141. On the Ground
"The Tianhuan people could catch up in just half an hour." Li Aozi calculated the distance, speaking with a heavy tone: "Time is limited, Xiao Ze, stop worrying about the details. The Descendants aren't afraid of death; if the conditions are bad, so be it."
"Even so, it'll take at least an hour." Du Zexin calculated, explaining: "Hurry back. The environment here is too bad, and the main body can't stay in cold storage for long. You need to quickly transfer the consciousness back to the main body from the colonized form, or it'll be too late."
"I'll be right there."
Li Aozi's wings erupted, pushing his speed to the limit, tearing through the red and black sky of Calamity with a dazzling rainbow streak.
At ten times the speed of sound, Li Aozi, in order to save time, crashed directly into the ground, exploding in a massive cloud. The colonized form was on the verge of death, rolling a few times. Li Aozi activated [Blood of Immortality], got up, and leaped three steps at a time into the gathering point.
"What the hell!" Du Zexin, controlling a robot with a welding gun, was startled by Li Aozi's sudden appearance: "How the fuck did you get back here?"
"Rode a missile."
Li Aozi had no time for explanations, immediately finding the cold storage unit and retrieving the sealed main body, placing it on the ground. He raised his hand, and a tendril split open from his palm, piercing the neck of the main body.
[Transmitting Consciousness...]
"Ugh... Disgusting..."
Li Aozi's consciousness slowly transferred, the Pioneer's body dropping to its knees, its six compound eyes dimming, and its skin losing its sheen and elasticity.
The process of transferring consciousness took a long time, though thanks to the [Flesh Affinity] specialty, Li Aozi reduced the upload time by 30%. But even so, the entire process was still slow, as he gradually felt his dominant consciousness detach from the colonized body and reconnect to the main body, feeling the fusion of flesh and consciousness, stabilizing.
During this long process, Li Aozi could only see a flood of system messages:
[Omega Energy compatibility low; your second colonized form 'Zhen' has developed genetic anomalies]
[Your second colonized form 'Zhen' has chromosomal fragmentation; lifespan reduced by 20 years]
[Your second colonized form 'Zhen' has damaged telomeres; lifespan reduced by 35 years]
[Warning: Your second colonized form 'Zhen' shows signs of genetic overload; Omega Energy use prohibited]
[Your second colonized form 'Zhen' immune system has collapsed; organs are melting...]
[Your second colonized form 'Zhen' has been destroyed]
—Poor second colonized form 'Zhen', withstood the Tianhuan army, survived the White Knight, but couldn't withstand Li Aozi's genetic overload.
The colonized form was completely scrapped, its genes shattered like a packet of instant noodles crushed under a car. Even attempting repairs would be futile. Better to just replace it.
Li Aozi had no attachment to the loss of the colonized form. Better it broke now than in the middle of a battle later. At least this way, there was no threat to his life.
Li Aozi's main body opened its eyes, immediately pulling out the nerve tendrils from his neck, and his first response was to ask Du Zexin:
"Have the Tianhuan people arrived?"
Before Du Zexin could answer, the sound of missiles whistled through the sky.
Boom!
The missile landed in the player's defensive position, instantly putting dozens of players into a near-death state. Fortunately, there were 3,000 players gathered here, so there were enough hands to pull up and save a few.
"Got it."
Du Zexin said nothing, turning back to continue his work.
Li Aozi glanced at the time. It had already been 27 minutes; the Tianhuan forces were moving faster than he expected.
"Aozi!"
Alexia had just retreated from the front lines, her face covered in soot and blood. When she saw Li Aozi stand up, she immediately ran over and gave him a strong bear hug.
"Thank goodness you're okay. You look even more handsome than before."
She gestured, her dark golden eyes flashing as she smiled happily:
"You suddenly said you were going to space, and I got scared. But since you're fine, that's all that matters."
"I'm fine, Erich." Li Aozi patted Alexia's shoulder. "You've fought hard. Go rest and get some treatment."
"You need rest more than I do if you're heading to space, right?" As Alexia spoke, a shell landed in the crowd, blowing the players off their feet. Her expression turned serious as she rushed off immediately.
"Hey, why do I keep getting blown up twice in a row…"
Caramel Snail was on the verge of tears. He had just taken a task to deliver shells, pushing a little cart by himself, only to be bombed by the Tianhuan forces twice in a row.
When he goes to space later, he should probably stay low. He only had one life left today, and now it was as good as wasted.
"Hey, Sanny Tower, Knife Guy, Medico, Doctor—help me!"
He waved desperately, as his near-death state ticked away second by second. But the player doctors were all too busy. The recent bombardment had affected a lot of big names and guild leaders, and no one had time for a lone wolf player like him.
Just as Caramel Snail was about to lose hope, a figure rushed through the smoke. A striking woman with dark golden eyes quickly reached his side. Seeing his poor condition, she unhesitatingly pulled out a stimulant and injected him with a shot.
The stimulant immediately brought Caramel Snail back from the brink of death. He looked up at her gratefully, "Thank you, you're an angel."
"Angel?" Alexia smiled, shaking her head. "If there really are angels, have a look for me when you get to heaven, okay?"
Caramel Snail was deeply moved. After playing for so many days, this was the first time he'd encountered such a kind and gentle female character. He hurriedly begged:
"Please tell me your name. I'll post it on the forums so everyone knows there's an angelic character in this game. You're a hundred, a thousand times better than that asshole Li Aozi who just PUA's us all the time!"
"Huh?" Alexia looked confused.
Before Caramel Snail could say more, Li Aozi kicked him:
"Get up, Snail."
"Ah, Li Aozi. You're finally back."
Caramel Snail immediately switched sides without hesitation, pulling out a necklace:
"I went through a lot of trouble to get (steal) this necklace for you. Li Aozi, I hope you like it (at a big discount)."
"Oh really?" Li Aozi flipped his hair, chuckling: "I remember you were supposed to be going to space with me. Why aren't you obediently waiting in the biochem pool? Or is my biochem pool not as comfortable as a battlefield full of smoke?"
"No, no." Caramel Snail quickly denied it, "I'm going back right now. I'm the best at crawling."
He ran a few steps, then suddenly turned back, holding up a bullet necklace:
"I assembled this myself. It's not valuable, but I think it looks pretty cool. I'm giving it to you (could you lower the Omega Energy rental fee a bit?)."
Poor Snail, continually manipulated by Li Aozi's PUA, completely at his mercy.