Chapter 67. Fourth Job Advancement Quest, with...
For the next twenty days or so, from day to night, the outskirts of the capital city were filled with hordes of demonic beasts, their eyes bloodshot, wanting nothing more than to destroy everything in their sight.
They came in droves, giving people no time to rest.
Day 1: The Thunderous Beasts attack.
Day 2: Thunderous Beast, plus a faceless, slime-like monster with dragging fur.
...
By the fourth day of the battle, many professionals near the South Gate had succumbed and become prey for the monsters.
On the battlefield, all that could be seen was a pockmarked expanse of red, and the air was thick with the stench of decay, burning, and gunpowder smoke...
The lifeless, fallen body of the monster lay in small puddles of blood, where fragments of human remains could still be seen, along with dropped gold coins, equipment, ores, and other resources.
These small puddles are filled with the blood of monsters or professionals.
Because the ground beneath their feet was already saturated and could absorb no more water, it overflowed, forming puddles.
Lin Xiaoxiao was panting heavily, her hands trembling as she leaned on the turret for support. The dark circles under her eyes were very obvious, and she was already at her last gasp.
Xiao Weizhi, who was standing next to her, also had a faint dark circle under his eyes. He turned to look at her with some concern: "Should we rest first?"
Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head and replied in a whisper, "After this wave of attacks, I'll go rest."
During these twenty-odd days, each member of the team slept an average of more than four hours a day, spending the rest of their time fighting. They only took a break when their mana reached the 20% threshold.
Everyone in the team is now drinking mana potions like water, and with Cheng Cheng's mana regeneration skill, they can barely keep up with the consumption of damage-dealing skills.
There were some advantages, though. In those twenty days, Lin Xiaoxiao reached level 70, and the other members of the team all leveled up by one or more levels. (Note: Lin's leveling was slow because 50% of her experience points were deducted, and she also had to save some experience.)
The quest to advance to the fourth job advancement also popped up directly on the day you reached level 70:
Congratulations on reaching level 70! You have obtained the fourth job advancement quest.
[Fourth Job Advancement Quest: Craft 100 Treasure Chests [0/100], Quest Time Limit: Half a Year (180 Days)]
When Lin Xiaoxiao first saw this upgrade quest, she tried it and found a piece of ordinary wood.
Using the [Treasure Chest Crafting Technique], I created an ordinary-looking wooden chest without any grade, and put ten gold coins inside.
As a result, the treasure chest was not recognized by the mission.
Lin Xiaoxiao then noticed that there was a special note after the task:
【{Task Requirements: The treasure chest level cannot be lower than Bronze (a Bronze treasure chest must contain items, resources, and gold of the same level to be considered a suitable Bronze treasure chest)}】
'Bang--'
Wang Hao threw the rocket launcher on his shoulder to the ground, panting heavily as he pulled out a small stool, sat down on the spot, and casually picked up a bottle of mana potion from the low table next to him: "Out of mana, need to rest for a bit."
As soon as Wang Hao sat down, a skill with a blue glow targeted him directly.
Currently, Cheng Cheng's mana regeneration skill is only provided to Xiao Weizhi, Wang Hao, and Lin Xiaoxiao.
The main target of the healing skill is Li Junxuan, who is standing in front with the shield.
Cheng Cheng sat in a chair with a backrest and also drank a bottle of mana potion. Her lips were pale and chapped, and she was too weak to hold the 'Holy Scripture'. She could only place it on her lap with her right hand on it.
After the two finished drinking the medicine, they casually tossed the bottle aside, leaving it piled up like a small mountain of empty medicine bottles.
Chen Yijin, standing next door, was inside the alchemy device—[Lavis's Alchemy Equipment (Silver Grade)]—his hands never stopped moving as he continuously refined mana-restoring potions (which also cost money, just not as expensive).
Compared to other squads who need to go to the city gate to buy expensive mana and health potions when they run out of mana, the Dragon Fang squad has managed to produce and sell its own.
Jiang Tao, carrying Red Tail, slipped back from the middle of the battlefield, his hands on his knees, panting, and said, "Boss, it looks like the BOSS is about to come out."
Xiao Weizhi waved his staff, throwing out hundreds of lightning balls that blasted away a dozen or so monsters huddled together, frantically using their skills on Li Junxuan's shield: "Okay, I understand!"
During this period, a new boss will appear on average every two days.
Fortunately, these bosses were not high-level, and the professional teams present could defeat them by working together for several hours.
