vncnus Page 139
Page 139
Chapter Eleven: The Possibility of a Satisfying Game
"We need to enter the rift ahead of schedule due to its unusual activity?"
This news was undoubtedly explosive. Not to mention that this rift had been almost completely unexplored, such a 'large' rift could not be ended by a simple battle.
Upon hearing this news, the previously silent crowd began to whisper among themselves.
Some people even stood up and addressed the French Prime Minister on the stage:
"But can you guarantee that the unification faction won't take any further actions?"
"The information you've provided is far too little. Even with the allure of artifacts possessing special powers, it's still far too risky."
"Does Gaul mean that we should enter this strange rift without any intelligence at the moment?"
"It's too dangerous. You guys have mentioned this crack before. No one has been able to pass through it even when there are no abnormalities. Now that it's entered an abnormal phase, the changes will definitely be even greater."
The captains of almost all the teams stood up and offered their suggestions or expressed their dissatisfaction, except for Azure Wings, representing Gaul, and Rhodes Island, representing Yan. They had not yet stood up to make any statement.
One team sat in the front row, and the other sat in the back row.
Although they remained silent amidst the noise, Li Ji seemed to understand why Raven's expression had changed so drastically after meeting the Prime Minister.
"It seems she knew about the rift's anomaly all along, and then the Prime Minister just happened to replace the Azure Wings with it."
Li Ji shook his head. "Are you planning to send Raven and the others to explore first?"
But no matter what, this is an internal matter of another country, and it's none of his business as an outsider.
Just as the team captains from various countries were making a ruckus below the stage, the Prime Minister of Gaul coughed twice loudly on the stage and raised his right hand high, interrupting everyone present.
"I am not forcing you all to enter the Rift this time. After all, this is just an internal matter of Gaul. If any national team does not wish to enter the Rift, you may leave the meeting first. We will arrange your return home as soon as possible. However, all members of the team will be blacklisted from the Phantom and Crimson Lone Diamond Rift and will have no chance of entering again."
As he spoke, he pressed the button in his hand again, and the PPT on the white screen behind him was turned to the 'next page,' which detailed the information that their advance team had gathered.
This includes the situations they will face under the Calamity difficulty level, as well as information about the collections they currently possess.
"But for teams that wish to stay, Gaul promises that if you obtain any collectibles and bring them into reality, you will not need to pay Gaul any compensation. If we wish to collect the collectibles, we will provide you with a satisfactory reward. Furthermore, those who successfully complete the mission will receive a long-term pass to Gaul, a fee subsidy, and the right to permanently acquire collectibles!"
The Prime Minister pointed to the white screen behind him and said, "I will explain the current situation of the cracks to all the captains and give you some basic judgments. If you feel it is not appropriate, you can withdraw directly. You can still purchase the collections on the trading platform later."
"First of all, the distribution and number of enemies remain unchanged despite the unusual activity, so please rest assured about that."
"What's different about it? Does it also have additional conditions, like other mutation rifts?"
"Yes, the condition is that you will receive a random negative item immediately after entering the rift... but in return, the rift will also give you a random positive item. However, because the randomness is so strong, we haven't been able to figure out any clear combinations yet..."
"While some negative collectibles can be quite powerful, if the team leaders are confident in their luck, they might be able to randomly get a relatively good combination of positive and negative collectibles."
The Gallic Prime Minister cleverly avoided fully disclosing the effects of the negative collectibles; he skillfully used randomness to conceal this effect.
But this reason of 'randomness' doesn't work for Li Ji.
What kind of collectibles are given in Calamity difficulty?
Items like the Ursus Scimitar (enemy attack, defense, and health +40%) and the Victoria Crown (attack, defense, and health +30%, with the leader receiving an additional 15% attack, defense, and health +30%).
The results were more and more incredible than the last.
But what about the enhanced collection?
The results were all incredibly humorous!
Similar to items like Ursus Leba, Ascetic Puff (both grant +1 to deployed operators), Dim Lantern (grants +1 to deployed operators), and Ancient Bronze Coin (grants +10 Originium Ingots)...
Comparing the two sides, the difference in effectiveness is not huge, but it's like a Tyrannosaurus Rex fighting a paramecium.
The Gallic Prime Minister's rhetoric suggests he desperately wants all the teams here to enter the rift, so he's deliberately concealing the effects of the Calamity difficulty artifacts.
These people lacked internal intelligence, since all their intelligence came from Gaul.
Unless the intelligence agencies on the Gaul side can be as 'airtight' as German intelligence, no one else can learn anything from them.
However, Li Ji really couldn't expose the other party here. After all, the other party was the prime minister of Gaul. It wouldn't matter if he were in Yan Kingdom, but on Gaul's territory, what he did was still a bit arrogant.
