From the Abyss of Stars

40. Speedy Chase

 

"Faster, faster, faster!"

 

Li Aozzi urged urgently, as the car, assembled by the people of the outer world with who knows what kind of scrap metal, was in worse condition than expected. The narrow front seat couldn't accommodate two people, so he grabbed the roof, half of his body hanging outside, with bullets from Law IV agents whizzing past him from time to time.

 

Thanks to the wind, snow, and dust in the outer world, and the red-black evil clouds in the sky, the land was dim and dark.

 

In this low-visibility environment, the bullets fired by the Law IV female agents were hardly accurate. It would take a blessing from the Twin Queens for a burst to hit anything.

 

"Stop whining! If you hadn't insisted on siphoning fuel, this car would've gotten us out of here!"

 

Nuo Mi frequently swung the steering wheel, using the undulating dunes as obstacles to escape their pursuers' sight. However, the enraged Law IV agents switched on their high beams, risking exposure in the darkness just to catch them.

 

The glaring white light shone from the rearview mirror, causing Nuo Mi to click her tongue as the bright light affected her vision. Li Aozzi didn't hesitate, immediately smashing the rearview mirror with a punch. With the interference gone, Nuo Mi stepped hard on the accelerator, shooting down the slope and leaving the Law IV off-road vehicles behind.

 

"Detour back to Qiu Ran! This car has no protection, and we'll be buried if we encounter a sandstorm."

 

Seeing the off-road vehicles' lights closing in, Li Aozzi urged again.

 

"Forget that—oh shit! We're out of gas!" Nuo Mi glanced at the dashboard, which showed no fuel, and broke out in a cold sweat.

 

"What do we do!? We took a big detour to lose them… it's at least two kilometers away!"

 

"Head uphill."

 

Li Aozzi scanned the surroundings, noting several steep slopes.

 

Nuo Mi didn't hesitate, turning the steering wheel. With a bang, a bullet grazed her ear, but she ignored it, stepping harder on the gas to climb the slope.

 

Their quick actions caught the attention of the Law IV agents.

 

"What's happening? The vehicle is lost from sight."

 

Agent Yavanna holstered her gun, dropping from the sunroof covered in snow and sand. She removed her breathing mask and quickly asked her colleague in the passenger seat.

 

"I'll turn on the heat tracking—they're moving along the dunes, going uphill."

 

"They think they can shake us off by going uphill? Dream on!"

 

The agent behind, Teema, cursed into the channel, yelling at the driver:

 

"Speed up and follow them—everyone hold on tight!"

 

Yavanna frowned, pressing her earpiece to dissuade, "Teema, this is reckless. We don't know what's on the other side of the slope; this could be a trap—"

 

"Shut up, you capital flowerpot! You've missed every shot and still have the nerve to yap here?"

 

Teema snapped at Yavanna harshly, urging:

 

"Catch up! That Empire dog insulted the Twin Queens and has connections with the Rose Army. We must capture him alive!"

 

The Law IV vehicle, without hesitation, followed closely. Their off-road vehicles were more powerful, with better horsepower and torque, not fearing the climb.

 

Vrooom—

 

The wheels dug into the sand and snow, the engine groaning under the slope's resistance. The Law IV agents were pressed against their seats, with only a few raising their guns to shoot at the ramshackle vehicle ahead while enduring the blowing snow and sand.

 

"Duck!"

 

Nuo Mi said, pulling Li Aozzi into her arms as some stray bullets hit her, drawing blood. She was indifferent, continuing to accelerate up the slope.

 

One or two bullets wouldn't kill her, but Li Aozzi couldn't take a few more hits.

 

"What's happening? Why are they climbing faster than us?" Teema fired a few shots, noticing their vehicle lagging behind by dozens of meters, and angrily shouted at the male driver.

 

The male driver, nervously, said:

 

"They have fewer people and a lighter car—"

 

"Get out!"

 

Teema, anxious to redeem herself after Nimotin's disgrace, saw this as a rare chance to shine. If she could capture the enemy, she would surely be rewarded and perhaps even promoted to the headquarters.