The next second, all the shields in front of Li Junxuan shattered into a large number of light spots and disappeared into the air.
Xiao Weizhi's eyes narrowed, and he quickly formed a hand seal with his left hand. Immediately afterwards, an energy rope appeared at the tip of his staff in his right hand.
He drew a semi-circle with his right leg, quickly assumed a horse stance, grabbed his staff with both hands at the same time, twisted his waist, and swung it forward quickly with a hooking motion.
They used energy ropes to tie Li Junxuan's waist and pulled him back from the front.
From the moment the shield shattered into pieces to the moment the person was fished back, everything happened in just a few seconds.
If Xiao Weizhi had been even a second slower, Li Junxuan might have been devoured as a snack by the pack of menacing monsters surrounding him.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Weizhi threw two (Silver-level) bombing scrolls forward.
A continuous zone of explosions instantly formed ahead, blasting the monster horde that was trying to break through into dust.
Li Junxuan grinned and gave Xiao Weizhi a thumbs up: "Boss, your reaction speed is comparable to Xiao Tao's."
Xiao Weizhi cast dozens of fireballs into the blast zone, then glanced coldly at Li Junxuan, who was grinning, and said, "If you understood the principle of knowing when to quit while you're ahead, I wouldn't have developed this kind of reaction speed."
Over the years, regarding Li Junxuan's problem...
Xiao Weizhi also had a lot of headaches. He had spoken to her face and cursed her behind her back.
As a result, Li Junxuan apologized with a smile on his face, but he didn't change anything afterward. He just stubbornly refused to change.
In the end, it was Xiao Weizhi who developed the skill of quickly rescuing people with his sharp eyes and nimble hands.
Li Junxuan chuckled and scratched his dusty head: "Hey, I just trusted you, boss, to get it back for me. Besides, as someone in the front row, every extra second I can hold out is a good thing."
Xiao Weizhi sneered, not wanting to pay any attention to Li Junxuan.
Lin Xiaoxiao leaned against the turret, listening to their conversation. A slight smile appeared on her lips. She pressed the attack button with her right thumb and, following Xiao Weizhi's attack, threw a huge cannonball made of gold coins into the bombardment zone.
A loud 'BOOM!' echoed through the blast zone, and amidst the billowing smoke, some severed limbs could be vaguely seen being blown into the air.
[Congratulations to the Dragon Fang Squad for their annihilation...]
Information about the annihilation of monsters was rapidly flooding the screen, and countless experience points were distributed among the team members according to their output.
Just as Xiao Weizhi had finished chopping up the head, he 'fished' Liu Huihui, who had rushed into the center of the monster horde, back.
The BOSS arrived at the south gate of the capital city on time.
This time, the BOSS is a black electric eel-like monster that flies in mid-air, surrounded by lightning, and is hundreds of meters long.
It has more than a dozen long tentacles in front of its mouth, and its fins on both sides of its body are very long and covered with countless bolts of lightning. With each swing, countless bolts of lightning will fall from the sky and strike the professionals, monsters and the ground.
A layer of electric current, about 5 or 6 centimeters thick, quickly formed on the ground. It was bluish and crackled with obvious reflections.
Because Lin Xiaoxiao's right leg prosthesis was made of some metal, even wearing shoes could not completely isolate it. There would still be current flowing back up along the prosthesis, constantly shocking the broken section of her right leg.
She jumped around while yelling, "Ouch, it's so numb and painful..." as she was being electrocuted.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Weizhi immediately lifted her up sideways with one hand, as if holding a child.
Lin Xiaoxiao instinctively wrapped her arms around Xiao Weizhi's neck and her legs around his waist, her eyes filled with terror, as if she had been electrocuted.
Cheng Cheng was picked up by Chen Feng, and Huang Yuwei was carried on Liu Huihui's back.
Only Wang Hao and Jiang Tao were left jumping around and yelling (these two were also fragile, with low lightning resistance, and couldn't withstand this current layer).
Cheng Cheng put his arms around Chen Feng's shoulders and complained helplessly, "He's too scared to even put his feet on the ground, how can he fight?"
Huang Yuwei, perched on Liu Huihui's back, nodded with lingering fear.
Lin Xiaoxiao looked down at the layer of electricity forming a dense current that covered Xiao Weizhi's instep, and asked worriedly, "Weizhi, do you want to jump?"
Don't let your feet get burned by the electric shock.
Xiao Weizhi kept her eyes fixed on the BOSS that was constantly moving in the sky and replied gently, "It's okay, I have high lightning resistance and can withstand it."
