Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 746 - 355. Mephisto

Chapter 746: 355. Mephisto

"Are you kidding, Mr. Leoz?"

N4 laughed and said,

"I didn’t expect that after all this time, you’re still as humorous as ever. Your joke—well, let’s say it has a unique flavor."

Li Aozi looked at the other person as if he were looking at a little girl selling balloons by the roadside.

"Are you joking, right? Mr. Leoz?"

N4 gradually realized something was off.

"Do you really not remember me? Just five years ago, you were still transmitting the last piece of biochemical knowledge to me. After leaving Azure Star, you must have experienced a lot for these details to be so vague..."

"Azure Star..."

Li Aozi looked at the other person and then lowered his head, clenched his fist, and said without any emotional fluctuation,

"Where is it?"

He lifted his head, his cerulean eyes reflecting N4’s startled face.

"I am Leoz Dominet, President of Baizhu Star."

"No, wait..."

He lightly touched his forehead, his gaze confused.

"Where is Baizhu Star again?"

...........

Two weeks later.

Version 1.99 of "Starry Abyss" – [Contempt Maxim] entered its countdown stage.

The civil war in Sky Ring ended, and the Royalist war criminals were put on trial.

Gretto Yegg announced the formal establishment of the Sky Ring Democratic Republic and began organizing the first national election, with the financial family assets seized by Red Squad soldiers. The era of republic and democracy officially arrived.

Things were not so optimistic within the Frost Plating Federation. David Lyn’s iron-fisted policies caused a lot of entrepreneurs to collapse, joining the conservative faction of the White Plum Army. To save the Federation, David Lyn supported the formation of a civilian armed group—the New Rose Army.

It was said that the leader was a female worker with a diploma, either named Nomi or Amy. The New Rose Army established guerrilla bases everywhere in the civilian sector, using propaganda and railroad bombs to disrupt the White Plum Army’s rear.

The anti-terrorism war within Zhengxu had ended. Discrimination against Descenders and Electronic Immigrants had also eased, with more and more Electronic Immigrants integrating into the Azure Star’s cultural circle. Under arrangements by real-world companies, everyone was getting their ideal job positions.

More and more people disappointed with reality opted to join the ranks of Electronic Immigrants. It was no longer a shocking decision, as giving up reality to live and work in the virtual world became commonplace.

Regretfully, the Red Arrow Empire’s Emperor passed away due to organ failure. After just ending the war against the Apostle of Entropy, Crown Prince Rudolf hurried back to the Imperial Capital, hastily crowned, and became the 45th Emperor.

Comparatively, internal affairs in the Red Arrow Empire were relatively peaceful. The Monolith Church was on the verge of becoming the state religion, with followers of Leoz numbering in the tens of millions.

Rudolf adopted David Lyn’s approach, massively unsealing technology. Under the assistance of many Gamma Rank talents, technology was rapidly converted into productivity. Although there was no split due to overwhelming martial force from numerous Gamma Rank, the law and order situation still deteriorated significantly.

What was even more worrying was that the Four Nations all began to realize one point.

The current system could no longer sustain so many Transcendents.

If the Ersha Sky Curtain of Azure Star was not resolved to bring back the light, the resources on Azure Star would not last long-term.

But the critical issue was—the strength of Lord Entropy started manifesting greatly. The Apostles of Entropy, who were transformed and polluted, began stepping onto the planet’s surface, conducting terrorist attacks and assassinations in broad daylight, causing widespread panic.

Even a specialized nation like the Frost Plating Federation struggled to cope with the increasingly frequent attacks by Apostles of Entropy.

To gain enough time, the Four Nations of Azure Star began migrating underground, periodically setting off nuclear blasts against the Ersha Sky Curtain to block the Ersha’s descent.

However, such actions were just a temporary solution.

The flames of nuclear blasts could only buy a few months, and even if the Four Nations expedited the production of hydrogen bombs, it would only extend the time to a maximum.

This, however, was already the production limit of Azure Star.

President David Lyn of the Frost Plating Federation had announced the total evacuation to the Underground City. Thousands of underground fortresses were hurriedly being constructed. To gather manpower, David Lyn even promised the captive members of the White Plum Army a chance to labor off their crimes.

The world temporarily quieted down, but it was not due to peace.

Everyone was keenly aware,

The apocalypse was approaching.

"Tune in for the Starry Abyss Weekly Report every Friday at 8 PM. I am your old friend, Johnny Stein, and this is my sidekick, Dewey."

A host with a Mediterranean bald head, wearing a duck-faced mask, drooped his dead fish eyes, lifelessly standing in a cheap studio, holding a card, and said weakly,

"The first season of ’Starry Abyss’ has been concluded for two weeks, but the hype has not died down. Various clubs have realized the importance of support personnel for a good team and started recruiting logistics players externally. Sensing this business opportunity, some studios began offering labor dispatch services, willing to provide top-notch professional full-time players to major guilds."

The camera turned to the podium on the side, and the female host with a wolf-tail hairstyle immediately quipped,

"I do labor dispatch outsourcing in reality, and now I’m still doing labor dispatch gigs in the game—did I not come to the virtual world for nothing?"

Johnny Stein chuckled,

"You can’t say that. At least in the game, when the boss owes you money, you can kill the boss a few times to vent your anger."

"Is it possible that bosses are all non-gamers who blindly give orders?" Dewey retorted.

"Although this sounds very cyberpunk, it doesn’t affect us common-handed players, and we won’t be the ones getting the short end of the stick."

Johnny Stein flicked his card,

"Let’s check out the next piece of news."

"Qiqiao Network has also announced that they will launch large-scale team battles in the second season — currently planned as 64 VS 64 medium-sized matches. The map will also be expanded two hundred times larger than the 6 VS 6 maps. They will generate war vehicles, apocalyptic beasts, and other auxiliary units for players to choose from, greatly enriching the player confrontations."

Dewey spread her hands, "Great, now after cyber labor, we have cyber military service again — ’Starry Abyss,’ a better fit than ’Battlefield’ for Fiery Summer babies."

"Launching large battles is quite normal, honestly. Those who have watched the matches know, whether it’s 6vs6 team competitions or 1vs1 duels, there’s a very realistic viewing threshold—you need a detailed understanding of the combat configuration of both sides to better appreciate the match process."

Johnny Stein explained eloquently,

"But for large battles, you don’t need to consider that much. You just need to know ’this team is the provincial team, and this team is the foreign team,’ then watch the artillery bombardment. The director inserts exciting skirmishes from smaller squads in alleyways—Do you go out of your way to remember names when watching war movies? Of course not. Your eyes fixate on the gunfire effects and the destructive power. Your hormones surge rapidly, making you wish to join the frontline yourself—whether or not you understand the combatants’ information is irrelevant. Just admit it, watching war movies is thrilling!"

"That makes a lot of sense." Dewey slapped the wooden table excitedly and said, "I can barely wait, bring it on!"

"For us regular gamers, the first two news pieces might not feel significant. Let’s look at the latest news."

Johnny Stein flicked the card and read,

"Players in the Ajincour District successfully planted underwater wheat at Valkyrie Fortress-Frontier Star, resulting in a substantial yield increase. This batch of grain is expected to be exported in large quantities to the neighboring Fiery Summer District’s second planet—Baizhu Star."