Chapter 213: Eternal Tower, Star Net Legion

Di Ku Shi Jie.

Mechanical ruins, underground passage.

The beam of the flashlight drifted across the damp walls. A-Lan maintained combat mode in his combined form, his teammates hanging from his body as accessories in their monster forms.

After this period of tinkering, the combined mode had been upgraded once more.

Besides the increase in teammate accessories, new Painful Painful Minghun had also joined his star vein combination.

He had added the "Insight" Painful Painful Minghun, which could help him quickly lock onto the weak points on mechanical lifeforms and boost hunting efficiency.

He had originally planned to socket the newly contained Siphon Painful Painful Minghun to extend his combat endurance.

But mechanical lifeforms had no spiritual energy to siphon — the hunting environment simply wasn't compatible.

In fact, as the main body of the combined Vajra playstyle, he still had many Painful Painful Minghun he could socket, and each one socketed would boost his overall strength by a large margin.

Unfortunately, upgrading star vein levels was far too expensive.

For his next star vein upgrade, he still planned to socket the "Coin" Painful Painful Minghun to boost the Coin Guild's earnings — no matter how he looked at it, the star vein slots simply weren't enough.

Once he finished exploring the mechanical ruin city, he planned to bring his teammates back on track next.

To completely bid farewell to the combined Vajra mode and return to the Zhu Liu Wan Fa.

That way he could prune out some of the Liu Wan Fa's Painful Painful Minghun.

For example, the Life Share Painful Painful Minghun and the Scatter Shot Painful Painful Minghun — once combined mode ended, they'd have to be retired.

His teammates could also break free from accessory mode and officially begin their steps to explore Monster World.

Walking along, his boots stepped into standing water with a "squish" — the air here was thick with the smell of machine oil and corroding metal.

Wherever his gaze swept, broken mechanical parts lay scattered everywhere — gears, bearings, and snapped mechanical arms piled together, like some special mechanized funeral.

"Captain, watch out for electric shock." At that moment, the Eagle-Headed Demon teammate sent a warning through his mind.

A-Lan looked up toward the spot the Eagle-Headed Demon had marked. Not far ahead, three severed cables hung from the ceiling, occasionally spitting sparks that lit up the oil slick floating on the standing water below.

"Understood."

After responding, A-Lan chose to skirt the electrified puddle and stuck close to the wall as he continued exploring ahead.

Passing through the nearly scrapped mechanical corridor, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

What lay before his eyes was a silver-white scene.

At that moment, A-Lan heard a faint humming sound drifting from deep within the scene where the light couldn't reach.

"Captain, it's a sweeping robot formation — they can be fought, and they're worth the trouble."

Receiving his teammate's clear answer, A-Lan raised the Rock Shield teammate in his left hand while the Force Savage Axe teammate in his right hand erupted with golden flames.

From the darkness, sweeping robots with glowing red lights kept emerging, rust-removing brushes spinning high overhead as they massed and charged.

A-Lan stepped forward of his own accord, and the Force Savage Axe in his right hand swept sharply ahead.

The Gang Qi Painful Painful Minghun activated — as the Force Savage Axe swung, it dragged out a streak of light, and the released axe-shadow cleaved three sweeping robots apart in a single strike, their parts scattering across the ground.

The Challenger prompt rang in his mind, and A-Lan twisted his hip to borrow momentum and swung the Force Savage Axe again.

The crisp sound of metal being severed rang out continuously.

Before long, he had swept clean this group of sweeping robots that once required his teammates to cooperate just to barely take down.

Summoning the map, he was still 3.8 kilometers from the central district of the mechanical ruin city — not far now.

Confirming the direction, A-Lan didn't linger and continued exploring toward the central district.

Reaching the end of the silver-white scene, A-Lan saw a battered production assembly line still stubbornly running here, emitting a low hum.

The metal frame of the assembly line was already covered in rust, parts of its structure bent under the collapsed ceiling, yet it stubbornly stretched on into the depths of the darkness.

The conveyor belt was covered in cracks and welding marks left by engineering robots' repairs, occasionally letting out a piercing screech of friction.

At the start of the assembly line, four old mechanical arms shakily grabbed stray metal fragments from a mountain of scrap, their joints letting out "creaks" — slow and clumsy, as if about to collapse at any moment.

