Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 142 - 116.I Got Kill

Chapter 142: 116.I Got Kill

"Your Intelligence needs enhancement; relying solely on intuition and empiricism is far too arrogant—have you considered attending a university?"

Overclocking ended, and the [Beautiful Wish] armored suit immediately collapsed, with the central computer overheating, necessitating its opening and emitting thick smoke.

The Professor had immersed himself in the field of [Biochemist] for too long, and his expertise was not something a newly promoted Beta Rank like himself could compare to.

However, Du Zexin didn’t feel discouraged—reaching this level at his age meant he’d outperformed ninety percent of Frost Plated people.

He squatted beside the remains of the Thriving One, removing its anti-gravity system. Without it, he and Leoz would have defeated it long ago.

—Come to think of it, no wonder Leoz was so confident, being able to come back to life. It was hard not to speculate how many types of Arcane Energy he possessed.

Du Zexin stepped out of his armor, donned his military cap, and walked towards Leoz:

"Although I understand Arcane Users usually lack formal education, the Intelligence of enemies we face in the future will only get higher... Are you listening to me, Mr. Leoz?"

Leoz turned his back to him and Du Zexin hesitated, noting Leoz’s slightly bowed and hunched posture. Slowly, Leoz raised his hand and pulled off his glove, revealing a hand marked with wrinkles and age spots.

"What’s this..."

"I almost forgot, I am human now."

Leoz clenched his fist, then turned around, exposing his aged and withered face.

He removed his helmet, and a mass of grey-white hair immediately fell out, revealing a bald, blemished scalp. His features and contours remained handsome, but the signs of exhaustion and decline could not be masked.

Leoz sheathed his knife, leaning on the handle as if it were a cane, and slowly walked towards Du Zexin, with a complicated expression:

"Lend me that for a moment, let me see what I look like."

Du Zexin removed his helmet and handed it to Leoz, allowing him to see his true appearance clearly.

Leoz’s eyes were no longer bright but were infiltrated and stained by red and black hues, and the muscles of his face had slackened, giving him a confused and enfeebled appearance.

"...So the life I lacked was imposed on me in the form of aging, wasn’t it?"

Leoz suddenly realized.

Back when he was a player in a past life, they never aged.

Even if their lifespan was exhausted, it was simply a matter of redeploying, switching to another NPC body.

But now it was different—this body completely belonged to him.

He is human, he is Leoz, and as such, will naturally age, decline, and die like any other person.

"Your resurrection, is it due to you possessing some kind of Arcane Energy?" Du Zexin saw the telltale signs.

"Resurrection of the dead always comes at a price," Leoz said, waving his hand. He took out a stimulant from his pocket and administered another dose to himself, aiming to become exhilarated once more.

He wrapped his face in a scarf and put his helmet back on to cover his signs of aging. The hormone took effect swiftly, activating in his body, spurring Leoz back to vigor.

"In this state, can you still fight?"

"Don’t ask whether I can or cannot, some things are a matter of whether they should or should not be done."

Leoz administered a series of drugs to himself, restoring his energy to a normal state.

After much deliberation, he didn’t hesitate to spend 980 Point Tickets to purchase a [White Knight Potion] from the [Game Mall] as a contingency.

This was a Mutation Potion; once used, during his next Mutation, he would immediately gain the Mutation Option [Genetic Grafting: Pale Knight].

This Specialty was extremely peculiar, covering his Dominator Form with conspicuous white bone armor and increasing his output rate by 80%—the downside was each use would add an additional genetic burden.

This was just a backup plan... Leoz had previously underestimated the Professor’s strength, as well as the true significance of the [Intelligence] Attribute.

Whether it was Du Zexin or the Professor, both individuals with high [Intelligence] far surpassed him in detail observation, combat awareness, learning and associating, and logical thinking abilities.

Players’ strategies can’t be fully trusted, and the actual situation changes too much.

In the previous life, "Not to be Remembered" had never featured Infant Eaters, Thriving Ones, or Decayers, nor was there any personal plot line for the Professor; the final enemy was merely a powerful Biochemical War Beast.

But the Professor that Li Aozi was facing had observed his and Du Zexin’s invasion and specifically prepared Thriving Ones and Decayers to counter them.

What next?

He and Du Zexin were both human, having just fought fiercely and suffered such heavy damage. Their machinery also needed adjustment, their ammunition was running low, and they needed rest.

But if they didn’t keep fighting in one fell swoop, what would the Professor develop next?

Better a short pain than a long one, Li Aozi made up his mind; if he didn’t kill the Professor here, the troubles they would cause in the future would be endless.

On a personal note, as long as the Professor lived, the vengeance for Nomi would remain unclaimed, and Xeno along with many Ersha Infected Individuals would remain trapped here, enduring long-term torture and live experiments, and eventually turned into Ersha Armament—Li Aozi couldn’t bear it psychologically.

Logically, if the Professor was not removed, he’d only become more unrestrained in the future. Besides, without obtaining the rewards for the "Imprint" task, Li Aozi’s leveling would be problematic. He urgently needed that experience to quickly promote to Beta Rank to extend his life.

For this, Li Aozi was willing to pay a painful price.

Using the "White Knight" potion would cause him tremendous physical pain.

Worst case, he would later directly use a Gene Reparation Device to remove this Mutation Option, exchange the dangerous target of the Professor with Point Tickets, and still get the experience reward—enough to allow him to advance to Beta Rank. It wouldn’t be a loss.

Today, the Professor must be eliminated.

Seeing his determination, Du Zexin hesitated slightly, then nodded:

"You’re right, if we don’t kill the Professor, the trouble will be endless."

As he spoke, he set a program into his power furnace.

"If anything unexpected happens, I’ll self-destruct the reactor armor, which contains at least 780 grams of weapons-grade enriched uranium. However, I must remind you that self-destruction requires a preparation time of 5 seconds for the program to complete and maintain a chain reaction."

He looked at Li Aozi:

"If there are any Ersha Infected Individuals here like you said, you take them and leave. I’ll cover the rear."

Li Aozi was surprised:

"Born in Frost Plated... you actually have this kind of resolve?"

Li Aozi had only briefly explained the situation of the Ersha Infected Individuals to him, and he hadn’t expected Du Zexin to take it to heart like this.

"It is precisely because my homeland is Frost Plated that it needs such resolve even more."

Du Zexin countered:

"The men of Frost Plated have already endured exploitation and discrimination by women—if that is the case, then we shouldn’t let exploitation and discrimination spread to others, otherwise, what difference is there between us and those insects that plague the nation?"

Li Aozi gave him a glance:

"The Professor may have other weapons up his sleeve; next, we could be facing bio-entities far more terrifying than the combined forces of the Thriving Ones and Decayers, or countless Biochemical Soldiers, more Ersha Armament. A heads up—I’m not certain we can all make it out untouched, so prepare yourself mentally to let go of some things."

"Don’t ask whether it can be done, ask if this battle is worth fighting."

Du Zexin used his words to ask in return.

Li Aozi took a deep breath and shook his neck, gradually getting used to the old body, as all the drugs injected into his veins took effect.

"It’s worth it."

"Then why explain? Just fucking do it!"

Li Aozi and Du Zexin exchanged a knowing look and bumped fists in solidarity. Then they turned around and without another word stepped forward.