No, it’s not necessarily a river. It’s too early to draw a conclusion now. All we can be sure of now is that the direction from which the sound came is indeed a river.
And it wasn't necessarily talking to me, maybe just making sounds.
Gu Ran glanced around and found that no one else reacted to the voice, as if he was the only one who heard it.
"ah!-"
Another scream was heard in the Dragon Blood River, but this scream only lasted less than a second and seemed a little short - because the owner of the scream sank to the bottom of the river and could no longer make any sound.
“Come... come... come...”
This time the voice was much clearer, and there was one more word.
past
Is this voice calling me over
Gu Ran frowned slightly and took a step back.
The inexplicable sound, the strange river, he would have to be possessed to go over it obediently.
At this time, you should be more cautious, observe patiently, and leave in time if the situation is not right.
Another challenger sank into the river in an instant, and this challenger disappeared completely from everyone's sight without even being able to scream.
Except for his relatives and friends, no one will remember that he ever came into this world - if he has any relatives and friends.
"Please come over... ...Come on... ...I'll wait for you..."
The voice was intermittent, but compared to the beginning, there were a few more words, forming a sentence.
Gu Ran turned around and glanced at the scene again, and found that no one else seemed to have noticed the strange sound. Their attention was still on those challengers, talking about those challengers who had failed the challenge and had become mud at the bottom of the river.
Become the river bottom... ...silt
An extremely terrifying guess suddenly flashed through Gu Ran's mind.
After that, several challengers sank to the bottom of the river without even a scream. The guards on the river bank were no longer surprised. Only the "newcomers" who were there to watch the fun were still worried.
"Hey, you see, this time, it seems that more people died than before. Just now, another person failed. This is already three quarters of the number of people who went down to the river to challenge. It's really strange."
The guards nearby were talking, and they also felt something was strange.
Gu Ran was horrified when he heard this.
Why did the death toll suddenly increase this time
Could it be that... ...not enough people died
Why aren't there enough deaths
"Please come over... I've been waiting for you!"
The voice became clearer and clearer in Gu Ran's ears, as if it was an old friend who had been waiting for him for a long time.
"ah!"
This time the failed challenger stayed on the river a little longer, and his screams of fear immediately spread throughout the entire river bank.
When this challenger also sank into the river, there were only two challengers left on the surface of the river!
"It's really strange. More than three quarters of the people failed in this challenge. Have the rules of the Dragon Blood River changed? I wonder if there will be a reward for telling Lanxin University about this?" A warrior who was obviously there to watch the fun murmured.
But then, he looked around vigilantly, as if he felt that he had just spoken out of turn.
After finding that no one seemed to have heard his mumbling, the warrior immediately left the crowd and headed towards the inner city.
It seems that he is going to try his luck.
Gu Ran noticed the warrior's departure, but at this moment he no longer had much time to care about other people.
Because the sound became much clearer again.
"Please come here, your destined one. I've been waiting for you..." The old voice seemed to be sighing, and also seemed to be urging.
At this moment, Gu Ran was almost 100% sure that this river was not "killing" challengers randomly. It was replenishing its "energy" in a planned way
Gu Ran didn’t know whether the word “energy” could accurately describe the state of the river, but he knew that with each death of a challenger, the sound became clearer. It was definitely not a coincidence, as if every dead challenger was replenishing “strength” for the sound.
This immediately made Gu Ran, who had experienced the mermaid tribe's heritage, have some meaningful associations.
Why today
Why when I was there
Is this voice directed at me
Is it the river, or is there something else in the river
... ...
In an instant, all kinds of different guesses came to Gu Ran's mind, and not only did his figure not walk towards the river, but he took two steps back. At the same time, his toes pointed outward, and he was ready to leave towards the outside of Canglong City immediately.
"Please come here, the destined one. I have been waiting for you, if you are really the destined one."
The destined person
What the hell
Suddenly, Gu Ran's trouser pocket moved.
