The virtual empire starts from the game

Chapter 625 Deep Space String: Entering Space with a Cannon! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Yup!

The valiant sniper's mind immediately clicked.

"Not only Deep Rock Corporation and the Plans Shrimp People, but also the Lost Ship!"

"In the Tokyo map of 'Echoes of the Deep Space,' isn't there an ending where the warp drive is repaired and the character warps away from downtown Tokyo?"

"If we can fix it in the game, we might be able to fix it outside! Once it's fixed, we can jump straight to Titan!"

"And there's a conventional engine! If we can fix all of that, wouldn't we be able to fly the Lost Ship into the sky? It'll be an advanced warp drive, so we can both sneak up on Deeprock Corporation and play guerrilla warfare against the Plans Shrimp People!"

The valiant sniper became more and more excited as he spoke, completely ignoring the fact that less than two meters in front of him was a Deep Rock Mining Company drone.

Until the electrodes fired from the drone pierced his muscles, and he was electrocuted by 10 volts of electricity, even his skeleton was dislodged, he screamed in agony...

He then realized that he should have avoided the drone.

But it's too late.

The body, charred black from the electric shock, slowly collapsed and fell silent.

"In accordance with the 'Management Regulations for Class C Employees of Deep Rock Mining Company,' the traitor was discovered and killed on the spot, and this has now been completed."

The drone would finish killing people before leisurely broadcasting a single sentence.

Although the drone's sound was completely flat, the three survivors all sensed a hint of schadenfreude in it.

Soon, the valiant sniper once again pushed open the door of the stone hut.

Upon getting close, without saying a word, he kicked the drone!
"Bang!"

"Ah!" The valiant sniper clutched his foot and wailed.

The drone was not only unharmed, but it also casually said, "Malicious damage to company property will result in a fine of 1000, which will be deducted after the next mining mission."

"You son of a bitch!" The valiant sniper gripped the Hurricane rocket launcher in his hand.

His teammates repeatedly tried to dissuade him: "It's not that bad... Teacher Ji wouldn't do that."

"It's not worth getting angry over a drone."

"Let's hurry up and kill those bugs. Didn't we say we were going to advance to A-level and incite Deeprock Corporation to fight the Plans Shrimp People?"

The valiant sniper angrily put down his weapon, walked towards the landing pod, and continued his level-up run with his teammates.

……

This game is already addictive, you can farm materials that consume a lot of resources during large-scale exploration, and you can also advance your job level and permissions, with the hope of taking a trip to Titan...

It's truly a win-win situation, and it's incredibly fun to play.

The same goes for "Echoes of the Deep Space".

With a constant stream of technological blueprints and high-value items being produced, players are having a blast.

However, the two games also have some differences:
Players of Under the Rock are working together.

Whether you team up with close friends or random strangers, once you're in the mine, everyone needs to work together, otherwise it will be difficult to complete the increasingly challenging mining tasks.

The mines in "Under the Rock" begin on the first level of the Abyss Caverns and become increasingly difficult as you go down, ending on the fifth level.

This is not the bottom of the Abyss Cavern, but the deepest point that Deeprock Mining can reach.

Each level of the mine will also increase in difficulty due to various random events, from the basic level 1 all the way up to level 5.

Although the rewards will increase proportionally, if you fail to complete the task and are overwhelmed by the insect swarm, you will gain nothing and have made a completely wasted trip.

Everyone will work together to get the mission rewards.

There are only incompetent noobs and freeloaders trying to hitch a ride; there are no traitors who deliberately sabotage or betray their teammates.

"Echoes of the Deep Space" is different.

Although the difficulty is not fixed, the unique game mechanics—you must successfully evacuate to take the loot—and the fact that there aren't enough evacuation pods for everyone, lead to a lot of backstabbing and infighting.

Especially as the number of people increased and the trading market became extremely active, the value of various rare spoils rose higher and higher, making this kind of intrigue and killing even more common.

Low trust among teammates severely impacts cooperation efficiency.

They even went so far as to strike first out of fear of being betrayed...

This has led to frequent instances of the game going awry and the entire party being wiped out by monsters.

And what do players think of this situation...?

I enjoy it immensely!

Since the player base is large enough now, the production of tech blueprints needed for large-scale expansion has skyrocketed, so no one is worried about the speed of tech progression being affected.

Let's play then!

We can't expect everyone to work together and sacrifice themselves for others in order to achieve more technological goals, can we?

Everyone's just here to play a game.

Of course, many people are not here to play games, but to work.

The unique mechanics of Deep Space Echo quickly spawned a large number of "high-skill boosting" services, where skilled players would boost a client's account and all the loot would go to the client, making it a stable and profitable business.

They are even less likely to sacrifice their own wallets for the sake of the greater good.

……

In the following days, players all over the world were caught up in the frenzy of the game, playing it to their hearts' content.

A steady stream of materials and blueprints continues to flood the market.

Soon, some key blueprints emerged one by one.

The first thing to be noticed was the [Flying Dragon 3 rocket: engine].

This was showcased on a forum by a player who, at the last moment, betrayed three teammates, took all the high-value loot in an extraction pod, and flew into the sky to watch Paris being destroyed by a nuclear explosion.

