The virtual empire starts from the game

Chapter 686 Lava City: Lavakor

The images on the big screen continued to play.

One after another, orbital airdrop capsules descended from the sky to the accompaniment of rousing music.

Amidst the flames of the explosion, fully armed dwarven warriors and sinister metal undead fought a fierce battle that shrouded the heavens and earth in darkness.

And that's coupled with those stirring lines of dialogue.

Fantach and his two best friends had just recovered from the turn of events when they were aroused by the magnificent and intense war scene.

Finally, four sturdy, heavily armored dwarves stood atop a pile of metal undead corpses, carrying heavy rifles. In the background sky, the Deeprock Mining Corporation's Furnace-class warships split in two, and a dark red giant planet stretched across the mid-sky.

The narration also reached its climax:
"Become a hero!"

"Become a living legend!"

"To become... a Jedi Ranger!"

All three of them stared wide-eyed.

It's not just them.

Sometime later, the dwarf guide had stopped explaining, and a large group of players stood there watching the short film with them.

As the image dimmed, everyone immediately began discussing it eagerly:

Is this... a recruitment advertisement?

"Is the one fighting in the movie a metal necromancer? It doesn't look that impressive."

"Exactly! You call this a formidable enemy? A few assault rifles would turn it into bone fragments. It feels like even weapons from World War II could easily crush it!"

"Perhaps it's because of their sheer number? Aren't necromancers in novels all about overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers and an army of undead?"

"Stop talking nonsense. The novel is set in the Middle Ages, where they used cold weapons. We're in the interstellar age now. How many skeletons would be enough for a space bomb to destroy?"

"So... in the space war aspect, it's actually a Musou-style hack-and-slash gameplay?"

"It looks a bit like... a few heavily armored dwarves can kill dozens of metal undead, sounds pretty cool."

"...Xu Meng can make fun games? I find it hard to believe."

……

Everyone was talking about it.

This video is the first time that players have seen the Metal Necromancer in person, so they inevitably want to analyze some information from it.

But this film is a recruitment advertisement, focusing on showing off the Jedi Rangers' bravery and the powerful and advanced weaponry.

The Metal Necromancers served merely as a backdrop and target to highlight the Rangers; aside from their ferocity and evil, they didn't exhibit much in terms of combat prowess.

So much so that by the end of the conversation, everyone agreed that:
With such powerful weapons, yet unable to defeat such weak opponents, and only able to fight defensive battles on the edge of the galaxy, the dwarves' combat strength is truly pathetic.

Some people even whispered in the team chat:
"Such a wonderful planetary base, placed in the hands of dwarves with such poor combat capabilities, is truly a waste of a gem..."

"To defeat the Metal Necromancers and save the galaxy from extinction..."

"It's better if we take over this planet!"

The idea was quickly agreed upon by his teammates.

—In fact, even before we came to Titan, many people online had suggested “taking over Titan”.

Now it's just that we can say it with more confidence.

The dwarf Opalon was unaware of the players' audacious thoughts. He simply watched them quietly as they discussed the metal necromancers, and after they finished, they even asked him how to join the Jedi Rangers.

"Alright everyone, let's go see your accommodations first, and then we'll take you to the Jedi Rangers' recruitment office."

"I look forward to you going to the front lines and slaughtering those filthy bone fragments!"

……

The headquarters' residential area is located underground.

Fantaqi is not surprising.

—The dwarves ignited the planet's core and used the underground lava to build factories and forge weapons and equipment; the entire industrial zone was underground.

Considering temperature and insulation, it is perfectly normal to place living and residential areas underground.

But when they descended hundreds of meters in the elevator, stepped out, and arrived at the edge of a spacious platform, they were still deeply awestruck.

The dwarves didn't just build an underground base; they built an entire underground city!

This city is even located right next to an underground volcano!
It was still a living volcano, with bright rivers of lava meandering through the city, providing heat to the entire city.

Standing on the edge of the platform, everyone watched as the factories, which churned up minerals, lava, workers, and trains, operated tirelessly at full capacity, deeply feeling the war potential of this underground city!

Opalen stood to the side, watching their expressions with satisfaction.

It took a while to wake everyone up, and then they were slowly lowered down in a huge elevator.

Everyone thought they were going to enter the city.

But the elevator stopped halfway down on the completely vertical rock face.

