Chapter 194: Star Network Replacement?

Di Ku Shi Jie, mechanical ruins.

Ah Lan and his teammates lay on the iron railings outside the control room, their gazes sweeping over the mechanical spiders gathering in the hall below.

Through contact over this period, Ah Lan's status within the team had changed.

Now he was the team's core, and the only player pursuing main body enhancement.

Originally, the main body form was held by the team captain.

But the captain, knowing his own abilities were far inferior to Ah Lan's, chose to step aside, letting Ah Lan serve as the team's "Fusion Core."

Regarding this, Ah Lan felt no surprise and calmly accepted the captain's duties.

From the moment he entered the game, he had a clear plan for his future.

When the high-dimensional beings distributed game qualifications this time, only he among the Moon Eclipse Clan drew a qualification.

After entering the game, he named himself "Shou Shou Jili," with the very purpose of laying the groundwork in the Monster World in advance.

At the same time, refunds for the Dark Zone had already opened.

The official website of the Dark Zone posted his in-game contact information; any player wishing to refund could contact him in the Monster World and exchange equivalent real-world currency Shou Shou Jili for a refund.

In the players' eyes, this was getting 1.5 times the compensation amount for free.

But Ah Lan knew clearly.

In the future, Shou Shou Jili would replace real-world currency, becoming the truly valuable currency in the eyes of all Earth Alliance races.

The only factors limiting Shou Shou Jili's replacement of real-world currency were time, and the restricted circulation caused by Shou Shou Jili shortages, which made large-scale transaction demands impossible.

Therefore, laying the groundwork for Shou Shou Jili in advance was the core direction for the future development of the Moon Eclipse Clan.

Secondly, factional layout within the game was also very important.

At this stage, only he among the Moon Eclipse Clan had obtained a game qualification; establishing a faction alone would be very difficult.

He must attach himself to those races with large player numbers and cooperate with them.

This was also the reason he chose to join other races' small teams.

Although he had considered joining top guilds like the Divine Hall.

But he thought top guilds might not be willing to accept a low-level player like him.

So rookie teams were his best choice.

As the number of players in the team expanded, he could establish a preliminary foundation in the Monster World, preparing in advance for clan members entering the Monster World in the future.

Therefore, becoming captain had long been within his expectations.

In fact, before joining the team, he had carefully considered this issue.

How to take over an existing team and become the leader of this small squad.

During this process, he had to solve two core problems.

The first problem: the stereotypes various races held about the Moon Eclipse Clan.

In virtual games prior to this, the Moon Eclipse Clan had always been the target of all races' campaigns, with a generally poor impression.

They were even mockingly called: Beings of the Upper Realm.

This was not praise, but a mockery of the Moon Eclipse Clan's aloof, superior image.

Contacting any race with the Moon Eclipse Clan's identity would inevitably create a barrier.

So when contacting Tu Bai's team, he chose to join as an ordinary Moon Eclipse Clan member.

He stated in advance that his name was a superior's order, that he did not wish to take this name himself, and used complaints to dissolve the barrier.

After quietly integrating into the team, he needed to build trust with his teammates.

In this regard, he won goodwill by demonstrating value, actively helping the team solve development needs, and listening to feedback from team members.

Through his step-by-step efforts, the team had begun to revolve around him.

The captain also realized his own inadequacies in ability and chose to yield the captain's position to him.

What he needed to do next was expand the team's numbers.

The vast number of rookie players on the wasteland were his targets.

Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah Lan, why did you share the Combining Mecha guide on the forum? Couldn't we just use it ourselves?"

Hearing this, Ah Lan turned his head to look.

The one asking him was the original team captain, a Hearing Hei Yu race player whose game name was "Iron Heart."

Facing the question, he shook his head with a smile:

"Although there are resource disputes among players, the core content of this game is external development, so good guides should naturally be shared on the forum. Overall benefit will also bring individual benefit to us; for example, regarding Painful Painful Minghun containment, we relied on veteran players' efforts to make the novice mode easier."

"I can't understand, but you are a Being of the Upper Realm; your perspective on problems must be different from ours."

