“I’ll go outside and check the situation at the gate. You go back to the attic and whatever you do, don’t open the door,” Qi Huan pushed the little fellow towards the stairs and picked up the leg of the stool from the corner.

“Go up and hide,” Qi Huan urged again when he saw the little fellow hesitating by the stairs.

“Let me go with you,” the little dumpling tried to insist. After all, he was a beastman, and in a fight, he was definitely stronger than this frail human.

Qi Huan pointed the iron rod at the stairs, his expression serious, “Go up. This is an adult’s business. A child’s only task is to protect themselves.”

The little fellow had no choice but to obediently head upstairs. Once his figure disappeared around the stairway corner, Qi Huan strode towards the door.

The night was deep, and the cold felt like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, seeping through two layers of clothing and chilling him to the bone. The street was chaotic, with countless shadows rushing towards the red light pillar at the base gate.

Amidst the noise, Qi Huan exchanged a glance with Quan Hai, who had just stepped out, tightened his coat, and followed the crowd.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Before they reached the place, they heard a series of loud bangs, like thunder and drums, mixed with the heavy dullness unique to massive objects, making their scalps tingle. Qi Huan clutched his chest, feeling his heart and the ground beneath his feet tremble uncontrollably in sync.

“Something’s attacking the base gate,” Quan Hai pulled Qi Huan along, quickening his pace.

When they arrived, the brightly lit semicircular plaza was already crowded with people, frantically piling up anything they could find to form a defensive line at the gate.

A small section of the base gate had been burned red, with steam rising around it. With each loud bang, new protrusions appeared on the fiery red area, sparks flying, as if something was about to break through the gate.

The two quickly joined the human wall defending the small plaza, standing ready. Qi Huan now understood that, considering their abilities, during a Stone Beast invasion, the most important task for those living near the gate was not to catch the Stone Beast but to hold it off and minimize the damage. The task of capturing and eliminating it was left to the hunting squad arriving later.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The pounding grew faster, and the protrusions on the gate became larger, making everyone’s hearts race. They kept glancing back to see if the hunting squad was arriving.

Qi Huan gripped the iron rod tightly, feeling a very bad premonition.

Given the current situation, the Stone Beast outside would likely break through the gate soon. According to Lao Wu, if it could break through the base gate so quickly, it must be a B-level!

A living B-level Stone Beast!

If the hunting squad couldn’t arrive in time, few people in the plaza would survive.

“It might be a B-level Stone Beast, be very careful,” Qi Huan warned Quan Hai beside him, but got no response. Turning to look, he found Quan Hai scanning the crowd behind them.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Huan followed his gaze, seeing nothing special, just a large crowd, with the most prominent being the tall beastmen.

Quan Hai scratched his head, “Nothing, I thought I saw Lao Pi.”

Lao Pi? Qi Huan frowned, “Seeing him is normal, didn’t you say he lives nearby?”

“Yeah…”

Before they could finish, someone in front shouted, “The gate’s been breached!”

Qi Huan’s heart trembled. Through the gaps in the human wall, he saw a bowl-sized hole in the gate, with a fiery red claw slowly squeezing in, tearing at the surrounding metal plates.

Dozens of automatic ray guns locked onto the damaged hole, firing continuously, the firepower dense and fierce.

The claw retracted.

For several seconds, there was no movement. An impatient person in the front row couldn’t resist peeking over the temporary defense wall to see if the Stone Beast had been repelled, only to be met with a burst of flames shooting through the gate hole, directly hitting the defense wall.

“Ah!!!” The person screamed, clutching their face and rolling on the ground, while several others quickly carried them away.

“Crack,” sharp, piercing sounds rang out as two claws squeezed back through the hole.

Blue rays rained down again, but the claws remained unscathed, stubbornly tearing a large hole in the gate.

Through the hole, half the people in the plaza could see the full appearance of the Stone Beast.

It resembled a scorpion, with two giant claws at the front, sparking as they opened and closed. Its shell looked like burning charcoal, half-bright and half-dark, with vine-like strange patterns faintly visible. Each segment of its shell was as hot as fire, distorting the surrounding air, and its massive body cast a chilling shadow, with its hooked twin tails occasionally dripping dark red venom, creating gray-black smoke and a foul stench on the ground.

