Gao Wu: If this BOSS isn't nerfed, is it even playable?

Chapter 110 Second Stage
The first thing Lin Ye sensed upon regaining consciousness was the first heartbeat.

He was unable to move or see.

The whole world was reduced to endless darkness and falling.

After a moment that cannot be measured in time, a glimmer of light appeared in his vision.

He saw his own bare, white leg bones exposed to the air.

On the broken bones, countless granulation tissues were growing wildly at an exaggerated, irrational speed.

Tendons are remodeling, nerves are connecting, and blood vessels are spreading.

Organs that were completely dissolved by the energy beams were re-differentiated and reshaped.

Finally, a layer of delicate skin quickly covered all the newly formed tissue.

Smooth, intact, without any scratches.

It was as if the destruction that had been enough to melt steel was just an illusion.

The entire process took only ten seconds.

It's like fast-forwarding through billions of years of biological evolution.

Within those ten seconds, Lin Ye's consciousness also completely returned to clarity from chaos.

He remembered everything that happened before he fell into darkness.

[Ding! Special phase mission: Kings Never Meet, completed!]

Congratulations! You have unlocked Stage 2!

It turned out to be the case.

Lin Ye's mind was clear.

He did indeed die once.

Fortunately, before it was completely disintegrated by the pillar of light, the giant winged demon's core collapsed first, marking its death.

Mission complete, stage unlocked.

After unlocking the second stage, he naturally gained a second life.

Subsequently, thanks to the healing effect of disengaging from combat, he has now fully recovered.

Lin Ye slowly stood up and stretched his limbs.

He raised his head.

The jagged rift in the sky, stretching for kilometers, was rapidly closing after losing its energy support, eventually turning into a barely perceptible silver line and disappearing completely.

The enormous white beam of light had long since been extinguished.

The ground beneath my feet was cold metal.

He fell back into the deep underground base.

Beside me was the control panel.

Lin Ye's gaze swept across the control panel and then fixed on it.

A small, black USB flash drive was quietly inserted into an inconspicuous recess.

A handwritten white label was affixed to it: Experiment Record.

Lin Ye's eyes flickered slightly as he picked up the USB drive and put it into the pocket of his clothes.

He turned around and looked at the center of the pillar of light that had once been there.

The three massive metal pillars that supported the entire device had completely melted down, turning into a pool of molten metal radiating a dark red light, and the air was filled with a pungent odor.

And not far from the lava.

The giant winged demon's enormous body was reduced to a hideous, grotesque head.

Its eyes were empty, its mouth still retained the shape of its painful roar before death, and the rest of its body, including its huge fleshy wings, was completely annihilated in the energy beam, leaving no trace.

Lin Ye's gaze finally fell on the original location of the giant source crystal.

At this moment, all that remained was a pile of grayish-white powder and debris, like burnt-out coal ash.

All the energy has been drained.

Lin Ye let out a long breath.

ended.

……

"Name."

"Lin Ye."

Why are you at Dawn Bio's underground base?

"Work."

“My sister used to work here. I came to ask for her wages. Later, they said they could offer me a short-term job with a high salary, so I stayed.”

Lin Ye's voice was calm.

He sat across from the metal interrogation table, answering questions.

The blinding light overhead made it impossible for him to see the other person's face; he could only make out the silhouettes of two fully armed individuals.

Do you know your boss's background or identity?

"do not know."

Lin Ye shook his head.

"All I know is that everyone calls him Doctor, and he's a monster."

The last three words elicited a clear reaction from the two silent figures opposite them.

One of them leaned forward slightly.

"Tell me more about it."

When Lin Ye returned to B5, he discovered that the entire base's power supply system had been completely paralyzed.

The soaring white light that opened the Heavenly Abyss not only drained all the source crystals but also exhausted the energy of the entire base.

The access control system malfunctioned, the cage was wide open, and the entire B5 level was transformed into a chaotic inferno.

Lin Ye moved through the darkness, slaughtering a large number of mutated beasts along the way.

Finally, at the elevator entrance on floor B4, they encountered the first group of officials who rushed in, dressed in black dragon shield combat suits.

