Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 314 - 124. The Pathway Conjecture

Chapter 314: 124. The Pathway Conjecture

After the opening animation ended, players started to gather together to discuss the storyline.

The first to speak was the female professional gamer, Cumin Powder:

"Let’s lay all our cards on the table."

"Lay out what?" Yutianxiao, the old slick, immediately started playing dumb.

"What else could it be? Do you really think everyone has set aside training just to take on this long-term space mission for the enjoyment of the game?"

She casually flipped her green and pink ombre hair, exposing the startling cybernetic implant interface on her forehead, and said bluntly, "We’ve all been sent by higher-ups to scout ahead, and it looks like we won’t be hitting the competitive scene for quite some time. Isn’t it better to get to know each other a bit and exchange our thoughts on what we’ve just seen?"

"I’m not here to watch the water cooler." Night Fighting Sword immediately mumbled, out of the four professional gamers present, he was the only player currently in the main battle seat, while the others were substitutes.

"So it seems like the Endless Pioneers team wants you to follow a different path?" Old Chilly Oil’s Garidon asked curiously while roasting chicken wings.

Night Fighting Sword chuckled twice:

"You don’t get it, let me clue you in: there will be at least 32 teams from the four nations of the Terra Federation, plus the alien colony regions, vying for the ultimate professional event. To accommodate fans from the alien colonies, the big competition will wait until the next version, which is version 2.0, to be held."

"Then why don’t you just stay at the base on Azure Star and train properly?" Cumin Powder looked at him with disdain, "With such a long preparation time, if you don’t work on crafting equipment and polishing skills, and instead goof off here, be careful you don’t make it into the grand league."

"Not at all." Night Fighting Sword shook his index finger: "Do you think there are no spies in the Terra Federation’s region?"

"Oh?"

This suddenly caught Yutianxiao’s attention, as Qiongyu’s focus hadn’t shifted over yet, their ability to gather information was far from what the people present here were capable of.

"What you’re suggesting, there are inside agents from the colonies?"

"Of course." Night Fighting Sword pointed to Li Aozi not far away, and said, "You don’t know yet, but Li Aozi has already made a name for himself off-world, becoming a well-known figure in the colonies. Many fans have come to the Mother Star to form a fan club just to see him in person."

Cumin Powder waved her hand: "That doesn’t seem to necessarily follow, does it? Just a fan club powered by love."

"Do you really think embassies are just diplomatic buildings?"

Night Fighting Sword gave the cyberpunk girl a look:

"Why are you Fragrant Chicken folks always so straightforward—The more foreigners gather in one place, the easier it becomes a nest for spies. According to a big club owner’s words, these ’Aozi enthusiasts’—simply called ’Zi Enthusiasts’—have already collectively bought equipment and training facilities, even registered studios, one of which is right here in Fiery Summer. If nothing unexpected happens, they are definitely planning to stay active on Azure Star."

"I see, under the guise of being enthusiasts, they’re actually spying on our Azure Star intelligence." Yutianxiao caught on: "This can’t be considered industrial espionage, it’s normal game behavior, legal and legitimate."

"Yuck! These rich aliens really can’t handle losing, can they?" Garidon said with disdain: "It’s embarrassing. If they can’t handle the game, they shouldn’t play."

"It’s because they’re rich that they don’t care. But we can’t afford that luxury; we’re professional players, and if we don’t perform impressively, we’ll lose our livelihoods."

Night Fighting Sword sat down and started to talk:

"Training can’t be neglected, of course, but we also need to have some secret weapons. These aliens can only glimpse our Azure Star’s professional style and equipment conditions. Once in space, they’ll know nothing about us."

"Smart strategy, but won’t having a main player go off into space affect the training?"

"Not at all, I’m a seasoned professional player. As long as we maintain our aura of mystery, we’ll certainly catch those alien brothers off guard and leave them completely dumbfounded."

Li Aozi, who was at a distance, heard Night Fighting Sword’s confident words and his face suddenly looked odd.

Because according to his memory, Night Fighting Sword didn’t participate in the first season due to stomach issues from eating a bowl of spicy beef noodles.

There wasn’t any news about a competition yet, and here he was, declaring his confidence in performing exceptionally... Leo had seen celebratory champagne opened mid-game, but pre-game celebrations were totally new to him.

[I hope the spicy beef noodles will show some mercy.]

Leo silently prayed for the poor kid.

As for the storyline, the players had their own opinions.

"If everything Leo says is true, then the existence of GTB is just a sham. I don’t understand, if the Four Nations are aware of this, they shouldn’t be fighting each other. Why not just focus fire on GTB, eliminate it, and share cosmic knowledge? Wouldn’t that be better?"

Garidon stroked his chin, puzzled by this logic.

"You idiotic pig—when all of Azure Star becomes Beta Rank’s mighty, which nation could manage such tremendous power? When everyone is a Transcendent, the existing resources and civilization surely can’t sustain everyone, right?"

Cumin Powder rolled her eyes, speechless:

"At that point, with people’s martial capabilities greatly enhanced, no one would be content being ruled over. Society would fall into chaos, regressing back to the law of the jungle like in the wild beast era."