Calamity Nano Base

"Who's talking?"

Cheng Shaofeng had just Have This Idea without voicing it when a reply echoed in his mind.

"Master, I am Smart Butler Zero of the Calamity Nano Base. The base is now stationed in your head. I can display base functions via retinal projection. Shall I display them?"

"Display?"

Cheng Shaofeng had been seeing everything blurry in the dim dungeon, but suddenly his vision sharpened.

It truly sharpened.

A layer of azure-blue interface overlaid the gloomy dungeon.

It was like top-tier AR (Augmented Reality) tech from a sci-fi movie.

Even with his eyes closed, he could see the clear image on his eyelids.

Calamity Nano Base

Energy: 0.1% (Recharging, Source: Bioenergy)

Available Robots: Low-Grade Nano Engineer (Basic construction robot with extremely low energy consumption; can build some infrastructure using resources)

Available Base Functions: Nano Construction, Quantum Surfing, Clone Projection, Information Editor

Constructible Buildings: Clone Production Pod, Loot Generator, Attribute Conversion Tower

Base Stored Clone Count: 3

"All currently available base functions have been displayed. Master, is there anything you need me to do?"

Cheng Shaofeng was still a bit dazed, but given the situation, he clearly had to rely on this mysterious nano base.

He Patted his stomach.

"The ones who grabbed me were probably wasteland raiders. They Looks Like a rude bunch. I need to escape. Can you use robots to dig a tunnel for me to run?"

Zero: "The operation you described is feasible, but base energy is too low to support digging to a safe location."

Cheng Shaofeng: "Then tell me what you can do with this little bit of power."

Staring at the red flashing energy bar at 0.1% on the screen before him, Cheng Shaofeng wished he could plug a wire into his brain and charge it to 100%.

Unable to juice up the nearly empty red energy bar, he felt like ants were crawling all over him.

Agonizing!

Zero: "Currently, three operations with extremely low energy consumption are available: Quantum Surfing, Clone Projection, and Information Editor."

"Quantum Surfing: Through your quantum entanglement with the network, the base can assist you in connecting to the last website where your internet signal lingered. After one connection, the quantum signal source can be locked. Our detection shows your last connected website was—Baidu Tieba."

Cheng Shaofeng thought back briefly and remembered.

Before coming here, he'd copied someone's build from the Diablo III Bar and was about to start a new character to test it.

"So... you're saying I can go shoot the breeze on Earth's Tieba right now?"

Zero: "Yes."

The corner of Cheng Shaofeng's mouth twitched slightly: "Great. What a useless function. What about Clone Projection and Information Editor?"

Zero: "The base's Clone Projection technology allows you to summon human consciousness from Earth into the base's clone bodies. You have the highest rule authority over the clones. It is recommended to use the Information Editor to output information to the clones, making them feel like they're playing a game, thereby maximizing the clones' value."

"Holy crap!? A Combination Technique? Summoning players?"

At this point, Cheng Shaofeng finally understood the functions the Calamity Nano Base could currently use.

Summon people from Earth and make them work for him!

After all, players are the most curious, most grind-hungry, bravest, and most shameless bunch in the world!

If he told them it was an isekai, they might hold back and feel restrained.

But a game? Then players are an inexhaustible, unkillable crop of leeks!

"Good thing the last site I was on was Tieba, not some late-night study site. What would I do with a bunch of teachers? Have a last hurrah before dying?"

He needed strong teammates to rescue him!

So... that led to the earlier scene on Tieba.

A man in another world, locked in a dark room, about to face a Green Skin Brute's 'comfort'—quick, come save me, big-shot teammates!

He picked the strongest folks from Tieba.

Clear-headed, logical, rich in Game Experience, full of clever tricks and ruthless moves.

Through Tieba chats and sign-ups, he locked in three people.

African Thin Dog, Ghost Face Demon Fox, Lin Tang.

Very active members of the bar.

Not only experienced in multiple games, but also masters of various survival games, with top-tier overall gaming skills.

"By the Way, where are our three clones? Are they in my head too?"

Zero: "No, they're buried where you found the watch."

Cheng Shaofeng: "Well, at least I'm not stuck in here alone."

"Sigh. Hope they can get me out." Cheng Shaofeng sighed, talking to himself.

"No one's coming for you. Give up that hope!"

A hoarse male voice suddenly rang out from beside him.

Cheng Shaofeng's hairs stood on end. When he'd been thrown into this dungeon, there'd been no one else around—just a few corpses, tortured beyond recognition.

"Who!?"

"Delivery guy!"

"Oh, coming."

Pu Shenqi hung up and walked out to grab his package.

He'd just been chatting with a designer from Penguin Games, asking if any company had made a 100% virtual reality game yet.

The designer's reply was philosophical: "Funny you ask—we're looking for one too."

Pu Shenqi took a basketball-sized cube box from the delivery guy.

Opening it, he found a black helmet.

It took him three seconds to register what it was.

"Holy crap? It's here already??? I just filled in the info an hour ago!"

Unbelievable!

Forget next-day delivery—this was next-hour delivery!

He plugged it into power and an Ethernet cable, then put it on.

His vision went black, then brightened. Everything was hazy except for one clear line of text:

"Apocalypse OL" Beta. Waiting for other players to come online 1/3.

He couldn't log in yet—only when all three were ready.

He took off the helmet and opened the group chat at lightning speed.

Ghost Face Demon Fox: "Heh~ They actually sent me a helmet, no shipping fee. Things are getting interesting."

Lin Tang: "What? I thought I was the first to get one?"

"By the way, weren't there three beta slots? Who did Brother Shao give the last one to?"

African Thin Dog: "Me, me, me! It's with me. This is seriously creepy. I remember you're in Guangzhou, Lin Tang? I'm in Kyoto, and Hu Da's in the northeast—yet we all got helmets in an hour. How the hell...?"

Shadow Night God: "Nothing special. Pre-stocked inventory. You're all in cities, right? One-hour delivery is normal. But seriously, no shipping fee?"

All three confirmed.

Shadow Night God paused, then typed: "Alright. Another new scam. Scammers keep up with the times. High probability there's a paywall inside the helmet. You three are already in the trap."

Pu Shenqi was silent for a moment, then made a three-person group with Ghost Face Demon Fox and Lin Tang.

"Scam or not, we'll know once we log in together."

Lin Tang: "Fine, but if it sucks, you two have to help me test my mods."

Ghost Face Demon Fox: "Interesting, interesting. See you online."

In three different cities, they put on the black helmets at the same time.

Blue signal lights flickered.

The scene and sensations before them shattered like a mirror hit by a sharp object—dozens of cracks spreading from one point, then bursting into countless fragments falling into the void.

In absolute darkness, their five senses slowly reassembled.

The next moment.

In the dark brown soil of a garbage dump.

Slap!

Three hands burst through the ground.