He knew very well that he couldn't completely sever ties.

On that B6 platform, he had seen surveillance footage projected onto the walls from various parts of the base.

Given the magnitude of the incident, an official investigation and review of surveillance footage is inevitable.

But he was also certain that the magnificent underground launch silo of B6 had no monitoring equipment whatsoever.

What happened between him and the doctor on level B6 is something these official investigators probably have no way of knowing.

Lin Ye began his narration.

He explained his purpose for coming to Dawn Bio.

What have been my work duties this past week?

She recounted everything, including being summoned by the doctor to witness his insane human experiments with Source Crystals, his transformation into a monster, and his eventual killing of him.

Lin Ye's words were completely truthful and without any concealment.

He simply concealed the detail that he was able to devour source crystals.

The doctor was right about one thing.

If the world knew that he could ignore the toxicity of the source crystal and directly absorb it to become stronger.

He might then fall into an abyss of no return!
The interrogation room was deathly silent.

The two investigators exchanged a glance, both able to sense an indescribable shock on each other's faces.

Their advance team has already surveyed level B6.

The traces of battle there were devastating.

A huge, suspended platform was completely destroyed, and the three main structural pillars were melted by the high temperature. On the ground, only a hideous monster's head was found.

After examination by relevant experts, it was confirmed that the skull originated from a strange race called the "Winged People".

However, a small number of human fragments are mixed into its gene sequence.

According to the testimonies of other survivors at the base, as well as some remaining surveillance footage,

At the time of the incident, the only other person on the entire B6 floor besides the monster known as "Doctor" was this high school student who still looked somewhat childish.

A high school student killed such a strange alien race from the Heavenly Abyss?
This sounds incredibly magical.

But the current investigation results do clearly confirm this.

"What I did... should be considered self-defense, right?"

The two investigators remained silent for a moment.

One of them closed the electronic notebook in his hand.

"If this is true, Lin Ye, this is not only legitimate self-defense."

His voice softened somewhat.

"It's still a great achievement."

The two men stood up and opened the door to the interrogation room.

A figure stood outside the door.

"Chen Meng, right? You're his teacher?"

The officer who opened the door asked.

"Yes! I am!"

Chen Meng spotted Lin Ye sitting inside at a glance, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally felt half relieved, but more confusion and worry welled up inside him.

He couldn't understand how Lin Ye could be here.

"Officer Su, Officer Chen, I can vouch for him!"

"He's just an ordinary student in my class, there's absolutely no way he could be involved in such a heinous event as planning to open the Heavenly Abyss!"

The investigator waved his hand.

"Comrade Chen Meng, please calm down. The matter is still under investigation. Lin Ye has also provided us with crucial information."

"According to preliminary assessment, the Heavenly Abyss Rift that has been opened this time only connects to an unstable sub-plane."

"No large-scale invasion of alien creatures occurred, but it still caused extremely serious source energy pollution and source crystal proliferation."

"The entire Dongjiang ruins have now been designated as a top-level lockdown zone."

"According to the 'Regulations on the Protection of Minors in Daxia,' we will immediately escort you away from here and back to the safe zone. However, Lin Ye, we will need your cooperation at any time for the follow-up investigation."

Lin Ye stood up and looked at Chen Meng, who also looked travel-worn.

The countdown for the distress message he set hadn't finished, so it couldn't be sent.

"Teacher, why are you here?"

Chen Meng glared at him irritably, strode over, and looked him up and down to make sure he wasn't missing any limbs before lowering his voice and angrily saying:

"I'd like to ask you the same thing! What are you doing here, a student? Do you even know how chaotic things are outside?!"

The two walked out of the interrogation room and joined the dispersing crowd.

They soon arrived at the underground parking garage on level B4.

One after another, armored escort vehicles fitted with thick leaded glass started up.

Lin Ye and Chen Meng got into one of the cars.

The car doors closed, shutting out the noise from outside.

As the vehicle slowly started moving, Lin Ye repeated the version of the story he had just told the two investigators to his teacher.

Chen Meng was terrified, his face changing color repeatedly.

