As mentioned earlier, thermal energy and light energy have very similar characteristics in some aspects and have a complementary effect. Therefore, when this energy flow is converted into thermal energy and condensed in Zhou Ziwei's palm, it immediately transforms into a ball of light radiating intense heat.
As Zhou Ziwei continuously converted the energy flow into heat and injected it into the red light cluster, the temperature of the light cluster naturally increased, and its brightness also gradually increased.
With a "whoosh," after Zhou Ziwei had completely converted the energy he had gathered and injected it all into the ball of light floating in his palm, the ball of light finally underwent a qualitative change after reaching a certain critical point in its properties.
This change is the phenomenon of making the originally intangible energy material. What is the materialization of thermal energy? Without a doubt, it is—fire.
Zhou Ziwei stared in disbelief at the blazing flame he was holding in his palm.
He originally intended to test the waters by using this inexplicably formed energy body within his body, which could be continuously replenished and absorbed, to perform some auxiliary attacks besides using soul power, thus allowing him to conserve soul power to some extent.
But he never expected that this casual tinkering would lead him to create such a bizarre skill.
Conjuring flames out of thin air... wouldn't that be like magic from Western legends? Uh... this, buddy, you might accidentally become Harry Potter?
"Ah... God, what... what is that?" At this moment, Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang, who were leaning against the tent and were almost in shock from the rising heat outside, also inadvertently saw the ball of flame in Zhou Ziwei's palm. Instantly, their drowsy brains were awakened by the shock, and they couldn't help but point at the flame in Zhou Ziwei's palm and let out an incredulous scream.
Zhou Ziwei turned to look at Wang Xuewei and the other woman, a bitter smile creeping onto his face. He hadn't wanted to reveal too much about his abilities to these two, but now it seemed... there was nothing left to hide from them. They had even witnessed the incredible feat of conjuring a fireball out of thin air, so what secrets did he have left to keep?
Zhou Ziwei couldn't possibly kill these two beautiful women to cover up his strength, could he? If he were facing Captain Wu, that somewhat annoying guy in the expedition team, he might be able to do something so ruthless without any guilt. But facing two lovely women, he simply couldn't bring himself to do it, especially since one of them was his wife, with whom he wasn't officially divorced...
Since he couldn't hide it anymore, Zhou Ziwei naturally didn't need to conceal it any longer. He simply ignored the two women's surprised expressions and turned his attention back to the fireball he was holding in his palm.
The fist-sized fireball hovered motionless about three inches above the palm, continuously radiating a suffocatingly hot temperature, and the flames also contained a very unstable and violent aura.
This is clearly different from the flames commonly found in nature, such as those produced by igniting a certain fuel. But just how powerful would this flame be?
Zhou Ziwei had a sudden thought. He turned his head slightly and looked at a rock about six or seven meters away from him, which was about the size of a tabletop.
"Go—" Zhou Ziwei whispered, then flipped his hand and pretended to push gently, but in reality he secretly wrapped the ball of energy fire that was in an extremely unstable state with a thin layer of soul power and sent it flying rapidly toward the big rock.
Although this fireball has materialized, it is still composed of pure energy, so it is essentially weightless. Therefore, in this respect, it is similar to the soul beads that Zhou Ziwei used before. Under the control of soul power, it can achieve an extremely fast speed, which is no exaggeration to say that it is as fast as lightning.
With a low shout from Zhou Ziwei, the ball of energy instantly transformed into a red streak of light, and with a "whoosh," it flew six or seven meters away in an instant, crashing heavily onto the rock.
With a "snap," the flame clung to the stone surface, and the intense heat from the flame instantly burned a dent the size of a bowl into the stone.
This power was clearly much stronger than the previous flow of heat energy that had only been partially converted, but it still didn't meet Zhou Ziwei's expectations. He frowned slightly and then reluctantly withdrew the soul power that had been enveloping the fireball...
With a muffled "boom," Zhou Ziwei hadn't expected that the moment he withdrew the soul power that had been enveloping the energy fireball, the violent aura hidden within it would erupt completely. In an instant, the heat of the entire energy fireball was fully released.
The heat of a flame, when it bursts forth in an instant, naturally creates a relatively intense phenomenon—an explosion.
