Warning: You have entered a high-difficulty node, Perilous Enemy—New Tribe.
A tribe with neither trees nor names had formed. Those who had once ruled over everyone still served as its leaders; they were the vanguard of evil.
The moment she entered the node, a spell carrying coldness and an ominous aura came hurtling straight toward Xia Ling.
But Xia Ling was no longer who she had been before. While she could not be called battle-hardened, she was certainly experienced. Having been prepared, Xia Ling pushed Acceleration to its limit, turning into an afterimage and evading the attack.
In the distance, Fallen Snow Sacrifice, dressed in a loose robe and black full-body stockings, raised her staff once more.
Once she confirmed that Snow Sacrifice had locked onto her, Xia Ling turned and made a gesture, then vanished from Bronya's sight amid a barrage of attacks.
Bronya did not make any unnecessary moves. She immediately directed the shield guards into the node. Just as Xia Ling had said, Xia Ling would hold back the boss after entering the node, while Bronya needed to deal with the other enemies as quickly as possible before freeing herself up to support Xia Ling.
Thus, Bronya immediately entered combat mode. She even did the rare thing of having Heavy Armor Rabbit split off from her. After all, the sooner they dealt with the enemies, the sooner they could relieve the pressure on Xia Ling.
Bronya pursed her lips. Her worry continuously turned into deft reloading and charging motions as she eliminated the enemies as quickly as she could.
Meanwhile, Xia Ling was also facing a grueling battle.
She had already approached Fallen Snow Sacrifice, close enough to see the patterns on Snow Sacrifice's black stockings.
As well as the Collapse eye symbol that could kill any urge just by looking at it.
Yet Xia Ling simply could not get close to where Snow Sacrifice stood.
Every time she approached, an overwhelming sense of malice and dizziness made goosebumps rise all over Xia Ling's body.
Xia Ling had no doubt that if she really forced herself to rush in, she might get to experience what Collapse felt like.
Damn... does this mean I can only wait here until Snow Sacrifice comes out on her own? Xia Ling considered her options with a headache.
It looked like Snow Sacrifice's position corresponded to the undeployable tiles in the game. Collapse had directly sealed off that area...
Xia Ling was not worried that Snow Sacrifice would hide in there and refuse to come out. The trial could not possibly give her an unsolvable situation like that. What truly troubled Xia Ling was how to take down Snow Sacrifice before Duck Duck arrived.
Xia Ling: I Fell Seriously Wounded
That was right. From the start, Xia Ling had not planned on having Duck Duck and the shield guards come over to fight.
This time, it was not because she could not bear to see Duck Duck get hit. It was a very practical problem.
That damned Snow Sacrifice had ricocheting attacks, and her attack target count was three. With only Xia Ling here, Xia Ling could still dodge. If several more people stood around, especially bulky shield guards, then there would be no way to play this at all.
But if she wanted to deal with Snow Sacrifice herself, another problem arose.
Xia Ling's Honkai Energy recovery speed was falling a little short. More precisely, it was nowhere near enough.
Whether she used Honkai Energy to materialize a shield and block attacks head-on, or kept Acceleration active to dodge spells, both were no small expense for Xia Ling's Honkai Energy reserves.
Granted, the accumulated HP bonuses from reaching the Third Floor without taking damage had given Xia Ling substantial self-healing and energy recovery.
But it still could not keep up with the greater cost of each skill.
To put it another way, even if some little island's exploding crow had its Feathered Arrow Returning Edge recovery changed from +3 to +6, it still would not change the miserable fact that 100 was less than 175.
That was the problem Xia Ling faced now.
According to Xia Ling's estimate, even with the Leafy Greens Can bonus, one Heart's Delight probably would not be enough to kill Snow Sacrifice. To be safe, she needed to reserve enough Honkai Energy for two uses.
Once she failed to instantly kill Snow Sacrifice, Snow Sacrifice's ghostly movement speed would let her kite Xia Ling around, and Xia Ling would basically have no chance to build up enough Honkai Energy for her ultimate again.
Which meant that Xia Ling could only spare less than one-third of her Honkai Energy to deal with Snow Sacrifice's spells before she came out.
"Damn it, if I calculate it like this, I might have to tank hits until Snow Sacrifice comes out."
Xia Ling dodged another attack, and her little face immediately crumpled.
It is fine. Collapse Value is calculated after passing the node. But if the host intends to use this strategy, then do not enter the Fourth Floor. The instant buildup from several Collapse Paradigms will be very unpleasant.
"Compared to that, I think I should worry about surviving what is right in front of me first."
