52: The fairy princess came to protest! Player: Princess? No, that's a car model!

Silvermoon City.

This glorious city, built upon a thousand-year-old tree, has been shrouded in a low-pressure atmosphere for the past few days.

Previously, the elves loved to stand on dew-covered leaves in the early morning, listening to the birds in the forest and breathing the fragrant air.

But now, all of this has been ruined.

Every day from sunrise to sunset, from a place they called the "Scourge Camp" in the distance, a series of roars like rolling thunder would echo.

Accompanying them were plumes of black smoke and dust drifting with the wind, mixed with a pungent smell.

Some forest birds near the border began to fall ill from inhaling too much smoke. The surface of the sacred Moonwell was also covered in a thin, greasy layer of filth.

The elves love nature and value elegance; they couldn't stand such a "neighbor" full of barbarism, chaos, and pollution for even a single day.

As the ruler of Silvermoon City, Princess Serana had already received over three hundred joint complaint letters from the Council of Elders.

Today, she finally reached her breaking point.

"Assemble the Royal Guard!"

Serana changed into a suit of silver light armor, holding a longbow carved with the emblem of the Moon Goddess, her beautiful face covered in frost.

"Today, we must go and give those crude, barbaric, and irreverent Short-lived species a lesson they will never forget!"

"Let them know that the forest is not a trash dump they can desecrate at will!"

A moment later.

Over a dozen majestic Hippogryphs took to the sky. Led by Serana, they were like a silver cloud, carrying a chilling Killing Intent, aggressively flying toward the players' main city.

However, when this aerial unit, representing the Elf Race's highest combat power, arrived over the Goblin Fortress, the expected scene of enemies kneeling and trembling in fear did not appear.

What they saw was a Hellish landscape comparable to an Abyssal Demon God's alchemy factory.

The entire fortress had turned into a massive open-air factory. Thousands of shirtless players, covered in oil, were frantically hammering and tinkering around piles of steel monsters spewing black smoke and fire.

The air was filled with a thick, strange smell that would be enough to suffocate any elf with a keen sense of smell on the spot.

"What... what is that?" A young elf knight pointed at the hundreds of Magic-guided Motorcycles assembled on the plaza below, his voice trembling.

"Is it some kind of... steel construct? Why are they spitting fire?"

"Moon Goddess above, they took the skull of that Black Dragon from last time and mounted it on the front of the vehicle!"

Just as the elves were shocked beyond measure by this apocalyptic Wasteland-like scene, the players below also discovered them.

However, what greeted them was not fear.

It was a fanatical cheer, as if they had discovered a new continent.

"Holy crap! Look at the sky! What's that?"

"Birdmen? No, they're birdmen with long ears! Rare elite mobs?"

"Those aren't mobs! Those are mounts! They're flying mou—cough, flying mounts, brothers!!"

One player's words instantly ignited everyone.

"Live ones? This game actually has live flying mounts?"

"GM is awesome! This modeling, the texture of the feathers, it's perfect!"

"Stop talking! How do we catch them? Shoot them down? Will they drop blueprints if we shoot them down?"

"Don't shoot! What if they break! I bet they're reputation mounts! We have to do quests!"

In an instant, thousands of greedy, glowing, wolf-like gazes focused simultaneously on the Hippogryph knight corps in the sky.

That look made the battle-hardened elven Royal Guard feel a chill down their spines.

These people... the way they looked at them wasn't like looking at a noble elven knight.

It was more like looking at an... unopened, limited edition... sports car?

Serana took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the discomfort and anger in her heart.

She urged her Hippogryph to descend slowly, hovering ten meters above the plaza in a condescending posture, preparing to deliver the majestic ultimatum she had been brewing all the way.

"You barbaric—"

She had just started.

*Poof—*

A newly modified "Magic-guided Tractor" with twelve exhaust pipes suddenly spat out a thick cloud of black smoke mixed with a large amount of incompletely burned particles.

That cloud of black smoke, without missing a beat, happened to cover Serana's face.

"Cough... cough cough cough!"

The noble elven princess was instantly choked to tears, unable to even speak. Her spotless silver armor was also covered in a layer of black soot.

"Sorry, sorry! New driver, stepped on the gas too hard!" The player driving the tractor waved his hand with zero sincerity.

The players burst into laughter.