Just as everyone was about to launch a counterattack, they unleashed a wave of skills to test the waters.
The BOSS intensified its fin-waving motion, releasing even more electricity, which thickened to the calf area.
At this point, most of the professionals couldn't hold on any longer and started jumping and unleashing skills at the same time.
In the Dragon Tooth Squad, besides Wang Hao and Jiang Tao, Chen Yijin has joined the Tigger cosplay. The three of them roared, jumped, and threw skills at the monster in front of them.
"Wood can block lightning. Use the wooden planks and the levitation spell." A very soft voice sounded from Lin Xiaoxiao's shoulder.
It was the intelligent spirit, Quan Zhi, who appeared at some unknown time and sat on Lin Xiaoxiao's shoulder.
However, it concealed itself, so no one discovered its existence.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi heard the reminder at the same time and quickly realized what it meant.
Lin Xiaoxiao immediately took out several thick wooden boards, each 2m*2m*20cm, from her spatial storage and threw them out.
Xiao Weizhi waved his staff and cast several levitation spells on the wooden planks.
After the planks floated up, he grabbed Lin Xiaoxiao and jumped onto one of the planks, shouting, "Follow me!"
The rest of the Dragon Fang team immediately followed Xiao Weizhi's movements, jumping onto the rice board. The moment their feet touched the ground, everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, finally no longer going to be shocked.
Upon seeing this, a nearby professional team immediately copied the Dragon Fang team's method.
If you don't have levitation skills, use a wooden chair to stand on; or use a metal stool underneath, and place a thick wooden board or material that insulates against electric current on top.
After temporarily escaping the clutches of the electric current layer, everyone's attention turned to the BOSS in mid-air.
Someone loudly suggested, "Let's take down the BOSS first. With the BOSS around, there's no way to clear the monsters."
Immediately someone agreed: "No problem."
...
Just as the professionals on the south gate were working together to bring the BOSS in mid-air to a near-crippled state.
At the same time, hundreds of identical black electric eel monster BOSSes suddenly appeared.
All the professionals gasped in unison; with so many bosses, how long would it take to defeat them all?
In the distance, a figure dressed entirely in black, its body taut like a cannonball, was launched upwards, heading straight for one of the BOSSes.
A few dozen seconds later, a huge flash of light from the skill illuminated the entire sky.
A BOSS was split in two, dropping a sky full of gold coins, equipment, and BOSS treasure chests.
Then the BOSS's body, broken in two, fell to the ground along with these things, making a loud bang and shaking the ground for a few seconds.
After dealing with one boss, the figure stepped on the fallen body of the boss, bounced up, and continued to deal with other bosses.
Then, several arrows, with a sharp whistling sound, flew towards the BOSS's head in the sky.
In an instant, one of the BOSSes' heads exploded into a huge cloud of blood mist, and its headless body fell down amidst the blood mist, gold coins, treasure chests, and other items.
Several figures followed closely behind the black figure, soaring into the air and using a few skills to kill a monster BOSS.
Lin Xiaoxiao's pupils reflected the battle scene in the sky, and she opened her mouth wide in shock.
She recognized them; were they Uncle Jiang? Sister Chen? Uncle Wang? ...
[Congratulations on defeating the level 135 (Diamond) Black Eel Electric Fish Beast BOSS! You have obtained...]
Under the leadership of these individuals, the professionals on the South Gate side easily weathered this wave of bosses.
After the BOSS wave was defeated, Jiang Bo and the others left the place quietly, as if they had only come here to clear out this wave of monster BOSSes.
Hidden in the clouds in the distance, the man who had watched the whole thing couldn't help but mutter a curse: "Damn it, didn't they say there aren't many Rank 7 experts in the capital right now? What's wrong with this team? Those good-for-nothings are really useless. They couldn't hold them off, and they didn't even get the information right."
The woman next door said nonchalantly, "It's okay, we can just bring out another wave of monster bosses. What's the situation with Mu Dongye and the others now?"
The man seemed unable to suppress his anger and replied through gritted teeth, "We've temporarily kept them in the secret realm. It will probably take another two months for them to get back."
The woman's voice sounded surprised, then turned extremely agitated: "Two months? Wasn't the plan supposed to be more than three months? They're all useless! Urge those bastards in the capital who aren't dead to speed things up!"
The man's voice was somewhat hesitant: "Okay."
...
The two chatted for a while in the clouds, then vanished from that spot.
