Chapter 101: A Simple Test?
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
Ling Lan hadn't even waited for two minutes when the instructor said, "Ling Lan, it's your turn."
Under the instructor's guidance, Ling Lan touched the portal.
Her hand had barely touched the portal when she felt a tremendous sucking force pulling her entire body into it. Of course, this was just what Ling Lan felt. From an outsider's perspective, Ling Lan had only walked through the portal and disappeared.
"I hope this child can receive his inheritance!" This notion suddenly rose up within the young soldier's heart.
However, very soon he had received news from the secret monitors that that child had also been rejected and had been sent back to the login point.
Even such an exceptionally talented child had been denied? Ling Xiao, exactly what kind of inheritor were you looking for? It couldn't be denied that the young soldier was a little disappointed deep down, for he had really thought highly of that child. Perhaps there would be a chance in the future for him to help that child ...
The staff who were monitoring in secret had tracked Ling Lan's movements in the virtual world from the very moment she entered the portal. Only when they saw her walk into the library from the login point, where she then proceeded to sit and study, looking as if she had no intention of moving, did the staff ease their monitoring.
The young soldier didn't know that these monitors, who were led by him in name, actually had another mission. The higher-ups had instructed that whenever a child named Ling Lan attempted the legacy mission, the child should be monitored closely every step of the way.
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The moment Ling Lan entered the specialised space of the legacy mission, she actually found Little Four tucked away in a corner waiting for her. Surprised, she was just about to ask him what was going on when Little Four mysteriously pressed a finger against his lips and made a loud "Shhh!", signalling Ling Lan not to speak.
Ling Lan glared at Little Four irritably. If he was really trying to be stealthy, would he have made such a loud shushing noise? Still, Ling Lan didn't interrupt Little Four, merely waiting patiently for him to explain.
"Boss, someone is monitoring this space." Sure enough, Little Four gave her some momentous news.
"What exactly is going on?" asked Ling Lan in confusion.
"This space is not yet the real legacy mission space. It is just a transit station that the virtual world has specially set aside for this legacy mission, which is why it can be monitored," explained Little Four. "I've tracked it, and it's connected to the military."
Ling Lan frowned, "And you still dare to stay here?" Wouldn't the other side discover Little Four and cause them trouble?
Little Four rolled his eyes at Ling Lan, extremely displeased that she didn't trust him. "Who am I? I am the god of the virtual world. They can only see what I want them to see. Like right now, all they can see is an image of you standing in front of that diamond-shaped crystal, investigating it seriously." Little Four was very smug about this.
"Now who was it who acted as if a great enemy was upon us, telling me to not make a sound?" Ling Lan glared coolly at Little Four, instantly smothering his budding self-satisfaction.
Sensing that things were veering off-track, Little Four immediately adopted an obedient look, eager to please. This made Ling Lan annoyed and amused in equal measure; in the end, Ling Lan could only let it go, turning to focus on a more important question.
"About this legacy mission, how much do you know?" Since Little Four had come so early, he should have already gotten some understanding of the situation.
But reality wasn't as simple as Ling Lan had assumed. When Little Four heard this question, his entire face fell. With a greatly stricken look, he said dejectedly, "Sorry, Boss, I can't get into that place." Little Four pointed to the front where the diamond-shaped crystal was hovering in the air, slowly turning on its axis.
"What is it? A portal?" Ling Lan walked over to the crystal to peer at it curiously.
Little Four said gloomily, "It is also a type of portal, but this crystal is some strong person's solidified spiritual essence. I believe that the test space is right inside. Originally, I wanted to go inside to find out more, but I had just gotten close when I was repelled by the spiritual force around the crystal. It almost injured me," said Little Four as he patted his little chest in remembered fear. If he had gotten hurt, his mental faculties would have been disrupted, and it might have been a very long time before he could have appeared in front of Ling Lan again.
"Oh? Then what should I do?" Hearing Little Four's words, Ling Lan became more cautious.
"You just need to touch that crystal. That's what I saw many of the students do," said Little Four. "After they touched the crystal, they disappeared from this virtual world, and then one or two minutes later, they reappeared in the virtual world again, but they were already back at the login point where we first logged in."
"Disappeared from the virtual world? Could it be a new space?" Ling Lan understood what Little Four was saying. In other words, they hadn't been transported to another area in the virtual world, but had disappeared directly from this virtual world itself.
Little Four thought for a moment before saying, "I have some incomplete data here — it seems that there is a theory that when a person's strength reaches a certain level, a realm will emerge. And every individual's realm is an independent space."
Hearing this, Ling Lan couldn't help but think of Dao. The essence of Dao can weaken an opponent's abilities — was it then also a type of realm, except that this realm was not yet complete?
The notion came and went, and Ling Lan moved on to her next question, "Did all those students fail the mission?"
