As the captain of the Cheetah Task Force, Liu Yongfeng had just arrived at the materials warehouse when he saw a dark ray shooting toward him at high speed.
All Watchman Dawn task forces received specialized training and enhancements, so his body had naturally undergone corresponding bio-modifications.
However, compared to actual bio-weapons, the task force's modifications were more akin to genetic enhancement, allowing them to retain their human form.
Even facing a sudden attack, Liu Yongfeng was confident he could dodge it.
But that confidence was merely his own assessment, not a reflection of reality.
The dark ray was incredibly fast, striking Liu Yongfeng's body in an instant.
In that moment, Liu Yongfeng felt his body become extremely light and nimble, while his consciousness began to drift.
Before he could even react, it was all over.
The other members of the task force were completely stunned.
From their perspective, they saw their captain get hit, freeze for a moment, and then simply disintegrate into a pile of particles on the ground.
And they weren't particles of flesh and blood, but strange granules that looked as if they had been carbonized.
"You had a path to heaven, but you chose to break into hell."
A mechanical voice sounded out, and only then did the task force members see an Armored Man. Their focus, however, wasn't on why this thing had appeared.
Instead, it was on the dark-hued energy sphere erupting from the barrel of a strange weapon floating beside the Armored Man.
Though different from the beam that had killed their captain, they were certain they stood no chance of stopping it.
So, the instant they realized this, they turned and ran.
Unfortunately, they were a step too slow. Even with their modifications placing them far beyond ordinary humans, their speed was nothing before the energy sphere.
Before they could take two steps, the energy sphere had already landed.
Unlike the beam, it wasn't silent on impact. Instead, it detonated, forming a Ghost Energy Storm that carried both concussive and shearing force, inflicting both blunt and sharp trauma.
In an instant, the task force members were reduced to a mass of shattered limbs. Although they didn't turn into particles, their remains took on a similar carbonized appearance upon death.
The Cheetah Task Force, wiped out in a single encounter.
The attacker was, of course, the AI, and the method of attack was the SSS-Rank Stellar Ghost Energy Floating Cannon Swarm he had just acquired.
'The single-target mode is manageable, but the area-of-effect mode's energy consumption is massive.'
'Then there's the durability. It can only fire a maximum of three times every twenty-four hours, otherwise the Floating Cannon can't handle the strain.'
'Until the Tai Sui God has evolved to a certain point, this Floating Cannon can only be used as a temporary bodyguard.'
The Floating Cannon possessed an intelligent system that could connect to the AI without taking up any of its processing power, which was a definite plus.
This meant the Floating Cannon had autonomous capabilities like targeting, defense, and tracking. If Qi Suian were more ruthless, he could even have it clear minefields or perform reconnaissance, though he couldn't expect the results to be particularly good.
With only one Floating Cannon, its performance seemed rather underwhelming, but that wasn't the weapon's fault—it was Qi Suian's.
If he had enough evolution materials to evolve the Tai Sui God, it would be an entire swarm of Floating Cannons.
He only had one because the module required a minimum baseline; otherwise, the Tai Sui God, at its current evolutionary level, wouldn't have been able to support it at all.
What kind of Floating Cannon can only fire three shots in twenty-four hours?
'Still, the Ghost Energy attacks are incredibly powerful. The single-target Dark Energy Beam causes direct disintegration, while the area-of-effect Ghost Energy Storm inflicts dual-type damage.'
'If its power level were higher, the effects would be even more potent.'
'Until I can use the Floating Cannon as a conventional weapon, I need to find something else to fill the gap.'
The members of the Cheetah Task Force had originally been armed, but after being corroded by the Ghost Energy, not only the soldiers but also their equipment had been completely destroyed.
Furthermore, Qi Suian needed an energy weapon like a Plasma Cannon. If he opted for conventional firearms, he would have to worry about ammunition.
Had he ever even held a gun? It didn't matter. The AI knew how, and that was enough. His days were already packed with learning all sorts of knowledge; there was no need to add firearms training to the list.
It wasn't a matter of prejudice, but of priority.
His lack of firearm skills wouldn't affect his present or future, but without the right knowledge, he couldn't make the Profound Virus work for him—and that was a matter of life and death.
For one, the simple fact that Celestial Fate: Profound was X-rank meant the Profound Virus's potential was far greater than the Tai Sui God's. Having an SSS-rank entity analyze an X-rank one was likely an unrealistic task.
Qi Suian wasn't confident he could actually succeed in controlling the Profound Virus, but there was a world of difference between trying and failing, and not trying at all.
If you think there's no point in trying just because success isn't guaranteed, what's the difference between that and only taking on high-reward, no-risk ventures? Deals like that don't fall into the laps of ordinary people—the only thing that fits the bill is a scam.
So there was no need to worry too much about such things.
As for removing the Floating Cannon from the module slot and changing it back into a Plasma Cannon to serve as a conventional weapon…
That was possible, but the Plasma Cannon was already damaged. Removing it would just give him a damaged weapon.
The Floating Cannon was intact because it was being repaired by a nanite colony. If converted back to a Plasma Cannon, it would no longer be part of the Tai Sui God and thus couldn't be fixed.
'Energy weapons aren't easy to find, but I don't necessarily have to build one. I can use another weapon as a substitute for now.' Qi Suian wasn't the type to get hung up on trivialities.
Survival was his number one priority.
'But the most urgent task right now is to feed this entire warehouse of materials to the Tai Sui God as evolution material.'
The moment Qi Suian had that thought, the AI directed the Tai Sui God to begin evolving.
The armor began to grow, bit by bit.
"Speaking of which, given the Tai Sui God's potential, its evolution materials aren't just limited to metal, are they? Inorganic matter should also work," Qi Suian finally asked.
The AI replied, [Insufficient modules. Unable to smelt non-metallic materials.]
At that, something suddenly clicked for Qi Suian.
"So if there were enough modules, it would no longer be limited to organic or inorganic matter? Could anything be used as evolution material?" he asked abruptly.
[Correct. Currently, the Supernova Strong Nuclear Reactor is acting as a temporary conversion center. Furthermore, because the Tai Sui God has an insufficient number of evolutions, only certain metals can serve as high-quality evolution material.]
[Ordinary metals can be used as evolution material, but the evolutionary energy converted upon ingestion is limited.]
"I see. So it's my fault after all," Qi Suian said softly. The Tai Sui God's expensive taste wasn't its flaw—it was his.