018. Stealing Skills

"Why are you in such bad shape?"

Nodley frowned, looking at Li Aozi, whose gaze constantly shifted, and snapped:

"How can you cooperate with the experiment like this? You need to stay healthy."

"Just had some nightmares."

Li Aozi rubbed his temples. The events of the previous day left him feeling anxious.

After all, he was just an ordinary person. In the face of such unexpected situations, suspicion and anxiety formed a mental drain, making it easy to overthink.

"Nightmares? Pure fantasies. Only the weak fear nightmares. Even in dreams, the strong push forward and triumph." Nodley scoffed at this.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset and, taking advantage of the topic, asked Head Nurse Nodley:

"I think it's not just the nightmares that are making me feel terrible—repeating these exercises every day is extremely boring."

Nodley rolled her eyes at him but then thought it over and agreed.

Day after day, it was all about physical training. The patients in the nearby activity area talked and laughed, playing various ball games, while Li Aozi only watched from the sidelines. It was natural for him to feel imbalance.

'We still need to pay attention to the patients' psychological issues.'

Recalling the state Li Aozi was in before he was taken in—half-mad, half-rational—Nodley still felt some lingering fear.

Seemingly harmless, Li Aozi could instantly incapacitate even a martial artist like herself when pushed to that extreme.

Seeing Li Aozi looking harmless and occasionally casting envious and longing looks at the patients engaged in entertainment, Nodley pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"So, what do you want?"

Nodley asked:

"I can't let you join the other patients' group activities; you are currently under isolation monitoring."

"I know—since that's the case, can we at least add some other exercise routines, Nurse? Doing the same drills every day is just too dull."

"Alright, what do you want to do?"

Li Aozi pretended to think for a moment and then said:

"Teach me how to box. How about that?"

Combat training.

Nodley initially wanted to refuse but held back her words.

Actually training him a couple of moves wouldn't be harmful.

Not to mention martial arts require long periods of foundational work and repeated practice. Li Aozi was already over 20 years old; his bones were set, making him unsuitable for martial arts.

Moreover, without entering the realm of martial artists, learning some combat skills posed no real threat.

Beyond seven steps, a gun is faster; within seven steps, a gun is both fast and accurate.

If he really learned combat and developed muscle memory, next time he lost control, he wouldn't think about hiding a blade in his mouth to ambush but would instead try to counterattack with combat stances.

'Using a hobbyist's skills to challenge a professional's livelihood? I'd welcome that.'

Thinking this through, Nodley made up her mind and readily agreed:

"Alright, but my requirements are high. Martial arts are not something everyone can learn. Since you want to, I will set a test. If you don't pass, you'll go back to physical training."

Li Aozi was delighted, immediately rolling up his sleeves:

"Bring it on. I can't wait!"

Seeing his high enthusiasm for learning martial arts, Nodley smirked inwardly: "I was excited when I first learned martial arts too; you'll know better after some practice."

[Hint: Nodley Krau is teaching you the skill—"Basic Combat"]

[This learning opportunity is offered freely, with no experience cost]

[Do you accept?]

"This is exactly what I've been waiting for!"

Li Aozi eagerly rubbed his hands. Head Nurse Nodley had no idea about his NPC template panel.

In the game "Starry Abyss," players had to spend a lot of experience and special resources to learn skills. However, NPCs sharing skills didn't have this requirement.

In the past, players often saw scenes of "transmitting power in person" during the storyline. It has long been discovered that NPCs could teach and learn skills from each other without any costs, as long as it was consensual.

The official explanation was to prevent the gap between players and NPCs from becoming too large, affecting the game's immersion. Besides providing a topic for discussion, players didn't care much about this—who's jealous of an NPC anyway?

Of course, when it came to self-taught skills, NPCs were far inferior to players. NPCs had to research, seek knowledge, and worry about going astray when faced with difficulties or unknowns.

Players only needed to obtain the book of knowledge and patiently wait for the progress bar to complete, mastering the knowledge entirely.

Li Aozi lacked professional knowledge and couldn't be sure if he had player traits. However, the NPC template was undoubtedly there, and he enjoyed its benefits.

[You have learned "Basic Combat" from Nodley Krau, current level: Lv.1]

[Basic Combat]Lv1: You have a basic understanding of hand-to-hand combat; you will not swing your fists wildly or expose your weaknesses carelessly.

Images of punching, kicking, maneuvering, dodging, blocking, and counterattacking flashed through Li Aozi's mind. He lightly swung his fists, his movements becoming more natural and forceful.

"Even though I don't intend to waste experience, this skill is very practical. I'll upgrade it when I get a chance."

Relying solely on Gravitational Arcane Energy and the [Mutant] panel attributes was not a feasible plan. Li Aozi needed to gradually build and develop his own fighting style.

"The basic theory has been taught." Nodley said: "Now it's time for practice."

"Practice?"

Li Aozi didn't understand.

Bang!

