Chapter 703: NO.72: Weaving: What's Going On Today?

NO. 72: Weaving: What's Going On Today?

I told you it wouldn't work! What do we do now?

A rabbit idol with golden hair and red eyes stood before a massive barrier constructed like a bolt of cloth, turning her head to look at the pink-haired JK beside her.

After all, it all started with the other side's remark, 'What if we smash the neighboring loom?'

As someone said, among this five-woman team, most are level-headed, so Shinjo Akane's reckless suggestion was naturally set aside at the outset.

But after scouting the surroundings yielded nothing, and repeatedly switching people to try communicating with the neighboring Weaver got no response…… a group of players stuck with no way forward ultimately turned their attention to the solution that should have been the least likely.

Note that there is no one in the team who truly suffers from social anxiety.

Whether it's Shinjo Akane, who always puts on a fake smile, Kong, who needs to perform for work, Qianming, the representative who can chat with anyone, or Ludaofu Xiangzheng, who always offers support—whenever needed, they're all skilled at socializing.

Even the quiet Qieli Naina can take the cool-sister approach of striking up a conversation with few words.

But none of that means anything.

No matter the style of the pickup attempt, it's as if they failed a persuasion roll and got no response.

—This can't be blamed on everyone being adaptable.

Here we have the student council president known for getting things done, also MR. CB who always has a free style, plus the inherently somewhat lawless Shinjo Akane and the two members of the famous Penguin Logistics.

That's Penguin Logistics! (rumbling)

Initially it was how it was unanimously put on hold, and now it's how it became unanimous consent—when a group rushed into the dragon girl's weaving room, and then the strongest among them, Ludaofu Xiangzheng, stepped forward and kicked what looked like a mere wooden loom——

Everyone saw that the loom didn't budge in the obvious impact airflow, but the dragon girl finally lifted her head.

The air changed silently.

The damp, clinging feeling almost instantly caused the Syracuse person in the team to draw their twin swords, one of which they placed directly in front of a teammate to signal retreat.

Having lived in a land that felt like constant rain, she was quite sensitive to sudden spikes in humidity.

Especially since the humidity rose so swiftly, it even made her feel as if her whole tail had grown a bit heavier.

Later events proved her caution was correct.

When the downpour poured forth and the storm swept in…… even without health bars appearing, everyone could still understand that a boss battle had begun.

Next came a running step, a flying kick, and a reverse-grip thunder strike.

At the moment when it seemed like kicking down the door for a speedrun was about to succeed——the silk that suddenly coiled like twisting threads barely held back the lightning spear.

It was only a bare success because the tip of the lightning spear still pierced the dragon's belly, causing it to bleed profusely.

Had it been an ordinary woman—or even an ordinary person—seeing that large patch of seeping blood, resembling a gruesome wound, they would likely hesitate, wondering whether to back off.

But the combination here is clearly not ordinary.

Having survived the storm's tug, Shinjo Akane shouted for another round, while Kong raised his voice to show off his singing—that otherworldly skill tied to music, which was clearly trying to interfere with the opponent's state.

Once this opportunity no longer required guarding the fragile teammate Texas, they had already launched from the beams, both to join the battle and to meet up with the two horse girls ahead——

This group was then driven out together.

They were caught by the long scroll of silk that had reappeared, seeming to gather from all directions.

Unfazed by impact, hard to cleave, even lightning could easily be blocked——the cloth that caused the brown-haired horse girl to frown and softly utter 'Seamless Heaven' easily wrapped everyone up, yet did not drive them to a dead end.

It merely surrounded and wrapped them, then flung open the entrance on this level of the mountain.

And so, at this moment, at the cave‑like entrance, this bunch stared at the white doors.

"Want to try kicking the door again?"

"It won't budge, not a hint of movement—it really feels like what Qianming guessed."

'Seamless Heaven' is a term that originates from East Blaze, an idiom evolved from a parable.

Though nowadays it's often used to express a state of perfect unity, or to metaphorically describe something meticulously flawless without affectation, just like her footsteps that the media once vied to report, which were described as the final step of 'Seamless Heaven'.

But its original meaning is literal: the garments worn by heavenly immortals have no seams.

It sounds like something akin to a spacesuit, but that's not the point.

The point is——the parable from the Spirit Monster Chronicle·Guo Han, which also mentions the Weaver Girl.

Whether it's Qianming, the representative, or Ludaofu Xiangzheng, they've both been exposed to various miscellaneous learning; the former was often judged to occasionally develop a bit of curiosity about the original meaning of classical terms, while the latter……

During her girlhood, when so many books were required reading and even entertainment could only be chosen from within books, she came into contact with numerous works in different languages and from different places.

Unlike a certain demon trainer who relies on auxiliary crystals to maintain 'broad learning and strong memory,' the Central Student Council President has always been confident in her own memory.

