Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 247 - 068. Look, he has to thank me even after giving me money!

Chapter 247: 068. Look, he has to thank me even after giving me money!

Li Aozi had a myriad of thoughts, but in the eyes of the three military players, it was just a fleeting moment. The overly handsome man in front of them rubbed his chin and said hesitantly,

"Hmm... I understand your feelings, wanting to defend the nation and resist the Frost Plated invaders, but in principle, I dare not grant you this power. It’s very dangerous. I don’t want any harm to come upon you."

The activation of the Pathway System led Li Aozi to decide to optimize some of his investments in the players, so that more players would choose the Meteor Fall Master Pathway in the future. With each additional player, he would have one more assurance of ascending to godhood.

As an NPC, he could gain experience and financial resources by imparting knowledge and skills to players. However, Li Aozi had no interest in ordinary individual players who were already struggling with their normal lives. The real goldmine lay within the players from corporate forces.

Reaping the top crops was the wisest strategy.

Mere material rewards were insufficient. Surely, they must love him, like him, be unable to leave him, and have their minds filled with thoughts of him.

Li Aozi felt that compared to reaping crops, he was more like a PUA player, treating the players as his "believers."

The three military players were initially suspicious by nature, but seeing Li Aozi’s active resistance and strong power, coupled with his exceptional charisma, they quickly let down their guard.

Li Aozi used the rhetoric once taught by the Mingji Professor, first explaining how hazardous his power was—genetic chaos, significantly shortened lifespan, deformed offspring, and irreversible harm if misused.

In his words, there was no trace of refusal but rather concern for the players, which made the three soldier players deeply moved.

"He doesn’t want to reject us; he is worried for our safety."

Although there was no change on the surface, such words warmed anyone’s heart.

"What a kind soul."

The three players immediately said,

"It doesn’t matter. For the country, we are willing to shed blood and lay down our lives. Driving away the Frost Plated ghosts is all that matters, not our individual selves."

"I see. I can feel your determination."

Li Aozi showed a moved expression and used the Pathway System to assign them a task,

[Career Task Triggered – "Pathway: Sovereign’s Mandate"]

[Type]: Inheritance

[Time Limit]: None

[Mission Difficulty]: D

[Introduction]:

"Welcome to Starry Abyss. Here, every mortal can change their fate and achieve self-transcendence by embarking on different pathways."

You are an ordinary passerby in life, one of the many mortals in this Starry Abyss, but you are not content, with high ambitions, yearning to change your mediocre, short-lived fate with your own ability,

On this Azure Star, a new pathway opens for you. Your ambition is too great to be repressed by the sky. You decide to follow the powerful mutant Li Aozi.

Now, embark on this pathway filled with domination and rulership!

[Settlement Conditions]:

A. [Genetic Potential] — By purchasing the DM-101 Mutation Inducing Potion (Price: 13,888 Derbies) from Li Aozi, you can undergo your first Arcane Awakening, officially stepping onto the Path of the Mutant.

Reward: Unlock Main Profession – [Mutant];

B. [High Compensation] — Your economic strength is far from sufficient to afford the Arcane Awakening Potion, but Li Aozi is willing to accept work-for-debt repayment.

You can now repay the debt for the Awakening Potion by completing various daily tasks assigned by Li Aozi.

Reward: Li Aozi Favorability +50

————————

Because Li Aozi deciphered the Arcane Awakening Elixir formula from the Mingji Humanity, and he didn’t care about Frost Plated’s patent fees, the cost of producing the Mutation Inducing Potion was greatly reduced.

However, even so, 13,888 Derbies was still a huge sum for the still-novice military players. As soldiers, they had their own training and combat tasks, so they didn’t have the time to work for money.

The three soldiers thought it over. If they didn’t want to pawn their weapons, the most feasible option was to work as laborers for Li Aozi.

Moreover, the task reward of Li Aozi’s favorability was not to be underestimated.

Without enough favorability, an NPC wouldn’t give you tasks, might be lazy to talk to you, or even refuse to trade with you.

"Judging by the task description, it seems there’s plenty of that Arcane Awakening Potion."

"If we get enough favorability, maybe we can even get it wholesale."

"Not just that. We might even be able to hire Li Aozi in the future to help us hit targets."

As the first advanced NPC they had met, Li Aozi’s power won unanimous acknowledgment from them. No one doubted the authenticity of the planes he had shot down.

A superpower user who could fly at five to six Mach had already helped them eliminate the biggest aerial threat, preventing air gunboats, bomb-laden drones, and bombers from providing various air support.

The military players could see Li Aozi’s power and recognized the potential of the Mutant profession.

Now, the whole Pathway of the Mutant’s instructor stood right before them, and the key DM-101 Mutation Inducing Potion was available only from Li Aozi.

Pleasing Li Aozi seemed more than worthwhile.

Li Aozi set the price perfectly—not too high to scare them off, nor so low as to make a loss.

He didn’t intend to heavily reap the novice players, which would lead to customer drop-off. Instead, he planned to advance gradually with a long-term operational goal, maintaining a good character and image for a continuous stream of clientele.

