Ryan was not the kind of person to meddle in other people's business; in other words, he knew exactly what he was doing.
Of course, he could use his authority to bring the girl back to her previous life, but he couldn't heal her psychological trauma. He also couldn't save all those who had experienced similar fates.
He couldn't do it, the Thirteen Heroes couldn't do it, and neither could the Fire Moth.
So Ryan didn't think much of it and didn't argue with her, nor did he offer words about how hate could transform into love.
The future was like an abyss—he focused only on the present, much like the abnormal Honkai energy he sensed from the girl.
"How many times a week do you go to the church?"
"Twice. It's quiet there, and I can sleep. When I go back to the shop, it's noisy. Sometimes, I end up being called to help in the middle of my sleep."
"Just to sleep?"
"Mm."
Ryan stared into her light blue eyes, ensuring she wasn't lying, though his mind was in turmoil.
Strange… Could it be a flaw in the instrument?
He had secretly used a detector, and the girl's Honkai energy was several percentage points higher than the ambient air, yet she wasn't a victim of the Honkai disease. Generally, this kind of energy shouldn't be present in an ordinary person.
It could either be residual energy from frontline soldiers or exposure in a lab, but she had no connection to either.
This wasn't scientific. Honkai wasn't related to the mystical, religious, or ceremonial practices—it was merely an imaginary form of energy. Truly...
It was quite exciting.
Ryan had initially thought it would be like the last few times—arrive, hunt, and leave—maybe picking up some travel knowledge. He didn't expect the situation to be so complicated.
"Are you really interested?" the girl asked hesitantly.
"A bit."
"Well, if you have time, I can take you to see it. It's just a place where we can shelter from the wind and snow. There's nothing mysterious about it," the girl forced a smile and praised, "Father Gemil is a good person. When there's enough supplies, he lets us eat for free, and... we don't have to sleep with him."
But he believes in Honkai.
Ryan couldn't understand what these people were thinking but knew the power of religion, capable of turning slaughter into salvation, making destruction into a test. Just like this Christina, who clearly had a deep hatred for Honkai.
Ultimately, it was helplessness. Tragedy had already occurred, and she was powerless to resist. She had to find some reason—at least death and destruction didn't hurt. The Honkai Beasts and the Herrschers were impartial.
Regardless of strength or status, they killed everyone. For those struggling in pain, it truly was a form of salvation.
"Well then, let's leave it here. I'll check it out when I have time and hear what they think."
"Alright." The girl slowly stood up and began to undress, causing Ryan to feel a bit overwhelmed.
"It's alright, we're done with our transaction."
Christina froze for a moment, her eyes quickly reddening, and she pointed to the heavy snow outside the window.
"But it's so cold outside..."
"I'm not rushing you. Sleep well, leave in the morning. I'll just go for a walk."
With that, Ryan didn't wait for her response. He grabbed his rifle and stepped out.
Bang.
The door closed behind him, and Christina remained motionless, sitting like a statue. It took her a while to regain her composure.
It wasn't joy—tears started to fall, one by one, soaking into her tattered stockings. She had never met anyone who respected her, even though this man scared her.
"I actually met a good person... They said good people in the abandoned zones have become extinct..."
After a moment, she glanced at her bag, where the can of food was barely visible, and she swallowed.
The girl quickly closed her eyes, leaped onto the bed, and curled up, battling an insatiable hunger.
I can't do this. This is all I have left—my dignity as a human.
"Still that horrible feeling... It's only a few hundred kilometers from the normal world, but it feels like I'm living in another world."
Ryan walked through the snow, pulling his collar tighter. What he hated most was that this wasn't another world—it was still Earth. Yet, despite the hatred, he also felt a strange satisfaction.
The true exploration of the world!
The playful times with Elysia and the others were real, the battles with the Fire Moth were real, and this rotten, numb place was also real. Ryan was gradually understanding.
The so-called path of exploration naturally requires seeing different landscapes, but the most crucial part—
"Is to remain true to oneself, to maintain firm beliefs, and not be assimilated by external forces?"
Ryan seemed to understand why he hadn't gone mad—because what he explored was the unknown, and the unknown was full of terror.
He didn't care what the girl would do. After walking around the town twice, he broke a few thieves' and robbers' nose bones before climbing over a container to the outskirts.
The snowstorm was intense, and he could barely see anything. The armed guards in the lookout posts were all huddled inside, unwilling to come out.
Despite it being spring, the snow was unusually heavy.
"At least I don't need my eyes to see."
The wind whipped up a flurry of snow, like an invisible hand reaching out, and the benefit of wind authority was that the Honkai energy used was very low and hard to detect.
There were no field mice, had they all been eaten?
No signs of life—silence so unnerving. There were no secret tunnels or underground labs. No wonder the third squad couldn't detect anything.
Ryan stood motionless like an ice sculpture in the snow, slowly extending his authority outward. About an hour later, he opened his eyes.
Fifteen kilometers away, there was a half-buried building.
