Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 797 - 403. Before the Throne

Chapter 797: 403. Before the Throne

"Oh my, oh my, dear Li Aozi, don’t talk like that, we’re old acquaintances, really, there’s no need to be so distant."

Ms. N4 shrugged. This woman, possibly older than Frost Plated, spoke with more youth and vigor than Li Aozi.

"Don’t you know what kind of person I am?"

"Is there any correlation?" Li Aozi said calmly.

"How mean, you even remember my birthday, yet now you pretend to be a stranger, dear Li Aozi, you’re such a jerk."

One second she was feigning tears, the next she crossed her arms and shook her ample chest, and then said sternly:

"Alright, no more joking, you seem fully awakened now—or rather, you’ve almost filled in the missing parts of yourself."

"Looks like you know everything."

Li Aozi, unmoved, asked indifferently:

"When the Fermi Research Institute studied the qualities stripped from my body and the Void—surely, Ms. N4, you were involved."

"Don’t look at me like I’m a villain, it was to help you—besides, Mr. Li Aozi, didn’t you reap the benefits?"

N4 stepped forward to inspect the armor on Li Aozi’s thigh and the porcelain-like skin:

"It looks truly miraculous, this porcelain-like skin, you can’t tell how it’s structured, there’s no flesh, yet it’s full of biomass..."

Saying this, she straightened up, looking up at Li Aozi:

"Though you’ve grown taller and stronger, perhaps even changed species, you’re still breathtaking. Even in a crowd, you stand out at first glance."

"Don’t change the subject. The idle chatter is over."

Li Aozi slightly raised his index finger, with moon-white halos shining in his eyes.

Bang!

Instantly, N4’s head was scorched by excessive radiation. She clutched her forehead as the biochip in her skull short-circuited from the excess pulse radiation, and large areas of her biomass body experienced cell death.

"Ugh—Is this the power of decay? Ah, I understand now, you’ve gained Zhi Xiang’s approval. No wonder you were ahead of the Fermi Research Institute."

N4 mumbled while Li Aozi lowered the radiation intensity, giving her time to self-repair, yet gravity confined her, lifting her into the air to meet Li Aozi’s azure eyes:

"Don’t think you can escape by swapping your consciousness and changing implant gear—don’t get clever, surely you don’t think consciousness can’t be tracked with neutrinos?"

Li Aozi’s attitude was entirely different than before, surprising N4 momentarily.

"...So this is the real you."

N4 sighed:

"Both brutal and meticulous, stopping at nothing for your goals, yet not an emotionless machine, you can be cold-blooded and ruthless, but also stick to principles... Haha, Li Aozi, beneath the surface, the true you is far more intriguing."

"I."

Li Aozi did not refute. He merely nodded slightly, then said:

"What do you know about the Fermi Research Institute’s matters?"

"Everything."

N4 spread her hands and said calmly:

"When I first arrived, I was only Delta Rank, doing basic work for a long time, farming, horse-keeping, being a maid, picking tea leaves—but gradually, I rose to Zeta Rank, secretly gathering a lot of knowledge, allowing me to accumulate and form a unique biochemical structure."

"Eventually, my outstanding talent caught the Fermi Research Institute’s attention. They found me, and from an ordinary employee, I gradually came into contact with the world’s truth."

"When the Void invaded here, the kingdom was still a primitive, backward tribe, yet the Void’s invasion was strange—they didn’t directly conquer, but forced you to gradually abandon your will, embrace nihilistic faith, join the Void, using the Void to fight against the Void. The Path Ability Users from Starry Abyss were seen as terrifying monsters and heretics here."

"You should have realized this—yes, the Kingdom Parliament’s existence is actually to coordinate with the Void, to participate in this evolution. From the beginning, they never stood with the Dragonite Guardpeople. They were the first to become Void Infected, becoming Nation Stealers, and openly Sovereigns of the state."

"But among them, the most crucial ’King’ is different. In reality, as far as I know, the ’King’ is a consumable."

"A consumable?" Li Aozi was surprised. "Why say that?"

"The Kingdom Parliament’s Knights are always the same few, except for the defected ’Chief’, the other Knights have never changed. They actually control their provinces and armies. You know this as well—and the ’King’ never shows up, not because the King doesn’t want to, but because for a long time, the ’King’ is a selected elite, sent up as a bearer of the Void Force, constantly being consumed."

N4 said meaningfully:

"What’s thought-provoking is... all these Kings came from the Void Fallen Zone elites, yet strangely, none is a native life from Dragon Satellite."

Li Aozi’s gaze flickered, realizing what the other was implying.

"...Are you saying the ’King’ is summoned from other planets in the Starry Abyss?"

