Xie Litang was completely dumbfounded.
"Wait, sis, what's wrong with you...?"
Looking down at the gun pressed against her own forehead, she cleared her throat awkwardly and put it away.
"I... I'm fine."
Xie Litang scooped her up in her arms and placed her back into the wheelchair.
After showering her with comforting words and mentally preparing Chen Linling for what she was about to do, Xie Litang finally picked up a dagger and dragged it across her own palm right in front of her sister.
"Huh?"
Chen Linling revealed a look of surprise. She reached out to feel Xie Litang's hand, touching it for a good while before asking, "Are you really okay?"
Xie Litang nodded and said, "It's just a little lucky encounter of mine. Normal knives and guns can't hurt me anymore."
Chen Linling pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what will you do if you get appendicitis in the future?"
Xie Litang: "I..."
What else could she do? Toggle off the skill, of course.
Fortunately, Chen Linling finally put her mind completely at ease. As long as her sister wasn't driven to end her own life by overwhelming pressure, everything was fine.
The two sat and chatted while the robots disassembled parts nearby.
"Sis, speaking of which... your awakened ability? Have you ever used it?"
"It requires sacrificing a teammate, so I've never used it."
"Sis, are there any restrictions on who counts as a teammate?"
"I'm not sure."
Xie Litang really hadn't used it. After getting the system, she had focused entirely on rushing defense equipment.
Truth be told, the ability she awakened was inherently far from weak. Sacrificing a teammate boosted all attributes by 100%, which would be absurdly overpowered in the late game.
But then again...
This ability required sacrificing a teammate to heaven.
"Sis, can ants count as teammates?"
Xie Litang tested it out and shook her head.
"Then what about me?"
Xie Litang rolled her eyes and patted her head, saying, "Silly girl, do you think I'd sacrifice my own sister for boundlessly overwhelming power?"
Chen Linling grabbed the hand patting her head, held it in her palms, and said, "This is our last resort. What's wrong with sacrificing me if it really comes down to it? Besides, I believe that as long as it's a rule, there must be a loophole or solution."
Xie Litang scoffed lightly and said, "Stop talking nonsense."
Chen Linling's expression turned serious as she said, "I'm not joking. Once I assemble a few combat robots, let's see if they can count as teammates for your talent."
"The analysis from my terminal tells me that, theoretically, it should be possible."
"If it works, we can miniaturize or even nanotize the robots later."
Chen Linling kept muttering to herself, calculating the possibilities.
The two settled down in Fumu City. Chen Linling's initial vision had been wonderful, but reality was quite harsh.
After searching many places, she found that most Old Era servers were damaged.
Chen Linling could only have the robots haul things back, repairing whatever could be fixed.
Whatever couldn't be repaired was disassembled and integrated. If one machine wasn't enough, then using materials from ten or twenty servers would surely yield one usable unit.
Chen Linling glanced sideways at her sister, who was squishing ants every now and then.
A stream of data flashed across Chen Linling's eyes: [Logical Behavior Analysis — Sister's Psychological State: Heavyhearted.]
"Sigh..."
Chen Linling sighed, pulling a freshly built heavy sniper rifle from under her wheelchair.
[Weapon Name: Barrett (Modified)]
[A renowned classic anti-materiel heavy sniper rifle from the Old Era. Currently outdated in the present environment. Suggested improvement path: EMP-Kinetic Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle.]
Chen Linling gripped the sniper rifle tightly and said, "Whoever makes Sis unhappy, I'll make sure they never get the chance to be happy again."
Then, she lovingly stroked her workbench.
It was all thanks to the Nanometer-Grade Additive Integrated Manufacturing Terminal her sister had spent over a million to buy for her. With this device, she could finally unleash her abilities as a Cyber Machinist.
And Chen Linling believed that before long, she would be able to stand on her own feet again.
Even if the price was giving up her natural legs...
But that was the price of her ability. Give and take; she didn't feel there was anything bad about it.
Living with a body full of prosthetics was far better than sitting in a wheelchair for the rest of her life—especially when, as she grew older, more and more of her natural flesh would decay anyway. She really had no other choice.
A few days later, their home was looking quite proper.
Diverting the city's inner river for power generation and running power cables—the entire process had been directed by Chen Linling and executed by the robots.
