Chapter 145 Chapter 145
Three days later, the final day.
Xia Muqing left the city early in the morning and walked a few kilometers south along the path until she finally saw the roadblocks set up by the association.
Unlike the semi-finals which are mainly based on competition, the finals are definitely not suitable for broadcasting or spectating due to the special venue.
After all, the magnetic field here is chaotic. Even with Xia Muqing's current physical condition, she felt a shudder after approaching the blockade area - as if a basin of cold water was poured over her head, and her whole body was soaked in chills. It was also like thousands of small hands were pulling at her soul. She felt dizzy and wanted to fly upwards, to break free from the constraints of the flesh and merge with the entire world.
Xia Muqing shuddered, quickly calmed herself down, and mobilized her mental power to form a barrier around her body.
The effect was very significant, and the strange pulling sensation quickly subsided.
But it didn't disappear completely.
"What a magical magnetic field! There really are so many wonders in this world," Xia Muqing sighed inwardly. "If I train my soul-related skills here, I'll definitely get twice the result with half the effort, right?"
After showing her entry certificate, the staff let her pass. After walking a little further inside, Xia Muqing saw a huge white round mound in the increasingly strong magnetic field.
The round mound was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, looking from afar like a clumsy snowman. Xia Muqing looked at it curiously for a few more seconds, then blinked in disbelief when she noticed the bright lines on its shell that resembled flowing water.
"Elemental...fluid?"
No way, this big guy couldn't be...
"Xiao Xia!"
A shout came from a distance. Xia Muqing turned around and saw Chi Zi waving at her from afar with a bright smile.
"Teacher Chi Zi?" Xia Muqing was surprised and happy. "How did you come here? I didn't know."
Chi Zi spread his hands and smiled, "It's a confidential matter, and since you're a contestant, of course I can't tell you in advance."
She pouted at the big snowman core next to her and said, "To be honest, if it weren't for this, I wouldn't want to come here. It's really hot here. Look at my arms, they're covered in heat rash."
Xia Muqing: "Is this the Ark host?"
Chi Zi nodded, then shook his head: "Not the main machine, the main machine is still in the Yandu Research Institute. This is the auxiliary machine, it has more comprehensive functions than the score machine, and it was specially disassembled for today's game."
"The Ark mainframe can't be moved at will. After all, it carries too many modules, such as the Gaokao testing module and the commercial gaming hub. Furthermore, many research experiments and official operations are also based on the Ark mainframe—that thing shouldn't be too popular right now."
"But the secondary machine is also very impressive. The signal and database are connected to the main machine... I can't say more!"
"Haha, don't worry, I know you'll be fine. Good luck in the competition!"
Xia Muqing nodded repeatedly: "Yes!"
Being able to see familiar people and receive words of encouragement in a distant foreign place made Xia Muqing feel warm in her heart, even though she was not afraid of the final competition.
Chi Zi went to continue debugging the equipment, while Xia Muqing walked around the venue. Not long after, other contestants also arrived.
After more than ten minutes, Xu Feiying finally arrived with his Leviathan.
The Leviathan beast was in a strange state. Besides being sluggish, the distortion on its body became even more severe. Xia Muqing looked at it carefully for a few seconds, earning a sharp glare from Xu Feiying: "What are you looking at?"
The little golden dragon curled his lips in disdain: "...Ah."
Tsk, it seems like no one is happy to see it.
"Oh?"
Hey, big guy, wanna see who's the winner in the finals?
Leviathan ignored the little golden dragon's words and followed Xu Feiying closely, passing by Xia Muqing.
It held its head high, not even a glance or a glance away, as if nothing around it existed.
Little Golden Dragon: “……!”
The little golden dragon was so angry that he slapped his tail: "Ahhh!"
Arrogant! Who are you looking down on?
Xia Muqing frowned: "Xiao Jin, don't get excited."
"Why do I feel like... Leviathanmon's condition is getting weirder and weirder?"
Liang Yi Butterfly: "Yeah?"
It has the most say in spiritual matters - Leviathan Beast is really strange. It didn't feel it when it was far away before, but when it came into close contact, Yin-Yang Butterfly felt like it had encountered a black hole.
Abnormal, absolutely abnormal.
It possesses the "emotional sensing" trait. Logically speaking, any profound beast wouldn't be completely devoid of emotion, but the Leviathan just now...
"Eh?"
I felt nothing, only a dead silence and nothingness?
