Crimson Galaxy

The light from the Gene Shop gradually faded.

The players, who had just been immersed in the joy of leveling up, now looked at their shriveled wallets and let out a series of wails.

"This is too greedy! The developers are absolutely heartless!"

A Divine Guard player with the ID Dali Chu Qiji squatted on the ground, staring at the skill book titled Savage Collision. He was practically drooling, but the price tag of 200 bio-energy left him in despair.

In the battle just now, everyone had fought tooth and nail for over half an hour. After accounting for death penalties and equipment repair costs, most people only had a few dozen points left in their balance.

"I checked just now; even a basic white-tier bone sword costs 150 points," a Hunter player nearby complained. "Is this even a game, or are we just here to work for the system?"

Feng Xing Tian Xia frowned as well. As the primary damage dealer, he had 135 points left. While he was wealthier than the others, he was still far from being able to afford a skill book. He had to settle for second best, spending 10 points on a High-Hardness Whetstone to carefully grind and repair the starter bone blade that had become notched during the fight.

"Save the rest of the money."

Feng Xing Tian Xia remained calm. In this hardcore game, stats and skills were king. Ordinary equipment could be compensated for with skill, but a lack of skill mechanics was fatal.

In the high-dimensional void.

Watching the "kin" below cursing at the shop, Gu Yuan felt no anger; instead, he felt a bit guilty.

It wasn't that he was greedy; it was that he was broke too.

The divine body status panel on his retina was flashing red: the Heart Core shield energy was at a mere 0.05%, in a state of extreme crisis. The bio-energy collected from the players, combined with transaction taxes, had only amounted to 8,500 points in total.

"Repairing the pericardium damage alone costs 5,000 points, and keeping the holographic network running takes another 100 points per hour."

Gu Yuan sighed. With a thought, he painfully allocated 5,000 points of energy.

At the edge of the Heart Core Plaza, the pits and cracks caused by corrosion began to squirm slowly. Countless golden granules of flesh intertwined and grew, and within just a few breaths, the ruined battlefield was as good as new.

"I have to give them a little treat. That main artery leading to the lungs is too far away. If I rely on them to walk there on two legs, I'll probably be dead before they get halfway."

He cast his gaze toward the surging, massive blood vessel. There, countless enormous red blood cells were drifting with the current, like natural vehicles.

"I need to package these things." Gu Yuan's mind stirred, and he modified the system description.

[Server-wide Announcement: The journey to the next stop, "Gate of Judgment," is long.]

[Hint: The Crimson Star Path flows with natural vehicles known as "Crimson Boat." Wise kin should know how to go with the flow.]

"Crimson Boat?"

Feng Xing Tian Xia's eyes flickered as he looked toward the end of the plaza.

That was the starting point of the Crimson Star Path. Standing at the edge and looking down, everyone was stunned by the magnificent sight before them. This wasn't a river; it was a golden-red energy galaxy dozens of kilometers wide!

Countless glowing liquids surged within it, and floating amidst the torrent were countless massive, flat red discs. Each disc was at least ten meters in diameter, with edges slightly curled upward and a surface covered in a soft, fluorescent glow, looking like sci-fi biological flying saucers.

"So this is the so-called Crimson Boat?"

A female player with the ID Yun Zhong You whispered in awe, "The art design is absolutely incredible. A scene like this, with giant objects drifting in an energy river—you could take a screenshot and use it as a wallpaper."

"What are we waiting for!"

Dali Chu Qiji slapped his thigh and stood up excitedly. "The system basically spelled it out for us; that's a free bus! Brothers, get on board!"

Relying on his thick skin and high durability, he was the first to rush to the bank. Looking at the surging galaxy below and a massive disc slowly drifting past, the burly man took a deep breath and leaped.

The system instantly popped up a judgment: Action check successful, Strength check passed.

BOOM!

Dali Chu Qiji slammed into the red disc like a cannonball. The disc was extremely elastic; under his impact, it buckled downward violently before bouncing him high into the air.

"Holy crap! So bouncy!"

He flailed in the air before finally landing on the center of the disc, gripping the protruding bone handle on the edge for dear life.

