Chapter 152 Chapter 152
Weekends.
Fengche woke up early in the morning and couldn't wait to put on Pipikun's connected device and rush into the game world.
He has now been completely conquered by the game. Fun is one thing, but more importantly, Pipikun has learned several skills through it, and his combat strength has increased by leaps and bounds.
In the recent monthly exam, Feng Che performed exceptionally well and achieved an unprecedentedly good result.
The moment the results came out, he and Pipikun hugged each other and cheered, laughter and tears splashing together, feeling that all the sweat they had shed day and night was in vain.
Although it was just a preliminary test, Fengche was full of confidence for the upcoming college entrance examination.
He even started collecting evolution materials, preparing to have Pipikun achieve a second-order evolution before the exam. Hadn't renowned research institutes endorsed it? The evolutionary path within the game was reliable and achievable!
Although it's only been less than a month, Fengche is completely different now. His dejection has been completely swept away. He now has so many goals, and every day is filled with confidence and ambition.
[Beep, game loading...]
"I want Pipikun to evolve into its most powerful new form," Feng Che said as he waited for the connection, mentally sketching out a beautiful future. "I need to get good grades and go to a good university. Which is better, S University or T University? Hahahaha, I'm so torn!"
"Also, it's time to put the next contracted profound beast on the agenda. Considering the team battles in the game, what I'm most lacking right now is an assassin with agility and attack, someone with a killer move that can kill with one strike..."
He was looking forward to it happily when suddenly, he heard a sharp buzzing sound in his ears.
[Beep—Link failed, master control is being taken over! Emergency mode activated, link disconnected—]
[Beep beep beep! Emergency mode canceled, can't exit! Can't exit!]
[Buzz——]
Feng Che's eyes went dark.
"……Bang!"
He collapsed to the ground wearing his gaming helmet, bringing down Pipikun, who was waiting for the game to load, with him. The loud noise alarmed the parents next door, who rushed over and knocked on the door...
…
The disaster brought by the Ark host was like a vortex, spreading rapidly along the network signal with Southwest and Yandu as the core.
Players quickly disconnected, staring in surprise at the "System Error" message after removing their helmets—but these were still the lucky ones. Some, like Feng Che and his Pipikun, didn't even have time to remove their helmets, collapsing with their eyes closed and falling into a deep coma.
In the competition area, Xu Feiying raised his hand and grabbed it hard.
He put his five fingers together and grabbed a handful of sparks from the void.
The sparks were bright, and the little lights flickered in fear, trembling between Xu Feiying's fingers, emitting faint but not negligible light, like souls that suddenly fell into darkness.
Chi Zi, who was not far away, was furious: "You - you can't possibly control so many online players!"
It's true that Ark's computing power is very strong, but turning the virtual into the real will consume more than 60% of its computing power. In addition to the above, it has to simulate the shape of Leviathan and call database skills according to the situation on the field. How can it spare so much energy?
Moreover, today was a weekend, and the number of real-time online players in the game was tens of millions. Controlling that many people would require far more computing power than simply maintaining the game. How could Xu Feiying possibly be free?
In response to Chi Zi, Xu Feiying laughed arrogantly.
"Are you stupid?" He raised his eyebrows, his eyes filled with indescribable arrogance. "I don't need to control tens of millions of people. It's enough to randomly control a thousand of them."
"These points of light in my hand now represent those one thousand unlucky souls. What do you think, Xiaoxia, the beast master respected by everyone, are you willing to risk the lives of these one thousand people?"
"Their consciousness is linked to the Ark! The Gilded Sky Dragon's characteristic is 'disorder'? Come on, let it be disordered!"
"Let's see which one disintegrates first, Leviathan, or these unfortunate ones turn into vegetables first?"
Unbridled laughter echoed in the empty space. The contestants stared at Xu Feiying with angry eyes, almost gritting their teeth.
And they knew that more than 80% of the beastmasters currently being trained in the game were students.
College entrance examination candidates or university students.
