ã€ŠLooting Equipment From NPCsã€‹


 CH 1

    After the 11 days long holiday, the crowd in the capital has already dispersed, but there is still a lot of people on the street.

    Lou Fan is standing under the ¡®big pants building¡¯ (CCTV HQ) with a quiver on his back. Holding a cup of coffee in his hand, Lou Fan is sending a message with his mobile phone in the other hand. Soon, a fashionable young girl ran out of the building. She seemed to be about 20 years old. When the girl saw Lou Fan, her eyes lit up and she ran over towards him. When Lou Fan raised his head to look at her, the young girl is taken aback and she stopped slowly.

    The youth standing on the street is still the same as before, but his temperament is more vivid. He is cool and handsome and his hair is neat and tidy. The young man is wearing a beige coat, light-colored trousers, and a pair of recently popular ¡®dads sneaker¡¯ (chunky sneakers) on his feet. On his back is a big black bag, and he looked conspicuous as he stood there in the crowd. When the girl saw him smile, her face uncontrollably turned red, and she ran to him immediately.

    "Senior brother, have you waited a long time? So sorry, I was stopped by the leader just now." The girl said embarrassedly.

    Lou Fan didn''t mind at all and said, "It doesn''t matter. Are you hungry? Let''s go to eat first."

    The girl nodded and saw him throw a paper coffee cup while holding a black flyer with a train picture on it.

    "What is this, senior brother?" the girl asked curiously.

    Lou Fan followed her gaze and looked at the flyer in his hand. It is black with an old-looking black and red train on it. He raised the flyer and said, "Well, a person with a strange mask just gave me this, saying that there is a newly opened VR-themed game hall nearby. I guess it is probably a train theme."

    Actually, Lou Fan is a little uncomfortable when he looked at the flyer. Thinking of the man with the mask just now, he felt even weirder. The mask the person wore was very strange. The eyes are big but pitch black inside, and the slit of the big mouth opened up all the way to the ears, revealing 2 rows of tightly closed teeth. Holding a thin stack of leaflets in his hand, the masked man looked straight at Lou Fan. His voice seemed to come from his abdominal cavity, and Lou Fan couldn''t distinguish whether the person is a man and a woman.

    "Welcome to take the unlimited train ride, it will bring you to a journey of unlimited surprises and experience."

    Unconsciously, Lou Fan took the flyer from the person. After taking a look at it, he stuffed it into his pocket. Just now, he thought to take it out and throw it away.

    "It looks very interesting. Shixiong can go to experience it after the competition." The girl continued with a grin. "I heard that senior brother is here to participate in the national competition on behalf of Province G. As expected of my senior brother. You have practice archery for almost 20 years, right? Every time, you won the championship without a doubt in the competition, so there is no suspense anymore."

    Hearing the compliment from his junior sister, Lou Fan smiled and said, "Then if I don''t win the championship, wouldn''t I let down of your expectations of me?"

    The girl laughed and took Lou Fan to eat dinner. She glanced at the bag behind Lou Fan and asked, "Senior brother, you still carry the bow that Master gave you?"

    Lou Fan glanced at his backpack and nodded. The bow that Lou Fan has always kept with him is the traditional bow given to him by his father when he was young. Unlike composite bows that can be disassembled, the traditional bow is pretty big overall. Lou Fan only practiced with the competition¡¯s recurve bow for a short time before the competition. Usually, he practices with his own traditional bow.

    The two went to dinner together, and Lou Fan returned to the hotel where the team is. He needs to go to the stadium early tomorrow morning. He cleaned up, did daily training, and went to bed early.

    ¡­

    Friction noises sounded in Lou Fan¡¯s ears, as well as a vibration that is unique to the railroad tracks.

    Where am I?

    Lou Fan immediately sat up and grabbed the bow beside him. He looked around vigilantly and found that he is in a moving carriage. There are a few people on the seats around him, and they all woke up one after another.

    "Where is this? Who are you people?"

    "Didn''t I went to sleep at home?"

    "Ahhhhhhh!" A girl with short hair screamed, "You are kidnappers, I want to call the police!"

    There are 10 people in the carriage and Lou Fan watched everyone silently. He wanted to know what is going on. But apparently, everyone didn''t know the situation either. Some people rapidly slapped the car doors, and some took out their phones to make calls. But these are all in vain. No one paid any attention to them, and the side door (connecting to the other compartment) could not be opened.

    Lou Fan watched everyone calmly, except for the initial dazedness, he is calm from beginning to end. At this moment, a tall man approached Lou Fan. He looked about 30 years old, his skin is a bit dark and he had a crop-cut hairstyle. The man had a tattoo on his neck and he looked a bit like a gangster.

    "This brother, do you know what''s going on?" He observed Lou Fan for a long time and found out that Lou Fan looked calm the whole time.

    Lou Fan looked at the man and shook his head. He is about to speak again when a voice sounded overhead, and everyone looked at the speaker on the roof of the car.

    "Welcome to the unlimited train ride, which is about to arrive at the terminal: Luoyang Ancient Village. Please take your personal belongings and prepare your tickets."

    This voice...

    Lou Fan realized something and turned at the people who have started to discuss something. He asked, "Have you all met a person who wears a strange mask to hand out flyers?" His voice is not loud, but it can be heard clearly by everyone.

    "Is it this leaflet?" A thin man held a black leaflet in one hand, and in the other hand, he is grabbing his hair that looked like a chicken coop. "I obviously threw it away, why is it still in my bag?"

    "I have it too!"

    "Mine is also..."

    "What happened?"

    Lou Fan took out the flyer from his jacket pocket as well. He looked at the flyer and then looked at his clothes. His pajamas have changed into the clothing he wore for the afternoon, with the flyer in his pockets.

    "Damn, it must be this flyer. Someone got us here using this flyer." The man with the neck tattoo tore the flyer into pieces and stepped on it a few times.

    Two other people also tore up the flyer.

    Lou Fan squeezed the leaflet tightly. He indifferently watched the tattooed man tearing up the leaflet without reminding him that the leaflet is very important. But even if he said it, he afraid no one will listen.

    There is a layer of white mist outside the window so there is nothing to see. Lou Fan took a break from observing the environment and sat on his seat to check his bow. His bow is here, but the quiver is not. Fortunately, the bow is fine. He looked at the other people again. Almost everyone woke up with something in their seat, but it is all kinds of weird items. He saw a pan and an old-fashioned aluminum flashlight...

    Woo... the whistle sounded like an old-fashioned green shell train. The train started to slow down, but the rumbling became louder and louder. After a moment of inertia leaning forward, the train stopped. Everyone in the carriage looked at each other and then looked at the open door, not daring to move forward.

    After a moment of silence and nobody moved, Lou Fan tightened the bow in his hand and walked towards the car door first. He cautiously leaned out half of his body and looked out. Outside is a seemingly deserted train station platform, with no people around. He is about to go down and take a look when he heard voices from the doors on both sides of the compartment. Then he saw someone jumped down from the train. There are 5 people on both sides, a mixture of male and female. All of them are holding something in their hands, which is also various types of strange things.

    "Hey, ask the people in your carriage to get down quickly. The waiting time is only 10 minutes." A muscular man who came down from the right compartment said to Lou Fan, "Don''t dally. If you all don''t want to die, get down quickly. A reminder to everyone, bring your own things along, we don¡¯t have much time to waste."

    The man¡¯s expression looked very impatient, and the rest of the people behind him had an indifferent attitude like they are watching the show. The person who came down from the left compartment looked a little nervous and doesn''t care about Lou Fan at all. Lou Fan thought for a few seconds, then turned around to pass the message from the muscular man. Then he got out of the train and walked to the right.

    "Excuse me, what is this place, and why are we here?" Lou Fan asked the man who looked like a leader.

    Lou Fan felt the man¡¯s gaze rest on his bow, and his tone seemed to soften a little, "Good weapon. My name is He Yong. Let¡¯s go out first. Is your ticket still there? It''s the flyer. Go to check out with the ticket first."

    Lou Fan took out the flyer from his pocket. It turned out that this flyer is a ticket.

    "Who the hell are you? Are you accomplices of the kidnappers? Quickly let us go." The person who followed Lou Fan shouted.

    "Farts! Just shut up! If you want to follow along, don''t talk nonsense. If you don''t follow, then Laozi has no such good patience to deal with you." A fierce-looking person yelled at the man. The man looked at the knife in his hand and immediately felt scared to speak.

    Looking at each other, they saw that the group of people looked a little serious, and everyone had a bad feeling in their hearts for some reason. They walked out from the platform of the old station together. Both teams have exactly the same watches on their wrists, when they raised it near the machine, it beeped twice and the 5 people from each team quickly left the platform.

    Lou Fan walked to the exit and saw that there¡¯s a machine a bit like a card reader at a subway entrance. He stuffed the flyer into the slit and after a long beep, the door opens. Then, a black watch appeared on his wrist. The watch is pure black,  and it shows the time and a countdown. Lou Fan tried to take it off but failed.

    Those with leaflets in their hands followed to go out in turn, and the remaining 3 people who tore off the leaflets stood inside looking at each other.

    "I have torn my flyer already, what should I do now?" The tattooed man immediately became anxious.

    As if hearing a joke, someone laughed, "Really now, there are idiots every time. What to do? You will find out after a while." His tone is not so friendly, and the 3 people didn''t want to imagine their fate. They became very anxious.

    "No, I don''t want to die." A man hugged his head and growled.

    The other gritted his teeth and said, "Quick, go back to find the flyer and put it together."

    The tattooed man ran towards the carriage, and the two followed him. Soon, the three ran back with a pile of paper fragments. One torn it into several large pieces so it could still be put back together. The tattooed man on the other hand had torn his into tiny pieces and couldn''t put it together at all. However, even if they were put together, there is no tape to stick them back. The man is so anxious that he said, "What to do? Tell me what to do, is there any tape? Is there any tape?!"

    BANG!

    Time seemed to stand still, 3 clusters of blood mist dispersed in the air, and every drop of blood seemed to be solidified. After a swish, the blood fell straight to the ground, and in a short moment, blood stained all over the ground, spreading to the surroundings. A scream of horror cut through the still silence. The newcomers stared at the blood all over the place with horror, and some people couldn¡¯t stop vomiting. It seems that it finally dawned to them that they have arrived in an inexplicable world of horror. The few people on the other side also looked pale and trembling, but they looked much better than the 10 newcomers.

    Lou Fan''s pupils shrank sharply, and he firmly pressed down the acid from his stomach at his throat. His hand is tightly gripping the bow, and veins are popping up on the back of his hand.

    What is this place?

    Raw word count: 3180

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    Banana: Dun Dun Dun~ This is my next project yo, since I have been told by a fellow translator that their friend is finishing Killed the Lotus and going to release all of them for free! Just wait for it, guys :D

    Anyway, you can''t tell from the summary but this is a survival game novel ya, or the so-called unlimited flow... hmm, I don''t think it should be called unlimited ''flow'' because I think the word flow in chinese is a part of the word genre but oh well :v

 CH 2

    "Stop looking and let¡¯s go. First, we need to find a place to settle. It''s getting dark." He Yong called a person out and said, "Li Xin, please tell the newcomer about the basics."

    Li Xin looks like a girl in her twenties, with shoulder-length hair. She looks ordinary but has big eyes. She nodded in response.

    Lou Fan glanced at the gloomy sky. The watch on his wrist showed that the time is 17:28. The surrounding trees are rich and lush, it didn''t look like the weather in October.

    "We are a team made up of Level 6 members, the other team is made up of 5 Level 1 members, and you are the newcomers." Li Xin led the 10 newcomers to walk at the end of the group and pointed to the other 5 people outside of their team. Without any delay, she began to explain the basics about this world. She is doing this task for the first time, as they usually teamed up with higher-level teams before. Seeing many people eager to ask questions, her expression darkened, "Don''t interrupt, I will tell you the basic situation first. Then you can ask if you have any questions. Time is running out."

    Li Xin''s crisp voice sounded behind Lou Fan, and Lou Fan listened while observing the surrounding environment and the 9 people in front of him.

    "This is a parallel world. The places we go might exist in the real world, but it is definitely not our world. There are all kinds of unexplainable things that can happen here. Anything can be encountered, gods, spirits, demons, and ghosts." There is a hint of fear in her tone. "What we have to do is to survive in this mission world and complete the mission so that we can return to Lazuli Town and continue with the next mission."

    Seeing the expressions of the people, Li Xin waved her hands, "I know. You want to know when you can go back to the real world. The answer is I don''t know. Every 5th level is a hurdle. The highest level in Lazuli Town is at Level 16, but everyone at that level has... disappeared."

    "Isn''t that means it¡¯s impossible to get out of this world? There is only a dead-end for us?" Someone wailed.

    Several people even cried.

    "No, someone has done it and left. His name is still displayed on the ranking board in Lazuli Town." Li Xin¡¯s words obviously gave everyone great hope, but there is only a wry smile on her face. "I¡¯ll continue to say this. Most of the worlds are spiritual/supernatural worlds. The thing you brought to this world is your life-saving weapon. Of course, if you are lucky, you can find other weapons in the mission world. This is your 1st world. Just surviving is fine. The next game will be your real first game after you become Level 1. Each mission world will have 2 teams plus newcomers. The fewer the newcomers, the more difficult the mission. The number of team members ranges from 5-7 people. Since there are 10 newcomers this time, the task is not difficult."

    Lou Fan raised his watch, and the task displayed on it stated: Survive for 10 days.

    Li Xin stopped her explanation and took a sip of water from her backpack behind her. "The watch on your hand has a time display. The countdown is the time limit for this mission and the task will also be displayed on the watch. If the task is not completed within the specified time, your ending is the same as those people who didn''t leave the station just now. "

    The mist-like blood explosion of the 3 people earlier still makes people feel lingering fear, and everyone engraved this reminder in their mind.

    "You have to bring something in the mission world back to Lazuli to exchange for points, which can be used to buy food and drinking water. Of course, you can also bring back the food you found directly, but the storage conditions are limited. You must prepare your own food before you leave for every mission because you can¡¯t be sure if you can find any food in the mission world later."

    At this moment, He Yong''s voice sounded from the front, saying that he had found an abandoned farmyard. Li Xin said, "If you have any questions, please ask later", and trot to the front. The team leading the way is the Level 6 team that has 5 members, while the Level 1 team members followed behind silently. There are 2 women in that team who looked very scared and they shivered all the time. The other 2 men looked very nervous, as they keep looking around like a scary enemy is approaching. Only 1 person is calm and relaxed in that team. He is carrying a long cloth bag behind his back, which should be a weapon bag. Everyone else is waiting in place so Lou Fan walked towards the person and stood beside him. Stretching out his hand, Lou Fan greeted, "Hello, my name is Lou Fan."

    Qin Tan looked at the slender and well-proportioned hands in front of him, which has callus on the fingertips. He stretched out his hand to hold it. His(QT) hand is broad and powerful, and there are callus in his palm. Their hands barely touch before they separate.

    "Qin Tan."

    Qin Tan¡¯s voice is low and it matched his whole personality very well. Tall, strong, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, his body exudes a compelling temperament, like a black panther waiting for its prey in the dark night, and it can deliver a fatal blow in the quiet.

    On the other hand, Lou Fan formed a sharp contrast standing beside Qin Tan. He had been staying indoors for a long time so his skin is quite fair; his body slender and elegant. His eyes have distinct black pupil and the white of the eyes making his eyes looked clear and beautiful. His whole person has a calm temperament, which makes people feel at ease with him.

    Lou Fan likes to deal with this kind of straightforward people, "I want to ask you something."

    Qin Tan made a gesture to let Lou Fan continue.

    Lou Fan chuckled slightly, "I want to see the content of your mission."

    Qin Tan looked surprised for a moment, and he stretched his wrist out. Lou Fan leaned closer to see, and it showed the task content: Find Yu Erniang in Luoyang Ancient Village.

    ¡°Yu Erniang¡­ ,¡± Lou Fan repeated. He thanked Qin Tan and went to look at this ancient village again. This is a quiet and peaceful ancient village and it is located in a hilly area. The houses are different in height, smoke rises slowly from the chimneys.

    "You''re welcome." Qin Tan followed Lou Fan''s gaze. Looking at this beautiful picture of the countryside shown in front of them, he whispered, "What you see may not be real."

    Lou Fan looked thoughtful and is about to ask something when He Yong''s voice came from ahead of him, "Follow me and get settled first."

    A group of 20 people walked to a deserted farmyard. Fortunately, although it is deserted, it is not dilapidated. The houses here have stone structures, and the roofs are made of tiles, which are strong and durable. It is getting dark, a bonfire was lit in the room, and Qin Tan coincidentally sat beside Lou Fan.

    He Yong stood at the center, holding a stick in one hand and writing/drawing on the ground. His face looked a bit blurred by the fire, and his curly short hair is parted on both sides of his face.

    "Everyone will go out tomorrow morning to inquire about Yu Erniang, don''t miss the slightest clue. From early observation of this world, it should not be too dangerous this time. Newcomers can also go out and help to find information. Of course, if you are not willing, we won¡¯t force you."

    He Yong¡¯s gaze flicked from the Level 1 team and the newcomers. His tone sincere as he added, "As someone with more experience, I just want to remind you that the most important thing is to improve your strength as soon as possible. The stronger you are, the longer you will live. Take advantage of the simplicity of the mission world to get more experience."

    "Okay, take a rest early and we will start looking for the target tomorrow." He Yong made a concluding remark and took his team to the other side to discuss further.

    Lou Fan glanced over at the Level 6 team, then turned his gaze back to the Level 1 team on Qin Tan''s side. He observed for a long time and found that the Level 1 team didn''t look like someone is taking the lead at all. It is a mess, which is very different from the Level 6 team.

    "Your team does not have a captain?" Lou Fan asked, sitting next to Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan seemed to have heard a joke and glanced up at the other 4 people. "No, we are a randomly assigned team. I''m also considered a newcomer. In Lazuli, team members can go as a team or get randomly assigned." He spread his hands helplessly, "Those are very cautious in the train earlier and didn¡¯t discuss anything or come up with a leader."

    Lou Fan nodded, it turned out that a team could be randomly assigned. Anyone who comes to such a world will have fear and confusion. Just after surviving from a mission world as a newcomer and then entering another world again, they will have inner fear. However, the absence of a captain means that in the event of an emergency, the team members will be frantic, which is not good.

    After He Yong¡¯s team of 5 finished their discussion, they gathered the rest together and began to assign the task of a night vigil. 20 people are divided into 10 groups, a group of 2 in each shift and Qin Tan took the initiative to form a team with Lou Fan. Lou Fan poked at the fire with a wooden stick. Qin Tan walked around in the yard and then came in and sat down beside him. He took out a pack of compressed biscuits from his backpack and asked, "Would you like some?"

    Lou Fan is actually a little hungry, but knowing that food needs to be bought with points, he planned to go out early in the morning to find something to eat. Since someone is offering some to him, he forgoes the pleasantries and tore open the packaging.

    "Thanks, I''m lucky to meet kind people."

    The ¡®kind¡¯ Qin Tan also tore a bag and pursed his lips. For a while, except for the occasional firewood crackling in the fire, there is only the sound of people eating.

    It is a safe night. After He Yong woke up everyone in the morning, there are still people who swore out from the discomfort. When they realized that they are no longer in the real world, they rubbed his stomach in frustration.

    "For the sake of caution, a Level 6 team member will bring along a Level 1 member and 2 newcomers. We will inquire separately and come back to share the news at noon."

    He Yong assigned the task and picked a Level 1 team member and 2 newcomers at random. Coincidentally, Qin Tan and Lou Fan happened to be selected by He Yong, together with another newcomer who is a girl. The four went out after choosing a direction to go. The scene they saw along the way made them feel that it is no different from an ordinary village. Children running and playing in groups, and old people walking by with baskets and farm tools on their backs are all very common scenes. Lou Fan looked at them seriously, keep thinking they looked a little strange. He thought about it, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint where is the strange point.

    "Are you an archery athlete?"

