151: Chapter 151 First Closed Beta Test Begins: You call this the newbie village?
Blue Star, a parallel Universe.
The night was deep, but the homepage of the "Gamer Network" forum was exploding. A post titled "pangu online: The First 100% Fully Immersive Cultivation MMORPG, Closed Beta Invites Now Available" had rocketed to the top of the trending charts within an hour. Everyone initially thought it was just another fake advertisement for a browser game, until the first streamer to snag an invite, "Old Wang", went live.
"Bros! I'm in! Holy crap! The lighting! The textures! The smell of smog in the air... it's even more real than real life!" In the live stream, Old Wang stood in a pitch-black, cyberpunk-wasteland-style jungle of steel. He touched a thick, still-warm metal pipe beside him, a look of utter stupor on his face. "I can feel it! It's warm! I can even feel the roughness of the rust in my hand!" "What about the pain System? Let me pinch myself... Ouch! That hurts! There's actual pain? And the System prompt says the pain limit is 100%?"
The barrage instantly went wild: 【Real or fake? Special effects, right?】 【This graphics quality, I can smell my GPU burning through the screen!】 【Is this the legendary brain-computer interface tech? Has technology already advanced this far?】 【Streamer, look behind you! Is that a monster?!】
...
pangu-003, First Heaven · Netherworld Heavy Industry Layer.
This was the "starter spawn point" Li Mo had planned. For ease of management, he had specifically designated a clearing next to the Scrap Iron Clan factory, constructing a massive "Reincarnation Pool" using the 【Law of Resurrection】.
*Hum—!* As the Soul data of the first batch of 3,000 closed beta players connected, countless beams of white light lit up within the Reincarnation Pool. The light faded, revealing players clad in coarse sackcloth (the System's free starter gear), each with a face full of bewilderment.
"Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?" "Wow! Is this the Cultivation World? Why does it look like a shady factory?" "What happened to my character customization data? Why am I bald? I want to complain!" "Stop yelling! Find the quest NPC! Following the usual tropes, the village chief should be nearby giving out quests!"
The players surged in all directions like a flock of newly released ducks, chattering noisily. Their arrival immediately drew the attention of the First Heaven's "native inhabitants."
*Clang!* T-9, a robot hammering away in the adjacent workshop, put down its Titanium Alloy hammer upon hearing the commotion outside. It led a squad of fully armed Scrap Iron Clan security guards, charging out with an imposing Aura. "Alert! Detecting large-scale invasion of unknown biological entities!" "Identification code: None. Qi reaction: Extremely low (Mortal). Intelligence reaction: ...Chaotic." "Warning! This is the Tianhe Heavy Industry Military Restricted Zone! All unauthorized personnel, leave immediately! Otherwise, forced removal will be executed!"
T-9's three-meter-tall mechanical frame, combined with the crackling high-voltage electric baton in its hand, was incredibly intimidating. But in the players' eyes...
"Holy crap! A mech monster!" "So cool! Is this a starter zone mob?" "Bros! Has its health bar appeared? Can we loot gear from it?" "Look at that stick in its hand! That's definitely a purple-tier item! Let's grab it!"
If they were normal people, they would have run at the sight of such a menacing robot. But these players were here to play a game. In their logic: as long as it dares to show a health bar, they'll kill even a god for you.
"Charge!!!" A player with the ID "Long Aotian" roared, picked up a brick (ordinary industrial scrap) from the ground, and led the charge towards T-9. Immediately after, thousands of players swarmed forward like a zombie siege, howling and screaming.
T-9: "???" Its processor instantly overloaded. Were these Mortals insane? Throwing bricks at Titanium Alloy mech armor? This defied logic! "Counterattack! Activate non-lethal electric shock mode!"
*Zzzzt—!* A blue arc of electricity swept across. The dozens of players at the forefront instantly convulsed, foamed at the mouth, had "-999" red numbers pop above their heads, and then turned into white light, returning to the Reincarnation Pool.
"Holy crap! One-shot kill!" "This mob's attack power is too high! The game balance designer needs to answer for this!" "Don't be afraid! We're immortal! Drown it with numbers!" The resurrected players weren't scared; they were even more excited. "Bros! This is definitely a world boss! The first kill must have a Divine Artifact!"
The situation was about to spiral out of control. Even the Scrap Iron Clan's defensive line was on the verge of being overrun by these fearless "ants."
*ROAR—!!!* An ear-splitting corpse roar erupted from underground. The ground shook violently as a massive, bronze-armored hand burst through the soil. Following it, General Gu (Corpse Soldier Commander) stood up slowly, its mountain-like body towering. It had just finished a magma bath, steam still rising from its body, and it held the several-dozen-meter-long main cannon barrel (which it was maintaining) in its hand.
General Gu looked down at the dense swarm of "little bugs" beneath its feet, confusion filling its ghostly green fiery eyes. "What are these? New scrap?" "Why are they so noisy?" "T-9, are these your relatives?"
The players looked up at this bronze giant taller than a building, collectively falling into a daze. "Is... is this a Titan?" "No, it's a zombie Gundam!" "With a size like that... is this... a scripted death event?"
