Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 53 - 041. Goodbye, cage!

Chapter 53: 041. Goodbye, cage!

"Huff huff... ha huff..."

Qiu Ran lay in the back seat of the car, sleeping peacefully as the howling wind and snow of the Outer World was hardly noise to the soundproofing effect of the modified vehicle from Mingji Humanity.

She curled up, wrapped in a coat, a crystal-clear little river dangling from her mouth, occasionally chuckling:

"Potatoes, the potatoes are done... hehe... no more work, Master..."

Clang!

Suddenly a loud noise startled Qiu Ran awake. She quickly lifted her head only to see the disguise covering the car removed and the Infected named Nomi pounding on the glass, yelling at her:

"Open the door!"

"Stop hitting it, it’s my brand-new car..."

Qiu Ran pitifully climbed over the front seat and unlocked the car door.

"Damn, I’m freezing to death! I’ve been calling you for ages, how could you not respond at all?"

Nomi immediately climbed in, shaking off the snow and mud from her body. She expertly worked the clutch and gears, muttering to herself.

"Uh, well... I was asleep." Qiu Ran scratched her head, giving a simple and endearing chuckle.

"Seriously, in the Outer World where you never know when there’ll be tornadoes, dust storms, avalanches, mudslides, earthquakes, landslides—how can you sleep?"

As Nomi spoke, she popped open the car door and shouted outside:

"Hey, are you done yet?"

No sooner had she finished speaking, Li Aozi pulled open the door and climbed straight in. Protected by a Gravitational Field, there wasn’t a speck of dirt or snow on him.

"The hook is attached, drive."

Li Aozi spoke rapidly and began to open the Mingji Humanity medical kit, quickly cleaning his shoulder, applying medicine to stop the bleeding, and bandaging it:

"Fourth Rule’s car is fast on flat land, we definitely can’t outrun it."

"So what do we do?"

"They don’t know we’ve switched cars yet. Let’s drive a distance, then disconnect the hook and cast off the car behind us, they’ll definitely send some people to check."

"But even so, won’t there be others who catch up?"

"They’ve just climbed the slope, with four cars. If they send one car, only three will be left... I can take care of them."

Li Aozi rummaged through the car, and suddenly, he noticed the chains and gasoline used to secure the vehicle in the back seat.

"—If they dare to come, they’re signing their own death warrant."

Li Aozi took the chains in hand, weighing them and nodding with satisfaction.

Because of the Mutation Direction of the Power Pod, he had begun to consider the possibility of transitioning through the Blood Demon Style at the Mutant stage. Seeing the chains, he decided not to hesitate any longer.

It’ll be the Blood Demon Style!

"In the future, when I advance to be an Echoer, chains and whips are the weapons best suited for me. Paired with the low threshold Blood Demon Style, they will supplement my combat abilities perfectly."

One problem with the Meteor Fall Master is that it has a high threshold and a long cultivation period. In his previous life, Leo and his fellow enthusiasts had always been pondering how to change that.

The threshold of the Omega-level Arcane Energy required by the four preliminary requirements is solvable; there are stable ways to obtain it later on.

But how do you change the experience of being imprisoned? Leo had superior gameplay and awareness beyond most players, but ordinary players didn’t have that kind of energy.

Why are Martial Artists so popular?

It’s not because moves like Strong Hand Skull Split, Uppercut, Shadowless Electro Punch, Qigong Cannon, Deliberate Blast Punch, Nine Heavens Thunder Kick are cool—it’s because they don’t require thought.

Mages have to calculate cooldowns for combos, factor in the formulas, consider mana consumption ratios, and think about positioning.

Mutants need to manipulate Arcane Energy delicately and utilize all the surrounding factors to produce good effects.

But Martial Artists don’t need to.

These warriors just activate Dominator Body and go in for the kill, solving ninety percent of problems with brute force.

An additional nine point nine percent of problems can be solved with BKB.

For the final zero point one percent where there are no solutions, they’re done for.

The "Blood Demon Style," on the other hand, has a low threshold and is easily widespread.

Even without the factor of the Power Pod, players are almost guaranteed to obtain the two core Arcane Energies required for "Blood Demon Style":

Life Extraction, Death Link

These two ranks only had Delta Level, which was a dime a dozen kind of thing.

The complete "Blood Demon Style" only needed another continuous damage type of Arcane Energy.

No one knew what was on Li Aozi’s mind.

Nomi just glanced at him and said,

"Then it’s up to you."

