Inside the underground cave, Caoyuan stared intently ahead and gestured to Ye Xing, who was not far away.
Three, two, one!
Bang!
Three seconds later, the two people in ambush simultaneously pulled their triggers. Two powerful 12.7mm rifle rounds accurately hit the joints of the Mechanical Desert Spider's two front legs.
This directly damaged the electric drive walking mechanism. The hit Mechanical Desert Spider lost its balance and crashed to the ground with a groan.
Bang bang bang!
After a few more shots, its two hind legs were also disabled.
Seeing that the enemy was basically no longer a threat and could only struggle in place, Caoyuan and Ye Xing walked out from behind the rocks and aimed at the center of the four camera eyes at close range.
According to the previous scan results, that was the location of the central processor.
After the final gunshot, the Mechanical Desert Spider was completely offline and motionless.
For enemies lacking long-range attack capabilities like this, as long as the weapons in hand are powerful enough, two high-level players working together have plenty of ways to leave its body intact.
This hunt was quite successful. The scan results showed that aside from the two electric joints and the central processor, the rest of the prey was in good condition.
As the Executive Officer had expected, rare gas elements were indeed detected inside its body!
This was the third Mechanical Desert Spider the two had killed. It was deliberately lured near the cave entrance and then killed while keeping its body intact so it could be towed out by vehicle after being tied with ropes.
Outside, the sun had long set.
Li Star has one large and one small moon. Due to intense sunlight, the larger one is brighter than the moon on Earth.
The vehicle was filled with methane tanks and scattered parts from the first two Mechanical Desert Spiders. Caoyuan and Ye Xing struggled with all their might and finally managed to tie the third one, weighing over 400 catties (approx. 440 lbs), to the back of the vehicle.
Done, let's go home!
Just then, a map of the nearby area suddenly appeared in the upper left corner of their tactical helmets, a chat box popped up in the lower right corner, and a holographic 3D avatar of Jubian was projected in the upper right corner.
"I have good news for everyone. Our communication system has been repaired, the new antenna is up, and the combat suits are now networked. All functions are unlocked, with a maximum network range of 30 kilometers!"
Jubian said via remote communication.
"Can I stream now?"
Ye Xing's spirits lifted completely.
"Yes, but I need to log into your account from home, so you'll have to give me the password."
"Okay! Just wait a moment. Only connect when I tell you to."
"Alright."
Ye Xing quickly recited it seven times in his mind and temporarily went offline.
He rushed to the computer and changed the status of all his social accounts to "Will be live streaming the Xing Hai game in 10 minutes, go to the live stream room now! (Link)"
No rush, let's build up some popularity first!
Ten minutes later, Caoyuan was driving the vehicle back on the return journey, and Jubian helped Ye Xing connect the live stream signal.
By then, tens of thousands of people had gathered in the live stream room, many of whom were not Ye Xing's fans, but they had all seen the popular video from this afternoon.
"Hey everyone!" Ye Xing waved his hand in front of the camera built into his helmet. "What you are seeing now is the actual gameplay scene of Xing Hai."
"Caoyuan and I just came out of the cave dungeon. We had a fruitful day today. We obtained a relatively complete Mechanical Desert Spider body for the first time. The rare gases inside can be used to make player hibernation pods."
"What does this mean? It means you, watching on screen, also have the possibility of becoming our teammate, becoming a member of the closed beta!"
The camera had built-in night vision fill light, so the audience could see the surrounding scenery clearly.
"Wow~ Is this really a game? Can I play it on my phone?"
"No... Brother, this is clearly a live stream from reality. Which Desert are you in, Qaidam or Taklamakan?"
"Maybe Turpan."
Ye Xing smiled and looked up at the sky.
"Alright, alright, you tell me, where on Earth can you see one large and one small moon?"
"Ah, this..."
"Mirage!"
"One of the moons is Photoshopped!"
"Okay..." Ye Xing raised his gun and fired more than ten shots into the sky. "Can you play with guns like this in reality?"
"That means they're abroad! The Great Nevada Desert!"
Oh my god, I'm really impressed...
Just as the vehicle returned to the camp, Ye Xing stopped talking nonsense and displayed the aerospace plane, small solar power station, 3D printer, and other things that had appeared in the previous video, one by one.
The voices of doubt rapidly decreased.
The shock rapidly increased.
More and more viewers realized that this game seemed to really exist.
The previous video was not a real-life promotional video at all; it was a genuine live gameplay demonstration!
But the "common sense" in their brains was frantically preventing them from thinking that way.
Where is there a game with such realistic graphics and such natural movements?! How expensive of a graphics card would it need to run smoothly without lagging? A GTX 9090?
Lu Yuan had also woken up and was pleased to see that the three young players had already completed the tasks he had assigned ahead of time.
New combat suits were in production. Jubian had modified the original design, and now there was an additional 3.5-inch small touchscreen on the left wrist area that could be used to browse the map, change tactical helmet settings, or send and receive messages.
This was done considering that most players are more used to touchscreen operation than the current full voice control.
In addition, there was an extra layer on the chest of the combat suit. Players with surplus strength could choose to install a bulletproof plate to further increase frontal defense.
