Vol-2: 118. Obscuration

118. Obscuration

The fierce blade slashed straight across the skyline, the pale executioner baring its fangs and spreading its arms, seemingly immersed in the recent violence.

"How does it feel, Mr. Li Aozi, to lose your companion?"

Youhelai held the cane made from Zonia's spine, slowly walking towards them. He was in a great mood, even humming a tune, looking completely relaxed, while Li Aozi could only watch, with the system showing that he was in an 'Obscuration' state as Aether Blood continuously corroded his body.

[Detected Aether Blood corrosion in the body. As your species is not 'C3 Luka-type Cosmic Human,' a 'Secret Awakening' check will be conducted next.]

[Aether Corrosion, conducting a [Constitution] check...]

No! There's still a chance. I still have that specialty, the one I got from the Abyss professor—

[[Specialty: Single-Minded] activated! This check will be changed to [Charisma].]

Yes, yes, yes, this damn [Single-Minded]. My [Charisma] is high enough; using it for the check, it shouldn't fail—

[Check failed, your [Charisma] is below the minimum threshold (1500 points).]

One by one, his internal organs began to fail; rather than being poisoned, it was as if they were being isolated and completely cut off from the body's system.

[Awakening failed.]

Aether Blood.

What the hell is this stuff? Li Aozi had never seen anything like this in his previous life, nor in this one.

He had seen the Void Demon Lord detonate time-space vortices and witnessed the Great Demons of the Outer Society corrupt the galaxy. Even the fall of the 'God of Cold' Frost, tearing away at the surface of a black hole, had become routine background noise for players.

But compared to Aether, none of that was anything.

There had never been a force so tyrannical, not giving even the slightest chance to resist.

[Your implant body 'Li Aozi' is poisoned by Aether Blood, entering a dying state.]

No, it's not over yet!

Li Aozi's eyes moved rapidly, a purple light flickering at the bottom of his pupils.

[Blood of Immortality]

Cells regenerated rapidly, and the organs that had been obscured and shut down by the hidden state were directly disconnected by Li Aozi, replaced with fresh new ones. His health instantly refilled, his motor system rebooted, and Li Aozi raised his head, holding his breath, immediately drawing the Tsu•Shadow's Edge from his waist.

Swoosh!

A pale claw instantly clamped onto Li Aozi's shoulder, the shark's mouth slowly splitting open as it mocked:

"Oh, you've gotten faster!"

In the next moment, it sharply kneed him in the abdomen, but Li Aozi managed to retreat in time. Using gravity to pull himself down, he planted his toes firmly on solid ground. Using this rare foothold, Li Aozi twisted his waist, slashing with his back, and a fierce samurai materialized behind him, wrapped in purple ghost flames, briefly accelerating and striking at the [White Knight]!

However, what appeared to be a fierce counterattack to mortals...

To Youhelai, it was like a race between a snail and a turtle.

There was no difference.

Snap.

[White Knight] casually sidestepped, widening the distance instantly. With a light tap, it sank into the soil, effortlessly dodging Li Aozi's attack. In the next moment, it reappeared behind Li Aozi, slashing his spine with a swift strike.

[Armor of the Mountains]

Li Aozi's body was swiftly encased in rock, dispersing the blade's impact across the armor. The next instant, the rock exploded, and Li Aozi, now wearing heavy armor, switched to wielding the Dust-Sealed Sanctuary with both hands in greatsword mode, charging directly at the [White Knight].

Clang!

Youhelai nonchalantly grabbed the sword with his left hand, intending to place the blade on the whetstone on his gauntlet to sharpen it again.

"Idiot, you fell for it!"

Li Aozi twisted the sword handle and activated:

"Shipbreaker!"

Swoosh——!

The greatsword instantly rotated and transformed, its handle extending, nearly knocking Youhelai off balance. Then, the high-speed spinning front end whipped up shattered holy light, and golden fragments, accompanied by a fierce storm, gathered into a raging light drill.

Youhelai's hand was caught in the rapidly spinning blade, and the thin blade armor couldn't withstand the ship-piercing force, tearing apart instantly.

Got him!

[Strength of Pegasus]

Li Aozi gripped the long handle, eyes bloodshot, fiercely thrusting the light drill towards Youhelai's chest armor, blood spraying and flesh flying. It seemed the [White Knight] would be pierced through.

Just then, his body suddenly stiffened.

[Aether Corrosion, implant obscured...]

This can't be; wasn't I supposed to stop breathing? Without breathing, and with my body sealed by armor, how is this toxin—

At that moment, Li Aozi froze.

No, there's one possibility.

If the external entry is blocked, then only one possibility remains.

...Molecules.

When the body regenerated earlier, the molecules in the blood vessels were also absorbed by the body.

[Damn Aether Blood! What kind of hellish stuff is this?!]

[White Knight] Youhelai slowly stepped back a few paces, seemingly indifferent to pain. He raised his shredded left arm, holding it horizontally in mid-air, then poured a puddle of silvery-white solution over it.

"Using Aether Solution for healing might be extravagant, but to deal with the famous Mr. Li Aozi, I think it's worth it."

His arm quickly reset, muscles and tendons regenerated, and the blood that had flowed out moved as if alive, swiftly returning through his feet to reconstruct the wound.

