Chapter 42

After a moment of dizziness, Ma Le found himself in an abandoned factory. The white light around him had not completely faded, as if he was still synchronizing with this world. Next to Ma Le, there were twelve other beams of white light, indicating that, including himself, there were 13 people who had entered this mission world.

The adventurers trapped in the white light could not move and were invulnerable. Taking advantage of this, they all began to check their Miracle Medals. Ma Le, on his first official mission, followed the others and took out his phone to check the information about the mission world:

**Story World:** Terminator

**Entry Time:** 36 hours before the start of the Terminator 1 plot

**Entry Location:** Los Angeles

**World Difficulty:** Beginner Level

**Mission Mode:** City-State Competition. Adventurers from different city-states have opposing tasks. The opposing sides are Miracle City and Hurricane City. Attacking adventurers from the same city-state will reduce damage by 50%, with this effect having a priority level of 5. Killing an adventurer from the same city-state will result in a penalty, deducting 1000 credit points and 5 honor points.

**Killing an adventurer from an opposing city-state will grant rewards and a kill key. Adventurers must not leave the Los Angeles area; leaving for more than 120 seconds will be considered abandoning the mission.

**If an adventurer is killed by an opposing city-state adventurer, their death will be immediately notified to all adventurers.

**Main Mission:** Destroy the T-800 within three days of its appearance. Completing this will reward 10,000 credit points, 30 skill points, and 20 attribute points. This mission can be completed collectively, with rewards distributed based on the damage dealt to the T-800.

**Introduction:** At the end of the 20th century, the U.S. military's artificial intelligence defense system, Skynet, gained self-awareness and deemed humans as "objects to be eliminated." It launched an attack on humanity using all available weapons, including nuclear weapons, leading to the death of over 3 billion people and the near destruction of human civilization.

**After the nuclear war, a hero named John Connor emerged, uniting the remaining humans to fight against Skynet. In 2029, they finally turned the tide. To change history, Skynet created a time machine and sent a T-800 model humanoid robot back to 1984 in Los Angeles, aiming to kill John Connor's mother, Sarah Connor, before he was born.

**John discovered this plot, captured the Skynet laboratory, and used the time machine to send a warrior named Kyle Reese back to protect Sarah Connor.

**Now, there are 36 hours left before this battle that will determine the future of humanity.

...

After reading the information on the Miracle Medal, Ma Le found the "City-State Competition" intriguing. It seemed that Miracle City was not the only adventurer platform, and Hurricane City was the opposing side in this mission. Their task was likely to assist the Terminator.

As the white light faded, the adventurers could move freely. Since they were all from the same city-state and attacking each other would reduce damage, they were not overly cautious. They began to chat in small groups.

Ma Le, new to this, was on his first official mission and had no acquaintances among the group. He was about to join a small group to get to know them when he noticed a young boy standing alone.

The boy looked to be around eleven or twelve, with a slender build. He wore a slightly oversized baseball cap that covered half his face, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a loose pair of overalls. His sneakers made him look like a typical American kid from the movies.

Seeing the boy's apparent lack of social skills, Ma Le approached him and greeted him casually. He placed his large hand on the boy's head and laughed, "Little brother, you're so young and already adventuring? Are you scared?"

The boy seemed annoyed by the touch and didn't look up at Ma Le. He reached out and struck Ma Le's wrist with a hand knife. Ma Le felt a slight tingling but no significant force, so he didn't take it seriously. He pressed the boy's head playfully and teased, "Wow, you're small but have a big temper!"

The boy, seeing his attack was ineffective, looked up in surprise. Ma Le finally got a good look at his face. He had a typical baby face, with clear and attractive features, but his appearance was not Asian. His eyebrows were light, his nose high, and his eyes were different colors—blue on the left and black on the right, giving him an unusual beauty.

"Are you mixed-race?" Ma Le asked.

The boy didn't answer but glared at Ma Le. "Take your hand off me, idiot!"

Ma Le didn't take offense and released his hand. "I'm not an idiot, I'm a foodie. What's your name?"

The boy adjusted his cap, which Ma Le had knocked askew, and replied impatiently, "They call me Bastard..."

"Ha ha ha..." Ma Le laughed heartily. "Finally, I've met someone with a worse name than me!" Seeing the boy's face turn sour, Ma Le stopped laughing and comforted him, "Nicknames are given by others. If you don't like it, you don't have to use it. Your different-colored eyes are quite beautiful. How about calling you Persian Cat?"

"Then call me Persian Cat." The boy's attitude softened, as if the name was just a label to him, with no special meaning.

"Alright, Persian Cat, how many worlds have you experienced? Have you seen this kind of city-state competition before?" Ma Le finally got to the point. Despite his usual carefree and cunning nature, he had the virtue of not being ashamed to ask questions.

