Xiao Chen's heart was on fire, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He was careless! He couldn't help but doubt his previous suggestion. Maybe, as Zhang Sicheng said, retreating at the beginning was the safest option. His mind was now full of all kinds of horrible possibilities he imagined. Being ambushed by goblins? Encountering ferocious beasts? Or other unknown threats? He didn't know if it was because his mental power had become stronger, but these scenes were vivid and made his feet cold.
He ran all the way, and he didn't know when he started to feel dazed, and the picture seemed to switch between reality and imagination.
Looking at the forest that was rapidly retreating as he ran, he saw countless goblins holding spears besieging Shi Hao, forcing them to the edge of the cliff;
Looking at the sky that was gradually darkening between the leaves, he saw Professor Lin being stabbed to the ground by a spear, holding the spear tightly with his bloody hands.
These scenes were so clear and real that he could smell the stench of the goblins and the blood in the air. These sensory stimulations spun around him like a kaleidoscope, and finally, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes and fell down.
After a while, he began to regain consciousness, his forehead was burning. As his vision gradually cleared, he found himself sitting on the ground, Ye Zi looked at him anxiously, and Zhang Sicheng was using a towel dipped in mineral water to clean his wound.
"Senior, why did you faint while running?" Ye Zi handed a roll of gauze to Zhang Sicheng, who bandaged Xiao Chen's head with it.
Xiao Chen realized that the trance just now had passed. The training in the Dream Tower made him imagine anything with particularly clear and real details. Perhaps this greatly increased the burden on his mind. In addition, his anxiety and restlessness exceeded his consciousness. He comforted her, "I'm fine. I may have some anemia."
Zhang Sicheng bandaged the wound, looked at the hillside not far away, and said to Xiao Chen: "Xiao Ye, take care of Xiao Xiao here, I will go to check the situation first."
"No! We can't separate anymore!" Ye Zi stopped him. "My previous proposal led to this result. We can't take such a risk again. Either we go together, or we don't go at all."
"I made the final decision, so I am responsible. But there is no point in discussing this now. Xiao Chen obviously cannot leave, but we must find out the truth!"
"I'll carry him!" Ye Zi said without hesitation.
Xiao Chen certainly didn't have the chance to enjoy the benefit of being carried up the mountain by a beautiful woman. His strange symptoms came and went quickly. Zhang Sicheng helped him for a while, and he was able to walk slowly. The three of them were a little slower than before, but they finally arrived at the hillside where they had agreed to meet before dark.
The hillside was deserted, and the ground was in a mess, with bloodstains, footprints, pieces of clothing, and broken spears everywhere. The first time Xiao Chen looked at this scene, he felt like he was frozen in time, unable to even move his feet. When the visitors from the civilized world collided with the barbarism of this world for the first time, all their experience, knowledge, and thoughts seemed so pale and powerless. Xiao Chen suddenly felt how lucky they were before, meeting humans in the town of Frollo who could communicate. If God threw them directly into such a wilderness, could they really survive
A trembling hand held his arm. Ye Zi's face had lost the confident smile that she usually wore. She seemed to have to hold Xiao Chen with one hand and lean on the spear with the other to stay up. Xiao Chen heard her murmur in a very soft voice: "They must be fine, they must be fine..."
The three of them didn't move. After a long while, Zhang Sicheng whispered, "Look around to see if there are any clues."
Xiao Chen considered himself a brave man, but at this moment, the traces of battle he saw made his heart feel like it was buried in the snow in the deep winter, freezing and stinging, and then numb. All the details in front of him seemed to rush into his mind and mix with the previous horrific hallucinations. A door opened between the illusion and reality, connecting them to each other, which made him feel afraid.
You made a wrong decision. You let them get surrounded by goblins. If they hadn't been waiting for you here, they would have safely retreated to school, right? Ye Zi was just a little girl who had a sudden idea. Zhang Sicheng was originally against it. Only you, only you can finally bring about this result... Kill them all. A voice in his heart kept repeating. This voice was pressing step by step, as if it would not stop until Xiao Chen was driven crazy.
Fortunately, Ye Zi's low cry interrupted the voice.
Xiao Chen followed the direction pointed by Ye Zi and discovered the movement in the bushes on the west side. Zhang Sicheng gestured to Xiao Chen and Ye Zi, asking them to ambush on both sides by leaning against two trees, while he hid behind a bush and drew his bow and drew his arrow. Xiao Chen pressed his sweaty hands against the tree roots, but the coolness of the rough bark could not really calm him down.
A dark figure emerged from the bushes, breathing heavily. He seemed to be holding a weapon in his hand, and there was a sense of panic in his every move. Xiao Chen was holding a dagger, and when he saw the figure rushing out, his feet seemed to be rooted, and he didn't have the courage to rush forward in time. But Ye Zi had already rushed out like a leopard. She didn't stab, but smashed the gun down fiercely. The dark figure blocked with the thing in his hand, but was still knocked off balance by Ye Zi. Seeing the opportunity, Ye Zi quickly pursued the victory. At this time, Xiao Chen used his special eyesight to see clearly and shouted: "Stop! Stop now! It's Shi Hao!"
