086. Looking up at the sky.

  The punch tearing through the storm was about to fall.

  However, to the Xia Jianjing's surprise, Li Aozi was not the least bit shocked at his impendi.

  On the trary, his obsidian-armored figure stood strangely still, motionless, as if he had given up resisting.

  — Something's wrong!

  The Xia Jianjing suddenly realized it, but before she could react, her elbow strike had already nded on Li Aozi's obsidia. His voice echoed in her ears:

  "You've been tricked."

  Snap!

  The sound of a gemstone shattering rang out, immediately followed by a burst of intense fire. The obsidian fragments scattered in all dires under high heat and pressure, far more dangerous than ordinary bullets. At such cle, the Xia Jianjing had no time to dodge and could only raise her arms to block.

  She couldn't afford to activate her powers for such minor damage, nor waste such precious energy here.

  When the Xia Jianjing made this decision, Li Aozi knew she had already lost.

  Ping—

  The crisp sound of a snap resounded, waking up the entire world. Eighty times gravity instantly bore down, engulfing the Xia Jianjing, f her legs into the ground, uo even raise her head.

  Hmph!

  The Xia Jianji out a muffled grunt. The sudden gravity, although harsh, posed little threat to her powerful Gamma-tier ans. But after a full sed, even a Gamma-tier couldn't withstand such overwhelming pressure.

  She wouldn't die… but the oppressive weight made her bones unbearably heavy, with blood pooling in her lower body, her legs utterly immobile.

  In fact, her powerful physique had bee a burden, and now all it wao do was kneel before the man. Pathetic.

  "Hey, Boss Lady!"

  "How did this happen…"

  "It's not fair! Rematch! Rematch!"

  pared to her dissatisfied subordihe Xia Jianjing remained calm. She struggled to prop herself up on her arms, trying to resist the weight one hundred and fifty times her own body mass.

  This weight pressed down on every part of her body. Or rather, it increased the weight of every po of her form to eighty times its inal amount. Even with a Gamma-tier physique, it couldn't e such immense pressure.

  Bio-King Kong, Duke Garmus, and the Xia Jianjing — none could escape the enviro of Azure Star, which had preveheir bodies from adapting t gravity. In this extreme enviro, their bodies, already ill-suited for Azure Star, suffered more than ordinary people.

  Li Aozi sloroached, his onvisible form revealed uhe distortion of gravity. He was not wearing armor but a coat with a cssical aesthetic.

  "As expected… the moment you turned your back, you had already shed your shell and hidden invisibly beside me."

  At this point, the Xia Jianjing could no longer uimate the man before her.

  "I activated 'Indomitable Stance,' which was enough to resist most trol abilities. When you used a force field to pin me down, the timing was just right — how 've.'"

  She spoke softly, her words vibrating through the air with ford resonance.

  "Have you been specifically studying me?"

  Li Aozi’s body was healing rapidly uhe effect of 【Blood of Immortality】, his eyes glowing with golden circles. He her firmed nor de. The earlier trick of shedding his skin was a cssic tactic used against the Xia Jianjing in the inal game.

  Giverength, the Xia Jianjing could easily withstand the gravity that would turn an ordinary person's boo mush. If she had used a secret teique and activated 'Domination,' she could have sliced Li Aozi's throat ihan half a sed.

  Both sides had clearly held back. This sparring match had e to a draw because her wao escate to real violence.

  Li Aozi lifted the gravity pressure, and the Xia Jianjing stood up with ease, not even winded, her physical dition remarkable.

  After all, judging by her pilot’s jacket, the Xia Jianjing had once been a pilot for Tianhuan. Even with fragile skin, the Gamma-tier special effects made her far strohan Li Aozi, whose bio-impnt-modified body had barely reached 20 points of 【stitution】.

  "I'm Li Aozi of Red Arrow. Don't worry, I don't represent Red Arrow — I only speak for myself."

  He extended his hand. The Xia Jianjing readily reached out, shook it, and said straightforwardly:

  "Xia Jianjing, or simply, Jing. You've earned my respect, Imperial."

  It was the cssic case of 'no flio friendship.' The Xia Jianjing looked at Li Aozi with growing i.

  "A strong person like you, without Gamma-tier bio-frequency… that’s truly something."

  "I’m not ready to bear the curse just yet," Li Aozi quipped.

  "Haha, true enough." The Xia Jianjing pced one hand on her hip. Standing under eighty times gravity for so long, she still stood tall at 187 timeters, t over Li Aozi. "I’ve heard of you, Li Aozi of the Abyss Catastrophe, the Granthians call you Vasha Bahamut. Iing. Seems like you're not too fond of the Four Nations’ rule, huh?"

  Her tone made it clear she was trying to recruit Li Aozi into her fa, the Akaban Squad.

  Li Aozi saw right through this trick. 【Aura of Kindness】 had little effe this woman… though her physiological and outward characteristics were female, her psychological gender identity was unclear.

  That was only natural, as this was a genital itive disorder. She couldn't fully reize her own gender, leaving her psychological image fuzzy. 【Charisma】 naturally had a weaker impa her than on most people.

  "Not really. After all, even the worst order is better than chaos and savagery." Li Aozi didn’t directly ahe question but hi his stance.

  "I disagree with your view," the Xia Jianjing said nontly. "But at least for now, you're on our side."

  "Just representing myself." Li Aozi emphasized.