He caught a trace, and the wind immediately picked up, blowing the snow away, nearly extinguishing the fire in the watchman's brazier.
The guard instinctively poked his head out, only to see a blurred figure merging with the snow. Frightened, he quickly withdrew.
"Damn, there's a ghost!"
Ryan moved like a ghost in the blizzard, the dense snowflakes being deflected by the wind before they could touch him—swift and silent.
After a while, he saw mountains and trees, shadows moving in the darkness.
A temple-level Honkai Beast, medium-sized.
He couldn't understand how these people dared to move under the Honkai Beast's nose. He calculated its detection range—very hard to avoid.
A quick second judgment was made—Ryan knew that he couldn't use strong Honkai energy at this moment. Fortunately, a temple-level beast didn't need much.
Whoosh.
He instantly pierced through the snowstorm and arrived in front of it, seeing a massive beast about four meters tall. It clearly noticed Ryan but didn't seem surprised.
The giant sword swung directly toward him. Just as it was about to hit Ryan head, it suddenly veered off course.
The sword glided across like cutting through smooth silk, sweeping to the side, and the beast's body followed forward. Without hesitation, it pressed its shield up.
Shield slam!
Puff.
The large shield did strike Ryan, but a lightning-charged arm pierced through it, driving into the Honkai Beast's head. The beast's life was swiftly snuffed out as the arm twisted.
Thud.
The massive body collapsed in the snow. Ryan glanced at it, his face expressionless. He used his lightning authority to dissolve it into nothingness, then lightly clapped his hands.
If it had been a regular Fused Warrior, he would've had to go all out, and that would've caused quite a stir. Unfortunately for the beast, all I needed was a little authority.
Ryan remained silent, following the "wind" perception as it guided him forward. He passed through the dense snow forest and arrived at the foot of the mountain.
There, he saw a broken wall and a collapsed building. At first glance, it looked like an abandoned vacation villa in the snow forest, but Ryan had seen similar structures before.
The Fifth Research Institute? No, the underground part was much smaller, not extensively renovated, but there were people left.
A figure poked its head out of the building. Ryan vision blurred, and before the person could react, Ryan was right in front of him. The person's pupils quickly contracted as he even forgot to draw his gun.
Puff.
A dagger was thrust upward from the chin, piercing out the top of his head, his muscles uncontrollably spasming. Ryan grabbed him by the collar and tossed him backward before lunging at the remaining people.
In the shabby room, there were two more people. They reacted quickly, pulling out handguns and unlocking the safeties, but they didn't even have time to pull the trigger.
Whoosh.
The dagger pierced the forehead of the one on the left, sending him flying half a meter away. The other collapsed weakly, blood clots spilling from his twitching mouth.
Ryan flicked his hand, punching to end the second's life without even using Honkai energy.
"They're not elite soldiers, just barely soldiers," he muttered, kneeling and tearing open the corpse's clothes. He saw a strange mark on the left chest.
According to Copper Rust, this was from the faction in Snow Prison Town that specialized in human trafficking. Were they here to scavenge? No, they had no reason to stay here.
Ryan felt the situation growing even stranger. After some thought, he drew a handgun from his leg holster, "click," and loaded it.
Trying to avoid using Honkai energy, solving it with more simple methods.
A figure appeared in the hallway, slung with a rifle, yawning. Then he saw a blurry figure approaching him.
"Ins..."
Bang!
The answer was a gunshot. Red and white liquid sprayed from his forehead, and he fell like a sack of potatoes.
The sound of the gunshot instantly turned the once quiet building into chaos. The sounds of boots and angry shouts came from all directions, like poking a hornet's nest.
Ryan remained calm, holding his gun with one hand, slowly walking forward. "Wind" had already told him where the enemy was.
"Two on the left." Ryan paused, raising his gun. Just as two people ran out from around the corner, they directly ran into the barrel of his gun.
Bang bang bang!
The soldiers ahead instantly became like a beehive, the ones behind tried to shoot but were blocked by the bodies, and by the time the comrades fell, their figures vanished from the night vision.
Where were they?
He instinctively looked down, only to find the attacker squatting beneath him, the barrel of the gun pressing against his chin.
One gunshot—his skull shattered. Ryan reached down, grabbing the rifle that fell from the attacker, holding it with one hand, and turned the corner, pulling the trigger.
Da-da-da-da-da...
The approaching enemies seemed to charge into the barrel themselves. The powerful rifle bullets tore through bulletproof vests, turning the hallway into a blood-splattered slaughterhouse.
When the bullets ran out, Ryan continued forward. He saw something round thrown towards him, and without hesitation, he threw the empty rifle back.
Ding—Boom!!
The guard hiding behind the door never expected that the grenade he threw would be bounced back, and several of them were blown to bits.
As the dust settled, Ryan walked through the door like a leisurely stroll, glancing at the disfigured bodies around him.
Almost forgot, before I gained my authority, I was already an expert in killing.