Han Mingxiao handed a wooden garnet pendant to Jiao Ma.
The girl took it in surprise, never expecting such an extraordinary encounter tonight. It eased some of the grievances she had suffered today, bringing a bit of comfort to her lonely night.
–Is this your personal item?-
The girl’s sparkling eyes fixed on the man of unique temperament. She thought that if her father hadn’t left, he would be about the same age.
–It’s called a Dream Synchronization Device, which allows me to enter your dreams or the same psychic field. Now, does that still please you?-
–This?- Jiao Ma felt a sudden tension.
This thing—if one wasn’t careful—could let others peer into her sea of consciousness.
–Sorry, I can’t take it. It’s too dangerous.-
Jiao Ma was blunt, with no intention of deceiving him at all. But she also thought that the gentleman before her was being quite honest.
–Then I’ll give you the other one too.-
Han Mingxiao handed her the second pendant as well.
–Now you have a complete set. Later, you can give it to the other half you cherish, so that you can meet them lucidly in dreams and psychic fields. At the same time, you can perform ultra-long-distance Syn-Link within the same world.-
Having said that, without waiting for Jiao Ma to refuse, Han Mingxiao smiled, turned around, left the bookshelf, and walked away into the distance.
Jiao Ma wanted to speak but feared breaking the silence of the library. She lowered her head silently, staring at the two –wood-grain- pendants in her hands—one slightly darker, the other slightly lighter—her heart pounding.
The first person who came to mind was Yang Zicang.
–Although I won’t give it to you,- Jiao Ma thought to herself, then let out a soft chuckle. –But I actually accepted it just like that, and I’m even thinking about such things.-
In the small room, the man opened his eyes and first looked at his chest—the pendant hanging around his neck was gone.
He slightly lifted his robe, reached into the inner pocket of his clothes, and pulled out a handful of wood-grain pendants of varying shades. He picked one and slipped it over his neck, then closed the data book in his hand and replaced it with a thinner one, flipping it open casually.
—The Red Rabbit Kingdom was merely the derogatory name other nations used for the Soman Republic. Because their kings, Sorus III and IV, were both obsessed with red-haired women sporting rabbit ears.
—This even sparked an aristocratic trend that lasted over two hundred years during the Woodtide Era: taking rabbit-eared women as concubines to assert one’s status, with the longer the ears, the more popular.
A crease of light shot in.
{Sir, the person you were previously interested in—the one who could resonate with high-frequency telekinetic fields—has entered this area.}
[Oh? How did he end up with you?]
{A team leader from the First Purification Department invited him to join his team, and today he chose the cleaning task for this zone.}
[Hah, it seems fate also wants me to figure out what level of thing was stuffed into that psychic field. Put on the mental synchronization devices.]
{Yes.}
After saying this, Han Mingxiao stood up, tossed the book aside, and took three steps in two to the door. He glanced outside, then immediately shut the door.
……
Rumble.
In the dim light, shattered rocks rolled down from the slope like a tide.
Even with trajectory coordination, the long slope and the sheer number of massive boulders, their momentum built up, left the three overwhelmed.
Yang Zicang coordinated their movement trajectories, swiftly weaving through the rocks.
–I feel like our speed has doubled. Yang Zicang, is this your ability?-
–That’s right.-
–Wow, any team with you on it would have a seriously stronger main force. And with your combat prowess, if we enter the elite group together, we’ll definitely level up fast. Maybe we could even become team leaders and command our own squads someday!-
Below a bare slope beyond the big city, three figures darted among the rubble, gradually getting used to the rhythm of dodging.
Light-footed Joan sidled up to Yang Zicang with a gossipy curiosity: –Hey, which group were you in before? What’s your team leader’s name?-
–Jiao Ma.-
Joan reacted for a moment and immediately remembered who it was. –Oh, her. I know that little Jiao Ma. She came in very young, about twelve or thirteen years ago, I hear. Her father brought her in. Her father has already been on the path of fate for several years.-
–It’s Group Leader Jiao Ma.- Wang Dingshan was a little surprised. –You actually got into her group?-
Bang! Yang Zicang almost hit a stone.
–Is there something special about being in her group?-
He thought to himself, Jiao Ma is not that old but already a group leader. I don’t know whether to call her lucky or pitiable. She hasn’t seen the outside world for so many years. I’m afraid Earth’s memory is like a legend from another world to her.
Wang Dingshan chuckled. –Her group is all middle-aged people with super good tempers. Suddenly stuffing in a young guy with strong strength and a handsome face—it’s very suspicious.-
Yang Zicang was stunned.
Just as he was about to say something, a beam of light shot over, and a holographic image of Yu Yusheng appeared before the three of them.
{There really are a lot of those monsters on your side. I’ve been walking for nearly half a day to the place shrouded in deadly fog, yet I haven’t seen a trace of ‘Excellent Comment 50’. That means I’m going the wrong way.}
–Wow, you little sneak, spying on where we are?- Wang Dingshan exclaimed.
{Originally there was only a one-third chance, but with so many troublesome monsters on your side, there’s now an eighty percent chance it’s the direction of the ‘Earthbound Spirit’ of City 11. Wait for me.}
The image disappeared.
