Chapter 188: Hell, or Heaven
Another day passed.
The warp transport plane, carrying Cangyuan’s main reinforcement troops, arrived at Emerald Star.
“Yi~ This looks like the Avatar planet!”
Players accustomed to the Desert suddenly had their eyes light up when they saw this planet full of green jungles. They snapped photos non-stop, not yet realizing what awaited them below.
“That’s Pandora, actually.”
“Close enough~ But the blue girls on Pandora are far worse than the Space Elves. Oh my, I can’t wait to explore the Emerald Outpost.”
“Hey, with your taste, I’ll take Avatar!”
Lu Yuan arrived with this group of people. After landing, he first directed everyone to expand the Cangyuan temporary camp, then delivered the supplies previously promised to Sasha, receiving her sincere thanks.
Among the newly arrived players, First Battle Group personnel could mostly seamlessly adapt to the Infinite Deep Space relic dungeon.
But those with lower levels still needed to be led by Emerald Life Science’s field team to kill small monsters in the jungle and practice. It was then that the cruel true face beneath Emerald Star’s beautiful exterior was finally fully exposed.
“Damn, is this planet sick!? A carnivorous flower almost bit off my finger!”
“The flowers are innocent, the fault is your clumsy hands.”
“Don’t even mention it. We were leveling along the safe route today, but we had bad luck and encountered a flying mantis as big as a Whip Wielders. It actually cut off my arm right through my power armor. The accompanying Elf Miss hurried to help me evacuate and was almost in tears.”
“Oh, you’re obviously here to show off. Which path did you take? Report it quickly!”
“Just a hallucination from blood loss.”
“You, Goushidahua, come out! What’s wrong with having roaches over a meter long!? And a whole group of them! (Image) (Image) (Image)”
“Wuwah! Get that away from me!”
“Please pay me for the mental damage caused by seeing this picture.”
“To all comrades who haven’t been here yet, think carefully before you go. Insect phobics, enter with caution—”
“Haha, I was eaten by a giant water creature in the ruins just now. Do you know what it’s like for the flesh on your body to be broken down into liquid by digestive enzymes and then sucked out?”
“I don’t want to know—”
The player community was bustling with activity, with various bizarre screenshots showing the appearance of teammates’ corpses, constantly challenging the limits of human physiology.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan had already informed Sasha in advance that the combat skills of the reinforcements would be inferior to those of the initial elite squad.
As their previous cooperation had been very pleasant, Emerald Life Science had no complaints, and their field team guides and instructors performed their duties diligently and responsibly.
Perhaps because they were also curious about and fond of the players, and their emotional expressions were very direct and unashamed, Emerald Life Science always assigned opposite-sex instructors for one-on-one guidance.
As a result, many players became completely enamored with these elegant, incredibly attractive, and friendly NPCs, and their daily online time increased.
Most players were relatively introverted, not good at witty banter or flirting techniques, but being able to hunt together shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other, and climbing and jumping among high-altitude branches—
They already didn't want to log off!
And after their strength improved, the verbal recognition and encouragement they received from the other party were like a spiritual drug!
What green hell? It's clearly a green paradise, okay!
Ah, no, green doesn't feel very auspicious. Let's just call it Emerald Paradise.
Lu Yuan had to set up a mandatory 15-minute offline mechanism every six hours to remind them to eat, drink, and use the restroom on time in reality.
Emerald Life Science gradually became aware of Cangyuan’s “black technology,” discovering that some team members who hadn’t returned before would reappear at the outpost, alive and well, the next day.
Players complained about Emerald Star’s environment and the southern roaches, but in reality, they were more enthusiastic than when they were pioneering on Li Star.
They fought in the jungle for more than 8 hours during the day, and after sunset, they returned to the outpost, still extremely excited. They spontaneously organized barbecues, card games, boxing, and wrestling, which drew the curious attention of the natives, who were then warmly invited to join, learning to play 'Fight the Landlord' and Mahjong, and sharing grand feasts.
During this time, what players praised the most was the surprise and happiness in the eyes of the “Space Elves” when they tasted beef and mutton for the first time.
That was an unmasked happiness that absolutely could not be faked.
No matter how much their genes were modified, and no matter if they lived their entire lives on an alien planet, they were still human, and their taste buds would always be best matched with food from their home, Earth.
The relationship between the two groups quickly warmed, and the initial invisible barrier had disappeared.
After 10 days, more than 60% of the players had the strength to enter the relic area.
Lu Yuan selected people like Caoyuan, Ye Xing, Black Smoke, Ma Lou, and Tiantai, who had proven strength, prestige, and leadership suitability, to serve as squad leaders. They would tackle the enormous dungeon from 7 different directions, all breaking through towards the central grand dome.
One laboratory after another was reclaimed from the local species, and massive amounts of bionics research data were transmitted back to Li Star, continuously accelerating military industrial research.
At the same time, when the aerospace plane returned empty after transporting personnel and supplies, it would first stop at the newly discovered colonial ship’s bow, bringing back the supplies stored there to Li Star.
The colonial ship was too large. After research, the Engineers determined that it would be difficult to move it quickly as a whole before a larger Zero Element Furnace was developed, so they could only move it piece by piece, like ants.
In orbit around Li Star, the main framework of the second space dock was nearing completion.
Cangyuan finally began to resemble a cosmic mega-corporation. The combined profits from the two star systems established a positive feedback mechanism, and its strength began to snowball.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the vast universe, the “Tianwen” was also about to reach its destination.
Xian Yu stretched after waking up.
These ten-plus days of “voyage” didn’t feel boring at all.
Everyone had their own tasks each day, and when they were free, they ate well and had entertainment options.
Since the players’ sleep pods were all there, the ship could connect to Earth’s internet. With food, drink, internet, and actual beds, many people could last not just ten-plus days, but even a month.
“Everyone, we’ve arrived!”
Loulan’s voice came over the broadcast system.
Everyone rushed to the cockpit and looked through the porthole, seeing the New Hope Space Station.
Perhaps “Space City” would be more appropriate!
This space station consisted of six rings, each with vast internal space. Gravity was simulated through rotation. The highest ring was the port area, followed by the industrial ring, administrative ring, upper city ring, middle city ring, and lower city ring. The smallest ring had a diameter of 1.5 kilometers, and the largest had a diameter of 4 kilometers.
The various rings were connected by trusses and skybridges to a pipe running through the center, which was originally a planetary elevator but now served only as structural support.
“We’re home, finally home!”
Lao Yu and Anton were teary-eyed, shaking the players’ hands one by one to express their gratitude.
“We’ll decelerate and wait here for a while. This ship doesn’t have a Star Alliance registration code yet, so it’s definitely going to be inspected.”
Lao Yu was indeed right.
Soon, a small spaceship flew over, its headlamp flashing red and blue continuously.
“Good heavens, these police light colors haven’t changed in over a thousand years!”
Ran Ge commented, with one hand resting on Xian Yu’s shoulder.