The Rule-Breaker of the Doomsday Game

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Forbidden Zone, the Intractable Wasteland King

"No wonder bionic armor only goes up to level two. It’s not that they don’t want to make level-one armor, it’s that they can’t."

"Bionic armor doesn’t come from a Fire Seed. As an imitation, while it may look the same, its essence is completely different."

"If all they do is blindly imitate, they only end up creating a specious new individual. And because it’s a counterfeit, its potential is capped."

Qi Suian quickly finished studying Hayman’s level-two bionic armor. He had made some discoveries, but they weren’t about bionic armor—they were about level-two Fire Seed Armor.

The pure-bloods of the Level 1 Sanctuary were quite capable. While they hadn’t fully grasped the essence of Fire Seed Armor, they had developed numerous derivative inventions.

Qi Suian knew the specific reason: their observational capabilities were insufficient.

Therefore, they were unable to perceive the truth. Instead, they relied on their own limited understanding and remnant technology, which led to the creation of bionic and combat armors.

"Its value is limited. Aside from its materials being useful for a module, the bionic armor itself is worthless." With that, Qi Suian tossed the level-two bionic armor directly into the Melting Furnace.

In truth, even its material value wasn’t that high. It was similar to the precursor for the high-radiation resistance metal coating; it could be installed, but its functions were largely redundant.

Qi Suian didn’t have any free module slots at the moment; otherwise, he might have installed it.

By the time he had a free slot, however, he would have already created his own artificial Fire Seeds. This material module would be long obsolete by then.

So, it had to be discarded. Qi Suian felt no regret. He might have been reluctant to remove an installed module, but for one that was never installed, there was no attachment to begin with.

After disposing of the armor, Qi Suian turned his attention to the Level 1 Fire Seed: King of Hundred Beasts in his hand.

As a level-one Fire Seed, it emanated a faint, searing heat in his palm. Unlike lower-level Fire Seeds, it didn’t have a crystalline texture.

Instead, it resembled a ball of burning flame, and at its heart, a knight resembling a magnificent, striped tiger was slumbering.

As if sensing Qi Suian’s gaze, the slumbering Fierce Tiger Knight’s eyes snapped open, unleashing a powerful aura.

A tiger’s might remains even in death, to say nothing of a being that was merely forced back to its original form, not truly killed.

The next moment, the Evil Dragon manifested from his Tai Sui God. Its Martial Dao will instantly bore down, shattering the aura emanating from the Level 1 Fire Seed: King of Hundred Beasts.

Had a pure-blood Grand Elder been wearing the King of Hundred Beasts, a Level 1 Fire Seed Armor, back in the Sanctuary, Qi Suian would have been no match for them.

’But now? Sorry, you’re just a Fire Seed.’

"As expected, it’s conscious," Qi Suian murmured.

Level-two Fire Seeds lacked such offensive capabilities; they could only retaliate.

"The Key of Triumph must be the reason you’re so powerful."

"The only question is whether you’re an AI created later, or a fragment split from the Fire Seed Source."

After the Tai Sui God’s Martial Dao will crushed its aura, the Fierce Tiger Knight simply stared daggers at Qi Suian, emanating a palpable killing intent.

However, this killing intent had no effect on Qi Suian whatsoever.

The number of survivors and natives who had died, directly or indirectly, at Qi Suian’s hands was beyond counting.

It was just that as a Profound Human, he lacked the fantastical ability to concentrate killing intent. At most, it manifested as a different sort of disposition. Otherwise, Qi Suian would have shown this thing what the killing intent of a world-ending demon lord truly felt like.

’Another hassle. Fortunately, I’ve already studied level two, three, four, and five Fire Seeds. Erasing a single consciousness like yours won’t be much of a problem.’

With that thought, Qi Suian got straight to work.

Research required dealing with potential threats first.

He needed a clean level-one Fire Seed as raw material, so there was no point in studying one that was still contaminated; the data would be completely different.

Using the Evil Dragon as a scalpel, he began the brutal process of erasure.

The Fierce Tiger Knight within the Fire Seed naturally sensed Qi Suian’s intent and began to resist with all its might.

But with the Tai Sui God’s assistance, it was a hopeless struggle. Under the relentless assault, the Fierce Tiger Knight’s consciousness was forced to dissipate.

’Couldn’t force it out. A pity.’ Qi Suian’s goal hadn’t been to destroy it, but to force its consciousness out of the Fire Seed.

He wanted to see if he could replicate the phenomenon that had created the special zombie.

However, the Fierce Tiger Knight had no intention of fleeing for its life; it chose to fight Qi Suian to the bitter end.

In the end, it simply dissipated.

At the same time, the stats panel for the Level 1 Fire Seed: King of Hundred Beasts changed.

The word "Damaged" was added as a suffix, and Trait 3 had disappeared.

To Qi Suian’s surprise, however, its quality hadn’t dropped, remaining at A-grade.

’I suppose this could be considered a terrible waste,’ he mused. ’The normal procedure would be to install it directly into a module slot or, through the power of plot armor, get the King of Beasts’ consciousness to acknowledge me.’

