16 Variant
"U-uhm..."
The driver hasn't left yet.
"You see it's difficult to keep my mouth shut and uh I heard cultivators who follow the way of justice do not kill mortals and unarmed people so..."
The driver smirks as he rubs his hands together. "Can you give me a little bit more money? Probably 1 gold and I won't tell anyone about this."
I sigh. This coward was hiding behind a rock the whole time after the carriage exploded and only came out to say this.
I look around to detect any presence. Nobody I can notice is here.
"Hehehe..." He snickers as I reach for my pocket. However, instead of money, I draw Azrim and stab the man through his chest.
"H-H-Huh? I-I... You shameless..."
He spits out blood when he grasps the blade.
Azrim's blade starts to glow.
(Not bad, tasty.)
I pull out the sword from the corpse, it falls to the ground and oozes out blood.
-----------------
The host has affected how Xie Mo meet Li Ruo.
-500 fate value
+1000 evolution points
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-----------------
Congratulations! The system has levelled up.
System-level: 8->9
Properties unlocked:
-Puppetry
[Analysis] feature unlocked. You can now view the information on viruses and how each evolution can affect them.
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Puppetry?!
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Properties:
[Tier 1]
-Water resistance
-Heat resistance
-Water-resistance 2(900 points)
-Heat-resistance 2(900 points)
-Disruption(special)(90000 points)
-Qi immunity 1
-Qi Immunity 2(15000)
[Tier 2]
-Qi Camouflage(15000 points)
-Puppetry(40000 points)
{The infected will be loyal to the host and heed anything the host commands. Note: will not be active once the infected recovers}
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I buy Puppetry immediately, this will be useful to track what the patriarch is doing.
Nevertheless, puppetry will be ineffective once people recover so...
System, create another virus slot.
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A second Virus Slot has been created.
-1000 points
Does the host want to create a new Virus?
[Yes][No]
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Yes.
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Choose 2 symptoms:
Unlocked:
[Cough]
[Fever]
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Can I choose none?
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No symptoms were selected. An Asymptomatic Virus is created.
Choose 2 Properties:
[Water resistance]
[Heat resistance]
[Qi Immunity 1]
[Qi Immunity 2]
[Tier 2]
[Puppetry]
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Puppetry and Qi Immunity 2 are selected.
Please choose a character:
Unlocked:
[Cautious]
(Virus is harder to detect and it might be passed off as a common cough.)
[Patient]
(The symptoms of the virus only show up after a while)
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Both are not useful for this type of virus...
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Cautious is selected.
Statistics on "New Virus":
Lethality(FF)
Contagious(FF)
Survivability(Evasion of the Immunity system)(F)
Qi Resistance(D)
Would you like to change your choices?
The system may suggest some combinations if the host desires.
[Suggestions]
{No}{Yes}
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Congratulations! A new virus is created!
Virus Slot 2: Virus Rank E
-Puppetry
-Qi Immunity 2
-Cautious
The host has been detected to reach a new milestone.
A new infection target will be triggered.
300,000 infections.
20 days left.
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20 days...
It is possible to achieve 300,000 infections within that time frame, I just need to be very strategic.
Seeing that I do not have time to lose, I quickly infect the two assassins with that new virus.
"Wake up," I say.
...
The assassins regain consciousness and look around. Once they see me, they instinctively bow their head.
"Go back and report the mission as successful. Also include that you killed the driver to prevent-"
No... Wait.
"Is this the first time the driver cooperated with you?" I ask
"No sir, he has been a cooperative for about 2 years and earned much dirty money to use on gambling."
"I see, say that he died due to your fight with me. Also, report to me the activities of the Blood sect and the spy hidden as the patriarch of the Majestic Array Sect daily. Also, take this." I hand the robe over to the assassins, I do not want the patriarch to suspect my status. "Use this as proof that I'm dead."
"Yes!"
And the assassins disappear.