Moreover, because the collection could be brought into reality, many teams were caught in a dilemma, listening to the Premier's speech while frantically asking their teammates for their opinions.
After all, the compensation offered by Gaul was already quite generous for the teams present.
Although they were among the first to be impacted, they were also among the first to take the plunge. If they managed to clear the level and bring out the collected items, it would significantly enhance their strength.
However, while everyone was still considering it...
The French Prime Minister had clearly prepared this speech and the follow-up preparations in advance, and he immediately ordered people to distribute the contracts he had.
Three copies will be made, one for each of the two countries and one for each team member.
The text details the dangers and rewards of the activity, even mentioning that the rewards are greater than he just mentioned.
Even the last few clauses of the contract included the benefits that teams from each country would receive after their deaths, including but not limited to: their personal belongings being airlifted back to their home countries to be used for cenotaphs (since bodies that die in the fissures cannot be brought back), a high-value insurance payout with the beneficiary to be selected, a death benefit, compensation to the team's home country, and special treatment for their families after they come to Gaul...
This put the teams below in a difficult position, making them hesitate about whether to sign now.
Although Li Ji was also hesitant to sign at this moment, it was only because he had used the system to photograph the contract and sent it to Lavinia in Rhodes Island's legal department—in case there were any word games in the contract that would cause him to lose money in the end.
Li Ji even had a strange idea: "I wonder which is more powerful, Rhodes Island's legal department or the strongest legal department in the Eastern Hemisphere... Maybe I should give it a try sometime?"
After nearly half an hour of discussion among the teams, quite a few teams were finally willing to sign this contract, which was almost a gamble.
Li Ji was no exception. After confirming that there were no problems with the contract, he also signed the 'betting' contract.
……
Three hours later, Rhodes Island, which had been returning from holiday, arrived at the entrance of the rift on time, escorted by the Gallic convoy.
"Captain Wanfeng, we have arrived."
Karen opened the car door for Li Ji, and Li Ji felt a chill run down his spine after getting out of the car.
He looked up at the source of the chill in the distance.
The Gallic Opera House.
As a classical building that has withstood more than a thousand years of wind and rain, it should have been a theater where paintings, marble and gold ornaments complemented each other.
But now, a scarlet crack looms over the entrance, as if it were the true door to the opera house.
An aura of loneliness, foreboding, and eeriness emanates from it, unabashedly radiating malice towards the outside world.
It completely lacks the beauty and comfort that was seen in the original photos.
"If you are ready, you can enter at any time... Some teams have already entered the rift ahead of time."
As Karen spoke, she handed the pass to the guards beside her, allowing everyone from Rhodes Island to pass through.
"You're here, perfect timing, want to come along?"
The ravens seemed to have just arrived as well, walking over from the other side of the cordon.
"Can we still play together? This isn't a solo instance."
"Of course, you'll see when you go in."
After Raven finished speaking, he led his team into the crevice first, and Li Ji followed.
In an instant, the crimson mist spread upwards from below to the top of his head, obscuring Li Ji's original vision.
His body felt as if it were enveloped in mist, and a soft sensation filled his mind.
After a moment of dizziness, his vision returned to normal.
A room with a Western classical style appeared before him, with an old gilded chandelier hanging from the ceiling, scattering dim light.
With the flickering candlelight on the table, floor, and cabinets, Li Ji could barely make out the appearance of his room.
The old walls still bear faint traces of damage, and the murals on the walls depict Phantom wearing a crimson cloak, while the gramophone below plays the theme song of Lone Diamond.
Looking at the scene before him, which was both familiar and unfamiliar, Li Ji seemed to understand where he was.
"The Crimson Collection?"
Then he turned around and saw that Raven was on the long table behind him, picking up an old-fashioned box and examining something.
"You've recovered. They said this box contains artifacts that have been unearthed before, but unfortunately I can't see any of them..."
Raven handed it to Li Ji with a hint of regret, "Would you like to take a look?"
Li Ji looked at the longevity box that the raven handed him. He had initially looked inside out of curiosity, having never seen anything like it before, but he never expected...
"?"
Looking at the descriptions of almost all the collections inside, he felt a surge of joy:
"Great, great, great! Not only did you inherit the operators' skill levels, but you even inherited my roguelike save data!?"
He rubbed his hands together eagerly and said:
"Then I have no choice but to try my luck with Phantom in this game."
Chapter Twelve: Order
"Only the two of us are allowed into this room."
Li Ji looked around and saw that there were only him and Raven at the long table in the huge crimson collection room. No one else had entered the room.
"Yes, currently only the captain can enter here. When it comes to choosing teams and exchanging hope for operators later, the operators in the other rooms will be exchanged out."