Returning to camp, Li Fan and Eudora began crafting the new attire.
To confront the Black Dragon head-on, the attribute turbulence within the divine realm was an unavoidable obstacle.
On a physical level, the duo had developed extraordinary resilience through long-term training with the Super Regeneration Disc.
However, prolonged exposure to attribute turbulence, coupled with the Black Dragon's all-attribute attacks, made Li Fan doubt the human body's ability to withstand it.
Wearing an outer layer of attire for defense over their armor thus became the best option.
The problem was that the attires developed by the research team could only defend against a single attribute.
There were no variants that could resist composite attributes, let alone all attributes.
This wasn't due to a lack of research capability, but rather the extreme difficulty in obtaining materials with all-attribute resistance.
Furthermore, the researchers had never anticipated a hunter engaging in combat with the Black Dragon.
The team had to develop it themselves, and for materials, the Blazing Shell, which possessed good resistance to all attributes, became the prime choice.
"Phew... the difficulty lies in how hard the Blazing Shell is to process. If only we had the workshop's equipment," Eudora said with a sigh, looking at her chipped hunter's knife.
"I have a way, but it requires the monsters' cooperation," Li Fan replied, then summoned the monsters for deployment.
Soon, Hui Hui accelerated to her limit in the sky. As the shell growing on the edges of her gun wings softened from high heat, she immediately aimed and tossed it towards the ground.
Before it could cool and harden, Zhan Zhan used its tail blade for initial cuts, then swallowed it to keep it warm.
Next, Li Fan and Eudora stepped in. Using their hunter's knives, they quickly sliced the heated shell fragments spat out by Zhan Zhan into smaller, square pieces.
Then, they took out the black skin attires, which had a grid pattern on the surface, and loaded the shimmering silver square pieces onto them.
"Wow!... It's so ugly," Eudora commented.
The attire, covered in stacked square pieces, resembled a raincoat with countless patches.
"We're not professionals. It's already amazing that we could make this... Speaking of which, if the size of the square pieces were more uniform, it would look better," Li Fan said, generally satisfied.
"Let's make a few more as spares, and also an Felyne version for Dede to wear. By the way, what should we call this attire? How about 'All-Resistance Attire'?" Eudora asked.
"Since it's made from Blazing Shells, let's call it the Hui Hui Attire," Li Fan suggested.
"Hui Hui Attire... I can only say it's typical of you to come up with such a name... Right, without the Felyne skin attire as a base, what will we attach the shells to for Dede?" Eudora realized a problem.
"Then let's not attach them. We'll directly weld a set for Dede using hot-melt splicing," Li Fan proposed.
"Will that work?" Eudora felt it was a bit unstable.
"We've developed and manufactured new attires, which proves our design and practical skills are not lacking. An Felyne outfit should definitely be possible," Li Fan said with great confidence.
"Alright, I hope Dede comes back early today so we can see the surprised expression. Let's get to work!" Eudora said, and the two busied themselves.
Night fell, and the crescent moon hung in the sky.
...On the silent snowfield, Qingtian galloped, leaving behind a trail of hoofprints.
"Deploy meow~ Recover meow~..." Dede, riding on the saddle, waved two Poké Balls in each paw, practicing combat.
Returning to camp, the bonfire in the center was still burning.
Pushing up with its paws, Dede opened the storage box lid outside the tent, then dragged a small cargo box to stand on.
After rummaging in the box for a moment, it pulled out a frozen fish.
Without the logistical support of the Blazing Fire, the team had to divert some of its energy to food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Dede had returned too late, so dinner had to be self-made.
"Heh meow~ Heh meow..."
Clang~ Splash~
Dede swung the frozen fish, hammering it against a rock.
However, the ice on the frozen fish didn't break, but the rock cracked.
"So fragile meow..." Dede sighed helplessly, walked to the bonfire, set up a grill, placed the frozen fish on it, and sat on a simple log bench to wait for the ice to thaw.
As it reached out its paws to warm itself by the bonfire, Dede noticed, through the flickering flames, a squat, square figure sitting on the log directly opposite.
Its head was a cube, its arms were rectangular prisms, and its entire body was angular.
"Who... who are you meow?" Dede asked fearfully.
Seeing no response for a long time, Dede stood up and slowly moved sideways.
When it circled around and saw clearly, it breathed a sigh of relief. It was a suit of square armor.
