Sinew-Splitting, Bone-Breaking (Part 2)

Sinew-Splitting, Bone-Breaking (Part 2)

Li Aoz raised his arm and turned his elbow sideways, revealing a streamlined mass of dark flesh that had grown along the lower section of his radius. It bulged like a pea pod, pulsing rhythmically with his heartbeat and expelling invisible free Aoneng.

"This is the thing that cut my lifespan down to less than five years."

Li Aoz took it well.

In fact, when it came to Aoneng, quality mattered more than quantity. Everyone had limited energy, after all; no one could devote themselves to every field for long.

But the biggest problem with mutations was that they couldn't be skipped. Once one appeared, you had to choose whether to accept it.

As though this were the punishment the gods inflicted upon those who tried to take control of their own fate.

"A shorter lifespan is acceptable. As long as I break through to Alpha Rank, my lifespan will increase substantially. With supplements and medicine, it should be enough to keep me going until eighty."

It wasn't that he valued the effects of the Ability Pod. The other two side effects were simply too risky for Li Aoz to gamble on.

"That'll do for now—later, I'll check the Player Store. I remember there being a Gene Repair Device that can reverse mutation effects."

NPCs had no way to deal with this sort of thing and could only grit their teeth and accept it. Too much time had passed, so Li Aoz couldn't remember whether the Gene Repair Device was actually available, but he recalled it costing around 1,988 in the Player Store.

It was still expensive, but acceptable.

"I should be able to break through to Alpha Rank soon, so my lifespan isn't a major problem—no, this might even be an opportunity."

He recalled a special NPC, an old man who specifically sought out people with little time left to live, gave them missions, and trained them to become Magical Girls... apprentices.

That old man seemed to be in one of the nearby Outland People settlements.

"That old man sells rare accessory equipment. My attributes are low, and accessory-type equipment has no wear requirements. It suits me perfectly."

Li Aoz made up his mind. As a highly experienced Starcaller and Master Player, there was always a way out.

"Desperation can also be a turning point. By the later stages, farming a few thousand years of lifespan is no big deal. But this Ability Pod..."

This mutation path seemed to have a specific build. If developed properly, Li Aoz remembered a player creating the miracle of defeating three opponents of the same level as a Mutant.

"It was called the Bloodfiend Style, I think... I need to give it some thought."

Li Aoz steadied his breathing and turned to look at the corridor, now a complete mess.

"Yo, has the little beauty rested up?"

Nomi sat atop a small hill of four or five piled-up corpses, a wrench slung over her shoulder. The bandages wrapped around her face had been completely soaked and dirtied by blood. The dried brownish stains were nauseating, and the only thing visible on her entire face was her single eye, filled with red and black.

"See? Nomi knocked all these guys down. Too bad some of those stray dogs ran too fast. I really couldn't catch them, ehehehehe..."

Something seemed off about her. Her pupil had shrunk sharply as she stared unblinkingly at Li Aoz.

"Little beauty, what are you standing there stupidly for?"

Her legs swung idly, yet her petite body radiated a terrifyingly sinister presence.

"Li Aoz."

Nomi opened her mouth. Her shark-like teeth had become sharper and longer, while a keratinous sheen surfaced over her skin. Her red eyes against black sclera fixed on Li Aoz as she slowly rose to her feet, murmuring:

"Why do I feel like you're becoming more and more of an eyesore?"

"A rejection reaction too? What a pain."

Esha infection had a chance of making the infected lose control. Players didn't have to worry about that, but NPCs were another matter.

Li Aoz sighed. "My luck today has really been terrible. Why do low-probability events keep happening one after another?"

Just as he stepped forward, ready to properly deal with her, Nomi suddenly froze. She blinked, confusion filling her light purple eyes.

"Huh? What's that taste in my mouth... holy shit!"

She looked down at the blood covering her hands and immediately gagged. "Blergh—ptui, ptui, ptui! Fuck, Li Aoz, why the hell did you feed me this stuff?!"

Li Aoz didn't argue that she had eaten it herself. He stared at Nomi until her scalp began to tingle and she looked ready to yell at him before finally saying slowly:

"Not bad. You've got some potential, but not much."

She could withstand Esha corrosion. It seemed this girl had some ability after all.

"If you don't know how to talk, then don't talk! What do you mean, I've got some potential but not much? Instructor Teles said it himself: this beautiful girl is the geeeenius of the entire New Generation Guerrilla Force."

Nomi patted her flat chest in self-satisfaction, dragging out the last word longer than the Nile.

Li Aoz showed no mercy. He rushed over and kicked her flying, knocking her to the ground.

"Ow! Have you gone crazy?! Don't hit me—what are you doing?!"

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I haven't even eaten, and you're beating me too!"