"We have gathered enough materials for two hibernation pods," Jubian stepped forward and reported to Lu Yuan. "However, the hibernation pod is the most power-consuming equipment to produce so far, with a single unit production time of 12 hours and consuming 60 kWh of electricity."
"I understand."
Lu Yuan nodded.
"Next, focus on producing more solar panels and methane generators, striving to increase the daily surplus power generation from 43 kWh to over 100 kWh."
"Understood!"
"Also, what is the reserve level of the gas tanks?"
"Reporting, Executive Officer," Caoyuan stepped forward and saluted. "There are currently five tanks, totaling approximately 89 kilograms of high-pressure liquid methane. An average of one tank can be obtained every 60 to 90 minutes in the cave dungeon."
"This methane can be converted into gasoline using the 3D printer for use in the captured all-terrain vehicle. Since the energy density of methane is slightly higher than gasoline, the conversion power consumption is relatively low, with a cost of only 1 kWh per liter of gasoline."
"Then there's the food supply issue, which has been completely resolved. Desert Spiders are more common in the underground cave than on the surface, and we can hunt quite a few along the way. Vitamin tablets can be synthesized using the 3D printer, so you don't have to worry about scurvy or night blindness even if you only eat this."
Desert Spiders are quite large animals, yet they are so common?
Lu Yuan felt a hint of confusion.
Players might think these small monsters spawn out of thin air, but he knew very well that they were part of the natural food chain.
How could this barren Desert support so many animals? Could there be undiscovered secrets underground?
"Very good." Lu Yuan thought for a moment. "We have initially overcome the difficulties we faced after the forced landing. Everyone, come to the cockpit, and we'll discuss the next course of action."
Inside the cockpit, Lu Yuan lit up the map table, which displayed a holographic terrain map of a 10-kilometer radius.
He looked at Caoyuan.
"How far do you think the previous Raiders' camp was?"
Caoyuan thought carefully for a while.
"Planning an attack takes a considerable amount of time. Ammunition and equipment need to be prepared, and personnel also need to rest well in advance. No matter how arrogant the Raiders are, it's unlikely they would travel and fight all night."
"Considering that the enemy launched an attack within 12 hours after their probing, the location of their camp is likely closer than we imagined."
"Hmm, I completely agree with you." Lu Yuan nodded. "Then can we pinpoint their camp in reverse?"
Caoyuan: "To save fuel, vehicles in the Desert try to avoid climbing slopes and move in a zigzag pattern between sand dunes. In this case, the vehicle tracks left behind are relatively less likely to be blown away by the wind. I am confident I can identify them and pinpoint their location in reverse!"
"Good!"
Hearing this, Lu Yuan had a rough idea in his mind.
"It's 7:30 PM now. I want to add a priority item to the 3D printer's production queue: a relay antenna to be installed on the vehicle to expand the drone's operating range."
"In addition, make two sniper rifle suppressors and some high-performance adhesive. They might be useful later."
"Get the vehicle ready, and charge the drone quickly. Take it and depart before ten o'clock."
"Jubian will stay and guard the base, and also be responsible for operating the drone to act as an aerial scout, striving to find the enemy camp before sunrise."
"Bring your weapons. If conditions are suitable, take advantage of the cover of night and seize it by force!"
"Understood!"
The viewers in Ye Xing's live stream room were completely stunned.
"Is this really in a game? The atmosphere is too good! Everyone is so professional!"
"I really want to be a part of it..."
"Where can I apply for the closed beta of this game! Very urgent! It's really urgent!"
"I can't wait anymore!"
"Where is the official website anyway? Does everyone not know..."
Compared to the main antenna, the relay antenna had a simpler structure and was ready before nine o'clock. Jubian installed it on the all-terrain vehicle, powered by an independent battery.
At exactly nine o'clock, Caoyuan and Ye Xing drove off, heading west.
Locating the Raiders' camp went more smoothly than expected. Some of the tracks they left when they arrived had been blown away by the night wind, but the remaining shallow marks were still identified by Caoyuan.
He taught the identification method to Ye Xing, after which the more sharp-sighted Ye Xing was responsible for searching.
At 10:40 PM, a dark red rock mountain appeared on the horizon.
Caoyuan activated the magnification function on his tactical helmet, observed for a while, then patted Ye Xing's shoulder.
"The Raiders' camp must be over there."
"Why are you so sure?" Ye Xing humbly asked for guidance.
Although he didn't know what Caoyuan's job was, he knew this older brother was truly capable.
"Look closely, those are actually three flat-topped stone mountains very close to each other, enclosing a space beneath a cliff in the middle. With a little modification, it can form a stronghold that is easy to defend and hard to attack."
Ye Xing looked closely and found that it was indeed as the other person said.
There was a gap between the stone mountains, and inside was a larger space, maybe even Petra.
With Petra, farming in the Desert yields 1,800 catties per mu!
Ye Xing shook his head, forcefully dispelling memories from the Civilization series, and calmed himself down.
Without further ado, the two immediately turned on the relay antenna, released the drone, and had Jubian control it to scout ahead.
Afterward, they changed into the captured Raiders' robes, disguised themselves, and waited for the next order.