From the Abyss of Stars

104. Clashing Birds, Waiting Mantis

 

"Fight, keep fighting."

 

Anna was immensely relieved by her actions, as it was Li Aozi who angered Du Zexin, not her.

 

Although it was a case of using one to kill another, and Du Zexin might not be too happy facing her in the end, a little benefit and compensation would smooth things over.

 

Li Aozi's combat prowess was entirely beyond her expectations. For a moment, she doubted if he was the "Level 5 Infected" the professor spoke of.

 

But she quickly shook her head, denying the thought.

 

The Calamity Theory was untenable. Since the professor had already developed the Calamity Armament and Omega Energy Awakening potion, combined with the previously adopted psychic communication by the military—why not focus on these three projects for research?

 

Why be obsessed with Calamity?

 

To research Calamity, she had abandoned humanity and would have to forsake benefits too—was it worth it?

 

Anna knew well that her belief and admiration for science had long faded with time.

 

Researching science had only wasted her youth in a harsh land, gaining nothing in return, not even the preservation of her face.

 

But wealth and power?

 

Anna began to feel fortunate that she had mistakenly killed the professor.

 

Although she would bear great risks for now, potentially sacrificing half of Abyss, the gain was her near-sovereign control over the organization.

 

As long as she led Abyss Humanitarian in its research, her power and wealth would stabilize, and she could establish a company, go public, and finance herself, eventually doing nothing but earning from investments.

 

Then, her achievements would far surpass the professor's, even considering... immortality?

 

This term was filled with romanticism and nihilism but needed capitalism to actualize.

 

Li Aozi's flashing blades and Du Zexin's roaring cannons—they were like beasts with greater power, easily becoming slaves to that power if careless, how ignorant and simplistic.

 

"You should see this, professor."

 

Anna sighed.

 

If the professor could cleverly use Frost-Plated's power, he could elevate Abyss to new heights.

 

Unfortunately, history doesn't allow for what-ifs.

 

Zeng—

 

A strange low hum quickly approached, and Anna suddenly felt time slow down.

 

The Law III agents, forming a tactical formation around her, seemed to cramp up, twisting their bodies, throwing their guns wildly, or collapsing in awkward positions.

 

When Anna lifted her head and focused her eyes, something bumped into her arms.

 

"Eh?"

 

She instinctively raised the object in her arms, finding it was the head of a Law III agent wearing a face mask, his eyes filled with terror, and his eyelids trembling.

 

Clang—

 

The sound of swords immediately grabbed her attention as Li Aozi's fierce blade slashed continuously, tearing through the agents' necks. His swift, brutal, and clean movements left no room for escape.

 

The seemingly plain long knife sparked brilliantly on contact with military rifles, neatly slicing through alloy and engineering plastic.

 

No one could look up at him. He stood like an ancient king, the agents forced to bow, exposing their necks like fish being filleted or ducks being carved, their lives taken with precise, skilled ease.

 

If this was a massacre, it was too effortless.

 

It was more like an industrial slaughter line, with movements devoid of sloppiness, as precise as a machine, each agent getting one clean cut.

 

Human precision akin to machinery would be called art.

 

Machinery as delicate as humans would be deemed perfect.

 

The swordsmanship displayed before Anna was a combination of human and mechanical prowess—more precise than a machine, more agile than a human.

 

The war ghost's fierce aura enveloped Su Zhan, its hunger for blood and slaughter manifesting as a faint purple flame on the blade.

 

She recognized this flame—Nordris's aura would similarly burst out in a blaze during power surges.

 

That was the aura of a 【Warrior】, bursting from the body, with the high temperature and pressure of the aura distorting the air, causing light to refract into a fiery trail.

 

This was a simple optical phenomenon, yet it ruthlessly divided superhumans from ordinary people.

 

Ordinary people without mentorship or potions could train for decades and barely reach this level, while bureaucrats and wealthy youths might step into Alpha tier as they came of age.

 

Since the dawn of civilization, talent had become secondary. The wealthy could buy education, while ordinary people had to strive just to reach others' starting lines.

