While Others Fought, I Went Shopping

Chapter 20: While Others Fought, I Went Shopping

Hint—The quest "Unremembered" was active.

First Ring: Pale Tooth Mark

Introduction: "Life in the laboratory had gradually settled into peace. You seemed to have grown accustomed to being handled at will like a lab rat. At this very moment, a group of bandits attacked Nethermark Humanity's shelter, and the defensive line had begun to crumble—not only that, but something within you was stirring as well."

"Will you choose to embrace freedom, willing to aid evil if it means escaping this suffocating captivity where others control your fate?"

"Or will you protect the weak, step forward, and do something for this rare 'new home'?"

"Now, the initiative is in your hands."

Quest Requirements:

A. "Civilization Retreats" (High Risk)—Follow the White Fang Gang in invading Nethermark Humanity, completely eliminate Head Nurse Nordly Crowe, Assistant Physician Anna, and the Nethermark Professor, and destroy the Nethermark Organization.

Special Note:

If this option is chosen, the "Unremembered" quest will be settled at the lowest standard. Previously accumulated exploration points will be converted into experience at a ratio of 1:10.

B. "Humanity Continues Forward" (Moderate Risk)—Assist Nethermark Humanity in eliminating/repelling the invaders. The Favorability of all survivors in the Nethermark Humanity faction, including Nordly Crowe and Assistant Physician Anna, will increase.

C. "Difficult Decision" (No Risk)—This place is far too dangerous. This was not a battle one should take part in. Escape the shelter and stay away from this dangerous place.

Special Note:

If this option is chosen, the Professor's personal Favorability will drop to "Hostile." —"They'd finally started fighting."

The moment the Head Nurse ran out to meet the enemy, Li Aoz received the system prompt. He shook his head. Everyone was busy resisting the invasion or taking shelter now, and no one had the time to bother with him.

"Unremembered" was a long-term Main Quest. This was only the first ring; it had only just begun. Li Aoz had no intention of giving up.

But he also knew that if he truly acted according to the quest requirements, the only one who would end up suffering would be himself.

The White Fang Gang and Nethermark Humanity were not comparable to the low-level agents of Law Enforcement Division Four. Li Aoz was low-level and weak, but with schemes and tricks, he could still take out a few female agents from Law Enforcement Division Four.

In Star Abyss, levels were often deceptive. Some people had as many as a hundred side professions and could forcefully stack themselves into a level-hundred big shot, flaunting the title to scare newcomers. Others specialized in life professions, such as politicians, engineers, and merchants. Their levels were high, but their personal Combat Power was mediocre.

What truly measured actual Combat Power was called a "Challenge Level," which was the tier listed in one's attributes.

From Alpha to Omega, there were twenty-four tiers. This was how superhumans were classified.

Alpha was already the lowest entry-level tier, but even so, it meant a crushing slaughter when facing ordinary people.

By Li Aoz's estimate, reaching a level 20 Mutant would only require two hundred thousand experience points. But advancing to Alpha-class would require at least one million.

"There was no need, and no reason, to get involved in direct combat."

Li Aoz remained calm. The patients around him had not even had time to be transferred or settled. Faced with the sudden crisis, some looked lost, some were visibly afraid, while others clenched their fists, gritted their teeth, and charged out of the safe zone to confront the bandits head-on.

"While I have the chance... I can push the Main Quest forward."

He could not do it alone. First, he needed to find a temporary teammate.

Li Aoz arrived in front of ZX-102. He raised his palm and held it above the door bolt. The next moment, a golden ring of light lit up in his gray eyes.

Gravity Aura activated.

An invisible Gravity Field enveloped the lock. He had studied it a few days ago. The ZX-series wards used gravity-based automatic locks, relying on the weight's own gravity to make the latch hook itself into place. No spring was needed to apply external force, making it highly reliable and secure.

This design was meant to prevent quarantined patients from escaping during examinations, treatment, or meal deliveries. Banks and armories would use complex mechanical combination locks instead. Each had its own advantages, but to Li Aoz, who controlled gravity, a gravity-based automatic locking mechanism was no different from an unlocked door.

