After Christmas, the whole gaming world was shaken by the release of Mecha Infantry. The massive game map, the ultra-HD graphics, the rich content, and the realistic effects made players feel like they were stepping into another world. This wasn't some cheap knockoff of a virtual game. This was a panoramic virtual game—way beyond the usual VR titles.
No lag. No stuttering. The smooth experience had players all giving it top marks.
And the gameplay itself made everyone go wild. Humanity's war with the Zerg, a complex weapons system, countless missions. Players started as privates, completing missions to earn weapons and achievements. Sure, you couldn't pilot the KT-01 mecha yet, but the mix of melee and ranged weapons was more than enough to keep players thrilled.
The Zerg mobs were no joke either. Normally it took 5 human soldiers to bring down a single Zerg grunt. Most private-level missions just involved clearing out stray bugs around camp, but even that was tough work.
Among all the reviews, a thread titled The Third Race: Protoss blew up. People weren't sure if it was fake, but the poster was dead serious. And since everyone really had seen a huge meteor shower at the time, it made some sense. The poster claimed that in Mine Zone A, during a major battle where the human defense line was crushed by the Zerg under the Blade Queen, it was the Protoss who showed up and scared the Zerg off.
Most didn't believe it, but the post's timestamp made things tricky. The mine quest only unlocked after the thread was posted. And when players headed there, they really did see signs of a big battle. Whether the Protoss were real, though—there was no evidence. That's why doubts remained.
Still, the thread hinted at just a sliver of this vast game world. The full worldbuilding hadn't even been revealed yet. Players didn't know the human army they belonged to was actually descended from Earth's exiles. They didn't know that behind both Protoss and Zerg was a vanished civilization.
Everything had only just begun. The grand lore of the game was waiting for players to uncover.
Zhou Tong didn't like being doubted. He wanted proof of what he saw. But the game had no recording function. To film anything, you needed a camera. And to get one, you had to take on one of 2 quests: either become a war correspondent, or upgrade to a frontline combat recorder.
Zhou Tong had read the first player's detailed guide on getting a camera. It was basically a class change. When a private ranked up to first-class, they could choose new roles. But war correspondent was unique—you could pick it even as a private. The catch was losing all chances to earn military merits. That meant no shot at ever becoming a mecha infantryman.
Most players wanted to look cool in mecha suits, but Zhou Tong made his choice. He'd be a war correspondent. Next time he ran into the Protoss, he'd record it.
While players dove into adventures, Liu A'dou's bank balance kept rising. This was the first real income of the year.
To build a spaceship, Liu A'dou had already cut corners as much as possible. For expensive materials and equipment, he even sneaked into the Justice League's space station and used Batman's stuff. Basically, he stole a few hundred million dollars' worth of Bruce's materials and used his fancy fabrication tech.
But Bruce clearly didn't care. He wasn't hurting for cash.
The spaceship's frame was already complete. This time, Liu A'dou was testing the short-distance jump engine. It could travel within a star system in very little time.
Ben and Kailan's future would be in space, so only this kind of ship would do. Its power source was nuclear. For such a high-consumption craft, nuclear fuel could barely keep it running.
"Faster than we planned." This was the most advanced piece of tech Liu A'dou had ever built. Unlike his usual gadgets, this was a real spaceship, its complexity far beyond imagination. Just the design files filled countless hard drives—over 3,000 blueprints.
Turning the blueprints into reality was tough work. Just the fuel costs from running back and forth to buy materials ran into hundreds of thousands. In the end, Liu A'dou simply used the Justice League satellite's teleport system, which saved a lot of time.
"Give it another month, and I think the ship will be fully assembled. I'm so excited. I never thought I'd get to be part of something this great. This spaceship is absolutely going to be a legend." Neo had written all the programs and even helped with the design.
For Ben and Kailan, the feeling went deeper. This ship would be the start of their fight to save their homeland, their only hope against the Chitauri invasion.
"Have you two thought of a name?"
"We want to name it after you, Master. Is that okay?" Kailan asked.
Uh—Liu A'dou felt flattered but awkward. "Better come up with another name. Using my name would just be embarrassing."
"Then how about calling it 'Moonlight'?" Kailan said. "Master, you're the magician under the moonlight. So we'll call it the Moonlight."
"A beautiful name." Liu A'dou had no objections. Since the ship was for his disciples anyway, naming it was their choice. "It sounds great, and it fits you elves well."
Kailan beamed with joy, thrilled to have her master's praise.
"Then let's work hard and finish the Moonlight. I can't wait to see her sail through space," Neo said. "All our simulations in Ruyi Heaven matched perfectly with the data. The next step is a real test. The moment the Moonlight shines is almost here."
"Then let's give it everything we've got," Liu A'dou encouraged.
A streak of red wind whooshed into the base—it was Kara, now officially keeping order as Supergirl. Once she put on her uniform and used her powers, even Superman had no reason to object, as long as her identity stayed hidden.
Kara admired Liu A'dou's cleverness. She also knew life at the Antarctic base was boring, so she often brought them takeout, paid for with Clark's money.
"I've got good news for you all—I found a job." That idea had been Liu A'dou's. He told Kara that if she wanted to be independent, she had to be financially independent first.
But for a girl without a diploma, finding a decent job in Metropolis wasn't easy. After searching for a month, Kara finally landed one.
"What job did you get?" Liu A'dou asked curiously.
"I'm a fitness club instructor now."
Uh—a fitness coach? Liu A'dou could already picture Kara playing with human gym equipment like toys and casually beating all the muscle-bound men. Most likely the gym just wanted her as a walking advertisement. Kara didn't know a thing about real fitness training. She only had raw strength—she didn't know how to train, let alone teach others.
Still, it was a job, worth celebrating, and the pay wasn't bad either.
"Now I won't ever have to put up with Kal's attitude again. Next step, I'm planning to rent my own place. I've already asked Miss Lois to keep an eye out for me," Kara said.
"Looks like you're adjusting fast."
"Of course," Kara replied proudly. She already understood the rule of Earth—if you had money, you were set. Simple.