Free Web NovelChapter 1186: Chapter 185: Descent from the Heavens
In the real world, a hubbub erupted in the Sky Arena ring.
At this moment, most of today’s player rematches had already concluded. The audience’s attention shifted to the ongoing matches, including the one between Li Ang and AIM.
Since AIM had retreated to the seabed after preparations, not releasing skills or using items, remaining as still as a dormant coral, the arena’s cameras automatically focused on Li Ang.
Now, Li Ang also dashed into the mushroom cloud and vanished from sight, leaving only the sound of howling winds in the footage.
"Mushroom cloud... mushrooms... mushroom soup... red umbrella, white stem, eat it, sleep together on the board."
Chaichai sat there, seemingly lost in thought, showing no sign of concern for Li Ang. Instead, she inexplicably associated the mushroom cloud with mushroom soup and couldn’t help but swallow the drool.
When Li Ang first activated Divine Power and became the Master of the Swamp and Flesh, he often cultivated various exotic creatures in the Automated Pet Box, including many vividly colored mushrooms of unknown toxicity.
To verify the ingredients of these mushrooms and assess their potential,
Li Ang conducted molecular examinations using instruments stolen from the Abnormal World,
and fed the mushrooms to large mammals like cows, sheep, and pigs.
Some of these mushrooms... smelled incredibly delicious. Without any cooking, simply slicing them into sashimi would release a sweet meaty aroma like top-grade beef.
Once, Chaichai couldn’t resist secretly taking some mushrooms to make soup, which ended up causing food poisoning and strange hallucinations of jumping joy-filled figures. If she hadn’t separated from the Qinge Armor in time,
she might have become the first Fierce Ghost in history to die from mushroom poisoning, pinned to a pillar of shame to remind future generations not to eat unknown mushrooms recklessly.
"But it should be fine to order mushroom takeout from Game Square, right?"
Chaichai muttered, scrolling through her phone screen. Sitting next to her, both Wang Congshan and Liu Wu Dai glanced at her, moved the corners of their mouths slightly, but said nothing.
Destroying the world, enduring a nuclear airburst... Is that something normal?
In the past, even if Li Ang could walk away from the arena match unscathed, afterward he would still face caution, vigilance, and apprehension from all sides, right?
In the Bugman World within the arena, the technological level was on par with the real world before the arrival of Kill Zone. If the {Pale World} he released could destroy planetary civilization within a few years, Earth’s reality wouldn’t be spared either.
Even though times have changed, with the Special Affairs Bureau relocating large populations, the United States securing several major cities, and Europe becoming increasingly closed, as the Star Gate World grows larger and Earth becomes more perilous, everyone is finding ways out,
Chaichai’s indifference, not at all worried about Li Ang exposing civilization-destroying level weapons, is either thoughtless or very odd.
Liu Wu Dai shook his head silently; this master and servant were always peculiar. The matter to focus on now was something else.
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps came from the back of the audience, and Dawn, leading a group of European Heavy Industry Group agents, approached, greeting awkwardly.
In a sense, she was here to "admit fault." AIM’s ability to counter the {Pale World} in this rematch largely came from the information she uploaded regarding the {Deep Sea Giant Beast} script mission.
"...Personally, I uploaded the {Deep Sea Giant Beast} script mission to a confidential server within European Heavy Industry, accessible to only a few people.
Since European Heavy Industry does not share data with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, AIM definitely used some other method to peek at this part of the content."
Dawn admitted awkwardly, "After today’s match ends, I will conduct an internal investigation within European Heavy Industry to find out where the leak came from. I hope you can convey my apologies to Mr. Li when he comes out."
"Convey them? No problem."
Wang Congshan hesitated with a nod. She wasn’t sure if Dawn truly didn’t know about the leak, whereas privately trading team cooperation script mission intelligence among high-level players was a common practice.
Whether it was selling others’ information on the black market,
or trading intelligence for intelligence, it was widespread.
By saying this, Dawn might have wanted to distance herself from the situation, hoping Li Ang wouldn’t misunderstand her—selling intelligence and being caught is one thing, but being wrongfully blamed is another.
"That’s good, sorry for the interruption."
Thanking them, Dawn nodded and turned, leaving the audience area with a crowd of European Heavy Industry players in tow.
