Game: Civilization Paradise

"Eventually, there was nothing left to scavenge, so we just started dismantling the buildings."

Xiaoqi and the others explained to Long Ming.

"That’s a little over the top."

The corner of Long Ming’s mouth twitched when he heard this.

Just as they were enjoying their chat, five beams of white light suddenly descended.

Xiaoqi and the others were startled and turned to look into the distance.

Five players appeared in their line of sight. Their leader was piloting a Shadow-model Mechanical God over three meters tall. It was fully encased in gray metal armor, with a triangular halo embedded in its chest, a cannon mounted on its right shoulder, and a pair of agile mechanical thruster wings on its back. The mech wielded a Blast Gun and had a long, gray metal spear slung across its back. Alongside it were two V3-series Destroyer mechs, while the remaining two players wore second-generation exoskeletons.

At that moment, the captain led his team straight toward Long Ming’s group.

"We’re done for. They’re coming right for us."

"Don’t tell me they’re here to threaten us into leaving?"

...

Xiaoqi and the others looked extremely nervous.

Long Ming’s expression also grew grim.

Just then, they walked up to Long Ming and his group.

The leader reached up and removed his helmet.

A man with short, flaxen hair, a chiseled face, red eyes, and pointed ears appeared before them.

He extended a hand to Long Ming and spoke very politely.

"Hello, my name is Oritta, from the tier-three Cloud Sea Guild."

"Long Ming, from Mountain City Mountain."

Somewhat surprised, Long Ming reached out and shook Oritta’s hand.

"Mr. Long Ming, I’d like to discuss something with you. As you can see, there’s hardly anyone in this instance—just our two teams. There’s no way we can explore everything in here, so there’s no need for us to fight over resources. We can coexist peacefully. That way, we won’t have to worry about getting attacked from behind and can explore with peace of mind. What do you think?"

Oritta made the proposal to Long Ming with genuine sincerity.

"No problem!"

Long Ming agreed, somewhat surprised.

’This is the first time I’ve ever encountered such a mild-mannered group. Usually, the players I run into either try to intimidate me with their strength or are mutually wary. It’s rare for anyone to initiate communication and propose peaceful coexistence, especially when they have the upper hand.’

"Good, then it’s settled. We won’t disturb you any further."

After speaking, Oritta led his teammates to the side.

Xiaoqi and the others looked at Long Ming in a daze. They never expected the other party to make a friendly gesture; it was simply unbelievable.

Long Ming didn’t say anything, merely opening the data panel for his Gale to check its performance and equipped weapons.

Mech Type: Third Generation Mechanical God · Gale

Manufacturer: Hecate Interstellar Heavy Industries.

Affiliation: Star Alliance

Technical Parameters.

Internal Environment: Standard Mechanical Core Unit

Dimensions - Full Height: 3.2 meters

Weight: 1.2 tons

Armor Material & Structure: SCW Alloy Armor, Integrated Composite Structure

Paint Scheme: Cyan

Power Plant: NSK-03 Energy Unit (Blue Crystal)

Operating System: Wind God System 1.0

Fixed Equipment: SA-03 Scanning Unit, CWD-03 Energy Barrier Unit, FWC-03 Thruster Wings.

Fixed Armaments: TKC-03 Cannon, Concealed Micro-Missile Launcher.

Optional Weapons: LSE-03 Light Beam Rifle, Alloy Blade.

...

Time ticked by, second by second.

The mechanical pillar on the teleportation platform lit up with a dazzling glow.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, Long Ming and his team vanished into streaks of white light.

When Long Ming opened his eyes again, he found himself on a dilapidated street.

Long Ming looked around. The buildings were all made of metal. Damaged advertising screens flickered with electric sparks all around, and winding, elevated tracks could be seen in the sky.

’Judging from the architectural style, it seems I’ve landed in the world of a mechanical civilization.’

