126. "Go home" (Part 2)
"It was them, they saved us..."
With the defeat of Bio King Kong and the professor, the surrounding people cheered. Someone immediately noticed Li Aozi and Du Zexin, discussing and approaching them.
"I recognize him—the professor just mentioned, that's Mr. Li Aozi, a level 5 infected."
Someone recognized him and said admiringly:
"Li Aozi, such an old man—I remember he saved us from the White Fang Gang before."
"You saved us! Mr. Li Aozi! You defeated the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization!"
"He's a hero from the outer land!" The infected from the outer land cheered, "Now it's our turn to help you!"
Li Aozi couldn't speak anymore. He let the infected lift him up, and they dragged Du Zexin out of his armor, moving towards the outside under Du Zexin's guidance.
The genetic burden was too heavy; he didn't even have the strength to understand how much Nomi's Omega Energy had evolved, his eyelids drooping, drowsy.
No, there's one more thing!
"Snow..." Li Aozi gritted his teeth, shook his head, and said, "The baby... don't forget the baby..."
"Baby?"
"It's 626, right? It seems she's not here."
People hurriedly called out to confirm, and finally, a blonde girl shouted, "Here! I have a baby here!"
The people around Li Aozi quickly made way for the girl wrapped in nurse's clothes to approach.
The girl carefully handed the baby to Li Aozi. It was a thin-faced baby girl with a circle of stitches on her head, her skin wrinkled and yellowish, looking like a little old man, not pretty at all.
But on such a haggard and weak face, there was a pair of big, bright eyes, flickering with ghostly blue light.
As soon as the baby girl saw Li Aozi, she smiled.
'Thank you, Liozi.'
The psychic resonance directly echoed in his mind.
Li Aozi forced a smile:
"You got it wrong, Snow. It's not Liozi, it's Li Aozi."
'No, I need to thank you.'
Snow blinked:
'Thank you, Li Aozi.'
[Your actions made the other party extremely grateful. 'Snow' favorability +301]
[Current favorability]: 501 (Respect)
"You all, go to the third floor, to the Krasnaya platform, there's a subway there."
"Subway?" The girl and the surrounding infected were momentarily confused, "What's a subway?"
"It means the Subway Brotherhood is willing to take you on a trip, at least to the central station, where they'll arrange work, food, and clothes for you."
Li Aozi forced a smile and said:
"You should go home."
Go home.
This word was like a bomb sinking to the bottom of a lake, causing a short silence followed by an explosion of noise and ripples.
"Go home..."
Someone murmured:
"I actually have a chance to leave the Abyss."
"I miss my mom; I shouldn't have run away... Does she still remember me? Better if she doesn't!"
"My family already froze to death in the outer land, joining the Subway Brotherhood isn't bad."
The infected from the outer land and the Frost-Plated Republic showed different reactions, but they all shared one remarkable consistency: freedom.
Li Aozi's limbs and senses were filled with fatigue, his pupils dilated, he mustered all his strength to open the system panel:
[The titan has fallen, the king has perished, the Abyss will no longer be remembered.]
[Main quest: "Remember Them" has met initial settlement conditions]
[Reward Settlement]:
A. "Eliminate All Evils"—kill all remaining members of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization, the more brutal the means, the richer the rewards
Current progress: 109/109
Reward: Title [Catastrophe]
Title effect: 10% chance to deal a fatal blow (triple damage, weak point attack, high probability of death) to humanoid enemies
Outer land reputation +500 (Respect).
Note: The Frost-Plated Republic will permanently list you as wanted and revoke your citizenship.
B. "Teach Them Destruction"—completely kill "Abyss Professor." For each biochemical clone destroyed, receive a perfect reset of mutation options.
Current progress:
'Thriving One': 1/1
'Decaying One': 1/1
Bio King Kong: 1/1
Abyss Professor's body: 1/1
Reward: Perfect reset of mutation options *4 (guaranteed to refresh rare grade or higher mutation projects)
2 million experience points;
Please choose two specialties as your reward:
[Perpetual • Autocratic]—you have a strong personality charisma and terrifying ambition, when you are the team leader, others' favorability will sync with yours, your team members cannot question your decisions, even if wrong, they will unhesitatingly believe in them.
Perpetual effect: When your main attribute is [Charisma], all your attribute checks will rely solely on [Charisma].
[Absolute Rationality]—compared to you, machines seem humane, immune to all mind-reading and charm effects, and [Intelligence] benefits +20%
[Flesh Affinity]—you are like an angel to carbon-based and silicon-based life forms, very easy to be liked by them. This unique talent allows you to use implants and gene weapons more easily.
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[I should choose [Autocratic] and [Absolute Rationality].]
Li Aozi thought:
[Autocratic] is his must-have specialty and the most important part of the "Unremembered" task reward.
