Vol-2: 071. Into Space
071. Into Space
The visitor from Tianhuan had arrived just in time to save Li Aozi from N4, allowing him to slip away with the invitation. Using the opportunity, he told N4 that he had urgent matters to attend to and dismissed her.
After exchanging pleasantries with the Tianhuan samurai and accepting the invitation to the Kowloon Gathering, Li Aozi immediately flew out of Triangle Town. In the dunes of the outer lands, he stripped completely naked, stood amidst the cold winds and sandstorms, and placed his hand on his chest.
[Natural Ignition]
Boom——!
A blinding flame instantly consumed Li Aozi, and he quickly entered a 'near-death state,' his entire body charred and gradually turning to ash.
Li Aozi watched indifferently as his cybernetic body's life force ebbed away, while a series of messages slowly appeared in his status bar:
[MZ-009 Virus—Cleared]
[Wolf's Kiss Bacteria—Cleared]
[Abyss Type Seven Monitoring Cells—Cleared]
[Zer-Modulated Parasite—Cleared]
Under the thousands of degrees of heat, he purified a total of 29 biochemical parasites. Even with Li Aozi's extensive experience and knowledge, he couldn't help but shudder.
Confirming that there were no more traces of biochemical parasites left, he activated [Blood of Immortality], instantly restoring his health to full. To ensure safety, he even burned his scavenger outfit a few more times before finally feeling at ease.
"Keeping my distance from N4 was the right call, but I still need something from her."
Li Aozi dressed himself again, his mind now troubled by the dilemma.
N4 was a machine devoid of any moral compass—human concepts of right and wrong didn't apply to her. She didn't even see herself as human, far surpassing the Professor in this regard.
At least the Professor could be understood through human standards, but N4 was far more complicated.
She didn't need a name, only a coded designation to refer to herself. She truly saw herself as a machine.
Used correctly, she could benefit the entire world. Used poorly, she could bring calamity upon humanity.
She was like nuclear energy—one of the cleanest energy sources. Without it, most people would live in polluted air, with diseases and fumes wreaking havoc on their bodies and minds.
But at the same time, nuclear weapons had devastating destructive power and could even spark a world war.
Truth be told, N4's potential was terrifying. Compared to Duke Gamos, a crippled Gamma-tier superhuman, N4 had demonstrated in version 2.5 of his previous life that she possessed the potential to step into space.
Moreover, as a former [Biotechnician] class mentor, N4 had helped countless players and had been the pivotal figure in saving Azure Star from the Great Famine during version 1.8.
After much deliberation, Li Aozi settled on the most straightforward approach:
"I'll use [Charisma] and transcendent knowledge to completely win her over and make her my tool."
Having reached this conclusion, Li Aozi no longer hesitated.
N4 had to be won over. If he couldn't make her his tool, he would need to eliminate her completely before Lord of Entropy's awakening.
Li Aozi couldn't join Abyss Heavy Industries just yet, or his carefully crafted image would crumble.
Therefore, he planned to follow through on his earlier idea—head to Tianhuan and acquire those two "masterwork" weapons.
Then, without further delay, he would take the players he had handpicked and head straight into space.
With Alexia on his side, the affairs of Granat and Triangle Town could be left in her capable hands for now.
He had also planted seeds with Duke Dumesby. The players harbored intense resentment toward the Mai Dewei faction. Frost-Plated had suffered losses on the Granat battlefield, and the combination of diplomatic scandals, the Abyss Humanitarian Organization's disgrace, and the inflation crisis would undoubtedly topple Mai Dewei's authority.
Originally, Li Aozi had planned to personally raise David Lin's favorability, but now it seemed more efficient to directly reveal the location of the Elf Island to Dumesby. The players might even assist in a jailbreak.
With most things now in order, Li Aozi mused that heading into space wasn't a bad idea.
With those two "masterwork" weapons and his near-Gamma-tier power, he would have no trouble thriving in the first layer of Star Abyss, [Layer Abyss].
When he returned to deal with current issues—whether it was N4, the Replica Society, or Lord of Entropy—handling them would be much easier.
"It's settled then."
Having made his decision, Li Aozi immediately flew back to his lab.
Soon, he would be heading to Tianhuan, so it was necessary to bring some surprises to the players and the Kingdom of Tianhuan.
After taking inventory of the [DM-101 Mutation Inducer] in the biopool, he found that during his ten-day absence, a total of 2,907 doses had been produced. The output was sufficient, and Li Aozi wasn't in a rush to increase production, as improvements would be needed later.
He injected himself with a dose, the halogen-colored serum swiftly entering his deltoid muscle. Li Aozi's body had already begun to adapt to it, and his genes, which had been in fragments, quickly recombined.
"It turns out the more I use this, the faster it works—though it makes sense, as this is an inducer that requires more of the same components to create resonance."
A wicked idea occurred to Li Aozi: why not hold off on releasing the new generation of serum and sell off the current stock first?
Players were well aware of the Osborne effect—announcing a new product too early without being able to deliver it would severely hurt sales of the old product.
The so-called "waiting crowd never loses" was exactly the principle at play here.
If he announced that a new serum was in development, it would ruin sales of the DM-101. No one would buy it, and he wouldn't be able to recover the costs of this batch.
"Speaking of which, I sold a batch of Granat beer and grain during my last livestream. The dividends should be coming in soon. Maybe I should save up some money and rent a lab at the Red Arrow Royal Medical Academy."
Li Aozi's current biopool was a simplified version. It was good enough for producing small creatures like little dogs or cats, but creating larger cybernetic weapons like bio-armor, biokongs, and chimera synthetic beasts—the signature weapons of [Biotechnicians]—would be quite challenging.
In the environment of Azure Star, he would have to rely either on Abyss Heavy Industries or on the Royal Medical Academy of the Red Arrow Empire. Only these two places had the right laboratory conditions for what Li Aozi needed.
As for Tianhuan… better to leave cutting-edge technology alone. Martial arts were more their forte.
Carrying his biopool, Li Aozi flew toward Granat. Along the way, Frost-Plated's air force detected his signal but dared not take to the sky to engage.
Seeing this, Li Aozi got an idea and decided to have a bit more fun.
He deliberately entered their radar detection range, flying leisurely and making sure the Frost-Plated air force spotted him.
"Commander, that guy's deliberately flying through our airspace…"
The nervous Frost-Plated radar operator asked the air force commander, Eilan McDonald, a man in his fifties who clenched his pipe in frustration. All he could do was begrudgingly reply:
"Launch the Whitebird-11 hypersonic anti-air missiles. If they hit, great. If not—well, so be it."
They watched helplessly as Li Aozi flew through the sky with his ten-ton biopool. They half-heartedly fired two missiles, just to justify the taxpayers' money.