Chapter 10: Weak? Impossible to be weak! 3
At this moment, in the monitoring room of the Red Shadow Legion's recruitment system, Zhou Ting was staring at the words "Player 'Shadow' Comprehensive Assessment S" on the screen, his finger hovering over the mouse for a long time without daring to move.
"Brother Zhou... am I seeing things right?" Xiao Li beside him rubbed his eyes, his voice trembling. "Is this... S-rank?"
Lao Zhou slammed the table so hard that the coffee cup on the table jumped up:
"You read that right! It's S-rank! Damn it, [Red Shadow Legion Zerg Strangulation War] has been deployed in the Extreme Survival Zone for four years, and the best score has always been A. It was created by some bastard from our legion who went to reminisce about the past, and today it was actually broken by a wild player named 'Shadow'?!"
He frantically called up the battle replay. The aerial root vines on the screen were killing like crazy, strangling and devouring the insect swarm at will. Every time the spiral lines on the dark brown vines lit up, a swarm of insects turned into energy spots.
Especially in the final battle against the mother worm, the ten aerial roots seemed to have self-awareness and directly sucked the mother worm dry. The energy conversion rate was stable at more than 80%, which made people in the monitoring room gasp.
"What kind of spirit is this?" Xiao Li pointed at the image on the screen where it was devouring the Brood Worm's energy core. "If you call it a vine, it's even more ferocious than a beast. If you call it a beast, it can weave such a sophisticated energy network..."
"Who cares what breed he is!" Old Zhou grabbed the intercom and directly called Lu Chen, the top person in charge of the recruitment department. His voice was hoarse with excitement:
"Major General! We've found a treasure! In the Zerg Hive scene—the Zerg Strangulation Battle—an S-rank has emerged! Codenamed 'Shadow,' his combat style is extremely ferocious, and his energy conversion efficiency is record-breaking. He's definitely a once-in-a-century talent!"
Lu Chen, who was on the other end of the phone, was sitting at a desk piled with documents. He raised his eyebrows when he heard this.
The pen between his fingers paused, and a sharp light flashed in his dark eyes: "S-rank? The Zerg stranglehold that our legion launched?"
"It's absolutely true! Major General Lu, look, this is the battle replay..." Zhou Ting quickly passed the video file over.
Lu Chen clicked on the video, his eyes fixed on the killing moves on the screen. Major General Lu, who was always known for his composure, smiled a rare smile:
"Interesting. Check and find the person!"
Zhou Ting immediately began to investigate after receiving the order. He had to race against time, otherwise, after 50 minutes, the data would be uploaded to other legions, and then nine more competitors would appear out of thin air!
His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, unlocking permissions layer by layer, but the message that popped up on the screen made the excitement on his face freeze instantly.
Name: Encrypted!
Detailed file of the spiritual body: encrypted!
Planet: Encrypted!
The only thing I could see was [Gamer Code: Shadow] [Overall Rating: S] and a line of vague basic markings [Plant Spirit Body]
"How could this happen?" Zhou Ting did not give up and tried the military's highest query authority again, but the result was still a bunch of encrypted garbled code.
There is only a prompt box popped up by the system: [This user information is specially encrypted by the Imperial Protection Regulations and can only be viewed by authorized personnel]
Zhou Ting's heart sank. He quickly reported the situation to Lu Chen: "Major General Lu, we can't find anything! All the information has been specially encrypted, and it only shows that it is a plant-type spirit!"
After listening to this, Lu Chen tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, and a trace of thought flashed in his dark eyes: "Protected by regulations encryption..."
He suddenly remembered something and picked up the communicator and dialed an encrypted channel. "Marshal, it's me."
At this time, Ye Heng, the leader of the Red Shadow Legion and one of the ten marshals of the empire, had just finished his treatment in the convalescent cabin. His spirit form Mo Yun was sitting at his feet with his eyes closed, resting.
Hearing Lu Chen's voice on the communicator, he replied calmly: "What's the matter?"
"In the Zerg Strangulation scenario deployed by our legion, an S-rank player appeared. Codenamed 'Shadow', a plant-type spirit. His information was specially encrypted, and his origins are unknown."