There is no way around it. The game has just been launched and the production of simulation helmets has not yet fully met market demand. At this time, the main people who are desperately trying to buy the goods are parents whose children are preparing for exams, especially after the improvement effect of game training has been proven - in order to give their children a little more hope of getting into a better university, they can make any effort.
“…That’s a thousand lives!”
Ji Hong was also shocked by Xu Feiying's ruthlessness: "No, what hatred or grudges are there? Are you going to turn them all into vegetables?"
"Don't you have any psychological burden at all?"
Xu Feiying shrugged: "What burden can I have?"
He tilted his head and pursed his lips at the alert and nervous Gilded Sky Dragon not far away: "It should be the one with the burden, right?"
"I'm not trying to kill them. I'm just saying that in this chaotic situation, if I rashly activate the 'disorder' attribute, it might disrupt their brain waves and cripple them."
"But maybe it's okay, right? Maybe some people's mental powers are immune to the effects of 'Disorder'? What do you think, Gilded Sky Dragon, do you dare to give it a try?"
Gilded Sky Dragon: "..."
Xu Feiying glanced at the Gilded Sky Dragon provocatively, and the dragon was almost furious. Its tail slapped the ground, and its body was flashing with gold and red light. Its anger almost turned into substance.
But it was anxious for a long time, and finally did not dare to rush forward and throw another "Disorder" like it did just now.
Xu Feiying may have no bottom line, but it and Xia Muqing can't stand it.
A thousand lives, a thousand ambitious beastmasters full of ideals and hopes for the future... Damn it, just thinking about it makes it suffocate.
Not far away, Xia Muqing also frowned.
She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, wishing she could punch Xu Feiying herself - this was the first time in many years that Xia Muqing had such a strong desire to beat someone up herself.
How abominable!
So despicable!
Is this kind of person qualified to be a beastmaster?
The others' eyes were filled with worry as well. With the only thing that could pose a serious threat to Leviathanmon, "Disorder," sealed away, their profound beasts were helpless against it, and could only watch helplessly as it trudged forward, step by step, towards the spatial boundary.
“Snap, snap…”
Every footstep hits everyone's heart hard.
It was like being hit by a heavy hammer, causing their hearts to tremble violently.
Is there any breakthrough point?
We can’t just let Leviathan appear in the real world like this, there will definitely be chaos!
Everyone was racking their brains, their minds working to the limit, and they could almost hear the sound of their own CPUs burning out.
At this moment, a faint, inconspicuous light flashed before Xia Muqing's eyes.
【Master, I have a solution! 】
It’s Ark Xiaoxue.
During the melee just now, it had been trying to scan the data of Leviathan, but the opponent was too large, and the database and computing power obtained after connecting to the Ark host far exceeded the limits of Ark Xiaoxue. For this reason, Ark Xiaoxue was down for more than ten seconds and was almost overwhelmed by the collected data stream.
It had to urgently stop the data scanning process and clear the memory before it finally restored computing power.
[Although I failed to save Leviathanmon's data, Master, I discovered the link between it and the Ark mainframe! ]
"If I cut the connection... I'm sorry, Master, I can't do that with my current abilities. But I can stuff something in there, something it can't parse quickly and requires a lot of computing space. Perhaps that could cause the Ark host to freeze?"
【This way, Xiao Jin can take advantage of the opportunity to attack! 】
Ark Xiaoxue presented her ideas to Xia Muqing by projecting small, light-colored characters.
Xia Muqing's eyes lit up when she saw this, but then she thought of something else and asked, "Xiaoxue, what are you going to transmit to it?"
[…Emotional energy, Master.]
Xia Muqing: “……!”
A flash of light flashed in her mind, and she quickly understood Ark Xiaoxue's plan.
Ark Xiaoxue is too small and the gap between it and the Ark host is too large. Its only and absolutely overwhelming advantage is the awakening of self-awareness and the perception of emotional energy.
