Chapter 85. Trial of the Prodigies, Round Two...
In the following days, Lin Xiaoxiao led her teammates to explore mechanisms, search for treasure chests, and occasionally encounter monster bosses. After defeating them, they would quickly leave and continue their search.
However, sometimes, some unexpected things happen that are both funny and frustrating, such as this day:
A rumbling sound came from the ground, gradually becoming more and more rapid, and some messy and heavy footsteps could be faintly heard.
Longya and his group ran frantically backward, followed by a 7-8 meter round boulder.
As Li Junxuan ran, he cursed, "Jiang Tao, Wang Hao, are you two asking for trouble? Xiaoxiao already said not to touch that wall, but you two insisted on playing around next to it."
Wang Hao and Jiang Tao didn't dare to speak at all, and ran wildly beside their teammates with their heads down.
Everyone was carefully avoiding the wall, but the two of them bickered and shoved each other a couple of times. In one moment of carelessness, Liu Huihui was pushed against the wall.
As the mechanism was activated, the terrain changed, and six enormous round boulders appeared out of thin air and rolled down the long passage.
Unfortunately, this giant rock, made of some unknown material, is impervious to water and fire, and cannot be broken by any skills.
Xiao Weizhi used a forbidden ice spell, but it could only hold the boulders in place for a dozen seconds, giving them time to run away.
Lin Xiaoxiao lay on Xiao Weizhi's back, her eyes closed, beads of cold sweat appearing on her forehead, her spiritual energy surging out as if it were free.
A dozen seconds later, she suddenly opened her eyes and spoke clearly and quickly: "After 30 meters ahead, turn left and walk along the right wall, but your body cannot touch the wall. Walk 13 meters, turn right and walk 11 meters. There is a brick-level monster BOSS waiting inside."
Amidst the clamor of running, the group, following Lin Xiaoxiao's directions, first turned left to avoid the round boulder behind them.
Then they walked to the right, carefully hugging the wall, each person holding their business attire tightly, as if afraid that if they weren't close enough, only a corner of their clothes would stick to the wall.
They had a previous experience where they thought it would be fine as long as no one touched it, but they didn't expect that even the hem of their business attire could trigger the mechanism.
Because of this incident, the group of fourteen fell into a cave filled with monster bosses that looked like snakes. They fought for a whole day before finally annihilating them all and emerging from a depth of over a hundred meters underground.
As soon as he stepped off the road, Chen Yijin, panting heavily, said with relief, "Finally, we're safe."
Upon hearing this, everyone present instantly changed their expressions.
Li Junxuan hurriedly reached out to cover Chen Yijin's mouth: "Brother Yijin, don't say it, don't say it."
The first time Chen Yijin said it was safe, the whole team was almost roasted by a fire-type monster that suddenly appeared; the second time he said it was safe, they were almost frozen into ice sculptures... the fifth time he said it, they fell directly into the snake pit.
The potency of this poisonous milk is even greater than the poisonous gas alchemical bomb that Chen Yijin himself created.
Liu Huihui reacted swiftly, raising his longsword and unleashing over thirty strikes in a single second, blocking the dense seed attack: "Too late."
Chen Feng swung his greatsword into an impenetrable semicircle and stood next to Liu Huihui, together blocking the overwhelming attack of seeds, each about half the size of a fist.
Li Junxuan immediately released his hand from Chen Yijin's mouth, his hands glowing brightly, and he carried the shield to the front.
Xiao Weizhi raised his staff, and a fiery red magic circle appeared in front of Li Junxuan's shield, firing hundreds and thousands of fireballs in succession towards the direction of the monster BOSS.
Holding a regular experience coin worth 50,000, Lin Xiaoxiao used a slingshot to shoot them one by one toward the location of the BOSS.
Wang Hao picked up his weapon and unleashed a series of skills; Jiang Tao stealthily disappeared into the darkness, stealthily closing in...
With everyone's tacit cooperation, this (diamond-level) plant-type tree spirit BOSS quickly lost its life force and fell to the ground, dropping a diamond-level treasure chest and 10 points.
Just as Jiang Tao rushed to the BOSS's side, ready to carry the treasure chest away...
In the farthest corner, the air distorted for a moment.
