novelraw Chapter 86 : Sultry Red Forest
Chapter 86 : Sultry Red Forest
"Yeah," hearing his somewhat frantic voice, Puluo answered honestly: "This is my shield."
He swung the dual scythes a few times.
Qu Jian felt a pain in his chest watching this.
Brother, your Zhu Jing Fu is treating me like an idiot. You're pointing at those scythes calling them shields, do you think I'll believe that?
Qu Jian collapsed powerlessly, sighing: "Puluo, you've finally taken the shape of Zhu Jing Fu."
So the StarNet saying Puluo was honest and simple was all fake.
There weren't many honest people in Zhu Jing Fu.
Even after the three from Seventh Ring Third Academy were eliminated, Puluo didn't understand the meaning in Qu Jian's words.
After the two battles with the Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies and Seventh Ring Third Academy, Chen Sui checked the energy crystals. The lead Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly had particularly outstanding attributes. Fearing energy damage to crystal stability, Chen Sui had used her long spear for the final extraction.
Hard work pays off!
Her hand ached from hammering, but fortunately, this energy crystal had very low damage, and the edited energy body was quite powerful.
In addition, the Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies left several pairs of metal giant wings.
Puluo didn't forget to tear off the wings when helping. But watching the Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly regrow a pair of wings with slightly inferior attributes after being torn off, he suddenly looked toward Chen Sui who was searching for direction ahead.
"Suisui, if we want to collect many Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly wings, could we tear off its wings, let it regenerate, tear them off again, let it regenerate again, tear again..."
The more Puluo spoke, the more reliable this production chain seemed: "Then one energy body could produce many Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly wings!"
At these words, not only did the comments freeze, shocked that even Zhu Jing Fu's soldiers had become so cruel, but even Chen Sui, who was familiar with Puluo, paused.
[Damn, everyone in your Zhu Jing Fu is actively campaigning to be demons, aren't you?]
[I say, don't tattoo the Grim Reaper, tattoo Puluo instead. It'll ward off evil]
[Puluo, you thick-browed big-eyed guy, so your honesty and simplicity were all fake]
[From the day I saw Puluo go for the output build, I knew Puluo wasn't far from being assimilated by the others]
[Zhu Jing Fu's Commander is also quite steady. He shouldn't become a member of the shock team, right?]
[You mean this guy? (Xie Chunshi cutting down the meteor tree to provoke Jacques Delot) He's very steady. I think Jacques Delot isn't very steady. It's just one meteor tree, is that worth going crazy over? (sweating)]
[This, this, this... Zhu Jing Fu, you...]
Chen Sui listened and gave Puluo a deep look. Before she could speak, Zhou Chen, who heard his words from the other side, immediately exclaimed: "Puluo, you've graduated!"
"That idea is truly brilliant!"
Chen Sui nodded, looking at Puluo with understanding eyes, and asked, "You continue to amaze me, Puluo."
"But unfortunately, the Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly's wings must undergo energy washing to attain sensitivity to energy. When used as analytical instrument materials, they are graded according to different duration periods, resulting in analytical instruments of varying quality."
These words shattered Puluo's idea.
In short, the freshly regenerated wings of the Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly were useless.
The soldier's expression showed some disappointment.
"I thought I'd found a good path to wealth."
Chen Sui glanced at the sky, joking: "We'll look for that after the competition. There are too many eyes right now, easy to be discovered."
[Alright, alright, treating us like outsiders]
[Sis, you've shown us how you smash energy shields and energy bodies, bring us along to get rich too]
[Sis! Just say the word, how can I see this?]
[Chen Sui, name a price, I'm investing in this project (lights cigarette)]
In the control room, seeing this scene, Jian Run couldn't help but laugh, "Well, I'm very curious too. Is there any good method to get rich? Teach me as well."
From the other side, Mo Qiu'an's gaze suddenly fell on him, her tone dangerous: "How do you want to get rich?"
"Ah," Jian Run sat up straight, afraid she'd misunderstand, and quickly explained: "Director Mo, I don't have any designs on energy field resources."
