Chapter 126:
After eating, Ai Wen was already waiting outside on time.
As soon as everyone got in the car, he couldn't wait to show an exaggerated and gossip expression: "I heard that you fought with the British and the French?"
He obviously has his own channels of news, and he has already listened to the ins and outs. Seeing the Winter Solstice and others are too lazy to talk about it, he can talk happily for himself.
"To be honest, we sometimes hate the British, we especially like to put on airs, and we look down on us, and our whole body shows a high-level look all the time, but I really don't know what they have to be proud of, they have been out for many years. Not many decent demon hunters! Last time a cultivator wanted to immigrate to the United States, but they were detained by them, which is ridiculous!"
Seeing their lack of interest in the Winter Solstice, Ai Wen finally stopped and touched his nose: "Isn't what I said funny?"
Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes: "Staying in that **** hotel, do you think we still have the energy to listen to you after a night?"
Ai Wen laughed dryly: "Sorry, but that was not arranged by me. If I had the right to arrange accommodation, I would definitely not let you live there! But in fact, the accommodation at the exchange conference in previous years was not very good, it seems to be for the practice of cultivation. They can be put to the test in harsh environments.”
The car quickly arrived at the venue.
Everyone stayed in the same hotel, and the time of coming over was not too different. When they entered the venue on the winter solstice, the Americans and Russians had already arrived, and other teams came one after another after the winter solstice.
After the meeting started, according to the process, each team took turns to make regular speeches, and reported to each other some of the situation in each country in the past two years. It is not uncommon, and it is against this backdrop that the Exchange Conference was launched.
The winter solstice glanced and found that the Frenchman George who was injured yesterday, and the British red-haired woman Grace who challenged them just now were gone. The former should be recovering from her injuries. If there is no accident, she may not even be able to participate in the competition. The latter They should have been forced to stay in the hotel.
This is actually the best way. They are here to participate in the exchange and competition on the Winter Solstice, and they don't want to waste time on irrelevant people.
The speeches were all written in advance. When it was the winter solstice and their turn, the winter solstice could just read the manuscript directly, and the others were no exception.
In previous years, there were no accidents in the meetings and exchanges. It was just that everyone was chatting and arguing. Some became friends in the exchange, and some were arguing and arguing. In the competition, they drew knives against each other, and secretly attacked. The ability of practitioners is stronger than that of ordinary people. But it may not have a mind that transcends ordinary people. Ordinary people have the desire to win and be strong, and practitioners may be even stronger.
On the Chinese side, the speeches were mainly made by the Winter Solstice and Liu Qingbo. They had already prepared for a big quarrel with the British. After all, Grace in the British team hated them to the core, and the people on her team must also see them. pleasing to the eye.
But unexpectedly, with White here, the British regiment was calm and prosperous, and there was no trace of Grace's hatred of the Chinese before. On the contrary, the French team, headed by the head of the team, Gai Lan, was like a cockfight. Whenever the Winter Solstice or Liu Qingbo said something, they would always jump out and object, sneer and sneer, for fear that others would not know that they would not like the Winter Solstice and others.
Just when the winter solstice mentioned the phantom avatar, the French group came up and questioned: "Since it is the legendary king of desire, Popeye, how can it be so easy to eradicate even if it is a avatar? I seriously doubt you all. Exaggerating!"
Liu Qingbo refused to give it in front of him at all, and replied directly: "If you believe in it, believe it, if you don't believe it, pull it down! Also, your team leader is a brother who relies on the deputy director of the Guardianship Bureau to become the leader of the exchange team. People, what kind of reliable news can you expect from a group of people led by such a regiment leader?"
This information was provided by Ai Wen, and it can be seen that the mentality of fearing that the world will not be chaotic is really common to all human beings, regardless of ethnic groups.
The head of the regiment, Gai Lan, changed his face and said angrily: "Please pay attention to your words! I was able to become the regiment leader because of my outstanding ability, and it has nothing to do with my family's position!"
