Chapter 10: 10

Along the way, the players whispered and looked at Wen Zheliu and He Qin again and again with surprised eyes. He Qin just smiled and led Wen Zheliu to the rear of the group.

“How did you…” Wen Zheliu was puzzled, happy, and frightened.

“Shh.” He Qin raised his index finger and put it in front of his lips, “We will talk slowly after we find a safe place.”

Wen Zheliu’s face was a little hot. Suddenly, He Qin pinched his chin. His expression changed at once.

“What happened to your face?”

“What?” Wen Zheliu pulled his hand down sheepishly, “My face…”

Then he suddenly realized that the image in the virtual world reflected the state in reality. The injury on his face caused by Liu Tianxiong hadn’t fully healed. He was afraid that even now, the corner of his mouth was still bruised and his cheekbone was still swollen with clogged blood.

“No, I’m fine…” Wen Zheliu hesitated, “It’s just… a fight with someone.”

He Qin’s eyes were cold, and he continued to ask, “With whom?”

He pried away Wen Zheliu’s hand and pressed his fingertips stubbornly and softly on the corner of his injured lips. This cherished and careful action, coupled with the temperature of He Qin’s skin, was like a fire that burned all the way into the tip of Wen Xueliu’s heart.

“Anyway, I’m here now. People in the real world… It will be difficult to meet again for a while…” Wen Zheliu’s ears were red as if they were on fire, and his heart was also boiling hot. He hurriedly used a little more strength to pull He Qin’s arm, “I’m fine, it’ll heal in a while.”

He Qin looked at him for a while before he turned his gaze away and sneered, “Okay, then let’s wait until we get out.”

He was still wearing the same black sweater and military trousers during his first meeting with Wen Zheliu, but the mask on his face was missing. His jet-black military boots silently stepped over the stones embedded in the mud. His long arms, slender waist, broad shoulders, and long legs were extremely hot, like a nimble and untamed leopard.

The two walked side by side. Wen Zheliu thought about it, and asked, “Should I return the dog tag to you?”

He Qin said, “You can keep it. It’s good that I can appear here now. Giving the dog tag to me is like giving away a free head1.“

Wen Zheliu nodded. At this moment, Mu Tuo could no longer hold it back. He came over and said, “This friend…”

He Qin replied: “My name is He Qin. I’m his brother.“

“Well, brother He Qin,” Muto said, “What on earth is going on with you guys?”

Without waiting for Wen Zheliu to speak, He Qin said, “We are still at a loss. Maybe this is the magic of the Uncanny Valley.“

Wen Zheliu followed suit to show a look of pleasant surprise and grabbed He Qin’s sleeve, saying, “But wouldn’t it be good to have one more person to help? I was really shocked when he was called by the system. “

Mu Tuo was skeptical, but there was no better explanation at the moment. He could only say congratulations bitterly, and then went back to the front.

He Qin glanced at him and repeated in a low voice with a smile, “Are you really that shocked?”

Wen Zheliu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “You are so annoying.”

.

The crowd walked along the path to the end, and finally saw a towering wooden sign that kept disappearing and reappearing amidst the fog.

“What is that?” Zhou Qing ran over first, “Let’s go, let’s go and have a look!”

Zhou Yao said quickly, “Be careful, don’t be so rash!”

The group stepped forward, one after another, looking around the lone wooden sign. Its wood color was already very old. The dark red cursive English letters were washed by wind and rain all year round, leaving only faint traces. Overall, it looked particularly dilapidated.

“Next stop… Maryann’s cottage…” Wen Zheliu struggled to identify the words, “At the end of the path, there is a small wooden cottage… If there are travelers from afar, you can go and stay for the night…”

This is an old stop sign.

The system prompt sounded again in everyone’s ears.

[Side quest: Find the main quest (1/1) has been completed. ]

[Rewards: 200 experience points, 500 copper coins. The reward has been sent to your inventory.]

