Chapter 233: Chapter 233 – Entering the Mystery Realm (Part Two)
As Ren Suo had expected, he did not even have a chance to summon his clone.
Instead, it was Dong Chengling who was invited by the Countermeasure Division to assist in investigating the mystery realm.
Li Dan said, “The Changjiang Practitioners would be entering the mystery realm, and three of them would be equipped with the spatial coordinates which have been empowered by you. One of the three of them would be equipped with the most advanced Type 3 spatial coordinates. They will activate the coordinates upon entering the mystery realm, and if you are able to sense the coordinates, please pull them out after 1 minute.”
Li Dan was discussing the matter with Dong Chengling, while Ren Suo, who was standing at the side listening to the discussion, gained many new insights.
The spatial coordinates of Dong Chengling were fundamentally Reiki storage devices. At present, the materials which were able to store Reiki ‘completely’ for long periods of time were all special materials manufactured by the National Research Institute. Those materials were divided into Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 based on their qualities, and there could even be even higher quality materials above and beyond the three types.
Such resources used for combat were also in great demand throughout the nation, so only a small portion of them was given to the Lianjiang Division.
For Dong Chengling, the difference between the three types only affected how much Reiki she could store inside, which in turn affected the range and strength of her ability when cast.
Type 1 coordinates could essentially cover the entire Lianjiang City, while Type 3 coordinates could cover the entire province. The higher the type number, the slower the rate at which the stored Reiki dissipates. Reiki storage devices which were Type 3 or higher could even be replenished with Reiki after each use, as they would not break apart immediately upon use.
The spatial coordinates which Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan had were both Type 3, but theirs were obviously an even stronger and more enhanced version with higher capabilities. It allowed Dong Chengling to identify the two of them from among dozens of coordinates.
As such, Dong Chengling actually had the ability to pull anyone equipped with the coordinates. The significance of the Practitioner activating the coordinates himself was so that Dong Chengling could sense that he was in danger, and so that his coordinates would stand out in Dong Chengling’s perception of the space. In reality, Dong Chengling could sense all of the spatial coordinates at all times.
In just three short minutes, the first batch of Changjiang Practitioners was ready to enter. It was Cheng Wenchao and Yuan Dang’s team.
Armed with firearms, they ran into the mystery realm, which appeared as a black marshmallow that was turning continuously.
Suddenly, Dong Chengling grabbed Ren Suo’s arm. Ren Suo looked puzzledly at her, but she looked at Li Dan and said, “The active space coordinates have disappeared.”
“I am unable to do anything as I cannot sense them, and I cannot pull them back.”
Li Dan nodded. He had already anticipated such an outcome, and he reported it to the command center.
On the other hand, Qiao Muyi said, “If none of the first group of them returned, it would be unlikely for the Countermeasure System and the military to send other people in. As much as the mystery realm is important, its benefits are unknown. Unless there are accurate and concrete information and intelligence, the higher-ups would certainly not be willing to waste Practitioner talents like that. After all, ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’.”
Dong Chengling heaved a sigh of relief and let go of Ren Suo’s arm. Although Ren Suo felt that it was a strange action, he did not think too much about it. He sat quietly at the side, waiting for the boss battle to end.
Twenty minutes later, red beams of light suddenly pierced through the writhing black marshmallow. Over the subsequent few minutes, more and more holes formed from red beams of light appeared, as if the marshmallow was about to erupt at any time.
‘The Iron Virgin boss character must be almost out of HP…’ Ren Suo thought to himself. At that juncture, the Changjiang Practitioner Force dispatched another team of warriors.
At that moment, one of the Changjiang Practitioners went walked over to look for Li Dan. Li Dan was slightly stunned. He looked at Ren Suo for a moment, then turned around and shouted, “Cao Huali!”
“Coming,” a middle-aged member of the Countermeasure Division replied as he walked over. He asked, “What’s the matter?”
After talking to the Changjiang Practitioner for a moment, Cao Huali’s face turned grim. He shook his head in refusal, then began arguing loudly.
Ren Suo was curious and moved closer to listen in.
“… I’m really sorry, but my daughter was just born, and I don’t want to take such a big risk… Please find someone else,” Cao Huali said.
“Where I am going to find a replacement so suddenly…” the Changjiang Practitioner replied with a sigh.
Qiao Muyi, who was as nosy as Ren Suo, also came over. She asked the question which Ren Suo was also interested to know about, “What’s wrong, Captain Li?”
Li Dan turned his head to see Qiao Muyi and Ren Suo and shook his head. He replied, “It’s nothing.”
