Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 62 - 049. You are right, but—

Chapter 62: 049. You are right, but—

"Look at the Fourth Rule uniform you’re wearing, think about the pristine white gloves you and your colleagues wear, the guns and weapons you carry, are they really that clean? Is this the Fourth Rule, the one that protects women?"

Li Aozi retorted:

"The Four Nations, they’re all trash!"

"But if I have to choose between four filthy scumbags, degenerate vampires, and vermin, then I can only choose the Red Arrow Empire!"

He spoke with passionate indignation, resembling a fervent youth:

"At least in the eyes of Emperor Kaiser II, the people are human. The Crown Prince commits a crime, and he is punished just like a commoner. Unlike the dignitaries of Frost Plated, who enjoy their official titles and wealth while deliberately dividing ordinary men and women under the pretense of ’protecting women,’ just to line their pockets and gain privileges!"

[Nomi Favorability: 219]

"The Fourth Rule is just overly radical. Historically, men indeed committed many war crimes. This is also the will of the Twin Queens..."

Li Aozi’s speech rendered Yawen’s explanation weak and unconvincing, and judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to believe it herself.

"Before we became people of the Four Nations, weren’t we human first, growing up little by little, regardless of being men or women?"

Li Aozi leaned over the front passenger seat, facing Yawen with righteous indignation:

"How many of the bigwigs in Frost Plated aren’t men? Aren’t the bureaucrats surrounding the female president all men?"

"Yes, you also know that gender discrimination in Frost Plated isn’t that severe; there are still male officials."

Yawen hastily said:

"Li Aozi, I genuinely hope you can come into the light. I’ve seen the real side of the Empire, and the bureaucratic struggle there is even more brutal and bloody... I don’t know what happened to you that made you betray your country, but Frost Plated isn’t beyond saving. There are still many people who want to make the country better, and we still have many male officials..."

Li Aozi found it hard to keep a straight face.

If it weren’t for the performance, he would have laughed out loud.

—Nonsense, I can play two versions in the Red Arrow Empire, but I can’t stand a day in Frost Plated.

"Those officials, whether men or women, don’t care about women’s rights at all; they’re just using the gender divide to maintain their dominion. Is this the outcome Frost Plated should have? If the Twin Queens were alive, loving Frost Plated as they did, they would be heartbroken to see this deformed era."

His words were filled with such anger that it seemed he was ready to charge to the capital with a blade, expressing his grievances vehemently, only to end up dejected, like a patriotic youth betrayed by his country, cursing:

"Damn it, how did the country end up like this?"

Yawen was moved by his passionate words, lowered her head, and fell into silence.

Li Aozi combined the information sung out by Qiu Ran in his performance, tailored it to Yawen’s sentiments, and every word hit the mark.

Yawen’s family background was apparently good, and she was indeed a recent graduate. For some unspeakable reason, she had no choice but to join the not-so-reputable Fourth Rule Agency.

She acted strictly by the rules, and in the eyes of her arrogant colleagues, this came off as pretentious and hypocritical.

The Fourth Rule agents were numerous, mostly rehabilitated from idle people in society.

Among this bunch of idle female thugs, a young lady suddenly appeared who wouldn’t follow their lead, so it was no surprise they ostracized her.

After spending some time in this environment, dealing with colleagues’ sarcastic remarks and the bloodshed and darkness related to her job, this inexperienced young lady found herself besieged both internally and externally.

Even if she didn’t want to admit it or show it, deep down, she had doubts about the righteousness of her work and her faith in her country.

Li Aozi didn’t continue talking, taking it one step at a time, letting her emotions erode so that he could slowly correct her thoughts.

The principle was similar to learning a foreign language. Words you’d struggle to memorize would become familiar within a month of immersion abroad, and by six months, communicating with locals would no longer be an issue.

The key was to reinforce and persist.

Since Yawen wasn’t in the same team or faction as him, Li Aozi couldn’t see her favorability. Therefore, he planned to first destroy her sentiments towards Frost Plated and then establish his own image.

Yawen quieted down, beginning to wrestle with herself and reflect, while Nomi was very pleased with Li Aozi’s performance, driving both fast and steady.

Li Aozi reminded Nomi not to drive too fast to avoid making Nimotin give up the chase, occasionally stopping to eat and drink, and releasing Water Magic to relax.

Qiu Ran’s silly nature suited playing the warm role well and naturally cooperated with Li Aozi, constantly lecturing Yawen whenever she had the chance.

Direct torture and interrogation easily aroused opposition, but seasoned veterans knew how to chat casually and extract information, lowering the target’s guard and slyly raising a pointed question, inducing self-doubt.

Along the way, Li Aozi was in a good mood and closed his eyes, finally getting some real rest.

.........

Six hours later, Li Aozi awoke from a nightmare, drenched in cold sweat, leaning against the seat for a good ten seconds before regaining his composure.

"A baby... the baby died... What is this?"

Li Aozi murmured, his eyes gradually sparking with clarity as the nightmare’s grip loosened. He glanced to his side, where Qiu Ran had taken over driving, while Nomi lay in the back, her foot on Yawen’s shoulder, snoring loudly.

Everything was fine, making the details of the nightmare recede completely.

Since his crossing, he had always slept well. But today’s inexplicable nightmare cast a shadow over Li Aozi’s mood.

It felt like a premonition of something bad... Have I been thinking too much recently?

He shook his head and opened the panel to check his status.

Everything was normal.

Just as Li Aozi was about to exit, his gaze froze, stopping at the system functionality bar.

"Player Function—Unlocked!"

The player function bar, which had previously only had icons for the [Game Mall], [Faction], and [Team] lit up, now had new icons unlocked.

[Starry Abyss Official Website]

[Game Forum]

At the same time, Li Aozi noticed that the [Mailbox] in the system bar had a ’NEW (3)’ cursor, indicating the arrival of three new messages.

[Mailbox] was for receiving official and player messages. Who would send an email to an NPC?

Doubtfully, Li Aozi opened the [Mailbox], and the contents of the three emails immediately appeared before his eyes:

"Dear Sir or Madam: The trial run of ’Starry Abyss’ will soon begin, with the first round of Alpha testing about to start. Please be aware of network fluctuations. Countdown: 23:43—Qiqiao Network, Sent: 2142/9/17."

"Dear Sir or Madam: Welcome to ’Starry Abyss.’ Enjoy freedom and happiness to the fullest. You may as well treat this as a real world. Hmm, maybe it truly is?—The Entire ’Starry Abyss’ Production Team, Sent: 2142/9/17."

The first two emails seemed normal, albeit somewhat odd, considering Li Aozi was an NPC being treated like a player.

But the third email left Li Aozi puzzled.

——————————————

To the lovely buyer:

Dear, did you enjoy this shopping experience?

Just kidding, you’ll love it once you’ve used it.

Well, would you like to continue buying my crafts?

Sorry, but the Tracy Exhibition Hall has closed for now.

The good news is, at this time next year, I’ll be holding a tour of rare treasures in the Gorsala Star System.

Anyway, you shouldn’t refuse me.

If you missed the Grand Exhibition at Tracy, don’t forget to check out Glina’s little shop!

There are more fun treasures there.

Earn money, spend money, shop more, Wuhu Wuhu, truly satisfied.

ZGM.0238/1/13

—Attachment: Friend Card ’Glina Swirl’

(Click here to jump to the Corporate Page: ’Mikhail’s Nest’)

——————————————

"Glina Swirl?"

Li Aozi was silent for a moment.

"Who is this?"