Quadruple split.

Chapter 2662 Taming the Rat
Game time AM04:29
[Secret Realm Code: Eye of the Storm], Core Area, Central Restricted Zone

"Squeak! Squeak squeak!!!"

Accompanied by a faint, ethereal shriek, dozens of white figures danced in mid-air at a frenzied, almost manic pace, like a bunch of hamsters going crazy and going on repeat.

That's right, it's a hamster.

First of all, the lord of this [Secret Realm Code: Eye of the Storm] does indeed look very similar to a hamster in a broad sense. From any angle, it is a small rodent. It also has characteristics that confirm its hamster identity, such as a short and stout body, a short tail, cheek pouches, no obvious ridges on the skull, and conical tips on the molars.

Secondly, its chirping does indeed sound very much like a hamster's, a rather pleasant squeaking sound.

Besides, although this hamster lord does not possess structures such as a flying membrane, it can fly freely in a way that goes against the natural ecosystem. The reason for this is mainly because there is a mysterious "realm of innocence" here. So, without any coffin lids to lift, neither Grandpa Niu nor Uncle Da could do anything about it.

It's worth mentioning that although [Secret Realm Code: Eye of the Storm] is different from [Secret Realm Code: Heart of Ten Thousand Poisons] and doesn't have any monsters with a similar style to their lords, there are some super rare creatures of the same type called [Ether Rats] in the [Innocent Realm] outside this limited-time secret realm.

According to information provided by the Green Apple Merchant Guild, the creature called the Ether Rat cannot even be considered a magical beast. According to the assessments of authoritative neutral forces such as the City of Miracles and the Archaeologists' Association, that rather cute social animal can at most be considered a wild beast, and one of the less formidable ones at that.

By today, in the year 9571 of the Holy Calendar, the number of [Ether Rats] has been reduced to four digits, and they generally only appear in sparsely populated areas. Although people can still buy information about their whereabouts from organizations such as the [Wanderer's Inn] and the [Thieves' Guild] at high prices, considering their extremely high migration frequency, even if you go to try your luck immediately after buying the information, the probability of actually catching one or two [Ether Rats] is pitifully small.

So the question is, why are these wild animals so rare?

There are two main reasons—

First of all, although [ether rats] are social, rare, and have poor reproductive capabilities, it is quite counterintuitive that... their natural enemies are everywhere.

That's right. Although dragons have similar traits to these hamster-like creatures, they don't have any natural enemies. In fact, they are born at the top of the food chain. So even if the chance of dragon eggs hatching successfully is very low, their numbers are still far from the brink of extinction. In recent centuries, their numbers have even been increasing.

However, the [Ether Rats] are a bit tricky. First of all, their combat power is extremely weak. Even the strongest individual in the group is basically the same as an ordinary squirrel outside the game. They are useless snacks that can be easily defeated by a Mudkachu with its two big punches.

Not only that, the intelligence level of the [ether rat] is also rather poor. Let's take Mudkachu as an example again. If the latter would turn around and run away without hesitation when it encounters a normal intelligent creature... such as an ordinary strong human man, then the [ether rat] is likely to stand still and peek at the strong man, and will not react even if the other party walks up to it.

In conclusion, given that the [ether rat] possesses almost all the undesirable characteristics of being both [a vegetable] and [weak], it's no surprise that it has numerous natural enemies. Furthermore, considering its small size but surprisingly delicious taste, its scarcity is almost inevitable.

However, even so, none of the above reasons are the reason why the ether rat is almost extinct. The real responsibility for its endangered status is basically attributed to a woman named Merop Vannie.

This woman, who never obtained her advanced pharmacist license until the end of her life, but who once enjoyed an incredibly fulfilling and affluent life with interest comparable to a whole month's worth of deposit services under the [Gold Coin Merchant Guild], once completed a crazy invention during her school days—[Ether Aphrodisiac].