Serana's face turned from white to red, then from red to green.

This was the greatest humiliation she had ever suffered in her life!

"You! Must! Immediately! Stop your filthy, nature-desecrating..."

"Young Miss."

A voice so calm it was almost cold interrupted her.

Wang Wei (Luban No. 7) stepped out from the crowd. He didn't look at Serana but pushed his multi-layered goggles, staring intently at the Hippogryph beneath Serana with the pure gaze of a researcher examining an experimental subject.

"I am very interested in your mount."

Wang Wei's gaze made Serana feel even more uncomfortable than being watched by a thousand players.

"Is this a biological engine? Using flesh and blood as fuel, providing lift through the contraction of muscle fibers?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a stone tablet and began recording data.

"Its energy conversion rate is too low, the maintenance cost is high, and it even requires emotional investment. Look, its wing-flapping frequency and the lift generated are completely disproportionate; at least sixty percent of the energy is wasted overcoming air resistance and its own body weight."

Wang Wei shook his head and reached a conclusion.

"Outdated technology. If you give me a day, I can replace them with a pair of turbocharged Demonic Energy jet wings and add an anti-gravity core. I guarantee it'll fly ten times faster than now, and it'll only burn crystals, no eating or drinking required."

"You... what did you say?!"

The Captain of the Guard beside Serana trembled with rage.

Hippogryphs were the proudest partners of the Elf Race, the kings of the sky, the Incarnation of elegance and power!

In this madman's eyes, they were just a bunch of "low conversion rate" "biological engines"?

And he wanted to replace them with... those "jet wings" that looked hideous at first glance?

What a desecration!

"Shut up! You sacrilegious madman!" The Captain of the Guard drew her longsword.

However, Wang Wei ignored her completely.

His attention had already shifted from the Hippogryph to the motorcycles on the plaza that were overheating and emitting white smoke.

"No, the heat dissipation issue still isn't solved." Wang Wei frowned. "Ordinary river water cooling is too poor, and the magic conductivity is low..."

Just then.

Lin Xiaowan (Rich Woman Hungry) walked out with a smile, standing between the two groups of people who were at each other's throats.

"Your Highness, please calm your anger."

She first performed an impeccable aristocratic bow to Serana before speaking.

"We deeply apologize for the noise and smoke. After all, industrial progress always comes with growing pains."

Her opening remarks made Serana's expression look slightly better.

At least among these barbarians, there was one who seemed to understand manners.

"But, we've encountered a technical problem." Lin Xiaowan changed the subject and pointed at the engines. "Our Demonic Energy engines often overheat because the power is too high. We need a highly efficient coolant that contains pure energy."

As she spoke, she used her beautiful eyes to pointedly glance at the crystal-clear, shimmering liquid in the water skins at the elves' waists.

That was the Moonwell Water of Silvermoon City.

Serana instantly understood her meaning.

"Impossible!" She refused without even thinking. "Moonwell Water is the most precious gift bestowed upon us by the Moon Goddess! You actually want to use it to cool those filthy lumps of iron? Don't even think about it!"

"Don't be so quick to refuse."

Lin Xiaowan calmly snapped her fingers.

Several players immediately brought up a large chest.

The chest opened.

A burst of dazzling light instantly caught the attention of all the elves.

The chest was filled with various beautifully shaped, crystal-clear glass bottles.

There were perfume bottles cut into diamond shapes, decanters blown into the shape of swans, and colorful glass beads that looked like gemstones.

These things, which cost a few yuan at the Yiwu small commodity market on Earth, were simply masterfully crafted Divine Artifacts in the eyes of the elves who had never seen modern glass craftsmanship!

"What... what kind of crystal is this? It can be so pure and transparent?"

"Heavens, the lines of this bottle are so elegant; it's more exquisite than the silverware crafted by the best artisans in our court!"

"That blue bead... it looks like there's a starry sky flowing inside!"

Even Serana was attracted by one of the perfume bottles carved with rose patterns, her throat moving involuntarily.

"Your Highness." Lin Xiaowan's voice was full of temptation. "As long as you are willing to provide the well water, these... 'royal handicrafts' from another world will all be yours. We can also include a hundred cases of this mysterious potion called 'Chanel No. 5,' which can keep your body fragrance for a whole month."

Serana fell into a fierce internal struggle.

Her reason told her this was a desecration of the divine.