That is one problem down, I need to increase the virus survivability before they get eradicated.
The reason why I didn't directly make puppetry as one of my properties for my main virus is that people will soon find out a new virus is circulating among the cities. Thus, there is a risk that people can link the unusual behaviour of the infected to the virus, arousing suspicions that my spies are infected too.
I cannot take any risk, not when I do not gain anything in return.
Is it possible to infect Xie Mo with the second virus?
I expect it to not work because of his mental resilience but it doesn't hurt to try when I have the chance.
There's a slip of paper protruding out of the corpse's robe. I pull it out and realise it's a big map, part of it is tainted with his blood but is still legible.
On the map, there is a big "X" mark east of Jiangxi. It seems to be where the Sarpins are located.
I leap up the mountains and land at the peak. Looking around, I am on a short mountain and XianFei is nothing but a small dot on a gigantic mountain.
The moon in the sky shines brightly. Unusual as it is, I bask in the bright moonlight which illuminates the surroundings to a light blue soothing palette.
I only realised now that the moon shouldn't be this bright...
Is this the result of cultivation?
I leap from mountain to mountain until I got out of the region before paying a passing carriage to bring me to Jiangxi.
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I alight carriage at the outskirts of Jiangxi.
"Thanks for the ride," I say.
"No problem, as long as you have the money I will bring you anywhere." He says jokingly.
I hand a bag of copper coins to the driver and he pockets it before leaving.
I can already see the abundant nature from here, on a short cliff.
Making haste, I jump down the cliff and run. The marked location should be near the edge of the region.
Once I am at the edge of the region, the difference overwhelmed me. The tall trees are wider in size too with grass almost as tall as a regular tree, the qi is suffocating here.
In a distance, a giant bird, probably three times bigger than an aeroplane, flies around the region.
I quickly shuffle into the grass to hide from the beast.
"Grrr..."
!
I jump back as something strikes me.
A giant wolf with red furs around its head shows up.
Several other similar beasts appear from around the bush and circle me.
...
I draw Azrim and look at each of them. Some are small, some have scars. The one who initiated the hunt has the most scars and is the biggest, crimson bloodlust fills every one of their eyes.
The biggest wolf initiates the attack and every wolf jumps in. However, I twirl my body and execute a circular slash, cutting each wolf into two.
Phew...
I collect all of their cores and stumble upon something.
?
A small cage is in the middle of the tall trees and grass, the wolves were probably protecting whatever that is inside here. This is the area marked "X".
...
What the...
A young girl is in the cage. Her tiny frail body is full of black stains and her long black hair is very messy with various signs of malnutrition on her body.
Once she sees me, she starts to growl as she backs off in the cage. An array is engraved onto her left biceps.
Something is emitting from her skin, bright yellow energy...
(That's... How is this... That's a half-Sarpin Half-Human girl. Even though she looks like a human, look at her eyes.)
I reach into the cage as the girl trembles and shift her hair aside. Her pupils are amber in colour but the sclera is orange and she doesn't have an iris either.
(Not only that! Her physique is extraordinary, I'm sure you can feel it too. Her physique is called the God of Dao, it is a unique physique that increases her cultivation comprehension by 100 fold. Not to mention that it provides an impenetrable defence when cultivated properly AND anyone who stays near her can cultivate their soul and body.)
!!
Soul and body?!
...
"What's your name?" I ask.
She refuses to answer me as she glared at me.
I click my tongue.
System, infect her with the second virus.
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-1000 points.
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!?
The girl jolts a little before her growling stops. Like a dormant animal, she relaxed her body and crawls toward me.
"Now tell me your name," I say.
"L...Li Ruo..." She says.
!!!!
She's the one Xie Mo is supposed to meet.
When I gaze at Li Ruo, several men approach from behind.
"This is the place, right? For that 'special' slave that old bastard talked about." Some people mumble behind me.
!
"H-Hey! Who are you!"
...
