As the Flame Demon Lord's massive body turned into an extinguished Obsidian Mine, this brutal assault finally came to an end.
But this was only the beginning.
Under Chen Feng's command, the three major guilds did not pause for even a moment before swiftly beginning their land-grabbing campaign.
"[Flesh Artisan] group! Stop looting corpses over there! Get the Windbreak Walls up first!"
"This is the windward side of Duan Bronchus! The wind speed is ridiculously high. Without walls, everyone who logs in tomorrow will get blown right back down their throats!"
With the efforts of several hundred craftsmen, a [Flame Outpost] built against the remains of the Flame Demon's corpse rose from the ground.
The Flame Demon's indestructible obsidian shell was dismantled and turned into the strongest city walls. The residual high-heat core inside its body was dug out, becoming the camp's natural furnace and used to repair and charge Mechas.
The wind here was freakishly sinister, alternating between hot and cold. A temperature-controlled camp was absolutely necessary, and the Blue Slimes raised by the lifestyle players had also done great work.
Zhao Kuo piloted his battered Mecha, whose armor durability was nearly depleted, and plopped down in the middle of the camp, watching the busy lifestyle players.
"This battle was damn expensive."
He looked at the astronomical string of numbers on the Repair Panel, so pained that he could barely breathe. "But watching that big bastard go down was damn satisfying too."
"Stop fretting over the money." Vanguard Across the Realm jumped out of his Mecha and patted Zhao Kuo on the shoulder. "Once this outpost is established, we can continuously send troops deeper into Duan Bronchus. According to the system prompt, the Flame Demon Parasites inside can produce Flame Cores. Every one of them is walking Mecha fuel."
Blue Star, the real world.
As the game progressed, the situation in the real world was becoming increasingly delicate.
Dragon Kingdom, Imperial Capital—Titan Extraordinary Alliance Headquarters.
Fang Ce tossed a thick report onto the table, his expression somewhat grave.
"The cost of maintaining stability has been rising exponentially lately."
"This week, the number of LV.20 players across the server has already exceeded 3,000. While most of them are on our watchlist, some independent players completely lost their minds after gaining power."
Fang Ce pointed at the densely packed red dots on the map and let out a long sigh.
"Robberies, fights, revenge against society... We and the Special Operations Group have suppressed them all, but public pressure is immense. Ordinary people's fear of players is spreading."
"As the news spreads, more and more people are learning about the Titan Game."
"That isn't even the biggest problem," Lei Zhen added coldly.
He pulled up a satellite photograph of a jungle base in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia.
"'Greedy Wolf' Zhang Kuang's [Wild Wolf Park] in the Golden Triangle has tripled in size."
"Through the dark web, they're offering high pay to recruit players who committed crimes at home or do not want to be regulated. Reportedly, more than a hundred desperadoes above LV.18 have gathered there now, including over a dozen LV.20 Talent Awakeners."
"They operate locally under the banner of mercenaries, helping drug lords seize territory and even openly fighting the local government forces. That place has already become a lawless zone."
Chen Feng looked at the photograph, lightly tapping his fingers against the tabletop.
"Some domestic players even voluntarily smuggled themselves over there to join them in pursuit of so-called freedom?"
"Yes." Fang Ce sighed. "Everyone has their own ambitions. Some people just think there are too many rules here and want to go there to become superior to others."
"Then let them go."
Chen Feng frowned, and a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
"Fools who cannot see the bigger picture. Such a large-scale evolution of humanity, yet they actually think they can disrupt order and carve out their own territory just because they have a temporary lead."
"Write down the names. Once we have time to deal with things in reality, we'll settle the score all at once."
"For now, we just need to protect this pure land of the Dragon Kingdom."
High-Dimensional Perspective—Titan Gu Yuan.
Within the Cosmic Abyss.
Gu Yuan examined the condition inside his own body.
Although the players had opened the entrance to one Duan Bronchus, greatly easing his breathing pressure, the current two hundred thousand players were still woefully insufficient compared to the vast, star-sea-like scale of his entire lungs.
Moreover, as the main map's level rose, ordinary players faced sharply increasing survival pressure. New combat power was urgently needed.
"There aren't enough people."
Gu Yuan willed it.
A vast torrent of data instantly swept across Blue Star's network.
[Major Server-Wide Version Update Announcement: Titan's Awakening—06] I. Sixth Large-Scale Recruitment [Description]: To face the coming total war, Titan has decided to summon more Kinfolk. [New Slots]: 300,000 people (total population reaching 500,000 people). [Allocation Mechanism]: This draw will no longer be limited to specific regions and will be randomly deployed worldwide. II. The "Micro Spirit Pets" System Is Officially Online [Background]: Explorers have discovered that Titan's body does not contain only enemies. Those ancient native bacterial colonies are your natural allies. [Functions]: Capture and Training: Players may use [Bio-Bait] to capture neutral creatures such as Blue Slimes (Probiotics). Multiple Pets in Battle: Each player may carry an unlimited number of Spirit Pets at once, but must provide their own food. Compendium System: Blue Slime (Probiotic): Blows healing bubbles and clears toxins. Headless Knight (Lactobacillus): Creates bone walls through division. Berserk Hound (Eosinophil): Though it looks like a mad dog, it is extremely effective against parasites.
