4: Chapter 4 The Fourth Calamity

"Hummm—" Accompanied by a low mechanical whirring, the silver-white metal wall on the side of the Fire Seed Shelter hall slid silently to both sides, revealing a spacious elevator.

Lin Li walked in front with an expressionless face, the hem of his black trench coat swaying slightly with his strides.

Behind him, four Earth players dressed in gray jumpsuits, their faces filled with a desire for exploration, followed closely.

The elevator ascended rapidly, and the intense G-force pressing them against the back of the elevator caused the four players to let out a series of naive exclamations.

"Holy crap, this sense of weightlessness! It even simulated the discomfort in my stomach! This is incredible!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash gripped the elevator handrail tightly; not only was he not afraid, but he actually looked like he was enjoying it.

A few seconds later, the elevator stopped with a slight vibration.

"Hiss—" The elevator door opened outward.

A strong gust of wind, mixed with the stench of rust, dried blood, and the unique foul odor of the wasteland, instantly flooded into the narrow cabin.

Lin Li stepped out of the elevator first; what met his eyes was still the ruined circular concrete watchtower.

But he keenly glanced back.

His heart skipped a beat, and he muttered to himself: "Damn... No wonder I couldn't find the entrance to the Shelter in this watchtower no matter what I did before."

It turned out that outside the futuristic, silver-white elevator door, a realistic layer of concrete camouflage, covered in bullet holes and weathering marks, was seamlessly applied.

If it weren't activated, physically, it would just look like a lifeless load-bearing wall.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Before Lin Li could marvel at the cunning of the Golden Age technology, a dull, frantic banging sound, mixed with the teeth-grinding sound of scratching, came from outside the brand-new heavy armored airtight door in front of the watchtower.

"There really is a door here; fortunately, it was closed."

"Waaagh!" The sharp, sticky shrieks of the green-skinned Gretchin pierced through the thick metal door panels, making one's scalp tingle.

However, the four players behind Lin Li didn't feel their scalps tingle; instead, they all became collectively excited.

"Hiss—" Praise Ming Shen took a deep breath, as if savoring a fine wine. He pointed fanatically at the dark red light filtering through the door crack: "Brothers! Look at this lighting! Look at this wasteland atmosphere with particle suspension volumetric lighting! These ray-tracing effects must have burned through at least a hundred A100 graphics cards!"

"The roughness of this wind blowing on my face, the rich stench, the sound effects!"

Miracle Walker, as a professional streamer, did a tactical spin on the spot, grabbed a handful of sand and gravel from the ground, and rubbed it in his hands: "It even calculates the friction and humidity of the soil independently! This is absolutely a miracle in the history of human gaming!"

Lin Li looked at these four perverts who were frantically stroking a pile of radioactive trash, his mouth twitching slightly.

Outside the door were aliens that could chew a person into meat paste, and they were here studying the humidity of the soil?

Lin Li was just about to issue a mission, telling them to go out and lure the Squig away, but when his gaze swept over their empty hands, he suddenly realized something.

Damn, these four guys don't even have a stick to poke a fire with right now!

Although these clone bodies have perfect human genes, they have no attribute bonuses.

Sending them out unarmed is definitely just delivering takeout to the monsters outside!

One clone costs 100 biomass, plus a 24-hour cultivation cycle. He is currently dirt poor; if they get wiped out right at the start, then this game is screwed!

Lin Li's brain raced, and he immediately thought of the two machines in Room 3 underground.

However, the current Shelter system is dilapidated, and there is no mission UI panel that pops up with a "ding".

If there's no system, I'll issue missions manually!

Lin Li smoothly switched to the expression of a cold leader, Dawn.

He turned around abruptly, his deep black eyes sweeping over the four of them with majesty. "Seeds."

Lin Li's voice was low, carrying an unquestionable sense of oppression, "Although your shells are perfect, you are still fragile in front of the mutants outside. On this sinister wasteland, being unarmed is equivalent to suicide."

The four players instantly quieted down and pricked up their ears.

"Now, I am issuing your first survival mission." Lin Li skillfully used gaming terminology: "Collect all available scrap metal, dead wood, and debris inside the watchtower, and transport them to the workshop in Room 3 on the first underground level. STC-73 will assist you in using the Matter Constructor."

