082. Waiting for Tomorrow
Shortly after, Nikita sent a message: he had succeeded and would soon reach the upper floors.
[Lord of Metal]
With a flash of electromagnetic energy, Li Aozi's figure was revealed, and Kalmets abruptly looked up. But aged and exhausted as he was, he couldn't react in time.
[Sequence Seventy-Seven • Scourge]
Li Aozi made a motion in the air, and the aged ceiling above Kalmets suddenly cracked open. Kalmets quickly dodged aside, fearing an opening for a sneak attack, and reached for his laser gun nearby.
Swoosh!
Just as his hand was about to grasp his beloved weapon, the gun—his trusted companion for years—suddenly misfired, piercing through Kalmets' palm.
"Damn! Why now—"
Was it because the weapon hadn't been maintained in too long? Or was it sheer bad luck?
Initially, he had moved to avoid giving Li Aozi an opening, but the unexpected injury slowed his actions.
[Gravity • Perception]—stacked
[Natural Ignition]—stacked
[Soul Sword Saint • Battle Demon]—stacked
"Trinity."
Li Aozi calmly swung his sword, and the specter of the Battle Demon behind him instantly struck, its highly condensed energy engulfing Kalmets in a blaze. The intense red sword light, combined with [Lord of Metal]'s true damage, was more than a Gamma-tier could withstand.
Before Kalmets could retaliate, he was consumed by flames, collapsing to the ground. Li Aozi instantly moved, lifting a foot and stomping on his chest, pinning him against the wall.
[Savage Stomp]
—You can perform a finishing stomp on targets with less than 10% health. If successful, nearby targets receive a "Shock" effect (reducing sensory and movement speed by 90%, ignoring status resistance) for 3 seconds;
Li Aozi hadn't had the chance to use this finishing skill before, but given Kalmets' integrity, he felt it necessary to end his suffering swiftly.
Executed by the stomp, Kalmets vaporized on the spot, leaving a deep, charred outline on the cracked wall.
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[Objective Achieved]
B. "Spring of Yesterday" — You have successfully assassinated 'Kalmets Shieldcrest.'
Reward: [Class Advancement Ticket]*1
[Reward Distribution…]
[You received [Class Advancement Ticket] *1—ignore level and advancement quests to force an advancement. However, if your main class level does not meet advancement requirements, you will not receive advancement traits.]
——————————
The power of the Echo spread around, the high temperature triggered a fire alarm, and cooling sprinklers activated. Li Aozi turned and left, jumping through time ripples to evade security as he headed directly into the residential area of the tower.
The [Echoer]'s time ripples offered a considerable advantage in a high-rise building like this. Li Aozi quickly located the room of the eldest daughter, Frolva Shieldcrest. She lay asleep in a crib, clutching a stuffed doll.
Li Aozi released the spherical nanny robot, instructing it to carry Frolva, then retracted it back into the time rift before heading to find the naturally gifted psychic, Frey Shieldcrest.
After a few jumps, Li Aozi located the nursery. Having preemptively fortified himself with a mental shield, he bypassed the security guards, opened the door, and entered quietly.
A cradle gently rocked within the room. Looking inside, he found a human-like baby sleeping peacefully—his target, Frey Shieldcrest.
Li Aozi stepped forward, deftly disabling the alarm, then opened the incubator, carefully cradling the pink-skinned infant.
Perhaps due to the mental shield's effect, the baby neither cried nor fussed, instead snuggling quietly in Li Aozi's arms, almost affectionately.
"How ironic…"
The child had no idea he was being held by his father's killer—or perhaps he knew, but at such a young age, couldn't grasp what it meant.
Li Aozi picked up a baby toy, placing it with him before leaving.
He felt no guilt over killing Kalmets.
If Kalmets remained alive, Fanlenkov would fall into civil war, fracturing and ultimately becoming Velazi's labor force.
If Kalmets had fled, as Gorett suggested, Fanlenkov's citizens would completely lose faith in the government, descending into lawless chaos and eventually self-destructing.
Had Li Aozi not killed him or taken the children, it wouldn't be long before rebels seized power, first placing Kalmets under house arrest, then eliminating his family.
The reasons behind these outcomes were complex—rooted in various factors, from their ancestors, the peculiarities of their race, the curse of the Star Abyss, and historical grievances.
Players once discussed ways to save Fanlenkov, such as humanitarian aid or forming a unified armed group to drive Velazi away.
In the end, players realized it was hopeless; the problem was unsolvable.
They even discovered that Fanlenkov wasn't entirely innocent.
Fanlenkov's main industry was military service. With nearly the entire population involved in combat, about sixty percent of the adults were executioners or butchers, committing numerous war crimes.
The most feasible solution they could envision was to bring in a [Society] to assimilate Fanlenkov's civilization.
Once assimilated, Fanlenkov's people would at least be free from hunger, no longer enduring the hardship of losing their freedom—without free will, what loss could there be?
But aside from that, there was no other way.
Still, Li Aozi felt this idea was too idealistic.
Assimilating a civilization in this location showed little awareness of the local situation—right across from this area lay the United Group's gateway, with a fief of the Heroes Empire not far away, and behind their neighbor, King Gorett, was the civilization allied with the Annihilation Sanctuary.
If a [Society] openly devoured a civilization here—it would be a perfect disaster, as the freshly made citizens of Fanlenkov would face the might of narrative-level powers.
No matter how the situation was discussed, Fanlenkov would ultimately face war.
It was just a matter of whom they fought and what they became.
Among the six main storyline endings, none offered a truly good ending. Even the "Angel" ending meant only that players rescued 300,000 Fanlenkov citizens, guiding them through escape challenges and leading them away from their nation, which earned the praise and medals of the Interstellar Alliance.
Yesterday's yesterday was spring—what about tomorrow?
Li Aozi climbed to the top of the building, using his communicator to notify Flanna, who was already piloting the shuttle through the atmosphere, set to arrive in under two minutes.
He handed the children and nanny to Nikita, then turned back, gazing at the desolate cityscape.
Fanlenkov had no tomorrow. Even the winter leading to the end had ceased to exist.
They would forever linger on the verge of autumn and winter, struggling beneath the purple dome, playing a sorrowful tune of rifles and lasers—a melody that would echo on and on.
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