Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 748 - 357. Lai Anding Medical Protocol

Chapter 748: 357. Lai Anding Medical Protocol

"Please sit down, Kiddo."

The giant woman who called herself Lai Anding waved her hand, then sat down herself. Her enormous figure did not seem out of place at all, thanks to her perfect proportions and unique mature charm, which stirred one’s imagination: how wonderful it would be if she still had long hair.

However, Kiddo did not share this pleasant feeling. He had been blindfolded and escorted here by dozens of heavily armed men.

He looked around; it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary company meeting room, with a projector, a long conference table, a money tree, and a framed piece of calligraphy on the wall inscribed with "Supreme Goodness Like Water." Nothing stood out.

It was extremely unadorned.

Caramel Snail glanced at the virtual shackles on his hands and feet, sighed, and looked up at Lai Anding:

"What exactly do you want from me? You claim to be Lai Anding and from Clever Network—just a game development company. Don’t you find this claim absurd?"

"Don’t be nervous, my dear child."

Lai Anding gently shook her finger, speaking with warmth and patience:

"You don’t need to doubt it. You are now in the Clever Network Headquarters building. If you cooperate well, we will often invite you here in the future—naturally, you will walk in openly."

"...Do you think I will believe that?"

"Whether you believe it or not is not important, dear. What’s important is that Clever Network needs your statement—or rather,"

Lai Anding nodded slightly and said seriously,

"Starry Abyss needs you."

Kiddo snorted coldly. Ever since he logged out, he had been in a foul mood. But perhaps after experiencing the Leo bombing incident, his mindset had strengthened considerably. After a brief contemplation, he proactively asked,

"Are you really Lai Anding? Is the "Lai Anding Medical Protocol" in the game modeled after you, the Redemption System Chief God?"

"You could say that." Lai Anding nodded, "However, you got one point wrong."

"Hah?"

"I am not the prototype."

Lai Anding said gently,

"I am Lai Anding, the Redemption Sprite, one of the Six Great Main Gods of Starry Abyss, and a witness of the War Beyond the Abyss."

"...Hmm."

Kiddo blinked and sighed,

"I really have been kidnapped by a madman—"

"It’s normal that you don’t believe it, because, in reality, I didn’t expect you to understand all of this. The situation was urgent, so the method of bringing you here was a bit rough. I apologize for that. It won’t happen again."

Lai Anding smiled, exuding a sense of all-encompassing gentleness, making even Kiddo reluctant to put on a nasty face.

"I hope so." Kiddo turned his face away and muttered.

"Now—shall we get to the main topic?"

Lai Anding clapped her hands, and tea and snacks were immediately brought over. Kiddo remained wary and didn’t touch the food. Lai Anding didn’t mind, resting her chin on one hand as she said seriously,

"Kiddo, can you tell me, what exactly is your relationship with the already deceased Li Zi?"

"Li Zi, huh." Kiddo contemplated for a moment and said, "My relationship with him only went as far as being friends who played together at the club. Let me think... "

"Hmm, no need to rush, take your time. It would be best if you could tell me everything about Li Zi."

"From what I remember, Li Zi was an arrogant and solitary person, but he was also exceptionally gifted. After just a few days of practice, he could beat the martial arts instructor in cold weapon combat to a pulp."

Kiddo recalled the past and said,

"Before he died, our relationship wasn’t that close, but since Li Zi had very few friends, you could say we were quite familiar with each other."

"Do you know about his background?" Lai Anding asked.

"Not particularly, actually."

Kiddo shrugged:

"Our generation was all born from mechanical wombs and grew up in social welfare institutions. Most people follow the government’s arrangements to take the most suitable jobs. But Li Zi seemed particularly different. He didn’t like studying and only loved hands-on activities."

"Is there anything else?"

"He had a bit of a strong sense of control, never letting others touch his things. We guessed it might be because something precious was taken from him before, so he was overly cautious."

"Nothing else odd?" Lai Anding pressed, "Did you notice Li Zi possessing any exceptional abilities?"

"Uh, exceptional abilities... What exactly qualifies as that?"

"Hmm... let me think."

Lai Anding gestured:

"Like this, for example—never having been exposed to a subject but mastering it immediately, extremely good at military strategy, cold-heartedly pursuing profit, going as far as to repeatedly inflict self-harm for efficiency, or turning in a perfect exam paper without writing anything during an exam..."

"No."

Kiddo shook his head:

"Li Zi was definitely not a smart person. He only learned through practical experience. After high school, he didn’t continue his studies. I’ve never heard of him liking military strategy games. And when it comes to pursuing profit, that shouldn’t be the case either. As for efficiency, Li Zi was always late to training, a chronic procrastinator. As for exams—he never seemed to participate in any sort of social exams."

"...That’s really strange."

Lai Anding frowned slightly:

"Is it not him? But if it’s not him, how can this situation be explained..."

"What do you mean by ’him’?" Kiddo, with his sharp perception, caught onto the word choice and asked: "Though I’m an engineering student, I know... ’him’ is usually used to refer to deities, right? Are you saying Li Zi is a deity?"

"Yes, indeed." Lai Anding responded perfunctorily.

At that moment, a woman in a business suit walked in and whispered something into Lai Anding’s ear.

"Oh, everything is ready?"

Lai Anding nodded and waved:

"It seems we can’t get any information with the shielded state."

"Shielded state?"

"Yes, dear, the shielded state. From the day you were born in this universe, you have been living in various shields and filters, never knowing the true world."

Lai Anding smiled slightly and said,

"Today is a special case. I’ll make an exception and let you experience—the true world."

Before Kiddo could react, two security guards from the company stepped forward, grabbed his shoulders aggressively, and restrained him.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Kiddo felt his bones being crushed, and he couldn’t help but shout.

"Access to the Lai Anding Medical Protocol has been severed."

The security guard said blandly, without a hint of emotion.

"You’ve got to be joking. This isn’t a game. What medical protocol—"

Before Kiddo could finish his sentence, he felt a tightening in his chest. The security guard grasped something a few centimeters above the back of his head, as if grabbing onto something real.

"It might hurt a bit."

The security guard said as he pulled forcefully.

Rip—

"Uh—aaaaaa—aargh ugh ah! Damn it! Damn it! Fuck! Ugh, aaaaaa!!!!"

An excruciating pain pierced through Kiddo’s will, making him scream in agony as the world in front of him started to spin rapidly. His human form stretched unbearably long; everything turned topsy-turvy.

A moment later, his world suddenly fell silent. Eyes lowering, he stared at his toes, his mind a chaotic mess, completely overwhelmed by ringing in his ears.

Buzz... buzz buzz...

"Kiddo—Kiddo—"

A voice gently called to him. But his consciousness had already fallen into the abyss.

"Wake... wake up... wake up..."

After a long time, he seemed to regain his senses, barely starting to process external information. The voices of others resonated like echoes in a valley, endless and continuous.

The office lights flickered like distant stars, and the blue wallpaper looked quite pretty.

Swoosh...

A cold wind brushed against his face.

He slowly raised his head, his pupils focusing, realizing it was neither fluorescent lamps nor blue wallpaper.

"Kiddo... wake up..."

In the lofty sky above, thousands of galaxies shone like diamonds, the sky a vast expanse of darkness.

He stood dazed on the ground, his feet sinking into the white sand.

Cold wind whistled in his ears, the wind and sand danced and sang together, echoing the most ancient and desolate songs across the barren land.