101: UFO? No, that's a flying BOSS!

The Abyss Lord's army had been routed.

That world-shaking epic battle between the Gundam Legion and the demonic tide had finally ended in a complete victory for the players.

The Scorching Wasteland at this moment held no post-war solemnity or tragedy; instead, it resembled a grand outdoor barbecue party, overflowing with the joy of a bountiful harvest and chaotic revelry.

"Come and get it! Freshly charcoal-grilled Balrog legs! Seasoned with cumin and chili powder! Who wants some?"

"My pot of 'Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup' is ready too! Brewed in a Dread Guard's helmet, it's said to boost defense!"

"Hey you, don't touch that Succubus's wing! President Lin Xiaowan reserved it; she's taking it back to make a limited-edition fashion set!"

Countless players gathered around campfires, gleefully processing their "spoils of war." These demons, terrifying and hideous to the inhabitants of this other world, had long since been labeled by the players as "high protein," "rare Materials," and "walking Contribution Points."

The entire battlefield was filled with the rich aroma of roasted meat mixed with cumin.

Li Qiang sat comfortably on a massive rock, a skewer of sizzling "demon tenderloin" in his left hand and a bottle of strong liquor seized from the Black Iron City dwarves in his right, looking quite content.

Behind him, the pitch-black [pangu: tyrant model] mecha, an embodiment of violent aesthetics, sat quietly by the lava river, using the geothermal heat for post-combat cooling. The armor was covered in scratches and dents from the battle, which in Li Qiang's eyes, were the most dazzling medals belonging only to men.

"Piloting a Gundam is still the most thrilling," Li Qiang said, taking a swig of liquor and letting out a satisfied burp.

This battle had made him fall completely in love with the romance of steel and gunfire. He had even planned that upon returning to Black Iron City, he would have Wang Wei install two giant speakers on his Tyrant; next time he appeared, he had to have the most explosive BGM.

However, just as he was immersed in the joy of victory, a sudden change occurred.

A beam of light, emitting a faint blue halo without any warning, descended silently from the cloudless sky, precisely enveloping his [pangu: tyrant model] as it cooled down.

There was no sound, no explosion, and not even a hint of energy fluctuation.

Then, under the dumbfounded gaze of Li Qiang and all the surrounding players, that steel giant weighing dozens of tons seemed to lose all weight. Like a toy model being lifted by a fishing line, it was slowly and vertically hoisted upward by the beam of light!

The skewer of grilled meat in Li Qiang's mouth fell to the ground with a "clatter."

His brain stalled for a full three seconds.

Car... carjacking?

No, Gundam-jacking?!

In broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of players, someone was stealing the precious ride of "Also a Ruthless Person"?

Is there no law? Is there no justice?!

"F*** your grandmother!"

A surge of nameless fury instantly rushed to Li Qiang's head, his face, slightly flushed from drinking, turning bright red in an instant. He threw down the bottle, kicked off the ground with a burst of power, and lunged forward like a cannonball, trying to grab the ankle of his slowly ascending Gundam.

"Put down my ride!"

However, as soon as his hand touched the mecha's toe, he was repelled by an invisible, soft yet irresistible energy barrier, slamming heavily onto the ground.

"Holy s***! An air wall?"

The surrounding players also reacted, stopping their barbecuing one after another.

"What's going on? A new cutscene?"

"No! Brother Qiang's Gundam is being fished!"

"Where's the light coming from? What's in the sky?"

Thousands of players looked up at the sky simultaneously. But there was nothing there except the dim sun.

"Who cares what it is! Blast it!"

A hot-tempered fire mage immediately conjured a massive fireball and blasted it toward the source of the beam. Following that, bullets from gun-wielding players and micro-missiles from Mechanists poured toward that empty area like rain.

These attacks, upon reaching the vicinity of the beam's source, vanished without a trace, like clay oxen entering the sea.

However, this volley of fire seemed to trigger some kind of defense mechanism.

In that empty sky, space rippled like water. Then, a layer of optical camouflage slowly faded away, and a gargantuan object that took everyone's breath away appeared out of thin air!

It wasn't any kind of aerodynamic aircraft that any player had ever seen.

