Chapter 151: This is No Joke! (4k)
Rozaliya was in a daze for a moment. When she came to her senses, she found herself standing on a marble-paved street, with buildings full of Shenzhou characteristics lined up on both sides.
Two two-meter-tall stone lions stood at the entrance of the small town, guarding both sides majestically.
"Wow, Liliya, look, the stone lions here are so majestic. I feel like they're going to come alive!"
Rozaliya looked excitedly to her side, but she didn't see her sister's figure.
"Liliya?"
Her excited expression gradually faded, and Rozaliya frantically searched around for Liliya's figure.
"Invited participant, are you looking for a relative or friend who came with you, right?"
An intellectual girl with long, straight black hair waved to stop Rozaliya.
"Liliya... Liliya is missing! Big sister, have you seen Liliya? She's my younger sister, about the same age as me, with blue hair, and she has a tail just like mine!"
Rozaliya ran over. Like grabbing a lifesaver, she grabbed the girl's right hand, so anxious that tears were about to fall.
All these years, she had never been separated from Liliya.
"Please calm down. The organizers are obligated to protect the personal safety of all participants, and they know the exact location of every participant, so your sister is very safe right now."
"But how can I see Liliya!"
"In two and a half hours, all participants will be collectively teleported to the Main Arena. You'll see each other then."
"As long as Liliya is fine, as long as she's fine..." Rozaliya patted her chest, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Then she frowned and asked in confusion, "Wait, since the organizers know everyone's location and can teleport them to a designated place at any time... with this kind of technology, why would the organizers separate me and Liliya!"
"This has to do with the rules set by the organizers."
After waiting for Rozaliya to temporarily stabilize her emotions, the black-haired girl began to introduce the new rules set by Lierre: "Three minutes after all participants arrive at the arena, participants will need to form teams within two hours."
"To increase the enjoyment of the competition, the organizers proactively teleported the participants who arrived here to random locations, adding a bit of uncertainty to team formation."
Simply put, it was to scramble the people, and then they had to find suitable teammates within a limited time. During this period, all means of communication would completely fail.
"Isn't this forcing us to team up with strangers!"
Rozaliya puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction. Soon, she remembered something and suddenly said, "Didn't the invitation letter say we could form a team alone? Does this rule conflict with the previous one?"
"They don't conflict."
The black-haired girl smiled indifferently. She raised an index finger and patiently explained, "Before I explain, I need to tell you a crucial piece of information—no matter how strong the participants' own abilities are in the outside world, everyone is the same here. Everyone is at the same starting line."
"This means that a single-person team will find it practically impossible to catch up with a multi-person team."
"Remember, within the three-day competition period, there must be a team that reaches 1,000,000 points. Otherwise, after it ends, all participants will only get to take home a single gold bar."
"The reward for first place is this very world I am in. With merely a playful mindset towards the competition, it will be forever impossible to even touch the top three rewards!"
...
"The maximum number of people per team is three. You're telling me that individual heroism won't win this world, right?"
Mobius, having put away the invitation letter, was teleported onto a small boat in a lake.
Mobius sat by the edge of the boat, placing her fair, jade-like feet into the clear lake water.
The cool lake water extinguished her thoughts of being a lone wolf.
After hearing the rules explained by the boatman, Mobius wasn't discouraged by the various restrictions; on the contrary, it aroused her competitive spirit.
Even if everyone stood at the same starting line, she still had the confidence to come out on top!
...
"The theme of this competition is 'fishing,' but the prefix 'unlimited' is a bit intriguing. To gather 1,000,000 points, one might not be able to do it without giving it their all... No, even if everyone in a full three-person team exerted their full strength, they probably still wouldn't be able to gather 1,000,000 points."
"And the rule that points are added together after two squads merge... heh, perhaps this is also a mercy granted by the organizers to the participants."
Gray Serpent stroked his chin, analyzing the information he had received.
Afterward, he held a black mechanical umbrella and began looking for a suitable teammate.
Given that everyone stood at the same starting line, being a lone wolf would only lead to a dead end!
This planet suitable for human habitation would, barring any accidents, be another retreat route for Human Civilization.
He had to fight for it!
