Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'

On Azure Star, the Outer World has no daylight, and the people of the Four Nations have no nightfall.

'Missed call: Li Aozi (Note: Silly Son) *11'

'Missed call: Li Huixi (Dear Daughter) *2'

'Li Aozi: Dad, are you okay? Why haven't you come home yet? (Read, not replied)'

'Li Huixi: I am still short two hundred Derbies for next month's tuition, please pay it. (Read)'

'Reply - Li Huixi: Okay, Dad earned three hundred and seventy by hauling steel coils the day before yesterday, and I've transferred it all to you. (Read, transfer accepted)'

'Li Aozi: Dad, I made porridge for you, heat it up and eat it when you get home if you're hungry. (Read, not replied)'

'Reply - Li Huixi: Go for it, Xixi! You're the best, and Dad believes you can get into the capital's university! (Unread)'

'Li Aozi: The police said the Spirit Monster murder cases are becoming more frequent, Dad, please come home quickly, Mom and I are scared at home (Unread).'

'Reply - Li Huixi: Xixi, do you need anything else? Is study pressure too much? Should Dad buy you a gaming console to relax? (Unread)'

'Li Aozi: I changed Mom's urinal; she just talked to me about work. I want to finish vocational school before working...can you talk to her, Dad? (Unread)'

'Li Aozi: (Typing)'

'Li Aozi: I really want to continue studying. The teacher said I could go to college, each semester only costs 4000 Derbies, and with work-study, I can work at a drone factory after graduating. With some luck, I could apprentice as a Beta Rank Mechanic, maybe even have a chance to go to Red Arrow. (Attached e-link: "Frost Plated Electronic Engineering Vocational College & Red Arrow Empire Alheim Technology Cooperation Professional: Micro Intelligent Drone" (PDF format)) (Unread)'

'Li Aozi: Dad, I discussed it with the teacher, this major offers work visas (click link: Red Arrow Empire Immigration Office Website: vvvvvv.REPCIS.gov). Red Arrow now grants a green card after five years of continuous tax payments and fixed residence, and permanent residency after eight years. When the time comes, you and Mom can come to Red Arrow too, though it might be hard since housing there is expensive, but I can live under a bridge. The artificial suns in Red Arrow are powerful, so you won't freeze to death. (Unread)'

'Li Aozi retracted three messages'

'Li Aozi: It's alright, Dad, come home quickly. I'm planning to look for work in the county town after finishing vocational school. (Read)'

Sigh...

Li Mingji finished his last cigarette, contemplating whether to spend money on electronic cigarettes. But the thought of the miscellaneous fruity flavors and stronger nicotine shots that could heavily hit his wallet made him choose to stick with traditional cigarettes.

Though whatever you smoke, it's like paying to endure suffering, but on the bright side, isn't taking a job as well paying to endure suffering?

Human happiness and pain often coexist; only through suffering can the pleasure be truly appreciated. That's how it is, simply put.

It's like having children; despite the immense pain, the unconditional love and commitment parents naturally feel is unique and irreplaceable in this world.

"That's exactly why I choose to forsake my failed life and let the Deities take over my Fate. As long as it allows my family to have a good life, in this country that favors daughters over sons, if even a discriminated boy like Li Aozi can receive a normal education, and my wife can upgrade to advanced prosthetics and walk again, then my Life and soul are worth nothing, even if it means blowing up the entire planet..."

As an ordinary person who failed in life, Li Mingji has no nostalgia for the Grand Narrative; he doesn't care about independent thinking or that after losing his life, his kids would call a stranger like Xides dad, or that the person his wife loves would turn into a successful and entirely different version of himself.

Such things are a concern for those earning a monthly salary of three thousand Derbies, but for an unemployed middle-aged rural man without education, as long as someone can take care of his family, he has little to worry about.

Li Mingji sat at the bridge. It was already 9:30 PM.

Xides had not arrived yet.

Maybe Starry Abyss lied to him, perhaps it was just a dream. What Deity Starry Abyss exists in this world, but his own poverty and ignorance, mistaking fantasy for reality?

The distant village resounded with a few dog barks, perhaps validating his thoughts.

'This can't be true.'

Li Mingji felt somewhat swayed in his heart.

'Go home.'

Going home now would earn him a scolding from his family, but after a night's rest, they would urge him to get up and cook.

The cigarette in hand illuminated the night without dark, as he stood by the riverbank under the artificial sun. Four hundred years ago, the Frost Plated People invaded the Outer World, annexing it into their territory. But for four hundred years, the Republic's President never cared for these conquered lands. Bureaucrats and plutocrats in the capital fought fiercely, both openly and covertly. Their bribes and political donations, even a fraction of them, could afford to open five factories, three elementary schools, and one middle school in this village.

But no one cared for this small border village, where some people teetered on the edge of subsistence. Even if they work hard, it pales in comparison to the single night of consumption at Twin Stars.

President Madeleine's comment, 'Fighting for women's job opportunities,' cost Li Mingji his job, taking away the hope for countless families needing men like Li Mingji to support them at the base level.