With a muffled thud, the energy that had been suppressed under the influence of soul power was completely released, and the energy fireball disappeared without a trace. This rapid release caused the table-sized stone to shatter into a pile of scattered, irregular small stones.
Because the distance wasn't very far, many small stones were thrown at Zhou Ziwei after the rock exploded.
Since the explosion of the energy flames was not something Zhou Ziwei had expected, the sudden sight of this scene caused him to momentarily lose his composure due to extreme surprise, leaving him no time to dodge or defend himself. As a result, he was hit squarely by countless stones.
He cried out in pain and jumped up in a panic, quickly retreating several steps.
Compared to Zhou Ziwei's astonishment, Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang seemed less surprised. They had already been so stunned by the sight of Zhou Ziwei holding the fireball that their minds almost went blank. It seemed that there was little else that the flame could exhibit that would surprise them.
Therefore, when they saw Zhou Ziwei in such a disheveled state due to the commotion he had caused, they couldn't help but burst into laughter...
Zhou Ziwei scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, chuckled, and said, "My mistake...my mistake!"
Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang exchanged a glance, then, disregarding the scorching "sunlight" outside, ran to Zhou Ziwei's side, their faces full of curiosity and excitement, asking, "What was that you just conjured up? Was it magic or a magic trick...? That's amazing... It could shatter such a big rock in one go! That's even more powerful than a hand grenade!"
Zhou Ziwei rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, what's the power of that crappy grenade? If this energy fireball were as powerful as a Soul Bead, that would be more like it, but it looks like it's even a notch below...
Of course, the energy fireball wasn't as powerful as the soul bead, which was a little disappointing for Zhou Ziwei, but he didn't care too much. After all, he didn't need to rack his brains to collect and refine other people's souls. He could just bask in the sun when he had nothing to do, which would be enough to accumulate enough energy to launch several energy fireballs.
This is a convenient and environmentally friendly attack skill that can be used indefinitely...
As for the barrage of questions from the two beautiful women, Zhou Ziwei didn't know how to answer them. So he could only put on a serious face, cough lightly, and say in a pretentious manner, "This... is my personal privacy. Please don't ask, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Qiutang could only pout in disappointment. Wang Xuewei didn't dare to ask any more questions for a moment. However, she found that the longer she spent with her husband, the less she seemed to understand him.
Just as the two women were sighing with relief, they suddenly saw Zhou Ziwei's expression change drastically. He said urgently, "Something's wrong! It seems a large group of creatures is rapidly approaching us. You two need to pack up quickly; we probably have to set off immediately."
Volume 2, The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 387: Take Me!
Upon hearing Zhou Ziwei's words, Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang were both startled. Since entering this strange world, they had only seen one living animal, and its strength still made them shudder.
Now that Zhou Ziwei is saying that a large group of creatures is heading in their direction, how could they not be alarmed?
The two women subconsciously turned their heads and looked around. This damned Gobi Desert was desolate and boundless, but because the terrain was relatively flat, the view was not obstructed, and the air here was exceptionally clean, without any industrial pollution or sandstorms, so people could see much farther.
No matter how much the two women craned their necks to look around, they couldn't see anything that showed any signs of life.
Although the two women had some doubts, they did not disobey Zhou Ziwei's wishes. They hurriedly worked together to dismantle the giant tent while asking, "Are there really many creatures coming? Why can't we see them?"
Zhou Ziwei also ran over and personally tied the dismantled tent back together, securing it to his back as he said in a deep voice, "I can't see either, but I can hear..."
As Zhou Ziwei spoke, he turned his head and glanced in a direction to the left, a hint of fear in his eyes, and said, "That should be a group of reptiles. Their bodies shouldn't be very big, but... their numbers are terrifying."
Just as Zhou Ziwei uttered these words, a horrifying image flashed through his mind: on the boundless Gobi Desert, an endless black wave suddenly surged from the distant horizon. The black wave was composed of countless black, hard-shelled insects. Each of these insects was only about the size of an ordinary person's little finger, with an elongated body and two rows of densely packed long legs growing from its underside. It seemed that each insect had at least a hundred legs.
These black, hard-shelled beetles have over a hundred legs that are definitely not all the same color. If you observe them closely, you will find that they move with great rhythm. The movement of each of the two rows of densely packed insect legs is strictly controlled. As a whole, a walking black, hard-shelled beetle looks like it is floating on a constantly rising and falling wave.