–Come on, Yang Zicang, don’t wait for him! Let’s hurry up and take a look—if we destroy that thing one step sooner, we win!-
Amid the flickering Grav-Arc, the spear moved like a phantom, shredding the monsters perched atop the slope into fragments.
{Yang Zicang gains 48 points, total 132 points.}
{Joan 20 points, total 66 points; Wang Ding Shan 18 points, total 74 points.}
Sounds like a lot, but unfortunately, this is just the contribution score for a single task.
–Damn it, Wang Ding Shan, next time turn off that crappy force field of yours—blocking dust and explosion sounds counts as points? That’s just lazy score-farming.-
–I’m not arguing with you. I’ll definitely be the second to enter the elite squad.-
–Ah, I’m going to kick you to death.-
Climbing to the top of the rocky slope, there were many twisted slime monsters half-buried in the soil ahead, some of them slowly swallowing stones to increase their size.
–This pool?- Yang Zicang looked over.
In a hollow, turbid liquid filled it to the brim, emitting a mix of foul stench and strange fragrance.
Wang Ding Shan quickly activated his force field again, but it couldn’t block much of the smell—after all, it didn’t envelop his entire body.
–This water can create rock monsters?-
–How strange.-
As the three of them reached this spot, the Scratcher Enightmare inside Wang Ding Shan’s chest suddenly spoke:
{I sense something that attracts me.}
–Attracts you?-
He took out the scratch card Enightmare, its diamond-shaped eyes scanning everywhere before finally fixing their gaze beneath the water’s surface.
–Could it be in here?-
The three of them looked into the sewage-like water.
{Congratulations, you found the earthbound spirit in less than ten hours. I originally thought it would take at least two days for someone to discover it. It seems your strategy was correct. However, this earthbound spirit cannot be ambushed with that gun of yours. A tip for you: the key is vitality.}
The water began to churn, and the outline of a large, bound energy being emerged in the center of this pool.
–Great. Even Team Leader Fu said we found it.-
–Hurry, if we take it down, we’ll get a fifty-bonus score. Teaming up with a newbie really pays off!- Wang Dingshan was so thrilled he nearly stuck out his tongue and wagged it.
–But there are three of us here—how do we split it?-
Joan looked at Yang Zicang and arrogantly bluffed, –Bro, with so many points I can definitely get into the Elite Corps. Let me have this monster.-
–But I’m about to quit, you know? If I become an elite employee, I could choose a reward to take with me before I leave, right?-
–Ah!- Joan scratched his head, –Damn, I forgot all about that.-
Wang Dingshan stepped closer, his mouth forming a gagging motion as if about to vomit:
–Let’s not talk about how to split this earthbound spirit for now. There’s something wrong with this water. Even just walking in will be difficult.-
{The water here has the ability to spawn monsters—our Illusion Company is also researching it.}
Fu Qiyong’s phantom, reclining on a beach chair, appeared on the water’s surface. He pointed downward and said:
{Through data analysis, this should contain remnants of certain bloodline arcane energies, but because they’re too diluted and mixed, we currently haven’t…}
–Haven’t what?- Joan asked.
{Haven’t…}
Team Leader Fu’s figure suddenly flickered like an unstable signal, and he stood up abruptly.
{There is… leave…}
Behind the three, black cubes unfurled with a swish.
Yang Zicang’s eyes narrowed: –There’s a problem, leave quickly!-
–We’re already so far ahead.-
Wang Dingshan was somewhat reluctant, but the cube quickly became unstable.
Since even Team Leader Fu was telling them to leave, something must have gone wrong. Having experienced life-and-death crises many times, Yang Zicang immediately began to flee, turning without hesitation and charging toward the black cube passage.
Just as the three approached, the three black sub-ether channels suddenly exploded. Countless dim energy lines scattered like torn cloth, spreading even further, shattering all at once like a net being ripped apart.
{Who is stopping me!}
Team Leader Fu’s angry voice rang out.
His image flickered everywhere. One after another, black cubes of varying sizes appeared, but shattered in an instant.
–Ah, what have we encountered?- Joan looked at this eerie scene with a hint of nervousness.
Wang Dingshan’s eyes darted left and right as he scanned the surroundings with a grave expression.
Suddenly, he felt a tremor ripple through his mind, and turning his head, he saw a massive white phantom monster—resembling a giant centipede—looming behind Yang Zicang.
–A psychic entity?!-
Wang Dingshan stared at the creature in disbelief. This kid beside him was no slouch! But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
Yang Zicang locked onto a black cube that flickered into existence again, swiftly grabbed the woman beside him by the arm and waist, spun her around, and flung her out. –Close your eyes—I’m sending you out!-
But the spatial rift from that cube had already vanished.
–Ah!-
Joan felt herself flying through the air. She knew the sub-ether channel wouldn’t open while someone was watching, so she resignedly shut her eyes.
The next second, she felt her falling body suddenly accelerate again, shooting upward.
Just as she was about to crash onto the slope, a flashing black cube miraculously appeared in front of her parabola-like arc and exploded.
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