219. Until the Abyss (Part 1)
Green plasma filled the field of view. The body, chilled by the snowy mountain, was immediately disintegrated. A player flung a dimensional-reduction ring in reverse, but before witnessing the explosion, the Colonized trooper was rushed by mechanical soldiers and sawed apart.
"Retreat, retreat! They've found us!"
"Damn it! These Society citizens just won't quit!"
"Anyone who's died twice, log off to protect your account—how much longer until Li Aozi wakes up?!"
The players maneuvered their Colonized troopers, firing on the move as they retreated, escorting Li Aozi away from the attack site. Shells and homing missiles blotted out the sky, while cloaked quadrupedal mechanical spiders leaped from blind spots. Swarms of nanomechanical insects formed a white tide, cutting off all escape routes.
The initial fervor of effortless mowing down enemies had long cooled amid relentless, high-intensity battles. Player numbers dwindled, and successive new weaponry steadily negated the advantage of their Colonized gear.
The [Tabletop Club] guild leader, currently acting as the team commander, Dragon Ground, glanced at the roster.
Remaining players: 9.
And at this moment, there were still 2 hours and 18 minutes before the arrival of [Mechanical Society] Flame Summerg's main body.
Only nine of them were left, hiding in the tunnels of Wavy Mountain, using Omega Energy to dig deeper. However fierce the artillery, it couldn't penetrate the solid Austro Mountains.
This wasn't their own idea.
Dragon Ground eyed the livestream interface, sincerely thanking the viewers scrolling by in the chat:
"Thanks for the suggestion, guys. Digging tunnels really helps! Listen, my brothers and I are probably done for, but everyone's seen the attack methods and combat strength of this 'Society.' We're running out of ammo and supplies, about to be wiped, and our accounts likely won't survive. But at least our experiences might help. I'll download this broadcast later and have it edited for analysis to warn the rest of you."
The chat filled with bullet comments.
Some keyboard warriors sneered, 'Is this all pro players got? If it were me, I'd have counterattacked by now.'
Some enthusiastic viewers cheered, 'Don't give up—once Li Aozi goes on the offensive, everything will turn around!'
Others quietly sent tips or donations, thanking them for sharing their experiences and hoping money might help them recover losses.
Since "Star Abyss"'s public launch, player numbers had skyrocketed; just in Flame Summer District alone, the user base likely exceeded 600 million. Even at dawn, their livestream attracted significant attention, with over fifteen thousand viewers actively watching and commenting.
For some reason, Dragon Ground felt an indescribable sense of emotion at that moment.
Initially, they'd fought with a do-or-die resolve, figuring they'd probably lose their accounts, so why not go all in?
Now, more and more people had joined them—though not physically, they supported them in various ways. Those who couldn't provide material help encouraged them verbally.
It felt... like when disaster strikes, and everyone unites, summoning the will to overcome and face every crisis together.
"HilfaN4: You've already done so well, don't forget you're just Alpha-tier."
"A Corner Chipped, Edges Rounded: Exactly, this is clearly a plot kill. The devs saw us from Flame Summer District heading too far into space and want to rein us in so we don't outpace everyone else."
"SunkenFishBottomGold: No matter the penalty, we were still the first to leave our home planet! We used our own strength, stomping gravity underfoot, and no amount of harsh living can break us."
"TrueThing: Years from now, faced with the referees of the "Star Abyss" Pro League, Flame Summer District players will recall that distant afternoon at the end of 'Slight Disdain's Admonition' v1.0. The first Alpha-tier warriors to set foot on White Candle Star, coming from an uncivilized civilization, sacrificed their lives so that others might live in peace on foreign soil…"
"CrazyThursdayVIVO50: You there, I'll tip you 50. Hurry and finish writing 'Lonely Star Abyss.'"
"WisePotato-kun: What's Li Aozi up to? Query Li Aozi's status? [Society] captured Li Aozi, step forward!"
...
Though off-topic, these viewer comments brought real comfort to the embattled players.
"In the closed beta, 25 of us from Flame Summer District made it into space, while the Akingkur players were still farming, and Hestings players were battling curly sheep."
A player with the ID 'MadburgBasketball' spoke up:
"In the public launch, while most players remain content with Alpha-tier ground missions, we pilot Delta-tier Colonized troopers, traversing dimensions, using gravity to suppress evil mechanized forces, and harnessing Bloodline power to wrestle steel alloys."
"Maybe we're doomed to fail. Maybe we've gone too far ahead. Maybe the devs won't tolerate us. But what we're doing right now is worth remembering."
