boyutpedia Page 72
Page 72
"It's the end of the world outside! Monsters roam, and danger lurks everywhere! How can we be doing all this lovey-dovey stuff here? This is outrageous! What kind of behavior is this!"
He stood up straight, chin slightly raised, his face radiating righteous indignation. If one ignored the still stubbornly prominent bulge in his crotch, though somewhat concealed, his appearance was actually quite convincing.
Seeing that Luo Jiajun's physical reactions hadn't completely subsided yet, but he was still acting very serious, Bayonetta's originally composed expression finally crumbled.
She knew, of course, that Luo Jiajun was retaliating against her earlier teasing.
A feeling of being both annoyed and amused welled up uncontrollably in her heart, causing her to finally lose her temper and give Luo Jiajun a very vivid eye roll. Her eyes contained a mixture of "childishness," "boredom," and a subtle sense of relaxation that she herself did not even realize.
Luo Jiajun wasn't entirely pretending to be serious. The farce he'd just witnessed, besides serving as a counterattack against Bayonetta, had indeed reminded him of the important matter at hand. The anger that had been stirred up had largely dissipated thanks to Dreyer's exaggerated cooperation and Bayonetta's eye-roll.
He cleared his throat, completely composed himself, and turned his gaze to Bayonetta, his tone becoming serious: "Alright, enough joking. Bayonetta, since you've been frequently clearing out the monsters appearing near the camp these past few days, you should have noticed the locations of the various spatial rifts around the camp, right?"
Bayonetta also suppressed her stirred emotions and nodded, saying, "Of course. I've only found two spatial rifts around here so far, and I've noted their locations."
"It's good that you know the details." Luo Jiajun nodded, satisfied with the answer.
Then, he turned to look at Dreyer, who seemed somewhat reluctant to leave because the "firefighting" operation had been stopped, and gave the order:
"Go and call Rinko in too."
Although Delere was a little disappointed that she couldn't "help," she immediately carried out Luo Jiajun's orders. She responded, gave Bayonetta a meaningful glance, and then swayed her hips as she lifted the curtain and walked out.
Luo Jiajun asked Delaire to call Rinko in because he hadn't forgotten that he had already completed the third stage of the main quest:
Main Quest (3) - Door Breach Operation
[Mission Requirements: Destroy at least ten portals (spatial rifts)]
[Task Time Limit: If this task is not completed by the end of the current version, it will be automatically cancelled.]
[Task Reward: Unlock new feature - Points Shop]
(Points Shop: The shop contains various items related to summoned characters, as well as various unlocked high-value items, which can be purchased with summoning points)
—If we want to destroy those spatial rifts in the fog outside, Rinko, who has mastered the art of air escape, might have a way!
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A short while later, Dreyer brought Rinko back to the tent.
Luo Jiajun didn't waste any words and went straight to the point:
"Rinko, we want to try to destroy the spatial rifts outside, those portals in the mist that keep spewing out monsters. Do you think your spatial escape technique is capable of doing that?"
He looked intently at Rinko, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Upon hearing this, Rinko's calm eyes flickered slightly, as if she was thinking quickly.
She didn't immediately give a guarantee, but cautiously replied:
“Master, the technique of escaping through space does indeed involve the manipulation of space. As for whether it can destroy this spatial rift, which may or may not be naturally formed or torn apart by external forces, I need to observe its shape, energy fluctuations, and stability with my own eyes to make a judgment. Although it is theoretically possible to try, the specific results can only be determined after on-site investigation.”
Her answer sounded professional and honest, without any exaggeration.
Luo Jiajun nodded in understanding and said:
"Okay, let's go take a look now!"
Without hesitation, as soon as Luo Jiajun set off, Rinko, Bayonetta, and Dreyer followed suit.
After stepping out of the tent, Anne-Loz, who had returned to her normal size, along with Yukikaze, Leda, and others, came into Luo Jiajun's view.
At Luo Jiajun's call, the whole team moved together.
At this time, the fog outside the camp was still thick, and visibility was very low.
Bayonetta led the way; during the two days Luo Jiajun had been unconscious, she had been bored and had been clearing out monsters in the vicinity, so she was clearly very familiar with the area.
A short while later, led by Bayonetta, the group quickly arrived at the location of the spatial rift closest to the camp.
Then, in the air ahead, a very narrow slit, emitting a faint purple light, appeared to be suspended. It was only about an arm's length long, and at its widest point, it was no more than a few fingers' width. Tiny, purple, lightning-like energy threads constantly jumped and annihilated along its edges.
The rift simply floated silently in mid-air, neither expanding nor spewing forth any monsters, as if it were merely an inconspicuous scar in the void. This is the state of the spatial rift when it is "closed" or, more accurately, "dormant."
“This is it,” Bayonetta stopped and gestured.
