From the Abyss of Stars

5. Man of Action

 

Leaving the Frost Republic and entering the outside world seems like suicide, but that’s not quite accurate.

 

It’s more like going from one hell to another.

 

Li Aozhi was the night patrol security guard at Jianlin County Village Savings Bank. He had heard that working in a bank was lucrative, but he misunderstood two points.

 

First, banks make money, but being a security guard does not. The tellers work five days a week, but security guards only get one day off on National Day, and their monthly salary is only 2300 to 2400 Debbies, not much more than a supermarket cashier.

 

Moreover, being a security guard in a border area like Frost, the probability of encountering robber gangs, extraordinary criminals, and monsters like Spirit Fiends is very high. The bank is not a government institution and cannot afford to hire extraordinary beings, so pressing an alarm in a crisis is the best you can do for the bank manager.

 

Second, in the era of the four countries, it’s not ordinary financial institutions that make real money, but the "Global Trade Bank," abbreviated GTB, a special armed monopoly organization.

 

Using the bank keys he managed as a security guard, Li Aozhi opened the riot equipment vault, taking out a fire axe and a bulletproof vest. He kept a close eye on the time, always calculating.

 

Next, he took the fire axe and smashed the counter, quickly looting the cash, roughly estimating about 40,000 Debbies. Li Aozhi spread the cash like a fan, counting it skillfully and quickly—this wasn't due to his banking expertise but rather a technique he learned playing card games in the past.

 

"14,2300 Debbies, not much. But enough to start that quest."

 

Li Aozhi was satisfied. He had no intention of robbing the bank vault. As a night patrol security guard, he didn’t have the electronic key to the vault, and the bank's safes were nearly impossible to open without professional cutting tools.

 

Comparatively, looting the counter cash was the easiest.

 

"Since Rule Four arrests people indiscriminately and kills innocents for credit, I might as well embezzle."

 

"And if I pull off a big heist, robbing a bank is a serious crime. Maybe Rule Four agents will hunt me down. Initially, Rule Four agents are at most level 15. Taking them down would provide a substantial amount of experience."

 

Li Aozhi deleted the surveillance footage and struck Lanny Johns' corpse a few times, staging the scene to look like he had murdered for money.

 

Ordinary people instinctively fear law enforcement, but Li Aozhi didn’t. On the contrary, he intended to use this as bait, luring them in.

 

As a pragmatist, Li Aozhi had no qualms about criminal activities. In his previous life, players caused havoc across the universe; this was nothing.

 

He quickly changed out of his security uniform. To prevent biological information tracking by Rule Four, he set a fire, burning away his biological information. He also removed the SIM card from his personal terminal and threw it into the morning garbage truck to prevent tracking.

 

Li Aozhi was a man of action. Within ten minutes, he was ready to set the fire. He didn’t carry any extra items, lit a cigarette with Lanny’s lighter, and took a deep drag.

 

Phew...

 

The complex aroma of tobacco lingered in his teeth, calming his mind completely. He wasn’t a regular smoker, so the calming effect of the tobacco would last a long time.

 

Before six o'clock arrived, he threw the lit half-cigarette onto a pile of combustibles and turned to leave.

 

Boom!

 

The next moment, flames erupted, thick smoke billowed, and the glass doors shattered. As the wailing fire trucks arrived on the scene, Li Aozhi blended into the crowd watching the fire, casually and skillfully leaving the Jianlin County Village Savings Bank.

 

The surrounding residents, alarmed by the fire, gathered, watching the burning bank in amazement. Their monotonous work lives had gained a bit of excitement from this sudden fire.

 

Artificial light fell on his shoulders. In the crowd, Li Aozhi looked up at the sky. The cold and dim hemisphere generator continued to emit light radiation slowly.

 

This wasn’t the real sun.

 

No day-night cycle, no sunset or sunrise, no moonrise, just decades of unchanging daylight illumination.

 

Li Aozhi didn’t use public transportation. With the map of Jianlin County in his mind, he made several turns, entering a public restroom. His makeup skills were excellent. When he emerged in a blue shirt and old jacket, he looked like a sallow-faced, worried middle-aged man.

