NOVEL FROG 086. Corridor of Blood
- Corridor of Blood
【Warning: You attacked a member of the same faction!】
【Due to the faction leader 'Professor' having a special expertise, faction favorability is bound to the leader's personal favorability.】
【Abyss Humanitarian Relief favorability: 200 (Like)】
【You killed a member of the same faction!】
【Due to the faction leader 'Professor' having a special expertise, faction favorability is bound to the leader's personal favorability.】
【Abyss Humanitarian Relief favorability: 200 (Like)】
No matter how many people he killed, as long as the Professor's favorability towards him didn't change, Abyss Humanitarian Relief would never turn against him and attack him.
How ridiculous... how pathetic... but not pitiful at all.
Because doing so meant that each of them obeyed the Professor's will, they had assisted in what the Professor had done and were willing to assist.
When Li Aozi walked out of the ICU, Nomi and Qiu Ran had already been waiting for a long time. The former swung a wrench, cracking a nurse's skull. She turned to Li Aozi, pouting:
"You sure took your time. The alarm has gone off twice, why are you only out now?"
"Got some information—Assistant Doctor Anna has already obtained the Professor's authority and has headed to the third floor."
Li Aozi said, casually pocketing the scalpel stuck with an eyeball to avoid losing it during a fight later. He looked at Qiu Ran and asked:
"Are you okay? Are you sure you want to follow? It's not too late to hand over the arcane energy to me now."
"Thanks for the concern, but from now on, I don't want to rely on others' protection."
Qiu Ran tied her red hair into a ponytail and gave a thumbs up to the two, saying:
"A real woman never becomes anyone's burden. Fight freely, Mr. Li Aozi, Miss Nomi."
Li Aozi nodded and stepped into the corridor.
Beep—beep—
The alarm sounded again, and a synthetic female voice announced over the broadcast:
"Warning: Unknown intruder—please stay in your rooms, do not go out, I repeat, do not go out—"
Creak!
Li Aozi kicked open a door, and the Abyss medical staff hiding in the dorm corner screamed immediately. One reacted quickly, drawing a weapon and aiming at Li Aozi.
"Kneel."
Li Aozi gestured, and under the heavy gravity, the person instantly kneeled, her shattered knees oozing red blood, staining her pants. She collapsed, her skeleton seemingly filled with lead, unable to even lift her head. The sudden pain made her accidentally discharge the weapon, and her roommate's abdomen was pierced, intestines and blood gushing out.
He turned to Nomi and said, "Don't come in."
Li Aozi gently closed the door. Soon, the room was filled with horrifying wails and screams, pleas, and shrieks, chilling to the bone, then suddenly went silent.
Snap.
The door opened, and Li Aozi, unstained by blood, lightly said, "Let's go, to the next place."
Nomi didn't ask, hefting her wrench to follow. Qiu Ran couldn't help but peek inside.
"Ugh—ugh—"
Immediately, she clung to the wall, vomiting uncontrollably.
"Idiot big sister! He told you not to go in for a reason."
Nomi patted her shoulder and glanced at Li Aozi who had broken in.
"Although we attacked Abyss to resist the Four Nations... this guy seems to have a personal vendetta."
Never mind.
Though she hadn't gone to school, she still understood some basics of dealing with people.
Everyone has their own privacy and secrets. If hedgehogs get too close, they'll prick each other and bleed.
That Red Arrow guy seems to have more and more secrets—but so what?
At least now, being able to fight side by side, resisting the unbeatable Four Nations together, feels enough.
"Get moving—don't die here, Qiu Ran." Nomi muttered, "Li Aozi's gonna do something big, you'd miss it if you die."
"Just don't let me see these scenes..." Qiu Ran, pale, recalling the floor covered in bloody remnants, felt another wave of nausea:
"Ugh—"
"Damn! Can you handle it? Hey, Li Aozi, you go ahead..."
Nomi's call received no response. When she looked back, Li Aozi had already vanished.
"Well, he's run off again..."
【Target: 34/109】
Li Aozi's pace was slow.
In reality, he derived no joy from the slaughter. Every swing of the chain and release of gravity was just manipulating an action, then waiting for the result.
In essence, it was the same as before, like playing a game, numb, bored, mechanically repeating, killing these data.
But in reality, since the eighteenth female doctor had her head stuffed into her neck, Li Aozi began to feel a bit tired.
Blood soaked the chain, making it slippery and heavy in his hand. The organs dragged out from the bodies were still warm, almost alive, bouncing in the air.
These vivid organs imprinted deep shadows on his retina. Their death cries refreshed his understanding of human despair.
Curses, insults, pleas, hatred, confusion, bewilderment, pain.
The frequency of human despair and fear was so monotonous that it made Li Aozi feel a strong physiological resonance and discomfort.
"Scary…"
Li Aozi clutched his chest, the lingering fear gradually subsiding. He finally realized why it was rated 'Memorialize'.
As long as he was human, he couldn't face such carnage—humans instinctively feel fear at the sight of their kind's tragic end, and involuntarily imagine it happening to themselves.
The nurse's shattered head kept flashing between decay and a sweet smile, finally showing his face.
Li Aozi's dismembered face.
"Unbelievable..."
Li Aozi shivered; it was a physiological reaction.