It wasn't a ship so much as a massive, floating, irregular black crystal. Composed entirely of countless smooth polygonal facets, it bore no traces of windows, engine nozzles, or weapon turrets, exuding a minimalist yet eerie non-human design aesthetic. Its length was estimated to be over five hundred meters, hanging silently beneath the clouds like a silent observer from another dimension.

A cold sense of dread brought by the pure "unknown"—distinctly different from the chaotic evil of the abyss demons—caused the noisy battlefield to fall silent instantly.

"UFO?"

"Aliens?!"

"Is... is this a boss too?"

While the players were in shock, the giant diamond-shaped ship seemed to be annoyed by the attacks of these "ants." Dozens of small openings appeared on its hull, and dozens of disc-shaped drones flew out.

These drones sped toward the ground, firing thin red lasers from their undersides. They weren't meant to kill but were cutting into the players—they were "collecting samples."

One player failed to dodge in time, and a laser sliced across his arm, leaving a neat, bone-deep wound. Strangely, no blood flowed from the wound; instead, it appeared charred, similar to metal after being cut.

"Threat level confirmed! The boss is pulled!"

This discovery instantly dispelled the last shred of awe from the players.

On the other side, Wang Wei was kneeling on the ground, his mechanical prosthetic eye flashing with unprecedented fanatical light. The screen of the portable analyzer in front of him was frantically refreshing with a pile of gibberish and data models he couldn't understand at all.

"Unknown alloy! There's absolutely no record of this in the Materials structure database!"

"Unparsable energy source! Its energy model doesn't conform to any physical laws we know!"

Wang Wei's voice trembled with excitement. He suddenly looked up and roared at everyone, "Brothers! Don't treat it as just a mob! This is a brand new civilization! This is a mobile, living tech tree!"

"Bring it down! If we can just get one fragment, our technology will leap forward by at least a hundred years! We'll be able to build real interstellar warships!"

Wang Wei's words were like a bolt of lightning, instantly hitting every player's "G-spot."

Fear? The unknown?

No!

That's gear! Materials! Even more badass blueprints! It's new gameplay for the next version!

In a tenth of a second, the players' eyes shifted from shock and confusion to extreme greed. They looked at the giant black ship in the sky like they were looking at a plucked sheep waiting for the pot, covered in "Legendary" labels.

Just as the atmosphere was fully ignited, a cold, officially certified System announcement rang in every player's ears simultaneously, like pouring a bucket of gasoline onto a pot of boiling oil.

【Server-wide Emergency Warning: Unknown high-dimensional civilization invasion detected!】

【Sudden Epic World Event: "Gaze of the Starry Sky" has begun!】

【Quest Objective: Shoot down the alien scout ship "observer"!】

【Quest Rewards: Blueprint: Interstellar Navigation Engine (Legendary) x1, Unknown Interstellar Alloy x10,000, High-Dimensional Energy Core x1!】

"Interstellar Navigation Engine!"

The moment they saw this reward, every player's breathing stopped.

While they were still playing with mud on this planet, the damn devs had already prepared their tickets to the sea of stars?

What are we waiting for?!

"All Gundams! All Pangu mechas! Restart immediately!"

"Griffon Knight Legion! Everyone take to the skies! Prepare for boarding combat!"

"Mage Legion! Forget about mana conservation! Blast your maximum power forbidden spells at the sky!"

"It doesn't have a shield! It was just invisible! Bring it down for me!!!"

All the guild leaders were roaring at the top of their lungs, commanding their troops.

Within a single minute, the post-war wasteland transformed once again into an Asura field where war machines roared.

On the ground, over a hundred Gundams that had just shut down restarted, their massive electronic eyes glowing red. Their shoulder-mounted electromagnetic cannons and missile pods were all aimed at the giant black ship in the sky.

In the sky, thousands of players who had just learned to ride griffons took off unsteadily, forming a messy but aggressive "air force" that surrounded the scout ship.

Meanwhile, Li Qiang had already hopped into a spare, less flashy mass-produced Gundam and was the first to charge out. His [pangu: tyrant model] was still being hoisted in the air—this was a humiliation!

With bloodshot eyes, he opened the team communication channel in the cockpit and roared for the general offensive with all his might:

"You alien sons of b****es!"

"You dare steal my ride?!"

"If I don't dismantle you into spare parts and sell you as scrap metal today, my name isn't 'Also a Ruthless Person'!"

"Everyone! FIRE—!!!"