The three soldier players didn’t hesitate much.

Tactical flashlights, aiming bases, underslung grenade launchers or 5-watt lasers, tactical grips, a side-mounted holographic sight, an ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight), a lightweight trigger, a carbon folding stock, and a granular stippled grip.

—A total of fourteen thousand Derbies wasn’t even enough to fully optimize the performance of an assault rifle’s accessories, so trying an Arcane Awakening didn’t seem like a bad deal.

Based on their judgment, a standard Frost Plated soldier, inclusive of arms and accessories, uniform that includes positioning systems, life indicators, survival kits, IFF signals, a helmet, and body armor made of super Kevlar fibers and alloy plates—not including implants, would be worth up to 170,000 Derbies.

Comparatively, 13,888 Derbies for Arcane Energy that required no maintenance seemed like a bargain.

Seeing the three players agree so readily, Li Aozi knew he had set the right price.

Nothing beats cutting prices as a business tactic, and if anything could, it was giving things away for free because free is always the most expensive.

The three soldiers pooled their money, which wasn’t enough to buy even a cap of potion, so Li Aozi promptly assigned them a task to help the villagers transport aircraft wreckage parts.

In fact, this was an implicit suggestion that they could take some electronic components or optical devices to trade with the Bemudes military for money to pay back their debt and even save some funds to enhance military capabilities.

After all, there would be electronic immigrants in the future who would need military protection, and giving them a favor now would secure long-term business.

After writing down a series of daily chores, Li Aozi flew directly over Grante and Frost Plated’s airspace towards Triangle Town.

He planned to relocate his biological pool, which had already produced and stored thousands of DM-101 Mutation Inducing Potions. During the war, he also used the biological pool to produce some biochemical war beasts to alleviate the pressure on the people of Grante as much as possible.

Having dealt with Frost Plated’s air force, Frost Plated wouldn’t dare deploy their precious air force here for several months.

On the ground battlefield, now that member players had entered for testing, Li Aozi intended to use the task system to guide these soldiers to train and cultivate Grante’s organic combat units.

Teaching a man to fish is better than giving him fish.

Seeing the subsequent series of work-for-debt tasks, which included "instructing the Granteans on the use of weapons," the soldiers reported back and then rolled up their sleeves for work.

Driven by their interests, they energetically helped Grantean farmers transport aircraft parts, and during this process, they empathized with the simple and pathetic nature of the Grantean people, which increased their resentment towards the Frost Plated.

But that’s not something for Li Aozi to concern himself with.

By the time Li Aozi returned to Triangle Town and compressed his biological pool preparing to leave, Lord of Oakland suddenly approached him with a stern expression, saying,

"Someone is here to see you. It’s a woman from Frost Plated."

"Who?" Li Aozi was somewhat puzzled. He didn’t know many Frost Plated women, probably only Yawen and Nimotin.

"Judging by the equipment of her entourage, it should be from Mingji Heavy Industries."

Lord of Oakland said seriously,

"The leading woman, who calls herself N4, is referred to by her subordinates as..."

"—Pioneer."

Li Aozi said, his expression darkening slightly.

"Pioneer" N4, a woman far more dangerous than Professor Mingji.

Mingji Heavy Industries, a behemoth enterprise from the old times, had restructured and merged multiple times and currently posed as a low-profile "pharmaceutical and medical equipment company."

According to Li Aozi’s understanding, Mingji Heavy Industries privately funded numerous labs under various guises, carrying out inhumane human experiments.

Mingji Humanity, Mingji Elementary School, Mingji Electronics Factory, Mingji Town, Mingji Film Company—these seemingly similar projects were actually eighty percent led by Mingji Heavy Industries.

Outsiders might wonder, was such a blatant conspiracy unnoticed?

In reality, the name Mingji itself is extremely common in Frost Plated, akin to "Jack," "Zhang Wei," "Hans," or "Ivan."

Among Frost Plated women, the name Sijia is the most common.

Li Aozi remembered that his great-great-grandfather was named Mingji Juste, an immigrant from the Outer World. Du Zexin’s grandfather was Du Mingji, and in the previous life, David Lyn was assassinated, his successor was Chu Mingji.

Throw a brick on Frost Plated’s streets, and you’re likely to hit a man named Mingji, and even more likely to get chased by a woman named Sijia.

Compared to other countries’ biochemists, Mingji Heavy Industries had a terrifying advantage—they possessed knowledge from cosmic civilizations.

The Professor came from this system, and Pioneer N4 was one of the actual controllers of Mingji Heavy Industries, also the strongest Biochemist in the world.

Li Aozi heightened his vigilance.

In his previous life, N4 was no good, responsible for countless terrifying biochemical experiments, and deliberately releasing various deformed mutant beasts to blend with the creatures of the Outer World.

Making the inhabitants of the Outer World suffer from their natural environment and face hybrid beasts that have evolved for generations.

Besides these, Li Aozi’s most profound impression of N4 was,

She was the only professional instructor who betrayed players and the people of Azure Star.