Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 456 - 94. Why do I have to build a Newbie Village myself after leaving the Newbie Planet?

Chapter 456: 94. Why do I have to build a Newbie Village myself after leaving the Newbie Planet?

"Force Split Mountain!"

Caramel Snail jumped high from the slope and slashed the long blade fiercely at the long neck of a Grey Feathered Land Dove. The fierce Qi Energy, like fire, combined with the conversion of gravity potential energy, created substantial kinetic energy. If this were on Azure Star, it would be enough to cut open the top of a car.

Clang!

The collision burst out with a crisp sound of metal ether clashing. Caramel Snail immediately felt a numbness in his palm, his bones aching.

The neck of the Grey Feathered Bird took the blow solidly, then it spread its four wings and immediately kicked up a storm, flipping Caramel Snail away in an instant.

"Damn it!" Caramel Snail landed hard on his behind, looking bewildered. He raised the bent long blade in his hand: "This is a military combat knife confiscated from a Sky Ring Warrior, and it couldn’t even kill a ’Just Because’?"

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Cumin Powder, wielding two submachine guns each resembling a ’short sword,’ seized the moment as Caramel Snail disengaged from the battle and fired a burst at the target. The 9mm potassium-burning armor-piercing bullets exploded in a series of sparks on the Grey Feathered Bird, creating a splendid scene, but the damage numbers that splashed up were only a few single-digit hits due to the burning effect.

"Wow, guns can’t even hurt it." Cumin Powder scoffed: "The ecological level of Baizhu Star is a bit too high. Are we supposed to use 155 howitzer cannons for hunting?"

"Even if we had it, it would be such a waste." Garidon replied, taking Caramel Snail’s place and rushing forward with a high-polymer material riot shield in one hand and a high-voltage electric blade in the other, pulling aggro.

Unlike the high-attack, high-speed Weapon Warrior that Caramel Snail was, Garidon was a well-known Heavy-Armored Warrior in the professional arena with high Strength and Constitution stats, specializing in control with a shield.

Coo coo coo——

The Grey Feathered Bird, as tall as a person, suddenly flapped its wings and took off, leaping into the air, swinging its long leg in a flying kick. Garidon didn’t react in time and was kicked, shield and all, flipping over.

Garidon quickly used his taunting skill, but the system immediately popped up a prompt:

[The level difference between you and the target is too great, failed to provoke]

Fortunately, Garidon had a wealth of battle experience. As a professional player, he remained calm, putting away his weapon and gripping tightly as he fell.

[Gravity Reversal]

The effect borrowed from Li Aozi worked well. The Grey Feathered Bird, harassed by Cumin Powder’s rear attacks, was about to swoop at her when it suddenly seemed to stumble and crash head-first into a tree behind it.

"Good opportunity!"

Yutianxiao from the [Qiongyu] guild seized the moment and immediately ordered his turrets to focus fire. Night Fighting Sword jumped up randomly, under Yutianxiao’s covering fire, holding a sword in one hand, holding his breath and dashing forward with an irregular three-step sprint, skillfully dodging the bird’s pecking attacks. He slid low, turning and slashing as he avoided the flapping wings, cutting into the Grey Feathered Bird’s thin leg.

Crack!

The slice hit the joint solidly. With a screech, the bird collapsed, its heavy body crashing to the ground, kicking up dust and flipping Garidon over from the impact.

Night Fighting Sword moved swiftly, pressing pressure points on himself to activate Dominator Body, Qi Energy instantly coursing through his nerves and blood vessels, pushing forward through the swirling dust and sand.

The bird on the ground let out a shriek, flapping its wings rapidly, scattering a storm of blade-like feathers.

Unfazed, Night Fighting Sword utilized gravity manipulation, deftly dodging the attacks mid-air. He hovered high, holding his sword aloft, stabbing into the Grey Feathered Bird’s blind spot at the back of its neck.

Not to be outdone, Caramel Snail switched weapons, activating Inscription Saint Swordmaster. Enveloped in a purple evil aura, he sheathed his weapon, taking a Coexist stance, charging directly toward the Grey Feathered Bird.

The two Martial Artists attacked in sync, their swords and blades singing in unison, their Qi Energy filling the air with a sharp odor as it sliced through.

In the next moment, sword and blade slashed, invisible gravity combined with the Purple Evil Ghost. The bird’s rear feathers were sliced open along with its skin, pouring blood. As its brainstem suffered a severe blow and it staggered, Caramel Snail’s attack landed. His long blade slashed into the bird’s pectoral muscle, Qi Energy flooding in, tearing open a crimson wound.

"Move aside!"

Whoosh!

Cumin Powder aimed her rocket launcher at Caramel Snail’s wound. The two attackers withdrew, rolling on the ground to a safe distance, turning their backs on the bird that howled skyward.

The rocket exploded, flames engulfing the entire bird.

[You have killed lv.20 Grey Feathered Land Dove— Overall damage surpasses 60%, defeated a high-level enemy, team reward, additional rewards calculating...]

