Chapter 59 Chapter 59 "Jiang Qing, there is something behind." ...
Zhao Peng came over and lightly touched the edge of the crystal with his rough fingertips, but Teacher Qin immediately raised his hand to stop him.
"Don't come into direct contact!" Teacher Qin stepped forward quickly, pulling a pair of silver protective gloves from his backpack and handing them over. "Unknown contamination sources could penetrate through the skin. Previously, trace amounts of 'alienation factors' were detected in the golden-armored rhino bone fragments, and their energy signature is highly similar to the black silk within this crystal."
Lin Qingzhou immediately opened the test box he carried with him and scraped a little powder from the surface of the crystal with a special probe.
The moment the probe touched the powder, the originally transparent test liquid instantly turned dark purple, and a layer of fine black bubbles floated on the surface of the liquid, like boiling poison.
"The concentration of the alienation factor is three times above the standard." Lin Qingzhou stared at the jumping value on the test kit, his voice solemn. "This factor will disrupt the energy circulation of alien beasts, forcibly catalyzing their evolution without giving them time to adapt."
She paused, then continued, "It's like putting a seedling into boiling water. It appears to accelerate its growth, but it's actually destroying it."
Zhu Tianba circled the crystal twice, his blue-black mane trembling slightly, and the white light around him flickered, as if he was resisting some invisible erosion.
"Teacher Qin," Lin Qingzhou said, putting the crystal away and placing it in a sealed sample bag. "Should we stop going deeper? This alienation factor can contaminate spirit crystals and exotic beasts. If it spreads to the shallow mining area, the students left there will be in danger."
Teacher Qin nodded silently, took out the communicator and tried to contact Teacher Sun, but found that the signal bar was blank.
The communicator that had been able to receive messages sporadically before now had no signal at all.
Her face changed, and she immediately summoned her spirit beast to fly up and investigate. However, this time, the spirit beast had just flown out a few dozen meters when its wings were entangled by a sudden black mist. It let out a quick cry and flew back in embarrassment, with a few lingering black mists still on its right wing.
"The black fog will interfere with the energy flow of the spirit pet." Lin Qingzhou quickly took out the purification potion and carefully applied it on the feathers of Teacher Qin's spirit pet. The black gas slowly dissipated when it came into contact with the potion.
"And it can block communications. It seems like the other party has been prepared and is deliberately cutting off our contact with the outside world." Lin Qingzhou frowned.
Li Xiu hugged Tutu tightly. Tutu's ruby-like eyes stared at the darkness deep in the mine, and her body trembled slightly.
"That thing... is it still following us?" Jiang Qing remembered what Zhu Tianba said last night, "It's waiting for us to separate."
Only at this moment did they realize that the other party might have expected them to go deep into the mine, and even the two corpses of strange beasts were bait to lure them closer.
Jiang Qing stood in front of everyone and activated the golden light shield. A light golden ripple that only she could see spread out from her, enveloping the entire team.
When the ripples touched the rock wall of the mine, they made a "sizzling" sound, as if they were dissolving some invisible substance attached to the rock.
"It's coming." Zhu Tianba's voice at his feet was a little cold, "It's not just one, it's a group."
Just as he finished speaking, a rustling sound suddenly came from the darkness deep in the mine, like countless tiny claws scratching the rocks.
Immediately afterwards, dozens of pairs of eyes glowing green emerged from the black fog, densely distributed in the cracks of the rock wall, making people's scalps tingle.
"It's a digging rat!" Zhao Peng immediately asked the Iron Armored Bull to take a defensive posture, and a khaki light shield covered the Iron Armored Bull's shell.
Those digging rats were nearly twice the size of ordinary individuals, with gray-black fur and dark red mucus on their claws. Every time they scratched the rock wall, they left a black mark, as if they were corroding the rock.
They did not attack immediately, but slowly surrounded the team under the cover of black fog. Their green eyes were full of madness, as if they had lost their minds and were only controlled by some force.
Teacher Qin quickly pulled out a retractable whip from his waist, which glowed with a light blue light. "Protect yourself and your pet. Attack the source of the black fog first!"
Jiang Qing immediately asked Zhu Tianba to release the Earth Shock and Rock Spike skills.
The digging rats' movements became noticeably slower as they approached the terrain created by Zhu Tianba.