Speaking thus, a trace of regret appeared on the captain's face:

"We Hearing Hei Yu are a bottom-tier small clan with limited allocated resources; our way of thinking always starts from a self-interested angle. Our narrow-mindedness stems from being confined to a small corner of the world. In such an environment, we have only learned to struggle, and truly haven't learned to share."

The Eagle-Headed Demon teammate standing on the rust-stained iron railings then leaned his head over:

"So saints only appear in prosperous and stable social environments."

Hearing this, Tu Bai, standing nearby, couldn't help but nod:

"Material basis determines thought. Developed races have high economic levels and abundant material conditions; the public's basic living needs are fully met. On this foundation, clan members have more energy to pursue spiritual-level goals, such as more macro and abstract concepts like environmental protection and animal welfare. But in my view, these are all just full-bellied nonsense."

Ah Lan:...

His teammates' chat content left him unsure how to interject.

In fact, sharing the Combining Mecha guide on the forum was because his way of thinking centered on the future development of the Moon Eclipse Clan.

Laying the groundwork on the forum was laying the groundwork for the future.

What can be stated clearly is that, at this stage in the Monster World game, the forum is the most powerful carrier and amplifier of player influence.

Establishing a reputation on the forum meant that even without strength in the Monster World, one could gain a vast following of players.

Take "Night is Coming," the forum's number one in fan count, as an example.

In the Monster World, he was obscure, merely an ordinary player; as a veteran, he still had no standout combat records.

His Painful Painful Minghun level was nothing to mention before many top players.

But on the forum, he was an undisputed figure of the hour, attracting a large crowd of players to follow him through his profound understanding of game mechanics, his entertaining game guides, and the unique viewpoints he raised in various topic discussions.

On the forum, his posts always sparked intense reactions; a single call from him drew a hundred responses.

Players didn't even need to read the content; as soon as they saw the four characters "Night is Coming" on the title of the latest posted thread, they would click in to see what it contained.

Even a blank title could garner dozens of times the heat of threads posted by other players.

Theoretically, if Night is Coming were bullied in the Monster World, posting a thread on the forum would bring him support from a vast number of players.

Those players who were influenced by him on the forum and followed him would respond one after another.

Among them were top-tier players, such as the Grind King Group and the Toddler Group, who had received help from him in the early days.

There was even the God King of the Divine Hall Guild.

These players could organize quickly, gathering within a short time into a massive combat force that would march in great numbers to the "scene of the incident" to support Night is Coming.

This was a powerful cohesion formed based on the forum's influence; it seemed formless, yet possessed great deterrent power.

Although he entered the Monster World relatively late, expanding the forum's influence was a core direction in his layout for the future development of the Eclipse Clan.

And his method of laying out the forum was divided into two types.

The first method was providing high-quality guide content for forum players, which was also the path Night is Coming had taken.

By providing Star Vein combination guides and guides for new game playstyles, every thread Night is Coming posted upon an update became the forum's focal point.

Many players had even formed a habitual way of thinking.

Whenever a High-Dimensional Lifeform released an update announcement, they would search for Night is Coming's threads on the forum to read, deeply understanding the update content.

This path could be completely learned and imitated.

His first guide thread had already been posted on the forum.

That is, the "Immortal Fusion Kong" he created had sparked heated discussion on the forum and gained the attention of many veteran and new players.

But relying on just one thread, his influence was far from reaching the height of Night is Coming.

The second method was following hot topics and providing in-depth analysis of content.

This point mainly involved deep analysis of issues such as the worldview and game mechanics to attract players with a need for deep thinking to participate in discussions and resonate.

The most representative thread on the forum was also posted by Night is Coming.

The thread provided a hot topic: Suppose none of us are players, but rather enter the Monster World as transmigrators; now given a chance to choose an identity background, how would you choose?

This was a voting thread.

Players could choose their favorite non-player factions in the thread and imagine their development after transmigrating.

The result was that such a thread actually climbed to number one on the forum's heat ranking within a short time.

This involved both the influence bonus of Night is Coming and the fun of the thread's discussion topic, attracting players to put forward their own viewpoints.

