NOVEL FROG 112. The Vigorous One
- The Vigorous One
Gravity deflection forward—60 times acceleration!
【Soul Sword Saint • Battle Demon】
The long sword emitted a sharp scream, tearing through the air instantly.
With 60 times gravity acceleration, Li Aozi burst out a sonic boom cloud on the spot, his speed instantly breaking through 588 meters per second. To him, bullets moved as slowly as snails spiraling forward.
He simply held the sword with both hands, leveling the blade, and relying on the terrifying speed, he sliced through their metal armor.
Sparks flew, but the cuts on flesh were eerily calm.
Due to the equal and opposite reaction, after enduring such tremendous speed, Li Aozi minimized his movements and carefully adjusted his Omega Energy, keeping himself in a constant state of weightlessness and acceleration to prevent his own Omega Energy from killing him.
Whoosh—
Li Aozi stopped abruptly, turned, and sheathed his sword.
Clang.
The row of biochemical soldiers behind him continued firing, but their heads were thrown high, their brains in the tanks quickly losing vitality, bouncing joyfully like hydrangeas.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—
Compared to Li Aozi's swift and clean cuts, Du Zexin's combat was complex and intricate, a display of micro-operations.
He first threw two e-grenades, and the instant electromagnetic pulse disabled the rushing biochemical soldiers, crushing them under their own exoskeletons.
The mechanical backpack of the [Beautiful Wishes] armor deployed into a tracked vehicle, popping out a shield to form a mobile barrier, blocking incoming heavy fire.
With the anti-gravity system destroyed by Li Aozi, Du Zexin couldn't continue flying and had to rely on these methods to advance steadily.
He launched a high-explosive grenade, sending a row of biochemical soldiers and their cover into the air, then turned and fired the Magnum explosive gun at close range. With the mobile barrier and armor shielding him, he wasn't afraid of heavy fire, breaking through the defenses smoothly.
"Warning! High-energy targets invading! Warning! High-energy targets invading!"
Alarms blared in the factory as Li Aozi and Du Zexin continued their slaughter.
"Save some ammo!"
Li Aozi amplified the gravity tenfold, the Battle Demon's aura becoming almost tangible. With both hands, he cleaved a biochemical soldier in half and twirled the sword, stabbing another soldier attempting a sneak attack from behind. Activating 【Iterative Move】, he instantly teleported behind a distant sniper, grabbing the sniper's head.
【Directed Explosion】
Splat—
The sniper's brain in the tank burst instantly. Before the blood splattered on Li Aozi, he activated 【Iterative Move】 again, returning to his original position.
He pulled the long knife from the corpse and extended a chain from his right arm, swinging it to slice the approaching biochemical soldiers in half.
"How many of these are there—was the White Fang Gang not attacking because of the professor's plans?"
Li Aozi lowered the chain as more biochemical soldiers fired at him. Some even recklessly used rocket launchers and grenade launchers, not caring if they hit their own.
These attacks didn't matter much to him. Gravity field deflection could repel all bullets and explosive fragments, but this prevented him from using other Omega Energies, slowing his advance.
"These biochemical soldiers aren't counted as Abyss Humanitarian members, yet they act so uniformly—are they clones? Or intentionally adjusted? Whatever, it's not important."
Compared to these biochemical soldiers, Li Aozi was more concerned about the professor's feigned death earlier.
Was the purpose to eliminate dissidents?
Or to escape Frost-Plated surveillance?
Or to conduct secret experiments more effectively?
Li Aozi parried a biochemical soldier's bayonet with his sword and raised his left hand, releasing 【Brilliant Sunlight】. The intense white light burned the biochemical soldiers' bodies.
He clenched his fist, and the burning soldiers were lifted by invisible gravity, rolling down the steps with his hand's movement.
"—Maybe, it's all of these reasons."
After all, avoiding Frost-Plated was for secret experiments, using the White Fang Gang to eliminate dissidents was also a purpose, and the Abyss Humanitarian being looted could directly support the White Fang Gang. Their rise would help the Cannibals collect babies.
Even if the Abyss Humanitarian was severely damaged, the professor probably anticipated Anna contacting Frost-Plated for protection.
Frost-Plated wouldn't sit idly by. Nowadays, research institutions all vie for funding, but only Abyss Humanitarian provided tangible results.
Inheriting the professor's mantle, Anna would undoubtedly come to the second basement once the situation stabilized. Everything she coveted was here... army, force, biochemical factory, secret experimental data.
—And the professor.
Clang!
Li Aozi pierced the last biochemical soldier's armor seam, pinning him to the wall. He removed the soldier's mask, placing his palm on the brain in the tank, activating 【Cease Life】. Neural tendrils sprouted from his palm, draining the remaining life.
"Phew... these guys are really stressful."
