Crystal Tower Civilization, Baizhu Star, a certain relic.
Li Aozi extracted a healing potion from the Biological Pool and stopped the bleeding effect of Genetic Damage. Subsequently, he effortlessly dragged the Biological Pool into the forest, camouflaging it with branches to keep it hidden.
This relic would beco his outpost for connecting to the starry sky; battles were still ongoing, and this node could be fully utilized for smuggling and trading goods.
As everyone knows, all the ways to make money are written in criminal law. Li Aozi had already planned his sche. Both the Crystal Tower and the Night Butterfly Federation were civilizations that hadn’t interfaced with interstellar standards, which ant that other Narrative-Level products could beco expensive commodities here. Conversely, the unique local products of these two civilizations could be sold at high prices in the universe.
Being a middleman and profiting from the price difference while avoiding the hefty tariffs that the two civilizations would have charged, it was hard not to make money.
Making money was not an issue. The real problem for Li Aozi now turned out to be his identity.
Players had been inford by Li Aozi in advance that interstellar travel would take a long ti, and it would be a while before they could co online. Before that, the issues facing Li Aozi would beco insurmountable.
The situation with Yawen was not stable, and her strength was not formidable. Li Aozi decided not to deploy her, letting her stay by his side as a mascot, which was as good as taking a vacation to an extraterrestrial planet.
Li Aozi set up a tent for her, and Yawen moved in without uttering a word.
Next, it was ti for Li Aozi to consider his own issues.
The first thing to solve was his lack of official status.
It would be easier if the players were online. Baizhu Star was a planet devoted to education, which ant almost all resources were dedicated to teaching and related services.
If Li Aozi had a few dozen people under him, he could just go to a labor dispatch company, claim he was a rustic coming to work for the Magic Academy’s teaching staff, work for three months, rent a cheap housing, and then he could get a work visa and identification.
With a certificate of origin from an interstellar civilization, it would be easier to explain his background in a Narrative-Level Civilization and avoid the risk of the Fenesis Federation discovering that he had smuggled himself out of the Azure Star. According to Li Aozi’s experience, it would only take one year to obtain a first-class citizenship in the Empire of Heralds.
However, this body had Genetic Damage, and all Arcane Energy was sealed, making it even more difficult to find a suitable identity and job.
The Crystal Tower placed a high value on lineage, or more precisely, they cared about the magical aptitude that one’s lineage conferred. To work at the Magic Academy, one had to at least be soone with magical aptitude.
Players had powerful player templates that allowed them to change into any occupation, but for Li Aozi, it was quite unfriendly—his genes had been haphazardly modified, and during the entrance test, his identity as an Implant Gear would be revealed and then disposed of as a biological weapon.
Therefore, Li Aozi had to find a body with the right magical aptitude. If the aptitude were even better, perhaps he could enter a higher educational institution for studies.
If he couldn’t get to Architect, securing the Magician occupation first would greatly assist in his later advancent to teor Fall Master.
As the saying goes, "How can a living person die of thirst?"
Initially, Li Aozi planned to hunt and collect magic materials to assemble a magic Implant Gear, but he soon realized how naive this thought was. Even Madam N4, faced with magic materials whose properties and structures she had never understood, couldn’t guarantee that she would be able to utilize them properly.
After several failures, Li Aozi dared not attempt again. The ti wasted was already too much, and without Arcane Energy, he did not dare to wander too far off.
While he was gathering materials, he had already felt the formidable pressure of wild beasts several tis, and tracks and droppings rich in elental essence were enough to indicate how terrifying those Predators were.
However, Li Aozi was well aware that in this relic, there were creations of deities from the Primordial Era, and the local beasts instinctively feared those ancient relics.
After all, this was an interstellar civilization planet. Not to ntion the certainty of having a Kappa-level powerhouse in charge, with his skills not even reaching Gamma level, he could only be considered cheap labor here. Getting involved in conflicts was not suitable.
Players might take another two months to co online; for them, it would just be a nap, but for Li Aozi, it would be a long wait without sleep. He did not want to just wait idly, even though he received experience and proficiency from renting Arcane Energy every month. He didn’t want to live on welfare.
Li Aozi recalled the map and mission plot of Baizhu Star and suddenly got an idea.
"My current location should be Relic 10-98-1 on Baizhu Star. The nearby creatures are mostly around level 120, and there are so villages close to this relic."
