199: Chapter 199 This substitute can't even beat a first-tier pet beast

"At most three."

Inside the Eastern Treatment Area, everyone's actions came to a halt.

Forty-one Beastmasters.

Fifty-three contracted Battle Beasts.

Among them, thirty-eight sets of contracts had severely misaligned mental structures.

But the Song Family's current treatment capabilities could only save three sets.

This was no longer a question of whether the treatment ability was strong enough.

The Beast-Taming Contract is located at the deepest part of both parties' Mental Seas, and every contract has a completely different structure.

The races of the Battle Beasts are different.

The mental attributes of the Beastmasters are different.

The duration of the contract and the way they get along are also different.

To repair a fractured contract, a healer must first read the mental fluctuations of both parties and then find the original connection points.

Any slight deviation could cause the Battle Beast's pain to flow into the Beastmaster's body, or allow the Beastmaster's chaotic Mental Power to directly destroy the Battle Beast's consciousness.

Under normal circumstances, a complete high-tier treatment team would need several hours to repair a severely fractured Beast-Taming Contract.

Now, thirty-eight sets of contracts were on the verge of collapse.

Even if all the Song Family's contract healers were gathered, it would be impossible to handle them all at once.

"Save the people with the highest Mental Sea integrity first."

A Song Family elder quickly made a decision.

"Give up on the injured whose integrity is already below twenty percent."

The physician in charge of treatment looked up, his lips trembling slightly.

"But..."

"No buts!"

The Song Family elder interrupted sharply.

"If we can't save everyone, prioritize the success rate."

"Every minute we delay, the number of people we can save will decrease."

"Screen them immediately!"

The physician lowered his head.

"Yes."

The detection array in the treatment area operated quickly.

Beams of light swept over the unconscious Beastmasters and Battle Beasts.

Changing numbers appeared above everyone's heads.

[Mental Sea Integrity: 42%]

[Contract Stability: 11%]

[Estimated Collapse Time: Nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds.]

...

[Mental Sea Integrity: 31%]

[Contract Stability: 7%]

[Estimated Collapse Time: Six minutes and twelve seconds.]

...

[Mental Sea Integrity: 19%]

[Contract Stability: 3%]

[Estimated Collapse Time: Two minutes and forty-one seconds.]

The cold detection information sorted all the injured into a specific order.

Those with high Mental Sea integrity were quickly sent into the three core treatment arrays.

The remaining injured were left on the periphery.

They hadn't been completely abandoned.

Song Family healers were still injecting mental stabilization potions into their bodies.

Qin Ye also continued to freeze the contract fractures using [[The World]].

But everyone knew that these measures could only delay death.

When [[The World]] released the Time Stop, the backlash accumulated at both ends of the contract would explode together.

They wouldn't even last until Li Qingyue lifted the space-time freeze of the entire Secret Realm.

"Third treatment array ready!"

"Commence contract connection!"

"Reduce the Silver-Horned Earth Dragon's mental fluctuations to twelve percent!"

"Don't let it regain consciousness!"

Over a dozen healers surrounded the first group of injured.

A Tier 5 Beastmaster lay in the center of the array.

Less than ten meters away from him lay a Silver-Horned Earth Dragon over fifteen meters long.

Between the person and the beast hovered a fractured silver contract.

The fracture surface was wrapped in the dark gold Law of Time left by [[The World]].

The crack stopped expanding temporarily.

But the internal mental backlash had not disappeared.

The healers had to first establish a temporary channel within Qin Ye's targeted Time Stop, and then have [[The World]] release the Time Stop bit by bit.

There could be no errors in the entire process.

Once the channel couldn't withstand the backlash, both the Beastmaster and the Silver-Horned Earth Dragon would be destroyed simultaneously.

"Champion Qin Ye."

The lead physician looked up.

"Please release five percent of the Time Stop at the first contract node."

Qin Ye stood above the treatment area.

Her face was even paler than before.

[[The World]] was not only freezing the thirty-eight sets of contracts in front of her but also controlling the rampaging Battle Beasts in other areas of the Secret Realm.

Each contract had several or even dozens of fracture nodes.

She had to ensure that all nodes were in independent time states.

Hearing the physician's request, [[The World]] slowly raised its right hand.

The dark gold light on the first set of contract fractures began to recede at an extremely slow speed.

One percent.

Two percent.

The mental backlash accumulated inside the contract immediately found an exit.

Boom!

The newly established temporary mental channel vibrated violently.

The Silver-Horned Earth Dragon let out a low growl of pain.

The unconscious Beastmaster suddenly snapped his eyes open, his pupils bloodshot.

"Hold steady!"

"First stabilization card overloaded!"

"Replace it with the second one!"

"The Battle Beast's mental pollution is rising!"

