Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 421 - 60. Rune Study Grandmaster Li Aozi’s Online Course

Chapter 421: 60. Rune Study Grandmaster Li Aozi’s Online Course

"This is called emergency evasive action; I did it for the sake of freedom."

Li Aozi spread his hands,

"There are probably lots of media waiting to interview you now. I’m terrible with people, shy and awkward. I’ll cry if I’m in front of the camera. Better slip away first. You handle it."

"Get lost already! Little ghost!"

Liue kicked at him. Li Aozi sidestepped to avoid it, turned around, and stepped into the Starry Abyss through a spacetime ripple.

After a few jumps, he returned to the special craft and told Flana to make a quiet getaway while they had the chance.

Throughout the journey, the media in the neighboring starfield of Kalanze kept discussing their battle.

Due to the passive effect of [Echoer], the battle was particularly loud and happened very close to mainstream civilization.

Flana opened the news and, while piloting the ship, started checking out the news caused by her employer.

"Hello, everyone. I’m currently at Kalanze’s 25th Space Station. Although the battle ended a while ago, the scene is still sealed off. Considering the impact of the two strong opponents, the space area needs thorough cleaning..."

"Experts speculate that this space duel was likely triggered by a personal grudge. The vast interstellar citizens need not worry; there’s been no substantial damage to the routes except for flight delays."

"What’s surprising is this was a cross-rank battle between Gamma and Delta. Typically, cross-rank combat is a one-sided massacre, but unexpectedly, this fight went from the sky to the ground, ending with the Gamma rank’s victory."

"However, professionals suggest that this was an unrepeatable case. We advise all interstellar citizens to make cautious decisions based on their rank during duels. Of course, we also advocate for rational rights protection to promote Starry Abyss’s legal system. Winning puts you in jail, losing lands you in the hospital. A civil society depends on our collective cooperation."

"This is Yuwen Bo, your reporter, with continuous coverage."

Beep——

Flana turned to look at the headless man lounging on the sofa chair, sipping grape juice and shaking his ’head.’

"What’s up?"

"You you you you!"

Flana pointed at the TV,

"How are you this——amazing! You’re so amazing, why do you still hire me?"

"Oh, I wasn’t this amazing before." Li Aozi said casually, "Just learned these skills recently. Just advanced to this rank, not very proficient yet. Still a bit rough on some moves. If I think it over, I could do it without getting hurt if we go again."

"I almost died, you know!"

Flana puffed up her cheeks, crying pitifully,

"You being this good makes me look useless. I thought I could protect the employer, but it turns out I’m just a driver?"

"It’s okay. You were already kind of useless." Li Aozi comforted, "But look on the bright side: you now have a mega-star companion. The show "Star News 30 Minutes" under the ’Union Group’ boasts a 59% viewership rate."

The honest and straightforward dark elf, Flana, was stunned for a few seconds,

"Can this even be considered a mega-star? Isn’t it more of a scandal? Besides, they didn’t even mention your name."

"Oh, you’re so shallow."

Li Aozi began counting on his fingers, explaining to her,

"In Layer Abyss, there have been countless big and small news over the years, hard to reason about right and wrong. But the media has noticed that in this place, those who write with integrity usually get squeezed out by shallow, sensational traffic. The volume of traffic determines the rise and fall of many high-profile individuals. Hence, there’s an old saying, ’Traffic is king.’

"Since ancient times, there have been numerous elites and strong individuals, but like the lower-level outcasts, most are swallowed by the tides of history. On the contrary, calamity brutes often leave a lasting stench for ages. Someone might have been a rare villain at the time, but a few thousand years later, his descendants get successful and start whitewashing his name. Meanwhile, someone who fought bravely against invasion gets branded a war criminal and accused of disrupting unity."

"Black and red are both red. The deeper the red, the blacker it gets. The indifferent, silent passersby are often the majority. The more people criticize you, the more attention you draw, indicating louder traffic and higher fame. Among ten thousand people, there might be one supporter. When the traffic grows enough, even being scolded can make money..."

As a big influencer, Li Aozi discussed various methods of hype, clipping, attracting attention, creating scandals, cross-promoting fans, riding on hot news, faking depression for sympathy, using alternate accounts and bots to alter public opinion, doing dirty deals with supervisors to push the edges in hot water, generating millions in sales overnight, and wondering how much of it is real...

These operations were too normal for the influencer industry.

Li Aozi talking about these couldn’t be called a treasure trove; he was proficient, like second nature.

Flana, listening all the way down, only felt her head buzzing. For the first time, she realized how black the media industry could be.

Too black, even blacker than her skin.

Immediately, Flana drew away in respect and quietly shrank back.

Though she wasn’t bright, was poor, had a strong desire, and was timid, she still had some principles.

But then she thought it over and realized a loophole.

"You know so much about the self-media industry, why did you stop?"

"Because I have a conscience, a prospective Narrative-Level Civilization citizen."

Li Aozi said righteously,

"I’m about to immigrate to the Empire of Heralds. I need to mind my personal reputation and image. Preferably, I should have a stable job and property. To deal with customs and visas, I have some tricks. For immigration, you can’t trust agencies; they rip you off. For smooth immigration, you have to show your talent. There are different levels of immigration. The lowest ones end up working in slaughterhouses or washing dishes and delivering food. The high-level ones might even become the Prime Minister..."

"Why do you know so much?" Flana’s eyes sparkled as she quickly asked, "How can you immigrate to the Empire of Heralds? I’ve heard that the welfare of a Narrative-Level Civilization allows people to eat and lounge around, living laid-back lives, is that true?"

"Well, the "Empire of Heralds" has high taxes but minimal restrictions on freedom. I don’t recommend immigrating if you’re not capable."

Li Aozi glanced at Flana’s earnest eyes and her pitiful armor, saying regretfully,

"If you immigrate, you might end up as a courier or driver."

Flana pointed at the driver’s seat of the ship, excitedly asking,

"But, isn’t that what I’m doing now? Please tell me how I can become a lazy pig, sleeping and eating all day. Coach—no, Master, I want to be a lazybones waiting for death!"

"Since you’re so determined to immigrate, I’ll reluctantly tell you."

Li Aozi lightly coughed, the sound echoing in the ship, and then slowly said,

"However, it’ll cost you. Given you’ve been driving for me all day and risked your life as bait, I’ll charge you half-price. For just three thousand ammonium gold, you can learn all my lifelong knowledge, which I call the "Rune Study Compendium"——"

Before he could finish, seeing Flana’s eager eyes, he suddenly stood upright.

"Eh?" Flana asked in surprise. "What’s wrong?"

Shh!

Li Aozi raised his index finger, signaling for silence.