"It's just an account. If it's destroyed, so be it—it's not like we actually die. We can level up again. None of that really matters. What matters is that we fought our way here, endured countless trials, and made this place our home. Now, all that might be lost to the invasion of [Society]…"
"Yes, this event will almost certainly deal a devastating blow to pro players in Flame Summer District, with effects lasting who knows how long. But I want to say:"
"Bring it on. It won't break us. The moment we stepped into the cosmos, we were already a step ahead of those stuck on the ground."
"No matter the hardship, we'll never stop moving forward."
'Awesome!', 'Hell yeah!', 'That's the spirit!'…
MadburgBasketball took a puff from an e-cig he'd brought from Azure Star. Seeing a barrage of rapid-fire chat comments, he opened his mouth to continue—
Boom!
A bunker-buster bomb bored through the rock overhead, its drill bits scattering on impact. The warhead unleashed a fierce searing laser, incinerating MadburgBasketball and his Colonized gear into ash, leaving only a human-shaped shadow.
"Fall back! Flame Summerg's hitting us again! These laser shells are insane!"
"Old Ma! Hey, Old Ma!"
"Stop calling him—if you don't run, you'll be joining him next, you idiot!"
"Screw you, I just lost my character, not my actual life."
——Remaining players on White Candle Star: 8.
The heartwarming vibe in the livestream evaporated as curses erupted on all sides. Everyone sensed [Mechanical Society]'s firepower had only grown stronger.
Dragon Ground noted the bomb's blast radius and the scorch marks, remarking in surprise:
"The exploding shrapnel ignites on contact, and the propellant releases toxic gas… so these Society citizens can evolve?"
"Their weapons are more precise too. We're all tech-based—no way we can beat them."
"Keep digging! If we have to, we'll collapse the entire mountain. Nobody lives!"
Having reached this point, the players had no other options. They brandished tools and dug deeper. The once-solid granite yielded before their Delta-tier Colonized gear, and they burrowed ever farther. But the blasts behind them only intensified.
The artillery thundered louder, the smoke drifted closer.
Crack!
One player drove a shovel into the rock, the immense force shattering the structure. He flung a huge chunk of rock aside, turned to keep digging—only for an energy blade to spear through his chest!
"It's over for you weak carbon lumps."
Coulomb•Torque materialized fully from the quantum realm, tossing the limp body aside with leftover force, reducing the player's HP to zero in an instant. Before the near-death state could even kick in, it raised a palm and fired another shot, finishing him off.
——Remaining players on White Candle Star: 7
"Whew… tracking you little rats was quite the chore."
It rolled its neck, heat fins extending slightly. The aura of a Zeta-tier lifeform pressed them to the ground. Even through the Colonized lenses, it was like staring at the sun—painful to the eyes.
"And you lot, too."
With a flick of the wrist, Coulomb•Torque retrieved two cards from Li Aozi's body, glancing at the images of Watt•Rivetsteel and Turing•Binary before sneering:
"Pathetic sight, you two councilors."
Then it tore the cards that had sealed its allies.
In the next moment, both councilors revived on the spot. Watt•Rivetsteel's towering figure erupted, the mechanical frame ripping through the mountainside. Cylinders roared, spewing waste heat that charred a nearby player to cinders.
"Hah!"
Watt•Rivetsteel's metallic armor radiated magical brilliance. Dragon Ground and the others had no time to retreat. Its house-sized eyes unleashed scorching magical beams, flooding the tunnel with violent light.
"Just a bunch of Delta-tier ants. I was wondering what the fuss was…"
Watt•Rivetsteel opened its arms. Powered by Flame Summerg's energy infusion, it absorbed the nearby mechanical units as though they were organic, merging with them. Finally, it expanded into a massive beast as tall as a mountain.
"With Flame Summerg here, we are eternal."
Coulomb•Torque stepped out of the quantum corridor, followed by Turing•Binary. Tinkering with multiple holographic panels, Turing•Binary mused:
"I see now how these attackers arrived."
"You've cracked White Candle Star's planetary consciousness?" Coulomb•Torque asked casually.
"Almost. If I evolve to about Zeta-tier, I can take it over completely."
Turing•Binary nodded:
"This star is unusual. The subordinates of [Secret Society] Gaia have attacked repeatedly, and there are remnants of the C3 Luka-type cosmic humans here."
"Ho? Could they be survivors from the old Haines event?" Coulomb•Torque sounded intrigued. "No wonder Flame Summerg set its sights here. We were about to dive deeper into the Star Abyss, but Flame Summerg suddenly pivoted and rushed to White Candle Star."