Infinite Slaughter System: I Kill, Therefore I Ascend!-Chapter 191: Interlude: Andrew Han Vs Li Ling! 1

The mist from the Dao Heart formation coiled around Li Ling’s ankles, then climbed his body like a creeping vine. The next moment, his vision blurred and the roar of the crowd, the pressure of countless competitors, the heavy aura of the cultivation world vanished.

All of it just disappeared and Li Ling fell into an aether of blackness.

......

BRINNG! BRIINGG!

A sharp pain lanced through his forehead as Andrew Han jerked awake with a gasp, nearly sliding out of his ergonomic office chair. His neck ached, his lower back hurt, and his face had the pleasant imprint of a keyboard pattern.

He blinked groggily at the 30 inch dual monitors in front of him. One showed a 3D render of a government annex building, the other a set of CAD drawings half-finished, with their lines and measurements spread across the screen.

His apple watch continued to screech at him with mechanical hatred as he had over sleep seven of his alarms in one go.

He checked the time on the watch and almost jumped when he saw that it read 23:47.

"Damn! Did I seriously fall asleep at my desk...?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes.

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to remember... something.

Hmmm... first he had a headache, then tried to take a break... then he collapsed?

After that... nothing.

Just the vague feeling of exhaustion and too much coffee.

With a sigh, he saved his work, closed the project files, and shut down the workstation.

Looking around, his open-plan office was the same as always, dark with only a few emergency lights and monitor LEDs casting dots of color around the space.

There were rows of empty desks with potted plants, the city’s nightscape practically glowing beyond the glass.

Andrew grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, slung it on, and headed for the elevator.

"Enough for today, I deserve a break." He muttered to himself almost sullenly.

........

The Donovan Family Diner sat on the corner of a busy boulevard, looking like a dainty maiden with its warm light spilling out through the windows onto the pavement.

It was one of Andrew’s favorite places to go after work because it was cheap, opened late, and with decent coffee that had a kick.

The bell over the door chimed as he stepped in after pushing the door open, and the familiar smell of grilled steak, hot French fries, and sweetened coffee hit him.

"Yo, Andy!"

A strong voice called out to him, revealing a fellow who was waving him over boisterously.

Turning to face that side, Andrew saw that at his favorite corner booth, three familiar faces were already half-buried in plates and glasses.

First, there was Marcus who waved him over initially, being broad-shouldered and dark-skinned with a hoodie half-zipped over a collared shirt, the kind of guy who could bench his own body weight and still complain about his gains.

Beside him sat Jin, a slim Chinese fellow with glasses that wore a perpetually amused expression, his long-sleeved white shirt rolled up neatly up to his elbow.

Across from them, Emily, a thin and average-looking blonde of Caucasian descent with freckles and a messy bun was demolishing a plate of fries like she was greed incarnate.

Andrew slid into the empty spot beside Marcus with a slight smile.

"Up late again?" Emily asked with mild concern, raising a brow.

"You’re one to talk. Didn’t you send a site report at 2 am just yesterday?" Andrew retorted with a snort.

"Tsk, remote access is a curse," She muttered sullenly, then stuffed more fries into her mouth.

A waitress came over and took his order - which was a double cheeseburger with extra onions, a side of spicy fries, and a cup of caramel coffee - then left them to it.

For a while, the conversation was mostly mundane as they talked about work, about annoying clients, absurd budget cuts, and Marcus’ ongoing feud with the new project manager.

They touched on the latest Marvel movie, a viral video of some guy parkouring badly, and office gossip about who was dating whom.

Andrew felt himself relax, the weight of the day bleeding away, and his weird feeling about his sudden ’nap’ becoming less pressing.

Then, Jin snapped his fingers as if remembering something vital.

"Oh, right! You guys read novelkisss?" He asked, eyes lighting up.

Marcus snorted. "Those long-ass Chinese comics with three thousand Chapters and names I can’t pronounce?"

"Those are manhua, you barbarian," Jin retorted dryly.

He glanced around sneakily. "I’m talking about the novels. Cultivation, systems, transmigration, all that."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You mean those stories where some loser dies and wakes up overpowered and then does morally questionable stuff while the fanbase calls him ’based’?"

Jin grinned. "Yes, those. Anyway, I started this new one yesterday. It’s called ’Infinite Slaughter System’ and the main character is this guy called Li Ling."

Andrew’s hand, halfway to his freshly brought coffee, paused.

Something caused his mind to tremble, the name echoing in his skull like it should mean something.

He shook his head forcefully and steadied his fingers to take a sip.

Marcus groaned. "Let me guess, more edgy carnage? With a title like that..."

"Oh, it’s absolutely peak edgelord fantasy, and that’s the point." Jin said cheerfully.

Emily leaned forward, interested despite herself. "Alright, I’m a sucker for good fiction. What’s the setup?"

"So, Li Ling starts off as this super cautious and cowardly guy that gets kicked out of his cultivation clan because his talent sucks, and he spends years hiding in this backwater marketplace, doing low-level array work and literally trying not to be noticed by anyone." Jin began, gesturing with a fry like a lecturer with a pointer.

Andrew’s brow furrowed.

"Sounds reasonable, them cultivation worlds ain’t easy." Marcus muttered.

