When everyone returned to the hunter's lodge, the sky had already darkened completely.
The bonfire in front of the door was still burning, and three wounded soldiers were sitting around the fire to keep warm. When they saw that everyone had successfully brought Gray back, they all showed surprise on their faces.
"Gray!"
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
The three boys struggled to stand up and moved closer to their companions.
"Oslo, Stiller and Arnel, let's go back after daybreak. It's too dangerous here... I don't want to take any more risks."
Gray took the fountain of youth and was barely supported by her female classmate Messiah. She spoke with a nervous look on her face.
"Yes, I don't want to stay here either... And we filled a bottle of the Fountain of Youth when we returned just now. Gray recovered most of her injuries after taking a sip. It really looks real... This is enough for each of us to have a drink."
Messiah took out the bottle of spring water and said to his companions.
The three boys looked surprised. They stared at the bottle of spring water with burning eyes, then looked at Gray and asked her in a low voice how she felt after drinking the spring water.
After some communication, they basically confirmed the authenticity of the spring water, and turned to look at Chen Lun... Hearing what Messiah and Gray said, this gentleman filled several buckets, they couldn't help but reveal envy and desire.
Oslo took the wooden bowl, impatiently asked for the spring water from Messiah, poured a bowl and drank it.
Suddenly, he felt a coolness running through his throat and into his body, then spreading to every part of his limbs. He cried out in surprise and lifted up his clothes. The claw wounds on his chest and abdomen had mostly healed. Others could not help but exclaim in amazement when they saw this.
"It's true! As expected... this spring water has magical powers!"
The rest of the people also poured themselves a bowl and drank it, feeling the power of the spring water for themselves.
"Am I already immortal? We... just got immortality?"
Stiller, with his afro hair, blushed and was very excited.
"Stop dreaming. The so-called 'fountain of youth' can only make you live a few more years at most. It is impossible to achieve immortality..."
Lutina walked to the wooden stake beside the campfire and sat down, placing the double-barreled shotgun casually beside her legs, and looked at the group of excited students with a sneer.
She didn't seem to care about the so-called "fountain of youth" at all and had no interest in even taking another look at it.
After hearing her words, several students were skeptical.
Although Rutina had always given everyone the impression that she was very familiar with the Coleridge Forest, and after the series of events just now, she had even more prestige... but when it came to the Fountain of Youth, they instinctively rejected her point of view.
"Miss Lutina, didn't you say that there are many mysterious places in the Coleridge Forest that even you don't know about... And you haven't drunk the water of the fountain of youth, so how do you know that it can't make you immortal?"
Oslo retorted.
However, Lutina had no interest in arguing with him. She shrugged and said:
"Oh, since you think you are immortal, then so be it."
Several students raised their eyebrows and couldn't help but mutter a few words under their breath.
They were somewhat disgusted by Lutina's self-righteousness, but after all, she saved Gray's life, so they couldn't say anything to her face.
At this time, Oslo suggested going to the Fountain of Youth to get more water to take away. Although they only drank one cup, it would not be a bad idea to drink more just to be on the safe side... and the extra water could be sold to rich people in big cities, who would definitely be interested in this "magic water" that could prolong life and cure diseases.
The opportunity to make a fortune is right in front of you, how can you go back empty-handed
"You're right, Oslo... If we sell this spring water for ten gold pounds a cup, will there be people who will buy it?"
Stiller's eyes sparkled and he rubbed his hands.
"Look at your achievements... Even if it's 100 gold pounds, someone will buy it. Do you believe it?"
Oslo scoffed.
Gray and Messiah turned their heads to look at the dark forest. Although they were still reluctant, due to their companions' enthusiasm and their own desire for money... they did not refuse.
But Messiah looked hesitant and advised:
"Why don't we wait until tomorrow morning? It's already dark now..."
"Didn't you hear what Miss Rutina said? Maybe the spring water will disappear by itself... There are all kinds of strange things in this Coleridge Forest. If it really comes true, where can we find such a treasure again?"
Oslo urged.
"There's no time to lose. We'll go over there now and come back right after getting some water... Besides, haven't you already chased away those rat people? They'll be fine!"
Lutina heard the conversation between the two people, shook her head and said:
"Your greed and ignorance almost made that girl a mouse bride... and now you're still thinking about going to the forest. If you run into any more trouble, I won't help you."
Several boys looked embarrassed and ashamed, and Oslo raised his voice:
"It's okay. We won't bother you again this time. We will be careful ourselves."