Gu Ran immediately thought of the thing in his pocket and his face changed. Was it really him
What was in Gu Ran's trouser pocket was not something else, but the core of the mermaid clan's heritage ruins - the triangular crystal cone.
Because he had the highest authority over the triangular crystal cone, when he wanted to take the triangular crystal cone away, he could shrink it and put it in his pocket.
However, the triangular crystal cone had been very quiet before, and he never expected that at this time, the triangular crystal cone suddenly moved.
The connection with the triangular crystal cone allowed him to clearly feel that the direction the triangular crystal cone wanted to go was the direction of the Dragon Blood River.
The reason why only I can hear that sound is because of this triangular crystal cone
Is the Dragon Blood River related to the mermaids
Or is it related to... the builder of the mermaid clan’s heritage ruins
Gu Ran immediately thought of the suspected similarities between the two—using the flesh and blood of mermaids and humans as a source of some kind of "energy".
Coupled with the impatient restlessness of the triangular crystal cone, the connection between the two was further strengthened.
Gu Ran really wanted to just leave. He did not have any illusions of adventure in this inexplicable situation. Instead, he immediately thought that this might be a trap.
However, the feeling coming from the triangular crystal cone was becoming stronger and stronger—it longed to go to the Dragon Blood River.
After Gu Ran obtained the highest authority over the triangular crystal cone, he could vaguely feel that it was not a dead object and had a certain degree of self-awareness.
And now, this self-awareness is extremely strong.
Gu Ran even doubted whether this triangular crystal cone really had self-awareness.
But in a flash, Gu Ran abandoned this unrealistic delusion.
Because with the current level of human technology, we are far from reaching the level of artificial intelligence in fantasy novels.
Of course, this triangular crystal cone was not created by modern humans, so it does not seem appropriate to measure the limits of this triangular crystal cone with modern human technology.
However, Gu Ran had never heard of the existence of such a powerful non-human technological civilization in history, and he had never felt its "intelligence" even after obtaining this triangular crystal cone for so long.
—Except now.
The restlessness of the triangular crystal cone has far surpassed that of a dead object, but it is still far from the level of a living thing, so Gu Ran can only find an intermediate product to barely describe it - semi-intelligent.
Although he really wanted to leave, the connection between the Dragon Blood River and the triangular crystal cone was much stronger than Gu Ran had imagined.
And the next moment, the voice coming from the Dragon Blood River changed its content.
"If you are truly the destined one, you should be able to feel that you are special..."
"Don't resist, and don't resist... Because sooner or later you will take the path you should take..."
Gu Ran looked and found that the two remaining challengers in the Dragon Blood River were still intact.
It seems that the Dragon Blood River is "full"
There are now two paths before Gu Ran.
One is to listen to the voice and follow it into the Dragon Blood River;
The second is to leave and ignore that mysterious voice.
He couldn't predict the consequences of entering the river. Some adventures might happen, or...something fatal might happen.
If he leaves, he may miss an adventure, but the possibility of encountering a crisis is also minimized.
In the end, Gu Ran chose to stand still and watch the remaining two challengers successfully swim to the other side.
Then the two challengers were surrounded by the guards on the other side, and seemed to be going through some sort of procedure, including taking photos, documenting, stamping and signing, etc. It looked like it was a matter of obtaining permanent residency in Canglong City, and it was indeed happening very quickly.
Gu Ran followed the dispersing crowd and left the river bank and the slums of Canglong City.
However, Gu Ran did not leave Canglong City immediately. Instead, he killed a few lone ferocious beasts in the wilderness not far away and had a hearty meal.
It must be said that although the wild beasts became more dangerous after turning into ferocious beasts, the quality of their meat seemed to have become better, as if it contained spiritual power.
Gu Ran waited patiently until nightfall and completely buried the bonfire.
Then he took out the triangular crystal cone that had been restless in his pocket. When Gu Ran took the triangular crystal cone out of his pocket, it seemed to want to fly away immediately, but after being pinched by Gu Ran, it could not break free at all.