[Congratulations, your level has risen to level 5. The reward has been sent to your inventory. ]

[The main quest has started. ]

[The main quest has been updated. ]

[Main Quest ①: Reach Maryann’s cottage (0/1)]

Wen Zheliu was bewildered by this series of system prompts, and before he could take a look at the attribute changes after reaching level 5, someone in the team took out the system reward from the inventory: “Hey, it’s a self-defense stick!”

Wen Zheliu also looked at the inventory, and found that he was given a pair of long steel knives, and the rank was also E rank. Compared to the [Rusty Dagger] he had before, he didn’t know how much better this was.

“Here,” he separated one of them and handed it to He Qin, “One for each.”

“Hmm.” He Qin nodded and said thoughtfully, “Have you seen that advertisement? That… retro nostalgia theme that was launched by Nova City last month. There is a snack product in it, which is a detachable frozen juice…“

“Oh oh oh!” Wen Zheliu was stunned, still maintaining the posture of handing the knife, “I know, I know, Wang Wang crushed ice stick2! Half for you, half for me. You are my other…“

Suddenly, he got stuck and silence permeated. He Qin obviously had a hard time holding back his laughter, waiting for him to finish his words.

Wen Zheliu:”… you get the hell out of here for me.”

Du Zijun was smoking a cigarette next to them. Hearing this misleading dialogue, she could not help but glance at them both in surprise with the slender tail of her eye: “Tsk, damned gays.”

Suddenly, hearing this inexplicable verbal attack, Wen Zheliu couldn’t help but be taken aback, but before he could speak, Zhou Qing hugged Du Zijun’s slender waist and guided her: “It’s already 2301, sister! Don’t be so rigid in an era where even humans and robots can get married. In any case, the way you addressed them is very offensive. If we’re in a normal game, I can report you to the Anti-Discrimination Association.“

A strange blush appeared on Du Zijun’s pale face. She glared at Zhou Qing while silently and gently breaking free from her intimate embrace and took the initiative to walk to the front of the team. She also took out a black baton from her backpack as she walked.

Wen Zheliu thanked Zhou Qing for her rescue and complained to He Qin, “Look, you’re causing discomfort to your teammates.”

He Qin smiled and glanced at Du Zijun, who was walking in the front row. “Hey, wait for your gege to accompany you this time,” he said as he flipped the long knife in his palm twice. “I still don’t know where I should go. Do you have the heart to tie my mouth right now?”

Wen Zheliu was about to refute, but on second thought, summoning He Qin this time could only be considered an accident. If he really survived this first world, when it came to the second world, would He Qin still be able to maintain his current status as his item? Where can he find another novice lucky wheel to draw this prize again?

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He sighed and stopped talking.

Seeing his dejected mood, He Qin took the initiative to put his arm around his shoulders and comforted him: “It’s okay, we’ll cross the bridge when we get there, just let nature take its course.”

“Yeah.” Wen Zheliu nodded.

After walking for a while, Zhou Qing blinked and quietly approached from the side: “Little brother, you and this handsome brother… are really a couple?”

“Huh?” Wen Zheliu was taken aback and retorted, with a little guilty conscience, “That’s not the case! He’s just… joking, but in fact we are both straight, okay?”

“Really?” Zhou Qing was suspicious. “But the two of you… um, well, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“No,” Wen Zheliu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “I really didn’t, we just… I don’t know how to explain this clearly.”

He Qin and Wen Zheliu were walking side by side. He Qin didn’t speak, but his stilled eyes seemed to contain a forced smile. He coldly glanced over, and Zhou Qing immediately shivered. She didn’t dare talk to Wen Zheliu anymore and trotted forward to find her brother.

Wen Zheliu murmured, “Girls these days have such wild imaginations.”

He Qin: “Really?”

On the other hand, Zhou Qing sighed: “Striaght men these days really don’t know they’re actually gay.”

Zhou Yao: “?”

