024: The Curse of the Gamma Rank

"This is my story."

Li Aoz took a sip of his drink and said dejectedly:

"I admire the courage and enthusiasm of this group of people, but their strength and mindset are not up to par. Their blood was shed in vain, wasted on meaningless battles."

"Then why did you come looking for me?"

Barnum tried to grab his bottle back, Li Aoz flicked his wrist and slapped his hand away. He then turned to Barnum and said seriously, "Barnum, I'm thinking of a roundabout way to achieve my goal. I wonder if you'd like to go back to your old, carefree life?"

"Think!"

Upon hearing this, Barnum blurted out without hesitation:

"I'm doing well. I have a good income, a relaxed job, and so many kind and warm-hearted Grantian around me. To be honest, I've long considered this place my home."

Very good, Li Aoz nodded, Barnum's reaction was within his expectations.

Once a man with Frostplate runs away, unless he's a staunch patriot like Du Zexin or Dai Weilin, he's unlikely to return, let alone an ordinary, helpless man like Barnum.

The Grant Duchy produced several talented individuals in later generations, Barnum was one of them.

Barnum Ziegler rose to prominence relatively late, only truly beginning his legendary life after version 2.5, when he went into space and came into contact with the [Architect] lineage of the [Craftsmanship] system.

In the future, he will have a resounding title: Heroes Empire Hero.

For a native civilization like Azure Planet to receive the highest honor of the thirteenth Narrative-level Civilization, the "Heroes Empire," is extremely rare among all Narrative-level Civilization.

Li Aoz came here not only to complete a mission, but also to poach some promising talents.

As a self-made entrepreneur, Li Aoz has only secured two sponsors, Sky Ring and Triangle Town, but he still lacks capable advisors and generals.

Li Aoz is neither a good manager nor a good tech person, but as everyone knows, business owners don't know anything about technology.

All a boss needs to do is boast, paint a rosy picture, outline a blueprint, attract investment, have a long-term vision, be decisive, and unite people. Don't interfere with other things, just obediently send money and let the professionals do what they're good at.

Li Aoz has a high Charisma attribute, Barnum was quickly swayed by him, deciding to join Li Aoz's team. In a moment of impulsiveness, he immediately agreed to act with him.

But as they prepared to leave, Barnum suddenly realized. "But the whole city is under martial law, what are we going to do out now?"

"Kidnapping."

"Report on the attack."

"Six infantry armored vehicles in the garrison's mechanized infantry battalion were destroyed, 17 people were killed, 8 were seriously injured, and 12 civilians were hit by stray bullets and artillery fire... Such big news can only be suppressed with the help of Frostplate Law Enforcement Division Three."

Bang! Grand Duke Gamos Luvenchi Grant suddenly slammed his hand on the desk. His violet eyes instantly lost their sluggishness and turbidity. Caught off guard, the secretary immediately collapsed to the ground. By this time, he realized that the old man in front of him, who had ruled the duchy for two centuries, was, after all, Gamma Rank powerhouse.

Gamos's shoulders trembled violently. He picked up the oxygen mask next to him, put it on his face, and took a deep breath for a minute before calming himself down. The physiological monitoring system on his wrist beeped, showing that his blood oxygen saturation was low.

"Call..."

Calm down, stay calm.

Any emotion can affect one's physiological state, and what he cannot bear the most is hormonal imbalance.

Gamos removed his oxygen mask, looked at his withered hands, and remained silent for a long time before finally saying to himself, "Is this the price...?"

From a mortal's perspective, Gamma Rank powerhouse is like a god descended from ancient mythology. Once they enter the battlefield, they can easily influence the course of a battle, capable of both offense and defense, and their sublimated life possesses a long lifespan.

It's hard not to wonder if the heroes of those dynasties in mythology were actually Gamma Rank powerhouses in reality.

They had clearly distinguished themselves from ordinary people, so it was only natural for them to lead a group of mediocre and short-lived humans.

However, Gamos knew even more clearly: this planet refused to support a powerful being like him.

The resources on Azure Planet were insufficient for him to survive.

He could feel that his heart had become a high-energy-consuming engine, and his brain was consuming an astonishing amount of energy every second.

The thin oxygen content makes it impossible for him to maintain a healthy state for a long time. For him, Azure Planet is no different from the oxygen-deficient plateau. Doctors believe that he suffers from altitude sickness every day. No matter what kind of food he eats, whether it is fat or carbohydrates, he cannot get enough energy in his body. Just to maintain basic metabolism, food is not enough. He has to import a special high-energy synthetic liquid from Frostplate, which requires 45,000 Derby every day.

The burden on his organs was incredibly heavy. His overly powerful lung function was mostly in a dormant state, but just maintaining the expansion of his heavy lung lobes caused his ribs to ache from time to time. He dared not sneeze, because it was very likely that if he sneezed, his ribs would break.

His digestive system also suffered greatly. His body consumed an enormous amount of energy, but his diet was limited to a single type of nutritional paste and solution, which gradually caused his stomach and intestines to lose their function.

As a shaman, his strong physique and powerful soul should have been his proud strengths, but now they have become the cage that traps him.

How ridiculous!

It took him nearly 120 years to ascend to the altar of the Gamma-rank, where he was once all-powerful and even had the confidence to face the Frostplate Citizen.

However, Frostplate never gave him a second glance.

Yes, they are very familiar with it. In the history of Frostplate, there have been several powerful individuals at the Gamma-rank. They know better than anyone what this cursed power truly means.

Gamos had seen Frostplate Gamma-rank powerhouses. With Frostplate's advanced technology, they could not only maintain their health but also charge into the battlefield to kill enemies, becoming terrifying war machines.

But I myself have become a pool of rotting protein.

Even the celestial spirits and natural forces residing in his soul, as his soul grew stronger, became poison, greedily coveting his body every moment.

"The world rejects me, this planet loathes me. They don't want the strong to live, and they refuse to let extraordinary strong individuals emerge!"

He said sadly.

The daytime attacks were insignificant compared to his deteriorating health; Gamos's only hatred was for himself.

Now that things have come to this, the Grand Duke no longer cares about power; he only wants to gain freedom from this suffering.

However, the key to his life and death was in the hands of Frostplate Citizen.

The secretary sat trembling on the floor, speechless, the biological pressure making him unable to control his body.

After a long silence, the Grand Duke shook his head and said, "Summon Malish."