53rd Commune's Past

After completing the job change, Liu E conducted a series of examinations on Li Aoz, confirming that he had completed the Gamma-rank advancement and that his physical condition was stable.

But this comes at a price.

Click.

Li Aoz was shackled with special handcuffs, and his weapons and communication devices were removed. He was then placed in a transparent glass room where his behavior was monitored 24 hours a day.

He was injected with Gene Code and is temporarily prohibited from using Aoneng.

Everything here is fixed, without sharp edges, to prevent him from committing suicide. Every hour, Liu E would use Gravity Wave to transmit a message, instructing him to cooperate with the experiment—actually to monitor Li Aoz's behavior.

Liu E takes the Sequence Aura very seriously. As the holder of the [Gravity] Aoneng herself, she is quite aware of the dangers of gravity.

In particular, Li Aoz possesses two sequence levels, making him far more dangerous than an ordinary person.

Fortunately, Liu E is not an unreasonable person. She promised that she would decide whether to lift the protective detention after a period of time, depending on Li Aoz's condition.

This situation reminded Li Aoz of the Nethermark Humanity. He didn't know why, but the [Dominator] path was full of similar plots like 'accidentally entering a laboratory and being captured and used as an experimental subject for research'.

Fortunately, this time, he didn't need to perform or self-harm like he did during the Nethermark Humanity era. The Life Commune, within the Abyss, is a rare organization with a relatively good conscience and public morality.

Liu E is not young anymore, and her energy and skills are not keeping up. She is already Follow the Heart with her own research, and now she also has to deal with Li Aoz, which makes her even more Follow the Heart.

It was for this reason that Li Aoz noticed that Liu E had taken the initiative to contact her student subordinates.

"Kafut, I have a project here..."

Liu E's words had an echo effect, and Li Aoz, who also resonated with Gravity Wave, clearly heard their communication.

"I'm sorry, mentor, I'm already married and have a career, and I don't want to get involved in the commune's affairs anymore."

"But this time is different, I've already left the club—"

Unlike her domineering and decisive demeanor when facing Li Aoz, Liu E appeared pitiful in front of her students, like an ordinary old woman without a cane and reading glasses.

"I'm sorry, this isn't about leaving the company," the person on the other end of the communication said regretfully. "We've suffered huge losses, and the president has resigned as a result. I don't want to have anything to do with the company anymore."

"Don't do this—"

Before Liu E could finish speaking, the communication on the other end had already been disconnected.

Standing in the glass room, Li Aoz asked curiously, "You don't get along well with the students?"

"It's none of your business," Liu E retorted irritably, then dialed another number.

"Hello..."

As soon as the call connected, Liu E's tone changed almost instantly, and she called out affectionately:

"Allen, it's me! Liu E, come to my place if you have time, I need you."

"Teacher Liu E?!"

However, the other end of the phone was filled with disgust and disdain:

"Are you still continuing your research on the commune? Please, give it up. Do you want the tragedy to repeat itself?"

"This time it really isn't, at least not this time. Believe me, the 'God of Calamity' was just an accident, and we're on the right track—"

She lowered her head slightly, then continued dialing.

"Sim, I'll pay for it and come help out."

"You've created this 'god of misfortune,' and you still want to get close to us? I won't have anything to do with a scientific madman like you who disregards human life."

"That's not how it is, Sim!"

Liu E hurriedly stomped her foot, but then stood still, staring blankly into space.

Taking the opportunity, Li Aoz asked, "What is the God of Calamity? Two people have mentioned it."

"It was a misunderstanding," Liu E murmured. "I shouldn't have done this. It's all a misunderstanding... The president understands me."

Having said that, she turned her head and glared fiercely at Li Aoz with her headless, ethereal ripples:

"What does this have to do with you?"

"I just feel that you don't get along very well with your students." Li Aoz chuckled. "Actually, I'm not very good at dealing with people either. I have very few friends, especially women, most of them are dead."

"Do you find this ridiculous? Are you trying to gain my sympathy this way?"