Fear is the body's self-protection mechanism, instinctively generating fear towards things that could threaten life.
He lifted his blood-soaked hand, vaguely remembering that these hands, just half a month ago, were those of a bank security guard, a brother, a good kid, also used for typing on a keyboard to make a living online.
He was doing something very sinful... killing, especially slaughtering defenseless women, these female doctors couldn't even provide him with experience.
But Li Aozi didn't feel guilty for it.
"I'm actually feeling fear... am I still human?"
Whether as a 【Mutant】 or a former player who crossed into the game, he couldn't really be considered "human" in this world, and Li Aozi had never regarded the dead as people.
"I'm killing, slaughtering lives. I'm human, I'm alive, I'll die too..."
No!
Li Aozi's pupils rapidly contracted and dilated. He suddenly realized that the narrow space of Abyss Humanitarian Relief seemed intentionally arranged. The deeper he went, the narrower it became, and the walls turned from white to brown... the color of dried blood.
This bloody corridor intensified his psychological suggestion.
"Psychological fear—this is a 【Medium's】 technique, but there's no malice..."
Li Aozi calmed down. He had no feelings about slaughter.
Not to mention, just the void demons he slaughtered were in the hundreds of thousands if not millions. Crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he had long been desensitized to dismembered bodies.
It was the space he was in, plus the 【Medium's】 technique—constantly warning him.
"Warning…"
This wasn't a malicious warning. Li Aozi was familiar with the 【Medium's】 abilities. If it was a malicious warning, there should be ghostly spirits for intimidation.
"Someone's helping me!"
He opened the system panel, and sure enough, saw a new buff:
【High Tension】—easier to detect nearby stealth targets.
He touched the wall, and at a slight touch, the brown wall shattered like an illusion, reverting to white.
"It really is a spiritual setup. There's a 【Medium】 helping me… who is it?"
Li Aozi was puzzled. He had only met one 【Medium】 since crossing over, Agent Yavanna.
But Agent Yavanna had long left. With Nimotin severely injured, she must have gone back for debriefing... how could she be here at Abyss?
Psychological fear is a technique that ignores levels, if used properly, it can cause a mutiny in an army.
Conversely, it can serve as a beneficial effect, making the commander more aware of overlooked details.
When did Yavanna learn this technique?
Psychological fear can only be performed by those with strong spiritual power, and to use it as a beneficial effect requires even higher proficiency—
Wait.
Dr. Chen Siqi's intelligence echoed in his ears.
………………
“Xue Nuo's arcane energy is a powerful spiritual force that can read thoughts, ideas, and brainwave changes within a certain range and transmit them to each other—this is equivalent to a super-large-scale mind reading and telepathic network. If used in the military, it would be a war network more convenient and powerful than quantum communication!”
………………
Previously, he had been so blinded by anger that he almost forgot about this detail.
A psychic of Abyss Humanitarian Relief...
Strong spiritual power...
High proficiency...
And willing to help him, at least have some goodwill towards him.
Li Aozi paused, suddenly realizing something.
—He remembered receiving a strange note shortly after triggering the "Unmemorable" mission, someone in a hurried and sloppy manner telling him: Run.
He opened the system records, quickly scrolling back to the time he first joined Abyss Humanitarian Relief.
At that time, he had just joined the organization, and there were many faction character favorability notifications.
Among the string of 'Indifferent' and 'Ordinary' favorability ratings, he found the only 'Like':
【Test Subject ZX-101】 Jane Neria: Indifferent (49/1000)
【Test Subject ZX-626】 ???: Like (200/1000)
“...Is it you?”
Li Aozi whispered:
"Xue Nuo."
A breeze swept through the underground corridor, brushing past his ear.
The wind didn't even lift his hair, but upon reflection, he realized: how could there be wind in an underground place wrapped tightly with cement and frozen soil?
………………
“Xue Nuo's brain, due to the excessive release of arcane energy, may have experienced mutations in brain cells or genes... In short, her body can no longer be compatible.”
Dr. Chen Siqi paused and said:
“Two months later, she died from massive bleeding caused by rejection reactions.”
………………
The body dies, but the soul is immortal.
"I see."
Li Aozi tightened his grip on the chain.
ZX-626 was Xue Nuo's new body.
From the beginning, that child had been helping him.
Li Aozi had always been liked by children, and it was no surprise that Xue Nuo noticed him, which is why she warned him to escape.
He had been investigating ZX-102 all along, and she saw it through her spiritual power.
The so-called "Unmemorable"... actually referred to Xue Nuo, who endured the brutal experiments of Abyss Humanitarian Relief but was never remembered.
With the explosion of the Azure Star, everything about her was buried, along with all the crimes of Abyss Humanitarian Relief, unremembered.
Until this moment of return, she completely trusted him and gave him her unique blessing.
Do not forget fear, do not forget your human identity...
"Fear—indeed, keep fear, maintain reverence for life. I will not forget."
Li Aozi calmed down. The right amount of fear made him more vigilant. After a few steps, he pulled a nurse hiding in a trash can and punched her to death.
"The 35th."
Li Aozi released the body, his eyes constantly scanning:
"Even if history forgets you, I cannot forgive."
The chain hung down, dragging on the ground, emitting a chilling sound that sent shivers down the spine.