Estimating the Honkai Energy in her body, Xia Ling looked at the incoming spell and sighed. She did not use Acceleration or a shield again. Instead, she held Crescent Rose across her body and took the hit head-on.
Before she could even process the icy chill of the spell explosion that had just struck her arm, a piercing pain made Xia Ling's legs go weak, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground.
Of course, the pain quickly stimulated Xia Ling's nerves and made her realize what had happened.
"Earthly profanity, this damned Collapse Paradigm! I forgot I still had Convergence Consumption on me!"
Convergence Consumption: As long as equipment suffers damage, its owner will suffer the same damage.
"Hell, this weapon is more precious than I am now. If it gets caught in the blast, I might as well take the damage straight to the face."
Looking at Crescent Rose's surface, still as smooth as ever, Xia Ling did not know what to say. She could only put it away behind her waist.
"First I had to get used to dying, and now I get hit without being allowed to hit back. System, I seriously suspect you're some kind of masochist-training system."
My assessment is that there is no lewd system, only a lewd host. Anyone else would only see an extremely cruel training method. The fact that you can describe it so strangely is a talent in itself.
"It's fine. My mindset is great." Xia Ling replied during a brief opening after using the terrain to dodge a spell. "At least the one whipping me right now is a big sister in black stockings. Sure, looking at her face makes you explode, but from where I am, I can only see her legs anyway."
Fallen Snow Sacrifice did not remain rooted in place for long. Just as Xia Ling was covered in blood and considering which arm to sacrifice first, she suddenly realized that Fallen Snow Sacrifice seemed to have vanished from her previous position.
"Good, good, good. You finally came out." Xia Ling gritted her teeth and wiped away the blood blurring her vision, focusing all her attention on the movements around her.
Finally, a blue spell shot out from the shadows of the bushes.
"Now's the time, Miss Snow Sacrifice. The offense and defense have switched!"
The blue spell passed through Xia Ling's chest without drawing any blood. Clearly, the Xia Ling there was only an afterimage left behind by her explosive burst of Acceleration.
Xia Ling's real body had already arrived behind Snow Sacrifice. Since she did not know whether Snow Sacrifice could react in time, Xia Ling rarely chose not to control the degree of enhancement from her Acceleration Talent. Instead, she struck as quickly as possible.
Feeling the air instantly turn thick and viscous around her, Xia Ling coated the scythe blade in Honkai Energy. Crescent Rose rose high, then came down from Snow Sacrifice's shoulder with a flash of red.
"You must have had a lot of fun beating me up for so long." Xia Ling revealed a chilling smile. "Then let me make you happy in the physical sense!"
Without waiting for the first Heart's Delight to erupt, Xia Ling swept horizontally with a backhanded strike under the boost of Swift Hand, landing a second slash on Snow Sacrifice.
Having finished two clean, decisive skill strikes, Xia Ling endured the protests erupting throughout her body and forcibly activated her Acceleration Talent once more, carrying herself away from the center of the explosion.
However, because she had used Heart's Delight twice in succession, she was somewhat late in running away. With a loud boom, the shockwaves from the two explosions caught up to Xia Ling and shoved her forward, sending her rolling several meters away.
Xia Ling did not want to get up anymore. With her physical strength and Honkai Energy both depleted, and the injuries all over her body faintly throbbing, Xia Ling only wanted to lie on the ground like a quiet salted fish.
"Sister Xia Ling? Sister Xia Ling?" A few minutes later, Bronya, having dealt with the remaining enemies, finally arrived at the battlefield.
However, apart from a huge crater caused by the explosion and pitted marks left by spell bombardment, there was nothing else.
Bronya's movements visibly grew flustered. While continuing to search for Xia Ling, she summoned Heavy Armor Rabbit to search with her.
"Stop shouting. I'm over here."
Amid Bronya's incessant calls, the dizzy Xia Ling finally heard that someone seemed to be calling for her, so she weakly answered.
"Sister Xia Ling, y-you... how did you end up like this? Didn't you say we would deal with it together after Bronya got here?"
Hearing the response, Bronya rapidly "floated" to Xia Ling's side at an unbelievable speed. Seeing Xia Ling covered in injuries, her voice trembled with fright. She hurriedly took bandages and clean water from her backpack and began tending to Xia Ling's wounds.
"Stop, stop, stop..." Xia Ling's wounds were already sensitive due to her self-healing ability, and Duck Duck's treatment directly made her face twist in pain. She hurriedly stopped Bronya's movements, then raised her head with difficulty and asked, "Did you clear out all the enemies on your side?"
"Of course. Those two shield guard uncles personally confirmed it. They left after confirming it." Although she did not understand why Xia Ling had suddenly asked, Bronya immediately answered in order to make Xia Ling cooperate with the treatment.
