NIKKE, Swordmaster Ark Succubus Daily

Watching the protesters in Missilis on the live stream, Li Zuoyi couldn't help but frown.

He then turned on the TV, and the channel was currently showing a commentator talking about the Missilis human factory incident.

"Misilis has incurred the wrath of both heaven and man this time. Its stock price has plummeted to rock bottom, and it will probably go bankrupt soon."

Li Zuoyi then turned on the live stream of the Ark Government's press conference, where the spokesperson was explaining the Ark Government's position under the flashing lights.

"The Ark government has obtained evidence of Missilis's crimes and will soon conduct a detailed investigation into him. Please rest assured, we will conduct the most thorough investigation into this matter and ensure the personal safety of the people of the Ark."

Li Zuoyi turned off all the live streams, leaned back in his chair, and let out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong?" Yin Hua, who was sitting next to me, asked. "Isn't the entire Ark currently focused on attacking Missilis?"

“Yes, everyone wants Missilis dead, but it seems like nobody is paying attention to the Missilis board anymore,” Li Zuoyi said. “They are clearly the masterminds behind the human factory.”

Initially, public opinion followed his expectations, moving in the direction of the board of directors. However, not long after, a group of posts attacking Missilis suddenly appeared online, and in reality, a group of protesters marched in front of Missilis' headquarters.

They clamored for Missilis to disappear and for Missilis to disband.

Unbeknownst to many, it seems everyone has been swayed by these opinions, as if the human factory issue can be put to rest once Missilis disappears.

Although some people online noticed this, they were drowned out by the overwhelming outcry against Missilis.

“…Indeed.” Yinhua also realized what had happened; she hadn’t expected to be so easily led astray.

These two things may look the same, but they are actually worlds apart.

Even if Missilis goes bankrupt and dissolves, as long as the people behind it are still there, they will simply reappear under a different name.

They might criticize Missilis even more harshly in order to help their new company gain a foothold.

Hearing a noise behind him, Li Zuo turned around and saw Shu En coming down the stairs. He said:

“Your feeling is true. Missilis has been abandoned. Those guys are planning to start over from scratch. Anyway, they still have assets, and the government will agree to ‘bankruptcy’ in order to quell public anger as soon as possible.”

“But,” Shu En said with a resigned smile, “this is also your victory. No one has ever pushed them to this point before. One of the three major corporations was directly removed from the list because of you. I’m sure the military and the other two will treat you more carefully in the future.”

Can this really be called a victory...? Li Zuoyi looked at her and said, "What will you do after this?"

“I’ll probably go to jail; my crimes are still on my record, but I probably won’t be there for long,” Shuen said. “After I get out, I’ll probably just go to any research institute…”

She was speaking when she found herself unable to breathe, and her frail body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Looking at Shu En, who was in tears but still trying to hold on, Li Zuoyi sighed and said, "It seems like you're not willing to accept this at all."

"...Ugh, ugh, ahhhhhh..."

Shuen's psychological defenses collapsed. She knelt down and pounded the floor, crying and shouting. She was dissatisfied, aggrieved, and angry at her own powerlessness.

Laplace... I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do to save you... Please forgive me...

Mom and Dad, I'm sorry, because of my mistake... Misilis is going to end...

“Kill them, I…I want to kill them…” Blood was seeping from her clenched hands.

“That’s right, what kind of bullshit victory is this? Don’t joke around.” Li Zuoyi squatted down next to her and said, “I can help you though.”

Upon hearing this, Yinhua consciously stepped outside to give the two of them some time to discuss things alone.

Looking at his ambiguous smile, Shu En wiped away her tears and asked, "What do you want?"

Li Zuoyi held up three fingers and said, "I want you to unconditionally grant me three requests, the same as before. I'll tell you when I think of them."

"can."

Shuen answered very quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

He'd give anything he wanted if it meant getting revenge on those guys.

"Then it's settled." Li Zuoyi helped wipe away the tears from her swollen eyes, but unexpectedly she hugged him tightly and cried uncontrollably against his chest.

