Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 65 - 052. What you love is your life

Chapter 65: 052. What you love is your life

Bang!

The tavern door was kicked open. The numb patrons didn’t even bother to look up at the new guest. They kept pouring alcohol down their throats, hoping that the chrome-plated nerves would be numbed by the booze, getting them just a little further away from this shithole of reality.

The bartender raised his rough electronic eye and glanced at the ’scavenger’ who carried a makeshift firearm, his arms wrapped in chains. The newcomer, with his female companion, approached the bar and casually tossed a fluorescent bottle cap, saying skillfully:

"A bullet glass of vodka with ice, mixed with a little cola. And a cup of hot water for the lady."

"Sorry to say, we don’t have such grand drinks."

The bartender shrugged and handed Li Aozi a cup of warm beer and a cup of hot water:

"You know David well. I dare say, you’re the classiest scavenger around. This one’s on me."

Qiu Ran hesitated as she eyed the white residue floating at the bottom of the wooden cup, the environment making her doubt the water’s source.

"Thanks, buddy."

Li Aozi raised his beer glass but didn’t rush to drink. Through his mask, he glanced at the old man adjusting a revolver beside him, eyeing the silver-gray revolver in his hand, and asked aloud:

"Life-Fighting Vick—is it from 199?"

"Heberon Arsenal."

The bearded old man, looking dejected, responded nonchalantly:

"Guys like you scavengers shouldn’t be interested in stuff less than thirty years old, right?"

"Weapons are an exception. Only fire and Kalashnikovs can bring a bit of warmth in this cold era."

Li Aozi chuckled softly:

"Zhengxu Democratic Republic, the most peaceful of the Four Nations, but its Heberon Arsenal manufactures weapons that kill nearly two hundred million people every year. That’s the best ad."

Click.

The old man opened the bullet chamber, inserted a bullet, and raised his head. His bright yellow eyes stared at Li Aozi; his face’s wrinkles were deeper than the lines on the floor. Only those eyes seemed to pierce through spacetime, shining brightly, reflecting Li Aozi’s face.

"A word of advice," the old man said, "Enjoy life to the fullest, because you don’t have much time left."

As he finished speaking, the entire tavern’s atmosphere froze.

"Has Old Dmitry got some shitty chip in his head?"

Someone muttered:

"That’s a scavenger. Just a blink ago, Ruben, Yuri, and Zhao Ming lost their lives. Does he think he’s lived long enough?"

"Shh, keep it down. Old Dmitry deals in curses. Whoever he says doesn’t have much time left, they’re already..."

"Cough cough, um, let’s keep drinking."

Li Aozi twirled his beer glass, surveying the old man known as Dmitry through the amber liquid.

This was an indispensable part of completing the Blood Demon Style. Li Aozi could assure that only this old man could craft jewelry equipment in the early stages of Frost Plated.

Jewelry equipment, if you forgo weapon equipment, could theoretically equip up to fourteen pieces, with totem tattoos adding even more.

This type of equipment had no eligibility threshold and wouldn’t cause underperformance due to insufficient attributes, making it highly suitable for the Mutant occupation with low attributes.

Because his Charm attribute was high and he knew some lore, he bypassed the tedious authentication and chatting process, immediately reaching the task-triggering phase.

In comparison, others would spend at least two days identifying the weapon’s origins and chatting ceaselessly with the old man before Dmitry would remind them of their short lifespan.

Now, just one thing was needed.

"Can you see I don’t have long to live?"

Li Aozi asked calmly.

"My personal ability. It’s a curse to me as well."

Old Dmitry picked up the revolver, quickly spun the bullet chamber, and with a clatter, pushed it to Li Aozi:

"Death isn’t scary. But not witnessing death would be a pity."

"What’s this about?" Qiu Ran asked, confused.

"Lucia Roulette. You saw it; there’s only one bullet in the gun. Each time the trigger’s pulled, if it’s an empty slot, the chamber rotates until the last bullet is fired."

Old Dmitry stared at Li Aozi:

"If you have the determination to surpass death, I’ll ensure you see a picture more beautiful than anything—the one painted and written by the Death Goddess Benicia herself."

"Wait! You mean have him fire this gun at himself?"

Qiu Ran clutched Li Aozi’s arm anxiously:

"You, don’t be stupid. This is too dangerous."

"Trust me."

