Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 401 - 44. Pathway of the Echoer

Chapter 401: 44. Pathway of the Echoer

Li Aozi rolled his eyes, and then a message popped up from the system:

——————————

[You have triggered the career mission—"Life Echo".]

[Type]: Pathway

[Time Limit]: None

[Mission Difficulty]: A

[Introduction]:

"They disbanded the commune, they dismantled my home, they destroyed my research achievements. But it’s not over yet, they still don’t understand that the fate of a life entity is not without trace."

A glass of drink, a name, an organization buried in history.

The Life Commune, once the greatest destiny deconstruction project in the Layer Abyss, brought together 400 of the finest engineering scholars. Their goal was to deconstruct the limits of life entropy, to utterly unravel the mystery of the arcane energy possessed by Mutants that has plagued scholars for five thousand years.

Is it the power of fate, the expression of genes, or some unknown mysterious technology?

What is arcane energy, exactly?

For you, as a Mutant, your career has reached an end. Your life can no longer find further advancement. Your former companions keep breaking through and progressing, chasing after the footsteps of the deities.

[You, the master of genes, would you content yourself with being a mere mortal capable of mutations?]

Your heart has already embraced a completely different fate.

That mysterious whisper grows ever clearer by your ear:

[Right, you shouldn’t stop here—Child of the Primordial Abyss.]

A secluded and reclusive pathway slowly unfolds before you.

[Continue onward, be passionate, romantic, full of warmth, and yet, with blood-stained hands.]

The Primeval Heavenly Sovereign keeps calling out to you, but where is your future truly located?

[Make the cosmos bow, and listen to the echo you have triggered.]

[Settlement Conditions]:

A. "Visit an Old Friend" - Ald Medcag Liue, former member of the Life Commune, is still active somewhere, continuing her research. In a profound sense, you feel she will be of significant aid to you; visit her and learn of her endeavors;

Reward: Unlock the next storyline mission

B. "Travel Insurance" - The expensive private jets to your destination are not within your current means. Find a companion of at least Delta Rank to travel together, which will persuade Olavir to let you through.

Reward: Olavir will unlock a new module; you will be able to directly purchase "Olavir’s Fine Beverages" from the [Mall] in the game.

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"Delta Rank will do?"

Upon seeing the second condition, Li Aozi simply opened his communicator, logged onto the Free Mercenary network, and prepared to find a cheap yet reliable mercenary.

Olavir’s fine beverages are very good products that can provide certain attribute boosts or a BUFF. They are cost-effective, and since there’s a chance to unlock them early, Li Aozi is not going to be courteous.

"Let’s see, tsk, Valkyrie Fortress, that’s really expensive! It’s no surprise given it’s controlled by a joint venture of Redd Gold’s believers. Almost every mercenary’s fee includes service tax and Star Harbor tax..."

Li Aozi stroked his chin and quickly browsed through the information of these mercenaries.

He was mainly looking at the price, but the fee for a Delta Rank mercenary started at three thousand Ammonium Gold, and ordinary Gamma Rank mortals couldn’t just be taken along to make up the numbers.

Li Aozi didn’t have much Ammonium Gold on hand, and in the short term, he planned to save where he could.

Li Aozi scrolled for quite a while when suddenly, someone sat beside him.

"Hey there, young man."

He turned his head, and an elf of chocolate-like complexion gracefully sat next to him. Resting her chin in one hand, her slender and voluptuous figure barely contained by the simple and cheap mechanical exoskeleton, she immediately flashed a captivating smile upon meeting Li Aozi’s gaze:

"Looks like you’re searching for a Free Mercenary?"

"A Dark Elf?" Li Aozi was a bit surprised: "Even though I know the Valkyrie Fortress is full of all kinds of species... I didn’t expect a high-order race like the Dark Elves to become Free Mercenaries."

Dark Elves and Night Elves are two different species that people from the Layer Abyss usually can’t differentiate clearly because both races have similarly dark skin.

Li Aozi, however, was quite knowledgeable: Elves are a textbook example of a society where bloodline determines class status. High-order elves like Dark Elves, Glowing Elves, Flood Elves, Steel Elves, and Maggot Elves are innately a cut above other elves. Even in the Interstellar Era, lower-order elves had to kneel and greet high-order elves.

"Oh dear, fallen on hard times, fallen on hard times," the Dark Elf waved her hand, saying with a smile:

"My name is Flana Nightingale. As you can see, I’m Delta Rank, a hardworking and dedicated Free Mercenary. Choosing me, you definitely won’t go wrong."

As she spoke, she turned her head and whispered in Li Aozi’s ear:

"And I come cheap, just one thousand can seal the deal..."

As she said this, a faint pink glow appeared in her eyes, and her voice became more enticing and full of charm.

"Pick me, young man. I haven’t had a client in two days; if I don’t get one soon, I’ll be out on the streets..."