’The latter is the standard trope. Then, not only would my Tai Sui God gain a powerful module, but I’d also get an admission ticket to the Eden of Triumph.’

Qi Suian couldn’t help but smile. Thinking it through, he knew that with enough time, his plot armor would eventually help him out.

"Ten thousand years is too long; I seize the day."

"Besides, I have no need for a master."

As for the admission ticket to the Eden of Triumph? To put it bluntly, not even counting the Level 1 Sanctuaries that had failed and been turned into Fire Seeds, there were still six others in existence.

If he wanted to enter the Eden of Triumph, he just had to wait until he finished his research and then destroy a Level 1 Sanctuary. Simple.

Why go through all the trouble of getting some unknown entity’s consciousness to acknowledge him?

It was better to just strip it for parts.

"Next up, the forbidden zone." Qi Suian gazed at the landscape in the distance. Without proper protection, the high concentration of radiation meant that pure-bloods, mutants, and even Corpse Eaters wouldn’t survive for long.

Fortunately, his Tai Sui God could now ignore radiation of this intensity.

The real issue he had to consider was the Wasteland King.

Its power was comparable to a Level 1 Fire Seed Armor. Using it as a vessel wouldn’t be easy.

The surrounding Sanctuaries had also used it when they splintered off, but they weren’t as audacious as Qi Suian, who wanted the entire creature.

They had only taken a small piece of its outer layer, so the Wasteland King hadn’t bothered with the actions of those ant-like pure-bloods.

Through his reconnaissance network, Qi Suian had already gotten a clear picture of this Wasteland King.

It didn’t have an animal-like structure. It was more like a plant, yet it possessed animal-like vitality, while being mineral-based.

Truly unique.

The part exposed on the surface was merely an organ, something akin to a fingernail. The rest of its true body lay underground.

It was a vast and tangled network, like the rhizome of a plant, occupying all the high-radiation areas throughout the forbidden zone.

It absorbed radiation for sustenance, supplemented by other methods like photosynthesis.

After his investigation, Qi Suian realized something: he was caught in another vicious cycle.

To acquire the Wasteland King, he needed sufficient power, but to grow his power, he needed the Wasteland King.

"What’s the plan?" Qi Suian asked his AI.

Learning, researching, experimenting—those were his areas of expertise.

But fighting, killing, and challenging the strong? That was asking too much of him.

He simply wasn’t cut out for it. He could handle a fight where he held all the advantages, but in an uphill battle, he could only rely on his plot armor to pull through.

[Power, size, and life form are overwhelming. Perhaps you could try asking your plot armor for assistance.]

The AI had compared all the collected data and genuinely had no solution.

In the face of such overwhelming power, no plots, schemes, or machinations could make the slightest difference.

As for using augmented module slots to adapt flexibly, that was a possibility.

However, any offensive module created would be instantly destroyed.

And with the Tai Sui God’s current number of evolutions, it couldn’t support a capture module powerful enough to handle the Wasteland King.

Among weapon modules, the Floating Cannon was a prime example.

This was one of the reasons Qi Suian had stopped adding more weapon modules.

’This world isn’t just about fighting and killing; it’s about navigating relationships.’ If his enemies were obliterated without a trace, how was he supposed to use them as fuel?

’Alright, Plot Armor,’ he thought. ’I need this entire Wasteland King as material to create a Fire Seed.’

’After all, you’re the one that brought me here, so you should be responsible for solving this,’ Qi Suian declared shamelessly.

-----------------

"Finally back." Cummings gazed at the Steel Brotherhood’s base in the distance, his heart overcome with emotion.

After changing his route back, he hadn’t encountered another ambush from the Corpse Eaters.

He did run into several search parties, but thanks to his experience, he managed to evade them all.

Thus, he had made it back safely despite a few close calls.

The first thing he did upon his return was go see the leader.

"Leader, we weren’t able to bring back Jack’s Steel Armor technology, but we did bring back the modification techniques that will allow us to use their combat armor," Cummings said, producing a thick manual.

The leader, still half-shrouded in shadow, spoke. "You’ve had a difficult journey. I’ve already heard about what happened."

"The Corpse Eaters have already answered to us, and the traitor within the Brotherhood has been eliminated."

The voice was magnetic and gentle, without a hint of cruelty.

Cummings wasn’t surprised that news had reached the leader before him; the Steel Brotherhood’s intelligence network was, after all, very well-developed.

"Leader, why did the traitor betray the Brotherhood?" Cummings didn’t ask who it was; he only wanted to know the motive.

After all, the traitor was dead, and he could find out the name with a simple inquiry.

"Heh..." A scornful laugh came from the leader. "To become the leader himself."

At this, Cummings’s expression darkened.

"Damn him," Cummings swore. He couldn’t help but recall Jack’s words about Kemp—the greed of the pure-bloods.

"Now that you’re back, get some rest. The Steel Brotherhood still needs you." The leader’s tone was tinged with listlessness.

Cummings asked no further questions. He left the manual and departed.