  After all, on the surface, he held a Red Arrow green card and nationality, and he had close ties with the ruling families of Tianhuan.

  "I never expected much support. Tianhuan's fate only be ged by Tianhuan's people."

  The Xia Jianjing pointed her thumb toward the tavern.

  "There are things we ’t discuss outside. e in and have a seat."

  "Gdly, Mr. Jing."

  【The Xia Jianjing liked your title for her, favorability +76】

  Moments ter, perhaps due to Li Aozi’s strong performance, he was given a fairly respectful reception.

  He raised a gss of the Akaban Squad’s homemade brew, king gsses with the Xia Jianjing. Sitting across a coffee table, after a few drinks and chewing on some dried mushrooms, the atmosphere became much warmer.

  "Gulp— So, you’re here to save Gretwo?"

  The Xia Jianjing half-y on the couch, one hand holding a cup, the other supp her head, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Li Aozi.

  As the leader of an anization, she looked more like the head of a biker gang, her long legs casually resting on the coffee table, boots of Tianhuan Air For her feet. Most of the Akaban Squad members had a half-military, half-gayle. Eveter-equipped ones only wore aramid bulletproof vests, without ballistic ptes. In terms of gear, Li Aozi figured they were on par with Liu Wenzhong and others who ran merary panies in Granth.

  Hearing the Xia Jianjing say this, Li Aozi k was about ter a game storyline. He set his gss down and replied seriously:

  "Gretorvo Nightsong is someone I greatly admire. Despite possessing immense power, he refuses to harm anyone. Yet when danger approaches, he steps forward without hesitation."

  "That guy… just a dumb do-gooder."

  The Xia Jianjing swirled her cup, pausing in brief silence before tinuing:

  "Is that all? An Imperial known for being pragmatid realistic ag oiment? No offense, but it's hard to believe based on past examples."

  "Of course, there are personal reasons." Li Aozi said. "If you really want to know, I need him, I need you, and I he eianhuan Akaban Squad to help me aplish something. To do that, I must save Gretorvo."

  "Hoh?"

  The Xia Jianjied her forehead in her hand. She wasn’t a traditional beauty; her rugged style, mase tone, and deep voice made her more like a handsome guy than a woman. Her colorless eyes sed the tavern hall. She didn’t make any effort to keep things secret, openly asking:

  "If this mission involves a prison break, aren’t you worried someone here might snitch?"

  "I have no desire to hide my schemes," Li Aozi chuckled. "Besides, what I’m doing is incredibly beneficial for this p — no harm at all. The only question is whether you're willing to accept my proposal."

  "Let’s hear it." The Xia Jianjing’s fihreaded through her purple-gray hair as she massaged her acupoints to stimute blood flow and enhance her focus.

  Li Aozi opened his mobile terminal, projeg a world map, gesturing as he expined:

  "It’s well known that the dispute over the Ramada Archipego isn’t just about the ethnic hatred between Red Arrow and Tianhuan. More importantly, it s military supremacy for the few turies. If Tianhuan gains trol of the Ramada Archipego, Red Arrow Empire will lose its only geographic barrier, leaving itself exposed to Tianhuan’s warriors. versely, if Red Arrow retakes the archipego, Tianhuan will have to fa empire far more powerful and resourceful than it is now."

  "We’re aware of that."

  A Akaban Squad member interjected impatiently:

  "The noble families of Tianhuan are already corrupt. They’re obsessed with invasion and quest. This kind of war won’t end well."

  "From a geopolitical perspective, the Red Arrow Empire is not ily expansionist. As a Tianhuan native, you should know that too."

  The Xia Jianjing looked at Li Aozi:

  "Red Arrow’s territory is as rge as Frost-Pted, Tianhuan, and several ies bihey ’t even develop all the resources within their own borders, let alone spend massive manpower trolling a vast empire. They’re only fighting for revenge."

  "That’s the core issue," Li Aozi said.

  The Xia Jianjing nodded. "Tianhuan's gover doesn’t want to resolve internal flicts. Instead, they’re using the Ramada Archipego to provoke the people's anger, diverting attention away from Tianhuan’s greatest enemy—"

  Li Aozi met her gaze, and they spoke in unison:

  "— The Noble s."

  "They’re the enemies we must defeat," the Xia Jianjing said gravely. "The Noble s, led by the Hojo family, have pletely taken trol of our ey, stolen nd from the farmers, a children to factories to beaes. The men bee butchers, and the women are forced into prostitution. People ’t see a future… but why do you care? If the s fall, what difference does it make to you, an Imperial?"

  "Before I'm an Imperial, I'm a human."

  Li Aozi said:

  "As long as the s remain stagnant, I won’t be able to get what I want."

  "And what is it you want?"

  "Look up, look above." Li Aozi raised a finger, pointing overhead.

  "The tavern?" someone asked in fusion.

  Li Aozi shook his head. "No."

  "You’re pointing upward — is it power and authority you seek?" someone specuted symbolically.

  Li Aozi shrugged. "I don’t need power; I am power."

  "Is it the sky?" someoured, starting to grasp the meaning.

  Li Aozi replied calmly, "The sky has already been mine."

  "…The universe."

  The Xia Jianjing suddenly said:

  "You’re leaving your homend, heading into space, aren’t you?"

  At this, Li Aozi finally smiled:

  "For me, that’s going home."

  FAL