    He Yong''s voice pulled Lou Fan''s thoughts back, and he turned his head, "Are you asking me?"

    He Yong looked pointedly at the bow in Lou Fan¡¯s hand, the meaning in his eyes is very clear: Who else holds a bow here?

    Lou Fan raised the bow in his hand, "Just an amateur, not professional. But I just got the bow, I still don''t know where to get arrows."

    He Yong went silent for a moment. This man has a good spirit weapon and is also very calm. He has a lot of room for growth. If he(HY) maintains a good relationship with this person now, maybe it will be helpful in the future. Thinking about it this way, He Yong said, "According to my experience, your bow may not need arrows to be used. You can just shoot directly by drawing the bowstring. All the weapons we bring in from the real world are called spirit weapons."

    "I don''t need arrows?" Lou Fan thought, and suddenly an unbelievable thought flashed in his mind, "You mean, my arrows will appear automatically? Would it be inexhaustible?"

    He Yong laughed out, "How is it possible? Of course there are restrictions. There used to be someone whose spirit weapon is a g-u.n, and his restriction is 10 bullets."

    Lou Fan immediately took out his bow and put his hand on the bowstring. He imagined that there is an arrow in his hand. As soon as he loosened his fingers, a stream of light flew out and then disappeared into the wall. An arrow really appeared! But there are only 10, huh? Lou Fan enviously looked at the Tang sword carried behind Qin Tan. This kind of weapon is more reliable.

    Raw word count: 3095

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    Banana: Btw, the word Erniang has 2 meaning. It either means the step-mother/second wife/concubine or the younger brother''s wife. In this case, this lady with the name Yu is the younger brother''s wife. But the word is too long to be used so we will continue to use the word Yu Erniang.

 CH 3

    The group of four walked to the entrance of the village and saw an old woman. She is sitting on the bamboo stool in front of the house and sewing the sole of her shoes with a kind smile on her face.

    He Yong stepped forward and smiled, "Old lady, do you know where Yu Erniang lives?"

    As if she hadn''t heard him, the old woman continued her needlework.

    "Old woman." Still not getting an answer, He Yong became a little impatient and muttered, "Why is she ignoring us?"

    He Yong is about to touch her when Qin Tan grabbed him.

    "What are you doing..."

    "Don''t touch her, something is wrong."

    Lou Fan looked around and suddenly realized that though they met so many people along the way, they didn''t see anyone talking at all. He didn''t notice earlier because they were talking to each other at the time. But now that he thinks about it, there aren¡¯t sounds from insects or birds either.

    "There is no sound." Lou Fan said, "No one speaks, and there is no other noise."

    Everyone seemed to have thought of this. The girl named Zhang Ting turned pale, and asked with a crying voice, "She¡­ she couldn''t be already dead?" A shudder rushed from Zhang Ting¡¯s heel to her head and her arms are covered with goosebumps.

    He Yong: "Even if she¡¯s dead, no need to be afraid. It¡¯s not like she attacked you. What¡¯s there to be afraid of. Let¡¯s go to ask other people, there must be clues somewhere. There is no dead-end in the mission world, don''t waste time."

    He Yong¡¯s calm tone gave Zhang Ting a lot of peace of mind. She looked at the other two people and found that they did not look scared, both of them were very calm.

    Zhang Ting: ...  What is this extraordinary team she¡¯s in?

    Then the four began to ask the villagers whenever they saw one, and they still found nothing until the evening. Fortunately, though none of the villagers spoke, the things in the village are edible, just that they don¡¯t dare to eat indiscriminately. Several people dug up sweet potatoes and potatoes out of the ground and took them back to roast. Other teams came back one after another, everyone looked dejected and there was no clue. This is not good news. The mission¡¯s countdown seems to be chasing them, making He Yong''s face solemn.

    "Continue searching tomorrow," He Yong gritted his teeth and said, "Ask everyone we see tomorrow again, and don¡¯t miss anyone."

    When everyone is silent, someone said, "I suggest splitting the area according to teams. With the map of the village, we can assign a team to be responsible for an area, according to today¡¯s explored area. They will be responsible to ask back and forth in that area. With this, the efficiency is relatively high and we won¡¯t miss anyone."

    He Yong looked at Qin Tan, "It''s not easy to distribute without a map."

    Qin Tan took out a page of a notebook from his bag and handed it over, "I drew this."

    On the paper is a simple map. Although the lines are simple, the content is clearly marked. There are major landmarks of the village, the big tree at the entrance of the east side of the village, the well at the entrance of the west, and a small square in the middle. The location of their current resting place is marked with a red dot. At first glance, He Yong can tell that the map is professionally drawn. He Yong took a deep look at Qin Tan and measured him quietly in his heart.

    Qin Tan didn''t dodge the gaze and let He Yong look at him until he started to allocate areas according to the map. Lou Fan approached him, gave him a thumbs-up, and Qin Tan smiled back.

    At night, Lou Fan is still on night vigil with Qin Tan. Lou Fan woke up earlier than his shift because he only ate a roasted sweet potato for dinner, which is already digested a long time ago. He grabbed a few potatoes and buried them under the fire, and stared at the fire dreamily with his chin on his palm. Lou Fan still couldn''t believe that he is in a parallel world. It¡¯s just a night of sleep and he got drawn into this world. It''s incredible that a leaflet has so much power. But looking at the people sleeping all over the place, he couldn''t help but believe that it is real.

    Before Lou Fan went to the capital to participate in the competition, he had a fight with his mother because she found out that her son liked men. For a traditional mother, this was a bolt from the blue. She couldn''t believe that her son turned out to be a queer. Fortunately, Lou Fan''s mother didn''t let his father know about this, and both mother and son kept it secret. There happened to be a competition coming soon and Lou Fan''s father valued this competition very much. So his father asked Lou Fan to participate on behalf of the archery hall. Lou Fan agreed right away, the timing is just right for his mother to calm down. Unexpectedly, something like this happened to him.

    Lou Fan sighed slightly and someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned his head and saw Qin Tan who looked energetic.

    "Why are you sighing?" Qin Tan sat down next to Lou Fan and poked the fire casually. "Homesick?"

    "No." Lou Fan replied.

    Lou Fan¡¯s parents are both workaholics since his childhood. His mother was a businesswoman, and his father is focused on archery. The two had little affection and didn¡¯t meet up much. Lou Fan is sensible and matured early. When he was 6 years old, he could cook his own eggs for breakfast and go to school by himself. It''s a pity that even with such independence, he spends most of his time eating instant noodles or eating in small restaurants outside. He could burn the pot just by boiling eggs, and his fried eggs have never been not burnt. The fact that he is able to grow up smoothly, it¡¯s all thanks to the restaurants nearby. From elementary school to high school graduation, his parents never attended a single parent meeting in the school. It is not until the teacher stated that the parents must come when he graduated from high school, and his mother realized that his son is going to college.

    "I just feel that if I disappear suddenly, I feel a little sorry for my parents." There should be a closure at least.

    Qin Tan thinks this person is very interesting. He is handsome, elegant and has a very good personality. He is like the kind of gentleman that teachers and girls like in school, but he is very calm. He doesn¡¯t say unnecessary words, but he is surprisingly capable to discover the key points immediately.

    "What''s burning?" Qin Tan shrugged his nose.

    Lou Fan exclaimed, "My potatoes." The potatoes buried under the fire are blackened and could not be eaten.

    Lou Fan cursed secretly, rubbing his belly and shrank in his seat. He, the king of the dark cooking world, would probably starve to death here. This kind of death would make people laugh to death.

    Qin Tan looked at a few scorched potatoes and chuckled. To be able to make burnt potatoes like this is also a special talent.

    "What are you laughing at?!" Lou Fan suddenly turned furious. Cooking is his worst enemy.

    Qin Tan: "I didn''t laugh, you heard it wrong. Are you hungry? I will make it for you, potatoes or sweet potatoes?"

    "Potato."

    Lou Fan watched Qin Tan bury the potatoes under the fire. The procedure is the same, but he wanted to see the difference in the final result. He stood up and patted his pants. Then with his bow on his back, Lou Gan took a walk outside to check the surrounding. Everything looked normal, there is nothing suspicious.

    "Where is this Yu Erniang?" Lou Fan muttered, leaning against the door frame.

    Qin Tan dropped the stick in his hand and walked to Lou Fan. The moon in the night sky is round and bright. "Have you played RPG games before? We didn''t find Yu Erniang because we didn''t find the trigger point. If we didn''t get the clue, we couldn''t be able to find her. Here is no different than an RPG game. The only thing is that if you die, you are really gone."

    "I can''t tell that you know a thing or two about games. By the way, what is your profession before this?"

    Lou Fan is not someone who likes to ask about other people¡¯s personal matters, but the person in front of him gave him a good feeling. Qin Tan is handsome, calm, and looked very reliable. Since they have to team up to complete the task and survive, the importance of teammates is self-evident.

    How could Qin Tan not know Lou Fan¡¯s idea? He is thinking about the same thing. "Ex-serviceman, I¡¯m doing a small business by myself now."

    Ex-serviceman? Lou Fan raised his eyebrows, but he didn''t ask further about the answer. He arched his eyebrows with satisfaction and said, "I am an amateur level archer, and I run an archery hall with my father."

    Qin Tan: Let¡¯s team up when we returned to Lazuli."

    Lou Fan: "It¡¯s a deal."

    Qin Tan laughed. He turned back to the fire and took out the potatoes underneath. The cool air is filled with the smell of food for a moment. Lou Fan fixedly looked at the moon.

    "Come on and eat the potatoes." Qin Tan called out.

    Lou Fan picked up the potatoes, peeled them, and bit them down. The soft and waxy sensation of potatoes filled his mouth. Lou Fan took 2 big bites and said it¡¯s delicious. Suddenly, he paused, got up, and ran to the door to look at the moon again.

    "Qin Tan." Lou Fan yelled and pointed his finger at the moon in the sky. "That moon is fake."

    The moon is as round and big as how it was yesterday. Just that the strangest thing is right now is already early in the morning, but the moon is still hanging in the sky. Qin Tan only took a look before immediately turned around and called He Yong up.

    He Yong looked at the moon in the sky a little worried. Originally, he thought it will be a simple task but not getting any progress after a day has passed is enough to make him anxious. And then, they have another problem with the full moon now. He Yong thought they won¡¯t have to encounter any ghosts if they are lucky. Too bad that what¡¯s coming will come. He gritted his teeth and walked back and forth twice. Finally, he waved and said, "I know. Tell me again if you found anything. We will go ahead as planned tomorrow morning. Each step counts. If we don¡¯t find the key trigger point, this task cannot be done."

    He Yong is an experienced person who had gone through 5 missions now, so both Lou Fan and Qin Tan chose to listen to him. No matter how experienced Qin Tan is in combat, his skill is useless right now. After all, he is also a rookie in this mission world and he can''t play a big role in this strange world.

    Thinking that the two are a little nervous, He Yong comforted, "Don''t worry, it won''t be too difficult since there are a lot of newcomers this time." He Yong didn''t know whether he is comforting them or comforting himself.

    In order to save time, early in the morning, each team immediately set off to their own responsible area according to the plan. Lou Fan¡¯s team asked everyone in the area they are in charge of. They didn''t even let the one-year-old kid who is playing with mud on the ground. Unfortunately, there is nothing new. The village is still silent like a silent movie. Fortunately, at 4.00 pm, a signal flare suddenly rose in the sky, and the bright color dispelled the gloom between everyone''s eyebrows. Everyone quickly gathered in that direction.

    When He Yong arrived, the crowd parted in the middle, and the person who found the clue stepped forward with joy.

    "Brother Yong, this old man answered my question."

    Happiness appeared on He Yong¡¯s face and he immediately stepped forward. In front of him is an ordinary-looking old man; thin and hardworking. He is currently drying his things.

    "Grandpa, do you know where Yu Erniang is?" He Yong asked.

    "Let me think about it." The old man made a thinking action, and then looked at the sky, "It''s getting dark soon, alas, my radish flowers[1] are still not picked in the field, what to do?"

    Raw word count: 3005

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 CH 4

    The old man looked anxious as if talking to himself, but everyone present knew that this is for them. He Yong raised his head and looked at the sky, beckoning everyone to come over, "Everyone heard that? Go and find radish flower, at the field."

    The information given is clear, but difficult to find. This village is surrounded by fields, and there are also fields inside. It is not easy to find a flower that is not well known to everyone. Everyone is about to act when He Yong added, "The clue has been triggered. Everyone should be careful. If you found the flower, you should notify everyone immediately. Don''t act rashly and be careful."

    Everyone nodded and looked cautious.

    Lou Fan is currently deep in the field, parting through the grass bit by bit. The sky is already a little dark, but he could still see clearly. He looked up and looked around. The other 3 team members looked like they wanted to get a magnifying glass and lie on the ground to look for the flower. All of a sudden, a red flare appeared in the air. Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief - someone found the radish flower!

    From a distance, they can see a field dotted with small flowers in it, looking small and fresh. Before Lou Fan could quicken his pace, Qin Tan who is in front of him stopped him. "Something is wrong."

    Lou Fan glanced around and saw that the flower field has several footprints on it, and some of their team members have fallen in the field. For a while, everyone arriving from all directions stopped and looked at He Yong for instructions.

    "What''s the matter?" He Yong is also feeling puzzled. He repeatedly warned them not to act rashly and his team members would never be disobedient like this.

    "Boss, what to do now?" Li Xin asked anxiously.

    He Yong frowned, "Wait first, in case it¡¯s something that is attacking them in the field."

    "I probably know what''s going on." A boy wearing glasses walked out of the group of newcomers, holding a thick book in his hand. He adjusted his glasses, and said solemnly, "Radish flower is also called ''the flower of twilight''. It doesn¡¯t have any fragrance during the day but will emit a unique scent in the evening. Therefore, its flower language stands for ''twilight¡¯. Maybe the scent is the reason why they fell in the field."

    This person had no sense of existence before this. Lou Fan only had an impression of his book, because Li Xin said that the things they brought in are their own life-saving weapons. A book can be used as a weapon? This person must have liked reading very much before. It now appears that his knowledge is also very broad. This kind of unusual knowledge is generally not known to people.

    Seeing that it is getting dark, He Yong couldn''t care too much about the others. He immediately instructed his team members to cover their noses and mouths to investigate the field. Upon finding that the people in the field are not under attack, he let other people carry the fainted people away.

    "Quickly, let''s go back first, it''s getting dark soon." He Yong waved, and 8 people came forward to carry them away. They walked quickly towards their resting site.

    The rest of the people are on guard, and they didn''t dare to take this matter lightly. Lou Fan and Qin Tan followed the group from behind. The surroundings are so quiet that they only could hear the breathing sound of their companions. The whole village seemed to be in silent mode. A sudden cool breeze made Lou Fan feel goosebumps standing up on his arms. The filming site of a ghost film should probably look like this.

    Qin Tan frowned and held his Tang sword in his hand. A cold glow flashed on the blade, which looked like an extremely sharp sword. Seeing his action, Lou Fan didn''t dare to be careless. He took off his bow and held it in his hand, ready to draw the bow and shoot arrows at any time. Fortunately, until they returned to the resting site, everything went smoothly. At this moment, the sky has turned completely dark. As if the change is mechanical, after total darkness, a round and big moon suddenly appeared in the sky.

    Lou Fan turned around to close the door. The distant scenery is completely shrouded in darkness, and several shadows seemed to appear in the darkness. He swiftly closed the door with a bang, as if he wanted to isolate himself from the darkness and stand under the light again. Leaning on the door, Lou Fan wanted to soothe the heart that is about to jump out of his chest. Then, at the next moment, he immediately gets away from the door, like he is afraid to step away a moment too late.

    "What''s the matter?" Qin Tan heard the sound of the closing door and turned back to look at Lou Fan. He perceptively asked, "What did you see?"

    Lou Fan shook his head. Then, looked at Qin Tan, he asked, "Qin Tan, are you afraid of ghosts?"

    Qin Tan smiled, "I didn''t expect you to be afraid of ghosts. I¡¯m not afraid of humans, let alone ghosts. Human is scarier than a ghost."

    Lou Fan gave Qin Tan a thumbs up. Then he explained, "I''m not afraid of ghosts."

    Soon after, Lou Fan discovered that... the hell with ¡®humans are scarier than ghosts¡¯?! Ghosts are super scary, a¡¯ight?!

    ...

    The 4 people who fainted woke up in the middle of the night. Everyone is relieved and they asked what was going on. The members of the Level 1 team looked dazed and didn''t know what happened.

    "I don¡¯t know what happened after I sent the signal flare. I just remember smelling a strange scent."

    Lou Fan suddenly spoke and said a wild idea, "That old man can¡¯t be purposely asking us to pick only flowers with scents, right?"

    Lou Fan¡¯s wild guess made He Yong frown, and the folds on his forehead could squeeze a mosquito to death. "The task this time shouldn¡¯t be that difficult." Although he said that, He Yong is not confident with his statement at all. So far, 2 days have passed, and they have just got a clue. But they still haven''t managed to see Yu Erniang yet. If it is really according to Lou Fan''s guess, it will be the 4th day already after they could pick the flower for the old man. Then, after finding Yu Erniang, they don''t know what else they would encounter. Their task is to finish off Yu Erniang after all. Thinking that this matter is getting bigger, He Yong sighed and waved to let everyone rest. He hoped that it won''t be like what Lou Fan thought.

    In the end, it¡¯s actually Lou Fan who thought too much. The next day they picked the radish flower and went straight to the old man. After giving the flower to the old man, he is obviously satisfied. When He Yong asked if he knew Yu Erniang again, the old man touched his non-existent beard and looked at the sky for a minute.

    "Yu Erniang huh? Let me think about it, didn''t she died long ago?" After the old man said, he took the radish flower into the room.

    He Yong''s eyes widened, "That¡¯s it?!" That''s the clue? Is the NPC playing him?!

    "This is the spiritual-type mission world, we should have thought of this a long time ago. The target can''t be a living person," someone said.

    "Then we¡¯ll go to the cemetery, it must be around." He Yong yelled. The mission this time is almost suffocating him. "Time waits for no one, scatter to look for it."

    It''s a pity that He Yong is leading the team for the first time, and his experience is still a bit lacking. In the past, there are senior teams with them and he just have to obey orders. He didn''t need to rack his brain for clues.

    Lou Fan feels that things are not that simple. This old man is definitely the key, isn''t all the key characters in the game like that? When everyone is gone, only he and Qin Tan stood where they were. Qin Tan looked at him, and he looked at Qin Tan, staring at each other.

    "What do you think?" Qin Tan asked.

    Lou Fan: "I think we should ask him again, I''ll pick the radish flower."

    "How do you know he will answer you again?"

    Lou Fan: "How do you know if you don''t try? Is the task really meant for us to go searching aimlessly for the grave? If they found the grave, what¡¯s then? The task is to find Yu Erniang, not Yu Erniang''s grave."

    Qin Tan: "Go, let¡¯s pick the flowers."

    Lou Fan smiled, showing a small canine tooth, "Sensible."

    Lou Fan was afraid that Qin Tan would not agree with his thought. Of course, he did not intend to convince Qin Tan that he must follow him to pick the flowers. Qin Tan could choose to search the grave as he like. Unexpectedly, Qin Tan immediately agreed. He originally planned to say a few more words, but the two hit it off. With a clear goal, the two rushed to the flower field to pick a handful of flowers, and then returned to the old man. Sure enough, the old man is standing outside and waiting again.

    "Uncle, do you know where Yu Erniang is?" Lou Fan asked.

    "Let me think about it. It''s getting dark soon, alas, my radish flowers are still not picked in the field, what to do?" The old man repeated the words he previously said.

    Lou Fan: Old man, aren¡¯t you a dramatist? You simply talk nonsense with your eyes open. It''s obviously noon right now.

    Qin Tan looked at Lou Fan''s speechless expression and slightly curved his mouth. Then he handed a flower to the old man. The old man took the flowers and replied, "Isn''t Yu Erniang buried in the back mountain?"

