Strange Headache

On December 24, Li Ming arrived in Jackson, Mississippi, using the ticket Tesla had given him. However, by the time he arrived, it was already the next morning.

Following the map Tesla had provided, Li Ming spent an hour finding H&K Company's last remaining branch base.

Originally, they had not planned to move against this branch base so soon. They had intended to deal with it properly after Christmas. But the remaining H&K Company personnel were no fools. After a brief discussion, they decided to act on Christmas Eve, when both the guards and those watching them would be less vigilant because of the holiday.

This final H&K Company branch base had naturally gathered the company's last remaining strength: twenty Zhu Yan Mechs, thirty Vermillion Bird Mechs, and a considerable amount of firepower. They had actually come close to fighting their way out of the city.

The guards could not stop them. Anti-Entropy had to send ten Titans and ten Sky Patrol Guard—Xu Shou Models to establish a defensive line and suppress the people inside. But that only made those people feel they had lost their final hope, and they began launching suicide attacks.

The self-destruction of thirty Vermillion Bird Mechs, combined with the coverage of their flame fields, further increased the losses on the Titan troops' side. By the time Li Ming arrived nearby, only one of the ten Sky Patrol Guard—Xu Shou Models remained, and even it was on the verge of collapse. The ten Titans had long since entered overload under the attrition caused by the twenty Zhu Yan Mechs.

One overloaded Titan Mech had even been focused down and blown apart while using Doomsday Assault. Both the mech and its pilot had been reduced to pieces. Of the ten Titan Mechs, only two remained, covering the guards' retreat.

But H&K Company had not escaped unscathed either. All the Vermillion Bird Mechs had been destroyed, only fifteen Zhu Yan Mechs remained, and their guns and ammunition had been almost entirely depleted.

Standing atop a distant high-rise, Li Ming wore a black hooded athletic coat, with a small black waist pouch hanging at his side. A cold smile curled his lips as a flash of red passed through his eyes. Then the door to the rooftop opened. The building's cleaner saw Li Ming standing beside the railing and shouted, "Asshole! Who let you come up here? It's dangerous over there! Damn it, shit!"

The cleaner cursed repeatedly as he rushed toward Li Ming without slowing down. But Li Ming merely glanced at him, took a crimson diamond-shaped mask from the waist pouch behind him, put it on, and vaulted over the edge.

"H-He jumped?"

Leaning over the railing, the cleaner saw only a streak of crimson light flash from one building to the wall of another. Looking closer, he realized it was a person. "Oh shit, did Alahato's Flame Demon just come to life?"

Li Ming paid no attention to what the cleaner was thinking. His heart was like the color of Candlelight Armor: First Light he wore now—fiery and explosive.

"Inch Punch: Azure Dragon Emerging from Water · Skyward Scale!"

Descending from above in a streak of crimson light, he brought down a kick carrying immense force and stomped an overloaded Zhu Yan Mech straight into the ground. That kick seemed to carry terrifying heat, piercing through both the overloaded energy shield and the cockpit's heavy armor.

Even so, Li Ming still blew up the Zhu Yan Mech with a single kick.

Perhaps there was some element of finishing off a weakened opponent, but it also proved that Li Ming had improved by far more than a little.

After blowing up that Zhu Yan Mech, Li Ming did not remain where he was to endure the blast's aftermath. With a Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds move, his figure vanished from the spot.

It was as though a red phantom had infiltrated the battlefield. Crimson streaks constantly changed direction, and whenever one passed through a Zhu Yan Mech, another Zhu Yan Mech would suddenly explode where it stood.

The H&K Company personnel had been cheering, believing they had found hope. But the joy on their faces turned to despair the next moment. It took only ten minutes. Although the Zhu Yan Mechs could lock onto Li Ming's moving figure, whenever they concentrated their fire, Li Ming would shove a Zhu Yan Mech forward to block the shells. He would only endure the blast's aftershock before flashing away with Inch Punch: Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds · Red Sparrow Chasing the Sun and darting in front of another Zhu Yan Mech.

His fist pierced through the final Zhu Yan Mech's cockpit, punching through the pilot's chest as well. Blood flowed over the armor on Li Ming's hand, but he merely flicked it off and paid it no further attention.

