Chapter 191: Chapter 191: The New Doomsday World Is Truly Radiant
[Detecting extremely high concentration of unknown radiation. Forcibly isolating...]
The moment Qi Suian opened his eyes, the AI’s urgent warning blared in his ears.
But Qi Suian simply ignored it.
The expedition-grade ecological recycler possessed its own spatial structure thanks to the strategic Dimensional Folding Space.
So he didn’t need to worry about being affected by the unknown radiation.
Instead, the first thing he did was check the number of survivors. He desperately hoped to see a ten-digit number.
However, what greeted his eyes was only a five-digit number, which meant the Doomsday Game hadn’t brought in a new batch of survivors.
The current survivors were the same ones from the previous Cold Winter World.
This wasn’t good news for Qi Suian.
No new batch of survivors meant he would be missing out on a "protagonist’s halo" to strengthen his own.
Second, he wouldn’t be able to acquire a new Extraordinary system.
He could only acquire one from this unknown Doomsday World, which meant the overall value would be at least halved.
"What a loss. Sigh." Qi Suian sighed. ’As for the danger?’
’Wanting to make a fortune with no risk? There’s no such thing. That’s just a scam.’
"AI, will the unknown radiation affect the Tai Sui God?" Qi Suian asked.
There was no need to worry about the modules’ safety; they were all stored in the Dimensional Folding Space. The only thing actually outside was the Tai Sui God itself.
[The Nirvana Insect Cocoon has temporarily boosted its resistance. There should be no problems in the short term.]
[But for long-term operations, it will need to be reinforced with the appropriate material modules.]
"Keep an eye out, then. And watch for any signs of life." Having just arrived, Qi Suian naturally didn’t know anything about this world’s situation.
Logically speaking, with radiation concentrations this high, it should be impossible for any life to survive.
But there are always exceptions. The temperatures in the Polar Day World were terrifying, yet people still managed to live there.
Back when he first started, Qi Suian would have been floored, but now, such things were commonplace for him.
Forget just surviving—he could accept it even if some bizarre cultivation civilization had developed.
[No lifeform signals detected within the reconnaissance network’s range.]
"Perfectly normal. You could say we’re on the Doomsday Game’s blacklist."
"It either dumps us in a high-risk zone or sends us straight into the boss’s room. It’s never given us an easy time." Qi Suian wasn’t surprised in the least.
For him, this was just another day at the office.
It was only thanks to his ’protagonist’s halo’ being strong enough to turn every crisis into an opportunity, and even send a few fortuitous encounters his way.
Otherwise, there probably wouldn’t even be ashes left of him to find.
"So what kind of structure are we in? Is it a planet or something else?" Qi Suian asked.
His gaze fell upon the sky. It wasn’t overcast, but rather covered by some sort of smog-like substance that blanketed the entire atmosphere.
Sunlight managed to filter through the atmosphere, but it was muted and lifeless, making the entire visible landscape incredibly bleak.
[Based on... it can be tentatively classified as a planet.]
The AI’s stream of analysis and data gave Qi Suian his answer.
"Is there a network?" Qi Suian asked the crucial question.
With a network, anything was possible; it would be like having a home-field advantage.
[No network signal fluctuations detected.]
"Great. We’re flying blind again."
"How many more times does the Tai Sui God have to evolve before we can get the satellite module into orbit?"
"We have a satellite, but it only works as an amplifier. Kinda pathetic," Qi Suian grumbled, speechless.
[A minimum of 100 armor value is required.]
The moment Qi Suian heard the two words "at least," he could feel a headache coming on.
This meant 100 armor value wasn’t the final goal, just the entry fee. To get it running properly and use it smoothly, he’d need an even higher value.
But the problem was, the Tai Sui God’s current armor value was only 42.
That was still more than halfway to go. How many resources would it have to devour to reach that target?
So Qi Suian very decisively chose to ignore the matter.
As for giving up, that was impossible.
"Alright, let’s leave this area for now. There should be places with less radiation." Qi Suian had no intention of lingering. "We’ll take a look around while we’re at it. Maybe we’ll stumble upon a fortuitous opportunity."
His ’protagonist’s halo’ must have helped him land here. There had to be something good around.
Whether he could actually get his hands on it, however, was another matter entirely.
He was in an unfamiliar place and knew nothing; how could he possibly claim to have a foolproof plan?
The prerequisite for a foolproof plan was having enough information and intelligence to make it happen, not knowing everything with a single glance.
That wasn’t called foolproof planning; that was called foreseeing the future.
The Tai Sui God took off immediately, while Qi Suian reviewed the environmental monitoring report.
The radiation concentration didn’t decrease after they left the ground; on the contrary, it remained at a similar level.
This made Qi Suian all the more curious about how this strange doomsday had come to pass.
He could be certain of one thing: this particular apocalypse wasn’t a natural disaster. It was very likely a man-made catastrophe.
As a result, the planet itself wasn’t greatly affected. Instead, the ecosystem had been thrown into chaos, shattering the once-habitable environment.
