290 Resolve

Bang!

Lioz released Jio Zeiou as if he had dropped a dead duck.

"Cough cough, you went too far—"

Just as Jio Zeiou raised his head, Lioz kicked him in the temple, sending him sprawling to the side. While the opponent was rolling, Lioz silently approached him, his fingertips moving rapidly and precisely manipulating the power.

"Sequence Three · Paradox"

Lioz, his fingertips probing into time, said emotionlessly, "Stillness and motion."

The next moment, spacetime seemed to be paused, and all microscopic particles stopped moving. However, for Lioz, time continued to move forward.

Unlike the time-stopping effect created by gravity warping spacetime, at this moment, Lioz is completely independent of spacetime, the universe, and the laws of physics. His existence possesses a paradox in a narrow sense; he is both a stationary individual and an existence in perpetual motion.

For him, all he needed to do was stand still and give the intention to move forward—and in the next moment, countless stationary particles would be given the direction of 'movement' and 'forward'. While violating the randomness of the chaotic system, these particles gained unprecedented acceleration—from zero to infinity.

In the stagnant spacetime, there are no speed limits; all speeds are Superluminal. All particles move straight ahead, colliding with each other, kinetic energy constantly accumulating and accelerating. Although energy is constantly lost in this process, eventually only able to be reduced to the speed of light, the sheer quantity makes up for it.

How many particles are there in one cubic meter of air?

As these particles are continuously accelerated, the resulting electric current has penetrated space, shooting out orange destructive rays into the air.

Lioz calmly raised his hand and then pressed it down.

The moment the Aoneng dissipated, the sound of divine resonance also rang out.

"Lioz, you really show no mercy."

Jio Zeiou cautioned, "Being too powerful isn't a good thing for you..."

Boom! A dazzling orange light completely annihilated Jio Zeiou. The remaining high-energy particle wind broke through the atmosphere, and under the influence of gravity, it flew towards the nearest planet. To the fleet members in space, it looked like a series of beautiful orange dust clouds breaking off from Violet Star, curving in a gorgeous arc in the starry sky, destroying and collapsing craters on the nearby satellite, staining them with an unsettling orange hue.

"What exactly is going on... completely surpassing Zeta-rank (6) - no, even Kappa-rank (10), Kappa-rank level is no better than this, right?"

Fleet Commander-in-Chief Darian took a deep breath, awestruck by the extraordinary sight.

"What exactly happened on this planet...?"

"The brain detected a storm of charged particles, and communications were slightly disrupted—Commander, we have good news and bad news—" the adjutant reported, swiping the screen.

"Just give me the result. I hate this 'which do you want to hear first' approach the most." Darian waved his hand. "Tell me, what happened?"

"The bad news is that the entire landmass of the Northwestern Hemisphere of Violet Star was destroyed in the initial vacuum destruction, and 36% of the Descendants were forced to resurrect and return to the fleet. Moreover, due to the storm, we probably won't be able to send anyone down to inspect for a long time to come."

The adjutant said:

"The good news is that due to the vacuum disruption and the recent charged ion storm, the stark negative pressure difference has caused a powerful radiation storm on Violet Star, which has destroyed all the settlements of civilization. Cities will be engulfed by radioactive dust within the next three days, and even if there are survivors, they are expected to die within three weeks."

"At that time, due to the decline of civilization, Melody of the [Melodycal Society] will also choose to break away from civilization and end its parasitic state."

"In short: we can basically declare that Violet Star has been successfully liberated."

Upon hearing the news, the staff on the bridge cheered with joy.

"Well done, lads."

Commander Darian smiled; after being away from their home planet for so long, they had finally accomplished something.

"Immediately report to His Excellency the President Lioz. It was His Excellency the President's wise guidance that saved us from much unnecessary casualties."

The adjutant quickly answered the phone, but the Presidential Palace did not answer, apparently because they were quite busy.

But that doesn't really matter, after all, the president is extremely busy, so it's understandable.

Darian stood up, turned on the communication channel, and began his speech. "Dear comrades, fellow citizens of White Candle Star, fearless warriors of the Descendants."

"I am honored to announce that within the Red Eye System, we have conquered our first planet: Violet Star. This planet is the first colony of our White Candle Autonomous State. Although we are still some distance from developing it, our feat of successfully repelling [Society] is evident to all, and the entire Star Abyss is proud of you."

Commander Darian pounded his chest with one hand and shouted in a booming voice, "En Ols, Slava Milovan! (Glory to the white candle!)"

"Great! Long live the White Candle Star!"

"Who conquered a planet before version 2.0 arrived? It was us! So long live Azure Planet!"

"Long His Excellency the President Lioz! Can any NPC in other servers do that? I declare that Lioz is the only designated Big Brother in our Yanxia Zone!"

"Loyalty!"

