Rendezvous

Server Status: Online
[Fifth Test Begins]
[Deploying 100,000 New Units]

At that moment, the global torrent of data converged into a silent thunderclap that split apart the Abyss's silence.

Coordinates: Heart Core Sanctuary

This was a crimson hall so magnificent it was suffocating. Enormous myocardial pillars supported the vaulted ceiling, and every tremor of its heartbeat echoed like ancient war drums against the eardrums of every new player.

At the center of the hall floated the guide NPC, [Zero], clad in silver-white fluid armor.

He had now come to the newbie spawn point to guide the newcomers.

At his side, two rows of several-meter-tall [Silver Wing Sentinels] stood solemnly with light spears in hand. They were high-level guards that players could only look up to for now.

"Whoosh—"

Countless beams of white light poured down like a rainstorm.

One hundred thousand new players descended.

They were wrapped in white newbie cloth garments, holding soft cartilage sabers that had yet to fully calcify, barbed staves, or round keratin shields.

The crowd instantly packed the square to bursting.

"My god... the graphics, the sensation..."

"This is a heart? The ground is shaking! This is so damn exciting!"

The clamor instantly drowned out the sanctuary. Yet at the very center of the crowd, a team of more than a thousand people stood out conspicuously. Though there had been tens of millions of applicants and the odds of being selected were low, the authorities had still found various ways to send more than a thousand people in.

Although they too wore basic gear, their positioning was extremely deliberate. They swiftly cleared out a vacuum zone amid the chaotic crowd.

At the front stood a stern-faced man with the ID "Great Wall No. 1." He opened the guild panel and attempted to create a guild.

[System Notice: Creating a guild requires x1 item "Titan Oath Token" (Guild Token).]
[This item is not currently in your inventory.]

"So there really is a requirement." Great Wall No. 1 frowned slightly. As the first official military force to enter the game, it would be far too embarrassing if they could not even raise a banner.

Just then, an urgent system email arrived with a special notification sound.

[Sender: Vanguard Across the Realm (LV.21)]
[Attachment: Titan Oath Token x1]
[Message: A gift for our new comrades. This thing isn't expensive to high-level players. No need to thank me; consider it Dawn Guild repaying its debt to the country. —Chen Feng]

Great Wall No. 1 froze for a moment, then looked into the distance with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"He was quick to sell us this favor." He decisively clicked to use it.

[Server Announcement: Congratulations to player "Great Wall No. 1" for successfully establishing the guild [Great Wall Watch]!]

This announcement declared the official large force's formal involvement in Titan: Genesis!

At the same time, aside from the authorities, branch leaders from Dragon War Guild and Imperial Dynasty Guild also raised recruitment banners throughout the square.

"Dragon War Guild is recruiting! Join us and get Bio-Energy, guides, and leveling carries!!"

"Imperial Dynasty Guild is recruiting technical players! Applicants with bachelor's degrees or above in mathematics or physics will be prioritized!"

The entire Heart Core Sanctuary instantly became a bustling talent market.

Meanwhile, Liver Region — Portal Vein Entrance — Detoxification Camp

Compared to the liveliness of the heart, this place held only dense acid mist and distant, indistinct roars. As one of the few safe zones in the Liver Region, it was Dawn Guild's main base.

To ensure the newcomers' safety, Dawn's core five temporarily withdrew from the H-124 assault and returned here.

White light flickered beside the campfire at the center of the camp.

Unlike the vast army at Heart Core Sanctuary, only a dozen or so figures appeared with precision beside Dawn's core five.

[System Notice: The Kinfolk you invited have descended.]

"Damn, why's this place so damn choking?"

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author's name. It may have simply been renamed!

A startled cry thick with dialect rang out. Five men in newbie cloth garments, yet built as powerfully as calves, appeared beside Brute Force Yields Miracles.

"Tie Zhu! Er Gou!" Brute Force Yields Miracles laughed heartily and punched the leading man. "So? I didn't lie to you guys, did I?"

"Brother Strength, this is way too real!" Tie Zhu touched the keratin shield issued by the system. "It's just that we're only Level 1, and looking at the surroundings... it's making my skin crawl."

"It's fine, this is a safe zone." Brute Force Yields Miracles patted his chest. "I gave all five of my slots to you guys. Our construction site's Brick-Moving Assault Team is finally complete!"

On the other side, five sharp-eyed men stood before Lei Zhen.

Unlike Big Strength's workmates, they did not look around in curiosity. The instant they landed, they instinctively began observing their surroundings.

"Captain." A man codenamed "Falcon" saluted. "Two other brothers also got accounts. They should be preparing to head to the pulmonary bronchioles with Great Wall Watch to open up new territory."