"Please."
Lutina said calmly.
She took out some dry food and heated it by the fire.
Several students looked at each other and were about to take a step forward, but at this moment, footsteps were heard from the woods. Everyone looked into the darkness vigilantly, fearing that there might be some monster.
However, gradually entering the range of the fire were the three men in baseball caps who had left earlier.
They were covered in blood, holding a sack with people tied up inside. The sack kept squirming, and suppressed wails and hums came from inside... It seemed that there was a person trapped inside.
"Gentlemen, what are you doing...?"
Oslo's face changed slightly, and he took a step back and asked slowly.
"Haha, we seem to have heard something interesting just now..."
The leading man threw the sack in his hand and a muffled groan came from it.
He raised his head and glanced at everyone present, then said with a smile:
"You found treasure in the forest? Don't you want to give us some of it?"
"Sir, if you also want the 'Fountain of Youth', that's no problem... We can't take that much with us anyway."
Oslo forced a smile.
"We're planning on going there... You guys can come too."
The leading man in the peaked cap restrained his smile, took out the flintlock rifle from his waist and pointed it at Oslo's head.
"Naive little boy, do you think that spring water would still be worth the high price if too much of it was taken out? It's like illegal drugs on the black market. If it weren't in short supply, how could it be sold at such a high price!"
"Don't... don't shoot!"
Oslo was startled and quickly raised his hands and shouted.
"We can cooperate! As long as we agree on the quantity of each shipment in advance, we can guarantee the price!"
"As expected of a college student, you have a very smart mind..."
The man in the baseball cap said calmly.
At this moment, the two people behind him suddenly drew their guns and pointed them at everyone.
Gray screamed in fear and the others also looked panicked.
However, they soon discovered that the two guns were actually pointing at Lutina behind them.
"Miss Guide, don't act rashly... You only have one gun, and we have three. Do you want to bet on who will die first?"
The leading man sneered.
Rutina confronted the three men with a double-barreled shotgun, her face sullen and silent.
"Your suggestion is good, but I prefer to trust my own people... So all the spring water you find is ours."
The man said to Oslo again.
His eyes swept over everyone aggressively, and then the corners of his mouth rose.
"We are really lucky. Not only did we find the guy who ate our goods, but we also got such an unexpected reward... Yin Wo, Luo Che, there are four women here. Pick one each. Don't play with them to death. We still need them to lead the way... As for the other men, kill them all."
"Hey, okay boss!"
The other two men in baseball caps showed cruelty and excitement on their faces. They raised their guns and pointed them at everyone.
The faces of the five students and the couple suddenly changed and they looked terrified.
"ah!!"
The girl screamed.
Meanwhile, the two men had already pulled the trigger.
Pumbaa!!
Gunshots rang out and blood spurted out.
The two men fell to the ground with a bloody hole between their eyebrows.
Everyone stood there in a daze, not knowing what was happening.
They soon noticed that the man in the peaked cap who was leading the team had a look of astonishment on his face, so they turned their heads in the direction of his gaze and discovered that the young man in the black hat who had been silent in the team was holding a golden flintlock rifle... It was the Connie No. 2 limited edition that Chen Lun had casually taken out of the Blood Poetry Ring!
He was the one who fired the shot!
but…
Where did he get his gun?!
The two female students and the couple quickly thought of the gentleman who had collected the iron bucket like a magic trick at the Fountain of Youth. The gun was probably obtained in the same way...
Who on earth is he?!
A magician?!
"Have you had enough of the fuss?"
Chen Lun said calmly.
He originally just wanted to join the tour group and find a chance to figure out the route to Mount Augusta, but he didn't expect so many things to happen along the way... If these three gangsters hadn't been so crazy about massacre and rape, he wouldn't have bothered to take action.
"Asshole! Go to hell!"
The man in the baseball cap who was leading the group was a ruthless person who would never give up on anyone. Even though two of his brothers had died, he still raised his gun and shot at Chen Lun without fear.
Peng!
Fire burst out from the muzzle of his gun and the bullet flew out of the barrel with a sound of "huh".
It hit Chen Lun’s head directly!
However, Chen Lun just closed his left eye. The bullet collided with his eyelid, creating a bright spark and a bang.
“?!”
The man in the baseball cap shuddered all over.
"What happened? He's not... not dead?! He was obviously hit!"
Chen Lun held the flintlock rifle in one hand, pointed the gun directly at him and pulled the trigger.
Peng!
