Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 96 It was you who came back, so Old Man Huo died.

It must be said that Zagarard's prediction was correct.

This was a well-planned show that had been meticulously orchestrated two weeks in advance.

Whether it's Zagalad himself or the lowly and insignificant Old Man Huo and others in Zagalad's eyes, they are all the same puppets to Hunzhen.

At this moment, the distinction between noble and lowly races vanished in Hunzhen's hands, achieving true equality for all.

It all started nearly two months ago when, during a simulation, Hunzhen noticed the ulterior motives of Old Man Huo and his group.

Hunzhen, adhering to the principle of keeping a low profile, naturally intended to resolve the matter by minimizing its impact as much as possible.

His final choice was to lure Old Man Huo and the others outside the city and bury their bodies in the wilderness.

Just as he was refining his plan, bringing the Sims closer to perfection, the Sims happened to encounter the lucky Zagarad.

Just as Hunzhen had previously stated in his mind, he had originally intended to find a perfect opportunity to make a tentative contact with members of the two royal families in this first layer of the abyss.

Therefore, what followed was a natural progression.

All the seemingly unnecessary actions along the way actually contain profound truths.

The reason why Hunzhen cooperated with Old Man Huo and others to stage that chase scene was not because he was bored.

Under his deliberate guidance, the group had long since entered Zagarad's reconnaissance area.

One reason was to avoid scaring Zagalad away, and the other was to make him believe that he was in a position of absolute dominance.

Lacking any one of these conditions, Zagarad would remain vigilant and would not allow Hunzhen to fully observe the scene of him devouring.

In several simulations, whenever a Sim killed Zagarad, it would eventually attract the pursuit of his allies.

No matter how meticulously the simulator cleans up the mess and how carefully it leaves no trace, it cannot escape this outcome.

After actually "fighting" with Zagarad and directly assessing his strength, Hunzhen gained a clear understanding of his specific combat capabilities.

At the ninth level of the cosmic realm, the life gene multiplier is less than four times, and the understanding of the laws has reached the threshold of the law of time and has taken a considerable step forward.

Furthermore, the Dark Demon race is naturally close to the laws of time. With their understanding of the laws of time at the threshold level, the power of their combat techniques is comparable to that of ordinary humans with the same genetic multiplier who have just entered the realm of laws.

And then there's that black sword, a weapon of destiny that seems like a secret innate technique...

Such strength requires at least the fifth level of the Heavenly Bridge's Law comprehension to contend with. (Without special encounters or Law compatibility bonuses, base life rate is 1x)

However, members of the virtual universe who dare to accept the training mission in the Abyss of Purgatory must at least have a level of understanding of the laws of the seventh level of the Bridge to Heaven.

This level of difficulty is far less than 100 million points; it seems like a freebie.

Therefore, Hunzhen had long anticipated that there was more to it than met the eye.

This ability to attract revenge from other companions after death is clearly one of them.

Once the target is killed and the Abyss Core is seized, it will attract a large number of relentless attacks and pursuits from the Abyss Royal Family members, who are at least at the level of the fifth level of the Tongtian Bridge, and the danger level will increase dramatically.

Not to mention, the "inferior races" are all lackeys of the royal family. After they are wanted, city lord-level powerhouses will join the siege after a period of time.

Moreover, the Abyss Royal Family in the first level of the Purgatory Abyss has more than just the strength of a ninth-order cosmic level.

Once the Abyss Royal Family at the Domain Lord level takes action, even the universe-level members of ordinary virtual universe companies will have no way to escape.

Almost immediately after Zagarad is killed, this "information sharing" will spread throughout the entire first tier of the Abyss.

After killing Zagarad and obtaining the Abyss Core, the first thing he did was to launch the spaceship, a method that allowed all the Abyss royals to directly discover the target, making those domain lord-level figures immediately identify the target.

Even the Silver Demon Clan, who are enemies of the Black Demon Clan, will join in the siege of the Sims.

Without specific intelligence, Hunzhen was unable to ascertain the details of the strength of these domain lord-level royal families.

Based solely on the simulation records showing that the simulated humans were forced to reveal their domain lord-level strength, these individuals are clearly no ordinary domain lords.

Fortunately, at this point in time, the two royal families fighting on the first level of the abyss were not the core members of the royal family, and the simulated humans eventually managed to escape.

But this also signifies the early end of the cultivation mission.

Even a top figure like Hunzhen, who leads the pack among geniuses of his generation, needs to rely on the power of a Domain Lord to break through the impasse, which shows just how dangerous the Purgatory Abyss is.

Killing a member of the royal family will trigger a "channel broadcast," just like killing a chicken in a village in "Up X Scroll" will attract the entire village to hunt you down.

Such brutality truly befits its reputation as the cultivation mission with the highest mortality rate.

With this advanced knowledge, Hunzhen had no choice but to find another way to kill Zagarad.

Since Virtual Universe Corporation dares to make obtaining the Abyss Core a "main quest," it means that there must exist a way to obtain the Abyss Core without alerting the "channel broadcast."

