NOVEL FROG 033. Strolling Through the Forbidden Zone (Part 1)
- Strolling Through the Forbidden Zone (Part 1)
"The off-road vehicle in front of you is a modified AGX911 model produced by the Messerschmitt company. It has a four-wheel-drive structure, external suspension, and powerful performance. The fuel inside is enough to let you drive two thousand kilometers."
Doctor Anna led Li Aozzi and Nuo Mi to the underground garage. The maintenance personnel dispersed, and a wild-looking off-road modified vehicle appeared in front of them.
"Wow!"
Nuo Mi's eyes lit up:
"I like it!"
Li Aozzi knocked on the headlights, and there was no gravel residue in the gaps. It could be confirmed that it was assembled from parts inside Abyss.
After inspecting it, Li Aozzi opened the trunk and said:
"Take some supplies down, replace them with fuel tanks."
"Are you sure? This car can go two thousand kilometers on a full tank—"
"You don't understand." Li Aozzi shook his head: "Gasoline has other uses."
Nuo Mi glanced at him and casually opened the driver's seat door.
"Yo!"
There was already someone in the driver's seat, a woman about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, adjusting something in the car. She turned her head and smiled at Nuo Mi:
"You're Li Aozzi? I thought you were a man."
"Hey," Nuo Mi turned to Anna: "Who is this woman? Weren't we supposed to go alone?"
Anna was indifferent:
"ZX-101, you are still in critical condition monitoring, and Mr. Li Aozzi, according to the level, is also under isolated jurisdiction. Originally, you were not allowed to go on field missions, but the situation is special now. We need your strength, and we ask for your cooperation. Miss Qiu Ran will be responsible for monitoring your safety and health levels."
The red-haired woman laughed heartily. She looked simple and honest, like a rustic village woman.
"Tch!"
Nuo Mi muttered:
"Monitoring is monitoring, but who knows what they'll do behind our backs."
Li Aozzi didn't mind. He stepped forward and shook hands with Miss Qiu Ran:
"Nice to meet you, Miss Qiu Ran. I'm Li Aozzi, and this is Nuo Mi. We will need your assistance for the upcoming tasks, so please take care of us."
"You're too kind, too kind."
Qiu Ran laughed heartily, looking very down-to-earth. Her features were kind, and it was hard to dislike her when looking into her green eyes.
[Hint: Qiu Ran has joined your team]
[Team module unlocked. You can view team member information here]
[Name]: Qiu Ran
[Race]: Carbon-based lifeform - New Generation Homo Sapiens - Frost People
[Gender]: Biological Female
[Age]: 24 years old
[Template]: Ordinary Neutral NPC (Health limit +10%)
[Faction]: Abyss Humanitarian
[Total Level]: lv.15
——[Main Profession]: lv.0 Civilian
——[Sub Profession]: lv.15 [Maintenance Worker]
[Health]: 150/150 (Healthy)
[Energy]: 120/120
[Attributes]:
Strength — 9
Dexterity — 7
Constitution — 14
Charisma — 12
Willpower — 5
[Talent]:
Racial Talent • Teamwork — New Generation Homo Sapiens possess strong teamwork abilities. When you are in a team, experience gain increases by 50%. This effect is lost when leaving the team. (Active: Current gain: 3.375)
[Expertise]:
[Skilled Worker] — You are proficient in repair and assembly tasks. Even a robot would think twice before competing with you in repairs. Repair and assembly speed of mechanical creations increased by 120%.
[Ability]:
[Spontaneous Combustion • Contact] — You have a certain degree of ability to change and create oxidation heating phenomena.
The essence of flame is the phenomenon of combustion. Combustible materials being rapidly oxidized by oxygen will cause fires, and you have the ability to accelerate oxidation.
Honestly, no one would want to become your enemy because the pain of being slowly burned to death far surpasses other ways of dying.
However, this ability does not make you immune to fire damage. Fire makers often do not have a good end, and you might be the same.
Rating: Omicron
Range: 15 cm forward from the palm
Current Development Level: Contact level. At this level of development, the energy consumption rate is 100%.
