Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 158 - 128. Pi Party Warm-Up

Chapter 158: 128. Pi Party Warm-Up

Dada dada—

Lady Selya lifted the machine gun, pulled the trigger for a three-round burst, and a 12.7mm caliber bullet hit a Burrowing Beast that attempted to approach. Like a shadow, its form tumbled forward repeatedly, quickly taken down to the ground.

The latter wailed as it fell to the ground, the bullet piercing through its flesh and innards, probably exiting near the location of its second brain. The cavity effect did not maximize, hence it did not die instantly.

Its tentacles swiftly writhed, its form struggling slightly; the beast that couldn’t get up was promptly bitten in the throat by its packmates, tearing open the blood vessels, and was devoured on the spot.

The commotion of the pack allowed "Youth Number" to swiftly widen the distance, and the Javelin Dragons lying in wait on the hill swelled their chests, lowered their heads, and the bone javelins embedded in their shoulders shot out, striking the incredibly sturdy steel plates of Youth Number, leaving behind only superficial dents.

"These mutant beasts from the Outer World, every time the subway travels, the commotion attracts them, bringing death upon themselves,"

Lady Selya put down the machine gun, smiled, and gestured to three Ersha Infected youths, a mix of males and females watching nearby, to give it a try:

"It’s not that hard; you’ll all have to learn this sooner or later."

One of the older Frost Plated youths, a bit nervous, lifted the bolt-action rifle in his hands, and under Selya’s guidance, awkwardly used the mechanical sights to aim. Leaning slightly out the window, he aimed the muzzle at a Javelin Dragon on the hill, standing still, waiting to ’reload.’

Bang!

A muffled gunshot sounded and after the bullet drifted for a while, it cleanly penetrated the Javelin Dragon’s front chest, causing it to fall heavily.

"Wow— not bad, you’re quite talented," encouraged Selya, "What’s your name again?"

"Hodder," the young man, somewhat baffled, wasn’t quite sure he had hit the target himself. But with Selya’s praise, he immediately puffed out his chest and grinned, "Hey, not too shabby, right— how about Gina and Li Mu give it a try?"

"No, thanks, I’m still afraid of gunshots," Gina waved her hand in refusal.

Li Mu glanced at the fierce tide of beasts, the incessant shrieks, and the bat-like flashes that periodically dropped phosphorescent fire in the sky, bursting into brilliant flares that filled him with fear. Ashamed to show his fear in front of a female, he stiffened his resolve and forced himself to say:

"I’ll pass too. It’s a waste of bullets if I don’t shoot accurately."

As if to prove that he was not afraid to shoot half outside of the car, he added another sentence, "Compared to firearms, I still prefer the Arcane Energy I used to wield."

"It’s better to get rid of those unnatural Strengths sooner," Gina touched the smooth back of her hand, a feeling of longing and sentimentality in her voice, "My Arcane Energy ’Cherry Blossom Scales’ would only cause my skin to crack and form cherry blossom petal-like scaly plates. Though they could stop bullets, they were a hassle to clean and easily infected by parasites—this is much better now."

Gina, with her attractive features, made Hodder laugh heartily, saying cheerfully:

"No worries, we humans are more than equipped with guns. Lady Selya, I’ll be on duty here from now on, shooting at the wild beasts from the Outer World every day."

Lady Selya was happy for the company: "Sure, though the job is hardly dangerous, it is quite exhausting."

Hodder nodded, "No problem, although we’ve lost Arcane Energy, having a skill is essential for making a living."

"Then you will surely improve quickly, I’d like to help too," Gina spoke with congratulations.

"I assume so, practice makes perfect, and besides, Gina, you can also take turns on watch with me."

"Hmm, that’s also not a bad idea—but hitting such a distant target on your first try with a gun shows you have a real Talent; don’t sell yourself short..."

Li Mu glanced at Hodder, surrounded by the beautiful girl and Lady Selya of the Metro Brotherhood, lavishing him with praise, and felt an acid jealousy brewing inside—he wished he had shown off earlier.

’That Javelin Dragon was foolish; animals remain animals, not even knowing to move an inch, just waiting to be killed by a Frost Plated bloke not much older than myself.’