 

With this thought, she immediately ordered the agents to get out and climb on foot.

 

In Frostshroud, there's no saying like "more haste, less speed," but the decision to abandon the car and climb on foot made Agent Yavanna, a colleague, unable to hold back.

 

"Go back!" Yavanna urged anxiously, "The wind is so strong, climbing high will get people blown away—"

 

"Shut up!"

 

Teema, furious, yelled at the communication channel:

 

"Is being a university graduate a big deal? Does a degree mean success? Give me a break. Let me show you how real field agents fight!"

 

"Agent Teema, if you continue this way, you'll only get people killed. Have you forgotten how Li Aozzi just—"

 

"Bleep—"

 

Teema directly muted Yavanna's voice. She took a deep breath, activating her energy to enhance her physical abilities. As a warrior, this level of protective energy was enough to shield her from the wind and sand, allowing her to move steadily.

 

Just as she expected, her fast running speed quickly outpaced the other vehicles. With her leading the charge, her team moved more smoothly, some of the more energetic female agents quickly catching up, only to be overtaken by her again.

 

Opportunity!

 

Teema was thrilled, blocking the wind with one hand and raising her submachine gun with the other, shooting at the dilapidated vehicle ahead.

 

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

 

"Te-Teema, Agent Teema!"

 

She was firing joyfully, chasing Li Aozzi's vehicle while shooting. Shooting the tires was ineffective, and even a flat tire wouldn't easily overturn the car. She aimed at the driver's seat, trying to kill the driver.

 

"Stop it, don't go—"

 

Just then, her teammates' voices turned exhausted, almost gasping for breath as they shouted at her, "Don't go—"

 

Teema didn't realize, taking another step forward.

 

Thud!

 

It felt like a weight suddenly dropped on her. Teema staggered, the unexpected heavy blow almost bringing her to her knees.

 

Teema's heart sank. She suddenly understood why her colleagues were out of breath.

 

"Gravity ability—this guy's ability can change gravity!"

 

Now she regretted her decision to get out of the car.

 

The car's steel body could rely on the internal combustion engine's power to push forward, but human flesh had no resistance against gravity changes.

 

But at this point, the target's vehicle was in sight. She was armed, professionally trained; capturing an unarmed person with special abilities shouldn't be hard.

 

The rewards were too tempting!

 

Determined, Teema gritted her teeth, climbing with all her might.

 

The closer she got to the vehicle, the more her spine bent. Teema panted heavily, struggling in the high-gravity environment. The cold wind of the outer world sapped her strength, and soon her limbs felt weak.

 

The shouts of her colleagues were becoming indistinct, drowned out by the wind. Teema raised her hand, placing it on the back of the vehicle, her lower body completely crushed by gravity, dragged along as the vehicle climbed.

 

"Stop the car!"

 

She raised her submachine gun with difficulty, using all her strength to shout:

 

"Stop and surrender, or I'll shoot."

 

As soon as she spoke, she saw two hands slowly raised from the driver's seat. Relieved by the sight, she quickly realized the car and the special ability were still active!

 

They were still escaping!

 

Bang!

 

Teema fired at the dashboard, and her heart sank.

 

Click, click—

 

The gun jammed.

 

The harsh environment of the outer world was unfriendly to precise firearms, and jams were common, but she never expected it to happen now.

 

"Damn it!"

 

Teema cursed. The next moment, she saw a head slowly emerge from the driver's seat, a young girl with her face covered in bandages. She grinned, her light purple eye seemed to say, "How does it feel?"

 

"Welcome to the outer world, Law IV hounds."

 

Nuo Mi giggled as Li Aozzi silently activated his special ability again.

 

Gravity inversion.

 

The next moment, Teema felt the vehicle suddenly lighten, her feet leaving the ground as she screamed in shock.

 

The assembled car soared over the dune, and with the gravity direction reversed, it flew towards the sky. Teema screamed as the sudden change subjected her to over 12G of overload!

 

Even with anti-G suits and professional training, no one could withstand such overload.

