041. Gravity x100, Even God Kneels
Li Aozi's intel had been thoroughly investigated.
Arrogant, self-centered, stubborn, a liar, ruthless, cold-blooded—this was Law III's evaluation of him.
Benjesson talked tough, but deep down, he knew that Li Aozi's behavior wasn't simply reckless arrogance.
From the moment he set fire to the bank, it was clear he was prepared to escape to the outside world. He didn't care about his family, which was understandable—whoever ended up with a family like his probably did something unforgivable in their past life.
Benjesson cautiously held his blade. Before being a [Warrior], he was primarily a ruthless agent. His combat style was never about direct confrontation—the real trump card lay with the [Biochemist] Zuo Jiajun behind him.
Facing Li Aozi head-on was a bit of a fool's errand.
Li Aozi was someone who had infiltrated the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization by self-harm, awakened Omega Energy through others' methods, and defeated Biogen Kong. He might not be the smartest, but his action capability and cunning were top-notch.
Benjesson didn't believe that Li Aozi was simply streaming for fun. With the palace surrounded, if they really wanted to attack, Sullute Palace would fall sooner or later.
Not to mention, the Biogen Kong that Li Aozi defeated could easily dismantle the palace, and his combat prowess displayed on the streets earlier was proof enough that he had the ability.
So, why was Li Aozi holding back, streaming while eating and drinking on the battlefield?
Benjesson's mind raced, quickly arriving at a possibility:
'He's trying to distract us. There's probably an assassin heading for Grand Duke Gamos right now.'
As he and Zuo Jiajun entered the garden, Li Aozi also leisurely walked in, his carefree demeanor only reinforcing Benjesson's belief.
'Li Aozi is stalling for time!'
The implanted communication device instantly relayed the information to the others. The two Law III agents inside the palace hesitated but quickly understood their captain's intention. They immediately began searching for infiltrators within the palace.
Good, just like that.
Benjesson carefully concealed his emotions, dragging his blade along the ground. Since Li Aozi wanted to buy time, he'd let him.
"That's all for today's stream, folks. See you next time—hopefully, we'll see something other than war."
Li Aozi ended the livestream, his gaze sweeping the area, estimating that the time was almost right.
There was still no word from Alexia. While he understood that maintaining radio silence might prevent detection, Li Aozi was worried about unexpected situations and decided to get involved personally.
Conveniently, he was full and his Omega Energy was continuously converting.
Benjesson estimated the distance between him and Li Aozi, and suddenly, his gaze sharpened.
'Zuo Jiajun, deploy the toxic smoke!'
Bang—bang—!
Two biochemical toxin grenades were launched, exploding mid-air, spreading a yellow-green toxic fog across the entire field of view, effectively blocking Li Aozi's escape route.
The yellow-green fog obstructed Li Aozi's vision. He slowly raised his hand, parting the mist with gravity, holding his breath to avoid inhaling the toxins.
Just like that!
Benjesson's pupils contracted, and data streams flowed rapidly through his cybernetic eye, connecting to the cloud for computation.
[Militia Peak——Overclock!]
The heat vents behind his ears emitted steam, and his figure blurred as if time itself had stopped.
Benjesson swiftly drew a large-caliber revolver, emptying its chambers in an instant. As the bullets sparked from the barrel, he had already circled around Li Aozi, as if there were ten Benjessons simultaneously firing various weapons at him.
——Overclock end!
Li Aozi's gray pupils gleamed with golden rings. Crossing his arms over his chest, gravity flipped, instantly deflecting all incoming rounds and sending Benjesson flying. But Benjesson quickly adjusted mid-air, barely retreating two steps, hovering less than half a meter above the ground.
In a flash, he stabilized, aligning his body and pressing his left hand's fingers against four key acupuncture points.
"Hmph! Yi! Ha! Tya!"
As the four points were activated, Benjesson initiated a breathing technique that was bizarre to most, instantly channeling Qi through his nervous system, making his muscles harder and more impenetrable.
Crane Style • Indomitable Stance!
Stance is crucial for a [Warrior]. By channeling Qi through the body, it temporarily prevents conventional control effects.
Gravity is no exception.
Zuo Jiajun didn't want to miss this rare opportunity. He provided suppressing fire, his arms splitting open, revealing branch-like veins. Blood vessels under pressure ejected growing bone spikes.
Now, there was no time for Li Aozi to adjust gravity!
Even if gravity is faster than light, human reaction time is limited.
Simultaneously, Benjesson's cybernetic arm blades surged with Qi, emitting a fierce blade glow, resembling fangs of white flame, instantly closing in on Li Aozi!
Make your choice!
Benjesson's tactical planning was impeccable.
If Li Aozi tried to dodge Benjesson's attack, he'd be hit by Zuo Jiajun's bone spikes—which had delayed poison and gene-corrupting effects. If he took the hit, Li Aozi, reliant on Omega Energy, would be unable to use it for a short time due to gene contamination, giving Benjesson the chance to tear him apart.
If he dodged Zuo Jiajun's bone spikes, that would be even better. With Benjesson's expertise as a Beta-tier [Warrior], if he caught Li Aozi, the latter would be shredded in an instant.
Benjesson had observed that Li Aozi's gravity could only focus in one direction at a time. When rapidly switching targets, his body couldn't move and required hand gestures.
Benjesson was a shrewd agent, never acting rashly without assurance. His apparent outrage was merely a morale boost.
He dared to strike because he had discerned Li Aozi's weakness!
Whatever choice Li Aozi made, it was too late.
"Blame your arrogance!"