A vine was manipulated to send Jiang Tao flying, and then the tip of the vine was used to strike the wall containing the trap mechanism.
In an instant, the ground vanished, leaving behind a bottomless pit.
What followed was a peculiar pressure that suppressed and controlled everyone present, rendering them unable to move, and they fell straight down.
During her descent, Lin Xiaoxiao sensed the presence of a divinely favored being hiding in a corner, using a concealment tool. She didn't have time to project the experience coins she was holding.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at that corner, trying to figure out who had done it.
Xiao Weizhi struggled for a while before he could barely raise one hand, reach out and grab Lin Xiaoxiao's wrist, squeezing out a voice from his throat: "I'm here!"
Lin Xiaoxiao responded, "Mm."
During their fall, the fourteen members of Longya were quietly divided into several groups in the darkness and landed at different entrances.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi were assigned to a separate, special entrance.
The two slid down from the hole at the top and fell into the middle of an open space surrounded by layers of crystal.
Lin Xiaoxiao lay on Xiao Weizhi, who was acting as her cushion, and rested for a while until he lifted her up. Only then did the dark mist in her eyes gradually dissipate.
What comes into view is a vast expanse of unmined crystal mines shimmering with a pale blue glow. On the ground, on the walls, on the ceiling... in all directions, large and small translucent blue crystals are piled up in layers.
The crystals refract light from each other, emitting a dazzling brilliance, making them look very elegant and beautiful.
Xiao Wei asked with concern, "Is anything bothering you?"
Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head vigorously until the dizziness subsided a little, then replied in a muffled voice, "I'm fine."
The closer you get to their crystals, the brighter they shine, as if they have some kind of temperature sensing system installed.
Then Xiao Weizhi helped Lin Xiaoxiao, and the two of them walked around the crystal mine several times. They found that the cave was a completely enclosed, super-large cave with black stone walls all around. There was no way out of the cave entrance above their heads.
Staring at the automatically lighting crystal, Lin Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes, her gaze probing.
It feels very familiar, especially like an old acquaintance I've had dealings with before, and it's my favorite style.
With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes, activated her perception technique, and used her mental energy to quickly search the space. Finally, she caught the wisp of 'mental energy' that had been wandering around inside a huge crystal.
And using a sealing technique, it was sealed inside that crystal.
Lin Xiaoxiao led Xiao Weizhi to the crystal, which was over three meters tall and 1.7 meters wide, with seven or eight cross-sections, and asked coldly, "You called me here, is there something you need?"
From the moment she entered the second secret realm, she had a strange feeling. It wasn't that she was being watched, but rather that she felt like she was being led by the nose and constantly being guided in a certain direction.
Inside the crystal, a cluster of purple flames the size of a fist was flickering, upon hearing Lin Xiaoxiao's question.
It began to deform and twist, gradually becoming a semi-transparent, proportionally shrunk shadow to only 1 meter in size.
The illusory figure was a man with an exquisitely feminine face. He wore a soft silk robe, and his slightly exposed chest had several unique totem tattoos. His face was covered with many scattered gems, his long curly hair was adorned with numerous gems, and his earlobes wore a bunch of extravagant gem and feather earrings.
He stared at Lin Xiaoxiao with great interest for a while, nodded slightly, and said in a clear and gentle voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you here. I am Zhong Sang, the agent of the God of Probability."
It really was him, Zhong Sang.
A neutral divine agent who loves sparkling gems, gambling, and adventure, and is also one of the proctors for this Trial of the Prodigies.
In her past life, he was clearly one of the agents who stood by and watched coldly. In this life, he actually took the initiative to come to her door. Was there some change that she was unaware of?
Lin Xiaoxiao's lips curled slightly, her eyes calm and devoid of any smile as she stared directly at the illusory figure before her: "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am the agent of the goddess of fortune—Lin Xiaoxiao."
Zhong Sang should use honorifics when speaking to Lin Xiaoxiao, but Lin Xiaoxiao doesn't because: even gods are ranked.
The goddess of fortune is the primary deity; the god of probability is the secondary deity.
The legitimate hierarchy of deities is divided into: righteous gods, first-level gods, second-level subordinate gods, and third-level attached gods.
Besides these four god ranks, there are two special god ranks: Dark God and Wild God.
