Volume One, Chapter 19: Zhihan, Sister, Did You Forget to Close the Friend Zone?

At this moment, the energy contained within the annihilation thunderball had grown terrifyingly overwhelming. Throughout the continuous brewing of the annihilation thunderball, Zhuzhi Han’s own energy was being drained heavily, while the free energy in the surrounding space was being voraciously absorbed by the thunderball like rivers flowing into the sea.

As soon as the annihilation thunderball shot from Zhuzhi Han’s hand, it sped like lightning, transforming into a long rainbow streaking toward the horizon. Even more alarming was that the thunderball grew larger and larger in flight. It started no bigger than a fist but in the blink of an eye swelled to the size of a coconut, then expanded to the thickness of a water jar, continuing to grow relentlessly!

As it increased in size, the rapidly spinning annihilation thunderball drew in even more energy from its surroundings to strengthen itself. By the time it neared Zheng Hong, it had swollen to resemble a massive meteorite.

“Boom—”

“Bang! Rumble, rumble!”

After a series of deafening explosions, Zheng Hong, who had already sprinted some distance away, was directly engulfed by the meteor-like annihilation thunderball. The moment it struck Zheng Hong, an incredibly fierce explosion erupted. When the smoke cleared, Zheng Hong had been blown to nothing but scattered bones.

Simultaneously, a violent shockwave radiated outward from the explosion’s center in all directions. Accompanied by a small mushroom cloud rising slowly, ten shadow werewolves were tossed aside by the shockwave, flying backwards instantly.

As for the instigator, Zhuzhi Han, having completely exhausted her energy, felt her delicate body go limp and nearly collapsed. Before she could meet the ground, Lin Yao swiftly moved forward and caught her in a horizontal embrace. Supporting her smooth jade back with one hand and slipping the other through her bent knees, he held her securely in a princess carry.

Zhuzhi Han was slightly startled, then blushed deeply, hastily reaching down to press her fluttering skirt, softly saying, “Brother Lin, if you hold me like this, I’ll be exposed.”

Lin Yao smiled gently at her, reassuring, “Don’t worry, there’s no one else here.”

Glancing at the ten shadow werewolves recently flung by the explosion’s shockwave, he half-joked, “Zhuzhi, did you forget to turn off friendly fire? Were you trying to blow up your teammates together with the enemy?”

Zhuzhi Han didn’t quite understand Lin Yao’s technical jargon yet but gathered that he meant she hadn’t controlled the skill’s power well. She quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, Brother Lin. It’s my first time using this skill; I really didn’t know how powerful it was.”

Lin Yao couldn’t help but smile; there was no need to apologize for that. He had only been teasing.

Then, he gently laid her down on the nearby grass to rest.

“You rest here and recover first. I’ll take the opportunity to use a refining scroll to extract energy from the bodies of these beasts and foes,” Lin Yao instructed.

After settling Zhuzhi Han, Lin Yao pulled a refining scroll from his system space and casually tossed it. Instantly, the surrounding beasts, tamed creatures, and the bodies of the Broken Blade Demon Hunters transformed into streams of light, all absorbed by the scroll.

While the scroll absorbed energy on a large scale, it simultaneously refined a stream of extremely pure energy. Lin Yao immediately shared this with Zhuzhi Han and the ten shadow werewolves.

With such a massive influx of energy, Lin Yao’s level surged two ranks at once. His strength, speed, endurance, energy, and mental power all received comprehensive enhancements. More than that, he awakened a hidden class skill—Shadow Devour.

[Shadow Devour: Shadow Devourer Spirits are tiny lifeforms in a special state. They can consume most energy-containing substances, refining various energies into pure energy, which they transmit to the bearer of the shadow mark. Current pure energy conversion rate: 80%!]

After a brief study, Lin Yao understood the function of this skill. The Shadow Devourer Spirits were akin to microbes or bacteria, capable of breaking down most energy substances and refining pure energy. As long as he left a shadow mark on himself, the spirits could transmit the refined pure energy to him through the mark.

In other words, he would no longer need to buy expensive refining scrolls. Even more impressive was that most refining scrolls on the market had energy conversion rates below 50%, while the Shadow Devourer Spirits’ rate was as high as 80%, with room for further improvement!

Had he possessed this skill earlier and used it to refine pure energy, he would have gained 30% more pure energy this time.

Having grasped the mechanism, Lin Yao didn’t hesitate to activate it.

A pitch-black, mysterious eyeless orb quickly appeared in the palm of his left hand. Lin Yao noticed it appeared only during use and vanished on its own afterward.

Next, he “stamped” shadow marks onto Zhuzhi Han and the ten shadow werewolves. This way, their future acquisition of pure energy would become much easier, with an additional 30% more energy gained.

Lin Yao mused that for this extra 30%, many would likely rush to seek his “stamp” in the future. After all, possessing the shadow mark meant effortlessly controlling some Shadow Devourer Spirits to refine pure energy for oneself. All it took was a little of his own energy and a casual “stamp,” equivalent to a costly refining scroll.

Lin Yao even thought that if he ever found himself short on money, he could easily make a profit with this skill.

However, the shadow marks were consumable; after a period, they would automatically expire and require reapplication through the Shadow Devour skill.

Lin Yao had killed four members of the Broken Blade Demon Hunter team; one particularly cunning individual had escaped. Although the enemy might not dare to return for revenge, Lin Yao felt it prudent to keep a safe distance from this area.

Besides amassing a substantial amount of pure energy, Lin Yao also picked up some miscellaneous items and four spatial rings. These four rings could not be opened for the time being. Though his mental power was strong, it was not yet sufficient to forcibly crack the spatial rings belonging to Zheng Hong and the others.

Not only was he unable, but even Zhuzhi Han, with her superior mental power, could not manage it at present.

Among the four members of Zheng Hong’s group, except for Zheng Hong who was blasted to bones leaving only one surviving spatial ring, the relics of the other three remained mostly intact. However, the items they carried were generally of little value.

Only one piece of equipment called the Optimization Medal caught Lin Yao’s interest.