From the Abyss of Stars

115. Misfortunes Never Come Singly

 

Bang!

 

The professor chuckled. In the next moment, the figure appeared behind Li Aozi, kicking him in the spine, sending him flying. As Li Aozi's body was about to hit the ground, the professor appeared beneath him, raising a clawed hand formed into a knife to stab him.

 

"Thank the old-era anti-gravity systems—though they were also taken from the cosmos."

 

The professor seemed to walk forward slowly, but the speed was incredibly fast.

 

"They seem to call this... some kind of magic, 【Anti-gravity Sensing Array】? Quite a magical power, isn't it?"

 

Splurt—

 

At such speed, Li Aozi had no time to react, not even to activate his teleportation. He was stabbed through the lung on the spot. The intense pain made him feel an immediate chill, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

 

"Foolish child," the professor whispered, "I have long since understood your attack patterns."

 

As the professor spoke, they slowly pulled out the blade, then swung around to slash at his shoulder.

 

Slash—

 

"This is the importance of education, young graduate."

 

【Am I... going to die?】

 

"Li Aozi, my dear child, you were perfect at first, just like me. We should both be cold-hearted, selfish individuals—but look at you now? You have flesh and blood, you lose your temper, it's pathetic. You've gained a weakness."

 

The professor muttered and tutted, and from a distance, Du Zexin immediately fired a volley. The professor dodged nimbly, continuing to taunt:

 

"Forget about your humanity, and you can be as strong as me!"

 

Li Aozi's health dropped rapidly. As his body fell to the ground and the professor slowly withdrew their claw, his consciousness began to fade, and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

 

Blood flowed outward, and as it left him, he understood what 'life slipping away' meant.

 

Initially, it was very painful. Lying on the ground, his lung torn, blood filling, convulsions and coughing as his health dropped to single digits.

 

Li Aozi's pupils dilated sharply, and his heartbeat slowed.

 

Then, he seemed to feel nothing.

 

The world became serene, tranquil.

 

The Vigorous One saw that he had lost his vital signs, and casually gave his heart a finishing blow. Li Aozi's body merely twitched, and she ignored him, turning to deal with Du Zexin.

 

The sounds of explosive guns and drones gradually faded, the rending of high-speed movement and claw strikes becoming exceedingly gentle.

 

Li Aozi's vision grew increasingly blurry.

 

【You have ent...】

 

Death... so this is what it feels like.

 

Completely different from before.

 

No matter how many times he had died before, it had never been this shocking to experience firsthand.

 

To be precise, he had just seen his own death recently, hadn't he?

 

Being pursued and possessed by a spirit monster, losing body heat, freezing to death in the sunlight.

 

What a pity... his former self had dreamed of driving a hovercar.

 

He had been treated like a slave by his family, exploited, drained of every drop of blood, not even allowed to complain.

 

【You have entered...】

 

Many things flashed before his eyes, as if he heard the voices of people talking.

 

They say that when a person dies, they see their life flash before their eyes, a rapid playback of their life's events.

 

However, Li Aozi did not see his past life's memories. As a lone wolf, there wasn't much to reminisce about.

 

Born from a mechanical womb, raised in a boarding school, growing up, graduating, being assigned work.

 

Then discovering "Star Abyss," gaming, luckily becoming a streamer, making a small fortune.

 

If he hadn't become the ace 【Starfall Master】, Li Aozi might have lived a simple, three-point-one-line life, ordinary and mundane.

 

He never really had any significant attachments or regrets.

 

The images flashing before Li Aozi's eyes were mostly trivial things.

 

Nomi cursing while driving, Qiu Ran cutely rubbing her head after bumping it, even the awkward moment when Agent Yavanna stole his first kiss. Then there was Nomi complaining about Frost-Plated's atrocities, standing by the nuclear wastewater expressing his ideals, jumping off the car hood to hug Qiu Ran.

 

—Until the end, when Nomi was blown to pieces.

 

...There were so many images of Nomi.

 

Was it because of unresolved feelings?

 

Or because of dissatisfaction?

 

Slap!

 

Suddenly, Li Aozi felt a sharp pain on his face, as if someone had slapped him.

 

"I—am not dead?"

 

Instinctively, he opened his eyes. Despite his heart and lungs being destroyed, he suddenly felt strength returning, his brain started working again, his cells frantically regenerating, quickly repairing his body.

 

—This isn't a game.

 

His body was different from a player's; it was still struggling desperately.

 

Life screamed sharply, waking Li Aozi's consciousness.

 

This isn't a game, damn it. Players disconnect before feeling death, forgetting what death feels like.

 

Apart from tranquility and struggle, the subjective experience of life's moments flashing by, until the last moment, every cell fights desperately to live, frantically regenerating, repairing body and soul.

 

His Omega Energy, his cells were still desperately trying to save him!

 

Unwilling.

