221 Until the Abyss (Part 2)

An unassuming little camp amidst the ruins of the mountain destroyed by Watt Rivet Steel.

The particles flickered and combined out of thin air, forming figures of players wearing armor.

"Holy crap... this can't possibly be a monster from version 1.0?"

Dragon Land City couldn't help but complain. His armor was only grazed by shrapnel, yet it lost 89% of its durability.

"This is outrageous! Neither the Zeta-rank councilor nor the Epsilon-rank super robot are reasonable at all." The player next to him was still in shock.

Just now, Coulomb Torque suddenly appeared in front of us, seemingly speaking leisurely and even freeing two of his subordinates, but in reality, due to the absolute attribute suppression, the player had no chance to react at all.

That sudden outburst was like something out of a horror movie to the players.

Unable to resist, unable to react, they could only let the enemy charge and kill them at will.

As for the later Watt Rivet Steel, that was an even more visually and aurally stunning spectacle.

A super robot, taller than a mountain and two hundred meters high, standing there, is already spectacular even if it does nothing, not to mention its attack frequency, which is just like that of Star Platinum.

With such a huge fist and extremely fast punching speed, each punch to the ground is like an atomic bomb; smashing mountains and shattering peaks is as easy as knocking down a block house.

The thrill of getting up close to this thing is unimaginable.

Even through the Game Pod, hormones surged, making it feel like you were actually on the battlefield. Due to extreme fear and tension, sweat poured out rapidly, and some people even became completely numb.

If they weren't professional gamers with such high training intensity, they would have simply unplugged the internet and Logout out, and this whole mess would be over for them.

"Brother Long, I've already unplugged the network cable twice today, and the system is warning me about it."

A player named Lu Youqi said in distress, "It seems that the official team is determined to punish us. They won't stop until they kill a few of our accounts today."

"We did something too ahead of our time, and the authorities definitely won't tolerate it."

Another player Wai Foai, also sighed:

"I just unplugged the internet cable a while ago, and there's still an hour left—what should I do?"

"Let's check on Li Aoz's health."

At this point, even Dragon Land City had given up hope, and even the viewers in the live stream began to change their attitude, starting to encourage and comfort them.

Some players seemed rather sensitive. Looking at their tattered armor and their list of grayed-out friends, they felt a pang of envy and said with heartache:

"These are accounts that have been built up since the closed beta. Some people's characters have never died. They were hoping to achieve good results in the world competition and win glory for the country. But they were gone as soon as the open beta started."

His words only dampened morale.

Dragon Land City was at a loss for words. They retrieved Li Aoz's body from the resurrection point camp and examined it with [Eye of Truth]: [Target is the source of your rented Aoneng, cannot be detected]

"Huh?" Dragon Land City asked in confusion, "Why didn't it show a significant difference in strength or that the target was in great danger this time?"

"Who knows? Li Aoz is a [Dominator] Department instructor. Their [Dominator] Department can physically transform their bodies and change bodies at will."

"Oh, there's such a setting? No wonder the [Biochemist] and [Mutant] are always locked in a love-hate relationship."

"I remember Li Aoz had a part-time job as a [biochemist]... but what's the point of saying all that?"

Dragon Land City looked back.

Lu Youqi, Wai Foai, Ku Andai.

Including him, there are currently 4 players remaining.

This time the losses were truly devastating.

Some players used up all three resurrection chances and deleted their characters.

Some of them are offline and keeping their accounts active, and it's uncertain when they'll return. For example, the guild members in Dragon Land City are like that. If they die, they die. After all, as the Guild Leader and management, they generally don't fight personally, but the skills of their subordinates are very valuable and must be cherished.

Actually, there were a few players who were too scared to continue, thinking they would lose anyway, so they just logged off to rest.

It's not appropriate to criticize someone for this kind of thing, since everyone has their own thoughts.

Li Aoz's status is unknown.

The reproductive organs are severely damaged.

The number of people has almost dwindled.