"No emotional fluctuations?" Xia Muqing frowned even more tightly.
But before she could figure out what was going on, a staff member not far away had already waved to everyone.
"The game will start soon, please hurry up and enter the venue."
…
“Sizzle——”
A dark blue arc of electricity spread in the center of the venue, turning into a huge circle that enveloped all ten contestants present.
The Ark auxiliary engine started to operate, and the beeping electronic sound echoed in everyone's ears. The sound suddenly drifted away, turning into a distant echo, and suddenly it was close to the ear, like a rumbling thunder.
A strange feeling of weightlessness came over her, and Xia Muqing subconsciously closed her eyes.
When I opened my eyes again, the scene in front of me had changed drastically.
What appeared before them was a huge white tower that reached into the sky. It was majestic and magnificent, with at least a hundred floors. At the top of the tower was a fiercely burning wheel of fire, as bright as the rising sun.
Even the experienced elite beastmasters were shocked at this moment, and exclaimed in admiration one after another.
"Wow, where did this big guy come from?"
"Did we just travel through another dimension? Are we already in another dimension?"
"The Association is already able to build such large structures in another dimension? The technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, how come I haven't heard anything about it?"
Behind him, Xue Yao leaned over and touched the ground: "...No, this is not an alien space."
Xia Muqing stomped her foot hard and felt the ground bounce slightly like a sponge. "Indeed, it's not. It seems this is the gap between the alien space and the blue planet, the so-called buffer zone—"
Before he finished speaking, the tall and majestic white tower suddenly rose from the ground, and the whistling wind and sand rushed towards everyone, roaring like a raging hurricane.
Just as the beastmasters were about to summon their mystical beasts and activate their skills, a clear voice rang out from above: "Please do not resist, everyone! This is the connection method for the Ark secondary machine. Please relax your mental strength and enter the White Tower in an orderly manner!"
It was Chi Zi's voice.
Hearing this, Xia Muqing loosened her defensive fists and allowed the strong wind from the white tower to sweep her and several mysterious beasts inside.
The feeling of entering the tower is also very wonderful. The consciousness is briefly dazed, as if the soul is traveling in the sky, or as if it is a big dream.
When I woke up from a long dream, I opened my eyes and saw the spacious and tidy space inside the tower and a tall and solemn bronze door.
Welcome to the challenge area, 'Tower of Babel'!
This competition uses a timed system. The winner is the one who reaches the highest level within 24 hours. The "Tower of Babel" competition area has a total of 130 floors, and the requirements for clearing each floor are different. There are hidden mechanisms between floors, allowing you to jump up and climb. Please feel free to explore.
[Besides the timer ending, the first contestant to reach the 'Bright Platform' at the top of the tower will also win instantly! Please note that there are only 5 winning spots in this selection!]
[The countdown begins now. The first floor door opens. Everyone can begin the challenge——]
"Bang!"
The bronze door automatically opened a small gap, and bright sunlight poured out from the gap, illuminating a small area of ground near the door.
"This competition is quite like a game, isn't it?"
I have to say that the effect is really significant. After listening to the pre-match instructions, Xiao Jinlong's eyes almost flashed like searchlights.
Xia Muqing was also a little excited.
The special magnetic field + the fluctuation of different space + the simulation of Ark auxiliary machine work together to create such a large-scale real-life challenge area in front of you, which is far more realistic than any virtual game on the market today.
But compared with reality, it can reduce damage to a certain extent and effectively protect the lives of contestants.
Xia Muqing wanted to observe the surroundings again, but Xiao Jin couldn't wait any longer and hooked his tail on the relief of the bronze door: "Ahhhh!"
Drive faster! Others must have already started, we can’t fall behind even for a second at this point!
Xia Muqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Right away, right away, coming——"
She pushed the bronze door open with force.
The pouring sunlight poured down on her head, completely submerging her and several mysterious beasts.
…
The world behind the door is wider than Xia Muqing imagined.
From the outside, the first floor of the tower was only about 2,000 square meters, but after entering the bronze door, Xia Muqing saw a mountain field directly - there was a gentle breeze, lush greenery, and grass as high as a person's calf grew on the deserted plain. Stars sparkled among the grass, and purple flowers the size of fingernails bloomed.
The bronze door disappeared after she pushed it open. Apparently, the rules of the competition did not allow returning the same way.
"How magnificent," Xia Muqing murmured, "but I can't leave even if I complete the challenges on each floor?"
