119. Three Tasks
On the metal platform, Xiling stood listlessly, letting the blue light projected by the sophisticated instrument scan him. Herta stood beside him, her fingers flying across the floating screen, her eyes initially filled with anticipation, then confusion, and finally, an incredulous excitement.
"Strange…so strange…" Hertar muttered to herself.
Xiling stepped off the platform, asking curiously, "So, what did you detect?"
Herta abruptly looked up, hands on her hips, chest puffed out, and under Xiling's expectant gaze, announced, "Nothing detected!"
Xiling's lips twitched, giving her a disdainful look:
"So you've been researching nothing?"
Noticing the change in Xiling's expression, Herta didn't seem to care, instead speaking with even greater excitement.
"That's what makes it interesting! Ordinary data is easily understood; would it even be worth the great Herta's personal investigation? It's the completely unknown, beyond comprehension, that's what makes it exciting! Alright, you can leave now, don't disturb my experiment!"
"Fine, fine, you can continue your research, I won't bother you." Xiling didn't mind Herta's attitude.
Just as Xiling turned to leave, Herta suddenly called out to him, "Wait!"
"What is it now?"
"If you have time, you can come with that little girl to test the simulated universe. Don't worry..."
"The reward is generous, and...maybe there will be even more interesting discoveries."
Xiling turned around suspiciously:
"Huh?"
"What 'huh'?! Your data is ridiculously abnormal; maybe it can help me optimize the algorithm for simulating the universe!" Herta waved her hand impatiently.
"Anyway, come and try it when you have time; it's quite fun."
"...Alright."
Leaving these words, Xiling instantly arrived at Kevin's side using the chat group's teleportation function. As soon as Xiling stepped out of the portal, he saw Kevin and the Tarnished pointing at a distant planet and exclaiming excitedly.
"The universe is so beautiful!" Kevin pressed himself against the viewing window, his eyes sparkling.
"If only Mei could come here, she would love it!"
The Tarnished was equally excited.
"Holy crap, I feel like I've had a burst of inspiration! When I get back, I'm definitely going to kick those magic academy people out of the way and go study my own Star Magic properly!"
Dan Heng stood to the side, one hand on his forehead, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
Xiling's gaze slowly moved down, landing on the two boys' upturned, excitedly wriggling buttocks.
*Slap! Slap!*
He raised his hand without hesitation and slapped them twice.
"What are you two doing here, making a fool of yourselves?!"
"Damn it! Xiling, you dog!" Kevin and the Tarnished jumped up simultaneously, clutching their buttocks.
"Hehe!"
"Holy crap, you dare laugh! I have to teach you a lesson." Kevin rushed over and gave him a bear hug. This time, the Tarnished had learned his lesson; he'd given himself a bunch of buffs first. He was going to show his opponent that he, the Tarnished, wasn't someone to be trifled with!
A passing space staff member curiously watched the three men huddled together. Not far from them, a handsome young man covered his face, looking utterly miserable.
After a long while…
"My back! My back! Why am I still like this even though I've gotten stronger!" The Tarnished, lying on the ground, clutched his back and cried out in frustration.
"Oh, because our… stats have increased, so your increase in strength… is practically the same as not increasing at all." Xiling managed a weak reply to the Tarnished question amidst Kevin's relentless spinning whirlwind.
Until Kevin himself became dizzy from all the spinning, and then he and Xiling were frantically vomiting in front of the trash can, Dan Heng helplessly patted their shoulders.
What do you do with a bunch of goofy friends? I need help urgently.
Just then, the March 7th sightseeing group arrived. Seeing the two people vomiting in the trash can, and another person lying on the ground clutching their back, they twitched their brows.
"What's wrong with them? Are they dizzy from the space station?" March 7th asked worriedly, their situation was completely different.
"You're amazing too." Dan Heng sighed again.
Elaina walked over to Xiling's side and disdainfully patted his back.
"So what's going on here?"
Xiling looked up and said with difficulty, "Someone killed 800 enemies but lost 1000 of their own blood."
Kevin propped his head up and retorted, "I think I'm in a slightly better state than you."
Instantly, Xiling's competitive spirit was ignited.
"Look at you, in such a sorry state, and you dare say you're in a slightly better state than me?"
"Dare to try again!"
"Bring it on, I'm not afraid of you!"
Seeing the windmill start up again, everyone finally understood what was going on.
