Chapter 213-2: Tower of Eternity, Starnet Legion (2) |
Being unfinished was not a problem. As player qualifications were gradually issued, more and more members of the Lunar Eclipse race would come to Monster World.
They could definitely complete the unfinished parts of the Tower of Eternity based on what the Machine-Guard race had created.
As players, they had plenty of time.
Up close, the towering Tower of Eternity was like a sky-piercing stone pillar thrust toward the heavens.
A ring of massive energy pipelines encircled the base of the tower, but no energy liquid flowed through them anymore. One could only see wisps of thin mist drift by from time to time inside.
Around the tower body was a vast plaza. The ground was etched with a complex mechanical neural network.
On the four sides of the plaza stood twelve gigantic mechanical statues, all already damaged, some even severed at the waist.
Alan had learned about these twelve statues.
During his tunnel exploration, he had found many future concept blueprints left by the Machine-Guard race.
Their initial design purpose was to guard the Tower of Eternity.
If any non-certified target approached, the guardians would automatically activate and unleash a devastating strike on the intruder.
Each statue was paired with the most advanced weaponry of the Machine-Guard race. The mechanical neural network beneath their feet could provide charging at any time.
It was similar to wireless charging in reality.
Judging from the extent of the damage to the statues, they had already lost their combat power.
He walked straight to the front of the high tower. Eight straight bridges led to the tower, and below yawned a bottomless space.
The bridge bodies were cast of heavy alloy, their surfaces covered in complex mechanical patterns, wide enough to accommodate several mechanical vehicles side by side.
On both sides of the bridges rose tall metal guardrails, engraved with the emblem of the Machine-Guard race, a clenched mechanical arm.
To be safe, Alan took a piece of metal scrap from his inventory and tossed it onto the metal bridge.
Clang!
The metal scrap collided with the ground, bounced up, and fell into the abyss below.
Seeing that no hidden mechanism was triggered, Alan still did not relax his vigilance.
The Machine-Guard race’s technology was extremely advanced; the detection method he tried might not be effective.
By referencing the important defensive zones in Lunar Eclipse City in reality, all of them are equipped with life-detection systems. This is the core stronghold of the Machine-Guard race, and by rights it should also have multiple layers of defense.
Although the mechanical city’s energy was nearly exhausted, the Tower of Eternity’s body still flickered with a faint glow from time to time, proving that the internal energy core was still operating.
After tossing two more metal scraps and still unable to confirm whether there were trap mechanisms, Alan decided to step forward himself.
At this moment, the best choice would actually be to throw a teammate attachment to conduct a life-detection probe.
But doing so was clearly too outrageous.
Stopping before the metal bridge, Alan took his first step forward and set his foot on the grid-patterned metal deck.
His body leaned back, ready to turn and run at any time.
The first step was fine, then the second, and the third.
When the fifth step fell, the spirit patterns on the metal bridge lit up from the far end, flashing as they rapidly spread to the starting point.
Seeing this, Alan did not even look to see what would happen next. He decisively turned around and ran.
“Captain, tons of mechanical creatures just flew up from under the bridge, each one is level 40.”
While running, Alan twisted his head to look. Mechanical lifeforms of all shapes poured out in batches from beneath the bridge. Some looked like metal bats, their wings made of sharp blades. Some looked like mechanical spiders, their eight legs glinting coldly as they ran. Others were like swarms of micro drones, densely covering his entire field of vision.
The indicator lights on these mechanical creatures flashed red. They had clearly entered combat status.
Driven by some invisible order, they swarmed over.
These mechanical creatures were all small in size, but when he swept them with Analysis, Alan was startled.
The materials used to build these mechanical creatures were the Machine-Guard race’s most precious Guardian Gold, and each one’s hunting level had reached 40+.
With their current strength, they were not a match for even one of them, let alone a group.
Alan’s running speed suddenly increased.
But no matter how fast you run, you cannot match flying. Feeling the wind-tearing rush from behind, Alan jerked his head down.
A metal bat’s wing sliced over the top of his head. The Owl-Headed Fiend teammate standing on his head was killed in a single blow and instantly returned to Emperor’s Mound Village.
“Captain, run, Little Chick died so miserably.”
Glancing at the teammate avatar in the party list that had already turned gray, Alan wanted to speed up even more, but then heard a short scream from behind.
Another teammate had been killed.
Realizing there was no way to escape the mechanical legion’s pursuit, Alan decisively turned back, raised the Rock Shield teammate, and smashed it hard at an oncoming metal bat.
“Captain, stop running. When paths are narrow, the brave win. We counterkill.”
As the words fell, a laser beam suddenly swept past, and Alan’s body was instantly cut apart, dissolving into black mist.
