They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 402 Determination and Departure

"I want... I want you to help me with enhancement, the kind of... Shocker organization's cyborg enhancement."

Li Xiaoyi took a deep breath and then spoke his request.

Zhang Qi's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

He had considered many possibilities, but he never expected this one.

"I think I've already said it, enhancing cyborgs is not a good option."

Its advantages are obvious: its pure physical destructive power is very strong, and it is almost overwhelming in ratings below B.

However, its drawbacks are equally fatal.

Because it's a full-body mechanized transformation, your potential and expandability have already reached their limit from the moment the transformation is completed.

More importantly, the horror movie genres in the God's Space are incredibly diverse.

Once we encounter worlds filled with supernatural or cursed elements, this purely physical enhancement will have almost no room to be effective, and you'll become extremely passive.

Zhang Qi explained again, walking up to Li Xiaoyi with a softened tone:
"If you need power, you can wait."

After returning to the Main God Space, spend one C-level side quest to exchange for a Kep control unit.

I can create a standard, robust decoration for you.

This was part of my plan: to provide standard equipment for the new members of the team and increase everyone's chances of survival..."

This external equipment does not affect the enhancement itself, making it more suitable for reincarnators who need to deal with different situations.

However, Li Xiaoyi shook his head, slowly but firmly.

"No, I don't want that."

He raised his head, looked directly at Zhang Qi, and showed no sign of backing down.

"Brother Zhang Qi, do you know about my past?"

Without waiting for Zhang Qi's reply, he continued speaking to himself.
"My parents both came from the countryside to work in the city."

In their eyes, my life trajectory was predetermined from birth.

Get into a top junior high school, then a top senior high school, and then a prestigious university.

After graduation, they'll find a stable job, marry a wife they're happy with, have a grandson... and then live a peaceful and uneventful life.

That's all they expect of me, what they consider 'for my own good.'

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"At first it was fine, I didn't let them down, and I got into a good middle school."

But everything changed when I got to a top-tier high school.

No matter how hard I try, I can't keep up. My grades get worse and worse, and my ranking goes down lower and lower.

But they... they can't see anything. Every day they just keep saying the same things: "prestigious university," "knowledge changes destiny," "we suffer so much, studying is all for your own good..."

The pressure, like a rising tide, first reached his ankles, then his knees, and finally submerged his mouth and nose, making it impossible for him to breathe.

“I started to run away. I skipped classes, went to internet cafes, and in games, I could beat anyone with my skills and technique. No one would look down on me because of my grades... until I came here.”

"What's the difference between this place and that internet cafe?"

I'm still running away. I don't have the fighting talent of Brother Zheng Zha, who becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents, nor do I have the superb marksmanship of Brother Zero.

I watched you all grow stronger and stronger, watched you discuss tactics and technologies that I couldn't understand... I knew very well that everyone else on the team was stronger than me.

"I received the least reward in yesterday's operation..."

Li Xiaoyi's voice became hoarse, and of course he could find excuses for himself.

He wasn't a combatant, and he hadn't undergone any enhancements; it was good enough that he was still alive.

"I don't want to run away anymore. I'm fed up with that feeling of helplessness, fed up with always hiding behind others."

Victory in the game is fake; only the power here is real.

I need it, I need a power that allows me to take control of my destiny!
Then, in the next mission, use this power to earn more rewards and become even stronger!

Li Xiaoyi's declaration was resounding and powerful.

This was not a momentary impulse, but a complete outburst after long-term suppression.

Zhang Qi looked at him silently for a long time without saying anything.

After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice so calm that it was completely devoid of emotion.

"Sure. One C-level side quest, 3000 reward points. I'll charge you the cost price."

He looked at Li Xiaoyi, whose eyes were wide with astonishment, and added a sentence.

"You can give it to me when you get back to the Main God Space. Until then, don't die."

"Yes! Okay!"

Overwhelmed by immense joy, Li Xiaoyi straightened up almost instinctively and responded loudly, his eyes uncontrollably reddening.

……

The next day, while everyone was still sweating it out on the training field, Zhang Qi took Li Xiaoyi into the base's medical laboratory.

The surgery was not long, and for Zhang Qi, who had mastered the core technology of the Shuka tissue and had the support of the vast biotechnology of the Weyland Corporation, it was not complicated.

Almost all biological materials and mechanical parts can be replaced or directly manufactured in this world.

The core energy reactor is something that cannot be created in this world; the Arc Reactor can only be used as a temporary substitute.

When Li Xiaoyi reappeared on the training field, his entire demeanor had changed.

He remained as taciturn as ever, but his posture was as upright as a pine tree, and his once slightly thin body seemed to harbor a steel behemoth.

"Come on, try out your new power."

Zhang Qi said this to him, then looked at Zheng Zha on the other side.

“Zheng Zha, you will be his opponent.”

"okay!"

Zheng Zha cracked his knuckles and grinned. Although he didn't know what Li Xiaoyi had gone through, he never refused a sparring match.

Li Xiaoyi nodded to Zheng Zha and struck a pose. "Transform!"

