Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 325 - 131. Block Sky Ring_2

Chapter 325: 131. Block Sky Ring_2

Compared to that, the most reliable strategy was to rely on the old era relics here, in this half-buried permanent structure underground, to engage in a battle of attrition, buying time until the preparations above were complete.

But Gretto didn’t think Li Aozi would consider it that simple.

After all, the person who saved him must have had his own unique ideas.

"A positional battle is a must." Li Aozi admitted, "There is no better way to buy time than a positional battle, but before that, we have to organize a few waves of intercepts."

He called Meibei over, projected a tactical map, and explained:

"The Sky Ring Troops advance quickly, and the dune terrain of the Outer World basically doesn’t hinder their progress. If we want to strike, it can only be from this place, to encircle them."

He pointed to a building that looked like an abandoned factory.

"What’s this?" Du Zexin asked in confusion, "There’s no information about this in the computer."

"Sunny Garden."

Li Aozi explained:

"Directly underground is the headquarters of the Greening Base. We can use the 1012 track controlled by the Metro Brotherhood to travel back and forth, which can also avoid natural disasters."

Gretto’s eyelids twitched:

"But by doing this, the Greening Base organization will definitely hate you..."

"Of course, but I’m about to go into space soon, so let them hate all they want, hatred can’t travel faster than light."

Li Aozi’s statement left Gretto speechless.

"This plan is indeed bold." Du Zexin’s electronic synthesized voice was set wrong, changing to a cute girl voice, but he didn’t bother to correct it due to his current status: "Attacking from the underground of the Greening Base, then returning by rail—But in this situation, where will you find the Metro Brotherhood’s armored train?"

"Why do I need the Metro Brotherhood?"

Li Aozi instead looked blankly at Du Zexin, or rather, past Du Zexin’s mechanical body, at the Triangle Town pickups shuttling back and forth in the distance.

"Who said rail tracks must be used for trains?"

With the plan set, Li Aozi immediately began recruiting squad members willing to die with him. The players enthusiastically signed up, some as low as level five or six joined the team with their guns. Soon, Li Aozi had 800 players, 190 pickups, and jeeps, each equipped with a Triangle Town-made RPG.

The players could only set their resurrection points at Triangle Town, but no one wanted to miss the storyline due to death. They weren’t foolish, knowing that staying with Li Aozi longer would yield more monster-killing experience.

Caramel Snail cheerfully approached Li Aozi, taking advantage of his slightly higher favorability to discreetly ask:

"Boss, do you have any powerful arcane energy for rent?"

Li Aozi glanced at him, seeing that Caramel Snail had already reached level 10 as a Martial Artist. As a newcomer, his level was quite impressive, almost catching up to Professional Brother.

To show goodwill, Caramel Snail gritted his teeth and presented a necklace earned through grinding tasks, pitifully offering it up.

"This is very precious and valuable. I hope you like it."

Caramel Snail’s effort to increase his favorability was somewhat reminiscent of a fawning lamb. However, Li Aozi had already intended to give him the arcane energy.

In his previous life, Caramel Snail, as the Twilight Sword Saint, had dueled Li Aozi five times, with Li Aozi’s advantage growing each time. Unfortunately, the Twilight Sword Saint wasn’t a very promising pathway.

Reflecting on his diminishing edge, Caramel Snail had been quite regretful:

’If I could start over, I’d definitely choose the Act of Innocence pathway. That’s the one best suited for me...too bad I missed my chance.’

The Destruction Type pathway offered many choices, but once on a path, there was no turning back. Caramel Snail often lamented how the skills and potential of the Act of Innocence were stronger than the Twilight Sword Saint. However, retraining a new character while enduring the Curse of Starry Abyss was a difficult prospect for an individualistic player like Caramel Snail.

Now, though... Li Aozi had always planned to train Caramel Snail along the Act of Innocence pathway.

Not just to realize Snail’s potential, but more importantly, if Caramel Snail pursued the Act of Innocence, the materials needed for each transition from Martial Artist onward would overlap with those produced by the Meteor Fall Master pathway.

In other words, he’d essentially need to buy everything from Li Aozi in the future.

Once he got used to buying materials from Li Aozi, whatever he did, his first thought when he mentioned an NPC would be, ’I need to catch up with Li Aozi’—that was path dependency.

So, Li Aozi opened the trade window, and a prompt appeared before Caramel Snail:

Inscription Saint Swordmaster: When using sword-type weapons to kill an enemy, you gain power and skill enhancements. The more enemies killed, the more the weapon gradually awakens its own consciousness.

Rental Fee: 5,000 experience/month (Once the arcane energy rental period ends, the awakened weapon will stop communicating with you)

"Hey, how did you know I bought a good katana recently?"

Caramel Snail scratched his head. This arcane energy was quite suitable for a Martial Artist like him, so he promptly paid the experience without hesitation. A lump of flesh emerged from Li Aozi’s palm and was slapped onto Caramel Snail’s hand.

After a slight tingling sensation, dark violet and black patterns spread over Caramel Snail’s arm. He ran back to his vehicle, drew his weapon, and immediately felt different.

He swung a few times without aiming purposely, but the blade always aligned perfectly. No matter how he moved, the blade felt light and proficient.

Calming his mind, he could even faintly hear a weak, nascent consciousness within the weapon.

Kill...drink blood...

"This is truly good arcane energy. With this, I think I can even spar with someone at the Alpha Stage."

Caramel Snail happily hugged his weapon and got into a pickup, waiting for Li Aozi’s order. As soon as he gave the signal, the 800 players would charge like mad dogs, tearing the enemies to pieces...or be torn to pieces.

"Do you need my help?"

Du Zexin controlled his robot to approach Li Aozi, concerned.

"Maybe I can hack into their computer terminals..."

Li Aozi declined Du Zexin’s request: "Don’t think about anything. Just stay here and set up defenses. The sooner we get to space, the fewer people will die."

"...I understand." Du Zexin, being rational, immediately turned to repair his equipment.

Seeing Du Zexin back on track, Li Aozi also turned and opened the bio-chamber. Liquid nitrogen sprayed out instantly, and he reached out to touch the Pioneer’s gradually warming skin. The cells at his fingertips quickly divided, transforming into tendrils that merged into it.

His cells and the Pioneer’s body gradually fused, continuously exchanging information.

Cell intrusion complete.

Contaminating...

This Implant Gear has been polluted by your genes. Now, you can transfer your consciousness into it or equip the entire Implant Gear.

His body trembled slightly. Li Aozi felt his soul being drawn out of his body, his mind ascending from a third-person perspective, looking down at his two Implant Gear bodies.

Implant Gear Body-I—’Li Aozi’

Implant Gear Body-II—’Pioneer’

Li Aozi casually changed the second Implant Gear body’s name to the in-game ID he used: True.

No extra frills, just the single word ’True’—that was his previous life’s ID. He was fortunate that such a short ID hadn’t already been registered.

Also, a single-word name like ’True’ was easy to remember, which boosted his popularity as a game streamer.

As for why he changed it... to him, piloting an Implant Gear was just like players controlling game characters.

Implant Gear name modified.

Detected Implant Gear activation, would you like to connect?

"Next, it’s time to give the People of Sky Ring a little greeting."