Chapter 71: The Power of the Grandmaster (Revised)
Su Xiao closed the email replied by Haomei. According to the agreement, the two parties would meet in an abandoned lumberyard on the south side of the "Kwab Ring".
Letting the other party go to the mine occupied by extraordinary beasts before meeting them will inevitably arouse the other party's suspicion. The more cautious you are, the more likely you are to be the one asking for help.
This lumberyard was a location that Su Xiao had chosen a long time ago. The surrounding area was deserted. It was not only a good place to meet, but also a good place to make a move.
Su Xiao still doesn't know what the opponent's combat strength is. Last time in the Dark Star World, he also saw Haomei speaking on the World Contact Platform.
When I asked Morey about the fighting ability of Haomei, Morey's original words were: 'Huh~, that's it.'
From the analysis of this sentence, Morey is most likely not a match for Hao Mei. As for why Hao Mei is rich, Morey has given a complete introduction.
Yue Zhi is rich because she has many summons that can mine. It is difficult not to be rich. More is rich because her family has mines. Haomei is rich because of the accumulation of wealth, or in other words, the death of her teammates.
Much.
Haomei does not gain benefits by cheating her teammates. On the contrary, she values her teammates very much. However, her fate destined her to have an experience like cheating.
Haomei is still black and long, no, her hair color is naturally light white, slightly gray, that is, white and long.
Before entering the Apocalypse Paradise, she was good at using the "Rhombus Sword". Compared with other contractors, she naturally had an advantage, especially in the trial world, where a good start would affect the subsequent development speed.
Haomei had a good start, but this only made her a relatively strong contractor at the same level. What really made her rise were her dead teammates.
Hao Mei, who was still ignorant of the first-level newcomers, naturally joined an adventure group in the general environment of Apocalypse Paradise. The leader of her first adventure group was a big sister who made her blush. At that time, Hao Mei felt that she
Something strange has awakened.
However, after entering the new world, the first-order adventure group she was in was wiped out. The eldest sister of the group died miserably. She was torn into several large pieces by the Splinter Beast and swallowed in big mouthfuls.
Why was Haomei spared? It's interesting to say that as a newbie, she fell into a dry well when she was retreating. The Splitwalker drilled at the mouth of the well for a long time, but it didn't get in.
When everything calmed down, Hao Mei climbed out of the dry well with great effort. Except for herself, everyone in the adventure group died. At that time, Hao Mei cried silently.
After a while, Haomei discovered that she had become the leader of this adventure group. According to Tianqi Paradise's judgment, this was not a group destruction caused by intentional entrapment, so the funds, items, etc. in the team's storage space were all under her control.
.
Her teammates offered sacrifices to the gods, and Hao Mei got rich. She was sad for a long time, and accepted this large amount of resources with tears. After returning to Apocalypse Paradise, she decided to become stronger and have the ability to protect her teammates!
From the first level to the seventh level, Haomei joined a total of 29 adventure groups. After being forced to be the group leader 29 times, her funds accumulated more and more, and her teammates were like leeks, batch after batch.
passed away.
She didn't harm just a few teammates, but one adventure group at a time. What's even more amazing is that she always tried her best to complete the task and abide by the law. She can be called a three-good contractor.
By the time she reached the seventh level, Haomei's name had spread in Apocalypse Paradise. Many people suspected that she was actually the one who killed her teammates, not because of her special fate. From then on, no adventure group or guild dared to
It would be too costly for teammates to ask for this aunt.
Of course, this is not only due to fate, but also to human factors. First of all, Haomei herself is very strong, and she often gives her teammates the feeling that they are invincible with Haomei.
Human greed is the root of disaster. Hao Mei has not only failed to cheat her teammates, but has often been cheated by them. She did not die because she is usually unlucky, but her natural ability will make her lucky when her life is threatened.
Improved at an exaggerated speed.
After reaching the seventh level, Hao Mei awakened her talent to the SSS level, and finally knew the reason for everything. Her talent ability was called "Lonely Luck". Just looking at the name of the talent after awakening to the SSS level, Hao Mei
My mentality collapsed at that time.
The effect of this talent is that, in normal times, Haomei's fortune will be gradually absorbed by this talent. When she faces life danger, the accumulated fortune will increase her luck attribute until the crisis is resolved or she dies.
.