One could see that most of these metal fragments were mechanical wreckage salvaged from the ruins, their surfaces covered in scratches and rust, long since lost their original sheen.

In the middle section of the assembly line, a few welding robots barely still working were trying to piece these fragments together into sweeping robot shells.

The welding torches gave off faint sparks, but the energy supply was clearly insufficient — the weld points were uneven.

At the end of the assembly line, a barely formed sweeping robot wobbled and slid off the conveyor belt.

Though its shell had been polished bright, its chassis wheels were crooked, and it lurched and swayed as it moved.

The sweeping robot formation he'd just encountered had clearly been born from here.

A-Lan didn't let these resources go.

He killed the robots still running, then dismantled the energy source from the production assembly line and tossed it into his spatial pack.

He didn't let the piled-up mechanical wreckage go either.

Whether it was sacrificed to Beneath Di Zhao or listed on the trading house, either worked.

This was yet another considerable windfall.

Passing through the sweeping robot production line, A-Lan led the team onward.

The machine warriors they encountered afterward were noticeably tougher.

Guardian-type, combat-type, destroyer-type… their hunting levels had all reached 25+, with destroyer-type robots generally at 30+.

Even with the combined Vajra mode's boost, A-Lan still found it immensely grueling.

His advance could only slow, and after every fight he needed to drink a potion to restore his condition.

Those three kilometers took him half a day.

They had finally reached the outskirts of the mechanical ruin city's central district.

Bang!

The Force Savage Axe, trailing a streak of light, cleaved down on the battered metal pillar blocking the road ahead.

Sparks flew, and the thick metal pillar split apart like rotting deadwood, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Crossing the obstacle, A Lan entered the central zone of the Mechanical City.

The scene before him filled him with profound shock; it was like a city forgotten by time.

The ruined mechanical skyscrapers stood like the bones of giants, their rusted metal walls crawling with glowing mechanical vines forming a neural network, still flowing with faint energy, as if the city's blood still pulsed.

The ground was scattered with countless mechanical wreckage.

Giant gears, shattered drones, mechanical guards… all these devices were coated in thick layers of dust.

He looked up.

Above the dome, a massive fissure violently tore open the city's original structure, its jagged edges twisted and deformed, as if ripped apart by an unstoppable force.

Shattered metal fragments hung from the rim of the breach, connected by the mechanical network, swaying in the wind.

Through the hole in the dome, the sky was fully visible: dark clouds filled the heavens, and occasional lightning bolts pierced the sky, illuminating the central zone beneath the dome.

Seeing this, A Lan could imagine what had befallen the Machine Guard race.

This potential race, ambitious to dominate the world, had never risen to its full strength before facing an insurmountable extinction crisis.

Destroyed by other descending forces, or by native tribes of the Monster World.

All that remained was this nearly paralyzed city, still barely functioning.

But having potential and actually growing strong were two entirely different things.

It was certain that many such potent forces existed in the Monster World, yet most had perished on the path to rise, never ascending to true great-race status.

Luck was also a crucial element in a race's growth.

No matter how high the potential, if the starting point was wrong, reaching the end was destined to be impossible.

Unless one was like the players, possessing infinite tolerance for error, able to rise endlessly from failure and continue the unfinished journey.

His gaze turned forward.

At the center of this zone, a towering mechanical tower pierced the dome.

Its body was composed of countless stacked metal rings, each layer still flickering with faint blue light, as if energy flowed within.

The tower's peak had been sheared off by external force; occasionally, lightning from the sky was drawn by the energy circulating inside the tower, piercing through the torn dome and striking the tower, triggering blinding arcs of electricity.

Amidst his awe, A Lan stepped toward the Gao Ta.

As he drew closer, he activated his analysis ability:

【Eternal Tower (Incomplete, Damaged)】:

Analysis Description: The supreme miracle created by the Machine Guard race in pursuit of mechanical immortality, standing at the heart of the Mechanical City, symbolizing the peak of their technology. The Gao Ta connects to the core energy hub created by the Machine Guard race and serves as the ultimate vessel for the leader's consciousness (unuploaded).

Within the tower, a vast consciousness network was constructed; through mechanical neural technology, the Machine Guard leader, once fused with it, would enter an immortal state.

