From the Abyss of Stars

1. Arrival

 

"What a hassle, disconnected again."

 

As the dim vision gradually faded, Li Zi sighed while rubbing his forehead subconsciously, muttering complaints:

 

"I should have gone out and used the dedicated line with the studio for live streaming. The 1,000 Mbps broadband in this rented apartment is really unstable. Every time the viewer count exceeds 100,000, it fluctuates frequently."

 

Being a full-time streamer is not an easy job. Even as a streamer for the hottest all-system game "Abyss of Stars," with massive traffic, there are very few who truly make money from streaming.

 

"I still need 200 more hours of streaming this month. Sigh, reconnecting after disconnection took two hours, and I have to restart the streaming plugins. Looks like I'll be working overtime and staying up late again."

 

The game "Abyss of Stars" is great in every aspect except for the constant incompatibility with various newly updated streaming plugins.

 

Whether it's QuickSound, Handshake, TigerFish, or BillyBilly, all streaming plugins are treated the same by the game's system, and network crashes are commonplace.

 

Li Zi has been streaming for a long time, investing all his assets into building his current work environment before achieving any success.

 

The game cabin should be interfacing with his nerves right now, syncing his consciousness and data. This is a very lengthy process. Normally, it wouldn't matter, but for Li Zi, it's prime time for streaming. Missing this time slot would greatly reduce his traffic.

 

The initial passion for the game, accompanied by professionalization, gradually waned. Li Zi sometimes thinks back to a few summers ago, playing carefree with friends.

 

With the increasing pressure of life, many people gradually stopped playing games and turned to novels and short videos. Even Li Zi isn't sure if he would still love "Abyss of Stars" as much if it weren't for the streaming income.

 

"Linking limb nerves, activating tactile template."

 

As the neural link started, Li Zi stopped thinking about irrelevant things.

 

The immersive "Abyss of Stars" rarely shows game interfaces or similar visual effects. During the loading process, there are no prompts. Instead, it gradually releases sensory input, continuously stimulating the player and adapting to the game entry process.

 

This is why network fluctuations causing game disconnections take so long to reconnect.

 

Li Zi was anxious but could only follow the game's progress at this moment.

 

As a seasoned player of "Abyss of Stars" and a master of the [Starfall Master] profession, he quickly adjusted his mindset, calming himself and precisely following the official tips for speeding up the neural link.

 

"Empty your mind, gradually sensing your body."

 

"Start with your fingers, continuously trying to move them."

 

"Remember the feeling of the airflow brushing your skin, continuously thinking about and strengthening your awareness of it."

 

This technique has always been effective. From the boundless void, his senses became increasingly sharp and real.

 

The warmth of the sunlight, the discomfort of the clothes, the stinging pain of the wound on his forehead, the blood gushing out from the ruptured vessel...

 

"Hmm? What's going on? Sunlight? A wound? Clothes that don't fit?"

 

Li Zi was a bit surprised. He clearly remembered that before disconnecting, he was exploring and pioneering in the high-risk map [Dark Depths Garden], which was entirely dark and had no sunlight.

 

However, it was possible that the system's disconnection protection had transported him to a nearby human colony star. Since there was sunlight, it was likely the [Valkyrie Fortress]'s artificial sun.

 

The wound was also understandable. It was probably other players attacking him. After all, he was a somewhat famous streamer. It's normal for fans to want to interact when passing by.

 

What truly puzzled Li Zi was the ill-fitting clothes on his body.

 

This was absolutely impossible.

 

His [Silver Dream] robe was custom-made from Void Dragon skin, and it would never fit poorly like a mage wearing a warrior's armor.

 

Moreover, the texture of the clothes felt completely different from the soft and comfortable robe he remembered. It felt more like the low-quality synthetic materials worn in the early newbie village days.

 

'This is strange. Is it a prank by my stream viewers?'

 

As his body and consciousness gradually synchronized, Li Zi, though his vision was still blurry, basically regained control over his body. He immediately noticed that he seemed to be slumped on the ground, with something heavy pressing on him, vaguely resembling a human shape.

 

Without much thought, Li Zi instinctively tried to push it away. As a level 300 [Starfall Master], even though strength wasn't his main attribute, the absolute level suppression was enough to push away a 'Magellan' class starship.

 

However, when his hand touched the humanoid object, the slight exertion caused a bit of pain, and the heavy obstruction made his face stiffen.

 

"What's going on? Did I get the 'Weakness' debuff after being killed six times in a row?"

 

Li Zi frowned. His chest and abdomen were just being pressed by the humanoid object, making breathing urgent and difficult. If this continued, he would fall into a 'Suffocation' state.

 

He had to shake his body vigorously, and after a long time, he finally pushed the humanoid object off him.

 

Thud.

 

The humanoid object fell on its back. Li Zi sat up and glanced at it. The neural link had perfectly completed synchronization, his pupils focused, and he quickly captured the other's appearance.

 

A white man, tall and sturdy, wearing a light blue security uniform, with no signs of life. The name tag read "Lanny Johns."

 

"In this day and age, still wearing traditional woven clothes. These are things from the pre-interstellar era. This stuff isn't even in the beta version anymore."

 

Li Zi muttered. A corpse alone didn't cause him any psychological pressure.

 

Back when he farmed materials, he crawled in and out of the corpse-filled [Demon Academy] not a thousand times, but at least nine hundred and ninety-nine times.

 

He looked down at his own outfit: the same blue security uniform, equipped with a flashlight at the waist. Meanwhile, there were still bloodstains on his forehead and cheeks—he touched it, it seemed to be a bruise on his forehead, just a minor bleed, nothing serious.

 

"Not only did I get the 'Weakness' debuff, but I was also thrown onto some unknown newbie planet. Who's playing this prank?"

 

Li Zi unceremoniously tore off the clothes from the security guard to bandage his wound, and casually took the rubber baton from the other's waist to use as a weapon.

 

"Who knows which planet I've been thrown onto. I need to find a mirror and activate the system."

 

Li Zi muttered, quickly moving. However, as soon as he started, he realized something was wrong.

 

He turned his head, squinting in the afternoon sunlight, and carefully examined the security guard's corpse, focusing on the name tag.

 

"Lanny Johns, no wonder it seems familiar. It's in the language of Azure Star."

 

Li Zi paused, then his pupils shrank:

 

"This is the 1.0 to 2.0 version, the newbie planet for Yanxia Country players—Azure Star's language."

 

"What a joke, wasn't Azure Star bombed by the Galactic Civilization in version 2.5?!"

 

"Five years ago, I saw Azure Star explode with my own eyes. More than 50,000 people in the live broadcast room witnessed that shocking scene together. The planet shattered, the sky collapsed, and under the main cannon of the 'Dallas' starship, it slowly melted into magma. The civilization perished in flames and radiation. Finally, the whole planet disintegrated into broken stones, swallowed and merged by a giant celestial body..."

 

"The most crucial point is, I TMD blew up Azure Star myself!"