Back at the base, the previously solemn atmosphere collapsed instantly.
"Let go of me! I'm fine! I'm going to the workshop to craft weapons!"
George, who had only just managed to stop his bleeding, was now shamelessly clinging to a corner of the hallway wall. Behind him, the petite Ester was expressionlessly dragging him by the ankles toward the Medical Bay like a heavy sack of potatoes.
"Mr. George, please. Do. Not. Act. Tough." Ester used her utterly irrational monster-strength to effortlessly "peel" the handsome man off the wall. "Your clothes are soaked in blood; even a three-year-old wouldn't fall for that lie."
"Stop! No—! I don't want any needles!"
Watching the usually frost-cold George struggle like a toddler afraid of a flu shot, Victor's face turned bright red from holding back laughter. He was on the verge of an internal injury from the sheer effort of staying silent.
Lawson watched the farce quietly until George vanished around the end of the hallway, then turned his gaze toward Victor.
"Alright, enough staring. Victor, pull out those precious blueprints in your bag and let me have a look."
"Oh! Almost forgot!" Victor gave a cheeky grin, his fingers nimbly tapping his phone screen to summon the [Backpack]. With a flash of light, two blueprints shimmering with a faint, eerie glow—{Halberd} and {Shadow Wolf} were taken out from there. Victor now looked like a local tycoon who had just hit the jackpot, patting his chest with an expression as smug as it could get. "Bro Lawson, I've got the LP and the materials ready, but my 'Decision Fatigue' is hitting hard. You're the industry ceiling—how about an internal review?"
"Advice, huh?"
Lawson squinted like a shrewd old merchant, habitually stroking his chin as he switched into "Veteran Expert" mode:
"First, the {Halberd}. Your textbook C-rank heavy tank. The defense stats are aggressively high. Once you put this on, you'll be the toughest hunk on the battlefield—the kind of iron lump that makes anyone who tries to kick it regret their life choices due to the recoil."
Lawson's finger then slid toward the other blueprint, his tone becoming playful: "As for the {Shadow Wolf} ... let's just say its only 'Black Tech' is that set of 'Magnetic Traction Foot Thrusters.' It allows you to drift on any surface like a maglev train—you can walk on vertical walls or even ceilings as if they were flat ground. But the price? In terms of attack, it can't even scratch the enemy's skin; in terms of defense, it's as thin as paper. It's a pure, high-end supercar built for speed. Aside from looking 'cool,' it's practically useless."
Lawson patted Victor's shoulder half-jokingly, a "veteran's" mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Take it from me, man. In any game, the Tank is always the MVP. If you craft {Halberd}, whether you're hitching a ride with a pro or grinding high-difficulty raids, people will be begging you to join their party. Plus—our team currently happens to lack a meat shield to soak up damage. I strongly suggest this one. You won't regret it!"
Seeing Lawson even had the heart to roast someone, the worry in Victor's heart didn't fully dissipate. He wiped the smile from his face and asked tentatively, "Bro Lawson... seeing you acting so relaxed, are you... feeling okay? About what happened back there..."
The smile on Lawson's face extinguished instantly. The air around them seemed to settle into a heavy stillness along with his expression. He lowered his voice, every word carrying an unquestionable gravity.
"I'm fine. At least... I helped her find peace from that nightmare."
He patted Victor's shoulder, his eyes deep and cold like an arctic pool. "Instead of wallowing in the past, the most important thing right now is to get you 'newbs' leveled up. Don't forget, we only just cleared the 'Newbies Zone.' In front of the real Shadow Shifters coming later, without a decent set of armor, we won't even have the chips to stay at the table."
Lawson briskly took the material bag from Victor, but his movements suddenly paused.
He looked at the blueprints, then at Victor's face—which was practically screaming, 'I understand the logic, but I still want to look cool.' Lawson let out a helpless sigh.
"I didn't realize you were such a 'Hardcore Aesthetic' player, Victor. So you're going with {Shadow Wolf} after all? Fine. As an Armor Smith, I must respect the customer's choice. Since you want speed—"
A trace of a craftsman's unique madness flickered at the corner of Lawson's mouth, his eyes turning sharp.