The orange-and-white gauntlet bracers had diamond-shaped streamlined contours and long, pristine white heavy armor. Two miniature reactors were embedded in the elbow thrusters. Stained with a trace of blood, they looked even more savage and terrifying, while the smooth visor reflected the blazing firelight.

White Star Exorcist Kai

Dangerous-environment protective gloves developed by ME Company. Their precise mechanical structure allowed workers to operate safely in high-temperature environments, beneath the sea, and even in a vacuum. But as protective gear, the armor around the gloves' elbows was rather too heavy, making one question their true purpose. After modifications by Welt Yang and Tesla, these bracers had become lethal close-combat weapons.

Four-star, Level 30, ATK 172, CRT 20

[Spiral Jet Stream]: Energy Cost: 12, Cooldown: 14 seconds. Creates an upward airflow around the user, dealing Physical DMG equal to 450% ATK and launching enemies into the air.

These bracers were weapons Tesla had helped forge for Li Ming after he joined Alahato, then gifted to him after Welt Yang helped modify them. Unlike the Protective Bracers he had used in Changming City, these bracers were weapons recognized by the system and could be stored inside it. They were also the second four-star weapon Li Ming had collected. After obtaining White Star Exorcist Kai, Li Ming immediately maxed out both its level and star rating. With these bracers, the efficiency of his missions over the past three months had increased by an unknown amount.

He no longer needed to use his bare fists to pound against rock-hard armor. They could even effectively destroy the overloaded energy shields and armor of Zhu Yan Mechs.

With White Star Exorcist Kai, Mom would never have to worry about me dismantling mechs bare-handed again!

The diamond-shaped mask was meant to conceal Li Ming's face and ensure that he could breathe normally in certain environments.

Li Ming had tested it. If he unleashed a full set of Inch Punch techniques at full strength, even an ordinary Titan in overload would struggle to withstand his attacks. Even the defensive Sky Patrol Guard—Xu Shou Model would have trouble surviving his Mountain Shatter, Heaven Render, and Thunderbolt combo.

After clearing the battlefield, Li Ming directly chose to have the system collect the supplies. Including what he had just obtained, his inventory now looked like this:

Weapons: [Moon God's Protection], [White Star Exorcist Kai]

Stigmata: None

Materials: Consumables: None

Basic Materials: Gemini Soul Crystal*60, Reconstruction Mold: Ability*1, Advanced Learning Chip*485, Soul Crystal*134, Advanced Learning Chip*160, Gemini Soul Fragment*214, Basic Learning Chip*320, Soul Fragment*3400

Synthesis Materials: Miniature Reactor*60, Fluid Alloy Block*66, Anti-Entropy Imaginary Core*20, Phase Transfer Mirror*38

Event: Honkai Impact 3rd Part 1 Commemorative Album*1

Fragments: Armor: None

Equipment: None

Armed Dolls: None

Amplification Core: None

Most of the gains had come from clearing out H&K Company over the past three months. He had to thank their old friends, the Zhu Yan Mechs and Vermillion Bird Mechs, for their selfless contributions.

Thanks for nature's gifts, and thanks for the blessings of the Immortal Red Kite!

After destroying all the Zhu Yan Mechs, Li Ming prepared to turn and leave. He still did not know how he was supposed to get back. If he returned too late, Himeko might ignore him for several days. No, she would definitely ignore him for several days.

Just as Li Ming was lost in thought, the remaining H&K personnel seemed unable to accept that their overwhelming advantage had been so easily destroyed by him. They raised their submachine guns and opened fire on Li Ming. The guards had originally planned to work with the remaining two Titan Mechs and that Sky Patrol Guard—Wu Shou Model to capture the participants.

But the moment the gunfire rang out, everything changed. Bullets struck the surface of Candlelight Armor: First Light and threw off dazzling sparks. Brass bullet heads left dents in the Fluid Alloy armor, only for those dents to immediately restore themselves.

Some bullets struck the visor over Li Ming's head, leaving two or three dents. Li Ming tilted his head, then turned. A Vermillion Bird Treading Clouds move carried him across ten meters in an instant, launching him directly into the middle of the H&K crowd. The white light over White Star Exorcist Kai condensed as energy gathered in the reactors along his arms, and the thruster vents erupted with violent airflow in an instant.

