Quadruple split.

Chapter 2687 Unfortunate Timing
"How about it?"

Córdovar, nearly collapsing on his backside from the force of the pickaxe, steadied himself and looked up at Gala, who hadn't moved an inch but was already drenched in sweat. He asked, "That was definitely a full-force attack. Have you completed the test?"

Gala put away his shield, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "No, according to the system notification I just received, Cordoba, your effort just now was only 0.26%, which is still a long way from 50%."

"Fuck."

Cordoba was stunned and exclaimed, "0.26%? What the hell is 0.26%?!"

"As expected, even though the mission system of the [Innocent Realm] is very flexible and has a high degree of freedom, it is still not easy to exploit such an obvious loophole."

Mo Tan, who had anticipated the current situation, smiled and speculated, "So, since Cordova, your full-force attack in kobold form only used less than 1% of your strength, then the system's standard for your strength in this test should be your level in your normal form, right?"

Cordova tilted his head and thought for a moment, then after a flash of distorted, hazy light, he returned to his rune body (CRT head) form, saying with a face full of "=.=", "Pretty much, and I think the counterpart is probably not my current mass-produced body, but rather the dedicated rune body that the old man is maintaining. In other words, if it were my current body..."

He didn't continue speaking, but instead reached behind him and retrieved the heavy halberd that was stuck in the slot on his back, the one that replaced the [Punisher's Staff MIIK]. In the next instant, he thrust it at Kala with lightning speed—

【Fuck! ? 】

In the instant the blow narrowly missed his cheek, Kala seemed to see his great-grandfather, great-grandmother, father, mother, his crush, and his deceased pet dog, and his mind went blank once again.

"How about it?"

Cordova, who hadn't actually hit Gala, merely grazed him past his cheek with his single-handed halberd. He lowered his head, looked at Gala's pale face, and asked with a [0.0] ← expression, "Do you think you could have caught that last blow?"

"Can't catch it."

Without the slightest hesitation, Gala shook her head immediately after regaining her senses and said, "Even if I were at my peak, holding a shield and with all my skills and talents activated, and you were willing to cooperate with me and only attack the shield, I would probably be killed by the force reflected back onto myself."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it then."

Cordova sighed, slung his halberd back over his shoulder, and shrugged. “Recently, my control over the runic body has become stronger, so I can roughly sense that what you did just now was 50% of the effort the system judged. If you had held back any longer, you probably wouldn’t have been able to complete your test.”

Gala nodded slightly, and said somewhat dejectedly, "But if I had maintained that force, or even added a little more, I would have been dead for sure."

"So it's a pity."

Mo Tan gave Gala an apologetic look, then shifted the topic to a more positive one, saying seriously, "However, at least we have the specific conditions for passing the Cordova test. If we share this information with everyone, the [Card Master Club] should be able to get some DKP as compensation for our contribution, and Gala, you should also be able to get some internal rewards, right?"

Quickly recognizing reality and then, thanks to the mental fortitude of a professional gamer, quickly letting go of the situation, Gala nodded and smiled, "That's right. After all, my main purpose in coming here was to test whether Cordova could help everyone complete the mission in his other form. Now that the system has given its verdict, it's not a wasted trip."

"Wang-"

Although it didn't quite understand, Ya Ya still ran up to its 'fellow' in a flash, patted its shoulder hard, and said very seriously, "Woof! I'm already very much a woof!"

"Uh, thank you."

Although she didn't know who this beautiful dog girl in front of her was, Kara still nodded and thanked her.

At the same time, Ji Xiaoge, who had just finished her battle of wits with the erroneous report, also fluttered over. After briefly understanding the situation, she comforted Kala, who didn't really need comforting, and then turned to the two girls sent by the professional agency: "Shall we give it a try over here?"

The priest who switched targets exchanged a glance with Yintian and nodded simultaneously, saying, "Okay!"

