Alien Base

The commotion from the Rank-A civil war in Scavenger City was far too great for the Security Corps not to know about it.

In fact, the Security Corps had known about the existence of the "Duke of Fission" long ago, and had anticipated a clash between the old and new Rank-A monsters.

They had even prepared a hunting plan for after the "snipe and clam struggle."

But they truly had not expected the Duke of Fission to join forces with the Crimson Empress and take out the Mechanical Fortress first.

This was definitely bad news.

The pressure on the eastern front suddenly surged tenfold.

The expansion of the urban ring was inevitable, and so was a large-scale conflict.

There was no other reason. The Duke and the Empress were both leaders of Rank-A radiation beasts. Their increased strength would inevitably lead to the expansion of their genetic territories.

Moreover, radiation beasts were different from mechanical biobeasts. The reproduction of mechanical biobeasts—or rather, the production of "mechanical creations"—required a certain amount of time.

But for powerful radiation-beast leaders, as long as they had enough strength, the entire Iron Sand Desert could become their territory.

Almost as soon as the Rank-A civil war ended, an entire bomber formation flew out of the Security Corps headquarters, the "Sky Battleship."

While the two monsters were injured, they would finish them off!

The bombers were the Mechanical Legion's latest "Fire Crow Aircraft." In addition to ordinary kinetic weapons, they were equipped with electromagnetic rocket launchers, anti-radiation microwave emitters, and a single energy main cannon.

Besides the bomber formation, there were also three troop-carrying airships, each loaded with two hundred mechanical soldiers.

Although these mechanical soldiers had not used the Mother City's colonization technology, factory assembly had equipped them with a combination of titanium-alloy endoskeletons and external structural armor, forming a unified mechanical body whose physical strength rivaled that of Rank-B mechanical biobeasts.

It was worth mentioning that the titanium-alloy endoskeleton on Gao Gong was the basic model used by the mechanical soldiers. Although the material was the same, it had no energy ports or combat chips, let alone implanted smart weapons.

In the standard jargon of the mobile-phone industry—it was the youth edition of an endoskeleton.

The greatest impact this war had on Gao Gong and the others was that they could no longer return by the route they had taken. They had no choice but to take a huge detour to avoid the blood-soaked frontline battlefield.

Gao Gong himself did not care. As long as he did not unlucky enough to run into a Rank-B boss, he was confident he could escape no matter what he encountered.

But behind him were nearly two hundred Cable Tribe members who were completely unarmed.

As the saying went, if you saved someone, you had to save them all the way; if you escorted Buddha, you had to escort him to the west...

Well, Gao Gong was not actually that kindhearted.

The reason he was doing this was that this small scavenger tribe had considerable potential.

Among the tribal girls led by Little Woman, more than twenty had perception stats in the double digits.

Combined with their experience and methods for training "small mechanical biobeasts"—

as long as he had enough "Tightening Bands," Gao Gong could instantly raise a company-sized force of small mechanical beasts.

Besides the girls, the Cable Tribe also had eight tribal warriors. Including Meng Duo, who was disabled, that made nine.

There should have been more originally, but most of the warriors had been won over by the Great Elder and had then become nourishment for the "Brain in a Vat."

Within the concrete forest, Gao Gong moved like a wolf, infiltrating various locations with the aid of monomolecular wire claws.

Whenever he encountered a radiation beast, he either dealt with it directly or, if it was beyond him, immediately notified the others to take a detour.

With Desert Skin, along with Cold-Blooded and Stealth, he could easily approach most radiation beasts.

"Ding."

[Monomolecular Wire Claw proficiency reached 3000/3000]

[Skill level increased]

Monomolecular Wire Claw (Passive) (Advanced): A technique for maneuvering through the air that can enhance attacks or facilitate escape, increasing the chance of assassination by a certain amount.

Proficiency: 1/5000

The skill notes were not much different from before. The only change was that "assisted attack" had become "enhanced attack."

Yet hundreds of advanced claw techniques suddenly appeared in Gao Gong's mind. Without exception, they were all close-combat techniques—for example, how to use the claws to destroy an enemy's balance, or how to use them to stabilize his center and achieve a finishing combo.

As I remember it, that Rainy Night big shot's claw skills were at the "Expert" level.

With my monster-farming speed, reaching Elite, or even Expert, won't be difficult.

Could it really be fate that the "Rainy Night with a Blade but No Umbrella" school is destined to flourish in my hands?

Gao Gong was inexplicably excited. He felt that this meaningful name suited him perfectly.

Now that Claw has advanced, Night Warrior needs to level up too. Otherwise, my close-combat burst power won't be enough.

[You raised Night Warrior to lv5]

[You raised Night Warrior to lv6]

[You raised Night Warrior to lv7]

Night Warrior lv7 (Advanced): When using blades, attack power +25%. Attack speed when using blades increases by 20%. Blade combos have an 18% chance to inflict Bleeding.

Additional states: Bloodlust, Stealth

Bloodlust: When using a blade to inflict Bleeding on an enemy, increases attack power by 5% (stacks up to twelve times).

Stealth: Reduces the chance of being detected while hidden by 15%, and increases the chance of instantly killing the target.

Gao Gong's gaze fell on "Stealth." As he remembered it, the previous note had said, "Increases the chance of instantly killing an unprepared target."

So it works even when the target is prepared now?