Since Baizhu Star was purely an educational planet, there inevitably were settlents for housing labor force. Those migrant workers, who had built villages and cities locally and had been influenced by magic over a long period, surely had so descendants who just t the standards of Spellcasters.
After spending a few days ssing around in the relic, Li Aozi decided to make a move and try his luck.
"Are you leaving ?"
Yawen sat on a fallen tree, her head drooping, but her tone was matter-of-fact:
"Yes, after all, I can’t do anything, I’m not likable, and now I even look weird..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Aozi quickly interjected, "If this continues, I feel it might not be you who becos depressed, but —Miss Yawen, I’m not leaving you because I dislike you—I might go to college, and you could stay here to coordinate with the Descenders I bring. I will see a great use for you later."
"Are you saying that I am very useful to you?"
Yawen raised her head, her eyes webbed with the imprint of ti sparkling:
"I am aningful... right?"
"Yes," Li Aozi followed, "you an a great deal to ."
Yawen’s pale cheeks blushed slightly. She turned her head away, clutching her cloak tightly, covering her face as she turned and walked away quickly:
"I’m going to build a house, make this place look nicer, and I’ll take good care of them when the ti cos."
"It will be hard work for you then."
Li Aozi breathed a sigh of relief. Yawen’s extre denial of her own personality suggested that her psychological illness was quite severe.
The more severe the psychological trauma, the less one should remain idle, or they would start overthinking, spiraling into deeper sadness, creating a vicious cycle that ultimately only hard themselves.
"Li Aozi."
Yawen had just picked up a piece of wood when she suddenly turned around and looked at herself.
"Hmm?" Li Aozi t her web-filled eyes, "What is it?"
"...During the school term, will you co back to see ?"
Yawen looked down, gazing at her toes:
"It’s not to see , no problem ... I’m afraid you might get hurt, or feel lonely by yourself in a foreign land ..."
Bang!
Li Aozi raised his hand and flicked her forehead.
"Uh!"
Yawen instinctively covered her forehead, looking puzzled at Li Aozi:
"Why did you hit—"
"Why worry about , I have an immortal body," Li Aozi joked. "Just take good care of yourself; don’t get yourself into any trouble—no matter what, ensure you are safe, live well, and don’t die in so godforsaken place, where I can’t even find you."
Li Aozi repeated what he had told her before, emphasizing:
"For you to live well is the best blessing you could give ."
"I..." Yawen hung her head, fidgeting with her feet, "I have done many things to be sorry for, hated by the whole world, yet you don’t hate ... Whatever you want to do, I will do."
"You’re wrong to say that. You don’t live just for ; you live for yourself and the mission that you carry."
Li Aozi extended his hands, holding her cheeks, his gray eyes locked with her web-filled strange ones, their eyes holding only each other at that mont:
"Yawen, I don’t know why you have beco like this, maybe, during this ti, you’ve experienced pains I can’t understand — I am not the one who experienced it firsthand, I don’t have the right to judge, but what I want to say is: your existence is not aningless, nor should you feel obligated to die just because others hate you."
"I..."
"In this world, there are many things born that make one question their aning. For example, the mantis shrimp, the alpaca, the sunfish — these unimpressive beings make one wonder if the creator was out of his mind. People have invented language, yet still use expressions to convey their feelings, they know novels are fictitious, video gas too, but they are willing to accept those fictional narratives."
Li Aozi tugged at Yawen’s thin cheeks, saying:
"Saying things like ’whatever you say, I will do’ — you’re underestimating yourself. You are an independent woman, don’t think about selling the freedom you were born with. Even if you make no contributions to the world, your unique presence as ’Yawen’ is a miracle by itself."
Li Aozi said:
"And you, Yawen, your existence to the world is like a miracle. You are a cot that crossed the night sky thousands of years ago. There are countless stars in the cosmos, but only a few civilizations. As you traverse the cosmos, most people won’t see you."
"Pfft—"
Yawen couldn’t help but laugh, covering her lips with the back of her hand, softly saying:
"That makes it sound like I’m even more pitiful... Most people, they don’t notice the presence of a cot."
"Yes, and because most people don’t see, those civilizations that do find you extraordinary, they make wishes upon you, record your descriptions, even if there are just a few cases, it’s a sight rembered for a lifeti."
Li Aozi gently patted her shoulder:
"Fortunately, I have witnessed you, and your parents, relatives, and friends will rember you. How can you say you are aningless? As long as you keep moving forward, more people will rember you, recognize you, understand you — maybe life itself doesn’t have much aning, but as you go on, you will find the aning of your existence."
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