When the game shut down, I took my skills with me.

The world's attention is focused on the "Ark".

Liu Qingqing's name became more famous overnight than any combat hero.

Her story spread like wildfire throughout all the survivor camps. An ordinary logistics worker, through an alliance, rose to become a god-level professional capable of single-handedly supporting an entire city.

This ignited everyone's ambition.

"Contact all outpost teams immediately! The objective isn't to find supplies, it's to find intelligent races! Report any leads to me!"

"The US's 'Lighthouse' has airdropped their special forces into the Amazon rainforest, where, I've heard, the 'Forest Fairies' from the game have appeared."

"Russia's 'Red Bear' went even further; they sailed their nuclear-powered icebreaker to the Arctic, supposedly in search of the 'Frost Giant'!"

"And the 'Sword of Oracle', they've gone mad. Xiao Xue led people into the Sahara Desert, and it seems they found a clue about an NPC tribe called the 'Sand Walkers'."

Similar messages are circulating on communication channels around the world.

A frenzy of searching for "allies" swept through the entire new era. Everyone understood that the era in which one could rise to the top through violence was over.

Seize the opportunity and bind yourself to a powerful, intelligent race – that's the answer for this version!

However, just as all forces were turning their attention to those remote, untouched mountains, forests, deserts, and oceans, a new system notification suddenly and unexpectedly rang out at the construction site of the new city of "Ark".

"Warning: A high-density active energy vein and an unknown civilization structure have been detected 1,000 meters below the construction area. Construction is advised to be suspended."

Su Muqiu, who was in charge of operating the "Genesis Sand Table", received the alert immediately.

She immediately pulled up a 3D structural diagram of the underground area.

Just below the city, deep underground, lay a massive complex of buildings, entirely constructed of metal and rock, like a sleeping steel behemoth.

At the heart of the complex is a colossal furnace radiating terrifying heat.

"Evacuate the construction workers immediately!" Su Muqiu made a decisive decision and reported the discovery to Qin Shiyue.

In less than ten minutes, Qin Shiyue appeared in the command center.

He stared at the vast underground kingdom on the screen, his expression extremely solemn.

"It's something we've never seen before," Qin Shiyue said in a deep voice. "Mu Qiu, what do you think?"

"There's a 90% chance they're yet another intelligent race." Su Muqiu's eyes gleamed with wisdom. "Moreover, judging from their architectural style and their utilization of energy veins, they could very well be the Earthfire Dwarves from 'The Age of Gods and Demons,' known for their stubbornness and irritability."

Qin Shiyue's brows furrowed even deeper.

He had heard of the Earthfire Dwarves. A powerful race skilled in forging and engineering, but extremely xenophobic and devoted to absolute power and skill.

Forming an alliance with them is harder than climbing to heaven.

Just as the two were discussing countermeasures, the underground steel behemoth seemed to be awakened by the construction of the "Genesis Sand Table".

"Boom!"

The entire new city of "Ark" felt a slight tremor.

A giant metal gate in the underground complex slowly opened.

Immediately following, a globally resounding system announcement once again left the world in a state of shock.

[World Announcement: The unknown civilization "Earthfire Dwarf Kingdom" has been discovered.]

[Faction Status: Vigilant (They are hostile towards you because your construction has disturbed their slumber.)]

[Faction Characteristics: They revere forging and strength. Only by demonstrating skills or power surpassing theirs can one gain their respect.]

At that moment, the whole world fell silent.

In the North American underground command center, Seraphina Vince stared intently at the announcements refreshing on the screen, muttering to herself, "Impossible... We used hundreds of satellites and dispatched our top agents... and they just... dug a foundation?"

In Russia, at the "Red Bear" command post, General Ivanov snapped a cigar in half, his face filled with disbelief: "So, while we're still searching the world for minerals, they've got a gold mine right under their feet?"

