Quadruple split.

Chapter 2674 Let's take a break first
five minutes later
Tianzhushan Mountain, the seventh outer mountain, the deepest part of the outermost layer of the first workshop.
"hey-hey."

After watching Cordova leave, cursing and swearing, Ji Xiaoge turned to Mo Tan with a grin and asked curiously, "So what did your mentor talk to you about just now?"

"We talked a lot about our desire to oppose the Viper Merchant Guild, and I also expressed my concerns."

Mo Tan shrugged and smiled at the expectant winged girl, "In short, we won't leave Tianzhu Mountain until your mission makes a breakthrough."

"real!?"

Ever since Lu Wei told her to stay in the mountains, Ji Xiaoge had been anxious, afraid of being abandoned. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she grabbed Mo Tan's arm: "You're not leaving for now? You won't leave me behind?"

Mo Tan chuckled and said with a smile, "I never intended to abandon you in the first place."

"That's what I said..."

Ji Xiaoge pouted, then bared her teeth at Mo Tan, somewhat embarrassed and angry, and said, "What? Didn't you say I can't worry?"

Mo Tan immediately raised his hands in surrender and said honestly, "I can worry, I can worry. In short, you don't need to worry now. Let's just stay on the mountain for a while and wait until Lao Jia's body has fully recovered and your mission progress has satisfied Master Lu Wei. Then we can discuss things further."

"Well."

Ji Xiaoge shook her wings and whispered to Mo Tan's face, "Although I'm very happy that you can accompany me, won't this really cause delays? I agree to wait until Lao Jia recovers, but if my task can't be completed in a short time, are you really going to stay here with me and waste your time?"

"It's not like we're just wasting time."

Having already given it much thought, Mo Tan shook his head slightly and said softly, "Don't forget, besides Lao Jia, Ya Ya (lip movements) is also the safest option here at Tianzhu Mountain."

Ji Xiaoge, who had also been concerned about Ya Ya's health, pursed her cherry lips and nodded vigorously: "Yes, you're right! This is extremely important!"

"As for me, besides seeing how I can help with your mission, I plan to hone my skills at the arena on the outer mountain."

Mo Tan smiled slightly and said in a light tone, "I just asked Master Lu Wei to speak to Mr. Noyce. The registration procedures will be simplified. As long as I have time, I can have quite a few sparring partners every day. If I'm lucky, I can even win some prize money. Consider it a little backdoor."

Ji Xiaoge chuckled and said with a smile, "It's already very good. If you really wanted to use back channels, you'd probably just have someone help you fix matches to earn prize money."

"I'm not doing this for the money."

Mo Tan laughed as well, stroking the [Xiao] at his waist as he said softly, "I just feel that I should take a chance to reflect and settle down. Whether it was the [Debate on Inquiry], the [Ancient Ruins] in the Savage Highlands, or the times I caused trouble for the [Tide Worms], I have accumulated a lot of things that need to be digested. If I don't calm down and focus on improving myself, I'm afraid it will be a waste."

Ji Xiaoge blinked curiously and asked, "What's the waste?"

“Wasting those hard-won, fleeting inspirations.”

Mo Tan gently gripped the hilt of [Xiao]'s sword, and said with some eagerness, "In short, you're not the only one who needs time."

"Hehe, that makes me feel much more at ease."

Ji Xiaoge chuckled twice, then said somewhat hesitantly, "What about Sister Xiaole? We've been stuck at Tianzhu Mountain, won't that interfere with Sister Xiaole's plans?"

"No way."

Before Mo Tan could answer, Gu Xiaole, wearing that loose hunting robe, strolled back from somewhere and hugged Ji Xiaoge from behind with a grin, saying, "Sister, I'm a natural talent. Even if I look really good, it has nothing to do with hard work. I just happen to not have anything I want to do, do, or have to do lately, so it's not bad to spend a vacation with you guys in this paradise."

"Wow!"

Ji Xiaoge shivered as she was suddenly hugged from behind, then leaned softly against Gu Xiaole's chest and said with a smile, "So, Sister Xiaole, are you officially joining our [Woof Woof Adventurer Team]?"

"What's the point of saying anything now? I already took care of the formalities in Anka."

Gu Xiaole poked Ji Xiaoge's cheek and then teased, "Or are you afraid that my charm is too great and I'll steal some hot commodity from you?"

