158. Life Is Going Well
The development of the Sacred Monument Sect is flourishing, and its influence is gradually rising. Combined with Li Aozi's soft control over N4, the leader of Abyss Heavy Industries, and the flexible observation of Isaac's body, his control over Azure Star is becoming increasingly strong.
The main storyline of version 1.0 has been launched, and players are currently busy fighting for their respective nations.
The main storyline mission of the Red Arrow Empire, "Blazing Sun Moment"—arresting terrorists who have infiltrated the empire on a massive scale, launching the largest counter-terrorism war in history, also serves as training for the upcoming Ramada Battle against Tianhuan.
Tianhuan's main storyline mission, "Moonlight Thunder", stands in opposition to the Red Arrow. Tianhuan sends numerous stateless troops to infiltrate the empire, simultaneously creating panic, undermining capital confidence, and continuously searching for information on the main forces of the Ramada Battle.
Frost-Plated's main storyline mission has slightly changed. With David Lin taking power earlier, the mission "Immortal Heart" focuses more on construction and small-scale battles, requiring players to suppress domestic separatists while engaging in production to build more underground shelters.
Zhengxu's main storyline mission is entirely focused on construction. "Standing Against the Wind" requires players to gather materials everywhere, build good relationships with Zhengxu's authorities, and continue constructing electronic immigrant cities.
The comfortable and pleasant environment of the Zhengxu Democratic Republic satisfies corporations, governments, and most PMC companies, corporate departments, and electronic immigrant zones are established here. Due to the unique identity of electronic immigrants, they are not covered by the "Ryan Medical Agreement", so players need to carefully build and protect them while maintaining good relations with the Zhengxu people.
The first batch of electronic immigrants comprises only 5,000 people, mostly artists and researchers, with a small portion being patients suffering from severe depression in reality who require their consciousness to be transplanted into the electronic world to avoid physical pain. This is also one of the primary goals of "Star Abyss"'s electronic world development—almost all mental illnesses can be resolved through electronic immigration.
However, reality is not always smooth sailing.
Although the bodies generated for electronic immigrants look no different from Azure Star's inhabitants, due to their long-term residence in communities built by the Descenders, they still experience some discord with the local residents.
Li Aozi noticed some news about conflicts between electronic immigrants and native residents, indicating there is still a long way to go.
On Azure Star, Li Aozi has mostly settled matters. Alexia's life is basically back on track; she has put down her weapons and resumed her previous work. After the ceasefire in Granter, under David Lin's mediation, Granter ultimately chose to join the Frost-Plated Federation. David Lin provided them with the technology and loans needed for industrialization, which could be considered a great gesture.
Li Aozi has been searching for clues about the whereabouts of Du Zexin but has not received any further information. The partner who once fought alongside him now resides in the shadows, constantly producing various weapons and equipment. However, Li Aozi cannot trace Du Zexin's true location through these distributed devices.
[Mechanics]are like that—with some industrial camouflage knowledge and a mechanical body, it's too easy to stay hidden.
There is good news too, such as the fact that pseudo-humans have been almost exterminated by Li Aozi in the Red Arrow territory. Player-circulated pseudo-human sighting reports are often debunked by [Eye of Truth].
There is no longer a need to worry about severe damage caused by pseudo-humans.
Next, Li Aozi's focus gradually returned to his daily work and studies.
The area of Faithkeep Village has expanded fourfold. With the help of Alpha-tier players, productivity has greatly progressed. The magical workshop equipment introduced by Li Aozi has provided players with basic enchantments, speeding up territorial expansion. After strong offensives on nearby monster nests, players found themselves in a situation where there were no monsters left to fight.
At this point, the instance crystals arranged by Li Aozi came in handy.
"Abyss Humanitarian Laboratory"
"Vanlenkov Winter"
The former requires players to spend a lot of time exploring and figuring out the game content, with the final boss Biogenic Kong giving players a tough time.
The latter is even more captivating. Now, max-level players are addicted to blade running daily, treating it as a new game.
For now, Li Aozi left Faithkeep Village unattended. After frantically grinding his credits to over 100 points, he directly applied for a path-tier test at school.
The test results were unsurprising. Li Aozi was firmly at the Delta tier, and the school awarded him 200 credits.
As a result, his credits reached 317 points, narrowing the gap with his classmates' progress.
Li Aozi was not in a hurry. He took things step by step, focusing on passing this semester steadily.
He calculated that after the current version ends and updates begin, players will be unable to return for at least five years. Without the "piggies"—the players—around, his opportunities for rapid leveling would be gone.
