Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 188 - 012. Frost Plated Counterattack Chronicle

Chapter 188: 012. Frost Plated Counterattack Chronicle

If it had only been a speech delivered with exhaustive vociferation, that alone would not have sufficed to bring Li Aozi’s speech to a climax.

Upon obtaining the video footage, the latter team of Qiqiao Network developed a keen interest in Li Aozi. After studying his identity information, they made a judgment about his personal image that was deemed more suitable than the Third Rule of Frost Plated:

Li Aozi was a warrior, or rather a knight-errant, who opposed injustice.

Wandering the earth, living in the wind and sleeping under the dew, standing up against injustice whenever witnessed—the romanticism embedded in these phrases was highly captivating.

The Publicity Department believed that Frost Plated itself lacked distinctive game characteristics. If players were interested in humanoid features, why not go to Red Arrow with its most advanced technological level?

If players admired martial techniques, why not choose Sky Ring, known for its exquisite cold-weapon combat?

Beyond that, the dire political situation in Frost Plated was not conducive to investment—much to the disapproval of state-owned enterprises and public institutions that had secured early access quota, as well as potentially causing slight discomfort among male players according to public sentiment.

The former came here to build and make a fortune on the Electronic Immigration project; they belonged to Fiery Summer’s state enterprises, not here to offer charity to the Frost Plated Government as a blood pack;

As for the latter, it could easily discourage most male casual players, and even female players felt nauseated facing such a distorted societal system, preferring the Zhengxu Democratic Republic with its picturesque scenery.

Therefore, the Publicity Department astutely captured the ’chivalric’ trait of Li Aozi and, based on this, re-established the main focus of play in Frost Plated District:

"The joy for players in the Frost Plated District lies in its destruction."

In fact, Li Aozi did not represent any faction; if anything, he was from the Outer World, but he was, after all, originally from Frost Plated and also the hero who had destroyed the anti-human organization—a perfect match to provide players with a strong sense of justice and empathy.

In the promotional video, each country’s segment was time-limited, not exceeding 13 minutes.

The situation of the Frost Plated Republic itself could only promote characteristics such as ’sneaky’, ’behind-the-scenes scheming’, and ’high authority for women’; these, however, were swiftly glossed over, and to fill the nearly ten remaining minutes, the staff at Qiqiao Network’s Publicity Department lazily switched filters, added music, and edited a few clips, stuffing almost the entire mission storyline of "Imprint" into it.

Accompanied by Li Aozi’s outcry and the tragic plight of Ersha Experiment Subjects vividly depicted, combined with tear-jerking music, effectively stirred the audience’s rage and sympathy.

Even Li Aozi had not anticipated that these clips of his would generate the highest frequency of interactive comments during the entire press conference.

"This country has gone mad!"

"Their actions bring shame to women. How could they carry out such cruel experiments on babies?!"

"My blood pressure is rising; I wish I could log in right now and start a massacre."

Since this livestream was not solely for players but for all individuals interested in and aspiring to electronic immigration, and these individuals generally shared traits such as ’loneliness’, ’emotive sensitivity’, and ’intense world-weariness’, their ability to empathize and their desire to care for others were inherently strong.

They might never have engaged with any game before, but the superior technological environment of the Red Arrow Empire and the cool combat in Sky Ring Country had sparked tremendous interest. Many, both emotionally and rationally, were already longing for life in the electronic world.

Yet, when they saw that their desired ’Second Home’ still harbored a country like Frost Plating, they were immediately profoundly shaken, especially after witnessing the atrocities of Mingji Humanity, nearly all potential immigrants resolutely sided against Frost Plated.

The fundamental difference between electronic immigrants and players is that players come to play games, for entertainment and mostly to fight, whereas electronic immigrants tend more towards a mild colonization. They are happy to trade with and befriend the natives, prepared to live there for a lifetime. However, they possess a much stronger sense of potential threats and unease compared to players.

Many electronic immigrants had already obtained maps of Azure Star and were envisioning whether to settle on the coast of the Red Arrow or become mercenaries licking blood off their blades in Sky Ring when Li Aozi’s part of the performance caused them unease — but as immigrants, their first thought wasn’t to abandon their plans, but to pin their hopes on utterly destroying Frost Plated.

This miraculous chemical reaction quickly ignited public opinion, and the players were all at once excited, with many finding identity in the group’s momentum and joining the wave, continuing to snowball.

Li Aozi was surprised to find that even before the occupation system was unveiled, he had already become the first NPC the players recognized. In the promotional video of the national and regional section, he became the individual character with the longest screen time.

Even his scavenger fashion outfit had been leaked by an insider from the Qiqiao Network and would be listed as fashion in the Mall system in the future, with many players declaring they must buy it out.

Not to mention, he had truly become the global king of influence — if the CEO of the Qiqiao Network knew, they would probably kowtow to him a couple of times.

So much so that the subsequent part of the performance about Zhengxu was also influenced by the earlier atmosphere, with many players seeing the beautiful scenery, leisurely atmosphere, and good security of the Zhengxu Democratic Republic, contrasting sharply with the poor and harsh landscapes of Frost Plated — the key point was that in this icy, snowy world, Zhengxu actually had oceans and beaches!

Many immigrants were instantly swayed, deciding then and there to migrate to Zhengxu for their retirement.

The biggest flaw with Zhengxu was its overly generous welfare system, leading to lazy citizens and stagnated economic growth, but happiness is all relative.

Zhengxu never initiated wars of aggression and was active in attracting business and investment, with a solid industrial base and high worker welfare benefits, something Fiery Summer was very satisfied with.

Subsequently, some smaller countries and Outer World warlord organizations were only briefly mentioned, with no significant information.

As for Frost Plated?

Li Aozi hadn’t expected that without even showcasing his fighting abilities, millions were already ready to follow him, planning to topple Frost Plated together.

After a brief introduction to the regions, a series of gameplay systems were introduced. The players were very excited about these parts, while Li Aozi turned to check the forum.

On the Player Forum, one particular thread that was being hotly debated caught his eye. He clicked to see it was a poll about which country on Azure Star they’d most like as their Newbie Village.

The Red Arrow Empire, with its stunning display of steely torrents and militaristic demeanor, had become the players’ favorite country.

Next was... surprisingly Frost Plated.

Most joking players and those annoyed with Frost Plated, influenced by the official narrative, were determined to make a big impact in Frost Plated, wielding AKs, aiming to grow and shine anew.

Li Aozi was very pleased and stated he would provide all help but the combat abilities and levels of these players were only good for stirring up trouble, robbing banks, blowing up bunkers, and handling some guerrilla warfare.

"Now it seems that choosing Triangle Town, Mingji Humanitarian Shelter, and Sky Ring as my development areas, can perfectly form a triangular trade network,"

thought Li Aozi.

The third most popular choice, like in his previous life, saw many electronic immigrants deciding to retire in Zhengxu. For these outsiders, Zhengxu’s generous welfare benefits and beautiful natural scenery were truly hard to reject.

Surprisingly, the last place belonged to Sky Ring Country, a nation known for its spectacular fighting and melee combat with cold weapons. Almost all professional players chose to start in Sky Ring, ready to engage in combat as soon as possible to rapidly level up.