Chapter 67

On the shore of the deathly sea, which exuded a subtle, eerie chill, an phalanx of engineering troops surged forth like a black tide. Dense formations of engineers, akin to a well-drrained colony of mechanical ants, quickly took their respective positions, and a grand construction project commenced.

Immediately afterward, the sky seemed ignited by magic. Wang Sheng led the continent's most elite mages, flying across the heavens in a dense stream like shooting stars chasing the moon. Radiant auras enveloped them, making them look like moving stars that traced dreamy trajectories as sunlight refracted off them.

Finally, sword shadows flickered across the horizon. Xiao Jingqian, imposing and majestic, personally led all Daoist priests above tier four, riding their swords through the air. The spectacle resembled an inverted river of swords, carrying a magnificent and awe-inspiring momentum.

As it turned out, their mission was to construct a mysterious building on this site, upon which magic arrays and formations would be inscribed once completed. While this intense preparation was underway, Wang Gang and the fifty other beta-testers were hardly idle. They had already set up their equipment and transmitted this breathtaking scene onto the internet like express delivery. Those players who had managed to acquire accounts with great difficulty could only sigh at their screens, as they had to wait until the next day to log in and get a taste of the action. These videos acted like sparks tossed into a barrel of oil, instantly rocketing the popularity of "Astral Sea of Illusion" to unprecedented heights.

Wearing sleek, high-tech powered armor, Wang Gang watched the unfolding scene while chatting online with the fifty beta-testers. "What is this grand setup? Are we heading out to sea to stir up trouble? Conquering a new continent right after launch? Could this continent of ours just be a beginner's village?"

A player chimed in instantly: "A beginner's village? Since when does a beginner's village look like this? This is an open-world game. You have no idea where I am—I'm currently in an orc tribe, happily eating roasted meat! Heh, a friendly orc even treated me to roast pork!"

"Brother sharing the video, please drop your location! I'm completely lost in this forest, I have no sense of direction at all!" another player shouted anxiously.

"Location sent, get over here quickly! Construction is already in full swing over here, it's mind-blowing! As for the guy eating roast pork, I doubt you can make it here anytime soon! Hurry up, holy shit, look at this construction speed, it's taking off!" A series of exclamations echoed from Wang Gang's voice chat.

Meanwhile, the human engineering troops sat steadily inside their construction vehicles, their hands dancing like nimble artists across the control panels to perform a precise "dance." Guided by their rhythm, massive robotic arms—like the awakened limbs of some primeval beast—stretched outward with a swift whoosh and probed deep into the resource reserves. One heavy metal alloy plate after another was steadily lifted out by the powerful grip of the robotic arms. The alloy plates gleamed with an icy sheen, as if whispering of interstellar coldness and mystery.

Next, the robotic arms instantly transformed into the hands of master craftsmen, waving flexibly in mid-air. Under their manipulation, the alloy plates were pieced together one by one. Crisp snapping sounds echoed all around—the passionate symphony of metal interlocking tightly, playing an exhilarating prelude to the birth of this mysterious structure.

Before the eyes of the mesmerized onlookers, and under the magical operations of the dense ranks of engineers, a sci-fi metal city rapidly took shape before them, rising from the ground like a miracle.

"Good grief, only now do I truly believe this is a game! How long has it even been? Half an hour?" Li Yang yelled at the top of his lungs over the comms.

"It was always a game, just made too realistic. Stop acting like a bumpkin who's never seen the world," another player replied calmly.

"Didn't they say we were heading out to sea? Why are they building a city instead?" someone else asked, puzzled.

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions and speculations.

Soon, the main body of the city was complete. The engineers withdrew cleanly and efficiently, vanishing into the nearby forest like mysterious transient guests.

Following that, over ten thousand mages took the stage. Like focused artists, they began meticulously carving magic arrays. This was delicate work, and time slipped away amidst their intense concentration. A full two hours passed. Finally, the magic arrays were completed, and the mages withdrew to the side with satisfied expressions, casting unanimous gazes toward the camp of Daoists and cultivators.

Now it was time for the Daoists and cultivators to showcase their skills. Composed and unhurried, they methodically began carving their formations. Another two to three hours drifted by before the entire city was finally crowned as complete.

"It's finally done! I really want to check out what heaven-defying functions this city has," an undead player said impatiently.

"Don't rush, don't rush, you'll find out soon enough. Remember the Peace City from last time? That thing could not only fly, but transform too! Judging by how long the mages and cultivators have been working, the functions of this city are definitely going to be even more insane," a dwarf explained like a know-it-all.

"That actually sounds about right," the others nodded in agreement.

Listening to these indigenous NPCs, Wang Gang stumbled and nearly lost his footing. "What the hell? Fly? And transform? Do you think Transformers are making a guest appearance in this game?"

Since Wang Gang was live-streaming in real-time, the indigenous NPCs' remarks about the city being able to fly and transform immediately caused netizens glued to their screens to exclaim, "This game is way too insane!"

