Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 265 - 086. Look up at the canopy

Chapter 265: 086. Look up at the canopy

The punch that would tear through the storm was about to fall.

However, contrary to what Narrow Space Mirror expected, Li Aozi was not at all surprised by the imminent defeat.

On the contrary, the figure standing in obsidian appeared somewhat strange, simply standing still on the spot, rigid, as if planning to give up resistance.

——Wrong!

Narrow Space Mirror suddenly realized this, but by the time she did, her elbow strike had already smashed into the obsidian helmet. Li Aozi’s voice also reached her ears:

"You’ve been fooled."

Crack!

The sound of gem shattering rose, but it was immediately followed by a rich burst of flame. Obsidian fragments scattered in all directions propelled by high temperature and pressure, more damaging than ordinary bullets, especially at such close range. Narrow Space Mirror had no way to dodge and had to raise her arms to block.

She couldn’t possibly activate her special ability and pay a great cost just for this damage, nor waste such precious strength here.

When Narrow Space Mirror made this choice, Li Aozi knew she had lost.

Ping——

The sound of a snap was crisp and sharp, awakening the entire world instantly. An 80-fold increase in gravity suddenly pressed down, engulfing and devouring Narrow Space Mirror. Her legs instantly sank into the ground, and she couldn’t even lift her neck.

Hmph!

Narrow Space Mirror grunted, the sudden oppression of gravity was no big deal for her overly powerful internal organ system as a Gamma Phase. But after enduring it for a full second, even a Gamma Phase couldn’t withstand such intense pain.

No... not enough to kill, but this heavy sense of oppression made her bones unbearably heavy, all the blood in her body pooling in her lower body, leaving her legs completely immobile.

Or rather, her strong body had become a burden, now it only thought about kneeling to a man, truly pathetic.

"Hey, Big Sister!"

"How could this happen..."

"Unfair, unfair! Rematch, rematch!"

Compared to her subordinates’ dissatisfaction, Narrow Space Mirror was rather calm. She struggled to prop up her arms, trying to fight against a weight 150 times her own.

This weight was completely pressing on her from every point of her body. Or rather, the components that originally made up her body had instantly increased their weight to 80 times, which for the human body structure and tissue, even for a Gamma Phase, was far from being able to resist this powerful pressure.

Bayo Kong was this way, Duke Gamos as well, and so was Narrow Space Mirror. The environment of Azure Star dictated that they couldn’t develop bodies to resist strong gravity. Instead, in such extreme conditions, their bodies, already a very poor fit for Azure Star, suffered more intense pain than ordinary people.

Li Aozi walked forward slowly, his invisible body distorted by gravity becoming visible. He was not in armor, but wearing that classic-styled coat.

"Indeed... the moment you turned your back earlier, you had already shed your shell and escaped, hiding invisibly by my side."

By this point, Narrow Space Mirror had to respect the man in front of her.

"I activated ’Unyielding Stance,’ enough to withstand most control abilities, but just when you used your field to suppress me, the time happened to end. How ’coincidental’."

She spoke softly, the resonance of her Qi Energy causing her voice to carry:

"Did you, study me specifically?"

Li Aozi’s body was already healing rapidly under the drive of Blood of Eternity, his eyes shining with golden circles, neither affirming nor denying it. The trick of slipping out like a cicada shedding its skin was indeed one of the classic tactics used against Narrow Space Mirror in the game.

With Narrow Space Mirror’s strength, she could actually withstand gravity strong enough to crush an ordinary person’s bones into mud, and even if she used a secret technique to activate ’Dominator Body’ and attack again, it would take less than half a second to cut Li Aozi’s throat.

Both sides were clearly holding back. As this spar had progressed to this point, not wanting to get serious, a draw would be the main outcome.

Li Aozi removed the Gravity Compression, and Narrow Space Mirror stood up with ease, neither flushed nor breathless, her Constitution clearly on display.

