Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 173 - 142. Leaving (Frost Plated series end)

Chapter 173: 142. Leaving (Frost Plated series end)

"Don’t worry, I never planned to kill you."

Li Aozi smiled slightly, walking up to her, seemingly unguarded:

"How are the arrangements for your task?"

Nimotin replied nervously, "Uh, do you mean the bounty? The Governor of the Fourth Rule took me directly; I haven’t had time to issue it."

"Lai Lier Nanhu... don’t rush." Li Aozi fished around in his pocket and tossed her a bank card. "This is a GTB savings card I got from Mingji Humanity. Daily withdrawal limit is 200,000; there’s 3.4 million Derby in it. Use 2 million for the bounty, and remember to transfer to the public account."

"You... you’re so trusting in handing this over to me?" Nimotin was momentarily stunned, then said in surprise, "The Governor only gave me a new leg, and you’re giving me 3.4 million? Aren’t you afraid I’ll take it?"

"I’m not worried." Li Aozi glanced at a pool of still-cooling lava and said calmly, "Your mind isn’t sharp, but you value your life highly. You’re the most suitable for this."

"You—you—" Nimotin almost cursed, but seeing the 3.4 million GTB savings card and recalling the recent slaughter, she immediately backed down. Nearly two meters tall, Nimotin begrudgingly put away the card, no longer daring to have any ideas about it.

"There’s nothing else; you can go." Li Aozi waved his hand casually, as if nothing had happened, and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Li Aozi looked up. Yavin jumped out from behind a cover and stood before him. After thinking a bit, she bowed deeply to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Aozi," Yavin said. "Salute to Qiu Ran and Nomi; they are the true Frost Plated women."

"Hmm... You’re saying this because of Xeno?" Li Aozi didn’t seem surprised. After all, he knew about Xeno, and Dr. Chen Siqi had told him earlier that Xeno was born with strong spiritual power and could easily communicate with others.

"Yes." Yavin raised her head, speaking seriously, "Thank you very much for destroying Mingji Humanity. I—no, I should say, countless Frost Plated and Outer World people have been spared from becoming experimental subjects because of you. I am here to thank you on their behalf."

Li Aozi had no ill feelings towards Yavin now. She had just helped significantly, allowing Du Zexin and the others to escape easily, and Xeno could grow in the civilized environment of the Frost Plated, which was more suitable than the Outer World.

However, Brother Zhou Liefeng might suffer a bit, but on the surface, the Third Rule and the Metro Brotherhood still cooperated. With a bit of collusion with Du Zexin, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

Thinking of this, Li Aozi glanced at Yavin. To be fair, she was quite pretty, though not as much as himself.

Beyond her innate talent and being the daughter of David Lyn, Yavin Heskixin was indeed a practical person.

Unfortunately, her Spirit Medium ability was too weak, and Li Aozi didn’t think she was qualified enough to be a teammate.

Supporting his waist, he joked:

"Let’s skip the verbal thanks. I’m more interested in something tangible."

"Tangible..." Yavin was momentarily stunned, hesitating, "I don’t have much money on me, just some compressed biscuits..."

"Survive."

Li Aozi spoke seriously:

"Your existence holds great importance to me. In the days to come, you can trust Du Mei—Du Zexin. He’s from the David Lyn faction, on your father’s side. No matter what, you must ensure your own safety. Live well and don’t die in some obscure place where I won’t be able to find you."

"What are you saying, as if I’m... something special."

Yavin’s eyes flickered; she turned her head slightly, surprised:

"If I’m so useful to you, why not take me with you?"

"...No. Too many women around me have died. You’ll be safer staying away from me."

Li Aozi patted her shoulder, then whispered in her ear:

"On this planet, you’re a unique existence to me. Once you’re gone, you’ll be irreplaceable (your object resonance talent is too rare)."

The wind lifted Yavin’s hair. She blinked her golden-green eyes. The breathing mask obscured her face, making it hard to see her expression.

After giving his instructions, Li Aozi pocketed his hands and walked away.

"Li... Li Aozi—" Yavin turned, staring at his back. Her lips trembled as if deciding her words. Known for her calm composure, she suddenly spoke without thinking:

"Who exactly are you? Where are you going? What’s the purpose of your fight, all this time, for?"

"Among the Frost Plated, I’m a Frost Plated. Among the Red Arrow, I’m a Red Arrow."

"Huh?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Li Aozi continued walking, laughing aloud:

"Just kidding—if you want to know who I am and where I’m going—look up."

"Look up..." Yavin lifted her head.

For a normal person, the sky filled with Ersha would be all they’d see, with dense red-black clouds intersected by thunder and snow.

Was Li Aozi suggesting he was an Arcane User born from Ersha?

No, that’s not it—Yavin’s vision pierced through the clouds, reaching the deep space beyond.