Rinko took a few steps forward, approaching the crack. She didn't touch it rashly, but instead narrowed her eyes slightly, observing it carefully. Her gaze was sharp and focused, as if she were sensing the structure and energy flow of the spatial crack.
A moment later, Rinko turned around, nodded to Luo Jiajun, and said with a hint of certainty in her voice:
“Master, this crack is currently in a highly unstable ‘contraction’ state, and its structure is relatively fragile. I can try to use the Void Escape Technique to disrupt its internal spatial balance and induce it to collapse on its own.”
“Okay! Let’s give it a try!” Luo Jiajun perked up and immediately agreed.
He knows nothing about space or anything like that, and he doesn't need to be an expert. He just leaves the professional stuff to the professionals.
With permission granted, Rinko faced the narrow crack again. She took a deep breath, her eyes instantly becoming incredibly sharp, and then slowly raised her right hand, fingers spread, palm facing the twisted rift in the void before her.
There were no incantations chanted, nor any earth-shattering noise.
On the palm of this "Demon Slayer Ninja," an extremely deep purple halo, seemingly capable of swallowing light, began to appear.
Immediately afterwards, tiny, hair-like purple arcs of electricity leaped out from the halo, emitting a soft crackling sound. These arcs did not move randomly, but quickly intertwined and converged in front of her palm, forming a constantly rotating purple energy vortex that emitted strong spatial fluctuations.
Rinko's expression was incredibly focused, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on her forehead. Manipulating spatial power was by no means easy, even for someone as skilled in it as her; it required a tremendous amount of mental and physical energy.
"Stop!" A low, soft shout came from Rinko's mouth.
As she spoke, the hand crackling with purple electricity suddenly clenched inward! It was as if an invisible hand, made of pure spatial energy, gripped the suspended spatial rift tightly with her movement!
Om-!
A deep, almost inaudible spatial tremor suddenly resounded.
The narrow, previously still crack suddenly twisted violently the moment Rinko grasped it! The energy threads leaping at the crack's edge became wildly chaotic. Then, before everyone's eyes, the crack, as if forcibly kneaded by an invisible giant hand, began to collapse and cave inward at a visible speed!
Within seconds, the unsettling spatial rift was compressed into an imperceptible dot by the powerful interference of the purple electric arc in Rinko's palm. Finally, with a soft "pop," it vanished completely into the air, as if it had never existed.
It worked!
But just as Luo Jiajun's face lit up with joy, he saw Rinko's body sway almost imperceptibly.
The girl quickly lowered her arm, and the purple arc of electricity that had been gathered in her palm instantly dissipated. Her face lost its color at a visible speed, becoming somewhat pale, and her breathing became slightly rapid, with the fine beads of sweat on her forehead becoming more noticeable.
Clearly, that seemingly brief operation had put a considerable strain on her.
"Linzi, how are you?" Luo Jiajun immediately stepped forward and asked with concern.
Rinko took a deep breath, steadied herself, shook her head, and said in a lower voice than usual, "I've been quite exhausted. I just need to rest for a bit."
At this point, the girl paused, then added, her tone carrying a barely perceptible seriousness:
"Actually, although this direct interference with spatial rifts is extremely costly, it is also a rare opportunity for me to train and improve my understanding and control of spatial power. Shall we go to the second spatial rift now?"
Hearing Rinko's words, Luo Jiajun felt a little relieved. It seemed that this was not just a simple drain on her energy; for Rinko, it might also be considered a form of training.
“Alright, then take a break.” Luo Jiajun said, turning his gaze to Bayonetta. “Continue leading the way, Bayonetta.”
Bayonetta didn't say much, just nodded, and then turned and disappeared into the thick fog again.
This time the journey was a bit longer, and the surrounding fog seemed to have become even thicker.
After walking for a while, Bayonetta, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and raised her hand to signal everyone to be on guard.
"Be careful, there's something ahead." Her voice was tinged with seriousness.
Luo Jiajun and the others immediately looked ahead. Not far away, a spatial rift several times wider than the previous one, resembling an irregular portal, was clearly expanding and had already formed a relatively stable teleportation gate!
And at that moment, a steady stream of small, green figures, screaming and shoving, were pouring out of that portal!
That's... a goblin! You goblin, think about it, are you there...?
There were at least twenty or thirty of them! They were armed with simple wooden sticks and stone axes. As soon as they landed, they let out a piercing cry, greedily sniffing the air, and immediately spotted Luo Jiajun and the others.
"Tsk, what bad luck, running into one that's 'open for business'." Luo Jiajun spat, but there was no fear on his face. These lowest-level monsters weren't even appetizers for their team.
"Clean them up," Luo Jiajun ordered.
The battle breaks out instantly!
There was no need for complicated tactics. Bayonetta's hands had somehow already gripped her signature twin pistols, the muzzles spewing deadly magical bullets, each bullet precisely piercing the head or heart of a goblin, the gunshots ringing out crisply in the thick fog.