[You have accumulated 25,427 experience points]

"Wow, these rewards are truly generous." Cumin Powder exclaimed in delight: "Just one ground chicken gives us 25,000 experience; at this rate, we’ll reach the Alpha Stage by next week."

"Easier said than done, but our ammo is a non-renewable resource." Yutianxiao put away his turrets, feeling heartbroken. As a Mechanic, he faced tremendous setbacks here, unable to find any supplies or comprehend this planet’s materials enough to craft even a basic lathe.

Night Fighting Sword sheathed his chipped sword, glancing at Caramel Snail with admiration: "Your attacks were impressive, every strike deadly."

"Uh, no, no, no." Caramel Snail blushed at the compliment, his social anxiety flaring up as he waved his hands: "That, actually, credit goes to the Arcane Energy from Li Aozi."

"That Arcane Energy is peculiar; not only does it directly bestow magic damage, but it also enhances weapon proficiency. What was it called again..."

"Inscription Saint Swordmaster." Caramel Snail added, "You need a favorability of over 150 with Li Aozi to unlock rental access."

"No wonder, my favorability is too low. I can only rent the Eye of Truth and Gravity Arcane Energies."

"Aren’t those two available to everyone?" Garidon ran over, starting to harvest materials from the corpse while teasing: "Old Ye, you really need to work on raising NPC favorability."

"I can’t be bothered. Most games only unlock a few dialogues with favorability, but Li Aozi is different. He offers real benefits."

Night Fighting Sword controlled his sword with gravity, watching it spin and fly:

"Beating these new map monsters is thanks to Li Aozi’s Arcane Energies. Just this dove alone could probably wipe out a squad of samurais on the Sky Ring battlefield."

"Confidently, a platoon."

The group joked about the new map’s difficulty, even as top-tier players, they found exploring Baizhu Star overwhelming.

As the saying goes, even the cleverest woman cannot cook without rice. On Azure Star, where level differences were not extremely pronounced, a squad of Alpha Stage riflemen was sufficient for most situations, not to mention the advantage of mechanized combat. Individual prowess wasn’t a huge factor in war.

However, on Baizhu Star, without their technological advantage, the players found their firearms surprisingly ineffective. These weapons didn’t deal enough damage, making them even less useful for hunting.

Moreover, without factories and industrial systems, they had to conserve bullets, and some bullets were melted down to refine copper.

Unfortunately, there were no Mysterious Spirit Mediums among Baizhu Star’s players, leaving everyone short on spellcasters. As substitutes, they only had Biochemists and Mechanics.

As night fell, the players hurried back with their prey without resting.

Caramel Snail had been tagging along with these Professional Brothers for a while now, getting familiar with each other. His biggest realization was that, aside from their impeccable aim, agility, lock-on targeting, and ability to provide crucial intel—Professional Brothers were pretty normal too.

Many Professional Brothers were interested in Caramel Snail, suggesting he join a Youth Training Camp to test his skills.

Though clueless about esports, Caramel Snail’s EQ had improved considerably by hanging out with Li Aozi. He didn’t outright refuse, using the opportunity to learn more about the industry and training methods.

Chatting lively with Cumin Powder, who was like one of the boys, Caramel Snail quickly learned many amusing anecdotes about Fiery Summer’s esports scene.

"Most esports teams in Fiery Summer are sponsored by food companies, so the team names are mostly food brands. Domestic tournaments are often called ’Chef King Competitions.’"

"Huh? Seriously? What does your team’s [XXG] stand for?"

"Fragrant Chicken. By the way, my ID ’Cumin Powder’ is because the sponsor wanted me to endorse their cumin-flavored chicken."

"So if a team does poorly, do people say things like ’too salty,’ ’too plain,’ or ’can’t stomach it’?"

"No, the audience is very polite and cultured."

Cumin Powder clarified:

"They’ll elegantly call it a ’banquet.’"

As Caramel Snail chuckled, Yutianxiao suddenly pointed ahead:

"Hey, look over there..."

Following his direction, they saw a crude village nestled among the mountains, with no concealment structures, just a lot of building materials laid out, looking rough and primitive.

"Habitation in such a desolate place, who’d have thought?" Caramel Snail sighed, then realized something familiar. The surrounding trees and dilapidated Sacred Temple ruins evoked a strong déjà vu.

"Doesn’t this place look familiar?"

"We haven’t unlocked the local mini-map, no idea where we are."

"This hillside, these ruins, this tent..."

Before they could discuss further, the system popped up a notification:

——————————

[Li Aozi has established a new territory here. As you have accepted the long-term task ’New Journey,’ you meet the criteria and unlock the next task phase]

[/////Task updated/////]

[Long-term Task – ’Building Homestead’]

[You have joined the new faction—Baizhu Star Xinshou Village]

[Work hard to build your home!]

——————————

They all looked at each other.

"Didn’t we just leave the Newbie Planet?" Caramel Snail asked, confused. "By the way, this name reeks of bad taste... Who named it? Seriously lacking in sense."

"Maybe we misunderstood earlier."

Yutianxiao thought for a moment and presented an idea:

"For the game ’Starry Abyss,’ the real newbie village might be: the entire First Layer Abyss?"