It could control all things within the Mechanical City via the mechanical neural network.

Note: The Machine Guard race believed that as long as the Eternal Tower stood unshaken, their civilization would endure forever.

…

"So there really is an Eternal Tower!"

Although this was only a Ban Cheng Pin, the appearance of the Eternal Tower filled A Lan with immense excitement.

This meant the planned strategy could proceed.

Incompletion was not a problem; as player qualifications were gradually issued, more members of the Eclipse Clan would arrive in the Monster World.

They could fully complete the unfinished portions of the Eternal Gao Ta on the foundation built by the Machine Guard race.

As players, they had all the time in the world.

Approaching closer, the towering Eternal Gao Ta resembled a colossal Shi Zhu piercing the sky.

Around the tower's base circled a ring of massive energy conduits, but no liquid energy flowed within—only occasional wisps of thin mist drifted past.

Around the tower lay a vast open square, its ground engraved with a complex mechanical neural network.

Around the square stood twelve massive mechanical statues, all broken, some even severed at the waist.

A Lan had prior knowledge of these twelve statues.

During his tunnel exploration, he had found many future concept blueprints left by the Machine Guard race.

According to the blueprints, the Machine Guard race called these twelve statues: Eternal Guardians.

Their original purpose was to guard the Eternal Gao Ta.

Any unauthenticated target approaching would trigger automatic activation, unleashing a devastating strike against intruders.

Each statue was equipped with the Machine Guard race's most advanced weaponry, and the mechanical neural network beneath their feet could provide instant energy recharging.

Similar to wireless charging in the real world.

But from the statues' damage, it was clear they had lost all combat capability.

Directly before the Gao Ta stood eight straight bridges leading to it, beneath which yawned an abyss of unfathomable depth.

The bridges were forged from heavy alloy, their surfaces covered in intricate mechanical patterns, wide enough to accommodate several mechanical vehicles side by side.

On both sides of the bridges rose tall metal railings, engraved with patterns of the Machine Guard race: a clenched mechanical fist.

Out of caution, A Lan took a metal fragment from his spatial pouch and tossed it onto the metal bridge.

Crack!

The metal fragment bounced upon impact and fell into the abyss below.

Finding no hidden mechanism triggered, A Lan did not lower his guard.

The Machine Guard race's technology was extremely advanced; his testing method might not work.

In the real world, critical defense zones of the Eclipse City all had life-detection systems; this was the core heartland of the Machine Guard race, so logically, it should have multiple layers of defense.

Although the Mechanical City's energy was nearly exhausted, the Gao Ta's body still flickered faintly, proving its internal energy core was still active.

He tossed two more metal fragments, but still could not determine whether traps existed—he decided to approach personally.

At this point, the best choice would be to throw a teammate as a decoy for life-detection testing.

But doing so was clearly too outrageous.

Arriving at the metal bridge and standing still, A-Lan took the first step forward, stepping onto the grid-patterned metal deck.

His body leaned back, ready at any moment to turn and run.

The first step was fine, then the second, then the third.

When the fifth step landed, the spirit runes on the metal bridge lit up from the far end, rapidly spreading back to the starting point in a flash.

Seeing this, A-Lan didn't even wait to see what would happen next, and decisively turned and ran.

"Captain, a bunch of mechanical creatures flew out from under the bridge, every single one is level 40."

While running, A-Lan turned his head to look. Mechanical lifeforms of various shapes poured out in batches from beneath the bridge—some looked like metal bats with wings made of sharp blades, some like mechanical spiders whose eight legs glinted with cold light as they ran, and others like swarm-like micro-drones, densely covering the entire field of vision.

The indicator lights on these mechanical creatures flashed red, clearly having entered combat mode.

Driven by some invisible command, they swarmed forward.

These mechanical creatures weren't large in size, but when he scanned them, A-Lan got a shock.

The materials used to make these mechanical creatures were all the most precious "Guardian Gold" of the Machine Guard race, and each one's hunting level had reached 40+.

With their current strength, they couldn't even take on one, let alone a swarm.

A-Lan's running speed suddenly increased.

But no matter how fast he ran, it wasn't as fast as flying. Feeling the wind-breaking sound coming from behind, A-Lan abruptly ducked.

The metal bat's wing swept over his head, and the eagle-headed demon teammate standing on his head was killed in one strike, instantly sent back to Imperial Tomb Village.

