Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 454 - 92. The World

Chapter 454: 92. The World

Li Aozi waited for a few days for the money from the narrative-level civilization to hit his account. Konstantin apologized for the delay.

After deducting some handling fees and the cost to get through the interstellar customs, he had about 2.5 million ammonium gold left in hand.

The money was secondary; what mattered most was the wasted time.

When Li Aozi stepped out of the Star Gate, it was already one day after the public test had commenced. Fortunately, he had discussed this in advance with Yawen. The players moved on with their work, and Yawen seemed to play her role as task guide quite well.

He stayed in the orderly constructed ruins for several hours. The players were busy with hunting and building the camp; the ruins were empty, with no one returning.

He did not see Yawen.

"Miss Yawen—Yawen—"

Li Aozi called out several times using gravity waves but got no response.

[Maybe something urgent came up.]

Li Aozi walked to Yawen’s tent. Yawen had left him a note, saying she had gone out for urgent matters. If Li Aozi returned, he was asked not to worry.

——However, she probably hadn’t anticipated that after becoming the "Star Realm Echoer," he had gained powerful cross-universe communication abilities. As long as he wanted, he could force the entire Layer Abyss to listen to his stand-up monologue.

[Such an obvious excuse... Does she not want to see me, or is there something unspeakable happening?]

Li Aozi touched his non-existent chin, his gaze scanning over the messy footprints on the ground.

[No, she’s definitely avoiding me.]

He recalled Yawen’s strange withered white hair and her eerie spiderweb-like pupils — such characteristics easily reminded him of the "White Knight" Youhe Lai, whom he had encountered not long ago.

Coupled with his prior detection of the celestial lamentation phenomena — "Society" had also invaded Baizhu Star here.

With so many pieces of information piling up, it was hard not to make connections.

[Could Yawen be a citizen of the secret society?]

Li Aozi pondered for a moment but said nothing.

[Society] was the cancer of the universe, and every citizen was a cancer cell. No matter how well they behaved on normal days, once "Society" itself descended, they would immediately merge into the consciousness of "Society," losing their individuality — or rather, everywhere would be them.

Forget it, what more could be said.

If Yawen truly turned out to be a citizen of "Society," he would calmly kill her with his own hands.

"Society" could not coexist with the Starry Abyss civilization. They were in a hunter-prey relationship, a fact proven by countless painful lessons, whereby numerous civilizations were devoured and annihilated, becoming part of "Society" itself.

Li Aozi did not want to lose to "Society." He did not want to die, only to have his consciousness and body used to nourish and arm the "Society" that had killed him, having his attributes appropriated and utilized as weapons and tools by the citizens.

That would be too cruel.

Nevertheless, before that, Li Aozi thought it better to carefully observe Yawen.

He already held Extraordinary Knowledge to seize talents, ensuring he would obtain the "object resonance" talent no matter what.

However, for Yawen, he always felt something inexplicable.

This girl had followed him all the way from Frost Plated to Outer World, from Outer World to another planet, and now had even established a simple, warm base for him.

But now, why was she avoiding him?

——Then when the time comes, kill her swiftly.

A sudden impulse crossed Li Aozi’s mind, a thought that he quickly extinguished.

[It was that guy... planting a psychological suggestion in my heart.]

Li Aozi quickly took the truth drug, and after a while, the resonance feeling of that impulse faded away.

Whew...

Li Aozi let out a sigh of relief; things were back in his control again.

If Yawen truly turned out to be a citizen of "Society," then that would mean that the real Yawen had long since died, and the one living now was merely a spore inheriting her will and memory.

Just like a pseudo-human.

Li Aozi sat on Yawen’s bed, the girl’s scent still lingering in the air. He glanced at the desk, where a half-finished trench coat was being made, causing him to momentarily lose himself.

Yawen would sit here, after finishing her work, using the light of a self-made animal fat lamp, crafting clothing with meticulous and swift movements.

The labor was considerable; even for a girl from Frost Plated, few would be willing to go to such lengths.

Li Aozi scanned Yawen’s bed and found that she was quite meticulous. Though the setup was simple, she still made some cute decorations and plush dolls, adding a bit of homey feel to the otherwise dull room.

He picked up a butterfly plush and flipped it to find some self-talk Yawen had written on its wings:

’I don’t want to become a spider. I want to fly past him like a butterfly, gracefully. He definitely wouldn’t dislike that.’

Yawen had no habit of keeping a diary. He rummaged her room but found nothing suspicious, even with the "Eye of Truth," detecting no useful clues — only discovering many spider threads without valuable information.

Li Aozi remained silent for several minutes, putting everything back in place. He lay on Yawen’s bed. Not having a head, he didn’t know what to use to look at the tent fabric above, unsure what to say or what his feelings were.

He lay there for a while, and suddenly, ripples appeared in the void. Zaniya slowly approached him, plopping down on his leg, poking his belly, laughing:

"Yo~ Pretty little thing, what’s up with you? Why look so down today? We just won an immensely, immensely badass battle! Zaniya earned you so much face, isn’t that awesome?"

