High-Dimensional Space: Chaotic Void.
There was no concept of time here, only endless solitude and darkness. Gu Yuan's Titan Divine Body, so vast that it could be used to divide star regions by its boundaries, floated silently through the Void.
At this moment, he was conducting a long-overdue "inner inspection."
In his vision, his body was no longer flesh and blood, but a brilliant yet shattered universe of stars.
The once dim and lifeless [Right Lung Star Region] now shone with a faint yet resolute golden-red light at its edge. It was the A7 District Bronchus that the players had opened up, like a dried-up river surging back to life.
Deeper within, the situation in the [Liver Nebula] was far more complicated.
In Gu Yuan's perception, tiny points of light from at least five different directions flickered tenaciously through the poisonous mist.
"Dawn Guild has occupied H-103, Dragon War Guild has taken H-109, and several loose-player alliances have established 'Mushroom Village' around the edges..."
As Gu Yuan watched those tiny points of light busily at work inside his body, an unusual feeling rose in his heart.
To his body, which stood several light-years tall, these hundred thousand players were not even one hundred-millionth of a bacterium. Yet these insignificant beings, relying on their immortal nature and a driving force called "greed," were repairing his ruined hive bit by bit like diligent worker bees.
"Liver metabolic function has recovered by 0.01%."
Though the number was pitifully low, it represented—the beginning of a reversal.
Well, it seemed to be less than 0.01... Forget it, round it up and it was 0.01%. The future looked bright indeed.
Blue Star, the real world.
Coordinates: Jingdu City First People's Hospital, Rehabilitation Center.
"Miss Li! You can't leave! You absolutely cannot leave!"
Several experts in white coats, sweating profusely, tried to stop a young woman who was packing her luggage.
"Your recovery case is a world-class miracle! We need to conduct more comprehensive examinations! We need samples! We need—"
Li You, Cloud Pomelo, wore a light tracksuit and carried a heavy travel bag in one hand, looking helplessly at the fanatical doctors.
Several days had passed since she drank [Titan Blood].
After the initial excruciating pain, her body had regained its functions at an inconceivable pace. Her atrophied muscles became full and powerful again in only three days, while her necrotic nerves transmitted signals as efficiently as reforged cables.
Now, forget walking—she would have had no problem running five kilometers. She was undeniably in perfect health.
"Professor Liu, I've already cooperated with your examinations for several days."
Li You sighed and swung the travel bag over her shoulder—the effortless movement left the nearby nurses staring blankly. "You've drawn blood, done CT scans, and seen the results. I've recovered. I'm even healthier than before."
"But this isn't scientific! We need to find the reason!" The old professor was so agitated that his glasses were nearly falling off.
"The reason is that I'm in a good mood and eating well."
Li You blinked playfully, no longer wanting to keep arguing.
With a light tap of her toes, she nimbly slipped around several intern doctors trying to stop her. She moved as lightly as a swallow. By the time the doctors reacted, she had already pressed the down button for the elevator.
"Dad, Mom, wait for me downstairs. Start the car quickly—don't let them catch up!"
Li You hurriedly spoke into her phone as the elevator doors slowly closed, cutting off the doctors' shouts.
The moment she escaped the hospital, she looked at the sunlight outside and took a deep breath.
That was the scent of freedom—
Prison break successful~
That night, the Dawn Guild's core voice channel.
"I broke out of prison!"
Cloud Pomelo's voice rang through the channel, filled with unconcealable laughter. "Those doctors looked at me like I was an alien."
"Hahahaha! I knew you could do it, girl!"
Brute Force Yields Miracles' booming voice made the channel hum. "Same here! My foreman insisted on sending me to a sports school to sign up for weightlifting. It scared me so badly that I ran away overnight with a bucket in hand. I just got to Magic City and I'm looking for a hotel now."
"Since everyone has settled in, let's meet."
Vanguard Across the Realm's voice sounded. "Some things aren't convenient to discuss online. Especially plans for the future."
"Agreed." Lei Zhen was brief and direct. "Li Zihan and I are already in Magic City."
"Then tomorrow night."
Vanguard Across the Realm sent a location.
"Magic City, Cloud Apartment, my place. Even if the world ends, we still have to eat. Hotpot's on me."
The following evening. Magic City, Cloud Apartment.
It was a private gathering with no outsiders, and the first offline meet-up for the five core members of the Dawn Guild, who had only known one another online.
The location was Chen Feng's home. Although the spacious apartment stood in an incredibly expensive district, its decor was unexpectedly simple, even somewhat barren. Only the rows of professional gaming equipment revealed the owner's identity.
But tonight, the place was filled with the warmth of everyday life.
A steaming copper hotpot sat in the center of the living room. The spicy butter base boiled vigorously, filling the air with fragrance.
"Brother Feng, you're pretty good at slicing meat!"
Wang Daqiang, wearing a tight T-shirt that looked ready to burst from his chest muscles, drooled as he stared at the lamb slices in Chen Feng's hands, thin as cicada wings.
"Basic skill for a professional player. Steady hands."
Chen Feng smiled and arranged the slices of meat. His hands were not only steady, but fast. The kitchen knife seemed alive in his grasp.
On the sofa, Li Zihan was fiddling with his portable terminal, occasionally pushing up his thick-framed glasses. Lei Zhen, meanwhile, stood on the balcony and habitually surveyed the surroundings and escape routes before entering and closing the floor-to-ceiling glass doors.
"Ding-dong—"
The doorbell rang.
Chen Feng went to answer it.
Standing at the door was a girl with a ponytail and jeans, her face glowing with healthy color.
Li You.
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"Hello, everyone. I'm Cloud Pomelo." She waved somewhat shyly.
"Pomelo, you're walking so smoothly now. I can't tell at all from what you described before."
