Chapter 236: This Slap Maxed Out the Taunt

’With this level of madness, forget seventy-two hours. It’ll be a miracle if the survivors can even last forty-eight.’

Qi Suian watched the madly spreading Black Crystal—the work of a crazed Yu Shijin.

However, there was some good news. The Black Crystal could be considered a by-product of Yu Shijin, not a direct measure of his own power.

As for Yu Shijin himself, his very bones seemed to have been damaged by a Dark Energy Beam, causing his power to plummet by more than half.

The bad news was also simple: he could still control the Black Crystal.

In terms of overall destructive power, it was still far beyond what Qi Suian could match.

Therefore, killing Yu Shijin would require bypassing the overwhelming Black Crystal for a decapitation strike.

Then again, a head-on confrontation... might also be winnable.

He could use the Ghost Energy Storm from the Floating Cannons to forcibly blast a path through the Black Crystal Tide, then kill him with an AOE attack.

It was a good idea, but there was one problem.

Given the spreading speed of the Black Crystal, he didn’t have enough Floating Cannons to effectively open a path.

The Black Crystal couldn’t withstand the Floating Cannons’ attacks and would be directly disintegrated. However, as long as the Black Crystal could replenish itself quickly enough, it would be an endless tide.

Of course, the Floating Cannons could also fire continuously, leading to a stalemate.

Perhaps with the help of his protagonist’s halo, Qi Suian could successfully execute the plan, but that wasn’t what he wanted to do.

At least for now, he had no intention of making a move.

’If wiping out the survivors and killing Yu Shijin were two choices, and I could only pick one, I would choose the former without hesitation.’

’There’s always more fuel in the next Doomsday World.’

’But if this batch of survivors isn’t completely wiped out, the Doomsday Game won’t send in replacements.’

’And that is not good for me.’

"Jack, don’t you want the Source Spark? Why are you running!?" Yu Shijin’s voice came from behind.

Ever since he had spotted Qi Suian, wherever Qi Suian fled, the Black Crystal would spread, a relentless and unending pursuit.

Shaking him off was actually simple. Qi Suian could just fly up into space.

But not only did Qi Suian not do this, he would even provoke Yu Shijin from time to time.

He made sure to always seem just a little bit slower than Yu Shijin.

In his haste to kill Qi Suian, Yu Shijin naturally had the Black Crystal engulf the entire planet at all costs.

In the process, everyone—be it pure-blooded humans, mutants, or even the survivors—was dying from the sudden, terrifying radiation.

The radiation emitted by the Black Crystal Tide was a hundred times more intense than the radiation in Eden had been after its triumph.

The Tai Sui God could withstand it, but it would be a struggle without activating the Nirvana Insect Cocoon module, which temporarily boosted its resistance.

So, while it wasn’t afraid, it couldn’t fight for long without suffering after-effects.

This made Qi Suian consider the Black Crystal for himself. But even if he wanted to install it as a module on the Tai Sui God, he would have to kill Yu Shijin or leave the Wasteland World first.

After all, Yu Shijin had powerful control over the Black Crystal. If Qi Suian installed it now, who knew if it would still be under his enemy’s command.

SWISH~

The sound of something cutting through the air whistled past his ear as a sharp spear made of Black Crystal grazed the Tai Sui God’s frame.

In the next instant, the Tai Sui God reached out, snatched the Black Crystal spear, and flung it right back at Yu Shijin.

The spear instantly pierced through Yu Shijin’s body.

Yu Shijin’s body was now formed from Black Crystal, and his skeleton was clearly visible within.

As for flesh, organs, and the like, there were none.

Apparently, he was unable to regenerate his flesh and blood and could only use Black Crystal as a filler.

At the same time, he no longer had any vital points. Even though his body was impaled, he simply absorbed the Black Crystal spear slowly into himself.

"Impressive strength. A shame that within the Black Crystal Tide, I am immortal and indestructible."

"This is the power born from a Divine Artifact and an Epic-class profession. You have no idea how terrifying its might truly is," Yu Shijin said, gradually drawing closer.

His opponent was within arm’s reach. All he needed was...

Before he could even finish that thought, he saw Qi Suian suddenly accelerate, once again putting distance between them.

However, seeing that his opponent seemed to have paid a heavy price for the burst of speed, Yu Shijin felt a sense of relief. For a moment, he’d thought the guy was just toying with him.

But Qi Suian was thinking about something else. ’I can’t just keep leading Yu Shijin on a chase for two whole days.’

’At most, it would take three to five hours for him to figure out the truth.’

"AI Brain, this can’t go on. If Yu Shijin realizes we’re just stringing him along, he’ll fly into a rage and redouble his efforts."

"But if this drags on, he’ll eventually calm down. Then he’ll just build up his power and wipe us out in one push, which would be inefficient," Qi Suian said.

’Right now, he’s hot-headed and not considering the consequences.’

’Once he calms down, it’ll be a different story. He’ll weigh the pros and cons and realize that being impulsive doesn’t pay off.’

