Vol-2: 117. The Legend of the White Knight

117. The Legend of the White Knight

[...Yes. I haven't recalled this feeling in a long time.]

"The universe."

Du Zexin's tone was somewhat excited:

"These things really exist, it sounds so beautiful."

"It's not all beautiful—there are many strange races in the universe. Most are willing to communicate, but there are also those who are very conservative. In fact, individual strength has little meaning in the universe because there is a very evil monster called 'Society.'"

"Society?"

Du Zexin asked curiously:

"What kind of society? Patriarchal or matriarchal?"

[Since a long time ago, games have turned into fighting and making money, and I've forgotten that initial joy of playing games just for fun, enjoying the storyline and background.]

"Society is very evil; it feeds on civilizations. It's a group, like the 'Longfang Society—Galil.' Longfang is its title, society is its race, and Galil is its name. The existence of society has made those once desperate to ascend to powerful individuals, thinking themselves invincible, into ridiculous fringe figures—aside from narrative-level civilizations, individuals cannot contend with the disaster that is society."

"It's so strange. Lone powerful individuals have no status in the universe. So why do they still seek to ascend?" Du Zexin didn't understand: "If an individual is strong enough, there should easily emerge a group or clan centered around that individual, with everyone dedicated to serving the strong, sheltered by their great power..."

"The universe is too vast. Except for narrative-level beings, no one dares to guarantee their strength will be eternal."

"Then why do they still seek strength? Why not just revolve around the narrative-level civilizations?"

Li Aozi explained:

"Fear of death, and fear of being assimilated by society."

"Assimilated?"

Li Aozi turned his head, looking ahead as the traffic suddenly became congested.

"I don't know if it's an illusion, but society particularly likes two types of people: those who are particularly intelligent and those who are fringe individuals. The smarter a person is, the more easily they recognize society's existence. They believe that these 'living civilizations' represent the true path of civilization, so the more intelligent someone is, the more likely they are to be assimilated into society as citizens."

"Engineers, biochemists, mages, architects, and some deeply invested researchers—you must understand one thing: intelligence is an ability derived from education. To recognize education is to accept the transformation of civilization. The smarter a person is, the more their wisdom transcends this era, making them more likely to recognize and aggressively advocate for society."

Du Zexin slowly decelerated, bypassing cars on the highway, stepping forward one step at a time.

"And the other type?"

Du Zexin asked while oddly glancing around at the surrounding vehicles.

'Why are the people in these cars all lying down? Could it be that the checkpoint ahead has been shut down?'

"The other type is what I mentioned earlier—fringe individuals. They are not well-accepted by mainstream society, most are physically or mentally unhealthy, and their psychological defenses are weak, easily breached. Those self-righteous individual strongmen eventually become members and chairmen of society, losing their souls."

Li Aozi also noticed something was wrong. He stood up and used [Eye of Truth] to scan ahead.

In the gray-black world, he saw a distinctly different color.

A man stood before the checkpoint; all the cars had stopped in front of him, one after another, resulting in severe rear-end collisions.

The man wore a cloak and hunched his back as if he had no spine.

He stood there, his fingertips split open, dripping silvery-white blood onto the ground, as if waiting specifically for them.

Li Aozi frowned slightly.

[Eye of Truth] focused on the man, revealing only one line of text:

[Target is hidden, cannot be observed]

"Hidden?"

Li Aozi felt a surge of apprehension. For some reason, the moment he heard this word, an inexplicable anger welled up inside him. He drew his weapon from his waist and unleashed a radiation slash at the man.

Without hesitation, Du Zexin, seeing Li Aozi attack, immediately raised his Magnum Beam Rifle, aimed at the mysterious man on the ground, and pulled the trigger.

But in the next moment, Li Aozi heard a deeply unsettling sound, chilling and terrifying, like countless knife points colliding and metal tearing. An image of a creature—great white shark—flashed in his mind.

"[Shark Hunter Submerge]."

The man's voice was heart-wrenching.

Boom—

The ground suddenly split with a ridge-like blade, and a shark swimming underground leapt up lightly, blocking Li Aozi's radiation slash. Its scales, layered like blades, shimmered coldly under the artificial sun.

The blade-shark flicked its tail, deflecting the Magnum's beam, slicing a distant hill clean off.

After completing this, the blade-shark immediately circled around the man, approaching the exit checkpoint. The wild wind outside blew against his cloak, lifting his hood and revealing a face that was excessively youthful.

Golden hair, golden eyes, and cross-shaped pupils—apart from that, he looked like an ordinary boy.

…No.

Li Aozi's gaze shifted downward to the man's left hand, which held a strange spinal cane covered in human skin and a girl's head.

That head... Li Aozi couldn't place where he'd seen it before, but it looked hauntingly familiar.

"Who are you?!"

Du Zexin said softly:

"Did you kill all the civilians in these cars? Who the hell are you?"

The cross-eyed boy ignored him and instead looked at Li Aozi:

"It's been a long time. Do you still remember me?"

