A Single Headshot

Ten minutes later. Niman cradled the baby girl in her arms, bottle-feeding her with gentle care. The infant in her embrace gazed up at her with bright, spirited eyes, smacking her little lips eagerly around the bottle. An instinctive maternal smile surfaced on Niman's face as she softly patted the baby's back. Evidently, she was quite adept at caring for children. Babies especially—she had looked after countless of them. All of them were little lives she had created with divine power back when she was still a Creator God. Off to the side, Little Nora was wildly conjuring food. Every time it clapped its wings, food materialized out of thin air, tumbling down before it. Bowls of rice, scrambled eggs with tomato, salt-baked chicken, kelp soup, oatmeal with milk, steel gears, engine oil, AA batteries... While the vast majority was normal food, given the sheer volume, a few bizarre "foods" inevitably popped up. Steel gears, for instance, were clearly not meant for an ordinary carbon-based life-form. Yu Xian sat on the other side of Little Nora, holding a sword in his hand with a similarly baffled expression. What kind of creature considered a sword food? The world was vast and full of wonders. If not for Little Nora's miraculous ability, Yu Xian would never have imagined any creature out there eating fine blades. Of course, it might not even be a living creature. *Thud!* Suddenly, an enormous cut of bone-in meat materialized out of thin air before Little Nora. The thing was truly as massive as a mountain. Fortunately, everyone had cleared plenty of space for Little Nora to unleash its ability, so no one was crushed under the slab of meat. Just as Little Nora prepared to dig in, Yu Xian caught a distinct trace of an unusual scent. He set down the sword, stepped forward to examine the meat, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Strange. There seems to be something inside this meat, but the energy radiating from it is too dense. My Super Smell isn't high-level enough, so I can only detect that something feels slightly off." Saying that, he slowly circled the massive cut of meat before finally gazing at the marrow inside the bone. Whatever creature this meat originally came from, its bone marrow was actually a glistening gold. Moreover, while boasting a hardness comparable to diamond, it also possessed the texture of a viscous liquid. Yu Xian leaped atop the bone and pressed hard against the marrow. He then condensed his True Crimson Power into a blade and drove it firmly into the marrow. With a forceful sweep, he cut open a bifurcated path shaped like the character "人". The others leaped onto the bone as well. Little Nora asked curiously, "Big Brother, what's inside?" "Not sure, but there's definitely something." Yu Xian didn't look back as he continued slicing into the marrow, answering over his shoulder. Everyone watched with curiosity as Yu Xian worked his way through the marrow. Suddenly, Niman's expression tightened. Backing away, she warned, "Careful! Something's coming out—it's alive!" She retreated not out of fear, but because she held the infant in her arms, instinctively prioritizing the child's protection. The instant Niman called out, Yu Xian's body flared with golden light. Little Nora, Nora, and Little Huangquan had practiced countless times over the past few days, forging an instinctive rapport. The moment Yu Xian glowed, they responded in unison, completing their fusion in a split second. Yu Xian's reasoning had been straightforward. This cut of meat was of an exceptionally high grade, which meant whatever creature hid within its bone marrow was bound to be formidable. In fact, his judgment proved entirely correct, and his reflexes were flawless. The moment their fusion finished, a creature resembling a cross between a centipede and an earthworm burst from the marrow, lunging its countless sharp, elongated legs toward the fused Yu Xian. A golden feather blade formed in Yu Xian's hand. He immediately swung an upward backhand slash. Yet when the blade met the monster's body, it felt extraordinarily hard; where the blade collided with its flesh, the surrounding air shook with a resounding vibration. "Good grief!" Yu Xian felt a flicker of shock. As the creature thrashed downward to crush him, he flashed backward. *Boom!* The monster slammed heavily against the bone, striking empty air. Immediately after, all its elongated legs moved in rapid succession, its body twisting like a dough twist. Those long legs pierced into the marrow and shoved backward with immense force, hurtling the creature straight toward Yu Xian. The movement was shockingly swift; it was already barreling in just as Yu Xian touched down. *Switch.* Yu Xian traded places with Little Nora at once. In the blink of an eye, the body shifted into avian form. Little Nora took control, leaping backward and spiraling upward through the air, narrowly evading the monster's head-on collision from above. The problem was that while they had dodged, right behind them lay the exit! Just as Little Nora was about to warn Niman outside, a massive golden mushroom sprang up, plugging the marrow's exit completely. The monster crashed violently into the mushroom and slumped to the ground, momentarily dazed. *The Mushroom House can be used like that?* Yu Xian was dazzled by Niman's quick thinking. Thankfully, she had acted in time; if that monster had escaped onto the warship, things would have gotten troublesome. The exterior defenses of the Aska were formidable, but its interior defenses were relatively weaker. Only the training room had been reinforced with extraordinary durability. The sunroom's defenses might not have held up against this rampaging beast. If the warship were wrecked, they would have been forced to rely on their Abyss Battle Armors to survive. And how could that compare to the comfort of cruising aboard a warship! Fixing his eyes on the monster, Yu Xian immediately transmitted his voice to Little Nora and Nora. "Great opening! Switch—Nora, use the Faithful Bullet!" The next instant, control shifted. The avian form morphed midair into a woman dropping lightly to the ground. The moment Nora emerged, she summoned the revolver World. While the creature remained disoriented, she fired several consecutive shots at it. The Faithful Love bullet could restrict a target's speed, imposing a harsh limit once its movement exceeded a certain threshold. Beyond this special effect, the bullets still carried lethal force. When Nora infused energy into her ammunition, she channeled it directly through her scarlet spear, making each shot essentially a condensed version of that weapon. Struck by three bullets in rapid succession, the monster instantly snapped awake from its daze in sheer agony. Whipping its body in an S-shaped flurry, it slammed heavily into the mushroom once more. Failing to breach it, the creature pivoted decisively, all its supple yet hardened legs flexing in unison as it lunged ferociously toward Nora with jaws wide open. Yet the moment its speed surpassed the threshold permitted by Faithful Love, its body jerked to a violent halt. All its elongated legs paddled wildly in midair, resembling the frantic rowers of a dragon boat thrashing their oars, yet its overall advance remained agonizingly sluggish. In fact, the faster its legs flailed, the slower it moved forward. *Good grief!* *This effect is absurdly powerful.* Yu Xian had merely intended to test it out. Seeing this result, his heart swelled with pleasant surprise. Nora was equally astonished and delighted by the effectiveness of her ability. She immediately leveled her gun at the monster once more, this time firing a Brave Bullet. While fused with Yu Xian, she felt not a single shred of fear, meaning her courage was at a full one hundred percent—perhaps even two hundred percent. In such a state, the destructive boost of the Brave Bullet was staggering. A single shot! The head of the monstrously durable creature was blown clean apart. Yu Xian and the others nearly had their eyes pop out of their heads. This was a creature that not even Little Nora's Heavenly Golden Feathers could cut through! The hardness of the Heavenly Golden Feathers definitely exceeded that of a Star Divine Artifact. After all, Adamantine Feathers were already close to a Star Divine Artifact in durability, and the Heavenly Golden Feathers of a Victorious True King Bird were an all-around enhancement of Adamantine Feathers, further bolstered by spatial reinforcement to achieve truly terrifying hardness. Yet even that had failed to cleave through the monster's body, showing just how absurdly tough it was. And yet, against such a monster, Nora had delivered a single headshot, slaying it in an instant. "Big Sis, that was amazing!" Little Nora was utterly awestruck by Nora's shot as well. In truth, everyone was left standing there in a daze. They had anticipated a grueling, bitter struggle, only for the battle to end in baffling, sudden simplicity.