Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 340: A ship flew over my head.

Chapter 340: A ship flew over my head.

Li Aozi raised his hand, and a rocket exploded behind him, its fragments disemboweling several players instantly. The bloody scene, combined with Li Aozi’s unwavering stance in the midst of it, immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"Five hundred years ago, the Azure Star People of the old era once established a golden age. People lived in abundance, free from war and poverty."

"Even then, they never reached space."

"A catastrophe wiped them out."

Li Aozi addressed the confused barrage and comment stream, saying:

"I believe you’ve heard similar statements: ’The universe and the sun are just fabrications by the government. Even without the sun, we live just fine. The Outer World still has life; there’s never been sunlight or blue skies. Those are just religious lies to deceive the people. Darkness and cold, that’s the reality.’"

"Some have been in the long night so long that they’ve forgotten that a brilliant age once existed in this world. They’ve forgotten that humanity was once a united family living in harmony on one planet. They don’t believe in a beautiful and grand future—it’s not their fault. Humans are naturally short-sighted, disbelieving in things they haven’t seen."

"Because of the catastrophe, it stole away our sunlight and blue skies. It also stole men’s courage, women’s kindness, politicians’ ambitions, workers’ diligence, farmers’ peaceful lives, and soldiers’ steadfast beliefs. It tried to regress us back to primal beasts, devouring raw flesh and blood, ignorant of order. It wanted us to die in the womb of our mother star, starving in the endless night."

"I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light. If we were never young, who would fear aging and death? If you hadn’t received an education, how would you know you’ve been exploited by capitalists, deceived by politicians to hate another group, forced to serve kings in wars, only to die alone and poor, wearing the invader’s medal?"

Li Aozi’s speech had no music, only the symphony of cannon fire and snow playing in the background.

"We decided to go to the cosmos."

Facing the camera, with players behind him advancing relentlessly against the Sky Ring soldiers, Li Aozi spoke earnestly:

"We decided to go to space, not to escape this war-ridden, famine-stricken, plague-infested, and death-haunted planet, but to solve these issues. We decided to seek new paths in the cosmos."

"The Azure Star now houses 2.6 billion people, yet only a few hundred million can eat without worry. We want to survive and live good lives. This is the common aspiration of all humanity. Not only that, but we want to live vibrantly and brilliantly."

"For this purpose, the Azure Star can’t accommodate us. A planet with a catastrophe can’t sustain everyone. Resources will only deplete gradually—it even doesn’t allow Gamma Rank powerhouses to exist. In the endless Starry Abyss, we can chase our beautiful lives and splendid worlds!"

"People have been trapped on the ground for too long; they’ve forgotten that the starry sky should belong to us all."

As shells streaked across the sky and someone with sharp eyes saw mechanical reinforcements moving on the ground, Li Aozi raised his voice, shouting to the people:

"We decided to go to space! Blast away these endless obstacles and profound darkness with hydrogen bombs. Those with nations have had enough of false, cold sunlight. The Outer World people have never seen real rain and sun. The ice beneath our feet will turn into oceans, supporting an ecosystem that can feed the entire world!"

"We decided to go to space! To prove that our mother star exists in the cosmos, that we are inherently part of this starry sky. All that the catastrophe took from us, we will reclaim twice over!"

"We decided to go to space! To accomplish what the people of the golden era never did. I want to instill this strong confidence in all of you, to make you know that despite our world’s flaws, we can achieve greater feats than our predecessors—the tide of progress never stops. Hope is here and will never fade!"

Li Aozi turned the camera towards the players in the Biological Pool while editing a mission, instructing them to turn on Pretender mode and introduce themselves one by one.

Starting from the left was Caramel Snail, who was like a street kid from the Sky Ring, not particularly handsome, just under twenty, and he laughed into the camera, saying:

"I’m Saga Qi, from Nuliang City, 19 years old, street werewolf."

The camera then shifted to Cumin Powder. The girl, dressed in trendy punk style, said boldly: "Asakusa Kid, 22 years old, electrical apprentice, Frost Plated Descendant of Sky Ring."

Next was Garidon, a young man who scratched his head and said: "I’m Chen Zhengwei, a 26-year-old chef from the Outer World."

"Colinz Splatton," Yutianxiao responded next: "Salesman."

Night Fighting Sword nodded and said: "Weiya Yixin, 29 years old, stateless person from the Outer World, formerly a production line worker."

"Norma Linst, from the Outer World, farmer."

"Albrecht von Gledman, Red Arrow Descendant, former programmer."

"Luo Wenhao, Frost Plated refugee, used to be a dishwasher."

"Abbas Ali Muhammad, from the Outer World, ordinary accountant."