This talent also has a second characteristic, which is that it can absorb the luck of the people around you. Seeing this talent information, Hao Mei was like a bolt from the blue. She finally knew why her teammates died suddenly one after another. It was because of this
Talent, she is a person who is born to bring misfortune.
From then on, Haomei's long, straight white hair was permed into big white waves. The most common thing in her storage space was wine. Every time she got drunk, she would sigh, "What a life!"
It was not until the eighth level that Haomei met the noble man in her life, the leader of the Sealing Heaven Guild, Mr. Taimo.
Haomei did not hide her talent, but Captain Taimo just smiled and said that there were seven people like her in the Sealing Heaven Guild, and she was just making fun of her.
At that time, Haomei felt that she had found her home, and the Fengtian Guild was her forever home.
After progressing through three worlds, she found that her teammates in the same group began to look at her in a wrong way. There seemed to be confusion, confusion, incomprehension, regret, and lingering fear in their eyes. In short, it was a particularly complicated look.
.
After returning to Apocalypse Paradise, Captain Taimo approached Hao Mei. It probably meant that the eighth-level large-scale adventure group Sealing Heaven Guild was unable to handle Hao Mei’s talent. When he heard this, Hao Mei
The mood is complicated.
Leader Taimo later expressed tactfully that Hao Mei should be allowed to act alone for a while to allow the group to take a breath.
Captain Taimo came up with a strategy. There were seven other members in his group who were in the same situation as Haomei and would bring misfortune to the people around them. However, they were not as violent as Haomei, and they almost killed the entire eighth-level adventure group.
Crotch.
Captain Taimo wanted to let Hao Mei and these seven unlucky contractors act together, and try their luck to see if they could fight fire with fire. Hao Mei immediately agreed.
After another world progress, the seven unlucky brothers returned to Apocalypse Paradise in fear, and approached the leader of Taimo, tactfully expressing that they would either quit the group or no longer team up with Hao Mei.
The words of a certain man at that time were particularly touching. They were: 'Captain! I'm still young and haven't lived enough yet. I really don't want to die!'
When the old man said this, if there weren't too many people present, he would burst into tears.
It was also at that time that Captain Taimo realized how powerful Hao Mei was, and conspired with Hao Mei to see if he could find a way to get her to sneak into the enemy group.
As a result, the enemy group somehow learned the news and announced that they would not recruit new members in the near future.
At this time, on the hillside near the abandoned lumberyard, there were dead tree stumps everywhere. Hao Mei was walking on the wasteland, with a sheathed sword hanging diagonally on her waist. The hilt of the sword was like
A stabbing sword, but the blade should be wider than a stabbing sword.
"This ghost place is so desolate, there can't be any ambush."
The Hao girl raised her wine bottle, raised her head and drank up the remaining half of the bottle, then threw the empty bottle high in her hand, folded her hands on her shoulders, closed her eyes and waited.
After the crisp sound of a glass bottle hitting her head, Hao Mei drank until she was full. The bottle hit her head, indicating that there was no transfer, which meant that there would be no danger in this trip. This trick has always worked for Hao Mei. When she started to transfer
, is when misfortune will happen. The better the luck, the more dangerous the consequences will be.
One time, a wealthy girl won ten consecutive games in a casino. As soon as she left the casino, Morey was ambushed and kicked a kidney out. Although she recovered after returning to Apocalypse Paradise, the problem was still with her.
As they moved forward, Haomei took out another bottle of wine from the storage space. Her original cold heart had died long ago. She was now a heartless female swordsman who liked to drink.
"Life~"
Haomei raised her head and took a few more sips of wine before walking up the hillside to the flat land on the top of the hill. There were many logs that were rotten by insects. The wooden huts nearby were a little skewed and could be blown over by the wind at any time.
.
A figure was sitting on a pile of logs on the diagonal side of the wooden hut. Hao Mei looked at this person. His back was to her. His breath was a bit strange. She couldn't tell what was strange. He should have space ability and was half submerged in another space.
Inside, the breath is fuzzy.
Thinking of the identity of the other party's miner, Hao Mei knew in her heart that the other party was right to be cautious, which made her feel more at ease.
The man in gray robe said: "You are late."
