"Thanks, Mr. Olavir. It was all thanks to your help." Li Aozi nodded.
"If it weren’t for you driving away the ’Union Group’ and continuously providing countless immortal soldiers to Valenkov, this place would have turned into a war-torn hell by now."
Olavir joked,
"Although there’s still war everywhere now, the people of Valenkov have earned a lot of money from the shows, at least pulling themselves out of economic crisis. Most have migrated to other planets, and those who stayed are providing support and logistics for the program crew—they are living quite well under the low-intensity warfare."
"That’s too kind. They are my precious little pigs." Li Aozi gave a heartfelt smile. He planned to share this news with Nikita later.
As an old soldier, knowing his hotown people were living happily would surely bring him comfort.
"Speaking of which, you are quite wealthy yourself now. With your assets, migrating to the ’Empire of Heralds’ would instantly place you in the elite class."
Olavir suddenly changed the subject,
"—However, you should still be cautious lately."
Li Aozi discerned the hidden aning in his words and asked,
"Has sothing happened recently?"
"On the surface, nothing major has happened. But since you’ve reached Zeta Rank, if all goes well, a bright youth like you will soon descend into the Border Abyss to unlock your potential."
Olavir took a sip of his drink and said,
"Over these few years, you’ve maintained a low profile, but the world is not at peace. There have been so troubling issues in the Lower Starry Abyss."
"What do you an?" Li Aozi subtly sent a red envelope over.
Olavir understood, accepted the envelope, and imdiately explained,
"You should know the rules of Starry Abyss: among the sa batch of divers, the more people on the sa Pathway, the more the curse is dispersed. If there’s only one person on the sa Pathway, they bear the full curse, while others only bear a quarter or a tenth."
"I know that." Li Aozi nodded.
"Due to the varying strengths of the curse, once you descend into the Starry Abyss, your progress will diverge accordingly. So, in the Lower Starry Abyss, everyone tends to form alliances. Those on the sa Pathway naturally beco allies. The Pathways with more people have the advantage in that environnt."
Olavir took another sip and continued,
"However, most civilizations lack the technology to descend. Even if they forcefully send a few seeds down—once they arrive at the Border Abyss and realize the resources and potential for advancent are too abundant, they may simply ignore their civilization’s orders and never return after advancing to Kappa Rank."
"Yes, I’m familiar with this."
Coming from Azure Starshine, Li Aozi could deeply relate.
"To avoid this, ordinary interstellar civilizations must establish good relations with Narrative-Level Civilizations because they have specialized ’Underwater Abyss Teams’ dedicated to training, guiding divers, and ensuring their return—a seamless process. With Narrative-Level Civilizations overseeing it, divers don’t dare not to return, making it credible."
Olavir said this, and Li Aozi began to understand.
"I guess this is the part where you say ’however’."
"However—Leo, you talk too much."
Olavir said grudgingly,
"Recently, during several descents into the Starry Abyss, the ’Obliteration Sanctum’ dispatched Underwater Abyss Teams that didn’t return on ti."
"Extraordinarily delayed, overburdened by curses, or obstructed by lower-level narratives. That should be normal." Li Aozi said casually.
"I feel like you know the Starry Abyss better than I do—but this ti, it’s really unusual. Not only the ’Obliteration Sanctum,’ but the ’Union Group’s’ Underwater Abyss Teams didn’t return either."
Olavir said seriously,
"On the surface, the official stance remains silent, but several small and dium-sized civilizations that commissioned the descent are restless and panicked—their public opinion is in upheaval. According to my friends in the Border Abyss, it’s estimated that these two Underwater Abyss Teams won’t co back."
"You an... silent disconnection?"
Li Aozi asked,
"What level of incident? Level 4 or Level 5?"
Olavir was taken aback,
"How do you even know these professional terms? You even know the descent incident levels?"
"I’ve been fortunate enough to read a few books." Li Aozi said casually, "Descent incidents are very serious, especially since the civilizations in Layer Abyss aren’t a monolith. It’s easy to cause diplomatic disputes."
"You’re making look unprofessional..." Olavir said gloomily, "As of now, it’s confird to be silent disconnection—no report to the Narrative-Level Civilizations, biological data blocked, no changes in the records on the Ascension Platform, though it could also be undisclosed."
"Then it’s Level 5." Li Aozi said solemnly, "Level 5 silent disconnection generally has only one possibility."
"Yes."
Olavir sighed and said seriously,
"Both Underwater Abyss Teams were likely targeted and killed by the ’Society,’ an assassination with specific coordinates."
Li Aozi pondered for a mont and said,
"This issue is indeed severe. The positions of the Underwater Abyss Teams should have been coordinated with the Narrative-Level Civilizations in the Lower Starry Abyss. Normally, there would be dedicated escorts for protection. One mistake might be excusable, but two instances of targeted assassinations confirm an insider."
"In any case, before the investigation is concluded, avoid choosing to descend." Olavir said, "It’s best to steer clear of the Narrative-Level Civilizations for now. Young talents like you are the pri targets for those corrupted insiders."
"My Pathway is about to advance further; descending into the Starry Abyss is imminent."
Li Aozi shook his head,
"If the Underwater Abyss Team route isn’t feasible, I’ll descend by myself if necessary."
He was about to attend a Hunter gathering, and Olavir’s intelligence served as a tily reminder to procure anti-Society items.
"Self-descent?" Olavir thought for a mont, "Then you need at least to find the Starry Abyss node—do you need my help?"
Li Aozi imdiately said,
"Not for now—but Mr. Olavir, I need you to provide with so Zhi Xiang intel."
As an experienced player, he knew the locations of several Starry Abyss nodes in Layer Abyss.
If descending with the Underwater Abyss Team was like joining a group tour with safety guarantees and stable accommodations but limited freedom,
then self-descent was like a self-guided tour, with freedom and flexibility but significantly higher risks.
Li Aozi didn’t mind either way—after all, he had enough ’Sovereign’ system players under him. When the ti ca, he would lead a large group into the Starry Abyss; curses wouldn’t be an issue.
What mattered most now was finding Zhi Xiang and obtaining ’Weak Force’ Arcane Energy to transition into ’Lunar String Archbishop.’"
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