"Then I'll do my best to turn this armor into the perfect 'Porsche' of the entire battlefield!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Lawson turned and charged into the Factory with long, determined strides.
"Master! It's going to kill me! Look at my legs—they're turning purple!"
Inside the Virtual Combat Room, Emma's voice was a frantic wail. But the reply was nothing but the freezing edge of Katie's {Moon Swift} armor.
"Stop dreaming, Emma! In a real war, those legs wouldn't be purple—they'd be gone."
The training was brutal, a necessary evil before the storm.
Valerie was a pure apostle of violence, her heavy-handed counters crushing virtual simulations, while Phyllis moved with the steady heart rate of a Hexagon Warrior. They were ready, but the world outside was changing faster than their evolution.
On the other side, Dodge and Luther didn't share that luck. The sky over the fitness center ruins pulsed a bruised, electric purple. The air tasted of pulverized concrete and ozone. They were pinned behind a tilting billboard, being shredded by Lightning Sniper Rounds.
A Volt-Sniper—C-Rank, Thunder-element—was hovering in the shadows, a grotesque fusion of bone and alloy.
"Master," Luther's voice was low as the tiger-clawed Dodge intercepted a lethal bolt.
The faceplates of Luther's armor had retracted, Luther removing his glasses. "These glasses... were my limiters."
Without the frames, Luther's gaze became a predatory hawk's.
In a blur of motion, he snatched a fallen sniper cannon, recalibrating the gears with a terrifying precision.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Grim Reaper's scythe couldn't have been more efficient. The Volt-Sniper swarm was systematically erased.
But the victory lasted only seconds.
From the heart of the ruins, a shadow loomed that swallowed the sun. It was a mobile fortress of malice—The Fortress Raider (B-Rank Elite). Five plasma cannons ignited at its peak, and with a roar that shook the heavens, a pillar of energy lanced out, vaporizing an entire block of skyscrapers into red-hot dust.
"It's heading for the base!" Luther screamed.
"Dammit, we need reinforcement, now!" Dodge quickly whipped out his phone, his fingers trembling as he tapped the [Guide Care Hotline]—the emergency app designed for direct contact with the game guides.
"I'm right in the middle of something. What's with the emergency call at a time like this?" Ester grumbled as she stepped out of the portal.
"This is no time for complaining! Ester, look over there!"
Dodge pointed vehemetly toward the distant Fortress Raide. The moment she laid eyes on that gargantuan titan, Ester felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar. Her pupils instantly contracted into pinpricks.
RED ALERT—! RED ALERT—!
The ear-piercing buzz drilled into every corner of the base like an electric drill. Lawson had just pushed open the doors of the Armor Factory, and before he could even wipe the charcoal ash from his face, he was swept toward the Base hall by the overwhelming sense of urgency.
Inside the hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt nearly solid. Ester had just brought back the ambushed Dodge and Luther; before she could even catch her breath, her face turned pale as she posted an emergency mission on the central terminal. This was no longer a simple clearing operation—it was a deadline for the base's very survival.
On the phone screen, the blood-red mission list reflected off the solemn faces of every warrior present:
[Mission Type: Base Defense Battle]
[Mission Grade: C+]
[Mission Objective: Destroy the approaching Fortress Raider (0/1)]
Rewards:
15,000 LP
Power Core C x10
Power Core B x10
Enhancement Core C x10
Enhancement Core B x10
B-Rank Custom Armor Box Set x1
[Special Note: The destruction of the base will result in a "Bad Ending." The journey of all players will terminate immediately.]
"Bro Lawson! Look at this! The difficulty rating is flashing red! It's a Red-Tier warning!" Victor lunged forward, thrusting his phone screen right under Lawson's nose, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
In the face of this soul-crushing survival pressure, Lawson looked as if he had just discovered an interesting hobby. Instead of showing a trace of fear, he let out a hearty, boisterous laugh.
"With rewards of this caliber, it's actually worth putting our lives on the line for a gamble!"