“Let go of that thigh! I sawed it off first!”
“Bullshit! I clearly landed the final blow with the pick. Based on damage contribution, this leg is mine!”
Inside the “Buzhou” outpost, the atmosphere was as lively as a country market.
Forty-seven muscular men gathered around the alien corpse, which they had named the “Zergling,” their eyes gleaming like wolves that hadn’t eaten in three days.
Several multi-functional army knives sawed frantically at the joints of the shell, making a grating scraping sound.
These players perfectly illustrated what it meant to be “a swarm of locusts leaving nothing behind.”
Some wanted to pry out its teeth to use as daggers, some wanted to peel off its carapace for shields, and there was even a ruthless player in the corner with the ID “Bear Grylls’ Last Disciple.” He was dabbing a bit of the purple-green insect blood into his mouth, attempting to sample the taste of alien game.
Those around him looked on expectantly.
“How is it? Is it edible? Does it give a buff?”
“Ugh…” The guy’s face turned pale green.
He dry-heaved as he delivered his hardcore review.
“Sour. It tastes like a smelly sock soaked in aged vinegar for three years, and it’s fucking spicy. Brothers, don’t eat this stuff.”
In high orbit, inside the control room of the Ember Space Station.
Yao Qian looked at this group of the “Fourth Cataclysm” on his screen, who were practically trying to swallow the alien whole.
*Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was running an interstellar refugee camp.*
The army knives in their hands were only good for cutting polymer synthetic food; trying to saw through the Zergling’s armor-steel carapace would take until next year just to polish it.
Besides, how could he let them ruin such a precious biological specimen?
“System, stop playing dead. Scan the value of this pile of meat.”
[Scan complete. Target: Low-level arthropod combat unit. Contains high-energy biological lipids and high-strength chitin. Estimated transmutable Energy Points: 10. Extractable materials: Heavy Carapace Plate × 6, High-density Bone Spike × 2.]
10 points!
Yao Qian’s exasperated gaze instantly sharpened, as if he were staring at a mountain of gold.
After all, creating a blank clone body only cost 1 Energy Point.
…
On the ground, the “Buzhou” outpost.
[Server-wide Announcement: Sudden Scenario Quest Triggered—Sample Reclamation]
[Quest Description: The great Commander has taken notice of your bravery. The first kill of an alien creature holds immense scientific value. For the revival of humanity and the growth of the base, please hand over the intact trophy for analysis.] Get faster updates on g.com.
[Quest Objective: Transport the intact “Zergling” corpse to the lander’s reclamation area.]
[Quest Rewards: Unlock functional building “Biomass Recombination and Reclamation Plant”; unlock new technology tree branch “Xenogeneic Armament Manufacturing”; all participants rewarded with 5 Contribution Points.]
“Holy crap! A new tech tree!”
“Equipment! We’re finally getting equipment! I don’t want to wear this shitty grass skirt anymore!”
The crowd instantly went wild.
The players who had been guardedly clinging to the bug’s legs just moments ago immediately tossed their trophies aside, their faces filled with righteous determination.
“Quick! Don’t just stand there! This is what the Commander wants!”
“For humanity! For the equipment! One, two, three, lift!”
“Construction Site Palu” took the lead, directly hoisting the Zergling’s heavy rear half onto his shoulder.
Others scrambled to grab the claws and head, chanting in unison as they shuffled toward the landing capsule.
The scene was utterly surreal.
A group of bloody, grass-skirt-wearing men, looking like villagers slaughtering a pig for the New Year, carried a terrifying alien weighing several hundred pounds, happily lining up to deliver it to the slaughterhouse.
Anyone else would have thought they were performing some sinister sacrificial ritual.
A few minutes later, the massive Zergling corpse was stuffed into the temporary reclamation port at the bottom of the landing capsule.
[High-value biomass sample detected. STC construction protocol initiated.]
A cold, synthesized electronic voice echoed throughout the camp.
Immediately after, a scene occurred that left all the players utterly dumbfounded.
A heavy armor plate on the side of the “Buzhou” base slowly slid open.
No mechanical arms or large funnels emerged; instead, a silver-white “torrent” poured out.
It was hundreds of millions of nano-engineering robots.
Like living liquid metal, they rapidly shaped and solidified in the air.
The silver torrent acted like a 3D printer, constructing a sci-fi silver-gray building out of thin air in just ten seconds.
At the core of the building, a deep blue plasma arc pulsed silently.
[Biomass Recombination and Reclamation Plant (Basic) deployed]
[Current conversion efficiency: 80%]
“Holy crap…”
“These special effects, this modeling… the budget is absolutely burning!”
“This is sci-fi! This is the StarCraft of my dreams!”
The players watched, completely mesmerized.
The visual impact of witnessing a massive structure rise from nothing was far more shocking than any pre-rendered CG trailer.
*Zzzt—*
The decomposition force field at the core of the reclamation plant activated.
The players watched as the Zergling, which had just been so domineering and bulletproof, was fed into the deep blue plasma arc.
At the same time, the virtual store panel in front of all the players refreshed.
[Store Updated: Xenogeneic Armament Series]
[1. Xeno-Chitin Breastplate (Crude): An alien dorsal plate reconstructed using nanotechnology. Lightweight and sturdy. Defense: Medium (Can block sharp weapon cuts and small-caliber stray bullets). Exchange Price: 5 Contribution Points + 5 kg Biomass]
[2. Bone Spike Spear (Mass Production Type): Retains the high-density molecular structure of the alien’s forelimb. Extremely sharp. Exchange Price: 3 Contribution Points + 2 kg Biomass]
Looking at the equipment attribute panels, the players’ breathing grew heavy.
It was a desire for power, and even more, an obsession to escape their state of streaking in grass skirts.
“We can exchange them! We can actually get them!”
“These stats are so much better than this crappy pick!”
“This is literally starting with nothing and getting all your gear from drops! Brothers, I understand the gameplay loop now—kill monsters, recycle, craft gear, and then hunt even stronger monsters!”
Someone in the crowd shouted:
“Are there any more bugs? I want to take on ten of them!”
“Grouping up to farm bugs! LF fearless tank, high DPS! I just want a chestplate!”
“Commander! Can you respawn that bug we just killed? I don’t think my form was right earlier, I want to kill it again!”