harleyscars Page 108
Page 108
Listening to Api's idea, you shook your head and told him that you should make good use of the villagers. Once there are enough of them, they should be categorized and stored separately, serving as a tool for exchanging goods.
Appi stared at you blankly for a few seconds, seemingly thinking you were a bit too urban! But after thinking about it for a while, he thought your idea was quite brilliant.
After you surrounded the house, you found a map in the ruins. Api walked a little further out, looked at the expanding terrain, pondered for a moment, and said, "My great-grandfather had a huge map hanging on his wall. If we walk a little further, I should be able to match this place with the location on the map."
"Then your great-grandfather must have been a skilled hiker..." you quipped humorously.
After matching your location on the map, you found the correct direction to the royal city. After traveling for about a day, you successfully arrived at the royal city of Mojito.
"Hello, we're here to participate in the 'Strongest Farmer' competition."
Latis patted Api on the shoulder and said to the guards defending the city:
"Brother, do you know how this competition is conducted?"
The guard stuck out his rear end and, holding a huge shield, said:
"The 'Strongest Farmer' competition is a contest established by Her Majesty the Queen to test the overall abilities of the participants. After ten participants are gathered, you will each be assigned to a small area, and the participant who first builds a Nether portal will win."
"A Nether portal?" Appi asked in surprise. "Isn't the name of this competition 'The Strongest Farmer'?"
"Who says farming in the Nether isn't one of a farmer's basic skills?"
Suddenly, a mature woman with purple hair appeared beside the three of them. She stuck out her rear end and said to Appi and Latis, who had turned around:
"Brothers, there are now seven contestants including myself. If you two participate, we only need to wait for one more person to start the competition."
She waved to the guards and led Appi and Latis into the city.
"My name is Lu Fuling, you can call me Old Lu. I'll be frank and get straight to the point. The casualty rate in the 'Strongest Farmer' competition has always been high, but the Queen still attaches great importance to this event. There must be a reason for this."
The old deer suddenly stopped and watched as a shepherd drove his flock to them. After waiting for a while, he passed through the lambs at the back of the line, urged on by sheepdogs, and headed towards the tavern.
"I, Lao Lu, am interested in these old secrets, so I participated in the competition twice. But both times were pretty bad. The first time, I was injured by a coolie in a cave while mining for diamonds and had to withdraw early. The second time, I failed because I exceeded the ten-day deadline."
She took a deep breath, nodded to the bartender, and then said:
"I realized that going it alone has almost no chance of success, and after observing all the contestants, I felt that you all looked the most approachable, so I wanted to ask you..."
Old Deer downed the beer the bartender offered in one gulp, let out a strange cry, and then said eagerly:
"Let's team up! You must all be curious about what secrets the Queen is hiding, right?"
[You and Appi thought about it for a while and finally decided to observe Old Deer a little longer before deciding whether to team up with her on the day the competition starts.]
Old Deer wasn't surprised by your decision; on the contrary, she nodded in satisfaction and said, "These are the qualities that a participant who can win a competition should possess."
[Since we were waiting for the last participant to register, you all wandered around the city for a while. Mojito truly lives up to its reputation as the only city on this land; all sorts of people dressed in all sorts of costumes walked along the streets, some narrow, some wide. You even saw a strange person riding a pig with a carrot fishing rod.]
When you arrive at a so-called "avant-garde art" neighborhood and see the magnificent Red Stone Music Plaza, you suddenly remember your bass talent. After some inquiries, you regretfully learn that there is no such thing as a bass in this world. Well, that's true, the people here don't even have fingers...
[You've already started planning to build your own bass in your mind: four strings, 24 frets, each string tuned to EADG...]
You set aside these jumbled thoughts, scratched your head, and thought, "If we look at it according to the nine-string bass, then a bass has four strings. Aren't the pipa and violin also a type of bass? Since the bass is responsible for the bass frequencies, the tuba is also a type of bass."
[You thought for a moment, then looked at the cow being led by the herdsman. The bass was deep, rhythmic, and resonant; so a cow could also be considered a bass...]
You paused for a moment, then finally decided that, given the opportunity, you'd try to be a fundamentalist bassist, since you probably couldn't handle a bull.
[It's worth mentioning that ever since we entered the city, Mumu in my mind has been constantly rambling on and on, talking about which restaurant's pickled beef she'd eaten at, or which shop she'd had a custom-made magic warrior dress made at, but if you ask her about the details, she starts acting like a dazed person.]
"Mumu is a bit like that public service advertisement where people put dumplings in their pockets..."
As Latis grumbled to himself, he passed a small hospital. Watching the people inside devouring golden apples, he stroked his chin and thought:
"It seems the people in this world really are like those in the game, only losing health and not getting hurt? Healing with apples is a bit strange, isn't it? I wonder what their life, aging, sickness, and death are like..."
He was about to walk forward when he suddenly bumped into a girl wearing a beret. Latis was startled, quickly helped her up, and looked at her fair skin and large, square eyes, asking:
"Sister, are you okay?"
The girl opened her mouth, about to speak, when she suddenly lowered her head, took out a glowing teardrop-shaped gem, paused, and quickly asked:
"Do you have the same gem on you?!"
"what?"
Just as Latis was about to deny it, a sharp scream suddenly echoed in his mind. Mumu seemed to be pounding the ground and shouting:
"Disciple! It's my lovely little disciple! Disciple, it's me! It's Master Mu Mu!"
Latis, having failed in his attempt, covered his head in frustration, sighed, and, under the girl's hopeful gaze, asked:
"So, you're Queen Pallas? I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
Chapter 120 Someone and Big Bull
(Some modifications have been made to the previous text. Now Latis knows that this is the Minecraft world, but the overall plot remains unchanged.)
