Bab 47: Chapter 47: This Protagonist Halo is Really Tough!
Chapter 47: This Protagonist Halo is Really Tough!
Alex could imagine that Tom Cruise must be having a rough time.
It wasn't evident in the movie, but after actually coming to this world, Alex could confirm that Tom Cruise had died over a hundred times.
This was a conclusion Alex reached after idly counting the number of times he had reloaded past the hundredth time. But what did it matter? A true man should die a few hundred times. Back when he faced those two rat Kings in the sewer, hadn't he died… How many times was it again? Oh well, Alex couldn't be bothered to remember.
This should be enough.
After reloading once again, Alex exhaled and turned his gaze to the forest behind him. From a distance, the forest looked unremarkable.
But Alex knew that beneath the lush trees and shrubs, the forest, surrounded by mountains, was teeming with Zerg.
Hydralisks lay in wait underground, Zerglings prowled through the underbrush, and Mutalisks nestled quietly in the branches.
Everything was ready. After so many cycles of reloading, Alex's Zerg forces numbered in the tens of thousands.
Alex was confident that this wave would make those aliens cry, showing them the true meaning of destruction.
Compared to the Zerg, who could effortlessly destroy dozens of planets, these aliens, apart from their time manipulation abilities, were nothing to Alex.
One thing Alex couldn't understand was the time paradox. Let's set that aside and focus on energy conservation. How was it calculated? He had emptied the mines below several times, even drained the shale oil, yet resources reset with each reload. So where did these resources come from?
His Zerg hadn't disappeared because of time reversal; they had genuinely used up those resources.
Was it a parallel world? Or something else entirely?
Alex couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. This stuff was too complicated. He wasn't a scientist in his previous life, didn't study quantum mechanics, and didn't read relativity. As long as it worked for now, he'd keep using it. If any problems arose, he'd deal with them then.
Next, he needed to prevent time from resetting again.
Alex wasn't worried about the aliens, but he was concerned about the ticking time bomb that was Tom Cruise. The intervals between reloads were getting longer, indicating that the plot was progressing to the middle or even the late stages. However, Alex didn't want to give Tom Cruise the chance to save humanity. He needed the BOSS for his mission, and a grenade death would ruin everything.
So he came here.
London, Heathrow Forward Base.
Alex carefully watched the figure of a man in military uniform ahead. He was jogging with other soldiers but looked at ease, as if he had done this many times. If you saw him for the first time, you wouldn't think he was a desk officer but rather a battle-hardened veteran.
This was the protagonist of "Edge of Tomorrow," the unlucky but also very lucky man, Tom Cruise.
The base was heavily guarded, and Alex knew he couldn't sneak in. But he didn't need to. Using his psionic abilities, he could project his mental energy throughout Heathrow Base and lock onto any target he wanted.
Honestly, Alex found psionic energy quite useful, but there was one downside. When he embedded Luna's soul stone, he couldn't use Arthas's skills and, naturally, couldn't use the Light. This was probably a dimensional mage's flaw. Despite the Zerg's invincibility now, Alex knew that without Luna's soul stone, the Zerg wouldn't acknowledge him as their master.
Don't ask Alex how he knew—it was a tale of tears.
Alex had no choice. This was how the "Map of Myriad Dimensions" was initially set. Players learned skills derived from the soul stone they equipped. For example, the "Royal Cross Swordsmanship" Alex learned from a quest was a skill branch under Arthas's soul stone. Therefore, this skill only worked when Alex equipped the soul stone. Without it, he could swing his sword but couldn't use the Light, rendering the skill ineffective.
When the soul stone's usage count is exhausted and it shatters, players can choose to inherit their most proficient skill onto their personal interface. At this point, the skill detaches from the soul stone and becomes an exclusive player skill. Of course, if the player hasn't improved their skill proficiency much… well, it comes down to luck or even randomness.
Originally, Alex thought this design was clever and would definitely trap many pay-to-win players. But now it seems... you really should always leave some room for maneuver.
Using his psionic powers, Alex watched Tom Cruise start doing push-ups under the instructor's orders. He knew that soon, Tom would take advantage of a passing vehicle to find cover, then meet up with the female lead and continue their endless killing spree.
What Alex needed to do was to take this opportunity to deal with Tom Cruise.
Interestingly, most movies don't explain how to disable the protagonist's cheat powers, but in "Edge of Tomorrow," almost every viewer knows how to nullify Tom Cruise's hack. The process is shockingly simple: don't kill him instantly, but instead make him bleed slowly or give him a blood transfusion, and Tom Cruise's cheat is completely nullified.
So Alex's task was straightforward: find a chance to seriously injure Tom Cruise and make him get a blood transfusion. Then it would be time for him and his team to take over.
As for how to do it… have you seen "Final Destination"?
At this moment, a car drove past the line of soldiers doing push-ups. Seeing the car approaching, Tom Cruise's eyes shifted slightly. He glanced around and, at the moment the car came close, rolled sideways under it. Simultaneously, Alex used his psionic powers, causing the car to suddenly swerve, and the rear wheels headed straight for Tom Cruise's legs!
This was Alex's plan!
In Alex's mind, as long as he could break Tom Cruise's legs, he would be sent for treatment and get a blood transfusion. His task would then be complete. After that, the Zerg army would mobilize, and nothing would be a problem.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Whether the driver was too skilled or too unskilled, the car's rear wheels, just as they were about to crush Tom Cruise's legs, suddenly swerved, causing the car to flip over on the roadside. The commotion alerted others, and soldiers quickly ran over to help. Tom Cruise, also startled, stood up, glanced at the overturned car, thought for a moment, and then hurried towards the end of the road when no one was looking.
"......…"
Okay, maybe I'm not proficient enough with my psionic control.
Watching Tom Cruise's receding figure, Alex shrugged helplessly, then refocused on Tom Cruise. There would be many more opportunities on his way to meet the female lead; no need to rush this one.
Next, Alex watched Tom Cruise enter the training ground, taking risks to approach the female lead. Meanwhile, he acted again.
"Whoosh!!"
A previously stationary mechanical target suddenly started spinning rapidly towards Tom Cruise. Faced with the unexpected target, Tom Cruise was momentarily stunned. Just as he was about to be struck, the target's base, perhaps due to prolonged use, suddenly snapped with a "crack," causing the spinning target to narrowly miss Tom Cruise and slam into the wall.
"......…"
Okay, I knew these old, broken machines were unreliable.
In the training ground, Tom Cruise met with the female lead. After a brief conversation, they turned to leave. Under the female lead's guidance, they drove towards the maintenance center.
"Bang!!"
As they arrived at the maintenance center's entrance, the front left tire of the car suddenly exploded, causing the jeep to veer towards the wall. The female lead stepped hard on the brakes, gradually slowing the out-of-control jeep until it stopped just before hitting the wall.
"......…"
Okay, not accounting for action and reaction forces was my mistake.
As the two hurried into the maintenance center, a piece of mech debris being repaired suddenly "pinged" up, flying towards Tom Cruise's arm. Just as it was about to sever his arm, a gust of wind blew, deflecting the debris into the wall beside Tom Cruise, startling him.
"........."
Okay, I didn't consider aerodynamics… what a joke!
Watching this through his psionic powers, Alex almost flipped the table.
Once or twice is a coincidence, but three or four times? Do you think I'm an idiot?
"Sigh...…"
Alex helplessly realized that before nullifying Tom Cruise's cheat, he had one more task.
He needed to overcome Tom Cruise's protagonist halo and get rid of it.
(End of this chapter)
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