Possessed Skills:
[Mechanical Repair], [Emergency Handling], [Vehicle Enhancement], [Advanced Vehicle Proficiency], [Basic Mechanical Fundamentals], [Superspeed Disassembly]
Tier: Ordinary Person
"Average attributes. Only constitution and charisma are decent, and not even a combat profession."
Li Aozzi looked at the attributes and didn't pay much attention.
Without a main profession, it basically equates to having no combat power. The six main profession systems are the foundation for stepping into the extraordinary.
"Since there's no problem, I'll explain the target and precautions of this mission..."
Anna's surface work was very thorough. She carefully introduced the background of the White Fang gang, their strength, and the population, power composition, and rules of the wanderer gathering place.
However, Li Aozzi had been mingling in the outer world for two whole versions. He could walk from the Scylla Church to Devil's Valley with his eyes closed, then go to Ashes Cemetery to farm treasure chests for basic materials to enhance his gear's photon level... It was just like clocking in for work.
Nuo Mi cared even less. As a warrior of the Rose Army, she was raised by the ice knives and snow swords of the outer world. She was daydreaming, staring at the ants on the ground.
Li Aozzi focused mainly on Qiu Ran.
The fact that she had no main profession caught his attention, making Li Aozzi realize he had overlooked some areas, such as sub-professions and development issues.
In "Abyss of Stars," there are many powerful sub-professions. Some sound very cool and mysterious, like [Collector], [Emperor], [Scholar].
But these professions have no combat power. They only provide prestigious status and attribute bonuses, but cannot help you step into the extraordinary.
In his previous life, Li Aozzi took an extreme approach, abandoning all sub-professions and investing all resources into the main profession [Starfall Master].
As a result, his combat power was astonishing, standing out among players. This playstyle, known as the "Extreme Path," was quite common.
However, the Extreme Path had many serious problems:
First, the attributes were singular, making it easy to be countered in professional arenas.
Second, the playstyle was fixed, with no room for tactical breakthroughs. It could only rely on teammates for support to relieve pressure.
Most importantly, Extreme Path players could only serve as the core of a team, consuming resources equivalent to six people. If the core was broken, the entire team would perish.
Such a price was unacceptable for clubs that valued stability and victory. Behind clubs was capital, and capital couldn't afford to lose a vast profit prospect for a bit of entertainment effect.
Normally, solo professions could follow the Extreme Path, and [Starfall Master] was no exception. Not only Li Aozzi, but almost all Starfall Masters followed the Extreme Path.
However, as a Starfall Master expert, Li Aozzi knew that this profession wasn't only suitable for the Extreme Path. Ordinary players walking the Extreme Path were barely better off.
"To make [Starfall Master] flourish, I must build good relations with the community and lower the entry barrier for players— even if there are no players in the future, I don't want the number of [Starfall Masters] to be too few."
The number of players determines the volume of their voice. If the [Starfall Master] group is too small, people will dare to disrespect their authority.
Few people mean it's hard to have fresh blood and innovation— and the abilities of [Starfall Master] often involve stellar transformations and cosmic changes, making innovation inherently slow.
Without more [Starfall Masters] in actual combat, exchanging insights, and maintaining basic inheritance, this profession would have no future.
"I really can't follow the Extreme Path. For future development, I must become a relatively versatile individual, which means following the All-Encompassing Path."
Li Aozzi thought:
"By the way, this woman's ability is quite good, rated Omicron. Unfortunately, it's just 'Spontaneous Combustion'. If it were Ignition, Thermal Manipulation, or Temperature Reversal, the potential would be much higher."
High-temperature flames have always been a mainstay in combat. Electric discharge abilities are not rare, and electric energy is quite common. However, discharge abilities rated Zeta or above are very few.
Abilities involving flames, high temperatures, and molecular motion start at least at Lambda rating. Their potential is very high, their destructive power is strong, and most importantly, they are very rare.
Flame abilities inherently have purification properties, making them popular in both magical and technological planets. They have a wide range of applications, and those aiming to become high-level blacksmiths must master flame or temperature abilities.