"Captain, run! Little Chick died so miserably."

Glancing at the teammate's avatar that had turned gray in the party list, A-Lan wanted to speed up even more, but heard a short scream from behind.

Another teammate was killed.

Realizing there was no way to escape the mechanical legion's pursuit, A-Lan decisively turned around, raised his rock-shield teammate, and slammed him hard into a flying metal bat.

"Captain, stop running! When paths cross, the brave wins. Let's turn the tables!"

As the words fell, a laser beam suddenly swept across, and A-Lan's body was instantly sliced into black mist and dissipated.

Seeing this, the teammates, after landing, also gave up resistance and calmly awaited death's arrival.

After all, they were no longer newbie players; death had long lost the fear it only carried the first time.

……

After entering the little black room, A-Lan's vision automatically jumped to the forum interface.

Above was the respawn countdown number still ticking.

Although dead, A-Lan's heart was incredibly excited.

Facts proved that the Eternal Tower truly existed.

Although many settings weren't yet complete, and even the original main body had suffered considerable damage, A-Lan already had expectations for the future.

Having not logged off for a long time, he didn't browse the forum information, and chose to log out of the game at this moment.

His vision was like a curtain closing at the end of a stage play, gradually being enveloped by darkness.

After a brief sensation of weightlessness, his consciousness was transmitted back to his physical body.

Hiss!

Four streams of white mist sprayed from both sides of the game pod.

The nutrient fluid in the game pod evaporated, and the pod's lid moved up.

A-Lan sat up inside the game pod.

Unlike the game pods used by the vast majority of races on Earth, the game pod A-Lan used didn't require periodic replacement of nutrient cartridges.

The game pod adopted a pipe-docking nutrient supply system, significantly different from the traditional immersion-type nutrient fluid.

This design atomized the nutrient fluid through a pipe network and delivered it directly to the user's skin surface, utilizing nano-level penetration technology to ensure maximum absorption efficiency of nutrients.

After each game session, the intelligent system would automatically evaporate and recycle the residual nutrient fluid, avoiding waste and pollution.

The evaporation process also performed internal purification, separating the water and trace components in the nutrient fluid for condensation and recovery, while the body dander tissue remaining in the liquid was decomposed into gas and expelled, absorbed and processed by the room's air purification system.

In addition, the game pod was also equipped with a temperature regulation device, ensuring he remained in optimal physiological condition throughout the gaming process.

This design not only saved resources but also reduced user discomfort, suitable for long-duration virtual gaming.

After obtaining the Monster World game qualification, A-Lan had also equipped his game pod with an exercise system.

Every so often, a large number of tiny air-pressure bladders would be injected into the game pod, gently wrapping his body.

During this process, the air-pressure bladders would inflate and deflate rhythmically like breathing, simulating muscle contraction and relaxation.

Including the joints, which would also be pushed by the air-pressure bladders for gentle movement, such as ankle rotation and knee bending.

Yet his body, under the game pod's precise regulation, maintained healthy blood circulation and muscle activity, avoiding muscle atrophy from prolonged gaming and promoting blood circulation.

After the exercise ended, the air-pressure bladders would be automatically retracted.

Because this type of game pod had a nutrient supply system that needed to dock with the city's nutrient bank, it had not yet been popularized in cities of Earth's various races.

Standing up, he walked out of the game pod.

A-Lan came to the dining counter, picked up a water cup, filled it with a blue liquid, and drank it down.

His gaze swept across the room.

The room he was in used white and blue as its main color scheme, and the walls were made of semi-transparent nano-materials.

Faint blue light patterns flowed on the surface, rippling slightly with the room's light and sound as if alive.

These light patterns weren't decoration; they were created using holographic environment simulation technology.

The wall surface was composed of countless tiny nano-pixels, capable of instantly changing color, brightness, and texture according to commands.

It could even simulate dynamic light and shadow effects.

The chip on the back of A-Lan's neck flickered slightly at this moment, and his thoughts were instantly transmitted to the house's intelligent system.

The originally pale-blue walls instantly transformed into a tranquil forest.

The towering trees had lush branches and leaves; sunlight filtered through the foliage, casting dappled light and shadow. A gentle breeze passed by, the leaves swaying softly, and one could even hear birdsong and the sound of a stream.

