Chapter 5: The Deep Resentment Vine and a Father’s Desperate Charge

“Last night, I encountered a Void Abyss Beast.”

“It was drawn by my negative emotions, and then your father dealt with it.”

“You’re such a liar, you can’t even come up with a decent excuse!”

She scrutinized Xia Xingyan’s serene face, searching for any tell-tale sign of deceit.

“He shattered the streetlights.”

Recalling the events of the previous night, Xia Xingyan continued speaking, lost in her own thoughts.

“In the darkness, he must have located the monster’s core and crushed it.”

“You’re lying!” she retorted sharply. “What exactly is your relationship with him, that you’d defend him like this?”

Countless images of her father flashed through her mind: unconscious on the sofa after drinking too much, babbling incoherently with a liquor bottle in hand, always averting his gaze even when she tried to meet his eyes…

‘That man defeated a Void Abyss Beast all by himself?’

‘Unless I’m dreaming, I absolutely won’t believe it!’

Yet, after a moment, a faint voice from deep within her heart began to question her.

‘But what if it’s true?’

Pondering this, Gu Qianqian was about to ask for more specific details.

Just then, however, an alarm blared.

[Warning! Warning! High-concentration Void Abyss energy detected near the teaching building in Campus Zone A! Threat Level: Three!]

[All faculty and students are requested to immediately proceed to the nearest underground shelter! Repeat! All faculty and students are requested to immediately proceed to…]

The cold electronic voice continued to broadcast as countless students streamed out of the teaching building, plunging the entire campus into chaos.

“How could a Void Abyss appear at school?”

Gu Qianqian’s face instantly turned ashen.

She could no longer spare a thought for Xia Xingyan’s words.

A Level Three threat was already far beyond her capacity to handle alone.

“Hurry to the shelter!”

Gu Qianqian flung the words over her shoulder without looking back.

“You can’t handle a Level Three threat by yourself.” Her voice, though not loud, carried clearly to the doorway. “Blaze Rose, you’re a rookie.”

Gu Qianqian’s footsteps faltered.

“You heard this morning?”

“Yes, I did,” Xia Xingyan admitted candidly. “Waiting for GSA support is the optimal solution.”

‘Optimal solution?’

Gu Qianqian suddenly felt like laughing.

“My classmates are down there; I can’t wait!”

Having said that, she lingered no longer.

****

Gu Qing lit his fifth cigarette of the day, his heart still heavy with an pervasive emptiness.

“We interrupt this program for an urgent news bulletin: five minutes ago, a Level Three Void Abyss alert was triggered at St. Sakura Academy in our city. The site has been sealed off by the GSA; citizens are advised to avoid the area…”

Gu Qing’s pupils suddenly constricted.

The next second, the television screen switched to an aerial view.

A terrifying monster, its body composed of thorny vines, was coiling around the teaching building.

His cigarette slipped from his fingers.

It was a “Deep Resentment Vine” (TL Note: A rare, self-evolving monster, similar to the common “Grudge Vine” but far more dangerous.), a creature that, though resembling the common “Grudge Vine,” was an exceptionally rare monster capable of self-evolution.

The GSA had misjudged it; its threat level already exceeded three.

‘Damn it.’

‘Qianqian must be there!’

He didn’t even pause to think, forgetting to lock the convenience store door as he burst out.

The old pickup truck parked by the roadside roared to life, speeding towards St. Sakura Academy.

Along the way, he heard no blaring horns or curses.

In his world, only the monstrous form of the creature and the stubborn yet fragile face of his daughter remained.

‘Nothing must happen to her.’

****

Outside St. Sakura Academy, red cordon tape had been stretched, and an energy shield now separated the entire campus from the outside world.

GSA operatives, armed and grim-faced, were evacuating surrounding vehicles and crowds.

“Screech—”

With an abrupt squeal of brakes, Gu Qing’s pickup truck skidded to a halt before the cordon line.

Gazing at the black smoke continuously rising above the distant teaching building, he felt a surge of anxiety.

“Sir, this area is sealed off. Please leave immediately!” a GSA member warned, stepping forward.

Gu Qing paid him no mind; he had but one thought.

‘I must get in and save my daughter!’

He closed his eyes, enduring the phantom pain as he activated his innate ability.

[Battle Instinct activated.]

The entire world in his mind instantly transformed.

Before his eyes was no longer a chaotic street filled with people, but a three-dimensional map.

[Scanning GSA standard Level Three cordon…]

[Energy barrier power: 78%. Structure intact. Forced breach success rate: 0.01%.]

[Patrol teams: Four-person standard squads, seven in total. Patrol routes marked. Intersecting patrol cycle: fifty-three seconds.]

[High-altitude surveillance drone: Model ‘Hawkeye-3’. Thermal imaging scan frequency: once every eight seconds.]

[Analyzing blind spots for breakthrough…]

Data continuously refreshed, Gu Qing’s brain processing the massive influx of information like a supercomputer.

‘Got it!’

[Breakthrough blind spot locked: Southeast perimeter wall, beneath the third parasol tree.]

[Below the target point is an abandoned city sewage pipe, depth 7.8 meters, not encompassed by the GSA protective shield.]

[Optimal infiltration route planned.]

A sharp glint flashed in Gu Qing’s eyes.

Without a word, he sharply spun the steering wheel, the pickup truck executing a swift drift to turn its head, then surged towards the marked location on the map.

The vehicle came to a stop in a secluded alley.

Gu Qing leaped out, agilely scaled the wall, and landed precisely in the shadow of the Chinese parasol tree.

He quickly scanned the ground, soon spotting a manhole cover that blended seamlessly with the fallen leaves.

Next, he hooked his fingers into the edge of the manhole cover, his arm muscles bulging.

The heavy metal cover was forcibly dragged open by him, releasing a rush of damp, putrid air.

Gu Qing didn’t hesitate, leaping into the darkness.

‘Qianqian, hold on. Dad’s coming to save you.’

****

Gu Qing burst into the campus, his gaze immediately falling upon the battlefield in the central plaza.

Blaze Rose, the magical girl, was being overwhelmed by the monster.

Covered in wounds, her movements grew increasingly sluggish, her stance precarious.

Unwilling to yield, Blaze Rose Qianqian forcibly channeled her dwindling Star Power, desperately mimicking her mother’s invincible “Coronal Spear.”

Yet, she was far too lacking, both in power and experience.

The Deep Resentment Vine let out a shriek, its sound seemingly mocking the girl’s overestimation of her own abilities.

It didn’t even bother to dodge, merely flicking out a casual vine that effortlessly shattered the fragile spear of light.

Blaze Rose’s body stiffened due to Star Power exhaustion.

The monster seized this opening.

A thorny vine, whistling through the air, struck her squarely on the back.

Blaze Rose coughed up blood, a tragic red flower blossoming across her magical attire.

That muffled thud made Gu Qing’s heart skip a beat from afar.

In the plaza, Gu Qianqian struggled, attempting to rise from the ground.

But the monster offered her no quarter.

Countless black vines detached from its main body, aiming for the fallen girl, poised to deliver the final blow.

Inside Gu Qing’s mind, the alarms of his Battle Instinct blared incessantly, signaling his daughter’s rapidly declining vital signs.

‘I have to do something!’

Gu Qing charged out from the building where he had been hiding.

His objective was clear: to buy time.

“You idiot! Look over here!”