Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 46 - 036. Fourth Rule

Chapter 46: 036. Fourth Rule

Li Aozi paused slightly.

For a moment, Nomi’s petite silhouette overlapped with one from his memory, stirring a slight flutter in his heart.

But he quickly shook his head.

We are also human—doesn’t that sound a bit too naive and foolish?

From the player’s perspective, the entire Azure Star was doomed anyway, the only constant in this world being interest.

However, he was no longer a player.

"Don’t think too much."

Li Aozi diverted his gaze:

"Nevertheless, as things stand today, the responsibility mainly lies with the Four Nations, there is no doubt about that."

Nomi’s pale purple eye watched him for a long time:

"You really aren’t from the Rose Army."

"Does it matter anymore?"

"Oh, the way you say it, not being in the Rose Army but still very familiar with the organization, philosophy, and deployment of the Rose Army—what do you think I would think as a Rose Army warrior?"

Nomi playfully leaned on a wrench, her eyelashes collecting flakes of snow, her pale purple eye looking somewhat hazy through the blizzard.

"Respected Mr. Li Aozi, wouldn’t you like to explain?"

"First, this form of address makes it sound like I am about to be shot, which is not very auspicious. I suggest changing it to ’Your Excellency.’"

Li Aozi stepped closer, looked into Nomi’s eyes, and said:

"Secondly, if you think that you can kill me and that mechanic in an instant and then drive alone back to the Rose Army and that would be profitable, then go ahead."

"Oho, what’s not profitable about it?" Nomi narrowed her eyes but just smiled.

"Of course, it’s not profitable. If you kill someone and run off with the car, it’s just an extra car. But if you come with me, I will give you a future."

Li Aozi confidently stated:

"A future with sunshine and warmth, where everyone can succeed, where men and women enjoy equal rights, where people won’t scrounge in trash cans for leftover swill, nor will there be beggars or performers, no prostitutes or slaves, children and the elderly will receive respect and protection, criminals will be punished by the law, and labor will earn its due reward—such is the future."

"...you’re bluffing," Nomi scoffed. "Isn’t that just paradise?"

"This is not paradise," Li Aozi stated. "This is the life people were meant to live."

[Nomi Favorability——]

Li Aozi had barely finished speaking, too swift to clearly see the following numbers. Suddenly, his body shivered violently from a ghastly cold feeling.

Someone was aiming at him!

This intense sense of danger was the "intuition" developed over many years by seasoned players from being ambushed.

Without time to react, he caught a glimpse of the red glow of gunpowder gas lighting up in the distance through the frost snow.

No escape!

Bang!

Li Aozi was suddenly knocked to the ground, Nomi pressed his head into her chest, instantly kicked open Benny’s assembly vehicle door, and dove inside.

Put-put-put!

Bullets penetrated Nomi’s shoulder and spine, blood dripped along her pale skin, streaming down onto Li Aozi’s face.

"Nomi—"

"Shut up!"

Nomi stiffly took several rifle bullets. She grunted, clenched her teeth, the bullets behind her all landed on the car frame, a simple sheet metal assembly car couldn’t withstand the military rifle’s firepower, and was directly shot through.

Luckily, since the shooter couldn’t see where exactly they were hiding in the car, he could only fire blindly. Occasionally stray bullets came, but Nomi’s petite body blocked them.

Nomi, sweating profusely and biting her lip, held Li Aozi tightly in her arms, curling her hands into fists, muttering under her breath.

How many shots had she taken? Li Aozi saw the team member attribute panel—her arcane energy was activated, starting to regenerate swiftly at a rate of 20 points per second.

"...Haah!"

She let out a breath of stale air, several long, bloodstained bullet tips bounced off her spine, clinking as they fell onto the vehicle.

Nomi was panting heavily, her purple eye momentarily showed a red-black trace, but it soon faded, returning to light purple.

"Why did you block the bullets?" Li Aozi questioned. "That rifle is clearly using 6.8 mm bullets, even a Level 3 bulletproof vest would be ripped apart, are you trying to get killed?"

"Tch— I won’t die, you pretty boy!"

Nomi struggled up off him. She curled up, slowly moved under the car chassis, Li Aozi faintly heard her muttering:

"Someone else would die from two pistol shots, while I can take a whole barrage with no issue, do we even need to discuss such simple things, moron."

That referred to a previous incident when he had shot himself in the arm.

Li Aozi himself had forgotten, players were constantly blowing themselves up in battle strategies, utterly fearless of death, such things really didn’t count as significant.

But, Nomi clearly remembered very well.

"My start was too smooth, I hardly ever went to prison, almost made me forget... I am no longer a player anymore."

Li Aozi’s gaze shifted, he calmed his emotions, his eyes gradually hardened.

Entering combat mode, his [Charm] was now at 21 points, and with the addition of [Perpetual•Hunting Love] giving a 30% bonus, his [Charm] was effectively at 27.3 points.

