A Guardian as chaotically evil as the Mushroom Empress was one of a kind.
Aside from the Mushroom Empress, in the entire Eternal Mineshaft, who would dare to stir up trouble on Lega Weilin’s turf? To do so would be rebellion, wouldn’t it?
But still…
Shi Luo had ordered her to apologize, yet Mushroom could look her in the eye and laughingly declare she’d kill the Time Devourer. This showed the sheer depth of the depravity in her heart.
Anyone else, and their very soul would have been reduced to ashes in Shi Luo’s palm. Only the immortal and indestructible Mushroom could somewhat withstand the ravages of the Time Devourer.
“You dare!”
Weilin glared at Mushroom.
An angry Weilin proved to be even more effective than Shi Luo’s threats. Mushroom fell silent for a moment and lowered her head, even the cluster of Fungus Mushrooms on her hair drooping listlessly.
“Master-chin… uwu… did I make Master-chin angry…?”
“Yes! With the 29 Little Masters gone, the Eternal Mineshaft can only rely on me and you all now. Internal strife is absolutely forbidden, do you hear me!”
“I… I already know I was wrong… Master-chin, please don’t be angry anymore… okay…?”
Mushroom was extremely fickle. At that moment, she was sniffling, looking as if she were about to cry, her glistening eyes seeming ready to spill diamond-like tears.
Her fear of Weilin being angry was real. But her acknowledging her mistake? That would never be possible.
“Fine, I forgive you.” After all these years together, Weilin knew everyone’s temperament inside out. How could she bear to stay truly angry? “…Now I’m going to inspect the first and second floors. Want to come along?”
“The Master rarely returns home. Wherever you wish to go, please allow me to accompany you.”
“Me too!” Mushroom, who had just been on the verge of tears, instantly broke into a cheerful grin and chirped happily.
“Then let’s go together. Coincidentally, I want to gather everyone today. I have an important matter to announce.”
“…An important matter?” Little Shi and Mushroom exchanged a glance.
It was the first time they had seen their Master with such a grave expression. Still… the disappearance of the 29 Little Masters was indeed a monumental event.
“I’ll explain later.” Weilin turned around first. “Let’s head to the Aether Gate first.”
?
On the second floor of the Eternal Mineshaft, there was an ‘Aether Gate’.
It was part of a world event called 【Aether】, an “alien civilization invasion” introduced by the game developers in the 9th year of《Divine Crystal》’s operation. By that time, the vast majority of players were already tired of the prolonged war of attrition between The Empire and The Federation.
…Just like the first world event, 【Illusory Snow Heart Seal】, it was a nightmare-class event requiring The Empire and The Federation to join forces.
The brutality of that battle could not be overstated—the heavens went dark, the sun and moon lost their light, clouds shattered, and the sky itself fractured…
But right at the end of the event, in a scramble for the sole World Item, The Empire’s number one guild and The Federation’s number one guild, both harboring the same treacherous ambitions, simultaneously turned on their allies, each hoping to backstab the other. What followed was a full-blown, undisguised free-for-all brawl…
Logically speaking, during the 【Aether】 world event, the Eternal Mine Guild happened to be suffering from low combat readiness due to guild members being on vacation. Therefore, from the beginning to almost the very end, they hadn’t participated in the fighting at all…
Later, upon hearing with astonishment how joyfully The Empire and The Federation were fighting like dogs over a bone, Weilin recalled the story of Kong Rong and the pears. If she didn’t accept the prize now, wouldn’t it seem like sheer pretension?
The next day, the 【Aether Gate】 was relocated to the Eternal Mineshaft’s second floor.
————————————
The World consisted of the Five Great Elements: Wind, Water, Earth, Fire, and Void.
Yet the composition of “Aether” contained none of them.
Remember that day when Weilin went to the edge of the Island of Illusory Snow and Flowing Ice, looked up at the primordial Chaos beyond the World Barrier, and received a hint about “touching the truth of the World”?
According to official lore, “Aether” was an ‘energy body’ derived from that very Chaos existing beyond the World Barrier. It was also a civilization…
The geographical environment of the second floor was almost identical to the third—equally an infinitely vast, dark, and gloomy subterranean expanse, also roaming with various indescribable earth-core creatures…
But what was most abundant here were the numerous, hovering ‘Aether Technology’ devices.