The alternating swinging of more than a hundred legs allows this seemingly inconspicuous black beetle to move with the speed of the wind.
The sheer number of these numbers—at least tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions—has combined to create a terrifying disaster...
The ladybug flew over the group of black-shelled insects and circled once, seemingly trying to figure out the approximate number of them. It then flew for a while into the depths of the black wave formed by the insects. However, even with the ladybug's extremely fast speed, it flew for five or six minutes without reaching the end of the black wave.
The ladybug was about to fly further to investigate, but suddenly sensed its master's call and immediately turned around and flew back the way it came.
The ability to summon his Kun pet was a trick Zhou Ziwei had discovered by chance a few days ago. In the past, once a Kun pet flew away from the area where they could sense each other's souls, it would be impossible to maintain any form of contact.
However, Zhou Ziwei discovered that if he could still clearly sense the general direction of his Kunchong's location, then by simply releasing a small wisp of soul power in that direction, which was similar to a soul roar, there was a high probability that the information carried by that wisp of soul power would be transmitted to the Kunchong's independent soul entity.
In this way, even if the Kun Chong has flown far away, Zhou Ziwei can summon it back at any time.
The ladybug flew extremely fast and caught up with Zhou Ziwei and his two companions, who were desperately fleeing, in no time. It then transmitted the horrifying scene it had just witnessed to Zhou Ziwei's mind through their soul connection.
"So many!" Zhou Ziwei exclaimed in surprise as he saw the boundless black wave that appeared in his mind. The number of insects was probably beyond the reach of tens or hundreds of millions. Zhou Ziwei felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't understand how such a large group of black, hard-shelled insects could survive in this desolate Gobi Desert where no plants grew. How did these creatures survive without food?
Zhou Ziwei frowned, then suddenly a possibility occurred to him. He paused slightly, and a chill ran through him.
Could this boundless Gobi Desert be... formed because of the existence of these terrifying black hard-shelled insects? It's easy to imagine that such a large swarm of black hard-shelled insects would devour every edible plant and animal in its path, leaving no creature unscathed from such a catastrophic sweep.
Zhou Ziwei could imagine that, perhaps many years ago, this land beneath their feet was once a fertile grassland, teeming with all sorts of flowers and grasses, and dotted with cattle, horses, and sheep. But under the sweep of this black tide, not only did all living things become food for them, but slowly the animals were all eaten up. Then these black-shelled insects had no choice but to start eating plants. However, as the number of black-shelled insects increased to the point of becoming an overwhelming disaster, even the most abundant plants and grasses were gradually devoured. Finally, in order to survive, these resilient black-shelled insects had to switch to eating soil... And then, slowly, a once beautiful grassland turned into a barren, rocky desert where not a blade of grass grew, and even the soil disappeared completely.
Although Zhou Ziwei doesn't have any titles like "expert" or "professor," his breadth of knowledge in various fields is probably unmatched by any academician in any country's research institute. This is because he has devoured nearly a thousand souls. Even though not many of these people actually possessed extremely high academic qualifications and professional knowledge, Zhou Ziwei extracted and combined their most precious memories, creating a rare and valuable treasure.
It is precisely because of this strong comprehensive knowledge that Zhou Ziwei has a unique ability in comprehensive analysis. Even if his previous guess was wrong, it was not far off. Since they were a group of creatures that were already starving, they had most likely smelled the three of them and were now rushing in this direction, probably wanting to eat the three of them as a delicacy.
This is unbelievable! There are only three of us, but how many insects are there? Three hundred billion or a trillion? Even if the three of us were ten times fatter, it wouldn't be enough for each insect to take a bite...
Zhou Ziwei was initially trying to accommodate the two women's pace, but after receiving the message from the ladybug, he could no longer relax. He paused, then immediately turned around, picked up Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang with one arm each without saying a word, and ran downstairs as fast as he could.
"Hey... what are you doing... we can walk by ourselves..." Wang Xuewei was roughly pulled into Zhou Ziwei's arms, and her whole body went limp. She angrily punched Zhou Ziwei a couple of times, wondering what had gotten into him this time. Even if he wanted to be intimate with his wife, he didn't need to do it in this situation! And... it seemed like he was holding another woman in his arms at the same time, which was probably what angered Wang Xuewei the most.