This is the first key blueprint in the field of aerospace technology since the alien invasion.

This is undoubtedly a crucial piece of the puzzle for escaping the Earth's surface and soaring into space.

This puzzle piece caused a huge sensation among the players, who excitedly discussed the grand counterattack.

"Awesome! We finally see hope for a counterattack against the Plans Shrimp Men!"

"It's impressive, but using rockets to counter starships, isn't that a bit far-fetched?"

"We outnumber them! We'll unleash a barrage of arrows! Add some laser weapons and kinetic weapons, and we'll definitely blow these shrimps to smithereens!"

"What else do you need besides an engine to launch a rocket? Fuel, launch pad, crew capsule... what else?"

"Never mind all that, let's build the launch pad first!"

……

After the first phase of reconstruction of the Mangsheng Metropolis was completed, only the large crater created by the Shrimp Man spaceship was filled in and an airport and automated factory were built, leaving large areas of empty land.

Because no one knows which technology tree Xu Meng is referring to when she talks about "climbing up technology".

Seeing the engine blueprints now means that the technological roadmap is basically locked in, and the second phase of construction can begin.

Infrastructure players acted with full force, immediately rushing to the parliament to submit projects, restarting construction sites, and vigorously working away at construction sites.

They plan to build a launch center first.

Nobody is worried about the blueprint.

As long as you know that this kind of blueprint will drop, you'll eventually be able to get a bunch of them.

On the contrary, building the launch site is more troublesome, requiring a large number of players to work together, which is a huge undertaking.

But after everyone had organized the group, applied the mortar, and drawn the control lines, suddenly another guy popped up and showed off his blueprint:

[Deep Space Strings: Sky Shuttle]
The sixth blueprint for the large-scale aerospace project, "Deep Space String".

[Deep Space String] is a large-scale project that uses electromagnetic acceleration technology to launch objects from the surface of a planet into space.

[TianSuo] is the smallest and lowest-cost launch vehicle among the [Deep Space String] superconducting magnetic levitation orbit launch vehicles.

It is primarily used for transporting cargo, but in extreme cases it may also be used for carrying passengers (be sure to purchase high-value accident insurance for passengers before launch).

-

This technology blueprint completely baffled the players who were excitedly starting to build rocket launch pads:

"Deep Space String? This is basically an Earth cannon!!"

"Doesn't this thing need to be built in a low-gravity environment? Earth would work too?"

"Although I know that the virtual world doesn't need to adhere to basic laws too much, isn't this superconducting magnetic levitation track a bit too outrageous?"

"I just have one question: Can this thing be modified into a real electromagnetic cannon? I want to use it to shoot down the shrimp-men's warships!"

"I want to try it out and see what it feels like to be shot into the sky by this cannon! It must be so exciting!"

"So... do we still need to build a launch site? This thing is obviously more advanced than a rocket! It also looks like it takes up a lot of space."

……

Everyone immediately became hesitant.

No, it's not so much hesitation as an immediate change of heart; they've already started to think the Rockets route isn't cool or sophisticated enough.

After all that preparation, they needed a reason to convince themselves to give up their previous work.

And this reason soon came to everyone's attention—one guy, not wanting to be left out, publicly shared his blueprint:

[Sky Track: Carbon Nanotube Cable]
The first blueprint for the large-scale aerospace project [Sky Orbit].

The [Skyrail] space elevator project can reduce the cost of space transportation to 1% of that of rocket launches. It is sustainable and does not require a large amount of fuel, making it a landmark product of a new era in space technology.

The carbon nanotube cable represents the first step in bringing the "Sky Track" from fantasy to reality, marking the beginning of a great voyage into space.

-

Once this blueprint was unveiled, everyone immediately had ample reason to readily abandon the idea of ​​building a traditional rocket launch center.

After all, the system introduction clearly states that the transportation cost of [Sky Orbit] is only 1% of that of a rocket!

Instead of building something this awesome, they went and built rockets that are outdated...

Isn't that just being suicidal?!

As for the issues of construction cost and difficulty...

We'll deal with the future when it comes!
Everyone quickly put the rocket launch center out of their minds and began to discuss whether to build a "planetary cannon" or a "space elevator".

As the passionate discussions continued, more technological blueprints with different technical approaches emerged:
[Space Balloon], [Particle Fountain], [Crystal Spaceship], [Elcano Gravity Slingshot]...

These blueprints, emerging one after another, left the infrastructure tycoons completely bewildered.

The rockets, cannons, and sky elevators mentioned earlier are things I've at least encountered in real life—even if it's only in science fiction novels and movies, it's still something I've experienced.

But those that followed—

A helium balloon spacecraft capable of ascending into space.

A magnetic particle beam is constructed between the ground and the space station to lift objects into the air.

The dwarves built an anti-gravity spaceship using strange underground crystals.

Even more absurd is the idea of ​​using the skeleton of a boss-level creature called [Elcano] from deep within the Abyss caves as a core to create a point-to-point gravity slingshot that could launch people or objects weighing no more than two tons into space…

Let alone the infrastructure gurus, even the frontline players who have been exploring and fighting in the Lost Ship and the Abyss Cave were stunned.

