NOVEL FROG 009. Hello, I am an Honored Infected
- Hello, I am an Honored Infected
Stabbing and cutting the wound several times, he covered himself in blood.
"My health is down to half, hmm, that should be enough."
Li Aozhi hid his suitcase. The money inside would be useful later, but not now. Given his current state, completing the shelter task would take at least five weeks, and if there were any mishaps or slow leveling, it could take months.
However, Li Aozhi wasn’t in a hurry. [Starfall Master] players, in a way, are like old school fans—they never believe their favorite thing is weak. They only think and endure, with excellent patience.
"My [Charisma] is 13 points, and the main profession of [Civilian]... is meaningless. I don't want to waste experience on that. If I can get the [Mutant] profession, each level-up will increase [Charisma], and with the [Permanent Specialty • Love Hunter] effect, my growth will be considerable. There's no need to increase meaningless profession levels early on."
Players can make countless mistakes early on, but Li Aozhi couldn’t afford that. He didn’t know if, as a regular NPC, he could repeatedly farm dungeons like players.
After all, NPCs that can enter dungeons are few, usually appearing only due to storyline needs, at least needing to be [Elite] or [Expert] templates.
Li Aozhi rubbed his forehead and smeared his face with blood. The mix of blood, sand, and frost highlighted his pale skin. With a high [Charisma] boost, he was more noticeable and pitiful at a glance.
Li Aozhi adjusted his breathing, making his heart rate faster. With stiff, weak steps, he slowly moved deeper into the shelter. His background wasn't good, his clothes were old and worn, weathered and dirty, and after struggling in the snow, he was covered in stains. Holding a camping knife, covered in scars, he looked like he had been through a fierce battle, appearing crazed and delusional.
"Help... help... help me..."
He squeezed his throat, using all his strength to produce the hoarsest, weakest voice. His gray eyes were dull as he stumbled through the dark corridor, occasionally bumping into corners and staircases where surveillance cameras were located.
"Hehehe, help me—why did you leave me here—help me!"
Li Aozhi wandered seemingly aimlessly for a few minutes, sometimes stopping, sometimes acting crazed, occasionally slashing at walls.
As he cried and covered his face, his gray eyes glinted:
"I’ve put on quite a show, crying and screaming. Those ‘doctors,’ even if they were blind, should see me now, right?"
Sure enough, after kneeling and crying for a while, his ears twitched.
From deep within the shelter, mechanical sounds echoed.
Tap, tap, tap.
[Someone's coming.]
He continued to kneel and cry, silently counting:
[3, 6... 12? Is it 12 or 13? If it’s 13, I won’t need to push further; I’ll be directly detained as a high-risk patient.]
Ignoring the approaching footsteps, Li Aozhi continued to cry, using his fingertips to stretch his eyelids, letting the blood stimulate his eyes to produce tears.
This self-harm quickly paid off—a hoarse female voice suddenly came from the once-dead silent shelter corridor:
"Don’t get close. The patient has self-harming tendencies and lacks logical behavior, likely a level-five Esha infected. If he suddenly lashes out, you could get hurt."
With his fingers covering his face, Li Aozhi peered through the gaps, seeing a Frost woman in a white coat with a tilted red cross on her chest. Her left face was delicate, her right covered by a chrome mask.
"But Anna, Assistant Physician, he has a knife..." another woman hesitated.
"Don’t worry—Head Nurse Nodri, please. He might be a rare level-five Esha infected; we must capture him alive." Assistant Physician Anna turned to the tall, strong head nurse beside her.
"Leave it to me."
Nodri, with bulging muscles, nodded and donned a mask and latex gloves, then approached Li Aozhi step by step.
Sensing the attack intent, the system entered battle mode, reading the opponent's information.
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[Entering battle mode, assessing...]
[Based on your level, you will see the following information about the enemy:]
[Name]: 'Requiem Humanitarian Aid Organization' Head Nurse—Nodri Crowe
[Level]: Destruction System—lv.20
[Health]: 260/260 (Healthy)
[Attributes]:
Strength—18
Dexterity—11
Constitution—20
Charisma—4
Will—5
[Rank]: Alpha Grade (New to Extraordinary)
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"An Alpha Grade extraordinary."
And a Destruction System warrior.
Li Aozhi wasn’t surprised. No matter the planet, Destruction System professionals were the most numerous, with low entry barriers and quick results, encouraged by the military.
However, Li Aozhi wasn’t concerned. Although he expected a fight, his ultimate goal wasn’t to kill her.