    The old man went into the house again after speaking. When he came out, Lou Fan asked another question, "Where did Yu Erniang live when she is alive?"

    "Let me think about it. It''s getting dark soon, alas, my radish flowers are still not picked in the field, what to do?

    Qin Tan passed another flower to the old man.

    "Yu Erniang used to live in the house at the end of the village. It¡¯s the house where there is a tree growing by the door." After saying that, the old man went into his house but he did not come out anymore after the two waited for a long time.

    Lou Fan stared in confusion, "Why isn''t he coming out?"

    Qin Tan thought for a while. Rubbing the flower in his hand, he speculated, "Maybe there are only 3 opportunities to ask questions a day."

    Lou Fan thought about it, and sighed, "It''s all because I asked a useless question without thinking too much about it. I should think carefully about asking."

    Qin Tan comforted, "It''s okay. There are still chances tomorrow. Besides, it¡¯s you who thought to ask a few more times. Otherwise, these 2 times will be wasted."

    With Qin Tan''s comfort, Lou Fan could only tell himself in his heart that he must think carefully next time. If it turned out that there is only a chance to ask and he asked something so casually, they will be finished.

    "Where do you want to go now?" Qin Tan changed the subject.

    Lou Fan thought for a while and said, "I want to check where she lives first." He asked Qin Tan in return, "What about you?"

    Qin Tan: "Just go according to what you said."

    Lou Fan didn''t think much about it, only thinking that his companion is so willing to accommodate him. "Okay, go to her house first. And, next time we will follow your idea, that¡¯s fair."

    The two didn''t immediately tell the others where Yu Erniang¡¯s cemetery is. They planned to go to her house to check it out before talking about it. If they found clues, they will notify other people. If they don''t find anything, they will go to her cemetery to search.

    Luoyang Ancient Village is not too big, and it takes only 20 minutes to walk from the beginning of the village to the end of the village. As they walked, they saw some food on the way and took some. Soon, they reached the end of the village. At the end of the village, there isn¡¯t a house with a tree at the door, only a scorched and dead tree. Behind the tree is flat ground, and only some traces of scorching can be seen. Qin Tan crouched down to check, then looked at Lou Fan, "This house has also been burned (aside from the tree)."

    "That proves that Yu Erniang did live here. So, was the house burned after she died, or was she burned to death?" Lou Fan touched his chin and suddenly felt that he had become a detective.

    "The task is to find Yu Erniang, I don''t think it will be the end just by finding the cemetery."

    Lou Fan is still thinking and then, Qin Tan sighed helplessly, "We¡¯ll come tonight."

    Lou Fan stiffened and looked at Qin Tan incredulously, "You mean to find Yu Erniang''s ghost?" He is still feeling a bit repulsive towards this kind of spiritual world, but Qin Tan''s expression has said everything - yes, what they are looking for is Yu Erniang''s ghost.

    Qin Tan: "Let¡¯s go back and discuss with them. You are a newcomer so all you need to do is get on the train on time. You don''t need to follow us to find ghosts."

    Raw word count: 3096

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 CH 5

    ?When Lou Fan and Qin Tan head back, they happened to bump into He Yong on the road. The cemetery was near the back mountain and the others are looking for the grave. So, He Yong took 2 people with him to see if they missed any places in the village. Seeing Lou Fan and Qin Tan, he asked, "Did you search in the village? You guys couldn¡¯t find anything?"

    The two came forward and Qin Tan told He Yong their findings.

    "You mean, we can ask that old man more questions and you managed to ask twice?" Hearing the confirmation, He Yong¡¯s expression turned a bit ugly. He is a Level 6 senior, and yet he didn''t think to ask more, which is a bit embarrassing. He Yong thought for a while, "It''s because I didn''t think properly about it. Let¡¯s call everyone back to discuss it." Then he returned to the resting site and sent a flare.

    "Not saying anything about the situation, acting without authorization, and exhausting the number of questions. Do you understand your position?" The only man wearing glasses in the Level 1 team said in dissatisfaction. He can be seen looking quite dissatisfied with Lou Fan and Qin Tan¡¯s behavior.

    Lou Fan replied sarcastically, "I take responsibility for my own life. Moral kidnapping is not a good habit, and we don¡¯t owe you anything. Is it wrong to discuss about the problem we found out with you guys now? Besides, who knows if my whim will be useful? Okay, even if I put this idea forward at that time, would anyone believe this newcomer me? Who could guess that there is a limit on the number of questions? I am not God."

    The man with glasses got rebutted and his face turned blue and white. Even if he knew that they are all newbies in this, he is unwilling to admit that he is wrong. "Newcomers should listen to the experienced senior."

    Lou Fan looked impatient as he said, "Oh, such a sense of superiority."

    The man with glasses wanted to argue more but then Qin Tan stared at him with sharp eyes like a knife. When the man saw that, he suddenly felt that his calf turned soft, and he swallowed the words he wanted to say.

    After making such a fuss, the atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Seniors do have some sense of superiority, but that¡¯s because they have more experience and the ability to help the newcomers. Hence, they often casually directed the newcomers to do things. It is true that the newcomer has just arrived in this strange world for the first time, but whoever in the real world likes to be given instructions here and there? He Yong glared fiercely at the man with glasses. He(HY) always wanted to have a good relationship with Qin Tan and Lou Fan. What''s more, the aura that Qin Tan exudes just now is stronger than them seniors, and it is faintly murderous. He is well aware of the principle of ''Fortune knocks once at least at every man''s gate'', and he is not willing to offend someone who seems to have great potential.

    "My team members can''t speak nicely, so could you bear it, please? Right now, we should work together to complete the task as soon as possible. The thing that you said earlier, we will ask the old man again tomorrow, and we should think well before asking." He Yong came forward to diffuse the heat.

    Lou Fan is not someone who will keep clinging to a topic. Since He Yong has come out to end the argument, he backed away accordingly and informed them of the 2 questions that he previously asked the old man.

    "Yu Erniang''s grave is in the back mountain, and the place where she lived before is located at the end of the village. Qin Tan and I went to check out the house just now. The house was burnt to the ground and nothing is left." After Lou Fan said that, he gestured at Qin Tan with his eyes.

    Qin Tan continued the talk, "Team leader He, I suggest we go out to look for clues at night, maybe we will find Yu Erniang. When I was a newcomer in the previous world, a senior told me that most of the trigger points in the mission world are related to ghosts. It has been 3 days now and we haven''t noticed anything different. So, maybe something will happen at night."

    He Yong thought of this too, but even though he had gone through 6 mission worlds, he still didn''t want to take the initiative to seek out ¡®those things¡¯. "Originally, I planned that if we didn¡¯t find anything today, we will take action tomorrow night. Since you raised this point, are you planning to go out tonight?" He Yong turned his head and asked, "Who else would like to act tonight?"

    Except for Qin Tan and Lou Fan, the others are silent. They obviously didn''t want to be one to take the first step. Who knows what kind of ghosts they will meet? It¡¯s better if someone other than them takes the lead. No one in the Level 6 team spoke, and no one in the Level 1 team or newcomers wanted to go out.

    Lou Fan pulled Qin Tan''s sleeve and whispered, "How about just us two go?"

    Qin Tan turned to look at Lou Fan, "Aren''t you a little scared?"

    "Who''s scared?" Lou Fan''s eyes widened, "I''m just feeling a little uncomfortable and couldn¡¯t adapt." He is really not afraid of watching ghost movies. Just that, experience a  live version still makes his heart shudder.

    Qin Tan is a little unsure. If there is an emergency, can just the two of them handle it?

    "We are really going?"

    Lou Fan nodded, "We can¡¯t count on the strength of the newcomers, and the Level 6 team will not take care of us if they encounter problems."

    Qin Tan finally nodded, "Well, then you can hide behind me."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan''s eyes curved up. He found himself a good teammate, Qin Tan is simply ¡®Lei Feng¡¯ in person.

    Qin ¡®Lei Feng¡¯ Tan didn''t know that he got issued a ¡®good person¡¯ card. They took their weapons and went out. Looking at Lou Fan and Qin Tan from inside the door, there are sympathy, fear, and also gloating (at other people¡¯s misfortune). Lou Fan didn''t pay attention to other people''s gaze while Qin Tan simply doesn¡¯t care.

    As the two of them walked on the small road, it felt like a whole different feeling. At this moment, there is silence all around, and they can only hear the sound of their own breathing. The full moon hung in the air, enough to illuminate the ground, but the brightness is no more than 3 meters. Outside 3 meters is a curtain of darkness.

    While looking at the surroundings, Lou Fan asked Qin Tan curiously. "Why did you agree to come out with me?" He could see that Qin Tan hesitated earlier.

    Qin Tan looked around warily and the Tang sword in his hand glowed brightly. His entire being is in a tight state, like a cheetah that could rush out at any time. "Intuition. And your words make a lot of sense. Besides, we are teammates." Teammates that acknowledge each other¡¯s ability.

    Lou Fan curved his lips slightly, very satisfied with Qin Tan¡¯s answer.

    "What about you? Why do you insist on coming out?" Qin Tan asked.

    Lou Fan didn¡¯t hesitate and said, ¡°Intuition. I had a feeling that that place is very important. Isn¡¯t it because I¡¯m afraid to waste time? In case we delayed some time to find the grave, then have to spend time to deal with Yu Erniang who may crawl out of the grave. Then, we won¡¯t have time to check out the house (at night) again."

    After speaking, both of them couldn''t help but laugh. They both believed in this intuition.

    Their resting site is not far from the end of the village, but the surrounding area gets darker as they go, and the visibility is only 2 meters now. The darkness is like a monster with a big mouth, wanting to swallow them in. The surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped a lot. Even Lou Fan, who is wearing a coat, couldn''t help but wince.

    On the other hand, Qin Tan wore a black jacket, which didn''t look too thick. Lou Fan shrank his neck. At this moment, he regretted that only two of them came out. If they have a few more people to huddle with, maybe they will be a little warmer. On a whim, Lou Fan made a pulling motion at his bow. In the darkness, a bright white and transparent arrow appeared in his hand. He pulled it gently, and the arrow burst out into the air. The magical thing is that after the arrow is shot, the surrounding visibility returned to the previous 3 meters, and the temperature seemed to rise a little.

    Qin Tan gave Lou Fan a thumbs up, "Great job."

    As they flatter each other, Qin Tan and Lou Fan reached the end of the village smoothly. Even Lou Fan himself felt a little weird that they didn''t meet any supernatural beings on the way.

    On the originally burnt piece of ground stood an ordinary-looking house. It is no different from the others. There is a tree in front of the door with luxuriant branches. The only difference is that in this deadly silent village, there is a faint light glowing from inside the house.

    Qin Tan made a gesture to let Lou Fan stay where he is while he himself stepped forward and looked in the window. After a while, he turned to beckon Lou Fan. Lou Fan walked forward lightly and leaned on the window to look in. Under the dim light in the room, a plainly dressed woman is sitting at the table, holding a pair of small shoes in her hand, and is concentrating on making the soles of the shoes. She looked a little thin and her clothes looked big on her body, but her shallow face is very gentle.

    This should be Yu Erniang.

    Lou Fan turned to look at Qin Tan and said silently. Qin Tan nodded at him. Immediately, the scene flashed and changed. The woman''s belly is now slightly bulging, and she stroked her belly with a fond look. One could see that she is very happy. Next, another scene flashed. The woman is sitting at the table with a pale face. She is gripping the table hard, trying to prevent herself from sliding down. Then, a large group of people came into the house, consist of many men and women. Several old women in the lead pushed her around. In Yu Erniang¡¯s hand is a pair of small shoes and she held on to it tightly. Someone made to grab it but was bitten by her severely. Then, she is pushed to the ground and those people kicked and punched her.

    Another scene flashed. A raging fire is burning wildly, and there are flames all around. Lou Fan is startled as if he could feel the raging fire licking his skin too. The flames around them blazed into the sky. However, this is just something that Yu Erniang has experienced. She seems to be awakened from her sleep, with her hair scattered loosely and her clothes casually draped. She slapped the door hard, but couldn''t open it. The door is locked.

    Lou Fan''s heart trembled. The fire is reflected in his eyes, and the woman in the room is howling desperately. He could not hear the slightest sound, but he seemed to feel the kind of despair. Yu Erniang was burned to death. Lou Fan saw that she is conscious when she is being swallowed by the tongue of fire. She is lying in the corner, curled up and holding something tightly in her arms. That is a pair of tiny and delicate shoes. The tongue of fire completely engulfed her, and as if she has exhausted all of her energy to stand up, she suddenly let out a bleak and desolate scream.

    Right after this scream, Qin Tan who is next to Lou Fan suddenly growled, "Not good! Quick, we need to go!"

    The scene in front of him suddenly disappeared, Lou Fan recovered to his senses and found that countless black shadows are slowly gathering around them. They are about to be surrounded as the shadows got closer. His arm is pulled tightly, and Lou Fan subconsciously followed Qin Tan to run.

    Qin Tan grasped Lou Fan in one hand and quickly waved the Tang sword in his hand with the other. The black shadows are cut apart before they could get closer.

    Lou Fan tugged at his arm and said, "Qin Tan, I can run by myself. Don''t be distracted by me."

    A black shadow suddenly leaned in front of Lou Fan, and a head struggled out of the black shadow, looking bloody. Lou Fan is startled by the sight and his pace became slow for a moment. The shadow stretched out a bony hand and grasp Lou Fan¡¯s hand tightly. At that moment, Lou Fan felt a burst of heart-wrenching pain.

    PA!

    The skeleton hand that is cut off by the Tang sword fell to the ground, and Qin Tan pushed Lou Fan forward, "Quickly, go!"

    Lou Fan didn''t dare to be distracted anymore. Suppressing the discomfort in his heart, he drew his bow and his hand quickly repeated the action after shooting. The glowing arrows kept flying towards the shadows. Lou Fan doesn''t need to aim at all, he just needed to repeat it mechanically - there are a lot of shadows.

    Seeing that Lou Fan didn¡¯t run, Qin Tan cursed in his heart and accelerated the movement in his hands. The two of them walked faster and faster, and slowly started to trot. Fortunately, they soon can see the resting site in front of them. Lou Fan saw the light coming out of the house and vowed in his heart that he would not be so reckless next time.

    "Open the door! Open the door!" Lou Fan yelled. Leaning against the door, the arrows in his bow kept shooting out.

    The door is opened. Before the person who opened the door could speak, Lou Fan hastily stepped in and bumped the person down to the ground. Qin Tan followed closely, and the door slammed shut with a backhand. Lou Fan panted. After making sure that those things outside couldn''t get in, he then slid down on the ground.

    This is too nerve-wracking!

    Raw word count: 3158

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 CH 6

    The loud sound at the door awakened all the people in the room, and they ran out to take a look. The person who opened the door is a member of the Level 1 team. Seeing Lou Fan lying on the ground with a bloody arm, the man exclaimed, "There¡¯s a lot of blood, a lot of blood! Are you okay? Are you dying?"

    Lou Fan is still panting, and turned speechless from the question, "I''ve been hurt a bit, not dying yet."

    Qin Tan walked over and pulled Lou Fan up to check his wound. The wound is long and deep, and there is a hint of black in the bloody mess, which makes it look a bit scary. Though Lou Fan said he is not dying, but when Qin Tan touched him, he couldn¡¯t help gasping in pain.

    Lou Fan''s scary wound is exposed to everyone. He Yong stepped up and asked, "This is..."

    Lou Fan smiled bitterly, "I was scratched by a ghost."

    20 people squeezed into the yard and stood there. When they heard Lou Fan say that, they turned silent. Isn¡¯t that thing''s offensive power a little too strong? It¡¯s obvious how one will end up if they get a few more scratches.

    He Yong frowned, but said, "I have medicine here. You can take it later. The wound will start to heal when you return to the train. Any injuries will be completely healed in Lazuli, regardless of the severity of the injury. The premise is that you must be still alive when you get into the train."

    This information is not said only for Lou Fan, but also for all newcomers.

    Lou Fan nodded, "Thank you, Team Leader He."

    He Yong turned and walked into the house, while Qin Tan supposed Lou Fan to follow in. The medicine works well, but it doesn''t look like modern medicine, it looks more like an ancient medicine bottle. Lou Fan glanced curiously but didn''t ask much.

    "Can you tell me what did you two saw?" After He Yong put the medicine that Qin Tan returned into his bag, he clasped his hands and looked at them.

    He Yong had a very good attitude and both Lou Fan and Qin Tan hadn''t intended to conceal anything. So they told him everything they saw in the house at the end of the village, without subjective overtones. He Yong''s face worsened as he listened to it. When Qin Tan finished speaking, He Yong¡¯s face looked solemn. After thinking about it for a while, he said, "Based on your description, I guess that Yu Erniang is likely to become a fierce ghost. I remember hearing this story regarding the incident of Luoyang Ancient Village before (in reality). It is said that all of a sudden, the villagers began to die one after another. Some who showed the symptoms of dying will die as quickly as half an hour to a few days later. Maybe it is because of Yu Erniang."

    Lou Fan had never heard of such things, and Qin Tan had never cared about it before this. So both shook their heads to express that they never heard of it.

    He Yong sighed, "After tonight, we can conclude that this ancient village is very dangerous at night, but the task can only be completed at night. Tomorrow is the 5th day, and the day after tomorrow is the latest day we must act. We don''t have much time left."

    Both the Level 1 team and the Level 6 team have tasks on them so there is no way to escape from going. But the newcomers only need to get on the train on time. Except for Lou Fan, the young man with glasses and holding a book wanted to follow along. The rest of the newcomers are planning to stay in the house. Someone in the Level 1 team cried out, shouting ¡®I¡¯m not going, I don¡¯t want to die¡¯.

    If you don¡¯t go to do the task, you¡¯ll die for sure. But if you go, at least there is still a glimmer of hope. From the first day in, some seniors already warned them, don¡¯t try to skirt around from completing the task. They only have one life.

    ¡°Goddamnit, just go early and finish the task early! You can''t hide and stay by the side. If you don¡¯t go, you are just waiting for your death!" The bald man who scolded the newcomers at the beginning cursed out. He seemed to have a bad temper, but everything he said is the hard truth.

    When everyone has gone back to the house, Lou Fan stopped He Yong and said, "Team Leader He, I suggest that when you are asking questions again tomorrow, please ask why Erniang Yu died."

    He Yong is stunned for a moment. He didn''t seem to understand why Lou Fan wanted to ask this question. He thought for a while and said, "How about this? I¡¯ll leave a turn for you, and you ask the question yourself."

    Lou Fan quickly agreed, it couldn''t be better.

    Qin Tan checked Lou Fan''s arm again. The blood had stopped flowing, the medicine is working well. He asked Lou Fan, "You really don''t play games usually? Why do I feel like you are good at this?"

    Lou Fan laughed, "Well, if you never ate pork, you have at least seen a pig run, right? My cousin is a master in playing video games. He will recommend games to me whenever he sees me, and will also show the gameplay. I can¡¯t not know."

    Lou Fan didn''t expect either that the gaming experience his cousin used to ¡®teach¡¯ him can come in handy so much. This is a matter of life and death. If he can go back to the real world, he must praise his cousin well and thank him for his tireless effort in instilling experience in him.

    Because Lou Fan is injured and the two are considered to have paved a way for everyone, He Yong spared them from the night watch. After running around in the middle of the night and getting attacked as well, Lou Fan¡¯s stomach is croaking with hunger and he desperately needed food to comfort his injured arm. He sat on the edge of the fire and waited for Qin Tan''s roasted sweet potatoes.

    The boy with glasses held his book as he sat next to Lou Fan. Lou Fan glanced at him. The young man pushed his glasses and proactively said, "Hello, my name is Chen Shuyang. I¡¯m in my 3rd year, a junior."

    Lou Fan nodded and smiled friendly, "Hello, my name is Lou Fan. His name is Qin Tan." Lou Fan had some impressions of this person. He is the one who said that the radish flower is the ¡®Twilight Flower¡¯ before.