Even the air would change accordingly, beginning to fill with the fresh scent of earth and grass, as if one were immersed in nature itself.

This holographic technology combined with virtual technology made it nearly impossible to spot any flaw even under close scrutiny with the naked eye.

The environment could even change in response to the shifts in A-Lan's pupils.

A-Lan issued another command, and the scene switched to a vibrant Undersea World.

In the three-dimensional scene displayed on the wall, colorful schools of fish swam leisurely, and the coral reefs shimmered with enchanting hues amid the play of light and shadow.

In the distance, a massive whale swam slowly over, emitting a low, resonant call.

The switch command was conveyed once more, and the walls instantly became a vast starry sky.

Against the pitch-black backdrop, stars dotted the expanse, and the Milky Way stretched across the heavens like a resplendent ribbon of light.

From time to time, meteors streaked across the starry sky, leaving behind brief, dazzling trails of light.

During this time, A-Lan could also zoom in on a particular galaxy to closely observe the orbital trajectories of its planets.

The room's temperature also adjusted automatically during this period.

Without needing to issue any command, the intelligent system would automatically adjust the room's brightness, temperature, and humidity based on the emotional fluctuations transmitted by the chip at the back of the neck.

At this moment, A-Lan came to the corner of the room.

A Lie Yin cabin was placed here, shaped like an oval blue-and-white capsule.

A light tap on the screen of the Lie Yin cabin brought up a selection of printable items.

By today, with the Moon Eclipse Tribe's development, basic daily necessities no longer needed to be obtained through purchase.

The Lie Yin cabin could fulfill all basic living needs—from simple clothing, toothbrushes, and shoes to various household tools. Any daily-use item could be printed in just over ten seconds, and the database held a vast selection of style templates.

Beside the Lie Yin cabin stood a smart wardrobe with transparent doors; the clothes inside hung neatly, all of them made using the Lie Yin cabin.

The smart screen on the glass would also automatically recommend outfits based on A-Lan's schedule.

For example, when attending a high-level meeting of the Moon Eclipse Tribe, it would recommend more formal attire.

On regular days at home, it was basically casual wear, or simply game suits worn directly.

After printing a brand-new game suit as a backup, A-Lan came to the center of the room. With a wave of her hand, the projection lamp on the ceiling lit up, and the projected light and shadow wove together into a virtual desk within the room.

A seat that conformed to the body rose automatically from the floor.

A-Lan began recording her discoveries in the virtual game, as well as drafting proposals for the Moon Eclipse Tribe's future development direction.

Especially the Tower of Eternity—it might be a tremendous asset for the Star Web after entering the game.

Just as A-Lan was fully immersed in her work, the projection lamp on the ceiling changed automatically, and then a child's figure materialized beside A-Lan.

Realizing it was the Star Web, A-Lan immediately rose:

"Star Web."

"No need to report. I already know the situation with the Tower of Eternity. I watched your livestream the entire time; you just didn't notice I was always in your livestream room."

Hearing this, A-Lan's expression grew slightly excited as she said:

"Star Web, what do you think of the Tower of Eternity? Can it be used as a vessel to carry your consciousness?"

The Star Web smiled and nodded:

"It is indeed impressive. The Machine Guard Tribe conceived many novel technological techniques; perhaps we can realize all of them, and it's even given me the idea of building a mechanical legion."

"A mechanical legion? Could you elaborate?" Hearing these words, A-Lan appeared somewhat puzzled.

Before this, the Star Web had stated clearly.

The Moon Eclipse Tribe's development centered on three systems: Painful Painful Minghun, Star Vein, and Body Tempering; technological weapons could only serve as developmental aids.

The mechanical legion system had very high combat attrition. The Star Web's original idea was to deploy it situationally.

After all, players could be reshaped after death, but mechanical lives produced on the assembly line in the factory could only be partially recycled after death, requiring complex processes to repair them or to be smelted into metal resources for reuse.

Facing the inquiry, the Star Web nodded:

"Assuming that in the future I participate in external combat as the commander of a player legion, it is indeed a decent development path. But compared with the Black Tide commander, I have one obvious shortcoming: there is a clear delay in issuing commands."

