Vol-2: 119. I Don’t Want to Die

119. I Don't Want to Die

Swoosh——!

A dark red beam instantly converged, the violent heat flow engulfing the entire [White Knight]. His armor was continuously destroyed and melted by the scorching rays as he roared loudly, ultimately unable to stand his ground. He was pushed skyward by the high-temperature metal ions with immense kinetic energy.

Hiss!

Li Aozi quickly activated [Blood of Immortality]. His body healed rapidly, but due to the repeated use of this Omega Energy, his lifespan was greatly reduced. Staggering, he tried to get up, but to no avail, his age-spotted hands couldn't support his Beta-tier body.

"Du Zexin… damn it…"

Li Aozi's aged voice echoed across the ground. Due to severe aging of his implant, his vision was blurred, unable to see the way ahead, and he could only crawl toward the massive white mech in a daze.

Hum...

The hydraulic rods slowly moved, and the giant white hand opened up, carefully lifting Li Aozi into its palm and bringing him close.

"Haha… damn it, I knew you weren't dead…"

Before Li Aozi could finish his sentence, he noticed the smooth, clean fracture on the cockpit.

"…Damn it?"

He slowly crawled towards the cockpit, only to see a headless body inside, blood splattered across the entire cockpit. Du Zexin's head lay on the keyboard, his eyes still filled with rage.

"Damn it… you… what happened to you? Then who was just now—"

The broadcast system activated, and a synthesized electronic voice sounded:

"Machines… are not a wrong path."

"You?"

"Idiot, are you stupid?" the broadcast retorted irritably. "I'm a [Mechanist]. If [Biochemists] can back up their consciousness, we [Mechanists] can certainly upload ours into mechanical bodies."

"You mean you uploaded your brain's consciousness into this mech?"

"Yes, this [Future Watcher GAMMA] is my masterpiece, painstakingly tuned."

Du Zexin cursed:

"Do you look down on us [Mechanists]? If that beast, Professor Abyss, can manage multiple avatars, then of course I've got my own preparations. This mech's computer is linked to my brain interface. My consciousness, soul, and thoughts are all fully recorded here."

"Just like the Cannibal or Bio King Kong."

Du Zexin seemed to take a deep breath before speaking in his synthesized voice:

"My air filtration system was directly damaged by an unknown toxin. I had already inhaled that poison gas when that slash struck me. I need to check my body, so don't bother me."

"Damn, I was worried about you!" Li Aozi flipped him the middle finger. "You could've told me you had this ability... But damn, even with your body in this state, can you still be saved?"

"Right now, it's just a decapitation. As long as there's still time, it can be reattached and used again. I need to check the integrity of my body, and if it's no good, I'll use implants instead. After all, I'm a [Mechanist], and my adaptability to implants far exceeds that of [Warriors]."

Du Zexin's words gradually restored Li Aozi's sense of security.

"You're really thorough, huh?"

Li Aozi joked.

"You're just as clueless as a graduate student. If you had even a bit of Ph.D.-level intelligence, you'd figure out my professional abilities."

Du Zexin snapped at him in annoyance, muttering disdainfully:

"Good-looking people always seem to have empty heads. I'm so smart yet look average—what kind of world is this? Should I get plastic surgery or something?"

"Didn't I tell you that people with high intelligence have no free will and are drawn to society?"

"Speaking of society," the synthesized voice shifted, "that guy claimed to be a citizen of the 'Hidden Society.' Do you know anything about them? You're a cosmic being, so you should know something, right?"

This question, which had always given Li Aozi a sense of mystery, was met with a rare shake of his head:

"I don't know."

"Never heard of it? Such a powerful force... mysterious toxin, and a slash that could damage this alloy-ceramic composite armor. His sword seems capable of severing even chemical bonds."

Du Zexin's complaints only made Li Aozi shake his head further.

"There are many notorious societies in the universe—citizens of the Outer Society of Pergalai are called 'demons,' and they've become the scourge of the cosmos, the top-level society."

