104: Reverse engineering! Wang Wei: This technological path is ridiculously skewed!

Black Iron City, the dwarven metropolis that had just undergone the baptism of war, once again fell into unprecedented clamor and vibration today.

But this time, it did not stem from war, but from a "transportation" grand enough to be recorded in history.

"Left! A bit higher on the left! Careful not to scratch the runes on the city wall!"

"Power team! Increase magic output! Brothers over there, put your back into it! Pull!"

"Damn it! Who cast a Fireball Spell down there? Do you want to burn the cables?!"

Through the collective efforts of tens of thousands of players, that diamond-shaped alien scout ship, which had been so arrogant on the Wasteland, was now like a giant beast with its teeth pulled and bound tightly. It was being dragged slowly and arduously toward Black Iron City's largest Central Hangar by over a thousand cables woven from the toughest Dwarf Alloy and Demonic Vines.

The hangar was originally meant to house the Dwarf King's "king gundam," but after the players took ownership of the city, it had already become the exclusive maintenance workshop for the "pangu vessel" series of mechs. Today, it would welcome its most prestigious and bizarre "guest" ever.

The diamond-shaped ship's hull, smooth as an obsidian facet, formed a strong and extremely discordant visual impact with the rugged, gear-filled, and steampunk-style architecture of Black Iron City. The surviving dwarves hid behind windows, staring dumbfoundedly at these "saviors" who had just saved them two days ago with Mechanical Dragons and were now dragging an "alien ship" back from the sky today. Their worldview was repeatedly crushed and reshaped within a single day.

"Merlin's beard... they... they plucked a star from the sky?" a dwarf blacksmith muttered to himself.

Su Mu watched this spectacular scene from the backend, feeling both amused and helpless.

He had only issued a "shoot down" quest, but these players had insisted on turning "shoot down" into "capture alive." After Li Qiang and the others stormed the bridge, instead of blowing up the ship, they used the most primitive yet effective methods—physical power cuts and mental pollution—to successfully seize control.

In the end, it was Wang Wei who temporarily used dwarven technology to modify several high-power Anti-gravity Engines and installed them at the bottom of the ship, barely allowing the massive thing to fly again and wobble all the way back to Black Iron City.

"Rumble—"

Accompanied by the final sound of massive metal friction, the observer was finally pushed into the hangar in its entirety. Its massive size filled two-thirds of the entire hangar, making it appear incredibly cramped.

But this could not stop the players' enthusiasm, which was as hot as lava.

"Make way! Make way! Life-profession players enter first! Everyone else, back off!"

Wang Wei, the creator of the mechanical descent, was currently in a state of unprecedented excitement. He wore a pair of magically modified goggles, with data streams he completely couldn't understand flashing frantically across the lenses. Behind him followed thousands of top life-profession players from various major guilds.

Among them were dwarf blacksmiths skilled in forging, Elf Rune Masters proficient in enchanting, mechanical engineers who had followed Wang Wei since the Wasteland era, and even a few "Potion Scholars" who had just learned alchemy and were eager to study the alien alloy as a new material.

These players, who were top talents in their respective fields, now surrounded the massive black ship with glowing eyes like dragons seeing peerless treasures, their mouths almost watering.

"My god... this perfect streamlined body, this seamless armor... this is simply the ultimate work of art in industrial design!" a Mechanist player praised obsessively while stroking the cold hull.

"I feel it... there's a stable energy structure within this alloy that I've never seen before. If I could integrate it into my runeblade..." an Elf Enchanter closed his eyes, entranced.

"Stop the nonsense!" Wang Wei shouted, interrupting everyone's fantasies. "Get to work! Our goal is—within three days, make this ship our own!"

"Step one, dismantle!"

However, the first problem was laid out before everyone.

The alloy of the ship's outer shell was harder than imagined. The players used the sharpest cutting saws found in the dwarven treasury and the most powerful engineering explosives, but they couldn't even leave a white mark on the smooth black hull.

"It's no good, Wei-ge! This thing is thicker than the Dwarf King's skin! We can't cut it at all!"

"Physical attacks are ineffective! What about magic?"

An Advanced fire mage immediately stepped forward, chanting an incantation, and slammed a "Flame Blast" capable of melting steel hard against the hull. As a result, the black alloy only turned slightly red before quickly cooling and returning to its original state.

Wang Wei recorded the data nearby, his brow furrowed: "Extremely high physical defense, extremely high energy resistance... this is a type of Materials science we've never encountered. Conventional brute force won't work."

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, an archaeology player specializing in "Ancient Civilization Research" was carefully searching for something on the hull with a magnifying glass. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Wait! I think I found it!"

He pointed at an inconspicuous emblem on the hull, smaller than a fingernail, and said, "While the alloy of this ship is unknown, its energy conduction patterns follow a very ancient universal grammar! Look at this emblem; in our rune knowledge, it represents 'Structure' and 'Dissociation'!"