"Tianba, could you please use your area-suppressing skills to cut off the connection of the black fog?" She asked softly, transmitting a trace of mental power through her fingertips to help Zhu Tianba stabilize his energy.
Zhu Tianba nodded, a gleam of brilliance flashed in his amber eyes. He leaped up and landed on a protruding rock. His little hoof lightly scratched the air, and an invisible wave spread around.
The moment the town was released, the black fog was like a stream of water that had been cut off, and there was a brief pause. The digging rats controlled by the black fog also froze.
Lin Qingzhou seized the opportunity, put the special purification agent into the sprayer, and sprayed it towards the black fog.
The light green potion immediately produced a violent reaction when it came into contact with the black fog. The black fog dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye, revealing what was hidden behind it.
It was a gigantic "rock spider", but unlike ordinary rock spiders, its abdomen was covered with dark purple lines, like traces of erosion by some kind of energy. In the center of its abdomen was embedded an emerald green crystal similar to the one in Jiang Qing's hand. The black silk in the crystal was continuously spreading around, forming a black mist covering the mineral vein.
"It's controlling the mutant beast!" Li Xiu immediately took out her spiritual power and quickly recorded the characteristics of the rock spider. "The crystal on its abdomen is the same as the sample we found. It should also be a contaminated nuclear crystal."
Teacher Qin's eyes focused, and the long whip drew an arc in the air, lashing towards the rock spider's abdomen with a light blue light.
The rock spider seemed to sense the danger and immediately sprayed out a ball of black mucus, which turned into countless tiny spider silks in the air in an attempt to block it.
But the spiritual light on Teacher Qin's whip suddenly surged. She injected the source power into the long whip, easily cut the spider silk, and hit the crystal on the rock spider's abdomen hard.
There was a crisp "click" sound.
With the unique majesty of an Earth-rank Beast Tamer, a crack appeared in the crystal, and the rock spider let out a sharp hiss, its body trembling violently, and the dark purple lines on its abdomen began to flicker, as if its energy was about to get out of control.
The controlled digging rats lost the support of the black fog and instantly became chaotic. Some bit each other, while others tried to escape from the mine.
Jiang Qing seized the opportunity and immediately asked Zhu Tianba to release the Rock Spike skill again.
This time the spike was thicker than before and aimed directly at the crystal on the rock spider's abdomen.
The rock spikes passed by, and the crystal shattered completely. Black mist gushed out from the fragments, but was blocked by Jiang Qing's golden light shield and did not spread around the team.
The moment the crystal shattered, the rock spider's body shrank rapidly, and its eyes, which had originally glowed green, lost their luster. It fell heavily to the ground and stopped moving.
Those dig rats that had not yet escaped, having lost the support of the alienated energy, also fell to the ground one after another. Their bodies gradually returned to the size of ordinary dig rats, but their eyes were still empty, and they had obviously lost any signs of life.
Teacher Qin walked forward and used the tip of his shoe to push aside the rock spider's body. He found that in addition to the broken crystals, there was also an obvious "implantation mark" on its abdomen.
It was as if someone had deliberately implanted a crystal into the rock spider's body, manipulating it to transform into other strange beasts.
Teacher Qin's face looked a little ugly. Although this incident did not happen within the jurisdiction of their Fifth Beast Taming Academy, the fact that it involved strange beasts was a common concern for all of them.
No, I have to go back and write a letter to the Fourth Beastmaster Academy to inform them of the situation.
Teacher Qin collected the crystal fragments from the rock spider's abdomen and put them into the testing box that Lin Qingzhou carried with him.
She took out her communicator and tried to contact the outside world again, but found that the signal was still blocked. "We must leave here as soon as possible, find an area where the signal is restored, and report the situation here to the academy."
The team did not dare to stay any longer and returned along the same route.
After a few people left.
Ji Changsu suddenly appeared where the few people had just stopped. She stared at the shriveled corpse of the rock spider on the ground with a serious expression.
She lowered her eyes to look at the shattered emerald green crystals on the ground. The black thread that had not yet dissipated in the fragments melted quickly under the faint light from her palm, like ice and snow encountering a raging fire.
Ji Changsu bent down and gently brushed his fingertips across the implantation wound on the rock spider's abdomen. The edges of the incision were regular.