"Um... I met a drinking buddy I just met on the road, so I had a few drinks with her. She is an ordinary person, and she is drunk. I must send her home. The back and forth will delay her for a while, otherwise
In this way, out of the 8,500 soul coins, I only charge 7,500."
"You're late."
"Well, I know."
"You're late."
The man in gray robe on the pile of logs stood up, turned around and walked towards Hao Mei. His voice had a slightly dull and wooden feel.
"Brother, I already said that as an apology for being late, I am willing to do less..."
"You're late, late, late..."
The hooded man in gray robe continued to walk towards Haomei. Seeing this, Haomei felt a chill in her heart. She felt inexplicably that she seemed to have stepped from a war movie to a horror movie.
"It's late, it's late...you...are late."
The man in gray wore a mask on his face and continued to walk towards Hao Mei.
"Dare to take another half step..."
Zheng!
A golden-white sword mark passed through, and Hao Mei had already grasped her sword at some point. This sword roughly looked like a stabbing sword, but it was not as thin as a regular stabbing sword and had no actual combat effect.
The blade of this sword is about 3.2cm wide and becomes narrower as it goes upwards. It has good cutting power and is even better in stabbing and penetration.
As Haomei's sword was slashed out, the upper half of the gray-robed man's head suddenly flew up sideways, and the hood and mask he was wearing were also cut open.
The sword rang softly, and the sharp sword in Hao Mei's hand cut out a sword flower and pointed diagonally at the ground. She lowered her eyes and said expressionlessly: "I just said it, if I take half a step forward, I will cut off your sword."
Brain..."
Before Hao Mei finished speaking, she heard it.
"You're late."
The man in gray with only half his head left continued to move forward, muttering the same words.
"No physical hazards."
The sharp sword in Hao Mei's hand resounded, and the next moment, the entire body of the gray-robed man opposite was shattered into pieces of broken flesh and blood.
"Tch, the miners have also learned bad things."
Haomei grumbled and was about to turn around, but found that something was wrong in front of her. The broken flesh and blood of the gray-robed man was still in mid-air. The gaps between the flesh and blood seemed to be connected by energy threads.
The gray-robed man's blood turned into blood and gradually flowed back. As the energy thread tightened, his flesh and blood was quickly sewn together, or in other words, gathered together.
In a short period of time, the man in gray robe returned to his original appearance, and even the head, hood, and mask that had been chopped into two parts returned to normal.
This situation made Haomei's mouth twitch, and she sobered up completely. Her first thought was to retreat. The enemy this time was too strange. The most intuitive feeling she had was that the person facing her was not a living person, but a real person.
A corpse, or a puppet.
Thinking of this, Haomei decided to run away. Today's events are full of weirdness.
Just when Hao Mei was about to run away, the man in gray robe opposite seemed to have relapsed into mania and rushed towards Hao Mei on all fours like a wild beast.
The Hao girl immediately jumped back and landed in a sharp, fast and elegant way, and then, click~
A crisp sound came from Haomei's feet. This feeling was familiar to her. She had stepped on a thunder when she was at a low level before, and this was the experience. At the same time, she felt quite speechless. She was already at the eighth level, and she was still laying thunder.
At the same time as these thoughts appeared, Haomei had already made a response. She jumped back again at a speed that was too fast to catch, but she immediately felt a sense of restraint on her ankles. When she stepped on the thunder just now, she also stepped on the lock sleeve.
Based on the drag force of the lock sleeve, Hao Mei judged that the other side of the lock sleeve should be tied to the 'land mine'. In other words, she dragged the 'land mine' and jumped back together. This is not special for Hao Mei.
What she cared about was that judging from the dragging weight of her ankle, this 'landmine' was probably a bit big.
With the last chance of luck, Haomei lowered her head and saw the 2.5-meter-diameter, 80-cm-thick thunder disk below. Preliminary analysis showed that this thing is definitely not for human use. Using this thing to blow up Gundam is a bit too high-end.
Already.
"Not good."
Boom!
A shock wave spread in mid-air, the smoke after the explosion spread, and inside was a chaotic twisted force field.
A flower bud several meters wide emerged in the center of the explosion. These pink-white flower buds were composed of sword rays, forming a sword-and-shield type of defense, protecting Hao Mei in the center.
Haomei's head was buzzing. The bomb she had endured was used by the Alliance Star Eclipse Organization to blow up huge dangerous objects, S-008. Because the internal structure was very interesting, Su Xiao made a few of them.