Liu Qingbo raised his eyebrows: "Really? Then you ask every member of your group if they believe it? Even if they believe it, do the people here believe it?"
Winter Solstice said: "Why don't we discuss it, yesterday's prank, I heard that besides us, there were two other teams who were victimized, right?"
"Every exchange conference has a welcome ceremony. This kind of joke is very common. It's very strange for you group of hillbillies. Besides, you have seriously hurt our companions. What else do you want!" Someone in the French group said.
Liu Qingbo rolled up his sleeves: "It's okay, I think I can send you to the hospital to be with him, what do you think?"
The Winter Solstice stood up to stop him, pretending to say: "Forget it, we are civilized people, don't quarrel with barbarians like them."
France has been the center of European culture for a long time, only they discriminate against others, and they have never been called barbarians. Guerin and the others are so angry right now.
The team that was teased by them yesterday, and some Americans who were watching the fun also followed suit. The topic was successfully transferred from the demon clone to the French. For a time, Gailan and the others became the target of public criticism and were besieged by various languages. Khan, finally had to bow his head and apologize, and explained that it was just a joke made by an individual in the team and could not represent the team.
However, it was too late. Everyone was so angry with their so-called "joke" that they made sarcastic comments. The Russians directly turned yesterday's suffocation into practical actions, fought with the French, and the free discussion escalated to Fighting and fighting, Liu Qingbo was afraid that the world would not be in chaos, and he was still pulling sideways to undermine the black hands. The scene is not to mention more chaotic.
With the Winter Solstice and Liu Qingbo around, Li Han'er, Liu Si and others were all happy to watch the show. They didn't even have to pat the table and stare at their opponents. Even Zhang Song felt that Liu Qingbo's mouth was useful to deal with outsiders. Fighting ground, and the winter solstice, the two of them sang together, and it was almost a rhythm that would make the French mad before the game.
However, this exchange is not all good, at least I met an old acquaintance Kenta during the winter solstice.
After the death of Master Xinchai, the eldest disciple of Xinchai naturally inherited the mantle of Master and attended the meeting with the head-turning master from Southeast Asia. The head of the group is an old man, probably the oldest among all the cultivators present, but no one dared to underestimate him, because this old man is said to be the most famous white-robed head-lowering teacher in Malay. Of course, he did not participate in it. Athletics segment.
When the old friends met, it was inevitable to chat a few more words. Kenta told the winter solstice that as the deputy head of the team, he would lead the team in the competition. However, most of the descendants who came this time were just fledgling and did not have much actual combat experience, so their goals were not the same. Not to win the championship, but just to gain experience and knowledge. He also hopes that Winter Solstice and others will successfully defeat other teams and win the championship.
"I think you are the strongest among these people, and the people you lead are naturally the strongest. No one can beat you." Kenta said sincerely.
After getting along with him for a while at Dongzhi, I knew that this man was straight, and that he didn't say anything, so he smiled wryly: "Although I'm glad you look up to me so much, but this time the other teams are also very good. Strong, whether we can win the championship is still unknown.”
Kenta patted him on the shoulder and said bluntly, "I said you can, you can!"
The three-day conference and communication came to an end in a lively atmosphere. The Americans complained that this was the most chaotic communication conference in history, but they thought it was pretty good during the winter solstice. Quarrel, the other party can't win the fight, and the quarrel may not be too quarrel. It's interesting to watch them feel aggrieved, especially at night, it will be even more lively.
Since Li Haner took care of a lecher, fierce spirits have not dared to harass her again. Other people's rooms are pasted with the exorcism charm of Longhu Mountain, and they can sleep well; Somehow, the evil spirits did not dare to go to that floor; the Japanese lived on the fourth floor, and the Onmyoji and priests also had a hand in dealing with the evil spirits and evil spirits; the Americans seemed to have used some kind of shielding and interference device.