After all, from her flyer’s jacket, it was clear that Narrow Space Mirror used to be a pilot of Sky Ring, and even if fragiler, with the Gamma Phase Hierarchy buffs, she was stronger than Li Aozi, who had only reached 20 points in Constitution after modifying his Implant Gear body.

"I am Li Aozi from Red Arrow, rest assured, I do not represent Red Arrow, just myself."

He extended his hand, and Narrow Space Mirror reached out her hand very happily, shaking hands with him, and spoke frankly:

"Narrow Space Mirror, or simply, Mirror. You’ve earned my recognition, Imperial Citizen."

This was getting acquainted through combat. Narrow Space Mirror was indeed interested as she looked at Li Aozi:

"Such a strong person, yet your body lacks the biological frequency of the Gamma Phase, truly amazing."

"I’m not keen on taking on a curse so soon," Li Aozi quipped.

"Heh, indeed," Narrow Space Mirror placed one hand on her hip. She was tall, and after being pressed down by eighty times her weight, she still stood at 187 centimeters, at least a head taller than Li Aozi: "I’ve heard of you, Li Aozi of Mingji Catastrophe, the people of Grantians call you Vasha Bahamut, really interesting. It seems you are not too satisfied with the rule of the Four Nations either."

Her words clearly aimed to pull Li Aozi to her side, within the ranks of her own team, the Red Squad.

Li Aozi saw through this tactic, his Aura of Goodwill having only an average effect on this woman... a person whose physiological and external characteristics were female but whose psychological gender was unknown.

That was normal, as this is a kind of innate cognitive disorder, unable to recognize one’s gender with a very vague psychological image. Charm had a weaker Attraction effect on her than on normal people from the start.

"Not necessarily, after all, even the worst order is better than chaos and savagery." Li Aozi did not answer the question directly, but expressed his views implicitly.

"I can’t agree with your view," Narrow Space Mirror responded nonchalantly: "But at least, now you’ll stand with us."

"Only representing myself," Li Aozi emphasized.

After all, officially, he was holding Green Card and citizenship from the Red Arrow Empire and was closely associated with the Hierarchy of Sky Ring.

"I’m not counting on much support anyway, the Fate of Sky Ring can only be changed by the People of Sky Ring themselves."

Narrow Space Mirror pointed her thumb toward the tavern:

"Some things are inconvenient to discuss in the open. Come inside and have a seat,"

"Delighted to, Mr. Mirror."

[Narrow Space Mirror likes your form of address, favorability +76]

A moment later, possibly due to Li Aozi’s impressive demeanor, he received rather formal hospitality.

He lifted a glass of Red Brigade’s private brew, clinked glasses with Narrow Space Mirror across a coffee table, and after a few drinks and a couple of dried mushrooms, the conversation warmed up considerably.

"Hm—so, you’ve come to rescue Gretto Yegg?"

Narrow Space Mirror reclined on the sofa, pinching the cup in one hand and cradling the back of her head with the other, eying Li Aozi provocatively.

Rather than looking like the leader of an organization, she resembled more the head of a biker gang, with her long legs casually thrown atop the coffee table and Sky Ring Air Force military boots on her feet. The rest of the Red Brigade members also wore a mixture of military and gang attire. Even the better-equipped ones only added an Aramid bulletproof vest, lacking even bulletproof plates. Li Aozi guessed their equipment level was on par with Liu Wenzhong and his mercenary company back in Grante.

Upon hearing Narrow Space Mirror’s words, Li Aozi knew the game’s storyline was about to be triggered. He set his glass aside and spoke earnestly:

"Gretto Yegg is someone I greatly admire. Despite his immense strength, he refuses to harm anyone, but when danger strikes, he doesn’t hesitate to step forward."