This is an advantage that has been fed bit by bit by the Yin-Yang Butterfly over a long period of time, and it is a unique experience for the Ark host - if it can work, it will definitely be effective in fighting against the Leviathan.
"What's the specific plan?" Xia Muqing whispered, "What are you going to do?"
Ark Xiaoxue lay on her shoulder like a cute little snowman, tilting her head, and silently projected the plan on the screen.
[The Leviathan is very close. If I can just touch it quietly, I can connect to the Ark mainframe.]
"After all, Master, we are all made of elemental fluids. My own intelligence was also separated from the Ark mainframe. We are one."
【Believe me, Master, I can do it! 】
[I've always helped my master with chores, but I also really want to help him resolve crises, just like Xiaofeng and the others...]
The indicator light above Ark Xiaoxue's head flashed continuously.
It was projected on the screen, so the ups and downs of the tone could not be heard, but Xia Muqing looked carefully at the two lines of small words in front of her, and inexplicably read something strange from them.
The three words "I agree" were already on the tip of her tongue, but they kept turning around in her throat. After a moment, Xia Muqing suddenly realized: "Well, what happens after the input is finished?"
"How do you detach from the Ark host?"
【……】
Ark Xiaoxue fell into silence, which was rare.
The little snowman on my shoulder got stuck for a moment and flashed the indicator light a little guiltily.
The blank display screen trembled in front of Xia Muqing's eyes, gradually making her fingertips cold and her heart beat violently.
"It's easy to merge, but hard to split, right?" Her voice was dry. "So, Xiaoxue, are you planning a 'suicide attack'?"
[…Master, this is the only solution at the moment.]
Xia Muqing's eyelids twitched suddenly.
Yes, she understood.
The defense of the Ark host is not so easy to crack. Even though it has been riddled with holes by the virus, it takes time to transmit information inward, and it is easy for Xu Feiying to discover clues.
If they alert the enemy and they really take ruthless action, all 1,000 beastmasters will be finished.
Therefore, the best way is for Ark Xiaoxue to "feed the demon with her own body" - directly integrate the elemental fluid into the stripped body. The emotional energy carried in its body will also explode deep in the core of the Ark host, paralyzing its computing power in one fell swoop.
This is the best solution at present.
only……
She had to sacrifice the cute and intelligent intelligent mechanical beast Ark Xiaoxue who had been with her for a year.
Seeing Xia Muqing's pain, the little snowman lowered his head and rubbed Xia Muqing's shoulder with his round and elastic cheeks, full of dependence.
【But Master, I am just an intelligence. 】
[Surely, the one thousand trapped beastmasters and the tens of millions of people in the northern cities are more important, right?]
"Master is a divine beastmaster, and I must help you shoulder the responsibility of protecting the masses. Master, give the order quickly!"
[If we don't hurry up, it will be too late when Leviathanmon comes out! ]
"...I don't agree." Xia Muqing said.
Her voice was a little trembling, her face was pale, but her tone was firm.
"Xiaoxue, although you are not actually my contracted profound beast, ever since you awakened your consciousness, I have always placed you and Xiaofeng and the others in the same place in my heart. You may be a mechanical intelligence, but you are also our family!"
"There must be another way. Leviathan Beast can't transform itself into reality that quickly. We still have time. Let's think of another way!"
【……】
The indicator light on Ark Xiaoxue's screen flashed rapidly.
Xia Muqing closed her eyes.
She desperately tried to recall the knowledge in her mind, frantically searching for the key to breaking the deadlock. Leviathan's weakness was already obvious. Its piecemeal soul and the woven wounds revealed at the moment of injury were the best proof.
She needed a card, a card that was enough to kill her and lead her to victory.
“Click.”
At the moment of extreme tension, a subtle voice suddenly sounded in Xia Muqing's ears.
She looked down, and her pupils widened instantly - like a long drought finally ending in a downpour, her heartbeat quickened in an instant, and a bright light blossomed before her eyes.
