Chapter 570 Beast Control Duel
The cold wind howled by, blowing up the powder on the snow, forming flying snowflakes. These snowflakes rolled in the air, seeming to be ashes falling in the night sky.
Huhuhu~
The biting cold in the air is accompanied by a depressing silence. Only the occasional sound of wind breaks the dull silence, bringing a rustling sound, as if it is in the distance. The murmur of some unknown creature.
Xia Xiu was wearing a blue winter coat, with a fishing rod bag slung on his back, and the snow under his feet made a "creep" sound. Each footprint was deeply imprinted in the thick snow, seeming to have carved their tracks in this boundless white world.
The sky was gloomy, with thick dark clouds like an opaque curtain, blocking all potential light.
These dark clouds move slowly on the low skyline, occasionally revealing a glimmer of light, but are quickly swallowed up by denser clouds.
Against this background, the whole world seems to be dyed with a faint layer of gray. No matter the distant mountains or nearby trees, they have lost their vitality, leaving only indifference and loneliness.
Little Hope's nose was red due to the cold, her moist purple pupils looked around curiously, chatting with Xia Xiu from time to time to dispel the overwhelming chill around her.
"Where are we going next?" Little Hope's voice sounded particularly clear in the cold air.
Xia Xiu adjusted the fishing rod on his back, looked at the blurry outline in the snow in front of him, and replied:
"We are going to the east coast of Lake Miller, Minnesota, where there is a place called Island City. . We need to do some fieldwork there, scouting for Wendigo tracks and investigating recent unusual missing persons cases, and if possible, checking out a few unusual community hubs nearby."
Hopefully. Listening, he put his index finger on his chin with a vaguely understanding expression on his face.
Her curiosity was aroused and she continued to ask: "So what exactly is a Wendigo?"
Xia Xiu smiled slightly. This question seemed simple, but it touched a deep unknown. .
"The Wendigo is a mythical creature originating from Aboriginal legends. It is described as a greedy, insatiable being, symbolizing greed and extreme hunger. Its story has a profound impact on local culture , related to many mysterious incidents and disappearances. In folklore, the Wendigo is often regarded as a kind of warning, appearing before big changes."
Xia Xiu explained while continuing on the snow. go ahead.
Every step he took imprinted an "8"-shaped Möbius strip on the thick snow, as if with every step he took, the space was distorted under his feet, making his progress It seemed extremely fast, almost as if it was shrinking to an inch.
The hope on the shoulders continued to ask curiously: "What do they look like?"
Xia Xiu rubbed his chin and stared into the distance, seeming to be searching for those things in his mind. Description of the Wendigo.
He recalled the papers on the study of regional mythology that he had read in the archives of heaven open to high-ranking angels, and said slowly:
“There are two different opinions about the image of the Wendigo. In one description, the Wendigo is seen as a transparent troll with a skeleton and heart made of ice. It is 20 to 30 feet tall, has a huge, fanged mouth, and breathes. The air hisses through the uneven teeth, its eyes are bloodshot, there is only one toe on each foot, and the sharp claws on its palms can easily leave deep scratches on the bark. It is extremely powerful and can easily knock down trees that block its path."
Xia Xiu paused and continued to add the second description: "Another way of describing the Wendigo. It was a huge, thin, haggard skeleton, with dead gray dry skin tightly wrapped around it. Its eye sockets were sunken, its lips were ragged, and its whole body exuded a stench of blood and corruption, as if it had just emerged from a tomb. "
Xia Xiu's narration continued, his voice carrying a hint of calmness and contemplation in the cold wind: "In addition to the above two physical signs, there is another. A group mimevirus caused by cultural combination syndrome - Wendigo syndrome."
As he walked through the snow blown by the cold wind, the outline of the city in front gradually became clear and appeared. A hint of human fireworks.
The snow creaked under his weight, spreading into a vast expanse of white. From time to time, snow powder picked up by the wind flew into the air, as if winter elves were dancing in the air.
As they went deeper, the outline of the city ahead began to become clear.
The light in the distance shines with a warm yellow light through the cold air, like a warm invitation in the cold.
The existence of the city makes this snow-covered land seem less lonely. The smell of human fireworks is in sharp contrast with the natural cold.