……

At night, Li Zuoyi drove alone on a road with few pedestrians.

"Has it been decided yet?" he asked.

A cold voice came through the earpiece, "Misilis has submitted the company's restructuring plan, and the government is about to approve it."

"And what about those people on the Missilis board?"

"..."

The only response he received was Anik's silence.

It seems that some of the original members are still on the board, which is why Anik couldn't tell him.

"Will they be put on legal trial?" Li Zuoyi asked.

"will not."

Anik's answer was quite straightforward.

"That's true. If you could judge them, why would you need to resurrect me?" Li Zuo chuckled and said, "By the way, you seem to have been busy with something lately. What's wrong?"

“I will explain in detail to you after you have finished handling this matter.” Then, like a system issuing orders, Anick mechanically said, “Commander Li Zuoyi, do you confirm the execution of document 03234?”

Document No. 03234 is the secret agreement between Li Zuoyi and Anik.

"Yes, I've been waiting for you to say that."

“As the Ark AI, I need to collect a series of intelligence data to confirm the criminal’s crimes. Only after determining that it is impossible to prosecute them will I hand them over to you for execution,” Anick added. “Thank you for not acting on your own.”

"We're all family, no need to be so polite."

"Well……"

At this moment, Li Zuo stepped on the brakes, and outside the car window was the Board of Directors Manor, which he had visited yesterday.

He got out of the car and closed the door. The ring transformed into a dark gold longsword, which he held in his hand. With a casual swing, he cleaved the several-meter-high iron gate into several pieces.

Li Zuoyi walked into the garden and looked at the dozens of mass-produced Niki units ready for battle. He noticed that they all had numbered labels on their faces, just like the mass-produced Niki units he had seen in the outer area before.

"Ah, food!" Indiviya's voice appeared in his mind, as if he had woken up.

The mass-produced Nikis had already swarmed forward, while Li Zuo held his long sword horizontally in front of his face, saying, "Then let's eat to our hearts' content."

Chapter 82: Enough said, let's get going.

The longsword that Indivilia had transformed into looked dull and lifeless, with even the blade riddled with nicks and chips.

However, when Li Zuoyi wielded it and slashed at the mass-produced Niki, he easily sliced ​​through their skin made of divine cadmium metal.

However, the cut was not as smooth and neat as that made by a normal sharp blade. Instead, it looked as if it had been torn apart by some ferocious beast, with crisscrossing teeth marks.

What's even more terrifying is that when Li Zuoyi was only thinking about cutting off their hands and feet to stop them from moving, the severed hands and feet seemed to be bitten by the blade and slowly absorbed into the gold-plated longsword he was holding.

After devouring Niki's body, the tiny gaps in the densely packed blades were slowly filled in, and the cracked blades regained a slight luster.

Not only that, Li Zuoyi even felt that his body seemed to have more strength.

Could this knife possibly give back to me?

Looking at the mass-produced Nikis who would grab him even if their limbs were severed, Li Zuoyi plunged his longsword into the core of one of them. The Niki's body began to twist, as if affected by a powerful gravitational force, and gradually her entire body was compressed and sucked into the longsword.

"Mmm, mmm~ Ahhh~~~" In my mind, Indeveria let out a soft, ecstatic moan, "I, I want more! Please, more~"

Li Zuoyi also felt the changes in his body; his strength became more perceptible, and his five senses gradually became more acute.

It felt like he had returned to a hundred years ago, where he could use his own imaginative mental power to detect a radius of several kilometers around him.

Although he is far from reaching his former level of ability, he has already made a start.

Li Zuoyi thought he could only focus his limited mental energy on close combat, but now it seems he has made a breakthrough and his mental energy limit is far from being reached.

Seeing one of their companions swallowed whole before their eyes, the mass-produced Nikis involuntarily took a few steps back.

Even Lemon, who was watching the battle from upstairs in the mansion, was shocked and leaned against the windowsill. "What kind of ability is that? Didn't his ability change from detection to physical enhancement?"

Lemon had already deduced from his intelligence that Li Zuoyi was the mysterious swordsman who killed Ethel, and also guessed that he was the commander of the Goddess Force.

