章節 3: 3: District Escape
In the year 3000, humanity started evolving at an unprecedented rate, marking the beginning of the Interstellar Era. Mankind invented a space shuttle that allowed for rapid spatial travel, enabling ventures into the vast galaxy. However, this wasn't the most impressive achievement. A few amazing scientists were able to invent portals that, while not enabling time travel, allowed for transportation to worlds inhabited by lifeforms, both civilized and uncivilized.
This event led humans to encounter aliens and species previously thought unimaginable. These encounters brought both opportunities and conflicts. Not all aliens welcomed humanity with open arms; in fact, the majority, especially the uncivilized ones, were hostile, leading to intergalactic wars known as the "Universal Conflict." This war continued for decades until several alien races, alongside humans, decided to collaborate and unify. By combining their knowledge and technology, they invented a portal that transported them not to random planets but to a single vast world teeming with new minerals and life.
In this world, technology and artificial items were reduced to scrap metal. However, the most shocking discovery was Mana, a powerful essence that became the ultimate energy source. Mana could be absorbed by any lifeform, not just humans, and it facilitated exponential growth and enhanced overall conditions. It affected not only living organisms but also equipment, tools, machines, and everything else, significantly increasing their effectiveness.
The most significant aspect of Mana was its ability to awaken species that absorbed it into superhuman beings, granting them not only inhuman strength but also magical powers. Recognizing Mana's potential, the universal government, known as the Superiors, was established. The Superiors formed an alliance of ten civilizations responsible for ruling and governing the universe, ensuring that Mana was not misused and supervising its proper utilization. Additionally, they took control of the portals, discovering the existence of three more similar portals, each with its own entrance restrictions and requirements.
Over the course of 100 years, new rules and laws were established, and under the jurisdiction of the Superiors, the races continued to evolve, conquering planets and galaxies, and battling hostile monsters within the portals. In recognition of their significance, these specific portals were named "Sanction of God."
The current year was 3450, and Aries, an 18-year-old F-Grade Starter, was a purebred human who had awakened two years ago. However, due to his societal level and lack of talent, he found himself stuck in stagnant waters. Aries wasn't a proper awakener since he had undergone an illegal awakening process through a fixer he paid in the black market, as it was impossible for a 4th-class civilian to be awakened legally.
In order to even touch a mana crystal, one had to be at least 3rd-class or above, while a 4th-class individual could only see it. Aries was born in KEPLER-92340, a planet ten times the size of Earth, inhabited by Humans, Genoms, Harkos, Denims, and Inlanders, all considered superior races. Despite belonging to a superior race, Aries was a slave to his own kind, constantly living in fear of capture and death.
"The only place they can't track me is in the Sanction of God."
[Sol: Then you better hurry.]
With limited time, Aries decided to gather as much food, clothing, and rations as he could find in the room, even though he felt guilty about it. Despite living in harsh conditions, Aries had always maintained an upright life and had never resorted to theft, even in extreme circumstances. This was the first time he found himself doing something like this.
"I feel like a bad guy."
[Sol: You literally just killed a man, but stealing makes you feel bad?]
"That guy deserved it, but the person who owned these belongings must have been just like me, doing their best to survive. And here I am, stealing their clothes and food."
[Sol: Sigh, have you purchased the items I told you to buy from the Star Store?]
"Yes, I've bought all of them. I only have 8,900 Star Points remaining."
[Sol: Good, you should be ready to go.]
After packing everything he needed to escape, Aries quietly made his way out of the building. However, a problem soon arose.
"Shit! It's midnight, and the branch members could be anywhere! How am I going to escape them?!"
[Sol: Drink a Stealth Potion. It should allow you to escape easily. Just hurry up! The effect lasts for a short duration, and you can only consume one every two minutes.]
"Yes, you're right!"
Aries opened his window panel and scrolled through his inventory tab, retrieving a small vial of grey liquid.