So she would acknowledge Qianming's lament, and as someone who had once damaged cloth, she provided further information:

"The toughness of that cloth is astonishing; it must be related to rules within the energy system."

"Rules system… what could counter it? I wonder—if we're talking about clothing, maybe soaking it or setting it on fire?" Akane gazed thoughtfully at Ludaofu Xiangzheng, "Was the earlier lightning spear a high‑temperature breach?"

"Or perhaps it's the lightning itself," Qieli Naina suddenly said, "Miss Lin, who was previously mentioned as the one in charge of the script, once gave a company lecture on lightning magic, saying that whether natural or artificial lightning, it possesses an innate property of breaking magic."

"Anyway, let's try the lightning again."

"...?" Kong hesitated a bit, "Really do we have to do that? This is going too far."

Hitting the loom hurts people, and in the end we'd burn the door…… Clearly the other side had previously seemed to let us off, merely sealing the door.

"Could what we did before not be excessive?" Qianming, who was examining the surrounding forest and even clutching a handful of mud in her hand, stood up, rubbed her hands together, and a single sentence left Kong speechless.

"This isn't a reason to be even more excessive, is it?" she muttered under her breath.

She holds a sense of awe for the two horse girls present, even though she isn't their fan; whether she first arrived in Boundary Gate District or later developed in Heavenly Gate City, the crowd always talks about horse girls.

Many entertainers sigh over how happy the fixed, stable, and fast‑track idol path of horse girls is, unlike their own need to grind from scratch; she had witnessed several people express that sentiment, and on one occasion a senior from the circle who looked after her gave her some pointers.

'Where does any happiness come from for horse girls? Their fame starts from making a splash in competitions before shifting to the idol concept; all their status comes from monetizing as athletes, and the cutthroat competition in their races is no less intense than in the entertainment industry—in fact, it can be even worse……'

'At least the idol circle's cutthroat nature generally doesn't go so far as to cause disability, or to have someone get hit and suffer serious injury—horse girls really are prone to that kind of accident.'

It was precisely such remarks that sparked Kong's initial understanding of horse girls, and afterward, among the famous star horse girls mentioned by that senior who seemed well‑versed in the horse girl circle, the titles Qianming representative and Ludaofu Xiangzheng also appeared conspicuously.

Even if not from that senior's mouth, she would hear it from other people in Heavenly Gate City she came into contact with.

That usually takes the form of a reverent tone toward one's predecessors, adding to her a sense of awe akin to that felt for industry veterans——

——Even though she is actually the same age as those two.

When those two are around, she speaks somewhat reservedly; even if she has opinions, she says them softly.

【Indeed not, but you're not thinking about clearing the level now, are you?】 His ears twitched slightly, and the Qianming representative, as always, laughed openly and said, 【Or are you saying you want to go down the mountain to have a look? If you think that way, you might just find Aomo.】

【Kongjiang, if you play a few more games, you'll find that people who aren't steadfast in their stance are the most unsuitable for role-playing!】 Xintiao Qian also sighed from the side, 【Whether you're playing a good person or a bad person, you have to be thorough; being half-hearted will get you no achievements at all.】

【There's no need to force yourself to play games just for achievements,】 Qielienina said lightly.

She had known Xintiao Qian for almost a month, in some anonymous group, also in some small group, and actually also in some fan group she wasn't aware of; but being unaware, there's no need to mention it further—what needs mentioning is only that she feels somewhat resistant toward Xintiao Qian.

Just like her resistance toward Lapulande.

These two indeed cannot be said to be of the same type, but those radical proposals they suddenly put forward all reveal a chaotic and irresistible nature.

Thus, just as she must always watch in the chat room to keep Lapulande from leading companions astray, she also must watch to keep Xintiao Qian from skewing Kong's personality.

【Everyone has their own preferences,】 Qian didn't insist on persuading, stepping back directly, 【But seriously, should we go back or go down?】

【I actually think Aomo doesn't need us to worry,】 Lu Daofu shook his head, with electric snakes already stirring at his side, 【Rather than going to look for him, we'd better gather more clues.】

【If we aren't having our abilities suppressed, then he definitely isn't either,】 Qianming shrugged, 【I'm also heading back.】

【Three votes,】 Qian turned her head to look at Qielienina and Kong, 【If you and Kongjiang go down together, everyone will feel more at ease.】

【... Let's go back.】 Qielienina looked at Kong.

After a moment's thought, she still decided to follow the main group.

【Alright.】 Since everyone said that, Kong could only nod helplessly, and then saw Lu Daofu lift his right hand, coiled with thunder snakes.

【Then let's give it a try.】

As she spoke, countless bolts of lightning gathered at the tip of her joined fingers, which were like a blade, forming a spiraling spear.

【Give me—open!】

Boom!

Accompanying her words, that deafening boom startled everyone, including her; through the torn opening in the silk-thread hole, everyone saw that a large chunk had been violently missing from the mountaintop, as if something had burned through it.

She was somewhat dazed.