159: Chapter 159 Post-War Settlement: S-Class Civilization? No, that's just high-grade consumables.

Starry Sky Ancient Road · Titan Allied Forces Rout Zone.

This space, which once represented the Star Alliance's highest military power, has now turned into a bustling "Interstellar Junk Recycling Station." Half of the ten thousand Star Destroyers that were once neatly arrayed have become floating wreckage, while the other half are being dragged by players, thick as ants, into the gravity well of ship.

"One, two, three! Pull!" "Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" Several thousand Body Cultivator players, having activated Heavenly Manifestation (Low-spec version), used thick cables fashioned from Abyss tentacles to loop around a thousand-meter-long Machine Race destroyer. They chanted in unison, their muscles bulging, as they relied purely on human strength (and the monstrous power granted by the System) to drag this steel behemoth into the recycling furnace of the First Heaven.

In the center of the battlefield, the most conspicuous vessel—the pink Olympus—was currently suspended miserably in the Void Realm. Its shields had long been worn down, and its engines had been stripped away. Players swarmed over the hull, carrying out an operation called "disassembly" that was, in reality, "looting."

Inside the bridge.

The Titan God King Zeus (Pink Dress Edition) slumped in the command chair, his eyes lifeless, and the magic fairy wand in his hand was dim. He was surrounded by players holding Memory Stones (in-game screenshot items).

"Cheese! Look over here, Great God King!" "Wow! The material of this dress is so good! It feels so smooth!" "Can we make him strike a pose? Like 'In the name of the moon, I will punish you' or something?"

A bold player, Long Aotian, even tried to pry the gem from the God King's crown. "Stop! Mortal!" the God King finally erupted in a roar of grief and indignation (though it still came out in a cutesy voice). "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! I am the Dominator of the Titan God Clan! I am a Consul of the Star Alliance! How... how dare you..."

"How dare we what?" Long Aotian slapped the God King's hand away and pointed righteously at the health bar above his head. "You're in the POW state now, don't you understand the game rules? A prisoner of war is an NPC, which means you're a resource!" "Brothers! Tie him up! Send him to the Thirty-Third Heavens! The Dean has spoken: capturing the God King alive rewards you with a Tianhe Residency!"

"Tianhe Residency?!" The players' eyes instantly turned green with envy. That meant top-tier benefits like being able to buy a house in-game and enjoying a special supply of Spiritual Qi in reality!

"Tie him up! Bind him tight!" "Use that! Use that 'Immortal Binding Rope (Erotic Version)' that dropped from the Silk Web Cave dungeon!"

The poor Titan God King, who had traversed the Universe for tens of thousands of years, was ultimately tied up like a festive pig with a pink rope of off-the-charts shame by a group of "monkeys" only at the Qi Refinement Stage, and carried out of the bridge.

...

pangu-003, First Heaven · Nether Heavy Industry Layer.

This place had completely turned into an ocean of carnival. As a continuous stream of warship wreckage was delivered, the furnaces of the Scrap Iron Clan had been running for three days and nights; even the black smoke from the chimneys carried the scent of money.

The T-9 robot was now the busiest NPC on the server. It was directing Scrap Iron Clan technicians to disassemble and categorize the warships while simultaneously dealing with the crowd of players bringing various parts to exchange for contribution points.

"Lord T-9! Look at this! It's an Antimatter Engine Core! How many contribution points is it worth?" "Daddy T-9! I stripped a Black Hole Generator! Can this thing be mounted on my Flying Sword?"

T-9 looked at the floor covered in S-Class civilization black technology, its core processor trembling. Once upon a time, these were Divine Artifacts that the Scrap Iron Clan wouldn't even dare to dream of. Now? They were piled up like a mountain of trash!

"Don't be in a rush! Line up!" T-9's electronic eyes flashed wildly as it sent a message to Li Mo in the background: "Dean! The inventory has exploded! It's really exploded! The First Heaven can't hold any more! Just the 'Titan Alloy' alone is piled into three mountains!" "And the players are still dragging more back! They even want to drag back those satellites that were blown to bits!"

...

Thirty-Third Heavens · Tianhe Academy.

Li Mo watched the resource data growing exponentially in the background and calmly took a sip of tea. "Can't hold any more?" "Then... spend it."

He picked up the spring and autumn brush and opened the backend of the server-wide exchange shop. "System, list new items." "Since there are so many raw Materials, open the Customized Artifact Refining System." "Allow players to consume raw Materials and design their own Magic Treasures." "Whether they want to build Gundams or interstellar warships, as long as they have enough Materials, build them all."

"In addition..." Li Mo glanced at Lei Wanjun (Head of Research), who was wiping away cold sweat nearby. "Director Lei, how is your research on this alien technology coming along?"

Lei Wanjun adjusted his glasses, a fanatical light shining in his eyes. "Dean! It's incredible!" "The core logic of that Light Spirit Race warship is actually 'Photon Solidification'! If we can combine it with our Talisman technology, we can create Lightsaber Talismans!" "And the Machine Race's 'Nanobot Hive'—with a little modification, it can be made into a Fully Automatic Casting Beans into Soldiers!" "These aren't just spoils of war; they are... the sparks for a technological explosion!"

"Very good." Li Mo nodded with satisfaction. "Then organize these technologies and compile them into textbooks." "The next phase of player missions will be... attending class." "A cultivator who doesn't want to be illiterate is not a good player."

...

Real World · Special Affairs Bureau Secret Base.

The real world was also experiencing an unprecedented shock. With the conclusion of the Interstellar Expedition event, the first batch of players who had exchanged for Real-world Manifestation rewards began to stand out on Earth.