Meanwhile, outside, the machine councilors were aggressive and incredibly powerful, with their endless Mechanical Legion sweeping across the mountains and plains.

Is this what society is like...?

It is immortal and indestructible, with a setting even more outrageous than that of the player.

No wonder the lore describes this thing as a cosmic menace, a monster that feeds on civilization, not their enemy at all.

"Guild Leader Long, are you still going to fight or not?"

Lu Youqi asked.

He and the other three belong to the same club, and he doesn't control his own account. The management was just discussing whether or not to give up.

But seeing that Dragon Land City was all alone, Lu Youqi felt it was a bit awkward to leave him there alone, so he took the initiative to ask.

Dragon Land City hesitated for a moment.

In fact, he knew that there was no way to win in this situation.

The enemy is an endless stream of [social] citizens, while they are merely Alpha Rank players with only one life left.

Anyone with a brain knows there's no way to win.

Therefore, it is only natural that we should withdraw.

'It's over, you bunch of weak lumps of carbon.'

"... We've come this far, let's hang in there a little longer."

For some reason, Dragon Land City, upon recalling Coulomb Torque's contemptuous words, immediately changed his tune, saying, "What if we win?"

The three exchanged a glance.

Lu Youqi raised his hand and pulled up the chat list:

"Coach, we'll be right back."

The coldness reached down to the base of the spine.

Swimming.

The sting reaches deep into the soul.

Patrolling.

Repeat until the end of time.

Round dance.

"... Why did you go to such lengths?"

Like a pool of clear water washing away the fog before my eyes.

Jannia sat quietly on a rock by the lake, the willow trees swaying in the wind.

She turned her head and looked at you:

"You fool, you're hopeless... Why is that?"

She pointed at you, her brass eyes filled with a complex expression:

"This world is cold and indifferent; only selfish people can survive."

Jannia clenched her fists, her gaze drifting. "But you're not like that. At first, I thought you were as selfish as other thieves, but later I realized that you have unique principles and convictions."

She nodded slightly, as if making a firm decision, and solemnly said, "But this is not your problem. This is the fate of Falicia. The remnants of Haynes have been hunted and persecuted by [Society] for a long time. Even if civilization is destroyed, they will not give up. Before, it was [Hidden Society], now it is [Machine World Society], and in the future, any society will come to kill them. This is destiny, and it cannot be abandoned."

Jannia looked at you, longing for an answer:

"Can you answer me... why did you still stand up even knowing that this was your fate?"

Option A – Tell her the truth; Option B – Comfort her; Option C – Deliberately conceal the truth.

[A]

"Jannia, when I first came into this world, I treated all of this as a game and played around with it recklessly, but I paid the price for it."

(You spread your hands and explain:)

"I lost my comrades and those who believed in me, watching them die before my eyes, and I was powerless to stop it—I don't want to experience that again. That's why I decided to step into this battle. I want to use my abilities to prevent such tragedies from happening again."

(Jannia looked at your sincere expression, and a hint of wavering appeared on her face.) "I lost my homeland, my civilization, my first master, my second master..."

Jannia looked at you and said deeply:

"Don't any of you consider my feelings?"

Jannia crossed her arms in displeasure:

"Watching you all perish, decay, and die, while I continue to stroll through the years. You casually and easily die; have you considered my feelings?"

She turned her head, her gaze complex. "I am just a sword. No matter how powerful it is, even if it carries divine power, it still needs a warrior to wield it."

Her fingertips dug tightly into the skin of her arm, and she bit her lower lip, seemingly trying hard not to show any weakness.

"Selfish..."

She failed.

"I hate you, I hate the half-step godhood of the Sharp Tooth Peak, yet you sacrificed yourself for the sake of civilization and nobility, dumping me on Li Deweidensi."

—In the distant night sky, the stars twinkled, forming a tall, strong man. He was clad in armor, his face as kind and stern as an ordinary blacksmith's, his eyes filled with compassion, and his gaze toward the world was full of love and trust.