Li Aozi patted her shoulder, speaking gently:

"I’m a person who cherishes life."

The next moment, he picked up the revolver from the table, aimed it at his temple, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

Click!

"Ah!" Qiu Ran closed her eyes and screamed.

The bullet didn’t fire; it was empty.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Li Aozi removed his mask and hood, revealing his pale face. He raised the revolver, pressing it tightly against his temple, smiling slightly:

"This way, it’s open and transparent."

He then pulled the trigger again.

Click!

The bullet still didn’t fire.

"Hey, that’s enough. Stop it..." Qiu Ran’s voice trembled.

The whole tavern watched this rare scene. A scavenger, so young and talented, facing the roulette so calmly, everyone was in awe.

"Don’t rush."

Li Aozi smiled and pulled the trigger once more.

Click!

The crisp sound of the pin striking the empty chamber echoed again.

Three empty shots in a row, with only six bullets in the revolver, meant that the probability of the next shot being lethal had increased to one-third.

"Stop it, it’s too dangerous."

Qiu Ran was almost in tears:

"If I watch you die in front of me and do nothing, I’ll regret it forever."

"My life is mine alone; no one else can control it."

Li Aozi calmly pulled the trigger again.

Click!

Hearing the unusual sound, Qiu Ran’s heart sank. She closed her eyes, biting her lip, tightly holding Li Aozi’s left hand:

"Don’t die, please, I beg you, don’t die..."

"Huh?"

Li Aozi’s voice suddenly rang out, carrying a hint of amusement:

"Old man, you didn’t maintain your gun. The air-tight structure is loosened."

Dmitry stared at Li Aozi:

"There are two shots left. Due to the gun’s malfunction, you’ve already passed—"

Swoosh!

Li Aozi suddenly spun the chamber.

"No."

Gray eyes filled with crazed glee:

"I’m not a sore loser—let’s recount!"

Dmitry’s pupils contracted; even he hadn’t expected anyone to be so insane.

"You—"

Click.

Li Aozi aimed the gun at his temple, showing a relaxed smile.

"Honestly, the Death Goddess is nothing."

He said:

"She’s just an antiquated maiden with padded breasts."

With that, Li Aozi pulled the trigger continuously.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Six consecutive shots, all empty.

The entire tavern was stunned, watching Li Aozi as if witnessing a deity.

Li Aozi slowly raised the revolver, aimed it at the ceiling, and pulled the trigger once more.

Bang!

This time, the gun fired. The bullet lodged into the tavern’s beam, deeply denting it. Li Aozi waved, and the bullet fell into his beer.

Whoosh...

The fully metal-clad bullet frothed and settled in the beer, making the already cold beer warm again.

Li Aozi pushed this bullet beer to Old Dmitry. His gray eyes lost their golden glint gradually.

"Life-Fighting Vick has seven bullets. You let me have the first six; the next six, Fate hurriedly handed to me out of fear."

"I may not have long, but—"

Li Aozi raised the bullet beer and drained it in one gulp.

Gulp gulp—pah!

He spat out the smoking, flaming bullet head, slapped the revolver on the table with a confident smile:

"Until then, my life, my rules."

Clink clank clang clank—

The steel-cored bullet spun on the table like a fate-twirling top. Finally, it stopped, head pointed at Li Aozi.

Click.

Old Dmitry took a deep breath and put away the revolver, looking solemnly at Li Aozi:

"You genuinely control your destiny. I respect you. Come with me; I have something to give you. No one else is more suited for it."

[You have triggered the Life Task: "Death Craftsman Dmitry"]

[Life Tasks can only be triggered once. Completing them will grant you an additional lifestyle profession, "Craftsman" (cannot be leveled up, does not occupy the total level)]

Li Aozi gave a faint smile.

[Craftsman]

That was precisely the lifestyle profession he wanted.

Although lifestyle professions couldn’t be leveled up, they could be advanced and changed, not taking up total level and experience, offering some skills—very cost-effective.

[Craftsman] was one of the most suitable lifestyle professions for the Meteor Fall Master, not only for learning various knowledge, crafting both scientific and magical items, but also for adapting to the varied environments of the future Starry Abyss.

In later stages, [Craftsman] could be promoted to a very powerful profession: [Creator of Objective Worlds and Material Existence]

Such a long name was clearly a result of machine translation.

Players usually simply and crudely called it—the Creator.