 

Teema's body was flung into the air, her vision blacking out, her spine twisted

 

. Once out of Li Aozzi's range, gravity reclaimed her, and she plummeted back to earth.

 

In some ways, she was lucky to have her head buried in the soft sand and snow.

 

But from 40 meters high, hitting the snow was no different from hitting steel.

 

Teema's head smashed into her chest, her spine snapped, protruding from her body. One eyeball was squeezed out, rolling on the ground.

 

Whoosh… Thud!

 

The car's wheels rolled over her, and Li Aozzi smoothly adjusted the gravity, bringing the vehicle down gently. Nuo Mi switched to neutral, the engine sputtering to a halt, running out of fuel, leaving the car to glide on gravity alone.

 

"Hahaha—did you see her face? Just like (Frostshroud)! Oh, she probably never looked that desperate, after all, Law IV agents mostly get their positions through sacrifices."

 

"I saw it, indeed a face of despair."

 

Li Aozzi waited for the experience notification to pop up.

 

[You have killed lv.15 Law IV Agent 'Teema Leyer', with more than 70% total damage output, exceeding the level limit, team reward…calculating]

 

[You have gained 1200 experience points]

 

With his level up, even without the team experience penalty with Nuo Mi, the fewer the level difference with the enemy, the less experience gained.

 

"Not bad, every four or five female agents is a chance to reset mutations."

 

Li Aozzi calculated. Lacking finishing moves early on, most of his experience came from quests.

 

His gravity ability allowed him to challenge elite enemies beyond his level, but getting 100% experience was tough. Having human teammates boosted the experience gain.

 

If he teamed up with beasts or animals, the gains would be minimal. Few species like humans could significantly boost experience and growth across the universe.

 

"Your ability is really handy!"

 

Nuo Mi laughed heartily, slapping Li Aozzi's shoulder, her arm around his neck, in a good mood.

 

Then she casually asked:

 

"So, little Red Arrow beauty, how many lies have you told me?"

 

"Maybe even Li Aozzi is a fake name."

 

"Oh, I see, fake Li Aozzi. Why not change your name to Woshi Pianzi? Li Aozzi is already weird and ugly."

 

"What about just Li Zi, dropping the 'Aoz'?"

 

"Li Zi?" Nuo Mi laughed, drawing out the sound, "Little Li~~ sounds like a eunuch."

 

"That's why I kept the 'Aoz'—by the way, I was told I lack water in my fate, adding 'Aoz' helps, and now I'm much better."

 

"I don't see how you're better, all lies."

 

Li Aozzi laughed, unconcerned. The two joked, lightening the mood.

 

"If nothing else, just assume I'm always lying—except this one isn't a lie."

 

Seeing Nuo Mi's affection rating at 201, he crossed his arms, saying nothing more.

 

Nuo Mi rolled her eyes, tightening her grip on his neck, annoyed:

 

"Tsk—since you never tell the truth, do you like women?"

 

"Not sure, I think someone's aiming at us."

 

"Answer me! Do you like women or not?"

 

Nuo Mi rolled her eyes:

 

"Tell the truth."

 

"Hard to say."

 

Li Aozzi thought back:

 

"I started with 2D, thinking I liked mature women, then heard lolis are treasures. Later, tsundere lolis got outdated, and I liked black-haired beauties."

 

'What about white hair?'

 

Nuo Mi muttered, her white hair blowing in the wind.

 

Li Aozzi didn't hear, continuing:

 

"Then a fan sent me a photo, a JK. I was happy, thinking I had a girl fan. Just when I settled on liking JK beauties, he sent me a voice message with a thick Tianjin accent: 'Brother, like my cross-dress? I also have Hatsune Miku and Luo Tianyi, which do you want to see? No need to find pretty sisters outside, come to me.'"

 

Li Aozzi pondered, saying:

 

"I realized, gender doesn't matter, race doesn't either, as long as they look good, I'm fine."

 

Crack!

 

"Hey, don't go crazy here, you'll break the steering wheel!"