Seeing that the man had already absorbed more than a dozen clones of Elena downstairs, Lemon knew that things couldn't continue like this.

"Elena!" he called out.

Elena, who was beside him, nodded, jumped out of the window, and landed on the ground, kicking up dust.

She looked up and stared directly at Li Zuoyi, a red light appearing around her pupils.

The ability was activated, blocking the transmission of Li Zuoyi's motor nerve signals.

He couldn't move...

That should be the case, but Li Zuoyi only staggered and swung his knife to devour another mass-produced Niki who had seen him make a mistake and wanted to restrict his movements.

"What are you doing?!" Lemon saw Li Zuoyi still slowly devouring the clone Niki and rushing towards him.

Elena didn't know what had happened; she tried to activate her power again and again, but could no longer have any effect on him.

Finally, all her replicas disappeared, and the man, holding a dark gold longsword, walked towards her.

Elena was originally the prototype of those mass-produced Niki units, and her overall strength was far superior to the mass-produced units.

While she cannot kill humans, she can certainly subdue ordinary humans...

That is, assuming her hand, which she extended at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, is still there.

“You are also a target for elimination.” After Li Zuoyi finished speaking, he swung his arm and cut off her head. Before the head could fly away, she was completely absorbed, leaving only a maid outfit scattered on the ground.

As soon as Li Zuoyi heard Lemon's voice coming from upstairs, he pointed the tip of his knife at the ground, and a strong gust of wind rose up, lifting him up and floating him to the open window.

Entering the mansion through the window, Li Zuoyi fell into a long corridor. He looked around and saw Lemon running away in the corridor.

"Isn't it a bit too late to run now?"

So he chased after him, and with his enhanced body, catching up to him was effortless.

Lemon heard the noise behind him, turned around, and found his vision spinning rapidly. He also saw his headless mechanical body fall helplessly out of control.

"You..." Although he no longer had a body, he could still speak, since he didn't need to breathe.

Li Zuo straightened Lemon's head, and before he could raise his long sword, Lemon said, "Long time no see, Allen Lee."

Alan Lee was Lee's name a hundred years ago.

"Who... are you?" Li Zuoyi put down his long sword.

I thought the president of the underground bank would be a member of a board of directors, but it turns out he was the one.

"Does it matter who I am? What matters is that I already know who you are, and if you don't want to be..."

Li Zuo grabbed Lemon's head and lifted it up, a cruel smile on his face. "If you really intended to tell your companions, you wouldn't have been so eager to invite me to join Missilis."

"Even in my current state, I can still send messages..."

Seeing his speechless expression, Li Zuo said, "You can't send it, can you?"

Because Anik had already controlled the signal in this area.

“…Spare my life, I can…” Before Lemon could finish speaking, Li Zuoyi readily replied, “Yes, but you have to answer my questions.”

"……what?"

Why didn't you tell those people who I was?

Lemon's lips twitched slightly. He was cautious and didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Don't you remember why you were imprisoned for over forty years?"

"Pfft pfft—" Li Zuoyi imitated the sound effect of a guest answering incorrectly on a TV quiz show. He pried open Lemon's mouth and inserted the long knife. "I didn't ask you to answer questions with questions."

"Woshuo, Woshuo, spare my life..."

"My Goddess Force must have asked you to open the Ark's gate and let them in, right?" Li Zuo looked him in the eye and said, "What was your response back then?"

"Ugh!!" Lemon could feel the sharp tip of the knife piercing through his upper mouth, his voice filled with fear.

With a 'pfft', he stopped responding.

Like skewering candied hawthorns, Li Zuo strung his head onto the long knife, with pink tissue still visible at the tip.

"I thought you would eat it..." Li Zuoyi asked in his mind.

"Humans... forget it." Indiveria said with some disdain.

“Being picky about food is not good.” Li Zuoyi noticed a very high-tech, pure white door in the direction Lemon had fled, which was four meters high and three meters wide.

He walked to the door, holding his long sword, only to find that various verifications were required.