Perhaps the real idea behind Virtual Universe Company is to allow its core members to enter the royal family's core or join the ranks of top city lords, so as to acquire the Abyss Crystal Cores that have already become stockpiled through a more down-to-earth approach.

However, similarly, there will most likely be other ways to obtain crystal cores through direct killing.

The first things that came to Hunzhen's mind were "using someone else to do the dirty work" and "killing someone in the environment".

To kill someone by borrowing a knife, the knife must first be sharp enough to kill.

Given that their race is lower than slaves, it is unrealistic to expect to borrow the power of a city lord with the strength of a domain lord. The only option would likely be to rely on the power of an enemy royal family.

The only knife capable of killing is from the Silver Demon Clan, who are enemies of the Black Demon Clan.

Encountering a lone Dark Demon would be considered lucky, let alone a Silver Demon who could be of help; it's almost impossible in the short term.

Hunzhen naturally focused on "environmental killings".

Putting everything else aside, he naturally didn't give up trying to find out why "scavengers" were so rare, or the risks involved in such a high-paying profession.

In order to conceal the fact that he was an extraterrestrial visitor, he ruled out the method of direct questioning.

Direct questioning is risky, and it can be avoided as much as possible through simulation. However, considering that simulation can only predict ten years, if he reveals clues when he launches the possession plan much later, and people trace it back to this level, there will inevitably be more risks.

He could afford to waste that much time, so he opted for the safer and slower method of probing by tapping from the side.

During this period, he gradually pieced together the fragments from the words of his fellow scavengers, the residents of Blackrock City, and from his actual scavenging process.

The results all pointed to two things—"monsters" and "the Great Void".

By constantly changing the time and place, he finally witnessed the arrival of the "wind-eating phenomenon".

Of course, he didn't actually know the name of the phenomenon until Zagalad blurted it out.

Killing Zagarad during the Wind Eater event will not trigger "Channel Broadcast"—that is, "Mass Resonance".

However, a dramatic scene unfolded during the simulation.

The simulacrum had clearly evaded the royal family's pursuit.

They seemed to only mention their "missing" companions briefly to the lower-class race leaders on the first floor.

However, the Lord of Blackrock City somehow obtained information that led him to deduce the location of the incident from the conflict between the simulated humans and Old Man Huo.

Based on the fact that the location was close to where Zagarad had disappeared and the timing was also similar, they didn't conduct a thorough search and directly revealed Hunzhen's identity.

The subsequent outcome is self-evident: their identities were exposed, so they just went for it.

Before escaping the Abyss of Purgatory, the Sims swiftly killed Nash, the Lord of Blackrock City, to vent their anger.

After various attempts, Hunzhen concluded that the best way to delay the outbreak of the incident the longest and the least likely to involve himself was to kill the enemy by influencing Shifeng, without using his own power at all.

At the same time that a fierce wind arose near Zagarad.

Thousands of kilometers away, a Domain Lord-level Black Demon suddenly frowned.

"That Zagarad guy, chasing after Noferic was one thing, but he even got caught up in the Wind Devouring Storm?"

As a domain lord, Zagarad's perception ability is far superior to that of a cosmic-level dark demon, so he naturally confirmed Zagarad's "disconnection" immediately.

The so-called mass resonance is similar to a local area network connected by the collective subconscious.

If a member of a nearby community encounters a special situation, all members within the local network will be notified immediately.

Death is also one of the highest priority situations.

However, in the area swept by the wind, it was as if the internet was physically cut off. The consciousness of the abyss was above all else and forcibly blocked everything. No matter how high the priority, it had to be put on hold.

It's common for Dark Elves to roam alone and hunt, and those leading them aren't babysitters. Given that Dark Elves have no respect for death, they naturally don't constantly care about the safety of their subordinates. (When hunting Sims, they're not concerned with the death of their companions, but rather with the challenge to their authority or the hostility towards extraterrestrial visitors.)

It was a week later that the Domain Lord-level Dark Demon realized that Zagarad's internet connection was not temporary, but completely lost.

This was also the time when Hunzhen returned to Black Rock City.

Even though Old Man Huo had a good reputation in Blackrock City, his sudden disappearance still didn't attract much attention.

While he was alive, his intelligence and survival skills were valuable, but once he's dead, things are a different story.

The latest novel is first published here!

Upon returning home that day, Hunzhen was resting in his dining room when he was greeted by an uninvited guest.

"It was you who came back, so the wormfish died."

Xingluo's expression remained calm as he pronounced Old Man Huo's death, yet he gave off an unfathomable feeling.

"Why did you specifically come to tell me this?"

Hunzhen's gaze was deep and unfathomable, the dark red battle blade already gripped in his hand: "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you to silence you?"

Killing Old Man Huo was actually harmless, but the key point is that this incident will be closely related to Zagarad's death!

Xingluo chuckled and said, "Hunzhen, don't scare me. You won't kill me."

Xinglu did not elaborate on his reasons, but the facts were as he stated.