"So that's it..."

Boom——

The escort vehicle drove through the long corridor, and the alloy gate of the garage slowly rose.

The sunlight from outside shone in.

Lin Ye saw the scene of the abandoned city.

The garage exit was hidden in a wilderness, next to the Third Central Hospital, which he knew all too well.

He had wandered here countless times before, but never imagined that such a huge secret was hidden beneath his feet.

The convoy drove onto the dilapidated road.

Lin Ye's gaze suddenly froze.

He saw various parts of the ruined city.

On those dilapidated buildings, on the cracked ground, on the withered tree trunks...

Clusters of eerie blue crystals emerged, radiating a strange yet beautiful light.

This is... the phenomenon of source crystal proliferation?
Wherever a rift appears, these source crystals will grow on the surface.

Lin Ye felt a pang of sympathy.

So many source crystals that look to be of pretty good quality, just leave them here.

According to the official processing procedures, their ultimate fate is simply to be collected and then disposed of in a harmless manner.

A violent thing!
This abandoned city will likely be completely sealed off after this incident, and then taken over by the authorities.

It will be almost impossible for me to get back in later.

Thinking of this, Lin Ye's thoughts suddenly drifted to another, deeper question.

That PhD has been running the abandoned city for so long.

To construct such a massive and sophisticated underground base, to lay out complex energy lines and life support systems, and to house hundreds of experimental subjects...

What terrifying financial and material resources would this require?

Is this really something that one person or a small organization could accomplish?
is not it……

Has someone been secretly supporting him all along?
They used this abandoned city as a perfect secret laboratory, far removed from the mainstream society's view.

And the doctor, along with all his research, is just one part of this massive plan.
The escort convoy left the blockade area and merged into the city's main road.

The bustling traffic outside the window seemed like a completely different world from the desolate and lifeless ruins of the abandoned city.

Back at Dongjiang No. 1 Middle School, Chen Meng confirmed that Lin Ye was alright and repeatedly told him not to run around anymore before leaving.

There are still some people at the school who need to be evacuated, and he plans to help.

At Dongjiang No.1 Middle School, the air raid sirens had long since ceased.

Large numbers of students, still shaken, filed out of the underground shelter, their faces showing confusion and lingering fear.

In the clamor of those who survived the ordeal, no one noticed Lin Ye's figure.

He didn't linger at school; he walked through the crowd and went straight home.

I pushed open the door, and the house was empty.

My mother should still be at work, and my sister hasn't come back yet.

Lin Ye took out his phone and dialed his mother's number.

"Hey, Xiaoye? Are you alright? The whole city was on sirens just now, it scared me to death!" A mother's concerned and anxious voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I'm fine, Mom. I just came out of the school shelter. Are you alright?"

“We’re all fine. Your sister came to see me. We’re in the air-raid shelter now. It seems the alarm has been lifted. We’ll be going home in a bit.”

With his family confirmed safe, Lin Ye's last worry was finally relieved.

He returned to his room and locked the door.

He drew the curtains, plunging the room into darkness. He walked to the computer, paused for a moment, and then reached out and unplugged the network cable connected to the computer.

After doing all this, he took out the small black USB drive from the pocket of his clothes.

Insert the USB drive into the computer.

The screen lit up, and a folder lay there quietly.

Lin Ye opened the folder.

The densely packed documents, arranged by date and number, instantly filled the entire screen.

He dragged the mouse to the bottom of the scroll bar.

The creation date of the first document comes into view.

2048 7 Month 13 Day.

A chronology belonging to the period before the catastrophe.

Lin Ye recalled the doctor's maniacal confession—"I have lived for over two hundred years thanks to the Source Crystal!"

At the time, I just thought it was crazy talk.

In retrospect, perhaps it wasn't all just empty talk.

He took a deep breath and opened the first document.

The document has no numbering; it's more like a private diary.

Date: 2048.7.13
I haven't been able to eat much lately, and I thought it was just because I've been staying up late and working overtime too much.

Today, I finally received my CT report.

I never imagined that I, a top oncologist in the country who has personally given death sentences to thousands of patients, would end up like this myself.