The forest around Xia Xiu itself has a gloomy atmosphere, and the dense trees present a naked and lonely beauty in winter.
But as they approached the edge of civilization, the trees, which had seemed a bit bleak, seemed to be warmed by the light and energy of the city.
The silence in the woods is broken by the occasional vehicles and human voices coming from a distance, bringing a sense of rhythm to life.
“We’re here.”
Xia Xiu stood in front of the entrance to the island city, the cold air condensing into mist in the air with his breath.
Hope on the shoulders also looks forward curiously. The buildings on both sides of the street emit warm yellow light. The wooden facades and stone paths set off the fusion of the town's simplicity and modernity.
Snowflakes lightly cover the roofs and treetops, contrasting with the lights dotting the streets.
In such an environment, Xia Xiu smeared [Presence-weakening Memes] on the hope on his shoulders as usual, and reduced his sense of presence to a quarter of the normal human threshold perception. , similar to the passerby level with a very low sense of presence. In this situation, if he wants to steal something, it is as easy as taking his own things.
In this almost invisible state, Xia Xiu quietly blended into the bustling crowd in the island city with hope.
************
11:45AM.
Island City.
Xia Xiu was sitting in a warm local restaurant, enjoying lunch.
In front of him was a steaming plate of Walder Lake fish pancakes, a traditional Minnesota delicacy made from freshly caught Walder Lake fish combined with local herbs and spices. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a unique flavor.
In addition, he also ordered a small mousse cake for Hope, which was placed on a delicate small plate.
Looking at the dessert composed of multiple layers of light cream and delicate chocolate, I hope my eyes sparkled with joy, and my little hands kept putting the sweet mousse into my mouth, eating it with relish.
By this time, the weather outside the restaurant had cleared up and the snow had stopped.
Xia Xiu's golden eyes curiously observed the outside world through the window.
As one of the abnormal states, the Thousand Lakes State embraces the abnormal and extraordinary at an extraordinary speed. As part of the Thousand Lakes State, Island City’s special geographical and cultural background makes it an extraordinary and extraordinary place. A hotbed of visions. Driven by the Mayflower Foundation, the novel beast-controlling system continues to spread locally, and various [capsule beasts] brought by the triangular trade are rapidly becoming popular among the people.
A contemporary historian from the Wand Man newspaper commented on the newly emerged beast-controlling system:
"The Edici regime among Terran humans poured out the so-called "beast-controlling system" with the blood of the borderlands and the beasts of all realms. They started the old tricks of the past - occupying land and expelling the permanent residents to create new ones. The proletarians (whether affiliated with the transcendent side or not) then plunge the land into the privatized torrent of capital accumulation.
The current Ivy War has entered the "enclosure" stage. In fact, the ownership of each plane is actually concentrated in the hands of the King [Golden Tree] or the Golden Royal Court recognized by him, as well as related institutions such as the Royal Court Church, and a small amount is privately owned by the owners of the planes.
According to the current golden law, the actual tenure rights of the planes he controls and the property on them are enfeoffed to the masters of each plane on the condition of paying taxes and providing military service, and then divide them according to each level [boundary wedge] ] are assigned in turn to the master of the total plane (the master of the pantheon), and there are multi-dimensional ruling forces with multiple political powers.
The plane system under the golden law usually uses the aboriginal contract system. The aboriginal contract system stipulates the personal dependence relationship between the lord and the aboriginal people, and the [Golden Tree] legislation stipulates that neither party shall breach the contract. At the same time, a piece of "public land" will be arranged on the land of each manor. According to contracts at all levels, public land is not arranged for farming, and civilians have the right to engage in restricted grazing, firewood, wild fruit picking and other activities on it.
The forces of Terra are more cruel than the Golden Court. They rarely fulfill their responsibilities as the masters of the planes, even in planes dominated by humans. They began to develop the "Enclosure Movement" .
Methods of enclosure—including the more peaceful method of buying out the use rights of the indigenous peoples, or the plane lord forcibly terminating the use rights of the indigenous peoples by amending the law. The coercive method often leads to conflicts and even rebellions.
