448: Chapter 493 A New National Fortune Item! Core Fusion Device!

When the knockout stage first began, both the masses and the players of the Tar Civilization were extremely apprehensive.

After all, once the [Game] enters the knockout phase, if a player is killed, the punishment will descend upon the entire civilization.

And unlike the growth stage, where even if punished, there is still a chance for a comeback.

In the knockout stage, being eliminated means the entire civilization will be wiped out, with no second chances.

This is a [Game] where only success is allowed, and failure is not an option.

In their apprehension, upon learning that their matched opponent was merely a civilization that had just entered the second stage of the [Game], the Tar People immediately burst into cheers.

Wasn't this just the [Game] giving them a free handout?

Thinking back to when the players of the Tar Civilization entered the second stage, they were still killing each other with cold weapons.

It wasn't until much later that players found the [core] and gradually entered high-end warfare.

For them to fight a civilization only in the second stage of the [Game] was a dimensional strike.

Therefore, the Tar Main King felt there was no need to mobilize everyone; it was enough to just send the other two Kings.

But all those previous fantasies were shattered at this moment.

The Three Kings were actually dead...

A haze clouded each of the Tar Main King's many eyes.

Who did it?

A Human Player? Impossible...

And right at that moment, the [National Fortune Game] announcement rang out once again.

[Human Player: Dragon Country · An Ke has achieved the first kill of a Tar player.]

[Achievement Rewards: 10 'all-purpose upgrade cards', 10 'blue energy particles', 5 'core fusion devices'.]

All Dragon Country citizens gain +10 to all attributes, +10 years of lifespan, and obtain 'Warp Drive Technology 1.0, capable of 1% the speed of light'.]

Outside, in the live broadcast room.

"The average lifespan of our Dragon Country is about to break 200 years!!"

"It's not that simple; right now it's probably only around 180 years."

"What's the use of such a long life? I still prefer the increase in all attributes."

"I can go toe-to-toe with Captain America now."

"Why wasn't there a reward of a [revival coin]?"

"I've used up both of my [revival coins], and now I'm feeling completely uneasy."

"No way, brother! You had two extra lives and you've already used them all up?"

"That's a bit ridiculous, what have you been doing?"

"Nothing much! Just a bit of bad luck. Now that life is a bit better, you can see cars coming and going on the roads."

"And then I got sent flying two days in a row."

"...Impressive!"

"Speaking of which, what's the use of this Warp Drive? It's only 1% of the speed of light, isn't that too trashy?"

"Upstairs, do you even know what 1% means?"

"The highest speed humans had before was only 0.064% the speed of light."

"As long as this engine is developed, it's a major breakthrough."

"It means going to the Moon takes only 164 seconds, and going to Mars only takes about 3 minutes."

"Traveling the solar system is no longer a dream, okay?"

"Just thinking about it is exciting!"

"..."

The Dragon Country Masses were in high spirits, but the masses in countries like the Lighthouse, Kangaroo, and Sun Never Sets were having a hard time.

By what right?

Why does the Dragon Country get rewards while they don't?

This is now a confrontation between civilizations, and they are also part of the human civilization.

Since that's the case, if An Ke gets the first kill, they should also receive rewards.

To not have any is simply outrageous.

Above the Moon, inside the Control Room.

Robot No. 1379's screen showed a puzzled expression: "Lord Chief Steward, Noble Lords."

"This robot is also very curious, why didn't the other nations of humanity receive rewards?"

"Since human civilization has entered the knockout stage, shouldn't the rewards be given to all of humanity?"

The Chief Steward turned his head slightly to look at the Noble Lords behind him.

Seeing that they had no intention of speaking, he then explained: "Looking at the current situation."

"The growth stage [Game] for human civilization hasn't ended yet, so it still exists in the form of nations rather than the entity of human civilization."

"In other words, human civilization is currently not only still in the growth stage [Game], but has also entered the knockout stage [Game]..."

"Eh?" No. 1379 looked bewildered.

What does that mean?

This situation has never happened before.

Seeing No. 1379's look, the Chief Steward pondered before saying:

"It means that the main storyline of human civilization has now split into two."

"One is to continue exploring and complete the ten stages of the [Game]."

"The other is to compete with external civilizations."

An expression of disbelief appeared on No. 1379's screen.

"Wh-why does this robot feel like the [Game] is targeting human civilization??"

The Chief Steward spoke in a deep voice: "It's not targeting human civilization; it feels like the [Game] is targeting An Ke..."

In the back, the Noble Lords all felt a chill in their hearts.

Although they were unwilling to admit that a tiny human could trigger targeting from the [Game].

But they had to admit it was a fact.

It felt like a computer discovering a bug, or rather a virus, in its program.

And then using certain means to eliminate this existing bug or virus.

If it really was as they suspected, the further An Ke goes, the greater the challenges he will face.

So great that An Ke would be unable to bear it and finally be erased, only then would the [Game] return to normal.

In the Giant Forest.

An Ke listened to the [Game] announcement.

He couldn't help but feel curious about the [core fusion device].

Oufu and Jin Xiaoxiao also curiously leaned in, wanting to know what this new [national destiny item] was actually for.

An Ke took a look at the attributes and then realized:

"It can upgrade low-level cores of the same type into high-level cores."

Exactly!

The function of the [core fusion device] is to fuse 3 cores of the same type into a higher-level core.

For example, after fusing 3 D-rank [transcendent gene cores], you can get 1 C-rank [transcendent gene core].

And after fusing 3 D-rank [black technology cores], you can obtain 1 C-rank [black technology core].

"This national destiny item feels like it was tailor-made for you, Lord An Ke," Oufu remarked with emotion.

Right now, the players from other nations didn't have nearly that many [cores] on them.

Even if they obtained this new [national destiny item], it would be useless.

"Of course!" Jin Xiaoxiao was happy for An Ke.

Now An Ke was not only his idol but also his Benefactor.

If not for An Ke, he would be gone by now.

An Ke smacked his lips, also feeling wild joy in his heart.

Just as well, the death of The Three Kings of Taer had dropped several [cores], and those not needed could be used directly for Fusion.

Thinking no more, An Ke decisively planned to loot the bodies.

At the same time, he had the animals take charge of recovering the nano armor from the Taer Warriors.

After that, he could build a force equipped with nano armor.

...