Regarding the tier advancement voucher, Li Aozi initially planned to use it after advancing to the Epsilon tier for higher benefits. However, with the academy's worsening situation, Li Aozi worried that leveling up too quickly might lead to conscription by the White Candle Star's recruitment office.
Even at Zeta tier, Li Aozi didn't feel confident enough to navigate interstellar battlefields with ease, let alone ensure survival.
War is a collective action with numerous uncertainties. Perhaps one could be a training champion and military competition winner but end up perishing in a security operation against an enemy disguised as a civilian.
At level 200, the Kappa tier, Li Aozi's confidence would increase to seventy or eighty percent.
Considering all factors, Li Aozi decided it was better to establish his own base sooner.
He began frequently visiting White Candle Star and Valkyrie Fortress in his spare time. Thanks to his close relationship with Orlaville, the Soul Tavern's owner, and his financial resources, he could recruit quality technical workers, homemakers, and young laborers from war refugees for migration.
These individuals became the second group of non-player residents in Faithkeep Village.
As for the first group…
"Long time no see, Leoz, my old friend!"
Nikita dropped his bags and warmly embraced Li Aozi. Bringing his family to Faithkeep Village, Li Aozi felt slightly embarrassed: "Your homes are still under construction, and I haven't prepared accommodations for you."
"No accommodation? That's fine; we can build houses we like!"
Nikita's son-in-law Julian held his less-than-one-meter-tall wife Rosa and smiled: "This is magical civilization. It's exactly like my mother's homeland, with its primitive ecology, magically cultivated creatures, and harmonious coexistence of humans and nature."
"The breeze here is so gentle, completely different from the Vanrenkov Autonomous State." Rosa reached out her small hand to feel the wind.
"Some places lack technology, which is inconvenient," Li Aozi said. "Nikita, your daughter's curse can be consulted with spellcasters specializing in sealing within the city. Although it cannot be cured, it can at least delay for decades. I will transfer the promised living expenses annually, and Anjin can be exchanged for Dina anytime."
"Thank you very much."
Nikita expressed his gratitude:
"Without all this, I don't know what we would do…"
"Thank you, Mr. Leoz," Julian also came forward with his wife, kneeling on one knee sincerely and performing an elven bow: "I deeply respect your existence and wish the Evergreen Vine will forever bless you."
"Alright, alright, I'm not letting you stay for free." Li Aozi smiled: "Brother Nikita, I have a batch of Alpha-tier youngsters with great potential and a bright future, but they know nothing about combat. Please teach them; they will pay for the lessons themselves."
"Perfect, this old man fears being idle," Nikita chuckled. "Although I'm a gunsmith, it might take me some time to adapt to magical civilization's firearms."
"I can help too," Julian raised his hand excitedly. "As a half-elf, I know some elven scripture engraving techniques. I'm also skilled at forging and crafting elven blades."
Rosa's response was more straightforward: "I can cook."
"Great! The village is just starting; we need all kinds of talents."
Li Aozi encouraged everyone and went on to inspect the territory.
Yavanna had been absent from the territory lately, busy with something else. Li Aozi had to recruit a new quest receptionist from nearby villagers.
After making rounds and finding no issues, Li Aozi returned to school.
Life was getting busier. Recruitment officers were visiting more frequently. Li Aozi often saw conscription personnel wearing white pointed hats and composite fiber armor coming for inquiries.
However, it seemed unrelated to Li Aozi. As he gradually caught up on progress, Hobbes and Lucite pulled him into spending days in the library.
Surely, it couldn't be. They couldn't draft him, right?
"Senior Karlwa from third year has been drafted into the army."
During lunch, the trio gathered as usual. Lucite suddenly dropped this piece of news, drawing glances from Li Aozi and Hobbes.
"Senior Karlwa?" Hobbes bit into a peach pie, pondered, and said: "Wasn't he the teaching assistant for metric magic? I thought he had secured a position at the school. Didn't the mentor try to retain him?"
"They did, but it didn't work. The military pressed him directly onto a teleportation array," Lucite said with a mix of gravity and agitation:
"It was my first time seeing a military magic rifle—it looked like a marble statue embedded with light blue mana crystal threads. Unlike the staves we usually use, soldiers could load a magazine with five bullets at once. The first shot is "Focus Spell", exposing enemies, and the second shot is "Ignition Spell", releasing a fire dragon hundreds of meters long—"
"Alright, alright, no need for so much detail," Hobbes interjected with a quip. "But it's strange. The mentor's chosen teaching assistant is essentially a future high-level manager for a magic workshop. What gives the military the right to fight scholars?"