Game: Civilization Paradise

"What are you doing?"

Oritta watched Long Ming's actions, stunned.

He saw Long Ming remove the nearly depleted blue crystal from his chest, toss it aside, and then install a rare blue crystal in its place.

CLICK~

The power core sealed shut.

The Gale's power instantly surged to maximum.

Long Ming then put away his Metal Blade and took out a Light Saber, activating it.

"This... Don't tell me you're planning to..."

Oritta said in astonishment.

"That's right. I'm taking it down."

With that, Long Ming charged toward the mobile fortress, the Crusher, as fast as the wind.

Launch ports opened up all over the mobile fortress's massive body. All its cannons locked onto Long Ming and opened fire with everything they had!

BANG! BANG!

Countless shells and rockets rained down on Long Ming like a storm.

Long Ming's nerves were stretched to their absolute limit as he piloted the Gale, evading the attacks at high speed while simultaneously turning his Shoulder Cannon to fire a shot back.

BOOM~

Several rockets were blown out of the sky.

Long Ming accelerated through the explosion, making a beeline for one of the mobile fortress's mechanical legs. He viciously swung the Light Blade in his hand and slashed.

CRACK!

A joint on one of the mobile fortress's mechanical legs was instantly severed, and its massive body immediately tilted to the left.

This type of mobile fortress packed a heavy punch, but its weakness was just as obvious: it couldn't be allowed to get into close quarters.

The mobile fortress, the Crusher, sensed the danger and immediately activated its hidden weapons on its underside.

CLICK~

Circular point-defense cannons extended one after another, firing furiously at Long Ming.

BANG! BANG!

Long Ming knew it was trying to force him back, but if he retreated, he would have to face its terrifying barrage of firepower.

'At that thought, his eyes hardened.' He dodged at high speed and charged toward the joint of another mechanical leg.

BOOM~

Long Ming's Energy Barrier was hit, but he didn't stop. Instead, he accelerated and charged forward, putting all his strength into another slash.

CRACK!

In an instant, another joint on the mobile fortress Crusher's leg was severed.

Its massive body instantly lost its balance and tilted to the left.

BOOM~

The entire mobile fortress crashed heavily to the ground, losing its ability to move.

"Beautiful!"

Oritta climbed to his feet and couldn't help but praise the sight.

RUMBLE~

Just then, the sound of an explosion rang out.

Long Ming and Oritta turned to look and saw Sang Rui being sent flying by a blast.

He scrambled up from the ground, looking disheveled, and shouted anxiously to Long Ming and Oritta.

"Boss, we have to fall back! More and more enemy reinforcements are arriving."

Long Ming and Oritta looked around and saw large numbers of mechanical samurai and guardians rushing over.

The expressions on both their faces changed drastically.

"Fall back!"

Long Ming immediately turned, grabbed Oritta, and flew off.

Seeing this, Sang Rui also turned and fled.

...

「The extraction point in Sisco Town.」

Xiaoqi, Cloud Fish, and the others stared anxiously into the distance.

"It's been so long. Why aren't Long Ming and the others here yet?!"

"You don't think something happened, do you?"

...

"Don't worry. With Big Brother Oritta there, even if they can't win, they can still escape. Let's just wait a little longer!"

Kula said calmly.

"Alright."

Xiaoqi and the others replied, suppressing the unease in their hearts.

Just then, three figures approached from the distance at extreme speed.

"Look, they're here!"

Johnny shouted with delight upon seeing them.

"That's great."

Kula and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon, the trio accelerated and landed on the platform.

"Boss, you're finally back."

Kula said happily.

"Let's go, pursuers are coming."

Oritta urged anxiously.

Only then did Xiaoqi and the others notice a massive swarm of drones in the distance, blackening the sky as it approached.

Terrified, they raised their wristbands and pressed the extraction button.

BZZZZ~

The entire extraction platform lit up, and Long Ming and everyone on it began to float.

"Hurry!"

"Hurry, get us out of here!"

...

Everyone's hearts were in their throats as they prayed anxiously.

At that moment, countless drones descended and crashed directly onto the extraction platform.

RUUUUUMBLE~

A massive explosion swept through the area.

...

「Starry City.」

Streaks of white light descended.

Long Ming and the others appeared one by one in Starry City.