Advanced pancreatic cancer with multiple liver metastases.

I didn't dare tell Ya Jing.

Ya Ya is still so young; she has only just learned to draw.

I don't want her to lose her father before she grows up.

I don't want to die.

The sun hasn't risen for over a week, and the news says that the huge crack in the sky leads to another world.

Another world...

Is that where people go after they die?
……

Date: 2048.9.12
I am no longer eligible for surgery.

Two whole months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy caused me to lose all my hair and made me struggle with vomiting and excruciating pain every day.

The tumor showed no signs of shrinking.

I know that my life is coming to an end.

But I really don't want to die. I don't want to die!
【Image] [image】

Two photos were inserted into the document.

One of them is a selfie of the PhD student.

The man in the video is gaunt and emaciated, with a bald head and sunken eye sockets, making him look like a living skeleton.

The other one is a dark blue crystal.

Recently, these things have been growing all over the world.

Some wealthy individuals even purchase them at high prices, collecting them as new-age gems.

This was given to me by a patient's family member, who thanked me for extending their son's life by several years.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion.

I always feel that as long as I carry it with me, the symptoms of my cancer are greatly reduced.

……

Date: 2048.10.27
A medical miracle!

This is absolutely a medical miracle!

The follow-up test results came back, and the tumor had actually stopped growing!
I have stopped all chemotherapy drugs and switched to palliative care for a long time.

All of this could only have originated from that blue crystal!

This is not a curse, it is a gift from heaven!
I've heard that many people have experienced strange changes after coming into contact with it.

Their strength increased, their speed increased, and some even awakened incredible superpowers...

in case……

What would happen if this thing were transplanted directly into the human body?

……

Date: 2048.12.06
I succeeded.

I opened the freezer in the hospital's underground morgue.

Three bodies that had been dead for no more than six hours were selected, and three polished crystals were implanted into their bodies respectively.

They made a move!

The corpses, like puppets with broken strings, stood up again!

Their skin was an eerie bluish-gray, their pupils were unfocused, and they made meaningless hoarse sounds from their throats.

I tried to communicate with them, but they didn't respond at all.

One of them even showed strong aggression towards me.

They became living dead.

But this undoubtedly proves my conjecture! This crystal contains some kind of life energy that transcends our current scientific understanding!
Upon seeing this, Lin Ye's eyes narrowed slightly.

He recalled the living corpses he had encountered in the morgue of the Third Central Hospital.

It turns out that those were the doctor's earliest experimental subjects.

He suppressed his thoughts and opened the next document.

This time, a number finally appeared in the top left corner of the document.

#001
Date: 2049.1.1
I'm wrong.

I was completely wrong.

Ya Jing, my love, I'm so sorry.

Yaya, my daughter, Daddy is so sorry...

(Below the document are large sections of garbled text that have been deleted and re-entered, indicating the author's extreme distress.)
I confirmed that the Source Crystal can slow the spread of cancer cells in my body.

I desperately want to conduct real human experiments; I want to completely escape the shadow of death.

But I dare not.

I don't have the courage to implant that cold crystal into my own body.

I'm afraid of failure.

I'm afraid of becoming one of those mindless zombies in the morgue.

She trusted me so much.

She didn't even have a hint of doubt, and told me with a smile that she would do anything for me as long as I got better.

On the third day after the source crystal was implanted, her skin began to ulcerate and grow a thick carapace.

On the fifth day, her bones began to twist, making a teeth-grinding cracking sound, and her hands turned into sharp bone claws.

On the seventh day, she completely lost her mind and turned into a monster that only knew how to roar and destroy.

I went home.

Pushing open the door, I saw blood everywhere.

I also saw Ya Ya lying in a pool of blood, her body torn to pieces...

And that monster, my wife, was lying on top of my daughter's corpse, devouring it...

I killed her.

I used all my strength and a fire axe to chop off her head.

After she died, her body quickly turned into a pool of foul-smelling pus.

Lin Ye silently closed the document.

The slightest pity I felt for the doctor because of his plea, "I am human too, I don't want to go to the Abyss," has vanished.

