheng stood there, watching the beast walk away, then looked at his own palm, and finally at An Yi.

An Yi was watching him, amused, his eyes curved into crescents, the corners of his mouth clearly twitching as he tried not to laugh.

"It..." An Cheng said, his voice tinged with hurt: "It blew out my fire."

"Mm." An Yi nodded, his smile widening. "I think it thinks your fire is too small, not worth a second look."

An Cheng: "..."

He looked down at his palm, silent for a few seconds.

Then, with a single thought, the flame reignited.

This time, the flame was even fiercer, even brighter. Orange-red flames leaped half a meter high, blazing in his palm with a roar.

The temperature of the flame was higher now. He raised his head and looked at An Yi, determination in his eyes. "I'll get stronger."

He would work hard to get stronger, live longer, and stay by Xiao Yi's side for as long as possible.

An Yi smiled. "I know."

He said, then reached out and gently touched An Cheng's flame. "You'll get stronger."

The dark red sky hung low, and the scorched black earth stretched endlessly into the distance until it blended with the hazy horizon.

----------

An Yi sat down cross-legged by the familiar lake.

The beast didn't dare complain about An Yi taking over its territory, though it was resentful.

An Yi took the imprisoned Riftborn out of his space.

The grayish-white creature materialized out of thin air, its four arms still twisted in that bizarre, contorted position, its inverted-triangular head hanging low, its compound eyes wide open.

Riftborn: This damned Earth parasite! A demon! It's a demon!

An Yi ignored the Riftborn's incoherent screeching.

He closed his eyes, extended his spiritual sense, and precisely probed the Riftborn's bodily structure, continuing the long and complex analysis.

An Cheng stood close beside him, following at his side.

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the lake, the jagged black mountains in the distance, and the white smoke curling from the cracks.

His body was still buzzing—that newly acquired power surging through his blood like a freshly lit flame, hungry to burn and desperate to be unleashed.

But An Yi wasn't even looking at him.

An Yi's attention was wholly focused on the gray-white creature before him.

"Go off and play," An Yi said without turning his head. He paused, then added, "Don't wander too far."

An Cheng blinked in surprise.

"...Play?"

He repeated the word, his tone tinged with disbelief.

Xiao Yi's tone... was he being treated like a kid?

He had been the one taking care of Xiao Yi since they were young—how did things end up reversed?

An Yi shot a sidelong glance, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The smile was subtle, but there was a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Didn't you just awaken your powers?" he said, his tone still calm, but the playful amusement in it was more pronounced. "Practice more. You can go find that giant beast to play with—it's drawn to fire, but it wouldn't dare hurt you."

He added, "Just don't wander off too far."

An Cheng looked at him, at the faint smile on his profile, at the tender, doting affection in his eyes, and suddenly his face flushed.

"...Okay," he said, nodding.

He didn't go find the giant beast.

He stopped in an open area not far from An Yi, checked his surroundings, and confirmed it was spacious enough not to interfere with An Yi's work.

Then he raised his hand, and with a single thought, flames ignited in his palm.

Orange-red flames danced at his fingertips, alive as if they had a will of their own. He began to practice.

He practiced over and over.

Sweat slid from his temples, dripping onto the scorched black earth, instantly evaporating into thin wisps of white steam.

He wanted to grow stronger.

To stay by An Yi's side just a little longer.

Even if it was just one more day, one more hour, one more second.