Despite Li Aozi’s apparent lack of honesty, Nomi couldn’t really say she disliked him.

His nationality might be fake, his name could be fake, and it was even possible that he himself was a facade.

But when faced with a life-and-death crisis, he didn’t abandon her, a teammate he met by chance. Instead, he remained calm and negotiated with the brutal enforcers of Fourth Rule, buying time without betraying her for his own safety—just this alone made him far stronger than the vast majority.

Besides, the mysterious and irresistible oppression of Li Aozi’s Arcane Energy left her speechless.

Li Aozi adjusted the rearview mirror to keep Nomi from being dazzled by Fourth Rule’s high beams. The safety and stability of the vehicle was the top priority.

"Qiu Ran, you watch the rear window. If you see the lights of any vehicles, let me know right away."

"Oh oh oh—eh, weren’t we going after someone to kill? Why does it sound like... we’re being chased instead?"

Qiu Ran was a bit confused.

"You guessed right, but there’s no reward. We’ve encountered a very, very bad group of people. Keep an eye on what’s behind us; I’ll buy you a drink later."

Li Aozi didn’t feel like explaining Fourth Rule. Ordinary people were very fearful of such secret service organizations.

Out of the blue, Nomi asked,

"What about me?"

"You, a driver, still want to drink? Friendly reminder, drunk driving is illegal in any country, and isn’t someone underage? Still thinking about drinking?"

"Ha? Damn, (Civilization Frost Plating) I’ve smashed so many people’s skulls since I was born, and you’re telling me I can’t drink because I’m underage? I (quality Outer World)!"

Li Aozi wanted to tease Nomi a bit to lighten the mood. However, in the next moment, Qiu Ran who was lying on the rear window suddenly exclaimed:

"They’re coming! There are cars! One two three four—four cars! Wow, they’re heading right for us!"

Ping—Bang Bang Clang—

Before Qiu Ran could finish, several pale fractures immediately bloomed on the glass in front, and a 9mm bullet hit the glass right in front of her nose, scaring her so much that she quickly huddled on the rear sofa cushions.

"Don’t panic," Li Aozi picked up some chains and a gasoline can from the floor, reassuringly saying, "This is a Level 3 bulletproof glass from Dulna Light Industry. It can withstand full-power bullets and 12.7*108mm machine gun fire. They can’t shoot through this."

"I know, I’m in charge of maintaining this car..." Qiu Ran said pitifully, "But whether it can withstand bullets, I, I haven’t tested it."

"That’s not good. You haven’t seen how Lulio Dulna, the boss of Dulna, holds press conferences. That guy sat in the car himself, letting his subordinates shoot at it for 10 minutes in front of the reporters."

Qiu Ran was astounded, "Wow, that’s a boss with real guts."

"Guts my ass. His Arcane Energy is kinetic energy absorption. Firearm weapons are basically ineffective against him."

Li Aozi patted her shoulder:

"Miss Qiu Ran, in a moment I’ll lower the chain. You just need to stick out your finger, activate your Arcane Energy, and touch it lightly."

"Uh... Okay."

Li Aozi’s joke made her feel a lot more relaxed. Qiu Ran held the cushion tightly, but now she was no longer as panicked.

Li Aozi flattened the co-driver’s seat so he could stand firmly on it. He watched the relentless pursuit of Fourth Rule vehicles through the rear glass, continually estimating the distance in his mind.

"400 meters... 300 meters... No, too fast. At this speed, I’ll be blown away by the wind if I stand up."

Using Arcane Energy inside the car would involve the vehicle in the Gravitational Field, and with his current level of development in controlling Gravity, Li Aozi didn’t dare risk affecting his own people.

The most crucial factor was the vehicle—without a vehicle in the Outer World, it was basically no different from being dead.

Leaning against the seat, he shouted to Nomi:

"Nomi, I give you 20 seconds, gradually slow down to 60 kilometers per hour, don’t let them realize we’re decelerating."

"I got it, don’t disturb me!"

As Nomi spoke, she gently lifted her foot off the accelerator, and the speed of the vehicle decreased steadily and naturally. Qiu Ran distinctly heard the gunfire becoming more intense.

Dingling—

Li Aozi stood in the middle of the car, coiling the chain around his arm. This chain used to secure vehicles was 8 meters long, with each link having a diameter of 10 millimeters. It was certainly heavy for ordinary people to lift, but for Li Aozi, it was just enough for wielding.