Attribute specialty growth was like a snowball, growing larger as it rolled.

Based on such high main attribute benefits, he had already obtained information about the attacker.

[Name]: Fourth Rule Field Agent—Nimotin (Highly Dangerous)

[Species]: New Generation Homo sapiens—Frost Plated People

[Age]: 31

[Template]: Advanced Senior Combat NPC (Damage Rate +15%, Maximum Health +10%)

[Faction]: Frost Plated Republic—Constitutional Fourth Security Bureau

[Total Level]: lv.30 (MAX)

— Main Profession: Destruction Type—lv.20 [Assassin]

— Secondary Profession: lv.10 [Agent]

[Health Points]: 390/390

[Qi Energy]: 270/270

[Attributes]:

Strength—??

Dexterity—??

Constitution—??

Charm—3

Will—5

[Talent]: ??? (Your attributes differ too much from the opponent’s, unable to display)

[Specialty]: ???

[Skills Possessed]: ???

[Hierarchy]: Alpha Stage

"Damn it!"

Li Aozi’s blood pressure skyrocketed, and he cursed out loud:

"Night Hunt Nimotin—the final BOSS of the main quest for [Assassin]!"

Fourth Rule lower-ranked agents average Level 15 and have a low hierarchy; Li Aozi, lacking arcane energy, could easily slaughter them with his experience.

But this doesn’t mean that all Fourth Rule agents are so feeble.

On the contrary, the rule by women in Frost Plated lead to most of the transcendent women concentrating in the government. Many educated women with luxurious equipment chose to join the Fourth Rule Special Service Organization to gain more power and status.

Night Hunt Nimotin is not just an elite agent but also the final BOSS of the main quest line for [Assassin] players.

What does this imply?

The profession’s main quest for [Assassin] is notoriously long and stinky, involving 40 assassination targets. So, by the time players finish the main quest, [Assassin] players are already at the max Level 30 and they face the final BOSS of the version.

Although Nimotin isn’t a version BOSS, he is more terrifying than many version BOSSes.

A fierce wind whipped up, and several figures emerged on the snowy plain.

Thud!

The female agents, wearing long boots and black coats, walked unhurriedly to a higher position. A woman with dark blonde hair and wearing an efficient, sealed breathing mask, her left arm’s prosthetic slowly retracting the gun barrel, switched to pull out a short dagger from her right arm and held it in her hand.

They wore red and black armbands on their arms, adorned with the pattern of a blooming snow-white ice crystal flower, symbolizing the pristine purity of the Frost Plated Republic, with a prominent IV (Roman numeral: 4) at the center.

Their identity was clear.

"Fourth Rule..." Nomi gritted her teeth in hatred. "These butchers!"

Some armed-to-the-teeth policemen jumped down from a car and quickly surrounded the area.

"Come out, you thugs from Rose Army."

Nimotin’s voice, filled with robust Qi energy, was like a tiger’s roar or a dragon’s chant, causing awe and fear:

"You traitors who violate the will of the Republic and its female guardians, what are you still hiding for?"

"I know who you are, Li Aozi, no need for excuses; just surrender. Agent Yawen has already clearly investigated your dealings with Rose Army, with both human and material evidence, don’t think of denying it."

As she spoke, she casually glanced at a young female agent next to her, wearing a breathing mask, her expression unreadable.

—It had to be said, the knowledge from books was indeed useful.

After obtaining the bank’s restored surveillance footage, Yawen immediately spent five days working alone and caught the smuggler leader.

Then, in less than two days, she also caught a driver who assisted in border smuggling, cracking down the entire smuggling chain. Just this achievement alone would fetch a handsome reward.

Legal immigration was limited, but illegal smuggling affected the nation fundamentally, mainly causing panic among foreign capitalists hesitant about investing or setting up factories in Frost Plated, severely affecting national interests.

It was necessary to set an example!

Since the case involved a significant number of criminals, they finally concentrated the interrogation and found out that Li Aozi was the true criminal behind the bank arson.

What was most surprising was that Yawen did not participate in torturous interrogations the entire process and, without resorting to violent interrogations, she extracted information about Li Aozi’s connections with Rose Army.

Having the "vase" uncover such a major case, although Nimotin was annoyed, she had no basis to object. Being unable to deploy Fourth Rule field troops in time, she mobilized the police forces and began the search and pursuit.

The warm environment of this waste lake seemed to have attracted Li Aozi and his accomplices who had fled into the Outer World.

Without a doubt, they must also be thugs from Rose Army.

Now she could catch two in one go; Nimotin was in no rush to kill. Alive people were always more useful than dead ones, and if she could gather any intelligence from them, that would make the trip to the border even more rewarding.

Nimotin had made her point clear: whether it was her personal burst of Qi overwhelming everyone, or the surrounding police forces’ firepower, it was like catching turtles in a jar, there was no escape.