MM Racing Page 165
Page 165
"Haha, the kid was just joking..." You laughed awkwardly, wiped your sweat, and quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I've always had a passive ability to spot breasts. I can't help it, being from a rural background, we worship breasts; breasts are the great source of life..."
[Your expression hardens, and you shout fervently: "Without breasts, dreams are empty bubbles; without breasts, youth is fleeting; without breasts, life is meaningless..."]
"Alright, alright." Queen Whiteley, unsure whether to laugh or be speechless, shook her head and said, "Since you're named Titania, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We're on similar sides, no need to be nervous."
"The enemy of my enemy?" you groaned inwardly. You've run into the Riddler again, Twilight Protoss, you deserve to die!
"Yes." Queen Whiteley took a step forward, about to explain in detail, when suddenly her expression hardened, she lowered her head, and looked directly at you.
You paused, following her gaze to look at yourself. Aside from a faint magical shield and a bulging calf, there didn't seem to be anything particularly noteworthy.
"Your Majesty, you wouldn't be..." Before you could finish speaking, Queen Whiteley smiled, looked up at the sky, and murmured:
"So that's how it is. Is this the flow of time and space?"
Before you could even process what she was saying, everything suddenly went black... [The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.]
Chapter 179 Fish, a big fish, tiger shark
A chill instantly ran down Latis's spine to his head. He straightened up, wiped the sweat from his palms on his clothes, and tentatively asked:
"Simulator? Are you alright?"
【鏃剁┖娴佸钩琛EUR︹EUR﹀け琛EUR︹EUR?……
"What's going on... the emulator? Are you there?"
The emulator's text was still displaying gibberish. After Latis watched it nervously for half a minute, the gibberish finally started to turn back into normal text.
[...When you open your eyes, the morning sunlight is already shining on you. Principal Zerris knocks on your door and calls out from outside, "Latis, it's time for us to go!"]
Latis exhaled, and only when he came to his senses did he realize that he was covered in sweat. The shock caused by the simulator malfunction was no less than the shock of suddenly discovering in his previous life that the Holy Grail he had hidden had been washed and hung out to dry on the balcony of a residential area by his family.
"Calm down, calm down... First of all, the concept of spacetime flow has appeared in previous simulations. The simulator being affected by this so-called spacetime flow is something we expected."
He quickly calmed down, and his mind began to race.
"What exactly is 'spacetime flow'? The simulator hasn't explained it, but judging from the name, it's related to time and space. Perhaps it's some kind of ability or energy related to spacetime, and the simulator's operation depends on this energy."
"The spacetime flow first affected the simulation in the world of Terry, when they left the boundary. At that time, Meownubis and the others broke free from the constraints of the plane and began their ascension to godhood. The simulator's text at that time was something like, 'The simulation body's projection onto the spacetime flow has been affected, and the consciousness has been disconnected...'"
"Then, in this simulation, the new simulator feature 'Integrated Strategy' brought by advancing to the intermediate-level mage level allowed me to consume Goddess Water to gain abilities I didn't originally possess, thus clearing some small dungeons. This also affected the so-called 'space-time balance' because I gained too much information and items."
"Hypothesis one: The spacetime flow mentioned by the simulator is a parallel universe-like place, and the power approaching the divine realm, or the overly secretive information, would cause that parallel universe to expel me, an outsider; Hypothesis two: The spacetime flow is not a real world, but merely the source of the simulator's power. When it simulates the power of the divine realm or information that I originally could not access, it will consume too much power and be unable to continue simulating..."
Latis stroked his chin, temporarily summarizing his jumbled thoughts into these two points.
"So it seems the so-called spacetime flow doesn't affect the real world. However, are these conjectures based on the assumption that the Queen possesses near-divine power? ...Let's leave that as a question for now."
He continued to look at the simulator, which was already functioning normally.
You responded to him, then began to examine yourself.
Although you have completely lost your memories of the time between meeting the Queen and regaining consciousness, you seem to feel that nothing has been done to you. On the contrary, the magical shield you cast earlier hadn't even reached the end of its duration, and it was still slightly flickering on your body when you woke up.
"Did Lord Crimson erase my timeline?" you scratch your head, unable to resist complaining. "Or did they skip my life because I don't play the original game?"
[You make it sound so easy, but an unseen shadow has crept over you regarding the Queen's presence. You're unsure of her true power, or even if she is indeed Queen Whiteley. After all, the mysterious aura of that woman last night was completely different from the regal presence of the Queen in the palace.]
