310: Chapter 311 Numbers between three and four

"No trajectory! No wind-up! Not even any skill visual effects! That invincible monster immune to all damage is just gone!"

Da Heibi was plunged into shock.

"Is this a Warp ability? Or some kind of causality weapon? Has this NPC's combat power broken down, this guy is probably level 999!"

Nobi Dahniao's shock was no less than Da Heibi's.

Although he hadn't opened his eyes either, the feeling of the pressure on his body being much higher for a brief moment just now was still there.

This method of attack completely exceeded the players' current upper limit of cognition.

"This is definitely a mechanic kill, a one-hit-kill mechanic exclusive to major plot NPCs." Nobi Dahniao took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"No matter what kind of ability this is, our quest target is alive."

The two immediately crowded around the stasis pod.

At this time, the gel had been drained.

Dr. Jinren stood completely naked behind the glass cover.

According to normal procedures, after the life-support system was disconnected, the door of the stasis pod should have opened automatically.

But the stasis pod seemed to have its own built-in smart security protocol, detecting the external physical environment.

To protect the life safety of the personnel inside the pod, the physical lock of the airtight door was stuck tightly, showing no signs of opening at all.

Separated by a layer of high-strength transparent glass, the two stared at each other with wide eyes.

After the crisis was resolved, the players' clever intelligence once again occupied the high ground.

They pressed against the glass of the stasis pod, pointing fingers at Dr. Jinren inside like they were visiting a zoo.

"Dahniao, look closely."

Da Heibi pressed his helmet visor almost against the glass, turning on the spotlight mode of his tactical searchlight, uninhibitedly appraising every inch of Dr. Jinren's skin.

"Look at these muscle lines, this modeling precision! We couldn't see clearly through the liquid just now, but looking at it now, this is simply a work of art."

Nobi Dahniao also leaned closer, tapping heavily on the glass with his metal-gloved fingers.

"It is indeed exquisite, but look at his expression, why is he so dazed? Did he drain his mana bar casting that one-hit-kill skill just now, and now he's in a skill stiffness state?"

"It's possible." Da Heibi nodded in agreement.

He even turned on his external voice output, trying to communicate with the person inside.

"Hey! Buddy! Can you hear me?"

Da Heibi gestured and danced wildly through the glass,

"We woke you up! Technically speaking, we are your lifesavers! Can you teach me that killer move? I can buy it with points!"

Because they were in a vacuum environment, sound couldn't propagate at all.

In Dr. Jinren's eyes, Da Heibi's actions were like a monkey wearing heavy iron skin making meaningless twitches.

Inside the stasis pod.

Dr. Jinren IX stood quietly in place.

Looking at the two comically behaving metal-armored men outside the pod gesturing at him, his gaze remained as calm as an ancient well, without a shred of anger at being offended, nor curiosity about the unfamiliar environment.

He simply began to recall that desperate memory.

That day, he tried to exhaust the variables of the entire three-dimensional universe.

After countless days and nights of deduction and borrowing the computing power matrix of millions of Stone Men mainframes.

IX obtained a result.

He calculated a number, a terrifying number.

A number with an ending that exists between 3 and 4!

This was a paradox that could absolutely not exist within the existing mathematical system and physical laws.

If this number existed, it meant that the underlying logic of the entire universe had loopholes that could not self-consist.

This meant that the so-called reality, the so-called universe, the so-called matter and energy,

were all false.

All of this was merely a piece of code, an illusion, a huge fictional sandbox written by some higher-dimensional existence.

The moment he realized that the entire universe was false, Dr. Jinren IX's worldview completely collapsed.

Since everything was fake.

Then the reproduction of civilization was fake, war was fake, destruction was fake.

Even his own existence, the wisdom he was proud of, was just a bunch of pre-set fake data.

Since it was all fake, what meaning was left?

From that day on, this great Dr. Jinren turned into a complete nihilist.

He lost his desire for knowledge, his awe for life, and any interest in the rise, fall, and alternation of the entire universe.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Later, war broke out, and the flames of war sweeping across the galaxy burned into his laboratory.

To protect him, someone forcibly stuffed him into this highest-level stasis pod, sinking into this dead sea of stars.

He didn't care.

Waking up just now and obliterating that Warp monster was merely because that thing blocked his vision, triggering his self-defense instinct.

Just like brushing a speck of dust off his clothes.

At this moment.

Watching Da Heibi and Nobi Dahniao jumping up and down outside the glass.

IX's heart had no ripples whatsoever.

He didn't analyze these two people's strange armor specifications, nor did he explore why they appeared here.

"Whatever."

Dr. Jinren IX muttered in his heart.

He withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes directly.

No matter how the two players outside knocked on the glass or made faces, he remained like a statue, motionless, not even lifting his eyelids again.

Outside the pod.

Da Heibi knocked on the glass for a long time, his hands sore.

"Dahniao, this NPC is stuck."

Da Heibi put his hand down helplessly,

"No response no matter how we call him, he closed his eyes to sleep again, and this door is locked tight, we can't get in and he can't get out."

Nobi Dahniao looked at the stasis pod, his brows slightly furrowing.

He walked over to the base of the stasis pod and checked it carefully.