"Haha, we made it out!"

Xiaoqi and the others hugged each other joyfully.

Phew~

Oritta and his group also breathed a sigh of relief.

The tense expression on Long Ming's face finally relaxed. 'I was just planning to take Xiaoqi and the others on a casual dungeon run. I never expected it to be this difficult.'

'I really have Oritta's group to thank this time.'

"Mr. Long Ming, we really owe you for this dungeon run."

Oritta said to Long Ming with a smile.

"Don't say that. It was a pleasure working together. Without you guys, we would've been in deep trouble too."

Long Ming replied with a laugh.

"Alright, I'll skip the pleasantries then. It was great fighting alongside you. Would it be alright if I added you as a friend?"

Oritta asked Long Ming.

"No problem."

Long Ming nodded in agreement.

Oritta then sent Long Ming a friend request.

Long Ming clicked accept.

BZZT~

Oritta's wristband vibrated.

He glanced down at the notification that popped up, then said to Long Ming.

"Mr. Long Ming, we have some other business to attend to, so we'll take our leave. Let's meet up again later!"

"Okay, take care."

Long Ming replied with a smile.

Oritta then left with Sang Rui and the others.

At this point, Xiaoqi and the others all turned to Long Ming.

"Long Ming, we looted a lot of stuff. Should we transfer it to you?"

"No need. I was just taking you guys on a run this time. Whatever you found is yours. I got some good stuff myself, too."

Long Ming said with a smile.

"Really?!"

Hearing Long Ming's words, Xiaoqi and the others were overjoyed.

"Of course it's real. Go on, sort through your loot."

Long Ming said cheerfully.

"Okay!"

Xiaoqi and the others began to sort through their backpacks.

Just then, Cloud Fish and the others took out pink pearls one by one, their faces filled with shock.

"Huh? Why do I have a red-grade item in my bag?"

"I have one too."

"Holy crap, I've got one in my bag too."

"What's going on?"

"Long Ming, did you slip this to us?"

Xiaoqi looked at Long Ming doubtfully and asked.

"How could that be? I have a red-grade item in my bag too. It's probably a reward for a safe extraction."

Long Ming smiled, took out a pink pearl, and waved it around.

"You can get rewards just for extracting safely?"

Xiaoqi and the others replied, bewildered.

"Why get so hung up on it? You got an extra red-grade item, it's not like you lost anything!"

Long Ming reached out and patted Xiaoqi on the shoulder.

"That's true!"

Xiaoqi and the others replied happily.

"Alright, I'm logging off to rest."

Without waiting for Xiaoqi and the others to reply, Long Ming raised his wristband and logged out of Starry City.

Johnny watched Long Ming log off and asked in confusion.

"Why was Long Ming in such a hurry to log off?"

"He didn't want us to figure out the truth about the red-grade items."

Just then, the smile on Xiaoqi's face gradually faded as they spoke calmly to Johnny and the others.

"Huh? Weren't the red-grade items a reward?"

"We didn't complete any quests, so where would the reward come from?"

"Ah! Then doesn't that mean Long Ming was the one who slipped us these red-grade items?"

Cloud Fish and the others instantly realized.

"Yes."

"Then what should we do? Give them back to Long Ming?"

"Let's keep them. We really are short on money right now. Besides, Long Ming doesn't want to bring it up, so we should just pretend we don't know."

Xiaoqi instructed Cloud Fish and the others.

"Okay."

Cloud Fish and the others all nodded in agreement.

「Inside a room at the Star Wish Cafe.」

HISS~

With a hiss of air, the lid of the game pod opened.

Long Ming climbed out of the game pod and let out a long breath. 'Good thing Xiaoqi and the others didn't catch on. If they'd said a few more words, I would've been exposed.'

He walked over to his desk, sat down, and opened the Civilization Forum. He began searching for the value of each item from his safe, trying to decide whether it was better to sell them on the marketplace or to just recycle them through the system interface.

Two hours later, Long Ming had dealt with all the items, earning a total of 13.21 million Star Coins.

A smile touched his face as he looked at his earnings. This total didn't even include the Light Saber and the Level 4 civilization invitation letter.

Although he would have to spend a chunk of money to repair his Mechanical God later, this mission was profitable overall.

In high spirits, Long Ming stood up and walked toward his small bed.

...