The two passed by a big tree. Xia Chi easily broke off a branch that was three fingers thick, quickly cleared off the branches and leaves on it, and handed it to Baili Xin.
Baili Xin looked at Xia Chi in confusion.
Xia Chi: "Brother, your strength is too low. You can use a crutch to reduce your energy consumption. Don't get tired."
Baili Xin took the cane: "..."
For a moment, I didn’t know whether to say “thank you” or “thank you so much”.
The two men walked for about ten minutes before they stopped in front of a wooden house. There was a wooden sign hanging outside the house with the word "Medicine" written in red on it.
Xia Chi pushed the door open skillfully. There were many shelves in the not-so-big front yard. On each shelf were several round winnowing baskets with some herbs drying in them.
Xia Chi took Baili Xin to the side house next to the yard and knocked on the door.
Three long and two short, very rhythmic.
"who?"
"I am Xia Chi."
The door was quickly opened from the inside, and the person who opened the door saw Baili Xin behind Xia Chi, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "Baili Xin, that's great, you're okay!"
"Long time no see, Dr. Liang."
Baili Xin looked Liang Xi up and down. He had a white scarf wrapped around his head and a white medical apron over his indigo clothes. He looked quite professional.
Liang Xi glanced at Baili Xin, and his expression was slightly stunned when he saw the buff above his head.
The other person opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but suddenly seemed to realize something, and his lips opened halfway and then closed again.
He hesitated for a moment and made a silent gesture to Baili Xin.
Be careful.
As soon as Baili Xin stepped into the house, he understood why Liang Xi asked him to be careful.
This room is a simple ward with several wooden beds in the small room.
At this moment, the room was filled with more than a dozen people, but it was obvious that they were in groups of three or five. Each small group occupied a wooden bed, divided into three obvious groups of people.
They are all men, and the sick female players are not here.
Rather than saying that the atmosphere is a bit solemn, it might be more accurate to say that it is "on the verge of a tense situation."
Baili Xin looked around and found Zhou Guang sitting alone on a wooden bed, staring at them eagerly.
Without saying anything, Xia Chi quickly pulled Baili Xin to sit next to Zhou Guang.
Everyone's eyes were stunned for a moment when they saw Baili Xin's face, and then they were stunned again when they saw the buff above his head.
A man said disdainfully: "Ha, you're a useless beauty, you even used a cane? Little beauty, how did you survive last night? Do monsters also look at faces?"
Xia Chi glared at the man and said, "Shut up. Brother Xin is very powerful, okay? He just had bad luck this time."
Baili Xin looks at the top of that person's head: 300% + force value
Then a system prompt sounded in his mind.
Then, in the lower right corner of his sight, the [Friends] column began to jump.
Baili Xin clicked on [Friends] and found that it was a friend request from Xia Chi.
After applying, the [Friends] column has changed.
Friends 1/1 (You only have one friend, hurry up and continue to contact people to get rid of social phobia!)
Xia Chi: Brother, the one with 300%+ is called Li Kai. He drew the blacksmith and is the captain of their group. Don’t bother with him. He’s just a bunch of crap.
Berry Sin: I'm not angry.
He glanced around the room.
Xia Chi’s buff is the highest, 500% force value.
The remaining high-strength ones are all in the blacksmith's group. There are 5 of them in total, and each person has a minimum buff of 200% strength above their heads.
It can be said that they are evenly matched in strength, with no one lagging behind.
As for the other group, it should be the poor students who huddle together for warmth.
He doesn't have a high fighting power like Xia Chi, nor a special healer like Liang Xi, but he also doesn't have a team member who lets the team down like him. It can be said that they are evenly matched.
And this group of theirs is quite exciting at first glance.
500%+strength, 95%-strength, healing.
Zhou Guang’s is even more amazing, there is nothing on his head, he looks like a complete amateur.
Xia Chi: He invited me to join them yesterday, but I refused.
The blacksmith changed the subject, "But as usual, let's exchange information. How did you survive for 20 hours? The system indicated that 10 people died, but we counted the players for a long time yesterday and there was always one missing. It turns out that you are the one who survived."
Baili Xin cut off the beginning and the end and told the story of how he spent a night in the cave.