"Lower the flow rate!"

Over a dozen healers acted simultaneously.

A large number of silver-white treatment patterns entered the contract fracture.

Qin Ye immediately stopped releasing the Time Stop, re-freezing the backlash.

Just a two percent release had almost caused the treatment array to collapse on the spot.

Cold sweat covered the lead physician's forehead.

At this rate, it would take at least five hours to completely release one contract fracture.

The other injured couldn't wait that long.

He reflexively looked toward the periphery.

More than thirty Beastmasters who had not yet entered the treatment arrays were lying there.

Some had already lost consciousness.

Some were still awake.

They could hear the healers' conversation and knew they weren't among the three prioritized for treatment.

A young Beastmaster turned his head with difficulty.

Beside him lay a blue Water Fox with a nearly transparent body.

The Water Fox's belly showed no movement.

If not for the dual time powers of Li Qingyue and [[The World]] maintaining the last shred of life, it would have already died completely.

The young Beastmaster reached out, wanting to touch the Water Fox.

But before his fingers could reach half a meter from the Water Fox, he lost all his strength.

"I'm sorry..."

His voice was extremely faint.

"I shouldn't have brought you here."

The Water Fox couldn't respond.

The contract between them was down to an extremely fine silver thread.

The center of the thread was completely broken.

One end was connected to the Beastmaster.

The other end was connected to the Water Fox.

They were clearly close at hand, yet their mental fluctuations could no longer reach each other.

The Song Family elder clenched his fists.

Many of the young Beastmasters here were collateral members of the Song Family.

They had entered the core Secret Realm to use the Contract Network to help their Battle Beasts grow.

No one expected that Obsidian's failed evolution would cause the entire Secret Realm's Contract Network to collapse.

"Bring out all the mental stabilization potions."

The Song Family elder said.

"Including the Tier 6 and above reserves."

"Grand Elder, Tier 6 stabilization potions cannot repair fractured contracts."

"I know."

The Grand Elder of the Song Family closed his eyes.

"At least let them suffer a bit less pain."

Gu Tianheng, who was nearby, did not object.

The golden lizard on his shoulder continuously observed every contract.

With his power, saving one or two people wouldn't be difficult.

But with thirty-eight contracts fractured simultaneously, he was also powerless.

Contract treatment cannot rely purely on level suppression.

Even a Tier 9 healer couldn't clearly see thirty-eight completely different mental structures in a short time.

Unless someone could find the original connection points of all contracts simultaneously.

But every contract exists deep within the Mental Seas of both parties.

For an outsider to see the fracture, they must first pass through the mental defenses of both parties.

Reading one would take at least several minutes.

By the time all thirty-eight contracts were read, the first batch of injured would have already died.

"Are there any other contract healers?"

Gu Tianheng asked.

The Grand Elder of the Song Family shook his head.

"All the core healers are here."

"There are some Battle Beast nurses on the periphery, but they can only handle ordinary mental rejection; they don't even have the qualifications to enter high-tier contracts."

"Call them all over."

"Even if they're useless, at least have them responsible for mental stabilization."

The order was quickly sent out.

Dozens of low-tier nurses entered the Eastern Treatment Area.

Most of them were only Tier 1 or Tier 2.

The highest didn't exceed Tier 3.

These people usually took care of young Battle Beasts, prepared food, and handled ordinary contract friction.

Facing high-tier contract fractures, there was very little they could do.

The nurses quickly dispersed to the different injured people.

Some injected potions into the Beastmasters.

Some checked the Battle Beasts' physical conditions.

Others used mental soothing skills to reduce the pain of both parties as much as possible.

A petite girl came to the young Beastmaster and the blue Water Fox.

She wore the most ordinary gray Song Family nursing uniform.

Her cuffs and hem were stained with large patches of dried potion marks.

The ID tag on her chest had a name written on it.

[Lin Xiaoman.]

"Young Master Song Quan."

Lin Xiaoman crouched down.

"Can you still hear me?"

The young Beastmaster's eyes moved slowly.

"Yes."

"Don't continue to mobilize your Mental Power."

"I will help you maintain your basic life state."

"It's useless."

Song Quan looked at the blue Water Fox not far away.

"Save it first."

"Its body has no fatal injuries."

"As long as the contract is completely severed, it might still survive."

Lin Xiaoman didn't agree.

She looked up at the silver contract hovering between the two.

In the eyes of others, it was just a contract pattern fractured in the middle.

But in Lin Xiaoman's eyes, the fracture was not like that at all.

A large number of mental threads, so fine they were almost indistinguishable, extended from Song Quan's body.

On the other side, thousands of threads were also connected to the blue Water Fox.

Those threads were originally supposed to be interwoven with each other, forming a complete contract.