    Chen Shuyang is not very good at communicating with people. He is a book nerd, and he pushes his glasses unconsciously when he is nervous. "You guys are amazing."

    "You are also very good and know a lot." Lou Fan said.

    Chen Shuyang lowered his head, his voice sounding lonely, "I''m stupid, I''ve never passed any sports assessment. Thinking about it now, it''s really useless to be a scholar, it''s better to run/exercise more."

    Lou Fan is amused by the young man¡¯s words, but it¡¯s not polite to laugh, so he comforted, "Who said that reading is useless? More practice will make you run faster, but books/knowledge are things that accumulate every day. Like you know radish flower, but we don¡¯t know at all."

    Chen Shuyang seemed to be comforted by Lou Fan¡¯s words. He raised his head and nodded, "I also know about the Luoyang Ancient Village. At that time, some experts said that this village may have a genetic disease, which is why they died one after another."

    This young man sure knows quite a lot, Lou Fan thought, he is a bit interesting. After the young man finished speaking, he looked up at Qin Tan and Lou Fan. As if a little embarrassed, and then summoned the courage, he asked in a low voice, "Can you take me with you? I promise to try not to hold you guys back."

    Lou Fan didn''t speak and looked at Qin Tan. Qin Tan said, "You are a newcomer. You can just get on the train as soon as the time is up. Why do you want to go on with the trip and deal with ghosts? You have also seen his wounds."

    Chen Shuyang glanced at the bandage on Lou Fan¡¯s wound and the blood on his face faded completely, making his face look pale. Chen Shuyang closed his eyes and opened his eyes again. His expression is firm as he replied, "I want to go back alive. My parents must be so anxious, and they are still waiting for me. If I can''t adapt to this world, there will be so many worlds after that. It makes no difference whether I die sooner or later. I want to grow up as soon as possible. If you can do it, why can''t I?" Chen Shuyang spoke with much excitement that his face turned red.

    Lou Fan smiled encouragingly at him, "You can do it." This young man must be a good and obedient boy, the kind that parents love.

    Qin Tan took a deep look at Chen Shuyang before saying, "Okay, we will take you with us, but we don''t guarantee your safety."

    Chen Shuyang nodded excitedly, reassuringly.

    Lou Fan looked at the book Chen Shuyang is holding tightly in his hand and asked curiously, "Your book is your weapon? How do you use it?"

    Speaking of this, Chen Shuyang is like a deflated ball. With a frustrated expression, he replied, "I don''t know. It''s completely blank inside, and there are no instructions on how to use it."

    Lou Fan took the book handed over by Chen Shuyang and opened it. There was indeed nothing inside. It was clean, cleaner than white paper. He passed the book to Qin Tan and Qin Tan opened it. After a glance, Qin Tan closed it and said, "Let¡¯s ask Team Leader He tomorrow."

    Chen Shuyang reluctantly put away the book. This book is really worrisome. He felt like even a stick is better than this!

    ...

    When a ray of light appeared on the horizon, the moon disappeared. Since there is no task today (as the main task is to be done at night), He Yong leads the people who are willing to go out to ask the old man while the rest are free to move around. There are 5 people from the Level 6 team, plus Qin Tan, Lou Fan, and Chen Shuyang. A group of 8 people went to pick the radish flower and then went straight to the old man. This old man is a bit like an NPC in the game, and the Level 6 team has been calling him like this. Lou Fan feels that he really just entered a game world, but the catch is he can''t be revived and only have one life.

    Holding the flower in his hand, Lou Fan¡¯s mind wandered away. Suddenly He Yong said, "Lou Fan, please ask first."

    "Okay." Lou Fan returned to his senses. He stepped forward and asked the old man, "Why did Yu Erniang die?"

    Lou Fan handed the flower to the old man. The old man took the flower as if recalling a memory, he said, "She is also a pitiful person."

    It turns out that Yu Erniang is born beautiful and had a childhood sweetheart. When she became an adult, the childhood sweetheart went out to work and promised to come back to marry her after earning money. Within 2 years, he returned to marry her according to his promise, and they had a happy and sweet life after their marriage. It is a pity that the good times did not last long. The village has a dry season and the harvest is not good. Her husband could only go out again to earn money. Yu Erniang is pregnant and could only stay in the village. Her husband promised to come back before the child was born.

    Although Yu Erniang is born beautiful, she was not liked by her husband''s family. Her sister-in-law is even more jealous and cut back on the food for her. With her husband gone out and no one taking care of her, Yu Erniang gradually loses weight. But she has her child supporting her will in her belly so she didn''t feel any hardship at all. However, things in the world are not that if you don''t cause trouble, they don''t trouble you.

    One day, Yu Erniang is awakened in her sleep. When she woke up, there is a disheveled man in her room. Before she could figure out what happened, a group of people rushed into her room. Everyone saw the scene and yelled at her. It is unknown who started it but more people began to push at her. Yu Erniang fell to the ground and blood pooled on the ground, but no one helped her. Everyone backed away while scolding her.

    With the child gone, Yu Erniang''s health is even worse, but she persisted. She wanted to wait for her husband to come back. She wants to tell him the truth, and he will believe her. But fate seemed to be really cruel to her. It didn''t take long for the news that her husband has died in an accident to reach her. Yu Erniang is distraught. At this moment, her mother-in-law''s family brought people to the door and scolded her, saying that she is promiscuous, shameless, and an unlucky person that caused their son to die. This is not the end as the villagers felt that she had tainted the village, so they set fire to her house.

    The NPC old man shook his head, "Such sin! She won''t let anyone of us go." Then he walked into the house with his hands behind his back.

    Everyone didn''t expect it to be such a story and the NPC also gave additional information. As for how Yu Erniang died, both Qin Tan and Lou Fan made it very clear yesterday. At this point, a complete storyline has appeared. Yu Erniang was burned alive while suffering false accusations and she came back to take her revenge on the villagers. One doesn''t need to think to know that the hostile she would be.

    Though Qin Tan already saw what happened to Yu Erniang, his task still shows that it¡¯s not completed yet. It seems that they have to go to the cemetery. Thinking of this, the Level 1 team felt heavy in their heart. A fierce battle is inevitable.

    Raw word count: 3176

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 CH 7

    After taking a day off, on the evening of the 7th day, the time is 9.00 pm, and the moon rose into the sky right on schedule.

    A group of 12 people checked their weapons and held them in their hands, waiting. The eyes of the Level 6 team are firm. Except for Qin Tan, all 4 members of the Level 1 team looked panicked. Although Chen Shuyang is also a little scared, he kept encouraging himself inside. Lou Fan moved his arms around and tried his best to keep his movements ready as usual. As for Chen Shuyang''s book, He Yong is also not clear about the usage. The people in Lazuli have various weapons, even if they are similar, the usage is not the same.

    Taking a deep breath, He Yong opened the door and stepped out, and everyone behind him also went out. The remaining 8 newcomers watched as the group walked into the darkness and shut the door tightly behind them.

    "Why does it feel like it¡¯s getting chilly here as soon as they leave?" A girl touched her arm, crying.

    The other girl tightened her arm, eyes looking everywhere, "Don''t talk nonsense. Let''s go in and close the door. Those, those things can''t get in."

    The remaining 8 people rushed into the house like frightened birds, afraid to be the slower one to get into the house.

    The moon tonight does not seem to be as bright as the previous few days. Fortunately, the Level 6 team is well prepared and there are enough flashlights. Everyone gets one, which they will take turns to light up the way. The back mountain is not very far away. They already explored the path during the day, and it takes about 20 minutes to walk there. Even if it is dark and they walked slowly, they should see the destination in 30 minutes at most. Lou Fan raised the watch on his wrist and looked at the time. They have been walking for nearly an hour and still haven''t seen anything. There are dark shadows occasionally attacking them on the road but they are easily resolved by the Level 6 team. They don¡¯t look sorry like how Lou Fan and Qin Tan were yesterday. Even if they lost some time due to this, Lou Fan still felt faintly wrong.

    Lou Fan pulled Qin Tan who was walking next to him, and asked in a low voice, "Did we hit a ¡®ghost wall¡¯?"

    Qin Tan nodded and is about to speak when He Yong gestured to make everyone stop, "Something is wrong, we should have hit a ghost wall."

    Unexpectedly, it¡¯s not just him(LF). Lou Fan could see that He Yong is very anxious. Then He Yong took out something from his backpack. He held it carefully and walked to the middle, seriously placing the item on the ground. It is a golden bead, emitting golden light on the ground. As if a rock fell into a lake, a layer of ripples rippled in the air. Next, the scenery in front of them seemed to have been stripped of a layer and become different from before.

    Lou Fan looked back and found that they are standing at a distance of about 300 meters from the resting site, and they could even clearly see the bonfire inside.

    "Frick, we really hit a ghost wall!"

    "It¡¯s like we are just walking on the same spot."

    "Okay, stop scolding, let¡¯s go!" He Yong stopped the rest of them from complaining. He carefully put away the bead and set off again with people.

    12.00 am at midnight is not a very good time because the variables are too great. He Yong originally thought that starting 3 hours in advance should be enough but they ended up hitting a ghost wall. Li Xin walked at the end, Lou Fan quickly followed and walked beside her. Lou Fan had beautiful eyebrows. When he smiled, his eyebrows are curved, making him look quite friendly. When he is not smiling, his peach blossom eyes look cold, giving him a temperament that strangers shouldn''t come close.

    "Sister Li Xin, what was that item that Team Leader He just holding?" Lou Fan had a gentle smile on his face. "It looks amazing, but his weapon is not that, right?"

    Lou Fan has a good attitude and looks good. Li Xin has a good impression of him and is willing to tell him more.

    "That''s the ''equipment'' found by Leader. In addition to the weapons everyone brought in with them, each mission world will have some special items that you could get. Generally speaking, it is related to the task NPC. Completing the task given by the NPC, or triggering a piece of key information can let you get these items. These special items can be brought back to Lazuli to enter the next mission world. As for the usage of the items, some will give hints in a relevant mission world while some you have to experiment and find out yourself according to the rules of the mission world. Maybe these items will save your life in the next world, or you can return to Lazuli to exchange or trade with others."

    Li Xin paused and said, "After returning to Lazuli, the information regarding your next mission will be released 3 days in advance, leaving you with enough time to prepare."

    Lou Fan is surprised to know that things could be done like this. He turned to look at Qin Tan and asked, "Qin Tan, do you know these?"

    Qin Tan shook his head, he hadn''t had time to inquire about it. The people he met in his newcomer world are not good and gave him little experience. He survived on his own. After returning to Lazuli, the seniors wanted to recruit him, but he refused. Moreover, he didn''t bring anything back from the newcomer world. He just saw the seniors collecting something so he also collected some. Only then did he exchange some essential items in Lazuli. Since he has nothing left in his hand, he has no way to inquire for intel.

    Li Xin smiled, "Meeting us is also good luck for you. There are all sorts of people in Lazuli, and some do all kinds of bad things. Fortunately, Lazuli''s protection mechanism means we cannot harm each other, but you must be careful in the mission world."

    Lou Fan nodded and gratefully thanked Li Xin for her advice. He exclaimed, "If so, then I must collect as much equipment as possible in this mission world."

    Li Xin laughed out loud, "You thought it is as easy as picking Chinese cabbage? Let''s not talk about finding the NPC that triggers the mission, you don¡¯t even know whether your main mission can be completed within the specified time or not. You know, this world is considered a simple world. We can define it as a Level D world, but it took me 5 days to find the key point and this is the lowest level world. The first concern is a matter of time, and the second is a matter of luck. Can you find the NPC that triggers the task? As of now, we have not found any other NPCs except the old man."

    Li Xin sighed and said helplessly, "Equipment is very important, everyone knows this, but whether you have time and luck to search for it is not up to you. Equipment is important, but life is more important."

    Lou Fan didn¡¯t reply right away, he is thinking about something.

    Qin Tan took over the conversation and asked, "What do you mean by the world classification?"

    Li Xin paused and took a look at Qin Tan before saying, "Lazuli did not give a level division to the worlds. It¡¯s what the seniors came up with among themselves. There is an announcement regarding this in the trade union in Lazuli. You can check it out at that time."

    Lou Fan finally came back to his senses and asked with a frown, "Sister Xin, only the NPC that triggers the task can give us the equipment?" He is very concerned about this question.

    Li Xin corrected Lou Fan, "It''s not ¡®can give¡¯, but ¡®maybe give¡¯. As for whether there is only one way to get equipment, I don¡¯t really know. If you want to find out more about it, someone in Lazuli sells intelligence." Since it''s selling intelligence, naturally one needs to pay enough remuneration.

    Lou Fan sighed and felt that he is extremely poor right now. If so, shouldn''t he dig more potatoes and sweet potatoes and bring them back? But he doesn''t know if anyone wants them in Lazuli. The issue of equipment is listed in one of his most concerned matters. Li Xin also said that the success rate of completing missions is greater and more secure with equipment. Plus, it can even save lives at critical moments, so he has to pay attention to it. Once again made up his mind, Lou Fan must inquire more about the equipment when he returned to Lazuli.

    He Yong''s voice suddenly came from the front, and Lou Fan discovered that, at some point, many dark shadows have appeared around them. After breaking the ghost wall, it seemed that a certain balance is broken and these dark shadows surrounded them unscrupulously. Lou Fan knew what kind of monsters are in the dark shadows, so he reminded everyone to deal with it carefully.

    No need for Lou Fan¡¯s reminder, the Level 6 team also knew that these shadows are no small fries. They clenched their weapons and stay alert to prevent the shadows from getting close. Not far away is the cemetery area. To reach the tomb of Yu Erniang, it is necessary to pass through this cemetery area. However, the mass of pitch-black shadows makes everyone feel uneasy.

    There¡¯s too much of them!

    He Yong frowned and felt confused inside. It stands to reason that this is just a simple Level D world, so it shouldn''t be so difficult. Everyone said that every 5th level upwards is a hurdle. When he first arrived here in this world, he was still rejoicing by the level. It turned out that it is really not as simple as he thought. Perhaps it is because their group has leveled up to level 6? But thinking about this now is superfluous. If they can''t retreat, they can only move forward.

    "Everyone should be careful. Close attack on the outside and long attack inside, quickly form a circle." He Yong immediately arranged the positions.

    Lou Fan is surrounded inside and he is standing behind Qin Tan. Beside him is a Level 6 team member, and his weapon is a dart. Facing the cemetery ghost, the Level 6 team is under a bit of pressure, so most of the long-range attackers helped them to shave the amount. Lou Fan draws his bow and shoots the arrows without stopping. One arrow after another accurately hits the black shadow, and the shadow disappears without a trace in an instant. Actually, Lou Fan has selfish intentions too. Most of his arrows are helping in Qin Tan''s direction. When there is no emergency on Qin Tan''s side, then only he helps the other side. Fortunately, the shadows are not unlimited. After killing a bunch of them, the pressure on the attackers suddenly dropped.

    "It''s really frickin dangerous. Fortunately, the shadows won''t get resurrected. Otherwise, our attacks will be really useless." The Level 6 team bald man cursed out. Then he turned his head and grinned at Lou Fan, "Hey, your arrows are very good. It''s too frickin accurate."

    Lou Fan didn''t like the man¡¯s vulgar compliments, but it¡¯s still a compliment so he nodded as a response.

    Everyone wiped their sweat with lingering fears. The attackers on the periphery of the circle are more or less injured. Those black shadows are not herbivores after all. After everyone took turns applying the medicine, they continued to move towards the back mountain. Qin Tan didn¡¯t suffer any injuries at all and he secretly winked at Lou Fan.

    The team slowly advanced towards the back mountain. When they reached the tomb that they had checked during the day, the watch on their wrists indicated that the time is 12.00 am midnight, not a second less. The originally deserted and messy hillside has changed. A ghostly house appeared halfway up the hillside. Yu Erniang smilingly stood at the door, with two plain white lanterns hanging on both sides of the door. The faint firelight is like a group of ghost fire in the darkness. She is wearing a bright red dress. She is not as skinny as Lou Fan saw in the burnt house, but rather beautiful. However, two abnormal blushes on her face and bright red lips make her look a little scary.

    Standing in front of the door, Yu Erniang watched the group of people, grinning with a chilly smile. Her exposed hands are bare bones like charcoal, and the voice is cold and lifeless like a puppet, "The guests are here."

    Raw word count: 3075

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 CH 8

    As soon as Yu Erniang said those words, the surrounding scene suddenly became festive. The black shadow disappeared and the villagers appeared in its place, with stiff smiles on their faces. Their clothes are those paper clothes burned to the dead.

    Lou Fan saw several faces among the group, they are the people he saw previously rushing into Yu Erniang''s room, punching and kicking her.

    "Look, our task is completed!" A girl from the Level 1 team exclaimed in surprise.

    The 5 members of the Level 1 team looked at their watches. Lou Fan also leaned over, and it showed - Mission: Find Yu Erniang within 10 days. (Completed)

    Looking at the Level 1 team that just completed their task, the Level 6 team members are very envious. It¡¯s a pity that their task has just started.

    Before the Level 1 team can enjoy their happiness, Yu Erniang said again, "Since you have come to our village, please stay and don''t leave. Let''s be a company together."

    Who wants to be with you?! Everyone thought this way, and get ready with weapons in their hands.

    Qin Tan pulled Lou Fan back, and said, "Follow tightly behind me. Don''t try to help me, and take care of yourself."

    "Don''t worry..." Lou Fan is interrupted by Qin Tan before he could finish speaking.

    Qin Tan: "Be obedient, don''t let me be distracted."

    As someone who had just had a showdown with his mother that he liked men, Lou Fan¡¯s heart suddenly felt moved when he heard this. It¡¯s like a drop of water dropped into a pool of calm water. He glanced at Qin Tan''s resolute profile, an inexplicable feeling filled his heart.

    This man is so gerddam handsome!

    "Okay." Lou Fan promised and stood behind Qin Tan obediently, feeling extremely safe.

    Since the level 1 team''s task has been completed, 2 of them don''t want to stay here anymore and planned to go back to the resting site. The other 3 (including Qin Tan) expressed their willingness to stay back to help the Level 6 team, sharing the pressure of the mobs. As for Boss Yu Erniang, the Level 1 team members expressed that they could do nothing. He Yong didn''t expect that they would still be willing to stay and help with the mobs, so naturally he is grateful.

    The other 2 Level 1 members head back together. Unexpectedly, there are too many villagers and their fighting power is amazing. Those two had no time to handle the mob. One of them got swarmed by the villagers and beaten all over while the other tried his best to return to He Yong¡¯s group. He was terribly wounded when he got back. As for the one who got swarmed, there is only a smear of blood in the place where the man fell in the distance. Everyone didn''t care about them, and could only brace themselves to deal with the villagers who rushed up to them.

    The Level 6 team walked forward very slowly, and the rest of the people helped them share the pressure behind. The villagers expressionlessly rushed forward, repeating the slashing and beating movements mechanically, tirelessly. In the beginning, everyone except Qin Tan is still a little bit unable to attack the human-looking villagers. But in the end, they use all their might to attack them.

    Chen Shuyang placed his book in his backpack. Holding a stick he had picked it up somewhere, he started swinging it around to beat the villagers. Not sure if he is lucky or what, Chen Shuyang is not injured at all so far. That person from Level 1 who wanted to leave just now is already injured, so it didn''t take long for him to suddenly cry out miserably. After a while, there isn¡¯t any sound coming from him. Everyone can''t even protect themselves so no one can care about the person. Those who seek death should suffer the consequences themselves.

    The stiff villagers fell down one after another, then disappeared. Next, they turned into black shadows and attacked the group again.

    Chen Shuyang: "Frick, it''s not fair. They have 2 lives."

    Lou Fan: "..." It is indeed a bit unfair.

    At this moment, the Level 6 team¡¯s distance is about 20 meters away from Yu Erniang, right at the gate of the small farmhouse while Lou Fan and the others are about 10 meters behind them. The moment Level 6 members stepped over the threshold, Yu Erniang''s clothes turned to ashes. She turned into a scorched skeleton with pitch-black eyes looking straight at them. She let out a bitter scream, and a raging fire suddenly broke out in the farmyard. Both the teams (Level 6) in the house and outside (Level 1 + newcomers) could really feel the burning sensation of the fire. This is real fire!