Not long after the man and woman left, a figure came chasing after them, searched around in the clouds, and found that they were too late again.
A hoarse male voice gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath: "Good job, treating me like a dog. Just wait, I'll send you to the secret realm to plow the fields..."
Such incidents occur from time to time over the capital, with both sides engaging in a guerrilla war, chasing and fleeing, but so far no illegal immigrants have been caught.
Lin Xiaoxiao below was unaware of what was happening in the sky.
Instead, inside the tent, they stared in surprise at the uninvited 'acquaintance' before them.
Tada stood in a corner of the tent, waving cheerfully at Lin Xiaoxiao: "Hi, Agent, it's been a long time."
Lin Xiaoxiao sat on the folding bed, hugging the blanket to her chest, looking utterly helpless: "Next time you show up, could you at least give me a heads-up?"
Tada sighed and reminded him, "I sent you a message before I came here, but you didn't reply."
Have you sent a message?
Lin Xiaoxiao opened the folded contact list with some skepticism and found that there were indeed several messages on it:
One hour ago: {Tada: Miss Agent, I need to speak with you.}
Forty minutes ago: {Tada: I happen to be near the capital, can I come visit you?}
Thirty-five minutes ago: {Tada: Hello, may I come to you?}
...
Ten minutes ago: {Tada: I'm coming!}
Lin Xiaoxiao's expression froze, and she gave an awkward laugh. She immediately opened the message notification on the panel.
The two people in front, Tada and Mao Chang, would message her every day, whether they had free time or not, to ask about her leveling progress and when she could open a treasure chest of gold level or higher.
Lin Xiaoxiao found the two people too talkative, so she turned off the setting that allowed messages to pop up directly on the screen.
She coughed lightly twice, her tone somewhat unnatural: "What do you need me for?"
Tada pulled out a bunch of things from his space and dumped them on the ground. There were quite a few bronze and silver level items, including some wood, metal, and gemstone materials, which were exactly what Lin Xiaoxiao needed to make the treasure chest.
He pointed to the pile of things and said, "Someone wants me to give these things to you."
Lin Xiaoxiao frowned as she looked at the small mountain of materials on the ground and asked, puzzled, "Who told you to give me these things?"
Tada tilted his head and scratched it: "I don't know. I also accepted the mission in the mission hall. The mission poster was anonymous."
The mission hall? A place like the hall in that underground auction house?
Tada pressed a button on the side of his right wristband, and a small opening on the wristband emitted a blue light, which swept across the objects on the ground and then shone on Lin Xiaoxiao, who was sitting on the small bed in a daze.
He then waved goodbye, saying, "Okay, I've delivered the items. I'm going back to turn in the task. You keep busy, we'll talk again when we have time."
Before Lin Xiaoxiao could react, he waved and left.
Helpless, Lin Xiaoxiao reached out towards the spot where Tada had disappeared: "Hey, at least tell me where you accept missions?"
Do you deliver packages?
They came in a hurry and left in a hurry. At least tell her where the mission hall is, right?
Quan Zhi floated in mid-air and replied calmly, "The mission hall of the secret realm administrator? I roughly know where it is."
Lin Xiaoxiao turned her head and looked expectantly at Quan Zhi in mid-air: "Where is he?"
Quan Zhi's eyes held a complex expression as he calmly replied, "The City Favored by the Gods!"
After Quan Zhi finished mentioning the name of the City of Divine Favor, he dispersed his form, turning into points of light and merging into Lin Xiaoxiao's body, unwilling to say anything more.
The City Favored by the Gods? What kind of place is that? I've never heard of such a place.
She tentatively asked the empty tent, "Quan Zhi, where is the City of Divine Favor?"
After waiting for a while, Quan Zhi still didn't come out to speak.
Lin Xiaoxiao guessed that it wouldn't be willing to talk, and the smile on her face turned somewhat helpless.
Since acquiring the All-Knowing Spirit some time ago, aside from the initial few words given...
It wouldn't say another word, only occasionally reminding Lin Xiaoxiao if it couldn't stand it, just like when they were fighting the BOSS earlier that day.
Recalling those few words it said:
Please conceal your profession and identity!
'Pretend to be weak until you become strong!'
Don't try to regain all your professional skills when you're weak! Be careful not to get caught in a sting operation.
...
Lin Xiaoxiao felt as if a thousand-pound stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
Those few words, combined with the memories from before, lead to one conclusion: the "disappearance" of her "predecessors" is a mystery with unimaginable depths...
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