Li Aozi kept his mouth shut, his gaze indifferent, his pupils dilated, and his complexion turned pale before quickly returning to normal.

He had just inhaled a breath, and the system alerted him that he had inhaled 'Aether Blood,' instantly reducing his health to zero.

If not for Nomi's [Blood of Immortality], he would have died instantly from that so-called 'Aether Blood.'

"Du Zexin, this guy is wrong."

"Look at you," the boy chuckled, his cross eyes staring at Li Aozi. His cute, handsome face showed an ambiguous smile: "You're my great benefactor—Mr. Li Aozi."

"Benefactor?"

"Look at this; does it look familiar?"

The boy raised the cane in his hand.

In the next instant, a shadow burst forth, pinning Li Aozi to the ground. The ferocious shadow roared angrily at him, a howl mixed with indescribable sorrow.

"Shadow Assault!" Li Aozi struggled, slashing the shadow to the ground with one strike, his pupils contracting.

He thought of something and looked at the boy:

"Hey, are you—"

"In the past, I was called Zhu Baiya, a gang leader serving the Cannibal in the outer lands."

The boy planted his cane in the ground, smiling slightly:

"Before I died, I heard you say: next time, gather more troops. Too few people—not enough for my upgrade."

"You killed me, but you probably didn't know what kind of effect the Cannibal's Calamity Armament delivered that night had, right? The third-generation Calamity Armament can directly replace the user's body! You didn't expect that, did you? You haven't seen it, have you? It's a pity it can only be used once. I used its ability to replace my dead body with this perfect one qualified for it."

The wind blew the hair on the cane's head, revealing the happy face of a young girl.

"…Zonia."

Li Aozi recalled the name of the heavily scarred Calamity Armament girl and said in a deep voice.

"You saved everyone; you're amazing, Li Aozi—but why didn't you save her?"

The boy pinched Zonia's face. The girl made into a weapon seemed to have consciousness, smiling blissfully as if lost in a dream.

"Zonia, my dear sister," the boy murmured, laughing strangely: "You know, when I took your brother Youhe Lai's body, the way you sacrificed yourself to save me was so touching, so cute, right?"

"You beast." Du Zexin said in disgust: "You didn't even spare a child and used her love for her brother… turning her into a tool."

"What's wrong with that?" The boy shrugged.

"You still dare call yourself human after doing something like this?"

Du Zexin shouted in anger:

"I will kill you, you beast—"

"Who told you I'm human?"

The boy said, and in the next moment, he reached out, slowly grasping the spine:

"You should consider yourselves lucky because the one exterminating you is a jury member."

His golden cross pupils instantly turned crimson as he slowly pulled out a blood-stained blade from the spine on his back.

"Great Mother Gaia, she has given me a new name."

He raised the sword with one hand, drawing a circle above his head, his blood vessels barely containing the surging Aether Blood within him.

"Now, I am Youhelai Knight—[White Knight]Youhelai!"

Youhelai's teeth sharpened like a shark's, and he let out a roar like something straight out of hell:

"Descend Armor!"

In the next moment, the enormous white shark turned its head and descended onto his body. The dense scales and blade-like edges converged into a pale armor, neatly draping over his short, boyish frame.

"I will kill you—"

The shark's fin transformed into blade-like arm blades, and the long tail fin split apart, turning into two bladed skirts that swayed in the wind, gleaming with an eye-piercing cold light.

The shark's mouth opened, roaring as it merged with Youhelai's head, transforming into a silver-white knight's helmet. The dorsal fin formed a layered, blade-like plume trailing behind, and two cross-shaped viewports emitted a dangerous red glow.

Ka—

The next moment, the boy spread his arms, and the helmet's faceplate split open vertically, revealing sharp, shark-like teeth, emitting a heart-wrenching roar:

'Awooooooo!!!!!!'

Facing this wild roar, Li Aozi's face changed dramatically. His body collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

[What is this... why is this happening? I can't move at all!]

Li Aozi's vision shifted rapidly, and his blood felt like it was being squeezed by mercury, rendering him unable to lift his head.

[System... let me see what's going on, quickly!]

With great effort, Li Aozi managed to open the system, only to see a cold line of text:

[Aether Corrosion in progress. Your implant has been obscured, biological functions suspended. Countdown: 4:59]

"Obscured?"

Damn it, this obscuration again—what the hell is it?

A full five minutes. If this weren't an implanted body, he'd be dead already.

Aether, obscuration, White Knight.

What is all of this?

These things weren't in the previous game at all!

[White Knight]raised his gauntlet, where a noticeable whetstone structure was embedded. He lifted his sword and deftly sharpened it on the whetstone.

[Sharpening Teeth]

Sparks flew as the plain blade instantly burst into a blazing light. Any contact with the blade edge immediately sliced through the air, constantly generating friction and heat around the sword.

[Blast Magnum Charge]

Before Du Zexin could pull the trigger, the sword had already arrived.

Clang!

Du Zexin's pupils dilated, and his eyes began to bleed.

The massive white mech slowly split in two, collapsing to the ground.