It was impossible for the man in the baseball cap to imitate Chen Lun and take the bullet with his mortal body. The bullet went straight through his forehead, his brain and blood splattered, and he fell to the ground dead.
Everyone was in panic. They stared at Chen Lun with uncertain expressions and retreated cautiously.
Although they did not see the scene where Chen Lun blocked the bullet with his eyelids, they were sure that the young man in the black hat was definitely not simple. People would always be wary and fearful of strange and unknown things.
Chen Lun didn't care about what these people thought.
He walked over to the bodies of the three men with his flintlock rifle in hand, and expressionlessly lifted up their caps with the barrel of his rifle... He saw that the tops of the three men's heads were covered with snail shells the size of ping-pong balls!
With the death of the "host", the snail shells began to wriggle, and soft tentacles were seen pulling out from the brains of the three men and retracting into the snail shells. They stood up and tried to flee, but were crushed by Chen Lun and turned into a pool of mud.
"This is a 'parasite'... It is actually a fungus from the Coleridge Forest. The snail shell is just the remains of its original host. Even if these three men leave the forest alive, they will die unknowingly in a short time and become puppets of this fungus."
Rutina also came over and said after seeing these snails.
"Parasit? Interesting creatures..."
Chen Lun commented calmly.
He turned his head to look at the panicked crowd, then returned his gaze to Lutina.
"Since they have decided to return after daybreak, I will not continue with you... Tell me the route to the Augusta Mountains and I will go there by myself."
Rutina looked at him deeply, then nodded.
"no problem."
She took out a piece of paper from her backpack, wrote on it and handed it to Chen Lun.
"It contains the precautions and key road signs... If you follow what I wrote, you can get out of this forest area in about five days."
"Thanks."
Chen Lun put the paper away and said thank you.
At this moment, there were suddenly squeaking sounds and dense footsteps coming from the forest.
Everyone present's expression changed.
"What's approaching?!"
“What a large number!”
Rutina frowned and ran towards the hunter's cabin with a double-barreled shotgun.
"It's gunshots! The gunshots just now attracted the attention of the Tamara ratmen, and they came for revenge! Everyone follow me, there is an underground secret room I left in the wooden house, we can hide in it for a night!"
"Go! Go!"
Everyone followed Rutina into the cabin in panic.
Gray, who was running at the end, suddenly noticed that the young man in the black hat, the boy with glasses, and the cow were standing still. She stopped hesitantly and asked:
"Sir? Won't you come in? Those rat people are very dangerous..."
The people hiding inside the door also turned around to look at Lutina, who had a questioning look on her face.
Chen Lun stood there, shook his head slightly, and said softly:
"I have to go now."
The girl Gray gritted her teeth, turned around and walked into the wooden house, while Lutina took one last look at the back of the young man in the black hat and decisively closed the door of the wooden house.
Peng!
Everyone went into the secret door under the bed one after another, not daring to make a sound, and squatted obediently in the dim basement. Apart from each other's breathing, they could only vaguely hear the chaotic sound of ping-pong balls coming from above their heads.
"They're coming in!"
"Shh!"
"… "
"We won't be discovered..."
"No, absolutely not."
After a brief exchange, there was another period of dead silence.
After experiencing tension and fear, everyone fell asleep in extreme fatigue.
I don’t know how much time has passed.
Lutina woke everyone up one by one, then opened the secret door in the basement and returned to the hunter's cabin. It was already dawn outside, and at dawn, a strange bird song could be heard from the woods.
Everyone looked at the messy scene with a depressed mood.
"Those rat people should be gone, right?"
Oslo asked in a low voice.
But no one answered him.
The door of the hunter's cabin was broken in by a rat last night and fell to the ground in three pieces.
Everyone walked out the door and couldn't help but gasp when they saw the scene in front of them.
All I saw was a dense mass of rat-man corpses piled up outside the hunter's hut, hundreds and thousands of them... The dried blood was dark brown and smelled extremely fishy.
"this… "
Oslo's throat was dry and he couldn't speak.
The girl Gray trembled with her hands and whispered:
"Could it be that gentleman who did it?"
"How... How is it possible?"
Stiller swallowed, stared at the corpses on the ground with wide eyes and said.
"Unless... he's not human!"
Everyone's eyes were filled with shock, but they inexplicably believed what the boy with the afro said.
Yes…
Unless that gentleman is not human, how could he do such a thing
Only Rutina smiled in a corner where no one noticed.
"The Divine Scroll..."