Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'

"The Vigilant team has lost contact."

Assistant Anna said solemnly:

"The life signals of security teams A-12 and C-03 have also disappeared, even the Vigilants equipped with military gear have been overwhelmed, which clearly indicates that the enemy is formidable, Professor—this time they're determined to wipe out the Mingji Humanity… Should we continue? If we evacuate now—"

"No! We cannot move; many patients are still bedridden, and another relocation would kill them en route."

Professor shook his head:

"How is Head Nurse Nodley doing?"

"White Fang Guild holds a special Level Four Infected, the Arcane Energy released from its Shadow Impact has destroyed all nearby electronic devices… Currently, it's impossible to know the specifics."

"It's truly unsettling… Anna, do we have any remaining forces without invoking the third level…"

"We have hardly any left." Assistant Doctor Anna reviewed the information, arriving at a bleak conclusion: "The White Fang Guild's numbers are too large. If it weren't for their reluctance to use heavy weaponry and firearms to avoid destroying the shelter's facilities, we would have fallen theoretically 20 minutes ago."

During the conversation, frantic knocking sounds came from outside the office:

"Professor, the first level can hardly hold any longer! Please hurry and move—my goodness! Ah—"

The sound of a blade piercing through a body abruptly stopped the urging voice, followed promptly by dull blows and the breaking of bones, with curses and manic laughter lingering like a nightmare.

The office suddenly quieted down.

Though the enemy was already at the door, Assistant Doctor Anna could not see any trace of haste on the Professor's ageless face.

"Absurd..."

The Professor was silent for a moment, then couldn't help laughing:

"I thought they'd come for my life, and those wanting to kill me—at least should be graduates, right? But Anna, it seems I'm destined to die under the hands of illiterates and scum."

"Professor, we can still leave now and we could—"

"I will not leave, nor will I activate anything on the third level, which is... humanity's greatest treasure. I absolutely cannot allow it to be defiled in the hands of those dirty and damp low-level roaches. If I'm to die, it means that the purported divine beings have permitted these secrets to be permanently buried with me."

The Professor pulled open a drawer, took out a handgun, removed the magazine, and in front of Assistant Doctor Anna, loaded two bullets into it. She handed the handle to Assistant Doctor Anna:

"I lack the courage to end it myself... Anna, if they break in, I'm entrusting this to you."

Assistant Doctor Anna's gaze was complex. When she subconsciously took the gun, she realized how heavy this cold weapon felt.

For a human wrist, it was a burdensome pound of iron; yet for life itself, it felt all too light, for it weighed a ponderous one pound.

"I can't shoot… Professor." Anna herself did not realize her voice was trembling and her vision blurring. "Let alone shoot you… How could I possibly do that, I... I'm just a physician."

"Anna. Do you remember the teachings from your training days?"

The Professor's gaze softened. She placed her hand on the tearful Anna's hand and gently said:

"There's more than just human life in this world-viruses, bacteria, parasites, wild animals carrying pathogens, Patient Zero… Sometimes you have no choice, just like a tumor and brain surgery, you must inflict tremendous pain on the patient, even exceeding their limits, to eradicate the disease."

"If you're to save one life, you must be prepared to take another."

Bang!

The door was violently struck, the White Fang Bandits outside trying to breach this final defense.

Assistant Doctor Anna shivered uncontrollably; at that moment, she could no longer maintain her usual composure. Instead, her eyes welled up with tears, like a child as she stared at the Professor, her lips quivering as she spoke:

"Will you always remember me, Professor?"

Bang!

The White Fang Bandits shouted outside the door:

"Bring up the compound explosives, damn it, blow the door open!"

Anna clung tightly to the Professor's warm hand like a startled young animal.

"I will."

The Professor stroked her hair and gently said:

"Those who dedicate themselves to the spirit of humanity, civilization will remember their names."

Bandits outside yelled:

"Prepare for the blast, everyone back off—three!"

Anna murmured, "...forever."

The professor buried her head in his chest. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes slowly smoothed out as she closed her eyes and gently stroked her student's hair.

"Two!"

"Who! Who is there?"

Anna seemed to have made up her mind too. She stood up, turned off the safety, pulled the bolt, and aimed the pistol at the professor's forehead, her finger slowly resting on the trigger. The professor, with a face full of compassion, quietly faced everything that was to come.

"One! Ergh—fuck, what is this! I can't stand!"

The moment the blast button was pressed, the bandits experienced an unprecedented shock.

Beep, beep, beep—boom!

The electrodes triggered the detonators to explode the explosives, the plastic-wrapped compound expanded and released in an instant, bursting out a sweeping blast wave and thermal flow, the robust kinetic energy instantly tore apart the door structure and twisted and melted it in the high temperature.

In this moment, time seemed to slow down immensely. Before the bandits could react, a figure fell with the sonic boom of the explosion, scattering wood chips, iron scrap, and human bodies, all suddenly falling in a neat direction—upwards!

Gravity·Inversion!

The golden circles lit up in the gray pupils. Li Aozi landed heavily. Without warning, he released a reversed gravitational field, taking advantage of the blast, all the White Fang bandits unexpectedly crashed against the steel dome overhead, their necks like blades, instantly piercing into their skulls, or neatly snapping altogether.

Many lost their ability to fight in that instant, but Li Aozi did not intend to give up these experience points delivered to his doorstep.

His arcane energy was insufficient to complete the remainder of the harvest. He threw out three blades, then removed the gravitational field. Twelve bandits immediately fell, three of whom he had accurately predicted, allowing the blades to slice open their carotid arteries, blood spraying the entire wall like a broken faucet.

"Ow eh—what the hell, what kind of devil are you!"

The White Fang bandits had just hit the ground, battered and bewildered, looking at Li Aozi with horrified eyes.

Li Aozi couldn't be bothered to respond. The weak did not deserve the right to dialogue. Using his last bit of arcane energy, he released the gravitational field again. The bandits who had just struggled to get up lost their balance once more, and the corridor behind them, like an abyss, instantly devoured all of them.

Gravity·Deflection.

Li Aozi stood calmly on the ground, watching all the bandits desperately trying to grasp the nearby railings, walls, and metal cabinets, but still unable to change their bodies' rapid fall toward the end of the corridor.

The corridor was not long, only about thirty meters.

"Mother!"

"Help!"

Their screams had just started when they crashed into the wall and the door at the end. Thanks to their high levels and health points, many did not die instantly.

"Ha... survived?"

A White Fang bandit leaned against the wall. The continuous reversal of gravity made him unable to find his center of gravity. His arms were broken in several places, and his whole body had suffered severe injuries and blows. He grimaced, holding onto the door handle, his legs gave out beneath him, feeling dizzy and nauseous.

Seeing that Li Aozi no longer pursued them, but just stood watching from a distance, his heart lifted, and he called out to a companion who still had some strength:

"He's out of energy, haha, now's our chance, hurry up—"

Bang!

"Hahaha—see who can stop Nomi now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door behind him was kicked open. Nomi swung a wrench, grinning fiercely, and swept the obstructing bandits to the ground. She kicked one of the bandits down, then unceremoniously smashed his skull with the wrench, the mixture of pale and crimson matter splattering swiftly like tofu pudding mixed with chili oil.

Clang!

"Come on—whether you're beasts from Mingji or thieves from the Outer World, I'm going to trample you, smash you, and shatter you all!"

The crimson filth soaked her patient uniform, and the bandages couldn't hide her crazed, twisted smile. The girl lifted the gluey wrench from between the skulls, her purple eye instantly consumed by red and black.

Just like the Ersha filling the sky.