Mo Qiu'an snorted. At this moment, she didn't care how much Zhu Jing Fu had taken from the energy field. Watching Zhu Jing Fu's analyst and soldier walk toward the depths of the forest, she suddenly had an ominous premonition: "This position..."
Mo Qiu'an furrowed her brow.
On screen, Chen Sui's pair had reached the interior of the forest, where the threads were increasingly dense.
By now, the sky was completely dark, just waiting for water vapor to rise and red rain to fall.
The broad leaves curled above, and in the moonlight, the threads appeared silvery white.
However, in front of Chen Sui, within the forest wrapped in layers of threads like a huge cocoon, the broad leaves unfolded.
Countless meteor trees, with lantern-like fruits hanging down, wrapped layer by layer in white threads.
At the edge of the meteor tree forest, Chen Sui stopped, looked at Puluo, and said sincerely: "Now, it seems there really is a good opportunity to get rich."
Looking at the forest wrapped in a thick layer of white threads, with several huge cocoons hanging from the trees.
Among the broad leaves, the edges of metal giant wings were partially exposed.
As far as the eye could see, the interior of the forest was pitch black, with only a vague view of fine threads converging toward the center, where a huge cocoon cast a heavy shadow.
Countless Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies clung to meteor tree branches, the butterfly swarm guarding the sleeping cocoons.
Seeing these densely hung cocoons and energy bodies, the comments couldn't help but shudder.
Chen Sui blinked, extending her hand to stop Puluo from advancing.
A bloody smell permeated the air as the red rain briefly brewed. As a drop of rain hit the leaves, like a signal, red rain began to fall from the sky.
Chen Sui and Puluo stood outside the meteor tree forest, with all the energy bodies and fine threads inside in deep slumber.
"What's going on?" Seeing so many energy bodies, Puluo suddenly asked in shock.
This scene was recorded by Chen Sui and uploaded to the team. Xie Chunshi and Gu Qinxue were contending for meteor trees, their battles with other teams clearly reaching a white-hot stage.
Only Zhou Chen, who had an unimpeded path, using Blue Fin's unique concealment, traversed the jungle like an invisible shadow, leaving no trace.
And very fortunately, he directly encountered an unoccupied meteor tree on his route and successfully settled down in the red rain.
He became the first to check Chen Sui's information.
Unlike Puluo and the comments who gasped at the countless Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies, Zhou Chen's attention was entirely on the many meteor trees.
"So many meteor trees! You found them?! Why do we even need rain shields!"
"Is that the issue with rain shields?" Puluo said weakly.
Chen Sui agreed, but her answer left Puluo somewhat at a loss. "Indeed, you only see the rain shields? Don't forget there are so many Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies here!"
"Zhou Chen, don't forget what our principle is."
Zhou Chen paused: "Uh, we have a principle?"
"Of course, only valuable things are worth risking for. Meteor trees aren't valuable, so we won't risk it for now."
As she spoke, Chen Sui moved a few steps under the shade of a meteor tree.
Zhou Chen was silent for a moment. "Then are we fighting the Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies?"
"No," Chen Sui replied promptly and decisively.
Puluo looked over questioningly. Chen Sui closed her eyes, sensing faint energy fluctuations. "In this forest, there are no fewer than 30 SS-level, about 10 SS+, and the one in the middle is advancing."
These words made Puluo look over in shock. "Advancing, to SSS-level?!"
[Holy shit! No way!!]
[Damn, you're so calm!? If these energy bodies wake up, you won't even be able to run]
[Sis, you're still walking in. I'd be sprinting away. There's just two of you, one SS-level, one S+. I admit you can handle SS-level, but so many SS+ and SSS, how can you fight?!!]
Puluo's heart gave a violent jolt. He saw Chen Sui at the edge of the meteor tree forest, laying broad leaves on the ground to sit on, her body not touching the surrounding fine threads. After she finished, she patted the spot beside her: "Come, sit."
"Let's appreciate the red rain scenery, cultivate our artistic sentiment."
Puluo: ?