Qi Huan, standing at least fifty or sixty steps from the gate, could still feel the heat emanating from the creature.

“It’s a Fire Claw!” someone in the crowd shouted.

A B-level Fire Claw! Qi Huan took a deep breath. Lao Wu had said that the Fire Claw was one of the four most powerful Stone Beasts on the Waste Star, with not only a thick shell and high defense but also razor-sharp claws that could instantly cut a person in half with armor. Its flames could reach several meters, sweeping a large area, and its tail venom was extremely toxic, causing flesh and bone to rot upon contact.

As if responding to his thoughts, the Fire Claw at the gate swung its head, opening its mouth again. A fan-shaped blaze swept over the makeshift defense wall, and the front row erupted in screams, with many people falling.

The air was filled with the acrid stench of burning, making people nauseous.

The Fire Claw’s fierce aura intimidated everyone, and as it approached step by step, the human wall began to retreat unconsciously.

“Boom!” Another wave of fire swept over the human wall, and the crowd retreated in panic. Qi Huan was about to follow when someone suddenly kicked him hard in the back of the knee, causing him to kneel uncontrollably. Just as he was about to be trampled by the chaotic crowd, a tentacle reached out and wrapped around his waist.

Quan Hai had just lifted Qi Huan above his head when he slipped, losing his grip and flinging Qi Huan towards the small plaza.

The Fire Claw’s fiery red compound eyes were filled with ferocity and brutality. As Qi Huan ‘attacked’ it, it opened its mouth and spewed flames.

The blazing fire tongue rushed straight at Qi Huan’s face, scorching his cheeks. With the flames so close, there was no way to avoid them. In mid-air, Qi Huan sighed helplessly, X, born under the fire element, who would’ve thought he’d fall to fire in this life!

“Ah Huan!!!” Quan Hai, who had made a huge blunder, was frantic but helpless.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “The hunting squad is here!”

At the critical moment, Qi Huan felt someone grab his ankle forcefully, spinning him around. When he came to his senses, he was being carried on the shoulder of a burly crew-cut man.

The crew-cut man was built like a double-door fridge, with muscles bulging and fists like sandbags that seemed capable of punching someone into a wall. He was clearly a powerhouse.

Perhaps fearing he’d be knocked over by the retreating crowd, the crew-cut man leaped onto a tree, placing Qi Huan on a branch of the giant metal tree beside the small plaza. Qi Huan, having narrowly escaped death, felt his heart racing, his limbs weak, unable to muster any strength, so he leaned against the tree trunk.

The crew-cut man squatted on the branch, giving a thumbs-up to the sky. Qi Huan instinctively followed his gaze upwards. In the light, he saw a black and gold airship hovering not far above, with a blue-feathered bird resembling a hawk perched on its nose. The person in the cockpit also wore a mask, with silver hair fluttering in the wind like moonlit frost, elegant and cold. Qi Huan’s breath hitched; it seemed to be the one who had left a beast core as collateral after eating noodles at the restaurant that night!

The silver-haired youth extended two fingers, gracefully slicing through the air in a half-circle, pointing at the Fire Claw at the gate. The crew-cut man immediately leaped into the air, the blue-feathered bird spreading its wings, its form expanding, catching him in a graceful spin. The crew-cut man steadied himself on the bird’s back, swiftly flying towards the Fire Claw over the crowd’s heads.

Such formidable skills, to easily face a B-level Stone Beast and save him in that moment, he must be a legendary Sentinel! Qi Huan silently marveled.

The Fire Claw was entangled with two members of the hunting squad in black jumpsuits. Sensing the danger emanating from the crew-cut man, its massive body hesitated, feigning bravado as it spat two fireballs at the crew-cut youth, its paddle-like legs frantically moving to retreat, clearly trying to escape.

The crew-cut youth gave it no chance, dodging the fireballs and drawing a silver-blue eight-foot-long spear from somewhere, thrusting it fiercely into its back.

“Bang!”