But people on other floors were not so lucky. For the next two days, they spent every night in the wonderful ups and downs of exorcism and exorcism, so that an Italian said that the next event will be held in southern Europe, and he will It is suggested that the organizing committee find the cemetery with the most murderous spirits in all of Italy, and then pack all the Americans there, let them live there every day, and experience what it means to be lively.
The three days were quickly spent in these episodes. The Japanese were surprisingly low-key this time. They didn't even take the initiative to find fault like the French did, and they didn't even show an overly high-profile performance. They were like invisible people for three days. , if you don't pay close attention, you won't even find the team. But Solstice doesn't think they are friendly. In the competitive session, every team is a potential opponent, even the allied Americans.
On the last night of the meeting, everyone was called to the hotel's conference room, where a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses was waiting for them.
"Good evening, everyone, you can call me Lisa. I am one of the staff members of the organizing committee. I have been assigned to explain to you the competition session that starts tomorrow."
Lisa is not too young, but she has a unique affinity when she smiles, which makes people involuntarily listen carefully to what she has to say.
The organizing committee of the exchange conference is a cultural institution affiliated with the United Nations, and Lisa is also a member of the organizing committee of this year.
Different from other international events, the exchange conference has no audience, no applause, only practitioners from all over the world. Although it is a competition, it is very different from ordinary competitive competitions, because what they are about to face is the other side of the world that is fantastic and splendid. .
"Compared to all of you who are extraordinary, I'm just an ordinary civilian who can't be more ordinary, so please be gentle, even if you like me or want to cheer for me, don't suddenly throw a fireball on me, or Conjure up a lion, and I'll be afraid."
When everyone heard her opening remarks intended to reconcile the atmosphere, they all laughed.
Lisa thoughtfully slowed her speech down so that the interpreter could get her words through the earphones and into everyone's ears without error.
"Tomorrow, you will be sent to an archipelago in the north of the Atlantic Ocean. That archipelago is called the Senluo Islands, which is shrouded in fog all the year round, and it is difficult for outsiders to find them, but the Senluo Islands have very wonderful landscapes and creatures. Those of you who have been there have Absolutely will not regret it.”
"However, since it is also the research base of Team 51, this time, in order to perfectly reflect the theme of the competition, the organizers have placed a lot of things there. Maybe you will be surprised or frightened."
"There are four islands in the Senluo Archipelago, and each island will have two to three teams. The landing sites are scattered, but for the sake of fairness, the islands are decided by your own lottery. Now, please come up and draw lots."
Lisa picked up the box next to it and motioned everyone to put their hands in and take it.
The lottery is in alphabetical order, and even if not, the host American is eligible to be the first to draw.
Their leader was a woman named Lilith. The other party took out a golden ball from the box, unscrewed the ball, and there was a note inside.
"I drew Full Moon Island."
Lisa smiled and said, "Congratulations, it's an island with a beautiful name."
Lilith shrugged: "I hope our luck is as beautiful as it is."
After the winter solstice, the French drew Princess Island.
On the Winter Solstice, Diana Island was drawn—the names of these islands became more and more dreamy, and the Winter Solstice once suspected that these names were taken by a seventeen-year-old girl.
Coincidentally, they did not share an island with the French, nor did they share an island with the Americans, but in the end they were drawn with the Japanese.
The winter solstice and the head of the Japanese team looked at each other, and it was estimated that their mood at that moment was the same, that is, the enemy's road is narrow.
Lisa said: "In this competition, you need to get the same item, the golden apple. It may be in any corner of the archipelago, in the sky, underground. After 20 days, the team that gets the golden apple will win. In addition, on the island Some creatures or certain places will also have special silver coins. If no one can get the golden apples after 20 days, then the number of silver coins obtained by each team will determine the top three. I say this, can you understand ?"
Someone asked: "The archipelago is so big, how can I find a small golden apple? Isn't there a clue?"