 

He looked at the hemisphere light barrier generator again and shook his head:

 

"People deprived of sunlight don’t dare to look up at the sky."

 

With his disguise complete, he tore up his ID card and threw it into the garbage truck, having no further use for it.

 

In the previous life, players born in the Frost Federation eventually sought to immigrate or leave the country due to poor development prospects, especially if they weren't female players, who had few quests to accept.

 

Even players controlling virtual characters loathed Frost.

 

But in this era, it wasn’t so easy.

 

Moreover, he was now a fugitive with stolen money. Public transportation wasn’t an option. Fortunately, Jianlin County was near the border, only 20 kilometers away in a straight line. But crossing the border was no small feat, with checkpoints and GTB security personnel closely monitoring.

 

"Normal people need a smuggler. But my goal isn't to enter the other three countries but to get outside. That’s much easier."

 

Li Aozhi was lucky. Jianlin County wasn't a major population or industrial center. It was a semi-urban area.

 

The county's population was complex, including stateless refugees entering civilization for the first time, local residents, migrant workers, long-distance truck drivers, farmers, workers, and some city dwellers from Yaoguang City.

 

Such a mixed population easily formed cliques, with people from all walks of life helping each other, eventually creating gang influences.

 

Gangs in lawless areas fill a gap in order, defined as economic crime organizations. Their fighting is a means to an end, with profit as the ultimate goal.

 

In the context of Frost, human trafficking and smuggling were highly profitable. The front shop-back factory model, combined with the county's complex population and law enforcement difficulties, quickly upgraded the smuggling industry, using rapid sales models to empower the industry, driving innovation, and contributing greatly to Frost's development.

 

Simply put, there were too many smuggling ads. They were everywhere, using euphemisms like "quick entry and residency solutions."

 

Li Aozhi didn’t know much about Frost, but... street flyers and cards told him a lot.

 

Picking up a few flyers from the ground, he unsurprisingly found a smuggler.

 

Following the address, he found them in an alley.

 

"Where are you headed?"

 

The smuggler was a young woman, chewing gum, looking impatient, with a raspy voice and skewed features. Four middle-aged men, silent and dull, likely her henchmen, accompanied her.

 

Seeing Li Aozhi was a pale-skinned man resembling a stateless refugee, she immediately felt disdain.

 

On Azure Star, sunlight resources were monopolized by the four countries. Those with a healthy tan indicated sufficient sunlight exposure, a sign of wealth and leisure.

 

Conversely, pale skin indicated severe lack of sunlight, suggesting stateless ancestry within three generations.

 

Li Aozhi's poor family situation was evident; otherwise, he wouldn’t be as pale as a refugee.

 

He didn't care. Discrimination was common among the four countries. He threw a stack of cash and said:

 

"This is 14,000, enough to take me to Shelter P-205."

 

The smuggler weighed the money, her eyes shifting. She glanced at Li Aozhi and asked, "Deserter?"

 

Shelters weren’t civilized areas, lacking sunlight and barely habitable. Frost was still a civilized world with GTB energy loans. Life was tough but livable.

 

Only deserters, felons, or smugglers would risk entering the outside. The county was small, and regular smugglers were known. She could tell he wasn’t a felon, so he had to be a deserter.

 

"None of your business."

 

Li Aozhi snorted, intentionally vague, confirming her suspicion.

 

"Heh, no need to be nervous. Plenty of deserters every year." She smiled, counted the cash, and was surprised, "This money is really new."

 

Li Aozhi almost laughed. It was freshly taken from the bank, of course.

 

"When can we leave?" He feigned urgency, pressing, "I need to go. Someone's waiting for me outside. They won’t last long..."

 

"No rush, not enough people yet. We leave when the group is full." She shrugged.

 

Smuggling opportunities were rare. They packed people into containers before setting off.

 

Someone waiting? Yeah, right.

 

Without protective gear, normal people couldn’t survive three days outside. To rescue someone, at least seven or eight logistics personnel were needed.

 

Waiting for someone? Who do you think you are?

 

Seeing her stalling, Li Aozhi knew what was up. He grabbed her collar and growled:

 

"Who do you think you are? I'm with the Rose Army! You dare waste my time?!"