Chapter 638 - 601: The Boss Elevated Behind The Scenes
What is a sandworm? It’s not a group of tiny insects in the sand, or insects as big as dogs found in the desert, but rather, it’s a gigantic worm as thick and long as a train or subway, which can be understood as a super-sized roundworm.
The huge mouth of the sandworm houses dozens of rows of rotating saw-teeth, which like a mole burrower, allow it to move swiftly under the sandy gravel. Meanwhile, the sandworm grows by digesting the energy from the mineral crystals in the sand, and as for its excrement, that is the "hard stone" produced after the mineral crystals go through the high temperature, high pressure, and strong acid digestion inside the sandworm’s body.
And this hard stone is the rare material known as "Ancient Granite"! This means that the stones Da Fei found nearby are all the excretions of the sandworm, which also implies that there are even more inside the nest, and possibly an unimaginable bounty of resources if the sandworm is killed!
However, the formidable nature of the sandworm within its tunnels is well known; with a body as massive as a subway, and speed to match, it can easily swallow enemies whole in the passageways with just a wide opening of its mouth!
Should he enter or not?
Da Fei was instantly conflicted! The terrain was extremely unfavorable, his troops couldn’t be deployed, and once they encountered the worm, it would mean instant slaughter with no chance to escape! For the 1 million USD prize, equivalent to 6 million RMB, and not to mention the second-place prize of 3 million or the third-place prize of 1.5 million, there was no need to take such a risk. So, it wasn’t necessary to go in.
But then again—
Sometimes people just do these things, fully aware of the health risks of smoking and drinking, understanding the need to quit, yet unable to resist when they’re laid out right in front of them! Da Fei very well understood that the risk of entering was not worth it, but he was exactly troubled by the dilemma of the stone materials, and not addressing it would leave his thoughts unsettled and his body uncomfortable!
More importantly, how strong could a hidden monster in a mere one-on-one competition map be? Could it be stronger than the likes of Baron Nash, the Ancient City Lord seen in multi-player arenas? Is he, a man who has slain gods, to fear a monster from a puny map?
Just as Da Fei hesitated, torn over whether to enter or not, Captain Fordson, who was monitoring the large screen, had already put a phone to his ear.
Finally, Little Fei made up his mind—to go in!
Meanwhile, Fordson gave a sinister smile: "Load, difficulty level S!"
The other end of the phone replied: "Yes, Sir!"
That’s right, the United States is the host provider for Heroic Creation Era, and it is the United States that sets the rules. Although the main brains of the various divisions are highly intelligent and autonomously controlled, making it impossible for the rule-makers to interfere manually or view user data—thus allowing the countries to feel it’s fair and be eager to invest and co-develop—the competition server is clearly not some intelligent main brain, and the competition server does not need an intelligent main brain! Therefore, the United States has the ability to manually control the competition server.
The act of temporarily raising the difficulty level of the BOSS isn’t unprecedented; the last time this happened was to face Da Fei when the difficulty of the Ruins City Lord of the Ancient City Ruins was raised. However, that time was far too blatant, as the foolish Japanese monkey openly exposed the insider manipulation of the difficulty level in front of judges from various countries, truly akin to a pig of a teammate.
However, it doesn’t matter, as the incident could be covered up with the pretext of testing the competition server, and the scenario entry carried a loading time suspiciously long enough to raise eyebrows. But now things are different, the United States can easily send a command backstage, and the data of the BOSS’s Attack, Blood Defense, and other attributes would be instantly boosted, unnoticed by anyone. To ensure the mystery of the hidden maps, these maps have now been set to be inaccessible to spectators and to prohibit the recording of videos for post-match data analysis, further increasing the behind-the-scenes operability.
The now S-level sandworm BOSS possesses the sustainability of a super city wall in terms of Blood Defense, and it isn’t something that regular troops and regular Magic can shake, not to mention its greatly enhanced ability to self-heal by devouring mineral ores. Without getting into details, even if it just stood there and allowed Da Fei to attack, it wouldn’t be possible to finish it off within the remaining 20 or so minutes of the competition. This is a match the United States simply cannot lose.
That’s right, Da Fei is now challenging the casino’s owner. A shrewd casino owner always lets the patrons see him losing, but when he doesn’t want to lose, he absolutely will not lose!
...
