Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 426 - 65. White Obelisk

Chapter 426: 65. White Obelisk

"The White Wolf ending, huh..."

Li Aozi looked at the final comment, sighed, and shook his head.

The main quests in "Starry Abyss" could only be done once per person, typically spanning one to two versions, and were extremely lengthy, but the rewards were always plentiful.

The six endings had no inherent good or bad; each had its own symbolism and was suited to different groups of people.

Giant Dragon—Immense strength, a longing for wealth. Players interested in this would achieve this ending, aiming to earn money openly through their strength.

Demon—Unprincipled, taking advantage of others without concern for moral boundaries, ready to benefit themselves even by playing both sides and securing three benefits from one quest.

Asura—Abandoning thought, smashing everything. These players didn’t want to read lengthy texts or navigate complex tasks. They jumped through narratives, refused to collect clues, and killed whomever they met, purely chosen by the god of terror.

White Wolf—A lone ranger with a legendary aura. This ending, often reminiscent of western cowboy movies, involved entering conflicts, experiencing ups and downs, and leaving alone on horseback, leaving behind a legend. From start to finish, they emerged as a neutral hero, making it ideal for those who craved fame.

Angel—Unparalleled righteousness and sweeping strength. Only those with strength, intelligence, charm, wealth, and morality could achieve this supremely perfect ending. Such individuals, akin to sages chosen by gods, required no additional rewards. The title of "Savior" alone made them revered and respected by all, seen as an ultimate honor by many players.

Spiritual Deer—Mediocre benevolence, virtuous but untalented. Many had basic kindness and morality but could only go this far. These players were often simple-hearted and kind but lacked the ability to become angels.

The six rewards were actually quite similar. Different people would achieve different outcomes, which might not be the best, but reflected their true nature.

The White Wolf ending fully explained Li Aozi’s stance and attitude. He was neither a law-abiding citizen nor a greedy, cunning scoundrel. He didn’t care whether his methods were disgraceful as long as they were effective, nor did he care about the broader impact of his actions.

As for Frost Plated, it might or might not exist, but objectively speaking, Mingji Humanity was wiped out, and the evil human experiments ceased.

So, what was the cost?

How many employees of Mingji Heavy Industries would lose their jobs? Would Frost Plated’s government face a crisis of trust and possibly dissolve? When would the survivors and the families of the deceased receive their due compensation?

The White Wolf ending often played out in such a manner.

"... In legendary stories, the price is never remembered."

Li Aozi raised his hand, and flames lit up in his palm.

As his strength increased, the [Spontaneous Combustion] could no longer keep up with his combat pace.

[When I return to the Azure Star, I’ll find an opportunity to return this Arcane Energy to Qiu Ran’s family, at least leaving them with some memory.]

Although Li Aozi wasn’t exactly a good person, he still had a basic sense of gratitude.

Besides, his next destination—the Valenkov Autonomy—had side quests to complete, and he intended to seize the opportunity to obtain an exclusive Extraordinary Knowledge of the [Sovereign] system.

The [Blood of Eternity] had saved him many times, so saving Nomi once was only fair.

However, there was still a long way to go before reaching the Valenkov Autonomy.

Putting that aside, he should think about what ’gift’ to prepare for N4.

He didn’t plan to hand over the cutting-edge knowledge directly to N4; this person was too rational and difficult to manipulate, needing constant baiting.

After all, the initiative was in his hands.

Li Aozi looked at the task interface:

C."Uproot"—You successfully eradicated the entire sponsorship and project side of the Mingji Humanity, and exposed their actions to the public.

Rewards: [Biochemical Nest]/[Gene Extractor]/[White Obelisk] (choose one)

"I have to choose one first."

All three options were Pathway buildings that could only be placed on the player’s home planet.

The [Biochemical Nest] could mass-produce troops, essentially providing pets for players. It would be the first choice for war, and it was also mobile, but it had limited potential and required many to maintain it.

The [Gene Extractor] could be used to upgrade players’ Arcane Energy and increase their attributes. Theoretically, as long as you were diligent in capturing, it would allow players and Li Aozi’s strength to grow rapidly. However, its drawbacks were significant; not only would it blatantly violate interstellar conventions, but it also couldn’t be moved and created a huge commotion.

If he really went through with it, Li Aozi might be swiftly judged by the Interstellar Alliance and imprisoned.

The [White Obelisk]...