For instance, the ‘Exploder’ calmly drifting past right before Weilin’s eyes. Its hemispherical bone-like shell contained a slowly swirling core of destructive fire energy. The Exploder was cheap to produce, but the explosion it triggered was no less powerful than a 6th-Tier Scarlet Dragon Crystal…
Used for industrial blasting in daily mining operations.
And this bizarre-looking ‘Recoiler’. Despite its small size, when launched into rock strata, its excavation power rivaled that of a small, freely mobile tunnel-boring machine.
Used for industrial excavation in daily mining.
And this ‘Spiker’, produced in smaller quantities.
It was said to have formidable “damage reflection” properties, but every time it was used against Underground Demonic Beasts, it was always the first to get smashed to bits… So far, no one had figured out what the hell it was good for.
(From left to right: Recoiler, Spiker, Exploder)
Not only that, but there were also self-driving Mine Carts, Cranes, Crushers, Patrollers…
The biggest among them was probably the Mine Cart, resembling a Red Alert ore collector, though considerably smaller—about the size of a van. The other Aether Technology units were also on the smaller side.
All the Exploders, Recoilers, Mine Carts, Patrollers, and so on, packed the second floor of the mine as densely as ants in a colony.
And every single machine moved methodically in the same direction
—towards the entrance leading to the first floor.
Now, Weilin stood before a circular 【Aether Gate】, which radiated a futuristic, sci-fi aesthetic.
Compared to the towering, celestial-gate-like Time Temple, the 【Aether Gate】 was much more compact. This circular gate, six meters in diameter, stood at the center of the research institute—neither too small to notice nor too large to feel overwhelming.
All Aether Technology was produced from this 【Aether Gate】, which was classified as a 10th-Tier ‘World Item’.
When they acquired the Aether Gate, it even came with two super-powered escorts.
A roughly three-meter-long modular spear with a striking sci-fi design, the 【Aether Spear, Lv. 90】.
And a modular shield matching the spear in both aesthetic and scale, the 【Aether Shield, Lv. 90】.
“Chief Executive IP: Lega Weilin… Login Failed…”
“Re-verifying identity information… IP: Lega Weilin… Login Successful. Chief Executive IP access rights have been transferred and bound to ‘Lega Weilin’.”
“—Report to the Executor: All Aether Gate functions are operating normally.”
The Aether Spear emitted a pleasant, feminine electronic voice.
The Aether Shield responded in a steady, masculine electronic tone: “Report to the Executor: You have met the requirements to unlock the ‘Advanced Technology’ production permissions for the Aether Gate. Please manually select to activate permissions.”
“…We can unlock ‘Advanced Technology’ now?!”
Weilin was taken aback.
Even the composed Shi Luo and the disdainful Mushroom Empress couldn’t help but show a slight change in expression.
Because from the day they obtained this Aether Gate a year ago, the Eternal Mineshaft had only been able to produce General Technology. While it had exponentially increased mining efficiency, it still felt completely unworthy of its title as a ‘World-Class Item’.
The entire guild had racked their brains but couldn’t figure out how to unlock the next tier’s permissions. Finally, they demanded an explanation from the game’s support, and the official reply was: “Those features you mentioned? Our Code Monkey ran away before they could be developed… Well, anyway, the game’s about to die soon, so can you guys just make do or something?”
Upon hearing this news that day, the expression of every single guild member was basically: ???
Now, it seemed… Could it be that in this alternate world after crossing over, the missing game content was actually being auto-completed and supplemented?
That was highly probable!
Weilin’s heart raced with excitement. She immediately brought up the Aether Gate’s panel to check.
【Aether Energy】: 233,332,223
A special “currency” required for producing Aether Technology, converted from Gold Coins at a 100:1 ratio, with a daily exchange limit of 1,000,000.
【Aether Gate】 Production Permissions:
《General Technology》: Can produce Exploders, Spikers, Recoilers, Patrollers, Cranes, Crushers, Transporters, Cookers, Repeaters…
《Advanced Technology》: Can be unlocked.
《Apocalypse Technology》: ?
《Era Decline Technology》: ?
————————————
“Mm… No rush to unlock it yet. Let’s savor the anticipation for a bit.”
On the surface, Weilin appeared calm and composed, even in the mood to order a Repeater.
‘Consume 10 Aether Energy to produce a “Repeater”?’
“Yes!”
The transparent, watery veil of the void on the Aether Gate’s surface rippled, and an old-fashioned Repeater flew out.
Weilin caught it steadily, then activated the repeat switch.
…So, what should she say?
“Launching today, begging for first-time subscriptions, uwuwu!”
