Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 501 - 138. Camouflaged Player

Chapter 501: 138. Camouflaged Player

——Fate was always capricious.

Bang!

A fierce punch landed on the face identical to his own. Li Aozi felt no illusionary pain; neither anger nor surprise stirred in his heart.

——But fortunately, one thing is certain, man does not always lose to fate.

Swoosh—smack!

The false countenance twisted quickly, turning black for an instant, revealing the pseudo-human’s true form, but it soon reverted to its disguise. Trembling, it stepped back two paces, just about to speak when Li Aozi lunged forward like an arrow, his fists striking precisely and lethally like bullets on the opponent’s face.

Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!

Grabbing the opponent’s hair with one hand, Li Aozi lifted his knee, qi energy surging inside him. With just his mortal body, he pulled off a flurry of shadows in the shaking carriage, suddenly thrusting at the opponent’s chest!

Boom!!!

——Any disaster that doesn’t kill, will inevitably be trampled underfoot.

The pseudo-human’s body was blasted up to the ceiling, then crashed heavily to the ground, a dent marking its chest. As it lifted its head to look at Li Aozi, not a single bone-cracking sound was heard.

"Mortal!"

The pseudo-human abandoned its disguise, its entire body turning a pitch-black, as if made of asphalt or petroleum, exuding malleability. It raised its arms, and the liquid forearms instantly morphed into sharp blades, slashing toward Li Aozi.

Smack!

"Mortal? A mere society citizen like you dare call me a mortal?"

Li Aozi stood still, raising his hand to block the blade, qi energy circulating throughout his body, a layer of demonic red glinting in his eyes.

He glanced at the pseudo-human before him. The system showed that this guy was just a citizen of the [Forged Society]; killing it wouldn’t even help him ascend to a novice hunter.

Its level was merely 15.

Too weak, only capable of bullying [Mutants] with poor basic attributes.

This kind of creature had once driven him into utter disgrace, almost getting him captured by the Fourth Rule?

Li Aozi flicked his hand lightly, drawing ample qi energy from his cells. As it flowed through his body, his muscles tightened and became resilient as if electrocuted. Qi energy enhancement unleashed tremendous strength in his flesh, pushing the other back, stumbling.

Crash!

The pseudo-human crashed against the carriage window, its incredibly disproportionate eyeball staring straight at Li Aozi:

"You... you aren’t a native?! How do you know about [Society]? How can you know?!

Bang!

Li Aozi exerted strength from his feet, his body rocketed forward, a punch slamming into the pseudo-human’s massive eyeball. His qi-infused fist sunk deep into the socket instantly. Without bothering about the pseudo-human’s lack of blood, he continued to exert violent force. Muscles on his hand tensed with full strength, veins bulging, a dark red flame glowing in his eyes. Perhaps because the process was too satisfying, Li Aozi unconsciously grinned, smiling warmly as he hollowed out the opponent’s entire head.

Plop.

Withdrawing his hand, the pseudo-human’s head had been cleaned out, like a deflated ball, collapsing on the ground.

[You have killed ’Forgery Citizen - Qi Yawa - Lies’ (Freshman)]

[By defeating a new society citizen, you have unlocked a new social hunt list.]

[Forgery Society - Philoris (Small Lurker Society) - Level: 270]

[For the endless starry abyss, hunt them down to the last.]

[Over-level kill reward, total contribution 100%...]

[You have gained 2895 experience points]

"Hmph—spit."

Li Aozi spat, dragging the body into the restroom, opening the window, and tossing the corpse into the snowy outer world.

"What are you? I saw through you at a glance."

Li Aozi meticulously cleaned up the battle’s traces. Fortunately, it was deep at night, a swift fight, and no commotion was raised.

He switched back to his main form, renting a [Eye of Truth] for free. After patrolling the carriage, ensuring no other pseudo-human traces were found, he finally felt at ease.

"Seems like the pseudo-human infiltration hasn’t reached the civilized districts. I got lucky, running into one so soon."

The pseudo-human was unlucky too, disguising as him of all people. Probably thought it would be easier to replace someone traveling alone.

After the battle, Li Aozi had improved his qi energy utilization.

A retired soldier’s background + [Martial Artist], the best combination on Azure Star, without a doubt.