Just as everyone was speechless...
[Ding!]
[Task issued.]
[Exploration] Task 1: Meteoric Salvation
Rewards: Issued according to the progress of exploration.
[Rescue] Task 2: Save Jarilo-VI
Reward: 10,000 points. The completer receives an exclusive world reward.
[Choice] Task 3: Urban Summit
Reward: 10,000 points. The completer receives an exclusive world reward.
[Please allocate your time wisely to complete this task.]
[After completing two of these tasks, the new chat group function will be unlocked.]
[Contract Summoning]
[Campfire]
[Rescue] Specify a clear target.
[Explore] Search for clues; can be completed at any time.
[Choice] Influence the course of the world.
[Please allocate the three tasks reasonably.]
The system suddenly popped up three tasks, which surprised everyone. Everyone blinked in confusion, and Kevin even threw someone out of his arms, sending them crashing to the ground.
Xiling, who had fallen face-first, didn't immediately rush to buff Kevin. Instead, he lay on the ground, looking at the tasks on the chat panel with a puzzled expression.
"Why did three tasks pop up all of a sudden, and one of them is local?"
Xiling recognized most of the three tasks, but he was still confused about why so many tasks had appeared at once.
Xiling stood up and stretched a bit. The next second, Xiling dashed forward and kicked Kevin in the butt while he was deep in thought.
"You dare to throw me out!"
This kick made Kevin experience the feeling of falling face-first into shit.
Under everyone's gaze, Xiling, having finished everything, clapped his hands.
"Alright, the situation has changed. It seems we can't board the train this time. Let's discuss the plan."
—
March 7th felt isolated, watching the others chatting together while she could only drink juice alone.
"Ugh, can't you include me in what you're talking about?"
Actually, including March 7th wouldn't be a problem, but the issue was that she wouldn't understand anyway; it would only confuse her more.
"What do you all think?" Xiling raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to share their opinions.
"There are too many tasks at once, we can't possibly finish them all!" Kevin shook his head seriously.
Xiling pointed at Kevin.
"Don't eat at the same table as me anymore."
"Then if I cook, you can't eat."
"No way! By the way, you can cook! I've never seen you show off your skills."
The group selectively ignored the two men.
Dan Heng looked at Mission Two. He remembered that this planet was described in their records as a place of springtime warmth and blooming flowers, but the mission description indicated it had been ravaged by a cold disaster.
Dan Heng thought for a moment and said to the group, "Jarilo-VI is a planet our Astral Express is about to visit. If you don't mind, you can come with us."
No one objected, but then Xiling raised his hand.
"I have something to say."
The group looked at Xiling, who looked at Kevin. Under Kevin's puzzled gaze, Xiling smiled and said, "Come along, let's go see your future."
"My...future?" Kevin was confused, not understanding what Xiling meant.
"Do you remember what I said before?" Xiling didn't say it explicitly, but rather hinted at it.
Kevin thought for a moment, then quickly remembered what Xiling had once said: his civilization was dead, all those he cherished had vanished into nothingness, and he had survived, spending countless days and nights fulfilling his promise to them.
After a moment of silence, Kevin nodded seriously.
The others were somewhat confused about what Xiling meant, but the original four chat group members understood perfectly.
"The chat group suggested we allocate tasks reasonably, so let's split up," Lemuen suggested.
"I have no objection; in fact, this suits me perfectly!" Houraiji Kyuushou exclaimed excitedly, raising her fist.
"Okay," Dan Heng nodded.
"Then how do we allocate them?" Luo Tianyi she asked in confusion.
"Let's draw lots." Elaina waved her wand, tearing open the papers she carried. Four papers had writing on them, and four were blank. After a quick mix-up, Elaina gestured for everyone to come forward. The paper they had chosen was hers.
The answers were quickly announced.
The member selection for Mission Two:
Houraiji Kyuushou, Elaina, Dan Heng, and Luo Tianyi.
The member selection for Mission One:
Xiling, Kevin, the Tarnished, and Lemuen.
"Very good, hero! Let's see who completes the mission faster this time!" Houraiji Kyuushou raised her fist at Xiling.
Xiling nudged her fist with a disgruntled gesture.
"We're on an exploration mission. If I come back immediately, you'll explode!"
"Ugh! Why did you have to do this!" Houraiji Kyuushou cried out in shock.
Everyone smiled at her appearance.
The mission begins.
—