As the name suggests, this potion has only one effect: to create an artificial 'love'. The principle is very simple: it makes the user feel an extremely strong, extremely strong, and most of the time, love at first sight, emotion that is difficult to fade.

Compared to most drugs or mystical forces that can interfere with people's minds or emotions, the most terrifying aspect of the [Ether Aphrodisiac] is that it makes it very difficult for those affected to erase the other person from their hearts after they recover from the drug's effects, thus achieving a terrifying effect that is infinitely close to true love.

In those years, countless people added a strand of their hair to that expensive, alluring potion and had their beloved take it, thus creating a precious and unforgettable memory.

It's worth mentioning that, contrary to what most people imagine, despite the popularity of "ether lover" back then, thanks to the careful oversight of its founder, Ms. Merop Vannie, although some heartbreaking tragedies did occur from time to time, the proportion of those "loves" that were fundamentally bad was actually not very high, at most only about 20% to 30% of the total number of people.

Surprisingly, a large proportion of users of the "Ether Aphrodisiac" are those who engage in marriages with partners of strong intent.

To put it simply, these are marriages, primarily political marriages, that aim to be a good match or mutually beneficial, but which often cause distress to one or two people and make it difficult to have a solid emotional foundation.

Although in most bard stories, beautiful young ladies often leave their pretentious, rotten, and domineering fiancés for poor young men, and handsome young men generally abandon their scheming, willful, and domineering fiancés to fall for a Cinderella, in reality, the probability of such things happening is obvious to everyone.

Ultimately, the reason a story is a story is mainly because such a ridiculous thing as issuing a statement would almost never happen in reality.

but--

Whether they are beautiful young ladies or handsome young men, even if they are not bewitched by poor boys and Cinderella, it does not mean that they will fall in love with each other who are of equal social standing. When both parties are sensible and do not want to cause trouble for their families, the best choice for arranged marriage is for the two parties to drink a "love potion" containing each other's hair.

Although this thing may not be ethical or moral, and may even be considered heretical in some ways, it is undeniable that it has brought happiness to many people.

A happiness that comes at an extremely high price.

After all, it goes without saying that unless the seller is a saint, this type of potion is destined to be priceless and unavailable. Among the recipes left by Melop, the most difficult to obtain, the most crucial, and the most irreplaceable material is the urine of the [ether rat].

After that, the already rare Ether Rats became endangered in just over a decade. If it weren't for the fact that Merope Vannie's authentic Ether Aphrodisiac formula hadn't been deciphered, and that countless alchemists' attempts to recreate it had been significantly less effective, failing to create a truly 'heart-fluttering' feeling, these not-so-bright rodents would probably have gone extinct long ago. Even today, although people no longer pursue the real Ether Aphrodisiac, Ether Rats remain a highly sought-after but unavailable commodity. Therefore, after confirming that the lord of the [Secret Realm Code: Eye of the Storm] was very likely a mutated Ether Rat, [Golden Baby Studio] immediately offered 300,000 gold coins (which could be directly converted to cash at the highest market exchange rate) and 15 [Professional Security Alliance] DKP to purchase this rodent. [Green Apple Studio] followed suit, offering one million gold coins (also directly converted to cash at the highest market exchange rate) and 30 [Professional Security Alliance] DKP.

Therefore, Gymboree Studio chose to abstain in the third instance, while several professional organizations that served as the backbone of the secret realm confirmed in the fourth instance that the whole thing was nonsense.

There's no way around it, this thing is just too fast, and the best outcome is to blast it to smithereens with a wide-area AOE skill. Capturing this monster alive, which can cause massive area damage at any moment, is simply a pipe dream.

At least in the plan devised by the sorcerer, it was a pipe dream.

However, at this moment, although the outcome was still uncertain, many professional players, including the sorcerer himself, realized that if things continued this way, the lord might actually be captured alive.