The task was completed, and Li Aozi could now view its specific attributes:

[Item Name]: White Obelisk

[Category]: Religious Site/Pathway Building

[Quality]: "Social Institution"

(「Social Institution」 was material stripped from deceased societies and integrated. Since [Society] itself was a congregation of an entire civilization, "Social Institution" could be anything. Including factories, industry chains, cultural memes, armies, ethnic groups, mineral resources, research centers, churches, individual strengths, etc.)

[Attributes]:

This building could be placed anywhere on your Pathway’s home planet

Empowered by Starry Abyss, this building was indestructible

[Pathway Exclusive·Holy Land]: When [Sovereign] Pathway Followers were within a 50-kilometer radius of the obelisk, they would be in a ’Holy Land Worship’ state.

Holy Land Worship included the following effects:

[Baptism of Destiny]—In this domain, the White Obelisk would release sacred power, giving Alpha-stage Transcendents an additional 50% [Charm] boost.

[White Pontiff]—In this domain, the White Obelisk served as a Holy Land, forbidding fights, and [Sovereign] Pathway Followers were prohibited from attacking each other.

[Trinity]—In this domain, the White Obelisk would soothe people’s minds, "Gene, Soul, Arcane Energy, united as one." Thus, the negative effects of the [Mutants]’ ’Mutation Direction’ would be significantly reduced.

[Master’s Blessing]—In this domain, the White Obelisk would preach once every natural day, increasing the probability of newborns having the potential of [Mutants].

When the population in the White Obelisk domain exceeded 100,000, it would activate the [Social] effect—Terrestrial Divine Kingdom.

[Terrestrial Divine Kingdom]—In this domain, the White Obelisk released a powerful protective force field, reducing damage taken by [Sovereign] Pathway Followers by 15%. It also shielded them from natural disasters, increasing the efficiency of related agrarian and industrial production by 40%, production capacity by 20%, tool renewal rate by 10%, and resource allocation fairness by 90%.

[Introduction]: "A religiously distinctive, mysterious structure crafted in a 1:5:8 ratio, seemingly man-made with every atom seamlessly embedded together, in actuality, contained immense and terrifying power within."

"It was speculated that this was extracted from a death {Society}’s neural cells specifically in its religious and belief production area, further evidence that [Society] was a living civilization, fundamentally different from the Zerg Mother Nest type of true social creatures."

"Originally a civilization, [Society] fused all it owned, both tangible (like territory, farmland, factories, research institutes, armies, and population) and intangible (technology, faith, culture, history), into a gigantic monster. It could self-repair and enhance itself by devouring civilizations."

"Although we do not know the origin of this particular {Society}, thankfully, it was long dead. Yet, under the blessings of Starry Abyss, this power now served you, served us."

Height: 64 meters

Length: 25 meters

Width: 10 meters

Net Weight: Infinite/Infinitesimal

Material: Neural cells from a microscopic society

Comfort Modifier: 100 (Base comfort is 100. For every 1,000 population, comfort -1. When comfort falls below 10, large-scale emigration will occur. You can increase comfort by adding green spaces and improving living conditions.)

——Increased comfort could lead to higher-quality Arcane Energy awakenings among residents and greatly boost their favorability towards you but would reduce birth rates.

Prosperity Modifier: 150 (Base prosperity is 0. For every 1,000 population, prosperity +150, with no upper limit.)

——Higher prosperity increased the probability of Arcane Energy awakening among residents. Additionally, you would receive a donation pool that could be accessed for any action.

Faith Output Modifier: 300 (Base output is 0 due to [Sovereign] Pathway Followers being fewer than 1,000)

——Higher faith output meant that when you reached lv.300 and changed to the final occupation, you could ascend to godhood.

(Prerequisites: Followers of the same ultimate Pathway must exceed 10,000; your level must lead others, and the Pathway must currently lack a Chief God. Otherwise, you will transform into a ’God Embracer,’ existing as a demigod in the world.)

This was a magnificent holy object imbued with immense power. When your will entered Starry Abyss to directly dominate it via the Pathway, it became a faithful supporter of your desire to spread your will.

————————————

"Holy crap!"

Li Aozi cursed aloud, unable to believe what he saw.

This thing... he recognized it.

"Ascension Platform... the Ascension Platform of a narrative-level civilization!"

What made narrative-level civilizations great was their firm control over people’s ascension channels.

Education was the ladder of civilization, and the main ways ordinary people crossed hierarchical differences to become elites were through killing and exams.

A narrative-level civilization allowed for a direct leap, even painting an eternal blueprint for you. As long as they controlled pathways to ascension, no species, religion, country, or civilization could rival their cohesion.