The moonlight tonight was particularly strange.
The moon hanging in the sky was a bewitching red.
It was like a ball of fresh blood suspended overhead, creating an oppressive and terrifying atmosphere.
The night wind howled, and the air was filled with a thick, chilling scent.
A dense forest was marked by several crisscrossing fissures, spewing dark flames, and an aura of death spread outwards.
Flowers and grass withered, trees turned yellow, and various animals died in succession.
Some corpses, under the corrosive influence of the death aura, mutated into death creatures.
Li Shiying appeared in the forest. The sensors on her body emitted piercing alarm sounds, warning of the danger and urging her to retreat.
Using the night vision function of her goggles, she carefully observed her surroundings, her expression growing increasingly grim.
"Damn Thanatos, what exactly do you want? Are you truly so despicable as to lay hands on civilians?"
Li Shiying gritted her teeth, filled with immense anger.
Thanatos, the god of death in the ancient Greek pantheon.
These past few days, he had appeared every night, dragging his scythe of death and wandering around, seemingly searching for something.
The fissures on the ground were the marks left by his scythe.
Initially, Thanatos had been somewhat restrained, his marks only causing environmental damage.
But gradually, the god of death became restless.
Wherever he passed, he deliberately left behind a large amount of death aura, not only killing numerous animals but also causing some corpses to transform into evil beings that wreaked havoc.
Li Shiying was the captain of a combat team within the special forces of the national extraordinary combat division.
She originally had a full five-person team, but due to the extermination of the evil beings created by Thanatos, casualties mounted, leaving her as the sole survivor.
Currently, the national situation was tense, and personnel were severely lacking, hence her solo mission tonight.
On the goggle screen, one by one, light spots lit up, indicating the presence of evil beings.
*Ding!*
Li Shiying immediately entered combat mode, and a series of mechanical sounds emanated from her body.
The nanobots implanted in her body began to operate, forming armor that quickly covered her entire body.
Simultaneously, a laser sword appeared in her right hand, and various special weapons were activated.
In this era, China's technological development had reached the world's leading level.
Foreign countries had divine blessings, causing cultivators' strength to surge instantly, giving rise to a large number of powerful individuals.
Domestically, without divine blessings, they had found an alternative path, using technological means to empower cultivators.
The combination of machinery and the human body was one of the most effective methods, capable of multiplying a cultivator's combat power.
Li Shiying was clad in technology and formidable enhancements. The form-fitting armor accentuated her graceful figure, exuding beauty.
The surrounding evil beings, sensing the scent of living beings, swarmed towards Li Shiying with ferocity.
The alarm sounds grew more piercing, and the goggle screen was a blur of white, the sheer number of evil beings being staggering.
Even with her extensive combat experience, Li Shiying's scalp tingled, and her delicate body trembled.
The situation had exceeded expectations. The number of evil beings this time was over a hundred, possibly thousands, or even more, and she was all alone.
Previously, there were at most a few dozen. Tonight, the number had multiplied tenfold. Had Thanatos gone mad, truly treating this place as his backyard?
At this moment, the most sensible course of action was to flee.
But Li Shiying refused to flee, nor could she.
Behind her lay a city. If these bloodthirsty evil beings entered the urban area, the consequences would be truly unimaginable.
Immediately, Li Shiying sent out a message, attempting to transmit the intelligence.
However, a peculiar magnetic field interfered, cutting off communication.
"I'll fight to the death."
Li Shiying's clear eyes revealed a resolute expression, her gaze chillingly cold.
With the situation as it was, she could only fight to the bitter end.
As long as she had a breath left, she would not allow these abominations to advance even half a step into the city.
*Boom.*
Her shoulder cannon roared, and an energy projectile accurately struck the densest cluster of evil beings.
Dirt and rocks flew, dismembered limbs scattered, and several evil beings were reduced to minced meat on the ground.