Ji Xiaoge immediately blushed and ran away from Gu Xiaole's embrace, then turned around to tickle the latter: "Sister Xiaole, don't talk nonsense!"

"Woof?!"

Upon seeing the commotion, Ya Ya, who was not far away, immediately pounced over with a light, short "woof," causing the three girls to fall into chaos.

"hehe."

Jadka, who had been accompanying Ya Ya on her stroll, walked up to Mo Tan, stroked his beard, and said with a smile, "It's no wonder people say that older people tend to be more sentimental. During my time on the mountain, I've been hoping to see such a lively scene again every day."

Mo Tan patted his friend on the shoulder, despite their age difference, and asked with a smile, "How have you been these past few days?"

"It's become much clearer."

Jadka grinned and said cheerfully, "At first I thought I would be very disappointed, but I found that after losing the power and possibilities of being a knight, I not only did not feel depressed, but I was even relieved from the bottom of my heart."

Mo Tan laughed and raised an eyebrow, saying, "I understand. You are destined to be a mage in this life."

"Hey, if it were anyone else, they would know without even thinking that this is sarcasm, but you're different."

Jadka, holding his staff which no longer explodes randomly but still occasionally spews out sparks, nodded to Mo Tan and said, "Thanks, I guess I'll be causing you a lot more trouble from now on."

Mo Tan waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "What are you talking about? Haven't we been causing trouble for each other all along? And even putting aside what happened in the ruins, if it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't be where we are now."

Jadka clicked his tongue and chuckled, "So you figured it out after all?"

"It's just because they didn't help in the battle against the [Isobugs]."

As Mo Tan turned to look at the two shelves next to him piled high with mechanical exoskeletons, he casually remarked, "If it were me, I'd probably hesitate a bit too. That's normal."

The old mage shrugged, and then, after the pent-up frustration in his heart completely dissipated, he sighed and said, "If you go to the Great Arena to hone your skills for a while longer, you'll probably undergo some remarkable changes when you come out."

"I think so too."

Mo Tan nodded slightly, then turned to Jadka with a confident and bright smile: "Yes, of course I can do it."

"If you encounter any bottlenecks, remember to ask me for advice."

"you sure?"

"I'm just physically weak, but I'm still someone who has broken through to the legendary realm. Do you think I can't give you guidance?"

"I'm not being pretentious now."

"Hey, it's because I can be a proper mage now. You know what, I'm not as bothered by things related to knights as I used to be."

"You should just rest. If you want to teach me, you'll have to wait in line."

"You mean your weapon?"

"Yes, I've been wanting to learn from the 'seniors' lately."

"You're just like the protagonist in a bard's tale."

"Impossible, a protagonist like me would starve the bards."

...And so, the group chatted and joked around for another half hour in the workshop before returning outside to meet up with Lu Wei, laden with their loot. It's worth mentioning that, despite Ji Xiaoge's claim of being very 'restrained,' she still took away a total of nearly half a ton of engineering equipment and materials.

That's why even Master Lu, who was almost always obedient to his good apprentice, broke out in a cold sweat when he saw the 'delivery slip' sent back from the workshop after its self-inspection.

"I'm not afraid of you taking it..."

Lu Wei looked at the obedient and adorable apprentice in front of him with a subtle expression, and forced a dry laugh, saying, "But are you sure you can use all of these things?"

"It's better to be prepared."

Ji Xiaoge chuckled and said with downcast eyes, "Anyway, you won't care~"

"That's it."

Behind Master Lu, a guy with sharp, angular features and a rough, wild design, wearing an old-fashioned CRT monitor on his neck, crossed his arms and said in a jarring electronic voice, "Anyway, I don't care if you die, you old codger."

"Shut up, you unlucky bastard."

Ruvi turned and glared at Cordova, who had finally gotten rid of the kobold body, and said calmly, "Protect Little Pigeon during this time. If nothing unexpected happens, your new body will be almost complete after she finishes those tasks."

Although he really wanted to go to the [Joint Security Alliance] to work as a mercenary and make money, Cordova, who cared more about his friend's mission progress, unusually did not disagree with Ruvi. Instead, he nodded and said, "Leave it to me. Although this body is not very reliable, it should be fine to be a bodyguard for Pigeon or something."

"Humph."