The others were equally impressive.
Since they were just goblins, the battle was a foregone conclusion. In less than a minute, all that remained on the ground were green corpses scattered everywhere and the pungent smell of blood.
With these obstructions cleared away, everyone's attention returned to the portal that was still emitting a faint purple glow.
Rinko walked to the teleportation portal and examined it carefully. This time, her brows furrowed slightly. She quickly turned back to Luo Jiajun and shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness:
"No, Master. This crack has already expanded and stabilized. With my current strength, forcibly interfering with it will not only fail to destroy it, but may also cause violent spatial fluctuations and unpredictable consequences. Perhaps we can only wait for it to shrink back on its own."
The problem is that the expansion and contraction of these spatial cracks seem to follow no obvious pattern.
...Oh, right!
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Luo Jiajun's mind! He abruptly looked up, peering through the thick, seemingly impenetrable fog at the sky—though he couldn't see anything.
"As everyone knows, these mists shrink and thin significantly when the midday sun is at its strongest. What about spatial rifts? Do they also follow a similar pattern? Are they more likely to shrink or become unstable when the mist is weakest and the sunlight is strongest?"
While this guess wasn't exactly rigorous, everyone who heard it reacted with a "maybe it's true" attitude.
Bayonetta recalled her observations over the past two days and nodded:
"That's certainly possible! I've noticed these past two days that the monsters seem to be less active when the fog thins out around noon, which may be related to the changes in the state of the spatial rift."
"Then let's wait and see!" Luo Jiajun decided immediately. "Let's stay here and see if it shrinks!"
The subsequent wait wasn't boring, because the portal opened twice more during this time. Once, another group of goblins poured out, and the other time, several wolves with bloodshot eyes and drooling emerged.
These "minor monsters," unsurprisingly, were easily dealt with by Luo Jiajun and his companions, who were lying in wait. As Luo Jiajun killed the monsters, he couldn't help but mentally complain:
If this "super-dimensional apocalypse game" in his mind had an experience leveling-up mechanism, he would have leveled up and made a fortune long ago just from killing these monsters.
……
Time passed slowly amidst waiting and sporadic battles. The thick fog, like a living thing, flowed and shifted gently. Gradually, Luo Jiajun felt that the surrounding fog seemed... to have thinned a bit? He could only see a few meters ahead before, but now he could see more than ten meters away.
He perked up and looked up at the sky—although it was still obscured by the high fog, he could clearly feel that the light was much brighter, and a warmth pierced through the cold mist and fell on him.
Noon has arrived!
As the sunlight grew increasingly intense, the thick fog began to churn, contract, and thin violently! Visibility improved at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The portal ahead, which had been steadily expanding, finally began to change. The once smooth edges of the portal started to twist and ripple violently, like waves on water. The entire portal became unstable, flickering between light and shadow, as if it might collapse at any moment.
“Look! Something’s changed!” Dreyer exclaimed.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently. The distorted, flickering portal struggled violently for over ten seconds before suddenly shrinking inward!
The portal, which was originally large enough to accommodate several people walking side by side, instantly collapsed into a narrower crack, only half the size of the previous dormant rift!
At midday when the sunlight was strongest and the fog was weakest, the expanding portal, as expected, followed a certain pattern and shrank back into its unstable crack state!
"Just as I expected!" Luo Jiajun couldn't help but grin.
This discovery is very important, meaning they have grasped the key moment to actively close these cracks!
Then, while continuing to search for lost teammates through the fog, you can also complete the main quest of the third stage.
Everything is progressing steadily. The only thing still giving Luo Jiajun a headache right now is: Archina, Zyra, Mai Shiranui, Zhou Meiling…
I wonder where the four of them are now?
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As evening fell and the sun set, a thick fog once again filled every corner of the city.
At this time, Luo Jiajun and the others had left the previous temporary camp and advanced another thousand meters to the north, almost leaving the city.
However, due to some unavoidable problems, the group had to stop and rest again before nightfall—in Luo Jiajun's "capsule house," of course.
The problem that must be solved is nothing more than "hygiene".
Two days before Luo Jiajun fell into a coma, the team had fought a fierce and arduous battle against the Storm Bear Volir. Even Bayonetta, who was summoned to join the team later, was covered in the marks of battle from the frequent battles of clearing monsters over the past two days.
In other words, the capsule houses have many rooms and bathrooms, and there's no need to worry about water and electricity, which allows so many people in the group to wash themselves.
In a sense, this also brought Luo Jiajun an unexpected visual "bonus".
Rosemon, Annerose, Leda, Dreyer, Yukikaze, Rinko, Bayonetta... it was as if everyone was attending a party themed "Bathing".
As the women emerged from the bathroom and gathered in the living room, almost everyone was wrapped only in a towel. Under the light, their exposed skin, glistening with undried water droplets, shone with a subtle sheen.