The Tai Sui God made a wide sweep and soon locked onto a peculiar area.
The entire place emitted a high concentration of powerful, unknown radiation, nearly a hundred times stronger than where they had landed.
Within the area were numerous cyan crystalline formations that, at first glance, resembled gemstones.
"That stuff... it seems alive?" Qi Suian could clearly see how bizarre these cyan crystals were.
[It possesses a special life form similar to fungi. Your guess is correct.]
[It is indeed alive, and it feeds on the unknown radiation.]
"Can the Tai Sui God get closer?" Qi Suian asked.
The intensity of the unknown radiation within the special area was indeed extremely high; the Tai Sui God had not entered it.
[The Nirvana Insect Cocoon’s temporary resistance cannot effectively counter the strong radiation in the area. It would require corresponding resistance, material, and other related modules to be able to enter.]
Qi Suian was certain that this living mineral was the fortuitous opportunity his ’protagonist’s halo’ had brought him.
Unfortunately, the Tai Sui God wasn’t powerful enough.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was no way to get it. Qi Suian just had to go himself.
Worst case, he could die and be reforged; that would clear away the radiation.
The prerequisite was that he had to make it there alive.
"Try using the Ghost Energy from the Floating Cannons to see if it can effectively clear this radiation." Qi Suian, of course, had no intention of going himself.
If the Profound Virus inside his body were to mutate due to the unknown radiation, he’d be in deep trouble.
He might as well try clearing a path with Ghost Energy. If it succeeded, everyone would be happy.
If it failed, it didn’t matter. That was the expected outcome anyway; he was just getting what he’d earned.
The AI responded at once, running an experiment via the Floating Cannons.
[Your idea is feasible. However, a Dark Energy Beam cannot carve a stable path for you.]
[A Ghost Energy Storm could do it, but it would not leave you enough time to retrieve a sample.]
[Furthermore, further observation reveals that the living mineral organisms on the surface are not the main body, but only a small part. The majority is lurking underground.]
[It also possesses certain defense mechanisms characteristic of a living organism. If you attempt to harvest it, you will likely be attacked.]
[Abandonment is recommended.]
After the AI’s lengthy spiel, the conclusion was simple: run away. Fast.
Qi Suian was good at taking advice. He understood what the AI meant: this thing wasn’t a treasure, it was a BOSS.
A huge one, at that—the kind that could smash him into a pulp with a single swat.
"Then let’s retreat. Forget the fortuitous opportunity." Qi Suian chose to run without hesitation.
As for whether this action would cause the backlash from the saying, "He who spurns a gift from the heavens will instead be punished by them"? Perhaps. But there was no need to be reckless, especially when he knew nothing.
Besides, ever since his Celestial Fate: Profound gained the +3 enhanced Seven Elements Relief, this type of backlash had become rare. And even if it did happen, Qi Suian was still prepared to abandon the opportunity.
’If I can’t beat it, I can’t beat it. It’s hard enough just getting in, let alone anything else.’
With Qi Suian’s command, the AI immediately controlled the Tai Sui God to leave.
The Wind Master aviation system sped along, quickly leaving the high-concentration radiation zone.
Just as Qi Suian had thought, the survival conditions weren’t this harsh everywhere.
Otherwise, how would the other survivors live?
Even Qi Suian, a rule-breaker whose dual attributes were as high as 7, didn’t dare expose himself to an environment with this level of radiation.
The other survivors had attributes far lower than Qi Suian’s; they would likely drop dead instantly.
The Doomsday Game was meant for survivors to survive, not to be sent to their deaths.
"In a conventional environment, the radiation intensity is only about five percent of what it was when we arrived, but even that is deadly."
"However, every single survivor in this batch has powers, and many even have a Qi Cultivation Method."
"The conventional radiation levels won’t be lethal... provided they didn’t already have problems because of the cold energy."
Qi Suian muttered to himself. Because he wasn’t using an orthodox cold-energy Qi Cultivation Method and had no other survivors with him, he didn’t know what their situation was.
After all, he only had to worry about himself. There was no need to care how his enemies died—as long as they were dead, they were good enemies.
"Lifeforms are starting to appear as normal... okay, this isn’t normal at all."
Qi Suian watched on the reconnaissance network as vegetation and animals began to appear. Upon closer inspection, things were definitely... wild.
They had all mutated due to the radiation.
And it had become the new normal; their original forms would probably be the ones that looked out of place now.
"These mutations are truly something else. I’d wager that in this Doomsday World, a handgun probably couldn’t even kill a rabbit."
Qi Suian watched with his own eyes as a radiation-mutated, wolf-like creature bit a rabbit sprouting a chaotic mess of organs in half with a single CHOMP.
The front half was swallowed, but the lower half simply ran off, fleshy tendrils already sprouting around the wound as it began to regenerate.
"’More than just regeneration. Its dual attributes aren’t low, at least 2 points.’"
"’What in the world is the origin of this radiation? How can it cause such powerful mutations?’"
[Humanoid lifeform settlement detected. Approaching...]