Opalen laughed and said, "Don't look. Lavakor is a lava city. Only dwarves can get used to the heat there."

"To avoid accidental injury to guests, you... and other guests of other races will stay in the cliff dwellings far from the city."

“That’s right here.”

He led everyone to turn around and look behind them.

The players then discovered that a neat, hundreds-of-meters-high cavity had been carved out of the center of the cliff behind them, and tall buildings and sculptures with rock bases had been carved out of the cavity.

The lights are bright and the place is bustling with people.

Opalen led the players into the bustling lights, through a whole street of vibrant shopping, and into a tall, unassuming stone building to check them in.

Soon, everyone received a card.

That was their room key card, and also their personal terminal in Lavacol.

Similar to the identity card in the metropolis, it can also be used to identify individuals, query maps, and even transfer money for payments.

—It just doesn't have any storage compartments.

"You can go and put your luggage down first, and familiarize yourselves with the room location."

"If you still need my introduction, please gather here in 15 minutes."

"If you don't need it, you can arrange it as you like, just remember to report to the Deep Rock Mining Company headquarters within three days."

After saying that, he took out a wine flask and sat down in the lounge area of ​​the hall to moisten his throat.

The players acted quickly; once they found the room and bound their respawn point, they returned to the lobby to find him, all in less than 10 minutes.

When one of the girls came downstairs, she couldn't help but complain, "Do we really have to stay here?"

"That's way too rudimentary!"

These words immediately resonated with the surrounding players.

Everyone has stayed in cramped rooms before—the rooms in Yayuan Town aren't exactly big, but the rooms here are more than just small.

The room had no windows, and inside there was only a table, a chair, and a cabinet, all made of stone, which was uncomfortable to lie on and to sit on.

It's practically a prison.

They were all worried that staying here for too long would cause them to develop claustrophobia.

Opalen screwed the lid on the flask and smiled slightly: "Of course it's not necessary."

"As for the conditions here..." "What kind of good things can you expect from something that's free? You'll be lucky to even have a place to stay!"

"Want a better place? Of course, there is."

"Lavakor Star, the most luxurious hotel on the entire planet Titan, with spacious governor suites, beautiful dwarf maidens as butlers, luxurious viewing windows, indoor forests, artificial weather... it has everything you could want, but can you afford to stay here?"

"Who do you think you are?!" The girl was annoyed by Opalen's words. "Lead the way!"

Opalen wasn't angry; he even led the group out with a smug smile.

Walk a kilometer, cross three streets, and you'll arrive at a luxury hotel perched on the edge of a cliff.

This place is completely different from the "guesthouse" we just left; a huge system notification even popped up in front of everyone's eyes—

Lavacore Stellar

Fantach then realized: "Lavacre, the core of lava?"

He turned abruptly and looked down at the city surrounded by lava below the cliff.

"Is the name of this city really that straightforward?"

The moment they stepped into the hotel, they immediately sensed a huge difference—

The temperature in this hotel is different from outside!
The lights were bright, the water flowed gently, the staff were neatly dressed, and there was lush greenery everywhere.

Even the dwarf girl at the front desk seemed to fit their aesthetic preferences better.

This doesn't feel like a hotel located next to an underground volcano at all; it feels more like a resort area.

But through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, you can clearly see the magnificent lava city outside—this hotel was specially built on the edge of a cliff so that all guests can see the city from their rooms, which shows their pride in the city.

The only downside is the price.

They work hard mining for six hours in "Under the Deep Rock" to earn enough money to stay here for one day!
Players who come here have been mining hard for a month in order to gain access. While they may not all be millionaires, they can certainly afford to stay in hotels.

However, everyone who had just arrived in Lavacol knew very well that there would be many other things that would cost money.

Along the way, they saw more than one shop selling weapons, armor, gems, jewelry, and machinery.

What if you spend too much on accommodation and then run out of space or other people buy all the good stuff?
They hesitated.

At a critical moment, Opalen once again offered his help: "If you don't have money, you can take out a loan."

"???" Fantaqi was shocked.

Although I've known for a long time that Deeprock Mining Company is inhuman, isn't it a bit too outrageous for a dwarf to recommend that others take out loans for consumption?

"You don't also do loan sharking on the side, do you?"

“No, no,” Opalon waved his hands repeatedly. “It’s Lavacor Bank.”

