Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 144 - 118. Cage Deathmatch (Part 1)

Chapter 144: 118. Cage Deathmatch (Part 1)

The Thriving Ones and Decayers had some nice equipment on them, some of which were made of carbon fiber materials, lightweight enough that Li Aozi could also wear them.

[Item Name]: Thriving Shin Guards

[Category]: Armor/Greaves

[Quality]: [Flawless Perfection]

[Attributes]: Provides 20 points of all-purpose armor value (resistance to impact/piercing/energy attacks)

Blocks piercing damage below 80 points.

[Light Armor Exclusive]: The fluidity of movements, stealth, and quick movements are unaffected.

[Introduction]:

"Mingji Humanity has made breakthroughs in biomaterials, especially in polymer materials, significantly improving the original Kevlar material. The new material has ten times the kinetic energy absorption capacity of the previous Kevlar. However, this does not mean that this armor can withstand slashing and cutting. And—speak nicely, put down the hammer!"

Material: Mingji custom-made aramid, carbon fiber materials.

Net Weight: 475 grams

Protection Area: Knees, shinbones, the outer side of thighs, and the front-facing parts.

Durability: Normal

An armor piece to protect you, that’s all.

[Equipment Requirements]:

[Strength]—3

[Constitution]—4

The second item is the aramid fiber lining dismantled from the Decayers, whose severely deformed bodies do not match a human’s physique, so it’s hardly equipment, but still, it added a lot of armor value when worn.

This simple set of aramid material protection when worn, directly boosts the armor value to 90.

Considering his [Extraordinary Physique] and hierarchy effects, he was now virtually immune to ordinary pistol shootings.

Li Aozi was at a loss for words.

Because his own health points were just under a hundred.

Fortunately, the harvest was still good.

"Including Meibei, this has been the fourth consecutive challenge beyond my rank, and one more time, I’ll meet the conditions to advance to the next template."

Currently, his template is [Elite Combat Type]NPC, and the next level is [Advanced Senior Combat Type]NPC, similar to Nimotin.

The bonuses were considerably substantial, a 15% damage rate, plus a 10% damage cap. With this boost, Li Aozi could immediately become a version 1.0 boss-level character.

After killing a few more Mingji members on the road, Li Aozi and Du Zexin officially arrived at the door of the Ersha Treatment Room, with Du Zexin hacking into and unlocking the program. The gate of this prison holding countless so-called Ersha Infected Individuals slowly opened.

"Why... is there no one here?"

The empty treatment room was a mess, with discarded clothing and broken junk scattered on the floor, the fridge housing drugs toppled over. Li Aozi immediately spotted Dampening Westing, Cobalt Containing Metformin—drugs exclusively for Transcendents, specifically for Martial Artists, expensive yet carelessly thrown on the ground, with no one caring.

"What happened here?"

Du Zexin frowned; he deployed a drone to search for living people around, while Li Aozi crouched down. His body might be aged, but his awareness still retained much; squinting his eyes, the vision of a thrice-mutated Predator could detect subtle traces on the ground.

"There are many footprints and drag marks on the floor. Whether there is fresh blood or not is another matter, but clearly, those infected were forcibly moved."

Li Aozi’s words, combined with the observation of the drone, essentially confirmed this viewpoint.

"Do you remember how many Ersha Infected Individuals there were?" Du Zexin inquired.

"Not sure—but looking at these wards and signs of life, I guess no fewer than 300 people," Li Aozi said. "Many people here are youth, with very low development of Arcane Energy, and their bodies have been affected by Ersha, displaying deformities."

The second floor of the Shelter was significantly larger; just the space of the Ersha Treatment Room was thirty meters high, covering an area comparable to a small community, with corridors and room spaces ample enough to easily accommodate thousands.

"If that’s the case, moving so many people at once would be a big deal."

Du Zexin grew suspicious:

"But according to the terrain map, behind the factory and the Ersha treatment wards is the laboratory—it simply couldn’t accommodate 300 people?"

Li Aozi nodded his head.

Du Zexin’s reasoning was correct, as the remaining space clearly wasn’t enough to house over 300 patients.

Thus, a glaring issue emerged: where did all those people go?

Patter—Patter—

Just as the two were exchanging doubtful glances, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed.

The power went out.

Like a pianist striking keys, the lights of various electronics rhythmically shorted out one after another. Du Zexin erupted in sparks, and said in astonishment:

"Ionizing radiation causing the communications system to short circuit—what’s going on?"

Li Aozi was unconcerned: "We are underground by a nuclear reactor; high-energy radiation is pretty normal, isn’t it?"

"You’re joking. Only during a nuclear explosion, when a massive amount of electromagnetic pulses and high-energy rays are produced, do communications get interfered with. Besides, I personally modified my equipment..."

The implication was clear: a Beta Rank Mechanic who had personally enhanced his wireless communications should not see it defeated by electromagnetic pulses, not immediately anyway.

Du Zexin pressed the communication system and clicked his tongue; he picked up his rifle and warned:

"You’d better be careful, Li Aozi, something feels off here."

Whir—

Soon after, the emergency power came online. The emergency lighting in the dark and cold underground was mediocre; the excessive exposure distorted vision, making it easy to perceive everything in black and white.

Du Zexin activated the night vision system, which automatically colorized the image by AI, removing this concern, and he kept moving steadily forward.

Li Aozi, however, felt differently; his heart was pounding.

Having nearly died once, witnessed Nomi’s death, and with the enhancements from Xeno, he stayed constantly on edge, ready to throw a flying dagger at the slightest rustle.

Time ticked by, and the darkness couldn’t stop their advance; they soon searched every ward of the Ersha Treatment Room, still finding nothing.

Li Aozi picked up a sketchbook from the ground; the ballpoint pen’s drawing was extremely thin and disorderly, reminding him of Xeno.

"Xeno, are you here?" Li Aozi asked softly.

Xeno should have very powerful Psychic Power, having previously warned him, urged him to leave, and provided help. By now, he should have been closer to Xeno’s location, and the sensation should have been clearer.

Although Sovereigns, unless awakened soul-related Arcane Energy, had no chance to communicate through psychic abilities like the Mysterious Category’s Spirit Medium or Shaman, Xeno’s psychic power seemed too strong, letting him sense it.

Li Aozi even suspected she might be one of the extremely rare ’Orphans of the Void’ prodigies.