[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host's beast, Little Black, for obtaining the Void Claws ability!]

The system's voice rang in David's ears once again. "Void Claws?" Upon hearing the name of this skill, David was momentarily stunned. He instinctively looked at Little Black's claws. After the system's announcement, Little Black's claws suddenly became extremely powerful, and its meaty paws exposed sharp claws that resembled short knives. The claws seemed unstoppable, shining with a chilling light that seemed capable of tearing through the void.

"Wow! Little Black, you've got an upgrade!" David exclaimed excitedly to Little Black.

At this moment, Little Black seemed to sense its own transformation. It lowered its head to look at its claws and then exerted a little force, leaving deep scratches on the floor. This caused David's mouth to twitch. This was his bedroom! How could Little Black just start scratching around? Although it had a little conscience, it wasn't much.

"Little Black, you're in the wrong here. I know your Void Claws are powerful, but do you really have to show them off in my room? Although you can sleep anywhere, I can't afford to lose my bedroom, my friend!" David said with a feigned annoyance to Little Black.

However, Little Black was immersed in the joy of its upgrade and didn't pay attention to David's words. It even turned around and targeted David's wardrobe. Raising its paw, it seemed ready to swipe again.

This made David quickly stand up and stop it. "Little Black, you can't destroy my bedroom. Otherwise, we'll both be sleeping on the streets. You can sleep anywhere, but I can't afford to lose this place, buddy!" David said with a wry smile.

After hearing this, Little Black wagged its tail and put down its paw, then walked confidently to Cola. Cola was still sleeping at this moment. When Little Black approached and looked up, it raised its paw and scratched Cola's head.

"Meow!!!" Startled awake by Little Black's sudden scratch, Cola let out a deep roar. It then raised its head and stared coldly at Little Black. Little Black continued to wag its tail, seemingly showing off its successful upgrade. However, Cola only gave it a glance and immediately pounced on it, executing a series of eighteen consecutive cat paw strikes!

This frightened Little Black, and it screamed in fear. Seeing Little Black's pitiful state, David couldn't help but laugh. "Cola became a Transcendent level a month ago. What are you showing off for?"

In the following period of time, David trained with the members of the team in various ways. Under David's guidance, Each team member took 20 primary crystals and their levels were elevated to a new tier. Charles made rapid progress and became a Level 6 Stargazer, while Sally reached Level 4, and Duke and Arnold both advanced to Level 4. Sophie also became a Level 3 healing mage.

Looking at the levels of his team members, David felt a sense of satisfaction. Twenty-four hours had passed since the second red light appeared on the horizon. The sky had returned to its usual faint blue, but upon closer inspection, a faint crimson hue could be discerned within this blue.

At this moment, in a corner of the city that remained in ruins, a tall building lay desolate, with blackened soil where no grass grew. As the wind blew, a gentle "whooshing" sound could be heard. Suddenly, a wild deer popped its head out from the sewer, only to be tightly grabbed by the neck as soon as it saw the outside world. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't escape from the powerful hands holding it.

"Quite plump. We can have a roasted rabbit today," a voice suddenly sounded. A man wearing a black cloak and a straw hat smiled as he looked at the wild rabbit in his hand.

"I don't like roasted food. This is a critical time for skincare. It would be best if you stewed it and added a couple of carrots," a soft and gentle female voice followed.

A fair-skinned young woman in tight combat attire with short hair, adorned with two cute cat pendants hanging from the hilts of her dual daggers, looked at the man and spoke. Beside her, an older man with graying beard patted his beard and said, "Shirley, finding something to eat is already good enough. We don't have the luxury to be picky."

historical

Upon hearing their conversation, the man holding the rabbit pondered for a moment before speaking again, "In that case, let's have half of it carbonized and the other half in a stew."

"After all, Shirley is the only princess in our team. We can't let the princess suffer," the man said with a smile directed at Shirley.

After speaking, the three of them walked towards a base constructed of steel. The oval-shaped base was adorned with satellite antennas, and even in the center, there was a mounted machine gun. In the open area surrounding the base, slight mounds could be seen at one-meter intervals—minefields with over thirty buried landmines. Inside the living room of the base, various monitoring devices were placed on the table. The nine-pointed star on the devices displayed the nine locations of the city. There was even a screen showing the footage of the red light that appeared twenty-four hours ago.

At this moment, the man had returned to the kitchen to start cooking, while the old man sat on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. Shirley, on the other hand, sat in front of the screen, switching between the views of the nine locations. Surviving in this world for so many years, her daily tasks consisted of hunting zombies and using satellites to monitor the city's every move. Though it was dull and tasteless, it was the best choice for her. She was a member of the Phoenix Rising squad.

The man from earlier was the captain named Duane, a fifth-level gold-type esper. The old man was the vice-captain named Alvin, a fifth-level fire-type esper. The Phoenix Rising squad had a total of ten members, and apart from Duane and Alvin, the other team members were mostly around the third level in terms of their abilities.

Shirley herself was a fourth-level water-type esper. As per Duane's instructions, the other team members were distributed in different bases, while the three of them stayed in the main base to observe the situation outside. This was done because the Phoenix Rising squad had a daunting mission from its inception—to uncover the secret behind the appearance of the red light in this world. Despite several decades having passed and multiple rotations of team members, they still hadn't discovered the secret of the red light.

At this moment, Shirley looked at the screen, idly playing with the cat pendants hanging from her dagger hilts.