Lu Chen's voice was solemn, "What do you think will happen?"
Ye Heng's gaze fell on the dark green scales of Mo Yun at his feet. His fingertips unconsciously stroked the scratches left by the insect mother, and he slowly spoke:
"Those who can allow the Empire to use special encryption are either the core descendants of top-tier families, or... guides with special identities."
Lu Chen then asked Ye Heng which type of person this 'Shadow' was more likely to be.
Ye Heng paused, then said without hesitation, "Guide!"
Lu Chen frowned, then suddenly realized: "Are you using..." After hearing a "hmm" from the other side, Lu Chen continued: "This 'Shadow' is a plant-based guide? But his fighting style..."
"A guide doesn't necessarily have to be just an assistant." Ye Heng interrupted him, and the video clip that Lu Chen had just sent flashed through his mind. The ferocity with which the golden vines strangled the Zerg was indeed unlike that of an ordinary guide's spirit body.
"Some plant-based spirits are inherently extremely aggressive, but few people know about it."
He looked at the deep starry sky outside the window, a subtle interest flashing in his silver-gray eyes:
"If you can't find anything, then forget it. He was able to achieve S-rank in that situation, and with special encryption protection, so he obviously doesn't want to reveal his identity. Send someone to monitor 'Shadow' at the National Training Ground. As long as he's still logged in, he'll be exposed."
Lu Chen responded, and after hanging up the phone, he briefly explained to Zhou Ting and then gave the order:
"No need to check. Send someone to keep an eye on Shadow's login records and report any movement immediately."
Although Zhou Ting was puzzled, he still followed the order and left.
He stared at the mysterious word "Shadow" on the screen, muttering to himself: Plant-type? Could it have such ferocious combat power? This is too subversive.
At this point, 50 minutes had passed, and Shadow's S-rank rating had been uploaded to the shared database on time. The recruitment systems of the other nine legions instantly exploded.
"Check! Check this 'shadow' for me!"
"What's going on? Is the information all encrypted?"
"A plant-type spirit? Are you kidding me? Can a plant-type get an S-rank in a Zerg strangle battle?"
Questions and exclamations arose one after another, but no matter how they checked, the results they obtained were the same as Zhou Ting's - a bunch of encrypted garbled code.
The recruiting officers of the nine legions were dumbfounded. It was the first time they encountered a player who protected his information so strictly.
Ye Heng looked at the slowly rising sun outside the window, a knowing smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.
He knew that this player named 'Shadow' was definitely not simple. Perhaps he was the person their Red Shadow Legion had been looking for, the one who could play a key role in the future Zerg battlefield.
But finding 'Shadow' is definitely not easy. He just used the authority of the head of the Ye family to check but was rejected. This is enough to show that this ferocious 'Shadow' is a plant guide.
"Ge family?" Ye Heng touched Mo Yun's cold scales and the golden mutant vines. When did the Ge family produce such a powerful plant guide?
-
Not only the ten major legions but also the national training grounds have been completely excited about this S-level assessment.
The forum homepage was flooded with related posts:
"Holy crap! The Zerg Hive has learned an S-level! And it's a new guy named 'Shadow'?"
"Can anyone dig up some footage of Shadow's battle? It's said his spirit crushed the Broodworm."
"After three years, the A record set by Sentinel has finally been broken! The key is that this person doesn't look like Sentinel!"
The chat channel was in an uproar:
"I was watching the battle on the channel at the time, and the scene was incredible! 'Shadow's' spirit body was like a perpetual motion machine, slaughtering wave after wave without stopping!"
"More than that, I saw with my own eyes his spirit absorb all the Zerg's acid energy. I've never seen such a move in my life!"
"Do you think he's a master secretly trained by some legion, coming to the training ground to experience life?"
Lei Ya was also browsing the forum. When he saw Ying's S-level rating, he was so scared that he almost spilled the energy drink in his hand.
He muttered to himself, "My God, this Shadow is too powerful... comparable to the legendary Marshal Ye Heng!"
He didn't connect this incredible "Shadow" with his gentle and reliable teammate "Mumu" at all.