After saying that, the two girls simultaneously sent requests to Ji Xiaoge to complete the test, based on the world mission of "Truth and Justice".

"OK, I did receive it, so..."

Ji Xiaoge shook her wings, then took out about ten parts from her bag and handed them to the priest who was switching fire, who looked a little nervous: "I hope you can use these parts to assemble a gun."

The priest who switched targets paused for a moment, looking somewhat flustered, and said, "Ah, I... I don't know how to make guns, I research vehicles!"

"check it out."

Then Ji Xiaoge took out a piece of parchment from her bag, which had simple and clear production steps. The difficulty was no more than the instruction manuals for the small puzzle toys that came with the children's packages outside the game. The content was so clear that it could be read at a glance. She handed it to the priest who was switching targets: "Do you have any clue now?"

"Eh?"

The girl was taken aback at first, then sat cross-legged on the ground. After studying the instruction manual for half a minute, she picked up the parts (which even had numbers and assembly instructions written on them) and assembled them in a flurry of clicks. In the end, she assembled a decent-looking simple gunpowder gun in two minutes.

"what!"

The moment the gun in his hand, though only of "common" quality and not even worth a second glance from players with a basic class above level 5, and whose damage couldn't even kill a Mudkip, was successfully assembled, the priest who had switched targets suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed, "It's done! The mission is complete!"

"Woof?!"

With a slightly excitable nature, Yaya inexplicably got excited and started wagging its tail vigorously.

"Yes, it's done!"

The priest who switched targets jumped up excitedly, exclaiming, "I got the quest 'Valkyrie's Glory'! The three bonus levels for Engineering specialization have increased, and I've unlocked three engineering schematics: 'Power Wrench,' 'Triangle Engineering Table,' and 'Runic Goggles.' Wow! This goggles is even an epic schematic! I've been playing for almost a year and only unlocked two epic schematics!"

"Haha, that's amazing!"

Having unlocked at least twenty epic blueprints on his very first day as Lu Wei's apprentice, Ji Xiaoge flapped his wings, chuckled, and brushed the topic aside. Then, turning to look at Yin Tian, ​​he smiled and said, "So, your test is—"

……

Game time: 19:29 PM
Public space, Jiawen's private room
"Make a simple engine."

While massaging the shoulders of the young lady who was sitting in the chair, Yin Tian chuckled and winked.

"A simple engine?"

Jiawen met Yintian's gaze calmly in the mirror before her, a slight smile playing on her lips. "That sounds a bit unfair," she chuckled. "After all, the engineer from [Windbreaker Bird] only needed to assemble a simple gun." Yintian shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "It's not like that at all. They said they were making a simple engine, but most of the materials Miss Night Song provided were semi-finished products, and quite well-developed ones at that. So in the end, all I had to do was put those things together. Sigh, there were even assembly instructions, like 'Be careful of the front and back,' etc..."

"What~"

Jiawen raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, "Do you feel like you're being looked down upon?"

Yin Tian sighed and said helplessly, "I guess so. After all, even if she gave me a bunch of parts, I'm confident I could assemble them in five minutes, without needing any hints or instructions."

"Tsk tsk, you always become exceptionally strong-willed as soon as you leave my side."

Gavin clicked her tongue, patted the back of Yintian's hand, and said leisurely, "There's no need to be too flashy. After all, the rewards for that world mission are completely fixed. Even if you do better and faster than others, you'll only get 3 more levels of Engineering Specialization and unlock a few blueprints. Why make yourself so conspicuous?"

Yin Tian made a face at the young lady in the mirror and said nonchalantly, "Because my skill level is indeed much better than those people. Even Ye Ge, without the support of Tianzhu Mountain, might not be better than me."

"But the truth is, only the weak and incompetent keep saying 'what if'."

Gavin rolled her eyes at Yin Tian, ​​her tone slightly stern, and asked, "Have you ever heard Cordova complain that 'if it weren't for our boss, he would be the best person in the whole game'?"

