Chapter 92
Only the chat in the live stream was buzzing with activity:
[This test question is interesting. Will each contestant use their own crafted inscriptions to operate the turrets later?]
[It should be.]
[I just checked, so the correct answer for this round of elimination matches should be to Lock-On Inscription Speed Inscription?]
[Actually, there's an even better answer: replace the Lock-On Inscription with Tracking Inscription. This would greatly improve the turret's maneuverability. However, Tracking Inscription are very difficult to craft, so the association decided on the Lock-On Inscription as the correct answer during internal training.]
Chapter 92
Time ticked by, second by second.
Xu Jintang's gaze was fixed on the attribute-less raw stone in his hand.
With each stroke of spiritual energy, a small and exquisite Tracking Inscription array gradually took shape.
The proctoring system announced, "One hour and thirty minutes remain until the end of the exam."
The breathing of the surrounding examinees quieted down as they became even more focused on memorizing.
Another half hour passed, Xu Jintang's forehead was covered with a fine layer of sweat, his gaze focused and serious.
At that moment, President Wang happened to walk around to Xu Jintang's side.
He casually glanced at the stone array in her hand. Because it was just a casual glance, he couldn't see the specific details of the array diagram, but he could tell that Xu Jintang was definitely not engraving Lock-On Inscription.
He smiled, shook his head with a sense of relief, and turned to walk to the other side.
As the competition dragged on, the viewership rate in the live broadcast room also increased.
[It's been withdrawn, it was pointless.]
[No wonder they don't sell tickets to the Inscription Master competition; there's no point in watching it at all.]
[I came here specifically to see the Mask Squad with their Big Watermelon, but I ended up falling asleep.]
Just as the audience was complaining about how boring it was, a dazzling white light rose up in the arena.
The light source is coming from Jiang Xiangyang's side.
The hovering ball responsible for filming the match automatically turned towards Jiang Xiangyang.
He held a freshly made Inscription Talisman in his palm. The diamond-shaped stone was engraved with exquisite array patterns. This was a Lock-On Inscription of perfect quality.
Jiang Xiangyang breathed a sigh of relief.
The Lock-On Inscription is more difficult to create than the Speed Inscription, and once this one is successful, the pressure on him will be greatly reduced.
After resting for a while, Jiang Xiangyang took out the second attribute-less raw stone and began to try to create the next Speed Inscription.
At this point, Xu Jintang had entered the final step of Tracking Inscription.
Holding the Yellow Sand Fire Cloud Brush, she sketched the last thread of spiritual power.
The silk threads were slowly injected into the raw stone along the array, emitting a faint white light.
A strange power rapidly gathered on the raw stone, transforming into a rhombus shape that Tracking Inscription Talisman.
Xu Jintang took a deep breath, and his body relaxed.
She glanced at the time; forty minutes remained, enough time to craft another Speed Inscription.
She paused for a moment, then quickly began working on the next inscription.
An hour and a half had passed, and there were very few viewers left in the live broadcast room.
Only the most loyal fans of the Mask Squad remained, posting supportive comments one after another.
A few minutes later, a burst of intense light erupted from the Inscription Talisman in Jiang Xiangyang's hand.
The second Speed Inscription was also successfully completed.
His tense nerves relaxed, a gentle smile appeared on his face, and he stood up, holding two Inscription Talisman.
"Players who have completed their inscription combinations and crafting, please line up here temporarily. We will conduct a turret firing experiment once the time is up," the staff member kindly reminded.
Jiang Xiangyang smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Other athletes are still making the most of their remaining time to continue engraving.
Xu Jintang spent a lot of time creating the Tracking Inscription, so when creating the second Speed Inscription, he could only increase the speed.
"Twenty minutes remain until the time runs out," the proctoring system announced again.
At this point, many contestants had completed the final engraving step.
They lined up behind Jiang Xiangyang in order to wait for the artillery test.
Before they knew it, only Xu Jintang and a few others remained on the field.
Xue Zhongqi stood up with the Inscription Talisman he had just finished making. As he passed by her table, he glanced at it and was momentarily stunned by the familiar array diagram.
This is... Tracking Inscription?
He had recently spent a great deal of time studying the formation diagram for Tracking Inscription, and even shamelessly asked Miss Qian for advice.
He absolutely cannot admit his mistake.
"This contestant, please line up here." A staff member approached with a smile, gesturing for them to proceed.
Xue Zhongqi decided not to linger any longer, cleared his throat, and turned to stand at the back of the line.
Before long, the others, except for Xu Jintang, also finished making their products and got up to wait in line at the waiting area.
Now, Xu Jintang was the only one left on the field. Because she was so conspicuous, almost everyone's eyes were on her.