Lisa shook her head: "I don't have any clues, but I promise, it's definitely what you have experienced, it depends on whether you pay attention or not."
Liu Qingbo said, "If golden apples are hidden in monsters' stomachs, we can't cut open their stomachs every time we kill a monster, right? How much time would it take?"
His words aroused the approval of many people.
Lisa thought for a while and said, "Well, let me give you a hint: the goddess shrouded in clouds will eventually take off her mysterious veil."
Everyone: ...What kind of ghost reminder is this?
Lisa couldn't help smiling when she saw everyone's bewildered expressions: "Don't worry if you can't guess the hint, since the golden apple is the key to winning the championship, it must be kept in a conspicuous place so that you can all notice it. Don't worry, we won't throw the props into the sea and let you fish!"
"What about silver coins? Silver coins should also give some clues?" Someone said dissatisfied.
Lisa refused to reveal more: "The number of silver coins is not one or two, you don't have to worry, you will always find them."
"What monsters or difficulties are there on that island, you can always say it?" Everyone asked the bottom line, not letting go of any hints.
Lisa smiled embarrassedly: "Sorry, I want to tell you, but I don't know, but I heard that this year's difficulty will be greater than previous years, which means that this competition may be life-threatening."
Everyone's faces were calm, and there was no unexpected reaction to this.
Originally, every competition session would kill people. The only difference was more or less. In the mundane world, the appalling rules of the game were nothing to practitioners. Those who were afraid of danger and did not dare to work hard would not come to sign up. Now, the strong team will naturally have a higher grasp. As long as the weak team cooperates, it may not have a chance to win.
In the end, the winner won not only the reputation of the country or region, but also everyone will become famous. For example, Kenta, whom the Winter Solstice knew, if they can win the championship this time, then when they go back, Kenta will become a well-known master of descending the head, and he does not need to be known by the title of disciple of Xinchai.
Fame and fortune are the intuitive benefits that exchange conferences can bring. Practitioners are also human beings, and their pursuits are different from ordinary people, but it does not mean that they do not care what ordinary people care about. Human nature is still essentially the same.
"There will be a considerable number of speedboats on the shore of each island. If it is too unbearable, you can take the nearest speedboat to leave. There is an automatic navigation system on the speedboat. It will take you out of the archipelago area without your operation. It is safe to stay on the high seas, ready to pick you up. But I want to remind you that as long as one person chooses to leave halfway, the team that that person is in will automatically give up the right to participate, no matter what. No matter how many achievements the rest of the team achieves, all achievements will be considered invalid.”
Lisa looked around for a week and said solemnly: "I hope you all are safe and sound, and I hope you can fully consider your teammates, because this game is not only your individual show, but also represents the honor of your team. Finally, Wish ya'll good luck!"
On the last night of staying at the Franklin Hotel, all the evil spirits who made trouble were finally eliminated and emptied a few nights ago, and everyone had to be quiet.
Winter Solstice picked up the phone before going to bed, opened the dialogue window with Long Shen, watched it for a few seconds, and then turned off the phone.
If there is no accident, the other party should be in Japan now. I don't know if they have found Otowa Hatohiko's lair and killed him. Long Shen and the others must have used a disguised identity, so this number is temporarily invalid. He sent a message. No one will reply.
But the winter solstice still sent a message: Master, everything goes well, and I will do my best.
After sending the message, he smiled slightly, as if he had strength in his heart.
Early the next morning, the organizer sent people to take everyone to the airport, take a flight to the eastern United States, and then take a boat to the destination from there.
The person in charge of picking them up on the Winter Solstice is still the old face of the past few days, Ai Wen. He seems to be worried that the Winter Solstice will never return, and he kept urging the Winter Solstice to fulfill his promise along the way. He was so ironic that he sent a brief email to Carlos from the car.
"To be honest, Ai Wen, are you sure we can't come back?"