Perhaps another group will die within European Heavy Industry today.
Liu Wu Dai watched Dawn’s angry retreating figure, thoughtful, turning back to see Chaichai slurping down a vibrant, raw mushroom soup furiously.
"This mushroom soup doesn’t have the right taste, does it? Wasn’t it said to cause mild hallucinations after consuming? Why does it feel less intense than the fungus that grows behind the bed board during the rainy season?"
Chaichai murmured to herself, furrowing her brow, "Could the takeout vendor have skimped? Injected iced tea into the mushrooms with a syringe to disguise them as poisonous ones? All fake, deceiving the customers..."
...Never mind ordering poisonous ones from takeout; how do you even know what the fungus growing behind the bed board in the rainy season tastes like?
Wang Congshan and Liu Wu Dai exchanged glances, restraining their urge to retort, clearing their throats, and hesitantly asked, "Li Ang... confronting a nuclear airburst head-on, could he possibly be in trouble?"
"Probably not... right? Since he did it, it proves he has the capability to do it."
Chaichai, who never attended modern schools, wasn’t clear on the specifics of modern nuclear bombs’ power but confidently replied, "It’s definitely fine. Um... judging from his appearance just now, I think this arena match will soon be over.
The time left for AIM is running out."
————
Within the dark mushroom cloud, Li Ang ascended rapidly, surrounded by intense radiation striking the Mirage Dragon Red Mane, causing the scarlet cloak to emit crackling static-like sounds.
Ordinary people staying here for a few seconds would be overwhelmed by needle-like pain throughout their body, rendered blind and deaf, not long destined,
but Li Ang, whose body had transcended mortal limitations, merely felt a faint mist brushing against the areas not covered by the Mirage Dragon Red Mane.
It felt reminiscent of cycling through the factory district once before.
A slight smile crept across his lips. The mushroom cloud was filled with radiation-exceeding water vapor and dust, and ample ionizing radiation rendered near-Earth orbit monitoring satellites and laser detectors all ineffective.
When the Bugman Civilization regained Li Ang’s image, he was fiercely bursting out of the troposphere, advancing to the stratosphere.
"Stop him! At all costs, figure out a way to intercept him!"
The leadership of the Bugman Civilization fell into collective panic. The troposphere’s altitude is 16 km, whereas modern fighter jets’ practical operational ceiling is 20 km.
If Li Ang were to reach the stratosphere, Bugman fighter jets would lose their efficacy entirely—although a few jet planes could reach 30 km altitudes, their combat effectiveness and maneuverability at those heights were minimal.
A surge of U.S. fighter jets on the Wyoming border received orders to chase Li Ang above the mushroom cloud, while more launched from hangars.
The Bugman Civilization couldn’t fathom Li Ang’s intentions, but all they could do was try to stop him by any means.
Tap!
Li Ang ascended upwards like a released arrow, stepping on the invisible Cloud Ascending Ladder, his fingers casually flicking, releasing dark green dissociation beams to destroy air-to-air missiles fired from beyond visual range, soon surpassing the altitude reachable by fighter jets, losing the Bugman Civilization elite pilots.
km.
At this height, Earth’s curvature was already very apparent, the lower clouds drifting erratically, busy cityscapes dimming into insignificant points in view.
It’s still not high enough.
km.
km...
Li Ang climbed rapidly, watching the blue planet slowly shrink in his vision, while the surrounding air grew thinner.
The Bugman civilization did not fail to make a last attempt; they frantically launched a massive number of intercontinental missiles skyward.
Ballistic missiles typically follow the "half-and-half" principle, meaning the maximum altitude they can reach is half of their range.
A range of 1000 kilometers can reach an altitude of 500 kilometers,
A range of 10000 kilometers can reach an altitude of 5000 kilometers.
This altitude is still within the range of intercontinental missiles, and because it’s high up, there’s no concern about impacting the ground.
The Bugman launched an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles, falling towards Li Ang’s approximate direction like a shower of flowers in the sky.
Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough.
Li Ang chuckled and stepped on invisible stairs, tracing a Z-shaped upward path in the sky.