He just excitedly sent a message to Lin Yao: "Mumu! Check the forum! A fierce guy has emerged from the Zerg Tide Nest! S-rank! Awesome!"
The chaos in the ten legions and the national training ground did not affect Lin Yao.
-
Back to the past, Lin Yao's consciousness was pulled away from the virtual battlefield. He slowly opened his eyes while lying in the star cabin at home. There was still a slight tingling sensation in the connector on the back of his neck.
Before exiting the Star Network, an unread message popped up on the optical brain. It was sent by Lei Ya half an hour ago:
"I'm sorry, Mumu. Something urgent happened at home and I can't leave. Tomorrow! Tomorrow I will definitely ask you to complete that A+ mission to make amends, and I will also buy you the best energy drink!"
Lin Yao looked at the message and smiled, then replied "It's okay" and closed the communication interface.
He rubbed his sore shoulders and stood up, completely unaware of the record he had set with the anonymous account "Shadow". He just treated it as a hearty practical training and sorted out the energy absorbed by Shasha.
Lin Yao raised his hand and pressed his solar plexus. The Zerg energy he swallowed this time was too huge, and even his mental force field was swelling slightly.
Shasha in the spiritual sea was twisting excitedly, and the spiral patterns on the ten aerial roots were bright and hot.
New spiral patterns appeared on the main trunk of the Killing Sword, a circle of scarlet lines, like a battlefield dyed red after a bloody battle. Another new function - 'Killing' was unlocked.
Lin Yao's consciousness remained on the main trunk of the Shasha tree, and he concentrated on studying it. The bark of the mountain banyan tree, which was originally silver-white, now had spiral patterns of four colors.
The two-color spiral pattern of ice blue and gold is Shasha’s first energy pattern; the two colors of energy can be switched at any time to create two different energy fields.
Ice blue is for healing and defense assistance, while gilded is more inclined towards combat. It can also disguise the spirit body and change the appearance of the killing energy root.
After that is a bright green healing energy pattern. When this circle of energy is used, the original ice-blue energy will turn bright green, and the healing energy will be greatly enhanced. Now, because it is not very stable, it appears and disappears from time to time.
Then, Lin Yao separated the golden energy from the scarlet killing pattern that had just awakened. After being blessed by the scarlet energy pattern, Lin Yao felt that he might have to go to the insect tide nest again.
Then this decision was approved by Shasha, and the aerial roots were waving, as if to say, let's do it tomorrow!
Lin Yao sighed. It turned out that Shasha was not really a guide spirit in the traditional sense!
The killing energy pattern was as bright as if it was electrified, and it didn't look like the healing energy pattern that had been practiced for a month and still appeared from time to time.
Forget it, he is not a young man without passion, so he will continue to squander his violent energy tomorrow!
Lin Yao put down his laptop and went to take a shower, completely unaware that the interstellar network had exploded because of his vest.
-
He had just come out of the shower and saw Lei Ya's message. He just replied indifferently, "Yeah, I saw it."
Lin Yao lay on the bed and took a stroll on the Star Network. Then he put the laptop aside and stared at the ceiling in a daze.
The discussion about "Shadow" on the interstellar network is still fermenting, with various analysis posts and speculation posts emerging one after another. Some people have even started to bet on which family's genius the true identity of "Shadow" is.
He rubbed his eyebrows and secretly thanked himself for using an anonymous account, otherwise he would not even dare to leave the house.
"It seems that we can't go to the insect nest for the time being."
Lin Yao said to himself in his heart, and at the same time, he used his mental power to pat the restless Shasha beside him, "Did you hear me? You have to hide your vest well recently, and don't cause trouble again."
Shasha's aerial roots shook aggrievedly, and the scarlet energy patterns flickered, as if expressing dissatisfaction.
But under Lin Yao's suppression, he finally lowered his head dejectedly.
-
At the appointed time the next day, Lin Yao logged into the national training ground on time and was directly teleported to the team running-in area, where Lei Ya was already waiting for him.
As soon as Lin Yao entered the training ground, he saw three people standing next to Lei Ya.
Lei Ya ran over, waving his hand, and nudged his shoulder with his elbow: "Mumu, let me introduce you. These are old friends I met on the training ground."
