Chapter 43: Chapter 42 Trial Task
[Main Quest Activated: Trial]
[As a mage traversing between dimensional planes, you must possess keen observation and judgment abilities to fulfill this role. Each world has its core values. Seek and obtain the item you believe holds the highest value in this world. Completion of the task may result in random rewards (the reward depends on the task evaluation). Failure will result in all attributes being reduced by one level]
This task is indeed quite challenging.
Reading the task description floating in front of him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but frown. On the surface, this task seemed very free, as long as Fang Zheng obtained the item he deemed to be the most valuable in this world, he could complete the task. But when thought through carefully, it was clear that things were not that simple.
Because there were two main difficulties in this matter.
First, the item must be highly valuable.
Second, he needed to be able to obtain it.
When it came to valuable items, this world had plenty. Satellites, nuclear missiles, nuclear fusion, mechanical exoskeletons — all were highly valuable to Fang Zheng. Unfortunately, even if he knew about these things, there was no way for him to get them. Of course, if it were luxury cars or planes, Fang Zheng might be able to think of a way to steal one. But he could easily deduce that using such items to complete the task wouldn’t rate highly.
After all, the task clearly stated that it was a test of his abilities as a dimensional mage.
Thus, the target was already determined.
To Fang Zheng, the most valuable thing in this world was the alien BOSS. In the movie, the doctor had mentioned that this alien BOSS possessed the ability to manipulate time. The protagonist gained the ability to continuously save and load time because he was infected with the BOSS’s blood, even going back to the beginning of the movie after both he and the BOSS perished together.
This was the power to control time!
Knowing that any ability related to time manipulation was extremely rare and precious made Fang Zheng even more excited. More importantly, from what he recalled in the movie, this BOSS had no combat ability at all, only summoning minions and using the time reset ability. If this were true, defeating this BOSS would be much easier for Fang Zheng.
The only issue was that the aliens had already occupied the entirety of Europe, and Fang Zheng alone couldn’t traverse the occupied zone to capture the BOSS.
But for Fang Zheng, this problem wasn’t completely unsolvable.
Yet before that, he wanted to enjoy some modern-day food!
Fang Zheng didn’t possess any money in this world. But fortunately, the three kind-hearted hooligans earlier were more than willing to fund him. So he unceremoniously accepted their support, found a fast-food restaurant, and enjoyed a hearty meal. Relishing the familiar flavors, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but cry. Although junk food wasn’t healthy, at least it reminded him of the taste of home.
Next up was figuring out how to take action.
While eating a hamburger, Fang Zheng watched the fast-food restaurant’s TV and pondered.
He remembered being a bit vague about the time concept in “Edge of Tomorrow.” It seemed as though the protagonist hadn’t trained for long before going to the battlefield, but later on, the timeline became strange. The constant saving and loading were one thing, but at a certain point, when he went to see the General, the General said, “You used to be a deserter. I never thought you’d come back here as a war hero.” This implied that Tom Cruise had at least won the battle against the aliens on the beach multiple times, making it hard to estimate the timeline. A single battle wasn’t easy to win, let alone returning to London afterward. This made it difficult to judge the time, as the movie focused only on Tom Cruise’s constant save-load-rebirth, without giving a clear timeline.
Additionally, there was another problem troubling Fang Zheng: would Tom Cruise’s save-load ability affect him? If it didn’t, then after Tom Cruise died, Fang Zheng would face a completely unknown future. Although in reality, there was nothing unknown about it. If it didn’t affect him, it would be better. The constant save-load might be enjoyable for the person experiencing it, but for those like Fang Zheng who were dragged into it, it was far from pleasant.
But if it did affect him, it would be a big problem.
Fang Zheng always wondered about one aspect of the movie: the protagonists believed that the alien BOSS used this time control ability to reset time repeatedly to secure victory. But Fang Zheng doubted this. On the surface, the alien beings were much stronger than humans, and their battles showed little strategic sense. The alien BOSS’s intellect seemed quite limited. The only evidence of premeditated planning was the ambush on the human beach, which Fang Zheng saw as a basic reaction any gamer with a normal IQ would have: “Oh, the enemy plans to attack the beach? Let me save and come back prepared.”
Another problem: how should he capture this alien BOSS?
Fang Zheng didn’t plan to follow the protagonist. While Tom Cruise was relying on his save-load ability to act recklessly, knowing he could revive, for Fang Zheng, it was much riskier. The best strategy would be to command an army, solving most problems this way.
As for where to get the army… Fang Zheng glanced at his Soulstone again.
Since there were already aliens involved, adding the Zerg seemed reasonable.
Fang Zheng’s teleportation landed him not in London, but in a small border city. Given that Europe was completely occupied by these aliens, Fang didn’t stand a chance of reaching London to find the protagonist. But he wasn’t too concerned. To be honest, the aliens exhibited strong fighting prowess but seemed to lack an air force. This stumped Fang Zheng. Although the movie showed aliens with anti-air capabilities, the lack of an air force seemed problematic.
But these were not issues Fang Zheng had to worry about. The dumber the enemy, the easier for him. So, after a satisfying meal, he found an opportunity to secretly leave the small town. The town, located just behind the front lines, didn’t have stringent security, making it easy for Fang Zheng to leave unnoticed.
“Now, let’s see what this Soulstone can do.”
Standing in the dense forest, Fang Zheng took a deep breath. He had switched from the [Arthas] equipment to [Kerrigan].
Upon equipping the [Kerrigan] Soulstone, Fang Zheng felt his world change. Strange knowledge filled his mind, mysterious powers he had never encountered or used before. The scenery in front of him seemed different. At first glance, it appeared the same, but focusing his mind, he saw the world covered in a dark red hue, the edges blurry. He also saw distant, moving light shadows.
Fang Zheng closed his eyes and reopened them, restoring the world to its original state.
“This seems different from the game…” He flexed his fingers with a frown. Extending his hand towards the distant bushes, he made a grasping motion.
With a low groan, a deer floated out of the bushes, struggling in vain as the psionic power firmly held its body. It had no chance of breaking free. With a gesture, Fang Zheng pulled the deer in front of him. A green substance formed in his right hand, which he placed on the deer.
Soon, the deer frantically shook its head and limbs while blood vessels emerged from its skin, spreading across its body. When the veins reached its head, the deer suddenly exploded with a loud pop, leaving a lifeless corpse.
The sudden explosion startled Fang Zheng, making him step back hurriedly. As the psionic force dissipated, the deer’s corpse fell to the ground with a thud. Something inside the body squirmed, and moments later, a parasite emerged, breaking through the deer’s stomach.
Seeing the worm crawling happily at his feet, Fang Zheng was speechless. He had wondered how Kerrigan would create a Zerg army without existing Zerg. He never imagined such a method.
Watching the worm jump around, Fang Zheng was at a loss for words. The little creature wasn’t as terrifying as he expected, appearing somewhat cute. As Fang Zheng tried to communicate with the parasite, a gunshot suddenly rang out behind him.