But... those bottles were really too beautiful.

While she was battling with herself.

An even more unacceptable voice rang out.

"Holy crap! Brothers, look! Is this NPC a car model hired by the dev team for our new cars?"

A player looked at the noble and cold Serana and the row of cool Hippogryphs behind her, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Yeah! A new car launch must have car models! Isn't that normal?"

"I get it! This must be a version event! If we get on good terms with this princess, we can buy Hippogryphs!"

"The quality of this car model is too high! This face, this figure, these long legs... hiss, the ears are a bit long, but that just adds more flavor!"

"Princess! Your Highness!"

Li Qiang drove his ferocious "tyrant no. 1," stopped in front of Serana with a tail flick, then jumped off the vehicle, pulled out 500 Contribution Points, and handed them to her.

"Don't be so stiff, we know you're an actor hired by the GM. Come, stand next to my car, strike a cool pose, let me take a photo, and this money is yours!"

Serana looked at the "money" handed to her, then at Li Qiang's wretched smiling face that screamed "I understand," and she felt her brain go "buzz," completely blank.

Car... model?

What kind of lowly profession was that?

This barbarian actually wanted her, the noble Princess of Silvermoon City, to go be a... foil to his ugly, smoke-belching lump of iron?

"You... are... looking for... death!!!"

Serana trembled with rage and suddenly raised the longbow in her hand.

However, Li Qiang ignored her completely and instead shouted to the surrounding players: "Brothers! Don't just stand there! Anyone who wants a photo with the princess, hurry up! Five hundred points per person, first come, first served! This is the only collector's edition NPC in the whole server! You can brag about this on social media for a year!"

"Me! I'm coming! I want a photo!"

"Save a spot for me! I want her to sit on my hood for the photo!"

"Your Highness! Look here! Smile! Yes, just like that, a bit colder! Oh, that's so stylish!"

The players went crazy.

They surrounded Serana and her guard so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through, and the "Image Crystals" (the System's built-in screenshot function) kept flashing.

Serana was completely dazed.

She felt like a normal person who had accidentally entered a mental asylum; everything around her seemed so crazy and incomprehensible.

She wanted to resist, but looking at those hundreds of dark gun muzzles and ferocious steel creations, she knew that if she made a move, no one would leave today.

In the end.

Under Lin Xiaowan's coaxing and the threat of "if you don't cooperate, we'll take your Hippogryphs for scientific research."

The humiliated elven princess, for the peace of her people and for those damn, beautiful glass bottles that one couldn't look away from, gritted her teeth and agreed.

Thus, the most bizarre scene in the history of the "Void Realm" was born.

The noble and elegant Princess Serana, her face written with "nothing left to live for," was forced to stand stiffly next to a Magic-guided Motorcycle with a skull hanging on the front and fire graffiti painted on the body.

And the owner, Li Qiang, with a smug face, put his arm around her shoulder (actually only daring to hold it loosely) and made a peace sign at the camera.

*Click.*

An "official promotional photo" sufficient to be recorded in gaming history was thus born.

Half an hour later.

Serana, with a stomach full of unventable anger and dozens of cases of "royal handicrafts," flew away despondently.

And the players, as if they had obtained a treasure, received ten large barrels of Moonwell Water, enough for them to upgrade the cooling Systems of all their Magic-guided Motorcycles.

"Hahaha! Brothers! Did you see that chick's expression just now? It was like she ate Dragon dung!"

"Brother Qiang is awesome! Daring to tease even the princess!"

"Tonight, everyone gear up! To the Silent Stone Forest! Let's go!"

The players cheered, preparing to start their grand expedition.

Just then.

A grand and slightly playful System announcement rang through the entire server.

[Server-wide Event Preview: It has been detected that players have preliminary mastery of magic-guided industrial technology and have established "friendly" diplomatic relations with local natives. The V3.0 version pre-quest is now open.]

[Quest Name: Call from the Underground]

[Quest Objective: Expeditionary Force, set out immediately to the coordinates (XXX, XXX) in the "Silent Stone Forest" and find the Sealed underground entrance.]

[Su Mu's Whisper: A friendly reminder: although your motorcycles are fast, the underground world has no flat roads for you to race on. Perhaps... you should consider building some 'big toys' that are more explosive and better at crossing mountains than motorcycles?]