"Five are enough." Lei Zhen looked at his old subordinates. "This is the liver, an area for players above Level 10. If you go out now, you're just walking to your deaths. But that works out perfectly. I brought you here to be instructors, not cannon fodder."

In the warmest corner, Cloud Pomelo's parents and a relative were also curiously inspecting their surroundings.

"So this is where Pomelo fights?" Father Li looked at the river of green bile flowing in the distance, his eyes filled with shock and heartache. "Such a harsh environment..."

"Dad, this place will get better someday." Cloud Pomelo smiled and gave each of them a set of gas masks. They were unnecessary in the safe zone, but they could ease the discomfort and block out some of the stench.

Over at Data Maniac's side, everyone looked like scholars, each one resembling the model answer printed on an exam paper.

Dawn Guild Temporary Meeting

After settling this special group of friends and family, Vanguard Across the Realm gathered everyone together.

"The situation is very clear."

Chen Feng pointed at the holographic map.

"Over at Heart Core Sanctuary, an army of one hundred thousand has already descended. As the number one guild on the server, Dawn Guild cannot remain silent. We focused too much on elite development before and neglected low-level fresh blood and maintaining a proper level gradient. We may be a little late, but with our reputation among the player base, we aren't too far behind."

"Maniac, arrange for a few peripheral members still doing quests in the lungs to recruit at the square on behalf of Dawn Guild. The requirements aren't high: obey orders and execute well. We need fresh blood. We can't always rely on the First, Second, and Third Regiments."

"Understood." Data Maniac nodded. "I've already drafted the recruitment post. We'll emphasize the server's top progression, the server's top experts, the server's strongest high-end squad, and shared guides. The appeal will definitely be enough."

Chen Feng then turned his gaze toward the Level 1 friends and family beside him.

"As for all of you."

Chen Feng looked at them with a stern tone.

"You are special. By using Kinfolk privileges, you skipped the long blood-vessel route and came directly to the front line. But that also means extreme danger."

"For the next three days, don't go anywhere. If you head outside, you'll probably die instantly. First, do logistics tasks here at Detoxification Camp. There is plenty of work here too. Once your levels are a little higher, you can learn from those independent players and do Knife Runs."

"Over the next few days, we'll push H-124 Fortress like mad to gain experience and resources. Once you've reached Level 10 through logistics tasks and changed classes, you can follow the main force to the front line and fight the main campaign."

At that moment, Data Maniac brought up the server-wide mission panel.

[Titan Armory — Bio-Energy Collection Progress]
[Current Progress: 18.2%]

Writing a pile of numbers every time would look like padding, so I'll just use percentages. Or if everyone wants to see 182000000/1000000000, that works too.

"The progress is faster than expected." Data Maniac analyzed, "We've been grinding monsters like crazy these past few days, and with the contributions of independent players, we've already reached 18%. But we're still far from 100%, when [Bio-Dynamic Armor] will unlock."

"With new players entering, the rate of Bio-Energy acquisition will increase exponentially," Chen Feng declared. "But what we need to do is not wait for them to slowly save it up. We need to seize something big."

H-124 Fortress was like a gigantic, hideous tumor lying across the main artery. Its thick calcified shell and moat of flowing acid had made countless players hesitate.

"The BOSS still hasn't shown itself."

Vanguard Across the Realm's gaze turned icy as he pointed at the dark-red region on the map.

"A fortress of this level is bound to have a high-level BOSS unit guarding it. If it doesn't come out, we'll never get the core resources inside."

He turned to Data Maniac. "What did Dragon War and Imperial Dynasty say?"

"Everything's arranged." Maniac pushed up his glasses. Two other massive marching routes appeared on the holographic map. "Dragon War Guild will feint against the left wall. They're tough enough to take most of the firepower. Imperial Dynasty Guild will handle long-range suppression and the destruction of siege equipment on the right. And Dawn Guild..."

"We attack the main gate."

"Since it won't come out, we'll smash its nest to pieces and force it out to fight for its life!"

"Now let's head to the front line and rendezvous with the First, Second, and Third Regiments!"

"Our objective is to breach and storm H-124 Sarcoma Fortress. This will be the first joint fortress assault by the server's three major guilds!"

"Move out!"

If someone had looked down from above, they would have seen three forces converging from different directions!

Tie Zhu, who remained in the camp, watched those fully armed backs with envy before turning to his workmates.

"See that? That's what Brother Strength is like now. Not only can he fight himself, he can lead thousands of people to surround and wipe out the monster boss over there! Brothers, let's not slack off either. Hurry up and move bricks to level up! In a few days, we'll have to step up for a scene like that too!"