Li Aozi didn’t answer.

He picked up a piece of spider silk, staring at it under the "Eye of Truth."

[The target has been concealed, unable to detect true information]

Yawen could evade now, but she couldn’t evade forever.

"Hmph! Ignoring me, huh? Won’t let you play with me anymore. Hmph, others beg me to unleash the power of the Divine Sword, but I refuse. Take it or leave it."

Zaniya pouted, crossing her arms:

"From now on, I’ll ignore you for ten minutes, countdown begins: nine fifty-nine, nine fifty-eight, nine fifty-seven—"

"I seem to have had a dream I shouldn’t have dreamed."

Li Aozi suddenly extended his hand, murmur self-mockingly:

"I am the sun, giving warmth and heat, but those who come close to me turn into ashes. One after another, those who approach and like me, ultimately meet bad ends. Some died for me, and some are about to be killed by my hand."

Some things he didn’t say out loud.

[I actually thought... Yawen would have a good fate.]

[Haha... She is a citizen, still a secret citizen.]

[Society must be eradicated; the dead society is the best society.]

[But this is Yawen. Someone close and reliant, admiring me without concealment.]

After discussing with Nikita, Li Aozi had been pondering his methods and actions.

"Li Aozi is Leo, and Leo is Li Aozi."

Granny Atamash’s words echoed in his ears.

Ultimately, was the him taking the truth drug truly himself, or was it the Li Aozi, that was himself?

Was he Li Aozi, Li Zi, or the Leoz he played now?

There were things he could do rationally, without any emotion, and his achievements would be much greater than now, but would those actions truly align with his true self?

Striking now and killing Yawen was undoubtedly the wisest choice, eliminating future threats.

But if so, what difference would he have from that cold and uncaring antique in his subconscious?

"Leo is Li Aozi, and Li Aozi is Leo..."

Valenkov’s task was just an example; not every time would there be such a choice to be made.

Choosing to return to campus life was also to soothe his emotions and find his true self.

"I reckon if you were a bus, you’d have one teammate per hundred kilometers of fuel."

"Hey—Zaniya, tell me, the whole world loves me so much, giving me a good look and strength. Why doesn’t it give me a little friendship and care?"

"Are you brain-dead?" Zaniya glanced at him with disdain: "Why can’t you transcend friends and directly love the whole world?"

"Love the world?" Li Aozi was puzzled.

"Once, ’Lichi Peak’ said to me: People only fall in love with those who love themselves. No matter how deep your love, it’s all for yourself. Just like whether it’s mithril or copper iron, it’s all to form objects that they blend together."

Zaniya pondered and said:

"Since you say, the world loves you so much, giving you excellent looks and arcane energy — why don’t you love the world that truly gives you more?"

"What is the world?" Li Aozi asked: "What is the world in Lichi Peak’s divine eyes?"

"Hmm, I remember He said this: The world is water, air, earth, sunlight, motherly love, everything you touch, and everything that touches you."

Zaniya held her chin, thinking hard and finally followed with:

"The only way to love the world is to strive to fulfill and achieve goals, allowing you to truly exist in this cosmic and societal relationship... very abstract, right? Actually, I don’t understand why he said that, just in practical terms — civilizations always love people, but deities are more inclined to love the world."

Li Aozi was silent for a moment.

"People and the world, what did Lichi Peak choose?"

"Hehe, that’s why I always like Lichi Peak. He’s the best talker in the universe."

Zaniya proudly said:

"He said: A world with people, is my world."

"Mortals need not question the choices of gods; gods do not make mistakes; gods’ only fault is not being strong enough."

[The only mistake of gods is not being strong enough...]

"Although you are not yet a deity, if you are willing to play with Zaniya, I can bring you god-like power, while you only need to maintain divinity—"

"——It’s decided."

Li Aozi stood up.

"Huh? Did you hear me talking—"

"Miss Yawen, did you hear me?"

Li Aozi clenched his fists, sending information through gravity waves calmly, saying:

"I know you’re in a difficult situation now, you’re avoiding me, not trusting me, that’s okay, I understand."

"What I want to say is — rest assured, I will always trust you."

"If any problem arises with Yawen Heskethin, I, Li Aozi, will clean up the house myself. No one else can kill you but me."

"Whether I should or shouldn’t is irrelevant, I can do it, so I will — as long as you believe in me, I will continue to believe in you."

"No matter what, remember: Yawen Heskethin, you mean a lot to me."

People’s Intelligence rose high enough to feel various pains; the clearer they saw the world, the more disappointed and disgusted they became, then corrupted by "Society," falling, becoming part of it.

But Li Aozi wasn’t going to let it end like that.

He could hunt "Society." He had done it in his past life, and this time would be no exception.

He intended to trust Yawen. If anything unexpected happened, even if there was just a tiny chance, he would kill Yawen, eradicating the disaster from happening.

If nothing unexpected, then let Yawen live her life peacefully and happily, calmly and quietly passing on.