When Liang Xi heard Baili Xin say that he found some herbs in the cave, his eyes suddenly lit up. He pulled out a yellowed paper from his arms and handed it to Baili Xin, "Have you seen this kind of herbs in there?! This is the picture that the old woman gave me. She said that this kind of herbs can save them."
Baili Xin took a glance and found that the leaves were round and full. When he woke up today, he had played with them for a long time with two fingers.
"…" Baili Xin, "I have seen it, in that cave."
Liang Xi said excitedly, "Great, it's this herb that can save them!"
"According to what you said, the back mountain is safe during the day, and those monsters only appear at night," the blacksmith said, "I didn't expect that the useless beauty could be of some use. Then we will go to collect herbs during the day tomorrow."
Liang Xi said nervously, "We can't wait until tomorrow. The fever has reached over 40 degrees. If it doesn't go away in a few hours, they won't survive tonight. We have to go now!"
As soon as Liang Xi opened his mouth, the atmosphere immediately became a little subtle, and even the blacksmith who had bad intentions just now fell silent.
The sun will set in less than 3 hours. If we go to the back mountain now, we may not be able to get down the mountain before dark.
Not going to the back mountain means giving up the lives of those female players.
Just as the atmosphere became tense again, the blacksmith said, "Let's give up saving people."
"One day is 24 hours. When we arrived, the sun had just set. That is to say, the sun will set at the end of 72 hours, and the monsters will come out, but before that, the back mountain is safe."
"The game time is 72 hours, and the river god's curse will occur at the 71st hour. By then, the flood will engulf the village. The time difference is one hour, which means that whether you can survive the last hour is the key to passing the game."
"The flood is not that scary. If we stand high enough, the flood will not catch up with us. We just need to go up the mountain during the day on the last day."
"The village is safe too. The monsters didn't chase us down yesterday. They only move around in the back mountain." The blacksmith thought for a moment and said, "From this perspective, it's more accurate to say that these monsters are not killing people without blinking an eye, but are using it to prevent us from going up the mountain late at night."
He slammed the table, "Of course we want to save people, but who told that useless beauty to come down so late? The copy already hinted that we can't go up the mountain at night. Now we are still stubborn enough to go up the mountain. Aren't we courting death?"
"I don't think so." Zhou Guang suddenly said, "I don't think the trial mission will be so simple, and the ones who are sick are all female players. Don't you think it's strange? This may be related to the curse of the river god."
The blacksmith didn't care. "Since you want to save people so much, just go by yourself. We definitely won't go. In the end, it's all because of this little beauty."
The blacksmith pointed at Baili Xin and said, "If he hadn't come down the mountain too late, we would still have a chance to save him."
Zhou Guang gritted his teeth and wanted to say something, but finally held back after Liang Xi's persuasion.
There was a female player in the blacksmith team at the beginning. When she saw them give up, the captain of the last team also spoke awkwardly: "Actually, we are not familiar with that woman. At most, we played together in the warm-up game for a few hours."
"Sorry, we don't plan to go to the back mountain. He is right. Now is not the time to seek danger. We should think about how to survive safely for 72 hours. Sorry, too many people died yesterday."
"Since no one wants to go, I'll go to the back mountain again."
Suddenly a lazy voice sounded, and everyone looked over and saw that Baili Xin had stood up at some point and was leaning against the wall.
A few rays of sunlight shone in, covering the dust floating in the air with a layer of milky golden light, and also coating Baili Xin's hair with a layer of faint golden light.
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
Liang Xi frowned: "No, you just came down the mountain and haven't rested yet. This is too dangerous."
Xia Chi nodded vigorously.
Yes brother, your fighting power is only 5% now, it’s difficult for you to even walk, don’t make things difficult for yourself.
Baili Xin: "Don't worry, Xia Chi said he would go with me."
Xia Chi stopped nodding abruptly and looked at Baili Xin with horror.
Bro, what did you just say?!
Can you say that again
Who will go with you?!
…
"Brother, be careful where you step."
The sun in the distance had begun to move westward, and the woods covered with dense branches were gradually darkening.
