Chapter 406: Goddess

At that moment, a soft "puff" sounded, and the transparent giant hand in the air flickered and vanished.

Wang Yu staggered back to his feet, dazed and dizzy, and heard the white-robed elder's cold voice:

"Star Mind Force Level Four test passed. Beginning identity verification."

"Ding Yu, citizen of Blue Star China, born in the capital on October 10, 2008…"

"Detection confirms the test subject's fingerprints, active retinal patterns, and system-recorded data are fully matched…"

"Detection confirms the test subject's mental energy signature matches human brainwave patterns at over ninety-nine percent. Confirmed as pure-blood Blue Star human, qualifies under special supplementary terms."

"I now, in my capacity as Vice Chairman of the Blue Star Alliance Mind Force Association and a Six-Star Mind Force Master, grant the Star Mind Force practitioner with ID GLX the rank of Four-Star Senior Mind Force Master, along with the Star Mind Force cultivation methods from Level Four to Level Six, and all special rights accorded to a Four-Star Mind Force Master of the Blue Star Alliance. Please now look into my eyes."

After the white-robed elder finished speaking without emotion, his originally silver-white eyes suddenly shimmered with a layer of crystal light.

Wang Yu instinctively glanced into the elder's eyes, felt his soul tremble, and then knew nothing more.

…

The white gaming pod's door swung open.

A white youth with hair dyed red and yellow, wearing a thick earring in his ear, stepped out, his expression calm but his gaze faintly dazed.

He was Wang Yu, disguised as Dai Sen.

This was the second floor of the Star River Bar, not far from his new residence; during this gaming session, he had not only passed the official mecha pilot certification but also obtained the Star Mind Force cultivation incantations for Levels Four through Six through a special scenario.

Yet that white-robed elder was a Six-Star Mind Force Master—no wonder his mental energy was so terrifying, capable of materializing mental force.

Though his cultivation in the immortal realm had granted him mental energy far exceeding that of other practitioners at his level, barely equivalent to one who had completed Star Mind Force Level Four, he was still incomparable to the white-robed elder.

Relying on the acuity of his divine consciousness, he faintly sensed the elder's previously used mental energy was likely less than one or two percent of his total power—truly fearsome.

But what exactly was this Mind Force Association? Was it an organization that would only form on Blue Star in the future?

Wang Yu rubbed his head in confusion, still feeling a slight dizziness.

"Why did it take you so long to come out?"

At that moment, a brown-haired teenager nearby, who had clearly been waiting a long time, muttered and rushed into the gaming pod, slamming the door shut with force.

Wang Yu slightly raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

The gaming pod experience at this Star River Bar was indeed excellent—even superior in performance to the one he'd used at the base, likely a newer model.

Unfortunately, though he had enough cash to buy a gaming pod, Xierde was hardly an advanced country, and there were few wealthy families in Pengjie City who could afford one independently.

Not to mention buying a gaming pod—even a cheap gaming helmet would be conspicuously eye-catching in Pengjie City, drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Besides, he had no interest in the vastly inferior gaming experience offered by gaming helmets.

Thus, if he wanted to enter the "Star River" game, he naturally had no choice but to come to this nearby Star River Bar.

But too many people waited here for free gaming sessions; had the bar's registration system not been fully automated by its own computer system, requiring no human intervention, he might have had to find another way.

Now that he had passed the official mecha pilot certification, after completing all formal procedures for the title within the game, he should be able to enter the global mecha pilot rankings.

He was curious—how high could his current strength place him among all Blue Star mecha pilots?

Wang Yu shook his head, about to leave, when a clear chime rang from his pocket.

He stirred slightly, pulled out a black mobile phone, and pressed the answer button.

"Mr. Dai Sen, how long until you reach the factory? Employees start work at two. If you want to learn all the factory's records, you'd better arrive before they start. If not, should I drive to pick you up?" A young woman's voice came through the phone, calm and composed.

Wang Yu's mind instantly flashed a file he had memorized and a photo of a young woman.

"Ai Li, twenty-six, graduated from Pengjie University's secretarial program, joined the slaughterhouse as an assistant a year ago, sharp and capable, family of five, father…"

To ensure his portrayal of Dai Sen was flawless, he had arranged yesterday to meet this Ai Li today, to tour the slaughterhouse, understand its operations, and meet the staff.

According to Li Xiaodao's information, to prevent the former "Dai Sen" from revealing inconsistencies, the factory owner's son had occasionally met a few employees but had never officially visited the slaughterhouse.

Now, Wang Yu was portraying a factory owner's son about to inherit the business—he naturally needed to occasionally show concern for his own enterprise.

"Alright, come pick me up. I'm at the Star River Bar three hundred meters from my home—I'll wait by the entrance."

The woman on the phone agreed and ended the call.

Wang Yu calmly descended the stairs to the first-floor lobby and glanced at the massive screen in the center.

Before the screen, many young people waiting for gaming sessions watched a replay of a large-scale battle scenario.

On the screen, a vast starry void stretched before a colossal fortress-like spaceship, where tens of thousands of mechs battled countless star-cloud beasts.

These star-cloud beasts ranged from hundreds of meters tall to five or six meters long, pouring endlessly from nearby meteor belts as if inexhaustible.

Each time a mech was destroyed, the onlookers gasped in shock.

Wang Yu saw this scene and felt a faint stir within.

This was the massive scenario recently discussed most on the "Star River" forum: "Goddess's Fall."

It was said that to unlock this scenario, over ten thousand mecha pilots must assemble—it was also one of the three hell-level difficulty scenarios currently published by Star River.

Since launch, the scenario had never been cleared, nor had its progress even reached a quarter.

The victory condition was simple: protect the Blue Star Alliance's ten-thousand-meter spaceship, "Statue of Liberty," from destruction amid successive waves of star-cloud beasts.

Though Wang Yu rarely logged into the "Star River" forum, he remembered the discussions about this scenario vividly.

It was said the longest anyone had held out so far was seven waves of star-cloud beasts; how many more waves remained was unknown.

The tens of thousands of mecha pilots on screen appeared well-coordinated and clearly organized—not a rabble—but under the relentless waves of beasts emerging from the meteor belts, they were gradually faltering, with mechs frequently retreating to the giant ship for temporary repairs.

"Pity—the British Prince Isa has united thirteen of the largest Western base teams, but clearly he cannot break through the seventh wave. It seems impossible to clear this scenario."

"Who says it's impossible? If ten thousand mecha pilots aren't enough, use a hundred thousand, a million. With a million mecha pilots, you could clear it just by sheer numbers."

"You're insane. This scenario has a player cap—only twenty thousand mecha pilots allowed. And do you really think it's just about numbers? Are you treating these star-cloud beasts like dumb monsters from old games?"

"True—star-cloud beasts in Star River have high intelligence."

"I recall the high-difficulty scenario 'Blood Red Ring Ambush'—because it had no player cap, someone organized thousands of mecha pilots to attack the star-cloud beasts' base on Saturn, turning the ambush into a frontal assault, only for the beasts to trigger the base's nuclear bombs, reducing thousands of mecha and the entire base to ash."

"Twenty thousand reserve mecha pilots can't clear it, but if you replace them with twenty thousand official mecha pilots, the chance of success rises sharply."

"Twenty thousand official mecha pilots? There are only tens of thousands of official mecha pilots worldwide. Who could assemble so many simultaneously? Even if someone could, it would likely be a late-game scenario."

Before the screen, the crowd watched the grand battle, excitedly debating.