The Rule-Breaker of the Doomsday Game

"With the Doomsday Game pulling in so many more people, do you think there’s a chance a protagonist might be among them?"

Qi Suian was currently deep inside a dry underground cave. The temperature was still high, but at least the outside, which had reached 300 degrees, wasn’t getting any hotter.

Still, the temperature was absurdly high.

With the Tai Sui God’s current armor value, going out there would mean instant destruction. The Profound Virus wouldn’t be able to survive, and even the Floating Cannons would be damaged.

Inside the cave, the temperature was a little over fifty degrees, but it was rising slowly, so there probably wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

As for the other survivors, nearly half of them had been wiped out instantly.

Judging by the current situation, this apocalypse was far more difficult than the Profound World.

Not only was the environment harsher, but there were also Extraordinary Creatures to deal with.

The Doomsday Game was probably acting like a profligate son squandering a family fortune—it had nothing to lose, so it didn’t care.

Actually, the fact that half of them had survived at all was already a surprise to Qi Suian. How could any normal person withstand 300-degree temperatures?

Even he, Qi Suian, would have to be constantly reforged through death to survive in such an environment.

[The probability is high. You must be careful.]

The Smart Brain offered a reminder.

Qi Suian, meanwhile, was studying the tissue sample he had obtained from the Blood Moon.

The sample had always been active, but after arriving in this high-temperature world, it had grown sluggish—just like the Profound Virus inside his body.

The Profound Virus in his body was a part of him, so it benefited from the +2 enhanced Super Adaptability of his Celestial Fate: Profound. Its progress in adapting to the high temperature was slow, but not nonexistent.

The Blood Moon tissue sample, however, lacked this ability, making it seem completely out of place.

Of course, the high temperature wasn’t the only reason; the fact that it was from a different world also played a part.

Qi Suian analyzed it constantly, wondering if he could find a way to incorporate its strengths and compensate for his own weaknesses.

’My luck is better than any protagonist’s,’ Qi Suian thought. ’Instead of worrying about that, I should be more concerned about whether or not this world still has any natives.’

Qi Suian might not be confident in his own strength, but he was absolutely confident in his protagonist halo—it was an Enhanced +2 version, after all.

On the other hand, if natives truly did still exist in this high-temperature world, the difficulty would likely skyrocket.

Anything that could survive in 300-degree heat would be far from normal.

The vulture he had encountered earlier was proof enough. The animals had already started mutating in this heat; the plants probably had as well.

So it would be perfectly normal for humans to have mutated, too.

’So the natives would have to be stronger than a protagonist... right?’

Well, Qi Suian couldn’t be certain. But the probability of encountering natives was far higher than that of encountering another protagonist.

"You have to realize, there could be a language barrier. That would be the biggest hassle."

[You may be worrying unnecessarily. The Doomsday Game provides you with both language and translation functions.]

[Otherwise, how would you be able to understand survivors from other worlds? All survivors have this feature.]

[Even though you are a Violator, this function has not been disabled for you.]

’I thought the communication, language, and translation modules would be useless. Turns out they’re pretty important after all.’

"Once I find a heat-resistant material module, I need to get those three installed. If the Doomsday Game decides to disable my language and translation functions one day, I’ll be completely screwed."

Qi Suian quickly recognized his own shortsightedness. It seemed there were no useless modules, only different ways to use them.

Before, Qi Suian was focused more on self-preservation, so he hadn’t paid much mind to modules not directly related to survival.

"By the way, did you estimate how much armor value I could get from burning that vulture?" Qi Suian asked.

[A minimum of 0.1 points is predicted.]

"That high?" Qi Suian was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected a mere wild Extraordinary Creature to be so valuable.

[Yes. You may not have noticed, but the efficiency of the Web-Weaving Capture Matrix has increased dramatically due to its improved ability to absorb solar thermal energy.]

[Your daily armor value growth has also become ten times more efficient.]

"Environmental influence..." Qi Suian finally understood. The planet he used to live on really was just a tutorial level.

As for the Profound God’s corpse? That thing hadn’t affected the planet Qi Suian had come from.

Besides, given the Tai Sui God’s current armor value, the Web-Weaving Capture Matrix couldn’t have captured any resources related to the Profound God anyway.

The base stats were what they were. A high percentage bonus is useless if the foundation is too weak to support it.

"Doesn’t that mean I’ll be able to evolve the Tai Sui God in just ten more days?" Qi Suian said, ignoring the decimal points of the armor value.

The armor value display only went to one decimal place; to see any further, he had to ask the Smart Brain.

[I would not advise that. To make the most of your protagonist halo, it would be best to wait for the temperature to drop before you venture out on an adventure.]

"That does make sense." Qi Suian agreed with the Smart Brain’s assessment. Then, a thought struck him. "Say, would the rocks in this world count as a heat-resistant material?"

"Think about it. Some metals have a melting point of 300 degrees, yet the rocks in this world are as stable as can be."

