From the Abyss of Stars

90. Cognitive Trap

 

Blood slid down the tip of the blade, the continuous and unbroken trail resembling red agate rolling over lambskin.

 

Red.

 

It was a bright, vivid, lively color, contrasting sharply with the cold, merciless gray blade. This red-white opposition, intertwined, created a visual impact like a punch to the eyes, stinging, aching, yet more compelling than anything else.

 

Shh—

 

Li Aozi slowly withdrew the long blade from the skull of the eleventh Calamity Armament girl. The cold blade emerged from the warm blood, emitting a sharp, thin whistling sound despite being soaked.

 

Gugugeaaaa...

 

Like a strange bird or a malevolent ghost, the sword's cry resonated through the bones of his hand, penetrating his brain, craving more.

 

"Want more..."

 

Snap.

 

Li Aozi flipped his wrist, bent his left arm, and clamped the blade's back in his elbow joint, slowly drawing the long blade and using his sleeve to gently wipe off the blood.

 

It was said that in Tianhuan samurai swordsmanship, there was a "blood shake" technique that could flick off blood with a light shake of the blade, but Li Aozi felt that wiping it with his sleeve was cleaner, as the costume wouldn’t get dirty anyway.

 

There weren’t many imported swords from Tianhuan, and ordinary mercenaries and bounty hunters who got one wouldn't keep it, either selling it or keeping it as a treasure.

 

Li Aozi remembered that there were no famous cold weapons in Frost-Plated. Men there, generally less educated, especially liked firearms and cybernetic modifications, as well as hand-to-hand martial arts, which had almost no barriers to learning.

 

Tianhuan was different. Their national characteristics made them worship soldiers and personal martial prowess, regardless of background or origin. All classes revered martial arts and had a strong dueling culture. A Tianhuan citizen committing murder would not be arrested if they joined the military and served in battle.

 

Hence, the best cold weapons in the entire Azure Star were there.

 

Li Aozi, following the 【Dominion】 path, couldn’t undergo modifications or implants, so Frost-Plated's rare implants and firearms held no allure for him.

 

He wasn't in a hurry to head to Red Arrow. The place had been peaceful in recent years, unsuitable for him.

 

Li Aozi had long planned; his next destination was Tianhuan, the best place to hone combat skills and acquire quality weapons.

 

He knew of two hidden quests for [Masterpiece] weapons there— completing Frost-Plated’s quest, he estimated he’d have the level and strength to obtain them.

 

As for now...

 

"One left."

 

He looked at the last bio-pod, slowly stepping over the fallen bodies of the boys and girls, moving forward.

 

These people’s Omega energy levels were low, so Li Aozi directly extracted and crushed them, storing the Omega energy sequences for future enhancement.

 

Currently, none of the Omega energies stored in his ability pods truly suited his needs; he used whichever was useful.

 

As for growth potential— apart from 【Iterative Movement】 and 【Polar Day Radiance】 having future prospects, he kept 【Directed Explosion】 and 【Ionic Shock】 for supplementing long-range damage.

 

Plop… plop...

 

Snow’s buff effect slightly influenced Li Aozi— in his view, the emotionless death of these mind-wiped children seemed particularly ironic.

 

Compared to Sonya before, the third-generation Calamity Armaments were colder and more ruthless, completely losing human traits.

 

They were made into commodities, stripped of names and emotions, reduced to numbers replacing their personalities, the term Calamity Armament erasing their existence’s meaning.

 

Li Aozi recalled the Calamity Armament boy he had drained of Omega energy earlier, who seemed to gain a moment of clarity before death, tearfully begging for death.

 

What had they experienced?

 

Where did they come from?

 

What kind of modifications and experiments made death a luxury?

 

Li Aozi didn’t care. For these children, there was no need to remember them.

 

The only thing the living could do was kill all the Abyss doctors, burying them with these children.

 

The last bio-pod stood alone, serene and well-behaved, like the good child in a group who never annoyed anyone. Although always well-behaved, no one noticed it.

 

Li Aozi didn’t dare be careless.

 

The third-generation Calamity Armaments had all sorts of Omega energies; during the recent slaughter, two Alpha-class Calamity Armaments even managed to injure him.