The cocoon from which the Yin-Yang Butterfly evolved had a small crack.
…
“Crack, crack…”
More and more tiny noises were heard.
The black and white cocoon fragments fell down and turned into shining points of light the moment they hit the ground, floating like thousands of fireflies.
White light shone from where the fragments fell, holy and warm, like a feather dropped from an angel above the clouds, but mysterious black patterns spread from the bottom of the cocoon, and the strange patterns were like the chanting of ghosts, faintly emitting a thrilling power.
The smooth butterfly wings emerged from the gap.
The evolved Yin-Yang Butterfly's size had shrunk instead of grown. It broke free from its cocoon and landed affectionately on Xia Muqing's shoulder. Amidst the swirling boulders and flying sand, it appeared unremarkable. Even the turbulent profound energy fluctuations of its breakout had been subdued by its complete evolution, leaving it looking like an ordinary little butterfly.
But Xia Muqing knew how terrifying the power contained in it was.
The moment the evolution was completed, great turmoil arose within her spiritual contract, and her spiritual power spread rapidly, outlining a huge butterfly totem in the invisible spiritual space that seemed to cover the entire sky.
Several thin red lines hung down from the totem - Xia Muqing shuddered subconsciously when she saw this scene.
It's nothing, it's just that it looks too much like the Ghost Butterfly, and she's a little stressed.
But it doesn’t matter. Xiao Zi’s skills are of course fundamentally different from those of the Ghost Butterfly. The red line it drops is very soft and gently wraps around Xia Muqing’s mental power.
At the same time, several other lines were connected to Fengluo Lord and Gilded Sky Dragon through the mysterious beast contract. There was also a line that twisted left and right in the void, building an invisible channel between souls, and magically connected to Ark Xiaoxue.
Xia Muqing's eyes sparkled: "Skill, Overclocking Empathy?"
This is another powerful skill that can only be mastered after evolution. It can connect with the hearts of partners, so as to achieve the effect of tacit cooperation without communication on the battlefield. It is one of the most powerful mental auxiliary skills.
Xiao Zi's perception of consciousness and soul is as strong as ever. In its hands, this skill, which was originally intended to enhance its ability of empathy, has been transformed into the creation of an "encrypted chat room" in the Xuan Beast Space that is unknown to outsiders.
The mysterious beasts under Xia Muqing's command joined the chat room one after another.
Lord Fengluo and Gilded Sky Dragon had just been drawn in, and they were a bit slow to react, almost thinking the enemy had resorted to some devious trick. But then, they sensed a familiar presence and immediately understood what was happening. They cheered in surprise, "Ah?"
[It's Xiao Zi's aura! ]
[How is it, was the evolution successful? ]
A cheerful mood came along the red line. It was Xiao Zi who was reassuring her friends.
The Gilded Sky Dragon poked the red line curiously, spun it into a ball with its tail, and moved it back and forth in its spiritual space.
[This thing is amazing, just like the secret voice transmission in martial arts movies. Hey, Xiao Zi, can it evolve a little more? Can you send me an emoji?]
【……】
"Don't interrupt," Xia Muqing said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "The situation is so critical."
"Xiao Zi, what new abilities do you have after your evolution? Let me see if there is any way to break the deadlock."
[Okay, Master! Don't worry, I can see everything outside through the cocoon.]
"I have an idea. Let's go fight Leviathan together with Ark Xiaoxue! With my abilities, I can protect Ark Xiaoxue's consciousness from being dispersed by the mainframe. And who knows, maybe we can even get some benefits?"
My specific plan is...
The conspiracy that takes place in the spiritual world is highly efficient, fast, and covert, and will not reveal any reaction from the outside world.
In Xu Feiying's eyes, Xia Muqing froze in place with a dazed expression for a full minute - to him, this was a clear sign that she was at her wit's end and had no other options.
"Oh, are you so desperate that you give up?"
"What Xiaoxia Divine Beast Master, what Dragon Beast Tamer, nothing more than that."