"I don't have time to explain to you!" Zhou Ziwei said in a low voice as he strode across the uneven, rocky Gobi Desert. "If you don't want to die, you'd better behave yourselves... You're moving way too slowly. At this rate, you'll be caught by those insects in less than ten minutes, and then... you'll really be dead without a trace."
"Ah...really? What kind of insect is that? How can it be so powerful?" Chu Qiutang asked, somewhat incredulous.
Zhou Ziwei said with a wry smile, "Perhaps the insects aren't that powerful, but their numbers are terrifying. Fortunately, these guys can't fly, otherwise... this world would probably have turned into a Gobi Desert just like here long ago."
Both women were startled upon hearing this. They looked on with curiosity in Zhou Ziwei's arms, hoping he would become a dragon among men. However, they could not see anything in sight, which made them suspicious. Just then, Zhou Ziwei, who was running at high speed, suddenly stopped and turned around, continuing to run to the other side.
Just now, the ladybugs detected another boundless black wave surging towards them in the very direction they had been heading. If they maintained their current speed and caught up, they would collide with it in less than five minutes.
However, Zhou Ziwei didn't maintain his position for long after turning around this time. He stopped again, his face pale. This time, Zhou Ziwei wasn't going to waste his energy running around anymore because, from all directions, an endless black wave was surging in, and the three of them... were completely surrounded.
Zhou Ziwei first put the two bewildered women down, then gave a wry smile and said, "This is a huge problem. We're surrounded by those damned bugs now. This time... even I don't have a good way to get you out. Hmm... even if I throw you two into the air like kites, it won't help. As long as I'm on the ground, those damned bugs will devour me in an instant, leaving not even a bone fragment. At that point, we'll probably still be doomed!"
Seeing Zhou Ziwei's expression and reaction, the two women realized the seriousness of the situation. After going through thick and thin with Zhou Ziwei over this period, they had come to understand him somewhat and knew that he was unlikely to lie to them about such matters. Although they didn't quite understand how Zhou Ziwei knew these things, and whether the insects he mentioned were really that powerful, they figured the truth was probably not too far off from what he said.
Both of them looked dejected. They had just escaped from a sea of fire after a night of frantic running, and Zhou Ziwei hadn't given up even then. But now... Zhou Ziwei said he had no other options. Did that mean... the three of them could only wait to die here?
Chu Qiutang looked at Zhou Ziwei with a helpless bitterness in her eyes. Last night, when she thought her face was disfigured, she really didn't care about life or death. If she became a complete freak, what was the point of living? But now... her face had just been completely healed by Zhou Ziwei's miraculous method. Chu Qiutang even felt that she was more beautiful than before she was burned... at least her skin didn't seem as delicate and smooth as it was now before.
But this newfound beauty didn't even last a day before she was about to face death again.
Wang Xuewei's feelings at this moment were even more chaotic, but she did not have much fear of death itself, because when she chose to come to this ghostly world with Zhou Ziwei, she had already made up her mind to live and die with Zhou Ziwei.
Death... for her, perhaps, is the most longed-for liberation! In that case... she would never have to face those family members who only cared about profit and disregarded kinship again, and she would never have to divorce Zhou Ziwei against her will. Everything... would end because of death.
What frightened Wang Xuewei was that they might die at the hands of those insects, or they might die so badly that not even a trace of their remains would remain. It was a chilling thought.
"Ziwei... are you sure? Are you sure we're all going to die here this time?" Wang Xuewei suddenly grabbed Zhou Ziwei's shoulders and asked him seriously.
Zhou Ziwei sighed softly and said, "I really don't want to admit it, but... I have to say, the possibility is just too great... Maybe you don't believe me now, but wait a little while... less than ten minutes, when you see those boundless black waves, you will understand."
Zhou Ziwei truly had no confidence in escaping this sea of insects. If he still had his power field, he wouldn't have anything to fear, but now he had essentially lost the ability to fly. At most, he could use his liquid soul power to levitate his body about one meter in the air, but he couldn't fly on his own. Moreover, if he were to levitate with the two women, this temporary evasion wouldn't last long. If the black hard-shelled insects below had any patience and could keep waiting, sooner or later Zhou Ziwei would fall from the sky after exhausting all his liquid soul power, and at that time, it would be the end for the three of them.