Hearing this, Wang Wei immediately perked up: "What do you mean? Speak in plain English!"

The archaeology player explained excitedly: "It means this layer of armor has a 'software' switch! We only need to use a specific rune combination to temporarily interrupt its internal energy links, turning it from an ultra-stable structure into ordinary metal!"

"Holy crap! There's a trick like that?"

"Quick, quick, quick! Which rune is it? Try it now!"

Under the archaeology player's guidance, several Elf Rune Masters immediately stepped forward. They extended their slender fingers, tracing complex, shimmering runes in the air. When the final rune took shape and was lightly imprinted on the emblem, a miracle occurred.

With a soft "hum," that originally indestructible piece of black alloy seemed to lose its Soul, its surface luster instantly dimming.

Li Qiang had long since grown impatient. He stepped forward and tentatively made a stroke with his famous [Flame Demon Lord's Spinal Greatsword].

Screech—

Accompanied by a teeth-gritting sound, the hard alloy was easily sliced open with a deep gash, like a hot knife through butter.

"It worked!"

The entire hangar erupted in earth-shattering cheers!

"Dismantle! Everyone dismantle it for me! Strip it bare!"

An unprecedented "magically modified" reverse engineering project targeting a creation of a high-dimensional civilization officially began.

The scene was less like scientific research and more like a giant, chaotic junk recycling station filled with whimsical ideas.

"Engine group! Where is the engine group? Carefully lift out its Anti-matter Engine for me! If anyone bumps or scratches it, I'll stuff them inside to use as fuel!" Wang Wei directed a group of strength-type players. Like carrying a shrine, they dismantled a spherical core that was constantly emitting spatial ripples and looked like a piece of art.

"Anti-matter particle confinement field... spacetime curvature engine... I don't get it, I don't get it at all!" Wang Wei's research team analyzed the engine for a long time and finally reached a conclusion: this thing was too Advanced. With their current level of knowledge, they couldn't even parse one-ten-thousandth of its principles.

"Then what do we do?"

"What do we do?" A crazy light flashed in Wang Wei's eyes. "If we don't understand it, then swap it for something we do! Throw that anti-matter core away for me, and stuff the [Prism Tower Core Crystal] we seized from the Celestial Realm into it! Then weld the Dwarf Forge's rune array onto it! I refuse to believe it—we've already got gas-electric hybrids, so can't my 'Demonic-Optical-Dwarf Tech' three-in-one hybrid power put in some real work?"

Thus, under the dumbfounded gaze of countless players, a "Light Energy Crystal" filled with divine and technological beauty was crudely stuffed into a Dwarf Forge filled with runes and gears, and finally forcibly installed onto that alien engine base filled with a futuristic sci-fi feel.

Products from three completely different civilization Systems were, at this moment, stitched together in the most unreasonable way possible.

When Wang Wei started this "Chimera Engine," the energy readings of the entire hangar instantly went off the charts. The engine emitted a roar like a Dragon's howl, and the jetting tail flame even burned a large hole in the hangar wall. Although extremely unstable and prone to exploding at any moment, its output power was actually 30% higher than the original engine!

"Success!" Wang Wei raised his arms and cheered, "Next! Shield Generator!"

On the other side, a team consisting of blacksmiths and enchanters was busy working around a huge fragment of ship hull armor.

"The physical defense is maxed out, but the magic resistance is almost zero." A dwarf blacksmith reached a conclusion after pounding on it for a long time with his legendary hammer.

"Then enchant it!" An Elf Rune Master immediately stepped forward and carved runes for [Magic Deflection] and [Energy Absorption] onto the armor plate.

"No, no, it's too heavy! If this thing is made into a shield, who could carry it?"

"Just add a 'Lightness Spell,' won't that work? Then carve a 'Sturdiness' rune!"

"Why don't we just add a 'Damage Reflection' rune? If someone punches me, it'll bounce back and break their bones!"

Thus, a few hours later, the server's first shield that combined the three major civilization Systems was born. It possessed the physical defense of alien alloys, the energy deflection of Elf magic, and the Sturdiness and Damage Reflection of dwarf runes. Li Qiang reserved one on the spot and gave it a resounding name—[The Wall of Sighs That Makes Even Sons of Bitches Cry].

Once the players' creativity was ignited, it became unstoppable.

Soon, all sorts of "Chimera" equipment, full of wild imagination and utilitarianism (or lack thereof), sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

[Phase Rifle (Player Modded Version)]: They couldn't replicate the aliens' phase weapons, so they simply took the barrel of a ray gun, attached the scope from a pangu mech, and used a high-grade fire-element magic core as a battery. The result was that this gun no longer fired a stable beam, but a distorted, unstable, and explosive plasma ball. It was incredibly powerful, but it would occasionally backfire, commonly known as the "Men Should Be Hard on Themselves" series.