Nodley, her expression blank, suddenly threw a punch at him!

Slash.

The common sense and techniques from[Basic Combat]merged into his muscle memory. Li Aozi instinctively raised his arm to guard his face and sidestepped, avoiding the punch. Even so, just being brushed by the strong gust of her punch made his frail body stagger two steps, nearly toppling over.

"Hmm? Your reaction isn't bad."

Nodley was a bit surprised. She knew Li Aozi's physical condition well. To avoid her direct punch and adopt the correct combat stance indicated he was indeed paying attention.

"Not bad, looks like you've got a bit of skill. But to learn fighting, you must first learn to take a beating."

Nodley clenched her fist, as big as a sandbag, and pounced at Li Aozi like a hungry tiger once more!

Li Aozi steadied his breath, his face full of fear and terror.

"Stop! I'm a patient!"

He had previously shown a weak demeanor, and now he needed to maintain that, dodging while theatrically shouting in a way that fit the character of a man from the Frost Plated:

"What are you doing? Ow, ow, ow!"

——————————————

"How is Li Aozi's latest monitoring result?"

The professor, operating a tablet skillfully, asked Assistant Doctor Anna nonchalantly:

"It's been two weeks. Any findings?"

"His platelet count, cellular activity levels, thyrotropin, and brain waves are slightly higher than normal but still not up to a true transcendent's level."

Assistant Doctor Anna opened the report she was holding and read seriously:

"Head Nurse Nodley has subjected him to Frost Plated Republic's military-level training. Even after blood and bone marrow extractions, he can recover to normal by the next day. However, she also noted that if that's all, it just means he's reached the level of the Sky Ring's super-soldier program, far short of what a Level 5 infected should be—he doesn't even meet Level 4 standards."

"I see."

The professor placed the tablet on her lap and said calmly:

"It seems Nodley and he get along pretty well; their relationship is quite harmonious."

"Harmonious relationship?" Doctor Anna was stunned: "He's nearly trained to death..."

"According to the interaction records, on the first day of training, Li Aozi mentioned 'ZX-102'. Even then, Nodley managed to control her emotions. That was quite unexpected."

"This is indeed unexpected..." Anna hesitated: "Koerqi only mentioned dismantling Room 102 in passing, and she broke his limbs. It seems that Li Aozi's relationship with her isn't too bad."

"How is the intelligence test?"

"Multiple intelligence tests place him in the 121~117 range, still within the ordinary person's domain," Anna reported truthfully.

"No intelligence mutation, strong physical prowess but not reaching transcendent levels. Interesting, a seemingly unremarkable person involved in so many events—doesn't that seem even more suspicious?"

"What do you mean...?"

"If a soldier is shot multiple times but returns unharmed, would you fortify the shot areas or the unscathed areas?"

Anna paused, then understood: "Survivorship bias!"

"In the past, research on infected individuals focused on their physical bodies and intelligence levels, but we seemed to overlook the fact that transcendent beings themselves differ greatly."

"Most of the Level 3 and 4 infected we previously dealt with primarily exhibited physical mutations, with higher IQs resulting from brain abnormalities—this made us subconsciously believe that mutations caused by the infection affected the physical body."

"Mutation on the mental level... can the virus really do that?" Assistant Doctor Anna hesitated: "The infected we've contained mostly just awaken spirit realm vision. Many from the Four Nations can awaken without Ersha infection. The study on spirit mediums has been slow."

"So, could it be that the crazed mutations of past infected were actually mental mutations, just not recognized because we couldn't control the research?"

The professor intriguingly scratched her chin:

"Maybe, in reality, Li Aozi holds a strength we can't yet perceive."

Assistant Doctor Anna fell silent, her belief in the professor's theory rooted deeply. Beyond loyalty, the professor's viewpoints were thought-provoking.

"Or thinking further, those crazed patients from the past might signify deepening infection tendencies..."

"Level 3 infected are immune to diseases, with physical deformities."

"Level 4 infected have bodily mutations and wildly fluctuating hormone levels, leading to their insanity."

"Theoretically, Level 5 infected should exhibit brain mutations, the virus attempting to control the host... but Li Aozi's brain scans show no abnormalities."

"So, we should think in another direction; might it be mental-level mutations instead of brain mutations?"

Dr. Anna became more contemplative, planning to explore this new direction in her research.

The professor gently pushed aside the white hair at her forehead and glanced at the display screen. Her elegant and graceful face reflected in the black screen.

Her eyes focused on the reflection's corner.

Wrinkles began to spread and deepen, contrasting sharply against the surrounding smooth and soft skin, appearing particularly glaring.

"If that's the case, I plan to request permission to use ZX-626's abilities. Experimenting in another direction might show progress."

Noticing the professor was distracted, Dr. Anna asked:

"Professor?"

"...It's starting."

"Are you listening?"

"Oh—" The professor snapped back to attention, just about to respond when an ear-piercing alarm resounded throughout the room.

Woooooo—