The Dark God faction and the Righteous God faction are enemies.
Every Dark God is a violent and bloodthirsty being; over 90% of illegal immigrants worship Dark Gods.
Wild Gods, on the other hand, obtain godhood through special means, possessing the power of a half-god, but their bodies remain mortal, making them awkward pseudo-gods without any divine title.
Lin Xiaoxiao stared at the illusory figure inside the crystal and asked coldly, "So what is your purpose in going to such lengths to lure me here?"
Zhong Sang's gaze fell on Lin Xiaoxiao's face, the corners of her lips slightly curved up, she leaned forward, pretending to casually pull down her collar, revealing a charming smile, and asked in a low voice, "Can't it be that I admire you?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Weizhi's face instantly darkened.
Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but chuckle, as if she had heard a huge joke, and asked with a knowing smile, "Is the probability tilting in my favor, and you've come to me to surrender?"
The fact that a neutral person who enjoys gambling on probabilities would actively seek her out suggests that the odds of winning are starting to shift in her favor.
Zhong Sang clearly hadn't expected Lin Xiaoxiao to be so perceptive, actually noticing and guessing part of the truth in the first instance.
He straightened his robes and stood up straight: "You are very perceptive. The probability does indeed tilt slightly in your favor, although it is only 0.05 percent."
"As for surrendering, the current odds don't warrant me making that risky choice. I was just curious about who you are, which is why I tried to meet you during the exam."
Try to get a meeting?
Is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to meet once?
Unless she was acting on someone's behalf, or she possessed something the agent wanted.
A glint of shrewdness flashed in Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes as she looked at Zhong Sang with a half-smile: "Oh? Now that you've seen it, could you tell me the way out?"
Zhong Sang seemed surprised by Lin Xiaoxiao's reaction. According to his plan, there would be a long verbal probing and back-and-forth before he mercifully revealed the purpose of his visit.
Unexpectedly, Lin Xiaoxiao did not follow his plan at all, and after asking a few questions, she wanted to leave.
Zhong Sang thought about what she had obtained from Xingyan and Ge Wei. If she didn't fulfill her promise, what would be the consequences...? But she couldn't say it directly, otherwise she would offend the other group, which would be terrible.
He had no intention of beating around the bush with Lin Xiaoxiao any longer, and immediately stated his purpose: "Ahem, I've been asked to come and remind you that some things seem close at hand, but are actually far away."
She could guess that some of these things were skill fragments from the Endless Treasure Vault.
But what's this that's so close yet so far away? Is it another riddle?
Lin Xiaoxiao frowned deeply upon hearing Zhong Sang's deliberately mysterious words.
After a brief chat and exchanging communication modules with Zhong Sang, Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi were escorted away from the crystal cave.
Before leaving, Lin Xiaoxiao asked Zhong Sang: Where are her teammates? Can you take them to their side?
Zhong Sang looked somewhat embarrassed and said frankly that he had teleported the Dragon Fang Squad to various parts of the maze, and he couldn't send the two of them back to their designated locations. He could only randomly send them to some place in the maze.
After a moment of dizziness, Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi were teleported to a dead corner, where they met face to face with a god-giver dressed entirely in black.
Before the chosen one could react and attack Lin Xiaoxiao with his weapon.
She had already flicked a special experience coin worth 100,000 into the mouth of the chosen one, and her left eye pupil shone brightly as she quickly activated the scales of fortune.
And by manipulating the scales of fortune, he pressed the man's mouth against the wall, preventing him from spitting out the experience coins.
Thirty seconds later, a loud explosion rang out, and the chosen one was blown to pieces, along with the walls of the maze.
[Agent of Lady Luck: Lin Xiaoxiao, execute [Wild God--Vier]'s follower, and obtain: 1 Divine Shard]
Xiao Weizhi warily blocked Lin Xiaoxiao behind him, raised his staff, and faced the dozen or so dark figures standing behind the crater and the swirling smoke.
The leader of the opposing team, with her graceful swaying walk, appeared to be a woman.
When the woman stepped out of the smoke and saw Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao, whose bodies were partially obscured behind her, a glint of light suddenly flashed in her eyes.
