Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 625 - 240. Mega Event: Gretto Yegg Unifies Sky Ring

Chapter 625: 240. Mega Event: Gretto Yegg Unifies Sky Ring

Even though it was time to knock off work, Houjo Tower was still ablaze with lights, the sprawling complex of buildings like the World Tree dominating the sky, planted together by conglomerates and noble families, rooted in the soil of the People of Sky Ring’s flesh and blood, nourished by the labor and lives of five hundred million people, unceasing and unending.

Fashionable white-collar workers laughed as they carried coffee past the turnstiles, discussing stocks when they opened their mouths and futures when they closed them, grabbing a quick bite of a rice ball before returning to their workstations.

Within the Houjo Clan, or more accurately within all of Sky Ring Country, there was a prevalent ’culture of shame’ that, in the workplace, morphed into mockery and bullying of those who left work on time and settled for a basic wage.

But when you think about it, isn’t that normal?

After all, everyone was striving to contribute to the rise of Sky Ring Country. If someone dared to leave work on time, wouldn’t they feel ashamed? It would be sheer betrayal of one’s nation and race, deserving of nothing but scorn.

If every worker in Sky Ring left on time, surely the nation would soon be on the brink of destruction, right?

"What a bunch of madmen. If a nation could be destroyed just because no one works overtime, then just let it be destroyed..."

Yagyu Soji, an employee at the banking department of Houjo Group, muttered under his breath, angrily biting into a sandwich while sorting out financing documents, deeply resenting such meaningless overtime.

"After finishing the work we still can’t rest, and under the guise of ’fostering team spirit,’ they forcefully keep us here. I can’t stand it anymore!"

In the huge office space, people bustled about, each busy with their tasks. Though they saw Yagyu complaining, no one reminded him not to say such things, instead they simply ignored him, focusing intently on their own work.

After Yagyu Soji voiced a few complaints and saw that nobody responded, he grumbled, "If they love burning through life for money so much, why don’t they just sell their organs to the rich?"

Even with such sarcasm, no one answered him.

For the Group, for the whole of Sky Ring, everyone turned a blind eye to these issues. Even if someone burst in and started spraying bullets from a machine gun, they would numbly continue with their work, having become selfish, obedient little machines under Sky Ring’s rules, only caring about their own affairs.

Was this right? Yagyu Soji didn’t know.

He organized his documents, stood up to have a smoke, and as he just left his workstation, a voice immediately sounded from the loudspeaker:

"Number 2105, Yagyu Soji, time away from workstation: 1 second, 2 seconds..."

In that instant, Yagyu Soji felt a surge of hatred and disdain from all around, his colleagues whispering to one another, brazenly scoffing and slandering him without restraint.

"That’s Yagyu from the banking department, isn’t it? While everyone is hard at work, he just leaves on his own volition..."

"No wonder at 35 he still can’t pay off his mortgage, doesn’t he feel ashamed..."

"If you can’t perform, don’t come to Houjo Heavy Industries banking department. Go to the Outer World. Layabouts like him are the root cause hindering our Sky Ring from becoming number one in the world!"

Enough.

Yagyu paid no heed to the rumors and gossip, he went up to the rooftop, bathed in the fake sunlight, lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, entrusting all his worries and weariness to the smoke, and exhaled it all away.

"Dammit, when will this world end, damn it!"

He complained, and the badge hanging around his neck kept ticking away the time, reminding him that he had been away from his workstation for 5 minutes and 29 seconds. If he didn’t return within a minute, the badge would taunt him in a sarcastic tone, reporting the amount of his mortgage while reminding him of his recent bank card expenses.

Despite that, he didn’t dare to throw his badge away... For employees of Houjo Group, such a badge serves as an identity card, a bus card, and a savings card combined. Losing it was almost as good as losing half your life.

Yagyu smoked, his gaze resting on the artificial light source above his head.

"...in natural science class, the teacher once said, ’The sun rises for the day, the moon rises for the night.’ However, this fake sun never sets, and I have never seen a starry night."

It’s ingrained in human genetics to be active with the rise of the sun and rest when it sets. It’s hard to feel ’it’s time to rest’ when the light is always on.