You didn't delve any deeper, because you guessed that since this mysterious queen had made contact with you, there would definitely be opportunities for further contact. You just needed to remain calm and wait for things to happen... anyway, you couldn't resist.
You and the mage negotiation team prepared your carriages and set off. You originally thought that Princess Slingk would accompany you on the journey, just like in the previous simulation, but she stayed behind and smiled at you, saying:
"Lord Latis, please take my share and enjoy the scenery along your journey. I will also learn from you to bring the withered morning glory back to life. From now on, I will be that morning glory branch you gave me, and you will always watch over me, won't you?"
"...I will." You still find Princess Slinger difficult to understand, but not in the riddle-like way. She's more like a newly sprouted sapling; you don't know how tall or big she'll grow, but within your control, you see her developing in a positive direction, and that's enough.
On the way, you learn from Jeris that large projects like this usually select two people to be in charge, that is, the project leaders. If you're not involved, it's either him or Princess Slingk. However, in that case, Princess Slingk will most likely travel incognito. You suddenly realize this, scratch your head, and think to yourself:
"Got it. After that, I directly rebelled against the Heavenly Gang, usurped the position of Old God Zheris, and became the person in charge alongside Slinger. Legendary mage? Go cook me a couple of dishes..."
[While traveling with the convoy through Shuangxia Pass, preparing to bypass the natural barrier and ascend the snow-capped mountains of Andora Kingdom, you suddenly encounter someone you never expected by the roadside—the Radiant Knight Jennifer.]
She jumped off her horse with a grin, squeezed into your carriage, and explained why she was there.
[It turns out that back when Zerris returned to Lundia, he had already prepared to pursue a path of cultural export: "spread first, then conquer." Jennifer was one of his candidates. If it weren't for your rapid advancement in this life, which caught him completely off guard, you would definitely have witnessed the "famous Master Maluo" incident repeat itself.]
"Anyway, after hearing that you were one of the people in charge, I readily agreed." Jennifer unfastened the longsword from her waist and placed it on her lap, her body swaying with the jolting of the carriage, and said seriously:
"Before I came here, I got a letter from Art, supposedly from the Church of the Goddess, lesbian. Rumor has it you got arrested for having sex, is that true?"
"Nonsense, I'm perfectly fine!" You take the letter and stubbornly say, "Flirting is fun for a while, and it's even more fun if you keep flirting. Getting caught? That's impossible."
You open the letter, glance at the sender's signature, confirm it's from your old flame, Mi Tu, and then unfold the folded paper. The first line reads, "Lord Latis, please come to the Church of the Goddess."
"Oh no, oh no, they really sent me a lawyer's letter." You gasped, muttering to yourself, then quickly wiped the sweat from your brow and continued reading.
"Your risk level has exceeded the limit. Although the Goddess has not issued a divine decree, for the sake of risk control within the magic network, the Church needs to conduct a spiritual baptism on you..." Upon reading this, you breathed a slight sigh of relief. Mitu's tone was relatively calm, lacking any harshness, so it seemed it wasn't a serious matter.
[If you continue reading, what follows is some formulaic rhetoric, roughly saying that the Magic Network is not a lawless place, and that as a cyber police officer, you must set an example, etc. It also mentions the Goddess Church's standards for evaluating believers' contributions, clearly indicating that she has heard you're going to become a pioneer mage on the Magic Network and wants to encourage you at this crucial juncture.]
"Although, I'm not a believer in the goddess..." you thought to yourself. "If I go to receive the goddess's oracle and she discovers I'm just a slacker, she'll probably use magic to kill me..."
"Speaking of which..." A glint of wisdom appeared in your eyes as you stroked your chin thoughtfully, "The goddess didn't issue any divine decree regarding my matter. Could it be because she discovered that the internet police's whitelist didn't find me? Damn it, I have a feeling that the goddess is about to give me special treatment. I really can't be so carefree in real life..."
You snapped out of your daze and looked at Jennifer, who was leaning against the carriage window, staring at you with a domineering CEO-like posture. Suddenly, as if remembering something, your eyes widened, and you hurriedly asked:
"Wait, what did you just say? Who gave you the letter from?"
"Arte?" Jennifer said, suppressing a laugh. "While you were away, I spent all my time at the Herod Mage's territory. They even built me a new house there."