Li Youran immediately stepped forward, placed her right hand on her left chest, bowed to Lin Xiaoxiao, and said sweetly, "My name is Li Youran, and I am a member of the Li family in the capital. I wanted to greet you before, but I missed it for some reason. I never expected to meet you here. It's a wonderful surprise."
Xiao Weizhi looked somewhat surprised, as if she didn't recognize the woman in front of her who spoke in a high-pitched voice.
In his memory, Li Youran was the heir of the Li family, a cool woman who was aloof, quiet, and decisive.
Lin Xiaoxiao stepped out from behind Xiao Weizhi and nodded to her: "I am Lin Xiaoxiao."
Li Youran seemed oblivious to Xiao Weizhi's gaze, revealing a sweet smile. At 1.75 meters tall, or 1.78 meters with shoes on, she subconsciously took two steps closer and bowed slightly in front of Lin Xiaoxiao, appearing somewhat obsequious.
Li Youran asked sweetly, "Excuse me, have you gotten separated from your teammates? Would we have the honor of accompanying you for a while?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao gave Xiao Weizhi a look and asked: Do you want to join them?
Xiao Weizhi thought for a moment, adopting the attitude that it's better to avoid trouble, and was about to shake his head and take her away to explore the maze alone, while also looking for teammates scattered throughout the maze.
Then Li Youran said, "Young Master Xiao, our grandfathers were from the same trench back then. Although we don't keep in touch much now, we are still considered childhood sweethearts. You don't need to worry that I will have any bad intentions."
After speaking, Li Youran glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao with a secretive look. With this person around, let alone having bad intentions, if this person was willing to accept their surrender, she would gladly offer up the entire Li family as a price.
Xiao Weizhi's cold gaze met Li Youran's, who gave him a fawning smile.
Ten minutes later, Xiao Weizhi carried Lin Xiaoxiao on his back and walked at the front of the group, with Li Youran following beside them, followed by more than a dozen of Li Youran's teammates.
Li Youran followed Lin Xiaoxiao, chattering away as she introduced herself, going on and on about everything from the food in the capital to her hobbies and embarrassing moments from the past, without stopping for a moment.
Even if they encounter monsters or traps, their team can quickly deal with them and then continue to stick close to Lin Xiaoxiao and talk to her.
Two hours later, Xiao Weizhi, whose head was still buzzing, stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, turned his head to look at the person next to him who hadn't stopped talking, and said coldly, "Can you shut up?"
Li Youran immediately looked at Lin Xiaoxiao with a pitiful expression.
Lin Xiaoxiao leaned against Xiao Weizhi's back, gently tugged at his earlobe, and whispered, "Weizhi, you can't be so fierce to girls."
Although it was obvious to everyone that this girl had ulterior motives, her voice was so sweet and pleasant to hear.
Xiao Weizhi turned his head and glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao, whose lips were slightly curled up. With just one glance, he guessed that Lin Xiaoxiao's wicked pleasure of watching a show had emerged.
He pressed his tongue against the inside of his mouth, and finally sighed helplessly, "Okay."
After another battle, it was soon time for dinner.
The Li family's team stayed separately to one side, while Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao sat alone at an exquisite table and chairs on the other side.
Li Youran carried a tray laden with delicious food, smiling sweetly: "Miss Lin, please try some. These are all my Aunt Luo's creations, praised by many. See if they suit your taste?"
They didn't mention their purpose at all, which made it seem like they were simply being hospitable.
Lin Xiaoxiao leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the table and supporting her chin with her hand, smiling as she looked at the attentive woman in front of her: "What do you want?"
Li Youran paused in her act of serving the dishes, then continued serving them and placing them in front of Lin Xiaoxiao. Her words, however, betrayed her true feelings: "I didn't want them; it's just that we know each other very well."
Lin Xiaoxiao interrupted Li Youran's hypocritical rhetoric, tapping the table with the fingers of her other hand, and said in a gentle voice, "Tell me your purpose now, and I can consider it."
The implication was that if she continued to say such hypocritical and meaningless things, she would take it seriously and he would never mention any purpose in front of her again.
Li Youran froze, her eyes darting around rapidly as she mentally weighed whether to reveal her purpose.