Electric discharge abilities are too common, and the human body itself has weak electric discharge capabilities. Low-level electric discharge abilities are generally not as effective as mechanical technology.
Discharge abilities stronger than mechanical technology are essentially Omega level or close to Omega level.
However, the advantage is that it's very easy to find work, and for the natives, controlling lightning is almost a divine symbol.
Li Aozzi had no interest in discharge abilities. His target ability was far stronger than any discharge ability.
No, rather, that ability is the ancestor of all discharge abilities.
In terms of output, players calculated that high-temperature abilities are still superior.
The main reason is that high temperatures cause continuous damage...
"Speaking of which, my mutated [Ability Pod] can accommodate 4 abilities."
Li Aozzi had a thought:
"Qiu Ran has no combat power. Getting the spontaneous combustion ability from her shouldn't be difficult."
The forced capture and control of gravity are strong for ordinary targets and his capital for challenging higher levels. But Li Aozzi currently lacked harvesting abilities, which greatly affected his experience gains.
And Qiu Ran's ability... The continuous damage from spontaneous combustion was very suitable for creating large-scale damage with gravity.
Quite suitable...
Li Aozzi looked at Qiu Ran, this simple and honest maintenance worker, with a bit of affection.
Qiu Ran was straightforward, an ordinary woman without much education. She had a good temper and listened well to Anna's long-winded instructions.
"The Sikkim Settlement is located halfway up the mountain. They hollowed out half the mountain, and the inside is complex, with a population of 400 people. There's no unified leader; they're all wanderers from the outer world."
Qiu Ran slowly repeated and analyzed:
"So, once we get there, no one will care about our lives. There's no order, all depends on self-awareness. No one will cooperate with our actions, but there may not be anyone colluding with the White Fang gang either. Every wanderer is concerned about their own safety— can I understand it this way?"
"…You could say that."
Doctor Anna adjusted her glasses and said:
"The outer world people suffer from the Four Nations monopolizing resources, so you'd better not show civilized traits. Dress more pitifully, act more miserable— your supplies are already limited. Li Aozzi insisted on exchanging some for fuel, so you can't last more than three days out there. Once you get the medical equipment, come back immediately."
"I have a question."
Qiu Ran didn't wait for Anna to respond and asked:
"Today, I found that Asha, Luo Fan, Qiu Ming... those medical friends are missing. Were they also taken by the White Fang gang?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"It's not what I'm trying to say, Miss Anna." Qiu Ran's big eyes stared at the other: "These are our people. They were taken, and we have an obligation to rescue them..."
"That's impossible. Don't think about it; it's unrealistic."
Anna shook her head:
"You don't have the resources or abilities to accomplish these tasks. Their lives... we can't help."
"Abyss Humanitarian saves so many people, but we can't even protect the lives of our own. I think this is unreasonable."
Qiu Ran said:
"In any case, I think we should try."
Meanwhile, Li Aozzi's task list changed.
[You have triggered the side mission: "Clear Love and Hate"]
[Type]: Hostage Rescue/Challenge
[Duration]: 47 hours 56 minutes (Countdown)
[Task Difficulty]: B
[Description]:
Abyss Humanitarian may not be a good organization, but those medical staff who spent sleepless nights monitoring and caring for you were genuinely sincere.
They have put in countless efforts to save the lives and health of people like you.
Now, it's your turn to save their lives.
[Progress]: 0/14
[Settlement Conditions]:
1: Save at least 6 of the kidnapped medical staff. (Mandatory)
2: Escort the hostages out of danger, ensuring they are unharmed for at least 30 minutes during the escape. (Optional)
3: An eye for an eye—eliminate as many White Fang gang members as possible. Each kill grants an additional 20% experience. (Challenge)
4: If you complete the first condition within 24 hours, you will receive an additional reward. (Challenge)
5: Kill 5 White Fang gang members using a vehicle. (Challenge)
6: Infiltrate the White Fang gang camp without being detected throughout. (Challenge)
[Task Rewards]:
Completing the mandatory condition grants the base reward: 5 free attribute points.
Each challenge completed grants +1 main attribute and 600 experience points.
[Special Note]: The White Fang gang members may harm the hostages at any time.