Jealous, he thought of Gina, a beauty even among the Infected with her golden brown fluffy short hair that seemed fantastically dreamlike, especially since her features met the aesthetic standards of the people from the Outer World: attractive round apple cheeks, smooth enticing red lips, and an amber dark complexion, as if oily and fragrant with a balm’s scent.

The Outer World had no unified ethnic or tribal culture, and with prolonged intermixing among various Species, appearances varied drastically. Some people clearly looked Caucasian but had traditionally East Asian names, and vice versa. Although last names and cultural identities were mixed, the standard for beauty was fairly consistent: a darker complexion, smooth skin, healthy teeth, and chubby baby-faced cheeks, preferably with freckles as a symbol of abundant sunshine, vitality, and health.

’Frost Plated bastards have snatched so much land and resources from us, and now they even want to take the girls from the Outer World, truly shameless,’

Li Mu thought.

After Lady Selya gave them some instruction, she went off to attend to her own work, leaving just the three of them.

Although there were three of them, Li Mu always found himself without an opportunity to join the conversation. Watching Hodder quickly integrate into the conversation with Gina, his discontent grew, especially as Gina occasionally remarked, ’Good hit,’ or ’That’s not bad at all,’ fueling his jealousy even further. He grew unhappy, staying quiet at the side for a while, and as he saw the other two getting along famously, he finally couldn’t stand it anymore:

"I’m going to the restroom."

"Be quick, okay?" Gina reminded him with concern.

Li Mu closed the carriage door behind him as if fleeing, and with his head down, he made his way through the various compartments—the cargo hold, the dining car, the purification chamber, the fuel room, the mechanical space, the distribution room. Along the way, he heard the overlapping voices of the Mingji Humanity survivors. Many were celebrating, some had collapsed from exhaustion, and a very few, too overwhelmed by their wild swings of fortune, committed some outrageous acts.

Among them, even more were discussing Li Aozi, the one who had rescued them.

Li Mu leaned against the wall near the restroom, where a Frost Plated woman with her head drooping stood in front of him, silent and the atmosphere particularly awkward. But soon, his attention was drawn to a conversation nearby.

"Did you actually see Li Aozi with your own eyes? He looks like an old man in his seventies or eighties," a young man from the Outer World said animatedly, huddled around a table:

"To have that kind of strength at his age to challenge the Professor’s Giant, he’s truly legendary."

Hearing this, a Frost Plated man adjusted his glasses and said indifferently:

"Even so, he took our Arcane Energy. No matter how you look at it, that’s ours, right..."

"What kind of bullshit is that? If it wasn’t for Li Aozi stepping in, you would have been sucked dry by the Professor!" an onlooker from the Outer World interjected indignantly.

"I’m not denying his achievement. Li Aozi did save us, it’s true, but without our support with the Arcane Energy, how could he have defeated the Professor?"

The Frost Plated man with the eyeglasses said contemptuously:

"In other words, it was us together who defeated the Professor—you people from the Outer World, do you understand the concept of people’s history?"

Bang!

His comment instantly ignited the anger of the other young men from the Outer World, one of them slammed his hand on the table, pointing at the Frost Plated man with the eyeglasses and cursing:

"I understand your motherfucker, I never went to school, do you Frost Plated guys feel accomplished showing off your education in front of us?"

"Watch your language, don’t curse! What sort of behavior is this, you really deserve to be bullied by the Four Nations, you have no idea what being impartial means."

The Frost Plated man’s eyes met the fierce gaze of the man from the Outer World, and his tone immediately softened:

"I mean well, wanting to fight for everyone’s benefits. Without our help, Li Aozi wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Professor, isn’t that a fact? What’s wrong with that?"

Compared to bravado and ferocity, Frost Plated men, situated at the bottom of the Frost Plated discrimination chain, seemed like domestic cats when confronted by the men from the Outer World who had struggled forward in darkness and cold, like encountering wild Bengal tigers,

"Oh, now you’re playing the coward?"

The young man from the Outer World scoffed:

"Talking about fighting for benefits—you think just anyone dares to face that Giant God? Or are you saying the Metro Brotherhood’s armored trains carry us for free?"

The Frost Plated man with the eyeglasses continued to defend himself: "This is based on humanitarianism, shouldn’t it be expected? If you help someone, you should help them to the end, it was his choice—"

Bang!