Haomei can't hear anything now, and there is a continuous tinnitus in her ears. She is so hateful that she gnashes her teeth, thinking: 'Wait for me to come down!'
In this kind of obsession, the handsome girl falls behind and often ends up in a sitting position, but this is not the key.
Click~
Like the sound of a nightmare, several more of the 'landmines' that seemed to be about to blow up the Gundam were activated, this time not giving Hao Mei any time to react.
Boom!
The spreading shock wave blew away the surrounding dead branches and leaves, and the gray-robed man was blown into pieces. He himself was a corpse. The contractor and miner before, who thought he was a bloodthirsty hunter, became the prey.
After being dragged into the sealed realm, Su Xiao immediately silenced him.
In this arrangement, Su Xiao was experimenting with the results obtained from Feihong. It seems to be pretty good now. It is not ideal for making the corpse speak. It is like a repeater and can only say a preset "You"
Late'.
The second "gravity mine" exploded, and Haomei was blown up again. Not to mention other things, Haomei is really resistant to explosions. She is worthy of the development of the sword master + Yuanliu system.
Being blown up again, Haomei was full of hatred and secretly frightened. She realized that the current situation was that the enemy had predicted her prediction. In this case, she just let it happen and punched her side with all her strength.
There was a muffled sound in the air, forcibly changing the trajectory of its descent.
Finally, Haomei flew to the highest point and began to fall. As long as she was no longer bombed, it was time to fight back. But first, she had to find where the enemy was. No, she had to know who the enemy was first.
The chirping of eagles reached Haomei's ears, a blast of wind came from above, and a powerful line of fire fell straight down, so fast that it broke the sonic boom.
The sense of crisis suddenly struck, Hao Mei turned her gaze, her pupils gradually tightened, and finally she saw clearly that the thing passing by her ear was a gelatinous substance the size of an apple, and it was gradually expanding.
Inside the translucent gel, there are small fireballs that expand rapidly. These small fireballs are bright golden and very dazzling.
Hao Mei immediately judged that she had to use a defensive ultimate move immediately, otherwise she would not be able to fight the upcoming enemies even if she did not die.
Boom!!
In an ordinary Apollo explosion, a 2-kilometer radius was engulfed by a large fireball, filled with explosive solar flames.
A brilliant residual light rushed out from the flame purgatory. The sword on Hao Mei's body was shattered, and she fell to the ground with a thud. She immediately took out the bottle of potion and drank it in several gulps. The potion took effect, and her left arm
Heal quickly with burns on legs.
She stood up and stamped her left foot. The scorched shell on her foot shattered, revealing her newly born white skin.
Although the ordinary Apollo is an explosive from the previous generation, it is still not weak in power. In other words, Apollo's weakness is the detonation time, and its power has always been sufficient. This is proven by the two ancient gods, the Moon God and the Blood God.
Haomei gasped for air, her senses were fully activated, but she didn't sense any enemies around her. This made her so angry that she was blown away in vain.
To be on the safe side, Haomei took out three path-finding mechanical dogs and searched the road ahead to avoid any further hidden objects on the road.
Looking at the mechanical dogs running forward side by side, Hao Mei felt relieved and stepped forward.
Click~
Haomei immediately looked down and saw that the mine she stepped on this time seemed to be a metal bear trap, a brand new version that she had never stepped on before.
This is [Magnetic Explosion Hunter], an explosive equipped by Bubo Wang. It has average power but is more flexible in use.
I would like to ask, how did Bubo Wang bury the [Magnetic Explosion Hunter] when the enemy was detected by a mechanical dog? The answer is very simple. It deployed the [Magnetic Explosion Hunter] while blending into the environment. This involves the [Magnetic Explosion Hunter].
Another characteristic of Hunter].
"Magnetic Explosion Hunter: This is a trap. After it is successfully set, the Magnetic Explosion Hunter will enter a hidden state. If an enemy steps on the Magnetic Explosion Hunter, it will trigger a small-scale magnetic energy explosion."
After a magnetic energy explosion, although Haomei was not blown away, she sat on the ground, her ears buzzing non-stop.
When others lay mines, they predict where the enemy will pass by and then lay them in advance. But Bubo Wang does not. It follows the enemy, determines the enemy's walking direction, sets up a magnetic blast hunter, runs away, and the enemy steps on the mine.
