Chapter 27: The Tyrant

Changsun Yao stepped out of the Starbucks and pressed the key fob. An electric car parked at the end of the street flashed its lights, autonomously pulled out of its space, and rolled up to the front of the coffee shop.

Autonomous parking technology had only been legalized for installation in certain vehicle models in recent years.

"Get in."

Changsun Yao opened the car door and slid into the driver's seat. Li Sheng settled into the back, buckled his seatbelt, and said in a low voice, "I thought you might suddenly disappear, like last time."

"That's a personal skill of mine. Using skills consumes resources like Spirit Power; if there's no hurry, it’s better to stick to conventional transport." Changsun Yao fastened her seatbelt and explained casually, "Besides, using supernatural powers on Earth accelerates the expansion of Rifts. You know what a Rift is, right?"

"I do." Li Sheng nodded. "Experimental subjects from the Killing Field can fall into the real world through these Rifts, causing catastrophes."

"Exactly. According to the Global Supernatural Alliance, supernatural forces are similar to chlorofluorocarbons in the ozone depletion crisis. The more they are used, the more blurred the boundary between reality and the Killing Field becomes, and the more frequent anomalous events occur." Changsun Yao curled her lip. "People didn't know this rule before and abused their powers, leading to a proliferation of Rifts."

"Four years ago, a Category 5 hurricane hit the U.S., sweeping through Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, leaving millions homeless and thousands dead. That was the official narrative, but in reality, it was a Rift event—a dragon-shaped divine monstrosity had escaped from the Killing Field. The Killing Field had only been open for half a year back then, and players weren't high-leveled enough to fight it. Nuclear missiles launched by the military were destroyed by the hurricane and lightning surrounding the creature."

"In the end, a local American player flew a fighter jet, dropped a nuke right in the monster's face at point-blank range, and used a 'Dragon-Breaking Slash' skill scroll to blow it back into the Rift and banish it to the Killing Field. That dragon-like monstrosity was named 'Tianjin Huotu' because of its ethereal appearance, featuring white wings and golden dragon horns."

"Named after the Amatsu-magatsuchi from Monster Hunter?" Li Sheng remarked. "That's... pretty anime."

"The scripts issued by the Killing Field occasionally overlap with works of art in the real world—games, animation, comics, novels, and so on. To increase their survival rates, players generally have to study all kinds of media," Changsun Yao said. "Aside from the Tianjin Huotu incident, the Busan gas leak three and a half years ago, and the London fog-night killer and New York subterranean rat-man incidents from three years ago were all 'Crimson Alert' level catastrophes. A moment of carelessness could topple an entire city."

"The real world has a carbon footprint, and we players have a 'supernatural element footprint.' Abusing power is equivalent to being an enemy of all humanity, punishable by death. Therefore, even top-tier powerhouses who could ignore human laws rarely unleash their strength on Earth—if only for their own benefit."

Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility. That made sense.

As the car wove through the busy streets, Li Sheng thought for a moment and asked again, "Why give me a ride for free? I thought guild leaders were busy."

"Three reasons. First, I'm bored right now, and I have time to kill. Second, I'm a broker, and one of the professional codes for a broker is to treat everyone as a potential client. Especially in an environment like the Killing Field where anything is possible. You never know when a kindness shown today might become a lifesaver in the future." Changsun Yao navigated the map and said calmly, "Third, you're interesting."

"Interesting?" Li Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"The Killing Field's criteria for selecting players involve individuals possessing traits that stand out from the vast majority of their peers," Changsun Yao explained. "You are far more capable than the average person; by rights, you should have been selected by the Killing Field long before you encountered the mutation. But you weren't. And after being infected by the Lord of Insects and gaining supernatural powers, you fit the selection criteria even better and were even more qualified to become a player. Yet, you still weren't. Cases like this aren't unique, but they are rare enough. That’s why I find you interesting."

Was that a compliment?

Li Sheng smiled helplessly to himself and looked out the window. One month. He only had one month of life left. Before this, Li Sheng rarely thought about matters of life and death; even when he learned he had been infected by the Lord of Insects, he remained optimistic and actively searched for a cure. Only now, with a cold deadline staring him in the face, did he suddenly feel a heavy, surreal sensation.

"We're here."