Xu Feiying raised the corners of his lips in satisfaction, thinking that these hypocritical guys were really easy to use. Just capturing 1,000 ordinary beastmasters would tie their hands.
It’s so simple…
Oh, no, wait.
A flash of lightning appeared in Xu Feiying's mind, and she slightly gathered her fingers together, tightly grasping the trembling and struggling light.
——Is he mistaken? He has the mental power of 1,000 beastmasters at his disposal!
Why are they just being held hostage? There must be a better way to use them. For example, if Leviathanmon absorbs this spiritual energy, could it evolve into an even more powerful form?
Yes, why can’t human mental power be absorbed?
Previously, he and Dr. Z had focused their attention solely on the Mystical Beasts, but weren't Beastmasters also incredibly powerful? If they could cultivate a unique and powerful Mystical Beast by consuming 1,000 unqualified ordinary people, wouldn't that be a fantastic bargain?
Xu Feiying's mind was racing with thoughts.
He figured out the key, clapped his hands happily, and couldn't help but reveal a look of pride in his eyes.
This idea helped him open the door to a new world - the enhancement of Leviathan was far from reaching its upper limit, and the move of seizing the Ark host might play a greater role than he expected!
This thought made Xu Feiying's entire body excited, his clenched right hand trembling uncontrollably. He seemed to see a wonderful scene in which his profound beast continued to grow stronger, and he himself stood at the top of the world!
"It's so exciting! This is the Xiangzi that a beastmaster should have!"
In order to obtain a more powerful mysterious beast, you should use any means necessary and pay any price. Only in this way can you become the strongest!
"But there's no rush now. Let's use these 1,000 people to hold back Xia Muqing and the others."
Xu Feiying secretly made up his mind that when the Leviathan beast completely turned from virtual to real, he would certainly not let go of these "tonic things".
Let those 1,000 unlucky souls become the sacrifices to congratulate Leviathanmon on ascending to the throne of supreme power—
“Bang!”
Amidst the flying sand and rocks, something was approaching silently, taking advantage of the cover of the dark sky.
Immediately, taking advantage of the moment when Xu Feiying was distracted, he pounced on the Leviathan beast!
Ark Xiaoxue's body was too small. When she pounced on the Leviathan, she was just like a little moth that overestimated its own capabilities. She hid in a blind spot and, with the help of the Leviathan's tall body, Xu Feiying didn't see her at all.
The moment it stuck to the Ark, the snow melted quickly like a snowball!
It transformed into a stream of azure data and quickly merged with the Ark host that was being occupied by the Leviathan beast. Then, before anyone could react, it spewed out all the emotional energy stored in the database!
At the last moment of disappearance, the indicator light on Ark Xiaoxue's head flashed repeatedly.
Like a silent cry—
The Ark host has a huge database that contains thousands of skill characteristics and mysterious beast models, right?
But all of its memory is used to store every bit of life with friends!
"……boom!"
A powerful roar exploded in the virtual space, like thousands of cannons soaring into the sky, or like muffled thunder rolling in the clouds, exploding a string of lightning and thunder in the vast data space.
Leviathan's body stopped instantly!
It crouched there, trembling violently like a jammed machine, its once-sturdy skin once again revealing the state of a broken data stream. Xu Feiying looked up in astonishment. Just as his five fingers were about to exert force, the countless points of light in his palm suddenly lost control and were swept away by the wind, whistling into the sky.
"What's going on?"
Xu Feiying was stunned by the sudden change.
What could possibly affect the operating speed of the Ark host? Could it be that the other party also wrote a virus?
No, the virus still needs time to invade! But the feedback from the Ark host now was like being suddenly plunged into thousands of tons of seawater—not static salt water, but a fierce, surging, unstoppable tsunami that instantly brought down all the logic code!
[Beep—System error, unable to decipher! Unable to decipher!!]
How can we understand the friendship between companions using the digital logic of 0 and 1?
