Act 15: Moment of Surrender · Instant Collapse
Foreword:
As time went by, I realized my heart was broken.
--Ernest Miller Hemingway
[Part 1: The Chattering Three Brothers]
Xue Ming retrieved the electrolyte solvent from the enemy soldiers' corpses and stared at the Little Blue bottle for a long time, too afraid to drink it directly.
[That's right! This is it! My Holy Father and Savior, you need to replenish your energy—the nanomachines in your body are active in every cell.]
Whether absorbed through the skin or mucous membranes, or administered via intravenous injection, this solvent can help you regain your optimal condition.
Xue Ming held the solvent bottle, his face full of suspicion.
[The VENOM organization's medical unit can use electrolytes to repair your injuries, which is very similar.]
Xue Ming: "Universal Elixir?"
[That's right! This is Universal Elixir independently developed by the Shinto City, but its effects are somewhat weaker.]
[This Universal Elixir works quickly. No matter how severe the injury, as long as the thalamus's consciousness center is still intact, using 150 to 200 milliliters will instantly give you a completely new body. However, the memories in your cerebral cortex will definitely be lost, and you might even become a vegetable.]
[VENOM's medical unit isn't that advanced. Your gunshot wounds will leave scars because nanomechanical stimulation of platelets and tissue fluid secreted by some limb tissues turns them into a hemostatic gel to stop the bleeding. Then, we'll perform surgery inside your body. Even the most precise surgery will always leave scars.]
[Electrolyte solvents can replenish your energy, but White Lady's products won't fill your stomach; these all-purpose elements can only be used to patch up your body.]
Xue Ming removed the small plastic cap from the electrolyte solvent, revealing the injection needle.
[Quick! Quick! Yes! My Holy Father and Savior! Give it to me! I can't wait!]
This talkative Artificial Intelligence is driving Xue Ming crazy. To be honest, it's too dramatic. Whenever it gets a chance to say a few words, it never misses an opportunity to nag.
The moment the needle made contact with the VENOM device on her arm, Xue Ming felt a strong suction force—
--The muscles seemed to have gained self-awareness, and the subcutaneous tissue gripped the solvent tightly, like a dried-up spring gushing forth again.
[Synchronization rate: 100%]
[Physical constitution: 141% (overtreatment)]
[Spiritual Essence: Outside the Scope]
[Psionic Element: Outside the Specs]
[Electrolyte materials.]
[If you include the corpses on the first floor, you still have six needles available.]
Ah! What a wonderful feeling!
Xue Ming urged in a low voice, "Let's get down to business."
[Don't rush, my Holy Father and Savior, allow me to finish this dose of medicine first.]
Xue Ming: "Couldn't you use a different adjective?"
[You've always had amazing suction power; I should be just as strong as you.]
The bottle of electrolyte solvent was already empty, but Venom wasn't about to give up. He practically evacuated the bottle to a vacuum before finally stopping, without wasting a single drop of the solution.
I need to think of a name for myself, don't you think? My Holy Father and Savior? Or can you help me name me?
Xue Ming squatted in the second-floor electrical room, while Fragrant Dream picked up corpses downstairs.
Upon hearing the request of this wandering ghost, he immediately responded.
"That makes sense. I don't know what to call you either, but I think you're all grown up now, an adult. You decide this."
[Uh... naming isn't my forte. You always listen to your wife when naming your babies. It's a huge undertaking. How about we talk about it as we walk?]
Before the words were even finished, the HUD's head-up display light came on, and a pale blue band of light spread from Xue Ming's eyes through the augmented reality visual system. The VENOM navigation showed the destination: the wind turbines in the Little Kanto Industrial Park.
This generator set is a backup power station for the nuclear power plant, ensuring that there is still backup energy to operate the site's infrastructure after an accident.
"What are we going to the wind power station for?" Xue Ming asked as he followed the signs out.
The wind power facilities are surrounded by old residential neighborhoods, and the supporting facilities near the nuclear power plant are also very old. The complex terrain and numerous buildings here help to avoid detection by the enemy.
Xue Ming: "That makes sense."
[Oh dear, what name should I choose?]
[Oh no! Wait a minute!]
Xue Ming stopped in response, standing in the first-floor corridor of the semiconductor processing workshop, leaning against the wall to remain vigilant.
[There are two chubby guys outside the door. I don't have a pulse radar to identify biosignals, and you don't have a prosthetic eye, but our hearing is both excellent, right?]
[One of them was on guard with a gun, while the other tiptoed towards the front door. The person behind him set up his gun to provide cover for his teammates, and the one in front had already made his way there.]