Ai Wen raised his eyebrows and smiled: "How could it be? In my mind, you are the strongest. Dong, you must come back with the golden apple. If I can be interviewed by Carlos, I will invite you to dinner to celebrate."
Winter Solstice: "As an American, you actually expect us to win?"
Ai Wen winked at him: "Of course, they didn't write me a recommendation letter!"
The winter solstice is speechless, my heart says buddy, you can be sincere.
Everyone took a plane for nearly ten hours to arrive in Norfolk from Los Angeles, and then took a passenger ship from Norfolk to the legendary Senro Islands.
Each team lacked the tit-for-tat or false stories of the previous days. As soon as they boarded the ship, everyone found their own cabins, recharged their energy, and prepared for the competitive journey in the near future.
It seems that they want to carry out the enemy's road narrowly to the end. Their cabins on the winter solstice are right next to the Japanese. This time, four people came from Japan, three men and one woman. They are the smallest and the most low-key of all the teams. They lived together for several days. They didn't even have a face-to-face with the Winter Solstice until this moment.
The ordinary-looking young man walked towards him, and seemed to be surprised that the Winter Solstice lived next to him. The two nodded to each other as a greeting, but did not say a word.
After the young man entered his room, Liu Qingbo also came to the winter solstice room.
"There are few people here this time. It doesn't look like he is going to win the championship. It's a bit strange. Could it be coming for us?"
Winter Solstice said: "There is no evidence now, and it is too late to let the country check their identities, but Fujikawa Aoi is very important in Japan's yin and yang world, and we have formed such a big relationship with him. normal."
Liu Qingbo pouted: "There are also British and Americans. The city government has a lot of scheming, and the Americans say they are allied with us. In fact, he must know more than us!"
The winter solstice spreads hands: "We can't reveal our bottom line to them, how can we expect them to show our hearts and hearts to us? No one is a fool, everyone takes what they need. I think the French are the first to be stupid this time, and everyone else The ghosts and ghosts, Yang Shouyi and the others put their minds on the competition, let's pay more attention."
Although the room is small, it has all the internal organs. It can be seen that the guest is trying to provide a comfortable environment for the guests, but they can only sleep or read. , was surrounded by people and had nothing to do, so he simply practiced breathing a few times on the bed with his legs crossed. Liu Qingbo and the others were in a similar situation. Everyone tried to reduce the number of times they went out for meals. People don’t have much friendship to speak of, and it’s a waste of time to talk hypocritically and politely. It’s better not to say, secondly, no matter how big the passenger ship is, it’s still a boat after all.
The ship crossed the vast sea, undulating on the waves, and after several hours, finally sailed into the white fog ahead.
As soon as I entered the sea of fog, I could see nothing around me. In the winter solstice, I heard William, an American, say that the fog that shrouded the archipelago seems to have magical powers, and it does not disperse all year round, and it just happens to envelop the archipelago tightly, like a The enchantment is normal, the magnetic field is very strong, and the radar is easy to fail. In the era of no radar, countless ships were blinded by the fog and strayed into this area.
After Group 51 discovered this place, they used it as a test base, but William himself had only heard of it from his seniors, and he had never been here.
Looking around, all the unpredictable and unpredictable mysteries seem to be hidden behind the white fog, waiting for them to uncover.
The long guard sword next to him vibrated slightly and made a slight buzzing sound. The Winter Solstice noticed it and held it in his hand.
This is not the first time that Changshoujian has been in this situation. In the winter solstice, there are only two times. One was when he faced Fu Wuzhiqi in Huai Shui, and the other was when he went to Xianda Village to find a demon. , An extremely dangerous experience, and now the Changshou sword vibrated again, indicating that it sensed the difficulty of the enemy ahead.
He held the sword tightly and whispered: "Don't worry, if there is any difficulty, we will face it together."
Seemingly feeling the master's warmth and comfort, Chang Shoujian gradually calmed down and returned to normal.