    Qin Tan yelled, "Don''t get burned by the fire."

    Before his voice fell completely, a Level 6 team member unconsciously tilted his body and his arm got injured by the tongue of fire. Instantly, like lighting a fuse, the tongue of fire swiftly swallowed the person. Everyone only heard the horrifying screams, and then there is no sound. There is only a scorched black figure left on the ground.

    Under the glow of the flames, the group of people turned pale. But it is too late to be afraid now, a step slower and they might be the next one. Hence, the Level 6 members speeded up their movements one after another. Unfortunately, across the flames, the Level 6 members couldn''t hurt Yu Erniang. The man with darts in the team threw darts at Yu Erniang, but unfortunately, the distance of the darts is limited, and it can''t hurt Yu Erniang at all. The surrounding flames burned more vigorously as Yu Erniang screamed. While avoiding the flames, the Level 6 team had to deal with the dark shadows, so they inevitably got bloody scratches here and there. If this continues, they will not be able to kill the boss, and also get trapped by fire.

    He Yong is anxious. This is bad, he is afraid that he has to die here today! He couldn¡¯t handle it!

    Lou Fan stood behind Qin Tan and didn''t have to worry about being injured. The main battlefield had taken away most of the mob¡¯s hatred points (focus). He only needed to help Chen Shuyang occasionally to kill the mob. Lou Fan has good eyesight. He looked at the violent Yu Erniang and suddenly noticed that she had a pair of new and delicate little shoes in her arms. It was the pair she held in her arms before she died. Those shoes are very important to her!

    Lou Fan''s eyes lit up and he shouted, "Qin Tan, hold the situation and don''t let the dark shadow touch me."

    Next, Lou Fan yelled at He Yong who is in the middle of the fire, "Team Leader He, I have an idea. Please help me distract her first."

    He Yong already ran out of choices at this moment. Hearing Lou Fan¡¯s shout, he immediately seized the glimmer of hope and ordered the team members to attract Yu Erniang''s attention, and open opportunities for Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan held his bow steadily. The string is stretched taut and his face looked calm. Everything around him seemed to have faded into nothing. Taking aim, Lou Fan shot without any hesitation. The glowing arrow flew out surprisingly fast and rushed into Yu Erniang''s arms with a burst of wind. The arrow hit the pair of shoes without error, and immediately afterward, Yu Erniang''s hollow eyes were rounded. She let out an inhuman scream. The scream shook people''s heads and everyone couldn''t help but cover their ears.

    The surrounding scenery disappears like fading colors. After the scream disappeared, the group found themselves standing on the slopes of the back mountain. Weeds grow all around the area. A lone grave almost submerged by weeds looked very lonely by itself.

    Everyone looked at each other and couldn''t believe that Boss Yu Erniang is resolved. The Level 6 team members almost burst into tears of joy. All 4 of them thought they are going to die here with Yu Erniang. With tears in his eyes, Li Xin raised her wrist and took a look. Then she said in surprise, "It''s done, our task is completed! That¡¯s great!" She survived again in the mission world.

    He Yong also took a look, then lay on the ground as if he is relieved. The next moment, he jumped up and walked towards Lou Fan.

    Since Yu Erniang died, the shadows around them have disappeared. Lou Fan thought to himself, the unborn child is her obsession. So, if he shot the shoe, her obsession will disappear.

    "Lou Fan, it¡¯s all thanks to you this time. If it weren''t for you, we would probably..." He Yong choked, almost speechless. Even though he had survived 5 times, it still frightened him every time.

    The other team members also came up to Lou Fan. Although they are tired, they still smiled and thanked Lou Fan. Lou Fan waved his hand, "Everyone is in this together, so it¡¯s fine to help each other. You guys also told me a lot of experience. Besides, I get to accumulate actual combat experience too."

    Lou Fan is strong, humble, and not proud at all. Everyone likes him very much.

    After a short break to recover their strength, everyone did not want to continue staying in this ghostly place. The lightly injured people helped the wounded Level 6 team members to walk back. Qin Tan''s arm is also scratched several times and left bloody stains. Lou Fan took out the bandage from his backpack and borrowed He Yong''s medicine. After applying the medicine, he wrapped the bandage around, almost wrapping Qin Tan''s arm into a mummy. Qin Tan doesn¡¯t know if he should laugh or cry.

    When the group returned to the resting site, none of the newcomers slept. They sat shivering in front of the fire. Lou Fan and the rest shouted at them from outside for a long time before someone came to open the door, and they are overjoyed to see them.

    Lou Fan asked strangely, "What''s wrong with you?"

    The newcomer replied, "Not long after you guys have left, there are horrible whistling noises everywhere..."

    Then the newcomer saw a large group of wounded in the back. Unable to say anything more, he silently stepped aside. Seeing the Level 6 team hurt so badly, the newcomer covered his mouth and is shocked.

    He Yong didn''t have the energy to speak. The others also laid down like dead dogs. They had wounds on their bodies and fought all night. At this moment, the sky is faintly pale, and it is about to dawn. Lou Fan is also tired. After talking to Qin Tan, he drank some water. Then he lay down and closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost instantly.

    By the time Lou Fan woke up again, it is already 1.00 pm on the 8th day. Everyone''s tasks have been completed, the Level 6 team is seriously injured so they are all resting with their eyes closed. They had medicine in their hands, but the injuries they suffered are not minor, so they had to recuperate while waiting to get on the train. The Level 1 team is also injured but they don¡¯t have medicine. The Level 6 team couldn''t keep taking care of them either, so they could only continue to rest in place. The newcomers still looked at them with horror, and also looked despair when they thought of the fact that they will need to complete the task in the next world like this.

    In this mission world, there are only 7 members left on the newcomer team, 3 members on the Level 1 team, and 4 members on the Level 6 team. The return journey is on the afternoon of the 10th day, which means they will have to stay here for 2 more days.

    Seeing Lou Fan wake up, Qin Tan handed him a baked potato. Lou Fan is really hungry too. He rubbed his hair, took 2 sips of water, and rinsed his mouth before biting a big mouthful of potatoes. Eating the potatoes, he suddenly disdained himself, "I will look for washing tools later, and collect some more food along the way. I feel like I am almost a savage, ah, I really want to take a bath!"

    Chen Shuyang also woke up just now and nodded in agreement, "I have never felt so dirty."

    Qin Tan smiled, "You can wash when you go back. I''ll go out later to find out what is usable around here."

    Lou Fan finished the potatoes in 2-3 bites. Since Chen Shuyang performed well, Qin Tan also gave him some potatoes. The big boy with glasses smiled contentedly.

    "Let''s go out and stroll around." Lou Fan clapped his hands. He picked up his bow, then turned around and asked, "Do anyone want to go out with us to find some supplies?"

    Since Yu Erniang has been resolved, there is nothing terrible outside, but the newcomers are still reluctant to go out. No one else wanted to go him and Lou Fan turned his head back indifferently, following behind Qin Tan with Chen Shuyang. Lou Fan is not a holy mother, since those people are unwilling to accept the reality, no one will force them. But the result is what they need to bear by themselves.

    After walking around the village, Lou Fan stared into space, a little depressed.

 CH 9

    There is no one left in the village. No humans, no animals, not even the villagers who did not speak before this. Lou Fan couldn¡¯t accept it and ran to find the old man NPC. Not surprisingly, he is gone too. This is truly a deserted village.

    It''s over! His plan for getting equipment fell through! Lou Fan scratched his hair dejectedly, and a messy chicken coop formed on top of his head.

    Chen Shuyang comforted Lou Fan, "Forget it, Brother Lou. Let''s go and find daily necessities."

    Lou Fan nodded, and Qin Tan said, "This village should have been abandoned long ago."

    This fact is true. When they entered a few yards, they could see that the contents are all decayed. The items collapsed when touched, which means they are abandoned for a long time, let alone daily necessities.

    Lou Fan is about to collapse, "My God, don¡¯t tell me that we won¡¯t even find toiletries!" He won¡¯t be able to withstand it even if he doesn''t have OCD.

    Qin Tan curved his lips while looking at Lou Fan, "Don''t worry, toiletries are very cheap in Lazuli. You can change for them with a sweet potato."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan is finally relieved. With some food in hand, he will not die hungry, and with daily necessities in hand, he will not die dirty, so be it.

    As they are passing through the radish flower field, they unexpectedly found that the flowers are still in full bloom. The pink and purple flowers are particularly conspicuous in this deserted village. Since Lou Fan didn''t get any equipment, in the spirit of not missing out on any benefits, he asked Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang to help him pick the flowers. Chen Shuyang obediently took the order and helped to pick a lot of flowers. Then, he picked one from the flower field that he thought looked the best and inserted it into his book.

    "Shuyang, why did you put the flower in the book?" Lou Fan happened to see it and asked curiously.

    Chen Shuyang lifted his glasses and said confidently, "Make a bookmark."

    Lou Fan chuckled. Although Chen Shuyang looked pitiful, Lou Fan felt that he is somewhat funny.

    Qin Tan: "In Lazuli, you can also exchange stuff for weapons. Although it is not as good as bringing your spirit weapons, it is enough."

    Chen Shuyang nodded vigorously. He cheered up and continued to pick the flowers until Qin Tan¡¯s backpack is packed full. Then they found a few cloth bags along the way and planned to come back tomorrow to dig some sweet potatoes and potatoes to bring back.

    On the 9th day, the 3 of them continued to hoard food and filled the cloth bags fully before returning. After returning to the resting site, while there is still time, Lou Fan continued to ask Li Xin some questions.

    On the afternoon of the 10th day, the group set off from the village and walked towards the platform where they got off. When leaving the village, Lou Fan glanced back. The quiet village looked dilapidated, surrounded by mountains and forests. It did not look like how they first saw it when they arrived at this world. The village has once been full of people and bustling with noise, but it still couldn¡¯t help sinking in the long river of time. Even though knowing that this is a parallel world, Lou Fan can''t help but wonder if there is also a person named Yu Erniang who is treated like this in reality, and she too felt resentful for this.

    Qin Tan is waiting for Lou Fan. Lou Fan turned around to catch up and walked forward side by side with him. The platform is faintly visible, and with his reliable teammate beside him, his nervous heart suddenly settled down.

    The red and black old train stopped amid the sound of the whistle, and the people who had already swiped their watches and waited on the platform got on the train one by one. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang got on the train together, while Qin Tan got in the next compartment. As soon as he got in the car, Lou Fan''s originally aching arm began to itch. He pulled his sleeves up and saw that the scar that was about to scab had grown pink new flesh. 10 minutes later, his arm is as good as before. There are no wounds, not even scars. Lou Fan touched the spot. So, the train also has a scar removal effect, huh? Nice.

    The train ran at a constant speed, and there is a layer of mist outside the window. Nothing could be seen so Lou Fan simply held the bow to him and closed his eyes to rest. After a while, the whistle sounded again. They have arrived - Lazuli Town.

    Chen Shuyang got off the car in front of him and let out an exclamation. Lou Fan followed behind carrying a cloth bag. When he got off the car, it is as if he has returned to a human society again. There are many people around the platform.

    The people of the Level 6 team are healthy and kicking when they got out of the car. At this moment, their tight spirit loosened up and they carried a relaxed smile on their faces. He Yong patted Qin Tan on the shoulder and said to the two standing together, "Thank you for this time. If you need anything, come to me at any time, or you can look for them too."

    Looking at Qin Tan, who is staying silent, Lou Fan could only do the conversation himself, "Okay, I will look for you if there is a problem. I have written down your addresses. You guys should quickly go back and rest."

    He Yong nodded, thanked the two again before taking his team away. The rest of the Level 1 team members have left long ago while some newcomers are standing still at a loss. At this moment, they suddenly found themselves to be out of place. Because they didn''t build a good relationship with the seniors back in Luoyang Ancient Village, they are now completely clueless and don''t know anything. They don''t even know where to ask.

    Qin Tan carried the backpack and took the cloth bags in Lou Fan''s hand. Then he said casually, "Let''s go."

    Lou Fan nodded and motioned Chen Shuyang to follow.

    Qin Tan took the two of them to walk for about 20 minutes, and they arrived at a hall-like place. Lou Fan looked around curiously along the way. The hall is empty, with only a few large machines in it. Qin Tan walked to one of them and motioned Lou Fan to swipe his watch. A map is displayed on it.

    "These are houses or small bungalows. A house can be shared with 2 people, gray-colored ones mean no one is staying in it so you can choose at will." Qin Tan pointed at the boxes and said. Then he swiped the screen with his finger, and clicked on a house, "I live here, upstairs."

    Lou Fan looked at the 2 houses built side by side. The bottom box of the house that Qin Tan pointed to is gray. He stretched out his hand to tap on that box. Then a confirmation popup asked whether he is sure with his choice. Lou Fan chose Yes.

    Seeing Lou Fan had chosen his place, Chen Shuyang leaned in and asked with a smile, "Brother Qin, can I choose the house next to you?"

    Qin Tan nodded, and Chen Shuyang immediately swiped his watch to select his room. The whole process is done in 5 seconds without any hesitation. After the selection, Chen Shuyang saw Qin Tan and Lou Fan staring at him. Feeling embarrassed, he touched his head and giggle silly-ly.

    After they have chosen their place, the two happily followed Qin Tan back home. The houses are built of a uniform style. It has 2 floors, with a roof garden for the upper floor and a small courtyard for the lower floor. The area of the house is quite large, and it is just like a fully furnished unit. It comes with simple decoration, bedroom, study room, gym, and kitchen. At a glance, they thought they have arrived at a resort.

    There is an exchange machine next to the living room. Lou Fan walked over and looked at it curiously. Qin Tan took out a radish flower from his bag and placed it on a tray below. The machine made a beep and the tray retracted into the machine. 10 seconds later, the screen of the exchange machine lighted up, but only 1 of the 4 categories is lit.

    Lou Fan: "Does this mean we can only exchange for daily necessities?" He read the options out.

    Qin Tan nodded, "Yes, it means these lighted options are equivalent to a radish flower."

    Chen Shuyang felt like crying, "Brother Lou, will we starve to death?"

    Lou Fan felt that something is wrong. He reached out and grabbed a handful of radish flowers from his bag. He didn¡¯t count how many he took, but it seemed to be quite a lot. Then he put all of them on the tray that reappeared. The tray retracted again with a beep, and a countdown is displayed on the screen. This time, 30 seconds later, the screen lights up again. The four options, which are daily necessities, food and drink, medicine, and weapons and equipment are all lit.

    Chen Shuyang opened his mouth wide and lifted his glasses. Looking at the screen, he turned his head and gave a thumbs up to Lou Fan who is smiling, "Brother Lou, your way is too brilliant. You can even do it like this!"

    Qin Tan also looked speechless. He hadn''t studied this exchange machine before. Last time, he had nothing to exchange. Naturally, he didn''t know that he could stack items. If one has something to exchange, it is not difficult to find out about this. But Lou Fan''s mind sure turns quickly, he immediately thought to do this.

    Lou-Practical-Fan helplessly said, "Isn''t this a basic thing? You guys don¡¯t act like this, my pride will swell."

    Chen Shuyang waved his hand immediately, "Brother Lou, is there such a difficult ¡®basic thing¡¯? Don''t talk nonsense."

    "Go and exchange for some food, then rest after eating. After you wake up, I¡¯ll take you two out for a walk." Qin Tan stopped the two of them from talking, and also blocked Lou Fan''s eager hand from the machine.

    Eating is the first priority, as well as the daily necessities that he needs. Qin Tan didn''t know whether the exchange mechanism could store the excess value. So, Lou Fan added the radish flowers one by one. They first exchanged for the daily necessities that they needed, and then put more flowers in to exchange for other things. Although there are quite a lot of radish flowers in their hands, they currently only have this item to exchange. As for the sweet potatoes, they were thrown aside by them three. But they needed a lot of things, such as food, medicine, and even weapons, so they had to save a little bit. Moreover, they need to inquire about intel.

    Lou Fan grabbed his hair and felt almost sorrowful. What does it mean by ¡®unable to make ends meet¡¯? This is it! They must collect more things in the next world.

    After dividing the exchanged items among them, Qin Tan said to rest early and took Chen Shuyang to his house. Lou Fan is left alone in his room so he took the toiletries and went into the bathroom without hesitation. After an hour, Lou Fan almost washed off a layer of his skin. He wiped his hair and came out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel, feeling like he is alive again. While taking a bath earlier, he looked at spots of black water on the floor. It makes him feel like he hadn''t taken a bath for half a year, but the fact is that he only stayed in Luoyang Ancient Village for 10 days.

    Lou Fan fell on the soft fabric sofa. After taking a shower, his exhaustion seemed to be washed away by water. His entire body felt soft, and it is so comfortable to wash with hot water on his body. Thinking about it, he slowly closed his eyes.

    After a good night''s sleep, it is already 12 hours later when Lou Fan woke up. He grimaced painfully as he rubbed his sore neck. He is a 1.8 meters tall young man and he curled up on a 2-seater sofa for a night. Such talent.

    When Lou Fan got up to wash, his dirty clothes are thrown on the ground and he won¡¯t wear them again. He turned on the exchange machine, put in a handful of radish flowers, and began to study the menu carefully.

    There are 4 options on the home screen. After putting the radish flower in, a string of numbers is displayed in the lower right corner. Lou Fan randomly clicked into the daily necessities area. In addition to daily necessities, there are also all the things needed in daily life, such as clothing, shoes, and hats. Maybe because there are enough radish flowers in the balance, many of the grids inside are lit up. He flipped further back of the menu but saw nothing as everything is greyed out.

    Lou Fan chose a comfortable leisure clothing and clicked on other options to check. Now, only the first 2 categories have more exchangeable options. As for medicine and weapons/equipment, there¡¯s only 1 item that is lit. Scratching his hair, Lou Fan decided to leave it alone. Poor is poor, there¡¯s no way.

    Unscrewing a bottle of water, Lou Fan opened the French windows and walked into the yard while drinking. There is nothing in the yard, just a bare piece of ground. Lou Fan stood in it and took a deep breath. Then, Qin Tan''s low voice that is carrying a smile sounded above his head, "Good morning."

 CH 10

    Lou Fan turned around and looked up at Qin Tan with a brilliant smile. His whole body seemed to be shining in the sun. He said, "Good morning."

    Qin Tan is stunned for a moment, his gaze turned dazed. Then looking to Lou Fan, he smiled, and asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"

    Lou Fan rubbed his still sore neck and curled his lips. "It''s okay." Then, thinking of something, Lou Fan pointed to his clothes, "Does it look good? I redeemed it on the exchange machine."

    The light gray casual suit looks great on the young man. The smile at the corner of Qin Tan''s mouth deepened, and he nodded affirmatively, "It looks good."

    Lou Fan: "Do you want to exchange one..." Before he finished speaking, there is an excited voice next to him.

    "I want, I want," Chen Shuyang ran out from next door, and said to Lou Fan with excitement across the guardrail, "Brother Lou, your clothes are really good-looking. I want to exchange one too."

    Qin Tan squinted slightly and stared at Chen Shuyang. All of a sudden, Chen Shuyang touched his arm silently. He looked up at the sun above his head and muttered, "Hmm, has the temperature dropped? Why did I feel a chill just now? It seems that I have to choose a thicker coat."

    Lou Fan clapped his hands, "Alright then, let¡¯s get 2 sets each so we could change to it alternatively. Qin Tan, come down."

    Going back to his house and exiting from the door, Chen Shuyang walked around the fence and entered the other house. He saw that Qin Tan and Lou Fan had been standing by the exchange machine, selecting clothing. He touched his own head and said, "Brother Qin, you sure move fast."