The remaining source power fluctuations on it are weak but special, carrying an energy imprint of the "Energy Tempering Technique" that is unique to the Fourth Beastmaster Academy.
"No wonder Teacher Qin can't contact the outside world." Ji Changsu looked into the depths of the mine, where several extremely thin metal threads were faintly visible on the rock wall. The surface of the threads had a light purple luster and was trembling slightly with the flow of air.
She reached out and pulled off a silk thread. As soon as her fingertips touched it, the thread instantly turned into black ash. At the same time, an extremely subtle "buzzing" was heard in the air, as if some kind of signal had been triggered.
She immediately mobilized her source power to cover her entire body, concealing her own energy fluctuations, and quickly chased in the direction Jiang Qing's team left.
More and more metal wires appeared on the rock walls along the way, interweaving into an invisible net that enveloped the entire depths of the Wind Whispering Canyon. It not only blocked communication signals, but also transmitted the movements in the canyon in real time.
Teacher Qin's voice came from the front. She was repeatedly trying to connect to the communicator, her brow furrowed. "It's still not working. The signal is blocked too thoroughly. Even the academy's emergency channel can't be accessed."
Lin Qingzhou put away the test kit and said with a worried tone, "The students in the shallow mining area are still waiting for news. If we can't get in touch with them, Teacher Sun might bring them in to search. It would be dangerous if they encounter a mutant beast."
Ji Changsu hid behind a huge rock and watched Teacher Qin take out a silver signal transmitter from his backpack.
This is the emergency equipment equipped by the college. It can emit high-frequency signals that can penetrate rock layers and cover a range of ten kilometers even in complex terrain.
Teacher Qin pressed the button on the top of the transmitter, and the silver device immediately lit up red, ready to send a warning signal to the shallow mining area.
As soon as the red light of the silver signal transmitter lit up, Ji Changsu condensed a very light green source of power at his fingertips. It passed through the air silently like a fine needle and accurately pierced the signal interface on the side of the transmitter.
“Sizzle——”
Amidst the subtle sound of electricity, the red light of the transmitter suddenly went out, and the signal waves jumping on the screen instantly returned to zero, leaving only a dead black.
Teacher Qin was stunned, thinking that the equipment had malfunctioned due to interference from the canyon's energy. He pressed the button repeatedly, but the transmitter did not respond at all, without even the most basic power-on prompt.
"Is the equipment broken?" Zhao Peng came over and reached out to take the transmitter to check.
"It's possible. It might have been accidentally broken during the battle just now." Teacher Qin said.
While several people were studying the signal transmitter, Zhu Tianba, who had shrunk in Jiang Qing's arms, suddenly raised his head, his amber eyes fixed on the direction of the rock where Ji Changsu was hiding, and his nose twitched rapidly.
It just clearly captured a familiar energy aura.
It was fleeting, and when it looked over, the breath had disappeared.
Zhu Tianba scratched his ear with his claws in surprise.
Ji Changsu hid behind the rocks and had a panoramic view of it all.
She didn't expect that Zhu Tianba's perception was so sharp that he could even capture the energy aura that she deliberately concealed.
But it was precisely because of this that it firmly believed that Zhu Tianba could open the door for her to return.
She suppressed the thought of showing up and condensed the source power from her fingertips again. This time, she did not destroy the equipment, but instead laid an extremely thin "soundproof barrier" around Teacher Qin and others.
In this way, even if someone from the Fourth Beast Control Academy came to monitor the canyon later, they would not be able to hear their conversation, let alone notice her presence.
Teacher Qin is still trying to repair the transmitter.
Lin Qingzhou used his spiritual power and tried to build a temporary communication channel through the natural energy nodes in the canyon.
But every time the signal started to pick up, it would be cut off by an invisible force.
"No, the shielding network is tighter than we imagined." Lin Qingzhou put away his spiritual power and said solemnly, "Not only can the other party block the signal, but they can also interfere with our communication attempts in real time. It is obvious that they know the energy veins of the canyon very well."
"Forget about the communication for now. Let's speed back to the shallow mining area." Teacher Qin made a quick decision and stuffed the damaged transmitter into his backpack. "As long as we can reunite with Teacher Sun, even if we can't contact the academy, we can still evacuate everyone safely."
