80: Server-wide fundraising! To reach the heavens, we've even sold our underwear!

"To start this 'Freight Elevator' once, for a one-way trip, it requires... one hundred million standard units of Mana."

When Wang Wei (Luban No. 7) announced this astronomical figure in a voice bordering on collapse, a deathly, eerie silence fell over the interior of the Battleship Wreckage.

The tens of thousands of players who had just been clamoring to "slaughter their way into the Celestial Realm and open the gods' eyes" looked as if they had been collectively paused; the fanaticism and greed on their faces instantly froze.

"One... one hundred million?" a player stuttered. "What does that even mean? How many Small Fireballs is that?"

Wang Wei gave him a look as if he were an idiot and explained with a bitter smile, "The core energy of that giant Gundam belonging to Sorin Ironbeard, the Black Iron King we just exhausted ourselves to kill, was only five million units at full capacity. If we drain the entire leyline energy of Black Iron City, we can scrape together maybe another ten million. The deficit... is still over eighty million."

"F*ck!"

Li Qiang (Also a Ruthless Person) kicked the nearby metal wall hard. "After all that work, it turns out we can't even afford the gas money!"

An atmosphere of despair spread like a plague.

It was like finding a mountain of gold and preparing all the lockpicking tools, only to discover the vault door is voice-activated, and you happen to be mute.

However, just as the players' enthusiasm was about to cool, that familiar and punchable System notification sound belonging to the "Dog Developer" boomed in everyone's minds.

[Server-wide Epic Quest: The Path to Heaven]

[Quest Description: The Celestial Realm hangs high, and the gods look down. They view Mortals as slaves and the world as a mine. Now, the stairs to slavery are before you; will you choose to remain caged, or will you charge into the clouds and drag the gods down from their thrones?]

[Quest Objective: Charge the 'Phase Teleportation Array' by collecting 100 million energy points.]

[Quest Rewards: All participating players will receive massive Contribution Points based on their contribution and obtain the permanent unique title — [Heaven Climber]!]

These few lines of text were like a shot of adrenaline injected precisely into every player's main artery.

The flames that had just died out roared back to life with even greater ferocity!

"Holy sh*t! A permanent unique title! [Heaven Climber]! That sounds way more badass than 'Celestial Undertaker'!"

"Massive Contribution Points! My Modded Gatling gun can finally be upgraded!"

"What are we waiting for? It's just a hundred million energy points! Those birdmen in the Celestial Realm must be filthy rich! This little investment is nothing! Once we fight our way up, we'll take it all back with interest!"

"Yeah! Let's rob the bastards!"

The atmosphere flipped instantly.

The first to act was Lin Xiaowan (Rich Woman Hungry).

This server-famous Rich Woman walked silently to the console, opened her storage space, and dumped out a mountain of magic crystals of various colors.

These spoils of war, which she had scavenged from elves, Mage Towers, and even dwarf treasuries, were now tossed into the energy converter like cheap stones.

On the massive energy gauge, the cursor representing progress flickered a few times before finally moving forward by a tiny but visible notch.

[1%]

"That's all I have in stock." Lin Xiaowan clapped her hands and looked at her empty backpack. Instead of heartache, her face showed a morbid excitement. "The rest is up to you guys."

That 1% was the starting pistol.

The entire server went completely mad.

A catastrophe that later game historians would call "Scouring the Earth" officially began.

The Silvermoon Forest, closest to the crash site, was the first target to suffer. Tens of thousands of players were like a plague of locusts; any tree, glowing moss, or exotic flower containing even a trace of magic was uprooted within minutes and tossed into the converter.

The noble elves could only watch from their city walls as the Holy Land their ancestors had guarded for a thousand years turned into a barren dirt hill in less than half a day.

Next was the apocalypse for the monsters.

Players no longer cared about experience or gear; their eyes saw only the 'Energy Cores' dropped upon a monster's death. A group of players would surround a poor Basilisk, dismember it as fast as possible to dig out the core, and then charge toward the next target without looking back. The ecosystem around Black Iron City suffered a devastating blow.

The most ridiculous scene occurred at the former Goblin Fortress.

Players accidentally discovered that the loincloths Goblin used to cover their shame were woven from a type of magical straw containing faint energy.

Thus, a vigorous "Loincloth Stripping Movement" began.

"Stop right there! Hand over your underwear!"

"Don't kill that one! It's not an adult yet! Its loincloth has less energy! Find the one with the long beard!"

The scantily clad Goblin wailed and ran naked through their camp, unable to understand why these god-awful demons wouldn't even let their undergarments go.

Under the players' inhumane scavenging, the teleportation array's energy gauge climbed slowly but steadily.

5%... 20%... 50%... Everyone was seeing red. They sold gear, cleared inventories, and scoured the earth, doing everything they could. This was a gamble involving their entire net worth, and the stake was stepping into the clouds to rob that legendary kingdom of gods.

Three days and three nights passed.

When a panting player tossed his last valuable possession—a gold tooth knocked out of a Goblin's mouth—into the converter, the massive energy gauge finally reached its destination in a burst of blinding light.

[100%]

"Vroom—!"

A low rumble came from deep within the Battleship Wreckage, quickly sweeping through the entire underground world.

Above the massive circular teleportation platform, every dim rune was lit up one by one, eventually merging into a deep blue ocean of light.

A pillar of light as thick as a tower shot into the sky from the center of the platform. It easily pierced through the rock layers above Black Iron City, tore through the heavy sea of clouds, and built a ladder to heaven made of pure energy between heaven and earth!

All players stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at this miraculous scene.

At the end of the light pillar, beyond the sea of clouds, the outline of a magnificent city loomed. It was a Holy Land composed of pure white spires and golden domes, beautiful beyond anything of the Mortal world.

But in the eyes of the players, that wasn't a Holy Land.

That was the largest treasure chest in the Universe, and they had just picked the lock.

Li Qiang stood at the edge of the activated teleportation array, letting the rising air currents blow through his messy hair. He squeezed his fists, making a crisp "crack" sound, and a signature smile full of greed and destructive desire appeared on his face.

"Brothers, let's go."

"Let's go up and give those gods a lesson. Teach them what it means when... private property is sacred and inviolable!"