Occasionally, when passing by a bus stop or a billboard, the words "City of Hope" are dazzling.
Sur was not as calm as he looked. Surrounded by a group of monsters and demons, he could not help but be on guard subconsciously.
Walking was too slow, so he found an electric tricycle to get around.
According to the map, going forward is the last extremely dangerous area, and Ji Heng can only be there.
The sky ahead changed color, dark red patches dotting the clouds. Suer paused at the right moment. A game couldn't be centered around a battle of strength between monsters and humans. If he rushed in, Ji Heng might be on the brink of victory, and that would disrupt his entire plan.
"Why did you stop?" The monster didn't have that much patience, and the strange little red fish swimming in the air spoke sharply.
Sur opened the map on his phone, walked to the nearest stationery store, found a marker, pulled down the curtain of the cake shop next door, quickly wrote a line of words on it, walked out and handed it to the flying monster.
"Please take this and fly it into the air for demonstration, and report its contents."
The monitor lizard on the side said disdainfully: "I have a loud voice, so I can just shout."
Su Er said with a smile: "It needs to be grand and impressive. Just shouting won't do the trick."
The monster was already showing signs of impatience. Soul added, "It's not worth it to fight the gatekeeper of the extremely dangerous area just for a health check. If he gets hurt, it's not worth it."
He spoke as if he was worried about the safety of these monsters. Although he knew it was extremely fake, at least it sounded comforting, and the remaining monsters didn't care too much.
·
Ji Heng's requirement to pass the level is to protect the monster fish eggs for three hours.
First, you have to find the eggs and take them to hide to avoid being eaten by the monsters in the area. Secondly, the eggs grow very quickly and will grow into juveniles in an hour. Juveniles are attracted to the smell of human flesh and blood and will not hesitate to attack even their protectors.
It is not an easy task to ensure that you are not eaten by the young fish while avoiding the monsters searching the area.
When a young fish tried to sneak up on him and bite its throat, Ji Heng pinched its fin without hesitation. He checked the time: there were still twenty minutes left.
There are three monsters in this area. It is not difficult to escape if you encounter one, but you are afraid that the sound of fighting will attract the other two.
Ji Heng aimed his gaze at a tall building opposite, then glanced at the vehicles parked underground, and began to estimate how long it would take to create an explosive mechanism.
The pinched young fish said nastily, "You have to protect us."
The other young fish also gloated and started to make a fuss. One of them took advantage of the chaos to bite Ji Heng's finger.
These young fish are like brainless children. They don't worry at all that their protectors will die and they will be killed by monsters, as if their genes are engraved with unconditional targeting of humans.
Just as they were trying to slow down Ji Heng's pace, a deep voice came from the sky: "Ji Heng, be brave, the mountain will never fall. Please shout '1' for help..."
The sound came from far away and then drifted away. A piece of red silk was floating in the sky, and the word "backer" could be vaguely seen written arrogantly on it.
Ji Heng's eyelids twitched, and he knew it was Suer's work.
A stone figure, originally wandering around the mall, noticed a staff member causing trouble and hurled a stone into the air in a threatening manner to drive them away. Unfortunately, the latter, relying on his ability to fly, ignored the attack, dodged the stone, and continued with another round of broadcasting.
No one knew how big its lung capacity was. In this empty city, the sound passed through tall buildings and could even be heard by some players in the danger zone.
The friction between the monsters is beneficial for Ji Heng to hide. Now there is only a quarter of an hour left until the end of the game.
"Ji Heng bravely ventures forward, and his backing will never fall..."
A completely different voice came from the outside world, but the content was the same.
Ji Heng sighed, certain that Su'er had sent more than one monster to support him. The surroundings were chaotic, so just in case, he took the opportunity to go to the opposite building and set a trap.
The second hand turned several times, and in the blink of an eye, only three minutes remained. According to Ji Heng's usual style of dealing with people, he would inevitably take a small risk to lure a monster over and blow it up half to death, as a small reward for the monster's pursuit of him for several hours.
However, after knowing Su Er for a long time, I was inevitably influenced by him. The latter's style is to be stable and never do anything dramatic.
Even though his actions seemed exaggerated, Su Er was the most cautious. Therefore, Ji Heng did not attract the monster in the end, and quietly leaned against the wall, waiting for the final period of time to pass.
He looked up at the monsters coming and going in the sky and couldn't help but sneered: "Forget it."
It's enough to get the information, there's no need to cause trouble.
·
There are several streets around, and in order to prevent them from being missed, Sur specially sent monsters to post notices stating that they should meet outside the xx supermarket.
Afterwards, they began to fulfill the agreement and used an electric shock device for health care.
This was definitely not a pleasant process. One monster was deliberately causing trouble, claiming that its time was shorter than that of its peers. The people in the queue behind it were annoyed by its excessive chatter, so we fought it several times, big and small.
Sur was almost affected. If he had not dodged in time, he would have been cut by the flying debris.
When Ji Heng appeared, there were only three monsters left by his side.
I watched helplessly as Sur skillfully placed the little red fish on his knees and used the electric shock device with an expressionless face. The little red fish screamed non-stop, and several scales flew off. Afterwards, he left with a drunken look on his face.
"…"
"I have to sell my art instead of my body because of the pressure of life." Su Er said calmly.