Xia Chi was carrying a circle of hemp rope and a cross-body bag on his shoulders, and holding a hammer in his hand.
In comparison, Baili Xin was much more relaxed, with only a cane in his hand.
Baili Xin looked towards the horizon through the overlapping leaves. A thick scarlet filled the sky, and the sun was setting at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Baili Xin: "Xia Chi, do you know what time it is now?"
Xia Chi: "I don't know. I looked around but couldn't find any clocks or watches. This village is quite backward. We have to rely on the crowing of the chickens to determine the time. But judging from the weather today, it should be around four or five in the afternoon."
The way up the mountain is a small dirt road trampled out by humans. It is rugged and narrow, and can only accommodate one person.
Xia Chi led the way in front, and Baili Xin opened the task panel.
Survival mission: Survive for 72 hours. (22:05:03/72:00:00)
Additional task: Find the truth about the river god's curse. (Progress 2%/100%)
22 hours have passed.
Baili Xin found out that game friends can only be added face to face, so before coming here, he added Liang Xi and Zhou Guang as friends respectively.
According to the information Xia Chi told him, players need to complete mandatory tasks during the day.
As soon as the cockcrows, the NPCs can find them no matter where they are.
From then on, until the sun is high in the sky, it is mandatory working time for all players.
During this period, some of them needed to farm, some needed to forge iron, and some needed to see a doctor...
The NPCs will not let the players go until noon, when they are exhausted. The afternoon and evening are the players' free time.
A player once tried to refuse, and the next second he was thrown into a small dark room by the NPC.
When he was released again at noon, the player had been beaten to pieces. If it weren't for Liang Xi's healing spell, he would have died long ago.
Most players draw villagers, whose job is to cultivate the land.
Xia Chi and Zhou Guang also drew this.
Baili Xin suddenly felt curious. He overslept and did not participate in the work today, so he wondered what the saint's job was.
They said that no matter where the player is, the NPC can find him. Why didn't the NPC find him this morning? Is it because the NPC in the back mountain can't enter, or have they lost their position
The two walked for a few more minutes, and Xia Chi suddenly pulled Baili Xin behind a huge rock, then made a "hush" gesture to Baili Xin.
The private chat notification sound in the friend column sounded.
Xia Chi pointed in a direction: Brother, there are people there.
Baili Xin leaned over to look and saw several dark shadows with hunched backs moving slowly in one direction.
Xia Chi: What should I do
Baili Xin: Follow secretly and see.
Xia Chi:Okay.
The back mountain is not that high, and it only takes two hours to go up and down. There are still nearly two hours until the evening falls yesterday, so there is enough time.
The two men, one in front and one behind, blended themselves behind the tree and carefully followed the black shadows in front.
After following for about ten minutes, the black shadows stopped in front of a small mound. There was a tombstone in front of the mound. The view was dim and it was a bit far away, so the two could not see the words on it clearly.
Several people bent over and rustled for a while, then knelt in front of the tombstone, as if they were paying homage.
Villager 1: "It's been 30 years. You've been dead for 30 years. We've all received the punishment we deserve. Why are you still not willing to let us go?"
Villager 2: "Please spare us. This village is finished. Please, we know we are wrong. Let's leave."
Villager 3: "We have always taken good care of your family. Your grandma is still healthy. Baoer, please forgive us!"
BoA?!
Xia Chi and Baili Xin looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
The "Grandma Sang" mentioned by these villagers should be the old lady they had seen before.
The "Baoer" that Granny Sang had been looking for turned out to be dead, and had been dead for 30 years.
Ding!
The system sound rang in the minds of the two people.
Congratulations to the player for finding clues to the river god's curse, and each player will receive 5% more progress.
The sun moved westward again.
One of the villagers looked at the sky and stood up anxiously: "Let's go quickly, it's getting dark."
The other two villagers shuddered when they heard this and quickly stood up. "Yes, yes, yes, let's go, the monsters are coming out."
As the three villagers were talking, their feet seemed to have wheels, and in a moment they disappeared from the sight of Baili Xin and Xia Chi.
After making sure that the villagers had left, the two men came out from behind the stone and walked to the tombstone.