He adjusted the direction of the Gravity Field in his palm. The originally heavy weight floated upward in reverse, clanking as it disengaged from the hook.

Li Aoz reached out and pushed at the door to ZX-102. Just as he was about to open it, a clear female voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Are you... here to let us out?"

Li Aoz's gaze flickered. A stunned expression naturally appeared on his face as he pretended to look toward the source of the voice—ZX-101, the ward right next to ZX-102.

Unlike the isolation room Li Aoz had been staying in, the ZX-series wards had no iron bars through which one could peer inside. Their viewing ports were sealed bulletproof glass, only around one hundred and twenty centimeters high.

To look inside, one had to kneel on one knee and lean closer.

Li Aoz hesitated for a moment before kneeling on one knee and looking through the bulletproof glass viewing port.

He saw a girl of around sixteen, so thin she was almost skeletal. Her face was tightly wrapped in bandages, and she wore a mask, revealing only her pale violet right eye.

Eggshell-white hair spilled across the floor. In the dim light, Li Aoz vaguely saw dried brown bloodstains beside her, along with a few fragmented pieces of human bone.

The girl whose face he could not see noticed his gaze. Expectation and surprise appeared in her light-purple eye.

The man reflected in her eye was more handsome and beautiful than she had imagined. His messy black hair hung down to his shoulders, giving him an even more ethereal air.

For a man, Li Aoz's features were delicate yet sharply defined, existing together in perfect balance. His gray eyes carried an air of world-weariness and detachment from mortal concerns.

Even the orange restraint uniform he had worn earlier could not conceal his sturdy physique.

"Did you call me just now?"

Li Aoz asked. He noticed that ZX-101's Favorability toward him had increased by 10, already reaching the level of affection.

He was not surprised. His natural looks were indeed good, but more importantly, this was the benefit brought by his Charm and Eternal Love Hunter.

The isolated girl raised a finger, trying to touch his face. Her outstretched fingertip stopped at the glass. Only then did she cry out in pain, "Ow!" and pull her hand back. Propping herself up with both arms, she kept staring at Li Aoz with her single eye.

"You opened the ward... can you save me and take me out?"

The girl asked softly. She looked completely helpless, and her lone eye held a pitiful, pleading look.

But the mottled bloodstains on her thin white hospital gown, along with the special label on ZX-101's door—"Esha Infection Level: Four"—made her deeply unsettling.

"Who are you?"

Although he had already made up his mind, Li Aoz still asked. Not only that, but one question followed another without pause.

"Why were you locked up here? How do you eat? Why is there nothing in the neighboring ward? Why did Head Nurse Nordly forbid me from mentioning ZX-102? If spaghetti were mixed with No. 42 concrete, would that make the gamma rays bombarding the Trisolarans, who helped Pinocchio win the World Cup for KPI, even worse—"

Bang! Rage and distortion burned in the pale violet eye. The girl impatiently slammed her fist into the bulletproof glass. Her previous weak and pitiful demeanor vanished as she growled thunderously like an out-of-control monster.

"Fuck! You Frostplate Civilization piece of Quality Nethermark, are you done yet? You've been babbling forever—can you fucking speak human? Once I, Janelia, get out, I'll smash your head and stuff it into your stomach!"

"So your name is Janelia?"

"Uh—who said that was my name? Pah, pah, pah! What an awful name. I'm not called that thing!!!"

Having been successfully baited by Li Aoz, the girl flew into a rage. She pulled down her mask, revealing a mouthful of sharp shark-like teeth, and roared furiously, "Listen up, you pretty little beauty with the decent face. I am your master, Nomi Anderson Guersett! Call me that name one more time, and I'll bite your spine to pieces!"

"Nomi, is it? All right, Nelia."

Li Aoz spoke as calmly as ever. "Then I was right."

"Say that again!"

"The entire old world will eventually be reduced to ashes by the flames of rebirth."

Li Aoz said unhurriedly.

The girl froze.

Then her expression turned solemn, and she said in a low voice, "And the Rose Society will bloom upon the ruins of the Four Nations."

Li Aoz nodded and pressed his hand against the glass. A sunny smile that inspired immense reassurance naturally appeared on his handsome face. "Comrade, the organization sent me to bring you home."