Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 686: Intercept in Space

Chapter 686: Intercept in Space

Newbie City time, October 9, 9:49 AM.

The No. 1 Star Harbor of the Baizhu Autonomous State started to get busy as the government of Baizhu Star, in order to conceal the President’s travel, did not charter a private jet but instead took a commercial flight.

Honestly, had it not been for an informant providing intelligence, it would be hard to believe that a nation’s President would travel on a regular commercial airline, keeping it extremely low-profile, yet this drew Nariya’s attention even more.

This visit wasn’t for state affairs, so what could possibly attract Li Aozi to leave his stronghold alone?

"Now reporting the situation, the target has already boarded the orbital elevator and is ascending. In 10 minutes, he will arrive at the star harbor,"

Nephis stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the third floor of the terminal building, dressed in stylish and resplendent clothing, with her face and features disguised, showing a large expanse of flawless skin, wearing sunglasses. Apart from appearing quite charming, she looked just like an ordinary tourist.

Personnel involved in this operation were all covertly disguised among the crowd, some even infiltrated the crew, deploying jamming devices on the flight Li Aozi was aboard. They had specialized mechanics responsible for altering the flight path; once the spaceship left the star harbor, it would step-by-step enter into a pre-arranged trap.

Of course, the ordinary passengers on the spaceship were also crucial; the cabin crew, already bribed, would take charge of controlling the civilians.

If necessary, they could be used as hostages to coerce Li Aozi into not taking action—after all, Li Aozi was just a sudden oligarch with little popular support. If a scandal erupted, like accidentally injuring civilians, it would easily tarnish his political career.

The plan was named ’Star Hunting’.

If up to this point, it seemed to be just a normal hijacking plan, then the gambling Zeta Rank (6) specially called from within the narrative added a final level of insurance to the operation.

As one of the two paths of the Raiding series, the Gambler lacked combat ability, but in its stead, his ability to predict fate and the future was superior to other paths.

Li Aozi had defeated the thug Canyue, demonstrating that he was not weak; deploying two Zeta Ranks to encircle him was definitely not an overuse of resources.

Such preparations were almost foolproof.

Nariya put down her tablet, having no mood to even engage in stock trading; she kept a close watch on the situation. Although she felt assured of victory, as a competent capitalist, she could not relax her vigilance before seeing tangible benefits.

Capital is a shining, gold-scaled serpent. Following it, one could indeed pick up its scales and amass wealth, but blindly following it meant the snake could reveal its venomous fangs, and one misstep could result in being fatally bitten, then swallowed whole, left to scream and struggle in the vast market without a single drop of blood left for the human world.

"Patience, calm, rationality."

Nariya believed in her capabilities and arrangement. In violent actions, she usually avoided complicating details as the more components there were, the more prone they were to issues during execution.

Five years prior, Andrew Velazquez, while already plotting as the Crown Prince, acquired Leoz; however, Leoz, engrossed in his studies in Baizhu Star and not meeting outsiders, thwarted their plans for infiltration and contact.

Now, Andrew no longer wanted to wait. As Leoz’s influence gradually expanded, if allowed to continue, he might soon meet him as an equal, which Andrew could not tolerate.

Working together naturally involved profits, but subjugating him was an offer Andrew found irresistible.

For someone who, at Gamma Rank (3), could withstand an attack from three Zeta Ranks (6) right under their eyes, and clear out company personnel, such people were rare but not nonexistent; it was just that no one had paid attention to them before.

Furthermore, shortly after advancing to Zeta Rank (6), to single-handedly kill the long-infamous thug Canyue was impressive enough.

But following that, repeatedly decimating three great Senators of the Mechanical World Society, overturning desperate situations, resisting invasion from the Society, driving them out—such acts were acts of valor, bordering on legendary.

Continuing like this, if Leoz kept building on his past deeds along with his own immense charm, his power would grow enormously.

Andrew did not want to see Leoz become too powerful. He could be powerful, but it had to be on his side, under his control; Leoz could grow as strong as he wanted then.

But an independent, autonomous Leoz was not what he desired to see.

"Once this operation succeeds, I’ll become Andrew’s right-hand, and my status and reputation in the company will rise. But as for the heir’s throne..."

Nariya mused briefly, deciding to abandon that thought for now.

Andrew’s position was nearly unshakable, but perhaps she could gradually shift the power in his hands over to herself.

Like this operation, using the war machine ’Gabros’—which was also Nephis, quietly waiting in ambush in the terminal; if this operation succeeds, control of this mighty killing machine would effectively fall into her hands.

No matter what, it must succeed.