Retired soldiers generally provided near-Alpha Stage attributes, paired with qi energy, making the early game remarkably smooth.

Combining that with the player’s [Lai Anding Medical Protocol], soloing ordinary [Society] citizens wasn’t difficult.

"My core cultivation technique’s quality is high. Leveling this alternate account to Alpha Stage should only take three or four days."

Li Aozi mused, glancing at the current player rankings on the forum.

With professional leagues yet to start, the player rankings in the Fiery Summer District were based on hierarchy + level + equipment data. Consequently, the top ranks in Fiery Summer District were dominated by professional players from Baizhu Star.

Night Fighting Sword, a veteran professional brother and a [Martial Artist] who had ventured into space with Li Aozi, had already reached an astounding level of 27.73%. Not only was he the first in Fiery Summer District, but also the third in the entire game.

Below him was Yutianxiao, at level 26.89% [Mechanic], ranking sixth globally.

Even Caramel Snail had hit level 24.97% [Martial Artist], ranking twenty-eighth globally, nearly rivaling foreign players ahead of him.

"Hmm, as expected, now that the ranking is out, the backlash against Li Aozi has started to reverse. Some players are even looking to buy Baizhu Star accounts, offering prices up to hundreds of thousands of credit points."

Li Aozi nodded.

As a former streamer, Li Aozi valued traffic and public opinion greatly. Previously, his long-term silence and inability to speak up meant the narrative developed uncontrollably. If this continued, discussions about Li Aozi on the forum would inevitably dwindle.

Modern communication studies proposed the dominant effect theory, re-emphasizing the substantial effect of mass communication. However, such communication wasn’t instantaneous; it was a long-term persistence, profoundly influencing people’s cognition, subtly altering their thinking.

In the interstellar era, communication studies advanced further. Due to difficulties in interstellar communication, distance became a barrier to cultural exchange, leading regions to develop into isolated entities more easily.

For instance, descendants of colonial immigrants would generally lose cultural identity with the mother star after only two generations. At this point, the dominant effect theory no longer applied to interstellar colonization. The cultural divide caused by regional isolation prevented ethnic civilizations from maintaining long-term fragile connections, inevitably leading to fragmentation.

Narrative-level civilizations fostered identity through providing an ’ascension pathway.’ Based on pathways, although different ethnicities, species, and planetary residents had varying perspectives and languages, the demand for pathways remained constant. The existence of the Starry Abyss meant any strong individual seeking immortality and godhood had to band together, striving to maintain their pathway.

Even if they failed to ascend to godhood, as God Embracers, they could enjoy near-eternal life. The stronger a pathway, the more it was recognized; the more recognized, the more individuals would embark on it, promoting its leader’s further development, which in turn advanced the pathway...

This whole virtuous cycle became the foundation surpassing belief, regional, and cultural barriers. In the Starry Abyss, a unique ’pathway identity’ emerged: the more people on the same pathway, the better, even if one was at the bottom of a developed nation rather than being a third-world tribe chieftain.

Under this ’path effect theory’ development, grand narratives became people’s sole pursuit.

Narrative-level civilizations thrived on such simple principles, and the simpler the concept, the less room for shortcuts.

Li Aozi aspired to create a narrative-level civilization revolving around the [Sovereign] system, especially the [Meteor Fall Master] pathway. He understood these theories and knew the roots of narrative-level civilizations. Having the ascension platform, why not give it a try?

Li Aozi acquired some materials on interstellar communication studies, pairing them with the rise history of narrative-level civilizations. He studied for four hours on the train, summarizing some clear issues.

To establish a grand narrative belonging to the [Sovereign] system, he had to meet the following three conditions:

1. The [Sovereign] system required at least 100,000 followers, including players and NPCs, especially more players. Cultivate some die-hard fans, as players would engage in secondary creation. Players’ community mechanisms could effectively purify and increase fan loyalty.

2. Having already leveraged star power marketing once, doing it again would have much less effect. The [Sovereign] system needed a more intense stimulus to draw maximum attention.

3. Continuously showcase the [Sovereign] system’s advantages from spiritual to lifestyle aspects, gaining high recognition from Azure Star’s NPCs and players.

After contemplating, Li Aozi proposed three plans, dismissing two unfeasible models, and finally settled on the most reliable method.

"Hype."