At the request of many readers, the VIP membership ad-free feature is now available.
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Evolution Path: Feeding different materials, such as High-Energy Fire Cores and Bile Crystals, can induce beneficial mutations in Spirit Pets. III. Epic Gameplay: The Ancient Awakens [Background]: Before the players descended, Titan had a powerful standing army within his body. They fell into dormancy over the long years due to energy depletion. Now, as breathing recovers, they are awakening. [Gameplay]: Find the Sleepers: In hidden corners of the map, such as deep within lymph nodes and on the bone marrow frontlines, there are statue-like [The Ancient (Dormant Advanced Immune cell NPCs)]. Awakening Ritual: Inject a large amount of Bio-Energy or fulfill specific conditions to awaken them. Favorability and Employment: Warlord (Macrophage): Hot-tempered and fond of high-energy food. High favorability allows it to be hired as a Siege Behemoth. Assassin (T-Cell): Cold in temperament and fond of killing viruses. High favorability allows it to teach special skills. Ordnance Officer (B-Cell): Fond of collecting materials. High favorability unlocks exchanges for special biochemical weapons. Many more possibilities~
The moment the announcement was released, the world erupted.
Although the Dragon Kingdom had firmly secured high-end combat power and resource points through its early advantage, leaving the small number of foreign players virtually isolated and helpless, the influx of these three hundred thousand newcomers was destined to crack the previously stable structure.
—But honestly, a hundred Level 1 players still couldn't beat a Level 20 player!
In the game, Flame Outpost.
"It updated!"
"So many new features! Look, the Pet System has been implemented!"
A group of casual players gathered together excitedly.
As the first player in the entire server to discover Probiotics, Love Eating Watermelon had become a celebrity.
"Look, everyone! I fed my Blue Slime some ash dropped by the Flame Demon, and it mutated into a [Lava Slime]! Its normal attacks inflict burn damage, and it can even serve as a hand warmer!"
Meanwhile, at the edge of the camp, Chen Feng and Lei Zhen were more concerned about the third update.
"The Ancient..."
Chen Feng looked toward the unknown dark abyss in the distance.
"Titan's native army?"
"From the description, do the Warlords and Assassins correspond to our Divine Guards and Hunters?"
Just then, an Assassin player in charge of scouting ran back, panting heavily.
"Guild Leader! We found a strange cave on the sidewall of Duan Bronchus!"
"Inside... inside, there seems to be a row of enormous stone statues kneeling down! They look like giants carrying huge shields!"
Chen Feng's eyes lit up.
"Let's go take a look!"
The group arrived in the depths of the cave.
With the help of the Mechas' searchlights, they witnessed a shocking sight.
More than a dozen grayish-white stone statues, each over ten meters tall, held broken giant shields and knelt on one knee as if guarding the passage behind them. Though their bodies were covered in dust and cracks, the aura of slaughter around them still made people's hearts tremble.
[Interactable Target: Dormant Warlord (The Ancient)] [Status: Energy Depleted / Deep Dormancy] [Awakening Requirement: 50,000 Bio-Energy / unit]
"Fifty thousand each?" Zhao Kuo clicked his tongue. "That's much cheaper than building a Mecha."
"Let's try it."
Chen Feng stepped forward and directly paid fifty thousand Bio-Energy.
Golden light flowed into the stone statue.
Crack—crack—
The gray shell on the statue's surface began to peel away, revealing pale yet powerful muscles beneath.
The giant slowly opened its eyes. They were cloudy black pupils filled with killing intent. It glanced at the tiny Mechas before it, its voice low as thunder.
"Another... new war?"
"I am... Guardian No. 704."
"As long as... there is food... I will... kill enemies."
[System Prompt: The Ancient "Guardian No. 704" has awakened. Current Favorability: Indifferent.] [Employment Cost: 2,000 Bio-Energy per day (meals included).] [After employment is terminated, The Ancient will act freely and no longer obey orders.]
"It works as long as you feed it?" Zhao Kuo laughed. "I like that personality!"
Chen Feng looked at the awakened giant, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
With this group of "The Ancient," along with the three hundred thousand new recruits about to enter the field and the Mecha army.
How could they possibly fail to steamroll the depths of Duan Bronchus...?
(Brothers! This is the third update! Please tap the urge-for-updates button more, and tap the free support button too. I'm begging you, QAQ.)
(I don't have any stockpiled chapters. New chapters are all written on the spot. I'm working hard on them—there should be more today.)
(If there are any issues with the writing, please point them out. I'll fix them at lightning speed!)
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