Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 628 - 243. Secret Visitor

Chapter 628: 243. Secret Visitor

[You have disconnected from "Starry Abyss"]

"Phew... Finally finished the task at hand."

Jiaozi Niu rubbed his head, got up from the game pod, and habitually clenched his fists, trying to adjust his physical condition with Qi Energy.

Of course, there was no such thing as Qi Energy in reality. All that was left for him was a dizziness from overusing his brain and being highly concentrated.

"You played for 27 hours this time. Excessive gaming is detrimental to your health."

He could only shrug and accept the nutrient solution handed over by the synthetic human VT, wiping his mouth:

"No choice, this mission was intense. We had a fight with the "Society." Damn, the whole process was so thrilling; you have no idea. We were controlling Delta-rank Growth-armored Vanguards tearing through the mechanical crowd. It was more exhilarating than any action movie I’ve seen!"

"It must have been spectacular. I can already imagine your majestic figure. I am sure you enjoyed yourself a lot." VT read from the content dryly, then reminded him: "Since your playing time is over, shouldn’t you prepare to go out now?"

"...Go out?"

"You have an appointment with Miss Xia Yubing..."

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

Jiaozi Niu smacked his forehead:

"Today is the day I meet Xia Yubing. Damn it, I’m going to be late! I need to leave immediately. VT, call me a car, I’m going to change clothes right now."

VT said rigidly, "Sincere suggestion: When meeting a girl, you should at least take a shower to stay fresh."

Jiaozi Niu grabbed a piece of bread, threw on a coat, and hurried out the door.

"No time! I’ll just go like this!"

VT said matter-of-factly:

"Mr. Jiaozi Niu, if you manage to get a girlfriend, it won’t be due to emotional intelligence; it must be because she’s deaf..."

"Huh? What did you say? The elevator doors are closing. Whatever, tell Cumin Powder I won’t be running errands this afternoon. Don’t wait for me. Bye!"

Sitting in the capsule train, Jiaozi Niu took a deep breath to calm himself, looked at the briefcase in his hand, and muttered:

"VT is overreacting. I see Xia Yubing just as a friend, plus I didn’t even choose a proper gift..."

In reality, he wasn’t good at social interactions.

In the game, he could deceive NPCs with camouflage mode, and with the exchange of explicit images and his gaming skills, he could get along well with top players like Cumin Powder and Night Fighting Sword.

But in reality, he was just an average tech geek from a decent family who often got shy and anxious in social situations.

Xia Yubing, Wen Long, The President — and the late Li Zi — were among his few friends he regularly interacted with.

After joining "Starry Abyss," he ended up on Baizhu Star while his friends remained on Azure Star, so they rarely had the chance to meet.

’I hope the next version allows interactivity with Azure Star. Haven’t played with the club members for a while.’

Thinking this, he plugged in his earphones and started browsing the forum:

"Breaking news! First major incident on Azure Star! Gretto successfully seized power of Tianhuan and liberated Qiong’anjing!"

"Tianhuan’s Red-White war is imminent. Various factions are recruiting troops. Major changes in Tianhuan. What path will Eastern nations take?"

"Guild recruiting! Players with Royalist tendencies, come to Bingze North City and join us. Success will bring you great merit!"

"How is it that there’s still a king in this day and age? Down with the Royalist faction! Serve Tianhuan People’s Army! Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!"

Jiaozi Niu scrolled for a long time and couldn’t help but sigh.

Today’s posts were as chaotic as ever.

Beep beep —

"Hmm? What has the forum pushed to me now?"

Jiaozi Niu clicked on the push notification, and a line of bold letters caught his eye:

[Version Update Preview]: "Contempt Maxim" 1.56.ver

[Level Cap Liberation]: Alpha Stage lv.30 — Gamma Rank lv.80

[Initial Level]: Raised to Alpha Stage lv.30 (Starting level for new accounts)

[Time has brought more changes to Azure Star.]

"Sniping Empire": Shadows of evil spread uncontrollably within the Red Arrow territory. Citizens of the Empire, act quickly — a second faction, "Apostle of Entropy," has emerged in Red Arrow Empire!

"White Plum Frost Snow": David Lyn’s deep reforms continue, but they also expose the contradictions within Frost Plated — a second faction, "White Plum Army," appears in Frost Plated!

"Red and White Civil War": Prime Minister Gretto vows to build an egalitarian republic, but former Prime Minister’s brother, Park Jung-tae, secretly amasses his own power — the revolution is coming!

Sky Ring will split into two factions: Republicans (Gretto’s side) and Royalists (Park Jung-tae’s side). Choose your faction and serve Sky Ring!

"Rising Tides": The Zhengxu Democratic Republic now has over ten thousand electronic immigrants. This is our new homeland, but ill-intentioned individuals are already targeting it. Find and eliminate them — pseudo-humans, Society citizens, and Apostles of Entropy have increased within Zhengxu.

[Head Hunter Company Advertisement]: Due to business expansion in new areas, Mingji Heavy Industries is recruiting more talents, opening various positions and special agent roles for players. Welcome to join Mingji Heavy Industries.

