Several months later...
"Number 521. Is there anyone else who wants to give it a try?"
Looking at yet another person he had effortlessly knocked down with one hand, Chang Yuan asked in a calm tone.
Most of these challengers were people who couldn't stand the fact that he had been appointed deputy captain without a formal selection process.
However, he had proven his strength to all of them.
After Chang Yuan's question, the entire room fell silent.
Seeing this, Chang Yuan nodded slightly.
"Since no one has any objections, the position of deputy captain of the First Squad is mine."
Seeing that no one continued to argue after his declaration, Chang Yuan knew his position as deputy captain was secure.
All his months of dedicated training had paid off. He estimated that his current strength was enough to take on an Emperor-class Honkai beast.
As for the higher-tier Judgment-class Honkai beasts, which were comparable to pseudo-Herrschers, they were far beyond his capabilities.
But there was no helping it. The serum Vill-V had given him could only take him this far.
To go beyond, he would need to undergo the MANTIS surgery.
However, the mortality rate for that procedure was terrifyingly high. Even if Vill-V, a genius, performed the surgery, he wasn't sure he'd dare to go through with it.
Unless Vill-V was absolutely certain of success, he would need to think carefully before agreeing to the MANTIS procedure.
For now, his strength was enough to make him one of the top-tier fighters, second only to Elysia.
Ding, ding, ding—!
At that moment, Chang Yuan's long-dormant phone rang.
Opening it, he saw that the call was from a certain "Big V Teacher."
Without hesitation, Chang Yuan left the room and returned to his quarters to answer the call.
"Big V Teacher, didn't you say you'd deliver it in a month? It's been half a year now."
"Ahem, that really wasn't my fault. I got caught up in some unexpected things. This call is actually to let you know that I'm ready to deliver that bow now."
Hearing Chang Yuan's complaint, Vill-V on the other end of the line sounded a bit embarrassed.
But it wasn't her fault! Who knew a Judgment-class Honkai beast would suddenly start chasing her?
Thankfully, she had packed up and run quickly, or else that dragon-like Honkai beast would have caught her.
However, she had lost some data in the process, forcing her to start over, which was why it had taken so long.
"Alright, where are you? I'll see if I can come pick you up."
"No need. I've already hacked into Fire Moth's internal network. Just meet me at *** intersection. I'll be waiting there."
"As reliable as ever, Big V Teacher."
Hearing Vill-V's response, Chang Yuan immediately headed to the meeting point.
When he arrived, he saw a small workshop. Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and entered.
Vill-V appeared just as he stepped inside.
"Chang Yuan, long time no see. I've missed you. Here, the bow you asked for."
Vill-V tossed a bow with an orange-gold main body to Chang Yuan. The bow had no string, but without needing any explanation, Chang Yuan pulled at the area where the string should be.
Instantly, an orange-gold string, resembling an electric current, appeared.
Chang Yuan tested it by firing a small arrow, using only the strength a baby could muster.
The arrow, made of pure energy, shot out and instantly created a hole in the target.
The hole appeared almost simultaneously with the arrow's release.
"Wow, terrifyingly powerful. Big V Teacher, you're amazing."
With this bow, Chang Yuan felt that even an ordinary person could potentially kill a Herrscher.
"Don't celebrate too soon. Since this bow fires arrows made of pure Honkai energy, it's deadly for anyone without sufficient Honkai resistance.
Only someone with your level of Honkai resistance can use this bow. Others shouldn't even touch it."
Seeing Chang Yuan's excitement, Vill-V timely explained the drawback.
But this drawback was practically negligible since the bow was meant for Elysia anyway.
"Wait, Big V Teacher, you didn't add any weird functions to this bow, did you?"
"Uh... hehe."
Hearing this, Vill-V scratched her cheek and averted her gaze.
She hadn't expected Chang Yuan to know her so well—that she liked adding quirky little features to her creations.
"Alright, so what's the little feature you added this time?"
Seeing Vill-V's expression, Chang Yuan knew there was no escaping it.
But he was more curious about what the feature was. Was it something like the lipstick function of the Third Divine Key?
"Well, since the Herrscher of the Void can connect to the Imaginary Space, I used that feature to give the bow a storage function. But you have to touch the bow's body to use it."
"That's it?"
Chang Yuan was surprised.
Wow, such a practical feature? Was this really made by Big V Teacher? Or was Vill-V actually reliable in the early stages?
"Well, actually, 'storage' isn't entirely accurate. More accurately, it's a disposal function. There's a 90% chance that anything stored will disappear due to the Imaginary Space."
"...Now that's more like it."
Hearing about such an unreliable feature, Chang Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
This was more in line with his impression of Big V Teacher.
Always adding useless features to weapons, like this disposal function.
If I'm playing as an archer, why would I need to get close to use it?
Though, in certain situations, it might unexpectedly come in handy, so it wasn't entirely useless.
"Alright, whatever. But Big V Teacher, does this bow have a burst mode? Like, consuming the entire Herrscher core's energy to unleash a powerful attack?"
"Your foresight has reached this level? You can even predict that?"
"So, what are the second, first, and zeroth rated power levels like?"
Seeing Chang Yuan's eager expression, Vill-V decided not to keep him in suspense.
She explained, "The second rated power allows you to open a portal to any location.
The first rated power functions as a disposal mechanism—it sends everything within a 100-meter diameter of the arrow's path into the Imaginary Space for destruction.
The zeroth rated power creates a space that envelops an entire city for 10 seconds. Within this space, only the bow's wielder can move. Everything else is frozen in place by a spatial lock."