General Gu was growing impatient. It thumped the cannon barrel in its hand against the ground. *BOOM!* A terrifying shockwave swept across the entire area. Three thousand players were blown away like paper scraps, slammed hard against the factory walls, stuck there and difficult to peel off.
The area instantly fell silent. The players finally realized: this game... seemed a bit too hardcore.
...
Thirty-Third Heaven · Tianhe Academy.
Li Mo sat on a cloud terrace, a real-time monitoring feed of the First Heaven hovering before him. He held a cup of tea, a playful smile on his lips. "Not bad, quite lively." "Just not too bright."
Standing behind him, Star Spirit Navigator watched, dumbfounded. "Captain... is this the 'reinforcements' you mentioned?" "A bunch of Mortals? Without even a Spiritual Root? And they seem... mentally unstable." "They just tried to bite T-9's electric baton with their teeth? What kind of tactic is that?"
"This is called the **'Fourth Calamity' tactic." Li Mo took a sip of tea. "Their terror lies not in strength, but in... immortality and shamelessness.**" "Just give them a progress bar, and they'll chew their way through the gates of the Divine Realm."
"However, they do need some guidance." "Otherwise, these guys might dismantle my factory."
Li Mo put down his teacup and opened the **【pangu online Backend Management System】** (essentially his Administrator notebook). "System, issue a server-wide announcement." "Also, add a 'fatigue System' for them** (pain regulator), so no one comes asking for compensation after getting scared into a heart attack later."
...
First Heaven · Resurrection Point.
Just as the players were still arguing about how to tackle the "Bronze Giant," golden light suddenly blazed in the sky. The light converged, forming lines of massive, awe-inspiring server-wide announcements:
【Welcome, all, to pangu online.】 【I am the Administrator of this world: Tianhe Daoist.】
【Current Version: 1.0 The Industrial Cultivation Era.】 【Background: This is an ancient Divine battleship adrift among the stars. To confront unknown threats from the Void Realm, we must rebuild our home and restore our former glory.】
【Main Quest One: Infrastructure Maniac.】
Objective: Assist the Scrap Iron Clan in repairing the First Heaven's "Titan Energy Pipeline."
Rewards: Sect Contribution Points, basic Cultivation Technique 《Qi Induction Art (Modified Version)》, starter weapon (large wrench).
Failure Penalty: Being thrown into the magma pool by General Gu for a bath.
【Special Notes:】
This game pursues extreme realism. Do not attack NPCs indiscriminately (especially those without red health bars above their heads). You bear the consequences.
T-9 and General Gu are allied faction leaders, not world bosses. Please show basic respect.
No public urination/defecation. Violators will be banned for three days.
The moment the announcement appeared, the players erupted. "Holy crap! Is that the mysterious Administrator? The GM showed up?" "So those two monsters are allies! We almost caused a diplomatic incident!" "Look at the quest rewards! A Cultivation Technique! We can really cultivate!" "Manual labor? I love manual labor! For the sake of cultivation, forget repairing pipes, I'll even repair toilets!"
The players' attitude did a complete 180. The previously bloodthirsty "Long Aotian" immediately put on an obsequious face, scurrying over to T-9. "Um... big bro, no, sir!" "Is there any work that needs doing? I'm strong, I eat little, just give me a Secret Manual!"
T-9 looked at this human whose expression changed faster than flipping a page, its processor lagging again. "This... this is the 'high-quality labor force' the Dean mentioned?" Though puzzled, T-9 tentatively pointed at a messy pile of metal scrap nearby. "Sort and move these... to the warehouse?"
"You got it! On it!" "Bros! Grab the quest! First come, first served!" Three thousand players pounced on the scrap pile like starving wolves. Some carried, some pushed, and some even used their teeth (to get ahead). In just ten minutes, work that would have taken the Scrap Iron Clan a full day was completely cleared by these players.
Looking at the now spotless ground, T-9 fell silent. General Gu also fell silent. They looked at each other, seeing shock in each other's eyes. These creatures... though weak, though crazy. But for manual labor... they were *really* damn useful!
...
In the live stream. Streamer Old Wang was carrying a hundred-pound steel pipe, panting heavily but his face full of excitement. "Everyone! See this? This is cultivation!" "What? You say I'm doing manual labor?" "How shallow! This is called **'tempering one's Heart-Nature'! This is 'Body Refining for Foundation Establishment'**!" "Once I finish moving these thousand pipes and trade for the 《Qi Induction Art》, I'll be the number one sword immortal on the server!"
The barrage was flying: 【Stop talking, streamer, I beg for an activation code! I want to do manual labor too!】 【This game is too hardcore! I love it!】 【I also want to be a lackey for Big Bro T-9!】
And high above in the Thirty-Third Heaven. Li Mo looked at the skyrocketing **"Construction Progress"** data in the backend and closed his notebook with satisfaction. "Good." "The first batch of leeks... ahem, the first batch of brave warriors have taken the bait." "Next, it's time to open up some new maps for them." "Like... the Second Heaven's 'Abyss Canteen'?" "I hear the Tentacle Monster is short on ingredients lately... no, I mean, short on waitstaff."