Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 740 - 349. Border

Chapter 740: 349. Border

The overturned vehicle was slowly righted by construction machinery, and the people trapped underneath struggled to crawl out.

"Cough, cough... cough—huff!"

The armed Mobile Squad captain, Wengska, struggled to arch his body while people nearby quickly patted his back to help expel the radiation-infused rainwater congesting his chest.

"Ugh—puah! Ptui, ptui, ptui... huff!"

His body convulsed rapidly, his muscles spasmed, and he knelt on the ground until a doctor came over and injected him with Alige; the power of the Void quickly took effect within him, his veins flushed with purple energy. For a moment, his body seemed to be devoured by a purple light.

It took several tens of seconds for him to recover, his wounds healed, and the connective tissue nurtured by the Void reconnected his broken bones.

"Welcome back from hell, Captain Wengska."

The doctor, wearing a bird beak mask, squatted down; his gear resembled more that of a fierce warrior. He looked at Wengska through his gas mask and said,

"All your teammates are dead, and the Blockade Bodies you were escorting are missing—tell me, what exactly happened?"

"Knight Aiwens, cough, cough—"

Wengska spit out a mouthful of congealed blood, steadied himself, and said,

"It was a mutiny. We were suddenly attacked by a knight sent by the Kingdom Parliament. At the time of the incident, the Substance Rain had already begun. In the confined space, we were no match for her; she took all of us down in just a few moves. Only I was lucky—hooked by a seatbelt, hanging upside down for a full three days... which kept me from being consumed and killed by the Substance Rain."

"Knights of the Kingdom Parliament never mutiny. They not only enjoy a very high salary but also hold prestigious status; there is no reason for them to betray."

Knight Aiwens shook his head, pressing further,

"Which knight betrayed and killed your team?"

"Sir, it was Merid Fenny."

"Merid Fenny—a woman?"

Aiwens repeated the name,

Wengska’s facial muscles were burned by radiation, his skin burst open, and every time he spoke, he squinted his eyes, his voice as hoarse as a bellows:

"Yes, she has purple hair and purple eyes, tall and slim, with a frivolous demeanor, seeming quite unprofessional. After defeating the Fermi Research Institute’s convoy, we should have immediately returned, but as we passed through the forest, she suddenly turned on us and defeated us all."

"However."

Aiwens said,

"In the Kingdom Parliament, there’s no such knight."

"There’s no female knight named Merid Fenny, nor any knight named Merid Fenny."

——————————

"What the hell, what monster?"

Li Aozi was taken aback, instinctively letting go, causing the Shar Pei to immediately fall to the ground. It humanly yelped, resentfully glaring at Li Aozi:

"You look quite handsome, so why insult people with your words?"

"Blame me, huh? You yourself look truly frightening..."

Li Aozi shrugged, paused, then reconsidered:

"... Insult ’people’?"

Li Aozi raised an eyebrow, looking at the small animals crowding around Merid.

Something was off.

Not to mention the phenomenon of animals talking, which is actually quite common in the universe, but normal cats and dogs, no matter how close to humans, don’t usually look so much like humans.

These animals, with facial features closely resembling those of humans, included a gray hen that even sported a middle-parted hairstyle. Including the Shar Pei, these animals had far too many human-like traits and gestures, filled with human-like tilting of the head, excitement, and confusion.

Li Aozi couldn’t help but ask:

"Merid, could these animals possibly be...?"

"Yes, they were humans."

Merid spoke blandly, pulling out a bag of glucose solution from her bosom, pouring it into a porcelain bowl, whereupon several animals quickly gathered to feast.

Li Aozi moved closer to her, observing Merid’s expression. She felt neither relief nor a hint of relaxation. Feeding these humans turned animals seemed to have no emotional impact on her whatsoever.

"I know what you want to ask."

Merid, supporting her chin, said calmly:

"This is a village near the occupied area, also known as the so-called Kingdom border. Being close to the Void zone, various Blockade Bodies have scattered about. Apart from Bounty Hunters eager to strike it rich, hardly anyone approaches."

"The Kingdom deliberately refrains from informing the people here to evacuate, letting them perish on their own to slow down the pace of the Void—only when purple patches emerge on their bodies as the Void’s infection draws close do they flee in panic."

"Most adults dragged their families and fled, but most were annihilated by the Substance Rain on the way. Even those who miraculously survived had the Fermi Research Institute’s mobile units pick them out and contain the Infected—perchance in the name of protection, but realistically as guinea pigs for various drug trials to ’test out lifesaving drugs for humanity.’

The small animals ate carelessly, and the bowl of glucose was quickly emptied. Merid unhurriedly retrieved bread, cereal, and ham from her backpack.

"Wow, this is so delicious!" "I never want to chew on bark again." "Without Sister Merid, I really couldn’t survive a day."

Li Aozi watched the small animals scattered on the ground, and from their naive and tender statements, he understood their identities.

"Are these... all abandoned children?"

Li Aozi asked.

"There were some elderly as well, but, having turned into animals not long ago, their organ functions soon failed—it’s not hard to understand. The lifespan of animals is usually much shorter than that of humans; an 80-year-old person, transformed into an 80-year-old animal, would have already deteriorated completely."

Merid evenly distributed the food, then stood up.

"Follow me."

Saying this, she led Li Aozi down the main road of the village, up a small hill, across stone steps covered by fallen leaves to a small, quaint shrine that soon came into view.

Merid walked up and gently shook the rope bell, then put her left hand over her right wrist and bowed her head to pray silently for a while. Li Aozi faintly heard her whisper:

"Retain the thousand truths, break the illusion, and reveal the reality ... "

After a string of strange incantations, the tightly shut wooden doors of the shrine suddenly opened, revealing a dim hall inside.

Li Aozi stepped forward, his heart tensing as the part of his Super Gene Sequence related to "Sequence 9: Gravity" began to stir, seemingly struggling to break free from his body and move toward the inside.

[This is—]

Li Aozi held his body still, adjusting some Gene Fragments to soothe the Super Gene Sequence within him, his expression solemn.

He knew what this meant.

[Gravity] not only served as one of the top ten in Sequential Arcane Energy, but it also belonged to another system, one that has a strong resonating response with certain Arcane Energies.

In an environment like this, the only reason that could cause a strong resonance with [Gravity] was clear.

Merid took off her shoes, stepped barefoot into the hall, and bent slightly forward to bow calmly, saying:

"I have brought the person over to you, Enrique."