In the Sahara Desert, Xiao Xue, who was struggling to move forward under the scorching sun, stumbled and almost fell to the ground when she heard the announcement in her mind.

She turned to look at the eastern sky, her eyes bloodshot and filled with unspeakable jealousy.

On what grounds?

Why do all the good things happen to his "Ark"?

While we are still searching, he doesn't even need to leave his house; the opportunity comes to him on its own!

……

Inside the villa.

Lu Yuan finally fell asleep, dreaming of drinking cola on the beach.

As a result, he was woken up again by Su Muqiu's urgent communication.

"Mr. Lu..."

"Speak," Lu Yuan said, his eyes closed, his voice full of morning grumpiness.

Su Muqiu quickly recounted the situation with the Earthfire Dwarves, and then cautiously asked, "Sir, the Earthfire Dwarves have sent envoys with a very strong stance, demanding that we immediately cease all activities on their 'Holy Mountain' and provide compensation. What... should we do?"

"Compensation? Tell them to get lost." Lu Yuan rolled over and covered his head with the blanket.

t

"But they've sealed off all the underground mines, so our city's development and energy supply are all..."

"Okay, okay, this is such a hassle."

Lu Yuan interrupted her impatiently.

He sat up abruptly, his hair a mess, his eyes glazed over.

Earthfire Dwarves? Forging? Strength?

He rubbed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the system's backend.

He was too lazy to see any messengers, and too lazy to fight with them.

His gaze was fixed on a battle axe being forged in the giant furnace at the very center of the Earthfire Dwarf Kingdom.

It seemed to be a divine artifact that they were creating with the full strength of their entire clan.

"The code structure is okay, and the materials are passable, but the design concept is too outdated."

Lu Yuan yawned, and like a programmer reviewing code, he casually typed a line of instructions into the underlying data of the battle axe.

[/modify item_property: add_rule("Energy Cycle Self-Consistency");]

【/modify item_property: add_rule("Spatial Cutting Sharpness");】

【/optimize item_structure: auto;】

……

The Kingdom of the Earthfire Dwarves, the Forge Temple.

The Dwarf King, Ironforge, is personally wielding his legendary forging hammer, preparing to enchant the Holy Axe one last time.

Thousands of dwarven craftsmen surrounded the temple, chanting ancient forging songs.

Suddenly, the battle axe hovering above the furnace burst forth with a light more dazzling than the sun.

"What's going on!" Dugu Tie exclaimed in shock.

On the axe blade, countless mysterious and complex golden patterns appeared and flowed as if they were alive, eventually forming a perfect energy cycle.

An indescribable sharpness emanated from the axe blade, causing even the surrounding space to crack slightly.

The originally heavy and ancient battle axe was transformed into a masterpiece of craftsmanship and a flawless work of art in just a few seconds.

"clang--"

A clear buzzing sound resounded throughout the entire underground kingdom.

The forging hammer in Dugu Tie's hand fell to the ground.

He stared blankly at the transformed holy axe, as if his soul had been ripped away.

As the king of the dwarves and the most powerful blacksmith, he knew better than anyone what had just happened.

That's neither enchantment nor modification.

That was... creation.

It is an ultimate definition of "things" that he cannot understand or imagine, directly from the level of rules.

"god……"

Dugu Tie's legs went weak, and he knelt down, prostrating himself before the rock formation above.

"By the divine craftsman!"

A moment later, Su Muqiu received a new message from the messenger of the Earthfire Dwarfs.

The previous arrogance and toughness vanished without a trace, replaced by extreme humility and fanaticism.

"Your Majesty, the Administrator of the Ark, our King wishes to ask: Are we... qualified to pay homage to the supreme 'Divine Craftsman'?"

Su Muqiu was stunned for a long time before forwarding the message to Lu Yuan.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had already lay back down on the sofa and covered his face with a cushion.

On the phone screen, only the three words he had just replied were displayed.

"Leave me alone."