He pointed at the burly man holding a virtual cigarette. "This is Old K. He's a true tank. His spirit form, the Iron Bear, can withstand B-class energy cannons. Last time, in the 'Lava Cage' mission, he shattered the cores of three magma beasts with his bear paws."
Old K grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and raised the virtual energy tank towards Lin Yao:
"I heard you're the 'God of Defense' that Lei Ya boasted about? You'll have to show me how strong your vine net is later."
As he spoke, half of his mechanical prosthetic limb was revealed from his sleeves. It was unclear whether it was a real prosthetic limb or a decoration he made himself.
Lei Ya then pulled over the handsome young man holding a data tablet.
"This is Aji, the tech geek. The spirit fox can interfere with energy fields. Last time, we were stuck on the 'Star Gate Code' for a long time. If he had been here, we wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble. We could have just let the spirit fox get in and crack it."
Aji pushed up his round-framed glasses and slid his fingertips across the data pad, pulling up a three-dimensional map of the mine.
"I checked your information, 'Mumu'. You're ranked in the top 50 in the healing support area, but your record for actual group missions is zero."
He raised his eyes to look at Lin Yao. There was no doubt in his eyes, only a pure desire to analyze. "This mission requires precise coordination. Your vines' reaction speed must keep up with the rhythm of the thunder lion's lightning."
Finally, the girl with a high ponytail had released her spirit body. A falcon with a two-meter wingspan was perched on her shoulder, its beak glowing with a cold light.
"Su Ling, long-range damage." She spoke concisely, her fingertips gently stroking the falcon's feathers. "My falcon needs a completely safe field of view when it dives. Just make sure your defense net doesn't block my trajectory."
Lin Yao had just nodded when he felt the Shasha in his spiritual sea stir. When the silvery-white aerial vines stretched out, a hint of scarlet flashed at the tip.
Perhaps it was because of the word "actual combat" that the killing energy began to stir again.
He quickly used his mental power to press it down, tapping his fingertips on the virtual control panel: "I will cooperate."
Lei Ya clapped his hands. "Alright, alright, we're all family! Even though this 'Abyss Mine' mission is A+, our five-man team will definitely be able to handle it! Lao K will take the damage, Su Ling will clear the area, Aji will crack the trap, and I'll cover the rear with Mumu as the support. Perfect!"
After the acquaintance, the five of them came to the portal.
The blue light of the portal suddenly shrank, and the five people were instantly dragged into a sticky darkness.
Before the feeling of weightlessness faded, the pungent smell of rust penetrated the nose - mixed with the unique fishy sweetness of the dark blue poisonous mist, like an overturned energy waste barrel.
Lei Ya released the Thunder Lion, and lavender lightning exploded between the giant lion's mane, and happened to fall next to Sha Sha's aerial roots.
Shasha seemed to be stimulated, the vines suddenly tightened, and the star-shaped serrations almost bounced off.
Lin Yao's heart tightened, and he quickly let the air root hang down at his side, saying with a smile: "The poisonous fog in this mine hasn't even entered yet, and the spirit body is already excited."
Old K smiled, cigarette in hand: "The more excited the better, there will be a lot of tough battles to fight later."
He didn't notice that Lin Yao quietly used his mental power to entangle Shasha's most restless aerial root. It seemed that today he not only had to deal with the bone-eating worms in the mine, but also had to guard against this ancestor's rampage.
Su Ling's falcon suddenly soared into the sky and circled in the virtual sky of the training ground. "Let's go when you're ready. I've marked the safe coordinates of the mine entrance."
As the five of them followed Falcon to the teleportation point, Lei Ya leaned close to Lin Yao's ear and whispered:
"Mumu, I'm so sorry about what happened yesterday. After the mission is over, I'll treat you to the best 'Star Dew Drink'. I guarantee it'll be more potent than the energy drink you had last time!"
Lin Yao looked into his sincere eyes, then glanced at the aerial root behind him that was still trembling slightly.
Suddenly I felt that for him, this should not be the difficulty of this A+ mission. It may need to be increased by one degree because he has a hidden clause of "controlling the runaway spirit".
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