"It's stable! Brothers, come on up! This thing is super steady!"

Dali Chu Qiji stood on the rapidly moving disc, waving at the stunned crowd on the shore, looking exactly like someone who had just snatched a seat during the Spring Festival travel rush.

"Can we really do it?"

Seeing this, other players followed suit. For a moment, the edge of the Heart Core Plaza sounded like dumplings being dropped into a pot, with splashes echoing incessantly.

Feng Xing Tian Xia didn't jump immediately. He observed the flow rate and landing points for a moment before turning to look at Yun Zhong You, who was still hesitating.

"Stay close to me."

"Ah? I... my Agility is only 6, I'm afraid I won't make the jump." Yun Zhong You looked at the surging torrent below with fear.

"It's fine, I'll pull you." Feng Xing Tian Xia reached out his hand.

Yun Zhong You froze for a moment, looking at the hand covered in black carapace, then gritted her teeth and reached out her own.

"Jump!"

With a low shout, both of them leaped at the same time. In the split second they were in the air, Feng Xing Tian Xia displayed immense body control. He not only accurately predicted the landing point but also used the momentum to pull Yun Zhong You, neutralizing the impact of the fall.

Thud.

The two landed steadily on a massive Crimson Boat. The texture under their feet was soft yet resilient, surrounded by rapidly receding scarlet light, with the infinitely high, dark void above them.

"Wow..." Yun Zhong You steadied herself by holding onto Feng Xing Tian Xia's arm, staring at the dreamlike scene before her, unable to hold back her exclamation. "This is basically a superluminal jump tunnel! It's so cool!"

By now, most of the players had boarded these natural vehicles. The vast fleet of starships followed this grand energy corridor, heading deep into the profound darkness.

The voyage did not last long.

Feng Xing Tian Xia was sitting at the edge of the disc, eyes closed to rest and recover his stamina, when he suddenly felt the flow beneath his feet slow down.

The system's red alarm flashed abruptly:

[Warning! "Crystal Deposits" are blocking the path ahead!]

[Triggered Event: Clear the channel.]

[Objective: Shatter the "Wall of Sighs" and kill the "Amber Devourer" guarding it.]

Everyone looked up.

They saw that the originally wide river channel ahead was suddenly blocked by a massive yellow mountain range spanning the center. It was a giant wall piled high with yellow, translucent crystals, refracting eerie light under the radiance of the galaxy. On the wall, countless soft-bodied monsters, only half a person tall and oozing golden-yellow slime, were wriggling.

"A roadblock?"

Dali Chu Qiji stood on the lead starship, looking at that giant yellow mountain, and cursed, "Is the developer sick? Piling a crystal mountain in the middle of an interstellar route?"

Although he was cursing, his body was honest.

"Brothers! Work is here! These monsters look soft and squishy, they've gotta be easy to bully! Smash them to pieces!"

However, when the first starship collided with the yellow mountain range, the players realized they were wrong.

Bang!

There was no expected sound of impact. The starship seemed to have sunk into a swamp, stuck fast by the viscous substance, unable to move.

Immediately after, the "Amber Devourers" on the wall moved. They had no sharp claws or teeth, but instead opened their bodies and lunged directly at the players.

"Huh? These monsters don't do damage?"

A player was hugged by a slime monster and noticed his health bar barely dropped. Just as he was about to mock them, his expression changed abruptly.

"No! My agility dropped to zero!"

The area wrapped by the slime monster solidified rapidly, forming a thick, hard yellow shell. The entire person was like someone sealed in amber, unable to even move a finger.

"They're crowd-control monsters! Don't get hugged!" Feng Xing Tian Xia shouted from the ship behind. "Mages! Spirit Pivot Envoys! Use lightning to paralyze them!"

However, the Spirit Pivot Envoys were also thwarted this time. A dozen lightning bolts struck the slime monsters, but like mud cows entering the sea, they didn't cause a single ripple.

[Damage Nullified (Insulator)]

"What the hell! These monsters are magic-immune?"

"Physical attacks don't work either, the blades just slide right off! How are we supposed to fight this?"

