Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'

"I don't care."

The golden halo in Li Aozi's eyes dissipated. Using gravity to toggle the safety on a handgun was not a high-difficulty maneuver for him.

If it were a professional warrior, this trick would be basically ineffective. Professional soldiers have engrained shooting skills into muscle memory, don't they?

But in the Outer World, most people didn't have the awareness to put the safety on their guns. Even if it misfired, it's better than not being able to shoot in time at a critical moment.

Zexi quickly put the gun down and raised her hands:

"Calm down, calm down, let's talk it out. Uh, handsome guy, are you here to rob me of my money or something else—...but you probably wouldn't, right? If you make a move on me, I'd be the one taking advantage."

"Tsk tsk." Nomi hefted her wrench: "Is that all you amount to? Don't you know about our Outer World people's quality? Honor unyielding."

"Nomi, shut up."

Li Aozi punched Nomi on the head, pushing her aside, and asked Zexi:

"Are you Zexi? I heard you have some good stuff on hand."

"Uh, I don't deal in human trafficking..."

"What are you thinking?" Li Aozi said disdainfully: "I'm aware of your trades with Mao, Bankro, and Lei Zhiqiang. You've secretly supplied them with canned goods and medical supplies, haven't you?"

"Ah? You know all about that."

Zexi felt a bit embarrassed, muttering softly:

"Who ratted me out...it must be Little Ze! That sneaky bastard, he never seemed trustworthy."

"Let's not talk about that."

Li Aozi threw a backpack he had prepared in front of her:

"There's twelve thousand Derby in here. I want to buy something from you."

"...Good heavens!"

Zexi pulled down her round glasses, incredulous, and knelt to open the bag. Faced with stacks of neatly arranged, brand-new bills, she swallowed.

"Such fresh and orderly Derby cash—did you rob a bank? My gosh, it even has the March Lily pattern—this is tougher than Rose Army Seal money!"

Nomi clicked her tongue.

"Fake money...that's genuine counterfeit printed by real machines!"

Zexi quickly looked up at Li Aozi, patting her chest in assurance:

"Big brother! From now on, you're my big brother. What do you need? Even an armored vehicle is no problem!"

"Really?" Nomi's eyes lit up: "Then I want a GTB subordinate 'Wolfgang' amphibious 88mm anti-infantry armored vehicle!"

"That's already mobile armor, alright!"

Zexi pulled her glasses down, staring at Nomi, righteously saying:

"That'll cost you more. One million Derby."

"Damn! The cost is just six hundred thousand, how did it become one million with you? You're such a damn profiteer—Rose Army has them too, I'll ask them for one!"

"Enough arguing." Li Aozi said: "I want that latest version of the serum developed by Mingji Humanity."

"That...can be arranged." Zexi calculated, nodding: "I have it in the freezer; I can give it to you right away. But whether it works or not isn't guaranteed, it's only said to help others awaken Arcane Energy... Its actual efficacy is still uncertain."

"Don't worry about that."

"Alright, big brother—Oh, what's your esteemed name?"

"Me? You don't know me?"

Li Aozi was surprised. Didn't he cause a big scene when he arrived at the shelter?

"Uh, I just got back from getting supplies, so I'm not quite up to date."

"I see."

Li Aozi shrugged:

"I'm Captain Gatling Maxim Lewis of the Rose Army's 153rd Field Army Special Operations Department. Here's a recommendation for you today: don't spread this around, this is our secret. I know where you work, and I know your background clearly. Understand?"

"Rose, Rose Army?!"

Zexi's face instantly turned even paler than Li Aozi's. She nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken:

"I understand! Rose Army captain, I won't say a word. The cold storage electric switch was broken by White Fang Guild's bandits. I haven't seen you guys, I'm just here to do repairs."

"Smart."

Li Aozi was quite satisfied; he realized the Rose Army's deterrent power was no less than the Fourth Rule's for ordinary people these days.

Too bad he wasn't a girl, or he could've pretended to be a Fourth Rule agent, which would have been even more thrilling.

"Speaking of which, I need to ask about something. The money's in the backpack, take however much you need."

When Li Aozi spoke, Zexi quickly became ingratiating:

"You say it, you say it."

"ZX-102 isolation ward."

Li Aozi said:

"What exactly happened there? It's an empty ward, so why is it locked?"

"That..."

Zexi thought for a moment:

"It's not a big deal, I heard it was just a medical accident that caused some unrest. Then the Professor and Head Nurse Nodley had a bit of a disagreement—so Head Nurse Nodley insisted on sealing the ward and not letting anyone use it."