An hour later, Hao Mei, whose right leg was fractured 8 times and her left leg was fractured 5 times, stood still. As long as she moved forward, whether it was a long stride, a forward jump, a backward jump, or another
Or jumping very far will lead to thunder. In her current understanding, every inch of this mountainous area is covered with thunder.
She had been bombed several times and had to drink a bottle of potion. The supplies she brought this time were almost exhausted, so she didn't dare to move.
From the initial verbal abuse, Haomei gradually surrendered, then became incompetent and furious, until now she is confused. She is particularly confused. Where is the enemy?
Standing on the mountainous land full of withered grass, Haomei was considering whether to spend money on the World Contact Platform to ask for help. Members of their Sealing Heaven Guild were not selected to participate in this world battle.
After thinking for a moment, Haomei decided to use the most primitive and simple way to solve this dilemma. She took a deep breath and shouted with a heavy sigh:
"If you have the guts, come out, you bastard!!"
The shout spread far away, and after a blast of wind, Su Xiao was already standing on a tree stump half a meter high, wearing a mask given by the brigade leader before. Although the leader called it a toy, this thing has a lot of power.
Strong perception shielding.
Seeing the enemy appear, Hao Mei was overjoyed. She pulled out the stabbing sword in her hand, pointed it at the center of Su Xiao's eyebrows, and said through gritted teeth: "Thank you for daring to come out, come on! Let's fight!"
As Haomei spoke, she slashed forward with her sword, causing the soil in front of her to fly. Although this method could not completely remove the mines planted by the enemy, it was still somewhat effective. She was really scared of being bombed.
After confirming that there was no bomb, Hao Mei suddenly disappeared. When she reappeared, she was already in front of Su Xiao.
when!
The sharp sword struck down and was held up by the long knife. Sparks flew and the blades rubbed against each other making a rattling sound.
As soon as they exchanged a move, Hao Mei exerted force in her hand, and with a sizzle, the blade of the sword passed by. She leaned back slightly, bent her left leg, and kicked at an incredibly fast speed.
Bang!
A wave of air spread, and Su Xiao took a step back. His kick was blocked by Su Xiao's side knife. He looked up and down at the Hao girl opposite.
Haomei's cheeks twitched. Although her eyes were calm, she was actually screaming in her heart that she hurt my mother to death. She kicked the side of the knife without wearing shoes, and her feet were numb.
The blood energy came towards me, and Hao Mei slashed out with her sword without any fear.
when!
when!
After Su Xiao struck out with a heavy sword, he deliberately paused for 1 second before striking out with the second sword. Both swords were powerful and heavy, but surprisingly slow.
On the opposite side, Haomei's experience was so "sour" that she exploded. The two heavy cuts made her understand the "skills" a bit refreshed. It was obvious that the cutting speed was not fast, and there was a pause between the two swords.
1 second, but she just didn't dare to dodge or fight back. If she didn't block it, she would definitely die.
After being slashed hard twice, Haomei felt as if all the bones in her body were falling apart, and the blood in her body was boiling. She had decided to find an opportunity to escape. She and her enemy were not on the same level in terms of "skills".
Haomei estimates that the enemy is at least a master of swordsmanship and melee combat. The most intuitive feeling given to her is that the enemy is as skilled as the wind and as fast as a rainbow. Each move may seem ordinary, but in fact it is simple and concise, with hidden murderous intent.
What's even worse is that until now, Haomei has not seen any flaws in Su Xiao, and the pressure is coming, as if it puts a little more weight on her shoulders. Whenever she wants to use those skills she developed
When she used splendid and powerful swordsmanship moves, she held them back all by herself. If she dared to show off, she would immediately lose her head.
For the first time, she felt that the gorgeous and powerful swordsmanship moves in the past were no longer useful at this time, and flat slashing became her only way to save her life.
At this moment, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the sound of thunder was heard below.
Dang, Dang, Dang!
After several repeated cuts, Hao Mei's body became numb. After breaking through the defense, she knelt down on one knee. A shimmer of light exploded from her ring, causing her numb body to regain consciousness immediately. The enemy on the opposite side kicked her straight towards her.
Thinking that her enemy had used a long knife to block her direct kick, Haomei also swung her sword sharply, intending to block Su Xiao's direct kick. But at this moment, her eyes widened, and the fear of death came towards her.