There are no weak perpetual specialties, only suitable and unsuitable ones, and they are always beneficial.
This specialty is essential for any team leader, ruler, or hero.
But the most compatible one is the [Domination] profession, because [Charisma] is their main attribute, and the perpetual effect can always be triggered.
The perpetual effect of [Autocratic] is too compatible with his style and professional system, especially since with [Personality Simulation], he doesn't need to increase [Intelligence] to cultivate the secondary profession of [Biochemist].
As for [Absolute Rationality]—this specialty is immune to all mind-reading and charm effects, making it very useful in many mid-stage confrontations with [Missionaries]' mental probes, and can be said to be quite cost-effective.
Of course, this specialty has a non-negative negative effect—loss of humanity.
Just like the Abyss Professor.
No bottom line, no empathy, maybe even losing basic desires in the end.
Without desires, how terrifying would that be?
Not caring about one's gender, race, no beliefs, no enjoyment, no goal to strive for, unable to distinguish ugliness, and naturally unable to appreciate beauty—what would there be to care about?
Players certainly don't care about such negative effects, losing humanity, but are players human?
From the player's perspective, they're just facing a bunch of data, driving recklessly on the sidewalk, and then raising their weapon, shooting at office workers, laborers, and pedestrians picking up their children from school.
No pressure.
Li Aozi himself had done such things, as had most players, releasing real-life stress in the game.
He had even blown up planets, watching them destroy with his own eyes—but there was no guilt.
But now...
Li Aozi closed his eyes, feeling his wounds slowly heal, cells proliferating, blood flowing through his heart.
Warmth, a bit itchy.
Even with his eyes closed, he felt someone lift his hand, covering his hand back, comforting him.
"If I had no humanity, with my behavior, Nomi wouldn't want to save me."
Li Aozi closed his eyes, yet the world still came to him.
The infected from the outer land and the Frost-Plated Republic surrounded him, calling his name, calling him a hero.
Snow was genuinely grateful to him.
Du Mei also gave him a thumbs up as he passed by.
—That guy was so aloof in the previous life.
Although they had nothing to give him except the Omega Energy, Li Aozi, leaning on the makeshift support of people, seemed to have gained something priceless.
Li Aozi took a deep breath.
[You chose [Autocratic] and [Flesh Affinity]]
He didn't want to become as disgusting as the professor, Nomi definitely wouldn't like that.
More importantly, Li Aozi felt he would hate that bottomless self.
After all this, Li Aozi finally collapsed.
People shouted, "We're going home! We're going home!", hugging and kissing strangers, the pale and healthy skin contrasting, showing no signs of their different worlds.
"It's really unimaginable..."
Du Zexin dragged himself onto the train, having taken the special medicine, he could finally speak normally, though it would take a long time for his body to recover.
He looked at the harmonious atmosphere in the carriage, with Seria and Zhou Liefeng guiding, a total of 121 surviving infected were orderly placed in the rear freight carriage.
They didn't make a fuss, quietly sitting on boxes, planks, and the floor, young men laying down comfortable straw and clothes for the weak, Seria running back and forth with her rudimentary medical skills, distributing food to everyone.
Although these infected had lost their Omega Energy, their eyes were full of hope.
Seria and Zhou Liefeng whispered to each other from time to time, seemingly discussing how to proceed with so many people, while the Rose Army's Jane Neria looked thoughtfully at the rear carriage.
Du Zexin couldn't help but say:
"Outer land people, the people of the Four Nations, are actually communicating and cooperating together at this moment."
"Like those at the bottom of society and capital, they have no homeland."
Li Aozi's bed was next to Du Zexin's, both converted from train seats.
His hand was on an IV drip, and due to extreme exhaustion, Li Aozi didn't even have the strength to open the system panel to check his status, his eyelids drooping, barely able to find the status bar from the dense data:
[Gene Overload]—in a weakened state, all attributes decreased by 50%, unable to move, unable to use Omega Energy.
"You're right, Li Aozi."
Du Zexin heard this and smiled knowingly:
"Mr. Dai Weilin thought so too. If he could come out and lead the people of the Frost-Plated Republic, one day, we could have the outer land people and the Frost-Plated people living equally under the artificial sun..."
"It's not artificial—"
Li Aozi wanted to raise his head to say something, but the movement of his facial muscles and neck made him pass out immediately.
Fatigue washed over him like a tide, not collapsing in the battle against Bio King Kong, but finally being brought down by a snide remark.
"Let him rest."
Qiu Ran sat by Li Aozi's bed, reaching out to smooth his wrinkles, her gaze deep, softly saying:
"He has already given too much and deserves some rest."
The electric motor roared, and the "Youth" armored train retracted its pedals, leaving the subway station. The fierce steel war machine rushed out of the underground, braving the cold wind and snow, tearing through the darkness, moving forward without hesitation.