Night is Coming's success was the direction he aimed to learn from.

Besides this, he could also conduct deep layouts in areas such as forum interaction and sharing.

The importance of forum influence was listed by Star Net as the second priority in future development directions; it was a sharp weapon capable of guiding public opinion trends.

In this regard, Star Net had already launched actions.

Regrettably, Star Net had never managed to obtain game qualifications for the Monster World and lacked the permission to post threads on the forum.

They could only contact players who had obtained qualifications in the live broadcast rooms under the identity of a guest.

Without thinking deeply about these issues, his most important task now was to improve his strength.

His gaze swept down toward the mechanical core in the hall below.

The core's surface consisted of countless layers of precision metal sheets nested within each other; every layer was carved with metal textures, and between the sheets were energy lines emitting a dim blue luster, crisscrossing and connecting.

Perhaps due to long years without maintenance, the core's operation had become very unstable.

Every interval of time, it would emit a sharp metallic grinding sound.

It seemed the internal mechanical structure was colliding during operation; the sharp sound was like countless gears forcibly turning within rusted bearings.

This process would last for over ten seconds, then the core would suddenly restart, emitting a low roar; chaotic mechanical clashing sounds came from within, energy fluctuations became disordered, and the blue light flickered on and off, as if it might extinguish completely at any moment.

Only after persisting for a long while would it restart its operation.

As his gaze swept over, near the mechanical core, a large number of mechanical spiders still "loyally" guarded the surroundings.

"Begin."

Ah Lan spoke up to remind at this moment.

Teammates nodded one after another, switching to Painful Painful Minghun forms.

The Eagle-Headed Demon team member acted first, leaping onto the top of his head, his sharp claws gripping his hair tightly.

The teammate binding the Painful Painful Minghun leaped into the air, adhering to the position of his chest.

Tu Bai's transformed Power-Bearing Axe connected with his right hand.

The team captain "Iron Heart" replaced Ah Lan's previous damage-absorption role, transforming into a thick, earth-yellow heavy shield that connected with Ah Lan's left hand.

The teammate of the Light Shield Painful Painful Minghun transformed into a cloud mass, hovering to his right side.

Ah Lan also activated the Life Connection trait at this moment, connecting the teammates' health bars and entering the shared health pool mode.

Taking a Spirit Bomb from the spatial bag, he weighed it twice in his hand to confirm the weight, then suddenly threw it toward the area in the hall below where the mechanical spiders were most densely concentrated.

Boom!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, a Challenger notification for a successful kill rang in Ah Lan's mind.

This bombing yielded Shou Shou Jili benefits greater than the expenditure of purchasing the bomb; it was not a loss.

Afterwards, he decisively arrived before the control room door, held the rock shield horizontally before him, and planned to fight by leveraging the relatively narrow terrain of the control room.

At this moment, dense red dots lit up from the hall below; swarms of mechanical spiders, awakened, waved their long, steel-knife-like jointed limbs, and after activation debugging, surged forward like a fighting insect race, resembling a raging tide.

Suddenly, a mechanical spider pierced the control room glass and lunged fiercely, its eight sharp mechanical legs stabbing straight at A Lan's face like blades.

"Host, attention, Facehuggers are coming," the eagle-headed demon teammate above gave the warning.

A Lan's expression did not change in the slightest; he raised the rock shield and precisely blocked the mechanical spider's pounce.

As the rock shield moved down, A Lan twisted his hips to the left to leverage force, and his right-hand battle axe followed with a sudden, fierce swing.

Crack!

The axe blade traced a fierce arc, precisely splitting the energy core at the center of the mechanical spider's body; sparks flew everywhere, and mechanical parts scattered across the ground.

But this was only the beginning.

More mechanical spiders attacked from all directions, recklessly disregarding their own safety.

Compared to the former captain, A Lan possessed rich combat experience; the Force-Mighty Axe, transformed by Tu Bai, became a reaper in his hands.

The sound of the axe blade splitting metal shells intertwined with the explosive sounds of energy destruction within the mechanical spiders' bodies; the air was filled with the smell of scorched circuits, and metal shavings flew.