"As a reward, you will receive your first batch of armaments in this world."

As soon as he finished speaking, dazzling green light erupted in the eyes of the four players.

"Holy crap! Verbal mission triggered! Hidden newbie crafting tutorial!"

Liver Emperor was the first to jump up in excitement. As an infrastructure maniac, he had been waiting for this moment for too long.

"Quick, quick, quick! Grab the supplies! In a game where you start by scavenging everything, resources are definitely limited!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash let out a howl and lunged directly at a rusty steel pipe covered in dried blood in the corner.

Lin Li looked at this group of The Fourth Calamity, who were obedient just a moment ago and were now almost fighting over a piece of scrap metal, and rubbed his temples, feeling weary.

"Go watch them, don't let them dismantle the recycler." Lin Li whispered instructions to the STC-73 beside him.

"As you wish, Creator, I will strictly supervise these low-intelligence, inferior carbon-based organisms." Men of Iron flashed with red light and floated back to the elevator.

For the next ten minutes, a magical wasteland cleanup played out inside the watchtower.

The four players, like tireless worker ants, forcefully ripped out the rubble Lin Li had previously used to block the door, the broken dead wood, and even the exposed rusty rebar on the walls, transporting them to the first underground level trip after trip.

First underground level, Room 3.

"Foolish strength! Are those weak muscles of yours scratching the machine? Shove that piece of scrap metal pipe into the decomposition slot on the left!" STC-73's sharp-tongued mechanical voice echoed in the room.

"Holy shit! This cleaning robot has such a sharp tongue! Isn't this way better than those robots that only know how to practice martial arts and do backflips?"

"And this trash can..." Liver Emperor looked at the massive material recycling terminal in shock.

Accompanied by a harsh grinding sound, a pile of scrap iron and rusty rebar was swallowed, and then, at the bottom of the machine, it smoothly spat out a few regular, standard metal ingots radiating heat.

The dead wood was compressed into hard composite wood blocks.

"We have the materials! It's the Matter Constructor's turn!" The four people excitedly gathered around the precise Matter Constructor.

Although the machine was semi-broken and could only create some of the most basic cold weapons, it was enough to make the players go wild.

Praise Ming Shen decisively slammed the materials onto the console: "Long weapons are the romance of the wasteland! Give me a spear, plus three javelins! I want to gracefully kite them!"

Liver Emperor was more pragmatic: "You only have DPS if you're alive! Craft me a heavy round shield covered in sheet metal, and a one-handed battle axe! I'm going to be the number one main tank!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash touched his chin in a flashy manner: "The physical feedback in this game is so good, it would be a shame not to play with micro-management. Craft me a two-handed sword! As long as my micro is fast enough, no monster will be able to touch me!"

Miracle Walker stood to the side, looking at these three melee maniacs, and shook his head with disdain. "Do you guys even know how to play games? Under a realistic physics engine, ranged is the only way to go, okay?" Under 73's guidance, he entered instructions into the control panel, "Craft me a compound bow, plus thirty iron-tipped arrows!"

"Tch, cowardly backline." The three melee players gave him the middle finger in unison, "Melee combat and seeing blood—that is the romance of a man!"

... Ten minutes later. The elevator door opened again on the surface of the watchtower. The four players, looking brand new and holding cold weapons that radiated a rough industrial aesthetic, walked out aggressively.

Lin Li stood next to the armored airtight door, looking at these four impatient guys, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Very good, you have barely qualified to face death." Lin Li's voice was cold, as if declaring a judgment: "Now, the gate is about to open. Your formal mission—"

"Clear the intruders outside the door!"

"Reward: 100 Shelter core points per person!"

Boom! The moment the points mission was issued, the four players went completely wild.

"For the points! WAAAGH!" Why Panic When I Have Flash shouted the green-skinned war cry excitedly and charged to the door, carrying that rough two-handed greatsword.

"What the hell are you shouting WAAAGH for! We are in the human faction!" Praise Ming Shen kicked him in the butt speechlessly, leveling the spear in his hand.

Lin Li decisively pressed the door-open button. "Hiss—" The thick armored airtight door slowly rose.

