by <unknown>
A muscular man with four arms stood on the top of a crystal tank while holding four cannons in his hands, raining bullets from above. But the next moment, he was blown into the sky together with the crystal tank, turning into a dazzling fireball.
Two crystal tanks that were both installed with heavy crystal cannons charged at each other, neither of them giving in. While running, they opened fire at each other until they collided brutally and turned into two clusters of burning garbage.
One of the bandits who was wearing a broken crystal suit, despite the countless strikes of electric arcs, still walked to the front of the lightning tower under the support of unknown forces. Then, exerting his strength, he blew the lightning tower apart and knocked it to the ground!
The sinners in the Land of Sins might not have the highest combat ability, but their brutal, ruthless ways of fighting and their fearless, animalistic vibe were etched into Li Yao's memory.
Even the qi-trainers on Iron Plateau could not be compared to the brutal men that had been carefully refined in the 'laboratory'.
Almost all the sinners had been soaked in the atmosphere of blood and violence, unable to free themselves. In the battle formation, only a few people maintained their indifference.
They were the 'players', the Immortal Cultivators.
On the chaotic battlefield, Li Yao locked onto more than a hundred and eighty Immortal Cultivator players.
Some had been discovered during the observation and testing over the past month, and some exposed themselves because of the unique air in them—the air of condescension, casualness, carelessness—suggesting that they considered the locals in the Land of Sins to be nothing more than ants that they could trick and play blatantly.
Chapter 2002: Nether Realm |
"It's time to go!"
To carry out the plan that he had prepared for a long time, Li Yao had performed brand-new modifications on himself and expanded his body size into the size of a light crystal tank. Mixed in the army that was marching like a tide, he approached the heated battlefield at a high speed.
Inside his soul, gold, glittering virtual battlefields popped up like soap bubbles, as he deduced the changes in the battlefield quickly and predicted the strategies of the attackers and the defenders as well as the power of the firing points in the battlefield. In the end, he came to a conclusion. "It is unlikely that the first attack will break into Liberty City. There is no need for us to charge at the front part. We can preserve our strength and pretend that we are working hard from behind!"
It was the first time for both Han Te and Liu Li to take part in a battle of such a scale. They were already scared out of wits by the world-overturning bombardments, the deafening explosions, and the violent monsters next to them. Even their dream of going to Manjusaka had been tossed aside. They hurriedly nodded and hid behind Li Yao.
The mysterious Xin Xiaoqi was rather experienced on the battlefield despite her young age. She also hid behind Li Yao stealthily and gestured at the two little fellows. "Don't go forward and get killed. Just cheer for them from here. Such a gory battle is not for us to participate in!"
Red Viper, Black Spear, and Flash Point—the three players—had long charged forward and performed the most splendid dances of death in the depths of the battlefield.
But they did not expect their 'servant soldiers' to follow them closely in the first place. Instead, they focused all their attention on the 'main quest'.
Cannons were roaring, smoke was spreading, and the blasts from plasma guns, force fields, and spiritual waves were colliding, raising intense interference. Li Yao sensed the spiritual waves in the air keenly and discovered that the local area network at least on the Fist King's side had been cut off in many places where the conflicts were fiercest.
It was safe to assume that the network of Liberty City as well as that of the Immortal Cultivators was in a similar state, and the information transmission must have been greatly affected.
It was time to act alone.
As it happened, one of the cannon balls crashed not far away from him, raising enormous fire and smoke that blocked the sight of the three players. Li Yao immediately took the opportunity to deviate from his previous direction, pretending that he was blown away by the airwaves.
Calculating the gap of the relative peace on the battlefield, he unleashed an invisible force shield without a sound, keeping away the bullets and electric arcs that were darting at him and the two little fellows, while he searched for the most suitable target.
On his way, he locked onto some players who were engaged in a fierce fight, but they were mostly in squads of three to five. Li Yao was not confident in capturing all of them without raising any attention.
Some players were by themselves, but there was no smoke above their heads. Li Yao was not sure if the Immortal Cultivators would notice him when observing from the sky. He did not dare act recklessly.
At last, he finally found the perfect target.
It was an Immortal Cultivator in a silver crystal suit with two crystal blades, who was acting alone and slaughtering at a super-high efficiency.
Right next to him was a floating airborne fire platform that was falling and exploding like a hot-air balloon.
From the black clouds that were rising nonstop, electric arcs were dancing in cracking sounds. They were enough to block any prying from the midair.
Li Yao was certain that the guy was an Immortal Cultivator because he had seen the guy before.
The guy was not a member of Liberty City but on the Fist King's side. He had been seen many times in the Fist King's camp.
Li Yao had heard the three members of the Red Viper Squad secretly call the guy a 'crazy screamer' and remind each other to stay away from him because those people absolutely did not care about sides or quests.
What Li Yao saw today proved their warning. The guy was a mad slaughter machine. It seemed that whether or not Liberty City could be conquered was not important, and what mattered was starting a massacre in the most bizarre and unexpected way—both on enemies and allies!