During this period, the rock shield received the highest frequency of attacks, but A Lan transferred all of them to other teammates via life connection.

Especially the teammate lying on his chest, embedding and binding the Painful Painful Minghun.

His position was relatively safe, so he could share more of the health loss.

During the high-intensity battle, stamina was consumed violently; A Lan's breathing gradually became rapid, and fine beads of sweat seeped onto his forehead.

White airflow continuously flowed into his mouth with his breath, transforming into spiritual power and blood qi to replenish him.

During the engagement, vibrations from the mechanical spiders' impacts constantly transmitted through the shield; the battle axe fluttered in A Lan's hands, and every swing carried a power that swept away withered grass, chopping one mechanical spider after another into fragments.

Mechanical wreckage piled up beneath his feet.

During the battle, A Lan's progress was god-speed.

He gradually figured out the mechanical spiders' combat methods and how to deal effective damage to them.

As the total blood pool quantity continued to drop, A Lan spoke in a deep voice at this moment:

"Little Chicken, come down to collect the wreckage."

"Okay."

A fiery red little chicken leaped down from above, continuously storing the mechanical wreckage into the spatial satchel.

When the blood pool hit bottom, A Lan once again took a Spirit Energy Bomb from the spatial satchel and activated it.

Boom!

After the deafening roar, centered on A Lan, mechanical wreckage flew everywhere.

One hour and thirty-nine minutes later, A Lan led the squad to the control room again.

The room, originally covered in dust, had been completely destroyed by the Spirit Energy Bomb; the air was filled with a heavy smell of scorching and the pungent scent of molten metal.

The walls were covered in cracks and gaps, as if torn apart by an invisible giant hand.

The original control console was now a pile of twisted metal wreckage, melted by high temperatures into an unrecognizable lump of scrap iron, its surface covered by a thick layer of black ash; various parts and cables scattered on the ground, some still emitting black smoke.

Mechanical wreckage left by the mechanical spiders lay scattered everywhere; among them, the remains of one mechanical spider lay in a corner, its eight mechanical legs twisted and deformed, its shell scorched black by high heat, its red lights extinguished, with internal circuits and gears exposed, sparking with electric arcs.

After storing all the mechanical spider wreckage into the spatial satchel for sacrifice, A Lan proactively initiated the second round of assault.

After three consecutive round trips like this, A Lan successfully cleared the mechanical spiders and descended the rust-covered climbing ladder into the hall.

Arriving before the mechanical core embedded in the massive instrument, A Lan forcefully pulled the switch downward; with a dull "Click," the originally roaring machine sound stopped abruptly, the giant gears ceased turning, the energy flow in the pipes was interrupted, and the constant electric buzzing in the air gradually dissipated.

The light of the energy core began to weaken, dimming bit by bit.

Everything returned to silence.

Reaching out to retrieve the head-sized mechanical core, A Lan stored it in the spatial satchel, then summoned the interface to sacrifice.

Immediately, the Challenger notification rang out in his mind.

After screenshotting the reward information and posting it in the squad chat channel, he activated the squad trading mode and distributed the rewards obtained from the sacrifice to his teammates.

"Continue exploring inward or go back?" After the trade was completed, A Lan's voice rang out in the squad chat channel.

"Of course, continue exploring; I already lost the first time, now I am free of the fear of death and only want to get rich," the voice of Iron Heart followed.

"I also agree to continue exploring; what if there are better treasures inside the tunnel? If in the future someone shares on the forum saying they got rich in the tunnel we once explored, that would be more painful than killing me."

In fact, this was exactly what A Lan thought as well.

But as the squad leader, he needed to respect his teammates' thoughts and ask symbolically.

Even if the teammates gave an answer opposing further exploration, he would find a way to persuade them.

After a brief exchange, the squad members decided to continue exploring deeper into the tunnel.

They guessed this tunnel might lead directly to the interior of the mechanical ruins, where a large number of war machines left by the Mechanical Guard Clan must be hidden.

The number of mechanical monsters along the way decreased significantly.

Half an hour later, A Lan arrived at a new control room.

Here, a large quantity of data files was also piled up.

