124. Speculations on the Path
After the cutscene ended, the players gathered together to discuss the plot.
The first to speak was the female professional player Cumin Powder:
"Let's lay it all out."
"Lay out what?" Old Smoothie Yu Tianxiao immediately pretended to be clueless.
"What else? Do you really think everyone dropped their training to take on this long-term space mission just to enjoy the game?"
She casually flicked her short green-to-pink gradient hair, revealing a striking implant interface on her forehead, and said bluntly, "We were all sent by our superiors to explore. We probably won't be in tournaments for a long time, so it's best to get familiar with each other and share insights."
"I'm not here just to drink water." Night Sword immediately mumbled. Among the four professional players present, he was the only one currently on the main roster, while the other three were alternates.
"So it seems the [Endless Pioneers] team wants you to take a different route?" Old Gan Ye's Gariton asked curiously while grilling chicken wings.
Night Sword chuckled twice:
"You don't get it, do you? Let me give you some insider info: The Terra Federation's four member states, plus the alien colony leagues, will have at least 32 teams competing in the final professional tournament. To accommodate the alien colony players, the major tournament will wait until the next version, the 2.0 update, to begin."
"Then why aren't you staying at the Azure Star base to focus on training matches?" Cumin Powder sneered at him, "With such a long preparation time, if you don't hone your skills and gear, you'll risk not making it into the full league."
"Not exactly." Night Sword shook his finger. "You think the Terra Federation's league doesn't have spies?"
"Oh?"
This immediately caught Yu Tianxiao's attention, as Qiong Yu's focus had not yet shifted, and his information-gathering capabilities were still far behind those of the others present.
"Are you saying there are insiders from the colonies?"
"Of course." Night Sword pointed at Li Aozi in the distance and said, "You probably don't know this, but Li Aozi has already gone viral, becoming a well-known figure in the colonies. Many fans have come to the home planet just to set up support clubs for him."
Cumin Powder waved her hand dismissively: "That doesn't seem directly related, does it? It's just a fan club running on passion."
"Do you really think an embassy is just a diplomatic building?"
Night Sword rolled his eyes at the cyberpunk girl:
"Why do Xiang Xiang Chicken's people always think so straightforwardly? The more foreigners gather in one place, the easier it is for it to become a spy hub. According to a big club owner's statement, these Li Aozi fan clubs—abbreviated as 'Zi Clubs'—have already pooled resources to buy equipment, training grounds, and even registered studios. One of them is in Yanxia, and they'll likely be active on Azure Star."
"I see, using the guise of a fan club, but actually here to gather intelligence on Azure Star." Yu Tianxiao realized. "This isn't spying on trade secrets; it's a legitimate game action, perfectly legal."
"Ugh! Those rich alien dudes are already loaded, yet they still can't afford to lose?" Gariton scoffed. "So pathetic; if you can't handle the game, don't play."
"It's because they're rich that they don't care. But we can't afford that. We're professional players; if we don't play well, we lose our jobs."
Night Sword sat down and spoke confidently:
"Training can't be neglected, but we also need some cards up our sleeves. These aliens might only glimpse our professional style and equipment here on Azure Star, but once we're in space, they'll know nothing about us."
"Good strategy, but won't going to space as a main player affect your training?"
"It won't. I'm an old hand at this; as long as we keep our cards hidden, we can catch the alien bros off guard and leave them baffled."
In the distance, Li Aozi heard Night Sword's confident words and his expression turned odd.
According to his memories, Night Sword missed the first season because he ate a bowl of spicy beef noodles, which caused him to have an upset stomach and miss the game.
There wasn't even news of a match yet, and he was already bragging about his inevitable success... Li Aozi had seen people celebrating at halftime, but celebrating at kickoff was a first.
[Let's hope the spicy beef noodles show some mercy.]
Li Aozi silently prayed for the poor guy.
Players also had their own thoughts on the plot.
"If what Li Aozi said is true, then GTB's existence is a complete scam. I don't get it; the four nations knowing this should just team up to take down GTB, share the cosmic knowledge, and be done with it."