The bosses are probably the people who love the artificial sun the most. Eternal light means they can arbitrarily order their subordinates to keep working incessantly.

In a few hundred years, humans will probably adapt to a life with only the artificial sun, never again actively pursuing the night or seeking relief and rest.

By that time... even if Sky Ring Country becomes the number one in the world, what good will it do?

It will just be changing places to be slaves.

...The moon.

Yagyu, with a cigarette between his lips, gazed at the eternally unextinguished artificial sun and suddenly felt a strong yearning:

"...I really want to know what the moon is like."

Information from the old era wasn’t accessible to someone of his social status, but he had heard people describe it.

"The moon is a celestial body that orbits Azure Star, it’s a satellite. From the ground, it appears silvery white, occasionally showing hues of yellow or even red. Just gazing at the moon can bring peace. Since ancient times, there have been many legends about the moon, and in many places, it’s said that making a wish during a full moon will be answered."

Yagyu Soji exhaled a puff of smoke, seemingly entranced as he said:

"If the moon really could grant wishes... then let this nation cleanse its heart and return to the life that humanity should be living!"

No sooner had he spoken, a gentle breeze blew, the artificial sun continued to emit its bleak light, casting a metallic sheen over the land and everything in it as though it were coated in nickel.

’You have been away from your workstation for 7 minutes and 08 seconds, 09 seconds, 09 seconds... 09 seconds...’

There appeared to be a problem with his work badge, as it kept repeating the time, making Yagyu Soji feel even more embarrassed.

"Ah... What am I going on about, at my age."

Yagyu Soji rubbed his head, snuffed out the cigarette, and turned to leave:

"As if I could change this nation, how could that possibly happen?"

He tossed away the cigarette butt and opened the door to the rooftop.

Whoosh——————

A fierce gust of wind swept across his face. Yagyu Soji clutched the handrail tightly, nearly missing his step.

"Damn! What the hell is happening..."

Yagyu Soji steadied himself and looked ahead:

Behind the rooftop door, instead of the familiar stairwell, was a desolate and burning Purgatory!

Houjo Tower was cleft cleanly by some astonishing force, and the strong wind that howled over the rooftop left only a short section of the southern side of the building and part of the rooftop intact. Yagyu Soji looked around; the streets were crushed and ravaged by some immense power, police cars, armored cars, Mobile Armors twisted into iron balls the size of sesame seeds, carelessly strewn about the roadside.

The once nation-destroying weapons of murder had turned into clumps of industrial scrap metal, presenting a stark contrast that was visually shocking. Yagyu Soji almost failed to maintain his grip on the handrail, retreating several steps as overheard sonic booms pressed him to the ground—the continuous sea of drones and supersonic fighters breached the capital’s air defense zone, but just after they flew over his head, they fell like butterflies with their wings clipped, one after another plummeting to destruction.

The most startling part was that there was no sign of an attack, not even the sound of explosions when they fell.

"What in the world is going on?"

Yagyu Soji looked towards the ruins:

In the distance, that place seemed to be the Imperial Palace of the Ring King and the Sky Ring National Assembly Building, right?

Rustle, rustle, rustle————

As he still couldn’t make sense of the situation, his work badge suddenly emitted some static noise, then as if it had been hacked, a voice came through, shouting a few code calls before immediately switching to the language of Sky Ring, broadcasted:

"Notice to all citizens of Sky Ring Country:"

"This broadcast is to explain the ongoing political transition in Sky Ring Country."

"I am Gretto Yegg, one of the leaders of the Red Army. Now, with the help of the former followers of Li Aozi, we have successfully seized the capital Qiong’anjing, captured the former Head of State of Sky Ring – the Ring King, Yuan Zhengyi, and the former Prime Minister: Park Jung-soon. We have had a friendly meeting and have fully exchanged views, recognizing the handover of the government."

"Next, the country will be reorganized and re-elected by the Red Army. Before the state order is fully restored, the Red Army will establish a provisional government for the transition. Please cooperate with our work."

"The 1,700-year reign of oppression by the Ring King over the people comes to an end! Compatriots, the era of the Republic has arrived."