218 Never Retreat

Plop

Li Aoz knelt on one knee, his skin cracked, his muscles spasming, and red and black lines spreading across his veins.

"If this continues, we'll suffer from Gene Overload..."

It wasn't a fully-fledged Zeta-rank to begin with, but it used the power of the Zeta-rank to unleash four consecutive Sequence Aura —it was no surprise that its genes couldn't withstand it.

"Lioz!"

Jannia rushed over and raised her hand to help him up, but her hand passed right through Li Aoz.

"... Oh dear!"

Jannia bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with resentment and self-reproach:

"I... just give me some more materials so I can regain my former strength..."

"It's not your fault, Jannia."

Li Aoz gasped for breath, his pupils dilating and disappearing several times. He had to shut down all his Aoneng, grit his teeth, and struggle to his feet. He glanced back at the crushed and flattened Coulomb Torque.

"... Lioz, run!"

Jannia pleaded once again:

"Li Deweidensi escaped back then, and you're not Omega-rank powerhouse, you're not a god, you're not a resident of this planet—let's go. At worst, we'll take our revenge later!"

"No."

Li Aoz said firmly, "We absolutely cannot leave. I'm the only one who can solve this problem right now."

If he leaves here, everything we've built up will be lost, and the players will be forced to return to Azure Planet.

Then all of this will have been for nothing.

Besides these, there were also the refugees who kept their Trustworthy Village and the Nikita family.

They've just started living their lives; we can't let them continue to wander aimlessly.

"I won't leave, and I shouldn't leave."

Li Aoz straightened his back, his muscles twitching violently, every cell defying his will, cheering and leaping, splitting and merging without warning, turning Li Aoz's internal ecosystem into a complete mess.

[WARNING: Gene Load is imminent. It is recommended to discontinue use of Aoneng...]

He simply lacked the ability to completely eliminate the Zeta-rank councilors.

Li Aoz crawled forward unsteadily, issued a quest, and asked a few players to come and pick him up. A short while later, several Implant Equipment Vanguard ran over and escorted him away.

After instructing them to blow up the cave entrance, Li Aoz collapsed onto a stretcher and was taken to a secluded spot by the players.

Upon arriving at the location, the players quickly removed their armor, lying on the ground like molting lizards, making a lot of noise.

"Damn it for sleeping in! There are too many of them, we need to take a break."

Dragon Land City plopped down on the ground, and the [Doctor] next to him quickly removed the shrapnel from his chest to prevent him from dying from subsequent infection and wasting his resurrection opportunity.

"You get tired of mowing the lawn? Well, your manners are a bit lacking. I earn 150 Diamonds a day playing ' Star Abyss ', which is about 5,000 Diamonds a month, or about 5,000 credits a month in real life. That's at least 30,000 yuan. Even though I'm only 24, I've already surpassed the level of most people in Yanxia (including you). That's the source of my pride that ' Star Abyss ' has given me." Xi Oxi was in a great mood. "Learn from me. I can grind five anime mobile game events at the same time. Rounding up, I've already reached the pinnacle of my life."

"Are you kidding me? There's no such thing as land that's been over-cultivated, only oxen that have died from exhaustion!" Warhammer Guy collapsed on the spot, unable to understand the hardcore grinder. He looked around boredly and asked curiously, "Speaking of oxen—why hasn't Caramel Snail arrived yet? Isn't he the ultimate single person that Li Aoz has a 450% Favorability? We've already reached the second stage of the Main Quest, and we still haven't seen him."

"They're on their way, but since they're not wearing kinetic suits, it will take at least another four hours."

"What kind of mission did they go on? They were the ones who called them over."

As players evacuated, temporary respawn points were set up, and reorganization began. Soon, someone noticed Li Aoz's condition.

"Holy crap, my wife's head is gone again!"

"Don't worry, this is a characteristic of the second job class [Echo] in the [Dominator] path. They don't have heads."

"Is it that cool? Does that mean you don't have to worry about getting headshot by a sniper?!"

"I have a bold idea..."

"Put away your thoughts! This is a heartwarming game for all ages!"

Li Aoz trembled violently, red and black lines spreading wildly across his skin. When others brought him water and food, he didn't hesitate, summoning his original head and devouring it all. After gulping down a bucket of beer, he retracted his original head and said wearily:

"I need to rest. Be careful."

The players exchanged bewildered glances, and Dragon Land City stepped forward tentatively to ask:

How long will it take?

"It will take at least three hours." Li Aoz glanced at the panel: "My Aoneng is too powerful, but my body can't keep up... The burden of Sequence Aura on genes, or rather, its influence on the soul and existence as an authority, is too strong. I'm afraid it won't be eliminated until the Omega-rank."

Having four Sequence Aura at the Abyss stage is definitely a huge burden, whether you're a player or an NPC.

Three hours...

"This shouldn't be a problem."

After asking around among the players setting up their positions, Dragon Land City learned that he had obtained an item from the [Spirit Medium] on Azure Planet, which allowed him to place many spirit units around him for reconnaissance.

[Machine World Society] Once discovered, they can quickly relocate.

"We can... hold out for about an hour, right?"

That answer is a bit too optimistic. In reality, without Li Aoz's help to draw fire, these Delta-rank Implant Equipment Vanguard would have been sniped very quickly.