    In the end, Qin Tan chose 2 black suits and a pair of combat boots. Lou Fan also chose black clothes, while Chen Shuyang chose a set of clothing in camouflage color and another in dark green. In his words, green is easier to hide himself. Lou Fan doesn''t think those clothing has any potential to hide anyone though. After the exchange, the three of them put on new clothes. After they exchanged everything they wanted, Lou Fan put the dirty clothes to soak and planned to wash them before putting them away. This is the only thing he brought from reality, so it''s good to keep it as a memento.

    After filling their stomach, Qin Tan took the two out, planning to take a stroll first. The first stop is Lazuli¡¯s port. Although they called it a port, it is actually a low shoal. Qin Tan took out a simple map that he drew after traveling throughout Lazuli upon returning to Lazuli as a newcomer. This is a large oval island. From the outermost to the inner ring, there are 3 levels/rings for ¡®passengers¡¯ to live in. All houses on the rings can accommodate tens of thousands of people at the same time. The train track divides the entire island into two. In the middle area (inner ring), one side is Lazuli¡¯s trading hall, while on the other side is the trading site formed by the passengers themselves. It is called a bazaar.

    The entire island is surrounded by water. Lou Fan looked at the green mountains, clear waters, and the arch bridge made of bluestone in the distance. The mist shrouded the island, making them look a little unreal as if they had strayed into a fairyland. Lou Fan doubtfully asked, "Can''t we leave by boat?"

    Qin Tan smiled wryly, "Try reaching out."

    Lou Fan reached out his hand, and when he is about to pass the shallows¡¯ range, he seemed to touch a transparent wall. Chen Shuyang also reached out and knocked on it. It is a transparent and very solid wall. He couldn¡¯t help yelling out, "Frick, isn¡¯t this same as the American TV series ¡®Under The Dome¡¯? Are we trapped by a transparent cover?"

    Qin Tan looked into the distance and nodded in agreement with Chen Shuyang''s statement.

    Lou Fan couldn''t help but look over his head. The sun is hanging in the sky, and the dazzling sunlight made him squint. Lou Fan then turned to look at the map. He pointed at Lazuli¡¯s trading hall and asked, "What''s in here?"

    Qin Tan come back to his senses and replied, "Lazuli¡¯s trading hall, it¡¯s the place we went to register our arrival yesterday. The things that can be done in the trading hall include newcomers¡¯ registration and selection of residences, as well as large exchange machines. Large items that cannot be exchanged in your own house will need to go there to exchange. There is also team registration and cancellation service, plus a very large training room, but I have never gone in." The main reason is he has no money (points).

    Lou Fan nodded and looked to the other side.

    Qin Tan continued, "The other side is a trading place set up by the passengers themselves, called the bazaar. It includes the exchange of goods, information exchange, the release of team information, and a market."

    Lou Fan''s eyes lit up and he pulled Qin Tan to go, "What are we waiting for? Hurry up and go. We need to get intel, understanding the market needs, and also have to ask about Chen Shuyang''s book."

    Hearing that, Chen Shuyang looked at Lou Fan gratefully and followed behind him.

    Lou Fan¡¯s footsteps stopped and his arm is pulled back. Lou Fan found that he couldn''t walk forward anymore. Qin Tan helplessly explained, "It takes an hour to walk from the south port to the market."

    Lou Fan''s eyes widened, "So far? What should we do then?"

    At the next moment, Lou Fan saw Qin Tan walking back. Following him and turning a corner, Lou Fan saw a row of shared bicycles parked by the wall.

    Lou Fan: "..." This place is really keeping pace with the times.

    The three lazily pedaled their bicycles, like a spring outing, slowly advancing on the greenway. Along the way across the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st ring, they saw all kinds of people. Some looked relaxed, some looked sad, and others looked hostile. Lou Fan sighed in his heart. He is neither a holy mother nor a silly naive person. In this place, strength is probably the only thing used to measure them. Thinking of this, Lou Fan turned his head to Chen Shuyang, who is happily cycling in the wind, and said, "Shuyang, starting tomorrow, both of us will learn how to fight with Qin Tan."

    Lou Fan has seen Qin Tan''s skills in Luoyang Ancient Village. His actions are neat, without any sloppiness, and are very accurate to the extreme. In contrast, although he(LF) has basic training from doing archery, at most he is just more flexible and has more strength than ordinary people. However, his combat strength is far from enough.

    Hearing that, Chen Shuyang trembled and he looked at Qin Tan. Gritting his teeth, Chen Shuyang nodded, "Then, I have to trouble Brother Qin, I will definitely work hard."

    Regarding Lou Fan making the decision without consulting him first, Qin Tan did not say anything about it. He only said, "Since you want me to teach you guys, you have to listen to me and can''t slack off in the slightest."

    The two nodded like a rattle.

    Their house is located in the south 2nd ring, while the market is in the north inner ring. They need to cross the train tracks to get there. Therefore, the Lazuli trading hall is also called the South Square, and the bazaar is called the North Square, both in the inner ring. When they reached South Square, they put their bicycles away. The railroad tracks are under the overbridge. The arrival platform is in the South Square, and the departure platform is in the North Square.

    There is a very conspicuous huge electronic screen on the South Square, which shows:

    The number of survivors: 4,893.

    The current highest level: Level 16 - He Zilun.

    Lou Fan''s pupils shrink slightly, the highest level is really at 16th. What happens after that? Did He Zilun survive? Or did he leave Lazuli? Standing beside Lou Fan, Qin Tan also stared at the line of words. His expression looked deep, and no one knows what he is thinking.

    Standing on the overbridge, the view of the squares on both sides is unobstructed. The overbridge is very wide and the walkway is made of glass, so it is inevitable to see the situation of the platform below. The situation on both sides is obviously very different. On the departure platform, most of them have a nervous expression; on the arrival platform, some people looked relaxed and some looked sorrowful. Lou Fan sighed. Soon, it will be his turn, setting foot on the unknown world again.

    Upon crossing the overbridge, compared to the sparse people in the South Square, the North Square is a lot more lively. Before they even reach the ground (from the overbridge), Lou Fan can hear the sound from the crowd. The North Square is very large. There are 3 huge electronic screens in the middle area, and there are some stalls scattered around it. Lou Fan observed curiously as he walked, Qin Tan took them directly under the electronic screen.

    Next to the electronic screen is a solar generator, which supports the electronic screen to work. The 3 electronic screens are split into information exchange, item exchange, and team request. Lou Fan looked at the electronic screen. There was not much content on it. Perhaps because of the need for remuneration, there is not much information on it.

    Under the screen for information exchange, there are:

    The ones under item exchanges are similar. Lou Fan doesn''t know what is displayed. Of course, he doesn''t have the capital to exchange, so he doesn''t care.

    Team request is like a job advertisement:

    The following 4 lines of information are also similar. 10 minutes later, the screen refreshed, and there are 5 new messages. Compared with the first 2 screens, obviously this recruitment notice gets more attention from the people. Many people are standing there and copying and reading, and from time to time they discuss with people around them, "This requirement is too high", "No one will go", "The treatment is too good" and so on.

    As a rookie who has just risen to the next level (from newcomer), Lou Fan can only fantasize about when it will be his turn to recruit team members. Of course, in fact, it is best not to recruit through this kind of channel. The team is best made of talents that you trust. After a few glances, the three of them went to the market again. It''s like its name, it is a small market, with weird things being sold on the stalls. The sellers are quite lax; some are dozing off, some are bragging with friends, and some are playing cards...

    Lou Fan wondered, what is the difference between this and item exchange?

    Qin Tan seemed to understand what Lou Fan is thinking, so he leaned into his ear and said, "The things listed on the electronic screen are different with this kind of item exchange."

    Lou Fan understood what it meant. It''s probably the difference between low-quality products and high-quality products.

    There are not many people at the market at this moment. The three just walked and looked around with interest, but no one came to sell things to them at all, so they just browse at will.

    "Say, do you think anyone wants radish flowers? Let''s set up a stall too." Lou Fan said on a whim.

    Chen Shuyang replied solemnly, "Brother Lou, I don''t recommend you to do this. First of all, we don''t know the value of the radish flower. Whether someone wanted it or not, setting up a stall just for this is a waste of time. Secondly, we also don¡¯t know what other people¡¯s things are and what''s the effect so it is not conducive to equivalent exchange. Thirdly, we are short on time, so we should train first."

    Chen Shuyang¡¯s points are well-organized, and Lou Fan could not refute them.

    When he walked to a booth, Lou Fan saw a very beautiful dagger and couldn''t help but look closer. The stall owner who was sleeping with a hood on his head suddenly jumped up, shocking Lou Fan.

    "Come, step right up. If you see what you like, I can explain more for you!" The young man in his early twenties smiled. He looked handsome and has a very conspicuous blue stud earring on his ear. The young man is quite enthusiastic. Taking off the hood of his red sweater, he whispered with his hands blocking sideways, "There are also gossips, introductions to players and other types of businesses; everything is available. Whatever you can think of, I have it."

    Lou Fan: "..."

    Why does he feel like this moment is very OOC (out of character)? It is as if he is walking in a lively street where street food and skewers are sold. Lou Fan rolled his eyes and laughed, "Then, if there is any business that deciphers the function of the weapon we brought with us (from reality)? We need it urgently."

 CH 11

    They don''t know that it is called a spirit weapon? Wen Lang''s thoughts turned, and he thought to himself. These people must be newcomers who have just passed their first world. The seniors didn¡¯t even provide this information to them, indicating that their strength is not good and they are not favored by the seniors. Moreover, these people said they urgently need the information...

    Wen Lang squinted his eyes, and his mind turned. He said to himself, since the business delivered itself to his door, there is no reason not to do it. Sticking to his principle of not suffering a loss, he won¡¯t waste any chances. Letting go of any possible benefits is not in line with the principles that Wen Lang always does. Wen Lang smiled brighter and said, "Yes, I do. But do you have anything to pay for the information? By the way, my name is Lang Wen, and I often do business here."

    Lou Fan turned his head to look at Qin Tan. Qin Tan¡¯s face is expressionless, but there is a smile in his eyes when he(QT) looked at him(LF). It seems that Qin Tan didn¡¯t intend to speak. As for Chen Shuyang, he only looked around in fascination and still hasn''t figured out what they are talking about.

    Lou Fan: "Of course, if you have the information, we will exchange things or pay for it."

    Hmm, not fooled huh?

    Wen Lang is not discouraged at all and continued his efforts. "You know, this kind of information requires high compensation. Even though I am well informed, Lazuli has nearly 5,000 people, which is difficult to find." He shook his head, looking like the matter is difficult to handle.

    Lou Fan didn''t answer and a smile could be seen from the corner of his mouth.

    Wen Lang touched his nose and had to go on with the conversation by himself, "If you can pay for the information, you can show it to me first. Then, I will be able to inform the other party, isn¡¯t that right?"

    Lou Fan didn''t waste time and took out a radish flower. He handed it over and said, "This is called a radish flower."

    Wen Lang took the flower and looked quite surprised. He didn''t expect them to actually take out something for real. He glanced at the flower a few times and asked, "What does it do?"

    Lou Fan: "It can make people unconscious."

    "What about the restrictions?" Wen Lang asked again. He didn''t notice that their conversation did not conform to the normal state of how newcomers would be.

    Lou Fan crossed his hands and smiled. "I can''t tell you this, obviously but you can keep it first. If you can inquire about the information we want, I have some more to offer."

    Wen Lang''s eyes lit up, he didn''t expect Lou Fan to be so tactful, "Okay. But since it is a troublesome task to inquire about the purpose of spirit weapon, how about we agree that I will give you the detailed information in 1 month, and I want to be paid for my effort too."

    Lou Fan frowned, "You''re a bit too much." He naturally knows about Wen Lang''s calculations, but right now, they don''t have the conditions to be picky. This is just a bargain between the one who needs something and the one who can give something.

    Wen Lang smiled, not at all embarrassed, "Well, based on my experience, I have several guesses about the function. You go back and try it. Consider it a little gift from me."

    Under Lou Fan''s skeptical gaze, Wen Lang mentioned several guesses. With an attitude to try anything possible, Lou Fan accepted the suggestion and stopped going on with the conversation. Leaving his contact information behind, Lou Fan left with Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang. In Lazuli, their watches can be used to connect to each other, but unfortunately, they can only be used as watches in the mission world.

    Wen Lang took the radish flower and smelled it. He can smell a faint scent from it. He put the flower into the bag and said, "These newcomers, they are too naive. They don¡¯t even know whether they can return alive from their task next time. To be so easily giving away things to strangers, their vigilance is too weak." After speaking, Wen Lang shook his head with a look of pity. He packed his bag and casually left, regardless of the stuff on the stall. When passing by a crowd gathered at a stall next to him, he shouted to the people inside, "Old Jiang, I''m leaving first, watch the stall yourself." Someone uttered a response from the inside.

    On the way back, the three didn''t ride their bikes but went into the South Square for a stroll. They took a look around and then walked back to the house slowly. Chen Shuyang finally couldn''t help it, and asked puzzledly, "Brother Lou, that person looks a little unreliable. Can he really find the information about my spirit weapon?" After listening for a long time, he finally understood that Lou Fan is inquiring about his spirit weapon.

    Lou Fan glanced at Chen Shuyang and said with a little disdain, "That person is not ¡®a little unreliable¡¯, he is a cheater, obviously. As for whether we can find any information, well, we can only cast the net out and wait. There is no other way, who asks us to be poor? Else, we could have just helped you to send a message on the electronic screen. That will definitely get twice the result with half the effort."

    An extra usable spirit weapon means more help. Lou Fan likes Chen Shuyang quite a bit and wants to try his best to help Chen Shuyang survive. But if they have to explore this thing themselves, it''s a bit frustrating.

    When it comes to his book, Chen Shuyang is also helpless. Then he heard Lou Fan say, "Let¡¯s try the methods Lang Wen said first. Then we¡¯ll brainstorm and diversify our thinking. Who knows, we might be able to figure it out."

    Chen Shuyang nodded and took out his book from his backpack. The book is a normal A4 size, but it is quite thick and a bit heavy. Chen Shuyang opened the book, preparing to immerse himself in the brainstorming. As soon as he opened it, he found that his bookmark is missing.

    "Brother, brother Lou..." Chen Shuyang stammered at the book, his voice trembling violently, "My bo, book, bookmark is gone."

    "Your bookmark is missing? What bookmark?"

    Lou Fan leaned in front of Chen Shuyang suspiciously, and Qin Tan walked over. The radish flower that Chen Shuyang used as a bookmark in the book is gone. In its place, a picture of a radish flower appeared on that page, which looked as lifelike as it is real. The radish flower has turned into a picture.

    ...

    The book with a dark cover and blank pages is spread out in front of the three of them. One of the pages had a picture of a radish flower. They have been facing this book for the whole afternoon, and they are still at a loss. Drowsiness struck and Lou Fan yawned. Qin Tan closed the book with a snap and said, "Sleep first, we¡¯ll start training tomorrow."

    Chen Shuyang put away his book, "Yeah, Brother Lou, quickly go to bed. We are starting our training tomorrow so don''t waste time. I¡¯ll think about the matter with the book myself, maybe I¡¯ll just try to examine it more."

    "I believe you can do it." Lou Fan stood up and patted Chen Shuyang on the shoulder. Rubbing his sleepy head, he walked to the bedroom. "When you guys go out, remember to close the door for me. I¡¯m going to sleep now."

    The next morning, when Lou Fan woke up, Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang have already arrived. Neither of them looked very good. Lou Fan asked strangely, "What''s the matter with you two?"

    "Make a training plan."

    "Researching the book."

    Lou Fan: "..." Why does he feel like he is the only one who didn¡¯t make progress?

    Qin Tan made different training plans based on the different physical qualities of the two. Chen Shuyang has no foundation so he can only start with basic physical training. The biggest expectation Qin Tan has for him is to run faster than others when encountering danger. Lou Fan''s training content, however, is much stricter. It is not just basic physical fitness and strength training, but also combat fighting.

    The house has basic fitness equipment in the room. At first, Chen Shuyang struggled a lot with his training. Asking a nerd who runs no more than 10 times a year to run for an hour each day, Chen Shuyang felt like he is dying. But he also understands that Qin Tan has no obligation to take care of him. Even if he takes him with him, it is probably out of sympathy for his weakness, so Chen Shuyang must work hard to make himself valuable. This is not only his own life-saving skills but also an advantage to remain in the team in the future. Otherwise, what is the reason for others to let him stay?

    Lou Fan usually has his own daily training. Back in Luoyang Ancient Village, he also insisted on doing push-ups every morning. In terms of physical fitness, he has no problem. But in terms of his fighting skills, Lou Fan¡¯s knowledge is almost blank. On the first day, Qin Tan used only one move to throw him to the ground.

    Time passes in day-to-day training. Excluding training time, Chen Shuyang has been studying his book, while Qin Tan and Lou Fan are studying the exchange machines and calculating things to be brought along in the next world. After several days of research, they came to the following conclusions:

    Every time they put something in, a number will be displayed in the lower right corner of the exchange machine. After they exchange for an item, the number will decrease. Lou Fan calls the number as ¡®points¡¯. A radish flower is equivalent to 25 points. A pack of compressed biscuit costs 5 points, and a piece of white bread only cost 3 points. Next, they put sweet potatoes and potatoes on the tray. Each sweet potato can only be exchanged for 2 points, and each potato can be exchanged for 1 point.

    Lou Fan was speechless when he saw the number. If he knew earlier, he would pull out a few more flowers. For what reason did he tiringly bring the sweet potatoes and potatoes back?

    Medicine is very expensive. A bottle of hemostatic agent requires 30 points to be exchanged. An anti-inflammatory pill costs 40 points. Even the calm Qin Tan sighed helplessly when he saw the required points. Medicines are too expensive. Although they have a bit more radish flowers in hand, they still have to spend them in many more places so they can''t exchange the flowers all out at once. Besides, the radish flower has the ability to cause fainting, so they have to keep some with them to use it in the next world.

    After understanding the basic exchange rules, they began to calculate. Daily necessities are very cheap; they can exchange enough food to last them in the mission world. The necessary hemostatic and anti-inflammatory pill, they need to bring one each for everyone. As for weapons, Lou Fan exchanged a short sword for Chen Shuyang and exchanged a dagger for himself as a weapon. A total of 600 points were spent.

    In this way, they used half of the radish flowers they picked. Lou Fan sighed silently as he looked at the few radish flowers left. He can only look forward to bringing more equipment back from the next world. Lou Fan also exchanged a waterproof backpack for each of them. The backpack is light and durable. Qin Tan has to cut it a few times with a knife to make a small hole in it. The weapon is packed in a special weapon bag.

    At this point, all the preparations that can be done are ready. Chen Shuyang''s physical fitness has been greatly improved under Qin Tan''s devilish training. Lou Fan''s fighting skills have also improved, and he can hold on for 3 minutes in a fight with Qin Tan.

    On October 28th, as the three is eating breakfast, their watches made a long ¡®beep¡¯ sound at the same time. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang are taken aback.

    Qin Tan: "The task is here."

    The two of them realized what happened and uttered an ¡®oh¡¯ before checking their task.

    2 days ago, they went to Lazuli¡¯s trading hall in South Square to bind their team. Once bound, they will be together for the incoming missions. If they didn¡¯t bind in a group, they will be separated (randomly picked into random mission worlds). Once a team of 5 to 7 people is bound together, it will be their default team and they will not be randomly assigned. Otherwise, the system will randomly add people to the team temporarily until they have at least 5 people to enter the mission world.

    The information in Lou Fan''s watch shows:

    Task content: Find the ancient ship, Shenzhou that has disappeared in the waters of the Lao Ye Temple. Please board the train at 11:00 on November 1st.

    Task time limit: 15 days.

    Team members: Lou Fan [Level 1], Chen Shuyang [Level 1], Qin Tan [Level 2], Wen Lang [Level 2], Zhang Xue [Level 2].

    "Lao Ye Temple waters!" Chen Shuyang called out, and said excitedly, "I know this. I have studied it before. It is located in Jiujiang City, JX Province. It was formerly known as Dingjiang Temple and has a long history. That body of water nearby is called Lao Ye Temple Waters. It''s a very mysterious and strange body of water, and also known as the Bermuda of China; the Devil¡¯s Waters. "

    When Chen Shuyang finished talking, he got shocked by what he said. Then he stared at his watch in disbelief, "Wait¡­ we are going to the Devil''s Waters to look for a sunken ship? Oh my God!"