Jin nodded. "Exactly, in the beginning he’s basically a turtle. Survival above everything, avoids trouble like the plague, believes anything can be negotiated as long as he can live. Total anti-hero seed, right?

"Then some tragedy happens, he snaps, and this Infinite Slaughter System awakens!" He wiggled his fingers ominously.

Emily snorted. "Of course it does."

"And then?" Marcus asked, half-interested.

"And then he goes from ’hide in a corner’ to ’kill everything in his way’ really fast!" Jin said, tone turning mocking.

Jin leaned forward. "Like, he starts using the system to convert every kill into points. Those points upgrade his techniques, his body, his soul, everything. He stops caring about morality, about humanity and innocence. If killing fifty people to save five minutes is efficient, he does it. If harvesting a village moves him one step closer to power, he doesn’t blink."

Emily’s nose wrinkled. "So, standard Power Fantasy Sociopath."

Jin laughed. "Pretty much. The author clearly thinks he’s deep. They have him justify everything with ’the world is cruel, kill or be killed’ speeches. He’s got this whole ’I only care about survival and my own path’ thing going on, but then it escalates into harem, torture, all that fun stuff."

Marcus shook his head. "Man, people really eat this up, huh? Just an excuse to revel in violence without admitting that’s what they’re doing."

"Yup." Jin popped the fry into his mouth.

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "It’s like... ’Look at me, I’m so dark and mature, I understand the real nature of the world!’... but at the end of the day it’s just a guy using a cheat to murder everyone and feel superior about it."

Emily showed a look of disgust. "Honestly, it sounds pathetic. I get fictional villains, I get horror, but glorifying some psycho as if he’s ’right about the world’? Hard pass."

"Right?" Marcus said, licking his fingers after finishing his burger.

"I swear, some of these readers... if you tell them their fave MC is basically a terrorist, they’ll argue about ’context’ and ’different world morals’ and all that bullshit. Like, no, my dude. You like reading about killing. Just admit it." He added with a disdainful snort.

The group laughed.

Andrew sat quietly, fingers curled tightly around his coffee mug. Each time they said the name ’Li Ling’, his heart jumped in his chest, as if he was listening to them judge a close friend or loved one.

Jin suddenly glanced sideways at him, a sly look on his face.

"What about you, Andy? You’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think of our boy Li Ling, the brave slayer of innocents?" He asked lightly.

Marcus grinned. "Yeah, c’mon. You read that kind of stuff, right? You’re into all that cultivation nonsense."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Don’t tell me you secretly like this kind of character."

Andrew hesitated for some reason. Usually, he would have agreed with them as he had the same tastes as his friends, but something prevented him from denying Li Ling.

"I... don’t really have an opinion since I haven’t read it." He said finally, choosing to avoid the issue.

Jin made a dismissive noise. "Lame. Alright, hypothetically then, just based on what I’ve said, this guy’s a coward-turned-slaughter-machine who justifies his actions with ’the world is cruel.’ Is it cool or cringe?"

"Cringe!" Emily said immediately.

"Cringe as hell!" Marcus agreed with a laugh.

They both looked at him expectantly.

Andrew felt a faint, irrational irritation. ’Why do you guys care what I think?’ he wanted to ask, but he knew that would make things worse, so instead, he set down his mug.

"I mean... if we’re talking strictly in-universe logic, not from our world’s morals... it... kinda makes sense?" He responded slowly and thoughtfully.

Three pairs of eyes fixed on him.

"How?" Emily demanded, frowning.

Andrew tried to articulate the thought simmering in his mind.

"Well, if the setting is really a kill-or-be-killed world, with no stable law, no real protection, and constant threats from higher-level beings... then someone like that is just adapting to the environment." He answered, choosing his words carefully.

Marcus frowned. "That’s still messed up, man."

"I’m not saying it’s ’good’ or ’moral’ by our standards." Andrew replied, a little sharper than he intended.

"I’m saying it’s internally consistent. If you drop a modern human into a world where mercy gets you and your loved ones killed, and where your enemies won’t hesitate to wipe out your entire bloodline, clinging to Earth-style liberal values might just be suicidal." He continued with more confidence.

Jin leaned back, smirking. "So you’re defending him."

"I’m... explaining based on context, there’s a difference." Andrew replied quickly.

Emily’s eyes narrowed. "You sound like one of those readers, the ones who write essays about how ’actually, he’s right and everyone else is naive’."

A feeling of discomfort ran down Andrew’s backs as he suddenly became aware of the background noise in the diner - the clink of cutlery, the murmur of other conversations - and of how some of those conversations seemed to be quieting down near their booth.

Marcus’ expression shifted, just a little. "So, hypothetically, you think a guy like that is justified then? As long as the world is ’cruel’ enough?"

Andrew pursed his lips. "It’s fiction. It’s exploring a different moral framework. We don’t have to approve of it to understand it."

Emily’s tone hardened. "You’re dodging the question. Do you think someone like that is... acceptable?"

It was such a small shift, from casual banter turning into interrogation, but it changed the air around the table.

Jin’s smile faded, his gaze sharpening.

Marcus’ big hands folded together, suddenly still.

Andrew felt eyes on the back of his neck. When he glanced up, he caught a couple at the next table half-turned toward them, listening openly now.

Another man further away had paused with his fork midway to his mouth, looking at him openly with hawkish eyes.

Tension filled the air as sweat began to bead on his brows.