Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 739 - 737: Prajna
"It's not that they're not enough; I'd say they're completely wiped out, alright?" Wanli Fengdao naturally retorted. "The curfew is almost here, and you think saying something like that now is supposed to be encouraging?"
"That's why I say, you young people nowadays just can't cut it, like flowers in a greenhouse, becoming more and more delicate."
Li Ang waved his hand dismissively and said in a deep voice, "When I was young, before I was even a player, I fought over a hundred people for 75 minutes. Afterward, I could still carry a hundred kilograms for 30 kilometers, then immediately do ten sets of bench presses at 200 kg, twenty reps per set.
"Many of my peers also unlocked their bodies' genetic limits and became superhumans. Even before they were players, they could sustain extreme anger for an entire day. Then, they could shatter 5 cm thick composite steel plates with their bare hands. With just a small knife, they could kill a Siberian tiger. For instance, when the Tiger pounced, they'd slide underneath, gutting it and spilling its innards. Or, they'd plant a long pole, tip upwards, and the leaping Tiger would impale itself.
"You can't generalize about people. The level we were at, you young people have never even heard of it; you treat it as urban legends or even jokes. I can only say, don't mistake ignorance for reason. Being a player is not something for you to be proud of."
"..."
The players who heard Li Ang's incredible speech had rather strange expressions on their faces.
Wanli Fengdao's eye twitched as he retorted, "It seems you're the legendary Cultivator Astartes, the captain of the Eastern team, the reincarnation of the Yan Double Eagles, the Man of the Pillars, the Fang of Demise, a berserker, right? Understood, understood. Take it easy."
Li Ang and the others' banter didn't disturb the Plague Doctor on the other side of the Vajra Ring.
He silently arranged the vials and pots of elixirs on the ground, securing them with straps to the inside of his coat for easy access.
"How are your injuries?" the Plague Doctor asked in a soft voice, glancing at Yuyi Xinzhong, who was silently checking her machine gun.
Yuyi Xinzhong's palm, adjusting the machine gun's position, stiffened slightly, then quickly returned to normal. She replied indifferently, "They're fine. I can still manage."
Last night, she had removed her restrictions and used a secret technique called "Prajna Transformation."
The so-called "Prajna Transformation" is a supernatural power system. It was jointly developed by the Japan Islands' Anomalous Affairs Investigation Bureau and the Onmyoji families at the beginning of this session of the Killing Game. The system involves implanting a red crystal that is extremely difficult to produce—an imitation of the Aja Stone from "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"—into the hearts of low-level players. Then, undiluted, potent demonic blood, drawn directly from formidable demons, is injected into their veins.
For ordinary people and low-level players, the blood of a great demon is a poison that causes severe bodily distortion and mutation.
However, the imitation of the Aja Stone can immediately absorb the demonic blood, storing it inside the hollow gem.
Over time, a low concentration of demonic blood permeates out from the crystal, gently transforming the low-level player's physiology, gradually turning them into half-demons, enhancing their constitution and granting them demonic power.
This transformation method bears some resemblance to the demonic transformation in the manga "Great Sword." Adepts gain combat power far exceeding players of the same level in a very short time. Furthermore, during combat, by striking their chests to activate the Red Stone, they can release more great demon blood to further enhance their combat power. This is known as "Prajna Transformation."
Adepts injected with different demon bloods manifest varying characteristics during demonization. Some, like Yuyi Xinzhong, develop bulging veins all over their bodies, their skin turning dark red-black as they wield the power of thunder. Others develop twisted, octopus-like limbs. Still others transform into creatures with sharp-pointed faces, monkey-like cheeks, and wings on their backs.
Even when infused with blood from the same type of demon, different adepts experience variations based on their individual conditions. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
As a transformation method still in its experimental phase, Prajna Transformation can indeed provide players with a significant boost in combat power. However, it also carries numerous hidden dangers.
The first is the extremely high mortality rate of the surgery; the initial demon blood injection has nearly a 30% rate of bodily collapse.
Subsequently, adepts must undergo several such transformations. While the mortality rate decreases with each one, it never drops below 10% until they completely merge with the Red Stone.
Furthermore, each transformation makes players physiologically, and even psychologically, closer to demons. Even if they resist using the transformation, the demonic blood continuously seeping from the Red Stone subtly changes every aspect of the player.
Moreover, forced demonization causes massive microfractures in the adept's muscles, tendons, and bones. These fractures are a side effect of the demonic blood and cannot be healed by ordinary medical means. Repair requires returning to the real world and undergoing procedures in the advanced surgical rooms of the Japan Islands' Anomalous Affairs Investigation Bureau.
Yuyi Xinzhong's current physical condition could likely only withstand one or two more Prajna Transformations. Any more, and either her body would collapse first, leading to a sudden, violent death, or the Red Stone would shatter, leading to complete demonization. She would become an irrational monster driven solely by destruction and consumption.
The Plague Doctor didn't know what specific demon's blood had been injected into Yuyi Xinzhong, but judging from the intensity of the thunder released by her katana, it was from a demon at least on the level of Shuten Douji...
The girl's resolve and the burden she carried were no less than that of any other player present.
"That's good."
The Plague Doctor nodded and said nothing more, quietly passing a small Glass Bottle containing dark golden liquid into Yuyi Xinzhong's hands.
"If things become untenable, just run." The Plague Doctor, his back to the other players, made no sound, mouthing in Japanese to avoid being overheard, "The others can't be trusted."
"..."
Yuyi Xinzhong glanced at the little-finger-sized Glass Bottle and the word 'Perfect' that seemed to float above it. She looked up at the Plague Doctor, paused in silence for a moment, then nodded and mouthed back, "I will protect you."
The Plague Doctor was startled. Realizing her meaning, he gave a wry smile. "That's not what I meant... This medicine is useless to me. Sigh... anyway, you should focus on protecting yourself first."
As the player with the weakest individual combat ability on this mission, the Plague Doctor wasn't sure he would survive the night. Hopefully, Li Rising and the others made the right call...
"Time is almost up." The Black Holy Son squinted at the clock at the end of the hallway. The pitch-black Evil Spirit Mask on his face seemed to writhe and flow.
"Hmm." Bai Haozheng flexed his fingers, then flipped his palm to grip a hilt that had no blade. Invisible Telekinesis emanated from his body, filling the corridor.
TICK.
As the second hand of the clock in the twelfth-floor hallway pointed directly upward, the time reached 00:11.