After saying that, as if he had just remembered something, he added, "Of course, I do know a loan officer at Lavacor Bank. If you need it, I can help you get the lowest possible interest rate."

Isn't this just part-time lending?
The people around were speechless.

In the end, almost everyone opted for a loan.

The reason is simple: the girl who initially complained about the accommodations checked in readily, and the system notified her that she had unlocked the "key" progress—

[Key to the Star of Lavakar (1/100)]
If you stay here for 100 days, you will receive a key that allows you to teleport!

With this key, I won't need to travel between Titan and Mansheng anymore, traversing the dark depths of space in a spaceship.

As a result, living here suddenly became a necessity for many people.

Even more outrageous: when the girl tried extending the room stay from 1 day to 7 days, the progress immediately became (7/100)!
She immediately understood:
You don't actually need to stay for more than three months; as long as you book a house for 100 days, you can get the keys immediately!

Upon seeing this news, everyone immediately realized how desperately short of money they were!
Opalon's lending business quickly took off.

What's even more interesting is that after taking out the loan, everyone discovered that besides painstakingly earning money in the game, there was an even simpler way to repay it—

Krypton gold.

Yes, in-game purchases cannot be used to directly open rooms or exchange for cash, but they can be used to pay off loans.

Everyone was a little confused:

Why take such a roundabout way to realize your dreams?
Why not just open up a payment channel directly, or allow payment via both cash and virtual currency?
Is it necessary to probe so cautiously?
With these questions in mind, everyone went to their new rooms to re-bind their resurrection points.

Fantach resisted the urge to take out a loan, but couldn't help approaching Opalon and asking, "Opalon, are you short of money?"

“What? No, of course we don’t need any.” The dwarf immediately shook his head.

"Then why are you like this..." Fantaqi hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

"Greed?" Opalen retorted.

Fantach didn't admit it, but his meaning was written all over his face.

Opalon shook his head: "We are indeed very greedy right now, but it's all in order to fight the Metal Necromancers."

“You have never faced metal necromancers directly, and you do not understand their power. We must do everything in our power and exhaust all available resources to have any hope of defeating them.”

"I'd pay any price to smash every skeleton in the universe to pieces."

After saying that, he seemed to feel that it wasn't convincing enough.

He pointed to the diverse crowd outside the hotel entrance, then across the wall to the town of Lavacol below the cliff, and said with absolute certainty, "We're all willing!"

Fantawild was greatly impressed.

The attitude towards the Dwarves of the Frontier—and even the money-grubbing Deeprock Mining Company—has changed dramatically!

They even began to admire him.

Unfortunately, this feeling of admiration did not last long.

After emptying his savings from mining and booking a room, he followed the group to Deep Rock Mining Company, where he learned that in order to continue to advance and obtain higher authority and income, he had to undergo training and pass an assessment.

This makes sense.

After all, once they advance again, their mining sites will change from the Abyss Cave to asteroids in the universe.

But what he found unreasonable was that he had to pay for all the training and assessment costs himself!
And they are all very expensive.

Fantawild was a little annoyed: Why should company employees have to pay extra for internal training?
That's ridiculous!
This feeling intensified when we arrived at the Jedi Rangers' recruitment point.

Players must first pass a combat ability test before they can change their profession from a logistics miner to a combat mercenary.

Makes sense.

However, combat training and assessments also require payment, and they cost three times more than logistics courses!
"Saying that we'll exhaust all resources just to defeat the Metal Necromancer... that's utter nonsense!"

"You fucking all just want money! You bunch of greedy, insatiable capitalists who only care about profit!!"

"I'd be a dog if I trusted you again!!!"

He really wanted to hit someone.

But thinking about the vast battlefield at the edge of the galaxy, and the experience of fighting metal necromancers in the universe, I gritted my teeth and went to Opalon for a loan, and paid the money.

"Being a soldier definitely pays better than being a miner."

He thought, 'As long as I successfully change jobs and kill more metal undead, I'll definitely be able to pay back this money!'

Anyway, there's no way I'm going to spend money on in-game purchases!
With this determination, the three Fantach brothers began their training.

Other players who arrived on Titan also gradually began training, hoping to pass the test as soon as possible.

While they were training, Xu Meng's intense live stream finally came to an end—

After a week-long journey, they finally arrived at the end of their migration:
[Carefree Meadow]

(End of this chapter)