Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 432 - 71. Public Test Descends

Chapter 432: 71. Public Test Descends

[Descend Complete]

[Welcome back to Starry Abyss]

The neural network was invaded, and the visual link was synchronized.

Caramel Snail blinked, his eyelashes dampened by the morning dew. The grass beside his ear gently pricked him, and the wind playfully caressed his cheeks, making him itch.

"Ugh, my body feels so heavy."

The chirping of sparrows, as melodious as an alarm clock, woke his body’s cells. Even though it had only been a day, he felt like this body hadn’t moved for two weeks. He skillfully guided Qi Energy through his stiff muscles, invigorating his blood vessels and clearing his meridians.

"Hmm... the Sun."

Sunlight filtered through the purple leaves. He raised his hand to shield his eyes until the rays darted through his fingers. His light brown pupils constricted sharply, then gradually adjusted to the brightness.

"I didn’t expect the new version update to take us directly to an alien planet. After enduring the oppressive environment of Azure Star for several days, it’s nice to see the Sun again. Just this alone makes the space trip worth it."

Caramel Snail stood up, surveying his surroundings. System notification: his landing location was named Baizhu Star-10-98-1 Ruins.

He turned his head. Many others had already arrived; guild players banded together, rapidly opening their maps to explore the new environment. The first batch of players to enter space mostly had their team resources, even several streamers had guild forces backing them.

But, in a sense, he wasn’t alone anymore either.

Opening his communications, Caramel Snail immediately received friend requests from his club mates. Joining the group chat, his brothers were immediately in awe upon seeing his conspicuous lv.15 and the unique ’coordinates: Baizhu Star.’

"Ah Niu, you are now all our hope," commented the ID ’Slacker Minister’ earnestly. "I’ll handle the guild affairs these days. You focus on exploring outside. Don’t worry about us."

"Alien Lord, send me 50. Prove your strength," joked his old buddy ’The Dragon in the Text.’

’Xiachong Yubing’ asked, "Hey... can someone tell me what to do if I start as a [Government Employee]?"

Xia Yubing uploaded a video. Caramel Snail watched: "New President Frost Plated David Lyn was sworn in, and the capital is now under a state of high alert—nothing major. You’re on the government side—just follow your department obediently."

"My character has an innate wish quest. Should I complete it? It’s so pitiful: born poor, sister missing, worked hard to get into government college, but died of overwork right before starting a new life. If I hadn’t descended, no one would ever know they were about to make a mark on the world."

Xiachong Yubing’s naive words reminded Caramel Snail of his own early game experience.

Back then, he had been an ordinary dropout, betrayed and abandoned by his so-called friends, beaten up on the streets, and even killed a thief en route—immersing himself fully into the sensory experience.

Now, he had seen plenty of distressing things. Having fought on Azure Star’s front-line troops, he had become accustomed to it.

Seeing Xiachong Yubing’s soft-heartedness stirred memories of his early game days.

"I suggest you go for it. Don’t worry about the time issue. As for the sponsor, at least I can support you as a facade." Caramel Snail consoled.

"Thank you, Kiddo."

He was about to reply ’not a problem’ when someone suddenly slapped him on the back. Startled, Caramel Snail turned to see a woman with colorful hair resting her chin on his shoulder, curiously asking:

"Yo? Chatting with your girlfriend?"

"Wow!" Caramel Snail recoiled, then noticed who it was: "[XXG] Cumin Powder—can you be normal next time?"

"Sorry, force of habit." Cumin Powder raised a hand, slung an arm over his shoulder like a buddy, and explained: "I tried to greet you for half a day, but you stood there daydreaming. Figured you were chatting, and sure enough, you were."

"A normal person would wait if they saw someone busy, right? Cutting in like this makes you seem a bit unwell."

"Don’t mind me, we’re all good buddies." Cumin Powder patted Caramel Snail on the butt. "So, how about last time?"

"Last time?"

Caramel Snail glanced at his chat log:

[XXG] Cumin Powder: Heard you single-handedly killed three samurai. Impressive, even Night Fighting Sword only killed six. When you’re free, interested in joining youth training?—4 hours and 37 minutes ago (Read)

"—About the youth training, didn’t I reply?" Caramel Snail grumbled.

"Huh? How many young people still use email to chat? Don’t blame me." Cumin Powder shrugged and stepped aside, placing her hand on her robotically enhanced waist. "Besides, this is a big deal. It’s better discussed in person."

"Thanks for the offer, but I don’t plan to join a pro team right now."

Caramel Snail shook his head, then his peripheral vision caught the surrounding ruins.