Among the cheering players, one figure stood out as incredibly lonely and forlorn. He sat quietly on the steps, lost in thought, looking quite out of place compared to the warriors celebrating their conquest of the planet.

[Level of social corruption: 0.03%]

[Li Aoz's Favorability: -30 (Current Favorability: Indifferent)]

"... Am I wrong?"

Caramel Snail raised its hand, revealing a pale purple musical note scar on its palm.

What just happened... I can't remember anymore, maybe it's because Recognition Filter.

But one thing is certain.

This mark is clearly a trace left by the [Melodycal Society] when they were manipulating him.

"I fought with Li Aoz ...and I lost."

The Caramel Snail clenched its fists, its feelings a mix of emotions.

"We keep saying that society is our enemy... but for ordinary people, are society and civilization really that important?"

He remembered some memories, especially about the experiences of the First Generation Xia Beiluo, and along the way, he had seen too many ordinary people living at the bottom of society, struggling and trying to make a living.

The players and soldiers on the ship drank and chatted happily. The usual alcohol ban was temporarily lifted. People talked and laughed, talking about their families and lives, without feeling any remorse or guilt for destroying the planet's civilization.

"They don't feel any guilt at all... Does getting involved with society mean people no longer see them as one of their own?"

Caramel Snail question this phenomenon:

"No matter how I look at it, I feel that... [society] is a path to salvation for those struggling people at the bottom of society."

"While there are monsters like the [Machine World Society], there are also harmless entities like the [Melodycal Society]."

"Why must we fight to the death... Can't civilization and society coexist?"

He covered his forehead, and this man, who was usually not fond of thinking, was now deeply introspective:

"If we don't colonize the universe, Violet Star will not be destroyed. If we can demonstrate a harmless society like the Melodycal Society, it will certainly change the relationship between civilization and society."

His experiences on Violet Star brought him a period of profound torment. Before that, he had never cared about the lives of the common people, nor had he ever considered the natives of Star Abyss as living beings.

They treated them with great hospitality, but what did they respond with? Artillery bombardment, Orbital Bombardment, and urban warfare utterly destroyed their civilization.

[Society] They didn't destroy the planet; they were killed by civilization.

Are our actions truly just?

The Caramel Snail remained silent for a long time.

"In any case, aggression and colonization are absolutely wrong... Without them, civilization and society might be able to change if we communicate properly."

He clenched his fist, his gaze hardening.

"Even if it's a game, I don't want to commit this crime again... I can no longer treat these natives of Star Abyss as just data streams. I want to do something... to change something."

"Li Aoz's approach is too extreme. Society is also a source of hope. I have to tell him that. I need to make Li Aoz understand this kind of thing."

"But as I see it now, I'm still too weak compared to Li Aoz. And our relationship has already broken down..."

strength.

The Caramel Snail clenched its fist, its fingernails piercing its palm and drawing blood.

"I need to become stronger, without relying on anyone, to become more powerful."

"Only when I am stronger than Li Aoz can I have a dialogue with him again and properly understand each other's point of view. With his strength and status, only in this way can I make him understand me."

"Or, beat him until he understands me."

Caramel Snail is not someone who just shouts slogans without taking action.

He was a stubborn man. Even though his emotional understanding could not allow him to continue his colonial career, it did not mean that he would give up his methods.

"Li Aoz is now Zeta-rank (6), while I am only Gamma-rank (3), and his leveling speed is very fast. There is only one way to catch up with Li Aoz."

Caramel Snail had a clear idea and immediately found its goal:

"I want to—dive into the Star Abyss."

The deep blue in my eyes faded.

Li Aoz's fingertips trembled, and when he came to his senses, he realized that he was no longer on Violet Star.

The world around me was pitch black, except for the pale white beneath my feet, which flowed gently like a stream, creating ripples with every step I took.

Pat, pat, pat...

For some reason, Li Aoz felt a sudden urge to act.

He instinctively moved his feet away and walked forward step by step. Before long, he saw a tall, lonely figure.

The other person was about three meters tall, shrouded in shadow, with only his porcelain-like skin faintly visible. He... He sat with his legs crossed, his back to Li Aoz.

When he gets within about five meters of the other person, no matter how far he moves, he cannot visually get any closer.

"You--"

"You can only go this far; you cannot go any further."

Before Li Aoz could even speak, a voice so cold it sent shivers down his spine immediately echoed in his mind.

"Time is limited, the shielding force is closing in, be careful to be efficient."

Instinctively, his body felt an urge to submit and kneel, yet even so, he stubbornly resisted the overwhelming, suffocating pressure emanating from the other, raised his head, and calmly questioned:

"—Are you, Lioz?"

"Yes."

Lioz didn't waste any words.

"It's that one, the Overlord Willpower of the Morphedria Main God, the God of Reality, the master of the Pantheon, and the last savior—"

"Yes."

Lioz answered.