The Boss's Talent Was Just Too Good!

Su Yi struggled to his feet and raised a hand to look at the towering purple mountains.

"Isn't that the Dawn Mountains? Too bad I can't handle the Void Abyss Maze inside at my current level."

"I'll wait until I hit level ten."

Then Su Yi limped away from the foot of the mountains toward the city.

As he walked, he checked his status panel.

[Name: Su Yi · Horus · Constantine · Gheros]

[Faction: Black Sun Group]

[Rank: Unofficial Temp Worker]

[Void Abyss Projection: Dark Matter Eye LV1]

[Level: 4]

[Health: 500]

[Void Spirit Bandwidth: 20]

[Projection Talent: Matter Encoding: Consumes 10 Bandwidth to reconfigure the surface structure of a small amount of matter.]

"Looks like bosses use the same status panel format and supernatural system as players."

The supernatural system in Star God was remarkably straightforward.

Becoming a supernatural being in this game was a bit like activating a phone plan.

Every deity was a service provider, and people had to spend a thousand Void Abyss Coins to activate a "phone number."

If they had the right aptitude, they could obtain a Void Abyss Projection of their own from the trail that deity had left through the Void Abyss.

Through that projection, they could use the Void Abyss's near-universal supernatural energy: Void Spirit Bandwidth.

They could then buy different supernatural skills depending on the Divine Authority of the deity they followed.

Every supernatural skill consumed Void Spirit Bandwidth.

Leveling up was simple, too. By training their Void Abyss Projection, they could raise its level and gain more "bandwidth."

With enough bandwidth, they could use Void Spirit Bandwidth at greater power.

To increase their Void Spirit Bandwidth, they had to sacrifice Void Abyss Coins and special offerings favored by their deity.

The two hard requirements at the heart of every skill were the level of one's Void Abyss Projection and the amount of Bandwidth one had.

In a way, the more money someone had in this game, the stronger they could become!

After reviewing his stats, Su Yi looked down at a burn on his arm about half the size of his palm.

He raised his hand and spent 10 points of Bandwidth.

A strange, intricate higher-dimensional structure suddenly appeared in his vision.

Within it, he could alter the material structure of his skin's surface at will, almost as if he were programming.

"Programming? Now there's an old trade I haven't touched in ages."

Su Yi had started out as a programmer. Later, because he understood technology, spoke well, handled people well, and could hold his liquor, he had been transferred to the sales department to meet clients.

He had earned a promotion and a raise, but he had been so busy every day he could barely keep up.

At thirty-five, he was still alone and had a host of health problems.

Now, thanks to his bloodline, operating the ability felt like instinct.

Su Yi began rearranging the dead cells to match the structure of healthy ones.

It was fairly simple: copy a string representing a healthy cell, then duplicate and paste it across the area.

When the skill ended, Su Yi found that half of the palm-sized burn had healed completely.

"So it really is just a small amount. That's tiny."

Su Yi grumbled, but excitement filled him.

"Still, I'd expect nothing less from a boss with True God Bloodline. This Talent skill blows anything players have out of the water."

Everyone knew that the same skill worked very differently in a boss's hands than in a player's.

"It can't do a thing in combat right now, but... its future potential is huge!!"

In version 9.6, Su Yi was resurrected yet again, became an avatar of the Black Abyss Overlord, and gained a mythic form.

He had used this very ability to restructure a two-thousand-meter transport ship carrying players!

He had also converted all its materials into an unstable particle field, setting off a chain of sympathetic explosions.

One ultimate move had killed nine thousand fully equipped professional players and a hundred and fifty thousand NPC soldiers, reducing at least ninety million Void Abyss Coins' worth of war supplies to nothing.

That was also the version in which players had beaten Su Yi more brutally than ever.

Su Yi spent his remaining 10 points of Bandwidth to heal the other half.

Bandwidth reset and was issued again each day. He might as well use it.

Healing the largest of his burns made Su Yi feel much better.

After half an hour on foot, he finally left the Wasteland woods and reached the edge of the city.

They sent him out to work himself to the bone.

Not only was there no company shuttle, he didn't get a damn cent for it.

Following the traffic-choked Gray Bridge, he saw a dazzling, futuristic city straight out of science fiction.

Skyscrapers rose one after another into the clouds, while countless transparent magnetic bridges connected the upper levels of buildings a hundred stories tall.

Looking up, he saw crowds crossing overhead, forming streams of people that seemed to float through the sky.

Antigravity aircraft weaved around the crowds. Law enforcement officers in flying Powered Armor patrolled on alert, keeping order.

This was Vine City, the first dreamlike technological city on Rhode Star, built by the Black Sun Group.

The vast city now had a population of eighty-four million and drew countless newcomers to this dreamland every day.

Naturally, the dreamland also devoured countless people without leaving a trace.

Given his status, Su Yi wasn't qualified to enter the city's ground level, much less stroll the magnetic bridges reserved for corporate white-collar workers.

After taking the left exit off Gray Bridge's main road, Su Yi checked the time on his old Communicator. Only five minutes remained before he had to clock out.