A spider with a human face leaped high, as large as a dining table. Its compound eyes gleamed with scarlet, bloodthirsty light, and its waving limbs, like sharp blades, pierced towards Li Shiying.
A flash of cold light, and the dancing laser sword sliced the human-faced spider in half.
The splattering blood droplets landed on Li Shiying's armor, emitting wisps of black smoke, leaving clear corrosive marks.
The swarm of evil beings, catching the scent of blood, became even more frenzied, surging towards Li Shiying like a tide.
Four-winged giant bats, with mouths full of fangs, moved with lightning speed.
Cobras with two heads, nearly ten meters long, spewed clouds of poisonous mist.
Various evil beings, with grotesque faces, launched their frenzied attacks.
Li Shiying fought with immense courage, disregarding her own life, desperately battling.
Outnumbered and outmatched, she gradually began to falter. Her battle suit was torn, her body covered in blood, and she was pounced upon by the evil beings.
"My death matters little, but who will protect my city? God, if you truly exist, please appear..."
With regret and reluctance, Li Shiying weakly closed her eyes.
She, like a nightingale guarding her city, was ultimately powerless to turn the tide.
...
For the past few days, Anubis had been treading on thin ice, living in constant fear as a dog.
This was because it had discovered that its newly recognized master was insane.
Sometimes he was endearingly naive and innocent, like a child.
Other times, he would suddenly change his demeanor, as if he had become another person, exuding a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble.
Furthermore, Ji Mo's appetite was astonishingly large, consuming hundreds of pounds of meat in a single meal.
This made Anubis anxious, fearing that once the phoenix meat was gone, it would become Ji Mo's next meal.
It had heard that some dog meat dishes in the East were quite famous.
What bothered it the most was that Ji Mo was very dissatisfied with its appearance, saying it was too unsightly and marred the cityscape.
Thus, the pitiable Anubis, once a mighty dog-headed humanoid, was transformed into a cute dachshund.
It had ultimately become the legitimate "thin dog."
During this period, Ji Mo's mental state remained erratic. He stayed indoors, eating phoenix meat when hungry and doing handicrafts when idle.
The phoenix's vibrant divine feathers were made into many strange items by him.
Feather dusters, shuttlecocks, and feather fans, among others.
While marveling at Ji Mo's skillful craftsmanship, Anubis also discovered an incredibly astonishing secret.
When Ji Mo was in his normal state, he would take out fragments that looked like leather or cloth for mending. The three ancient characters on them flowed with chaotic luster and emanated primordial energy.
And when Anubis understood the meaning of the three ancient characters, it trembled all over, then became ecstatic.
It was confirmed, the master was indeed a returning Chinese deity, and undoubtedly one of the most supreme existences.
It, Anubis, had struck it rich, having bet on the right treasure!
Under the scarlet moonlight, Ji Mo kicked a shuttlecock, as if returning to his childhood.
Suddenly.
The confusion in his eyes dissipated. His main consciousness seemed to have sensed something and awakened.
"Which bastard dares to cause trouble near my home?"
Ji Mo frowned as he looked towards the distant forest.
Then, his figure turned into an afterimage, disappearing from his original spot.
Anubis looked on with schadenfreude: "Looks like the god of death Thanatos is about to become the next big victim, but alas, that guy is all bones, not half a tael of meat."
"Miss, wake up..."
Li Shiying felt ice-cold all over, sensing her body continuously falling, as if about to plunge into an endless abyss.
But a voice, filled with miraculous power, pulled her back from hell.
Her heavy eyelids fluttered open again, and the first thing she saw was an incredibly handsome face.
And all the surrounding evil beings were dead.
"Are you... a god?"
Li Shiying stared blankly at Ji Mo, asking.
Ji Mo shook his head and said, "I am not, but you, you possess the qualities of a god."
As he spoke, he took out the tattered Investiture of the Gods, grabbed one of Li Shiying's bloody hands, and pressed it down.