Xu Jintang kept his head down, slowly connecting the last two strands of spiritual energy with his hands.
With ten minutes remaining, the proctoring system beeped to remind students.
The other contestants, who had already completed their inscriptions, huddled together and began to whisper among themselves.
"This Miss Qian was quite impressive in the first two rounds, how come she's getting worse and worse now?"
"It took her this long to inscribe a Lock-On Inscription and a Speed Inscription; her performance is a bit inconsistent."
"Stop making sarcastic remarks. Maybe they're just being meticulous and deliberately slowing down the details."
Xue Zhongqi was still replaying the inscription formation he had accidentally seen earlier in his mind.
He was absolutely certain that it was a formation diagram for Tracking Inscription.
Therefore... what Miss Qian inscribed should be Tracking Inscription and Speed Inscription.
He pursed his lips, and a hint of seriousness appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xu Jintang.
The game has entered its final five-minute countdown.
"Phew..." Xu Jintang relaxed, finally completing the creation of the Speed Inscription.
She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, erected two inscriptions, and stood up to signal to the staff.
The proctoring system detected that she had stood up and immediately stopped the countdown reminder.
As the last contestant finished engraving, an electronic voice announced, "This round of elimination matches has ended. All contestants, please wait for the turret test."
This round of scoring will be based on a comprehensive calculation of the turret's firing effect; the real highlight will follow next.
Xu Jintang took the two Inscription Talisman and lined up at the back of the queue.
She looked up and examined the high-precision super-powered turret in front of her, a hint of curiosity rising in her eyes.
This type of high-level, large-scale destructive magical artifact is so powerful that its private use has always been prohibited. This was also the first time she had ever come into contact with such a magical artifact.
Soon, Jiang Xiangyang, who was the first to complete the inscription, was invited to the side of the cannon.
The staff member indicated. "Contestants can attach the inscriptions to the magic item and begin the firing experiment. The entire firing experiment will be scored and evaluated by a professional proctoring system."
[Finally, the experiment has started! I watched it for a while and then fell asleep.]
[Big Watermelon! Big Watermelon! Big Watermelon will definitely work!]
[No, I'm just wondering what all those people yelling "Big Watermelon" in the comments mean?]
[Dude, you're a bit outdated. You don't even know who Big Watermelon is? You don't know the Mask Squad either?]
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Jiang Xiangyang walked to the edge of the gun emplacement, bent down, and placed the two inscriptions into the inscription slots on the emplacement.
Xu Jintang crossed his arms in front of him, his gaze sweeping over the artillery emplacement.
After the inscription was added, the turret, which had been silent until now, slowly emitted a faint white light.
All eyes were focused on the cannon platform.
Jiang Xiangyang bent down and pressed the turret's fire start button. The previously quiet environment was immediately filled with a rumbling sound of operation as the turret automatically started to lock onto the enemy target positioned opposite.
Jiang Xiangyang took a step back, creating distance between himself and the artillery emplacement.
After a few seconds of countdown, the turret precisely locked onto the enemy target ten meters away, and then with a "bang," the shell was launched swiftly.
Xu Jintang raised his head high, his gaze falling on the enemy's hovering sphere ten meters away. This sphere was somewhat similar to a strength detector, but it was more advanced because it could automatically dodge enemy attacks.
As the shells were fired, the enemy hovering sphere sensed the threat and immediately changed direction to dodge to the side.
Despite the high rate of fire of the shell, it had already dodged to the edge of the blast radius by the time it reached the hovering sphere.
[Attack Damage: 60 points]
[Evaluation: The turret's flexibility has been initially improved, but it is still not flexible enough when facing more cunning enemies.]
[You have one more chance. Would you like to continue?]
Jiang Xiangyang frowned slightly, then quickly raised his hand and pressed the "Yes" option.
This turret experiment actually involved an element of luck, because the target was locked the moment the turret fired and could not be changed, but the hovering ball could still dodge.
If you're lucky, the floating ball won't have time to travel too far, so the probability and area of being hit will be greater, and the attack damage rating will be higher.
Xu Jintang rested his chin on his hand, having roughly figured it out.
Soon, Jiang Xiangyang began his second attempt to fire from the gun emplacement.
This time, the hovering ball didn't dodge at a good angle and landed directly in the center of the shell's explosion.
[Attack Damage: 85]
[Evaluation: The turret's flexibility has been improved considerably, but there's still room for further enhancement. Keep up the good work!]
[This turret experiment has concluded. Your final score is 85 points.]
Jiang Xiangyang breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned back to the group.
The others, witnessing this scene, began to feel uneasy.