 CH 12

    Qin Tan and Lou Fan looked at each other, they had a bad feeling about this. This time, the task should be diving underwater to look for the sunken ship. The level of danger is much higher than that of Luoyang Ancient Village.

    Chen Shuyang is still talking about the mysterious events he knew that happened in the waters of Lao Ye Temple: how many ships have disappeared, what lake monsters are there, or the current vortex and underground magnetic field. As he said it, he wrote down everything he could think of. When Chen Shuyang first saw this place (in real life), he only felt that the place is strange and interesting. But now, when he thought of the fact that he is about to go there to deal with monsters and ghosts, his calves trembled.

    "Why aren¡¯t there any temples in Lazuli Town? I want to pray and ask for a safety amulet!" Chen Shuyang murmured, trying to calm himself down. "Dear gods in the sky, please bless us a lot. I will definitely worship you every day and offer sacrifices to you. Don¡¯t worry, next time I will bring your statues back for daily prayers!"

    Lou Fan got a headache from Chen Shuyang¡¯s muttering, and interrupted him, "Alright, alright, I¡¯m getting dizzy by your mutterings. Let''s see what we need to prepare. Also, should we go and meet our random teammates?"

    The trading hall in South Square will announce the team information and also release the task 3 days before the departure date. For those who got randomly assigned to a team, those people can go there (trading hall) to meet up if they wanted to. After swiping their watch with each other, one can only view the location information of their team members according to their watch''s level of authority. One can''t see information regarding other teams, not even other teams in the same mission world. But if the random team members did not come to meet up, they could not contact the other party one-sidedly.

    Qin Tan agreed with Lou Fan¡¯s suggestion, "Let¡¯s go and see. It''s best if we could reach a consensus (to work together)."

    However, their luck is obviously bad. The other 2 random team members with the same task did not come to meet at all, and the three returned without any result. Lou Fan is a little irritable. He doesn''t understand why people in the same team cannot work together on the same task. Wouldn''t the chances of survival be higher? What are those people thinking?

    Qin Tan doesn''t care too much for the random teammates and said, "We have done our best and are fully prepared. Even if there are only three of us left, I believe there will be a way to complete the task." At most, their task gets a little more difficult to complete with just them.

    After surviving 2 missions worlds, Qin Tan''s thinking has changed significantly. Now that he has 2 teammates, Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang, he is more willing to focus his energy on his team. On the other hand, they really have to find a way to recruit 2 more team members to their team. Otherwise, there will be random team members assigned to their team every time, which is very passive and is not conducive to the formulation and completion of the mission plan.

    After a discussion, Chen Shuyang began to draw a map of the Lao Ye Temple and its surrounding. Lou Fan checked if there is anything useful in the exchange machine. Qin Tan walked into the kitchen and no one knows what he is doing.

    "Okay." Chen Shuyang stretched out and drew a very detailed map on a large white paper, marking the key locations and buildings. This is what Chen Shuyang saw countless times during his previous research trip. Fortunately, he still has some drawing skills and can draw complete maps.

    Lou Fan walked over from the exchange machine and looked at Chen Shuyang. Then he gave him a big praise, "Not bad, Shuyang, your drawing is great. It¡¯s amazing that you could remember it so clearly, your memory is superb."

    Feeling embarrassed to be praised by Lou Fan, Chen Shuyang touched his head, "Brother Lou, you also know that I''m a nerd."

    Qin Tan came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food and stunned Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang.

    "Oh my God, Brother Qin! What did you cook for us? It smells good!"

    "Qin Tan, why didn¡¯t you cook previously?! I was about to vomit from eating dry food every day."

    For the 3 people who haven''t eaten hot staple food for a long time, this meal of stir-fried potato shreds and steamed sweet potatoes is very fragrant. As they are eating, Lou Fan suddenly slapped his forehead. He ran to the exchange machine and started to tap on various buttons. A minute later, several ingredients appeared on the tray of the exchange machine.

    Qin Tan: "..." Why doesn''t he know that the exchange machine can also exchange food (ingredients)? Indeed, technically speaking, there¡¯s nothing wrong with the exchange. Ingredients are also a type of food.

    Lou Fan: "I saw these on the last page that day. But since no one is cooking, I didn''t mention it. But it¡¯s decided now, I assign you as the chef."

    After a good meal, Qin Tan as the main force tried to work out a basic plan. But right now, they don¡¯t know anything about their task, and they don''t know the specifics. They can only try to be familiar with the terrain and area distribution, as well as the points where most incidents are highlighted.

    On the morning of November 1, after Lou Fan got up as usual and finished his basic training, he saw Chen Shuyang rushing over from afar like a gust of wind, yelling at him with a look of excitement.

    "Brother Lou, Brother Lou!!! Brother Qin, Brother Qin!!!" Chen Shuyang couldn''t restrain his excitement, "I figured out! I figured out!!!"

    Lou Fan felt speechless and asked, "Can you finish the whole sentence? What did you figure out?"

    Qin Tan poked his head out from the balcony upstairs and leaned on the railing. Then he heard Chen Shuyang say, "I finally know how to use my book!"

    Hearing that, Lou Fan pff-ed and sprayed out the water he was drinking. Qin Tan is also taken aback and immediately disappeared from the balcony. The next moment, Lou Fan went to the living room and saw Qin Tan bringing Chen Shuyang in.

    Chen Shuyang has never given up on studying his spirit weapon book. Every day, even if he is tired from training, he will try various methods. The book cannot be torn, but yesterday he had a whim and grabbed at the picture of the radish flower with his hand. Unexpectedly, he managed to take the radish flower out but the flower disappeared after a while. He put one in again, close the book, and waited for a while. When he opened the book again, that flower has turned into a picture. He took it out again and timed the disappearance. Chen Shuyang found that the flower will disappear after 10 minutes. So, his finding is things can be inserted into the pages of his book. Then it can be taken for use and the limit is it will disappear after 10 minutes, a one-time usage item.

    Lou Fan felt happy for Chen Shuyang. He finally knew the function of his spirit weapon and added a life-saving option for himself. Thinking about it, Lou Fan thinks Chen Shuyang¡¯s book is a bit like cheating, even if the items are for one-time use and last only 10 minutes.

    After the excitement, the team packed up their things. They ate a hearty breakfast, put on their backpacks, and set off to go to the station platform. They arrived at the platform 10 minutes earlier. As usual, the trains leave every 5 minutes, just like the countless trains waiting for them, not knowing where they are coming from or where they are going to be sent. Seeing those people getting in the trains looking despaired, Chen Shuyang suddenly became a little nervous. He looked from left to right and saw a man in a red sweater running in a hurry. He should be coming for the next train.

    "Hey, Brother Lou, is that Lang Wen?"

    Lou Fan turned to where Chen Shuyang pointed and looked over. He saw someone in a red sweater running towards them. Seeming to recognize them, the person suddenly stopped moving about 10 meters away; froze in place.

    Lou Fan chuckled softly, "Hehe, so it¡¯s true that enemies will meet each other somehow?"

    Wen Lang stopped running, the expression on his face froze. Frick, is he so unlucky that he actually met those 3 again? It¡¯s not a car-flipping (lies being exposed) situation, right?! And most importantly¡­ He looked at those people incredulously, and asked with a voice that seemed to be squeezed out of his mouth, "You guys won''t be getting on the 11.00 am train... right?"

    Lou Fan crossed his hands and stared at the person. His eyes filled with narrow smiles, "What a coincidence, you are also getting on the 11.00 am train huh, Lang Wen."

    Wen Lang: "..."

    Damn, this is not a car-flipping situation, it is simply a car accident straight away! It¡¯s too frickin bad luck!

    ¡®Woo¡­¡¯

    The familiar train whistle sounded, and the train appeared punctually from the thick fog and stopped in front of them. Qin Tan got into the car first and Lou Fan followed closely, Chen Shuyang glanced around before getting in. Wen Lang rubbed his hair, cursed inwardly, and stepped onto the train compartment. A short-haired woman who was leaning on the pillar not far away straightened up. She lifted the backpack by her feet indifferently and got into the train. At 11.00 am, the train started to leave.

    Lou Fan looked around in the train and saw Wen Lang shrinking in his seat, looking out the window. The woman with shoulder-length hair came up last has a cold expression and she has closed her eyes to rest. The atmosphere in the car is kind of awkward and quiet. Chen Shuyang is so absorbed with his book that he didn''t pay attention to the atmosphere in the car. He lifted his glasses and wrote and drew in his small notebook. Lou Fan shrugged and followed Qin Tan to close his eyes to rest.

    Soon, the whistle sounded again to remind them 5 that they are about to arrive. Lou Fan glanced at the time, the journey is about 15 minutes; so fast. Everyone is prepared and slung their bags on their backs. When the train stops, they still get off the train in the same order as before. They are in the compartment on the left, while the middle compartment carries the newcomers, as usual. The other team is in the right compartment. After they got out of the train, the other team came down one by one on the right and saw Qin Tan¡¯s team. The 6 people team looked at their team contemptuously, as if they are looking at something that is going to die soon. Lou Fan felt uncomfortable from their gaze. Then, he heard Wen Lang behind him mutter something softly - ¡®such bad luck¡¯.

    "Who are you and why are we here?! Who are you guys seriously? Hurry and let us go!"

    The newcomers are still a terrified bunch and they came out of the carriage yelling. The 6 people team over there is obviously not interested in taking care of the newcomers, and they walked out of the platform one after another. Lou Fan sighed and could only take up the matter himself.

    "The standby time is only 5 minutes. Take your flyers, yes, it''s the black one. Then follow us out of the station first. If not, after 5 minutes, it''s death for you."

    There is only so much that can be said. After Lou Fan finished his words, his team of 5 also stepped out of the station. Looking at those newcomers with disbelief in their eyes, Chen Shuyang couldn''t bear it, as if he had seen himself from that time. "Come out quickly, or you will really die. Come out first and talk later."

    Chen Shuyang looked like an honest child with his neat appearance and glasses. The newcomer inside the station did not hesitate anymore and immediately rushed out with their flyer. Unfortunately, there is still someone who has torn their own flyer. The 5 people didn''t look back anymore. They turned their heads and heard the newcomers scream and cry with extreme horror around them. Then, they lifted their feet and left. This time, there are only 5 newcomers. 2 did not come out, and only 3 are left. The other team stopped not far away. It should be they determined that there is no danger around, and are planning what to do.

    Qin Tan also led everyone to stop. It seems desolate around them. There are half-human-tall weeds everywhere, and one can''t see anything from afar. Qin Tan said calmly, "Stay where you are, and eat something to replenish your energy first." After that, Qin Tan took out a small telescope from his bag. He choose a direction and walked across the weeds alone.

    Lou Fan is a little worried. He reminded the rest a bit before following Qin Tan with his bag on his back. After walking several tens of meters, passing through a cluster of bushes taller than a person, a calm lake appeared in front of them. Lou Fan didn''t speak, he just looked into the distance and saw nothing. Qin Tan looked around with the telescope before putting it away.

    "Let''s go back." Qin Tan stretched out his hand to support Lou Fan''s arm. Their backpacks are not light so with this support, Lou Fan suddenly felt his footing is much easier.

    They returned to the gathering place and heard a beautiful-looking woman in the other team over there speak out. That woman is actually wearing a pair of high heels.

    "Hey, what is your team¡¯s level? And what is your mission?" Her words sounded a little unclear as she is chewing gum in her mouth, but everyone present could hear her undisguised contemptuous tone.

 CH 13

    Even Qin Tan frowned, while Lou Fan ignored the woman altogether. They didn''t speak so no one bother with the woman. Only Wen Lang moved his lips at Lou Fan because he is facing the other group with his back, saying, "Don''t mess with them." A terrible expression appeared on Wen Lang¡¯s face and his tone sounded a little nervous. After that, he turned around and smiled at the other group, "Oh, we are from the Level 1 team. Our task is to find a ship."

    There¡¯s no response, just rustling footsteps sounded after that. When the other group walked away, Wen Lang heaved a sigh of relief. As if he had decided, he said to everyone, "Those people are from a mid-level team, belonging to the Black Scorpion organization. Their methods are cruel and very unfriendly to other people. Don¡¯t provoke them, and it is best not to cooperate with them too.¡±

    Unexpectedly, there are things like organization in Lazuli. Lou Fan feels that these people must have too much free time in hand and have nothing to do. Shouldn¡¯t they just focus on completing their tasks well and surviving? Could it be they are tired of living?

    Wen Lang added, ¡°Let¡¯s cooperate? The mission this time is not easy.¡± When Wen Lang saw the Black Scorpion¡¯s team, he felt that his luck must be shitty recently. Not only he couldn¡¯t count on relying on high-level people to complete his mission, but he also bumped into the same person who he tricked and got assigned as temporary team members. This is simply digging his own pit and jumping into it.

    Lou Fan shrugged and turned to look at the short-haired woman, Zhang Xue. He greeted, "Hello, my name is Lou Fan, they are my teammates. Oh, that one (Wen Lang) doesn¡¯t count. Would you like to cooperate with us?"

    Zhang Xue stayed indifferent from the beginning. Her appearance is beautiful, but there is no emotion in those eyes. Lou Fan could even feel that she is always keeping a distance from everyone. After scanning around, Zhang Xue nodded. Her voice sounded cold and there is a hint of firm tone in it, "Okay, I listen to your instructions."

    So decisive!

    Lou Fan turned his head to the newcomer, "Let me take a look at your mission. Okay, you can either go with us or stay by yourself. Let me say this first. We don¡¯t guarantee your safety and don¡¯t think of hiding away when encountering problems. Otherwise, you will die faster."

    After Lou Fan finished speaking, Qin Tan retracted his gaze from the map and pointed to a spot. He said, "The water area is wide and there is a village over there. Let''s go there first. Be careful on the road and don''t make too much noise."

    The direction that Qin Tan pointed in the same direction as where the Black Scorpion headed. Their group of 8 people put away their things and began to wade through the weeds.

    ...

    With bubblegum in her mouth, Xiao Qian walked forward steadily on her high heels. As she walked, she complained, "Tsk, this time the other team is only a Level 1 team. Our mission is not the same so we can''t find someone as a stepping stone. So unlucky."

    A gloomy man with bangs covering his eyes said, "What unlucky? How many frickin times have I told you not to wear high heels?! You won''t be able to run fast during an escape like this. No one will save you this time."

    Another man who is tall and thin grabbed Xiao Qian, causing her expression to change from the bump but she didn''t dare to say anything. "Qian Qian should just follow me. I will definitely take you back safely."

    The man''s slippery hand caressed Xiao Qian''s arm, making her feel as if she got entangled by a snake. Enduring nausea in her heart, she tried to squeeze out a smile, "Then, I have to thank you, Brother Liu."

    A petite girl with a ponytail in the team smiled contemptuously at the pair and looked away from the eye-prickling scene. Regardless of the two, the man with long bangs checked their tasks again-

    Task: Rescue Sun Hai and his group of 5 people from the small fishing village.

    Task time limit: 10 days.

    The column stating the team members¡¯ information listed all of the Black Scorpion members in the group, and they are all at Level 7. The man with long bangs looked up at the sky and frowned. Then he said out loud, "Let¡¯s go now, don''t waste time."

    The village is not too far, but the road is not easy to walk. After 2 hours of wading through the weeds, everyone can finally see the village. The Black Scorpion team that is walking in front stopped to rest and took out their food to eat. Qin Tan also spotted a clean place for everyone to rest which has a clear view of the village.

    The newcomer could not help but want to rest earlier, but after experiencing the shock from the 2 deaths at the train station, they didn''t dare to say anything. Hence, they could only grit their teeth and follow the group. At this moment, the group finally stopped walking and the newcomers plopped down on the ground. The young man from the newcomer team laid on his back on the ground. The other 2 people are young girls. They sat down while holding onto each other, rubbing their sore feet.

    The 5 people in the Level 1 team put down their backpacks and took out some food. Among them, Lou Fan¡¯s group of 3 has the most abundant food. They took out biscuits, bread, and canned food. Wen Lang took out a compressed biscuit and Zhang Xue has a piece of bread. The rest of the newcomers had nothing and they tried to control their eyes, not looking at the 5 people. This 2-hours journey is really exhausting. Even if they try their best to control themselves, the growling of their stomachs is particularly loud in the quiet air.

    Chen Shuyang was opening his mouth, preparing to bite onto the bread when he heard the growls. He glanced at the 2 red-faced girls over there and suddenly felt a little embarrassed to eat his food. His eyes then drifted towards Lou Fan unconsciously. Lou Fan ate what was in his hand and sighed secretly. Chen Shuyang''s heart is too soft. Although he also thinks those little girls are very pitiful, but if they did this right from the start, how are they going to hold on for the remaining 9 days? The amount of food they brought is just right for them only. However, Chen Shuyang''s gaze is too strong so Lou Fan hesitated a bit.

    "Brother Lou, is it okay to split my food to them? I don¡¯t eat much, so my portion can give away a bit." Chen Shuyang whispered to Lou Fan.

    Qin Tan looked over but did not speak. Chen Shuyang shrank his neck, feeling as if he had done something wrong. Lou Fan wiped the scraps on the corners of his mouth and did not deliberately lower his voice as he said, "Our food is prepared according to the number of days in the mission world, and there is no extra. But I also know that it is not easy for everyone. Let¡¯s do it this way, we can provide just 3 meals for you guys. But after 3 meals, you have to figure out how to survive on your own. You guys just have to board the train after 9 days while we still have a task to complete."

    Since Lou Fan wants to do good deeds, he must do it openly. Also, he has to have a bottom line. Lou Fan is not willing to be a secretive Holy Mother. After Lou Fan finished speaking, he glared at Chen Shuyang. Chen Shuyang probably also felt that he is not very thoughtful, so he buried his head in his arms; no one knows what he is thinking.

    One can see at a glance that the 3 newcomers are someone from good family conditions. Being told like that by Lou Fan, they felt a little uncomfortable. But when they think that they have nothing in their possession and that they must eat to gain strength, they can only silently accept the food that Lou Fan pass over with a thank you.

    Lou Fan is good-looking, and his attitude is not bad after saying heavy words, so the 3 newcomers still have a good feeling towards him. At least they can see that Lou Fan is a reasonable person. On the other hand, Wen Lang and Zhang Xue, who ate alone and did not speak to them, acted like they have nothing to do with them, the attitude made the 3 newcomers feel very unfavorable to them.

    Lou Fan didn''t say anything else. This is the law of survival in this world. Other people are not obligated to help you. They struggled even to support their own, who has more time to take care of them?

    Qin Tan silently opened his backpack and pulled things out, "What do you want to eat? Do you want this? Or this?"

    Lou Fan: "..." En, he found a good teammate at least, who is always thinking of him.

    Lou Fan squinted and smiled, "Either one is fine, I''m not a picky eater." How can you be so caring and handsome at the same time?!

    Chen Shuyang also opened his backpack. Taking out the food in the bag, he stuffed it into Lou Fan¡¯s bag. Seeing that his bag almost couldn''t fit in, Lou Fan hurriedly stopped his team members, "Enough is enough. Are you guys trying to exhaust me by carrying all these for you?"

    Those 3 people ignored the envy gaze from the other 5 people. Wen Lang looked at their bulging bags, then at his own. Next, he glanced at Zhang Xue''s bag and has the urge to shake hands with her. It''s like meeting paying players in a game, they only felt envy, jealousy, and hatred for them.

    The sky is getting darker, and the Black Scorpion team sets out to the village after eating. Lou Fan didn''t know what is the other team''s mission and didn''t want to get together with them, so they stayed where they were. Qin Tan took out the map and after reconfirming their location, he said to everyone, "I suggest camping here tonight and not entering the village. Pay heed to Wen Lang''s advice. Do not provoke the Black Scorpion¡¯s team, and don¡¯t try to contact them."