Gariton rubbed his chin, puzzled by the logic.
"You dummy—if Azure Star were full of Beta-level powerhouses, how could any country manage such overwhelming strength? Everyone would be extraordinary, and the current resources and civilization wouldn't be able to contain it."
Cumin Powder rolled her eyes, exasperated:
"People would have greatly enhanced power and wouldn't want to remain subjects. Society would descend into chaos, regressing to a jungle law era."
"That's too one-sided. It's like when AI first started, creators who had studied art for ten years couldn't keep up with AI's fast generation, and many lost their jobs."
Yu Tianxiao shook his head:
"But later, as AI advanced, industry rules were established, and AI became a tool to assist creators, significantly saving time and training costs."
"That's easy to say, but Azure Star has no future—look at the sky, there's no sun, where's the time for development? Instead, maintaining the status quo, fighting over existing resources, and slowly reducing the population through war is the only way to sustain resources."
"Thinking this way, Azure Star's situation is really bleak..."
"So we let GTB monopolize knowledge? And worse, this monopoly keeps the current order stable—it's disgusting. Being choked and still thanking the oppressor, what kind of nonsense is that!"
"Ultimately, it's Entropy Monarch's fault, but Azure Star's downfall is self-inflicted."
Though the players were far from entering GTB's workforce, many had already benefited from GTB, with 40% of quest commissions coming from them.
Now that GTB's truth was revealed, player goodwill towards GTB plummeted.
But as pragmatic players, they moved past the disgust and continued discussing.
"But more importantly, did you notice something peculiar that Li Aozi said?" Night Sword reminded.
"Which part?"
"Everything you've received—[Mechanic], [Martial Artist], [Biochemist], and our most powerful [Mutant]—these legacies are all pathways to godhood in the universe."
Night Sword repeated:
"This line is interesting. If you connect it with the dialogue from the promotional video, you'll find an intriguing coincidence."
"Explain." Yu Tianxiao squinted, opening the promotional video and watching it.
Night Sword opened the promotional video, fast-forwarding to the segment he wanted:
"The video said, 'The Children of Star Abyss, refusing to fade away. They ascend from mortals to noble, fierce gods, confronting the Destroyers with beast-like savagery.'"
"And it connects to—three Destroyers from beyond, greedy and endlessly repeating slaughter and destruction, turning their gaze to Star Abyss after devouring the outer world that birthed them."
"This line is intriguing… The backstory involves [Gem Dragon King] Levithandar, [Dark Titan] Gelbros, and [God of Insight] Discerning Eye, three Destroyers invading Star Abyss from beyond. The native life of Star Abyss, unwilling to be destroyed, ascended from mortals to gods to fight these monsters."
"So, Li Aozi also indicated that gods seem not uncommon in the universe." Cumin Powder stroked her chin, pondering.
"The description that follows is also quite intriguing."
Night Sword briefly described:
"The ones who fought the three Destroyers were six main gods."
"[God of Destruction] Doomfist, challenged the Dragon King and died in battle."
"[Craft Pioneer] Azarophi, was torn apart by the Titan and died in battle."
"[Eerie Origin] Spectre, was disintegrated by Discerning Eye, split into three, whereabouts unknown."
"[Redemption Fairy], true name unknown, but I found it in the official lore compilation—Leonine. But it seems he has also sacrificed, whereabouts unknown."
"[Soul of Plunder] Red King, a traitorous turncoat, probably useless, not very powerful either."
"[Will of Domination] Murphidria, didn't die to the Destroyers, but was devoured by society, and even his avatar, the God of Reality, was killed. Based on Li Aozi's words, it's pretty much confirmed that society is one of the major antagonists in the game."
"Now that you mention it, haven't you noticed?"
By this point, Night Sword's words made the players realize.
"[Destruction], [Craft], [Eerie], [Redemption], [Plunder], [Domination]." Yu Tianxiao mused: "Each god matches our six profession factions exactly. And with Li Aozi saying this is a path to godhood, could it be just a coincidence?"