"Of course! Otherwise the next person wouldn't be able to enter. This legacy mission is really very interesting, only allowing one person to enter at a time. Only when the person inside has failed can the next person go in. Luckily the testing time is quick — the results are typically out within two or three minutes. There was even one student who didn't even manage to last 30 seconds before being sent to the login point. How stupid," said Little Four with clear schadenfreude.
"Perhaps I won't do much better," said Ling Lan disapprovingly. Who knew what things would be tested inside — no one could guarantee that they would definitely be able to pass.
"Boss will surely do fine and take down this legacy mission." said Little Four with a pout. In his mind, Ling Lan was the smartest!
"Little Four, thank you." Ling Lan was very touched by Little Four's faith in her. She stroked Little Four's small head, while her mind was working through her next options.
With some doubt, Ling Lan said, "Little Four, I want to give up on this mission. You know why ... I don't want the military to notice me." It would be fine if she didn't manage to complete it, but if by chance she really managed to complete it, it might result in some negative repercussions for her.
Puzzled, Little Four said, "Even so, you don't have to give up, right? I can create an illusion, so no matter whether Boss succeeds or fails, I can make it look like you're chased out after 3 minutes."
"Little Four, you can create illusions?" Ling Lan was extremely surprised. But then, she recalled that Little Four could alter human brainwaves, so of course he could also mimic human brainwaves to make an illusory Ling Lan appear in the virtual world.
"However, if I stay inside, it will still be useless when the next person finds that they can't get in," said Ling Lan with a sigh.
"That's easy. I'll just make a new space and let the children after that enter that new space. And then, I'll set it so that they'll be sent back to the login point at a random time between one to three minutes." Little Four didn't see the problem.
"And what about the contents of the test?" After all, quite a few students had already entered the real legacy mission space to take the real test. If by any chance it was discovered that the test contents were different, it would be bad.
"Tch, Boss, you really have too many questions. Wouldn't you already be inside the real test by then? As long as you're inside, when you take the test, I'll be able to find out the test contents then. At that time, I'll just copy it over ... Also, if by any chance Boss fails and gets thrown out, I won't even have to make a new space anymore. So, Boss, just go in and leave everything to Little Four."
Little Four couldn't stand it any longer and nudged Ling Lan impatiently to go in. Although Little Four could give those monitors an illusion, he couldn't just let Ling Lan continue to just stand still in front of the crystal — that would be suspicious.
Ling Lan finally relaxed. She put her hand onto the crystal floating in the air — for some reason, when she touched the crystal, she felt an indescribable sense of kinship, warming her deeply from the inside ...
Then, she was enveloped by the warmth of this spiritual energy and was brought to a place shrouded in fog. There was nothing at all in her surroundings other than semi-transparent fog and mist.
Just as Ling Lan was wondering what she should do, the mist suddenly condensed to form a grey figure. This figure was short and small, roughly the height and size of the present Ling Lan. And then, the little figure started to go through a set of combat arts.
Ling Lan took a close look and found herself speechless. Was this the test? Wasn't this just a little too easy? It turned out that that little figure was going through one of the basic combat arts that all students learned from the academy in grade one.
"Scout basics combat arts?" Ling Lan tentatively gave her answer, but found that the little figure was still going through the motions without stopping.
So it wasn't testing her for the name of the art? A thought flashed through Ling Lan's mind, and she struck a pose and begun following the grey figure to go through this set of basic combat arts. However, Ling Lan started from the very first stance; she wanted to prove her hypothesis.
Sure enough, Ling Lan found that the moment she started, that little figure restarted to follow Ling Lan as she went through the movements. As she had guessed, it was indeed a test of body language. Of course, it wasn't impossible for it to also be a test of combat art names, so Ling Lan decided to cover all her bases to make sure that she would pass safely.
Ling Lan called out the name of each move as she performed them, until she and the grey figure were moving completely in sync. When Ling Lan finally finished going through the entire set of combat arts, the grey figure disappeared, leaving Ling Lan standing alone in the space once again. She hadn't been thrown out, so it looked like she had passed this first round of testing.
Ling Lan let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she had guessed correctly. That one set of combat arts had taken up roughly two to three minutes ... which meant that most students had failed in the second round. What in the world was this second round testing for which would cause all of the students to fail?
Ling Lan's heartbeat became a little erratic just thinking about it. At this moment, the mist once again condensed into a human figure, but the figure this time was no longer a small child, but a bulky adult. This figure proceeded to go through yet another set of combat arts, but this particular set made Ling Lan's facial expression change drastically.
Translator's Thoughts
ryuxenji ryuxenji
Aw yeah, we've reached the hundreds! Here's a celebratory bonus chapter, and as usual, thank you for all the support. :3
Another chap will be out at the usual time, so this cliffy shouldn't feel as long. (This author is a master of cliffs, I tell you. XD)