Just as Zhou Ziwei was about to tell the two of them everything without reservation, he saw Wang Xuewei suddenly take off her hood and throw it on the ground. Then, biting her bright red lips, she took off her combat uniform and then went to unbutton her pants...
"What...what are you doing?" Wang Xuewei's series of actions left Zhou Ziwei and Chu Qiutang dumbfounded. Zhou Ziwei quickly stepped forward and firmly held Wang Xuewei's shoulders, questioning, "Are you...crazy?! Do you know what you're doing?"
As Zhou Ziwei said this, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. It seemed that Wang Xuewei had really been traumatized by the death and had become somewhat mentally unstable.
"Of course I know what I'm doing!" Wang Xuewei stubbornly broke free from Zhou Ziwei's hands, looked up into his eyes, and said, word by word, "I know we're about to die, I just want... I just want to resolve one regret I had before I die!"
"What regret do you want to resolve... resolve?" Zhou Ziwei asked, his mouth dry. In fact, he had already vaguely guessed something, but... could it really be true?
"Of course it's true."
Although Zhou Ziwei didn't voice his thoughts, Wang Xuewei seemed to see right through him. She looked at him and nodded heavily, saying, "I think you've already guessed it. I want to give you my body completely before I die. You are my husband, I am your wife… but we have never… I don't want to die with such regrets. I don't want to die as an old maid… Ziwei, will you take me now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei's forehead immediately broke out in a fine layer of sweat. He opened his mouth and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I...I want you? Right...right here?" As he spoke, Zhou Ziwei turned his head and glanced at Chu Qiutang, who was staring at the two of them with her mouth agape in shock.
Wang Xuewei smiled and said, "What's wrong... You, the playboy young master Zhou, are you shy? Humph... Don't tell me you've never done it with another woman in front of a third person before... I've heard about it before... There's some kind of club in Dangyang, where supposedly only naked people can enter, and those who enter, regardless of gender, are shameless, engaging in intimate acts in public... Humph... Don't tell me you, the playboy young master, haven't been to such a place!"
Zhou Ziwei touched his nose, feeling somewhat wronged, and said, "Did I really go to such... such an exciting place? Why... why don't I have even the slightest impression of it?"
Volume 2, The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 388: The Insect Swarm
Hearing Zhou Ziwei deny going to those kinds of shady clubs, Wang Xuewei gave him a light sidelong glance and said, "So what if you went? I'm not going to hold it against you. What are you afraid of? Anyway... I think Miss Chu... seems to have a good impression of you. Why don't you just take her too? How about that... Miss Chu? You're probably still a virgin, right? I think I've heard that virgins suffer a very cruel punishment in hell after they die. How about we give our bodies to my husband in our last moments? Don't tell me you don't have feelings for my husband... Humph... I saw you secretly glancing at my husband the whole way here!"
Chu Qiutang's face was flushed red to the roots of her neck. She never expected that Wang Xuewei, who had always been extremely polite and refined, would say such a thing at this time. She felt shy, expectant, and even more curious. She couldn't help but ask softly, "Sister Xuewei, you...you and Director Zhou are husband and wife, so how come you...are still a virgin?"
Wang Xuewei's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. She sighed softly and said, "That's because my husband used to be too promiscuous. He had so many women that even he probably couldn't count them all. As for me... I didn't like him at all back then. I even felt disgusted whenever I saw him. But... now I know that I... I was probably blind all along. I had the best and most amazing husband in the world by my side, but I never cherished him. So... I don't want to carry this regret into the next life... I must give him my most precious thing before I die... okay, husband?"
As Wang Xuewei finished speaking, her tone became increasingly gentle. Her gaze drifted towards Zhou Ziwei as she slowly moved closer to him, then tenderly embraced his waist, pressing her cheek tightly against his chest. Her gentle and charming appearance stirred Zhou Ziwei's heart.
Knowing that all three of them were doomed, Chu Qiutang completely abandoned her feminine reserve. Instead of avoiding Wang Xuewei and Zhou Ziwei's intimate display, she moved closer, and seeing Wang Xuewei's blissful expression, she tentatively asked, "Sister Xuewei, were you...really telling the truth? If...I also want to give myself to Director Zhou, are you...are you really not bothered? He...he's your husband! Aren't you jealous?"