I was terrified! Raising a colossal star beast in the Beast Taming World

"Tell me, what happened?"

Xue Youyou released Meng Yanqing, her gaze sweeping over the crowd that filled the room. Her voice had returned to its usual composure and calm, as if the person who had just been banging on someone's head was not her at all.

So early, everyone has gathered in her room. This suggests that something significant has probably happened.

Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces changed almost simultaneously.

The lingering smirk and curiosity in their eyes, as if swept away by a gust of wind, vanished completely. In their place came a solemnity, an unease, and a deep, oppressive sense of bewilderment.

With everyone offering their explanations, Xue Youyou quickly understood the current situation.

"You mean, this morning when you woke up, you found that your fitness trackers couldn't connect to the internet? And it's not just us, everyone's experiencing this?"

Her tone carried a slight hint of surprise; this situation was indeed beyond her expectations.

As Xue Youyou spoke, she raised her wrist and quickly tapped her wristband a few times. The screen lit up, but the network status section was blank. She raised an eyebrow slightly and tried opening several other applications that required internet access, but without exception, they all failed to function.

Lu Yuan nodded, crossed her arms, and wore a helpless expression: "To be more precise, all electronic devices are unable to connect to the network. That's what the two Alliance girls who serve us said. They said that since midnight last night, the entire network in Yue Lanzhou has been paralyzed. It's the entire network, not just one city or one region, but the entire Yue Lanzhou."

Xue Youyou was slightly taken aback.

Network outage. In this era that heavily relies on information transmission, she understands the weight of this term better than anyone.

Without the internet, electronic payments are impossible, shops cannot operate normally, logistics systems will grind to a halt, and long-distance communication will be completely cut off. The entire functioning of society will be disrupted. Over time, panic and chaos will spread like a plague, and public security will suffer in various places.

"Which data-type ultimate-level pet is causing trouble?"

Xue Youyou blinked, this was the first possibility that came to mind. Ultimate-level data-type pets have the ability to hack into and paralyze networks, a setting she knew from games in her previous life.

Lu Yuan shook her head: "I don't know, anyway, the alliance hasn't issued any notice yet."

"But I guess we can't say that, since there's no internet, they can't send out notifications now."

As she was talking, she suddenly burst out laughing, amused by her own words.

Just then, Luo Yan suddenly interrupted.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a certainty: "I think even a data-type ultimate-level pet beast couldn't do this."

All eyes turned to her.

Luo Yan blushed instantly when so many eyes were staring at her.

Lin Yueyao looked at her suspiciously, her brows furrowing, her tone carrying a matter-of-fact skepticism: "Luo Yan, how did you know? Isn't your Truth Machine still just a fully-developed pet?"

In her view, only beast tamers with ultimate-level data-based pets were qualified to make such professional judgments. How could Luo Yan, a student who hadn't even touched an ultimate-level pet, be so certain?

However, Luo Yan, unusually, chuckled and said in a very obviously evasive tone, "Don't worry about such details. Anyway, I just know... If you really can't believe it, just consider it a guess, a guess, hahaha."

She gave a dry laugh, which looked more like a grimace than a cry.

Lin Yueyao's questions deepened, but Luo Yan quickly changed the subject, saying, "Besides, think about it. The League also has three data-type Ultimate-level pets. Even if some data-type Ultimate-level creatures from outside the League wanted to do something bad, it would be impossible. Three against one, how could they possibly lose?"

"That's true..." Lin Yueyao nodded. Although she always felt that Luo Yan was being evasive, the statement itself made sense, and she couldn't find any fault with it.

Meng Yanqing gave Luo Yan a strange look. She, the eldest daughter of the Meng family who had grown up within the Alliance system, naturally knew that the Alliance's Data System Ultimate Forms numbered three—such classified information. But how did Luo Yan, an ordinary student outside the Alliance, know this?

Generally speaking, those who have access to this kind of intelligence are either members of the alliance or hackers who spend years on the alliance's network and can bypass multiple firewalls to steal core data.

But these days, to be a hacker, you first need an ultimate data-powered pet. Without ultimate-level computing power, don't even think about making that level of intrusion; you'll be discovered, locked down, and caught red-handed in a second.

The Truth Machine is only in its complete form, so Luo Yan couldn't possibly be a hacker. Then how did she know this information?

Meng Yanqing scratched her head, unable to figure it out, and decided to put it aside for now and ask about it later when she had time.

At this moment, Xue Youyou, who had been listening quietly, took over the conversation. She narrowed her eyes slightly, her fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the blanket, and spoke at a measured pace, as if she were continuing her reasoning as she spoke: "Since Luo Yan said that forces outside the alliance are impossible—"

"It's not impossible, it's just that the probability of it happening is very small."

Luo Yan suddenly interjected to correct him, her tone serious, her eyes filled with a kind of obsession with precision unique to data-driven pet tamers.

Xue Youyou was interrupted for a moment, but didn't take it to heart, and continued, "Since Luo Yan said that it's unlikely that forces outside the alliance could cause such cyber damage, is it possible that this operation came from within the alliance?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned.

The room was silent for a full three seconds.

Although we are no longer in an era of literary persecution, Xue Youyou's remarks can be considered quite bold. Moreover, her perspective is both unconventional and novel.

Keep in mind, this is the headquarters of the Alliance, near the Tower of Ten Thousand Beasts. They're staying in the Blue Willow Courtyard, officially arranged by the Alliance. To put it bluntly, it's hard to say whether there are any listening devices in the rooms. Xue Youyou's words are like taking off your pants to fart in front of the emperor—utterly audacious.

For a moment, no one dared to respond to Xue Youyou's words.

Even a half-word discussion on such a topic would, to put it more seriously, be considered disrespectful to dukes and marquises.

Meng Yanqing, the only one who grew up within the alliance system, didn't think anything of it. She just felt that Xue Youyou was completely delusional and was the first to speak up in rebuttal.

"No...that can't be right, can it? Why would the alliance do this? There's no motive!"

"There's a motive behind it."

Xue Youyou smiled slightly, her tone as certain as if she had already seen the answer.

She didn't just make things up out of thin air when she said that.

The things Meng Tianxiang told her before leaving last night—Bao Yunxing and Lei Ying were captured, an ancient being calling himself the Hero King temporarily took over the alliance, and Lin Yan and Manzhu would also participate in the Emperor's Ceremony.

These fragments of information rapidly pieced together in her mind, eventually forming an answer.

If, as Meng Tianxiang said, the Hero King truly views the Imperial Sacrifice as a game, then the game needs a grand opening. A magnificent prelude that every corner and every person in Lanzhou cannot ignore.

Using the complete network outage of Lanzhou for a month as the opening signal for the Imperial Ceremony is in line with the practices of the strong.

Xue Youyou could understand the thoughts of that Hero King.

Seeing Xue Youyou smile slightly, looking as if she had seen through everything, Meng Yanqing became even more confused. Her brows furrowed, and she pressed, "What exactly is your motive? Youyou, stop keeping me in suspense."

Xue Youyou did not answer, but instead looked out the window at the blood moon, which was still hanging high in the morning light and was eerily red.

"I saw it," she said softly, her tone carrying an undeniable certainty.