"I don't think it's that simple." Gariton bit into his chicken wing, analyzing as he chewed: "If it's a path to godhood, why share it and let everyone walk it?"
"Think about it. If I had a path to godhood, why wouldn't I monopolize it? Why share it with others? That's nonsense."
"Well said. Mathematics, physics, and chemistry are foundational sciences that can unlock the universe's truths. Why share them and let everyone learn?" Cumin Powder chuckled, teasing.
"Obviously! Learning theory alone doesn't help. Without specialized knowledge, teamwork, and organized cooperation, it's useless—"
Gariton realized:
"So, the conditions for godhood must be incredibly stringent... like building a battleship; if one person does it, it's impossible. Even if someone manages to build it barehanded, one person alone can't wield its full power."
"I think that's the case." Yu Tianxiao considered, "Since cosmic civilizations are willing to help all of Azure Star reach Gamma level, it means two things: One, Gamma level isn't a threat to them; two, reaching Gamma level is necessary to complete certain tasks."
This logic was easy to grasp: In the agricultural era, people didn't need much education to produce, so rulers kept people ignorant and weak.
But in the industrial era, factories needed literate workers, precision equipment required specialized technicians, advanced engineers were needed, and companies couldn't survive without designers and developers, leading rulers to emphasize education and raising citizen quality.
Applying this logic to godhood makes sense.
The extraordinary have longer lifespans to experience, stronger bodies to fight, and smarter brains to learn—all to meet civilization's needs for a 'god.'
High-quality talent is needed to fulfill the requirements of godhood candidates. In essence, the extraordinary and laborers are fundamentally the same.
"Maybe the cosmic beings don't just want Azure Star's geographic advantage, but its people, to provide them with tangible gods?"
Yu Tianxiao proposed an idea:
"Think about it, the more workers there are, the lower the factory's hiring costs. When there are fewer workers, the factory must raise wages to attract them… If Azure Star's people—or anyone, really—who follows a certain profession can qualify for godhood, then naturally, the more extraordinary individuals there are, the lower the production cost of gods for the civilization."
"That remains to be seen... but this kind of storyline is really bold."
Night Sword commented:
"Thinking of it this way, advanced civilizations could enslave and mass-produce gods... no, maybe gods in the universe are just high-level war units, even supercomputers or production machines."
"That's not impossible. Just look at how all six faction gods died fighting the three Destroyers. Gods might just be like overachieving postdoctoral scholars."
"So you're saying these Gamma-level extraordinary beings on Azure Star, who seem so high and mighty, are actually no different from vocational school graduates who end up working factory jobs, tightening screws—damn, who'd want that kind of life?"
Li Aozi listened to the players' discussion from the side, smiling slightly.
Although he didn't give too many hints, the players weren't foolish and quickly grasped the logic.
For players from their time, realizing this was a little too late—they had descended into Star Abyss for the first time, and the stronger the individual, the more curses they endured, leading to the strongest player being trapped on the second level of Star Abyss for an entire version, falling 40 levels behind everyone by the time he descended again.
Facing monsters like society, it was even worse. An individual could never defeat a society; killing its leaders would only result in replacements.
Society paralleled civilization, and if any 'individual' could fight against society, it would have to be another society.
Fortunately, Li Aozi didn't need to confront society directly.
He turned and looked at the freezer, reaching out to touch the transparent glass, staring at the biochemical body inside.
Months ago, he had fought the Abyss Professor's biochemical body and suffered. Now, it was his turn to bring a lesson to the [White Knight] along with the Tianhuan people.
"By the way, Miss N4."
"What's the matter? Dissatisfied with the product?"
"Not really." Li Aozi pointed at the 'Pioneer' and said, "Can you add a power limiter for me?"
"What do you need that for?"
"Nothing much, just too powerful—crushing isn't fun."
Li Aozi rubbed his neck, revealing a gentle smile:
"Limit it to Beta level. I want that guy to know that without his poison blood, he's nothing!"