With Wang Gang's live broadcast, the indigenous NPCs' remarks about the city's ability to fly and transform instantly sparked a minor wave of excitement across the internet.

Bullet-comments rolled across the screen like a tidal wave: "This game's setting is too wild, a transforming city—unheard of!" "Waiting for the city to transform, witnessing a miracle moment!" "The human race is about to defy the heavens, this city's functions are beyond imagination!" Netizens discussed heatedly across major platforms, and related topics quickly soared to the top of trending searches. New posts flooded the game forums: some guessed what the city's exterior would look like after transformation, others analyzed its combat utility. Some players even made humorous meme images combining game footage with human engineers and Transformers elements: "Is this a dream crossover of the cyber world?" Everyone eagerly awaited the sequel, wondering how many more surprises the game would deliver.

Under the burning gazes of everyone looking forward to it, the entire city seemed quietly controlled by a mysterious and majestic force, slowly beginning to morph. At first, there were only subtle changes; the outlines of the buildings gradually distorted, and the lines of the streets seemed pulled and stretched wantonly by an invisible giant hand. Then, the scale of the change grew increasingly violent, and various parts of the city began to move and reorganize rhythmically, as if imbued with life. Finally, a magnificent, colossal warship abruptly appeared before everyone's eyes!

This shocking scene instantly blew up the internet completely.

"Oh my god, it actually can transform! Come on, transform into Bumblebee for me to see!" a netizen typed frantically on the screen, incoherent with excitement.

"This is a thousand times more thrilling than those sci-fi movies, we're practically kicking off the cyberpunk era right on the spot here!" someone exclaimed emotionally, as if witnessing the birth of a new epoch.

"Who could have guessed we'd live to see a city turn into a giant warship with our own eyes? Are they about to take us to conquer the vast universe?" Their words were full of longing and awe for the unknown.

"We're doomed, my worldview has completely collapsed. Is there anything in this world that can surprise me anymore?" Another person sighed helplessly amidst the shock.

"Mission accomplished, let's go Senior Brother Xiao, let's go grab a drink!" Wang Sheng said with a relaxed smile, patting Xiao Jingqian on the shoulder.

"Fine, I don't have much going on right now anyway. Are you treating?" Xiao Jingqian raised an eyebrow and smiled back.

"On the public tab?" Wang Sheng blinked cunningly.

"Let's go..." The two exchanged a smile and walked away with carefree strides.

The giant warship lay quietly in place, exuding a mysterious and powerful aura, yet no one dared to approach it rashly. The mages tidied their robes, the cultivators put away their magical artifacts, and they turned and left one after another. Seeing that the excitement was over, the crowd gradually dispersed without lingering.

Seeing that the surrounding people had mostly cleared out, Wang Gang turned his attention back to the live-streaming room and said with a wide smile, "Big bros in the chat, what do you want to see next? The scenery of Peace City, or the magical beasts of the forest? Just name it!"

"I want to see elves, hurry up and go to Peace City!" a netizen posted impatiently.

"What elves, boring! I want to see combat, streamer, hurry up and go farm military merit! Look at the other streams, they're all trying every trick in the book to rack up military merit!" another netizen urged anxiously.

"Yeah, yeah, once ten thousand people flood in tomorrow, you won't have any advantage left. Killing monsters to farm military merit is what matters!" Voices of agreement rose one after another.

"Useless. No matter how much they grind military merit just days after joining, once the main army pours in, won't they all get surpassed? Everyone, how about we go check out the undead instead?" someone offered a different perspective.

"Get lost, who wants to see undead? My heart is set on seeing the elves!" the netizen who wanted to see elves replied stubbornly.

The live stream was bustling with activity, with various opinions coming in waves, interspersed from time to time by high-rollers generously showering gifts—leaving Wang Gang grinning from ear to ear.

While Wang Gang was interacting passionately with the netizens, a small door on the side of the newly built giant warship in the distance slowly opened. A player from the Beautiful Country stepped out, looking somewhat disheveled, and quickly put on his powered armor.

"What's going on here?" Seeing this, Wang Gang hurried to establish contact with him via his powered armor.

"I have no idea! I just got torn apart by a pack of magical beasts! Oh, oh, I get it, the respawn point has changed! Now when we die, we respawn right here!" the Beautiful Country player said while checking his powered armor.

Not long after he walked out, another player emerged from the small door with a dazed expression: "Why am I here?"

"The respawn point changed!" the first player explained.

Standing beside the colossal warship, these two players who had just emerged from it looked like two tiny ants, further highlighting the warship's sheer scale and majesty.

Shortly after, the in-game group chat instantly erupted into a frenzy. Players posted excitedly: "Brothers, the respawn point has changed! Following this plot progression, we might be embarking on a crusade!"

"Holy crap, triggering the invasion mode right after joining? I love this!"

"My nail gun has been starving for action, I'm ready to throw down!"

"I'm going to go die right now, I haven't even had a good look at this giant warship yet. I'm going to find that orc, let it kill me, and then—man, that NPC's facial expression was so lifelike..."