Li Dan refused to divulge the situation, but the Changjiang Practitioner explained instead, saying, “The Changjiang Force is dispatching a second group of people to investigate what is happening inside. Considering that the previous group of troops are likely to have been injured, we hope to be able to bring healing Practitioners in as well, apart from our military medics, to help perform emergency resuscitation for those who are severely injured. We were wondering if there are any healing Practitioners in the Countermeasure Division.”
Qiao Muyi was slightly stunned. She muttered, “Oh,” then turned to leave calmly.
Ren Suo blinked, then looked at Li Dan and Qiao Muyi. He suddenly felt a sense of warmth arise in his heart.
“I am a healing Practitioner,” Ren Suo said.
Li Dan immediately said, “You are not part of the Countermeasure Division.”
“The important thing is that I am a healing Practitioner,” Ren Suo said. He continued, “Moreover, I was the one who suggested taking this opportunity to enter the mystery realm to scout. I can’t possibly do nothing after suggesting, can I?”
“It was your suggestion indeed, but the one who made the decision to go in was not you. You need not be responsible,” Qiao Muyi said. She had not gone too far and returned to dissuade him.
The Changjiang Practitioner also nodded and said, “Although we welcome volunteers, this scout mission is extremely dangerous. We perfectly understand if you are not willing to participate in it. You are a target we have to protect, and you do not have the obligation to do so. Even though we will prioritize protecting you while we are inside, we cannot guarantee that you will be safe.”
Ren Suo said, “I am willing to do so, and as a tier 1 Practitioner, I have the ability to protect myself.”
Time was tight, and since Ren Suo was willing, the Changjiang Practitioner did not say anything else and led Ren Suo to join the second batch of troops to be dispatched.
At that juncture, someone held Ren Suo’s arm again. He turned and saw that it was Dong Chengling.
“My coordinates are no longer effective inside,” Dong Chengling said as she looked at him seriously. She said, “My current ability is not powerful enough to pull you out when you are inside.”
“Don’t worry, I’m also a Practitioner and am able to protect myself,” Ren Suo replied as he pushed her hand away.
No, he was unable to push her hand away.
Dong Chengling said, “I will go in too, then.”
The Changjiang Practitioner leading Ren Suo shook his head and said, “What is inside is not known and equally dangerous. We will not bring any unrelated personnel into—”
“I am a space Awakener. The first batch of team members wore my spatial coordinates. If they could not be found after entering the mystery realm, I am quite confident that I would be able to pull them to my side. Moreover, I am a tier 2 Practitioner and am proficient in extended abilities such as [Weaved Clothes],” Dong Chengling said.
Perhaps it was because she was a space Awakener, or perhaps because she was a tier 2 Practitioner, the Changjiang Practitioner simply nodded and said no more. He led Ren Suo and Dong Chengling over directly.
Gu Yueyan, who remained within the Countermeasure team, sat at the side looking slightly dejected as she watched Ren Suo and Dong Chengling walk away.
“Why, are you unwilling to accept that?” Qiao Muyi asked as she squatted beside her.
“Slightly, but I’m not Teacher Dong, I will only drag everyone down if I go in, and I am not qualified to volunteer myself. Why isn’t the Countermeasure team going in?”
“We need to remain outside to be on our guard. If only death awaits upon entering the mystery realm, we would just be feeding ourselves to the enemy? The danger of the unknown is what scares people the most,” Qiao Muyi replied.
Gu Yueyan said, “Why do the two of them still want to go in then…”
“Well, I do not think that you need to worry about them,” Qiao Muyi replied. She said, “Dong Chengling is different, but don’t be fooled by Ren Suo’s courage.”
“He is just a social maggot who seeks to enjoy life and does not like to take risks. If he is not sufficiently confident and was given a choice, he would certainly not put himself in a risky position.”
Qiao Muyi looked at the black marshmallow and continued, “Moreover, even if he is in danger, he has many incredible ways to escape the predicament. Just like that night more than ten days ago, both of you likely spent a few minutes in the water, according to him. ”
“So how did both of you breathe underwater?”
Gu Yueyan immediately turned her face to the side to avoid being seen by Qiao Muyi. Then, the next second, Qiao Muyi blew into her ear.
“Ah—” Gu Yueyan gasped.
After ‘attacking’ Gu Yueyan, Qiao Muyi stood up and patted Gu Yueyan’s shoulder. She said with a smile, “You should study well. Sooner or later, you would be able to surpass Ren Suo’s ability. When that time comes, would you not be able to deal with him however you want, as you deem fit? Nonetheless, that guy has many secrets too, though.”
