#72 Divine Spires of Shenzhou
#The Young Mistress Favors Shenzhou
"From firsthand accounts, the spire at Mount Everest is particularly fierce. It's not one to challenge lightly."
"You're kidding me, people actually went to Everest to take on the spire?"
"Who the hell is stupid enough to climb that damn mountain and then try the spire on top?"
"Insane. Starting with a Debuff right off the bat. Are we sure this isn't meant for the MANTISes after that tech gets developed?"
News stories were everywhere, trending topics flooded the feeds.
Comments poured in.
And oh, the roasting was relentless!
The thing was, if you got 'killed' and sent back, you'd just be weakened for ten days to a couple of weeks. After some people experienced it firsthand, it was confirmed: this so-called 'weakened state' just meant you could still run dozens of kilometers in one go or, well, 'take care of business' seven or eight times.
That's just how people are. As long as it doesn't kill them, they'll push their luck to the extreme.
So, simple settlements gradually sprang up around the spires. Lots of people, especially the young, flocked there just to be part of the excitement. Even if they got sent back empty-handed, remembering nothing, at least they got to experience it, right!
Then, there was the phrase that summed it up: 'The Herrscher dream is shattered, time for me to go back to my dead-end job.'
Many were like that. They came full of excitement, only to leave disappointed.
But some dug their heels in, refusing to give up.
Since it was a comprehensive evaluation, maybe luck was part of the package? What if they got lucky someday?
And it wasn't just about ability; perseverance, willpower—maybe those were factored in too.
So those who truly yearned for it wouldn't leave easily.
This, of course, naturally boosted local tourism and business. Every nation, every organization, was happy about that.
But the more people gathered there like adventurers, spending all their time trying to conquer the spire,
the more other industries suffered.
Production and daily life were impacted.
This gave the higher-ups quite the headache.
Although a month had passed, the initial wave of spire-climbing had begun to calm down. Still, plenty of people, as soon as their weakened state ended, would charge right back in. Only to return listless and feeble again, like some 'Consumptive Young Master.'
Various nations and organizations had to urge everyone to be rational about it.
By all appearances, conquering the spire wasn't something that could be done overnight.
Heck, not even in a short time—three to five years? Thirty to fifty? It was all possible.
Hadn't they noticed that even those close to Kiana, like Mobius, were holding back for now? What were they charging in for? Cannon fodder?
Of course! Everyone held onto that sliver of hope. They fantasized that maybe, just maybe, they were the 'Chosen One.'
Before being thoroughly beaten down into monkeys, everyone was full of vigor and enthusiasm. No amount of persuasion would work.
Besides, various nations and organizations had assembled their own teams to attempt the spire. Many of these were military personnel, even including elite special forces soldiers. They tried every method to see if they could bring any information back for reference.
Unfortunately! When they returned, they were cleaner than a whistle.
Just a pair of shorts left.
Everything else was gone.
So, the spire actually consumed your gear.
No matter how good your equipment was, it couldn't withstand being swallowed up like that.
Men came out wearing only athletic shorts. Women came out in a sports bra and, similarly, a pair of athletic shorts.
It was like the spire was mocking you, sending you right back to square one. Reduced to basic starter gear.
Countless people gathered near the spires, waiting to see if any lucky ones made it, or even livestreaming the whole thing. Holy hell, the sheer social embarrassment was unbearable.
But even so, it couldn't dampen everyone's enthusiasm.
Even if you couldn't form parties to climb, people gradually started helping each other out, forming little clubs to huddle together for warmth.
They organized activities together.
At the same time, everyone also noticed that although you lost your memories of the climb after being 'killed' and ejected, the spire would display the floor you reached.
According to the rules, each spire had 17 floors.
The higher you went, the closer you were to clearing it.
Sadly, the current world record was just clearing the first floor, then getting kicked out on the second.
So her best record was a '1'.
In contrast, the vast majority were still messing around on floor 0. The difficulty was truly grinding people down.
Some people couldn't stick with it any longer. But others joined in afterwards.
Probably only the militaries under various nations and organizations remained steadfast, taking turns in rotation.
After all, cast a wide net, and you might just catch a fish.
Right?
The military follows orders. Not to mention they themselves were more than willing to become stronger.
For those who had experienced the Honkai, with an opportunity right before their eyes, who would want to miss it?
Unless they truly couldn't climb any further.
Or until all 108 spires truly had their owners.
Otherwise!
Soldiers across the world would never give up.
It was easy to imagine that in the later stages, as the number of unclaimed spires decreased, the competition would become increasingly fierce, and things would get even livelier.
"Listen up!"
"We've all lived through the Great Honkai Eruption!"
"Do we have the confidence to conquer the spire?!"
"YES, MA'AM!"
Like hell we do!
Didn't the Young Mistress carry us through that Great Honkai Eruption? Are you sure how much of that was actually thanks to us?
It was a similar situation with organizations like Fire Moth! Ato, or Himeko, and so on—the elites were rolling up their sleeves, ready for action.
There was a spire right in Sapphire City. Near their headquarters. The implication was too obvious!
At the very least, until this spire had an owner and could no longer be challenged, they'd focus all their efforts on this one spire.
The travel distance was shorter. Resupply and everything else was more convenient.
Why seek distant pastures when there's one nearby?
However, while Fire Moth certainly favored a quality over quantity approach, that didn't mean they lacked regular soldiers.
Anyway, it was like everyone was playing a game of capturing territories. Your soldiers come to challenge our spire? Then our soldiers will definitely go challenge yours.
Soldiers from all over the world, including independent climbers, were running around everywhere, charging spires left and right.
This, to some extent, also stimulated regional economic development, prosperity, and mutual exchange. Which seemed... fine?
Today, Kiana was holding Seele, with Jyahnar on her head, and little sister Rin snuggled up beside her.
They were watching TV together.
The program was about a press conference in Shenzhou regarding the spire climbing situation over the past two months.
There were actually quite a few reports like this. Even nations and organizations had dedicated departments to compile statistics, releasing them in real-time, and summarizing everything each night.
This allowed the public to stay updated on developments in each region right away.
For example, among the 108 spires, visitor numbers were also tracked. Some were rarely visited, while others were nearly overrun.
Unfortunately, it still didn't help.
If numbers alone were enough, would they be in this situation?
At best, it reflected the popularity, not even the difficulty. Because the difficulty truly varied for each person.
But for everyone, it was passable—just very hard. There was always a chance, however slim.
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