 

He sheathed the long blade but maintained the posture for drawing it. The so-called Iaido technique was actually just a surprise-draw technique. With the 【Soul Carved Sword Saint • Battle Ghost】 enhancement, he could simply communicate with the blade’s consciousness.

 

This way, even if the Calamity Armament in the bio-pod had a strong mental Omega energy, he could rely on the sword’s communication to perform the Iaido technique.

 

Li Aozi thought carefully, considering Snow’s buff and Nomi’s near-fatal attack— these made him pay special attention to his safety.

 

The gravity field silently opened around him. If the Calamity Armament in the bio-pod used gunfire or physical attacks, gravity would deflect them. Even if not completely diverted, he could use 【Iterative Movement】 to move to safety or directly counterattack.

 

Or he could directly trigger 【Polar Day Radiance】. With the blinding light’s strong control ability, he could defeat the opponent.

 

He envisioned various possibilities as he approached the last bio-pod.

 

He gave Qiu Ran, who was far away, a look. If there was any problem inside, Qiu Ran should immediately close the elevator door and return to the first floor, waiting for him to handle it and then act together.

 

'Stay safe.'

 

Qiu Ran reminded him from dozens of meters away.

 

Clang—

 

Li Aozi raised his sword stance, his eyes lighting up with purple circles.

 

His gaze was serious, holding his breath, 【Soul Carved Sword Saint】 activating, exuding a ferocious ghostly aura.

 

At the contact level of development, he could begin to communicate with the sword’s consciousness.

 

For some reason, the last bio-pod particularly unnerved him, like a thorn in his hand, impossible to ignore.

 

The long blade named "Suzan" was already impatient, the recent slaughter insufficient to awaken its true 'self,' merely stirring its ferocity, urging Li Aozi.

 

Li Aozi gripped the hilt.

 

The bio-pod remained silent.

 

It seemed the Calamity Armament inside hadn’t completed, prematurely killed by some unforeseen factor.

 

Was that really the case?

 

Gugeaaa...

 

Even the blade began to doubt, emitting a faint whimper, but Li Aozi still trusted his judgment.

 

Time passed slowly, and from afar, Qiu Ran felt the atmosphere growing more tense, as if someone hidden in the dark was watching them.

 

"...Forget it."

 

Just then, Li Aozi suddenly relaxed, his shoulders slumping. He spread his hands, abandoning the standoff and turning to leave.

 

"I’m just being paranoid, it’s fine, Qiu—"

 

As he turned, Qiu Ran saw the bio-pod silently open, a humanoid figure slowly standing up.

 

The figure rapidly changed, donning a yellow-black scavenger coat, lifting its head to reveal an indescribably eerie face— eyes set wide apart, features separated vertically but forming a precise symmetry, with thick lips, expressionless, hollow eyes fixed on Li Aozi, its muscular contours gradually aligning with his.

 

It spread its arms, slowly approaching from behind, reaching for Li Aozi’s neck.

 

"Behind you—"

 

Before Qiu Ran could shout, Li Aozi suddenly lowered his body, stepped back half a step, dodged the grab, and flicked the sword guard, drawing the long blade.

 

Gravity enhanced— thirty times acceleration!

 

Soul Carved • Battle Ghost!

 

Ferocious aura wrapped around the blade, stirring substantial flames, the blade instantly reaching, cleanly slicing a precise bloodline from waist to shoulder.

 

Like a monk draping a kasaya.

 

"Damn..."

 

Li Aozi, after slashing, noticed the corpse’s resemblance to himself, shuddering violently:

 

"How dare the Abyss take this— this isn’t an Omega awakener, it’s a fake person from the Counterfeit Society!"

 

This wasn’t a simple mimic. Li Aozi, seeing the distinctive, horrific face, was deeply shocked by the Abyss’s greed and ignorance.

 

The Counterfeit Society— Phylolith. Civilized predators lurking between narratives, and fakes were their "citizens" and dependents.

 

Introducing it this way might be hard for players to understand.

 

Simply put:

 

Phylolith was one of the main reasons the Azure Star was bombed by the Galexy civilization.