The Russian Anton, who was also in the room, was also looking up at the vast fog outside the window.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
In the gray-white fog, there seemed to be a few strands of black air mixed in. Those black air slowly drifted away, then slowly condensed together, more and more, and finally merged into a mass of black fog the size of a human head, which was particularly conspicuous in the white fog.
Anton stared blankly. He didn't feel anything strange from the black gas, but smelled a sweet smell, which made him involuntarily relax his mind and body, staring at the black gas, unable to look away.
The black fog was not blocked by the porthole. It seemed to have discovered Anton, and was gradually approaching him, even penetrating the porthole and entering the room where Anton was, like a plate of strawberry muffins that had just been baked, exuding in front of him. Steaming sweet.
Anton's eyes became a little blurry, but another voice in his mind was desperately preventing him from reaching out to the black fog.
"What are you?" he heard himself ask.
"I am you." Hei Wu replied. "I am a part of you, what you want, I am, what you fear, I am."
Anton frowned, struggling and tangled, muttering to himself: "No, I don't need it, I smell killing from you, you hurry up, or I will expel you..."
The struggle became more and more intense, the sweat of Dou slipped down from his forehead, Anton's chest rose and fell, panting unsteadily, his fist clenched and released, repeated several times, and finally slowly raised his hand, stretched out a finger, and moved towards him. The black mist hovering in mid-air approached.
"You need me, your cowardice needs me to overcome, all your desires, I can satisfy, I will make you the most powerful person in the world, make everyone kneel and surrender at your feet, you are no longer That psychic who is despised by others, but a **** who needs to be worshipped by others!"
The bewitching voice echoed in his ears, and Anton's fingers finally touched the black mist!
In an instant, he seemed to see fireworks explode in his mind, which directly made him dizzy. Various scenes passed by in front of him. It seemed that there were hundreds of people talking at the same time in his ears. Cover your ears, moan and roll on the bed.
"I like your physique, and I like your weak willpower, especially, someone like you who is always complaining and dissatisfied!"
In a trance, he heard a voice that did not belong to him, but the voice was indeed spoken by him.
Anton's eyes widened in horror, as if he had a clear mind, but he was being manipulated like a marionette.
"This body is a bit poor, but forget it, it can only be like this temporarily."
Anton has typical Eastern Slavic features, tall and pale complexion. At his age in his thirties and forties, he has no baldness and maintains a good figure, which is very rare. His appearance can also be called upright and handsome. Once he heard someone despise his poor health, but the voice came from his own mouth, and he couldn't refute it at all.
"The new journey has just begun, Anton, from now on, I will be you."
Do not……
Anton struggled desperately, he wanted to resist, and even scolded the world's worst words with his remaining consciousness, so that this lonely evil spirit who came out of nowhere would get out of his body. As a psychic, he He knows hundreds of ways to exorcise and ward off evil spirits, but that doesn't include the fact that the demon is now in his body.
Tuk Tuk Tuk!
There was a knock on the door outside.
It was a moment of distraction, and all of Anton's consciousness was swallowed up by a large mouth of blood.
His... body...
The author has something to say:
[Unrelated to the text] Small Theater:
Under the tossing of all practitioners day and night, the hotel was finally cleaned up.
Fierce spirit A is biting a handkerchief at the corner not far from the hotel: "Hey, I don't dare to go back."
Fierce Spirit B: Forget it, they have to leave. I heard that they are going to a very dangerous place this time, and there will be something more powerful than us to toss them.
Fierce Spirit C: I checked the Internet just now. There is a good hotel nearby. Do you want to go there?
Fierce Spirit A: No, I accept the bed, and if I can bear it any longer, these people are leaving today.
Fierce spirit D came to report: They are gone! The plague gods are gone!
All the fierce spirits cheered: In order to celebrate, let's go to the bar tonight to spend the night, attach a few more people, and drink a few more glasses of wine!