The team set off again.
Jiang Qing deliberately fell behind, with Zhu Tianba in his arms staring at the rock all the time.
It was not until the team walked a hundred meters away that they felt the familiar breath leaving from behind the rock and heading towards the depths of the mine.
Ji Changsu followed the energy trail left by the rock spider and went deep into the mine.
The further you go in, the denser the metal threads on the rock wall become. The web formed by these threads not only blocks communications, but also continuously absorbs energy from the spirit crystal veins and transmits it to a hidden cave in the deepest part of the canyon.
When he reached the entrance of the cave, Ji Changsu stopped.
The entrance to the cave was covered by a layer of pale purple energy barrier, on which was engraved the "Energy Locking Rune" unique to the Fourth Beastmaster Academy. The rune was flickering with a faint light, and it was obvious that someone had activated it not long ago.
She condensed a green source of energy at her fingertips and gently touched the barrier.
As soon as the source power touched the rune, a line of fine text immediately appeared on the barrier:
[Energy Quenching Experiment 37th, Energy Conversion Rate 68%, Alienation Success Rate 42%.]
"It's indeed an energy tempering experiment." Ji Changsu frowned, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
Energy Tempering Technique is a secret technique used by the Fourth Beast Control Academy to improve the energy purity of spirit beasts. However, if it is overused, it will cause energy disorder in spirit beasts, or even alienation and loss of control.
The reason why the Fourth Beastmaster Academy suddenly stopped the exploration project in Wind Whispering Canyon was probably because an accident occurred during the experiment, resulting in the mutation and death of a large number of alien beasts. In order to cover up the truth, they deliberately blocked the news.
She went around the side of the cave and found a ventilation hole covered by rocks.
The ventilation hole is only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways, and there are fresh chisel marks on the rock wall, which obviously showed that someone had deliberately cleaned it recently.
Ji Changsu gathered all the energy in his body and moved in as lightly as a civet cat. The pale blue light condensed from his fingertips led the way ahead, illuminating the metal pipes in the narrow passage.
These pipelines are connected to the silk threads on the external rock wall, and are transmitting the energy extracted from the spirit crystal veins. The surface of the pipelines has a dark purple luster similar to that of the alienated crystals.
From the end of the passage came the faint sound of machinery, mixed with intermittent recording sounds.
Ji Changsu moved slightly, turning into an almost invisible shadow and silently blending into the shadow of the vent.
The interior of the cave was transformed into a simple laboratory. In the center stood a device half the height of a person. A fist-sized emerald green crystal was embedded on the top of the device. Several transparent tubes were wrapped around the crystal. Dark purple liquid flowing in the tubes was continuously injected into the crystal, making the black silk on its surface more and more dense.
The air was filled with a strange smell that was a mixture of spirit crystal energy and some pungent chemical reagents.
The key point is that there are many cages blocked by fences on both sides of the cave, which contain dozens of different kinds of exotic beasts.
Most of these beasts had glazed eyes, their bodies covered in dark purple markings and deformed features, clearly suffering the effects of the alienation experiments. The few that remained conscious let out suppressed cries of pain, repeatedly ramming their bodies against the energy barrier, but to no avail.
Several people wearing the uniforms of the Fourth Beastmaster Academy, but with their faces covered by special masks, were busy recording data in front of instruments, turning a blind eye to the tragic situation in the cages.
"The energy output of Experiment No. 37 is stable, and the diffusion rate of the alienation factor is in line with expectations." One of the researchers wearing glasses pushed his glasses frame, his voice as flat as if he was recording a daily account.
"As long as we collect ten more sets of data on the transformation of exotic beasts, we can complete the preliminary testing of the 'Advanced Version of the Energy Tempering Technique', and then we can report to the principal."
Another researcher stared at the dancing curves on the screen, his brows furrowed slightly. "But we just detected energy fluctuations in the periphery. It seems that the experimental subject is out of control. Could a beastmaster break in?"
"What are you afraid of?" The bespectacled researcher scoffed. He reached out and adjusted the valve on the metal device, instantly accelerating the flow of the dark purple liquid in the tube. "The 'locking network' and 'alienated beast herd' outside the canyon are more than enough to stop those students. Even if someone does break in, the self-destruct device here will destroy all traces."