She shook her head:

"I don't know the specifics, but I can tell you clearly: ZX-102 ward had a very significant fatal accident. It almost made Head Nurse Nodley assault the Professor... It's likely the rift between those two started back then."

"Oh?" Li Aozi raised an eyebrow: "Is that so."

"You don't know? Head Nurse Nodley and Assistant Doctor Anna are both the Professor's students. They left Frost Plated National Medical Academy out of dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy and came to Mingji."

"But now, the Professor has been killed, Head Nurse Nodley is critically injured... It's hard not to suspect the beneficiary Assistant Doctor Anna."

Li Aozi listened and took note.

The plot progress increased by 1.71%, indicating this bit of information was quite useful, involving a specific incident.

It also proved that the secret of ZX-102 might be related to a series of unusual events at Mingji Humanity.

Zexi trafficked Mingji products outside and bought rare metals and rare earth materials from the people in the Outer World at low prices. This kind of business only dealt with other shelter organizations.

From Zexi, he wouldn't get much information about the Four Nations. Li Aozi didn't waste any more effort. He pondered and organized the clues, and began to think about how to start investigating the secret of ZX-102 isolation ward.

The Professor was dead, Nodley's condition was unknown, and Doctor Anna had deliberately driven him away.

Nomi was curious:

"So mysterious? What exactly did the old lady and that big woman do next door? Why don't I know anything?"

"That, I wouldn't know. It's all from two years ago."

Zexi shook her head:

"Before that incident, Head Nurse Nodley was a rather gentle person, her mood was easily affected due to her young age."

"However." She paused, then said: "There is one person who knows everything about the incident, though she isn't in Mingji Humanity. You would have to leave the shelter and go to Sikkim Settlement to find her."

"Sikkim Settlement?" Li Aozi was taken aback.

What a coincidence. Anna had just told him that White Fang Guild's people might be heading to Sikkim Settlement to regroup.

And it just happened to be his destination.

"Could it be...this is the intention of the "Starry Abyss" game plot designer?!"

Li Aozi suddenly made the connection:

"To unlock the [Mutant] occupation—to unlock Arcane Awakening Elixir—to progress the plot, while heading to new scenarios for [Mutant] specific tasks. This is a plot that players in the previous generation didn't uncover!"

"Is this the reason that "Not to be Remembered" can serve as the main quest for [Mutant]?"

Li Aozi was a bit surprised, then suddenly realized.

In the previous generation, due to significant bugs, people didn't delve deep into the plot, and the prison-like experience of [Mutant] discouraged many players from taking up the occupation.

All tasks required the design team to manually create them before the game AI could generate them. The plot had to be written first before the scene and mission levels were set up.

It's just that Frost Plated's player base wasn't large enough, and even fewer chose the [Mutant] path. If it were another country, like Sky Ring, it would've been thoroughly researched already.

"It's fate." Li Aozi shook his head.

Probably the designers hadn't figured out how to balance the issue of the paucity of [Mutant] players in Frost Plated yet.

After all—doesn't Frost Plated already feel like a prison?

This damned country already feels so restrictive. If you don't choose to be a Mage or Martial Artist, you're still going to be a [Mutant]?

Other people's plot progression is a journey of eternal paths, while yours feels like eternal imprisonment.

Li Aozi shuddered, suddenly realizing a point:

"Probably, the designers never imagined someone would start as a male character in Frost Plated choosing the [Mutant] path, right?"

This stack of negative BUFFs was comparable to the status bar in a poison powder game.

Of course, this might also be deliberate, to concentrate [Mutant] players in the Red Arrow Empire, allowing for the 2.0 version of the plot.

That was the truly exciting part, even for Li Aozi, who had witnessed the extinction of the sun and walked on a black hole's surface. He couldn't forget those days.

"Regardless, I've now stepped into uncharted territory, truly uncovering the exclusive plot for the Dominator System occupation—saying it like this, it almost feels like I'm a Professional Instructor for the Dominator System."

Li Aozi felt a growing excitement. Ever since becoming a streamer, he had been chasing various live broadcasts for traction and popularity, even pasting various labels on himself and engaging in antics like Tourette's Syndrome just to make people laugh and provide entertainment, exchanging that bit of joy to make a living.

It's been so long since he felt this kind of excitement, like playing a single-player game, exploring the game plot, and uncovering the deeper story. Even without online companions, he was immersed in it.

"This is the original joy of gaming!"

Li Aozi's hands itched.

"I've been playing the clown for so long, I almost forgot that I'm a technical streamer, not an entertainment streamer!"

The thought of the unknown plot and challenges ahead, the sense of pioneering new ground, rekindled Li Aozi's fighting spirit.

This was untouched terrain, everything was fresh and awaited his discovery.

He began to crave battle...