[Stealth Potion (F): Grants temporary concealment for 5 minutes. Covers you in a 1-meter diameter concealment veil that blocks all detection from external sources. The Stealth effect will disappear if another being enters the veil.]
After reaching the ground floor, Aries drank the potion, and in an instant, he felt as if he were enveloped by a transparent curtain, rendering him invisible to the outside world. A person passed by just two meters away, completely oblivious to his presence.
"The effects are incredible! They can't even hear me talking!"
[Sol: You're lucky that person is a lower lifeform. If they were above 5th grade or a lifeform with acute senses, you would have been spotted instantly.]
"Guess I'm lucky, then."
Aries smiled and immediately started running, wasting no time while the stealth effect persisted. He made his way towards the exit, but before reaching it, a loud horn blared, announcing an emergency alert throughout the district.
"Alert! Landlord Jack has been killed by one of his residents, and the resident is currently on the loose! Close all possible exits to prevent their escape!"
"Shit!"
Hearing the branch members' words, Aries sprinted as fast as he could. The exit was still 500 meters away, and he needed to reach it in time before the gates closed, or he would be trapped in the district, facing imminent danger.
[Sol: Quick! Drink a haste potion!]
Without hesitation, Aries retrieved a green vial containing a haste potion and swiftly consumed it. He felt his body become lighter, adrenaline coursing through him, and he began running toward the closing gate.
"Holy shit! I'm so fast!"
His speed matched that of a bullet soaring through the air. The air around him slapped his face, and the constant whistling from his movement nearly burst his eardrums. He contemplated slowing down, but the urgency of the situation compelled him to press on.
"Do all speedsters endure this backlash?"
[Sol: Yes, that's why weak life forms like you can only exert a certain level of force. Your feeble body limits you from reaching the great heights you might believe are impossible.]
"Speaking of impossible, it'll be impossible for me to reach the gate if my eardrums are going to burst."
[Sol: Then use a Blast Grenade to destroy the gate.]
"Oh, right!"
Aries retrieved a small plate the size of a penny, about 1 cm thick.
[Blast Grenade (F): Explodes upon contact with any material. Has a 2-meter diameter area of effect.]
As Aries had anticipated, despite his incredible speed, he couldn't reach the gates in time, as they had already closed. The wall stood tall at 50 meters, heavily guarded, and with a thickness of 1.5 meters. Climbing over it was impossible, given the heavy security provided by the elite members of the Rabbit Branch, all of whom were B-A rank Pursuers. Thus, Aries had no choice but to use the grenade to make his escape.
"Haap!"
Aries threw the coin-sized grenade at the wall, and upon contact with the reinforced concrete, it detonated, leaving behind a massive crater.
[EMERGENCY ALERT! B-SECTION HAS BEEN DESTROYED. ALL PERSONNEL IS TO BE DISPATCHED TO THE AREA!]
.
.
.
.
.
"Crap!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Aries took off as soon as the alarm sounded. He quickly made his way through the crater and escaped beyond the district walls. It didn't take long for the elite personnel to arrive at the scene, and Aries was momentarily startled when one of them appeared right in front of him, causing him to fall to his knees.
Thud.
His heart raced as he could feel the elite personnel's eyes piercing through him. With every step the person took, Aries instinctively moved one step back.
"Shit! It's a Denim! They're humanoid aliens who possess similar physical traits to us humans, but they have distinguishable antennas on their heads that are highly sensitive to their surroundings! It's like an enhanced version of echolocation. It can't see me, right?"
[Sol: I...don't know.]
Suddenly, as if driven by its own instinct, the Denim's fist struck the empty ground.
Bam!
The ground cracked under the forceful punch, and it missed Aries's groin by mere inches, causing him to involuntarily release a bit of urine and cancelling the stealth effect.
"Found you!" The Denim grinned.
"Shit.."
[Sol: Quick! Use a Seedling!]
Aries wasted no time. He opened his spatial inventory and threw a small pea at the ground beneath the Denim. Caught off guard by the pea, the Denim was about to grab Aries by the neck when, in an instant, the tiny pea sprouted thick vines that constricted the Denim's body.
