112 The Thriving One

Gravity Deflection forward—60 times the acceleration!

[Soul-Inscribed Sword Saint — Wargod]

The plain-cut longsword emitted a sharp screech, instantly tearing through the air.

With 60 times the force of gravity, Li Aoz created a sonic boom on the spot, and his speed instantly exceeded 588 meters per second. Bullets seemed to him as slow as snails spiraling forward.

He simply held the knife in both hands, keeping the blades flat, and with his terrifying speed, he was able to cut through their metal armor.

Sparks flew, but the cuts in the flesh remained perfectly still.

Since forces are reciprocal, after enduring such immense speed, Li Aoz tried to keep his movements as small and cautious as possible. He skillfully adjusted his Aoneng in a timely manner, keeping himself in a state of weightlessness and acceleration at all times to prevent himself from being killed by his own Aoneng.

Snap—

Li Aoz stopped in his tracks, turned around, and sheathed his sword.

Clang.

Behind them, a row of Biochemical Soldier were still firing their guns, their heads being tossed high into the air, their brains rapidly deactivated in the vats, as joyful and carefree as embroidered balls.

Da da da da da—

Compared to Li Aoz's smooth and efficient style, Du Zexin's battles were more complex and elegant, showcasing meticulous micro-management.

He first threw out two EMP grenades in succession. The instantaneous electromagnetic pulse burst paralyzed and shut down the Biochemical Soldier who came to intercept him, crushing them under the weight of their own exoskeletons.

[Beautiful Wish] The mechanical backpack on the back of the armor takes the opportunity to deploy, transforming into a tracked vehicle, and pops out a shield to form a mobile cover to withstand the incoming heavy firepower.

Since the Anti-Gravity System has been destroyed by Li Aoz, Du Zexin is unable to continue flying and can only rely on this method to advance steadily.

He raised his hand and fired a siege grenade, sending a row of Biochemical Soldier firing at him from their bunkers into the air, along with the bunkers themselves. He immediately turned around and fired at close range with his Magnum Plasma Gun. With mobile bunkers and armor blocking his way, he was not afraid of heavy firepower at all and smoothly broke through the defense line.

"Warning! High-energy target intrusion! Warning! High-energy target intrusion!"

Alarms sounded in the factory, but the slaughter by Li Aoz and Du Zexin continued.

"Save some ammunition!"

Li Aoz amplified gravity tenfold, his demonic aura becoming almost tangible. With both hands gripping the blade, he sliced the upper body of a Biochemical Soldier in two with a single strike. He then twirled the blade and plunged it into the body of a Biochemical Soldier who had ambushed him from behind. Activating [Iterative Movement], he instantly teleported behind a sniper in the distance and grabbed the sniper's head.

Directional Demolition

splat—

The sniper's brain exploded instantly in the vat, and before his blood could splatter onto Li Aoz, he activated [Iterative Movement] again and returned to his original position.

He pulled a long sword from the corpse, and at the same time, a chain popped out from his right arm. He swung it around and cut all the approaching Biochemical Soldier in half at the waist.

"Just how many are there? Was it really the professor's deliberate decision that prevented the White Fang Gang from invading?"

Li Aoz lowered the chains, and another group of Biochemical Soldier swept bullets toward him. Some even disregarded the possibility of blowing up their own men and bombarded him directly with rocket launchers and Grenade Launcher.

These bombardments were actually of little use to him; the Gravity Field deflection would deflect all the bullets and explosive fragments. However, this prevented him from using other Aoneng, greatly affecting his propulsion speed.

"These Biochemical Soldier aren't part of the Nethermark Humanity, and their actions are quite consistent—are they clones? Or were they deliberately modified? Never mind, it doesn't matter."

Compared to these Biochemical Soldier, Li Aoz was more concerned about the professor's deliberate faked death.

Was the purpose of doing that to eliminate dissidents?

Or should we remove the Frostplate monitoring?

Or perhaps, it was for the purpose of conducting secret experiments?

Li Aoz parried a Biochemical Soldier's bayonet with his knife, then raised his left hand to unleash [Polar Day Radiance], a fierce, high-brightness white light that continuously ignited the bodies of a group of Biochemical Soldier.

He clenched his fist tightly, and the burning Biochemical Soldier were immediately thrown up by an invisible force, moving through the air with his hand, and instantly tumbling down the stairs.

"—It's possible that all of these reasons are involved."

After all, avoiding Frostplate was for the purpose of secret experiments, and using the White Fang Gang to eliminate dissidents was also one of the purposes. The plundering of the Nethermark Humanity could directly cultivate the White Fang Gang, and the rise of the White Fang Gang could further help the Infant Eater collect babies.

Even if the Nethermark Humanity was truly devastated, the professor probably guessed that Anna would contact Frostplate for protection.

Frostplate naturally wouldn't sit idly by. These days, all research institutions are thinking about scamming funding, while only the Nethermark Humanity provides solid results.

Anna, who has inherited the professor's mantle, will surely come to the Second Floor once the situation stabilizes. This is where everything she covets is... the army, military force, biochemical factories, and secret experimental data.

—And, professor.

With a whoosh, Li Aoz pierced through the last Biochemical Soldier's armor crack, pinning him to the wall. He removed the soldier's mask, raised his hand, and placed it on the soldier's brain in the tank. [Sever Life] was activated, and nerve tendrils sprang from his palm, draining the soldier's last remaining life force.