Gradually, with the passage of time, there were only sporadic, brief conversations left among the crowd. Everyone concentrated on walking along the path. Although the sun was still hidden behind thick clouds, it was approaching noon, and the forests on both sides of the road were still filled with a cream-colored mist, hazy, like a layer of thick and thin lingering veil.

In this unusual silence, Wen Zheliu keenly smelled a different kind of dangerous atmosphere; it felt like there were many pairs of eyes staring at them.

Wen Zheliu slowly straightened his waist and clenched the steel knife in his hand, only to feel a sticky chill running up his spine. He said softly, “Wait a minute.”

“What?” He Qin wrinkled his eyebrows, his thin lips moved slightly, his voice was equally light and fast, “You found something?”

Wen Zheliu said, “I think…”

Before he could completely blurt out the word, an extremely harsh scream suddenly came from the front of the team.

“Help—! Something, something caught me! Help ah ahhhhhhhh—! “

The players were in an uproar, and the two suddenly raised their heads. If they heard correctly, this should have been the female voice of that couple!

“Fangfei!” Her boyfriend yelled, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll save you!”

With the addition of He Qin, there were thirteen players in the whole group, but the trail was muddy and narrow and could not accommodate all the players, so everyone consciously dispersed and walked forward in small groups. Although Wen Zheliu and He Qin looked suspicious and their level was the lowest, the self-defense weapons assigned to them were also the strongest among the players. At this moment, Wen Zheliu skillfully pushed aside the panicked people in front of him with one hand, and then raised his knife to move forward, “Make way! Those who are not strong in combat, retreat to the side!“

At this point, there was another howl from the forest, but this time it was inhuman, sounding not only like hysterical laughter, but also like the wheezing and roaring of a broken bellow. For a moment, Wen Zheliu and He Qin couldn’t help but be surprised when they reached the crowd.

They saw a thick purple-black, bloody tongue covered in dense barbs shoot out from the bushes in front of them. It was wrapped around Lin Fangfei’s waist and abdomen, trying to pull her into the dense forest. Her boyfriend, Lu Hai, held a long stick and hit it hard twice, but with little success. Seeing that the weapon was useless, he simply dropped the stick, held his girlfriend in both hands, and dragged her backwards with all his might, “Help! Save her!“

“Idiot, pick up your weapon!” Du Zijun gritted her cigarette tightly and used her stick to whack the long tongue, which caused a small electric current to scurry around everywhere. At the same time, this action angered the creatures lurking in the forest. The giant python-like tongue suddenly released the restraint on Lin Fangfei and twitched fiercely, whipping Du Zijun’s abdomen and sending her flying. Lu Hai, who was holding his girlfriend, also fell backwards because of the huge inertia, chaotically rolling on the ground.

“F*ck you…” Du Zijun had blood on the corners of her mouth; her expression was gloomy. Besides the muddy dots on her white skirt, there was mucus that seemed to be mixed with blood and filth from the tongue that was smeared on her. She was about to cover her belly and get up when Wen Zheliu jumped out from the rear and slashed at the bloody snake-like tongue that was about to attack Lin Fangfei again!

“Get the hell to the back.” He Qin followed closely behind, without even glancing at the young couple, and coldly ordered.

The steel knife’s defensive power is many times greater than that of the wooden stick, but after the slash, Wen Zheliu’s arm was actually numb due to the force of the recoil, and the blade suddenly bounced back half an inch. His mind was spinning fast, and the grip of his right hand was also loosened. He took the knife with his left hand and changed from slashing to stabbing. The steel knife actually sank into the flesh tongue by half an inch, and rotten black blood poured out!

The monster let out a painful hiss in the forest, and the long tongue flung around wildly. Wen Zheliu hurriedly retreated, while He Qin shook his long knife and took his place the moment Wen Zheliu retreated. The two parties cooperated closely and tacitly.