To ensure victory, Benjesson had preemptively primed a flashbang on his chest. Even if he failed, the shockwave would stun Li Aozi, and if that didn't work, the 500,000-lumen flash would blind him.
Sure enough—Li Aozi chose to slightly sidestep the bone spikes.
How arrogant, thinking his Omega Energy would let him continue fighting!
"Fool! Your reign of terror ends here!"
Benjesson's lips curled into a grin. As the flashbang detonated on his chest, his blade closed in on Li Aozi's neck.
Slash!
The dual blades sliced through Li Aozi's neck effortlessly, with the searing light cauterizing the wound. The shockwave and intense light didn't affect Benjesson's stance.
Perfect.
Benjesson passed by Li Aozi, thrusting his blade through the falling head. Casually turning, he landed smoothly as Zuo Jiajun rushed forward, whipping out eel-like tendrils from his palms, delivering high-voltage bio-electric shocks to Li Aozi's corpse!
Zap!
The headless body convulsed violently as the tendrils overloaded it with electricity, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh, standing tall amidst the yellow-green toxic fog.
Benjesson, ever cautious, turned to use a life detector, confirming that Li Aozi's brain and heart had stopped before relaxing.
"Zuo Jiajun, don't disperse the toxic fog yet. Let's pretend to fight for a while longer."
Scouting, first strike, control, kill, finishing move, verifying life signs—a flawless tactical execution!
Benjesson thought, achieving victory against a stronger foe with such precision and caution was rare even in the 300-year history of Law III.
Reality is reality—villains don't waste words, and after killing, they make sure to scramble the brain and shoot the heart again.
Zuo Jiajun and Benjesson, having reached this conclusion, breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn't easy... It seemed simple, but if Li Aozi had reacted a fraction faster, they'd have been doomed.
Fortunately, Li Aozi's arrogance finally cost him.
Fearing Li Aozi might fake death, Zuo Jiajun grabbed a submachine gun and riddled his body with bullets. His fingertips extended biochemical claws, ripping open Li Aozi's chest and pulling out his organs, finally putting his mind at ease.
"Reporting to headquarters, we have killed Li Aozi!"
Benjesson proudly reported to his superiors:
"Repeat, we have killed Li Aozi. Confirmed kill—"
Clink.
"Hey."
Just as Zuo Jiajun and Benjesson were about to turn around and leave, a hand suddenly rested on their shoulders. Before they could react, the headless body of the "dead" Li Aozi squeezed in between them, casually slinging his arms over their shoulders.
Without a head, Li Aozi relied on the vibration of his vocal cords within his neck to complain:
"So boring, I really thought you guys could kill me."
The combo attack from the two Law III agents was indeed well-coordinated, but in the end, it didn't even deplete three-quarters of his mimetic health bar.
[Gravity • Contact] provided an 18% damage reduction, while the [Biochemist] sub-class granted him a mimetic health bar with 2000 points. Additionally, the [Gene Integration: Quantum Information Hub] removed the brain's weakness.
Li Aozi originally planned to enter a near-death state to trick his enemies, then use [Eternal Blood] to revive with full health and kill the two when they let their guard down.
The pair's perfect coordination and precise tactics even surprised Li Aozi.
However, attacks that can't penetrate defenses are essentially non-existent.
Zuo Jiajun and Benjesson instinctively began to struggle as Li Aozi held them close. Zuo Jiajun immediately prepared to discharge electricity, while Benjesson, acting more directly, swung an elbow backward, aiming for Li Aozi's kidney.
"Kneel."
Li Aozi's voice resonated from his severed artery, and before the two Law III agents could speak, their bodies instantly dropped to their knees. Even as Beta-tiers, they still collapsed like broken dogs under his command.
"I—surren—der!"
Benjesson didn't hesitate much. Even with a [Warrior]'s body, he couldn't withstand 40 times gravity and promptly surrendered. His skin compressed by the 20 times gravity, his entire body shrunk by 10 centimeters, and the bones in his legs shattered instantly, while the implants in his body broke apart, starting to short-circuit. If not for the Qi reinforcement in his neck, it would've snapped on the spot.
The [Biochemist] fared slightly better, but Zuo Jiajun couldn't utter a word. His entire skeleton had been modified with biochemical materials, and his muscle fibers were five times stronger than spider silk. Even so, he couldn't withstand such immense gravitational force. His ribs, like a crucifix, pierced through his lungs and stabbed into the ground, his body reduced to a gelatinous consistency as he collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Li Aozi didn't let them off easily. Scanning their combat information, he confirmed their identities and noted that neither of them had a good future.
"Mr. Benjesson, the coup you instigated in the Republic of Halbara resulted in 20,000 deaths and displaced 110,000 people."
Benjesson's face turned pale, but his complexion was already purple from the pressure, leaving him too weak to argue.
Li Aozi then turned to the other [Biochemist]:
"Mr. Zuo Jiajun, oh dear, this is even worse. You were once a member of the Abyss Heavy Industries, weren't you? Does that mean you know 'Pioneer' N4?"
Zuo Jiajun's consciousness was already fading, and he instinctively shook his head.
Abyss Heavy Industries, a supporter of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization, had its core leader 'Pioneer' N4, the most outstanding [Biochemist] on the entire Blue Star, and very likely Zuo Jiajun's mentor.
Li Aozi glanced at his status—he had an 'Erosion' effect, losing 2% of his maximum health per second. Fortunately, it was magic damage, and as a [Mutant], his magic resistance was strong. Once out of combat, the passive healing from [Eternal Blood] would offset it.
Since they've admitted it, there's nothing more to say.
[Life Severance]
Tendrils shot out from his palm, piercing into their brains, and began frantically siphoning their life force.