(‘Too’?) Gu Yueyan blinked, but her mind quickly focused on studying again.
“There’s no more time to waste, that sister of his is going to come in two months. When I go back, I should ask Xiaoyu if she is interested…”
——————
Dong Chengling and Ren Suo stood amidst the Changjiang Practitioners who were about to enter the mysterious realm. Before they entered, Dong Chengling, who was standing behind Ren Suo, suddenly said, “I thought you would stop me.”
“Why did you think so?” Ren Suo asked.
“Because I wanted to stop you,” Dong Chengling said. She continued, “There is an unknown danger inside.”
Ren Suo laughed and said, “You did not stop me, though.”
Dong Chengling was stunned momentarily, then thought for a moment and said, “That’s because I believe that you made such a decision after consideration. Moreover, you are going in to save people, and I do not want to affect your resolve.”
Ren Suo laughed and said, “I really appreciate you for trusting in me.”
Naturally, Ren Suo had determined from his game experience that the boss battle against the Iron Virgin was nearing the end. When they entered, they would likely witness Mage casting his Forbidden Spells, which was equivalent to watching a spectacular celebratory ending. That was why he did not mind himself and Dong Chengling following the troops into the mystery realm.
Furthermore, there were many things that could only be confirmed by entering the mystery realm. If the mystery realm was confirmed to be of immense value after the incident, Ren Suo would unlikely have any other opportunities to enter the mystery realm, unless he devoted himself to the National Research Institute.
He had no chance of entering the mystery realms in other nations either, unless he could become part of the Extraordinare alliance forces, which provided assistance to the battles in the mystery realms, in a short period of time.
At present, there was suddenly an opportunity for him to kill N birds in one stone. Not only could Ren Suo enter the mystery realm to enjoy the show, but he could also explore the mystery realm safely. He could even rise in popularity in real life, so Ren Suo was naturally unwilling to give up such an opportunity.
He had already missed the Major Heat Solar Term Discount Event the day before, as he did not have sufficient merit points and could not afford a single game…
Ren Suo did not summon his clone either and went in physically, because he was sure that he would only return safe and sound.
However, he naturally could not disclose any of those reasons. Ren Suo pondered for a moment and said to Dong Chengling, “Well, in that case, you should believe me.”
“There would be no danger, and we will come out safely. Then, we will go back to eat fragrant and delicious durian chicken hotpot…”
Dong Chengling replied, “I don’t know how to make that, and it seems to have a strong flavor…”
“Let’s go out to eat then,” Ren Suo said. He was struck with a sudden wave of inspiration and said, “Just like how I believe that there would be no danger this time, I believe that the durian chicken hot pot would be tasty. It’s my treat!”
At that juncture, the Changjiang Force was ready. They were in the center of the group of troops as they entered the mystery realm, whose outer layer looked as if it would soon become a red-colored jackfruit!
The entry seemed to occur in an instant. Ren Suo felt that his Reiki current was disrupted when he entered, and a bubble of Reiki surrounded them as they penetrated safely into the inside of the mystery realm!
As soon as they entered the mystery realm, they set foot on the rubble on the ground and found themselves inside a strange-looking building. A wave of heat washed over them, as if they had walked into a hot spring in the peak of the summer!
[Be dead, you parasite!]
The language the voice used was naturally not any language on Earth. To the others, that was just a meaningless roar.
However, to Ren Suo, it was a sound effect which he had long accustomed himself to. Just like when he played foreign games when he was young, he could remember the game experience despite not understanding what the characters were saying.
After reloading the savegame over 30 times, casting the Forbidden Spells over 20 times, and with the help of the subtitles when he cast the spells, Ren Suo had long remembered what that line meant!
The Fire Demon summoned by [Forbidden Spell: Breath of Fire Skin] was less than a hundred and fifty meters in front of them. It was huge, and its head was about to protrude out of the roof of the building.
The Fire Demon grabbed the gigantic monster which was already dripping in blood and bound by strange-looking chains. The entire body of flames of the Fire Demon was transferred into the monster, and gigantic streaks of fire shot out!
However, very quickly, the Fire Demon dissipated. At the same time, the burning monster fell to the ground, and its first reaction was to sweep its enormous right arm towards the human figure in front of it, who was burnt like charcoal!
After the burnt human was swept to the ground, he quickly stood up again. He unwittingly looked at the second batch of Practitioner troops.
Ren Suo, who had activated the Coupling Ability [Insights Into the World], possessed the eyesight of a pilot, and could clearly see the sparkle of light in the eye of the burnt human.
It’s a pleasure meeting you for the first time, Mage.