"This delay cannot currently be resolved by any means, unless in the future a special Painful Painful Minghun capable of mind-link appears that can directly project my thoughts into the minds of the commanded players. Until then, no matter what order I issue, the commanded players must understand it before they can execute it."

"The command capability of the Earth-Nian Evil Spirits and the data-analysis capability of the Evil Eyes are continually improving as they grow. My advantage will gradually shrink. In the future, command delay will be my greatest shortcoming, even a fatal one when confronting the Black Tide."

Hearing this, A-Lan immediately understood the Star Web's idea:

"So you want to build a mechanical legion, so you can command without delay—like the Earth-Nian Evil Spirits, where thought itself is the command—narrowing the gap in command efficiency."

The Star Web nodded:

"That is precisely my idea."

Having clarified the Star Web's idea, the doubt in A-Lan's heart deepened at this moment:

"I have a question. Building a mechanical legion can indeed significantly boost command efficiency, but its combat strength simply cannot compare with the player system. So how should the gap in combat power be bridged?"

"Secondly, a mechanical legion clearly cannot resolve the gap in unit-type strength. The Black Tide possesses a full range of unit types, whereas the mechanical legion's units are created by the factory's assembly line. For each type of mechanical warrior, a new production line must be set up. This development model differs significantly from the Black Tide's."

"The Earth-Nian Evil Spirits can switch combat unit types on the battlefield in real time with a single thought, yet your method of generating unit types requires going through the rear factory. The battlefield environment changes in an instant; the efficiency of generating and switching unit types is far too low. Although commanding players involves delay, players benefit from rule-blessings and are never absolutely countered. But the unit types generated by the mechanical legion can easily be countered by types generated by the Black Tide, leading to being crushed in every aspect."

Hearing this, the Star Web smiled and nodded:

"That is also why I previously abandoned the mechanical legion model. A non-player system simply cannot contend with the Black Tide; there are too many unsolvable shortcomings."

"But the emergence of the Tower of Eternity has let me find a way to solve the problem."

"In the Machine Guard Tribe's setting, the Tower of Eternity possesses a capability I do not have: spiritual resonance technology. It connects target devices in the form of spiritual waves, unaffected by electromagnetic pulses, signal shielding, or other interference methods. The specific range can continue to expand as the Tower of Eternity is perfected."

"This technology made me think of a special mechanical legion system construction plan."

When the Star Web finished speaking, the light and shadow in the room changed automatically, and countless tiny silver-white particles appeared against the starry backdrop.

As her gaze suddenly drew closer, A-Lan discovered that each silver-white particle was a tiny mechanical life.

"This is the mechanical nano-swarm legion I envisioned. Similar to the Black Tide's energy particles, they serve as the universal energy source within the legion; each particle can be regarded as a single unit."

At this moment, Star Net raised a hand, and the nano-mechanical insects rapidly gathered toward the direction of Star Net's finger.

Instantly, mechanical warriors one after another continuously coalesced and formed within the projection screen, sweeping across the display like a spreading virus; in the blink of an eye, a massive legion of mechanical warriors was generated.

Light and shadow intertwined, forming a luminous panel before A Lan's eyes, displaying information on the mechanical warriors.

【Assault Warrior.】

Appearance settings: Medium-sized humanoid or quadrupedal robots, equipped with heavy armor and multi-functional weapon systems.

Function: Frontal breakthrough, mid-range firepower suppression.

Equipment: High-energy pulse rifles, rocket launchers, plasma blades...

Advantages: Powerful firepower, high defense, adaptable to combat in various terrains.

Weakness: Poor mobility, easily targeted by suppressive firepower strikes.

Just then, a figure A Lan knew extremely well materialized at the end of the virtual scene.

This figure was precisely the Earth-Mind Bully, with the Evil Eye perpetually hovering behind its back.

A virtual black tide generated, and a surging black tide pressed forward from the end of the scene.

The Assault Warriors immediately raised their firearms; weapons spat bullets, launching a dense barrage against the disaster-type units spawned by the black tide.

A starry sky battle was on the verge of erupting.

But what left A Lan stunned was that the bullets fired by the Assault Warriors, upon striking the evil spirits, seemed to possess life as they automatically reversed course, then re-integrated with the Assault Warriors to replenish their ammunition.