"No." Li Aoz sat on the ground and smiled faintly. "I just wanted to say that it's a good thing that someone cares. You have such a bad relationship with your students, and you keep saying it's a misunderstanding—don't you want to make up for this regret?"

[You have initiated a 'persuasion' attempt. Due to insufficient Favorability, a [Charm] check will be performed.]

"It's none of your business."

Liu E said coldly:

"No matter what, I'm still better than you."

[Charm] assessment failed.

Liu E turned her head and continued making calls:

"Luo Ming, you promised me, come over now."

"No problem, Mr. Liu E, this is a favor I owe you..."

Liu E didn't get along well with her students, so most of the people who came were people she owed favors to and were reluctant to come.

This was an advantageous condition, Li Aoz secretly kept it in mind.

Taking advantage of every opportunity to talk, Li Aoz tried to get Liu E to ask, "When will I be free?"

"Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, it depends on whether there are signs of your authority getting out of control."

Liu E answered lazily while operating the instruments.

"There must be many people who possess sequence-level Aoneng, right? Why don't you bother with them?"

"I couldn't beat them, otherwise I would have gone already."

"So you did this because of the 'God of Calamity'?"

"Don't ask about this kind of topic unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Hmm, it seems like the God of Calamity is an interesting thing."

Li Aoz didn't care at all. He shook his neck and directly activated the Elai Ling Race's talent [Super Sensory Thinking].

You have consumed one point of Focus. Perform an Intelligence check on the problem at hand.

[Test passed.]

A flood of information rushed through Li Aoz's mind—the conversation between Liu E and the students. Almost instinctively, he immediately picked out the relevant parts.

"Let me guess... The God of Calamity was a project of the commune, but due to some reason, an operational error led to a serious accident. Your students were greatly affected, many of whom were left with severe psychological trauma and blamed you for it."

As soon as Li Aoz finished speaking, Liu E instantly tore through the spatial ripples and appeared outside the door. Even without a head, Li Aoz could still sense her murderous gaze.

But Li Aoz was not intimidated at all and continued:

"And it was that accident that led to the dissolution of the commune, right?"

Liu E stared intently at him.

Two people without brains, however, focused their gazes on each other at this moment, clashing fiercely across time and space, neither giving an inch.

After a full half minute, Liu E broke the silence first.

"I did nothing wrong."

Liu E said coldly:

"I have lived up to the expectations of the commune, the sacrifices, and the universe."

"You're not wrong? Then why are you covering it up? Instead of explaining it to your students, you're here babbling on to a stranger like me whom you've only known for less than four hours—I don't understand, either you're a masochist or you're feeling guilty."

Li Aoz delivered a precise and sharp critique, striking right where Liu E hurt:

"Or is it that you're simply too afraid to face those students who question you? Because you know you've let them down, you're afraid to speak up, and they simply don't want to believe you. Ah, I see, you must have done something terrible that has caused you to lose their trust—"

"Enough!"

Liu E raised her fist, Echo Blade lit up on the back of her hand, but soon, her scientific background brought her back to calm.

She turned around, put her hands on her hips, sighed, and then remained silent for a long time.

"That's not my fault."

Liu E sat down in mid-air, and the entire basement was captured by her gravity, entering a state of weightlessness, drifting around aimlessly.

She slowly uttered the words, explaining her reasons:

"You also know that the purpose of the Life Commune is to enable all the people of Star Abyss to achieve immortality, free themselves from dependence on the path, and free themselves from the desire for God, right?"

"Uh, actually I don't think there's anything wrong with things as they are now..." Li Aoz complained, "The emergence of the Path of the Dao gives everyone the opportunity to ascend to godhood and achieve near-immortality through their own efforts. Isn't that great?"

"Is that so?" Liu E sneered. "But who holds the reins of the Dao?"

Li Aoz subconsciously said, "Narrative-level Civilization."

"Thirteen Narrative-level Civilization, controlling the Sixth Layer Star Abyss, six factions, and the ascension channels for trillions of people, can only produce a few thousand or a few hundred gods in the end—do you think that's fair?"

Li Aoz was taken aback. "This doesn't seem to be a big problem. Those who can reach that position are already elites."