Just now they stuffed crystals randomly, causing a system error.

Although it provoked a terrifying monster, it also blindly cut off the energy connection between the stasis pod and the metal floor below.

Those thick pipelines rooted in the metal plate had all retracted now.

The entire stasis pod had transformed from a fixed device into a movable independent unit.

Nobi Dahniao extended both hands, latching onto the metal edge of the stasis pod's base.

He activated the Power Armor's strength amplification and gave a fierce upward lift.

"Hum—"

The heavy stasis pod was actually lifted by him forcibly over ten centimeters off the ground.

"It can be moved!" Nobi Dahniao's eyes lit up.

Since the door couldn't be opened and communication was impossible, what the hell was there to communicate about!

The quest objective was to bring Dr. Jinren back to the Shelter intact.

As long as they packed the person and the tank together and handed them over to the boss,

this quest would be considered complete! One hundred thousand points would be in hand!

"Come on, lend a hand!"

Nobi Dahniao called out.

Da Heibi immediately ran over and stood on the other side of the stasis pod.

The two of them, left and right, gripped the stress points of the base tightly with both hands.

"One, two, three! Lift!"

Accompanied by the slight sound of the Power Armor's servo motors, this transparent stasis pod was hoisted onto the shoulders of the two reckless brutes.

"Easy, easy! Maintain balance!"

Nobi Dahniao shouted in the communication channel,

"This glass cover is a big treasure right now! If it gets chipped and freezes that big shot inside to death, I'll take your head in exchange for points!"

"Rest assured, Dahniao!"

Following the fluorescent green route sprayed on the ground earlier, they walked back step by step, very carefully.

"Turn left, turn left! There is a spatial rift over there! Go around it!"

"Step firmly! Don't step into empty air!"

Shouting and directing each other, the two repeatedly horizontal-jumped on the edge of death.

Walking for a full hour or more.

Carrying the stasis pod, the two finally walked out of that most dangerous ruin area and saw the shuttle parked in the vacuum.

"We're here, we're here!"

Joining forces, the two steadily pushed the heavy stasis pod onto the cargo hold slide rail of the shuttle.

"Clang."

The cargo hold's airtight door closed heavily.

As internal air pressure restored, the air circulation system restarted.

Nobi Dahniao and Da Heibi collapsed onto the metal floor simultaneously, panting heavily.

"We're getting rich..."

...

Shelter, B1 Level, Room 1.

The original computer desk and single bed were gone, including the monitor and the old keyboard and mouse.

Since the Shelter's technological level had improved a lot now, Lin Li had Iron Man 73 remodel this place, finally connecting that computer exuding light pollution to holographic projection technology, though its system kernel remained unchanged.

Lin Li stood in front of the console, his gaze locked on the projection screen.

In the projection, a drone was transporting a transparent stasis pod into the highest-security isolation laboratory.

The gel in the stasis pod had been drained, and that perfect body known as the Golden Man was lying flat on the testing platform.

Iron Man 73's virtual image hovered beside Lin Li.

Its electronic eyes flickered with a faint light as it rapidly processed data.

"Creator, basic scanning is complete."

Iron Man 73's mechanical synthesized voice broke the silence,

"The gene sequence comparison result is out, 100% confirmed to be Dr. IX."

"How is the situation? What kind of existence level is he anyway?"

"The top physicist, one of the highest achievements of human wisdom in the Golden Age."

Iron Man 73 brought up a complex perspective view of the body structure,

"His body is not the result of natural growth, but has undergone perfect reconstruction. Every single organ of his, every inch of muscle fiber, and even his neurons, are products after perfect modification."

The perspective view on the projection continuously magnified, displaying the exquisite structure inside the Golden Man's body.

"His bone density is comparable to adamantine, and his bodily tissues can immunize against all currently known fatal toxins and Warp pollution. His cerebral cortex activity is equivalent to the sum of hundreds of Cogitator arrays nowadays."

Iron Man 73 paused for a moment, a hint of seriousness in its tone,

"Creator, I must remind you."

"Remind me of what?"

"It is best not to have any form of physical conflict with him."

Iron Man 73 gave the conclusion straightforwardly,

"If he develops hostility, even without using any weapons, he can easily beat you up hanging you in the air; you are no different from a paper-mâché toy in front of him."

Lin Li's eyelid twitched.

He looked at the flat-lying man on the screen, his Adam's apple rolling.

"Fine, I know."

Lin Li took a deep breath,

"What about the players?"

"Waiting in the main hall."

A few minutes later, the Shelter's main hall.

Nobi Dahniao and Da Heibi straightened their backs and stood in front of Lin Li.

The Power Armor on the two of them hadn't had time to be taken off yet, its surface covered with scratches and dust from the ancient battlefield.

But their mental state was exceptionally excited, their eyes staring at Lin Li like they were looking at a moving giant treasure trove.

Lin Li put on the dignified posture of a boss.

With his hands behind his back, his gaze swept across the two players.

"Brave Sparks, your heroic deeds have all been archived by the Shelter's system."

Lin Li started his routine pie-in-the-sky storytelling,

"You brought back the key to humanity reshaping its glory from the ancient ruins; this is an indelible achievement."