Where the hell is my gun

Su Qi's arrival was devoid of any earth-shattering fanfare, so quiet it seemed as though he had merely wandered there by chance.

Yet, against all logic, every pair of eyes in the vicinity was irresistibly drawn to him.

As if someone had pressed a pause button, the world fell into abrupt silence.

Su Qi's gaze swept calmly over the survivors below, lingering on no one—until it landed with pinpoint precision on Liu Yuan.

Their eyes met.

A ripple, faint and almost imperceptible, stirred in the depths of Su Qi's otherwise tranquil pupils.

He moved.

In the next heartbeat, he was standing before Liu Yuan.

So close that she could catch the faint scent of gunpowder and wind-worn dust clinging to him.

"Brother..."

Liu Yuan's voice was whisper-thin, laced with a note of grievance even she hadn’t realized was there.

Su Qi reached out, his broad palm warm as it settled atop her head, ruffling her hair with a touch both practiced and familiar.

"I'm here."

Three simple words, yet they washed away half the knot of resentment and hurt coiled in Liu Yuan's chest.

She tilted her face up, studying the well-known contours of her brother’s features, the sting in her nose growing sharper.

"Though perhaps a bit late."

"N-no, you’re not late..." she mumbled, her voice thick with unshed tears. "You came just in time..."

Except... the script wasn’t supposed to go like this.

Yun Huang finally snapped out of her daze, the razor’s edge between life and death still fresh in her mind.

She stared at the siblings, so wrapped up in each other they might as well have been alone.

Truth be told,

she’d always sensed something about Su Qi—something that smelled like ‘miracle.’

As if nothing was beyond his reach.

But never in her wildest dreams had she imagined his strength could be this terrifying.

A single strike to obliterate a Tenth Order creature.

This defied all her understanding of power.

She opened her mouth, wanting to voice her gratitude, but her throat was parched, incapable of producing a single syllable.

This debt couldn’t be repaid.

It was impossible. He was like the sun.

Only then did Su Qi’s attention shift from his sister to Yun Huang, whose face was pale, her eyes complex.

He gave her a slight nod.

No words were needed.

Yun Huang’s heart clenched. She understood—this was his way of acknowledging her last-minute act of pushing Liu Yuan out of harm’s way.

The gratitude felt unearned.

She’d only acted on an impulse, a fleeting instinct in the face of death.

Su Qi’s focus returned to Liu Yuan, his gaze now edged with reproach.

"Your passive nearly activated?"

Liu Yuan’s face drained of color. She ducked her head, unable to meet his eyes.

"I... I just..."

"No excuses." Su Qi cut her off. "Never put yourself in that kind of danger again."

His tone was mild, yet brooked no argument. "It’s unnecessary."

Liu Yuan pressed her lips together, whispering, "But—"

"No ‘buts.’"

"I saw them. All of them."

"I won’t deny their courage."

"But you don’t need to be courageous."

"I just want you safe."

His sister pouted. "...Fine."

Su Qi’s voice softened. "Wait for me."

His eyes turned toward the mountainous rubble left by the collapsed Molten Behemoth.

When he spoke next, his voice was quiet, yet it carried effortlessly to every ear:

"Though the core of this Tenth Order Sourcebeast is destroyed, its remains still hold invaluable materials. I’ll retrieve what’s needed."

A ripple of unrest passed through the crowd, their post-crisis relief momentarily disrupted.

Loot?

Now?

Many exchanged uneasy glances, some even frowning.

What kind of timing was this?

The ashes hadn’t even settled. Who knew if another nightmare creature might emerge?

Shouldn’t the priority be evacuating this death trap and finding shelter?

Sure, this man had saved them all—but scavenging for spoils at a time like this felt...

"E-excuse me," a candidate ventured, voice respectful but strained. "We’re grateful for your help, but shouldn’t we focus on leaving first—?"

Su Qi flicked a glance at him. "I don’t recall asking for opinions."

The words died in the speaker’s throat.

The weight of those four syllables was crushing.

No one dared another word.

Su Qi’s power spoke for itself. His decisions were absolute, unchallengeable.

Yun Huang stayed silent.

She knew Su Qi had his reasons.

Or even if he didn’t, it wasn’t her place to question.

Liu Yuan, meanwhile, simply accepted it.

If her brother said so, it must be so.

Ignoring the murmurs, Su Qi erected a soul barrier—his attributes far surpassed Yun Huang’s, rendering the ashen haze little more than a minor hindrance—and strode toward the carcass.

The scene was... something.

Boulders haphazardly piled like a crude pyramid, charred black and streaked with dying embers, reeking of sulfur.

He reached out, casually nudging a table-sized fragment.

It didn’t budge.

Su Qi paused.

Then applied more force.

CRACK.

The rock flipped aside, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He continued his search, careful to maintain an air of deliberate selection—as if meticulously evaluating "precious materials."

Tap here. Knock there.

Picking up a scorched stone, pretending to scrutinize it, then tossing it away with feigned dissatisfaction.

Internally, Su Qi was sweating bullets.

Where the hell is my spear?!

That throw had pierced straight through the Tenth Order’s core—but the weapon had gotten buried in the aftermath.

And he lacked any recall ability.

Unless his soul energy drained completely, forcing it back into card form.

But right now, having a weapon handy was non-negotiable.

The beast’s massive remains were a literal needle-in-a-haystack scenario for something as slender as the Path’s End Spear.

To onlookers, however:

"This one seems to retain a concentrated fire affinity," Su Qi remarked, hefting a still-glowing rock before discarding it. Pure theater.

[Joy +999]

In reality, the thing was just hot garbage.

Liu Yuan watched, wide-eyed, as her brother "collected samples."

She thought he looked incredibly cool when focused.

Minutes ticked by.

The crowd’s patience wore thin.

Whispers multiplied.

"It’s been five minutes. How much longer?"

"Are Tenth Order materials really this hard to pick?"

"What if another Sourcebeast shows up before he’s done?"

Fear and impatience spread like weeds through the survivors’ ranks.