Yin Tian nodded vigorously: "I've heard it. He complained about it several times when he was chatting with Brother Mo just now."

Jiawen: "..."

"Pfft."

Seeing Jiawen's somewhat stiff expression, Yintian, who rarely saw her young mistress suffer a setback, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Alright, alright, it seems this world has secretly turned into a ghostly place I don't understand."

Jiawen raised her hand and gently pinched Yintian's cheek, saying in an unfriendly tone, "I hope you can maintain this confidence after you come back to Shawen, you sub-professional genius, Aqing."

Upon hearing this, Yin Tian's expression immediately became almost identical to Jia Wen's just now. After a long pause, she said dejectedly, "Ah Qing knows she was wrong..."

"Remember the saying that there are always people better than you."

Jiawen chuckled, then changed the subject, saying in a playful tone, "Especially next to those two people who need to be kept a close eye on, it's not a good thing to stand out too much at the beginning, so... at least until that young man Mo goes to do his own thing, you should tone it down a bit."

Upon hearing this, Yin Tian's expression immediately turned serious, and his eyes narrowed slightly: "So, that Mo who made a big splash in the [Debate on Inquiry] and has close ties with Tianzhu Mountain, is indeed the one who... um..."

"It's just that they've driven me to the brink of despair, and I'll eventually die in defeat. There's nothing to worry about."

Jiawen smiled slightly and said nonchalantly, "Ultimately, I'm not the type of person who's suited for head-on combat. In that kind of setup, being taken out is just the most normal thing."

Yin Tian pursed his lips, looking quite annoyed, and said, "But even so..."

"Don't make excuses for me, and don't feel indignant on my behalf, Ah Qing."

Jiawen casually broke her left and right arms and said calmly, "For someone like me, failure is an extremely valuable asset, especially a failure like this in the [Innocent Realm] with such outrageously low cost. Think about it, I didn't go to jail, I didn't lose my life, and even [Thousand Faces] was left behind because of the soul binding. A certain wicked god also found me immediately after I rebuilt my character. In the end, I didn't lose anything, but I gained an invaluable experience. Is there anything more gratifying?"

Yin Tian nodded silently, then said softly, "But as far as I know, you hate failure."

"No one likes failure, Ah Qing, just like no one likes death, but it's something we have to face head-on, whether you're an ordinary person like yourself or an outstanding person like me."

Jiawen leaned back lazily in her chair and said with a playful tone, "Maybe only someone like the boss is truly unrelated to failure."

Yintian didn't speak, but just frowned as if he understood.

"Or to put it another way."

Jiawen raised her hand to brush a strand of hair from her forehead and said in a dreamlike tone, "Although there is no evidence, I think the boss... might not be able to afford to lose."

"Can't accept defeat?"

Yin Tian repeated the sentence with some confusion, his brows furrowing even deeper.

"Let's not talk about these ambiguous things anymore."

However, Jiawen had no intention of continuing the topic, and casually steered the conversation back on track, saying with a smile: "In short, sending you there first was obviously a wise choice. After all, both that young man Mo and the girl Yege who seems to have a close relationship with someone here are people who deserve special attention."

Yin Tian nodded slightly, looking somewhat listless, and said, "But I actually prefer to stay in the Southwest, especially at this crucial juncture."

"I'm also very reluctant to part with you, but there's nothing I can do. Compared to being a maid or follower by my side or the boss's side, Night Song's world mission will obviously allow you to make better use of your value."

"……makes sense."

"And to be honest, Mr. Li Fu is no worse than you in serving others."

"Miss! I clearly agreed with everything you said!"

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I just wanted to emphasize how patient those remnants of the Sun Dynasty are. They're the kind of people who can achieve great things."

"is it?"

"Yeah, what a pity..."

"What a pity?"

"Born at the wrong time."

Chapter 2678: The End

(End of this chapter)