[Anti-gravity Skateboard (Noob Version)]: They dismantled the anti-gravity unit from an alien drone, used the toughest ironwood from the Elf Race to make a board, and then installed an energy battery salvaged from a spaceship. This thing successfully allowed players to experience the thrill of flight—although most people's maiden voyages ended with their faces hitting the ground, and the battery only lasted for five minutes, it looked cool! On the forums, pre-orders for this skateboard were already backed up for a month.

[Portable "Universal" Translator]: Wang Wei's team cracked a module from the ship's communication System that could translate any language into universal brainwaves. They combined this module with a "Cursed Totem" dropped from a Goblin Shaman. Now, this translator not only lets you understand alien languages, but it also gives you a 5% chance of inflicting a random "slurred speech" or "tripping on flat ground" debuff on the other person when you speak to them. It's considered a PVP dirty-trick artifact... The Black Iron City hangar had completely turned into a carnival of technology and magic.

In the central control room, Su Mu watched the monitoring screens showing the ridiculous new equipment throughout the entire process. His reaction had shifted from being caught between laughter and tears to deep shock.

He had originally thought that the players would learn and replicate alien technology step-by-step, allowing the tech tree of Ethereal World to develop toward the orthodox "Sea of Stars" direction.

But he never expected that this group of players wouldn't follow the script at all!

They were like a group of the most imaginative bratty kids, mixing a bunch of Advanced Lego bricks with mud, branches, and plasticine, ultimately molding a chimera that no one could understand but seemed very powerful.

"I gave them Wasteland technology, and they used it to build mechs."

"I gave them magic, and they used magic to fight aliens."

"Now I've given them the creations of a high-dimensional civilization, and they... they use them for BBQ and skateboards?"

Su Mu covered his face, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.

This tech tree couldn't even be called crooked anymore; it had simply grown into a ball of yarn, a complete and utter mess.

But for some reason, seeing the players looking so jubilant and those imaginative "Chimera" equipment, a strange sense of... reassurance welled up in Su Mu's heart.

Perhaps this chaotic, disordered, and irrational creativity was the most terrifying and powerful aspect of the "fourth calamity."

Who cares if the tech tree is crooked? As long as it can win!

Just as Su Mu was preparing to issue a few new missions to find something for this group of hyperactive players to do, the satellite phone in his real world suddenly rang with a piercing alarm.

This was the highest-level emergency contact number he had left for the authorities.

The call connected, and the solemn voice of the Dragon Group leader came through.

"Mr. Su, something big has happened."

...Meanwhile, in the real world.

Virginia, USA, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Underground Command Center.

The atmosphere was as heavy as solidified concrete.

"Report! The final images sent back by the 'Keyhole-13' satellite have been confirmed! An unidentified large object with extremely strong stealth capabilities briefly left its stealth state at 03:15 GMT and appeared in Low Earth Orbit!"

"Its size... based on radar cross-section estimates, it exceeds the International Space Station!"

"Its acceleration curve... My God, it accelerated from relative rest to Second Cosmic Velocity within three seconds, and then... vanished into thin air! This is not something any known physical engine can achieve!"

On the center's large screen, an extremely blurry satellite photo that had been enhanced and sharpened countless times was zoomed in to the limit. On the photo, there was only an irregular shadow that looked like a black crystal.

A white-haired General stared intently at the photo and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is it the Russians? Or the Chinese? When did they master this kind of technology?"

"Reporting, General... we have monitored all launch sites worldwide, and there are no launch records! Furthermore, its energy signature does not belong to any propulsion mode known to us!"

On the other side, Moscow, Roscosmos Command Center.

The same scene was playing out.

"We lost it! It's like a ghost!"

"We must assume that a completely unknown third party with crushing technological superiority already possesses the ability to enter and leave Earth's atmosphere at will! I suggest immediately raising the strategic alert level to the maximum!"

China, Beijing, China National Space Administration (CNSA) Data Center.

The atmosphere was equally tense.

But unlike the confusion and panic of the other two countries, a young data analyst placed the blurry satellite photo alongside another file classified as "Top Secret."

The title of that file was strikingly—[Analysis Report on the Correlation between 'Ethereal World' Game Energy Fluctuations and the Real World].

"The time... matches perfectly." The analyst's hand was trembling slightly as he pointed to two circled time points on the screen. "Three hours before the alien object appeared, the largest 'World Event' in history broke out within the 'Ethereal World' game. Its energy peak even briefly affected the stability of our high-altitude ionosphere!"

"These two events... are definitely connected!"

An elder sitting at the head of the conference room, with general stars on his shoulders, remained silent for a long time. He glanced at the black ghost on the photo, which looked like a creation of the gods, then at the Ethereal World's official website homepage, which was full of anime style. Finally, he slowly picked up the red secure phone on the table and issued an order in an incredibly solemn voice.

"Connect to the 'Dragon Group' and have them immediately contact that young man from the 'Void Realm Corporation'."

"I want to know if that thing that appeared over our heads an hour ago is what they call a 'New Version CG'..."

"...or if war has been declared upon us."