 

But now, it seemed different.

 

The resonant blade scraped along the wall, leaving a chilling trail.

 

Anna wanted to say something, but Li Aozi casually threw a chain, tying her up tightly.

 

Great, two birds with one stone. Now, he could interrogate her and complete condition C.

 

But first, he had to greet the Unlucky.

 

Li Aozi lightly shook the blade, blood splattering like rain, the recent slaughter exuding a poetic brutality.

 

But slaughter was still slaughter. Watching the experience points accumulate, Li Aozi exhaled a deep breath.

 

"Looks like this Omega Energy is quite useful..."

 

【Soul Engraved Sword Saint • War Ghost】 provided significant boosts to swordsmanship, akin to an advanced specialty of a 【Warrior】.

 

Moreover—Li Aozi felt that swinging the sword brought a unique state.

 

Unlike gaming, he could truly feel the sword's touch, hear its sound, and move with it.

 

Unfortunately, he couldn't savor the moment as he had killed all 25 agents.

 

"Ah... that was satisfying."

 

At this rate, 【Soul Engraved Sword Saint • War Ghost】 might evolve soon.

 

He examined the purple flame on the blade. Su Zhan, an ordinary imported Tianhuan knife, though well-made, was just an ordinary weapon. Now, its blade spirit was awakening beyond simple slaughter consciousness.

 

Although it was at the Cosi tier (Ξ, the fourteenth Greek letter), its low energy consumption and decent effects were satisfying.

 

With the last agent slain, the system notification popped up:

 

【You have completed a settlement condition. Based on your team benefits, the actual yield is 225%...】

 

The previously killed Abyss nurses and doctors were too low level to count, leaving him with just enough experience for six levels.

 

Although his leveling speed was already absurd among players, it still couldn't keep up with the current combat pace.

 

【Star Abyss】 had a unique leveling mode, with experience calculated and updated per version, causing initial data inflation and recalculating post-update.

 

Li Aozi's system patch was the final version, and as an NPC template, he didn't need further updates, unaffected by version changes.

 

The advantage was avoiding the complex experience formula, with data adapting to changes.

 

Li Aozi wasn't constrained by version caps, unlike players.

 

The downside was that his leveling speed was impacted, akin to NPC growth.

 

Though he hadn't noticed before, Li Aozi realized that late-version players' experience was more valuable than new players'.

 

"Late-version players at level caps sit on piles of experience, while new players' experience is trivial... looks like I need to cultivate elite players."

 

Li Aozi wasn't in a hurry—Phase A testing had begun, and the beta wasn't far off.

 

As long as players saw his ad (bounty), even if one in ten came to spend experience on learning skills, he'd profit immensely.

 

That's traffic monetization.

 

With that, Li Aozi decided not to cap his level, reserving 25,000 experience for mutation options, dumping the rest into 【Dominion】.

 

【Main Profession [Mutant] upgraded to lv.26】

 

【Based on your specialty, you gain the following benefits: Charisma +3.】

 

Li Aozi shivered, feeling his senses enrich, the cold and dampness of the outside world barely affecting him.

 

His mind pondered, gaining new insights into Omega Energy.

 

Gravity intertwined easily, his control more precise, anticipating even more spectacular abilities after mastering relevant knowledge.

 

"This feeling is unprecedented, never activated before, yet Nomi's Omega Energy seems to repair faster—"

 

Li Aozi paused, shaking his head, shifting focus.

 

This raised his basic attributes to 50 points. With accessories adding 3 points and the 【Perpetual • Love Hunt】 specialty multiplying the yield by 130%, his actual benefit was 68.9 points.

 

This level approached Beta tier's upper limit.

 

Li Aozi felt a faint whisper from the world, but his basic tier was insufficient to comprehend it, so he diverted his attention.

 

The focus wasn't on this but on Du Zexin, whose main attribute couldn't be as exaggerated as his.

 

Even with an anti-gravity system, Li Aozi could crush him.

 

Li Aozi cracked his neck, lifted his long knife, and burst out of the hall with a surge of gravity.

 

"Come on, Unlucky!"