The shriveled corpse fell to the ground. Li Aozi exhaled a breath of turbid air and tossed two compressed biscuits into his mouth.
—By the way, did I steal too many of Yavanna Huskisin's biscuits back then? After intense consumption post-battle, I still haven't finished them.
Li Aozi looked at Du Zexin, who had just smashed a biochemical soldier's head with his fist, the radiating brain matter making the scene no less gruesome than Li Aozi's side.
"How does it feel?"
"These biochemical soldiers react much faster than humans. If it weren't for the AI reminders, I might not be able to aim properly."
Du Zexin pulled out his fist, extracting a chip and frowning, he said to Li Aozi:
"This is a Laifu Light Industries military chip..."
"The weapons are still VK-74. These military weapons, Abyss has plenty of them."
Li Aozi was indifferent.
"It's hard to imagine that Abyss Humanitarian can turn ordinary people into soldiers nearing Alpha rank. They've even overcome the inflexibility and poor obstacle-breaching capabilities of machinery."
Du Zexin opened his faceplate, his gaze complex as he stared at the chip.
On one hand, as a human, he was disgusted by the use of compatriots as weapons. On the other hand, as a 【Mechanic】, he admired the professor's experimental products.
He had to admit, the professor indeed deserved Frost-Plated's support. If ethics and boundaries were disregarded, he, as the president, would also support Abyss Humanitarian's research.
Du Zexin shook his head and pocketed the chip.
They had slaughtered through the biochemical factory, killing how many biochemical soldiers? 400? 500?
Du Zexin couldn't count—such a force, equipped with professional mechanized vehicles and weapons, could completely replace a conventional army.
But at that point, could a fully brain-in-a-jar army be trusted?
Li Aozi didn't think that far. He never added points to 【Intelligence】 (【Willpower】); high IQ people lived very painfully.
"Focus on the next battle. Your style and realm clearly haven't adapted to Beta rank's power."
"You can tell I just leveled up?" Du Zexin was surprised, "Is it that obvious? I thought my firepower was already at the company level."
"Very obvious. At Beta rank, life has already undergone a comprehensive sublimation. You should consider changing your mindset, thinking from a transcendent perspective, not with mortal concepts—mortals still debate firepower supremacy and armor uselessness. Can you think that way?"
Li Aozi gave a simple hint. Du Zexin pondered, but whatever he came up with was his own business.
Everyone has different ideas. Du Zexin, a renowned problem-solver, didn't need teaching; give him a direction, and he would figure out the answer himself.
Starting from Beta rank, one must consider personal style and genre.
At Alpha rank, it wasn't obvious. For instance, 【Warriors】' fighting style was still primarily about fast guns at long range and fast punches in close combat.
But at Beta rank, near-sonic or supersonic actions became common, and bullets, at sonic speed, might not even catch up to someone running fast. At this point, a style change was necessary.
【Mechanics】 have many genres. There are those like Du Zexin, the masked rider type, and those piloting Gundams, multi-turret cultists, and so on.
In contrast, 【Mutants】' genres were unpredictable due to the "mutation" factor. Though highly playable, creating a suitable Omega Energy system was challenging.
Li Aozi thought of the blood demon style because of countless players' experiences. It might not be the most powerful, but it certainly had the highest survivability and the greatest margin for error.
The two rested briefly and then headed towards the biochemical factory's exit door.
Du Zexin glanced at the closed door and immediately stepped forward, his wrist projecting a screen:
"The door is locked. Let me hack into the system—"
Before he finished speaking, Li Aozi felt the hair on his neck stand up.
"Move!" he shouted, his body reacting faster than his words. Using gravity deflection, he yanked Du Zexin to a safe corner.
Whirr—
A black blade tore through the door, the sharp ripping sound mixed with sparks sending chills down their spines. Accompanied by a loud clang, Li Aozi felt like he was hit head-on by a train, instantly sent flying.
Damn, what is that!
Li Aozi didn't even have time to activate 【Iterative Move】 before he was grabbed by the collar and thrown towards the biochemical dissolution pool.
His reaction speed was far behind his opponent's attributes. By the time he regained control of his limbs and activated gravity to stabilize himself, a strong sense of oppression hit his spine.
"Beta rank—this isn't some newbie like Du Zexin, this is an old Beta rank, stronger than the Cannibal!"
Li Aozi didn't dare stay in the air. He immediately activated gravity to return to the biochemical factory's corridor. Just as he landed, a familiar female voice sounded in his ear:
"Missed me? My level five infectee."
A sharp claw rested on his shoulder, the cold blade piercing his flesh, instantly triggering battle mode.
【Entering battle mode, assessing...】
【Primary attribute assessment passed】
【Based on your attributes, you will see the following information about the enemy:】
【Name】: ‘The Vigorous One’ ???