If Wen Zheliu was only a beginner in the use of knives with a faster reflex than ordinary people, then He Qin was obviously a master of this skill. As Wen Zheliu saw in the survival world, the momentum of his knife was powerful like a thunderbolt, coming and going to intercept the shadow. This was obviously an E-rank item, but he could swing it like a world-famous sword. The creature in the forest was keenly aware of the danger at this moment. It wanted to draw its tongue and leave immediately, but it was no match for the speed of He Qin’s fast knife. The tip of its tongue instantly fell to the ground and flew into the grass with the stench of rotten blood.

The rest of the bloody tongue shrank back like it was zapped by electricity, and the hidden monster also burst into a frantic and painful roar. The forest shook violently from far to near, as if some behemoth was about to rush out of it.

There was a loud bang, and the dust was flying. The players behind him collectively sucked in a breath of cold air. Wen Zheliu put down the hand that was blocking the sand and stone in front of him, and his teeth were clenched unconsciously.

… In front of them was a huge, semi-prostrate humanoid creature.

It had no skin nor hair, and its bare, gnarled purple-black muscle texture was dripping with disgusting, rancid mucus. Its face has no eyes or nose, only a huge hideous mouth that occupies one-half of the face. This mouth was nearly split to the back of the head, and it was filled with dense, jagged, sharp teeth, as well as a long tongue dangling from it, swaying from side to side like a living snake. It’s just that the tip of the tongue is missing at this moment, and there is a continuous flow of mucus mixed with black blood, which erodes the ground into a charred black.

“Its blood is corrosive.” He Qin said in a low voice to Wen Zheliu, “Be careful.”

He Qin’s calm and cool-headed attitude also infected him. Wen Zheliu lightly gave a nod. At the same time, he also noticed that its upper body was supported by two deformed and huge claws. This humanoid creature with hands and feet was nearly three meters tall. Even if it was only half-crawling on the ground, it was enough to overlook an adult human of average height. Fortunately, its legs have been bent in a twisted posture, and it can only move by relying on its hands, which may be a good thing for players.

Wen Zheliu also noticed that, for some reason, the monster’s lower body was festering, and there were no obvious sexual characteristics.

While the player was observing it, it was also shaking its head left and right, observing the movements and status of the players with its non-existent eyes. Wen Zheliu was tense and asked in a low voice, “Can you see what level this is??“

He Qin said: “Don’t fight it. You can’t win.“

At that moment, Wen Zheliu was at the back and He Qin was at the front. The two formed a diagonal defensive formation, blocking the ten players behind them.

Mu Tuo was greatly surprised: “Wen Di, you guys…”

“Brother Mu, keep an eye on those two people,” said Wen Zheliu without looking back. “Although it’s not clear why, the monster seems to be targeting them.”

Mu Tuo clenched the harpoon in his hand and said solemnly, “Then be careful…”

Before the words were finished, the monster on the opposite side seemed to have already assessed their combat effectiveness. It let out a heavy gasp, grinned with its sharp teeth, with the corners of its long, narrow mouth raised high toward the sides, giving the players an almost sardonic grin.

“Watch out!” He Qin’s muscles were tense. He shouted at Wen Zheliu, and the posture of holding the knife with one hand was changed to clenching with both hands at that moment. The sword light is as swift as lightning. He Qin’s posture was like a leopard waiting for the right moment to show its cold and cruel heroic spirit.

“Follow me!”

Wen Zheliu’s heart suddenly moved, as if there was a transparent and invisible thread that held the two together in the dark. He moved his footsteps, holding the sword in both hands, and crossed He Qin’s sword in tandem to form an X-shape. The two of them combined their strength at the same time and collided with the frenzied monster in a loud clash of metal and bone!

 

1

This term 白给 [bái ɡěi] is an online term, referring to the fact that players in the game die in battle without making any contribution to their own side and let the enemy pick up their equipment. Or it can also mean giving something away for free

2

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