"Nikola Sprinyevich Okhonic, from the Outer World, car driver."

......

Each player revealed a simple smile, coming from ordinary farmers, workers, and small citizens.

Finally, Li Aozi aimed the camera at himself and said:

"Li Aozi, from the Outer World, 21 years old, bank security guard and streamer."

"What you’re seeing now, none of these astronauts come from noble backgrounds. We all hail from the grassroots of various nations, once ordinary laborers."

"Watch closely, the first humans to step into space are us—ordinary people, laborers like you!"

"Li Aozi!" Du Zexin suddenly shouted: "Everything’s ready! Board now!"

Li Aozi immediately jumped into the Biological Pool, holding the terminal above his head with gravitational support. All the astronaut players looked up at the camera and delivered an impassioned speech:

"No matter what, the stars will witness the path we forge for humanity. We’re not heroes; we are merely guides to the cosmos. From now on, you will no longer feel lost."

"It’s time to enter the Starry Abyss, fledgling eagles."

"Countdown!"

Du Zexin shouted loudly into the loudspeaker:

"Ten!"

The players’ frontlines were breached by mobile armor, a Long Fang swinging its arm, shattering the team’s formation. A casual blast destroyed the drone sent by Du Zexin. It raised its laser rifle, aiming at the distant launch pad, and pulled the trigger.

"Nine!"

Whoosh!

Just as the laser’s purple light burst forth, a towering figure instantly descended from the sky, crossing hundreds of meters of battlefront. Gretto Yegg, wielding a shield, knelt on one knee to block the laser.

[Life Shield]

Bang!

The scorching brilliance liquefied the sand, and a storm of life particles erupted from Gretto’s body, making him shine like a nebula tempest.

"You shall not cross here!"

Gretto Yegg’s eyes were red, rapidly losing life force that quickly regenerated. As a Redemption Judge, he had the strongest constitution and strength. Though the beam began to melt his shield, a faint glow of a shield gradually covered it, sustained by his life force.

"Eight!"

"Gretto, do you want to go against your own country?!"

The mobile armor pilot recognized Gretto and immediately questioned him:

"Country..." Gretto grinned: "My country is the brave and rigorous Sky Ring Country, the people’s Sky Ring Country, not the Ring King’s personal Sky Ring Country!"

"Seven!"

The pilot, deeply admiring the Black Knight who desperately defended the people, couldn’t help but shout:

"Move! You can’t stop this!"

"Six!"

"What are you talking about!" Gretto braced his shoulder against the shield.

The rifle’s beam power gradually increased, yet Gretto stood resolute, resisting the beam’s force. His armored suit melted and ignited, but he remained steadfast.

"Five!"

"Behind me is humanity’s hope; I won’t fall here!"

"Stop wasting time!"

The other two mobile armors immediately bypassed the lead unit. Ignoring the pilot’s urgent pleas, a Long Fang drew an electromagnetic long knife from behind. Trampling through the crowd, it released electronic smoke, blocking the crowd’s approach, and raised the knife, ready to strike down the Biological Pool!

"(Yamiriko language) Public Prosecution!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Thousands of golden swords rained down, piercing through the mobile armor. The chains wedged into the ground, halting the destruction instantly. Alicxia produced a sonic boom from her spot, wielded a metal-wrapped war hammer, and fiercely struck the enemy pilot’s position!

"Four!"

The final mobile armor erupted, moving like a tango dancer, dodging anti-vehicle weapons fired by players. It turned and launched a barrage of missiles, all aiming at the launch platform.

"Sayonara," the pilot murmured: "Li Aozi."

This time, no one could shield him.

Dozens of missiles were about to rain down on the Biological Pool. Inside, Li Aozi quickly raised his hand, his eyes glowing with golden rings.

"[Thread the Needle]."

Suddenly, a familiar yet slightly unfamiliar voice sounded.

In an instant, all the missiles halted mid-air. For a brief second, Li Aozi sensed that all the missiles were threaded by a delicate line. They then hung motionless in mid-air, like prey caught in a spider’s web.

"Three!"

Li Aozi felt something instinctively, turned his head, and saw, suddenly standing beside him, a mysterious woman cloaked with white hair cascading down.

For some reason, Li Aozi instantly recognized this concealed woman:

"A—"

"Shh." The woman raised her hand, touching Li Aozi’s face: "You are the only proof of my existence. I will go with you."

"Two!"

"But—"

Before Li Aozi could finish, the woman suddenly moved closer, kissing him on the lips. Then, leaning on his shoulder, she whispered in his ear:

"Besides you, the whole world has no place for me."

"One!"

Du Zexin operated the robot, punched the button, then raised the Magnum rifle to face the approaching Sky Ring warriors, shouting:

"—Ignition!"