As mid-January approached, the New Year's atmosphere grew day by day.

The humans struggled through the fourth year after the mutation, and by the solar calendar, Chen Shouyi had turned 20.

This period was undoubtedly his happiest and most peaceful time.

Ever since reuniting with Zhang Xiaoyue, his monotonous and tedious life seemed to be infused with a touch of brightness, and everything became vividly alive.

But he knew in his heart that the current calmness was merely a castle built on sand, liable to be washed away at any moment. The God of Lightning would inevitably return one day, and the other Barbarian Gods with powerful divine powers in the other world wouldn't allow Earth, such a vast and fertile resource of faith, to be monopolized by the God of Lightning. They could descend at any moment.

The human situation remained dire.

He looked out the window, where long icicles hung from the sill, reflecting a gem-like cold light under the dim yellow light of the night:

"With the violent power of my Giant Transformation, a Barbarian God of moderate divine power is dead if I catch an opportunity. But compared to the powerful divine powers, I'm still far from enough," he thought to himself.

His progress had significantly slowed, and over a full month, his strength, agility, and physique each increased by only 0.1 points, while intelligence improved slightly more, increasing by 0.2 points.

All four main attributes reaching 23.5, fairly balanced.

As for perception and will, the improvement margin was relatively large, increasing by 0.3 and 0.2 respectively, reaching 22.8 and 22.5 points.

But for Chen Shouyi, it was still too slow. At this rate, if he encountered the God of Lightning again or another powerful divine power, death would be the only outcome.

In truth, aside from strength, he still had a significant gap compared to a Barbarian God of moderate divine power.

For example, in intelligence, even after burning faith value, his intelligence attribute was only 26.3, with a gap of more than one point compared to the intelligence of 27 or 28 points in moderate divine power. His agility was even weaker, with no means of cleverness, unchanged whether transformed or not, standing only at 23.5 points, a much greater disparity.

But the unmatched power of the Giant Transformation compensated for everything.

Breaking through misconceptions with strength, destroying everything.

With one punch, the world changes colors, and the clouds part.

That physical directional attack, often in kiloton magnitude, even if a powerful divine power were hit solidly, it would be severely damaged.

Chen Shouyi glanced at the attribute panel, displaying a faith value as high as 30146.5 points and an energy accumulation of 80.15.

This was the most significant progress during these days.

With a thought, he distributed ten thousand points each among the three super talent abilities.

As soon as the faith value disappeared, a hot and surging current erupted from within him like volcanic lava, turning his skin crimson, with steam rising. The original force in the air stirred violently while the table, bed, and window all made cracking sounds.

The entire room seemed to be trembling.

Chen Shouyi couldn't help but open his mouth, exhaling a faint red airflow filled with scorching heat.

After more than ten seconds, the heat flow gradually subsided.

All his talent abilities had transformed into:

Self-Healing (Super): 30.01%; Giant Battle Body (Super): 60.01%; Atmospheric Manipulation: 40.01%.

"Sometimes, faith is indeed a wonderful thing. This effortless gain is truly satisfying," Chen Shouyi mused as he felt the subtle changes in his body.

...

The next morning, Bai Xiaoling hurried over with a somewhat serious expression, bringing bad news.

"General Manager Chen, there's news, Elder Qin Liuyuan died during a mission; they asked me to inform you if you'd like to attend Elder Qin's memorial service?"

He paused for a moment before speaking, "How did he die?"

"Reportedly encountered a terrible monster, but I don't know the specifics," Bai Xiaoling said quickly. To the Great Xia Country now, anything short of a Barbarian God's invasion was considered a small ripple, not much of a storm.

Chen Shouyi couldn't help but feel a bit sad, as fewer and fewer familiar faces remained: "Arrange a helicopter for me."

"Yes, General Manager Chen," Bai Xiaoling replied.

...

Qin Liuyuan was not in Zhonghai.

After the abandonment of Hedong, the millions of Hedong's population partially relocated to various places in Jiangnan Province, while another part flowed into nearby provinces and cities. As the only remaining seasoned folk martial artist in Jiangnan Province, Qin Liuyuan was allocated to Ningzhou, now the seat of the provincial government.

Setting foot on the ground in Ningzhou again, Chen Shouyi had a sense of being in a different life.

Just after getting off the helicopter, provincial leader Zhao Zize quickly walked over, enthusiastically extending his hand from afar: "General Manager Chen, it's been a hard journey, welcome to Ningzhou."

"You're too kind," Chen Shouyi shook his hand. "In a way, this place is also my hometown."

Dongning is a county-level city under Ningzhou, so this wasn't inaccurate.

"I almost forgot that you're halfway a Ningzhou man, General Manager Chen," Zhao Zize laughed. "But you're not just Ningzhou's pride; you're the pride of the southern province and the entire Great Xia. This time in Ningzhou, you must take a good look around."

Naturally, he hadn't forgotten that General Manager Chen was from Dongning. It's just that Dongning had been destroyed by a nuclear bomb, with countless deaths and injuries. It was unknown how many old acquaintances and friends died there. Bringing it up might stir General Manager Chen's emotions, which was undesirable.

This visit by General Manager Chen to Ningzhou for Qin Liuyuan's memorial service was taken very seriously by the province, even raising the memorial's specifications by a level.

Initially, the assignment of Chen Shouyi to Zhonghai City wasn't the southern province's choice, merely compliance with the higher authorities' grand scheme.

Moreover, for strategic safety, a significant portion of East City's industries relocated to nearby Zhonghai City, making the entire southern province suffer immensely and painfully.

Now that the safety threat in East City has disappeared, the reconstruction of East City has been reintroduced into the province's agenda, and the idea of bringing General Manager Chen back has become quite pressing.

Whether Zhonghai City agrees isn't the issue; as long as General Manager Chen is willing to return, it's acceptable. After all, from the national perspective, where isn't General Manager Chen useful?

Chen Shouyi nodded faintly. He had heard similar words many times before and was completely immune: "Maybe, where is Elder Qin's memorial service being held?"

"The body has been placed at the funeral home. We are deeply saddened by the sacrifice of Comrade Qin Liuyuan. Please accept our condolences," Zhao Zize said solemnly.

The car was already waiting outside.

As soon as Chen Shouyi and Bai Xiaoling got in the car, they set off quickly.

He quietly looked out the window.

Ningzhou's recovery was remarkable. The last time he came here, it was under the occupation of the God of Hunting. In just two short years, the desolation and decay of the past were nowhere to be seen, and with Hedong's abolishment and the provincial government's relocation here, Ningzhou had become more bustling and lively. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Only the occasional remnants of broken buildings hinted at what the place had once suffered.

ps: Feeling sorry for the alliance leader CzLB; I've been experiencing severe writer's block recently, trying to get through this period.