Apocalypse Technology

"We need three damage-dealing Life Souls for the purification mission. Apply directly and we'll head out."

"Any strong teams running the purification mission? I've unlocked my second Star Meridian, with the powerful Gargoyle + Taunt combination. I guarantee the safety of everyone else on the team."

"Recruiting for the purification mission. Don't apply if your monster level is below 8. Strong players only."

After the mission for all players was issued, recruitment messages flooded the Regional Voice Channel.

Players headed toward the Dark Cavern in groups.

By then, a long line had already formed outside the Dark Cavern.

Although its five underground levels had enough room to accommodate a massive number of players, the entrance could only fit two people side by side.

The huge influx of players had clogged the entrance, leaving them no choice but to queue and enter in order.

Inside the cavern, players kept exploring the lower levels and fighting fierce battles against the Iron-Shelled Insects. Every so often, players died, their souls returning to Emperor Tomb Village.

The whole process seemed utterly frenzied.

Meanwhile, the players waiting outside could only pass the time on the Forum or in the chat channels.

Just then, a Forum post drew a large crowd of players.

[Did I enter the wrong game? The way these guys fight is ridiculous. Are they using cheats?]

Posted by: Darklands Is So Much Fun.

Content: (attached: recorded video)

In the video, a group of players wearing the starting black cloth outfits were fighting swarms of Iron-Shelled Insects on the Dark Cavern's second underground level.

Unlike the other nearby players, who switched into monster form to fight, they reached into their Spatial Inventories and pulled out weapons resembling firearms. After loading Spirit Stones to power them, they opened fire on the Iron-Shelled Insects ahead.

Energy bullets fell thick as rain, throwing up sparks as they struck the Iron-Shelled Insects, leaving bullet holes in their hard shells and sending blood flying.

This method of fighting consumed no stamina, and replenishing ammunition was extremely simple: they only needed to buy an energy crystal from the shop and swap it in. Their combat strength was unaffected by stamina, and they had no need to expend or replenish mental energy.

The sight stunned the nearby players and left those watching the video on the Forum dumbfounded.

A large number of players replied beneath the post, heatedly discussing the video's contents.

Long Night: Wait, did I enter the wrong game? Where did they get guns? I looked through the shop, and there aren't any guns for sale!

Reject Internal Strife: Cheating! I'm reporting them for cheating! How do they have guns to use, and energy-stone-powered guns at that? Are they even playing the same game as us?

Is This a Beaver: Huh? Aren't those real-world Psionics firearms? I study spirit-energy mechanics, so I know a fair bit about this. I never expected anyone to successfully make them in the game. My jaw just dropped.

Word Ma Ya: Players' imaginations really have no limits. Since this game perfectly simulates reality, real-world technology should theoretically work in the game too. These guys are nuts. They actually went and did it.

The "cheaters" being heatedly discussed on the Forum were none other than the members of the Dome Weapons Research Department who had entered the game some time earlier.

Short on funds, they had followed Qin Ye's advice and spent two days mining ore in the mine.

After Broken Star appeared, they followed his trail back and forth between the Ancient Battlefield and the Blood Plains, picking up quite a few Evil Crystals and finally scraping together enough startup funds.

Without the equipment to manufacture advanced weapons, they first bought Engraving Knives from the shop and used Spirit Stones to make a batch of Spirit-Energy Firearms.

The Spirit-Energy Firearms were simple to make, yet quite powerful. Their operating principle involved engraving an energy circulation pathway inside a Spirit Stone. Pulling the trigger activated the pathway, rapidly drawing energy from the energy crystal embedded in the gun. After circulating along the pathway, the energy was compressed into an energy bullet, which was finally propelled out of the barrel by spiritual energy at the end of the pathway.

Once this batch of firearms was completed, the mission for all players appeared.

Led by Yang Tianxuan, the Apocalypse Technology Guild members unveiled their self-developed weapons in battle for the first time, producing that astonishing display of covering fire.

But throughout the process, the Apocalypse Technology Guild members also keenly felt the expense.

The sight of Spirit-Energy Firearms roaring as they spat dense streams of bullets was spectacular, but their consumption was terrifying.

Players using monster forms spent stamina to fight, whereas they spent Sacrificial Power. Every bullet was purchased with Sacrificial Power.

Fortunately, there were vast numbers of Iron-Shelled Insects, and a round of gunfire brought in a considerable amount of Sacrificial Power as well.

As for balancing income and expenses, none of the Apocalypse Technology Guild members considered it. This was their first field test, intended to show the other players the Apocalypse Technology Guild's strength.

Having experienced the game for days, they were immensely satisfied with it.

To establish a massive technological faction in the game and test all kinds of dangerous weapons in the future, they would need enormous financial backing.

They clearly could not manage it alone. They needed to recruit more players.

Even if the members joining the guild could not provide technical support, financial assistance could still help alleviate their resource shortage.

Yang Tianxuan, director of the Weapons Research Department, had a simple idea.

Build a powerful guild, then use it to earn large amounts of Sacrificial Power to provide resources for developing and testing dangerous weapons.

Things went just as Yang Tianxuan had anticipated.

The Apocalypse Technology Guild's debut sparked heated discussion on the Forum.

The slaughter continued, and level-up notifications sounded in the Apocalypse Technology Guild members' minds from time to time, bringing involuntary smiles to their faces.

Although they were pursuing a weapons-development build, levels mattered just as much to Yang Tianxuan and the others.

Before this, they had thought the game's monster-level system had nothing to do with their chosen weapons-development build, and that monster levels held little significance. After all, they had never intended to fight monsters hand to hand.

But their views changed after one guild member entered the Testing Tower.

After finishing the test, the member who had entered the Testing Tower brought them exciting news.

The Testing Tower contained many monster abilities that could help them develop weapons.

For example: Brain Overclocking and Well of Spirit.

The Brain Overclocking monster trait improved the brain's operating efficiency, greatly enhancing memory and concentration while strengthening its information-processing ability.

Well of Spirit increased the recovery rate of mental energy and reduced the effects of mental fatigue.

To other players, these two abilities were of little use.

Brain Overclocking, in particular, had even been ranked on the Forum as one of the ten weakest Primordial Abilities. But to Yang Tianxuan and the others, these two skills were practically divine, a hundred times better than those combat-oriented monster traits.

Even the starting Eagle-Headed Demon Form's "Grudge Chant" ability, which they had always ignored, proved useful during this test. They discovered that, at higher levels, extending their perception could even give them a microscopic view, which could also provide some help with weapons development.

After hearing the news, Yang Tianxuan and the others entered the Testing Tower to test it themselves, leading them to conceive of a "Sage" build centered on Brain Overclocking.

Their envisioned build discarded all combat Life Souls and slotted only utility Life Souls.

That made monster levels extremely important, as specific monster traits could bring enormous improvements to their weapons-development efficiency.