But then, Xie Litang set down a large bag of snacks and said, "Sis, I'm heading out for a bit."
Chen Linling sighed softly and said, "Okay, come back early."
The moment Xie Litang left, Chen Linling sprang into action as well.
Who said being in a wheelchair meant being completely helpless? Controlling her maglev wheelchair, Chen Linling opened up a storage room.
The shelves inside were packed with drones, every single one crafted by her own hands.
A soft smile bloomed on Chen Linling's face like a flower as she said, "No time to install noise-reduction features. They might be a bit loud, but at least there are plenty to go around."
[Swarm Drone Reconnaissance Complete.]
[Confirmed perimeter within a ten-kilometer radius is clear.]
[Target: Beitao City.]
[Distance: 147 kilometers.]
[Drone energy reserves insufficient to reach target. Estimated requirement: deploy 76 signal relay stations and 11 solar fast-charging stations.]
Data streams flickered across Chen Linling's eyes, and she quickly formulated a plan.
It was just wasting a few resources, after all. Using Old Era drones as bases, she had salvaged eight to ten thousand pieces of scrap—a bit of patching and repairing, and they'd be usable.
Chen Linling didn't want to be a burden.
Because she wouldn't be a burden.
Everything was the result of rigorous calculations. She definitely wouldn't make a mistake.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
A distance of 147 kilometers was nothing. At top speed, Xie Litang's turbofan board could cover it in half an hour.
The more she used this thing, the more grateful she felt toward Yang Yiyi—and, of course, toward the rich guy.
You could question a rich guy's taste, but you could never question whether the gear he used was trash.
"So what if it's second-hand?"
"A rich guy's second-hand gear is top-tier."
Xie Litang concealed her movements.
Beitao City had been a small town in the Old Era, with a permanent population of around one hundred thousand.
Truck after truck, escorted by the City Defense Force, drove into the center of Beitao City.
The cargo doors opened.
Inside were mostly snakes and rats.
Along with some cattle, sheep, and pigs.
These were all low-star demon beasts bred by humans, perfectly suited for high school students who had awakened their abilities to use in their Gaokao.
"That's the twenty-sixth truck. The strongest one is merely an ancestral pig beast, plus a few three-star bear beasts. Is this supposed to be the grand finale question for Jianghai City's Gaokao this year?"
Under normal circumstances, Xie Litang should have been participating in this Gaokao as well, but now there was no longer any need.
Without exaggeration, she could clear out this entire battlefield all by herself.
Xie Litang lay in ambush.
Two days later, temporary medical tents were set up outside Beitao City.
Over a dozen buses pulled up outside the exam venue.
Most of the passengers on board were commoner examinees. Some prominent figures from Jianghai City had brought their own personal doctors, so their medical stations were separate from the commoners'.
Xie Litang lowered her binoculars and said, "Three members of the Ye Family... Your medical tents are completely pointless."
The Gaokao lasted for two days.
Injured students could forfeit mid-exam, and the demon beasts they had slain up to that point would determine their final score.
A group of students walked over together.
"Young Master Ye, out of all Jianghai High School students, the top three spots in this Gaokao definitely belong to you."
"That's right! Young Master Ye is invincible! As the saying goes, dragons beget dragons, and phoenixes beget phoenixes. Young Master Ye's sister is a specially admitted student at Eastern Martial Arts University, groomed for the elite class the moment she entered."
"This year, maybe only Xue Qingyue can compete with Young Master Ye."
"Compete? What's there to compete for? If you ask me, Xue Qingyue will become Young Master Ye's woman sooner or later."
Xie Litang was listening attentively when suddenly, a familiar voice drifted into her ears.
"Young Master Ye," Li Ruoxi said with a flattering smile, "as long as Su Xiao and I assist you from the sidelines, taking down Xue Qingyue is only a matter of time. After all, we're her best besties."
Young Master Ye—namely Ye Weicheng, the young master of the Ye Family—burst into laughter upon hearing this. "You two are great. Once I successfully secure Xue Qingyue, I'll have my family look after your families' businesses."
Both girls were overjoyed and said, "Thank you so much, Young Master Ye!"
Xie Litang grinned widely.
So there were even old acquaintances here.
In that case, she might as well kill them all together.
Rate on N.U.