"I haven't experienced it, but I have some guesses." The boy seemed to appreciate Ma Le's attitude and answered seriously, "Don't you find it strange that there are fewer than 10,000 adventurers in Miracle City, yet the numbers are six digits?"

Ma Le hadn't noticed this before and replied casually, "Maybe they include the dead ones..."

"Idiot!" Persian Cat sneered. "Then why do all adventurer numbers start with 11? I've seen an adventurer with the number 110015, who is only at the beginner level. If the numbers are assigned in the order of entry, a beginner would be at 110015, so there should be many numbers starting with 10 or 09. But in reality, only 11 exists. Why is that?"

Ma Le was surprised. "What, all adventurer numbers start with 11?"

Persian Cat was taken aback, then smiled mischievously. "You didn't know? You must be new. So you're the real idiot..." Ma Le didn't mind the boy's taunt. "Then what does 11 represent?"

Persian Cat looked smug and said in a condescending tone, "Of course, it's the number of Miracle City. If adventurers have numbers, why wouldn't Miracle City? Today's mission proves my guess. There are indeed other city-states!"

"So, there are ten other city-states?" Ma Le asked. Persian Cat laughed. "You really are an idiot. Who said Miracle City is the last one? Also, have you noticed how many Chinese people there are in Miracle City? Not only are they the majority, but the architecture and the guards' attire are also Chinese-style. If Miracle City randomly selects adventurers from around the world, this wouldn't happen. The only explanation is that Miracle City is biased towards China. Since there's a 'Chinese City,' it's not surprising to have 'Indian City,' 'American City,' and 'Japanese City.'"

Ma Le had noticed the architectural style when he first entered Miracle City but hadn't thought much about it. Now, after hearing Persian Cat's analysis, he found it reasonable and praised him, "You figured all this out?"

Persian Cat smiled slightly. "Do I need to guess for such a simple thing? It's obvious!"

"Calling you fat, you're already panting!" Ma Le laughed and ruffled Persian Cat's cap again. "You're just a little kid!"

Persian Cat escaped Ma Le's grasp, protesting, "Don't touch my head, or I'll become an idiot like you! Besides, I may look young, but I'm actually sixteen. Don't call me a kid!"

As Ma Le and Persian Cat were chatting, a man in his thirties, with a robust build similar to Ma Le's, stepped forward from the group. He had a thick beard that looked like steel needles. He stood confidently and addressed the adventurers, "Everyone, I assume we are all fellow citizens of Miracle City. Given the special nature of this mission, we should unite and face our enemies together. To do so, we need a leader. I am Long Sanshan, and I have some reputation among beginners. I am willing to lead everyone in this fight against that damn Hurricane City!"

Long Sanshan clearly wanted to be the leader. The other adventurers murmured, with some expressing doubt. Long Sanshan, anticipating this, smiled and walked to a piece of abandoned I-beam. He bent down, grabbed the beam, and, with a grunt, lifted it. "Up!" he shouted, and a two-meter-long I-beam was raised.

The I-beam was about 30 centimeters high, with a thick waist, and a two-meter section likely weighed over 200 pounds. Yet, this bearded man lifted it effortlessly and even swung it a couple of times, the thick steel beam whistling through the air, causing a few timid adventurers to step back.

Lifting a 200-pound steel beam is already difficult for an ordinary person, and swinging it is even harder. In reality, ancient cold weapons rarely exceeded five pounds, and even the strongest warriors used weapons weighing no more than a dozen pounds. The idea of wielding weapons weighing dozens or hundreds of pounds is mostly fictional or due to different units of measurement. While Long Sanshan couldn't use the I-beam as a weapon, his display of strength was impressive.

Breathing heavily, he put down the I-beam and confidently addressed the other adventurers, "I, Long Sanshan, may not be the most skilled, but I have decent strength, 21 points. The Terminator is a robot, but it has two hands and two feet. I don't believe it can do anything extraordinary. If we face it, I, Long Sanshan, will be the first to charge!"

His words were met with cheers from two adventurers. "Brother Long, you have incredible strength, we'll follow you!" "Brother Long, with you leading, we have nothing to fear!" Clearly, they were Long Sanshan's supporters.

The other adventurers, all beginners in Miracle City, were new and lacked the confidence and ability to lead. Seeing someone step forward, they were inclined to follow. Persian Cat, however, sneered and whispered to Ma Le, "He's even more of an idiot than you. Can't he see there are experts here?"

Ma Le, unperturbed, joked, "Ah, I'm an expert, and you found me. It's hard to be low-key!" Persian Cat replied, "You are one, but I'm not talking about you!"

Ma Le was taken aback by this. At that moment, as if to confirm Persian Cat's words, three more people stepped forward. The leader was a young man in his twenties, slender but dignified. He addressed Long Sanshan, "Brother, don't be too confident."

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