He himself was afraid of death.

They wouldn't even dare to conduct human experiments on themselves.

He implanted the Source Crystal into his wife.

This is a complete beast.

The next few entries reverted to being unnumbered diary entries.

Date: 2049.3.11
The world is getting more and more chaotic.

The war between humanity and the Heavenly Abyss has entered a white-hot stage.

Cities are destroyed every day, and tens of thousands of people die every day.

Is the end of the world really coming?
Yeah.

Ya Jing and Ya Ya are both gone. What's the point of me living alone?

The cancer cells in my body seem to have developed resistance to the source crystal and have begun to spread slowly again.

Even with the Source Crystal to prolong my life, I will still die.

They just die a little slower.

Official organizations worldwide have finally identified the source crystal as a Class A radiation source and a highly toxic substance.

All related research is prohibited.

The Dongjiang No. 1 Chemical Plant, which had attempted to purify and smelt source crystals, suffered a violent explosion and was forced to shut down.

Subsequently, the area centered on the chemical plant and extending for tens of kilometers was designated as the highest level of pollution zone.

All personnel are required to relocate, and all businesses are required to relocate within a specified period.

This city is dying.

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.

So this is the true origin of the abandoned city.

Date: 2049.4.14
I'm dying.

I can feel my life force rapidly draining from my body.

I did not leave with the other refugees.

I returned to the Third People's Hospital.

Let it be my final destination.

Ya Jing, Ya Ya, I'm here to keep you company.

……

(The diary entry is interrupted here for a long time.)
I heard a roar.

A loud bang, as if something had fallen from the sky and smashed through the roof of the hospital.

I walked out of the morgue.

I saw it amidst the rubble and debris.

It was a... winged humanoid creature.

It was three or four meters tall, covered in coarse, dark brown fur, with a blue face and fangs. Even when folded, its tattered wings exuded a powerful aura.

It appeared to be severely injured, with a large, penetrating wound in its chest from which fluorescent blue blood was flowing.

It comes from the sky.

From that crack.

……

#002
Date: 2049.4.15
It's still alive.

Although it was in a deep coma, its vital signs were extremely strong.

I dragged it into the underground morgue.

I was amazed by its body structure; every muscle, every bone, seemed to be a perfect creation born for battle.

What shocked me even more was that I successfully extracted rice-grain-sized source crystals from its blood!
This shows that they are able to perfectly integrate and coexist with the source crystal!
Source Crystals are the source of their power!

My guess was correct!
Since these alien races of the Heavenly Abyss can perfectly fuse with the Source Crystal, then... what if I transform myself into their form?

Am I truly able to wield the power of the Source Crystal?
#005
Date: 2049.7.22
Experimental procedure: 30ml of fresh blood and 5ml of cerebrospinal fluid were extracted from the Tianyuan alien race (code name: Winged Demon) and injected intravenously.

At the same time, a low concentration of source crystal extract was administered via intramuscular injection, and the body's reaction was observed.

In the first week, the levels of cancer cell markers in the body began to drop sharply.

In the second week, a follow-up CT scan showed that the liver metastases had begun to shrink.

By the third week, all cancer markers had disappeared.

I am cured.

I... did it!

……

#006
Date: 2049.7.26
My body is acting strangely.

Recently, I've been experiencing unbearable itching in my right shoulder blade.

It's like something is growing out of the bones.

At the same time, some strange brown-black hairs began to grow on my body.

That's not the kind of hair humans should have.

【image】

The document contained only one blurry photo taken in dim light.

The background of the photo appears to be a room filled with anatomical diagrams.

A shirtless man with his back to the camera.

His back was no longer smooth.

On the right scapula, a huge, ugly mass of flesh bulged out, tearing through the skin, and a twisted bone, covered in viscous flesh, protruded from it.

That was the beginnings of a wing.

Below the photo, there are only a few lines of brief text.

I turned into a monster.

What is this? A fleshy wing has sprouted from my back...

That's mine?

No, that's not mine.

No, that's mine.

That is……

Ours.

(End of this chapter)