Nodri Crowe slowly raised her fist. Her strength far exceeded that of normal people, her health was several times Li Aozhi’s. Handling him was easy.
"Don’t resist, patient," she said. "I’m here to help you."
Hearing this, Li Aozhi trembled, lowering his head as if provoked, his tone bewildered.
"Help... help me?"
Nodri exchanged glances with the assistant physician. The infected seemed somewhat lucid, possibly less dangerous than 'the Professor' estimated.
"Yes, you don’t need to be afraid." Nodri approached Li Aozhi, her inner energy releasing pressure like a wall falling on him.
Ordinary people would feel a deep sense of despair from this genetic deterrence.
However, the man before her was unresponsive, silent.
Nodri didn’t lower her guard, spreading her massive hand, which could tear a northern giant bear, toward him. If he suddenly attacked, she was confident she could counter with a palm strike to his jaw.
"If he is a rare level-five infected, it’s best not to harm his consciousness..."
Nodri thought.
Seeing this, Li Aozhi raised his head, his disheveled black hair revealing a small red mark on Nodri’s right neck.
A warrior’s strength wasn’t granted by the wind. Those who quickly gained power without keeping up with martial arts would have weak spots called 'Chao Men.'
Usually, breaking the 'Chao Men' would cause significant damage, even allowing weaker opponents to defeat stronger ones.
Although players later eliminated such weaknesses, in the early extraordinary system of Azure Star, few realized the 'Chao Men' issue, assuming it was natural balance.
Facing Nodri’s outstretched hand, Li Aozhi hesitated before 'cautiously' placing his hand in hers.
"Alright, containment was successful."
Nodri felt the weak grip and battered body, certain he couldn’t resist, and conveyed this through her strength and presence.
Esha infected have genetic mutations, typically with strong danger senses. Faced with overwhelming enemies, they wouldn’t resist, but—only if not provoked.
The moment Nodri gripped his hand, she launched an attack, pulling him down, kicking away his camping knife, and pinning him with a knee on his back. She then cuffed his wrists with composite material handcuffs.
Nodri quickly shouted:
"Target is under control! Repeat, target is under control!"
The medical team immediately surrounded them with firearms. Li Aozhi didn’t resist, hanging his head, silent, letting them tie him up and put him in a yellow restraint suit before being dragged up by the female medics.
Nodri clapped her hands and casually said to the calm Assistant Physician Anna:
"Looks like the Professor misjudged. He’s not that highly infected, just a bit aggressive."
"He’s severely injured, not showing full strength. Don’t doubt the Professor’s judgment," Anna said flatly. "Besides, avoiding the main gate and reaching the abandoned logistics station is suspicious."
"So, you think he awakened Aether?"
"It’s possible. The Professor’s judgments are never wrong."
"Anna, the Professor isn’t a god." Nodri shook her head, looking at Li Aozhi. "This doesn’t look like a high-risk infected to me. The Professor must be losing his mind—"
"Head Nurse Nodri!"
Anna’s stern gaze, even on her half-masked face, showed discontent. She said quietly:
"If you doubt the Professor, look closer. I firmly believe the Professor is never wrong."
"Really?"
Nodri, annoyed by Anna’s blind faith, approached Li Aozhi, one hand holding his neck to prevent movement, the other lifting his chin, examining him closely. Finally, she stared into his dull gray eyes, then sneered:
"Such a weakling, nothing like a level-five Esha infect—"
Before she finished, Li Aozhi opened his mouth, a flash of white light from his tongue. At such close range, even an Alpha Grade warrior couldn’t dodge.
Shing!
Nodri froze, releasing her grip, clutching her right neck, blood gushing from a neat cut along the blood vessels.
A cold blade was perfectly embedded in the small red mark.
For some reason, Nodri felt unsteady. Her well-honed energy leaked like a pierced balloon.
"Head Nurse!"
"Are you alright, Head Nurse Nodri?"
Nodri’s face turned pale. She tried to speak, but her vision turned black.
Thud!
With a crisp sound, Nodri fell to her knees, not having lost much blood but in shock.
Anna glanced at the fallen Nodri and calmly said:
"I’ll take Head Nurse back. Jasmine, Ashley, you and the security team escort the patient back."
The 'infected' didn’t meet her gaze, silently escorted away by armed guards. Anna looked down at the ground.
In the corner lay a camping knife with a missing tip.
Anna was silent for a moment, then pressed her earpiece.
"Anna, what’s the situation?"
A gentle inquiry came from the other end.
"Professor," she said, "your diagnosis was, as always, accurate."