Xue Ming didn't say a word. He immediately took out a stun grenade from his carrying gear, threw it out of the room after a short delay, and before the grenade exploded, he jumped onto the first-floor scaffolding, climbed up the steel beams to the second floor, and then crawled out of the ventilation window.
As they circled around to the front gate, they saw two members of the Kyoraku Special Squad, stunned by stun grenades, crouching down awaiting reinforcements. The six-shot grenades were still glowing and emitting heat. Amin glanced at them briefly, making out their figures, and wondered aloud—
--How does this gossipy ghost know the size of the enemy outside the door?
Those were indeed two burly men with the build of gladiators, broad shoulders, thick waists, and potbellies; they looked very strong.
[Your keen senses can detect their body odor, but as an electronic brain, my chemical analysis capabilities for smells far surpass yours.]
"Wow!" Jiang Xueming's exclamation came from inside the visor of the Flash Butterfly Armor Suit.
--This one sentence immediately attracted the attention of the enemy sentries.
Without looking back, he ran wildly to the other side of the semiconductor plant, crossed the cooling water channels around the fission reactor, avoided the orderly rows of unmanned transport vehicles, and followed VENOM's guidance to the living area of the wind power plant.
Sixteen wind turbines are arranged on the low hills to the southeast. The buildings outside the plant area are similar in style to those in Stone Hill Town, with old white-painted walls—VENOM was right, this is a very safe route.
The city was simply too vast, too empty, and the roads too wide. Fragrant Dream could not provide 360-degree, all-around protection for Xue Ming's physical body.
[I've got it! My Holy Father and Savior!]
[My name should be E9·8h·02]
Xue Ming entered the market through the irrigation canal in the residential area, avoiding the detection of high-altitude drones by following the cloth sheds of the low-rise buildings.
"Couldn't you think of something simpler?"
[E9 represents our pursuit of material wealth; its full name is E9 Diesel Engine—a diesel engine manufactured by Renault Engineering in France.]
[In the anonymous club, our dump trucks use this engine.]
[It's an 8V 90° direct injection engine; the cylinder block and cylinder head are made of cast iron. You've put an armored vehicle's engine on our truck.]
Xue Ming chuckled, a rare occurrence for him. "Heh, so you know a lot."
[Of course! I am another version of you--]
[After you returned to the Nameless Ones, we worked eight hours a day, 365 days a year.]
[As for the last one, 02, you're the boss, and I'm number two.]
[Fragrant Dream is the third oldest; the ranking must be clear.]
[E9·8h·02!]
I'm a genius!
The giant steel cat emerged from Xue Ming's body at just the right moment, and said sullenly.
"I was here first! I was definitely here first! How did I become number three?"
Xue Ming raised his right arm and saw that the VENOM mechanism had plated the skin of his arm with a magnetofluid symbol, which was VENOM's factory stamp.
At that moment, a strong sense of crisis enveloped him.
Without hesitation, he immediately took cover in a house, and then heard a burst of intense gunfire outside.
The gunfire was continuous and like rain, with spent shell casings clattering all over the ground.
[The sound sounds like an M134 Mini Gun—I wonder if it emits blue flames.]
[I didn't hear any engine or propeller sounds, so it must be an infantry unit.]
[Is that a deity from Shinto City? Who was the kind soul who delivered the equipment?]
"Anonymous!!!"
Hayabusa roar came from outside the window.
[Looks like we've skipped the brain teasers and guessing the enemy; we can jump straight into the battle.]
Xue Ming crouched low, hiding in the shadows, carefully observing the impact points outside the door.
The sheds and public area tables and chairs were riddled with bullets by the MiniGun. This rapid-fire machine gun could tear apart any unarmored unit within a hundred meters. The rain of bullets it spewed was like a stream of water; as long as you were within its field of fire, it was difficult to dodge its bullets through tactical maneuvers.
[Hayabusa has a new toy. Although he's got a prosthetic eye, so you can't see the giant's eye markings anymore, I think he must be a descendant of giants—that amazing physique, that powerful muscle!~]
[Even ordinary Homo sapiens and blood-soaked monsters cannot transform themselves into firepower platforms.]
[He is a very difficult opponent, my Holy Father and Savior.]
[Part ②: Things to Note in the Next Life]
The ghost in VENOM paused for a moment, because the Holy Father was observing the enemy. Fragrant Dream, while adopting an offensive and defensive stance, crouched beside Xue Ming to defend against the scattered shrapnel, and curiously looked at Xue Ming's arm.
The steel giant cat lowered its head, and the string of symbols on Xue Ming's arm aroused Hun Wei's intense curiosity.
--VENOM and Xue Ming reached a mutual understanding, but they cannot fathom what Fragrant Dream is thinking.