In the base's training ground, Thunder War stood bare-chested, his muscles like cast steel. He took a deep breath, and the surrounding air seemed to be pulled by some force, forming a visible vortex. "Hah!" He threw a punch. There were no fancy movements, just the pure combination of strength and Spiritual Qi.

Boom! Fifty meters away, an alloy steel plate half a meter thick was punched clean through. The cut was as smooth as a mirror, a trace of the highly compressed Spiritual Qi instantly melting it.

"Is this... the power of the fifth level of the Qi Refinement Stage?" Thunder War looked at his fist, his eyes full of shock. This power had completely surpassed the limits of the human body. Any boxing king or combat champion would be as fragile as an infant before him.

"Report!" The Head of the Technical Department rushed in with a data report, his face filled with irrepressible excitement. "Director! Captain Thunder War! A major discovery!" "We reverse-engineered those manifested 'low-tier Magic Treasures'!" "While we can't fully replicate the spiritual circuits, we've discovered a brand new... material formula!" "By following the ratios in that 'Tianhe Basic Artifact Refining,' and mixing several rare metals from Earth, we can synthesize a Low-spec Titan Alloy!" "The strength of this alloy is ten times that of aerospace titanium! Its heat resistance reaches 5,000 degrees! If used to build tanks or aircraft carriers..."

The Director stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair. "Are you sure?" "One hundred percent sure! Samples have already been made!"

The Director took a deep breath and looked at the sky outside the window. Although he couldn't see the ship, he knew that the existence of that world was completely changing Earth's destiny. "This isn't just a game." "This is... the Fourth Industrial Revolution." "And specifically... a Cultivation Industrial Revolution."

"Pass down the order!" The Director made a prompt decision. "Mobilize all the scientific research power in the country! Physicists, chemists, material scientists... everyone get into the game!" "Don't go hunting monsters! Don't go PK-ing!" "Everyone, go to Tianhe Academy and attend class!" "Didn't that Li Mo open an 'Artifact Refining Class'? Memorize those notes until they're ingrained! Master the technology!" "We're going to... strip the Cultivation World's technology bare!"

...

In-game · Titan God King Trial Scene.

The plaza of the Thirty-Third Heavens was currently a sea of people. Millions of players gathered around a massive trial platform. The once-mighty Titan God King was now wearing his signature pink dress, bound tightly to a pillar. Beside him crouched a dozen commanders from other civilizations (such as the High Priest of the Light Spirit Race and the Core Overmind of the Machine Race).

Li Mo sat in the main seat on the high platform, holding a cup of tea like an ancient county magistrate. "Who stands before the court? Why do you accuse this official?" Li Mo looked at the Titan God King playfully.

"Li Mo! Don't be too arrogant!" The Titan God King gritted his teeth. "The Star Alliance won't let you off! My people are still there! They will..."

"They will what?" Li Mo interrupted him, casually projecting a star map onto the large screen. On the map, the Titan God Clan's home System—the Olympus Star Domain—was currently surrounded by countless red dots. Those were... the expansion bases of the fourth calamity.

"While you were coming to attack me," Li Mo said flatly, "I sent a 'Base-Snatching Squad' (led by Xiao Hei with the Abyss Legion and elite players) to take a stroll around your home." "I heard the scenery over there is nice, with many rare mineral deposits?" "Sorry, but those mines... now belong to the Tianhe Mining Group."

"You..." The Titan God King's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted. Base-snatching? This wasn't just base-snatching; this was absolute plunder!

"Alright, enough nonsense." Li Mo put down his teacup and picked up the spring and autumn brush. "According to the Star Alliance's 'Law of the Jungle,' the defeated have no say." "Now, I pronounce judgment."

[Server-wide Announcement: The Titan God Clan has been defeated.] [Punishment Measures:]

Cession: The Titan Star Domain is incorporated into the territory of ship, serving as an Overseas Colony for the fourth calamity.

Reparations: All S-Class civilization technical data will be unconditionally opened to Tianhe Academy.

Reform through labor: The Titan God King and the various commanders will be stripped of their Divine Power and sent down to the First Heaven to serve as... 'Novice Village Training Dummies.'

"Tra... Training Dummies?" The Titan God King's eyes widened. "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! You want me to be a sparring partner for those Mortals?!"

"How can you call it being a sparring partner?" Li Mo smiled slightly, his smile explosively kind. "This is called... putting your remaining heat to use." "The players just happen to lack a few high-level mobs that are 'durable,' 'recover quickly,' and 'drop gold coins.'" "Don't worry, I'll give you a Health Lock hack; you won't die. At most... it'll hurt a bit."

"Take them away!" With a shout from Butcher Xiao, several hundred players from the Civil Engineering Department rushed forward excitedly, lifting the God King and running toward the Teleportation Array. "Make way! Make way! A new attraction for the Novice Village is coming!" "Hit the God King and drop gold! One hit, 999!"

Looking at the God King being carried away, the remaining leaders of the other civilizations trembled in fear. The High Priest of the Light Spirit Race knelt directly: "Dean, have mercy! I don't want to be a training dummy! I can glow! I can be a streetlight!" The Machine Race Overmind also flashed frantically: "I can do math! I can go to an elementary school and be a calculator!"

Li Mo nodded with satisfaction. "See, this is much more harmonious."

He stood up and looked at the distant starry sky. The victory of this war was not just about defeating a fleet. More importantly, it had completely opened up the resource cycle between "Game and Reality." Technology, Spiritual Qi, population... all the elements were now in place.

"T-9," Li Mo called softly. "Present."

"Prepare to launch the Phase Two Plan." A hint of fanaticism flashed in Li Mo's eyes. "Players from Earth alone aren't enough." "We need to... bring in the 'protagonists' of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms." "It's time to fill that pit of the 'Reading Club.'"