When Li Yao locked onto the Immortal Cultivator, he had just turned into a sharp light and penetrated a crystal tank, slashing it in half from the middle and raising an intense explosion.
The men on fire that were fleeing in a hurry from the explosion broke in half in midair because they had also been cut by his blade auras.
The Immortal Cultivator seemed to have been injected with excessive exhilarants, or maybe it was because he was a natural-born homicidal pyromaniac. He was even dancing and roaring in excitement.
"So arrogant? It's you then!"
Li Yao extended his mechanical arms and picked up Han Te and Liu Li, tossing them into a sealed protective cabin in the front of his iron shell. Then he accelerated and charged at the Immortal Cultivator.
After a boom, Li Yao detonated the crystal bombs that had been applied to his shell, which released strong sound and visual effects. He turned into a dazzling fireball.
For those who were unaware of the truth, the spiritual puppet seemed to have been hit by the cannons far away and lost control of itself, ending up as a burning remnant that was rolling randomly.
Such remnants were everywhere to be seen on the chaotic battlefield. Li Yao was as inconspicuous as a fallen leaf in a forest.
The Immortal Cultivator did not think too much of Li Yao, either. Calculating Li Yao's route of rolling, he stepped aside, planning to look for the next target to kill after the dodge.
But out of his expectations, a second explosion that was even fiercer burst out when Li Yao passed him. The fireball expanded by three times in the moment, swallowing the Immortal Cultivator.
It seemed to be just a minor 'accident' on the battlefield.
However, inside the silver crystal suit, the Immortal Cultivator's pupils were constricting violently.
He sensed interference as powerful as a solar storm.
Including his telepathic thoughts, all his methods of communica
tion with the outside world were cut off.
Meanwhile, countless cold and powerful telepathic thoughts pierced his brain brutally like tentacles that were full of sucking discs and sharp teeth. He was on the verge of screaming in agony.
Not only did he lose control of his crystal suit, he was also unable to move his body, his fingers, or any of his muscles.
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
The powerful telepathic thoughts were condensed into a sharp blade and churned his internal organs hard, mincing the organs that were of paramount importance to him into a pulp. Even the connection between the 'second brain' at the end of his spine and the 'first brain' at the top had been cut off!
He had been at the peak of excitement and madness previously, like a god of slaughter that had everything under his control, but he had fallen into the darkest and coldest abyss in an instant, turning into a pile of rotten meat at the mercy of anyone. The appalling changes happened so fast that the powerful telepathic thoughts had stabbed into his brain before he made any reaction!
"Argh!"
The Immortal Cultivator's pupils dispersed like broken glass as he let out inaudible screams.
Boom!
Li Yao crashed into the floating firing platform that had already hit the ground, with flames that could cause no actual damage burning on his body. He also released a stinky smell that even the respirators could not filter. The fire and smoke became the best camouflage for him.
The Immortal Cultivator was stuffed to another special sealed cabin at the back of his iron shell, where he crouched in the fetus position.
The lead blocks around the sealed cabin that were carved with abundant blockage rune arrays were enough to prevent the transmission of all waves and information.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Li Yao's soul surged out. With the skills of remote manipulation, he immediately removed the crystal suit on the Immortal Cultivator's body and dissected it into the most fundamental components. After locating the communication unit, he thought for a moment and decided to impose his own barrier on it instead of destroying it directly.
He then examined the Immortal Cultivator's body and took two invisible lenses that were as thin as paper from the guy's eyeballs. Judging from the flashing light on them, they were obviously capable of receiving tremendous information, too.
Li Yao was finally reassured. He hovered in front of the center of the Immortal Cultivator's forehead before streams of bloodiness crawled into the Immortal Cultivator's head.
The Immortal Cultivator's internal organs had been blown up by the power of his soul, and he was suffering serious massive hemorrhages. His brain was under high control, which made it impossible for him to repair his body with spiritual energy. He was on the verge of death.
However strong-willed one was, their survival instincts would crush their mental defense lines again and again when they were about to die.
It was needless to mention that the mental devil was also good at hundreds of cruelest approaches. After absorbing the heritage of the extraterrestrial devils, it could also build the most bizarre illusions inside a human being's head as almost a strengthened version of an extraterrestrial devil. Li Yao was not worried that he might not confess at all.
In the Immortal Cultivator's consciousness that was almost collapsing, he was somehow soaked in an intense and stinky ocean of blood, from which countless skinny and ulcerous hands extended out and snatched him, trying to drown him in the blood.
Before him, a magnificent devil whose head reached the sky was standing and staring at him coldly.
The devil had eyes all over its face, and the coldness that beamed out was almost burning up his flesh and bones, obliterating him for all eternity.
In the bloody sky further far away, countless raging ghosts were screaming unstoppably like a gale that would never stop.
He vaguely had a feeling that he had been tortured for ten thousand years in the bloody ocean, and the torture would go on for another ten thousand years!
The Immortal Cultivator could not help but feel shocked and devastated, completely losing his ability to think.
"What's your name?" Li Yao and the mental devil controlled the giant in the illusion to open the bloody mouth on the abdomen and bellow like thunder. "Why have you fallen to the Nether Realm?"
