Chapter Fifty: The Choices of Blue Ghost and Green Vine (Merry Christmas Eve)

After hearing Liu Chun’s explanation, Liu Zong’s emotions remained unsettled for a long time. He understood now—this experimental site would serve as the final destination for many players on this map. Here, they would obtain all sorts of information they desired, and in the end, take their chances to see if they could uncover any top-secret materials.

If possible, they might even try to acquire the prototype of the Seven Knights Type V, which could become their greatest prize.

Such choices did not surprise Liu Zong in the least. These players, much like himself, were staking their lives—they knew exactly what they wanted, understood the path ahead, and recognized which gains were worth the risk, even if it meant dying for them.

Yet, after some consideration, Liu Zong made up his mind—he would go after the research data. He didn’t believe there would be anything worthwhile left for him at Princess Tomb, whereas the research on the Seven Knights Type IV suited his interests much more; many aspects could be applied to the transformation of his Sea Dragon.

With this in mind, Liu Zong approached Xu Linlin. She was in the midst of a conversation with another player. Upon seeing Liu Zong, she merely nodded, signaling for him to wait.

When the player left, Xu Linlin walked over to him. “Do you need something?”

“The last day’s action requires registration with you, right?” Liu Zong asked directly.

“That’s right. It seems you’ve made your decision. But don’t worry, Yan has already worked out a plan for this operation. As long as you don’t act recklessly, the chances of dying aren’t high. Besides, I suppose your target isn’t the Seven Knights Type V, is it?” Xu Linlin said with a smile.

“No, I’m only interested in some research data,” Liu Zong replied honestly.

“Exactly. I’ve looked into it for you—you should try searching for the research data on Blue Ghost or Green Vine. That should be the most useful to you,” Xu Linlin affirmed. “First, take a look in the common area and see if what I said makes sense. Once you’ve made your decision, come to me to sign up. But when the time comes, you must follow orders.”

Liu Zong nodded. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not the type to act rashly. Just say the word, and I’ll obey all instructions.”

Xu Linlin smiled without speaking further and let the matter rest.

Naturally, Liu Zong didn’t linger. On the way here, he’d already studied the matter carefully. As Xu Linlin had suggested, among the Seven Knights, Blue Ghost and Green Vine were indeed the most suitable for him.

Just by their names alone, it was clear what powers these two knights possessed. Among the Type IV Seven Knights, Blue Ghost was the smallest, while Green Vine was the second largest.

Compared to Red Blaze’s magma and Yellow Sand’s earth, the material composing Blue Ghost was a semi-coagulated liquid—not water, but a substance transformed from the souls of the dead. Even with a standardized process for producing it, this material was rare, making the Seven Knights Type IV—Blue Ghost the smallest among its peers.

Yet, for the same reason, Blue Ghost was also the most formidable in protracted battles. Whenever it slew an enemy, it would absorb the opponent’s soul, which would become part of its own body.

Liu Zong had studied this method when learning necromancy; it was called the Ghost Effect, and orthodox necromancers disdained it.

Turning slain foes into ghosts meant necromancers could no longer extract their souls, nor convert their bodies into suitable undead. Most necromancers didn’t want to command an army of ghosts; such a fighting style was too one-dimensional and left obvious weaknesses for enemies to exploit.

However, setting that aside, the remainder was extremely important to Liu Zong. The Seven Knights Type IV—Blue Ghost was the only one among them with a shadow attribute. Liu Zong wanted to know what kind of chambers a shadow-attribute mobile fortress required, and how most structures should be arranged.

Which components needed to be built first, which processes should be prioritized for the benefit of constructing the mobile fortress—all this knowledge could not be gleaned from books. And Liu Zong couldn’t risk experimenting with his Sea Dragon; he didn’t have the connections of someone from a powerful family, and only possessed a single Sea Dragon. If he failed this time, he might have to change his entire course.

Thus, obtaining the experimental data from the prototype of the Seven Knights Type IV—Blue Ghost would be of tremendous value to him.

As for the Seven Knights Type IV—Green Vine, it was a different breed altogether. From its name, it was evident it was plant-based.

The Seven Knights Type IV was composed of a kind of green vine, said to be a powerful entity planted by one of the original Seven Knights. These vines were incredibly resilient—any branch stuck into the earth could potentially take root and grow into a colossal super-vine.

The Type IV research facility would then process these mature giant vines, converting them into the Seven Knights Type IV—Green Vine.

It could be said that as long as the Seven Knights Type IV—Green Vine survived a battle, it could self-repair through its own abilities, requiring little maintenance.

Yet, this was not the attribute Liu Zong valued most—it was the growth property. Green Vine was the only one among the Type IV knights that could grow directly without absorbing external materials.

The Sea Dragon in Liu Zong’s possession was indeed large enough, but it would only support him up to level 3. If he advanced further, the Sea Dragon’s efficacy would diminish, forcing him to seek new materials.

If that happened, all his early investments would be wasted. To avoid such a scenario, at level 2, Liu Zong would likely seek a way for the Sea Dragon’s corpse to gradually “grow” by absorbing materials.

This would alter the Sea Dragon’s internal structure, necessitating repeated adjustments to its compartments.

Here is where the Seven Knights Type IV—Green Vine’s value would shine. As the only self-growing knight among them, it implied a method by which, as it expanded, it would automatically allocate space for new structures.

While this method might not be directly recorded in the initial experimental data, the underlying concept would certainly be present.

Once Liu Zong grasped this approach, he could apply it directly as his Sea Dragon grew, sparing himself the hassle of constant readjustments.

From these two points alone, it was clear that Blue Ghost and Green Vine were far more suitable for Liu Zong than the other five Type IV knights.

He didn’t know why Xu Linlin had specifically suggested this, but Liu Zong was not the kind to act contrarily just because someone had guessed his intentions. He simply pondered whether he’d overlooked anything, and then set off to search for the information he sought.