This strange spirit possesses a portion of its essence belonging to the Ming De, and the thoughts of the steel cat cannot be transmitted to Venom's Liman model.
In the very center of the market street, Hayabusa once again crawled back from hell. Since the Angel Infant Processing Center in Kanto had been shut down by Meteor, he set off from the Yokohama Armory and traveled more than 300 kilometers to continue causing trouble for Jiang Xueming.
"You cowardly wretch! Come out and face me!"
He changed his gear, carrying a Mini Gun in each hand. As the rapid-fire machine guns spewed forth their flames, the twelve barrels began to glow red.
The market street, over 300 meters long, was drenched by his angry bullets.
The bald, burly man seemed extremely angry. He hadn't even figured out how he lost the last time, only feeling aggrieved.
"Nameless one! Let's settle this with a fair fight!"
"Don't try any tricks this time! I won't fall for it a second time!"
"I'll keep your head! Then I'll turn you into a digital pet!"
Inside the room, Xue Ming had already started climbing to the second floor. The house seemed uninhabited, and he couldn't find any weapons. He had to find a way to get to the next house, where there were still lights on in another four-story building.
To be honest, I've started to like him a little.
Jiang Xueming felt a chill run down his spine and nearly fell to his death on the stairs. "Who?"
"Who the hell do you say you like?"
[Uh... you know, the one where people are yelling and screaming in the street, the one with the Hayabusa...]
Jiang Xueming: "Are you sure?"
Fragrant Dream: "Are you sure?"
Compared to the enemies we've encountered in our lives, he's quite easy to talk to.
He won't threaten us with hostages, nor will he sneak around in bunkers plotting explosives.
[He doesn't carry neurotoxins, doesn't have any strange infectious diseases, and won't be aroused by your face.]
[He's definitely not gay. Based on my experience, people who use such provocative words are usually straight men—all talk and no action!]
[If you don't believe me, let's try it! Like a fairy in a fairy tale throwing breadcrumbs, if you throw your shoes and socks out, see if this seemingly gay man who's been clamoring to turn you into his pet will follow you like a prince from Disney, sniffing your scent all the way here?]
Fragrant Dream: "What this guy said makes a lot of sense!"
Jiang Xueming had no time to deal with the soul power and wild ghosts on his body.
He still couldn't find anything useful on the second floor; most of the bathroom fixtures in the kitchen were made of chrome-zinc plating, an alloy that couldn't be used to make reliable weapons.
The carrying device also contains molybdenum wire and a few copper and iron components, which can be used by the steel cat to make some bullets on the spot. To deal with the Hayabusa cursing in the street, or to break through the outer armor and soft armor of the android, is wishful thinking and a pipe dream.
The house only had a household electricity of about 200 volts, so it was impossible to use a molybdenum wire cutter to deal with the Hayabusa like when Yezhong was killed.
Xue Ming originally went straight to the industrial zone when he entered the city, intending to use the high current, high pressure, and large machinery of engineering equipment to deal with these androids. He was as happy as Jackie Chan when he entered a furniture store or went to the industrial park, feeling like he was back in his hometown. He loved being there.
However, these houses have no usable materials. If the heating equipment were older, perhaps even from the fireplace era, charcoal could generate temperatures above 1,500 degrees Celsius. But this family uses an induction cooker, which has strict electrical safety standards and complete insurance measures. The temperature of the cooker is no more than 400 degrees Celsius, at most enough to cook oden at home.
[My Holy Father and Savior, if you've run out of work, I recommend you immediately flee this neighborhood from the northeast.]
There's a repair shop about 400 meters away; it's been abandoned for many years, but you're sure to find what you're looking for there.
Xue Ming entered the master bedroom and found that the owner seemed to have turned the house into a warehouse, with things piled up and the windows completely obscured.
He kicked aside the dusty baby carriage, moved aside the stacks of thick textbooks, and his arms, Fragrant Dream, instantly transformed into a high-speed rotating grinder, smoothing the frosted glass of the window. There he saw a troop of fully equipped soldiers walk in through the back door.
[Oh! They've blocked this road. Sorry, my tactical instructions were a serious misjudgment.]
Xue Ming: "It's okay, just be more careful in your next life."
[You're so funny!~]
The soldiers downstairs didn't seem to have found Xue Ming's exact location yet. They split into three-person teams and began searching the residential area.
The Hayabusa Titans on the market road have ceased fire and are ready to provide support to their teammates with M134s.
--As for how to provide support, it's estimated that they'll bring the wall and their teammates along and use their rotary cannons to smash it to pieces.