Seeing this, his teammates, once they hit the ground, also gave up resistance and calmly accepted the arrival of death.
After all, they were no longer ultimate newbies. Death had long since lost the fear it had only the first time.
—
After entering the little dark room, Alan’s view automatically switched to the forum interface.
Above was a revival countdown number that was still ticking.
Although he had died, Alan was incomparably excited inside.
It was proven that the Tower of Eternity truly existed.
Although many settings were not yet perfected and even the original main body had suffered considerable damage, Alan already had expectations for the future.
Having not logged off for a long time, he did not browse the forum news and chose to exit the game at this moment.
His field of vision was like the curtain closing at the end of a stage play, gradually shrouded in darkness.
After a brief sense of weightlessness, his consciousness was transported back to his body.
Hiss!
Four streams of white mist sprayed from both sides of the game pod.
The nutrient solution in the game pod was evaporated, and the pod cover slid upward.
Alan sat up inside the game pod.
Unlike the game pods used by the vast majority of races on Earth, Alan’s game pod did not require regular replacement of nutrient canisters.
The game pod used a pipeline-docking nutrient supply system, which was significantly different from traditional immersion-type nutrient fluid.
This design atomized the nutrient solution through a pipeline network and delivered it directly to the user’s skin surface, using nanometer level permeation technology to ensure maximum efficiency of nutrient absorption.
Each time the game ended, the intelligent system would automatically evaporate and reclaim the residual nutrient fluid to avoid waste and pollution.
The evaporation process also performed built-in purification, separating water and trace components in the nutrient fluid for condensed recovery. The skin flakes remaining in the liquid were decomposed into gas and expelled, to be absorbed and processed by the room’s air purification system.
In addition, the game pod was also equipped with a temperature regulation device to ensure he remained in optimal physiological condition during the game.
This design not only saved resources but also reduced user discomfort, making it suitable for long-duration virtual gaming.
After obtaining qualification for the Monster World game, Alan had also equipped his game pod with a movement system.
At intervals, the pod would inject a large number of tiny air-pressure bladders that gently wrapped his body.
During this process, the bladders inflated and deflated rhythmically like breathing, simulating the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Even the joints would be pushed by the bladders for gentle activity, such as ankle rotation and knee bending.
Under the pod’s precise control, his body still maintained healthy blood circulation and muscle activity, avoiding muscle atrophy from prolonged gaming and promoting circulation.
After the movement session ended, the bladders would automatically retract.
Because this type of game pod had a nutrient supply system that needed to connect to the city’s nutrient depot, it had not yet been popularized in the cities of the various races on Earth.
He stood up and stepped out of the game pod.
Alan came to the dining counter, picked up a cup, and filled it with a blue liquid to drink.
His gaze swept around the room.
The room he was in used white and blue as its main tones. The walls were made of semi-transparent nanomaterials.
Faint blue light patterns flowed across the surface, seeming to have life as they subtly rippled with the room’s light and sound.
These light patterns were not mere decoration. They were created using holographic environment simulation technology.
The wall surface was composed of countless tiny nano-pixel points that could change color, brightness, and texture in an instant according to commands.
They could even simulate dynamic light and shadow effects.
The chip at the back of Alan’s neck flickered slightly, and his thoughts were transmitted to the house’s intelligent system.
The originally pale blue walls instantly transformed into a tranquil forest.
Tall trees were lush with leaves. Sunlight poured through the foliage in dappled patches. A breeze stirred, the leaves swayed gently, and one could even hear birdsong and the murmur of a stream.
Even the air would change accordingly, beginning to carry the fresh scent of soil and grass, as if he were in the midst of nature.
This holographic technology was combined with virtual technology. Even a close look with the naked eye could hardly detect any flaw.
The environment could even change following the shifts of Alan’s pupils.
Alan issued another command, and the scene switched to a vibrant undersea world.
In the three-dimensional scene displayed on the walls, schools of brilliantly colored fish swam leisurely. Coral reefs shimmered with enchanting colors in the play of light.
In the distance, a giant whale swam by slowly, letting out a deep call.
With another switch command, the walls became a vast starry sky.
Against a pitch-black background, stars were scattered, and the Milky Way spanned the heavens like a resplendent band of light.
From time to time, meteors streaked across, leaving a brief, dazzling trail.
During this time, Alan could also zoom in on a particular galaxy to observe planetary orbits up close.
The room temperature automatically adjusted during these changes.
Without needing to issue any command, the intelligent system would automatically adjust the room’s brightness, temperature, and humidity according to the emotional fluctuations transmitted by the chip at the back of his neck.