From the Abyss of Stars

092. Judgment

 

Ding-dong—

 

The elevator doors opened, and Qiu Ran rushed out, carrying Nomi's head. Li Aozi followed leisurely, his eyes fixed on Qiu Ran ahead, while his peripheral vision scanned the surroundings.

 

Even though he knew he had cleared out everyone on the first floor of the shelter, Li Aozi didn't consider caution to be a mistake.

 

Moreover, he had already encountered a pseudo-human and dared not let acquaintances out of his sight.

 

"Where are we going?" Qiu Ran asked anxiously.

 

"First to the ICU, to question Nordley."

 

Li Aozi kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, staying half a step behind Qiu Ran, not letting her out of his sight.

 

No matter how careless Qiu Ran was, she noticed Li Aozi's change in attitude and hesitated for a moment before saying:

 

"Are you worried about me now?"

 

She phrased it politely, using 'now.'

 

The implication was, 'You weren't like this before; what's happened to make you act this way now?'

 

"Is it because of that transformed Calamity Armament—"

 

"Trust me."

 

Li Aozi replied tersely.

 

He didn't want to explain too much. For the human kingdom, knowing about the existence of pseudo-humans was more harmful than the pseudo-humans themselves.

 

Qiu Ran pursed her lips but didn't say more.

 

"I don't know what effect that guy had on you just now... I trust you, but please trust me too."

 

Despite witnessing many incredible things about Li Aozi along the way, he was still just human.

 

"I'll try."

 

Li Aozi didn't want to speak too definitively.

 

He wasn't a genius. As someone whose main attribute was 【Charisma】, Li Aozi wasn't known for his intelligence. He also couldn't immediately distinguish between the real and the pseudo-human.

 

Regarding the Abyss, he was driven by his hatred for harming babies and his vendetta, which might seem somewhat hypocritical. But regarding pseudo-humans, Li Aozi always harbored a deep resentment.

 

He once had a great team during versions 1.0 and 2.0, enjoying themselves every day, building communities, sharing funny pictures, and doing quests together.

 

If not for the trust crisis caused by pseudo-humans, leading to a chain of suspicion and internal conflicts that tore them apart, his connections could have been much better.

 

Qiu Ran, or rather the entire Azure Star, didn't realize the true horror of pseudo-humans— even if all pseudo-humans were eliminated, the seeds of suspicion and division had already been sown in human hearts.

 

Everyone could commit crimes and then shift the blame by saying, "It wasn't me, it was a pseudo-human who replaced me; I'm a victim too."

 

Once people tasted the benefits of such deceit, their moral boundaries were shattered, and all human relationships deteriorated.

 

Courts couldn't distinguish truth from falsehood, making crime unpunishable. Order and justice became jokes, and non-criminals became the odd ones out— such a society was unfit for space exploration.

 

In Li Aozi's view, this was more despairing than direct destruction. Such a planet and cultural environment could only produce scum and pure chaotic evil demons.

 

Players, though dubbed the fourth scourge and cancer of the universe, generally weren't anti-human. When used well, they could be mutually beneficial and highly effective. But under pseudo-human influence, they'd become worse than the Abyss Humanitarian's worst.

 

The most crucial point— they were useless.

 

With humans' fragile bodies and shallow knowledge, unable to form cohesive groups, competing with those genetically modified interstellar overachievers with decades of compulsory education seemed like a pipe dream, and indeed it was absurd.

 

They reached the ICU without incident. Seeing Nurse Nordley on the operating table, pale and at death's door, despite knowing her past crimes, Qiu Ran felt a deep discomfort and disgust.

 

Nordley's limbs were crushed by Li Aozi. With her energy drained, her muscles atrophied, making her as sickly and weak as the Calamity Armaments.

 

"Nurse Nordley."

 

Qiu Ran spoke, unsure of what to say next.

 

"It's... you."

 

Nordley lifted her chin. Her muscles had wasted away, making her look forty years older, like an old woman, her face wrinkled, her eyes dull. She glanced at them, her voice barely a whisper:

 

"You've... come back, for... what?"

 

Li Aozi stepped forward, grabbed her hair, and lifted her head, asking sternly:

 

"Where is ZX-626? Where are your high-potassium protein repair agents and nutrient solutions stored?"

 

"626... you mean Snow?"

 

Nordley had completely given up resisting, her guilt constantly tormenting her. She moved her lips like a dying old woman, speaking slowly with all her strength:

 

"Snow is on the second floor, arranged by the professor. You will see her there."

 

"What about the medicines?" Qiu Ran quickly asked.

 

"The medicines you mentioned are long gone."

 

"How..."

 

"You should know that the Calamity Armaments... were a grave mistake by Abyss Humanitarian. Most resources were prioritized for the production line..."

 

"So you knew about Abyss Humanitarian's and Frost-Plated's dealings."

 

Li Aozi sneered.

 

"...I had no choice. The professor promised us it was to help the weak and prolong humanity."

 

Nordley pursed her lips:

 

"I think... the professor became too obsessed with research. She forgot the original purpose of establishing Abyss Humanitarian: to help the outsiders escape Calamity Virus infection, but she focused solely on Calamity research... all out of curiosity and scientific error..."

 

"Research?"

 

"Research on Calamity... but in reality, Calamity infection might not exist."

 

Nordley paused:

 

"There may never have been any Calamity infection. All our research results have been about Omega energy awakening."

 

"No Calamity infection?"

 

At this moment, before Li Aozi could speak, Qiu Ran suddenly interjected:

 

"At this point, you're still defending the professor?"

 

"I don't mean that. The professor used to be gentle and conscientious, but Frost-Plated's policies forced her to leave the country. Her obsession with Calamity Virus made her ruthless—"

 

"Leaving the country for the outside world meant she could do as she pleased, right? Without worrying about public condemnation, right? As long as the Abyss experiments' subjects weren't domestic— no, as long as they weren't wealthy, it was fine, right?"

 

The usually cheerful Qiu Ran stabbed Nordley’s heart with each word like a knife.

 

Nordley trembled, her voice quivering:

 

"No... you don't understand..."

 

Li Aozi, seeing the depth of corruption and misguided actions, felt a growing sense of urgency. He needed to eradicate this entire operation, ensuring that such atrocities could never spread or corrupt others.