Unexpectedly, after Ye Zi was stunned for a moment, he ignored Xiao Chen's call and continued to attack with the spear. The black shadow parried a few times, but ultimately failed to withstand Ye Zi's violent attack and was knocked to the ground.
"Stop fighting! I told you, that's Shi Hao!" Xiao Chen shouted loudly to Ye Zi.
Ye Zi pointed the gun at Shi Hao and shouted, "I'm targeting you! Everyone else is gone, but you're not missing any limbs, and there's no blood on your body. You sneaked out from the side! How can you still call yourself a soldier?" After saying that, he threw the gun to the ground angrily.
Xiao Chen thought Shi Hao would refute, but he didn't expect him to collapse on the ground and couldn't speak. Zhang Sicheng put away his bow and arrow, and walked over and asked, "Xiao Shi, Ye Zi was too impulsive, but what happened? You have to tell us the situation here clearly."
Seeing Shi Hao lower his head, Xiao Chen walked up to him, squatted down and said to him: "Are you ready to give them up?"
Shi Hao raised his head suddenly, and Xiao Chen saw that his eyes were swollen and red. He screamed, "I want to save them even if I die." He saw Ye Zi's back to him, and without even turning his head, he stood up, rushed behind Ye Zi, and said loudly, "But, at that time... I tried my best! I really tried my best! On the way back, everything was normal, and there was no trace of goblins at all, but suddenly, those goblins came. The guide Awad was stabbed in the neck by a javelin as soon as he came up, and the others were scared silly. I asked them to retreat first, and Li Tianrui and I would cover them, but there were too many of them. Li Tianrui was knocked to the ground by a goblin who jumped down from the tree, and the other goblins chased me. I ran out of bullets and had no help. What else could I do except retreat deep into the forest? Tell me, what would you do if it were you?"
"When the bullets are all used up, just use the gun to smash them. When the gun breaks, just bite it with your teeth! As a soldier, if you don't fight hard at a time like this, then why keep you alive? A 1.80-meter-tall man doesn't dare to fight a 1-meter-tall goblin... Humph!" Ye Zi's throat was not as loud as Shi Hao's, but his voice was as sharp as a needle, piercing Shi Hao's heart.
"I, I fought with them, and after shaking them off, I went back, and that's how I met you! But this is all I can do. I'm an ordinary soldier, not a superhero. I can't charge at dozens of armed goblins with a gun without bullets! I can't do it!" Shi Hao's voice faded, but his tone was filled with resentment that had nowhere to vent.
"What about the others? Did you see them being caught with your own eyes?" Zhang Sicheng asked.
Shi Hao lowered his head and said, "I, I heard their calls... I guess they didn't escape... They should have gone in that direction." He pointed to the northwest.
"Asshole! Is this what you mean by men standing in front of women? Soldiers standing in front of civilians? So for you, this is just a work slogan, and if you can't stop him, forget it!" Ye Zi rushed over and wanted to hit Shi Hao again, but was hugged by Xiao Chen. She struggled for a few times, pushed Xiao Chen away, and was about to chase him. But she heard Xiao Chen behind her groaning, stroking his forehead and sitting on the ground humming, so she gave up, panting and walking back and forth to help Xiao Chen up.
"Ye Zi, calm down! Let me talk to him." Xiao Chen rubbed his head and said to Shi Hao, "I am not qualified to question your bravery, because when you rushed out of the bushes just now, I was actually scared and retreated. If I were escorting Professor Lin, I might have done worse than you. But I see that you blame yourself, you are probably dissatisfied and regretful about your performance, right? You should also want to make amends, right?"
"I..." Shi Hao looked at the ground at a loss.
Seeing that he remained silent, Xiao Chen sighed and said, "Here, we are fighting for our own survival. We have no backup, no one to rely on, no bottom line, and we are not even qualified to surrender. If we don't fight hard, we will have nothing. However, since you feel that you have done your best, let us go. Although I am timid, I can still fight for my life once more."
He did not look at Shi Hao, who was in pain, but said to Zhang Sicheng, "Let's go rescue them, but we need someone to go back and report the news. Let Shi Hao go."
Zhang Sicheng nodded and said, "If we can't come back, tell the school leaders not to act rashly, and tell the locals about the goblins and ask for their help."
Shi Hao looked at Xiao Chen and said sadly, "I know you are trying to provoke me, and I also know that you are almost going to die, but I also have to save my dignity. I... I can't go back."
"Provocation is used on those who have blood in their hearts. Do you have any?" Ye Zi picked up the spear and said sarcastically.
Shi Hao did not refute her, but picked up the rifle, set up the triangular bayonet of the rifle, and took a javelin left by the goblin in his hand, and walked silently to the northwest.
Zhang Sicheng walked up to him, grabbed his arm, took out five or six bullets from his pocket, and put them in his hand. "These are probably the bullets that Li Tianrui dropped. I hope you can use them well this time."