Dugugdudgdudgu
"You fucker! Guards! He's over here!" Realizing that it couldn't escape from the bindings, the Denim yelled at the top of its lungs to alert nearby personnel, who quickly responded.
Aries immediately started running but first opened his bag, retrieving two earbuds and goggles, which he put on. Without delay, he sprinted as fast as he possibly could.
[Sol: Smart move.]
With the protective gear he wore, Aries could now run much faster without suffering the consequences to his body. However, the elite personnel were not slow to catch up to him. Aries quickly pulled out a bunch of peas from the ground, and as the personnel passed through them, the peas immediately sprouted thick vines to restrict their movements. However, some of them noticed the peas and managed to avoid them.
"Die, you f*cking brat!"
One of the personnel approached Aries and summoned a ball of flames in each hand, launching them towards him. Aries reacted swiftly, pulling out a small glass vial from his inventory.
Ting~
[Ice Grenade (E): Explodes in a 5-meter radius, freezing everything within the explosion area. The explosion is directed away from the user.]
He threw the glass vial towards the incoming fireballs, and upon igniting, a massive blast of ice covered the entire area behind him. The fireballs turned into frozen spheres, losing their momentum and shattering on the ground, while the personnel caught within the explosion were instantly transformed into ice statues.
"What the hell was that?"
"Where did that bum get such powerful tools?"
"Quick! He's escaping through the forest! Catch him!"
Shaken but determined, the personnel regained their composure and pursued Aries, who was approaching the forest. As he reached the forest's edge, a sigh of relief washed over him, knowing he was finally on the verge of escaping the Rabbit Branch's territory.
"Finally, I can escape!"
Peng!
"Kheuk!"
However, just as his freedom seemed within reach, a laser beam pierced through Aries's chest, burning a hole through one of his lungs. He collapsed to the ground, the pain searing through his body.
[Sol: Dude! You're about to die! Quickly! Drink a healing potion!]
Aries struggled to open his spatial inventory, his vision dimming and his breath growing shallow. Each passing second felt like an eternity as suffocation gripped him. Summoning his last reserves of strength, he disregarded the pain and forced open the vial of green liquid, even chewing on the broken glass, desperate to get the healing potion down his throat.
Almost immediately, a surge of pain coursed through his body as the healing potion took effect. The hole in his chest closed up, bruises faded away, and the wounds in his mouth healed. Without hesitation, Aries rose to his feet, his body rejuvenated, and swiftly vanished into the depths of the forest.
"You managed to survive that shot, huh?"
A man in a grey suit and tie chuckled as he observed the forest from the high walls of the district, watching Aries's silhouette fade into the distance. He had fired the laser beam from his index finger, the smoke still rising from his hand as he exhaled.
"Should we send backup to capture that criminal? We can inform the authorities and have them search all potential hiding places."
A woman in typical secretary attire appeared beside him.
"No need. If word gets out about this, my reputation as the leader of the Rabbit Branch will be tarnished. It would be embarrassing if I couldn't even control one of my own residents. Instead, dispatch our team to the towns surrounding our district, and have Captain Morgan stationed at the nearest portal to the Sanction of God. Instruct him to apprehend the kid, but ensure he is tortured enough to extract information. It seems the kid possesses powerful weapons, and if we can discover their source, we can monopolize them and profit from it."
"I will convey the orders. But why put Captain Morgan near the Sanction of God entrance? Why not station all our personnel there? Or capture him inside the Sanction of God?"
"That kid knows he's wanted all over the place, and the only safe haven he can hide without being easily found is the Sanction of God. While he might be able to survive inside, the entrance stations are randomized, so he may end up in a different base. Besides, we are currently short on personnel, as the District Evaluation is approaching. The quickest and safest way to capture him is by deploying our strongest forces to apprehend him alone. Additionally, Captain Morgan possesses the necessary skills to carry out this task efficiently."
"I understand. I will contact them immediately and have our members surround the place."
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