NOVEL FROG 071. Newborn
- Newborn
Li Aozi sneered, "And what about the Cannibal?"
"This body's code name is the Cannibal."
The Professor spread her hands:
"Don't you think it's cool? As a woman in STEM, I think it's really cool. It completely fits my vision of a future intertwined with flesh and technology beyond this mechanized world."
"With just a little cost, you can get a body that surpasses decades of martial arts training."
"Technology, with a twist of fun."
Li Aozi coldly mocked:
"And the cost is those children?"
"Someone has to sacrifice for science. Compared to adults who need compulsory education and consume a lot of resources and time, using babies is clearly more cost-effective."
The Professor spoke eloquently:
"Without the constraints of morality and law, time becomes swift—there are neither laws nor morals in the Outlands."
"Fuck you, you bitch! All your research is built on the bones of countless babies! And the results are used on the people of the Four Nations!"
Li Aozi clenched his fist and cursed:
"Fuck you, newborn! The people of the Outlands have already suffered immense hardships. They have nothing left, yet you still take their children—their continuation and hope! What kind of humanitarianism is this shit!"
The Professor looked at him in surprise.
"Strange," she said, "the first time I saw you, I thought you were just like me."
"What?"
"I can see in you the same shadow as myself."
The Professor said slowly:
"We worship power, reason, and science. We adhere to the principle of putting interests first, use any means to achieve our wishes, disregard our own lives, and possess the spirit of sacrificing for our ideals..."
She spread her arms, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth that made one's scalp tingle, and spoke softly:
"You know, Mr. Li Aozi, I really like you."
She raised her claws nostalgically, her four eyes reflecting the memories of her past life:
"When I was young, I also wanted to use my knowledge and power to do something for my country, for humanity."
"I kept learning, earning one degree after another, completing hundreds of papers, but soon, I discovered something."
"The special medicine I developed became a tool for pharmaceutical companies to make a fortune, unaffordable to countless patients."
"The virus mutation phenomenon I discovered was used to make biochemical weapons, killing hundreds of thousands in plagues."
"The new type of botulinum mask I improved to meet people's desire for beauty became a tool for spies and agents to disguise themselves."
"I realized—no matter what technology I developed, it would ultimately be used in war."
"How pathetic. No matter how much I wanted to benefit society, I ended up helping government bureaucrats to kill."
Li Aozi remained expressionless.
Yavanna and Nimotin felt a bit ashamed hearing this.
——After all, they were the government mentioned by the Professor.
It seemed that it was precisely because of the government's problems that a passionate scientist turned into an evil, ruthless, and heartless madwoman.
The Professor paused and then chuckled lightly:
"So, I decided to directly research military weapons."
"——Huh?"
Li Aozi almost couldn't react.
"This really saved me decades of detours."
The Professor sighed:
"The orders from the military kept increasing, my funding grew more and more, and I no longer had to worry about being choked. I could freely pursue my interests."
"Once you taste this kind of freedom, you don't want to let it go—that's why I came to the Outlands and founded Abyss Humanitarian."
"Li Aozi, you understand, right? Unrestrained, free to soar, without the constraints of law and morality, you can recklessly gather materials and extract all value—this is how my power unknowingly reached the Beta tier."
"Beast..."
Li Aozi cursed.
"You, who have no bottom line, are worse than a beast!"
"Bottom lines, are they useful?"
The Professor was unmoved:
"Over the long years, I realized one thing: history only forgets the failures and the mediocre."
"No matter how much I conducted bottomless experiments, my scientific and technological achievements are here. Precisely because I have no bottom line, I led the progress and innovation of science!"
"Instead of calling me a beast—why not call me the dawn of a new era?"
Without guilt, without shame, without pressure.
The Professor's natural words completely ignited Li Aozi's anger.
The Cannibal.
Xue Nuo.
Those babies who were kidnapped and imprisoned.
The babies who had already been 'eaten.'
The babies stored in a distant secret laboratory, waiting for the Professor to 'taste.'
Red-black eyes oozed black blood, surrounded by a storm of sand and snow.
The Professor's rambling became increasingly blurry as his head, like burning with high fever, kept drifting between clarity and chaos.
Scenes flashed before Li Aozi's eyes.
Extracted brains, forcibly read by death-row inmates, memories of the dead filled with despair and fear before they died; babies snatched from their mother's cradles, crying uncontrollably...
Clang!
A sword reeking of money seemed to stab at him, making Li Aozi's hair stand on end.
He focused, and the Outlands were still the Outlands.
He vaguely saw a sword emitting faint starlight shatter into pieces and eventually disappear.
——For a moment, his mind buzzed, as if a fragment had intruded.
An irresistible force kicked him to the ground, with the sword's edge pointing at his throat.
Someone took something from his arms.
Pat... pat...
A storm seemed to brew in the distance, full of anger.
"Oh, it seems the Creator is not on our side."
The Professor calculated the time, it should be enough for Zhu Baiya, that idiot, to transfer the babies.
"Looks like a storm is coming, let's part ways here."
She glanced at Li Aozi, saying with deep affection:
"Li Aozi, you need to be better. Otherwise, how will you prove the superiority of a level five infected?"
"You need to be better than my previous subjects."
"So, goodbye~"
[Storm approaching, Cannibal lost combat intention]
[Emergency Event: "Cannibal" Completed]
[Reward Settlement]:
[You have gained 60,000 experience]
[You have gained the feat—Last Stand: When your health is below 10%, your attack speed, output rate, and toughness increase by 80%]
[Mutant Exclusive: In your next mutation, a high-level rare option will definitely appear]
The task ended.
All settlement requirements were met, and the rewards were substantial.
However, as Li Aozi touched his chest and watched the Cannibal walk away freely, he felt no excitement at all.
[I should feel happy, feel satisfied... Players have always been a group that prioritizes interests and adheres to utilitarianism.]
[I have heavily injured Zhu Baiya, wiped out the White Fang Gang, and Nimotin is no longer a threat.]
[It's enough, having done this, there is no need to continue fighting. Now is not the time to clash with the Professor, I don't have the ability to kill her now, not even the risk of finishing her off—should go back and level up.]
[But—]
Li Aozi's pupils contracted.
[Why?! Why can someone who has done these things live?! She took away so many babies' lives, and she wants to walk away alive?!]
The Cannibal turned and swaggered off.
"Stop."
Li Aozi's fist remained clenched.
"Huh?" The Professor tilted her head, not even bothering to look back.
Whoosh—
A supersonic stone instantly struck at her feet, stirring up a cloud of dust.
The swirling dust made the Professor pause, and she turned, her four eyes showing confusion.
"You picked up your life from me; I rarely pity others... You're an exception. Li Aozi, are you sure you don't want to wait until next time? Maybe then you'll have the chance to kill me."
"No fucking next time."
Li Aozi picked up the chain from the ground, his red-black eyes filled with determination, a smile spreading across his face as blood streamed down his cheeks:
"I don't want your pity, I want your life!"