 

Unwilling to die here, to fall because of recklessness and overestimating his tolerance for real pain.

 

Unwilling to let Nomi, who had left a deep impression in his heart, die without avenging him.

 

Most unwillingly, the damn strategy lied to him!

 

The original work didn't have this kind of cheating monster!

 

Whether this was a game or not.

 

One day—Li Aozi would catch the writers of Catfish Strategy Group and give them a good beating.

 

"Ha... ha—damn it! Move!"

 

Trembling, he struggled to lift his hand, like a drowning person reaching for any straw, no matter what it was, even a glimmer of hope.

 

Slap.

 

At that moment, his outstretched right hand seemed to be held by a large, firm hand, a force connecting through his palm and transferring to his body.

 

【You have entered a dying state: remaining time—16 seconds】

 

"Is this... the player's dying state?!"

 

Gritting his teeth, Li Aozi pulled out a genetic serum and brutally injected it into his heart.

 

Splurt!

 

Strength surged through his body, cells went into a frenzy, extracting all energy from his genes, rapidly repairing nerves, blood, muscles, skin, even his soul—like being shocked awake by cold water, he regained control of his body.

 

"Don't die—live!"

 

【Gene sequence stress response, temporary mutation】

 

【Proliferation variation—evolution at 100%】

 

【Omega Energy evolving...】

 

【Evolution complete】

 

【Your subordinate Omega Energy evolved】: [Strong Parasitic Mutation]

 

【Rating】: Zeta (ζ, sixth Greek letter)

 

【Active activation】: Ignore all control/restraint/inhibition recovery effects, directly overdraw strength from genes, frantically proliferate, immediately restore 60% of maximum health. Requires 40 minutes of cell self-repair before reuse.

 

【Passive state】: When you suffer a fatal injury, you will not die immediately but enter a dying state.

 

Note: Each dying state consumes 45 years of lifespan.

 

"She hasn't given up, you can't die either."

 

You can't die.

 

Slap!

 

Li Aozi clenched his fist, his wounds rapidly healing, flesh mending, bones forcibly realigning.

 

"—Ugh!"

 

Li Aozi opened his eyes, immediately flipping and standing up. He looked ahead.

 

The battle on the other side didn't look promising. The Vigorous One, unable to recover its health due to Li Aozi's mark, sent another body to deal with the overclocked Du Zexin.

 

This new body had sharp horns, a balanced physique, muscular like a lion or tiger, strong as a wild horse, and nearly 2.4 meters tall, covered in composite armor that balanced strength and speed.

 

Its left hand synthesized plasma, constantly bombarding Du Zexin with charged electric spheres, while its right hand extended bone spikes, blocking his movements.

 

"How about my Decaying One? This lead armor is specially designed to counter 【Mechanics】, with almost no gaps, impervious to blades."

 

The professor, controlling two biochemical bodies, seemed eager to compete, perhaps too long without conversing, especially with a knowledgeable mechanic, introducing in detail:

 

"Both at range and up close, its defense is unmatched. A 【Mechanic】 has no way to counter this strength."

 

Du Zexin remained silent, overwhelmed by the AI's various data.

 

Overclocking needed cooldown time, but under this dense firepower and the Vigorous One's sneak attacks, how could there be time?

 

The professor of Abyss... very difficult to deal with, she was good at learning from experience, modifying biochemical bodies, always bringing out targeted technology.

 

In this situation... he could only activate [Beautiful Wishes]'s self-destruct program.

 

He made up his mind.

 

The small three-stage power reactor of this armor, even if it was nuclear-powered, would still have enough power to take down two biochemical bodies.

 

Doing this much was enough; he would have to gather equipment and strength for next time.

 

"The professor of Abyss is too powerful, I can't be a match, especially since Li Aozi is dead—"

 

Bang!

 

The Decaying One, firing at full power, suddenly had its spine bent, kneeling to the ground. A purple flame ignited in the air, the hilt of a blade entwined with murderous aura fell, Li Aozi stepped on its head, smashing the hilt into its skull.

 

Sixty times gravity!

 

Crack!

 

The hilt's blunt impact transmitted through the helmet, destroying the Decaying One's brain, taking it offline instantly.

 

The Vigorous One paused, consciousness reconnecting, the professor's voice shocked:

 

"Li Aozi?! This is impossible, your vital signs just vanished—"

 

Whoosh—Crack!

 

The Magnum explosive gun seized the moment, firing, hitting the Vigorous One's knee, the high-temperature metal jet vaporizing its entire leg bone.

 

The Vigorous One tried to run, but immediately fell.

 

Whoosh!

 

"You told me to abandon my principles?"

 

The sharp blade pierced the Vigorous One's head instantly. Li Aozi extended his tendrils, wrapping around its neck, securing it completely, his voice hoarse:

 

"—Never heard a more foolish demand."