"What about others?"

"Other societies don't match up. If it were from a counterfeit society, it wouldn't be this powerful; even a chairman couldn't do that."

Li Aozi didn't finish his sentence.

'Besides, [Eye of Truth] specifically counters counterfeit societies... that hidden effect is definitely not something a counterfeit society could achieve.'

Then who is it?

Hidden Society, Gaia... this wasn't information that had ever appeared in the game.

"No matter what, at least we repelled him. We can't be a match for the [White Knight]; he's too powerful, far beyond Gamma-tier... he must be like you, an alien."

"He's at least considered an alien now."

Li Aozi lay in the palm, his gaze unfocused.

"Li Aozi?"

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't you confident?" Du Zexin said while checking his body, "This isn't like you."

"Shut up, how many times have you seen me? You don't know what I'm normally like."

"Look at yourself; your brain isn't great, but you're pretty decent-looking."

Du Zexin seemed to want to mock Li Aozi, but as a machine, he couldn't, so he just flashed his lights:

"Seriously, you are good-looking, or rather, you have an extraordinary quality—it makes you unforgettable. I feel like even if I forgot my birthday or who I was, I wouldn't forget you, like I'm addicted. It's uncanny; I'm supposed to be attracted to machines."

"Damn, sounds like you accidentally exposed something serious..."

Li Aozi couldn't help but laugh:

"Mecha-fetishists, why do you [Mechanists] all like these metal and iron things? It's too funny, haha..."

Du Zexin, seeing him laugh, casually said:

"Now that's more like it."

"—What? What did you just say?"

"Screw you, you little cutie, I love you, my dear little cookie," Du Zexin said irritably. "Look at you, usually so arrogant with your good looks, but now you've been beaten down like a lost soul."

"Things have gotten out of my control. I feel uneasy; you don't know this feeling. Just thinking about the Hidden Society makes me feel powerless. I know nothing about them. It's the first time I've felt like I can't do anything. I can't resist the [White Knight]'s oppression; his power is too overwhelming. I can't do anything except die, revive, and die again. Do you know what that feels like, Du Ze—"

"Idiot, you're too damn arrogant."

Having spent enough time with Li Aozi, Du Zexin dropped his formalities. He packed his body, put it into a secure compartment, and turned back, staring at Li Aozi with his sixteen eyes:

"No one can guarantee the future will follow your will. What do you think this is, a game? Li Aozi, you have to understand, you're not the protagonist, and neither am I. In this game called reality, we're all just passing through. Sooner or later, we'll die."

Li Aozi shrugged, unconcerned:

"What are you talking about, damn it... you died once too, didn't you?"

"I'm talking about you, you arrogant fool. You don't get death; you've got your friend's Omega Energy, and you won't die."

Du Zexin said, somewhat bitterly:

"I will, Li Aozi. No matter how many bodies I switch, my will shall eventually wither, my thoughts will become 0s and 1s, and even steel will corrode. Sooner or later, I'll perish from entropy. Maybe I'll end up just like you said—intellectually drawn, twisted, and corrupted by society, like that bastard who attacked us."

"But you're different. You can die and revive. You've seen so much—stars, blue skies, the galaxy, the sun—are Azure Star people content to be trapped on the ground? No, they aren't. Do we really believe there's no sun? No, we just can't, don't dare to think about it."

"You've seen the universe we've always longed to know."

"The sunlight we dare not dream of is everyday for you."

"The starry sky we can never reach is merely your homeland."

Li Aozi stared blankly at Du Zexin's camera:

"Damn it, you…"

These statements were not part of his official character.

The official description of Du Zexin painted him as a righteous, conscientious, talented, and powerful person—in other words, a hero.

"I want to go to space."

Du Zexin said:

"I don't want to see what the universe looks like, nor do I want to become a high-level [Mechanist]. I don't even want to be a hero who saves humanity's fate. I don't want to fight monsters like society—I just hate this planet with its Frost-Plated, Tianhuan, Zhengxu, and Red Arrow trash nations."