You gasped, your mind reeling, and stared in disbelief as she continued, "Yeah, she misses you a lot. When she talked about your thrilling trip together, I really longed for it too. Then the conversation drifted to you, and we figured it out..."
You seem to hear the sound of your body turning to stone. Jennifer's smiling face gradually transforms into a devilish grin before you, and her voice, as if coming from the void, echoes faintly in your mind:
"So everyone likes lesbians, huh? What a coincidence! Under Ate's curious questioning, I told her about my experience fighting the boss with you..."
Unable to bear the horror-movie-like plot, you rolled your eyes and fainted on Jennifer's lap.
A week of arduous travel passed quickly. They were still taking an even steeper shortcut. Although the carriage seemed precarious as it climbed the walls, this journey was much faster than the previous simulations thanks to Jennifer's magical abilities.
During their journey, Jennifer sheepishly admitted to you that she had been bluffing earlier. She and Arte did indeed get along very well, and under Arte's curious questioning, she revealed some details of the boss battle and her self-made strategy guide. However, Arte didn't hold it against her; she simply shyly declined Jennifer's invitation to fight the boss together and then began studying the strategy guide.
"I have a feeling that Arte is going to come out of nowhere and crush me after thoroughly studying the strategy guide..." You shook your head and asked, "What about the others? How are they doing?"
"The little bird seems to be researching some important project, and Yashutia has also been working on it day and night. Lord Frico seems to have gleaned some insights from your manuscripts, and he occasionally sets off to Senhai Territory for investigations." Jennifer nodded, hesitated for a moment, and continued:
"However, it seems that Arte is also planning to go out. Her cultivation progress is advancing very quickly, and she probably wants to find inspiration for advancing to the legendary level in advance. In addition, she seems to have some important matters to deal with."
"I see, I understand now." Your mind raced through your past experiences, and you guessed she was probably investigating your background. It's possible that your rapid increase in strength meant that your escape from Dragonhorn Territory hadn't been long ago; you also hadn't yet had children and didn't need to care for a family; and you were about to leave Norard for a while. All these factors combined led Arte to launch this plan.
[Shortly afterward, the mage's caravan arrived at the Muridah Greenhouse, where you rested for the night. You enthusiastically took Jennifer to eat "Haggis," a lamb stomach stew, to see if she would have the same high tolerance for unusual cuisine as Slingk.]
[“Holy shit…” Jennifer took a bite, then reluctantly put down the haggis. Seeing that you hadn’t ordered anything, she instantly realized you were there to laugh at her. She grabbed your robe viciously, picked up the haggis, and shoved it into your mouth. Finally, you both left the specialty restaurant with grimaces.]
"Hey, what are you doing with that? There's no need to be so fussy about not wasting food, is there? Don't force yourself to suffer!" you exclaimed, looking at the sheep stomach and offal balls wrapped in oiled paper by Jennifer.
"What?! Do you think I'm a masochist? Besides, you clearly bought this!" Jennifer couldn't help but retort, grabbing you and running out of the greenhouse. They stopped about seven or eight miles away, looking at the vast, frozen lake, and said with her hands on her hips:
"Come on, let's go night fishing! Let's catch some fish and grill them!"
[“Oh?” You suddenly gave a cold laugh, rubbing your wrist as you took the long pole she handed you, and said, “Quite courageous, daring to challenge someone who claims to ‘never come back empty-handed’? Come on, let me show you!”]
An hour later, you stared at the motionless sphere of light floating in front of you both, remained silent for a moment, and then asked:
"How about we go back? Maybe that haggis restaurant is still open?"
"Haha, how could that be? They must be closed." Jennifer forced a smile, lifted her fishing rod, looked at the unmoving lamb offal bait, stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly stood up, grabbed the remaining lamb stomach, hooked it up, threw it into the ice hole, and shouted angrily:
"Is that enough? Hurry up and lick the hook, hurry up and lick the hook!"
"Maybe they're too much like the fish and they won't even eat them..." you chuckled, about to continue your吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or humorous comments) about the Andora people's diet, when suddenly a loud thud came from under your feet. Your expression changed, and you and Jennifer both lowered your heads.
[Illuminated by the buoyant light sphere, the silhouette of a giant fish gradually appeared below the ice cave.]
The dark fish-like shadow paused for a moment, then drew closer, and with a deafening roar, it instantly shattered the ice.