"Whose armor is this small meow?" Dede blinked, then suddenly realized it was clearly made for itself.
"Thank you meow," Looking at the darkened tent, Dede expressed its gratitude.
"It's really ugly meow..." Holding the square helmet above its head with its paws, Dede struggled internally for a moment before finally putting it on.
The next day, the colossal Serpent-City lay flat on the snowfield.
"Shanshan! Which carriage is the throne in?" Li Fan called out to the skull.
Soon, the Serpent's upper jaw lifted, and Shanshan emerged, drawing a number 13 in the snow with its scythe.
Li Fan walked along the side of the Serpent-City, counting the tubular joints as he went.
When he reached the thirteenth segment, several connecting insect silks inside loosened, and the snake-king's skull at the front slid out a distance, exposing the cross-section of the tubular joint.
At this point, Wanpi landed nearby, loaded the throne, and the entire team boarded and departed.
The destination this time was the Elder's Recess.
There were two objectives: First, Bingbingzi's previous formation of the Moonstone Armor was rushed, and many parts were not fully covered.
Second, the newly crafted attire needed further reinforcement.
For this expedition, taking Hui Hui for a quick round trip would have been the most efficient method.
However, the Black Dragon's movements had to be constantly monitored, so they opted for a more conventional flight.
A day and a half later, the team discreetly arrived at the Elder's Recess.
Without Xiao Ming's deterrence, the monsters became even more active. Perhaps due to being suppressed for too long, various dominance contests ensued, as if they hadn't perceived the impending crisis.
Finding a suitable ley line, Li Fan first directed Bingbingzi to block both ends and divert the flow.
Then, he had Eudora take to the air and use her slashes to cut down the massive crystalline pillars extending horizontally above.
...Boom~ Splash~
The rhombic crystalline pillars crashed into the ley line, splashing large spots of lava.
"Now we just need to wait for the ley line to dissolve the Dragon Crystals," Li Fan said, observing from the cliff.
"If there were such an energy transmission network beneath the mainland, allowing life energy to spread unimpeded, perhaps both humans and monsters would be stronger," Eudora speculated.
"If everyone is strengthened... wouldn't that mean no one is strengthened? And wouldn't monsters absorb it at a much higher rate than humans?" Li Fan voiced his opinion.
"That's true... How about I cut down two more crystal pillars and add them?" Eudora asked.
"No, this ratio is already incredible. If we add more, I'm afraid the resulting Moonstone will have problems," Li Fan stopped her.
Five hours later, the ley line, blocked at both ends, had overflowed from the trench and transformed into a lava pool.
The crystalline pillars that fell into it had completely dissolved.
To be cautious, Li Fan decided to test it with the Hui Hui Attire first.
He spread out a Hui Hui Attire on the ground. Bingbingzi descended beside it, continuously spraying it with frost while simultaneously applying a blue luminescence.
Seeing the blue ethereal light surround the Hui Hui Attire and the temperature reach the right level, Bingbingzi let out a low roar.
Eudora, floating in the air, raised her fishing rod, hooked the Hui Hui Attire, and placed it into the lava pool.
Hiss~ Hiss~....
A scorching sound arose.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Reel it up!" Li Fan whispered the countdown and gave the signal.
Eudora quickly ascended.
The Hui Hui Attire, which was silvery-white when placed in, turned a deep blue.
The square leaf surfaces appeared to be coated with a layer of lustrous, full jade.
"It's done..." Li Fan hadn't expected it to succeed on the first try.
"This looks much better now," Eudora landed and lightly touched the surface of the Hui Hui Attire, feeling a slight coolness in her fingertips. She then flicked it behind her and draped it over her shoulders.
Ding~ Ding~ Ding...
As the airflow from the wind sac dissipated, the Hui Hui Attire swayed gently.
The leaf squares, coated with Moonstone, emitted an ethereal sound as they collided with each other.
The sound was like thousands of wind chimes swaying in the breeze, very pleasant to the ear.
Dede's eyes widened, and its mouth half-opened. It immediately unbuckled its backpack and took out the blocky armor pieces.
"Can I try mine too meow?" Dede asked expectantly.
"Uh... Dede, your armor was formed by hot-melt splicing. After coating it with Moonstone, it will only change color. So, don't have too many expectations," Li Fan didn't want Dede to be disappointed and gave an explanation in advance.
"Oh, I see meow..." The light in Dede's eyes gradually dimmed.