At that instant, the group of Squigs and Gretchins outside the door, agitated because their prey had vanished, suddenly turned their heads, dozens of bloodthirsty, scarlet eyes staring fixedly at the four people inside the door.

"Roar—!"

A foul-smelling gust of wind, mixed with the roars of the greenskins, slammed into them.

If they were normal people, facing such a sanity-draining, terrifying scene, they would definitely have gone weak in the knees on the spot.

But these four people were The Fourth Calamity!

"Holy crap! The modeling of these monsters is so damn disgusting! I love it!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash not only didn't retreat but instead his eyes lit up, he roared excitedly, gripped his greatsword with both hands, and was the first to charge out!

"Grandsons! Look here! The number one main tank on the entire server has arrived!"

Liver Emperor skillfully raised his iron round shield, arrogantly wedged himself into the damaged doorway of the watchtower, and used his axe to vigorously strike his shield, emitting a deafeningly provocative sound.

Miracle Walker, meanwhile, nimbly climbed the dilapidated stairs inside the watchtower, quickly scaling up to an excellent sniper position on the second floor, bending his bow and nocking an arrow, his gaze focused.

"Squelch!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash nimbly side-stepped, dodging a pounce and bite from a young Squig, and brought his heavy greatsword down, instantly cleaving the Squig in two!

"The sensation of cutting is so real! This resistance feedback is simply god-tier!"

Flash shouted fanatically, his face splattered with sickly green blood, but he didn't care at all.

"Thrust!"

Praise Ming Shen precisely thrust his spear through a gap in Liver Emperor's shield, viciously piercing the throat of a Gretchin that was trying to gnaw on the shield.

"So satisfying! Brothers, this game is fucking realistic!"

The four players displayed terrifying combat proficiency and tacit coordination.

They were not afraid of death, not afraid of pain, and even enjoyed the realistic sensation of muscle spasms when injured.

As soon as the battle began, it unexpectedly turned into a one-sided slaughter!

Standing at a high vantage point, Lin Li watched this scene and gasped.

What on earth did these guys do on Earth? Isn't this combat intuition a bit too ridiculous?!

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be possible. There's no reason why a few gaming nerds would turn into Spartan hunks just by switching bodies, right?

Then the only explanation is that these clones have combat instincts engraved in their genes. Hmm, that makes sense.

At this moment, some changes appeared on the battlefield.

Just as the players were arrogantly advancing, thinking they could easily finish off this wave of monsters...

"WAAAAAGH!!!"

A terrifying, low roar exploded from the mist in the distance.

Immediately afterward, the surrounding sand and stones began to shake.

A Gretchin boss, twice the size of a normal Gretchin with muscles covered in hideous old scars, brutally shoved aside the Squigs in front and charged over like a heavy tank.

In its hand, it dragged a huge, rusty chopper stained with thick plasma!

"Holy crap! This monster is huge! It's an elite monster!"

Miracle Walker shouted nervously from the second floor and quickly fired two arrows.

But the iron-tipped arrows shot at the Gretchin boss's rough green skin only barely broke the skin before getting stuck in its tough muscles!

"This monster has armor! Can't break its defense!"

Miracle Walker was shocked.

"Why panic! Watch Lord Flash's perfect parry!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash confidently raised his greatsword and charged towards that rusty chopper.

"Clang!!!"

A piercing metallic explosion!

Flash's confident expression instantly froze.

Although the clone body had perfect genes, its current level was zero, and its strength and speed were limited.

And that Gretchin boss opposite him was a monster that had survived cruel slaughter in the wasteland!

An insurmountable gap in strength!

"Crack!"

The greatsword in Flash's hand was actually brutally cleaved with a huge notch, and he was sent flying by the violent force, smashing miserably against the watchtower wall and vomiting a mouthful of blood.

"This pain! Holy crap, it hurts like hell!"

Flash clutched his chest in pain, his HP bar dangerously low.

"Flash!" Liver Emperor roared angrily, raising his shield and rushing up to block.

"Die!" The Gretchin boss roared, and the rusty chopper in its hand violently slashed down again.

"Boom!"

A dull sound of impact!