Now, they were all scattered.

Some threads were just misaligned.

Some were already broken.

Others were tangled together, continuously amplifying the pain from both sides.

Lin Xiaoman could see every single thread.

She could even distinguish which ones belonged to memory.

Which ones belonged to emotion.

Which ones were responsible for transmitting mana.

Which ones represented the Beastmaster's control over the Battle Beast.

And which ones were the Battle Beast's most primitive trust in its master.

This sight had never appeared before she awakened her Stand.

Lin Xiaoman raised her hand.

A semi-transparent thread slowly emerged from her fingertips.

She hesitated for a moment, but eventually stood up.

"Master Gu."

Her voice wasn't loud.

In the busy treatment area, almost no one noticed her.

Gu Tianheng, however, turned his head.

"What is it?"

"I might be able to help."

Several Song Family healers nearby looked at Lin Xiaoman at the same time.

After seeing the ID tag on her chest, the lead physician's brow furrowed.

"Which area's nurse are you?"

"Young Beast Seventh Nursing Area."

"Tier 2?"

"Yes."

The lead physician's face immediately darkened.

"This is a high-tier contract treatment area."

"Do what you're supposed to do."

"Don't interfere with the treatment."

Lin Xiaoman pursed her lips.

She rarely talked back to high-tier professionals.

Especially since the people in front of her were all core healers of the Song Family.

She was just the most ordinary Tier 2 nurse.

If it weren't for the accident in the Secret Realm, she wouldn't even have the qualifications to enter the Eastern core treatment area.

But she looked around once more.

Thirty-eight sets of fractured contracts looked like thirty-eight pieces of clothing that had been completely torn to shreds in her eyes.

Every fracture was clearly visible.

[[The World]]'s dark gold power froze all the fractures.

Those fine threads couldn't continue to break, but they couldn't reconnect either.

She didn't know if she could save these people.

But she knew she could at least touch those fractures.

"I can see them."

Lin Xiaoman said.

The lead physician was slightly taken aback.

"See what?"

"Their contract fractures."

"All the fractures."

This sentence made the surroundings fall silent for a moment.

The Grand Elder of the Song Family walked over quickly.

"Have you used a Contract Detection Card?"

"No."

"A talent skill?"

"Not that either."

Lin Xiaoman raised her right hand.

"It's my Stand."

A faint mental fluctuation emerged from her body.

There was no sense of oppression like when Qin Ye summoned [[The World]].

Nor was there the phenomenon of dark gold Mental Power covering the sky and earth.

Dozens of semi-transparent threads slowly drifted down from Lin Xiaoman's fingers.

Next, a silver Suture needle only the length of a finger appeared beside her shoulder.

There were no complex patterns on the silver needle's surface.

The dozens of threads didn't emit a powerful aura either.

They just floated quietly in the air.

Like ordinary needles and threads used by a tailor.

[Stand: Suture.]

[Power: E.]

[Speed: E.]

[Defense: E.]

[Growth: C.]

[Ability: Mental Suture.]

A Song Family youth staring closest at Lin Xiaoman for a few seconds suddenly remembered something.

"It's you?"

"You participated in the internal testing for the Stand Arrow?"

Lin Xiaoman nodded gently.

"The ninth batch."

"I've seen the records for that batch of tests."

The youth's expression became extremely strange.

The ninth batch of Stand Arrow tests was not successful.

At least not in terms of combat.

Out of twenty testers, most of the awakened Stands didn't have strong combat capabilities.

Lin Xiaoman was the most typical example among them.

Her Stand, [Suture], had no attack power.

No speed.

No defensive capability.

To confirm the Stand's strength, the testers once had her fight a Tier 1 [Iron-Skinned Mouse].

As a result, when [Suture] pricked the Iron-Skinned Mouse, it couldn't even penetrate the other's fur.

The Iron-Skinned Mouse got spooked and charged back at Lin Xiaoman.

If the testers hadn't intervened in time, she might have even been injured by a Tier 1 Battle Beast.

The final test evaluation was only four words.

[Low Combat Value Stand.]

Although Su Bai had emphasized that Stands weren't necessarily for combat, the testing department couldn't find a specific use for [Suture] at the time.

It could indeed touch Mental Power.

But it couldn't heal mental injuries.

Nor could it repair a damaged Mental Sea.

Even if two broken pieces of Mental Power were sewn together, they would still separate again once the threads disappeared.

Therefore, Lin Xiaoman only received an evaluation of "suggest continued observation" in the end.

Afterward, she returned to the Song Family and continued to serve as the most ordinary young beast nurse.

"Her Stand has no healing ability."

The Song Family youth quickly shared what he knew.

"It was tested back then."

"It can't even beat a Tier 1 Battle Beast."