[You are affected by ’Lafna Nightingale’s [Failed Charm Spell]’, initiating a [Will] check.]

Lafna spoke softly, full of confidence.

She had just seen the bartender serve Li Aozi with great respect, and her elvish acute hearing had picked up on words like "five thousand Ammonium Gold." Without thinking too much, this had to be a wealthy male! The proprietor Olavir serving him personally? What kind of treatment was that? It meant he must be someone important.

With money, background, and such a fine appearance, my goodness, who could resist that? If such an outstanding man slipped away, Lafna thought she’d be the laughingstock of her peers for life.

[Specialty [Unilateral Action] Triggered, the check is now changed to [Charm].]

’Hehe, I’m so lucky! So young, he must be an inexperienced, naive lad. Just need to leverage my racial advantages a bit, and I’ll definitely bag both love and career.’

Just imagining herself joining the ranks of the wealthy, dressed in a scarlet backless dress, holding a glass of fine red wine, the two naysayers who always looked down on her would have to kneel before her.

[Check extremely successful—you’ve neutralized the charm!]

’No, no, think bigger.’

Lafna cast a provocative glance at Kaven Magnet, who sat dumbfounded on the couch, and the Crocodile Prophet, who was drawing a cross in the air with his hands clasped together.

She then abandoned her previous dignified charm and revealed a wanton smile of a plan come to fruition:

’Gaga! By then, I’ll definitely live the life of a rich wife, with financial freedom. Why would I stay in this broken fortress? No need for jobs like cleaning toilets or mining anymore. I have to cultivate high-class hobbies... But...’

[Charm utterly dominate!]

’But...’

For some reason, Lafna found herself unconsciously turning to look at the young boy in front of her.

His blonde hair draped down casually, eyes clear and beautiful like emeralds, but when paired with his handsome, well-defined features, they looked just so right. The bookish aura unique to spellcasters, along with the solid and strong body beneath his coat, combined with his innocent gaze, made it easy to think of a young lion venturing out alone for the first time.

Thump!

[Counter-check activated, [Perpetual Love Hunting] effect triggered!]

’Gulp...’

Lafna swallowed hard, hastily turned away, covered her mouth, her cheeks flushed scarlet, eyes shimmering with excited pink halos. Her shoulders shivered, she exhaled hot breaths, and gave herself a couple of firm slaps.

’What am I doing? To think of laying hands on such an innocent child, I’m such scum! I’m guilty, I need to reflect!’

[Check passed.]

Her heart raced when she sneaked a glance at the young, sheltered, bashful Li Aozi; no matter how she looked, he seemed irresistibly cute, sexy, beautiful, and charming. She couldn’t help but feel a tenderness rising in her heart.

[You have reversed the effects and now caused [Charm] on ’Lafna Nightingale’]

"One thousand ammonium gold, that is pretty cheap."

Li Aozi glanced at the screen and said,

"But this Kaven Magnet costs only 500 ammonium gold, and the Crocodile Prophet next to him, just 600, and it comes with a free fortune-telling."

"...Huh?"

Lafna was taken aback.

She turned and saw the two big men on the sofa behind her simultaneously smiling.

"You guys wouldn’t—"

Lafna’s eyelids twitched violently.

"No choice there, he called my name."

"What a coincidence, he called mine too."

The two exchanged a knowing fist bump, stood up, and brushed past Lafna, ’comfortingly’ patted her on the shoulder.

"Hey, esteemed employer, I’m Kaven Magnet. Anyone bullies you, I’m sure to take the hits for you."

"Aminai, benefactor, Crocodiles are not good in battle, but if you need someone to fly a ship and get you out of trouble, that’s definitely no issue."

"You’re undercutting that fiercely, huh?"

Li Aozi deliberately stroked his chin:

"That really is a bargain, 500 and 600, even combined, they are well within the budget—why not hire you both?"

Click—

For a moment, Lafna heard the sound of her heart breaking.

"Hold on!"

Lafna suddenly rushed forward, excitedly saying,

"I’ll do it for 400! Don’t let those two idiots make any money!"

Seeing her friends make money was more painful than not earning any herself.

"What? Lafna, you’re joking too much, I’ll take 300!" Magnet quickly raised his hand.

The Crocodile Prophet made a hexagram on his chest, muttering, "Eternal life amen, this is vicious competition, the Buddha said: it’s unacceptable—I’ll go for a hundred."

"For free!"

Lafna hugged Li Aozi’s shoulder, pleading, "Please, I’ll cover my own boarding and lodging expenses, don’t let them earn a dime!"

"Alright then," Li Aozi said reluctantly, "It’ll be you, Miss Lafna."

Before Lafna could react, Kaven Magnet and the Crocodile Prophet quickly moved aside, quietly celebrating:

"Yay, gold digger as usual! Lafna better just go back to delivering packages."

"Fooled the dunce Lafna again, so joyful, it never gets old."