The iron round shield in Liver Emperor's hand was actually split open with a huge crack by this single blow! The powerful impact caused Liver Emperor's left arm to twist unnaturally, instantly fracturing!

"Not good! We can't beat this boss's stats at this stage!"

Praise Ming Shen anxiously tried to use his spear to blind the boss's eye, but the boss roughly grabbed the spear shaft and gave it a hard yank.

"Snap!" The spear weakly broke in the middle.

In just over ten seconds, the situation instantly tilted.

Three melee players: one severely injured, one crippled, and one with a destroyed weapon.

A heavy shadow of death instantly enveloped this group of arrogant Fourth Calamity players.

"It's over, it's over. Is this ridiculous newbie village boss trying to force us to experience the hardcore death penalty?"

Miracle Walker despairingly pulled the empty bowstring; his arrows were all gone.

"Start the respawn timer, brothers, this is a wipe."

Liver Emperor closed his eyes unwillingly, preparing to welcome the real pain of death.

Just at this critical moment!

Lin Li, who had been watching the battle from a dark corner on the second floor of the watchtower, sighed.

This bunch of useless players—my precious clones cannot be wasted here just like that!

Lin Li decisively pulled a throwing spear from the ground that the players had crafted in excess and left behind.

He didn't have any flashy moves.

Only a pure, terrifying muscle memory honed through a month of cruel life-and-death trials in the wasteland!

Lin Li's gaze was cold and focused at this moment.

He took a deep breath, his waist suddenly exerted force, and the terrifying power traveled along his spine to his right arm.

"Whoosh—!!!"

Accompanied by a sharp sound of piercing through the air, that rough iron spear, like black lightning tearing through the night sky, was violently shot from the second floor of the watchtower!

The Gretchin boss's cruel grin was still frozen on its face; it had just raised its chopper, preparing to end Liver Emperor's life.

"Squelch!!!"

A dull, hair-raising sound of flesh being pierced rang out.

The deadly iron spear precisely pierced through the Gretchin boss's fragile left eye socket, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, violently shredding its brain, and finally, with a hum, pinned it firmly to the hard wasteland ground outside the watchtower!

Clean and neat.

Ultimate violent aesthetics!

The entire noisy battlefield fell into an eerie silence at this moment.

Whether it was the brutal Squigs or the desperate players, all were deeply shocked by this stroke of genius.

"Gah..." The few remaining Squigs whimpered in fear, tucked their tails, and fled into the wasteland mist.

Lin Li calmly brushed the dust off his hands.

He walked down slowly, calmly and indifferently, along the dilapidated stairs.

His black trench coat rustled, he held the throwing spear casually in his hand, and his arrogant gaze swept over the four disheveled players on the ground.

"You can't even quickly deal with a low-level mutant boss."

There was not a shred of pity in Lin Li's cold eyes, and his mocking voice echoed in the cold wind of the wasteland:

"It seems you are still a long way from being qualified Seeds."

"Gulp."

A difficult gulping sound simultaneously rang out in the throats of the four stunned players.

They stared blankly at the cold Lin Li, then looked at the elite monster corpse that was pinned firmly to the ground, dead in a miserable state.

The next second.

The Fourth Calamity completely climaxed!

"Holy crap!!! Holy crap!! Holy crap!!!"

Praise Ming Shen grabbed his hair fanatically and roared hysterically:

"This smooth action module! This terrifying physical projectile trajectory calculation! The leader personally came down to steal the kill and save the day! It's so fucking cool!"

"I declare! Master Liming is my only male god! This aloof persona, this violent output!!"

Why Panic When I Have Flash ignored his severe injuries and vomiting blood, shouting crazily.

Miracle Walker poked his head out from the second floor, trembling, looking at Lin Li's back with worship, drool uncontrollably flowing down:

"Is this what a hardcore action game is? This is truly a great masterpiece that transcends the era!"

Listening to the fanatical delusions of the players behind him.

Lin Li's cold face remained calm, like a majestic god.

But only he himself knew that his right arm, hidden in the wide trench coat sleeve, was currently trembling violently due to severe overexertion.

"Damn it... I overdid the cool act."

Lin Li complained in his heart with lingering fear, "This wasteland survival is really not something a human can do..."