"I hate you all. I hate that Li Deweidensi abandoned me, left me alone to face the destruction of the Pharassia Civilization, and left me in a treasure chest to wait for the end of the world."

—Not far away on one side of the lake, a lone warlord stood on his side, his silver helmet and armor gleaming, exuding heroic spirit. His pale blue cloak, like a banner of peace, was full of fantasy and tranquility. With his back to this side, he raised a sharp sword and then threw it into the lake.

"I hate you all, I hate you, you idiot, Li Aoz. You're just an ordinary Aoneng, yet you keep waving the banner of ' Lioz reincarnation' to disguise yourself and add responsibilities and obligations that aren't yours. No matter what enemy you face, you just charge forward without hesitation."

Your image is reflected in her eyes.

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!"

She stood up, stamped her feet, and shouted repeatedly:

"You bunch of self-righteous bastards who go and sacrifice yourselves, each one so charming, so trustworthy, always so caring and loving, building up such deep affection for me—and then you die, you die! You die for others!"

Jannia felt a lump in her throat, but she was a sword, unaware of human actions, and lacking true tear ducts. She could only clench her fists, punching wildly and indiscriminately, then lower her head and say sadly, "To die for others... what a selfish act."

Option A – This is not selfishness, it is justice. Do you understand? Will it stop me from doing this?

Option B – I have my own reasons, please understand me.

Option C – Points out Jannia's inner conflict.

[C]

"Jannia, the one you really hate isn't Sharp Tooth Peak, isn't Li Deweidensi, isn't me."

(Your words made Jannia glance at you, and then she said:) "You just hate yourself and don't want to forgive yourself for not being able to help."

(Jannia's gaze froze, then her cheeks flushed red, as if you had struck a nerve.) "You hate Sharp Tooth Peak because He entrusted you to His descendants, hoping to continue His power—but His descendants only worship the myth of Sharp Tooth Peak, without inheriting Sharp Tooth Peak will and weapons."

"You hate Li Deweidensi because he knows he can't defeat the councilors of the Hidden Society no matter what, so he wants to preserve your strength and leave more embers."

You hate me because—

("Because I don't want to face [Society] again, which we can never win against!"— Jannia shouted.) "[Society]... you've seen how terrible [Society] is, we can never win against [Society]."

Five thousand years ago, Lioz, acting as the Sovereign Agent, lost to the [Hidden Society].

She raised her hand, pounded her chest, and loudly accused, "Twelve hundred years ago, the demigod Sharp Tooth Peak and the Omega-rank Li Deweidensi both lost to the [Hidden Society]!"

Jannia is looking at you.

"You, who aren't even a fully-fledged Zeta-rank, what right do you have to challenge the [Machine World Society]?"

Jannia is looking at you.

"[Society] has already taken two swordsmen from me, please don't make me lose a third..."

Jannia is looking at you.

"Lioz... no, Li Aoz, because you're just a fake, let me be blunt. No matter what you do, there are plenty of geniuses and prodigies in this universe, but only those who survive have hope. Now, turn around, teleport, and leave this planet!"

Option A – Explain that you have invested a lot in this planet and cannot leave. Option B – I have my reasons, and you should not interfere.

Option C – Confess to Jannia.

"Jannia, I have my own plans."

("Plan? What plan?" Jannia looked confused, frowning as if pondering your plan. "So far, I haven't seen any commendable methods from you. To be honest, I still don't think you have a chance of winning right now...") "Jannia, I'm more professional than you when it comes to dealing with society."

(You begin to explain:) "[The Machine World Society] has three major races: Quantum Machine, Codetalker, and Saint Machine Spirit."

"Among them, the Quantum Machine race exists as a high-level aristocracy. They can freely traverse the Quantum Realm through the omnipresent electron cloud. They are always able to keep secrets and conduct long-distance jump combat. As far as I know, back then, the [Machine World Society] had already destroyed two neighboring civilizations by relying solely on Quantum Machine before it had even evolved into [Society]."