And the common thought shared by all the Gray Serpents was—
It would be best not to leave this planet in Lierre's hands, because she really would give this planet away!
...
"Why do I feel like this competition is getting weirder and weirder? Could it be that the things I'm going to fish for later aren't even 'fish' at all!"
Tesla was feeling terrible. Having specifically taken the time to craft a fishing rod, she felt like a clown right now.
This was because Tesla was luckily teleported to a weapon shop, which had a very rich variety of items inside.
The most, most, most important thing was the crafting table placed at the entrance!
As long as one wore the helmet found on the crafting table, the crafting table could manufacture a weapon that met expectations based on the wearer's thoughts!
The premise was that the wearer's knowledge reserve was sufficient, and the conceived item could be manufactured normally.
Tesla looked up towards her right-hand side.
A mecha reaching 5 meters in height stood under the sunlight, its four giant launch units incredibly conspicuous—Magnetic Storm Mecha, Assault Type!
"Just what kind of fish am I fishing for that I need this kind of thing!"
...
"So mean, so mean! Not only did they forcefully separate us, but they also require us to find our own suitable teammates, but I still prefer to team up with Raiden Mei and the others."
Kiana walked briskly through the crowd, her gaze scanning her surroundings like a searchlight, attempting to find the traces of Raiden Mei and the others.
Two hours wasn't considered long, nor was it considered short.
But as Kiana wandered around like a headless fly, an hour passed by.
"No way, this place is just too big, I can't find Mei and the others at all. If I don't go find teammates soon, when the time is up, my only options will be to form a team by myself or be randomly matched!"
Random matching was a last resort prepared for those who couldn't encounter a single participant.
Kiana put her hands together and began to pray: "Please, give me two teammates who are easy to get along with, preferably Mei and the others!"
"Excuse me, are you also one of the participants in this competition?"
"Eh? It worked that fast?"
Kiana opened her eyes in astonishment.
She saw a blonde girl wearing white Valkyrie armor standing not far away. Beautiful long golden hair cascaded down her back, and a black-and-white knight's lance was grasped in her right hand.
The person who arrived was none other than Schicksal's strongest S-Rank Valkyrie, Bianca Durandal Ataegina!
'So beautiful!'
Kiana's eyes lit up. This was the first impression the girl gave her.
Facing the blonde girl not far away, she subtly even felt a sense of intimacy.
"What worked?"
"Cough, cough, nothing. I'm also one of the participants this time. How did you notice me?"
"Your clothing and hair color. The people here are all wearing ancient costumes, and their hair is all black, so I spotted you at a glance."
"Oh, no wonder you could spot me."
"I saw you looking around from a distance just now, obviously looking for someone."
Durandal walked up to Kiana and said, "It seems you, like me, are trying to find a way to meet up with your companions."
"But I mostly... But the organizers probably didn't give us this chance at all, otherwise I wouldn't have been busy for nothing." Kiana spread her hands helplessly.
"Hmm, we can't force some things. Right now, time waits for no one. Since it's fate that brought us together, how about the two of us form a team, what do you think?"
Durandal put down Abyss Flower and extended her right hand, sincerely inviting her.
At this point in time, she no longer had enough time to go find Rita.
Rather than randomly matching with an unknown teammate, it was better to team up with the girl in front of her who gave her a pretty good impression.
Kiana looked down at the slender, jade-like hand extended in front of her, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face.
After considering that she might not encounter Raiden Mei and the others, she decisively reached out and shook the girl's right hand. Looking up, she replied energetically, "Okay! Let me introduce myself, I'm Kiana Kaslana! Nice to meet you!"
"Bianca Durandal Ataegina. Nice to meet you too."
Kiana...
Durandal stared at Kiana's exquisite face, silently repeating the name she had heard somewhere before in her heart.
At this moment, a blurry fragment suddenly flashed through her mind.
It was on the sandy ground of a park, a little girl whose exact figure couldn't be clearly seen was handing her a toy block...
"...Durandal, I've heard this name before! Schicksal's strongest S-Rank Valkyrie, no wonder Abyss Flower is in your hands!"
After hearing the girl's name, Kiana suddenly realized and punched her palm.
'So it's her. No wonder this name sounded so familiar!'
