Gu Jiu walked into the Qingzhu House, and the wind chimes at the door made a series of clear and pleasant sounds.
The air is filled with the rich aroma of coffee, the slow-paced piano music flows quietly, and the autumn afternoon sun shines through the glass windows, making people feel inexplicably more relaxed and comfortable.
Zhang Jingyi was making coffee at the counter. When she heard the sound of wind chimes, she looked up and quickly ran over.
She took Gu Jiu's hand and helped her in, asking, "Ajiu, why are you here? Why don't you rest more at home?"
"There's nothing to rest for." Gu Jiu took off his glasses and put them in the pocket of his thin windbreaker, squinting his eyes slightly, "Don't worry, I can still see your pretty face clearly now, I'm not really blind."
Zhang Jingyi scolded, "Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense are you talking about? You will never go blind!"
Having said that, I was worried in my heart.
Gu Jiu was born with amblyopia. Because she received timely treatment when she was young, although her vision was not as good as that of ordinary people, it did not affect her normal life. Until a year ago, her eyes suddenly had problems and her vision was getting worse and worse. She had done many examinations and seen countless ophthalmologists at home and abroad, but no one could explain why.
In a few months, she might go blind.
Zhang Jingyi felt very sad when she recalled the time when she accompanied her best friend to see a doctor a few days ago.
But in front of Gu Jiu, she didn't dare to show it too obviously, so as not to make her sad. But she knew in her heart that even if they tried not to mention it, Gu Jiu should know her situation.
Seeing the faint smile on her face, peaceful and calm, Zhang Jingyi took a deep breath and helped her to a seat near the window.
Qingzhuwu is a coffee shop jointly opened by Gu Jiu and his good friend Zhang Jingyi.
It is located in a relatively remote alley near the university town. The surrounding environment is quiet and there are usually few customers coming. However, because the decoration of the coffee shop is quiet and peaceful, and it also raises ten cats of different breeds, it attracts many cat lovers. After they taste the coffee brewed by Zhang Jingyi, many of them become repeat customers.
The decoration inside the Qingzhu House is mainly bamboo products, and the seats are separated by green bamboo to form a private space.
As soon as Gu Jiu sat down, he heard a meow.
A chubby orange cat came to her feet and meowed at her in a soft and coquettish voice.
Gu Jiu smiled, picked up the orange cat and placed it on his knees, rubbed its warm, furry belly, and said with a smile: "Ju Zuo, you should lose weight."
The orange cat flattened into a cat pancake in her hands and meowed, and you could tell from the sound that it was very comfortable.
When the other cats in the store heard the sound, they all ran over and meowed around Gu Jiu. Their voices were so delicate and it sounded extremely flattering.
Zhang Jingyi came over with coffee and saw Gu Jiu surrounded by cats. She couldn't help but said with some jealousy, "I'm the one who usually takes care of them, why do they like you more?"
Gu Jiu stroked the cat and said solemnly, "Maybe I'm prettier than you."
"Go to hell!" Zhang Jingyi cursed with a smile, and she absolutely refused to admit that these cat owners only looked at appearance. She was obviously not bad looking and had many suitors in college.
But when it comes to beauty, Zhang Jingyi thinks Gu Jiu is indeed very beautiful, a kind of classical beauty that is stunning at first glance and even more stunning when you look at it again.
Unfortunately, the classical beauty does not have a gentle personality. She only looks obedient, but in fact, she is like a female Tyrannosaurus Rex when she gets angry. Fortunately, she is usually easy to get along with, unless something touches her reverse scale.
She glanced at her friend who was sitting by the window. The sun was shining brightly outside the window. The girl sitting there holding the cat looked relaxed and at ease, as if she was glowing all over.
Only the pair of eyes staring at me were misty, as if covered with a layer of shadow, losing some of their liveliness.
I couldn't help but feel sad again.
The two chatted casually for a few words, and because a guest came in, Zhang Jingyi quickly went back to work.
Gu Jiu played with the cats for a while, then suddenly felt sleepy and fell on the table.
The sunlight shines through the window, making people feel warm all over as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches.
Before she knew it, Gu Jiu fell asleep. Several cats stayed by her side, lying or curled up, enjoying the quiet autumn afternoon with her.
Zhang Jingyi came over with a cake, and when she saw this scene, she did not disturb her and left quietly.
As she turned and left, the person lying on the table gradually became transparent and disappeared like mist.
No one noticed this scene, and the only cats who noticed it were unable to make a sound for unknown reasons.
**
Gu Jiu woke up instantly when he felt the feeling of weightlessness.
At the same time, a mechanical voice sounded in my mind: Welcome to the Zhutian Game World...
She sat there blankly, her vision was gray and blurry, and she could vaguely see three objects of unknown color in front of her.
Gu Jiu reached into the pocket of his thin windbreaker, took out his glasses and put them on. Finally, he could see clearly that the several balls of unknown colors turned out to be three people squatting there, two men and one woman.
In addition to these three people, there were two other people under a poplar tree nearby, one fat and one thin, with very obvious features.
She looked at the surroundings again and found that they were in a desolate mountain area with no village or shop nearby. There was a winding path in front of them, and no one knew where it led.
Where is this? What's happening
Gu Jiu remembered that she was petting the cat in Qingzhu House when she suddenly felt sleepy and fell asleep on the table uncontrollably.
Was it a kidnapping prank? But judging by the reactions of the people around him, it didn't seem like it.
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard an unhappy voice: "What a trouble, there is a newcomer this time."
Gu Jiu looked at the person who was speaking. It was a man among the three people. She found that she could see the other person's appearance clearly. He had a long face, and his facial features and eyebrows were slightly gloomy, giving people a feeling of being sarcastic and mean.