—System Prompt: You have entered the hidden competition map "Sandworm Nest Entrance." You have 22 minutes and 46 seconds left in the competition time. Once you enter the hidden map, you will not be able to leave the competition mid-way, and you will be automatically removed from the map when the time limit is reached. Should you be defeated in your adventure, you will lose your eligibility to advance in the competition. The difficulty of this scenario is extremely high, please exercise caution.
—System Prompt: The hidden competition map is not open to spectator viewing! The hidden competition map does not support video recording functions.
So, there are spectators after all! The rules have indeed changed, and what’s more, you can’t withdraw once you’ve entered? No support for video recording, either? But isn’t it possible for others to simply pick up their phones and record the screen?
Without further thought, the scene changed, and Da Fei’s troops appeared in a pitch-black underground tunnel. The size of the tunnel was comparable to that of a subway or a car tunnel. His 4,000-strong army packed densely into the elongated passage like a giant meat sausage.
One could easily imagine, the moment a sandworm as big as a train appeared, his troops would be done for! Damn, this isn’t the way to fight a battle.
At that moment, a thunderous boom erupted behind him!
—System Prompt: The entrance to the nest has collapsed. You must find another exit to leave.
Damn it! Completely cutting off any retreat, is this a fight to the death?
Da Fei had a bad feeling about this. However, since the hidden map wasn’t open to viewers, he didn’t need to hold back - Blood Eagle, scout ahead!
Soon, the Blood Eagle found a trail of mineral crystals sprinkled along the path ahead, all of them rare stones! As expected of a sandworm nest, filled with goods. But now wasn’t the time to be collecting stones. Da Fei needed to find a fork in the path! There had to be one; otherwise, there was no way to engage. The game, no matter how much it cheats, would not design a scenario that rendered players utterly helpless.
Finally, the Blood Eagle discovered the fork in the path Da Fei was looking for ahead in the tunnel, and Da Fei couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, nearly scared to death, thinking it was just a straight tunnel.
But then, Da Fei immediately spotted a large pile of sparkling mineral crystals right in front of the main tunnel at the fork!
Da Fei’s eyebrows twitched. Not rocks! It was a pile of rare crystals! Holy shit, isn’t this a bit too loaded? Just what I’m short of, rare crystals. This pile must have 7 or 8 units, right?
Overcome with excitement, Da Fei temporarily abandoned scouting the fork and continued to survey the main tunnel. Soon, there was another flash of light ahead - another big pile of rare crystals!
Da Fei’s eyes widened in shock. This pile must have a dozen or more units? Damn! Although it’s a hidden map, isn’t this a little too generous to players?
And there’s more ahead! Piles and piles of it! Not just crystals, but gemstones, gold ore, everything! What is this, a treasure chest opening? Why is there so much stuff in this section of the tunnel?
Da Fei instantly lost his cool! All these rare crystals together must be enough for the construction needs of Multi-headed Snake Fortress, right? What are we waiting for, hurry and pick them up before the sandworms appear!
Wait! After a moment of intense excitement, Da Fei suddenly snapped back to attention!
No, something’s not right. When things are too good to be true, there’s probably a catch. How could there be no difficulty in finding this hidden map? With the system’s tendency, how could it possibly gift players with such a bounty? And this resource-filled section of the tunnel seemed noticeably narrower than the one just passed - had the sandworm slimmed down by pooping as it moved through?
While pondering, Little Fei reached the end of the passage - a dead end!
Da Fei was astonished. No way? No boss, and it’s a dead end here? Could the boss be at the fork? But the player’s first reaction after getting here would be to get drawn by the resources along the way; who would possibly go to the fork?
Could it be a lure? Amidst the shock, Da Fei immediately inspected the dead end of the passage closely and quickly noticed the difference - the walls here were clearly much smoother.
Could it be... In an instant, Da Fei had a startling realization - could all these resources actually be inside the gaping mouth of a sandworm? Is my Little Fei flying inside the mouth of a sandworm right now?
Damn it! It could only be this. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain the system’s UI! So it means, if I get lured by the resources along the way, I’d end up like a dumb rat caught in a trap while chasing cheese.
What a devious boss! But I’ve seen through your tricks. There’s nothing left to say; first, the troops will move towards the fork in the tunnel.
(Please vote for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!) (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)