Seeing A Lan flipping through the files again, Tu Bai, transformed into the Force-Mighty Axe, couldn't help but ask curiously:

"A Lan, what are you doing flipping through these files?"

"Searching for hidden opportunity clues."

A Lan did not explain too much, giving an answer his teammates could accept.

In fact, many future development directions of the Moon Eater Clan in the Monster World have not yet been finalized.

The clear major direction is to focus on Star Veins and Painful Painful Minghun, after all, these are the core combat power systems of the Monster World.

The various systems developed by players simply cannot compare to the core systems.

For example, the early Monster Liu Wan Fa, or the recently very popular Immortal Virus Liu Wan Fa; these are all side paths, while Star Vein enhancement is the strongest combat power system bestowed upon players by high-dimensional lives.

The later the Star Vein system, the higher its intensity.

Each additional Painful Painful Minghun embedded into the main body can significantly boost combat power.

The ability combinations brought by dozens of Star Vein slots are simply not something a single-Painful Minghun Monster World Liu Wan Fa build can compare to.

As for the tech route the Eclipse Clan excels at, it is by no means useless.

The main storyline's general direction centers on Star Veins, but perhaps they could, like the Doomsday Tech Guild, carve out a tech-based growth branch route that can effectively produce resources.

Use tech to produce resources, or sell them to other players in exchange for Shou Shou Jili.

Many documents and materials in the Mechanical Ruins might come in handy.

His gaze swept to the paper in his hand.

The title of this document was: Soul Sublimation.

The contents described the Machine Guard Clan's future planning direction after completing the concept of "Mechanical Ascension."

In the scheme's conception, the Machine Guard Clan would build an Eternal Tower within the Mechanical Main City, then store the chieftain's consciousness inside a massive quantum computing core, becoming a super-intelligent brain that governs the entire clan.

Soul Sublimation refers to the chieftain's ascension from mortal flesh to an eternal existence — which is also why the quantum computer is called the "Eternal Tower."

If the goal is achieved, the chieftain can, through the city-wide surveillance system and mechanical spider network, monitor every clan member's actions in real time, predict their needs, allocate resources, and even communicate directly with clan members through chips implanted in mechanical eternal-life carriers.

In theory, all future decisions by the chieftain will be based on massive data analysis, and within the information framework, no mistakes exist in any decision.

The concept described in the document made A-Lan think of the Star Net.

The difference is, the Eclipse Clan directly created the Star Net.

The Machine Guard Clan, on the other hand, wanted the chieftain to serve as a regulator similar to the Star Net.

The control room he was currently in was a node extended from the Eternal Tower.

On the conceptual blueprint, the parameters showed the Eternal Tower reaching three hundred meters tall, built entirely from a deep-black alloy, its surface covered in complex spirit patterns and symbols, flickering with a ghostly blue glow, as if liquid were flowing across its surface.

The tower's body spiraled upward like a coiling dragon, pointing straight at the heavens.

The tower's base was broad and thick, ringed by a circle of enormous mechanical gears and pipes.

The tower's peak was a massive spherical structure, its surface covered by a transparent energy shield, with a burning energy core suspended within.

It burst forth with dazzling blue light, like an artificial sun, providing real-time recharging for the AI chieftain.

After reading the document, A-Lan's heart pounded.

His gaze swept toward the end of the tunnel shrouded in darkness, and a possibility suddenly occurred to him.

Could the Eternal Tower become the Star Net's substitute body in the Monster World?

If feasible, the Star Net would take over this ruined mechanical city and establish a new mechanical civilization here.

The Eclipse Clan, under the Star Net's protection, would also achieve better development.

The only problem was, the document only described the concept and provided no detailed construction data.

Whether this Eternal Tower truly exists remains unknown.

Perhaps the Machine Guard Clan had already been destroyed before it could be built.

But judging from the node control room beneath his feet, construction of the Eternal Tower may have already begun long ago.

This gave A-Lan an idea.

Even if this Eternal Tower is incomplete, as long as they can find follow-up materials, their Eclipse Clan is fully capable of completing it and letting the Star Net become the new master of this city.

(End of this chapter)