But he still obediently sat down. Chen Sui looked back at the interior of the forest. Amid Zhou Chen's roaring for them to run quickly, she slowly answered: "It's fine, it hasn't advanced yet. As long as we don't touch the cocoon's energy, we won't disturb them."
"Once the red rain stops, we'll leave."
Chen Sui liked charging forward, but that didn't mean she was reckless.
She and Puluo couldn't handle this energy body group alone.
But with ready-made meteor trees here, why risk increasing damage levels in the red rain by going elsewhere?
"The Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly swarm is gathering energy for the Butterfly King," Chen Sui explained to Zhou Chen. "The Butterfly King's energy storage advancement isn't complete. The Purple-Winged Golden Butterflies won't move unless, like Zhou Mo and his team, someone destroys the cocoons storing energy for the Butterfly King."
These cocoons contained the Butterfly King's prey, serving as energy sources for its advancement.
Chen Sui sat carefully at the edge, wiping off the white threads on her body with broad leaves. These threads, carrying the Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly's energy, would become their means of locating them.
Perhaps just as she said, an entire night passed uneventfully.
Chen Sui marked the coordinates of the meteor tree forest. Before leaving, she looked back once more, making Puluo deeply feel her reluctance.
Indeed, the analyst spoke with some regret: "I hope next time we meet, it will be an SSS energy body."
Chen Sui's tone was very even, but to the comments' ears, it sounded quite domineering, like 'Mere SS-level isn't worthy of my effort. Wait until you're SSS, then I'll come fight you.'
Puluo nodded seriously, already assimilated by Chen Sui's aura, adding: "When they arrive, let's dig up all these meteor trees!"
Chen Sui patted him approvingly.
At this moment in the control room, Mo Qiu'an picked up a porcelain teacup, which slipped and fell onto the coaster with a crisp sound.
Ji Qing, seeing this from the corner of his eye, comforted her: "Director Mo, it's fine, just a joke."
Mo Qiu'an wiped the splashed water droplets and chuckled softly, "Zhu Jing Fu's students are indeed very good."
She wasn't being sarcastic; in fact, watching Chen Sui's handling of the Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly forest, Mo Qiu'an was appreciative.
Knowing when to act, understanding advance and retreat, having sharp insight, being cautious and clear-headed—her decisions so far were flawless.
This student was very suitable for the Border Army's energy body response teams.
Ji Qing was stunned, and even Jian Run couldn't help but look over. Then they heard Mo Qiu'an say: "If I'm not mistaken, she must have studied with Vina, and some of her handling also shows Master Song's influence. Under the influence of these two analysts, she has formed her own powerful personal style."
Vina's approach emphasized one-hit certainty; the energy bodies she handled were typically quite neat. This was also Vina's bottleneck, a symbol of her inability to move beyond the stage of relying on energy crystal positioning to kill energy bodies.
Song Xingzhang was similarly clean and decisive, resolute in action, a veritable aesthetic feast.
But Chen Sui was different. She advocated violent crushing, each strike carrying some emotion. Though seemingly methodless, she herself was cold and rational, each strike a declaration of having grasped the prey's vital points. This emotion hidden in the movements was merely disgust and impatience amplified by provocation.
Hearing this explanation, Jian Run couldn't help but look over. "This student's style is very obvious, isn't it?"
Mo Qiu'an nodded, relaxing against the chair back.
These words mentioned two strong attacker analysts, undoubtedly stamping Chen Sui with the mark of the strong attack flow.
This was a path even outsiders like Mo Qiu'an could see.
Not to mention Song Xingzhang, who was currently in the courtyard watching the league broadcast of Zhu Jing Fu's perspective on the light screen.
Zhu Jing Fu showed no intention of staying. Having marked the Purple-Winged Golden Butterfly forest, they moved toward the coordinates.
The other two, who had already experienced a night of meteor tree contention, also continued toward the Silent Monument.
Zhou Chen's path had been excessively smooth, leaving him with lingering concerns: "Why do I feel like I haven't seen any competitors along the way?"
But light pillars kept appearing around him.
Chen Sui was just marking his route when the competition announcement sounded.
