Chapter 16: Chapter 16: The Revived Vanguard Unit
Marian listened, nodding blankly with the innocent, clueless look of a recent graduate, completely untouched by the harshness of the real world.
Thankfully, no similar incidents occurred afterward.
"Desire truly is a double-edged sword."
Mo Chen sighed.
After a few days of observation, he more or less understood Marian's situation.
Her memory remained, but her mentality seemed to have regressed to that of a child.
She knew basic things, like seeking shelter from rain and not eating random things from the ground.
In battle, aside from her vastly increased strength—enough to easily take on both Rapi and Anis combined—she seemed pretty much the same as before.
This realization dealt a severe blow to Anis's confidence.
After several consecutive losses, she finally accepted the reality.
Continuing to challenge her would just be like a photo app editing a memorial picture—utterly pointless.
Still, Rapi, Anis, and Marian got along quite well, to the point where Anis even shared her treasured soda with Marian.
"Well, you surprised me. I didn't expect you to risk your life to save a Nikke," Anis said, scooting over to sit beside Mo Chen on a rock.
At first, she'd thought he was just like the other cowardly commanders, but he'd charged directly at the Tyrant-class Rapture, something even Nikkes wouldn't dare to do!
"What's wrong with saving a Nikke?" Mo Chen raised an eyebrow.
Anis shrugged, glancing at Marian, who was leaning against him, and gave a slight pout.
"What's wrong? We Nikkes are nothing but disposable assets, tools for missions. One group dies, and they're replaced with another. Chances are no one would even know if we did."
Mo Chen felt a pang of discomfort at her words, frowning slightly.
"To me, you're all the same. You're human."
"Ha! That's a funny joke," Anis chuckled, almost fooled by his sincerity. "You nearly had me there."
"I'm serious," Mo Chen replied, picking up the sleeping Marian and setting her gently in their makeshift tent.
After her change in mentality, Marian's personality had softened, and she'd developed a fondness for sleep.
Mo Chen envied her peaceful rest.
His next plan was to continue accumulating points.
He'd experimented previously and found that he could only activate the points system within about a ten-meter radius of people.
Which meant he'd need to scavenge the battlefield to gather supplies.
"Hold up," Anis called, catching up with him, a mischievous smile on her face. "If I were in danger like Rapi and Marian, would you come to my rescue too?"
Mo Chen couldn't be bothered to respond.
"No."
"Harsh! You'd just watch me die?"
"Yes."
"Hey!" Anis huffed, clearly irritated.
But her curiosity about Mo Chen only grew.
The spray he had that could heal Nikkes, his way of clearing the Rapture virus, his powerful Nikke companion, and that impossible ability to dodge laser beams—he didn't seem human.
And the sudden infighting among the Raptures? That had to be his doing, too.
Rapi, however, took a more practical approach, arguing that he shouldn't risk his life for Nikkes, even if it were for her.
Acknowledging her concerns, Mo Chen agreed to exercise caution.
Later, the team went on to clear the battlefield.
When they reached the Tyrant's location, everyone fell silent.
Among the remains of Raptures lay numerous Nikke bodies.
In fact, it was hard to even call them bodies—they were disassembled parts, severed limbs scattered everywhere.
Inside the reddish sacs on the Tyrant's back, they could see Nikkes who hadn't yet been fully digested or absorbed.
These were the missing members of the vanguard team.
"Damn it!" Anis spat, kicking a Rapture corpse in frustration.
But it didn't ease her anger.
"Let's go," Rapi said, turning away.
After seeing so much, they'd grown accustomed to it—or perhaps just numb.
The wind picked up, whistling mournfully.
Tattered scraps of Nikke uniforms fluttered from the exposed steel beams of ruined buildings. Their owners—now gone.Their whereabouts unknown.
Night was falling and the sky was thick with ominous clouds, casting a somber, desolate atmosphere over the battlefield.
A lone figure walked back to this place.
It was Mo Chen.
He approached the remains of a fallen Nikke, crouched down, and touched it with his fingertip. Crimson lines spread from his touch, pulsing as if alive, and began to extend across the surrounding debris.
Under this web of red threads, scattered Nikke limbs and body parts started to reassemble, piece by piece, until vague silhouettes of former Nikkes emerged.
It was the fallen Nikkes of the vanguard unit!
Mo Chen had used the Punishing Virus to bring them together.
These vanguard Nikkes had once been elite units; their uniforms and equipment made that clear. But they had all fallen to Black Smith's trap, their entire unit wiped out.
"Let's call them the Vanguard Unit," he decided.
To survive in this world, he needed to build his own forces.
One day, he would be up against Raptures, Ark, the Pilgrims, the Heretics, and even the "Queen" above the skies.
The secret of his Punishing Virus wouldn't stay hidden forever, and when exposed, he would likely be seen as an enemy by every major faction—Ark, the Raptures, all of them.
Sure, he could choose to lie low and align himself with Ark, perhaps live a safe life.
But if he wanted to break free, liberate the Nikkes, and save humanity, he would have to prepare for war with every faction.
Especially later on, when the Heretics rose—opponents even Ark and the Pilgrims couldn't defeat.
Without power, he'd be cannon fodder.
Unfortunately, his current level of the Punishing Virus was limited to assimilating these fallen Nikkes: restoring their original consciousness was still far from possible.
A bit of a shame, he thought.
The Punishing Virus has three stages.
The first stage allows viral invasion, purging of the Rapture virus, and assimilation of lower-level, mindless Nikkes. The second stage enables assimilation of Lord-class Raptures and control over infected mechanical consciousness. The third stage allows invasion of Tyrant-class Raptures, and even the cultivation of the Red Tide, giving rise to intelligent lifeforms.
But when he saw the point requirement for each stage, he gave up.
The previous purchases had been discounted as a starter benefit—like a grand opening sale.
It reminded him of those early pop-up "$1 packs" in games.
But the point requirements now were increasing geometrically, far beyond his current budget: it seemed he'd need to explore the nearby big cities more often.
As he headed back, he suddenly paused: someone had been here.
Mo Chen frowned.
The surrounding area was infected with the Punishing Virus, which he controlled. Any disturbance would alert him.
But who could it have been?
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