Nariya was all prepared; all she needed now was to pray for the blessing of Redd Gold.

9:56, 9:57, 9:58...

A commotion at the entrance of the waiting hall, a batch of new passengers came in, laughing and talking, including many merchants going to do business in the Interstellar Alliance Starfield, or students studying abroad.

Thanks to Leoz’s active engagement with interstellar civilization, the residents of Baizhu Star also enhanced their understanding of the outside world, and trade activities became common.

Among these people, a young and handsome youth caught the attention of the watchers. He was dressed in casual attire, worn-out canvas pants, a gray jacket, and a white shirt, with a breathing mask covering his face.

However, one could disguise the exterior, biometric information cannot lie.

[Genetic comparison complete—similarity 97%—target confirmed]

"All units, pay attention," Leoz has appeared, is passing by the restroom, passing by the tea room, passing by gate B12, he has stopped, is now looking around in the duty-free shop at customs, he has picked up a book ’Secrets of Success,’ no weapons on him, confirm, he is not carrying any weapons."

The observer constantly reported on Li Aozi’s movements while other personnel quickly followed up. Nephis followed calmly from the bay window. She was on the same spaceship with Li Aozi, maintaining a certain distance to avoid the disparity of being detected by his Zeta Rank aura.

Li Aozi looked casual, completely unaware that he had been targeted—for his travel was low-key, further disguised by his Implant Gear body, and he had no relentless enemies, he probably couldn’t imagine that he was being targeted now.

However, ninety percent of terrorist attacks occur under the condition that ’the authorities believe it is impossible to happen.’

The more one thinks they are underestimating the enemy and that there are no security risks, the more likely they are to relax their guard and face various problems.

Li Aozi carried a light shoulder bag, looking like a short-term traveler. He didn’t even react when passing through security, nor did he carry any liquids or metals, indicating that his defensive capabilities were at their lowest at the moment.

He scrolled through his terminal, passed through the turnstile, and then boarded the rail, heading for the boarding gate. Nephis followed closely behind, purposefully missing a train to always stay out of his perceptual range.

As a Zeta Rank "Barbarian Fighter," her ability to conceal her presence was excellent, but she still maintained the highest degree of error tolerance. After all, as an "Sovereign" series Arcane User, his abilities could change at any time.

Li Aozi boarded the plane smoothly. Nephis followed silently behind him, maintaining a distance of 12 meters. With her explosive power, this distance was absolutely enough to subdue him before he could react and activate his Arcane Energy.

At this time, Li Aozi was blissfully unaware of his peril. He leisurely made his way to the economy class and found his seat near the window.

For a Zeta Rank, moving within the cosmos for short periods wasn’t a problem; he chose this seat obviously to have an escape route through the window in case of emergency.

The idea was good, but Nariya had foreseen even this.

No sooner had Li Aozi sat down than a woman carrying a child immediately approached him with an apologetic face:

"I’m really sorry to disturb you, sir. My child really wants to see the starry sky. May we switch seats with you?"

Li Aozi glanced at the baby girl in her arms, her big black eyes shimmering with anticipation and joy. As soon as she made eye contact with Li Aozi, she immediately burst into laughter.

"Hee hee..."

Li Aozi immediately smiled,

"No problem, just switching seats, of course."

As he spoke, he also teased the baby girl:

"The starry sky is beautiful, but don’t stare at the sun for too long. It might burn, you know."

The girl blinked, not understanding what Li Aozi meant.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it."

The woman thanked him repeatedly, but Li Aozi noticed that her hands were trembling a bit.

"Are you okay?" Li Aozi asked casually.

"Oh, I’m fine, I’m fine," the woman waved her hand.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Li Aozi pressed.

The woman grinned, revealing an awkward smile as sweat appeared on her forehead, yet she still insisted:

"Maybe I’m just a little tired, it’s nothing."

"Alright then."

Li Aozi shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

The moment he turned away, the woman immediately bowed her head, patting her chest, a look of self-reproach on her face.

"I’m sorry, sir, I’m really sorry...but I really had no choice..."

She said troubledly:

"I hope everything will be alright..."

Once they swapped places, Li Aozi immediately moved to a seat in the middle of the cabin, which didn’t bother him.

"Good, everything is going according to plan."

Nephis nodded, sitting two rows behind Li Aozi. The man next to her glanced at her, his eyes lit up and he immediately tried to start a conversation:

"Hey, did you come here alone—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Nephis slightly pulled down her sunglasses, revealing her serrated purple pupils. The primal Wilderness fear aura immediately hit him in the face.