Intercontinental missiles, unable to perform complex maneuvers at high altitudes, were easily evaded by Li Ang. Even if they detonated, as long as he wasn’t within the explosion’s light-heat zone, they couldn’t cause direct harm to him.
Instead, he could use the shockwaves to accelerate upward once more.
"This height is enough..."
The sky was no longer blue and clear; instead, it gradually merged with the cosmic space, turning dim and somber. Li Ang drew out a Colt Revolver, activated his Eagle Eye Vision, and looked at that barely noticeable tiny white dot high in the sky.
It was an artificial satellite in near-Earth orbit, with two solar panels on each side, bearing the American flag on its body.
Boom—
The Colt’s muzzle erupted in fire,
The next moment, the two solar panels of the satellite shattered explosively, the body was torn open by a gaping wound,
And Li Ang, too, directly crossed the 500km distance, placing his palm on the remains of the satellite.
Here, this was near-Earth orbit.
Li Ang looked down, standing on the atmospheric dispersion layer, gazing at Earth, seeing only a round blue sphere.
Seventy billion intelligent beings lived on this sphere,
They had a glorious and victorious evolutionary history, establishing a dynasty of intelligent beings, transforming the surface, altering nature, proclaiming themselves the wisest of all beings, the universe’s unique existence.
Yet, they did not know,
In the vast, all-encompassing dark universe, their planet was but a solitary dot.
Li Ang slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his Demigod body entirely ignoring the discomfort of pressure from thin air, instead, feeling an unprecedented tranquility in this empty, absolute silence.
"Let’s begin."
He spoke softly to himself, lightly drawing his palm through the void,
A gigantic mecha named [Obsidian], half-steel half-plant, silently emerged in near-Earth orbit, overlooking the insignificant mortal world with Li Ang.
"I wonder if you’ve ever seen a staff technique that descends from the heavens."
Li Ang smiled slightly, slipped into the mecha cockpit, and connected to the Drift Flow System,
The terrified Bugman civilization only saw through telescopes and other surveillance satellites in the same orbit,
All the light tubes on the Obsidian mecha’s surface lit up.
Buzz—
The back vector noozle mouths fired at full power, bursting with azure flames,
Propelling the Titan-sized heavy mecha to slowly leave near-Earth orbit, heading towards Earth, descending.
Falling.
The colossal mecha, weighing over eight thousand tons, plunged into the atmosphere, constantly accelerating under the planet’s gravitational pull.
The increasingly dense air whistled past, becoming layers of nets, trying to use air resistance to hinder the mecha’s endless fall.
The surface armor rapidly heated up,
The anti-corrosion coating from the allied Pacific Rim Defense forces was transforming from black to fiery red.
The heat from breaking the sound barrier caused the cockpit to sound a slight alarm,
Li Ang twisted his neck, lightly pressing his palm on the control panel, releasing level seven Spiritual Energy with abandon.
Boom!
The massive mecha’s surface instantly erected a sacred, inviolable octagonal golden shield.
The fierce, surging air currents, which could be called innate astral wind, striking the A.T. Force Field, flowed away as lightly as water.
The A. T. Force Field is a miraculous creation that twists reality with personal will,
It could even diminish, if not nullify, the physical existence of air resistance.
"An eight-thousand-ton mecha with an A.T. Force Field crashing from near-Earth orbit to Earth, I wonder if it can trigger Yellowstone?"
Li Ang’s soft murmur was destined to be unknown to the Bugman civilization, "If that’s not enough, then let’s up the ante..."
His will poured out like a flood,
The plant vines on the Obsidian mecha’s surface suddenly revitalized, extending as if an extension of Li Ang’s body, drawing out a staff named Heart Monkey from the void.
"Enlarge."
Accompanied by Li Ang’s calm voice, the Heart Monkey Staff expanded and enlarged,
Ten meters,
Twenty meters,
Forty meters,
Finally, one hundred meters.
The one-hundred-meter-long Heart Monkey Staff was embraced by the Obsidian mecha with both hands, like the legendary Sea-Fixing Needle, plummeting towards Earth.
Target, Yellowstone volcano crater.
The elite of the Bugman civilization on the ground were already completely stupefied,
They watched the black dot in the sky drawing nearer and nearer, lips parted, eyes blank, collectively losing the ability to think.
That was, a celestial object descending.