Ark Xiaoxue made a desperate attack, and the emotional energy poured into the host was astonishingly strong.
The daily support, the passion of fighting side by side, the warmth and comfort of being caressed on the head by the master, even playing and watching TV series with Xiao Jin, Xiao Zi and others, and recording every moment of training data with Xiao Feng...
Ark Xiaoxue has been trying hard to learn how to feel and express her emotions.
But it was truly inept at this, conveying less than one percent of the emotions within. The rest, it had carefully categorized and stored in its database, the most precious treasure it had accumulated since its birth.
At this moment, Ark Xiaoxue immersed herself in the data of the Ark host with an unprecedented determination.
The treasure box was opened, Pandora's box was overturned, and the unparalleled power of emotions quickly spread within the system.
This was the first time it participated in the battle itself, not as an auxiliary.
This feeling is simply... awesome!
Ark host, Leviathan! Even though we share the same elemental fluid, can you understand how I feel right now?
[Beep beep beep! Alarm! Alarm! !]
Emotional consciousness, which is faster, more predatory and contagious than a virus, quickly gained a foothold in the logical operation system of the Ark host.
Ark instinctively wanted to analyze this string of data, but the more computing power it invested, the more it was constrained by the vast amount of computing power involved. In the end, it was like being stuck in a quagmire, unable to extricate itself!
Xu Feiying was completely stunned: "Hey! Hey, Leviathan!"
"Move now, you idiot!!"
"The Ark mainframe—isn't it said to possess a computing power far superior to any computer in the world, and a massive memory database? How could it suddenly break down, huh?"
"Damn it, move! Move!"
His roar had no effect. The Leviathan seemed to be under a spell of immobilization and was frozen in place.
The red light in its eyes gradually dimmed, which was proof that the data was unable to maintain computing operations - but at the same time, another faint blue light quietly revived.
How could anyone else miss such a good opportunity?
Xia Muqing shouted, "Xiaofeng, Xiaoxue, attack!"
Wind, frost and disordered fire roared in. After freeing the hostages, the Gilded Sky Dragon used its special features without any pressure!
The others showed no weakness, unleashing a variety of deadly attacks on the Leviathan without hesitation. Amidst a whirring, mysterious light, a tiny butterfly soared into the air, silently releasing a dark, soul-slicing red light...
"Sizzle."
The red light fell on Leviathanmon.
It was strategically positioned, right along the fine stitches that had previously appeared on the Leviathan. The light, like a thread, resembled the sharpest laser blade, slicing through the Leviathan under Xu Feiying's piercing gaze.
“…Boom!”
Its sturdy wings were cut off, and the bat wings fell heavily to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Xu Feiying: "Asshole!"
He yelled frantically, "Heal me, heal me! Use the skill 'Regeneration' ahh ...
No response.
The stuck Ark host was now stuck in a quagmire and was completely unable to call upon the database's features and skills as freely as before.
Seeing this, Xiao Zi took advantage of the situation and pursued, throwing out several red lines.
The crimson threads, gleaming like a rosy glow, were no less than a knife at Xu Feiying's neck. He stared intently at them, watching them flutter and entwine like butterflies. Wherever they touched, the Leviathan's massive body was ripped apart.
Hard shell, sharp horns...
"What the hell is this skill?" he shouted in despair. "What mysterious beast—this isn't the Yin-Yang Butterfly. Are you hiding another mysterious beast?"
Not far away, others were also looking at this scene in astonishment.
After hearing Xu Feiying's roar, they all looked at Xia Muqing in confusion.
Xia Muqing smiled at them.
She raised her hand and butterflies fluttered onto her white fingertips.
The butterfly's wings are pure white, but when light and shadow pass by them, deep dark red lines appear faintly, just like the flowers on the other side growing from the depths of the Styx. When the butterfly's wings flap, the petals sway, which is gorgeous and breathtaking.
"Let me introduce to you all, this is the second-stage evolution of my Xiao Zi."
"It's called 'Netherworld Butterfly'."
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