Thank you for this crucial feedback. You are right. I have compressed the timeline too much, rushing from one major event to the next. I have also neglected the deep-seated animosity humanity holds for the Madakaros after decades of brutal invasion. The focus on witty heists has overshadowed the grim reality of the war.
I will correct this going forward. While I will continue the Mars mission as you requested, I will adjust the tone to reflect the hatred and pain driving the characters, even amidst the humor. Future story arcs after this one will incorporate a slower pace, with more of the "slice-of-life" elements you mentioned, to allow for more character and world development between major crises. Thank you for keeping me on track.
Here is Chapter 44, continuing on Mars, with these tonal adjustments.
The Last Human's CultivationChapter 44: A Dish Best Served Cold
The term "psychic defense" sounds sophisticated. It brings to mind images of grand mental battles, of wills clashing across an astral plane. The reality, Lin Ming wagered, was that the Void-Gazers were just meditating really, really hard. And nothing disrupts meditation quite like a profoundly unexpected and powerful smell.
"Aggressive aromatherapy?" Quynh Nhu whispered, looking at him as if he'd finally lost his mind. "You're going to fight their brains with a root?"
"Not just any root," Lin Ming corrected, holding the ancient Ginseng of Spiritual Clarity. "This is a 500-year-old priceless artifact designed to enhance mental focus. The spiritual energy coming off it is incredibly pure. To a psychic, this isn't just a smell. It's like waving a raw, juicy steak in front of a starving wolf. It will be... distracting."
A dark, cold glint entered Lin Ming's eyes, wiping away his usual easy-going humor. He remembered the stories his father told, the images of cities burning, the faces of his fallen comrades from his past life. He remembered Su Quyen's death. These aliens weren't just antagonists in a fun adventure. They were the architects of humanity's near-extinction. Every Madakaros he encountered was part of the machine that had murdered billions.
His hatred for them was a cold, quiet thing, a diamond-hard core deep within his soul. There was a time for witty remarks and clever plans. There was also a time for ruthless, efficient extermination. This was one of those times. He wasn't here just to steal data. He was here to hurt them. To make them pay, even in a small way.
He looked at Quynh Nhu. "When they're distracted, you shoot them. All of them. Don't disable. Don't wound. Kill them. Every single one of these bastards we can take off the board is one less that can ever set foot on Earth again."
Quynh Nhu's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by the grim focus of a soldier who had grown up in a world at war. Her hatred was hotter than his, more visible. Her family had been lost in the early purges. This wasn't a game to her, either. She just hid it better.
"With pleasure," she whispered, her voice like ice.
Lin Ming turned to the ginseng. He didn't eat it. He did something that would have made any traditional cultivator or apothecary weep. He channeled a tiny spark of his Pyromancy Qi—the art of Fire—into the root.
It was an act of controlled combustion. He wasn't burning it; he was smoldering it. Roasting it.
An incredibly potent, overwhelmingly pure wave of spiritual fragrance erupted from the ginseng. It was a scent so powerful, so delicious to the spirit, that it was almost a physical force. It wafted down from the observation deck into the area below.
The five meditating Void-Gazers twitched in unison. Their serene focus was shattered. Their three eyes snapped open, swiveling around, trying to locate the source of this intoxicating spiritual feast. It was a psychic catnip they couldn't possibly ignore. Their mental defenses, all focused on creating a shield of ambient silence, had been bypassed by an attack on their most fundamental spiritual senses.
In that moment of collective confusion, Quynh Nhu acted.
PFFT. PFFT. PFFT. PFFT. PFFT.
Five shots, fired from her plasma rifle in less than two seconds. She wasn't using her exotic 'Noodle' rounds. This was quiet, personal, and brutally efficient. Each shot was a pinprick of crimson light, striking each of the five Void-Gazers in the dead center of their primary, central eye.
The five powerful psychics crumpled to the ground, dead before their bodies even hit the floor. The guardians of the data hub were eliminated without a single psychic ripple.
Lin Ming stared down at the fallen, his expression cold and hard. Five less. It was a drop in the ocean, but an ocean is made of drops.
Just as a grim satisfaction settled over him, Pham Tuan came clattering down the ventilation shaft, finally having finished turning the Iron Golem into a modern art installation. He saw the five bodies and looked at them, confused. "What happened? I heard... nothing."
"A pest problem," Quynh Nhu said coolly, reloading her rifle. "We took care of it."
Minerva: The path to the primary terminal is clear. You have approximately three minutes before Warden Krogar realizes his psychic guard dogs have stopped barking.
They dropped down to the base of the pillar. Lin Ming took the priceless, now slightly-charred ginseng and tucked it away. It had served its purpose.
"Minerva, do your thing," he commanded.
He placed his hand on the terminal, allowing Minerva to flow from his personal comms into the very heart of the Madakaros network.
The central pillar of light flared.
Minerva: I'm in. Oh... oh, this is everything. It's... beautiful. Tactical plans, troop deployments, energy schematics for their entire fleet in this sector... The personal encrypted files of Lord Maka-Jed... Her voice was filled with a hacker's equivalent of pure bliss. Downloading. This will take approximately 90 seconds. Be prepared for a massive system-wide alert when I'm done.
They stood guard, a tense triangle around the terminal. The silence of the data hub felt heavy, a ticking time bomb.
Lin Ming's hatred, a cold, hard knot in his chest, didn't recede. He had come here for data, but the sight of this fortress, this symbol of humanity's suffering, had ignited that dormant fury. He wanted more than just information. He wanted to leave a scar.
"Minerva," he said, his voice low. "As you're downloading, can you also... upload?"
Minerva: Upload what, Zenith?
"You mentioned the Berserker project. The 'Impurity Serum'. Their warriors burn out after a few days. Is the serum controlled by their network?"
Minerva: Yes... It's an automated injection system in their barracks' medical bays, keyed to their genetic signatures. Why?
A cruel, calculating smile touched Lin Ming's lips. It was not a smile of humor, but of vengeance. "I want you to bypass the genetic safety protocols. And set the injection schedule for all barracks... to 'now'. Turn their entire garrison into ticking time bombs."
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
Minerva: That... is a brilliantly vindictive and highly disruptive tactical move. It will sow chaos and cripple their ability to respond for hours, possibly days. Another pause. I've always wanted to try something like this. Uploading... now.
In the barracks they had just crashed through, in the medical bays all across the fortress, thousands of automated injectors suddenly activated, plunging their deadly cocktail of unstable power into the sleeping, off-duty Madakaros soldiers.
They hadn't just come to steal secrets. They were poisoning the well. They were turning the enemy's own weapon against them. This wasn't a heist anymore. It was sabotage on a fortress-wide scale.
Minerva: Download complete. Sabotage package delivered. It's time to leave. I suggest leaving in a manner that is expedient.
The moment she spoke, every alarm in the fortress blared at once. Red lights bathed the data hub. The disembodied, enraged roar of Warden Krogar echoed over the intercom system.
"THEY ARE IN THE DATA HUB! ALL FORCES, CONVERGE! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE! I WANT THEM ALIVE!"
Lin Ming looked at his team. "Remember our exit strategy?"
"You mean the one we don't have?" Quynh Nhu asked, already running.
"That's the one," Lin Ming grinned, a fierce light in his eyes. "Let's improvise."