[You could try enraging him further, then disappear completely while leaving some clumsy clues to indirectly guide his anger.]

[This will require the help of your protagonist’s halo. Otherwise, if his intelligence isn’t suppressed, he will change his approach.]

"Worth a try." Qi Suian didn’t ask why it was necessary to go to such lengths if the man’s intelligence was already being suppressed.

’There are different levels of intelligence suppression. The cost and effect vary depending on the situation.’

’What I need to do is stoke Yu Shijin’s hatred and anger to the point that it completely clouds his judgment. Then, with the added effect of the intelligence suppression, I can absolutely lead him by the nose.’

’Especially since my protagonist’s halo now has a semi-home-field advantage, its effects will be even better.’

"First, humiliation. Betrayal probably won’t work, since he’s already in the middle of his revenge plan."

"So I need to humiliate him in a different way."

"You help me think of something, too." Qi Suian knew next to nothing about Yu Shijin.

[You could stop, give him a slap, and then tell him you were just messing with him.]

The AI Brain offered up a method that was perfectly designed to infuriate and humiliate.

"Telling him I was just messing with him... that could work."

"But slapping him..." Qi Suian glanced at the Black Crystal Tide behind him. ’Isn’t that just asking to die?’

"Do you think the Tai Sui God has the power to pull that off?"

"Especially since to get the best effect, it needs to look completely casual."

"If I go over there looking like a mess, not only will it not work, he’ll just mock me for it."

Qi Suian naturally knew what kind of process was required to achieve the desired result.

Most of the time, he only cared about the outcome, but sometimes the process itself could affect the outcome.

[By using the transformation module, we can conceal the fact that you are operating at your absolute limit. Assuming no mistakes, you can achieve the desired effect.]

’In other words, put on a hollow performance. Look as calm as if Mount Tai were collapsing before me on the outside, while panicking on the inside.’

"What are the odds of success?" Qi Suian asked directly.

[With the help of your protagonist’s halo, ninety percent.]

"..." Qi Suian was speechless at the AI Brain’s answer. ’With the protagonist’s halo involved, even the slimmest of chances become a fifty-fifty shot.’

’Let alone a plan that was already possible to begin with.’

"Then I’ll leave it to you. As long as we can escape if it fails, I’m fine with it."

Qi Suian wasn’t asking for much. He was already at a disadvantage, so just breaking even would be good enough. Anything extra was a bonus.

[As you command. However, I will require your Feast Energy supplied at its maximum intensity.]

The AI Brain stated its condition.

There were only two things Qi Suian could do for the Tai Sui God right now: one was to provide the help of his protagonist’s halo, and the other was to provide buffs.

"Inject the high-concentration Death Serum directly." Qi Suian understood. If the Tai Sui God needed maximum intensity, it meant trading his life for power.

But as the injection proceeded, Qi Suian realized something. The dose of Death Serum that should have been his limit was, in fact, not.

"Keep injecting!" He understood. This was the effect of Unyielding, from his +7 enhanced protagonist’s halo, Celestial Fate: Profound.

His own limits had been raised by nearly double.

This meant he could inject another full dose of the Death Serum.

And with that, the effects of the Feast Energy would be even stronger.

Normally, no one would ever do this, because it would be actual suicide.

However, Qi Suian had Death Recast to resurrect him, which was the only reason he dared to try.

"What a miraculous ability, raising my limits without any increase in my stats."

"Combined with Extreme Will, I probably won’t even feel it when I die."

Having said that, Qi Suian began to frantically pour his own life force into the Tai Sui God in the form of high-level Feast Energy.

Then, the plan was set in motion.

The Tai Sui God’s form paused. Concealed by the transformation module, its Wind Master flight system was running so hard it was about to explode.

At first, Yu Shijin was confused. Why had it suddenly stopped?

But he quickly understood, because the Tai Sui God was now charging straight at him.

"You’re not running? You dare approach me? You really don’t know what de—" Yu Shijin’s expression turned cruel, his tone mocking.

But before he could finish, the Tai Sui God was already upon him. The two weren’t far apart to begin with, and Yu Shijin had sped up to close the gap during the brief moment his opponent had paused.

So the distance between them was not great.

Before Yu Shijin could even finish his sentence, the Tai Sui God closed in, reached out a hand, and with incredible speed, slapped him across the face.

It didn’t do much damage, but the humiliation was off the charts.

"You idiot. Leading you on a chase was like walking a dog."

"You let me lead you all over the place without even realizing it. No wonder you were dismembered and turned into materials."

"At your speed, even leading you on is a waste of my time. Go squirm around by yourself," Qi Suian’s voice dripped with mockery.

The moment he said this, the Tai Sui God vanished in a flash, pushing all its modules to their limits. The transformation module nearly failed to maintain its disguise.

Staring at the spot where Qi Suian had vanished, Yu Shijin snapped out of his stupor from the slap and the verbal taunts.

"JACK, I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!!!" Yu Shijin roared, losing all semblance of sanity.