Watching the dozen starships in front get stuck fast and more and more players being sealed into amber specimens, the entire fleet fell into paralysis.

"What's the weakness?"

Feng Xing Tian Xia stared at the description on the monster panel, his brows locked in a frown. The system didn't provide a direct hint for the weakness; this required the players to explore it themselves.

Just then, Yun Zhong You, who had been hiding behind him, suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

"Great God... look at this environmental buff."

Yun Zhong You pointed to an inconspicuous little icon in the top right corner of her field of vision.

[Environment: High-Energy Aether Flow]

[Description: The current area is filled with extremely volatile gases; fire-attribute effects are increased by 200%, highly flammable.]

"Since the developer gave this environmental hint, the solution must be related to fire." Yun Zhong You analyzed, "But there are no torches for sale in the shop, and we don't have any fire-attribute mages."

Feng Xing Tian Xia looked at the environmental icon, then looked at the group of Divine Guard players not far away wearing heavy chitin plate armor, as well as the crude bone weapons in their hands.

A flash of inspiration struck his mind.

High-concentration flammable gas... collision of bone and carapace... flint!

This was the most basic physical engine interaction!

He suddenly looked at Dali Chu Qiji, who was having his leg entangled by a slime monster not far away.

"Da Qiang! Use your weapon to smash your armor hard! Or smash someone else's!"

"Huh?" Dali Chu Qiji looked confused. "Am I sick? I'm going to hack myself?"

"It's the flint principle!" Feng Xing Tian Xia roared. "Your carapaces and weapons are both high-hardness chitin; in this environment, as long as you strike a spark, you can detonate it!"

Although Dali Chu Qiji didn't understand the physics parameters here, he understood the operation.

"Got it! Brothers, come on, light me up!"

He suddenly raised the heavy bone hammer in his hand and smashed it hard against the shoulder armor of another trapped Divine Guard player.

"Bear with it, brother!"

Clang--!

A crisp clanging sound rang out.

A spray of dazzling sparks erupted in the darkness.

In this highly flammable, high-energy environment, these seemingly insignificant sparks were like a cigarette butt dropped into a powder keg.

BOOM!

A ball of orange flame exploded out of thin air, instantly igniting the slime monster that had been entangling the Divine Guard. The previously invulnerable amber monster let out a shrill scream the moment it touched the fire, its body rapidly melting into a pool of black sludge.

[Critical Hit! -500 (Environmental Vulnerability)!]

"Holy crap! It actually works!"

Dali Chu Qiji looked at the flames burning on his body. The high Constitution of the Divine Guard allowed him to withstand this scorching heat for a short time, making him look like a vengeful flame crawling out of hell.

"Hahahaha! I'm burning up!"

Like a human torch, he howled and charged into the pile of monsters, grabbing two slimes at once.

"Come on! Let's hurt each other!"

The other players reacted as well.

"Divine Guards, you're the flint! Spirit Pivot Envoys, use your wind to fuel the fire! Hunters, finish them off!"

For a time, the entire Crimson Star Path became the stage for a bizarre "self-harming ignition" war. The once-impenetrable Amber Great Wall began to melt and collapse rapidly under the players' wildly imaginative tactics.

From a high-dimensional perspective, Gu Yuan watched this scene and couldn't help but cover his face.

"Using themselves as lighters... these guys have really figured out how to exploit the realistic physics engine."

However, looking at the cleared blood vessels and the cleaned-out plaques, Gu Yuan had to admit that although these Fourth Calamities were unconventional, they were indeed effective.

"Since you like fire so much..."

Gu Yuan glanced at the high-energy Amber energy being absorbed by the players, and a thought crossed his mind.

The next second, a server-wide announcement popped up:

[Congratulations! Player tactics have triggered a hidden class mechanism.]

[New advanced path added for the Divine Guard class: Flame Prison Guard (requires consuming "High-Energy Amber Essence" to unlock).]

With this, the Divine Guard players who had previously been disgusted by the slimes instantly changed their expressions as they looked at the black oil and Amber fragments covering the ground.

"Don't grab it! This mouthful of oil is mine!"

"I'll fight anyone who tries to take it! I'm going to change my class to Fire Man!"