Li Aoz was of course aware of this as well. He glanced at the list of members participating in the mission and his heart sank.

Caramel Snail, Ye Zhangjian, Cumin Powder, Yu Tianxiao, Garryton —these people have not yet arrived at Austro Mountain.

To think that 20 people can hold out for an hour or three hours is far too optimistic.

But Li Aoz really had no other choice.

The current environment does not support him calling for reinforcements. The big shots on White Candle Star have no idea about the invasion of the [Machine World Society]. Even though he couldn't hold on several times and released Gravity Wave echoes, the news still disappeared without a trace.

[If the Crescent Moon is backed by the Night Butterfly Federation, then there must be Kappa-rank powerhouses among the Night Butterfly People. Only this possibility would lead them to seal my echo.]

To win a war, they are willing to collude with "society," which is indeed quite rare, but as long as they are not discovered, it doesn't matter what they say.

"From now on, it's up to you guys."

Li Aoz's voice became hoarse, and his implant instantly went offline and shut down, allowing him to complete self-repair at the highest efficiency and return to normal as soon as possible.

Just as Li Aoz crashed, a shocking rift suddenly tore open in the sky.

"Look at the sky, what's that!?"

The gears turned and intertwined, forming a ring gate that resembled a precise clockwork mechanism, slowly emerging from the crack. Although the process was incredibly slow, it was estimated that the gate would be fully closed in no time.

The players looked up in bewilderment at the strange sight in the sky, when suddenly a message popped up on their system interface:

[[Machine World Society] Mash Gergang —is about to descend upon this planet.]

[Special Note: If a player character dies from [Society]'s devouring effect, the current character will be permanently deleted, and all previously acquired professions, levels, skills, and items will be reset to zero.]

"Humble carbon, come to sing the praises of the steel's spirit!" — Mash Gergang.

[You have heeded the whispers of Mash Gergang —make a [Worldview] check. If the result is Idealism, 20% of your current maximum [Willpower] attribute will be permanently deducted.]

"Your civilization treats you as labor and livestock—join [society]! I will bring you true liberation! You will become noble Social Citizen, no longer needing to struggle or strive, and no longer needing to worry about others taking away your achievements!"

"Come, children, it's time to abandon darkness and embrace the light! The time has come to choose who you should serve!"

All the players felt a sudden pang in their hearts, a dull, surging sensation rising within them.

"Cough cough..."

A player felt a sudden surge of excitement; his eyes lit up with a purple light, and he unconsciously murmured:

"Mash Gergang, how is this bloated maggot still alive...?"

"Hey, Lei, are you alright?"

The player next to him patted him on the shoulder, only to be met with a sidelong glance. "Mortal, I'm not—ah, I was just a little distracted, sorry."

The players felt a tightness in their chests for a while before they calmed down, thanks to the fact that none of the players on White Candle Star were mediums and that no one around them had an idealistic Worldview.

"So this is the [Machine World Society]... So this is what a terrible enemy [Society] is! We're forced to undergo a check just for saying a few words."

"If we die in the process of being devoured by [society], or are corrupted and reduced to mere citizens, our character levels will be reset to zero, and our items will be lost forever—seriously, have the developers gone mad?!"

"Plot kill! This must be plot kill. The developers couldn't stand seeing us wreaking havoc on an alien planet, so they're using the plot to punish us!"

"You damn KP—cough cough, no, you damn planner! Qiqiao Network, I'll take your life!"

The players immediately started cursing.

These professional gamers are not like ordinary players. Their accounts are managed by guilds or clubs. Many of their character specializations and skills are acquired by guild members who have to manually upgrade them one by one, which is no easy feat.

If a character is destroyed and nothing can be recovered, then the cost will fall on everyone's shoulders.

Should we Logout quickly?

"It's no use. Our resurrection point is set on White Candle Star. There's no chance to move now. If White Candle Star is swallowed up, our characters will be resurrected within the [Machine World Society], and they'll be gone too."

"Is there really no other choice?"

"Given our situation, even if we leave White Candle Star now, we won't be able to establish ourselves in the universe. As Alpha Rank beings, we are as fragile as ants in the universe. We have only been able to get to this point thanks to the protection of Li Aoz."

"There's no room for maneuver..."

After discussing the matter, Dragon Land City twenty players summarized their findings and ultimately made a Difficult Decision:

"We have no other choice. Logout now means death. Fighting to the death and holding on until Li Aoz wakes up is the only chance of survival."

He looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Start the live stream."

"This is the first time we've encountered a [Social] enemy in our Yanxia Zone, no, in the entire Star Abyss game. Without a doubt, this is a monster specifically designed to counter us players."

"Although we may lose everything in this battle, since we're going to die anyway, we might as well leave some legacy for those who come after us. When they level up and kill a few more [Social]s, that will be our revenge."

"To put it bluntly, we are actually just Alpha Rank, which are like goblins or giant rats in the universe."

"So..."

Perhaps it was his professional instincts as the Guild Leader of the Tabletop Game Club that kicked in, and he immediately raised his arm and rallied the crowd, immersing himself in the role:

"Let these damned social monsters see the backbone of us Azure Planet natives!"

"Even if we are just a bunch of Mash Gergang -Alpha Rank cosmic rats, we will still bite into Mashggan before we die and gnaw off a piece of its flesh!"

"For this vast Star Abyss, we will fight to the death!"