White clouds, blue sky, the moon, the sun, the atmosphere, the starry sky, the universe...

In that moment, the words that had only appeared in textbooks and historical documents resurfaced in her memory one by one.

"...I see." Yavin muttered, "We’ve long lost the courage to look straight at the sky, so much so that we’ve forgotten there’s an endless starry abyss beyond this land."

Bang!

The laser tripwire was blown apart. Yavin looked up, seeing the Youth Number racing down the tracks, speeding into the dark night.

She clutched the front of her shirt, eyes dimming—in comparison to Li Aozi’s ambitions, humanity was still trapped on the ground like primitive beasts, lacking even the courage to look up and break through the red-black sky.

"Yeah, I still have a long way to go."

Yet, she sincerely blessed him:

"May your journey no longer be lonely, Mr. Aozi."

[’Yavin Heskixin’ favorability +422]

[Current favorability: 511 (Respect)]

Whoosh—

The train roared past, charging out of the frost-plated ground, plunging into the underground with swift intensity. After a long stretch of darkness and swaying, the Youth Number’s broadcast received a new signal:

"Static... You have entered the military jurisdiction of Sky Ring Country. Please present your transit pass—Boom! What are those army bastards doing? Get rid of those Red Team terrorists immediately!"

Li Aozi breathed a sigh of relief, his face breaking into a satisfied smile.

"Great—Sky Ring Country, still the familiar days of well-being."

The good news was: he had finally left the desolate lands of Frost Plated, heading abroad.

The bad news was: Sky Ring was a place of raw beauty with a kind of primal charm.

Ding—

A system prompt popped up. Li Aozi casually opened it, revealing a new message in his inbox.

[Sender]: Glina Swirl

---------------------

Dear Customer,

My dear, I know you’ve been waiting.

The much-anticipated ’Tracy’s Limited-Time Carnival Night’ has arrived! This is a special event to thank our loyal customers. I decided to offer a little gratitude.

During Carnival Night, simply follow ’Mikhail’s Nest,’ and you could add my personal contact information.

Of course, I know. Rather than Glina’s body, you prefer Glina’s craftsmanship... right?

Afterwards, Mikhail will send exclusive limited-time promotional products from our mall supply chain to you. You can also bring some valuable treasures; maybe I’ll like them... and you who offer them to me.

ZGM.0238/1/13

—Attachment: Friend card ’Glina Swirl’

(Click here to link to the Enterprise account: ’Mikhail’s Nest’)

---------------------

"Interesting, a random mall? Didn’t expect an event like this."

Li Aozi curiously clicked the friend card, which came with a photo this time.

He then saw a girl with platinum blonde hair, perfect features, and a bright smile, full of radiant sunshine—a stunning beauty in every sense whose beauty surpassed race and gender. She looked so flawless that one might feel the whole universe had wronged her if she were saddened or hurt.

The Charm attribute had to be at least 300 points. Not only was her appearance breathtaking, but her beauty also had an intensity.

Li Aozi had a specific focal point. He stared into the eyes of the platinum blonde girl on the card.

They were like exquisite gems, clear and bright, noble and graceful, perfect from any angle, with the only exception being her vertically elongated pupils, like those of a reptile.

"As expected."

Li Aozi nodded, confirming his earlier guess:

"This is a High Dragon Race from the Dragon Race civilization..."

Starting at Sigma (∑, the eighteenth Greek letter).

Converted to levels, it was 360, 300 levels higher than in his past life.

"Let’s see what goodies this big shot has." Li Aozi clicked the link, jumping to the Enterprise account. Next moment, his Mall interface popped up, showing a limited-time offer window on the homepage.

A cute, ugly little monster perched on the window’s edge. Noticing Li Aozi had opened the interface, it waved its paw to greet him:

"Awoo meow meow! Misha!"

(Translation: Hello, I am Mikhail Redeyevich Gold—you can call me Misha. This is Glina Mama’s limited-time promotional product. Mama says: Grand Opening Sale, all items half price.)

Putting aside the absurdity of those sounds being made and even more the translation, Li Aozi’s gaze landed on the first item in the first row:

"Glina Swirl’s Daily Life Photo Album"

Price: 998 point tickets

Introduction:

Chronicling Glina Swirl’s everyday outfits, this album includes 16 photoshoots.

"Worth every penny, mind your health."

Li Aozi glanced at the girl on the album cover, then at the little monster Misha. The latter kept nodding vigorously.

"Meow meow woof! (Translation: Best-seller of the store!)"

Misha flipped over, showing its belly, six little paws patting its soft tummy to assure him.

Li Aozi rolled his eyes, snorting disdainfully:

"Do you think I’d succumb to beauty? My Will surpasses that of an ordinary person!"