In fact, Li Yao did not really care what the Immortal Cultivator's name was. It was merely a point of breakthrough. As long as he confessed his name dutifully, everything that followed would be easier.
The Immortal Cultivator hesitated for a moment. His broken willpower and his scattered ability of thinking were still resisting futilely.
The devil grinned hideously. The sharp claws and the tentacles inside the bloody ocean scratched the Immortal Cultivator's drowned body softly.
Chapter 2003: Slaughter Moment |
The creepy touching was even more terrifying than piercing through his body. The Immortal Cultivator's face shattered like glass before it completely fell apart.
"I am Liao Fei, nicknamed 'Unparalleled Blade'. I was in the middle of the live stream of 'Slaughter Moment'. How did I fall into this uncanny 'Nether Realm'?" Liao Fei, the Immortal Cultivator, cried out. "What the f*ck is this? Another reality game introduced recently?"
"What is 'Slaughter Moment'?" Li Yao asked.
Liao Fei's eyes widened warily. "'Slaughter Moment' is just 'Slaughter Moment'. Everybody in the Imperium knows that. Even the people of the Covenant Alliance know of it. How do you want me to explain it? Or maybe—"
Looking at the enormous giant in the ocean of blood and the overwhelming wraths in the sky in confusion, he suddenly put on an expression of epiphany. "Are you a native of this place, a sinner in the Land of Sins?"
Extreme fury and regret immediately beamed out of his face, but Li Yao simply raised a tide of blood and slapped his face hard, almost blowing his head up.
"I am not a sinner in the Land of Sins," Li Yao said. "I was forced to land upon the planet on a meteorite by accident. I know that this is a planet under your control. I know this place used to be called the Martial Meritocrats Sector. I know the Imperium of True Human Beings is outside. I… almost know everything."
While Li Yao was talking, the mental devil corrupted and infected Liao Fei's soul without him knowing, forcing him to be trapped in Li Yao's logic and completely believe what Li Yao said subconsciously.
"What?" Liao Fei blinked in confusion. After pondering in secret for a long time, his eyes widened further, and he stammered, "It's impossible. What are you exactly to have such weird forces? Are you… not a human being?"
"Well…"
Liao Fei struggled hard. "Whatever alien species you are, this is a world of human beings. This is the powerful Imperium of True Human Beings! If you dare act recklessly, you will only end up caged in a laboratory of human beings to be sliced and studied, which will certainly be a feeling that you can never imagine!"
Li Yao was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the bones of the Immortal Cultivator would be so tough.
However, the next second, Liao Fei showed his cowardly appearance. He said in a low voice, "However, if you mean no harm to human beings, don't kill me. We can talk nicely!"
Li Yao thought of something and simply pretended that what the guy said was true. "Have a lot of my own kind visited the world of human beings before?"
The mental devil whispered to the depths of Liao Fei's soul in secret. "Perhaps it is really an alien species. This is bad. However, it wouldn't hurt to chat with the creature for a moment. Chances are that there will be unexpected benefits, right?"
Liao Fei shuttered and said, "There are indeed a myriad of alien species that have been defeated or captured by the Imperium, but I do not know whether or not they are your own kind. I have never seen any alien species with my own eyes. They are just stories for me."
"Fine…" After considering for a moment, Li Yao said, "You do not need to know what I am. All you need to know is that I am very curious about t
he world of human beings. I was heavily wounded due to some accidents and accidentally fell to this planet to treat the wounds, only to discover that this was a weird, artificial world. I need to figure out the environment I am in before I make plans."
"You are in a terrible environment right now," Liao Fei said. "This is a planet that is closely monitored by the Imperium. Our men are everywhere in the sky and on the ground. There's no way that you can get out of here without my help."
Li Yao smiled. "That's good. I want to ask you a few questions about this world and the Imperium of True Human Beings. No classified information will be involved at all. As long as you answer the questions dutifully, perhaps I'll consider setting you free or even reside inside you and transform your body, granting you the most unparalleled strength!"
"What?" Liao Fei was so overjoyed that his voice was shaking. "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Li Yao said casually. "Now that you have guessed that I am a brand-new intelligent life form other than mankind, you should know that I do not want to be caged in a laboratory of the Imperium of True Human Beings to be sliced and studied. Residing inside you to learn about the world is the most convenient approach and will do you a lot of good, too. It is a win-win, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Liao Fei's eyes shook again and again. "However, I really do not know any classified information. All I know is the news that everybody knows. The intelligence that I can confess must've been grasped by the Covenant Alliance!"
To this moment, he was still suspicious that he had been captured by the Covenant Alliance.
If the enemy was not from the Covenant Alliance, it did not seem very scary.
The civilization of mankind had governed the universe for a hundred thousand years. The organized alien species had all gone extinct before the rise of human beings. The few survivors of the alien species who lived on to this day would never be able to cause any trouble.
Even if the man was neither from the Covenant Alliance nor an alien species but a mysterious expert who was a sinner in the Land of Sins after mutations, it would still be the best choice to cooperate obediently for now and save his life.