They looked at the tombstone and saw five big characters on it: Tomb of Sang Baoer. There was also a photo on the tombstone. The black and white photo had turned yellow. The girl in the photo looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, with an oval face, curved almond eyes, and a pure and lovely appearance.
A gust of wind blew up the paper money that the villagers had just scattered, and it fell on the girl's photo, leaving only the corners of her smiling mouth.
Xia Chi suddenly felt cold all over, and goose bumps appeared uncontrollably.
He crossed his arms and rubbed the goose bumps on his arms. The more he looked at the exposed corner of his mouth, the creepier it seemed.
Baili Xin: "Did you bring your cell phone?"
Xia Chi: “I brought it.”
Baili Xin pointed at the tombstone: "Take a picture."
"Xin, Brother Xin." Xia Chi's tongue trembled after taking the photo, "Let's go quickly, why is it getting darker and darker?"
Baili Xin frowned, looked up at the sky, and then looked at the time on the task.
22:28:45/72:00:00.
Suddenly, a bad premonition appeared in Baili Xin's mind.
He immediately pulled Xia Chi up and ran through the woods desperately, "Hurry up!"
Although Xia Chi didn't know what happened, he immediately followed Baili Xin's footsteps, shouting as he ran: "What's going on, brother?"
Baili Xin: "Wrong time!"
Xia Chi: “What?”
Baili Xin: "The sun sets too quickly. A day in this instance is not 24 hours at all! Dusk is coming soon!"
Xia Chi's scalp tingled and he looked at the sun in the distance again.
The sun, which was slowly setting half an hour ago, had now run behind the distant mountains. The last bit of dusk dyed the mountaintops with a layer of red, and this layer of red was quietly disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye!
He opened the taskbar and saw the time.
22:29:59/72:00:00.
As the time in front of them jumped again, a shrill alarm sounded in their minds at the same time.
Warning! Dusk is approaching, the monster Red Spider is out to catch people, please leave the back mountain immediately!
With a few loud "bang bang bang" sounds, four or five monsters suddenly landed in front of the two men, spitting out scarlet tongues and looking down at them!
The monster slowly lowered its head and opened its jaw, revealing its bloody mouth towards them, as if waiting for them to fall into its mouth.
Just as the two were about to crash into the monster's mouth, Baili Xin simply threw out the crutch in his hand, and the crutch firmly supported the monster's mouth, causing the monster to roar in pain.
The next moment, Baili Xin grabbed a big tree next to him like lightning, and with an extreme pull, he swung his tail hard and dragged Xia Chi to run in another direction.
The monster behind him roared and followed immediately.
Xia Chi screamed and used all his strength to move his feet: "Oh my god, help me!"
Baili Xin: "Calling mom doesn't work now, call me brother!"
Xia Chi: "Oh my god! Save my brother!"
Baili Xin: "..."
You better shut up!
The more Baili Xin ran, the more he felt that the surrounding scene was familiar.
This is the area near the cave yesterday! The pool of blood that was melted by the sun should still be there. Using that blood might help them hide their scent again.
Baili Xin shuttled through the forest as he did yesterday. Several times, he saw the monsters about to bite them, but they were thrown away by Baili Xin's big turn. Gradually, Baili Xin found that although these monsters were very strong in jumping and running, they had poor flexibility.
After realizing this, Baili Xin began to pull Xia Chi in a serpentine manner in the woods.
Before long, these monsters were thrown several meters away by him, and he found the cave and the pool of blood.
Baili Xin did not hesitate and quickly pulled Xia Chi to the pool of blood.
Just as he was about to scoop up a handful of blood and smear it on Xia Chi's body to cover up the smell, his hand suddenly stopped.
The red spiders that were chasing them actually stopped.
They landed a few meters in front of the cave, rubbing their feet irritably but not daring to get any closer.
Baili Xin's heart moved, and he suddenly remembered that it seemed to be the same during the day today.
The monster exposed to the sun could obviously hide in the cave, but it went the other way and tried desperately to escape from the cave.
Are these monsters afraid of this cave
What is there in this cave that scares them
There was no time to think too much. The herbs that could save lives were inside. Baili Xin decisively pulled Xia Chi up and said, "Come in!"