With the six Hui Hui Attires and blocky armor pieces processed, and seeing that the Moonstone coating on their surfaces was fine, Li Fan guided Bingbingzi to begin the completion of its Moonstone body armor.
As for the specific process, Bingbingzi was already an absolute expert in this regard and didn't require any suggestions.
Soon, Bingbingzi, having completed the full coverage of its Moonstone armor, flew out of the ley line canyon, a gust of cold wind surging.
...Li Fan nodded in satisfaction and, seeing this rare opportunity, wondered if there was anything else that could also be coated with Moonstone.
After searching for a while, his gaze fell upon the throne on Wanpi's back.
When they rode Bakuretsu before, a large amount of Blazing Shells had been used for heat insulation.
In terms of material, it should have a similar effect to the Hui Hui Attire.
"Uh... why add Moonstone coating to the throne?" Eudora asked, confused.
"Since we're here, and it doesn't cost anything anyway," Li Fan was always willing to try things that involved no loss.
"Alright, but we'll need to secure it with a few more insect silks," Eudora circled the throne and proposed.
With the team's cooperation, the deep blue throne soon rose from the lava pool.
"It looks so beautiful meow. I wonder what it will feel like to sit on it," Dede exclaimed from the cliff.
Clang~ Clang~
Ding~ Ding~
Tapping the square helmet twice with its paws, Dede found the sound to be quite crisp, and felt much more comforted.
"Since you can protect me, I'll treat you well meow... Ugh~ This arm joint is so stiff." Dede wanted to gently stroke the surface of the deep blue armor, but found its joint stuck.
Just as it was about to exert force to move it, a blue meteor streaking across the sky in the hazy sunset caught Dede's attention.
"It's Hui Hui meow!" Dede shouted.
"Hui Hui... something's happened," Li Fan, looking up at the sky, became tense.
Hui Hui's current mission was to monitor the Black Dragon's movements. If there were no emergencies to report, it wouldn't return.
After several sharp turns and decelerations, Hui Hui hovered above the cliff.
Roar~ Roar~
After two cries, Li Fan's eyes twitched.
"Something's happened?" Eudora, seeing Li Fan's expression, had a bad premonition.
"Beotodus is dead, in the Coral Highlands."
"What meow!"
"Didn't it evacuate? Even if monsters on the new continent couldn't comprehend the forbidden power, just seeing the divine realm should have told them it wasn't something they could touch," Eudora said incredulously.
"But it's dead... Let's use the throne as a shield, and have Hui Hui take us to retreat first," Li Fan pondered for a moment and gave the order.
The team's expedition had achieved both its objectives and could have been considered a complete success.
However, Beotodus's death cast an indelible shadow.
Returning to the snowfield camp, the throne, placed in reverse, showed no significant dissolution on its back from the high temperature.
The performance of the Moonstone coating surprised Li Fan.
This was because the back of the throne was like a solid wall, with no streamlined design.
"Hui Hui, did you see the details of the fight?" Li Fan asked.
Roar...
"It was enveloped by the divine realm and died quickly... Alright, Hui Hui, take this jade to the Elder's Recess immediately. Find the Zorah Magdaros, show it the jade, and tell it not to act rashly, to evacuate to the Hoarfrost Reach or anywhere to hide. Then, record its reaction and report it to me," Li Fan said, placing the Origin of the Storm Jade into the gap between Hui Hui's forelimb claws.
Whoosh~ The blue star shot into the night sky, gliding into the distance.
Twenty minutes later, Hui Hui returned.
"Did Zorah Magdaros flee? What was its reaction?"
Roar... Roar~ Roar~...
"It didn't run! It was laughing happily, triumphantly, and wildly... It's insane, hurry and escape!" Li Fan was somewhat exasperated by this reaction. At this point, he feared the "grandfather saving the grandson" scenario the most.
Roar~ Roar~
"You say there's no need to worry, that guy can take care of himself..." Li Fan was somewhat surprised by the reminder.
Thinking that Hui Hui had been circling in the sky all day and could gather a lot of information, he felt it was quite valuable.
"That's right. When Xiao Ming occupied the Elder's Recess, Zorah Magdaros didn't seem to be in any danger. Perhaps it's not as狂暴 (kuángbào - violent/ferocious) and mindless as it appears," Li Fan suddenly felt that what Hui Hui said had some merit.
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