Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 422 - 61. Interstellar Communication

Chapter 422: 61. Interstellar Communication

["——I heard a mysterious sound from the other side of the universe."]

Li Aozi slowly turned around, receiving the gravitational wave information emitted by various massive celestial bodies.

Listening to the sound of celestial bodies was the hidden ability of the [Echoer].

The most powerful aspect of the [Echoer] lay in its role as an information node, capable of compensating for the early inability to achieve long-range communication and detecting abnormal signals emitted by celestial bodies in a timely manner.

This was an advantage other advanced occupations did not possess, albeit the ban on learning extraordinary knowledge was truly too frustrating, making the player’s actual experience quite poor.

Combined with the passive effect of Sequence 77, [Calamity], Li Aozi was able to clearly detect the signs of impending disaster.

With the combination of these two, Li Aozi’s perception of the universe became incredibly strong. At this moment, he clearly heard an indescribable eerie sound coming from a certain nebula.

If it was a massacre, it would have been too efficient, with billions of people simultaneously letting out painful wails in unison throughout the universe, which was quite horrifying. But if one were to say it was a natural disaster, the gravitational waves contained the highly organized signals of thousands upon thousands of troops, which clearly indicated it was a man-made calamity.

A planet had fallen.

However, not in the usual sense of the word. In Li Aozi’s perception, the planet had been wholly devoured, digested, and merged with something else.

This method was too familiar, and Li Aozi immediately discerned the perpetrator’s identity.

"... [Society]."

Li Aozi said in a deep voice,

"A planetary-level civilization has been devoured by the [Society]."

He quietly sensed, as the gravitational waves continuously brought him messages.

"No, considering the scale... It’s probably more than one."

Li Aozi’s expression was grave.

"At the same time, it seems there are other civilizations also being eroded by [Society]."

Li Aozi looked towards Flana:

"Open the star map, I feel something is off!"

Flana hurriedly unfurled the star map. Li Aozi stepped forward and, based on the gravitational wave positioning, identified the origin of the signals.

"Empire of Heralds, Sogto Civilization, Gerlinge Nebula, Morphis Star—Hmmm, the signal is quite clear. The Empire of Heralds directly retaliated and will soon expel them."

"Huating Constellation, an unrecognized planetary civilization, Planet PT102—tragic, in an instant it was devoured, with no resistance at all."

"Besides these two, there’s also this: the Union Group’s newly acquired Polaryia Supercluster, Planet D-61-77, likely a religious planet developed by Redd Gold’s followers. Not a big issue, still under invasion but at a very slow pace. They will be expelled eventually."

Li Aozi momentarily relaxed. This was not a major event.

[Society] did not hunt regularly, only occasionally on a whim, targeting civilizations that caught its attention.

This was not a big problem, except for those too weak and having had no diplomatic ties with the cosmos. The other civilizations had ties with narrative-level civilizations either as affiliates, members, or cooperative relationships, so there was no need for concern.

Although the Interstellar Alliance was mostly a place for narrative-level civilizations to bicker, for weaker civilizations, it was the most reliable and only support they had.

Being part of the Interstellar Alliance meant not fearing infiltration by [Society] much. Besides, [Society] wasn’t successful in all infiltrations. Sometimes, after centuries of infiltration, a civilization would fall into nuclear war and disintegration, naturally driving away [Society].

"Also, this is not too serious. Presumably, [Society] only passed by, leaving behind some Senators and citizens, probably casting a wide net strategy..."

Li Aozi had just finished speaking when he noticed the name of the planet:

"Eye of the Galaxy’s Periphery, Crystal Civilization, Baizhu Star."

—Wasn’t that my university?

Were it not for his lack of a head, Li Aozi would’ve felt his eyelid twitch.

Half of his assets were still on Baizhu Star, and who knew [Society] would set their sights on it.

Fortunately, he transferred early and detected this issue in time.

The current situation was not serious... It was a perfect time to go back and settle things.

"Uh, what exactly happened? Even though you don’t have a head, I feel like you’re in a bad mood..."

Flana asked confusedly.

"It’s probably the [Society] initiating invasions on civilizations. Narrative-level civilizations have activated their counterattack protocols. It’s not a big issue."

Li Aozi speculated, the most likely invader of Baizhu Star might be the [Mechanical World Society], Mashigang, as it was always active in the Eye of the Galaxy’s surrounding starfield.

[Society] could be categorized more clearly by its functional classification besides its size into large, medium, and small.

Generally, [Society] had three types:

Predator—This [Society] type typically had powerful main bodies, and its Speaker’s strength was particularly outstanding, but it wasn’t great at concealing itself. During civilization invasions, it would use tactics akin to ’island-hopping,’ commanding its ’citizens’ to wait for the right moment for the main body to descend and use its overwhelming advantage to forcefully devour the civilization.

Predators were absolute overlords among [Societies], standing atop the food chain in the starry abyss. They often preyed on weak [Society] for amusement, directly consuming the opponent alive.

However, due to the distinct shape and destructive power of predator [Society], vigilant civilizations would detect the predators’ ’citizens’ early on, making their danger relatively less severe.