"But I think there is a fair way."

Liu E said with amusement, "The path to enlightenment is equal for everyone, but noble families, scions of wealthy families, academic luminaries, high-ranking officials and generals, Divine Blood Descendant —these people are more equal than ordinary people."

"These people are the offspring of elites, so it's only natural that they have these resources."

"Who are the elites? What is an elite?" Liu E said coldly, "Their ancestors were elites, but what does that have to do with them?"

"Spiritual practice always depends on oneself."

"You have a father who is a ruler of Narrative-level Civilization, and I have a mother who is a serf on a primitive, uncivilized planet. You're telling me that we're equal on the path of enlightenment?"

Liu E crossed her fingers and said sarcastically:

"Silly child, you must understand that the universe has never been fair. Human beings exist with classes and different social strata. The place without classes is called 'society'."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Li Aoz raised his hand and sorted through his thoughts. "So, you're saying you're unwilling to join [society] and become a citizen without a sense of self?"

"Do you want to go? To become a cell in a monster that devours civilization?"

"And then, you want to compete with the wealthy elites of Narrative-level Civilization for the end of the path?"

Li Aoz asked cautiously.

"This is what it means to be alive."

"Yes, that's what living is all about." Li Aoz shrugged. "You want to enjoy classless competition like in society, and you also want to achieve eternal godhood in this Narrative-level Civilization —there's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Yes," Liu E replied calmly, "Of course."

"—You're dreaming."

"I'm not joking."

Liu E said easily, "Once upon a time, there was a person, or rather, there was a deity, who told us about this possibility. A way to enjoy eternal life while maintaining one's independent consciousness..."

"Don't tell me it's about joining [society]."

"Hey kid, now you know that Aoneng is the authority of the creator, right?"

Liu E stretched out her hand and wrote down various nouns and relationships in the air, "The Creator is eternal, we all know that. Before those external Destroyers arrived, the six factions of chief gods—that is, the creators of the six Outer Universe —had already lived for countless years. If it weren't for the Destroyers' slaughter, they would never have died."

"In other words, becoming a creator is itself something linked to immortality."

Li Aoz remained silent.

"Now we also know that Sequence Aura is the authority of the creator and the fundamental law of the universe, especially the top ten sequences—it can be said that they make up the entire universe."

"If we collect the ten Sequence Aura and combine them into a primordial Supreme Aura... Aha, this is the authority of the creator! We can bypass the path of cultivation, bypass the path monopolized by Narrative-level Civilization, and bypass competition with bureaucrats."

Her tone grew increasingly fervent, more and more excited and frenzied. "Don't forget, Aoneng itself can be 'rented' to others at will."

"If we were to synthesize that ultimate Supreme Aura and place it within a body that is absolutely benevolent and absolutely loyal to the common people and the masses of the Star Abyss— "

Liu E chuckled, "Ah, Narrative-level Civilization aren't anything special anymore."

"The order of the universe will be rewritten, society, narratives—everything will be changed, and the ultimate beautiful dream of equality for all will eventually be realized."

"I know you will question this—but don't forget, there are no barriers to using Aoneng."

"As long as one person enjoys this Aoneng and has a sufficient conscience, it can be shared with everyone."

"At that time, the landscape of divine fragmentation and Narrative-level power struggles will be rewritten. Ordinary people will be able to compete fairly with those bureaucratic nobles and their descendants—in fact, at that point, do you think competition will still be necessary?"

Liu E said with amusement, "The commune strives with such an ideal in mind. Our ideal is even more sublime than the most noble cause in the universe, because our ideal is born from the desires of the most ordinary people."

"Didn't you ever consider that such powerful Aoneng could instantly destroy the entire universe?"

Li Aoz couldn't help but ask:

"You know that's the authority of the Creator, so its danger level is probably ten thousand times higher than mine at this sequence level!"

"I know, but someone has confirmed for us that the authority over that Supreme Aura is not dangerous at all."

"Who?"

"The chief god of the [Dominion] system, the creator who [Overlord Universe]: Morphedria —is His agent."

Liu E calmly uttered His name: "Lioz, the God of Reality".