"Let me take a look at the challenge task on this floor—submit 3 Edai flowers?"
She was stunned for a moment.
It's not that she doesn't recognize the rare material of Edai Flower, but she clearly remembers that Edai Flower is only produced in the thirteenth district of the alien space.
"Could it be that the White Tower is simulating District 13?"
"Wow, this is really a big deal!"
As the most dangerous zone closest to the restricted area, District 13 has always been a mystery. The space there is even more fragile than District 7, with chaotic terrain, numerous turbulent currents, a swarm of wild mystical beasts, and numerous dark beast kings, making its dangers self-evident.
After the qualifying round, the winning contestant will go to the Alien Secret Realm, which is at the junction of District 13 and the restricted area.
Xia Muqing probably guessed the intention of the Beastmaster Association. They couldn't bring the contestants to District 13 for selection. That would be too big a target and too risky. If something went wrong and the contestants were killed, the future of Daxia would be at risk.
However, the association sincerely hopes to use the opportunity of the selection competition to give the contestants some tips and experiences so that they can become more familiar with the situation in District 13.
Even just a little understanding may save a life in the future.
So they racked their brains, chose a specialized competition venue, and borrowed the Ark auxiliary machine to build this "Tower of Babel" between data and reality.
"If I'm not mistaken, each floor of this tower simulates a portion of District 13," Xia Muqing stroked her chin. "I guess quite a few beast masters and adventure groups were invited to help recreate the entire White Tower, right?"
Even if it is just a block-by-block, regional simulation, it is really not easy.
Must give thumbs up to the official team!
"Let's go find Edaihua!"
…
The Edai flower is a small green flower with light black marks on its petals. From a distance, it looks like an exquisite hairpin flower outlined in ink and wash painting. It is a popular decoration.
But what many people don’t know is that the E’dai flowers used for decoration on Blue Planet are actually harmless varieties that have been specially cultivated and detoxified. The real wild E’dai flowers are well-known among poisonous materials. Every ink mark that looks like it is drawn with a fine brush is actually a high concentration of paralyzing toxin. One drop of it can kill instantly.
Xia Muqing carefully wrapped herself up with her mental power, asked Ark Xiaoxue to start the scanning mode, and carefully reminded several mysterious beasts of the precautions for picking Edai flowers - she understood it on a deeper level than ordinary beastmasters. Although Edai flowers are scary, as long as you are careful not to touch the skin or wounds, there will be no problem.
What really kills people is actually the companion plant of the Edai flower.
"You have to be careful of those flying insects the size of sesame seeds, with purple shells and white spots on their backs."
Xia Muqing picked up a stick and carefully pushed aside the grass. "That's the Youdai Moth. It likes to live at the roots of the Edai flowers, feeding on their toxins year-round. If it bites, even with Xiao Jin's physique, he'll probably be paralyzed for a few seconds."
Little Golden Dragon: "...Ah."
It's only a few seconds of paralysis, no big deal.
Xia Muqing: "You should be aware of your own physical strength. You're a Gilded Sky Dragon! If even you are paralyzed, wouldn't other weaker profound beasts be completely immobilized?"
"The mysterious beast can't move, so how can the beastmaster escape?"
"And don't forget, moths like to lay eggs in large numbers, so you often encounter not just one Dark Moth, but a whole swarm. Imagine playing a game and having someone constantly throw control skills at you..."
Little Golden Dragon: “……!”
It shuddered and shook its head vigorously: "Ouch?"
Well, can it take the initiative and burn all the grass?
Burn them all, and the Dark Moth will be gone, so don't even think about controlling it.
Hearing this, the Swift Dog, who was pulling apart the grass nearby, raised his nose and sneezed: "Awooo."
What nonsense are you talking about? Even it knows that this won’t work.
If we burn them all, won’t the Edai flowers be gone?
Xia Muqing patted its little head approvingly. "Even if it's possible, we can't do that. Imagine we're in District 13. This patch of grass may seem quiet, but there might be all sorts of mysterious beasts hiding deep within it."
"The heat and smoke from the burning fire will also send the message 'someone is here' to the surrounding area. What if it causes even greater trouble?"
"So the first thing we need to pay attention to is to keep a low profile and be cautious—Hey, Xiao Jin, wait!"
Before Xia Muqing could finish her words, the little golden dragon suddenly jumped out, swimming as fast as a flash of lightning.
“Ouch!”
Here, here, I see it, it’s the Edai flower!