"That's good. Then I don't need to suffer here anymore. Duck Duck, see you."
Xia Ling raised her hand with difficulty, summoned the system interface, and directly chose to exit the trial.
Duck Duck's worried gaze froze there as the surroundings gradually scattered like fragments. The scene returned to the Research Team Camp from the very beginning.
Wind and Snow Obscure Eyes
The research team is waiting to be rebuilt...
164:27:04
The Exciting Gacha Pull
Congratulations, host. You have successfully completed the objective and cleared the Third Floor.
"Forget about objectives for now..." Xia Ling said weakly. "Hurry up and repair my body. I feel like I'm about to go into hemorrhagic shock."
It is fine, host. Inside the system space, death is just death. At worst, you can revive once.
Although the system said that, it still repaired Xia Ling's body very quickly.
"Alright, full health revival!"
Xia Ling immediately sprang back to life.
"System, hurry up and claim my rewards. I want to pull!"
Uh, alright. Clearing the Third Floor would normally let you draw a collectible as well, but it seems the host does not care much about that right now. We can discuss it later.
As it spoke, the system interface automatically opened before Xia Ling and displayed the system store page.
Xia Ling saw that her balance had now been updated to 5 Hope and 16 Originium Ingots.
A purchase prompt had already popped up in front of her.
Purchase Six-Star Random Recruitment Voucher (Half Price)?
"Buy it directly." Xia Ling waved her hand grandly, and her balance swiftly dropped to 2 Hope and 1 Originium Ingot.
Along with the reduction in assets, a black shoulder bag appeared.
"Tsk, such a familiar Operator Recruitment Pack."
Xia Ling grabbed the bag's zipper and habitually pulled it back and forth, admiring the rainbow light continually leaking from inside the bag.
"Right." Xia Ling's hand paused on the zipper. She looked up and asked, "System, what if the operator I pull is male? You're not going to make me control him too, are you?"
Do not worry, host. The system's mechanisms are quite comprehensive in that regard.
If you pull a male operator, you will roughly have two options.
One is to directly transfer that operator's abilities to your main body or one of your character cards. The methods of using those abilities and their talents will be transferred as well. You can do this regardless of whether the operator you pulled is male.
The other option is to pay an additional fee to create a feminized body for that character card for your use.
"I'll pass on making an extra body..." Xia Ling sighed as she looked at her pitifully few assets. "Transferring the abilities to myself isn't bad either."
Don't rush, host. You haven't even pulled one yet, have you?
The system comforted her with a giggle.
"You're right. So..." Xia Ling placed her hand on the zipper of the black Operator Recruitment Pack. "My turn, draw!"
As the zipper was fully opened, a dazzling rainbow light burst forth from the bag.
A character card slowly emerged from within.
The rainbow light gradually faded, and the first thing Xia Ling saw was the large Medic class symbol on the character card.
"Oh no, no!" Xia Ling was horrified. "What kind of opening pull is a Medic Operator? It was bad enough that I started my previous life with Qiqi and Bailu. You're still making me start with a Medic after I transmigrated?"
However, Xia Ling's panic did not last long, because she quickly saw a familiar and reassuring face on the character card.
Congratulations, host. You have obtained the six-star character card—Medic Operator Flame Shadow Reed Grass.
"I'm sorry. I spoke too loudly just now."
Xia Ling immediately switched sides like a chameleon. After all, this one's strength was in a completely different league from other Medics. Flame Shadow Reed Grass, a Medic written as a Caster, was also one of the most common Medic picks in Sami's Integrated Strategies and possessed unimaginable dominance over the first ending.
Seeing how satisfied the host is, I assume you do not intend to transfer this character card to your main body. Shall I directly let the host use it, then?
"Of course. I can hardly imagine how wonderful it would be to have an Elite 2 Flame Willow at this stage."
Alright. The first time you use a character card may feel a little strange, so please prepare yourself mentally, host.
As the system finished speaking, the character card floating in the air instantly turned into a streak of light and entered Xia Ling's body. At the same time, a graceful body slowly began to emerge in the space.
However, Xia Ling likely had no time to admire such a beautiful sight, because she felt like her head was about to explode.
"System... you bastard, it hurts this much and you didn't warn me in advance?"
Uh, I did not know either. But since it has to alter the host's soul form, pain should be normal, right?
After a long while, the dull pain, like someone drilling into her skull with an awl, finally began to fade.
Xia Ling was now sprawled over the soft snow like a dried salted fish, unable to move even a finger.
"Uh, do you need me to help you?"
Before you continue