If the plan to eliminate Old Man Huo outside the city could be concealed, then the death of Xing Luo, a man of clearly extraordinary status, could not be hastily concluded. Instead, it would expose things that should not have been revealed.

On the other hand...

"You solved the problem sooner than I expected. Hunzhen, I have a suggestion—"

Xingluo extended his hand to Hunzhen and said sincerely and earnestly, "Would you like to travel with me?"

"Want to travel together?"

Hunzhen raised an eyebrow.

Xingluo nodded slightly: "Let's go to the depths of purgatory together."

Going to the deeper levels means obtaining a ticket to the lower levels.

Needless to say, Hunzhen himself made no attempt to conceal his purpose during his activities in Black Rock City.

But what about Xingluo?

Based on Xingluo's past deeds, he had been on the first level for an unknown amount of time. Why was it such a coincidence that he was in the same batch as me when we went down to the bottom?

If this were just a coincidence, Hunzhen would not have minded so much.

But this wasn't the first time.

"Is it possible that the fact that the first person I met in the Abyss was Xingluo... wasn't a coincidence?"

A terrifying thought arose in my mind.

If that's the case, Xingluo's abilities are definitely not as simple as the ninth-level cosmic level he initially judged!

At this moment, a strong impulse and fear surged in Hunzhen's heart: to have the simulated human attack the man in front of him by killing him, and to find out his true background!

However, this is a hypothetical scenario that is destined to be impossible to realize.

Hunzhen's moral bottom line is not high, but killing someone who had been kind to him, expressed goodwill towards him, and never harmed him from beginning to end still somewhat crossed his bottom line.

But here's the fatal problem: looking at the simulation records, on average, for some unknown reason, the simulated humans seem to have a slightly higher level of morality than the real humans...

No matter how much you hint at it, this kind of question that touches on a bottom line is analogous to the difficulty of making a simulated human commit suicide, and it's basically impossible.

Because he himself was unwilling to violate this inner principle.

This scene was not omitted from the simulation recording.

In recent times, in addition to life-threatening situations, the simulated humans have tested Xingluo more than once.

Even resorting to violence after self-suggesting that he would repay a hundredfold later...

Even so, Xingluo never showed any sign of anything amiss.

The scope of the probing has basically reached its limit, and the only remaining option is to "take action"—to kill.

However, it cannot be executed.

If it weren't for the fact that Xingluo hadn't harmed the simulated humans in any of the numerous simulations since entering the abyss, Hunzhen would definitely have chosen to attack Xingluo without hesitation.

But there are no "what ifs".

All the evidence suggests that the celebrity Luo had no ill intentions towards him.

They simply resonated with each other and naturally became close.

It seems like everything just happened by chance.

Over the past few months, among the countless possibilities the Sims have experienced, if Xingluo had malicious intentions, he would have had more than one opportunity to plot against the Sims.

Is it really possible for a villain to disguise himself so perfectly?

The principle of presumption of innocence applies. Hunzhen's malicious suspicion of Xingluo is entirely a presumption of guilt based on prior assumption of guilt.

In reality, people who behave this way will almost certainly fail to make any friends.

Even now, he has not completely let his guard down.

So, should we stay away or get closer?

He sheathed his sword and asked in a deep voice, "Xingluo, I've heard you've been scavenging for treasures on this garbage mountain for hundreds or even thousands of years. Why are you thinking of diving down this time? And with me? Why has your mindset changed so drastically?"

His genuine expression suggested that without a reasonable explanation, he could not believe that Xingluo did not harbor malicious intentions.

Unaware of Hunzhen's complex emotions, Xingluo looked up at the sky and sighed softly in response to Hunzhen's question: "Ever since that day, when we found nothing at the site of the meteorite's fall, I have actually had this idea."

"A meteorite?"

Hunzhen raised an eyebrow. Wasn't that his own arrival?

Xingluo said calmly, "Hunzhen, it has been a very long time since I have found any new materials or more advanced items in the garbage mountain. My dream of building a spaceship that can break through the sky has reached a bottleneck."

"Perhaps you've already guessed, I have a connection with royalty, or more precisely, with a Silver Demon Clan member. I've had more than one opportunity to use this connection to conduct research on flesh and blood technology. However, my heart is set on the heavens, and flesh and blood technology will forever serve the abyss; it is not the path I seek."

"Having been stuck at a bottleneck for so long, with almost no progress, I pinned my hopes on the arrival of that meteorite to bring me a turning point. But it turned out to be just wishful thinking... Such a long period of time has been almost wasted, and now I feel it's time to let go of my resentment and reconcile with my past self..."

"Perhaps by studying flesh and blood technology and flesh and blood materials science, and by relying on the collision between different technological civilizations, I can get new sparks of inspiration. For example, the feather ship under our feet, I had never even thought about it before, but why not use this more advanced material to change the design of the spaceship? Based on this, it is possible that my scientific research level can reach a new height."

Xingluo paused for a moment and said, "This is the explanation for your first and third questions."

(End of this chapter)