The emerging financial bourgeoisie of Terra and the new profit groups used violent means to force the natives of the small plane to separate from their means of production and accumulate capital. On the one hand, it concentrates the means of social production into the hands of a few people, and on the other hand, it turns a large number of producers into [financial slaves]. Most of them are beast-controlling creatures. Many beast-controlling creatures are forced to do so because they have lost the protection of the plane. Sign a lifetime "Terms of Service" with Terra Financial Institutions.
Of course, they prefer to use force to conquer colonies, rob gold and silver property, sell beast-controlling slaves and other methods to quickly accumulate wealth. A sinful triangular trade has been formed in the new world, border areas, and all realms.
Edisi became rich by colonizing all worlds, and used the blood and tears of the creatures in all worlds to water extraordinary flowers. Flowers are evil. 』
Exactly as [Wandman Newspaper Agency] said, [Financial Street]’s terrifying alienation ability makes all existences have to pay attention to it.
Moreover, the beast control system it brought about, even the Kingdom of Heaven had to marvel at, because there had never been an extraordinary system that could become as popular as beast control.
The scene Xia Xiu saw now is the embodiment of this characteristic.
Sitting in the restaurant, he witnessed a strange and fascinating scene through the window, a scene that could attract the attention of any passerby.
In Island City, a small town located on the east coast of Mille Lacs, Minnesota, the ordinary basketball court has now turned into a battle stage for extraordinary creatures.
On the field, the originally flat basketball court was repainted into a bright red and blue area, which looked particularly eye-catching.
Of course, this is not an ordinary basketball game, but a competitive showdown between two children controlling their [Capsule Beast].
The protagonists on the field are a snowman made of snow blocks and a creature that looks like a jellyfish.
Both creatures are released from metal capsules held in the hands of children.
Although these two creatures are the main subjects of the battle, they have extremely cute appearances.
The Snowman's body is made up of multiple irregular snowballs, and its two big eyes and wide smile make it look more friendly than threatening.
Compared with the bulky and rounded snowman, the jellyfish appears more agile. Its transparent body reflects a subtle light in the sun, and its long tentacles swing lightly, as if dancing in the air.
"Cheese, show your frost blast! Charge forward, and then roll the snowball."
The snowman responded to the first child's instructions and used its huge body to slam into the ground. Rushing forward, the surrounding snow was kicked up, forming a burst of flying white mist.
Although its movements are clumsy, it is powerful, and every step it takes is accompanied by vibrations, as if the entire venue is shaking under its weight.
When receiving the "Snowball Rolling Strike" command, the snowman begins to spin rapidly, forming a huge snowball that rolls towards the opponent, trying to overwhelm everything with its weight and speed.
"Hagrid, use your tentacles to whip! Attack around and don't give him a chance to breathe!"
"Water vortex, trap him! Make him unable to move, watch my trick!"
< br>"Transparent and invisible, dodge quickly! Then counterattack, use your speed to confuse him!"
The jellyfish showed its flexibility and cunning under the command of another child.
After receiving the command of "tentacle whipping", its long tentacles waved like whips, whipping the snowman quickly and accurately. Each blow left deep marks on the snowman's snow body. Under the command of "Water Vortex", the jellyfish releases a powerful stream of water, forming a rotating vortex around itself, temporarily pushing the approaching snowman away, while creating an opportunity for a more powerful counterattack.
Xia Xiu watched this scene quietly. The children's faces were filled with expressions of excitement and nervousness. Sometimes they jumped and cheered, and sometimes they gave instructions nervously.
Although the battle between two creatures on the field has rules and rhythm, it obviously lacks mature combat strategies.
In the cold Minnesota wind, the fight felt more like a show than a real showdown.
The children chose to control the beasts by shouting instructions. This method not only increased the drama of the battle, but also made the whole process full of randomness and uncertainty.
Although the capsule is equipped with a chip that can be directly controlled by thoughts to achieve fast and precise operations, children seem to prefer this direct communication method of sound, which makes them feel more real and involved. .
Xia Xiu, a strong person, expressed his incomprehension.
The scene of the two beasts fighting back and forth on the field is too lacking in violent aesthetics in the eyes of "The Human Apostle", and this kind of back-and-forth turn-based play cannot withstand actual combat. Think about it.
The most important point is...