A moment later, Li Youran stood before Lin Xiaoxiao, her hands pressed tightly against her sides, bent over at a 90-degree angle, her head bowed, revealing the vulnerable nape of her neck. Her voice was firm: "Please give me a chance. I want to follow you."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Weizhi remained expressionless, but his hand, hidden under the table, gripped the corner of his robe tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Lin Xiaoxiao was taken aback when she heard this, but then quickly realized that what Li Youran wanted was the position of divine favor under her name.
Each deity's agent has several followers under their name, and they have a few slots that allow them to bypass the tasks that need to be completed and directly enlighten the followers.
Currently, she has no divine favor.
However, the divine rank should be a secret to all human professionals who are not favored by the gods, so why did Li Youran set her sights on her?
Was it a coincidence, or was it intentional?
Lin Xiaoxiao noticed Xiao Weizhi's tense emotions, reached out and patted his hand to signal him to relax, her tone somewhat languid: "Oh? Why do you want to follow me?"
As far as she knew, for a scion of a noble family like Li Youran, finding a prerequisite quest to become a favored one of the gods was not difficult at all (except for the quest of becoming a sworn official).
Li Youran seemed to recall something unpleasant, her hands clenched into fists, then relaxed after a moment, her voice low and deep: "Because you are a Chinese, and also a woman, following you, I don't need to pay 'that' kind of price."
Additional 'that kind of' cost?
Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Was this the price she had in mind?
Her gaze swept over Li Youran's superior face and slender figure, and she nodded knowingly. It wasn't a secret that some divine agents liked handsome men and beautiful women.
My memory of the Li family in the capital is very limited. The only thing I can remember is that they never betrayed the Dragon Kingdom until their complete annihilation. It's just that their daily behavior seemed to lack martial ethics.
The combat department, the top officials in the capital, and the Li family, who were watching the live broadcast from the outside, watched with bated breath as Li Youran rashly revealed his purpose, fearing that it would displease Lin Xiaoxiao.
As for the other powerful families and forces... they watched the actions of the Li family heir with gritted teeth, cursing Li Youran's plan to fail in their hearts.
The head of the Li family sat in his study, watching everything unfold on the live stream. His breathing was heavy, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He kept swallowing pills, but a feeling of anticipation rose in his heart.
In the operations department, Jiang Dehai's eyes widened, his hands clenched into fists and placed on his lap, his eyes filled with expectation. If this suddenly appearing agent was willing to choose Li Youran as the chosen one, would he also be willing to protect the Dragon Kingdom?
Grandpa Xiao stared at Xiao Weizhi sitting next to Lin Xiaoxiao, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the chair, his eyes flashing with complex thoughts.
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Li Youran, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat, and smiled slightly: "I'll think about it."
As for whether or not to select Li Youran as her first volunteer official, the details depend on whether the conversation with the high-ranking officials of the Dragon Kingdom goes smoothly after she leaves.
Li Youran, who had gained hope, had a look of joy in her eyes and bowed repeatedly: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be assessed."
Late at night, in the tent, Xiao Weizhi, who was not on night duty, lay on the small bed with Lin Xiaoxiao in his arms, expressionless, his thin lips pressed into a straight line.
Lin Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and leaned on his shoulder, asking softly, "Are you unhappy?"
Xiao Weizhi's voice was a little hoarse: "I'm not unhappy."
He just had this inexplicable feeling of powerlessness, knowing that he would have to share her position with others in the future, and that he would no longer be the only one by her side.
Lin Xiaoxiao slightly raised her eyelids, glanced at him, gently pressed her red lips to his earlobe, breathed a sigh of relief, and her hand restlessly slipped inside his clothes, stroking his gradually tightening abdominal muscles.
He whispered, "Weizhi, you are different. You are the strongest spear and shield in front of me; plus the connection between us, just these two points alone mean they will never be able to get past you."
When Xiao Weizhi heard Lin Xiaoxiao say, "He is her spear and her shield," his anger vanished instantly. He reached out and pressed down on her fiery little hand through her clothes.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he responded to her in a hoarse, increasingly low voice, "Mmm."
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at him and slowly withdrew her mischievous hand: "Aren't you afraid I'll send you to your death?"
Xiao Weizhi took her small hand, pulled it to his heart, closed his eyes, and smiled slightly: "Don't be afraid."
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