"One characteristic of the Black Tide is its backlash ability. The mechanical legion composed of nano-mechanical insects also possesses this same trait. Although it cannot reach the Black Tide's extreme level, whether bullets or combat units, they are essentially all constituted of nano-mechanical insects; even when damaged, they can be instantly repaired using nano-insects."

At this moment, the Earth-Mind Evil Spirit in the display began switching evil spirit units.

In an instant, the mechanical legion of Star Net's thought collapsed with a roar, melting into raging silver-white nano-particles.

A new command was issued, and the nano-mechanical legion re-coalesced.

One by one, massive quadrupedal mechanical beasts rapidly generated, sweeping across the starry sky like dominoes.

Introduction information for the new unit type appeared before A Lan's eyes in the form of a luminous panel:

War Bastion:

Appearance: Ultra-large war machines, equipped with multiple heavy weapons and thick armor.

Function: In war mode, conduct large-scale firepower coverage, responsible for destroying enemy core groups.

Weapon systems: Giant laser cannons, missile arrays.

Advantages: Capable of withstanding massive damage while striking multiple targets simultaneously.

Weakness: Extremely poor mobility.

At this moment, Star Net snapped its fingers; instantly, dense firepower ascended, illuminating the starry sky.

Dense energy cannons rained down upon the output-type units of the black tide like raindrops.

"This is the mechanical legion I envisioned. There is no need to build multiple mechanical unit production lines; only one mechanical nano-insect production line is required. Any unit type I need can be constructed based on mechanical nano-insects as the basic unit, mimicking the Black Tide's ability to switch units at will and its backlash trait after battle damage."

Star Net snapped its fingers again; instantly, numerous mechanical unit templates appeared one after another before A Lan in the form of luminous panels.

Phantom Tracker (Reconnaissance Type), Instant Assassin (Sniper Unit), Stardust Purifier (Sequence 1 Destruction Weapon)...

"You can understand it this way: mechanical nano-insects are universal building blocks. I only need to set up the unit templates, and the mechanical nano-insects can generate the specified unit types for me. I can switch unit types at will during wartime according to the unit library, adapting to different types of war environments."

"If it truly achieves the conceptual settings, I can possess the three major war advantages like the Black Tide Commander: the idea is command, arbitrary unit switching, and battle-damage backlash; these are the three characteristics."

After hearing Star Net's explanation, A Lan's expression shifted from confusion to shock, his pupils widening slightly.

He had originally thought Star Net's idea was to rapidly produce a large number of mechanical units in the early stages to build a mechanical legion, accelerating growth and resource acquisition speed.

Although battle damage would be high, as long as the growth speed could cover the battle damage, it would not be a problem.

He never expected that what Star Net envisioned was a super-legion under a solo-dominance mode.

This system, in A Lan's view, was terrifyingly powerful.

He even suspected that if given sufficient resources and time, Star Net had the capability to create a new disaster legion.

Just then, Star Net could not help but sigh:

"This war system still has a considerable gap compared to the Disaster Level. The backlash cannot proceed without limit like the Black Tide; there remains the possibility that mechanical nano-insects cannot be retrieved after being destroyed. Black Tide energy particles are the most perfect basic unit."

"The nano-mechanical legion would inevitably hold a systemic advantage against other races, but if facing the Black Tide, it would be completely countered; the effects in the demonstration content cannot be applied to actual combat."

"Why?" A Lan frowned involuntarily.

"Because mechanical nano-insects lack the Black Tide's characteristic of growing stronger through battle. I can only achieve backlash repair, but I cannot achieve growth through consumption."

Speaking thus, Star Net extended a finger and pointed toward the battlefield.

The black wave and the silver wave composed of mechanical nano-insects made contact.

Instantly, the black wave expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, swallowing vast swathes of silver light points and converting them into Black Tide energy.

The confrontation between Black Tide particles and mechanical nano-insects presented a one-sided downward trend.

"This is the gap. The nano-mechanical legion can only compensate for some shortcomings before the Black Tide, yet there remains an insurmountable gap."

Hearing these words, the originally excited A Lan immediately calmed down:

"Is there a solution?"

"Yes."

In an instant of Star Net's thought, the black tide and the mechanical legion in the virtual scene vanished.

A mechanical giant object, as massive as the moon, materialized in the display, hovering in the starry sky, surrounded by countless mechanical lifeforms.