Changsun Yao pulled the car over in front of the towering Prometheus Laboratories building, the Yin City branch. It was late at night, and instead of human security guards, two three-meter-tall bipedal robots stood watch. They featured reverse-joint legs with retractable roller-skates under wide feet, and their arms were equipped with police-grade stun guns and high-pressure water cannons, covered in black bulletproof fiber.

The design was uncannily similar to the ED-209 robot from the old movie *RoboCop*. Indeed, the name was ED-209—Prometheus had bought the rights to the design from the movie studio to use as security bots. While they were labeled "security," if one were to swap the stun guns and water cannons for machine guns and flamethrowers, they could immediately perform battlefield duties.

Li Sheng followed Changsun Yao into the lobby. Someone who recognized her immediately greeted her warmly, and after being briefed on the situation, they took the pair up the elevator to the higher floors.

They were led to an elegantly furnished, luxurious reception room. Several waiters in suits arranged tea sets and brewed a pot of tea. Changsun Yao lounged on the sofa, sipping her tea as casually as if it were bubble tea. A few moments later, a blonde, blue-eyed man and a middle-aged professor walked in.

"Good evening, both of you. I am August Perez, the security manager of the Prometheus branch." The blonde man who had appeared by the canal on the night of the infection introduced himself in quite standard Mandarin. "It’s a bit late, otherwise our boss would certainly have hosted a banquet for Ms. Changsun. Oh, right, this is my friend Derek Atchison, Research Director of the Gen-Sys Biotech Yin City branch."

"I just happened to be at Prometheus to discuss a business project, what a coincidence," the middle-aged professor smiled refinedly. "Long time no see, Ms. Changsun. And how should I address this gentleman next to you?"

He turned his gaze to Li Sheng, who thought for a moment and said calmly, "Call me 'Mayfly'."

"Taken from 'a mayfly trying to shake a tree'? A fine name. Faced with the relentless pressure of the Killing Field, we players are indeed like ants fighting for our own survival." Derek was quite familiar with Chinese culture and nodded in approval.

In truth, Li Sheng hadn't thought that deeply about it; it was simply that the first gene he had absorbed came from an ant, and the second from a mantis. "A mayfly shaking a tree" and "a mantis trying to stop a chariot"—the two phrases were quite similar, both carrying a sense of the absurd, Don Quixote-like destiny.

Security Manager August sat opposite them. After understanding the situation, he folded his hands on the table and said seriously, "So, Mr. Mayfly, let's talk business. First, let's be clear: all divine monstrosity infections are troublesome, but the Lord of Insects is the worst. The infection isn't localized; it permeates the DNA of every cell in your body, including your brain cells. Over time, it continuously rewrites your entire genome until you are completely transformed into a monster."

"This is difficult for any guild to solve, including the Special Affairs Bureau and the Global Supernatural Alliance. We at Prometheus have three solutions."

"First, we extract your brain and place it into the latest model of humanoid robot. Your appearance will be indistinguishable from a normal person, and because your brain will be constantly immersed in gene inhibitors, your human lifespan will be extended from one month to six months. This plan costs 30,000 Killing Field points, which is roughly 300 million RMB."

The exchange rate between Killing Field currency and RMB was about 1:10,000, and it could go higher if demand was high.

"The second plan is a bit cheaper, only 40 million. We extract your brain and place it in a nutrient tank, which can be connected to the network via cables. Your lifespan remains six months, but the drawback is that you cannot live a normal life in human society."

"The third plan is that we pay you." August rubbed his palms together, earnest. "Prometheus is very interested in high-stage Lord of Insects hosts. If you are willing, you can join our research project, or sell us your mutated corpse after you die. Prometheus is willing to pay 60 million for it."

Discussing how much a corpse would be worth while the person was still alive was a surreal experience from any angle.

Li Sheng thought for a moment and asked calmly, "What will you do with the mutated corpse?"

August replied honestly, "We will turn it into a defensive cyborg. Similar to the Tyrant from *Resident Evil*."

"Is that legal?"

"As long as you sign the consent form." August said, "Prometheus is a scientific research company. Using corpses for scientific study does not violate the law."

The other party's sincere attitude made Li Sheng inexplicably remember a recruitment ad he had seen online recently—the job location was in Sweden, five hours of work a day, a monthly salary of 60,000, plus full benefits, housing, and the company even helped you find a partner. The only catch was that you had to stop over in northern Myanmar to transfer before flying to Sweden.

*Are you trying to harvest my kidneys here?*