"Phew... these guys are under a lot of pressure."

The shriveled corpse fell to the ground. Li Aoz exhaled a breath of stale air and popped two Compressed Biscuit into his mouth.

—Speaking of which, didn't they steal a lot of cookies from Agent Ya Wen back then? The war has been going on with high-intensity consumption, and they still haven't finished eating them.

Li Aoz looked at Du Zexin, who had just smashed the head of a Biochemical Soldier with his fist. The radiating brain matter was not much better than what Li Aoz had witnessed.

How are you feeling?

"These Biochemical Soldier react much faster than humans. If it weren't for the AI's prompting, I might not have been able to outgun them."

Du Zexin pulled out his fist, and in doing so, he pulled out a chip. He frowned and said to Li Aoz:

"This is a military-grade chip from Leif Light Industries..."

"The weapon is still a VK-74, and there are plenty of these military weapons in the past."

Li Aoz disagreed.

"It's hard to imagine that the Nethermark Humanity can turn ordinary people into professional soldiers close to the Alpha Rank. Moreover, it has overcome the problems of mechanical inflexibility and poor obstacle-breaking ability."

Du Zexin opened his mask and stared at the chip with a complex expression.

On one hand, as a human being, he found the act of using his fellow human beings as weapons disgusting; on the other hand, as a [Mechanic], he genuinely admired the professor's experimental creations.

He had to admit that the professor was indeed deserving of Frostplate's support, and that, disregarding morality and bottom lines, he, as president, would also support the research on Nethermark Humanity.

Du Zexin shook his head and put the chip away.

The bio-factory was completely destroyed by them. How many Biochemical Soldier did Li Aoz and he kill? 400? Or 500? Du Zexin couldn't count them—such a force, if equipped with professional mechanized vehicles and weapons, could completely replace a conventional army.

But back then, could an army composed entirely of brains in a vat really be trusted? Li Aoz didn't think that much about it. He never invested in [Intelligence] ([Willpower]). People with too high an IQ would live a very painful life.

"Put your thoughts into the battle ahead. Your style and level of understanding are clearly not yet adapted to the power of the Beta-rank."

"You can tell I just advanced?" Du Zexin was quite surprised. "Is it that obvious? I think my firepower has already reached the company level."

"It's obvious that once you reach the Beta-rank, life has undergone a complete sublimation. You should consider changing your mindset and thinking from the perspective of a superhuman, instead of using the concepts of mortals—mortals are still arguing about the law of firepower supremacy and the uselessness of armor. Can you think like that?"

Li Aoz briefly mentioned it, and Du Zexin seemed thoughtful, but he didn't care what he came up with.

Everyone has different ideas. Du Zexin, a well-known problem solver, doesn't need to be taught. Just give him a clue and he will figure out the answer on his own.

Starting with the Beta-rank, one must consider personal style and school of thought.

It wasn't so obvious at the Alpha Rank. For example, the fighting style of the [Martial Artist] was basically faster with a spear at a distance and faster with a fist in close combat.

However, once you reach the Beta-rank, near-sonic or supersonic movements are common, and bullets, which are only at the speed of sound, may not be able to keep up with running speed. At this point, you need to consider changing your style.

There are many different styles of "Mechanic," including Kamen Rider like Mouldy Crotch, Gundam pilots, the multi-turret cult, and so on.

In contrast, the "Mutant" build is very unpredictable due to the "mutation" factor. Although it is highly playable, it is still difficult to build a suitable Aoneng system.

Li Aoz was able to come up with the Bloodfiend Style because of the lessons learned from countless players. The Bloodfiend Style may not be the most powerful, but it is definitely the build with the strongest survivability and the highest margin for error.

After a short rest, the two headed towards the exit gate of the biochemical factory.

Du Zexin glanced at the tightly closed door, immediately stepped forward, and a projection screen popped up on his wrist. "The door is locked. Let me hack into the system—"

Before he finished speaking, Li Aoz felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

"Get out of the way!" he shouted hastily, his body moving faster than his words, Gravity Deflection to deflect Du Zexin and pull him to a safe corner.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! A black blade tore open the door, the sharp tearing sound mixed with sparks sending chills down one's spine. Accompanied by a loud bang, Li Aoz felt as if he had been hit head-on by a train engine and was instantly sent flying backward.

"Damn it, what is that?!" Before Li Aoz could even activate [Iterative Movement], he was grabbed by the collar and thrown toward the biochemical dissolution pool.

His reaction speed lagged far behind his opponent's attributes. It wasn't until he gained control of his hands and feet, activated gravity, and stabilized his body that a strong sense of oppression suddenly struck his spine.

"Beta-rank —this isn't some newly promoted weakling Mouldy Crotch Dumeibi; this is the aura of a seasoned Beta-rank expert, even more powerful than Infant Eater!"

Li Aoz dared not linger in the air and immediately activated gravity, returning to the corridor of the biochemical factory. But as soon as he landed, a familiar female voice rang in his ears:

"Did you miss me? My Level 5 Infected."

A sharp claw landed on his shoulder, its cold gleam piercing flesh and blood, instantly triggering combat mode.

[Entering combat mode, determining status...]

[Primary Attribute check passed]

Based on your attributes, you will see the following information about the enemy:

[Name]: 'The Vigorous One'???