Lurker—Lurker type [Society] had smaller main bodies but extremely strong concealment abilities, making it impossible for anyone to find the main body’s location. The Speaker’s strength was not prominent and relied heavily on the quantity of ’citizens.’ It focused on infiltrating and usurping control of civilizations, revealing its main body last to continually extract nourishment from the civilization in a slow, steady stream.

This type of society was abundant and common survival means for smaller [Society].

Most civilizations found it hard to resist lurkers. However, once the ’citizens’ were detected early enough, it was relatively easy to repel the lurker.

As for the lurker’s main body, it often became prey for failed predator [Society] infiltrations.

Parasite—This [Society] type had average concealed forms and combat strength, but it typically had vast and loosely-knit main bodies. They often parasitized civilizations in the form of ’cultural memes,’ growing alongside them.

Although it seemed beneficial at first, like the civilization had gained something, parasites’ cultural memes generally occupied an overwhelmingly dominant position. The longer the time, the harder the civilization found it to detach from its dependence on the parasitic [Society]. In the end, the entire civilization became nothing more than bloodbags for the parasitic [Society].

Parasite [Society] was the most detestable for weaker civilizations as they couldn’t resist strong cultural invasions. For strong interstellar civilizations, martial force couldn’t expel persistent parasitic [Society].

Narrative-level civilizations had ways to deal with parasites, but it involved drastic measures akin to severe amputation.

The [Mechanical World Society], Mashigang, was active around the Eye of the Galaxy, known for its impressive track record and formidable strength as a mid-small [Society].

Primarily, in this Layer Abyss, there were few predator [Society], and Mashigang’s terrifying form was easily detectable, thus making it quite notorious.

From Li Aozi’s memory, Mashigang had records of devouring planetary civilizations in the Eye of the Galaxy, making it a high possibility.

Nonetheless, it couldn’t be discounted that a lurker like [Forged Society], overly focused on infiltration and relatively weak in combat, could also be involved.

Parasites were unlikely, as they were hard to detect and harder to remove, causing internal chaos during removal, making the task tricky.

The key point was... Parasite [Society] in a purely magical civilization like the Crystal Tower was not appealing. The Crystal Tower was a purely magical, materialistic civilization, and fiercely nationalistic due to singular ethnicity and wartime, rejecting all foreign cultures.

Flana had shallow understanding limited to predator stereotypes and was somewhat scared:

"Saint Ancestor Ymir... [Society] is invading; should we head back?"

"Not yet." Li Aozi shook his head: "Change course; we’re heading to Valenkov Autonomy."

"Mercenary City-State, not too far."

Flana nodded, promptly sat in the pilot’s seat, adjusted coordinates, and navigated the spaceship to a new destination.

[Society dared to target my goal; wishful thinking.]

To Li Aozi, Baizhu Star was his domain. From the start, he intended to use it as a hub for aiding his players’ advancement into the cosmos.

The Baizhu Star’s teleportation node was convenient, perfectly situated for players to access the universe.

Besides that, being an educational hub, Li Aozi could recruit highly competent talent, and educated players became quality recruits and even his smuggling point.

It wasn’t merely targeting Baizhu Star; it was attacking Li Aozi’s small fortune!

With time in hand, Li Aozi decided to complete a side task, obtaining the [Class Promotion Voucher] and returning with Delta Rank.

Regarding his transformation and strength spike, Li Aozi rationally made a decisive choice.

"Sorry, Qiu Ran, I won’t be able to attend university again."

Exposure wouldn’t be a problem; he could always retreat to the Empire of Heralds. But the resources and geographical position of Baizhu Star were irreplaceable.

Currently, Baizhu Star might still have a Kappa Rank stationed. Li Aozi recalled that within a few years, Kappa Rank would be reassigned to the brutal Galaxy Eye Meat Grinder. The Crystal Tower Civilization and Night Butterfly Federation would decline, join the Interstellar Alliance, hand over bureaucrats and officers violating treaties, and be heavily exploited by narrative-level civilizations.

Two civilizations once hopeful of advancing into Star Cluster Level due to one incident would become third-rate and interstellar pariahs, notorious throughout the cosmos.

The Crystal Tower Civilization would at least self-reflect, erect memorials, and as materialistic, mixed well in the cosmos.

The Night Butterfly Federation would entirely give up, and by version 13.7, rumors said it was corrupted by [Society]. Had Li Aozi not traversed, he’d witness the sinful war criminal civilization becoming puppets of monsters.

Li Aozi also planned to take this opportunity for something else.

To send gravitational wave signals to the Azure Star civilization.

Lord Entropy’s Disorder Entropy Increase from the Ersha Cloud could easily block electromagnetic communications, but gravitational wave energy wouldn’t weaken, directly penetrating to Azure Star.

However, Azure Star only had a few gravitational wave antennas left, sealed and hidden prominently.

Coincidentally, Li Aozi knew one antenna still usable. Its location and ownership were somewhat special.

"—Mingji Heavy Industries."