Chapter 8: The Main Quest Arrives Early

At night, the last of the bats and eagles arrived at the villa, draining much of Lei Yunzhu's strength.

After Qin Hao killed these creatures, he gained the bats' acute hearing and the eagles' telescopic vision. Having devoured five kinds of animals, Qin Hao’s vision, hearing, smell, and strength were all enhanced, with his eyesight doubly reinforced.

His power grew yet again.

Just then, a voice sounded in Qin Hao’s mind.

"Ding! Main quest issued."

[Survival]

In twenty-four hours, the alien invasion civilization will release the first batch of hunting creatures near the heroes. You may flee or hunt the alien creatures. Survive for twenty-four hours. The initial number of heroes: 100. Cooperation is allowed.

Quest completion condition: As long as one out of the hundred survives, the quest is complete.

Fixed reward: 500 hero points.

"How is this possible!" Qin Hao exclaimed.

The main quest—survival—was the first time the alien civilization dispatched creatures to Blue Star, but this quest was supposed to begin in ten days.

What had changed?

Now, counting every second, it had only been three days.

"Mr. Qin, what’s wrong?" Lei Yunzhu asked.

Only then did Qin Hao calm himself.

Before reversing time, Qin Hao had become thoroughly familiar with the alien civilization and the various divine powers.

There ought to be two reasons for this turn of events.

First, the butterfly effect.

The alien gods constantly sense the development of Blue Star, and this sensing is unique—it is particularly evident in the acquisition of hero points.

The number of intelligent lives on Blue Star is enormous, and the hero system's collection of hero points is actually the collective tendrils of countless minds. In Western terms, it might be simply called the power of faith.

Now all that power was focused on Qin Hao, making him conspicuous to the alien intelligences—and so, they launched their assault ahead of schedule.

The other reason was just as crucial.

It was the time card Qin Hao had released.

If time is a river flowing straight through the void, then the gods, by their powers, struck that river, bending it into an arc—let’s imagine it as the shape of the letter C. The two ends of the C touch, and where they meet, time loops back, allowing Qin Hao’s soul to transfer and return to twenty years later.

After Qin Hao leapt back, the meeting point unfurled, and the two ends of the C continued forward in a straight line—but that line was now shortened.

What would have taken twenty years might now only take seven or eight. This was time’s way of self-repairing.

Qin Hao had indeed defied the heavens and reversed time, but for humanity, this might prove an even harsher blow.

The alien invasion alliance was indifferent to such things; this was why.

Reversing time does not necessarily change fate.

Qin Hao took a deep breath, regaining his composure.

“I must go,” he said.

He stood up.

Lei Yunzhu and An Shiyue had no idea what had happened to him, nor what the future held. They simply felt bewildered.

At that moment, Qin Hao opened the hero system’s shop.

After a day’s developments, he had gained another five million hero points. Star Energy Tempering, which cost only a thousand points, was now a trifle to him.

He bought two, directing them at Lei Yunzhu and An Shiyue.

In the next moment, two beams of light as dazzling as starlight appeared out of nowhere and shone upon them.

A unique power was strengthening their bodies.

“This… how can this be?” Lei Yunzhu could feel the changes within, a strange energy even circulating inside him.

Unable to resist, Lei Yunzhu threw a punch at the coffee table.

With a bang, the table split cleanly in two.

Innate talent: Strength.

This was the most common innate ability.

On the other side, An Shiyue was floating off the ground.

Qin Hao was a little surprised; he hadn’t expected Shen Shiyue to awaken this power.

Innate talent: Levitation.

This ability may have seemed useless, but once her mental genes surpassed level two, An Shiyue’s levitation would let her move objects or attack from a distance faster than other level-two evolvers.

By the time she reached level three, An Shiyue would awaken the power of wind.

Both of them now possessed wondrous abilities—their previous anxiety and unease gave way to awe and exhilaration.

In that moment, they both knew—they were no longer the same.

Qin Hao watched them complete the Starlight Tempering, then turned to leave.

“Mr. Qin, where are you going? Even if you don’t want us to follow, you’ll still need a car. Let me have the driver take you.”

After all, this was the suburbs, and it was already eight o’clock.

Qin Hao considered: there were still twenty-four hours before the alien creatures would appear, so there was no need to rush out now. Besides, his plans had been disrupted, and he needed to reflect on whether to continue.

He remembered clearly—the first wave of alien creatures were the Fanged Demons.

They stood only a meter tall, crawled on four legs, had long tails, slick skin, and razor-sharp teeth with a bite powerful enough to shatter a human throat in an instant.

Qin Hao had been assigned a solitary cell in the detention center. When two Fanged Demons appeared, he fought desperately and managed to kill them both, completing the mission.

This event became a police secret at the time.

But by the next day, the secret was useless.

The whole world knew.

All because of one person.

The second person in China known to have received the beta hero system: Zi Hui.

Zi Hui was currently the most popular girl group leader, an idol beloved for her singing and dancing, hailed as the goddess of otaku.

Her skills far outshone the rest of her group, and her commercial value was immense. At the start of the year, she had tried to go solo, only to be shelved for half a year.

Before the apocalypse, Qin Hao hadn't followed celebrities and knew little of Zi Hui's life, but this woman was the one who revealed the alien invasion to the public.

When the alien incursion warning was issued, Zi Hui announced her retirement from the entertainment industry and planned a final small concert, inviting only a hundred fans, broadcast live.

It was during this livestream that her battle with the beasts was recorded.

Her plan was bold: to face the monsters before all of China, win renown, and see hero points pour in.

In fact, Qin Hao’s previous feat of stopping a car with his bare hands had been inspired by Zi Hui—he too had harnessed the power of the internet.

Unfortunately, Zi Hui misjudged one thing.

The number of alien creatures sent to hunt heroes was based on the number of humans in the vicinity. With over a hundred fans present, two hundred Fanged Demons appeared.

Zi Hui was torn to pieces on the spot.