He hurried into a run despite the pain, taking long strides.

Down a flight of stairs lay a jumble of old, low-rise buildings.

The narrow, crowded streets were packed with people and aging, outdated vehicles.

Beyond the road, he could see row after row of five- and six-story buildings constructed beneath Vine City's foundations.

Old eaves on both sides were crammed with brightly glowing neon signs.

Some advertised medicine, others Cybernetic Implant modifications or information. There were hotels, bars...

This was Rootvine District, home to people at the very bottom of society.

It had the cheapest liquor, the cheapest food and labor, and the cheapest lives.

Su Yi knew the place well.

Along with the original Su Yi's memories, he had spent a hundred in-game days roaming these streets for experience and money.

He could recite how many quest hubs there were, how many people worked at each, and how many quests they offered.

He found his way easily to the ground-floor entrance of a place called Ironhand Debt Company.

Ironhand was one of the Black Sun Group's many debt-collection fronts. Its boss was an L4-ranked employee of the Black Sun Group.

They made their living bullying and abusing people.

The major event that ended version 0.1 was the "Shantytown Fire," which killed thirty thousand people.

Su Yi had forgotten what the investigation concluded, but the Black Sun Group pinned the blame on its fronts.

Then the Black Sun Group cut ties with thirty-four of those companies and publicly executed over fifteen hundred people, putting the matter to rest.

Barring some surprise, Su Yi's Ironhand Debt Company was probably among them.

Su Yi hurriedly clocked out with a facial scan and breathed a sigh of relief.

Failing to clock out cost him one Void Abyss Coin.

One Void Abyss Coin could buy three kilograms of cheap Nutrient Beans—enough to feed an adult for six days!

"According to Winter's guide, the fire happens on May 7, 4100, by the Rhode Calendar."

"It's April 2 now. That leaves about a month."

Su Yi knew Winter's guides inside out.

Unable to get access to the game, Su Yi had immersed himself in its setting and story. When he had time, he read each guide three or four times.

"Time's tight. Once I deal with the players, I need to figure out how to get a permanent position and change careers."

He absolutely couldn't stay in debt collection, or he would end up dead with no body left to bury.

"No time to waste. I need to start making money now."

After limping away from the company, Su Yi pushed through the sharp pain of his injuries and set his plan in motion.

The plan was simple: use his memories and experience to buy and resell goods.

The area was chaotic. Bordering the Rhodes Alliance, the entire frontier was beyond anyone's control.

Smuggling, robbery, extortion, and murder were everywhere.

Compared with this place, Gotham City was quiet and peaceful.

And where violence thrived, weapons were never far behind.

When he had played the game, selling weapons had been one of the best ways to make money, and suppressors had offered the biggest profit margins.

Su Yi had used that method to grind out three thousand Void Abyss Coins in half a month, learning this whole area like the back of his hand.

He headed down the crowded, chaotic streets toward a dim part of the district.

Beneath the city's foundations, no sunlight reached it. The whole district was dark, cold, and damp.

The stink of moldy garbage and rotting creatures mingled with exhaust and motor oil. It was enough to make anyone sick.

"If I remember right, it's around here." Su Yi crossed two streets and reached a comparatively quiet road.

This was Rootvine District's funeral street.

People died here every moment, but very few could afford a funeral.

Of course, "funeral services" covered more than the name suggested.

Organ removal, corpse smuggling, specimens for experiments, sacrificial offerings... Those services were available here too.

But business on that level was beyond an ordinary person like Su Yi.

His target was a gun wholesaler operating in secret.

Back then, Su Yi had completed fifteen prerequisite quests just to build enough goodwill here. Only then had he obtained the contact phrase and unlocked the NPC named Mantis.

"I first met Mantis a year from now. According to the information I found later, he should've just arrived and started his business. He badly needs distributors."

"This is a good opportunity. The quest details said Mantis was pretty reckless in his early days. He only became cautious after two incidents."

He didn't know Mantis's real name, only that one of the man's relatives was among the heads of the recycling division of the Black Sun Group's Rhode Branch Production Department.

That connection gave him access to large quantities of high-quality corporate weapons unavailable on the open market.

At the sight of the blue, three-unit rowhouse, Su Yi felt an unexpected sense of coming home.

Two stern-faced bodyguards wearing Exoskeletons stood guard outside.

Su Yi reviewed what he knew, settled on what to say, and walked over.

When the bodyguards saw him approach, they shouted, "Stop, or we'll shoot!"

Su Yi raised both hands. "Easy, friends. I'm here to do business."

At that, the bodyguard on the left murmured into his comms, then asked, "Where did you hear about us?"

"Three Bridges Bar," Su Yi replied without hesitation.

The bodyguard on the right strode forward, grabbed Su Yi by the clothes, blindfolded him, and led him inside.

After several turns, the blindfold came off. Before Su Yi could see anyone, a gun barrel pressed against his head.

Three bodies with their heads blown apart lay on the floor nearby.

The air reeked of blood.

"You have fifteen seconds to give me a reason not to kill you."