"Is that so? No worries, the Starry Abyss professional league plan is still in preparation. We’ll always welcome you." Cumin Powder waved her hand. "But since we’re on an alien planet now, want to team up? Night Fighting Sword, Yutianxiao, and Garidon—we’re planning to form a small team. With you, we’ll have frontlines, scouts, offense, and even logistics."

"That works for me."

Caramel Snail was very pleased with this.

These pro players or professionally trained players had shone in the previous virtual sieges. Their shooting and melee skills were basic but precise, instant aiming, and could traverse rooftops and walls in alley battles. Their combat awareness was far above average.

Pioneering solo was stressful and difficult. It was better to have mutual support on an alien planet.

The two had long been friends. Cumin Powder immediately added Caramel Snail to the team.

[You have joined the ’Kendro’ team, and the team shared experience pool has been activated.]

Seeing that the other team members were busy, Caramel Snail didn’t disturb them. He chatted briefly with Cumin Powder, then his peripheral vision caught the ruins on the mountain. Curious, he asked:

"Is that the 10-98-1 Ruins?"

"Yeah, it’s also the main city for us cosmic players. The respawn point is set here by default—later, we’ll bring in a high-level [Redemption] player so we can set up respawn points in the wild, making tasks and map running much easier."

"Speaking of which, the main quest we picked up on Azure Star should be settling."

Caramel Snail opened the task menu.

[Main Quest "Unknown Space Realm"—Completed]

[Settling...]

A. "Brave Legion"—’Li Aozi’ needs a powerful [Mutant] army to achieve his goals. Change occupation and complete training to level up.

Reward: Main Profession——[Mutant], 50,000 Experience; (non-[Sovereign] players will receive 50,200 Experience)

B. "For Tomorrow"—A hydrogen bomb is buried under the Houjo Group, an important item for space travel. You have scouted the area.

Reward: ’Li Aozi’ Favorability +100, you can rent Omega-level Arcane Energy [Gravity] for 35,000 Experience (monthly)

C. "Endless Starry Abyss"—You have entered Starry Abyss’ beginning: Layer Abyss. The layer has no curses or blessings. The cosmic space is open to you.

Reward: ’Li Aozi’ Favorability +100, you can spend 5,000 Experience to learn the occupation knowledge from ’Li Aozi’: [Arcane Refinement Theory]

——————————

The main quest rewards themselves weren’t that significant, but the achievements for first-time completions, space ascensions, and stepping onto alien planets were plentiful. The titles awarded could substantially increase a player’s combat power.

"Hey, my Favorability with ’Li Aozi’ has increased to 265 points. It’s at the [Like] level, unlocking more items."

Caramel Snail had previously completed many of Li Aozi’s tasks, significantly increasing his Favorability.

Learning Arcane Energy didn’t matter much to him. He had only rented [Eye of Truth] and [Inscription Saint Swordmaster] Arcane Energies. But Li Aozi had provided much more assistance.

"Oh? You’ve increased your Favorability that much?" Cumin Powder’s eyes lit up, grabbing his wrist. "Let’s go find Li Aozi and see what you can exchange."

"Is Li Aozi on Baizhu Star now?"

"Of course, considering the game’s plot timeline, only two and a half months have passed. Li Aozi must still be on Baizhu Star."

The two hurriedly walked into the ruins. Inside, the situation was completely different. Most of the gaps had been filled, the interiors neatly organized. Passing through pavilions, they saw small trees and flowers planted in the garden, agricultural fields opened up, and private tents set up, bustling with life.

The ruins were populated with many players, thanks to the NPCs staying here. Many early-access players were gathering around, looking for tasks or information.

As Caramel Snail approached, he realized the crowd wasn’t surrounding Li Aozi but a strange woman.

She appeared to be in her early twenties, cloaked in black. Her silver-gray hair hung lifelessly like straw, barely revealing her pale lips and gaunt chin.

"Who is she?" Cumin Powder was puzzled. "Where’s Li Aozi?"

"Let me see."

Caramel Snail’s eyes glimmered with silver runes as he used [Eye of Truth] to inspect her.

[Target is Secret, Cannot Be Viewed]

"Huh?"

Caramel Snail was stunned.

The next moment, the black-cloaked woman suddenly looked up, her cold gaze piercing into him. Caramel Snail felt extremely uncomfortable as their eyes met.

He saw her eyes.

A pair of colorless eyes, riddled with web-like patterns—a Mysterious sight.

"Ugh..."

For some reason, seeing those eyes stirred an odd sensation deep in Caramel Snail’s heart.

"I’ve seen her before."

Caramel Snail suddenly said.