[Current Sultry Red Forest energy field mecha count: 40/50]
[Coordinate refresh cycle: 4 hours]
[This refresh coordinate: 3501 (385, 479)]
"3501?"
Chen Sui looked at Zhou Chen's route marker. "Golden Tower, Xin Yan, is on your route."
He might even be near Zhou Chen.
"F*ck, Golden Tower?!" Zhou Chen was incredulous. "Jacques Delot, Golden Tower, and us—three Seven Schools in this track? Is that reasonable?"
In the team, the others, for some reason, seemed mentally prepared and weren't surprised at all.
Chen Sui accepted it well: "We accepted this situation as soon as you mentioned it."
But Zhou Chen couldn't accept it at all. "No way? I just said it casually, and it came true? Then I'll say Xin Yan is right in front of me."
Chen Sui was silent for a second.
The Zhu Jing Fu team channel was silent.
This silence made Zhou Chen feel somewhat uneasy. His mouth twitched: "It can't be..."
"Your mecha has Blue Fin. Pay attention to concealment. Even if you encounter him, you can evade."
"If all else fails, just fight," Chen Sui thought bluntly.
Xie Chunshi listened in. He wasn't certain of his current exact position, but the direction was correct. He could roughly estimate his general area based on time and should be able to reach the landmark gathering point within the day.
After confirming his progress in the team channel, he answered Zhou Chen: "Fighting won't happen. Half a year ago, he would have acted, but now, Xin Yan has probably already discovered you. Don't forget, your coordinates have been refreshed."
"Jacques Delot's have been refreshed too. With three schools gathered, the first two to fight wouldn't be wise."
"Xin Yan has become much more composed. He won't act rashly."
The existence of Golden Tower was like a thunderbolt, immediately causing an uproar in the previously quiet Sultry Red Forest.
Several teams, already afraid to show themselves after learning of Zhu Jing Fu and Jacques Delot's presence, were waiting for the two schools to fight and weaken each other, hoping for a good opportunity.
Now with Golden Tower's appearance, this waiting became even more anxious.
Many teams changed their plans, regrouping early.
"We can't sit passively. Rather than wait for the Seven Schools to finish fighting and then come after us, we should eliminate some while they haven't regrouped."
"Three Seven Schools in this track, it's too difficult!"
"I thought Zhu Jing Fu and Jacques Delot were my limit, but there's even Golden Tower!! How did the Competition Committee assign the tracks! I'm really angry!"
"I heard Golden Tower was criticized before and sent to the Border Army for energy field rescue operations. Counting up, they should be the strongest of the three Seven Schools."
"Zhu Jing Fu and Jacques Delot shouldn't be underestimated either."
As one of the Seven Schools, upon hearing these coordinates, Jacques Delot's Commander Bai Ruohua's face immediately stiffened.
"Golden Tower, they're here too!"
Jacques Delot's strong attacker Xisier silently looked around: "These coordinates were so well hidden. If they hadn't been refreshed, who would have known Golden Tower could hide for two days."
"Now there are three Seven Schools. The analyst sensed spirit body fluctuations. I went to look and found it was Gu Qinxue. She had just finished fighting when she heard the mecha count alert," Jacques Delot's agile attacker Harper dropped from a distant treetop and replied in the team channel. "Judging by her route, she's heading toward the central area."
She was bound with analyst Ye Kaiyun, and their route overlapped with Gu Qinxue's.
"Central area," Bai Ruohua thought for a few seconds. "We should all have been assigned to the four corners. It seems everyone wants to regroup in the center."
"Won't we all collide in the central area then?" Jacques Delot's soldier Zhuo Yun said.
The Commander could think of this too.
Currently, three different teams from each of the four corners were approaching the central area.
They wouldn't engage each other.
With the Commander's words, Zhou Chen confidently continued along his route. After he left the forest, a vermilion figure flashed past in the forest very close to him.
A sneeze suddenly came from that mecha, followed by a somewhat tired male voice muttering: "Who's thinking about me..."
He rubbed his nose and continued toward the marked position.
With Jacques Delot and Zhu Jing Fu eyeing each other warily, Golden Tower had to regroup quickly!