The next second, he let out a low shout, and a layer of silver-black metal armor visibly covered his entire body. It was not a simple wrapping, but an extension and reconstruction of his muscles and bones.

The streamlined breastplate and shoulder armor exude a sense of power, while a mask with compound eye structure covers the face, gleaming with an ominous red light.

"Holy crap! It really is Kamen Rider!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jie immediately exclaimed.

The moment Zhang Jie made his voice, Li Xiaoyi moved.

His figure blurred instantly, and the ground exploded instantly.

In the blink of an eye, he covered a distance of more than ten meters and appeared in front of Zheng Zha.

There were no fancy moves, just a simple straight punch that whistled through the air as it slammed into Zheng Zha's chest.

too fast!
Zheng Zha's pupils contracted sharply. He only had time to cross his arms and channel his inner strength to protect his chest.

"boom!"

A deafeningly loud bang, so heavy it made your teeth ache.

To everyone's astonishment, Zheng Zha was as if he had been hit by a speeding truck. His feet left the ground, and he flew backward, crashing heavily into an alloy wall more than ten meters away with a loud bang before sliding to the ground.

The training ground was deathly silent.

The Overlord gaped, nearly dropping the plasma cannon in his hand.

Zero's hand, which was holding the gun, froze.

Zhan Lan and the others were filled with disbelief.

Zheng Zha is the team's undisputed top melee fighter, having enhanced his vampire bloodline and internal energy—both C-level enhancements.

Now, he's actually been sent flying by Li Xiaoyi's punch?

"Cough cough..."

Zheng Zha shook his slightly dizzy head, got up from the ground, his clothes were completely torn at the chest, and his skin was covered in bruises.

He stared at Li Xiaoyi, who was slowly reverting to his original form, his eyes filled with shock: "What... kind of enhancement is this?"

"The Shocker organization's cyborg technology is classified as Grade B enhancement in the God's rating system."

Zhang Qi's voice rang out at the right time, clearing up everyone's doubts.

"The advantages are what you just saw: pure speed and power. But the weaknesses are also quite obvious."

"If you hadn't hastily parried, but instead learned to concentrate your inner strength and attack the core of his chest armor directly, you would have succeeded."

Your internal force can penetrate the armor and directly destroy the components inside his body.

Choosing the path of modifying humans means abandoning the original human meridian system; he can no longer cultivate energy systems such as internal force or magic.

It's a path where both its advantages and disadvantages are clearly visible.

"Wow, even that's amazing!"

This speed already surpasses that of the Alien, right?

The Overlord, however, didn't care about those shortcomings at all. He strode forward, patted Li Xiaoyi's shoulder forcefully, making a "bang bang" sound.

"You're something else, kid! I admire you for being so ruthless to yourself!"

Zheng Zha rubbed his aching chest and looked at Li Xiaoyi, who was surrounded by the crowd, feeling a mix of emotions.

Being overtaken in an instant by a lackey who has been following behind you is definitely not a pleasant feeling.

However, he quickly came to terms with it and instead felt happy for Li Xiaoyi.

For the team as a whole, it's always a good thing for its members to become stronger.

Li Shuaixi, standing at the edge of the crowd, had a much more complicated expression.

As one of only two people in the team who haven't yet found a clear direction for improvement, he and Li Xiaoyi are the closest.

He could sense Li Xiaoyi's long-standing repression and resentment, but he never expected that this usually taciturn partner would so decisively and quietly step ahead of him.

To undergo such a complete transformation that abandons one's human identity... Li Shuaixi asked himself honestly, he couldn't get past that mental hurdle.

……

After this minor incident, the preparations for the Zhongzhou team are nearing completion.

With Chu Xuan working day and night and Zhang Qi providing technical support, the secrets of the Predator spaceship were gradually revealed.

Instead of using the smaller ships that had been damaged in the battle, they removed the core energy units and space jump engines from the three ships.

After integration, it was installed on the "Pioneer," a large scientific research and exploration warship of the Weyland Corporation, which was moored deep within the base.

After being fitted with the heart of Ironblood Technology, this behemoth transformed into a steel monster capable of traversing the stars.

It possesses a massive warehouse, large enough to hold tens of thousands of alien troops and a fully organized android army spawned by Zhang Qi.

It also has a state-of-the-art engineering laboratory, which can support Chu Xuan and Zhang Qi to continue their research during the voyage.

……

A few days later, yellow sand filled the Gobi Desert.

The massive "Pioneer" warship silently ascended into the air, propelled by its anti-gravity engines.

On the bridge, Zhang Qi, Zheng Zha, Chu Xuan, and all the other members of the Zhongzhou team stood side by side.

Through the enormous porthole, they saw the planet beneath their feet rapidly shrinking, and the vast, boundless universe slowly unfolded before them.

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. On the star map in front of him, a clear flight path had been planned, with the destination pointing directly to the planet codenamed LV-223.

"The engine is warmed up and the energy system is stable. We are ready to perform a space jump at any time."

"Set off."

Zhang Qi nodded and spoke.

With his command, the stern of the warship emitted a dazzling light, and the surrounding space began to distort and fold.

The next moment, the massive ship transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the solar system...

(End of this chapter)