His "art" is to make full use of the electric shock device, shocking the ghosts when necessary and making the ghosts feel happy when necessary.
Ji Heng remembered that the Yin energy he had stored previously was almost used up. Apparently, Suer had made another fortune. He couldn't help but smile, and stepped forward to lend him a hand.
Having sat on the steps for too long and used the electric shock device for a long time, Sul's legs and knuckles felt numb when he stood up.
"Have you got the information?" Ask the most concerned question first.
Ji Heng nodded: "Beware of parasites."
This is a very obvious clue. Sur: "In the extremely dangerous difficulty area, the clues will be clearer as expected."
Ji Heng briefly introduced the game's content: "There's a strange fish cub that keeps trying to inflict wounds on me."
Suer stopped and asked, "Do you suspect it wants to be parasitic?"
Ji Heng: "The game is full of lies and mysteries. The content of the game cannot be completely fabricated."
Su Er thought for a moment and said, "So in a situation where you are sure to die, you should try your best to avoid getting hurt."
But achieving a complete absence of wounds, especially in a Hell-level dungeon, was practically impossible. Without further pessimistic thoughts, he pulled a peach branch from his sleeve.
"I went to Gou Bao Pu and bought a tip in exchange for the toll. Besides that, the saying 'eyes are the windows to the soul' is also a clue."
Toll?
Knowing the risks involved, Ji Heng glanced up and down to make sure he didn't see the wound: "Did you use items to recover?"
Su Er shook his head: "This is the strangest thing, the Blue Lotus Sage did not expose my deception."
As he spoke, his brows tightened slightly. In fact, the best case scenario was that he was beaten half to death by the monster, which meant that everything was as expected. But the current situation made him feel uneasy.
Ji Heng: "Tell me in detail."
Su Er recounted the entire process, but this time he included almost all the omitted details, from how tolls were collected to his interactions with Gou Bao Pu, and even the conversation with the monster, which he repeated word for word.
Ji Heng didn't comment after hearing this. The two had already entered the danger zone. A giant-eared rabbit saw humans stepping into its border and was about to have a meal.
After taking a few steps closer, he noticed Su Er's brooch and reluctantly stopped thinking about it. Then he saw Ji Heng's nameplate and asked, "Are you the Ji Heng with a backer?"
"…"
Ji Heng silently glanced at Suer, who turned his head to the side and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.
The giant-eared rabbit was like a repeater. When it didn't hear the answer, it opened its bloody mouth and asked, "You are the one..."
"It's me." Ji Heng stared at it intently: "Let's fight?"
The giant-eared rabbit refused and pointed at Soul: "If I take action and he uses his body to protect you, I will be violating employee standards."
Suer was surprised: "The rabbits in this city are quite smart and kind, which is rare."
For example, the rabbit simulator that followed me all night did not launch a sneak attack in the middle of the night.
As for this giant-eared rabbit, it initially had murderous intent, but was able to suppress it. A normal monster, on the other hand, would not miss the opportunity to eat a human, regardless of the consequences.
The giant-eared rabbit was very satisfied with this seemingly unintentional flattery and added, "We are permanent employees and have high professional ethics."
As we approached the hotel entrance, loudspeakers throughout the city began to blare: [The regional difficulty exploration phase has concluded. The death toll in the extremely dangerous area is 2, and the death toll in the dangerous area is 3. Survivors can move freely.]
Apart from Wan Yi and Ji Heng, only Su Tangyi survived in the extremely dangerous area.
In the blink of an eye, only seventeen of the twenty-two players remained. When they gathered at the hotel again, everyone looked unhappy.
They have figured out some patterns. All the dangers in Nongxu come from personal choices. If they always follow the minimum standards, it will not be difficult to get out alive, but they may face greater troubles after getting out.
The moment Ji Heng and Suer pushed the door open, these worried looks instantly became strange.
One got in through the backdoor, the other is rumored to have a backer... this combination is amazing!
'bite'.
The sound of the elevator door opening drew everyone's attention away. The Green Lotus Sage yawned and said with a look of annoyance, "I took an excessive nap. It's not good for your health."
Seeing the players, he said, trying to suppress his sleepiness, "I asked the staff to prepare afternoon tea in advance."
The monsters outside have not completely left yet, and everyone would rather stay in the hotel now, and no one objects.
Sur noticed the host's movements. They seemed lazy, but in fact the distance of each step was the same, and even the frequency of his blinking eyes did not change.
Ji Heng used the action of eating dessert as a cover and whispered, "The deceptive host should have never changed."
Suer nodded and collected the toll. From the monster's evaluation of Qinglian, it can be seen that the two sides had dealt with each other a long time ago.
"Gou Baopu even has information about a doomed game, so why bother asking who the host you're trying to deceive is?"
Suer was also confused. Fraud was a major event in the game. As a profiteer, it was impossible for him not to have even basic information.
This question is probably a reminder to myself.
After taking a sip of milk coffee and feeling sick, he put down the cup and boldly speculated, "Is the host possessed by a monster?"
Ji Heng: "When thinking about things, always consider the worst possible scenario."
I was about to say the host had been killed, but the person standing before me was actually an unknown creature. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Blue Lotus Sage's unwavering smile, like a precision instrument. A curse twitched at his lips and he blurted out, "Could it be that that bastard game has come down here to test me?"
"…"