Before this, everyone thought that Dream Building would provide a technical roadmap, and then players all over the world would unite and work together for this common goal, ultimately ushering in the space age of the virtual world.

But now, everyone suddenly realizes:

Not at all!

The game starts with a whole host of different technological paths, giving players the freedom to choose!

This is not a script of "uniting as one and working together" at all.

Instead, we'll give you a bunch of big toys; see which ones you like and play with them!

This is definitely Xu Meng's style!

It's not an issue.

What players love most is this freedom to do whatever they want.

However, this kind of freedom is not a good thing for urban development that requires strict planning...

A large group of urban construction gurus stood on the construction site, where everything was ready and just waiting to start, discussing for a long time, but still couldn't decide which one to build first.

—Urban space is limited, and it is simply impossible to accommodate all of the various technological approaches.

After wasting half a day, they decided to follow Zhu Meng's example and decide by voting.

Two hours later, the results were successfully released.

The option with the highest number of votes is—

[Deep Space String (Planet Cannon)]

This thing is unfamiliar to everyone, looks very dangerous, and the blueprints are incomplete.

Even so, this thing still has a commanding lead!

— More than 700 million people participated in the vote, and more than 360 million votes were cast for the Planet Cannon.

Everyone thinks this thing is amazing and wants to build one to see for themselves!
Less than an hour after the project was finalized, someone donated three related blueprints free of charge, prompting infrastructure tycoons to take action and begin building the massive base for the superconducting electromagnetic track.

Those options that didn't win first place weren't abandoned either.

Players interested in these technologies quickly organized themselves, chose a location, and started working immediately.

Fearing that they would be too slow and end up having to build a base in the Silver City or even the wilderness.

Now, large-scale infrastructure construction in the virtual world is no longer limited to building roads in the wilderness.

The players began to raise their heads, sounding the horn to soar into space and launch a counterattack against the Plans Shrimp!
"Aki, are you still a black slave here? Aren't you going back to laying bricks?"

"Building a space cannon could also be used to attack Deep Rock Corporation's headquarters!"

"Yeah, yeah, hurry back and get back to work!"

……

The viewers kept urging him on in the live stream.

But the valiant sniper remained resolute: "I won't go!"

"Even if the sky falls, I won't leave here until my authority is upgraded to Level A!"

Huan Yue and Orange Juice chimed in, "That's right, one must have perseverance!"

"How can one achieve great things without a firm will?!"

The Seven Flowers remained silent, but wreaked havoc among the insect swarm.

But just a dozen seconds later, the cover fire from the valiant sniper, Phantom Moon, and Orange Juice suddenly ceased.

Viewers in the three live streams simultaneously heard a clear vibration sound.

The three stopped fighting almost simultaneously, checked the system notifications, and then unleashed all their special ammunition and heavy firepower in one go.

The valiant sniper dug a hole on the spot, saying as he dug, "Wait! I have something urgent to attend to! We'll continue later!"

"I suddenly have something urgent to attend to!" Orange Juice said, then rushed to the side of the valiant sniper, built a turret next to the pit he had dug, and then decisively jumped into the pit.

Huan Yue also used the grappling hook gun to swing down from the top of the cave and leap into the pit.

Then, he raised the platform gun and aimed it at the top of the newly dug pit, calling out to Qi Huahua, "Huahua, are you coming?"

"???" Qi Huahua was dumbfounded as she watched her three teammates dart into the pit in the blink of an eye, and even tried to cover it up.

"Do you... all have urgent matters to attend to?"

“Yes, yes.” The three nodded in unison.

"My package has arrived, I need to pick it up."

"Mine has arrived too."

"Me too."

Qi Huahua looked doubtful.

The three of them couldn't wait any longer.

"Well, I'll switch out for a bit first."

After the valiant sniper finished speaking, he fell silent.

Phantom Moon and orange juice followed closely behind.

Qi Huahua was bewildered.

Until viewers in the live stream also started saying they "suddenly had an emergency":

"Huahua, I suddenly have something urgent to attend to, I'll be leaving for a bit."

"Boss, I'm going to go check out the excitement first, I'll be back later."

"Brothers! Xiao Xiaohua has started streaming!!!"

……

Qi Huahua immediately and astutely grasped the key words—

[Xiaoxiaohua]
"Who is this? Some new streamer? Why is she so popular?"

She felt a strong sense of threat.

This person was able to steal three of her teammates and a group of loyal fans from a distance; their destructive power is simply too strong!

She quickly searched for keywords and soon found her nemesis's live stream.

Indeed, it had only been broadcasting for less than two minutes.

The title of the live stream is:

[Bionic prosthetic body arrived! Time to cosplay as a giant bunny girl!]
On the screen, a pretty young woman is unpacking a newly arrived bionic prosthetic body.

It has rabbit ears, a rabbit tail, and a pair of bionic breasts.

Everything seemed normal.

Until Qi Hua Hua noticed: This girl's Adam's apple seemed to be a little prominent.

(End of this chapter)