It rushed into the grass, and the strong wind it created blew the tall grass leaves all over the place.
And deep in the grass, there was indeed a small green flower the size of a fingernail, and the leaf patterns scattered like starlight in the sunlight—
Xia Muqing: “……!”
"Xiao Jin, get out of the way! That's not Edaihua!"
Before he finished speaking, the little golden dragon had already pounced deep into the grass, with its little head within half a meter of the green flower.
"call--!"
The small flower as big as a fingernail suddenly split open, revealing a bottomless food sac!
The petals expanded to a full meter in width, and the bared fangs and flowing saliva made people's pupils shrink suddenly. With lightning speed, "Ah Wu", it swallowed the unstoppable little golden dragon whole!
Xia Muqing: “!!!”
Other mysterious beasts: "!!!"
What the hell, the Gilded Sky Dragon is given away for free at the start?
Ark Xiaoxue issued a shrill alarm: "Hidden Mystical Beast is approaching, scanning - Master, it's an amoeba!"
"It can camouflage itself to attract small prey!"
Xia Muqing: "Xiaofeng, Xiaozi!"
“Ouch!”
"Aiya!"
The Yin-Yang Butterfly was madly stimulating its life energy, and a whirlwind was howling around the Gale Dog, and the azure blue current was surging out freely.
However, before they could release their skills, the amoeba's bulging food sac struggled to wriggle a few times, and suddenly there was a "bang".
Exploded.
A huge golden dragon that had expanded to several meters in length appeared in the middle of the grass with a dull look on its head and a slimy head.
Seeing that Xiao Jin was safe and sound, Xia Muqing breathed a sigh of relief and calmed her rapid heartbeat. Only then did she realize that she had just been so anxious that she lost her composure.
Although the amoeba has a strong camouflage ability, its individual strength is not very strong, and it can generally only prey on small mysterious beasts.
The little golden dragon just shrunk its body to save its mystical energy and make it easier to travel. Its real body is much larger than the chameleon. Now that it has regained its tall form, the amoeba's food sac cannot hold it and is immediately burst by it.
Seeing that Xiao Jin was fine, Swift Dog and Yin-Yang Butterfly also breathed a sigh of relief.
The Swift Dog swallowed the Wind Whirl: "Ouch??"
Really, that’s too careless!
It was so anxious just now that it broke out in a cold sweat. If the Sky Dragon had not come out quickly, it might have used up all its magical skills.
Yin-Yang Butterfly: "Ah-ah-ah!"
That’s right, the master hasn’t finished speaking yet!
The Gilded Sky Dragon hung its head in frustration, flapping its tail back and forth, flattening a patch of grass. "...Ouch?"
Who knew there were such strange flowers?
It is also in a hurry to win the trials. Now it is trapped on the first floor and cannot see the status of others. What if Leviathan has already rushed to dozens of floors?
Then it loses without even fighting.
Xia Muqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Be careful, there are a lot of strange things in District 13. Don't act rashly without my command in the future."
“Ouch.”
The little golden dragon responded with a wronged look.
But at this moment, the severely injured amoeba slowly crawled up from the ground, and the damaged petals closed up, turning into two broken insect wings.
It stared at Xia Muqing and the others angrily, baring its mouthparts and buzzing around. Its body was enveloped by mysterious energy and gradually turned into a blue-black beetle.
Xia Muqing: "What it transformed into is... the Youdai Mother Moth?"
Her face was slightly stern, and she waved her hands fiercely: "Xiaofeng, Xiaojin, get ready for battle!"
The Dark Mother Moth can emit a special wave pattern that calls all nearby Dark Mother Moths to its feet. As the amoeba transformed into the Dark Mother Moth, the humming of its wings grew louder and louder, and several bulges silently formed at the roots of the surrounding grass.
Then suddenly everything exploded!
“Buzz buzz buzz—!”
Countless dark moths flew up upon hearing the news!
The chaotic posture of that group of demons was not much different from the swarm of steel demon mosquitoes that Xia Muqing had encountered in the seventh district before. Their ferocious mouthparts glowed green in the sunlight, and the poison quickly condensed on the spikes.
What the Youdai Moth blew was the battle horn!
Fortunately, Xia Muqing was prepared the moment she saw the amoeba transform into the Youdai mother moth.
"Xiao Jin, prepare the force field!"
"Xiaofeng, use Blizzard!"
The Gale Dog had already gathered the mysterious light, and the energy was released. The whistling frost instantly descended, freezing the large cloud of insects into hard blocks.