(You explain the principles and strength of the other party, and show that after you take down the [Crescent Moon], you will be qualified to fight these things.) "Codetalker have very powerful intelligence gathering capabilities. They can directly access and hack into the historical database of Planet Consciousness. Powerful Codetalker can even directly manipulate the will of the planet. Therefore, many of my deployments must be kept completely secret, and I can't even tell you. Only here... in our place of complete mental communication, can I tell you."

(Jannia understood a little, but still pouted, quite dissatisfied.) "The Saint Machine Spirit has the most powerful mechanical body and can combine and transform with any mechanical device. Based on this property, the Saint Machine Spirit is actually more difficult to deal with than the Quantum Machine. The three councilors could combine at any time—and that form is exactly what I was looking for, which is why I didn't deliberately kill the other two councilors."

(Jannia was surprised. "You said that combining them would make them stronger, so why force them to combine?") "Because the foreign aids I hired are special. If they are fought separately, they will be more difficult to deal with. If they are single targets... it will be much easier."

Gurgle gurgle—click!

Dragon Land City put down the colony-equipped blood pressure cannon.

They've run out of ammunition and food.

He glanced at the three players beside him and they all nodded.

The next moment, the four of them jumped out of their armor and, facing the surging Mechanical Legion, fearlessly stepped forward in their Alpha Rank form.

"Li Aoz, the foreign player you're talking about is...?"

"' The Glimmerlake Fairy ' – Suofeiya·Malin."

A woman dressed in white stood slowly atop the snow-capped mountain. Half of her face was decaying, while the other half resembled an angel. Her golden hair swayed gently in the evening breeze.

She casually picked up an exaggeratedly large sickle and looked ahead.

"Five thousand years later... the claws of the Machine Saint Father have once again reached out to the descendants of Falicia."

She lowered her head and murmured softly:

"[Collector] Ah, this is the sin you committed back then."

"It is because of you that the Hidden World and the Machine World are relentlessly hunting down the remnants of Haynes."

"... But if I could, wouldn't I want to stand on your side?"

She murmured to herself in solitude, her Zeta-rank aura spreading outwards like a low-pitched tide, quickly enveloping the entire Ostro Mountain Range.

Suddenly, the three Mech Councilors descended. The imposing Watt Rivet Steel, with a heavy gaze, questioned the others, "Turing Hexadecimal! Didn't you say that there are no Zeta-rank in the Western Hemisphere?"

"I'm right! There are no more in the Western Hemisphere, and all the important figures are in Trivella City. Not a single person on the list is missing..." Turing Hexadecimal was also puzzled. "Where did this female ghost come from...?"

"Turing wasn't wrong."

Coulomb Torque lowered his head and looked at the five Implant Equipment Vanguard who had retreated into the shadows.

Those five people were all newcomers... they were the ones who lured the monster here.

"She is Zeta-rank [Mysterious] type Deified Person has spent a long time in the Spirit Realm, and her journey here was probably all by soul travel. It's normal that she can't find the Turing Hexadecimal."

"[Strange] System... How is that possible? A materialistic civilization can actually tolerate such a dissident?" Watt Rivet Steel was shocked.

"Why not?" Turing Hexadecimal retorted, "The Great Thousand Worlds is full of wonders."

"Just kidding, I'm an idealist. I only joined the [Machine World Society] because I was persecuted!"

"She is not an outsider."

Coulomb Torque lowered his head, his gaze deep as he looked at the woman in white:

"... You are C3 Luca-type Cosmic Human Race? A Falicia?"

The woman said nothing.

Behind her, a turbulent, gloomy ocean slowly unfolded, and a large number of spirits, clad in armor and armed with weapons, silently stepped into the mortal world.

As the mechanical army moved into action, the spirits of the beings raised their longswords. Despite being two different species, they were perfectly aligned in discipline and organization, showing no signs of being outmatched.

"Hero of Pharassia," the woman raised her scythe, "Once again, fight for the living!"