From the Abyss of Stars

2. The game company prevents players from getting addicted by not allowing them to log off. Makes sense, right?

 

Azure Star perished long ago. It was precisely because of the 'Uplift Movement' of the Galactic Civilization that players had the opportunity to leave the surface and venture into the Abyss of Stars, formally beginning their legendary cosmic adventure.

 

However, now, the creations of the extinct civilization were right in front of him.

 

He observed carefully. The white corpse on the ground was not the common C3-'Luka' type of cosmic human race. The latter, as a cosmic race, had no physical flaws, no freckles on the face, small pores, and generally high attractiveness. However, the white corpse of 'Lanny Johns' had pockmarked skin and turned red after being in the sun for a while.

 

"This is not a cosmic human race. This is a race from Azure Star."

 

Li Zi felt a headache. Even as a senior high-level player, he was confused by this situation.

 

This is not a prank; it must be a major incident.

 

He thought of many possibilities, such as a bug in the game, a large-scale rollback, or the recent network fluctuation causing him to load the wrong game version, entering single-player mode.

 

But honestly, for an old game like "Abyss of Stars" that has been running for more than ten years with photon AI computers, the above guesses, while not impossible, are at least absurd.

 

If even the photon AI brain, responsible for handling all political affairs in the future, could make mistakes, then what could be right?

 

Li Zi calmed down, estimating that he might have logged into the wrong account. Maybe the network fluctuation just created a new account. But in any case, he needed to activate the game system first and log off to contact the officials for repair.

 

"Players appear in the game as 'Descenders.' To activate the game system, you first need to recognize the identity, appearance, and relationships of the 'Descender.'"

 

The simplest way is to find identification and a mirror, then chat with someone to complete the descent.

 

Li Zi was familiar with this. He immediately started searching the pockets of the security uniform. But just as he lowered his head and found a bunch of keys, a chilling sensation suddenly rose from his back.

 

"Danger!"

 

Years of battling in games made him react instantly. He curled up and hid under a counter. Only then did he realize that he seemed to be in an old-era bank.

 

Tap, tap...

 

Not far away, there was the sound of footsteps. The steps were light, as if stepping on water, making a certain crisp sound. Li Zi held his breath, gripping the baton tightly, trying not to make any noise.

 

The footsteps came closer, as if something was approaching the counter. Li Zi's heart raced. The sound was right next to him, separated by only a counter.

 

Tap.

 

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Li Zi's heart seemed to skip a beat. A layer of mist formed on his exposed skin, chilling to the bone, and he faintly felt a gaze trying to spy on him.

 

"Spirit Fiend!"

 

Li Zi immediately realized that he had almost forgotten that Azure Star was not just a purely technological planet; it had spiritual beings and extraordinary systems.

 

"I should have realized earlier... That white man's body had no external wounds yet died suddenly, very similar to the work of a Spirit Fiend."

 

Spirit Fiends are a very basic type of spiritual monster, immune to physical damage, capable of phasing through walls, seeing through stealth, and detecting invisibility. For new players, they are basically a deterrent monster.

 

But for a veteran player and streamer like Li Zi, even without the system activated and not knowing his current body stats, he knew how to deal with Spirit Fiends even if he had nothing in hand.

 

The mist on his skin gradually cooled and solidified, and his body temperature dropped. The human physique of Azure Star was weak; if the body temperature fell below 30 degrees, any impact could be fatal.

 

Time to act!

 

After a brief thought, Li Zi recalled the method to drive away Spirit Fiends. He bit his right index finger hard, blood gushing from the wound. The real pain brought Li Zi back to his senses. Fortunately, he never turned off pain feedback. He silently tore his clothes, quickly drawing a spiral cross rune with his blood on his chest.

 

His technique was quite standard. The exclusive rune of the [Lord of Ghosts] was a significant deterrent to low-level Spirit Fiends. Once the rune was completed, he clearly felt the Spirit Fiend hesitating. The cold and moisture on his body gradually dissipated, eventually retreating and disappearing.

 

Tap, tap...

 

The footsteps gradually faded away. Li Zi bandaged the wound and closed his eyes, muttering:

 

"1001, 1002, 1003..."

 

A person says about four words per second. Conversely, counting four numbers per count ensures accurate timing.

 

"1025!"

 

After 25 seconds, Li Zi immediately opened his eyes, jumped out from under the counter, and quickly turned his head. In his peripheral vision, he saw a layer of bright white frost forming on the counter.

 

Time was up.

 

His current race was just an ordinary human from Azure Star, without spirituality or extraordinary abilities. The blood rune could only deter a Spirit Fiend for 25 seconds.

 

But that was enough for him to escape.

 

When escaping from spiritual entities, never go to higher ground. If possessed, the Spirit Fiend would control the body to jump off. Only running to lower ground, using complex thick walls to gradually diminish the opponent's spiritual power, offers a chance to escape.

 

Li Zi took out the keys he had just found and tried them one by one. He quickly opened the basement door, closed it behind him, and swiftly dove underground. He moved agilely, sliding down the stair rail, flipping over the railing, landing lightly from a height of over three meters, rolling to absorb the impact, and sprang up with his hands on the ground.

 

The Spirit Fiend, deterred by the rune, was already far away. With Li Zi's expert parkour skills, he quickly increased the distance.

