Chapter 40: The Wallet About to Be Illuminated

With a gentle flick of his finger, the bullet fell silently to the ground.

"Damn... that is so cool!"

Leina witnessed the entire scene unfold, feeling as though she had been blasted right in the face by a wave of pure, scorching style. Her bright eyes were filled with awe and admiration.

She even subconsciously imitated Ge Xiaolun, holding up two slender fingers and pinching the air beside her own head.

She fantasized about a day when she, too, could effortlessly catch a God-Piercing No. 1 bullet just like him, radiating supreme coolness.

It was also the first time she realized that when this guy Xiaolun tried to look cool, he was genuinely, extraordinarily slick.

"Stop pinching the air. Give it another ten years and you still won't be able to pull that off."

Seeing her silly antics as she continuously pinched empty space, Ge Xiaolun didn't hesitate to burst her bubble with a light, merciless remark.

The only reason he had caught the bullet was because he was able to freeze it in place first and then reach out to grab it.

After all, his training and control over the third-generation divine body were still insufficient to match Angel Leng's extreme reaction speed in perceiving God-Piercing No. 1 bullets.

Leina wasn't much better off than he was.

"I need to keep an eye on this big crocodile. Go ahead and take care of those grunts up ahead."

As he spoke, he looked toward the tall buildings in the distance, spotting several relatively scattered, tiny black dots.

Over there, five Gluttony warriors riding combat craft were beginning to fly toward their location, including the sniper.

"Damn it, I don't believe..."

Leina's fingers froze mid-air at his words. However, she didn't waste any more time and immediately looked in the direction Ge Xiaolun had indicated.

Naturally, she had also spotted those Gluttony warriors. Moreover, based on the communication signals captured earlier by the Light of the Sun, she understood that this gang of Gluttony probably belonged to the same faction as the giant crocodile, or were at least working together.

"Take them down!"

The voices of the Gluttony echoed once more as they charged over with murderous intent.

"If I attack, it might cause some collateral damage," Leina said after sizing up the situation and thinking for a moment.

This had to be made clear.

Although they were just a few Gluttony grunts, this was a bustling urban area. Even with the utmost care, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't damage some scenery or property.

"Not necessarily."

Ge Xiaolun calmly shook his head. He glanced at the relative distance of the Gluttony, and his gaze narrowed.

"Hum..."

An invisible wave of energy instantly spanned across space.

The next second, the Gluttony warriors went rigid one by one. Along with the flight vehicles beneath them, they lost all power and began to plummet toward the rooftops of the buildings below.

Yet, just as they were about to crash onto the roofs, they suddenly came to a halt, as if gravity had abandoned them, and then gently descended onto the flat surfaces of the rooftops.

Motionless, their fates unknown.

"Uh..."

Watching this miraculous spectacle, Leina was momentarily at a loss for words, until she finally raised a single thumb. "Six."

With that, she took off into the air, leaping toward the distant rooftops.

Wielding her long blade, she effortlessly severed the heads of the Gluttony soldiers one by one.

Ge Xiaolun smiled and nodded. Regardless of anything else, Leina's presence made his work much more relaxed and allowed him to be far more cautious.

Immediately after, he calmly sensed his surroundings and shifted his focus entirely back to the giant crocodile below.

"Hey?! What's going on here?"

"Why can't I stand up anymore?"

Meanwhile, Thor was scratching his head, staring down at his legs that remained stubbornly locked in a kneeling position, his small eyes filled with utter confusion.

Just a moment ago, right after that flying man-bun ordered him to kneel, his legs had completely ignored his commands and folded to the ground.

No matter how hard he tried, his legs felt paralyzed, devoid of any strength.

He wanted to reach out and prop himself up against the ground for leverage, but the moment he moved his arms, the strength in them vanished instantly as well.

It felt as though a special force field existed in the space below his waist, completely paralyzing every part of his body within that zone.

Having just woken up with virtually no energy to begin with, combined with all this thrashing about, he now had even less strength left in his body.

"Hey, can you let me grab a bite to eat first..." He blinked, waving at Ge Xiaolun with a somewhat naive expression.

While speaking, he struggled to shimmy toward the direction of some nearby people, waving his hands as he moved. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't run away! Let me have a bite! Just one bite!"

"Nobody run away! I want to eat!"

"I want to eat!"

"I'm starving!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs. Although his demeanor seemed naive, his words about eating people finally frightened some of the bolder onlookers, prompting them to back away in fear.

Yet, no matter how hard Thor tried, his legs remained firmly anchored to the spot, utterly devoid of power.

Ge Xiaolun looked down at him calmly. Toward this man-eating giant crocodile, he felt neither particular fondness nor hatred.

Even though he had once rather enjoyed the comedic antics of this giant crocodile.

And he knew full well that this creature had frequently eaten humans a thousand years ago.

None of that mattered to his current considerations.

Or rather, in his eyes right now, this was merely a pile of raw materials.

The only difference was that the disposal method he chose for the giant crocodile later might yield varying amounts of usable materials.

"Stop shouting. You won't be hungry soon."

Having gauged Leina's progress, he looked down at Thor and smiled as he channeled divine power into the Void Engine greatsword.

Although it seemed unlikely there would be any more twists or unexpected side dishes.

Regardless, today's Thor was about to brightly illuminate his wallet.

"Huh?! Are, are you treating me to a meal?" Thor's small eyes lit up at those words.

"Woohoo! Five kills secured!"

Just then, Leina leaped back into view, trailing a string of captured Gluttony combat craft behind her.

"See how efficiently the Goddess handles things?" She arched an eyebrow at Ge Xiaolun with a smug expression.

Perhaps influenced by Ge Xiaolun's meticulous working attitude, she had deliberately seized control of several combat craft rather than blowing them up.

"As captain, I offer you my praise." Ge Xiaolun nodded in appreciation.

At any rate, her being this thorough could be considered a nod to him, and he was genuinely gratified.

"Hmph... The future captain is definitely going to be your Goddess sister!" Leina sneered lightly.

"So, what now?"

She shifted her gaze to the Crocodile God Thor on the ground, arching an eyebrow at Ge Xiaolun. "Even though you've got this guy locked down and he seems to have no energy left, a peak beast body is notoriously difficult to destroy.

Is your sword actually going to work? Do you need sister here to help you roast it to a crisp?"

She stared at the door-sized greatsword in Ge Xiaolun's hand. Although she had heard people call it a Void Engine greatsword and knew a thing or two about legends regarding the Void and anti-Void, she had never witnessed it firsthand and remained skeptical of its true destructive power.

Furthermore, a peak beast body could simply not be cleaved apart by Flame-class weapons, such as the royal-grade Flame-class blade she carried herself.

Even if she injected divine power into her blade to barely pierce Thor's flesh, completely destroying him would be an uphill battle.

Unless she resorted to her ultimate, trump-card ability and directly melted Thor down.

"No need. Besides, I never planned to destroy him."

Ge Xiaolun gently shook his head, then flew straight down toward Thor.

Leina looked astonished. "You didn't plan to destroy him? Don't tell me..."

*Thud!*

The next instant, Ge Xiaolun slammed the flat of his Void-metal greatsword squarely against Thor's forehead.

Void energy instantly erupted.

Having no capacity to resist, Thor rolled his eyes back and passed out cold on the spot.

Leina: "..."

Ge Xiaolun stepped forward, grabbed Thor by the back of the neck, pressed the greatsword down against his forehead, and smiled as he looked up at Leina. "What were you saying just now?"