In fact, ever since the Typing Warriors' "Rat-Enduring Plan" was implemented, the hamster lord has gradually gone from being shiny and smooth to being completely exhausted. Although it hasn't been worn down yet, even amateurs can see that the players are only one step away from complete victory.

Just as the Typing Warrior predicted, although this hamster lord possesses an area of ​​insanely high quality and an attack range and strength that is frighteningly large, it is also a monster with a mechanism that is frighteningly weak in individual strength. In other words, as long as you can ensure that you are not directly killed by its mechanism, it is not difficult to complete the strategy.

The so-called "Rat-Trapping Plan" is simply a gamble that the hamster will be unable to deliver a fatal blow due to its inability to concentrate on maintaining its territory. In turn, the player's desperate logistical support will force the opponent into a war of attrition. Through a war of attrition and the restraint of top-tier powerhouses, the opponent will not have any chance to breathe. In terms of tactics, there is nothing to praise.

What's truly terrifying is the typist warrior's strategic planning ability.

First, including the rising star of the professional organization [Fishing King Club], the Typing Warriors understand the strengths, weaknesses, and tactical styles of almost every club and studio, and can perfectly position them in the right places to cause the hamster lord as much trouble as possible.

If everyone would act in unison to the rhythm of the [Windbreaker Bird] under the command of the Taoist priest, then what the typing warrior does is to make each family act in their own way and forcibly compress a series of melodies into a musical score.

It's not high-end, but it's simple, straightforward, and practical enough.

If the Taoist priests strive to maximize everyone's potential, then the Typing Warriors place everyone in positions where they understand 'what they're supposed to do,' and then simply wash their hands of the matter.

The [Villain Valley], skilled in direct confrontation, always operates from a guerrilla position, using their wild and unrestrained pursuit as the main theme.

The most versatile and action-oriented all-rounder, Tokiwa, was assigned to the rear support position. They would almost never encounter the hamster lord, but they could always cooperate with the allies who appeared beside them. Based on the studio's unique utilitarian style, they always kept at least three reserves, which were the best reserve team and rotation force in the eyes of the typing warriors.

In the past, most of the professional players were lone wolves. The [Fishing King Club], which had the fewest members but the most outstanding individual skills, was assigned to the control position to die. That position was the farthest from the support team. If they were not careful, their health would be completely wiped out by the field. It was hard not to think that it was a personal grudge.

Meanwhile, [Burning Fire] dispersed all the participants and formed the most efficient scout team on the spot, responsible for coordination and filling in gaps at critical moments.

For example, the professional leader of the Fire Healing Group, Red Sun, was assigned to the support team on the Everlasting side; while the professional leader of the Mage Group, Wild Feather, directly plunged into the front line of the Evil Valley's mobile position, transforming into a cannon and beginning to unleash firepower.

As for the strongest member, the Windbreaker Bird, he was dismissed by the Typing Warrior with the words, "Grandpa Lu can figure it out himself." Thus, under Lucel's helpless arrangement, the members of the Windbreaker Bird took on the most troublesome and least forgiving interception task.

[Orderly and methodical]

This is the first evaluation that the sorcerer made of him as a fellow member of the typing warrior after he personally entered the game.

To expand on that further, it would be described as [a textbook-perfect raid boss battle].

Unlike Black Vanna's style, which allowed him to command almost the entire battlefield;

Unlike Teresa's style, which imbues tactics with magic and transforms the mundane into the extraordinary;

Unlike Lamolock's style, which is suffocating, oppressive, and highly purposeful;

Whether in terms of tactics or strategy, these typing warriors are far inferior to the three mentioned above. They only have one talent in this regard: an insane ability to process data and information.

To put it simply, in a fixed situation, he can directly quantify and reorganize all the information on the battlefield into a 'BOSS battle', formulate 'strategies and techniques' during the battle, and finally complete the 'level-clearing' through complex teamwork.

In a nutshell -

The cause of the illness is suspected to be internet addiction in teenagers who are obsessed with playing games.

Chapter 2653: The End