"How...how do you know I am the Queen?"
After a few seconds of shock, Pallas's demeanor instantly became dignified. Although her attire remained unchanged, an inexplicable power emanated from her. Latis involuntarily took two steps back and said:
"Your master..."
As soon as he said it, Latis suddenly frowned, his mind racing.
"Wait, am I really going to just tell her about Mumu's affair with me like this? She doesn't even know how she died. What if it's related to Queen Pallas? And the Appi family only went to the countryside because they gradually lost contact with the Queen... Let's observe them first."
“Your master, Mu Zhi, once had some contact with me. She seems to be in a very ethereal state right now.” Latis paused, staring intently into Pallas’s eyes, trying to discern any clues.
"What? Master is still alive?" Pallas exclaimed in astonishment. She froze for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and calmly asked:
"Are you sure? This is a very important matter."
"I'm not sure if her condition qualifies as being alive."
Latis, suppressing the incessant chatter in his mind, calmly said:
"Your Majesty, you must know more about your master's situation."
Pallas paused, pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:
"I understand. You can keep this for now. If you ever meet her again, please be sure to give this to her."
She handed the teardrop-shaped gem to Latis, who took the glowing gem and suddenly frowned.
"This shape...could it be a tear of an evil spirit? Why is Mumu's soul reacting to things from the lower realm?"
【Tears of the Mutated Ghasts: Tears shed by ghasts in the lower realm after being attacked, seemingly containing some strange power.】
Pallas watched as Latis wiped away his tears and continued:
“Outsider, although I don’t know your true identity, since Master has chosen you, it means you must have extraordinary abilities…”
Under Latis's questioning gaze, she remained silent for a moment, then muttered to herself:
"Now that Master has appeared, let's consider this the last 'Strongest Farmer' competition. I have to go now..."
Pallas didn't speak, silently leaving the intersection. Looking at her attire, which made her appear younger than her age, your intuition tells you that people in this world don't seem to age so easily.
[Mumu had been sullen since Pallas left, seemingly sulking with you. It wasn't until you took the Tear of the Evil Soul out of your bag again that she hesitantly said, "This, could I have this...?"]
You laughed and agreed to her request. After all, it was originally given to her by her apprentice, and besides, you wouldn't bully a fool...
Two minutes later, you look at the illusory soul that's chasing your hand and flying around wildly, and feel your karma gradually plummeting into negative territory with each burst of maniacal laughter.
[Finally, amidst Mumu's cries, you gave her the Tear of the Evil Soul. She whimpered and pressed herself against it. Then you saw the Tear of the Evil Soul slowly melt and merge into Mumu's body.]
"You seem to have become a little more solid..." You held Mumu in your hand, carefully examining the smooth, detailed spirit body, and said without changing your expression, "Is this what you originally looked like?"
[“It seems so…” Mu Mu stared at her reflection in the water, and after a long while, she realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes. She screamed and ran back into your mind.]
You shook your head, noticing that it was getting late, and decided to return to the vicinity of the tavern to wait for Api and Old Deer to meet up. The image of the "Tears of the Evil Soul" flashed through your mind, and you began to ponder it.
"First, the Tears of the Evil Soul might contain energy that only a soul could absorb; second, considering its connection with Mumu, it might also be a fragment of Mumu herself, meaning the Tears of the Evil Soul could serve as a vessel for a soul? ...Third, evil souls are inherently related to Mumu..."
Latis felt Mumu, who seemed to be asleep, in his mind. After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head.
We'll have to go down to the lower realm to find out the specifics...
He looked at Api and Old Deer, who were already squatting and chatting at the tavern entrance, waved, and called out:
"I am back!"
……
"The tenth participant has already registered, and the competition will begin tomorrow morning."
The three of them were discussing something in hushed tones in a room in the tavern.
"Old Deer, you've participated twice before, do you have any experience to share?" Latis asked, scratching his head as he looked at the two sitting upright in their chairs.
Old Deer nodded, glanced at Api, and said:
“I just had a brief conversation with Api, and we have some thoughts on the differences in our abilities. Now it’s a good time to sort them out again.”
She stood up from her chair, tossed a piece of obsidian onto the table, and said:
"First, let's confirm the ultimate goal of the competition, which is to open the portal to the Nether. This requires at least ten pieces of obsidian. In other words, aside from the obstacles, we need a diamond pickaxe to mine obsidian, an iron bucket to hold water, and a lighter to start a fire. That's all."
"It feels like it could be finished in a day..."
Latis recalled the game's content, stroked his chin, and asked:
"What are these so-called obstacles?"
"That's the key point."
Old Deer tossed out a few pieces of wool and said in a deep voice:
"Each team's camp has an invincible giant monster that checks our output every day."
She took a deep breath, shook her head, and said:
"Every morning before 10 o'clock, each team must bring all the resources they have bred, such as animals, crops, monster loot, and mined ores, to the monster, which will weigh everything."
"If the weight is within the acceptable range, you can take the produce back to the camp. If it fails, it will eat half of the produce directly... So if you fail to pass the test even once, you are basically out of the game."
"No wonder it's called 'The Strongest Farmer,' no normal person could possibly have time to farm and raise livestock while mining..." Latis muttered, then asked:
"What are the daily standards?"
Old Deer sighed and said:
"Taking crops as an example, the first day has a set of 64 crops, and that number quadruples every day thereafter. Many people have tried to complete the game by only planting crops, but they all failed. After all, planting and harvesting crops takes time, and expanding the farm is not easy. More importantly, the camp area is limited and cannot accommodate so many farmlands..."