The blast hurled everyone into the air. Some could not withstand the violent airflow and were ripped apart outright. Those who barely endured it were not much better off. After launching everyone away, Li Ming decisively fired a rapid barrage of Inch Punch: Thunderbolt into the sky.

The energy blasts swallowed those people. As the violent wind gradually died down, a rain of blood fell from the air. Yet Li Ming showed no reaction at all, standing beneath the blood rain with an excessive calmness, as though he even enjoyed it.

When the others saw this, whether they were from H&K or the guards, none of them dared make a sound. They feared catching Li Ming's attention. Only after he left did they dare speak again. After being captured, some of them went insane on the spot.

Li Ming swiftly left the area. Because of his constant operations over the past three months, day and night alike, and because every H&K Company branch was located near prosperous districts, his repeated appearances during this period had inevitably been captured by the media.

Especially when Li Ming dealt with H&K Company's branch base in Florida, some genius had actually zoomed in for a face-shot and posted a high-definition three-dimensional image directly onto the forums. As a result, Li Ming had acquired the title of Flame Demon.

He had fled so quickly just now because he was afraid the media would rush over. In this land of freedom, if he got surrounded, they might not necessarily let him leave.

He landed in the yard of a house with no one around and used its sprinkler faucet to wash himself off. Water ran down from his mask, carrying the blood into the lawn.

After casually cleaning himself up, Li Ming left. Staying too long would make him easy to discover, and it would be bad if he caused trouble for the household.

After circling through more than half the city, Li Ming finally dismissed Candlelight Armor: First Light and removed his mask. A trace of blood still remained around several bullet holes in it. Li Ming simply wiped them with a tissue and did not pay much attention to them.

"Ah, I'll have to get the mask repaired again. It needs repairs every single time. If only I could learn Brother Chrono's skill, where masks came at the wave of a hand. Then I could be a shameless man! Ow... those shots were pretty accurate. My head hurts again!"

Compared to the other damage, the damage to his mask irritated Li Ming more. After putting it into his shoulder bag, he covered the spot where the bullets had struck him.

Although the mask had some bulletproof capability, it was not like the armor. It was only made from ordinary memory alloy, reinforced by the small amount of head armor from Candlelight Armor: First Light. That burst of bullets' kinetic force could at most cause Li Ming some impact. The reason for his headache was something else.

When Li Ming first began carrying out missions, he had not been so decisive. He had even felt sickened. It was not that he had been soft-hearted when taking action, but he certainly could not be called ruthless and decisive.

Especially when Candlelight Armor: First Light had just broken through and he had not yet mastered the force he used, one punch had pierced through a person's abdomen. Without the mask to shield him, blood and fragments had splattered directly onto Li Ming's face.

The heavy stench made Li Ming vomit on the spot. For the next three days, he had no appetite. The sight of raw meat or anything blood-red made him nauseous, and even gave him headaches.

That was the reason he had been given this mask back then. But at some point, Li Ming had strangely adapted to the feeling. Other than the headaches, all his symptoms had vanished. He had even become emotionally detached, carrying an indifference that said none of it had anything to do with him.

After learning about this condition, Tesla and Welt had made Li Ming suspend his missions for a week and undergo continuous examinations. They could only determine that it was an emotional detachment disorder caused by excessive stimulation. It did not affect people familiar to him and was especially severe only when Li Ming was carrying out missions. Even after examinations by professional psychologists, all they could do was offer counseling and prescribe medication.

After that, Li Ming was equipped with a dose of sedative for every mission. After sending an email from his mobile phone confirming that the mission was complete, Li Ming took the assigned sedative from its special case.

The translucent sedative reflected Li Ming's dark-red short hair and the faint red glow hidden beneath it in his eyes. After injecting the sedative into his right wrist, where the pale red markings had nearly faded from sight—

He leaned against the wall and took two deep breaths. Only then did the headache ease slightly. Li Ming found it strange. Why was the headache not obvious whenever he wore Candlelight Armor: First Light?

Beep beep!

An email arrived on Li Ming's mobile phone. It was Tesla's reply, along with a plane ticket.

"Phew, phew, a twelve o'clock flight. Phew, I should make it, right?"

He checked the time. It was only a little past ten twenty. Using the loose change he carried, he hailed a taxi and headed for the airport.