"The energy injection rate is too fast. The subject may not survive until the end of data collection."
The researcher monitoring the screen frowned in warning, but showed no intention of reducing the flow rate. Instead, he took out a silver-glowing syringe from the drawer.
"The backup test subject is ready. If this one explodes, immediately replace it with number 38."
The bespectacled researcher didn't even look up. "What's the rush? The principal wants 'extreme data.' The closer to collapse, the more valuable the data will be."
At this moment, the alarm in the corner of the laboratory suddenly made a sharp "beep" sound, and the originally stable energy curve on the screen suddenly soared and turned into a dazzling red.
"Oh no, Subject No. 37's energy is overloaded!" The monitor stood up suddenly and reached out to press the emergency shutdown button, but was stopped by the researcher wearing glasses.
"Wait!" The bespectacled researcher stared at the jumping peak on the screen, a hint of enthusiasm in his eyes. "This is a sign of breaking through the critical value. If we can record the fluctuation data at the moment of energy explosion, the theoretical model of the advanced version of Energy Tempering Technique can be perfected!"
Instead of shutting down the device, he turned another valve, and the dark purple liquid in the tube poured like a rushing stream, madly pouring into the emerald green crystal. As soon as he finished speaking, the crystal on the top of the device suddenly emitted a low humming sound, and black silk completely covered the crystal surface. The pipeline on the rock wall trembled violently, making a "creaking" sound under the heavy load.
The strange beasts in the cages seemed to sense the breath of death and became even more restless. Several severely mutated beasts even began to bite each other. Blood dripped through the gaps in the energy fence and formed winding bloodstains on the ground.
Ji Changsu knew he couldn't wait any longer.
Her figure slid out of the vent like a ghost and landed silently.
The green source power at the fingertips fluctuated, turning into several extremely fine light threads, which accurately shot towards several key interface nodes of the console and the foundation of the energy fence that bound the cage.
A few slight pops were heard, and several indicator lights on the console went out instantly, and the data flow on the screen became chaotic for a moment.
The energy fences of the cages flickered a few times and suddenly became extremely unstable. Some of the fences of the cages even disappeared in an instant.
The strange beasts in the cage seemed to sense the breath of death and became even more restless.
Several severely mutated beasts even began to bite each other, and blood dripped through the gaps in the energy fence, forming winding bloodstains on the ground.
"What's going on?!"
"Unstable energy supply?"
The researchers in the laboratory were suddenly in a panic.
Their first concern was that the subjects would riot, so they immediately rushed to the console to try to repair it.
Ji Changsu ignored their panic, formed seals with his hands, and light blue source power surged out like a tide, enveloping the entire device.
The experimenters finally noticed the abnormality at this time.
Just as they locked onto a location, the device behind them began to crackle with electricity again, and the light flickered twice.
When he opened his eyes again, the green emerald crystal at the core of the device had disappeared.
"Oh no!" The researcher wearing glasses turned around suddenly, his eyes swept across the empty top of the device, and his face under the mask turned pale instantly.
He rushed to the console like a madman, his fingers moving quickly on the screen, trying to lock the position of the crystal, but there were only chaotic energy ripples on the screen, and he couldn't even capture a trace of the remaining breath of the crystal.
And in this brief chaos, Ji Changsu's figure had disappeared from the spot, leaving only an almost imperceptible breeze.
Almost at the same time as the laboratory fell into chaos, Jiang Qing's team, which was evacuating quickly, also felt a slight change.
"Hmm?" Li Xiu suddenly stopped, her rabbit stirring in her arms. "The energy interference around here seems to have weakened a bit?"
Teacher Qin immediately tried the communicator again and found that although he still could not contact the outside world, the strong sense of shielding seemed to be no longer so stubborn, and the signal was trying to connect intermittently.
Although it ultimately failed, it gave people a glimmer of hope.
"There are indeed changes." Teacher Qin said solemnly, "Whatever the reason, we must hurry!"
Zhu Tianba moved his nose in Jiang Qing's arms and smelled that familiar and powerful scent again.
This time, the breath came from deep within the mine behind them, and carried an emotion it could not understand.
It heard a sound of something falling, and its ears suddenly stood up, and its eyes stared straight at one place.