"Not only can I walk, I can jump too." Li You gave a light hop on the spot and landed without a sound. "Thank you, everyone. If I hadn't met you in the game..."
"Stop." Chen Feng interrupted with a smile and handed her a pair of chopsticks. "It's all in the pot now, so don't say such depressing things. Sit down. Let's eat."
After several rounds of drinks and dishes.
Everyone was sweating from the meal. The sense of distance between online comrades-in-arms and offline friends vanished completely over a hotpot dinner.
Chen Feng set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and looked at Lei Zhen.
"Old Lei, the official side..."
"Don't worry." Lei Zhen took a sip of beer and spoke steadily. "The old squad leader... my superior, that is, has classified our guild as a 'strategic cooperation unit.' As long as we don't cross any red lines, the authorities will give us every possible convenience. You could even say we're the vanguard now. The salary cards for those three hundred special operations soldiers are all under the guild's finances."
"That's good." Chen Feng nodded.
"Brother Feng, there's something."
Li Zihan suddenly spoke. His gaze was clear, and his exceptional metabolism made it difficult for him to get drunk. "Tianqi Group, Longteng Capital... at least ten major conglomerates have contacted me over the past few days. They want to invest in Dawn or buy our members and guides at high prices. Some even hinted that if we refused, they would target us in the game."
"Target us?"
Wang Daqiang slammed the table, making the bowls and plates jump. "What the hell is there to fear? Whoever bares their teeth at us in the Liver, I'll lead people and camp their Respawn Point until we kill them!"
"We can't act so recklessly."
Chen Feng shook his head, leaned back in his chair, and looked thoughtful.
"They can't possibly do that unless there's something wrong here."
Chen Feng pointed to his head.
"Money is very useful in reality, but in Titan: Genesis, it isn't worth a cent. Those conglomerates have money, so they may be able to buy large amounts of Bio-Energy from casual players. That's their advantage. But it doesn't mean much. Strategic materials like Titan Blood from before required a class change before they could be purchased, and the price wasn't even high. In other words, money that isn't turned into combat power is meaningless. Put another way, strength in the game is the real hard currency. As long as we maintain an advantage in combat power, every kind of resource will come pouring in."
"Then are we going to fight them?" Li You asked with some concern.
"No." Chen Feng smiled. "We're going to do business with them."
"Do business?"
"Yes. This world's cake is too large. No single force can swallow it all." Chen Feng pointed toward the night view beyond the window. "The Liver has countless regions, the lungs have countless bronchi, not to mention the other areas. Dawn has fewer than five hundred core members and three hundred special operators. Including the casual players following us to pick up scraps, we only have a few thousand people total. We can't occupy it all."
"So we need to find our ecological niche."
Chen Feng raised one finger. "First, technological barriers. Guides, BOSS strategies, special resources—these must remain in our hands."
"Second, high-end combat power. We must ensure that Dawn possesses the strongest raiding team on the entire server. When major guilds run into a BOSS they can't defeat, they can only pay us to do it."
"Mutual benefit through cooperation," Lei Zhen summarized. "They provide money, and we provide technology. We use their capital to support our elites."
"Exactly." Chen Feng raised his glass. "That's my plan. Only cooperation can maximize profits. A game that can affect reality absolutely cannot be allowed to derail our main path of growth over tiny immediate gains."
"What do you all think of Titan?"
Li Zihan adjusted his glasses and spoke after some deliberation.
"The premise of a virtual world affecting reality is simply unbelievable." He looked around at his teammates and smiled bitterly. "As a materialist, I feel like I'm about to believe that gods really exist..."
Li You raised her glass with a bright smile and said quite freely, "Gods? If he is a real, objectively existing life-form beyond our understanding, isn't that still materialism? How is that idealism? Besides, we're Titan Kin, and we've genuinely received his gifts. What is there to worry about? Let's have a drink first!"
Five glasses clinked together with a crisp sound.
In-game, Liver Region.
At this moment, the Liver map had already taken on a prosperous landscape where several major powers stood side by side.
Apart from the [Detoxification Camp] established by the Dawn Guild, two other large strongholds had risen in other parts of the Liver.
Coordinates: H-109 District - Iron Blood Outpost.
It had been established by the heavily funded Dragon Fighting in the Wild Guild.
Though they lacked top-tier combat power like Vanguard Across the Realm, they had money and manpower. Tens of thousands of salaried players, wearing standardized equipment, were conducting a carpet-style advance here.
Coordinates: Liver edge - Mushroom Village.
It was a settlement established by casual players and life-class professionals.
Giant glowing fungi grew here—actually Benign Symbiotic Fungi within the Liver. Players farmed, fished—catching fish from the Bile River—and researched Dark Cuisine. Although their combat power was weak, the various Anti-Poison Potions and food produced here were the best-selling on the entire server. It could be said that this was the most laid-back place on the server.
High-Dimensional Perspective.
Gu Yuan looked at the three nails shining through the poisonous mist, as well as the purified areas spreading outward from them, and felt slightly reassured.
"The situation in the Liver has stabilized."
"But this isn't enough."
His gaze passed through the diaphragm and fell on the organ pressed close to the liver, yet filled with corrosive acid—the [stomach]. It gave him a terrible headache.
Violent spasms were occurring there.
Streams of terrifying strong acid reflux, Gastroesophageal Reflux, were burning the cardia and even threatening the lower edge of the lungs that had just been healed.
"If the stomach problem isn't resolved, the Liver strongholds the players worked so hard to build will eventually be flooded by acid."
"And I can't hold on either. It fucking hurts."
Gu Yuan grimaced and sighed.
This body really was riddled with holes.
"Looks like I need to open a new dungeon for those players who enjoy excitement."
He began writing a new quest in the backend—[Battle of the Cardia: Acid Tide].
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