"That guy, just a dumb, good-natured fellow,"

Narrow Space Mirror swirled her glass, falling silent briefly before continuing:

"Is that the only reason? Imperials, known for their realism and pragmatism, acting on sentiment? It’s not that I’m stereotyping you, it’s just that there are too many examples. It’s hard to believe this is true."

"Of course, there’s some self-interest," Li Aozi admitted. "If I must say, I need him, and I need you, and even more so, I need the entire Sky Blazing Ring, Red Brigade, to help me accomplish something. To achieve that goal, I have to rescue Gretto Yegg."

"Ho?"

Narrow Space Mirror propped up her forehead. In truth, she wasn’t a traditional beauty. Her rugged attire, masculine tone, and husky voice made her seem more like a handsome man than a woman. Her colorless eyes swept over the entire pub hall, taking no precautions for secrecy, openly and boldly asking:

"A job that can only be done through a prison break, are you not afraid someone here might snitch?"

"I disdain to hide my schemes," Li Aozi said with a smile. "Besides, what I’m doing is extremely beneficial to this planet, with no drawbacks. The question is whether you’re willing to take my offer."

"Speak, I’m listening," Narrow Space Mirror said, her fingertips threading through her ash-purple hair, continuously massaging her scalp’s pressure points to stimulate circulation and heighten alertness and thought.

Li Aozi activated his mobile terminal and projected a world map, gesturing as he explained:

"As everyone knows, the dispute over the Hameda Archipelago is fundamentally not just about the ethnic hatred between Red Arrow and Sky Ring. It’s even more crucially about military dominance for the next few centuries. Should Sky Ring Country gain control of the Hameda Archipelago, then the Red Arrow Empire will lose its only geographical barrier, facing the trampling of Sky Ring Warriors. Conversely, if Red Arrow reclaims the archipelago, the People of Sky Ring must confront an even more terrifying Red Arrow Empire, enriched with resources and technological power, multiple times the current threat."

"We understand that,"

said a member of the Red Brigade impatiently.

"The nobility of Sky Ring has fallen. They’re headstrong about invasion and conquest, and such wars won’t end well."

"In geopolitical terms, the Red Arrow Empire has no fondness for external aggression, as a person of Sky Ring would know,"

stated Narrow Space Mirror, looking at Li Aozi.

"Red Arrow’s current territory is as vast as Frost Plated, Sky Ring, and a dozen colonies combined. They have enough trouble utilizing their own resources, let alone spending a vast human effort to control such a broadly stretched empire. The wars they fight are merely for revenge."

"This is exactly the problem," Li Aozi

Narrow Space Mirror nodded, "Nowadays, the Sky Ring government doesn’t want to resolve domestic conflicts. Instead, they deliberately use the Hameda Archipelago to stir the people’s fury, shifting the focus and making them forget about Sky Ring’s greatest enemy—"

Li Aozi and she looked at each other, simultaneously saying:

"—The Clan Group."

"They are the enemy we must defeat," Narrow Space Mirror said solemnly. "The Houjo Clan-led Clan Group has completely seized our economy, taking away the farmers’ land and sending children to become machines in factories. Men become butchers and women, prostitutes. People can see no future... But what does it matter to you, an Imperial Natizen?"

"Before I am a Red Arrow person, I am a human."

Li Aozi said:

"The Group is complacent. As long as they exist, I cannot get what I need."

"And what you need... is what exactly?"

"Look up," Li Aozi said, raising a finger towards the ceiling.

"The pub?" someone asked, puzzled.

Li Aozi shook his head: "No."

"You’re pointing upwards; could it mean you covet a position of power and influence?" someone theorized symbolically.

Li Aozi shrugged: "I don’t need dominion; I am dominion."

"Perhaps the sky?" someone tentatively ventured closer to the answer.

Li Aozi calmly replied: "The sky has long been mine."

"...The cosmos."

Narrow Space Mirror suddenly spoke:

"You wish to leave your homeland and venture into the cosmos, right?"

At this, Li Aozi finally smiled:

"For me, that is going home."