"That I don’t know. I’ve only shared what I know. If you deduce something or reach a conclusion, you take responsibility for it."

N4’s words intrigued Li Aozi even more.

[’The King’ is not a local... and frequently changes, is it really just a coincidence?]

"The Kingdom Parliament orders the Dragon Guards to fight against the Void, yet funds the Fermi Research Institute, allowing them to continually expand the usage of Alige. Ultimately, Alige becomes inextricable, and the entire civilization exists solely relying on the Void."

"Besides these, the most astonishing thing is none other than the existence of Zhi Xiang."

N4 said this, intentionally glancing at him:

"In fact, five years ago, before you came to this planet, the Fermi Research Institute had already noticed this mystical existence and planned to capture and control it—ultimately because Zhi Xiang threatened their activities, but they seemed hesitant to kill Zhi Xiang. There were several instances where Zhi Xiang was nearly caught, yet they dared not move to kill it—hmm, perhaps it couldn’t be killed."

"Now, Zhi Xiang has been successfully captured and is confined within this Coral Castle."

"Five years ago, you suddenly appeared before me, covered in traces of Void infection. But strangely, the Void spread on you at an exceptionally fast rate, far surpassing that of ordinary patients, which caught my attention at the time."

"Here, I’ll tell you a small piece of knowledge: Void infection is not simply contact-transmitted; in fact, it can also spread through blood relations. A single outbreak of Substance Rain can wipe out an entire family, perhaps as a means for Zhi Xiang to prevent further Void spread."

"So, Li Aozi, there might already be someone among your relatives infected by the Void."

She deliberately spoke ambiguously, as if wanting Li Aozi to have a thought:

The Azure Star also has Void-infected.

But Li Aozi knew very well that such a thing couldn’t exist on the Azure Star.

And the reason why his infection spread so fast, Li Aozi now had an answer in his heart.

"I might have to kill ’The King’."

Li Aozi said:

"Tell me the information."

"...Are you sure? According to the Starry Abyss classification, ’The King’ is just a step away from Kappa (10), and in this castle, with Zhi Xiang in their hands, you could be completely doomed."

"Tell me the information." Li Aozi opened his hand, three masks floated in his palm: "The remaining Knights should all be in here."

"Not only that, the strong ones inside are terrifying, what’s more, the helpers you relied on have also been exiled—"

"I said, tell me the information."

Li Aozi calmly said:

"I don’t care how many are inside, if what you say is true, and ’The King’ isn’t resolved, then the entire Dragon Satellite cannot be liberated. The occupied areas of the Void will expand to the entire planet."

"...Why to such lengths, Li Aozi, don’t you understand? I’m pouring my heart out to you, persuading you sincerely because we have similarities. Do you think you got your things back piece by piece? Your soul, I entrusted to Polina, that blacksmith’s body carries your name—do you really think it’s a coincidence?"

N4, with one hand on the hip, said discontentedly:

"Li Aozi, I believe you can go far, I want to invest in you—but if you fall here, it’s hard for me to find another being who can resonate like you. By then, even if I were to become Omega (Final) or ascend to Godhood, it would feel uninteresting."

"If you’re really determined to invest in me, you should unconditionally believe that I will win all the way."

Li Aozi used Gravity to hold her in mid-air and walked toward the castle.

"I don’t understand, Li Aozi, you should be someone extremely rational and efficient like me. Why are you willing to pay so much for one planet—listen, there are nine Iota-level beings inside! You’re no match for them. You’ve given so much, unified nations, spread religions, sowed civilizations, even fought bloodily to this point, arranging for their reincarnation after their deaths—what exactly do you aim for?"

"Because I am the moon."

Li Aozi spoke softly:

"This planet has no moon, I am the only needed existence in their darkness."

"...Do you have strong feelings for this planet?"

"No emotions needed, I can solve their suffering, so I acted."

"This isn’t human thinking..."

"Humans do things relying on emotions and interests. But I don’t care, I can obtain interests in countless ways, emotions mean nothing to me. My actions need no questioning from anyone. Humans have no right to question disasters like storms and volcanoes, natural disasters do not destroy humans because they wish to, they do so simply because they exist, capable of destroying ordinary matter."

Li Aozi stood in front of The Gate, stretched out his hands, and pressed on The Gate:

"I exist, I can save this planet."

Rumble...

"Not because I desire, I need."

The cold, suffocating void wind surged forward, lifting Li Aozi’s white robe high like dragon wings brazenly unfurled:

"Just because the storm happened to pass by, and ordinary matter was in its way."

The Gate settled, and in the next moment, nine blazing, tumultuous, mysterious auras surged forth.

All of them are Iota level.