"Jiang Qing, there is something behind." Zhu Tianba reminded.
Following Zhu Tianba's instructions, Jiang Qing found a piece of emerald crystal emitting pure green color among a shrub growing in a crevice of the rock.
The compass jade in his pocket jumped wildly, and the arc of the jade spoon spontaneously turned towards the emerald crystal. The gray mist on the spoon body melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, like ice and snow encountering a heat source, revealing the light green jade underneath.
Zhu Tianba jumped out of her arms and circled Cuijing twice. His blue-black mane trembled slightly, and the white light around him unconsciously intertwined with Cuijing's green light, forming a faint halo.
Obviously, this is the uncontaminated source of beast core power.
Jiang Qing glanced at the people walking in front of him, and just as he was about to reach out to pick up the emerald crystal, he was intercepted by Zhu Tianba.
It first wagged its tail at Cui Jing in an extremely excited manner, and then, under Jiang Qing's gaze, it opened its mouth wide and swallowed the crystal in one gulp.
The speed was so fast that Jiang Qing was dumbfounded.
"Burp~" Zhu Tianba burped in satisfaction, then his body stiffened and he fell to the side.
Jiang Qingzao had expected this to happen again, and he quickly grabbed its body with his hands.
Fortunately, Zhu Tianba was in a shrunk state at this time, otherwise it would be very difficult for Jiang Qing to hold him.
As expected, the seal of the contract was still very hot, so Jiang Qing had no choice but to hold Zhu Tianba in his arms.
Jiang Qing looked down at it, and gently stroked the fluorescent light between its mane with his fingertips. It was obvious that the energy in Zhu Tianba's body was beginning to become extremely chaotic again.
She touched the compass jade in her pocket. The jade spoon that had been jumping wildly had returned to calm. The gray mist on the spoon had mostly dissipated, revealing a light green jade that became more transparent.
She looked up at the direction of the team, quickened her pace and caught up with the team.
Although there were many doubts this time, fortunately, Zhu Tianba successfully and painlessly obtained the third beast core source power and started a new round of evolution.
After Jiang Qing left, a mechanical voice without any emotion was heard at the scene.
The voice was questioning, yet also filled with a hint of helplessness: "Host, we agreed that you couldn't directly help with the key. Your actions just now have violated the rules. Therefore, I will record a violation in your profile, which will affect your rating."
Ji Changsu covered her mouth in feigned shock: "Oh? My things fell? I just realized how careless I was!"
"The behavior of those people from the Fourth Beast Taming Academy seriously threatens the safety of the Beast Taming World. Maintaining social stability and public order is also one of the tasks you gave me. This can't be considered as helping Jiang Qing," Ji Changsu argued.
[Host, your acting is terrible.] A look of disdain appeared on the little white ball's face.
Ji Changsu narrowed his eyes: "I don't accept your punishment, I want to appeal!"
.......
On the other side, with the chaos secretly created by Ji Changsu, tiny cracks appeared in the alienated energy field deep in the canyon, and the "locked communication network" that covered it was no longer solid.
Although Teacher Qin's team encountered several sporadic waves of mutated beasts on the way of evacuation, their strength and control were much weaker than before, and they were quickly eliminated by their joint efforts.
Finally, in the evening, they saw the familiar scene of the shallow mining area ahead and a bonfire at a temporary camp set up by another team of students led by Teacher Sun.
"Teacher Qin! You're back!" Teacher Sun saw them from afar and immediately led people to greet them, a look of worry and relief on his face. "Communications have been interrupted, and we're just about to organize people to go in and find you!"
The two teams met up and briefly exchanged information.
"Everyone pack up your things immediately. We will evacuate Wind Whisper Canyon overnight!" Teacher Qin looked at the students seriously. Fortunately, there were a total of eighty people, and not one was missing.
If something really went wrong with the team she led, not only would the school hold her accountable, but she would also feel guilty.
Teacher Qin thought carefully and calmly said, "Teacher Sun, you lead a team to explore the way ahead. Be careful. I will stay behind. Once we leave the canyon's shielding area, immediately send an emergency alert to the academy."
No one objected.
The team acted quickly, packing up the tents, extinguishing the campfire, and waking up the resting pets. The atmosphere was tense and orderly.
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The author has something to say: Make up for yesterday's chapter
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