The little golden dragon also released a gravitational force field - in order to avenge its previous defeat, it was working particularly hard this time - the dark red light spread out with it as the center, with a radius of seven or eight meters. The insects that entered it instantly lost their gravity balance, and their wings could not carry their heavy bodies, so they fell down like dust.
After a while, a large area was spread on the ground.
The little golden dragon, seeking revenge, raised its head high. It looked like it wanted to smack the bugs on the ground with its tail, but then it remembered what Xia Muqing had said about "toxin control." After a moment of hesitation, it finally just spat a few times on the ground in anger.
Looking at the messy grass, the Yin-Yang butterfly blinked.
"Eh?"
Master, can we go to the location of the Youdai moth bump to look for the Edai flower now?
Xia Muqing nodded.
"Xiao Zi is right. The Youdai Moth is the companion insect of the Edai Flower. So conversely, where there are Youdai Moths, there will also be Edai Flowers!"
"There are—wow, more than a dozen bulges here!"
If they searched slowly by themselves, it would probably take a long time, after all, the target was too small and the grass was tall and dense.
But now with the call of the Dark Moth Mother, the location of the Dark Moth was completely exposed, and it became easy to search for it.
"Xiao Jin was quite lucky. Even though he was eaten as food, he stumbled upon his target..."
Xia Muqing groped carefully in the grass, and after a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Well, not only the Edai Flower, but also a Youdai Crystal?"
This is the mysterious force crystal condensed in the body of the Youdai Mother Moth. It can only be condensed in the body of the strongest Youdai Mother Moth. It is a top-quality poison material!
"It seems that there was a mother Youdai moth in this area before, but it died not long ago. The Youdai moths are now leaderless, which is why they are more easily deceived by the amoeba..."
"If the Youdai mother moth had died a little longer, the crystals would have weathered, and new mother moths would have evolved from the Youdai moths."
Everything happened just right, allowing them to achieve their goals effortlessly and even exceed their targets.
Xia Muqing finished collecting the Edai flowers with a smile and chose to submit. They collected 13 Edai flowers in one go, and the submission interface also gave a prompt:
[Have you submitted more tasks than the quota? ]
[Beep, mission received. 400% completion rate exceeded, jump channel opened —* —]
[Please enter the passage and you will be randomly directed to the 7th to 14th floors of the Tower of Babel]
A huge black door opened in front of Xia Muqing, and its surface was like a mirror with ripples on it.
"So the key to skipping levels is to exceed your targets."
Xia Muqing nodded in understanding.
"I just wonder if everyone else's first-level mission is also to obtain Edai Flowers. We should be ahead now, right?"
"I can't see the other people's status—huh?"
As if knowing what she was thinking, a flash of light suddenly flashed beside the black door, and a huge scroll screen slowly unfolded. At the same time, a crisp voice rang out in the sky:
"A player has been detected leaving the base tower. Notification mode is now activated to view the player's real-time ranking status—"
…
The first floor of the Tower of Babel, in another data block.
Xue Yao was desperately trying to hunt a Fire Lizard on the grassland. The little guy was only the size of a palm and looked inconspicuous, but its speed was amazing. With the help of grass and mud ditches, it managed to escape from the encirclement of Canglang Jiao and other mysterious beasts time and time again.
"Isn't this too difficult to catch?"
Xue Yao became more and more frustrated as he grabbed on, and angrily complained to Canglang Jiao: "If you keep blocking like this, how long will it take? I should have taught you some mind control skills earlier."
Canglang Jiao spit out a mouthful of steam: "Ah?"
Even without control skills, there are other ways. It can use its ultimate to flood the grassland, which is guaranteed to drown the Flowing Salamander.
Xue Yao hesitated a bit: "Open it up...?"
Just when he was struggling, he received a real-time ranking reminder.
Xue Yao: “???”
"Someone finished the first floor so quickly?" Xue Yao was shocked. "How did they catch the Flowing Salamander?"
"Let me see which little goblin it is—"
The text on the screen finally appeared:
[The tower ranking situation is as follows:]
[Contestants No. 2, No. 3... No. 10 are located on the first floor of the Tower of Babel.]
[Contestant No. 1, located on the 11th floor of the Tower of Babel.]
Xue Yao: "Oh, number 1. It's normal that she's the first to enter the next level—"
"Wait, how many floors?"
"What the hell?! Am I seeing right? 11th floor??"
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