Lu Wei merely made a nasal sound, then waved to everyone, casually glanced at the badminton shuttlecock on Mo Tan's shoulder, and with a flick of his wrist, opened a portal directly to the deeper part of the workshop for himself. He slowly took half a step out and then disappeared.

"Amazing."

Gu Xiaole, the only one present who could recognize the true value of Lu Wei's move, widened his eyes and exclaimed, "I originally thought this goblin grandpa was just a scientist, but I didn't expect him to be so amazing."

As the saying goes, a rogue is not scary, but a rogue with culture is scary.

Recently, while bored in Tianzhu Mountain, Cordoba bought several martial arts novels from the Green Apple Merchant Guild (and sent them to the First Outer Mountain). He sighed and said in a deep voice, "That old codger entered the Dao through science and engineering. I'm afraid he has already mastered the demonic arts and reached the pinnacle by now."

"Xiaoyu, stop being so cheeky."

Ji Xiaoge glared at Cordova, who always liked to speak ill of his mentor, then turned to his backbone: "Then I'll try activating that beacon stone now?"

"Okay, start it up."

Mo Tan nodded and said with great relief, "At least from what I know right now, there's no place safer than here."

Wang Badan, standing to the side, took a half-step back with a slightly furrowed brow and hesitated, saying, "But I'm a little worried that your 'troublemaker' physique' will kick in and interfere with the teleportation, getting us all into trouble. Last time, you two almost died in that upper area, tsk, and not only did you not die for love, you even had a child."

What do you mean by "gave birth"?

Enraged, Ji Xiaoge threw a vibrating egg into Wang Badan's shell, angrily saying, "You should at least say 'raw'!"

"Sigh, 'birth' isn't right either."

Mo Tan glanced at Wang Ba Dan, whose eyes were already seeing stars and who couldn't hear human speech, and said with a wry smile, "It should be 'picked up' no matter how you look at it, right?"

"Ahem, anyway, I'll grant you recording permissions first!"

Ji Xiaoge coughed lightly, her pretty face slightly flushed, and then raised the [Valkyrie Beacon Stone] in her hand.

The next instant, accompanied by a warm touch, Mo Tan and the others suddenly discovered that there was a light red mark on their wrists. At first glance, it looked similar to the barcodes on supermarket goods from years ago. As a tattoo, it was less cool, but it had a strange sense of solemnity.

"A very interesting licensing approach."

Mo Tan raised his wrist, looking at the runic energy on it—which he could easily disperse with a little effort, its frequency constantly changing but causing no discomfort to the human body—and sighed softly.

"A brilliant idea."

Ji Xiaoge, who was more knowledgeable in this area, said with great admiration, then swallowed nervously and turned to the crowd, saying, "Then I'll open the door!"

"Ah."

Taking a light step forward, the Grand Yin-Yang Master standing to Ji Xiaoge's left slightly raised his folding fan, holding his breath in concentration.

"open it."

Standing to Ji Xiaoge's right, Mo Tan gripped the [Dawn - Ruthless Sword] tightly, already in a state where he could cover the spellcaster and engineer at any time.

"okay!"

So, Ji Xiaoge took a deep breath and activated the [Valkyrie Beacon] in her hand again, activating its trait [Guide].

Then--

Nothing happened.

"Eh?"

Ji Xiaoge paused for a moment, then raised the road sign again and shouted, "Open the gate!"

then--

Still nothing happened.

"No way? Is this thing broken?"

Ji Xiaoge blinked blankly, then looked at her slender, fair fingers and hesitated, "Or should I do something like a blood oath first..."

"Why bleed and acknowledge any master?"

Lu Wei's voice came from several loudspeakers not far away, saying irritably, "Just now, because Mo's [troublemaker constitution] directly caused the spatial distortion, I didn't specifically turn off the interference field. Let's try again."

"Oh! Good!"

So the winged girl tried again, and this time, the moment she activated the beacon stone, a mirror-like spatial door slowly unfolded before everyone.

"Tsk, as expected of the [troublemaker type], you managed to break through the barrier that this stone couldn't break through."

Ruvi's voice rang out again, and then there was silence.

Mo Tan: "..."

Everyone: "..."

After a brief silence, everyone moved closer to the 'mirror' in front of them, and in the next second they saw—

"Holy crap, a Gundam!!!"

Chapter 2665: The End