'Can't stop!'
Bang!!
Two muffled sounds appeared one after another. The former was the ring on Haomei's hand exploding, and she disappeared from the spot and appeared more than ten meters away. The latter was the sound of an explosion caused by Su Xiao's kick.
More than ten meters away, Haomei squatted on the ground, gasping for air, while cold sweat soaked into the soft underwear on her back. She was sure that if she received the kick just now, in her current state, not only would she die, but she would also die evenly
Distributed on every inch of land behind, you can have close contact with Mother Earth.
She can neither fight nor escape. Although she has life-saving items, her life-saving item is not a space type, but a defensive type. Even if it is triggered, she will die afterwards. If she had known this, she would not have bought such a reckless life-saving item.
Thinking of this, Haomei looked at the sky. The most powerful secret-level ability she had hidden until now could finally be used.
"Let you see my thunder sword."
The stabbing sword in Hao Mei's hand pointed to the sky. With a bang, a golden "World Thunder" fell down and followed the stabbing sword in her hand and sank into her body.
Haomei's hair was windless, the stabbing sword in her hand returned to its sheath, her pupils turned into gold, and golden arcs of electricity surged across her body.
‘Sword Dance·Thunder Flash.’
Hao Mei first turned into an afterimage, then disappeared, and a golden straight line passed through. When Hao Mei appeared, she was already a few meters behind Su Xiao.
Zhi~
The sound of cutting was heard only at this moment, and a wisp of sparks appeared on the edge of Dragon Slayer Flash. The sword was very fast, but it did not hit Su Xiao. Su Xiao could also perform similar moves, "Bendo Blade·Blood"
Shadow' is faster than this slashing speed.
It was like a surging world thunder appeared in Haomei's eyes. The next second, the world thunder appeared at the place where Dragon Slayer Flash was struck, and suddenly spread out, shrouding Su Xiao in it.
"Jie Lei is..."
Before Hao Mei finished her words, she was choked back. In her sight, Su Xiao, who was in the middle of a world thunder, turned around and looked at her calmly.
"?"
Hao Mei glanced at the sword in her hand, and then looked at the boundary thunder in the sky. Yes, it was a boundary thunder just now. The stabbing sword in her hand pointed at Su Xiao, and the few boundary thunders left in her body were released.
Zila~
A not too thick boundary thunder penetrated into Su Xiao's chest.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Hao Mei across from him, and gradually changed from the gaze in combat mode to the gaze of scientific researchers. He wanted to know how Hao Mei stored the world mine in her body, and what was the structure of the opponent's body? In other words, what was the structure of Hao Mei's body?
What organs store boundary mines? And how to completely avoid the effects of boundary mines.
After the opponent draws down the boundary thunder and immerses it in the body, the opponent's cutting power and speed are greatly increased. How is this done?
Su Xiao's 'Wrath of Heaven: Thunderbolt' is to catch the thunder with a knife. After catching the thunder, not only can't it improve its own strength and speed, but it will be the first to bear the lightning damage, which is a hard resistance to the boundary thunder.
Why can Su Xiao ignore the boundary thunder attached to Hao Mei's attack? Because of this, assuming that the intensity of the boundary thunder attached to Hao Mei's attack is 8, then when Su Xiao uses 'Wrath of Heaven - Thunder Fall' to catch the thunder, the boundary thunder will
The intensity of the thunder is at least 10. He can resist the 10-strength boundary thunder as a move. How could the 8-strength boundary thunder have any obvious effect on him?
The person who developed the ‘Wrath of Heaven: Thunder Drop’ was Captain Wuming. Captain Wuming’s idea was that he couldn’t even catch the boundary thunder, but he still wanted to use it to kill the enemy?
Su Xiao wanted to find out how Haomei used the world thunder and how to temporarily store the world thunder in her body. However, this was the cashier girl + reputation brush she was planning to capture, so it was a bit difficult to deal with.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xiao decided to catch him first. Maybe this method of controlling thunder is some kind of training method, rather than the internal structure.
At this moment, on the opposite side, Haomei stood motionless. A very bad feeling emerged in her heart, and her senses were frantically warning.
PS: (Updated today, just to be lazy during the holidays, but this chapter is 7500 words long.)