"Holy crap! A fish, a huge fish, a tiger shark!" You flap your magical wings of flight, holding an equally shocked Jennifer, watching as shattered ice slowly falls from the giant fish's dorsal fin.
[Although it's hard to admit, the fish Jennifer caught weighs more than all the fish you've ever caught combined.]
As dawn approached, you finally dragged the giant fish you had already killed back to the Murida greenhouse. The local people were stunned, and even the passing merchants had never seen anything like it, muttering in horror:
"My God, even the legendary dragons are nothing compared to this..."
Within just a few hours, the news spread like wildfire. Upon hearing that it was caught by a Knight of Light from Lundia and an unknown warrior, people couldn't help but feel reverence for the God of Light. At the same time, the news was also spread by busybodies to taverns all over the place. After all, although they couldn't afford such a big fish, they were still curious to see it...
[At this moment, you were rushing to teleport to Yanium with your mage party, but you were stopped by a wise man who had seen secondhand information on the magic network and arrived overnight. He wanted to buy the giant fish from you, saying he planned to use it to build a greenhouse.]
You weren't initially concerned about where the fish went, since you and Jennifer had already eaten your fill of sashimi on the way back. But hearing this sparked a newfound curiosity. The Icefield Greenhouse was still quite novel to you, and you were curious about how the wise man would use it to build the greenhouse.
"You should be able to see it on your way back after you finish the first round of negotiations," the wise man said, shaking his head as he surveyed the giant, monstrous fish, which was dozens of meters long.
"It's called an Icefield Dragonfish. It's rare for this kind of fish to rise to the surface in autumn and winter. Generally, they are only active in the warmer spring and summer, but they are particularly aggressive then. It's very difficult for me to catch one with such a complete body. Usually, they're torn to shreds after just a couple of slaps..."
"You old man, stop beating around the bush and showing off your muscles!" you couldn't help but mutter.
"Oh, right, about the acquisition..." the wise man patted the fish's body and turned back to say.
"No need, no need, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing for Jennifer and me..." You quickly shook your head. For a fisherman, the catch is already the best reward.
"No, no, no, it's absolutely necessary," the wise man said with a profound smile.
"How about this, you choose one of the kids in my team to be your apprentice? I see you're already a sixth-circle mage, and I heard you haven't built your mage tower yet. There will be a lot of miscellaneous tasks to do after you finish building the mage tower!"
“The kids in my team are all very hardworking and can absolutely fulfill their apprenticeship duties perfectly. As long as you teach them a little magic in your spare time, you gain reliable apprentices, and the kids get a good environment and education. It's a win-win situation…”
"Wait a minute." You suddenly realized what was happening, pointed to your face, and asked incredulously:
"Is this supposed to be my payment? This guy's trying to extort me! You old bastard, a double win like this? You've won twice, haven't you?!"
Chapter 180 Some of the proposals really did come from the toilet.
Ultimately, you agreed to accept the wise man's "reward," after all, it was indeed hard for an old man to take care of so many children. And although the positive reviews for Kemono Friends 2 were comparable to those for Three Kingdoms Kill, your love for Kemono Friends remained deep.
The old man said he would ask the children when he got back, and select your apprentice based on the principle of priority for those who signed up. That being said, you have a feeling that it might be that old acquaintance again, no, the old cat Mianmisi, after all, she has always been very curious about the outside world...
After handling these miscellaneous matters, your group arrived at Detmouth, a border city of the Anium United Nations, via a teleportation array. Having shed their carriages and baggage, the mages appeared spirited, discussing during their meal what kind of agreement they absolutely needed to reach to repay the Queen's high expectations.
For some reason, your expectations aren't very high. It might be because your "High-Level Moron Mage" image wasn't promoted in this simulation, or it might be because the current timeframe is different from before, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of a monster siege, so you can't really unleash your full potential. In any case, you've already started thinking about a plan B.
"Have you heard? A group of knights and warriors from Norard fished out a dragon a thousand meters long in Andora! Damn, that's incredible..." The merchants' chatter in the tavern startled you for a moment, and it took you a dozen seconds to react. You glanced at their confident expressions and couldn't help but think to yourself:
"What? A dragon a thousand meters long? I've never heard of that! Damn it, there's a limit to how much you guys spread rumors! And what the hell is a warrior? Let me reiterate, I'm a pure mage!"