Hayabusa was extremely short-tempered. He didn't think these Kyoraku Special Squad lackeys were of any value; their only purpose was to find the nameless man and then stall this troublesome rat.
Jiang Xueming's actions have caused damage to the city beyond the expectations of the administrative center, and the destructive power he has displayed is enough to make even Hayabusa's scalp tingle.
This Homo sapiens could effortlessly kill the gods with the help of various forces. If he were to return to the industrial park and the fission power plant, he couldn't imagine what kind of monstrous disaster this kid would cause.
Right now, at this very moment.
A dark figure leaped out from the second-floor balcony of the residential building.
--The Hayabusa immediately turned its gun around, but before it could fire a bullet, the wretched little rat had already scurried into another house.
"Find him! Stop him!"
The command, delivered with Hayabusa, had just been sent out over the radio when the walls of the four-story building cracked open, and a piano flew straight toward the soldiers' leader!
Hayabusa was so shocked his mouth dropped open! The piano flew across the fifty-meter-long market road, suddenly appearing from the side and heading straight for his face!
MiniGun smashed the piano's soundboard, sending wood chips flying and causing the sharp piano strings to cut into brilliant sparks!
Hayabusa struggled to break free of his restraints and saw the hateful and cunning enemy leaping and running between the buildings. He was in the blind spot of the Kyoraku Special Squad's shooting. The guy was wearing a strange set of armor but moved with incredible speed. In no time, he escaped into the workers' dormitory building!
"Chase them! Chase them!"
[Great Holy Father and Savior! It's a pleasure to fight alongside you!]
Breaking through the glass and rolling into the dormitory corridor, Amin got up and grabbed the iron railing of the flower stand next to the window. Fragrant Dream finally found a suitable material to process. With a sudden force, it broke the iron bar in half. Then, its arm deformed and it began to swing the hammer and forge the iron bar steel billet with all its might!
The clanging and banging, like the sound of a power hammer at work, attracted the attention of the enemy soldiers. The continuous high-speed cold forging compressed and reshaped the cold iron pipe time and time again. The dark green paint peeled off along with the oxide layer. In just over ten seconds, a short knife with a blade length of about twenty-three centimeters was finished.
It retains strong internal stress, and the internal energy generated by striking it keeps it at a high temperature of 800 degrees Celsius.
There were rustling footsteps outside the door. When the soldiers broke down the door, they heard intense quenching sounds coming from the direction of the water tank in the kitchen and bathroom.
[Let me think! Let me think! I need to come up with a line! It has to be catchy and powerful!]
Fragrant Dream added, "I don't think it's like you at all! Its Madness Index must be extremely high!"
Jiang Xueming: "Indeed."
[No, no, no! I've always thought the Madness Index is a character's power level; when it's full, they become incredibly powerful and can unleash amazing attacks!]
The soldiers covered each other, and the one at the back of the column gently patted the shoulder of the soldier in front, reminding his comrade to keep his gun away from corners and not to stick the muzzle into the room.
When the first soldier arrived at the bathroom, he saw that the dark washbasin was full of oxide carbon slag left over from quenching.
The second soldier, having found no trace of the target in the bath, alerted the team via the chat channel.
The third soldier finally became alert, but found no clues while checking the small window in the bathroom.
The second squad of soldiers was stationed at the porch, and one of the more quick-witted young men finally looked up.
A crater appeared above his head, as if a python had used brute force to tear a crack through the precast concrete slab and reinforced concrete. He finally realized, his heart pounding with shock—the enemy had escaped?!
"Up there!"
The moment he uttered those words, the young man immediately regretted them!
The once orderly field of fire became chaotic. The six guns of the search team and the cover team were watching and supporting each other in the narrow corridor and bathroom. Their firing angles were originally perfect and could help their teammates at any time.
But the phrase "up there" made the other members of the cover team look up, and for a brief moment, their eyes and sights went out of focus.
At this very moment--
--A steel fist suddenly emerged from the pristine white wall, piercing the side ribs of the soldier in the middle of the porch, and the bulletproof ceramic insert along with it entered his chest cavity.
The man tensed up, and after a while, he realized his heart was broken. Before he could collapse and fall to the ground, he was already dead.
[I've got it! The familiar touch sparked a brilliant idea!]
The blade stopped at the soldier's throat; this ignorant and fearless life seemed unaware that Death God was already upon him.
Xue Ming had just returned to this room from the living room when, without anyone noticing, the knife in his hand took the life of the last soldier in the group.
Artificial blood splattered out, its sound drowned out by the deafening roar of Fragrant Dream's wall-breaking attack. The ghosts in VENOM sang their entrance verses for the Holy Father and Savior.
[Quarantine Qualified--]
[--It can be slaughtered!]