The other man was tall and sturdy, with a resolute face. From his appearance, he looked righteous and immune to evil.
She was stunned for a moment, took off her glasses, and not surprisingly found that everything in front of her eyes turned gray again.
Then she put on her glasses again, and through them, her vision returned to normal.
Ever since her eyesight deteriorated due to unknown reasons a year ago, she could not see like a normal person even with auxiliary glasses. She had not seen the world so clearly for a long time and stood there in a daze for a moment.
The tall and burly man - Wu Yang looked at the people present, there were seven of them in total.
This number of people is neither too many nor too few. It seems that this mission will not be too difficult. I couldn't help but feel relieved.
He coughed lightly, attracted the attention of everyone present, and said straight to the point: "My name is Wu Yang, and this is the fifth game I have experienced. Let's get to know each other first."
When they heard him say that this was his fifth game, the expressions of those present were slightly moved.
The thin and long-faced man couldn't wait to say, "My name is Wang Peiping, and this is the third game."
Next came the woman sitting next to Wang Peiping, in her early twenties, with pretty features and a sweet voice, "My name is Lin Dandan, and I'm also in the third game. I was partnered with Brother Wu in the last game."
As she spoke, she looked towards Wu Yang with an expression of great pride.
Those who can go through more than four games are considered capable and lucky veteran players - compared to newcomers.
The fat man under the poplar tree said with full energy: "I am Lin Bufan, and this is my brother Lin Buqi. You can call me Fatty and him Thin. This is the fourth game between the two of us brothers."
Everyone looked at the brothers. They were as fat as pigs and as thin as bamboo poles. It made people doubt whether they were really brothers. However, their facial features were quite similar.
Then they looked at Gu Jiu.
Although Gu Jiu was wearing thick vision-aiding glasses, one could still tell that she was a very beautiful girl with a serene temperament. She sat there quietly and had a kind of classical and gentle beauty that could easily arouse a man's desire to protect her.
Lin Dandan suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
She looked at Gu Jiu warily, then at Wu Yang, and when she thought of Wu Yang's good-natured character, she couldn't help but frown slightly.
Gu Jiu simply said: "Gu Jiu, first game."
Although she was still confused and didn't know anything, she could analyze some important information from the mechanical sound that sounded in her mind when she woke up just now and the words of these people.
Wu Yang and others looked at her in surprise. They didn't expect that she could still be so calm. This was something that newcomers rarely had.
"Lu Ji, this is also the first game."
A somewhat weak and frivolous voice sounded behind him. Gu Jiu paused and turned around to see a girl in a white dress sitting on a rock not far behind him. She was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with thick black hair tied up, revealing a beautiful face that made people daydream, but her skin was pale and she looked sickly, as if she was not in good health.
The fat man asked curiously: "Which ji?"
The girl looked at him, her eyes were dark and without any light, and she said softly, "The disease of the disease."
This name sounds strange. What parent would name their child "Ji"
Now the situation is clear. Except for Gu Jiu and Lu Ji who are newcomers, the others are players with more than two games of experience.
Generally speaking, it is neither troublesome nor troublesome for new people to join the game world.
The trouble is that newcomers have no experience and can easily drag the team down, but they are also very useful cannon fodder; the safe thing is that when newcomers join the game, the game will be safer at the beginning, allowing the newcomers to understand the situation.
So they are now in this desolate mountain and wilderness, with no danger around, all thanks to the newcomers.
As a veteran player here, Wu Yang said, "It's fate that we can all come to the same game field. Let's go to our destination first."
Everyone had no objection and stood up.
Wu Yang walked towards the path, saying, "This time the mission is to escape from the cursed village. Normally, as long as we find the source of the curse or find the key item, we can pass the level smoothly."
The others showed recognition on their faces.
Only Gu Jiu looked confused. She didn’t hear any game mission content, and the words “Welcome to the Zhutian Game World”… didn’t count.
Wu Yang thought of something and turned around and said, "Oh, right, there are no mission reminders for new players in their first game. Only after you successfully pass the first game and officially become a player of the Zhutian Game World, will you be reminded in the next game."
Therefore, when every new player enters the game world, there will be one or two veteran players to lead and explain the situation to the new player.
Gu Jiu suddenly realized and thanked him politely.
Lu Ji walked quietly without saying a word, looking a little lonely.
Wu Yang walked in front, followed closely by Lin Dandan and Wang Peiping, and then the fat brothers.
Gu Jiu and another newcomer, Lu Ji, walked behind.
It took half an hour to walk like this. Gu Jiu seldom walked such a long distance. She gradually became out of breath and her steps became unsteady. She almost fell down because she was not careful. A hand quickly supported her.
She looked at the person who was supporting her. It was Lu Ji, a newcomer like her.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Lu Ji didn't say anything and supported her silently. Gu Jiu could feel that she didn't seem to want to support him, and his hand that was supporting her was a little tense, but for unknown reasons he had no choice but to support her.
Is it because they are all new and need to take care of each other
Lin Dandan, who was in front, heard the noise and looked back. She saw that Gu Jiu's face was pale and he needed someone to support him. There was a bit of contempt in her eyes.
So what if you are pretty? In this dangerous world of escape, ghosts will not stop killing people just because they are pretty. Without a strong body, you can't survive in this world at all and will only become cannon fodder.
After walking for nearly an hour, the trail finally came to an end.
At the end is a quiet little mountain village surrounded by mountains. At the entrance of the village stands a very lush willow tree. The weeping willows are so green and lush that they look particularly vivid against the rolling green mountains.
They looked towards the village and could see the smoke rising from the chimneys, making it look like a bustling village.