031 White Tower LAN
Two minutes later, Shen Qing dispersed the nether energy gathered in his ears.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his serious expression, Song Chi took the initiative to ask.
"There should be people from the Black Mountain Club in the box next to ours. Someone just answered the phone. The other person's voice was too soft, so I couldn't hear clearly, but I caught two sensitive words."
Without needing further prompting from Song Chi, Shen Qing continued.
"Kidnapping, titanium crystal."
Song Chi's pupils shrank sharply. Kidnappings were commonplace, but titanium crystals were another matter entirely.
According to textbooks, titanium crystals are extremely high-end resources for strengthening fireships, far surpassing mercury and mithril. They are crucial for enhancing shipboard components of purple quality and higher, especially beyond level 20.
Rumors suggest that titanium crystals have been classified as strategic resources by the upper echelons of human civilization, coveted by all major factions.
Upon hearing "titanium crystal," Song Chi and Shen Qing knew they were dealing with a serious matter beyond their current capabilities.
Song Chi immediately recalled an incident half a month ago involving the Black Mountain Club at a spicy hotpot restaurant on Minyuan Road, seeking the whereabouts of two Tianyu Mining miners. Connecting these dots was unavoidable.
Regardless of the news's veracity, the elders needed to be informed.
After settling the bill downstairs, they swiftly left the hotel street and headed directly to Xinhuo Station, pushing their kinetic speed to the limit.
In Shen Wenjie's office, upon hearing "titanium crystal," Shen Wenjie and Song Chao reacted similarly to Song Chi and Shen Qing. However, after a detailed briefing by the latter pair, they were swiftly ushered out of the office.
Shen Wenjie and Song Chao would now dedicate all their efforts to verifying the information. Meanwhile, Song Chi and Shen Qing were instructed not to get further involved. They were strictly forbidden from divulging anything they had heard that day.
Despite mentally preparing for this outcome, the two felt uncomfortable. The feeling of being unable to act due to perceived weakness was unbearable.
Shen Qing drove Song Chi back to Dongjiang Community in a patrol car, leaving after giving some instructions.
Back in his bedroom, Song Chi immediately accessed the Heaven's Market and resumed practicing the guidance technique.
The next day, he interrupted his practice again because the Xinhuo network activated the previous day was now accessible.
Knowing that all users on this network were Xinhuo Captains, he awaited eagerly.
Focusing his mind on the Fire Ancestral Aperture, he concentrated on the blazing white Fire Seed. Soon, a small light curtain lit up on his retina.
\[Do you want to link to the Xinhuo Network·Ring Baita LAN?(White Tower LAN)\]
"Sure!"
Confirming his choice, the light curtain on his retina changed, and a slow-paced image began to play.
In the vast galaxy, more than a dozen warships with battered hulls sailed at full speed. Behind them, thousands of gloomy triangular spaceships chased relentlessly, blasting one warship after another with gunfire.
Only when they fortuitously encountered and passed through an unstable wormhole in the starry sky did these warships manage to escape the pursuit of the alien civilization behind them, narrowly avoiding total destruction. At this point, only six warships remained.
The video ended abruptly, lacking a clear beginning or end. Yet, every citizen educated in orthodox Xinhuo teachings would resonate involuntarily upon witnessing this scene. The last six remaining battleships depicted were humanity's founders and the last vestiges of a low-tech civilization nearly obliterated.
Following their passage through the wormhole, the human ancestors aboard these six battleships discovered ruins of an ancient civilization and obtained the original source of firewood from them. Thus began the Firewood Human Civilization, which developed continuously over the years into the present human civilization.
After the image faded, Song Chi remained silent for a long time. Sixteen additional characters then appeared on the light screen.
*The journey across the star sea is long and arduous.*
*The flame of civilization will never be extinguished.*
With this, he was fully logged into a local area network under the Xinhuo Network.
The White Tower Ring LAN was one of many LANs under the Xinhuo Network. As its name suggested, it encompassed the entire White Tower Floating Continent, including its surrounding asteroid and debris belts, as well as all awakened Xinhuo Seeds in the Star Fortresses. It served as the largest hub for information exchange across the Baita Floating Continent.
Additionally, the LAN featured task management and access systems, free trade capabilities, a friend system, and more.
The reason it was limited to the White Tower Floating Continent LAN, rather than the broader human civilization network, was due to Song Chi's current low Fire Seed level. Despite recently upgrading his Fire Seed to white quality, the seed's level remained at lv0, restricting his network access.
Unfazed, Song Chi delved into exploring the unique functions of his account.
As per the Xinhuo Network Awakening Assistant's explanation the previous day, his account possessed special privileges. After some exploration, Song Chi discovered:
1. Unlike regular accounts, which chat under real names, his account could chat anonymously.
2. His account incurred no transaction taxes on Xinhuo Network transactions, unlike others who faced a 5% tax.
3. When publishing or accepting tasks, other accounts needed to pay extra Floating Land Origins for priority, whereas his account did not.
Having grasped the distinctive aspects of his account, Song Chi's curiosity remained unabated as he browsed various LAN chat messages with great interest.
*"Gangwon City {Jianghai}: Seeking team to clear debris belt in northern part of floating land."*
*"Changhe City {Chaotian}: Offering 100 first-order Floating Land Origins for coordinates to 'Blood Capital Star Pirates' lair."*
*"Jiangyuan City {Tianma}: Need 100 strands of first-order origin just to locate 'Blood Capital Star Thieves' lair? What are they dreaming?"*
...
*"Baita City {Changkong}: Nether energy airship missing from Viscount Yellen's Mansion. Handsome reward for relevant clues."*