Kiana, who still wanted to chat some more, saw Durandal frowning, seemingly preoccupied with something.
Kiana took a small step forward and asked cautiously with concern, "Durandal, are you alright? If you're not feeling well, we can find a place to rest. There's no rush for us to find the remaining teammate."
Durandal snapped back to her senses. Looking at the girl's worried gaze, she smiled and shook her head, saying, "I just thought of some things from the past, but the memories are too vague... Let's not talk about this anymore. Our last teammate, perhaps we won't need to trouble ourselves to look for them."
Durandal looked towards a certain direction.
Kiana also raised her head and looked in that direction.
At the crossroads of the street.
Einstein silently withdrew the right foot she had just extended backward and closed her eyes in resignation.
Just passing through an intersection, she was suddenly targeted by two Valkyries from Schicksal, one of whom was Durandal.
'It seems I can't escape.'
...
A black-haired girl dressed in ancient imperial robes stood in front of an ice cream cart. Her fingers, as white as coagulated fat, pinched a wooden spoon, delivering a piece of ice cream into her mouth.
As the cool and sweet texture exploded on her taste buds, Ji Xuanyuan couldn't help but praise, "The food invented by future generations is truly delicious."
A thousand years ago, to seal Chiyou, Ji Xuanyuan, with the assistance of her good friends Fuxi and Nuwa, sealed Chiyou at the bottom of the sea.
In the long darkness and endless loneliness, the consciousness of the hero named Ji Xuanyuan had long been worn away.
Lierre crossed through time, pulling Ji Xuanyuan's consciousness from the past back to the modern era, and reshaped a physical body for her.
"I didn't expect you to still have the leisure to enjoy the desires of your stomach here!"
A familiar voice came from behind.
A hint of surprise flashed across Ji Xuanyuan's eyes. She turned towards the source of the voice.
A short-haired girl wearing black armor, who looked exactly identical to her, was staring at her coldly.
"Even if we were randomly separated, we could still encounter each other by coincidence. Perhaps this is the so-called fate." Seeing the newcomer, Ji Xuanyuan sighed with a complex expression.
"Fate?" The girl scoffed disdainfully. "The so-called fate is being trapped inside Chiyou's body, fighting against Chiyou day and night, and finally, amidst despair and loneliness, wishing for death?"
"...For Shenzhou, I had to do it."
"Stop being hypocritical there! I have all your memories! During those long years, one day you regretted it, regretting your original choice!"
"...I admit that inside Chiyou's body, I experienced regret more than once, but if I had to do it again, I would make the same choice."
"You...! Unreasonable!" The girl pointed at Ji Xuanyuan with righteous indignation, seemingly enraged by these words. "Why won't you let yourself off the hook!"
The girl and Ji Xuanyuan shared an inseparable origin. When Ji Xuanyuan's consciousness dissipated, the girl was born.
The girl possessed all of Ji Xuanyuan's memories, but she wasn't Ji Xuanyuan.
She was born in hatred. With the Honkai amplifying her negative emotions, she hated everything that Ji Xuanyuan (herself) had protected.
"'Ji Xuanyuan,' it's not that I refuse to let myself off the hook, but that you have always been living in hatred..."
Ji Xuanyuan reached out to touch Corrupted Xuangyuan, but she dodged it.
"Don't touch me! I don't care about the past, but from now on, I need you to cooperate with me. Lierre promised me that as long as someone accumulates 1,000,000 points, she can give me a new life!"
Corrupted Xuangyuan clenched her fists tightly, as if trying to grasp something. "I will absolutely not just live in your life, being an expendable person!"
Ji Xuanyuan looked at her in surprise. After understanding the other party's thoughts, she solemnly nodded in agreement: "Mhm!"
"Hmph."
Corrupted Xuangyuan snorted lightly and walked towards the stall ahead without looking back. "Chiyou has appeared in the competition. This time, I'm going to kill it!"
"I'll help you."
A flash of killing intent passed through Ji Xuanyuan's eyes.
Immediately after, as if sensing something, she instantly hid this wisp of killing intent.
Ji Xuanyuan turned around and looked up. She saw Liliya, a hundred meters away, coming this way to look for her sister.
Only a three-person team would have a better chance of accumulating 1,000,000 points!
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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