The Fire Claw’s shell, seemingly indestructible before the ray guns, was instantly pierced by the spear tip, emitting a heart-stopping thud.

The gleaming spear tip pierced through its body, driving deep into the ground.

The Fire Claw’s body convulsed, struggling desperately, its wound oozing dark blue blood, yet the spear remained firmly pinning it to the ground.

In its struggle, the wound tore wider, the dark blue blood spreading, soaking the ground, filling the air with an indescribable stench.

The two black-clad hunting squad members delivered several more blows, and the Fire Claw’s movements grew smaller, finally collapsing motionless.

“It’s dead, finally dead!” The crowd was silent for two seconds before erupting in deafening cheers.

By this time, Quan Hai had finally squeezed to the base of the tree, calling up to Qi Huan, “Ah Huan, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” With the help of Quan Hai and two other beastmen, Qi Huan jumped down from the tree.

“I’m really sorry, I was pushed in the side, and my limbs went stiff, almost getting you killed.” Quan Hai, supporting his right arm, apologized repeatedly, too ashamed to meet Qi Huan’s eyes. The side was a fatal weakness for him, completely uncontrollable.

“It’s really okay.” Qi Huan patted Quan Hai’s shoulder with his free hand.

If anyone was to blame, it was the one who kicked him in the knee. Qi Huan frowned, scanning the dense crowd around them. The force and position suggested someone had deliberately kicked him.

Quan Hai had mentioned seeing Lao Pi behind them. Could it have been him?

But there was no evidence, not even confirmation that Lao Pi was really there at the time.

“Luckily, the hunting squad saved you, their skills were amazing.” Quan Hai patted his chest in relief, adding, “Honestly, that airship looked familiar, like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

“I thought it looked familiar too, like it came to the restaurant.” But where was the red-haired one? Qi Huan nodded, then suddenly remembered this wasn’t the time for admiration. He should go thank his saviors, maybe even ask about Tuan Tuan!

When he looked up, the silver-haired youth and the crew-cut man had already left, swiftly flying away in the airship, dragging the Fire Claw behind them. Its twin-hooked tail dangled from the trailer, swaying in the air currents, forming a crooked, broken heart shape.

Oh well, there’s no catching up now. It’s too late, I’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Qi Huan sighed as he watched the airship’s receding silhouette. They had just killed the Fire Claw, surely many people saw it. Tomorrow, following this lead, it shouldn’t be too hard to find them.

The little fellow had been waiting by the stairs for him, running over at the sound of the door opening.

Exhausted in body and mind from his brush with death, Qi Huan reassured him with a few words, quickly washed up, and climbed into bed.

Not long after, as he was drifting off, still battling the Fire Claw in his dreams, Qi Huan was startled awake by a clattering noise from downstairs.

Could it be a thief again? He rushed down without even putting on shoes, only to find Tuan Tuan standing awkwardly by the dishwasher in the kitchen.

“I wanted… to take these dishes out and tidy up…” Tuan Tuan explained nervously, holding a plate that was already dented and deformed.

“Even if you want to help, you can do it during the day when you have time. Why come over in the middle of the night?” Qi Huan rubbed his forehead. He had been so tired last night that he left the dishes in the dishwasher and forgot about them. Was the little fellow trying to help because he saw the dishes weren’t put away? He usually slept soundly at night, why did he wake up today?

“I was hungry and couldn’t sleep. You were sleeping soundly, so I thought I’d look for something to eat myself.” The little dumpling’s face scrunched up, his head half-lowered, looking pitifully aggrieved.

Qi Huan was about to say it was okay when he suddenly noticed the half plate of oil residue on the counter, now only a third left!!!

“Did you eat what was on that plate?” Qi Huan grabbed his arm nervously, speaking quickly.

“I only had two bites.” Tuan Tuan, frightened by his stern tone, shrank back.

Qi Huan quickly opened his personal terminal, intending to call for medical assistance from the base, but Tuan Tuan suddenly hugged his arm tightly, stopping him.

Qi Huan looked at him in confusion, the little fellow’s dumpling face twitching, tears streaming down, “I-I paid for it, don’t sell me!”

Qi Huan: ?????