 

Li Zi hid behind a fire cabinet in the deep basement. He had just glanced at the basement layout map, and years of gaming experience made him particularly sensitive to maps, remembering them thoroughly. If the Spirit Fiend came this way, he could easily escape through the vault.

 

However, he had escaped down three floors. A newbie village Spirit Fiend shouldn't be able to penetrate this deep.

 

Sure enough, after a while, the Spirit Fiend wandered around the hallway, confused, and gave up the chase.

 

Spirit Fiends have no intelligence. After a failed hunt, they quickly leave to avoid being hunted by extraordinary humans.

 

Tap, tap...

 

The sound of footsteps receded. Li Zi calmed his breathing and searched his pockets, finding his identification. Next, he just needed to find a mirror and talk to a living NPC to activate the full game system.

 

If he couldn't find a living person, it didn't matter. Players were randomly born, and the game system was well-designed for this. As long as two conditions were met, most of the game system could be unlocked.

 

Identification—unlocks system toolbar

 

Appearance—unlocks personal panel

 

Others' evaluation—unlocks player function bar

 

The best birth conditions are, of course, in civilized cities, but it's less convenient for fighting monsters and adventuring in groups.

 

Therefore, most players choose to unlock the system a bit later but be born near the wild, suitable for fighting outside the city. For example, villages, mercenary groups, wanderer camps, and military bases.

 

Li Zi wasn't sure if his birth was good or bad, but since he was in a bank and wearing a security uniform, he was likely born in a town area.

 

Spirit Fiends wouldn't invade big cities. The population was bustling, and extraordinary humans gathered there. Spirit Fiends weren't foolish enough to cause trouble for themselves.

 

"What a mess. Usually, it takes less than 15 seconds to complete the task, but it took so long this time."

 

Li Zi muttered, returning to the surface. He used the key to open the counter door, turned the valve, and found the restroom. He cleaned his wound and bandaged it with a cloth strip. Then he looked in the mirror, holding his ID card in front of him, carefully examining his 'descended' appearance.

 

His features were upright and angular, with obvious Asian traits but with a sickly pale complexion—caused by long-term lack of sunlight.

 

"Frostbitten human." Li Zi identified: "Judging by the style and material of the security uniform, this is at least from the beta version."

 

This body was well-proportioned, about 185 cm tall, weighing around 80 kg. It wasn't strong but not weak either—this reassured Li Zi. In "Abyss of Stars," it's better to be a bit chubby than skinny. On one hand, different planetary development levels mean that a chubby physique is seen as 'noble' by less advanced civilizations and more respected.

 

On the other hand, chubby people store more energy, withstand hunger better, and their accumulated fat provides more protection.

 

The best physique is,

 

of course, 'muscle wrapped in fat,' robust and resilient. For early-stage players without much equipment, having a good body offers a significant advantage.

 

After escaping the Spirit Fiend attack, his body temperature rose, the solidified white frost melted into water, wetting his black hair, making it cling to his head, and his gray eyes gleamed like steel.

 

It was clear that his charm wouldn't be low. Li Zi immediately liked this body.

 

As he fully imprinted his appearance in his mind, a familiar light blue screen appeared on his retina:

 

-------------------------------------

 

[Name]: Li Aozhi

 

[Title]: None

 

[Race]: Carbon-based lifeform - New Era Homo sapiens

 

[Gender]: Biological Male

 

[Age]: 21 years old

 

[Template]: Ordinary Neutral NPC (Health cap increased by 10%)

 

[Faction]: Abyss—Galactic Nebula—Fiennes Federation—Azure Star—Frost Republic

 

[Total Level]: lv.2

 

——[Primary Profession]: Civilian lv.1 (0/50)

 

——[Secondary Profession]: Security lv.1 (0/100)

 

[Health]: 53/55 (Subhealthy)

 

[Arcane Power]: Not awakened

 

[Experience]: 20

 

[Attributes]:

 

Strength—4 (Body strength and destructive power)

 

Dexterity—5 (Swiftness and precision of movements)

 

Constitution—5 (Ability to resist damage, converts to health)

 

Charm—13 (Ability to attract others)

 

Willpower—6 (Mental resistance, converts to 'Intelligence' for spellcaster professions)

 

[Talents]:

 

Racial Talent • Teamwork—New Era Homo sapiens have a strong ability to work in teams. When in a team, experience gains increase by 50%. This effect is lost when leaving the team.

 

[Specialties]: None

 

[Skills]:

 

"Common Knowledge," "Intermediate Professional Knowledge"—from [Civilian];

 

"Baton Strike," "Beat," "Bully the Weak"—from [Security];

 

[Rank]: Mediocre

 

-------------------------------------

 

Li Zi didn't care about the other values and information. His eyes stayed on the [Template] for more than ten seconds.

 

"Ordinary, Neutral, NPC template?"

 

He was stunned.

 

He hurriedly opened the system toolbar, which should have included [Game Settings], [Plugins], [Mailbox], [Video], [Control], [Graphics Optimization], [Log Out], and other options, but now only a lonely [Mailbox] remained.

 

"WTF?" Li Zi was dumbfounded: "Where's my [Log Out]? How do I quit the game?"