"There’s not even a hint of a reaction from them. They must be plenty heat-resistant." Qi Suian had discovered a blind spot in his thinking.

[The feasibility is extremely high. However, I do not recommend you directly replace the Artificial Crystal Vein Alloy Module.]

This was the only module Qi Suian could swap out. The Divine Purification Force Field couldn’t be uninstalled; if it were, the Profound Virus in his body would start to spread.

It might not be able to survive the high temperatures at first, but if it managed to mutate and develop heat resistance—especially resistance to 300 degrees—the trouble would be immense.

He had no desire to encounter a horde of zombies made from Extraordinary Creatures.

That’s why the Divine Purification Force Field was necessary for containment.

Even if such an absurd mutation of the Profound Virus was impossible, Qi Suian couldn’t let it just float around freely.

This virus was the very root of his power. If the natives of this high-temperature world got their hands on it, who knew if they would exploit it or develop something to use against him.

No one would just carelessly scatter their own heart about.

His ability to resurrect wasn’t a trump card, just a safety net.

"Why not?" Qi Suian’s plan was simple: take the Artificial Crystal Vein Alloy offline for now and install a rock module.

[Its thermal insulation may be insufficient. While the Artificial Crystal Vein Alloy’s heat resistance doesn’t compare to a dedicated heat-resistant material module, its stats are the most balanced. It possesses a little of every function, though it doesn’t excel in any one area like a specialized module would.]

[If you use stone as a module, the Tai Sui God might withstand the high temperature, but it won’t necessarily be able to insulate itself from the heat penetrating inward.]

[I recommend that you prioritize exploration once the temperature decreases.]

The Smart Brain knew the advantages of the Artificial Crystal Vein Alloy, but it couldn’t know the disadvantages of using this world’s stone as a heat-resistant material module.

"So, using different modules gives me different stat boosts. A dedicated heat-resistant material module might not necessarily increase armor value; it could enhance other stats instead."

"I could even install certain harder or more flexible material modules and get a boost of over one hundred percent."

Qi Suian had assumed all material modules simply added a percentage to his base armor value, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

[Yes. The same applies to defense modules. By installing certain special modules, you could even give the Tai Sui God effects like damage reflection, projectile reflection, or force feedback.]

"Holy shit! Then if I had installed that F-rank Skill Book on the Tai Sui God, would that mean it would have gained that passive skill?!"

"And it wouldn’t have been an F-rank skill, it would have become an SSS-rank module!"

Qi Suian’s face went pale with regret. He had missed out big time.

[No, your line of thinking is incorrect.]

[As a module, it would indeed have allowed the Tai Sui God’s attacks to apply a poison effect and deal poison damage, but it would have ultimately been just an external attachment.]

[You, on the other hand, have mastered the core Enchantment Array of the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Magic. Through deduction and improvement, you can create many more Elemental Arrays, not just a single poison one.]

[Therefore, you learning it yourself was the best path for development.]

The implication was clear: as a module, it was just a single SSS-rank module. But in Qi Suian’s hands, it had the potential to become innumerable SSS-rank modules.

Besides, the Tai Sui God wasn’t lacking in attack power.

"You know, you’re starting to sound a bit like a digital sycophant," Qi Suian quipped.

Even if the Smart Brain genuinely believed it, the words were still pleasant to hear.

Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of flattery and praise?

[If you wish, we can conduct resistance training for this, to prevent others from manipulating you through verbal artistry.]

"Wait, that’s something you can train for?" Qi Suian doubted even his Super Adaptability could handle something like that.

[It is possible. By raising your emotional threshold, we can make you immune to the influence of such flattery and praise.]

[Additionally, there is related training for insults and mockery. If you wish, we can incorporate that as well.]

[However, given your current mental and psychological state, the training intensity may be quite high.]

"..." ’As expected of an SSS-rank Smart Brain module, augmented by an SSS-rank chip module,’ he thought.

’This thing really is all-purpose.’

"Alright then, we’ll do it your way." Qi Suian readily agreed.

He was aware of his own shortcomings. If they could be remedied, a little hardship along the way was nothing.

Once he could remain perfectly composed even if a mountain collapsed before him, his mentality would undergo a fundamental transformation.

As for his skill and combat training, he did practice once in a while, but not often. There was progress, but not much.

"Just try not to interfere with my research and experiments," Qi Suian said, turning his attention back to studying the Blood Moon tissue sample.

This sample was a completely different entity from the Profound Virus in his body.

And its origins were anything but ordinary; he had to figure out how to best utilize it.

If he couldn’t find any other use for it, his last resort was to feed it to the Tai Sui God as a module.

What he really wanted, however, was to integrate it with his own Profound Virus, using its strengths to compensate for the virus’s weaknesses.

One was like a zombie virus, the other like lethal radiation. If not a match made in heaven, they were at least two peas in a pod.

Especially since the "Blood Moon sickness" created by the Blood Moon via its Blood Moon Shadow had actually enhanced his Profound Virus. This proved the two weren’t at odds; on the contrary, their compatibility was extremely high.