His electronic eyes flashed, and he expressed all his emotions in the cold tone of a synthesizer:

"Li Aozi, I don't love space; I just want to escape."

The synthesized voice couldn't tremble, nor could the electronic flow feel joy or sadness:

"I want to put my soul in a can, bury it somewhere for a few hundred years, and after humanity goes extinct, walk in a mechanical body through the apocalypse, traveling, escaping, surviving."

"I hate this world, and I want to leave it. Since I saw that children's alphabet book when I was a kid, I've had this unwavering belief in running away—but I always thought I loved space, loved that untouched starry sky."

"Du Zexin..."

"Then you appeared in my view, bringing with you everything beautiful I had ever imagined. I suddenly realized—I'm not interested in the universe at all. I just want to leave this stupid world."

"When I was young, because I was a boy, my chances to study were taken by girls. When I grew up, my promotion and pay raise chances were gone because I had a relative working in the government. Later, when I tried to change this country, David Lin was thrown in."

"Now, I've met you. As ridiculous as it is, the days with you have felt like the most real, exhilarating days of my life, stupid Li Aozi."

Du Zexin welded his upper and lower halves together, reviving the mech's posture:

"Li Aozi, if you think you can't do anything, just look at me. I think no one's luck is worse than mine."

"Du Zexin, that nickname was just a joke—"

"At least you have people who love, care, and worry about you."

Du Zexin placed Li Aozi into the cockpit:

"I have nothing left, but at least you're half a friend to me."

The mech swiftly broke through the checkpoint barriers, taking Li Aozi into the endless night and snowstorm.

Originally silent, the cold wind and snow were blocked by the mech. The shaky body was sturdier than expected and more stable than the usual mechs, indicating Du Zexin had put in a lot of effort, with his conscious input providing significant aid in controlling it.

Li Aozi's destination was an abandoned camp outside Triangle Town, the best launch site, where selected players awaited.

Li Aozi's bio-pool could hold 25 players, and when the nuclear bomb detonated, the robust bio-pool would ensure their safety.

Xia Jianjing reported that everything was going smoothly and was heading to the meeting point.

Compared to these things, Li Aozi was more concerned about Du Zexin's condition.

He was different from before, vastly unlike the Du Zexin in his memory.

Li Aozi glanced at the data.

The favorability didn't change much; some things couldn't be measured by numbers.

So why did Du Zexin say those things?

Li Aozi suddenly remembered something:

"How's your body?"

"...Not too bad."

"Really? Your head's cut off, and you inhaled that poison gas."

"I've put it on ice. If the head is off, I'll have a [Biochemist] reattach it. As for the gas, it's simpler—just replace the lungs with implants. As an agent of Law III, buying these things is easy."

Since Du Zexin's mentor, a [Mechanist], said so, Li Aozi, an outsider, didn't doubt him.

"I hope you're okay," Li Aozi said, "and I mean it."

Du Zexin didn't counter with 'How many lies have you told then?' but instead said:

"This hydrogen bomb can only clear 70 kilometers of Calamity, but the Calamity's aggregation speed is faster than you think. If you don't want to enter space with just a skeleton, you'll need to detonate a smaller nuke when you reach the ionosphere."

Li Aozi sighed, shaking his head:

"There's no time; I can just send my brain out, regenerate in space, and fly away. Plus, I've got the bio-pool with me, so it's safe in there too."

Du Zexin replied, "That will lose you a lot of initial speed."

"Time waits for no one."

"Do you have to go to space now?"

"I must. Honestly, it's already late; I should've been in space a month ago. The Calamity crisis can't wait."

"You'd better add a lesson."

"I know damn well, but there's no way and no time to find a second nuke."

"Find what?"

Du Zexin said:

"There's one right here, isn't there?"

With that, he lifted his mechanical hand, pointing at the reactor in his chest.

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{The Hidden subplot has been laid out since the first volume, starting from Nomi's survival, through the Black Knight storyline, including the Yavanna arc as well.}