"Hey, you can't hit me in the face just because it's wrapped in bandages—waaah! Help! He's beating a beautiful girl! Is there no justice left in this world—"

Nomi shouted loudly, but Li Aoz hadn't actually beaten her much. Most of the blood on her belonged to other people; she only looked rather miserable.

After tying her up securely, Li Aoz dragged the pitiful-looking Nomi into the office.

Though Li Aoz had just gone through quite a lot, only two minutes had actually passed. When he entered the professor's office, the first thing he saw was Anna Assistant Physician standing with her back to him.

"Anna Assistant Physician, are you alright?"

Li Aoz stepped forward. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of her lowered right hand—the hand that should have been holding a scalpel or syringe was now gripping a PG15 Pistol.

This was also a product of the Four Nations... Li Aoz narrowed his eyes.

Nethermark Humanity and the Four Nations—especially its unclear ties to the Frostplate Republic—were deeply suspicious.

In Li Aoz's experience, most organizations connected to the Four Nations eventually became subordinate agencies of the Four Nations.

He slowly approached, remaining vigilant while smiling openly. "That's great. You look like you're all right. I just subdued those bastard bandits, along with the infected person who escaped from Ward ZX-101—it really took a lot out of me."

The power of the state apparatus and its monopoly over energy were enough to make any group surrender.

His gaze wandered across the room. The office was not filled with the chaos of fighting and slaughter, yet it carried an unsettling air. Li Aoz suddenly noticed something out of place.

"Anna Assistant Physician?"

Li Aoz stopped two meters behind her. His gaze was cold as a blade, but his tone was full of warmth and confusion. "Anna Assistant Physician, the Professor should have been with you, right? Why don't I see..."

"Professor?"

Anna Assistant Physician's shoulders trembled. Li Aoz noticed the sound of droplets falling. His gaze lowered, and he saw scarlet beads of blood slowly dripping from Doctor Anna's wrist.

"Blood." Nomi suddenly murmured to Li Aoz. "The smell of the dead."

Li Aoz's expression did not change, but his tone became one of startled surprise. "What happened to you...? Where's the Professor?"

"The Professor..."

Anna Assistant Physician spoke in a daze, her voice carrying immense shock and confusion.

"The Professor is here."

She turned around, her face splattered with bright red blood.

Her black hair was unusually disheveled, and her eyes were filled with shock and terror. She raised her hand, looked at the gun and blood in it, then lifted her head and stared at Li Aoz with despairing, frightened eyes.

"You..."

Her mind was on the verge of collapse, perhaps because of the Professor slumped in the chair behind the desk.

Li Aoz and Nomi looked past Anna Assistant Physician and fixed their eyes on the Professor.

Her face was peaceful, her eyes closed as she lay quietly in the chair. One hand was pressed to her chest, while the other was posed as though cradling something. A bloody blossom had bloomed between her brows.

She was dead.

"Why?"

Anna Assistant Physician was utterly distraught. Clutching her head, her pupils shrank to pinpoints and her face twisted as she kept repeating, "Why? Why? Why why why why?"

She suddenly went mad, sweeping everything off the desk in one motion. Then she clutched her head. She was so overwhelmed by grief that she could not even cry. After a brief spell of speechlessness, she suddenly shot Li Aoz a sidelong glance.

Then, for no apparent reason, Anna Assistant Physician abruptly drew her gun and aimed it at Li Aoz's head. "It's all... your fault!"

"Why did you have to come save us? Why did you have to be... one second too late? And one second too early?"

"If it weren't for you, the Professor could have lived—or I could have died... It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"

Her will had completely collapsed. Li Aoz watched her without reacting.

"Oh." Li Aoz glanced at the safety catch. "Then pull the trigger."

Nomi's eyelid twitched. "What the hell? Li Aoz, why are you having another episode—"

Anna was completely unable to control her emotions. As she stared at Li Aoz, facing a patient, her hand trembled uncontrollably and her heart fell into a deep struggle.

If she fired, she would take another person's life.

But... the Professor.

There was not much hesitation before the last thread of reason snapped.

She gave up thinking. Facing Li Aoz, she opened her mouth, nearly crying out as she pulled the trigger:

"Uwaaaaaaaaaah!"

Click.

The trigger did not fire. Anna Assistant Physician froze, and then a dark shadow entered her vision.

Bang! The next moment, Li Aoz's fist slammed viciously into her face.

Clang—

Anna was knocked onto the desk by the punch. Curling up in pain, she lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"If I were you, I'd check whether the safety was on, you stupid idiot!"

As he spoke, Li Aoz grabbed her by the hair. There was no emotion in his gray eyes as he ruthlessly yanked her head up, forcing her to look at the Professor's corpse.

"Look carefully. You fired that shot."

"You killed her. Don't even think about denying it or playing crazy with me!"

"No matter the reason, this is your sin. You personally killed the Professor you admired."