Gao Gong decided to find a mechanical biobeast to test it on.

He quickly identified a target: a drill-horn antelope.

This mutated antelope's pair of horns looked like oversized electric drills.

When it saw Gao Gong, its eyes immediately turned blood red. The tips of its horns began spinning at high speed, sparks flying everywhere, while it slammed all four metal hooves into the ground and charged straight at Gao Gong's chest.

Gao Gong did not move. The instant his opponent charged, he merely gave his wrist a slight flick.

The claw nailed directly into the antelope's right forehoof. As the two passed one another, the pulling force accelerated them toward each other.

The antelope lost its balance slightly under the pulling force.

Gao Gong used that force to take a light step.

As he planted his foot, he drew his blade.

The two figures crossed.

Gao Gong flicked the tip of his blade and sheathed it.

The drill-horn antelope blinked in confusion. The next moment, its abdomen split open, and a mass of organs spilled out like falling rain.

[You dealt 79 damage to the drill-horn antelope]

[You triggered the "Instant Kill" effect, experience +20]

[You killed the drill-horn antelope, experience +70]

Feeling the effortless slash he had just performed, utterly devoid of fireworks, Gao Gong came to a realization.

So a high Perception stat was what allowed someone to achieve the Night Warrior's combat style.

Only after Perception became his primary attribute did Gao Gong understand that he had always been using too much force.

Killing someone—why be so brutal?

An artistic killer's style was the path the Night Warrior was meant to take.

In the game, high-level cybernetic implants had a prerequisite called "compatibility."

If compatibility was low, then even if the implant was forcibly installed, its power would be greatly reduced, and the chance of malfunction would be terrifyingly high.

Skills did not have a concept of "compatibility," but from the perspective of an NPC, Gao Gong vaguely sensed that every skill seemed to be "alive."

"Man and sword as one, or man and skill as one?"

As soon as Gao Gong returned to the main group, Huang Yuanli nervously hurried over.

"I sensed your killing intent from far away. What happened? Are you all right?"

It was a blessing in disguise. After awakening the superpower "Mind Perception," the Little Woman's Perception stat had doubled directly, reaching an astonishing 20 points. If the Brain in a Vat had not restrained itself with a set of tentacle bindings, it would almost have been unable to suppress her.

"I'm fine. Remember to train your ability more. The more you practice, the deeper your insights will become. It'll do you good."

"Why are you suddenly talking like a mystic?" Huang Yuanli rolled her eyes, then suddenly snickered. "You said it yourself."

The Little Woman's eyes suddenly became vacant as she stared fixedly at Gao Gong.

Gao Gong immediately felt as though all his clothes had been stripped away, leaving him completely exposed.

"Huh? Why is your mentality so 'strange'? Didn't you kill that antelope? How come you don't have any fire in you at all? You're so zen."

Huang Yuanli's face inexplicably flushed. She furtively glanced left and right before saying, "You didn't sneak off somewhere and do that while we were resting, did you?"

"Do what?"

"You know, the thing before the sage time. The flying kind."

Huang Yuanli gave him a pitying look. "If you have a need, just tell me. How would I know if you don't say anything? I can't help you myself, but I can introduce you to some girls. That stuff is addictive and bad for your health."

The corner of Gao Gong's mouth twitched. He reached over and pressed down on her head.

"Stop using your ability carelessly!"

"Damn, weren't you the one who told me to use it? Let go, let go! If you don't let go, I'll bite your balls!"

The two of them tussled and joked around while the nearby tribe members watched with smiles.

After relaxing for a moment, Gao Gong suddenly asked, "Where's that old man? Is he still shutting himself away?"

Huang Yuanli sighed. "He won't eat or drink. He's completely waiting to die."

"You used Mind Perception on him?"

"How could I dare? What if he eats my brain flower again?"

Gao Gong stood up and walked to the rear of the group. Professor Han's eyes were sunken, and he looked like a dried corpse.

"I'll talk to him for a bit."

Meng Duo nodded and signaled for two companions to support him away.

Although Gao Gong had not said anything, and neither had Huang Yuanli, the others were not fools. They vaguely understood that Professor Han was one of the culprits responsible for tearing the Cable Tribe apart.

"I read your diary. I want to know the exact location of that research institute. Can you tell me?"

Professor Han said nothing.

"It's fine if you don't. You explored it with others before, so we can determine its approximate location. At worst, I'll just find it myself."

"You failed to carry out your own plan, yet you still refuse to tell us where the shelter is?"

"Was your 'sacrifice' limited to the scope of your own plan? Were you doing this for other people, or for yourself?"

Gao Gong deliberately mocked him. It was obvious that the old man was a seasoned moral blackmailer.

"Don't go."

Professor Han suddenly spoke, his voice extremely hoarse.

"What?"

"There are many dangerous things inside the research institute. Compared to them, even the Brain in a Vat counts as safe."

Gao Gong frowned.

"Then why did you want to go? Your purpose in exploring it last time wasn't migration. It was that huge brain, wasn't it?"

Professor Han's eyes dimmed, and his voice remained hoarse.

"During the war, this land was subjected to saturation bombardment. Yet the area around the research institute alone was not attacked by any alien spacecraft. Why do you think that was?"

Gao Gong raised his brows, signaling him to continue.

"Because the base had already been occupied by alien life-forms. Of course they wouldn't attack their own kind."