[New Origin]: Mingji Staff (Limited to "Biochemist")

[Monolith Doctrine]: The religious organization specializing in cultivating Arcane Users — Monolith Church — is spreading widely in Red Arrow regions. For those feeling lost with the use of Arcane Energy, this might be a good choice. But their deity is quite different and seems to be called... Leoz?

[New Origin]: Monolith Believer (Limited to "Mutant")

[Mechanical Apprentice]: From the Outer World, a signal has been sent: a mysterious Mechanical Mentor invites you. He hopes you will accept his guidance and use your skills to serve more people.

[New Origin]: Wandering Geek (Limited to "Mechanic")

......

After handling his tasks, Li Aozi declined Gretto’s retention. He tidied up a bit and set off for a nearby area to search for information on the former Mingji Humanity-trained Ersha Armament — Zonia.

The process was not smooth, so Li Aozi switched back to his main account and used gravitational waves to post a task on Azure Star for gathering information.

He had a substantial amount of experience at hand; casually offering ten million prompted tens of thousands of players to accept the task. Adding a discount on renting Arcane Energy would attract players to White Obelisk.

While players gathered intelligence, Li Aozi began his simulation management.

Most players were inclined to join Monolith Church. After all, the two deities "Suffering" and "Death" provided bonuses that were very tempting to players.

"Smile of Suffering" — When you and your followers endure pain or defeat, you accumulate "Suffering" points, which can be exchanged for experience.

"Prison of Death" — You and your followers gain a revival opportunity in battle (once per natural day).

Your followers can devour the souls of the deceased to obtain the memory, specialty, or skills of the dead. This ability also works on soul crystallization.

These two boosts did not directly increase combat power but greatly facilitated player growth and raised the margin for error.

Regular players, upon dying in battle, could only respawn at temporary respawn points and save points.

Leoz’s followers not only got an extra revival chance but also could stand up right where they fell.

These two synergistic talents gave players greater confidence to challenge difficult enemies since losing would still accumulate suffering points, which could be exchanged for experience without loss. The extra revival chance also increased their likelihood of completing kills.

The key was that Li Aozi held a monopoly in this regard. Other religions on Azure Star were just false gods, offering minor boosts like increased attack power, improved toxin resistance, or defense against being haunted by spiritual bodies.

Monolith Church directly improved the game experience, making players who initially felt "Mutant" was a prison system quickly become the favored class of the version.

Even if not all players converted to Monolith Church and became Leoz’s followers, just the mass movement of people would significantly boost the church’s economy.

When "Mutant" players arrived near the White Obelisk, they immediately realized its benefits and couldn’t wait to join.

For ordinary players, buying a house near Monolith Church was a sound investment. It was safe there, and the Pathway buildings provided nourishment, making it a good financial product even if purchased for investment alone.

Li Aozi was adept at managing traffic, seizing every opportunity to promote Monolith Church. Sometimes it was tourism, sometimes local cuisine, sometimes charity events, working tirelessly to expand the church’s influence.

The results were evident. The once remote and fringe Erga City saw a twelve-fold increase in property prices, thirty thousand more permanent residents, and a continuous influx of native residents, players, and Outer World immigrants into Monolith Church.

In a few days, the church’s cash reserves exceeded Erga City’s three-year GDP. Intense population activity also led to several criminal cases, including serious terrorist incidents, but all were contained by Monolith Church’s Beta Rank Senior Priests.

Overall, the situation was excellent.

With Li Aozi’s careful planning, the church’s assets grew larger, and the population began increasing. He even considered starting a real estate company or a bank to manage it all.

Li Aozi’s methods weren’t exceptional; it was mainly that a year ago, after many people settled there, the newborns started arriving.

At least 30% of the second-generation immigrants detected Arcane Genes in their bodies, most commonly "Gravity" and "Eye of Truth."

These were the highest quality congenital Arcane Users. If they could smoothly grow to eight years old, they could receive the "Mutant" system’s education.

The other newborns, influenced by the White Obelisk, would find it easier to become "Mutants" in the future.

To this end, Li Aozi quickly worked to establish specialized transcendent education institutions within Monolith Church’s territory.

With these in place, the immigrant families felt more secure working, spending, and living there. Coupled with increasing population flow, various industries, if not prosperous, were at least thriving.

If Erga City’s mayor knew Li Aozi controlled Monolith Church, he would probably bow to him.

In such a situation, even if chickens were running the operation, they would still kill it.

While Li Aozi managed religion and city revitalization, a piece of news caught his attention.

"Zonia has been found, but..."

Li Aozi looked at the information reported by the players with a strange gaze:

"... the target is now with the "White Knights?"

"White Knights," didn’t I already kill them?

If it wasn’t a special Professional that revived him, it must mean the entire council was here.

The latter was unlikely — after all, without "Tailor" Yawen, the Secret Council couldn’t be complete.

"So, it must be the former."

Li Aozi touched his chin:

"It seems the "Secret Society" has many claws on Azure Star..."

But his claws on Azure Star were even more hidden than the Secret Society’s.