Long Ming immediately tried to contact Xiaoqi and the others on the wireless channel.

"Xiaoqi, can you guys hear me?"

KSSSHHH~

But there was no response from the wireless channel, only the sound of static.

Just then, a yellow notification popped up.

"Notification: Signal interference detected."

Long Ming was a bit surprised by the notification. ’There’s signal interference here?’

However, he didn’t panic. Instead, he activated his scanning device and patiently began to search the area.

’Under normal circumstances, Xiaoqi and the others shouldn’t have landed too far away. After all, we were standing close together on the teleportation platform.’

At that moment, Xiaoqi emerged from a building, clutching a pistol nervously. He looked around and called out in a low voice.

"Long Ming!"

Suddenly, a hand clasped Xiaoqi’s shoulder from behind.

Xiaoqi jumped in fright, spinning around in terror and raising his gun.

"It’s me."

Long Ming said with a smile.

"You scared me to death."

Xiaoqi let out a long sigh of relief when he saw it was Long Ming.

"Have you seen Cloud Fish and the others?"

Long Ming asked with a smile.

"No."

Xiaoqi shook his head.

"Then let’s look around. They should be nearby."

Long Ming had a feeling this city wasn’t very safe, so he didn’t dare use his thruster wings to fly into the air.

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from a street corner not far away.

"Someone’s coming. Is it Cloud Fish and the others?"

Xiaoqi said happily.

"No!"

Listening to the approaching sounds, Long Ming decisively raised his Light Beam Rifle.

At that moment, a Guardian robot emerged. It stood two meters tall with a body of gray steel, a humanoid head with red electronic eyes, and a 12mm caliber firearm embedded in its right mechanical arm.

Long Ming decisively pulled the trigger!

BANG~

The Guardian was instantly taken down with a headshot.

"A robot! We’re gonna be rich."

Xiaoqi exclaimed excitedly.

Normally, killing monsters doesn’t yield much profit, but instances in mechanical civilizations are different. The Guardian robots themselves are worth a lot of money.

"Don’t celebrate too early. Let’s find everyone first!"

Long Ming calmly reminded Xiaoqi.

"Right!"

Xiaoqi nodded quickly.

Long Ming carefully led Xiaoqi forward, continuing their search.

The entire mechanical city was eerily quiet, with only the sound of the cold wind howling.

"Cloud Fish, Tang Ye, Johnny!"

Xiaoqi kept calling out in a low voice.

Meanwhile, Long Ming continuously scanned the surrounding buildings with his scanner.

BEEP BEEP!

Suddenly, a red warning frantically popped up.

"Warning: Energy Crystal at 19% capacity. Please replace it in a timely manner."

Long Ming glanced at the notification and ignored it. ’Under normal circumstances, 19% should be enough to finish an entire instance.’

Just then, Long Ming’s scanner detected two blurry figures moving in a nearby alley.

"There!"

Long Ming immediately ran over with Xiaoqi.

When they reached the alley, they saw Johnny and Tang Ye, guns in hand, searching ahead nervously.

"Where are you two off to?"

Johnny and Tang Ye jumped in fright. Then they realized who it was, turned to Long Ming, and replied joyfully.

"We were looking for you, of course."

"Right. Let’s go find Cloud Fish!"

Long Ming nodded.

"Okay!"

Johnny and Tang Ye replied cheerfully.

Long Ming led the three of them as they searched the area.

「Half an hour later.」

Long Ming’s group had searched all the nearby buildings but found no trace of Cloud Fish.

"That’s weird. Where could Cloud Fish have ended up?"

Xiaoqi and the others asked, puzzled.

"I don’t know. Probably landed somewhere far away."

Long Ming replied, feeling a headache coming on.

"Then what do we do?"

The three of them looked to Long Ming.

"Let’s keep searching for her as we explore."

Long Ming couldn’t think of a better plan.

"Alright!"

The three of them nodded in agreement.

...