Moments later, Youhelai's arm was completely restored.

"Li Aozi, are you surprised?"

Youhelai casually walked up to Li Aozi, stabbed his neck with a sword, and the Aether in the air quickly entered Li Aozi's body through his trachea, forcibly bonding with his blood. Li Aozi could distinctly feel his cells rapidly succumbing to Aether's invasion.

The immune system collapsed.

[Detected Aether Blood corrosion in the body. As your species is not 'C3 Luka-type Cosmic Human,' a 'Secret Awakening' check will be conducted next.]

[Aether Corrosion, conducting a [Constitution] check...]

Motor system paralyzed.

[Check failed, your [Charisma] is below the minimum threshold (1200 points).]

Cognitive system severely damaged.

[Your implant body 'Li Aozi' is poisoned by Aether Blood, entering a dying state.]

"—Nomi!"

[Blood of Immortality] activated once more, and Li Aozi suddenly lifted his head, letting the blade slice across his neck, then delivered a sweeping kick, knocking the [White Knight] to the ground.

He picked up his swift katana, ready to lunge at his opponent, but his body stiffened again.

[Aether Corrosion, implant obscured.]

Again, the repeated check—air filled with Aether Blood; even setting it on fire would only spread the Aether further, like tuberculosis, dispersing with the ashes.

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

Li Aozi's body disconnected again, dropping to one knee. His katana stabbed into the ground, and Youhelai immediately flipped up, slicing Li Aozi's spine and tossing it to the ground.

Strange Net, what have you done? Why has something like this appeared on the Blue Star?

A 1500-point primary attribute requirement—that's at least level 180.

Moreover, he had never seen or heard of the term 'Obscuration'; even with his past knowledge, it wasn't in the game, suggesting it didn't fit the game's settings.

This kind of thing wasn't encountered even in the late-stage third-layer Star Abyss.

"I know, Li Aozi, you're immortal."

Youhelai shrugged:

"No matter how many times I kill you, you can revive, right?"

[Aether Corrosion, conducting a [Constitution] check...]

He raised a foot, crushing Li Aozi's head, circling him leisurely:

"Relax, I've died too. After dying so many times, you gradually stop fearing death, stop respecting life."

[Check failed, your [Charisma] is below the minimum threshold (1000 points).]

Dying again, Li Aozi had no choice but to activate Omega Energy.

[Blood of Immortality]

Suddenly, he swiftly approached Li Aozi's body, watching Li Aozi continuously regenerate, calmly speaking beside him:

"But you should know, there are things in this world far more frightening than death."

At that moment, the massive mech lying behind Youhelai suddenly had its eyes flicker with light.

Long-short—long-long-short—

That's… Morse code?

Li Aozi, who had learned some of this during his engineering vocational training, barely managed to decipher it:

'Watch me, Liozi.'

Damn—what rotten luck, even though I'm not dead, now my name's even being misspelled. This idiot must be in a terrible state.

[White Knight] squatted down, stepping on Li Aozi's shoulder, looking at his half-regenerated head, clicking his tongue in amazement:

"Wow, this ability is awesome, really fucking impressive. No matter what, you can always regenerate, so aren't you basically immortal?"

The Vulcan cannon on the mech's head slowly began to spin.

"How should I torture you, Li Aozi? You're not afraid of death, and you don't have kids, which makes it tricky. The most painful thing would be to take away what's most important to you and destroy it right in front of your eyes."

Li Aozi gritted his teeth, trying to forgo all breathing, withstanding the 180-times gravitational pressure. He suddenly charged again, headbutting Youhelai, but Youhelai pierced his chest with a single sword strike, tearing his lung with a vicious twist.

"Gravity doesn't affect me, you fool. Noble citizens of the Hidden Society are born as cosmic species. Supergravity, zero gravity, near-solar orbit, even the edges of black holes—we are not influenced by gravity or electromagnetic waves under the great protection of Aether."

Youhelai looked at Li Aozi, who was once again corroded by Aether. His lungs quickly became obscured at a visible rate—the silvery Aether Blood made his lungs darken and thin, as if they were being peeled away from this world, so much so that even wind and air couldn't touch these hidden organs as they gradually faded and disappeared.

Li Aozi's body trembled slightly, deliberately showing fear.

"Don't be scared; I know you won't die. Our fun journey is just beginning."

He grabbed Li Aozi, digging his fingers into his shoulder, dragging his body to a car, tearing open the fuel tank, and preparing to pour gasoline into Li Aozi's trachea.

The mech slowly raised its only remaining arm, lifting the Magnum Rifle, with its missile pods standing upright.

"Let me tell you a secret—it's not just for the rewards that I serve the Cannibal."

Youhelai chuckled:

"I, too, really enjoy the taste of it."

The sixteen electronic eyes of the mech blinked rapidly. With his retina corroded by Aether, Li Aozi could barely make out the Morse code:

'Liozi, Cargo Summer Zone.'

He stabbed Li Aozi's thigh with a sword, watching as Li Aozi's eyes turned dull and the Aether rapidly spread, shimmering in silver before quickly dimming, and said regretfully:

"Tender, delicious."

[Blast Magnum Charge]