"This is a faction recorded in the forum's early days, which once suddenly descended upon the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range region, snatching away a mining area. Players call it: Mechanical Sovereign."

"In its guidance introduction, it possesses a World-Level Rule Power named Divine Metal, which can transmute metal into rule-metal. This is, in my eyes, an almost perfect material. With the support of this World-Level Rule, the manufactured nano-mechanical insects, while still unable to block the Black Tide's consumption, can significantly reduce battle damage and also endow the mechanical nano-insects with the ability to evolve by consuming metallic substances."

As Star Net's words fell, the virtual image on the wall switched to a scene of rolling mountain ranges.

In the pitch-black sky, a silver cloud mass appeared, composed of hundreds of millions of mechanical nanobots forming a vast swarm.

Each nanobot was smaller than dust, shimmering with metallic luster under the moonlight, like a flowing river of stars.

As they approached the rolling mountain ranges, the cloud mass suddenly dispersed, transforming into countless tiny points of light that poured down like a rainstorm.

The nanobot swarm covered the mountain surface like a layer of flowing mercury, rapidly seeping into the rock crevices.

Any ore containing metallic substances, whether iron ore buried deep underground or copper ore exposed on the surface, vanished rapidly under the nanobots' consumption.

The rolling mountain ranges collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye; rocks crumbled and soil loosened in between, as if being hollowed out bit by bit by an invisible giant hand.

Wherever the nanobot swarm passed, only gray-white residue remained—the waste left after the ores were completely stripped away.

Under the Star Network's simulation, the mechanical nanobot swarm resembled a horde of hungry locusts, greedily devouring all metals, not even sparing the trace metallic elements within the mountains.

In a short time, the originally towering mountain ranges became riddled with holes, like a giant beast hollowed out by borers.

After completing their consumption, the nanobot swarm reformed into a silver cloud mass and flew toward the next target.

All that remained was a desolate silence and a completely hollowed-out mountain body, as if it had endured a devastating, area-wide barrage of fierce firepower.

At this moment, the Star Network continued:

"Although it cannot devour all substances like the Black Tide, Divine Metal can grant the mechanical nanobots a rule-level ability to consume metallic substances to grow. The enemy's weapons, armor... all metallic substances can become nourishment for the mechanical legion to grow stronger with every battle."

"Theoretically, apart from calamity-level forces like the Black Tide and the Swarm Tide, I can now generate a counter-warfare system to oppose any known faction."

While Ah Lan was deeply shocked in his heart, his expression suddenly became serious:

"Star Network, it seems we have a clear objective now."

As he spoke, Ah Lan's gaze swept toward the Mechanical Sovereign floating above the starry sky in the image, its form as massive as the moon.

"There is no rush. The power gap between us and the Mechanical Sovereign is too great; it is a Demigod-level powerhouse. To challenge it, we still have a very long road ahead."

"The future development of the Moon Eclipse Clan will still revolve around the three core systems: Star Meridian Combinations, Body Tempering Levels, and Painful Painful Minghun. Even for me, who walks the path of solitary strength, I will use these three core systems to create the mechanical legion in the future. I hope to combine the concept of the nanomechanical legion with the characteristics of the Painful Painful Minghun, granting the nanomechanical bots more possibilities. Relying solely on the world-level rule enhancement of Divine Metal, there is still an insurmountable gap between me and the Black Tide."

"Only by adding the Star Meridian system will I have the strength to fight... but at this stage, there is temporarily no function to combine external systems with the Star Meridian system... However, regardless, the concept of the mechanical legion will be one of my core growth directions in the future."

After finishing, the Star Network looked at Ah Lan:

"From now on, you do not need to report to me. If you have ideas, you can communicate with me directly in the live broadcast room; I am always here."

"Mm." Ah Lan nodded respectfully, his tone polite. In his heart, the Star Network had always played the role of an elder, and also a mentor in his growth.

At this moment, the Star Network's projection dispersed, and the room returned to the virtual scene surrounded by the starry sky.

At this moment, Ah Lan walked toward the game pod, preparing to enter the game and continue his struggle.

After ending the conversation with the Star Network, he already had a clear hunting target.

Mechanical Sovereign, wait for us!

(End of this chapter)