    Wen Lang is the first one to nod, and then Zhang Xue nodded in agreement. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang naturally listened to Qin Tan.

    From afar, it can be seen that many people are walking around in the village and the Black Scorpion team entered smoothly. The person who walked at the end of the team seemed to look back at them for a moment. Seeing that the Black Scorpion team has disappeared into the village, Wen Lang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

    "You seem to be afraid of them."

    Wen Lang is startled by the voice that suddenly sounded next to him. His earrings glowing with faint blue light are particularly eye-catching. Looking back at Lou Fan, his tense nerves immediately relaxed, "It''s you! I am not afraid of them, I just don''t want to deal with them."

    How stubborn!

    Lou Fan did not point out the truth but said, "Since you are so well-informed in gossips, as a price for cheating us previously, you can tell us more about the basic common sense of Lazuli Town and the Black Scorpion organization for free."

    "Why must I..." Wen Lang is about to refute when a dagger that looked sharp is placed on the edge of his neck. If he moved even the slightest to the side, the sharp blade would cut his aorta.

    Lou Fan¡¯s beautiful peach blossom eyes are full of smiles as if he is holding a flower instead of a dagger. ¡°Be careful, my hand is not very stable. I got tricked away a radish flower that can be exchanged for a lot of food so I''m a bit unhappy. I''m not a kind person."

    Wen Lang: "..." You can donate generously to the newcomers, so why are you being cruel to me?

    Wen Lang looked at Qin Tan who is preparing to start a fire. The man in black looked powerful as if the powerful muscles inside can be seen through his clothes.

    "Of course I am willing to share my gossip with you." Wen Lang laughed instantly, changing his expression faster than the sky changing its weather. "Come on, come on, I will teach you some knowledge. Those 3 kids over there, don''t you want to introduce yourself first?"

    The only male among the newcomers spoke first, "My name is Gong Yi. I just graduated from university and I am looking for a job."

    As for the other 2 girls, the one with straight black hair said, "My name is Lin Man Man and her name is Xiao Yu. We are university classmates and currently an intern in the same company."

    They are all so young, this is Lou Fan''s first thought. Qin Tan might be the oldest person here but he is only 26 years old; a strong, young, and energetic young man. Is this the target group for Lazuli''s selection? But why?

    After the 3 newcomers introduced themselves, Wen Lang took over. "There is an unwritten rule in Lazuli. Every 5 levels are grouped into a category. At present, it is divided into beginner, intermediate, and high-level teams. As far as I know, no one has ever seen someone who survived Level 16 in Lazuli."

    The girl named Xiao Yu screamed out, and she could no longer suppress the fear in her heart, "I want to leave here! What is this place? Why did I get chosen?! Why?! I want to go home, wu wu wu..."

    "Shut up."

 CH 14

    The words coming from the indifferent female voice also sounded cold and emotionless. Zhang Xue looked at Xiao Yu coldly, "What''s the use of crying? Who do you want to come and save you? Your friends or other people? No one can save you except for yourself. Don''t talk nonsense if you don''t want to die, and try your best to live."

    These are the longest words one ever heard Zhang Xue say.

    Still crying, Xiao Yu shouted at Zhang Xue, "What do you know?! I have just started doing an internship. My life has just begun. I don''t even have a boyfriend yet! I miss my parents!"

    Zhang Xue chuckled indifferently, "Who doesn¡¯t have family or friends here? Who isn¡¯t in their twilight years? Who wanted to stay in this gerdamned place? If you want to go out alive, you must strive to survive!"

    The crying gradually diminished, and Lin Man Man comforted Xiao Yu in a low voice. Wen Lang shook his head and continued, "The mission world is also divided into 5 levels, from high to low are Level S, A, B, C, and D. Only the Level D world has newcomers[1]."

    Wen Lang took a sip of water and continued, "There are actually many organizations in Lazuli, large and small. Black Scorpion is a medium-sized organization. They have about 60 people in it, and most ¡®passengers¡¯ are not happy with their cruel style."

    As for how cruel it is, Wen Lang didn''t elaborate, but said, "If you bumped into them, you must act soft. The harder you go against them, the more excited they are. They are a group of maniacs. They also like to pull people back as their ¡®fall guy/scapegoat¡¯."

    Wen Lang sounded irritable when he talked about the Black Scorpion, and he didn''t want to say it anymore. He smiled and said, "Isn''t there still 9 days left? Let''s talk about this slowly. How can I say it all at once?" Looking around, Wen Lang rubbed his knees and put his hood on. Next, he yawned, "I am getting a little sleepy. We will start to do the task tomorrow so let''s rest early today."

    "Wait." Qin Tan said, his expression looked determined under the fire, "Let¡¯s assign the vigil, and plans for tomorrow. You guys can say what you think about it." After saying that, Qin Tan stopped and waited. No one spoke for a while. He nodded and continued, "Okay then, don¡¯t waste time and just do as I arranged. Zhang Xue will be paired with Lin Man Man, Wen Lang with Xiao Yu, Chen Shuyang with Gong Yi, and I will be with Lou Fan. Now, let¡¯s talk about the plan of tomorrow."

    "Tomorrow morning, we will enter the village. If we meet anyone from Black Scorpion, act like we don¡¯t know them. Our main task is to investigate the situation of the ship, Shenzhou. At present, we only know that Shenzhou must be a sunken ship, but we don¡¯t know the exact location and what exactly is the problem with this ship. We have to clarify these before we can go down and look for the ship. Also, everyone should be mentally prepared. This ship is definitely not an easy task. We may encounter unexpected things. The worst case is Shenzhou is a ghost ship. Apart from that, we don¡¯t know whether it will appear during the day or at night. If we can inquire more about the situation, we have more assurance."

    Qin Tan says all this in advance, that even Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang, who had been discussing it a long time ago, are not confident in their hearts. Not to mention Wen Lang and Zhang Xue. Zhang Xue frowned and bit her lower lip unconsciously. Wen Lang took off his hood with a serious face.

    The 3 newcomers did not dare to speak for a long time, and then asked for a while, "Then what shall we do?" Could it be we have to follow the group too to find the ghost ship?

    Wen Lang sneered, "You guys? Just stay in the village and wait for us to come back. It''s best to pray that we will come back. Otherwise, I don''t think you know how to get back to the platform."

    The faces of the 3 newcomers turned pale in an instant - they really don''t know how to go back! In silence, everyone looked at Qin Tan, waiting for him to continue. Qin Tan simply uttered an ¡®oh¡¯, and then realized, "I have finished my words, let''s rest."

    Qin Tan speaks less, yet he said it calmly, confidently, and decisively. Wen Lang said with almost no hesitation, "I propose to let Qin Tan be the leader."

    Qin Tan is originally the leader of his 3-person team, Lou Fan is in charge of diplomacy, and Chen Shuyang is in charge of clerical work. Since Wen Lang''s proposal is not opposed by Zhang Xue, he happily decided, "Okay, then Qin Tan is our leader. Don''t worry, I will unconditionally obey the leader''s arrangement."

    The 3 people who are well prepared for this mission world each brought a portable tent. So, a tent is given to the girls, another for Qin Tan and Lou Fan, and the last one for the other three guys. Qin Tan is still writing things in his notebook. Lou Fan wiped his face briefly and laid down on the ground with his clothes as a pillow. He said goodnight to Qin Tan and fell asleep on his side. Qin Tan replied good night then put down the pen and notebook in his hand. He stood up and put his coat on Lou Fan.

    The night turned darker, and it is Zhang Xue and Lin Man Man''s turn to keep vigil. Lin Man Man came out of the tent sleepily. The moment she got woken up, she suddenly didn¡¯t know where she is at the moment. It¡¯s as if she had a dream, dreaming that she had come to a terrible world. She thought it was a dream, but the moment she saw Zhang Xue, Lin Man Man became sober. What dream? It seems that the stable world in which she has been living is a dream instead.

    Zhang Xue''s pale face seemed to be stained with a hint of crimson under the firelight, and her indifferent eyebrows are softened a lot. Lin Man Man felt a little cold, and the surroundings are so quiet that it made people panic. Right now, she is spending the night in the wild for the first time.

    "Sister Zhang Xue, aren''t you afraid?" Lin Man Man''s voice trembled. Even though she tried to control it, Zhang Xue could hear it.

    Zhang Xue looked at the fire without speaking and seemed to be distracted. After a long time, she muttered something. Her voice is so soft that one could hardly hear her, "What''s the use for fear?" As if to tell her herself that.

    Lin Man Man didn¡¯t receive Zhang Xue¡¯s reply and could only hug herself tightly. The night is a bit cold. She is wearing a shirt and a small coat, so those couldn''t resist the wind at night, especially they are staying by the lake which makes it even colder.

    When everyone got up early the next morning, Lou Fan had already finished his daily training while Chen Shuyang is doing push-ups, and Qin Tan is also looking sweaty. The other 5 people stared at them silently. Wen Lang, who was yawning, is taken aback for a moment and stood on the spot with his mouth open.

    "Good morning. Go and clean up, we are ready to go." Lou Fan greeted them friendlily as if they are very familiar with each other. Unexpectedly, no one said anything for a long time after Lou Fan spoke, which made him wonder if he said the wrong thing.

    A group of 8 people packed everything up and brought everything they could. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang saw that the 2 newcomer girls are so cold that their lips turned purple so they lent them the clothes they had brought. Qin Tan took the lead to walk towards the village. In fact, they are not far from the village. After walking for 10 minutes, the entrance of the village is right in front of them. The simple plaque reads three skewed characters: Little Fishing Village.

    Simple and crude.

    The village looked very simple and most of the houses are made of wooden structures. Occasionally, the people passing by can be seen dressed in a humble dress giving people a feeling like they are in the 70s and 80s. This weird feeling made everyone uncomfortable.

    Soon after they entered the village, more people can be seen walking around. Lights and festoons are hanging everywhere. The atmosphere felt joyful, it should be some kind of event that is going to happen soon. The villagers also all have smiles on their faces, but their smiles are a little weird. Lou Fan looked very uncomfortable and got goosebumps all over his body. He turned his head and looked around. From a distance, a pair of mother and daughter are hugging each other, their faces full of sadness but it¡¯s more to fear. The girl who is held in her mother¡¯s arms raised her small face upwards, with a look of fear on her face.

    Lou Fan felt that the two are the key, and nudged the person next to him with his elbow, "Qin Tan, there is something wrong with those two."

    Not hearing any answer, Lou Fan turned his head and almost scream out in surprise. The person beside him is not Qin Tan, but a 40 or 50-years-old woman with a weird smile on her face. Her face is wrinkly and dark, and she gave people an uncomfortable look. Seeing that Lou Fan is looking at her, she smiled even wider. The tone in her voice made Lou Fan¡¯s scalp feel numb, "Hehehe, this little brother. Our small fishing village will hold a grand sacrificial event soon, and there will be unexpected surprises."

    Lou Fan swiftly moved a little farther away. The corner of his mouth twitched and he nodded under the woman¡¯s piercing gaze. Then, he ran towards Qin Tan quickly. When Lou Fan got to Qin Tan''s side, he couldn''t help but look back. The woman is still standing there, with a smile plastered on her face. The smile startled him and he turned back quickly.

    "What''s the matter?" Qin Tan wanted to look behind Lou Fan, but Lou Fan grabbed him.

    "Don''t look! Fck, she scared me to death. Why didn''t you guys call me when you leave? That old woman is terrifying, she smiled strangely that I felt uncomfortable all over my body. The girls in our team looked far better." After saying that, Lou Fan smiled at the two young ladies in the team.

    Lin Man Man moved to Lou Fan''s side in small steps, "B, Brother Lou, I think there is something wrong with this village. I''m a little scared."

    "It''s not right indeed. Don''t be afraid, we are still here." Lou Fan nodded, and then comforted, "But more terrible things are yet to come. If you don''t complete the task, you will only die. Thinking of this, are you still scared?"

    Lin Man Man shook her head, but tears are swirling in her eyes. Lou Fan felt that this little girl might not be able to hold it anymore, but he could only sigh. They couldn¡¯t even protect themselves, what more to protect others?

    Qin Tan blocked the old woman¡¯s gaze at them with his body and said, "Don''t be afraid, I''m here."

    Lou Fan: "..."

    Lou Fan really wants to scream, ¡®Oh my god, Qin Tan! Can''t you stop being so manly?! I can''t stand it!¡¯ It''s a pity that Lou Fan didn''t dare to say that, so he could only curve up the corners of his mouth secretly. Emboldened by Qin Tan, Lou Fan took a glance to the back. The strange woman is gone, and so is the mother and daughter pair.

    They don¡¯t see the people from Black Scorpion, not sure where they had left. Their team continued to move forward, and soon they reached a place similar to a small square. A neat fence is circled around it and there is a round platform in the middle that is a bit higher than the ground. The square is full of people, and it looks joyous like when it is Chinese New Year time. Lou Fan remembered what the strange woman had just said, and whispered to everyone, "They are going to hold a sacrificial event soon. I think this should be the key."

    Everyone felt the same and Wen Lang suggested, "Why don''t we split up and ask around?"

    Their target is quite big if they walked around in a big group. Lou Fan nodded in agreement, and discussed with Qin Tan, "How about splitting in a group of 2 or 3? I¡¯ll take Lin Man Man, and you take Gong Yi and Chen Shuyang with you. Then, Wen Lang and Zhang Xue will take Xiao Yu. Any questions with this arrangement?"

    After confirming the group, they separated in 3 directions and left the square. They agreed to gather here after half an hour regardless of whether there is new information or not. Lou Fan took Lin Man Man straight in the direction of the mother and daughter pair he saw just now. He must find them!

    Raw word count: 3017

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 CH 15

    "Brother Lou, what are we looking for?" Lin Man Man asked as she followed behind Lou Fan. Lou Fan has long legs so 2 steps from him equal to 3 steps for Lin Man Man. Furthermore, he walks fast so Lin Man Man needs to trot to keep up.

    Lou Fan¡¯s eyes swept around as he replied, "Keep an eye for a pair of mother and daughter."

    Lin Man Man nodded, "Okay, Brother Lou. Go slower, please?"

    Lou Fan slowed down. The mother and daughter are no longer at the place he saw them. Since they couldn''t catch up, they could only look around for them carefully. Lin Man Man is a well-behaved girl. Her long and black straight hair is tied into a neat ponytail for easier movement. Lou Fan looked at her and saw that she no longer looked panicked like yesterday, quickly adapted to the world. Lou Fan could not help but sigh that ¡®the environment will make people grow¡¯, but it still varies from person to person.

    "Are you afraid, Man Man?" Lou Fan asked.

    Lin Man Man, who was looking around carefully, became silent for a while when she heard the words. Pursing her lips, she replied, "I was still feeling scared yesterday or even this morning, but it''s better now. Brother Lou, can you tell me some experience?"

    "Experience, huh? Let me think about it." Lou Fan also fell into a silence. He didn''t seem to have any experience to talk about. After thinking for a long time, he said, "The first is to improve your own strength. This is the most important. Second, there are many useful items in the mission world, such as mission items or key items. You have to pay attention, if you can bring the items back to Lazuli, they can allow you to redeem a lot of good things."

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan have discussed before that the things they exchanged in Lazuli are of fine quality. For example, a normal compressed biscuit can keep one full for half a day, but the ones from Lazuli can last a day or even longer. By the same token, whether it is medicines or weapons, Lazuli¡¯s products are regarded as high-quality goods.

    The two chatted as they walked and Lin Man Man took notes one by one. These will be the basis for her survival afterward so she must take notes.

    There are very few villagers around, as most of them have run off to the square. After walking for a long time, no one else can be seen. The layout of the houses in the village is also very strange. Lou Fan and Lin Man Man walk around, feeling that everything looked the same as if they are in a maze. Though not sure what''s going on, Lou Fan didn¡¯t have any fear to see the weirdness here, probably because he is mentally prepared.

    "What is your spirit weapon?" Lou Fan asked Lin Man Man, turning his head.

    Lin Man Man got taken aback and didn''t realize what a spirit weapon is. 5 seconds later, she took out a rope from her pocket and smiled bitterly, "It''s a skipping rope."

    Skipping rope? It''s another strange spirit weapon.

    "I don''t know how to use it." Lin Man Man said, "I loved skipping rope when I was a kid, and I won an award before. Just that I didn''t expect that the weapon I brought over is a skipping rope. Anyway, Brother Lou¡¯s weapon is better, your bow and arrow are cooler."

    Lin Man Man looked a little helpless while holding the skipping rope. She shook the rope loose with one hand and then retrieve it with another shook. The movements are very skilled.

    Lou Fan praised, "This is not a skipping rope at all, you can use it as a whip."

    Lin Man Man grabbed the skipping rope and couldn''t believe what she heard, "Whip? Brother Lou, are you kidding me? The difference is more than a thousand miles away."

    Lou Fan laughed, "Man Man, you have to know that the only role of spirit weapon for us is to be a weapon, whether it is to attack or defend. So, no matter what form it is, it will end up being used the same way. You don''t need to consider its name. What it is called doesn¡¯t matter, as long as it can keep you alive. That¡¯s the ultimate goal."

    Lin Man Man looked at the rope in her hand, and her gaze slowly became firm. That¡¯s right, as long as she can survive and return to her parents in the real world, who cares? As long as the rope can be used as a weapon to protect herself, isn''t it all right?

    Looking at the smiling Lin Man Man, Lou Fan couldn''t help but tease, "But you have to practice your arm strength. Know what is King Kong Barbie? It''s best to practice like that." Then, seeing Lin Man Man wrinkled her face, Lou Fan laughed unkindly.

    The moment Lou Fan caught two figures flashing by at the corner of his eyes, Lou Fan immediately put away his smile, "There, hurry up."

    However, after a turn, the mother and daughter disappeared again. Lou Fan turned around but didn''t even see their shadow. Lin Man Man also looked around. Then she turned around and asked Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, will we trigger the death condition? It may be a key NPC, or it may be a death condition."

    Lou Fan''s intuition is the mother and daughter pair is the key NPC. As for the key to the main mission or side mission, it is hard to say. He has never thought about the conditions of death.

    "It¡¯s a 50-50 chance. No one knows whether it is a chance or a death. The fact that we are in the mission world is already not in accordance with common sense. In every mission, we desperately try to stay alive." Lou Fan said firmly, "I only know that once we found the key NPC, there may be equipment or key clues that we can obtain."

    "Let''s go, keep looking."

    Lin Man Man couldn''t refute, she looked up at the side of Lou Fan''s face. This man looks handsome and gentle and has a very strong style of doing things. He is not at all sloppy, and his way of doing things can''t be linked in the slightest with his looks. That should be what it means by ¡®don''t judge a book by its cover¡¯.

    The layout of the houses in the village is really strange, and there is no pattern at all. The two could only run around, and yet they didn''t even encounter anyone of the other two groups. Fragmented whispers passed into Lou Fan¡¯s ears, and he walked around looking for the source. The voices sounded near but it actually took him almost 10 minutes to find the person.

    In a seemingly crumbling house, a woman kept moving her hands while speaking quietly. Next to her sat a youthful young girl. She has a beautiful face, but with a sad expression. Her brows are furrowed and her face is pale. That''s them.

    Lin Man Man looked at Lou Fan quietly, and Lou Fan gave her a calm look. Lin Man Man took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. It''s okay, Brother Lou is with her!

    The room is dark, so Lou Fan''s appearance blocked most of the light shining in from the door, making the room even darker. The two people inside looked up and are stunned when they saw a strange man appear at the door. However, without saying a word, or even asking anything, the woman swiftly lowered her head again to do her own thing. Their expressions can be called numb and despondent. Even with the light blocked, it does not affect the speed in their hands. Lou Fan felt that their fingers are nimbly working even in the dark. They are weaving a fishing net.

    "Do you have any difficulties?" Lou Fan asked tentatively.

    The two didn''t even lift their eyes and ignored Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan continued, "I heard that there are sacrificial activities in the village. We came from outside. I don''t know what the sacrificial offerings are."

    As soon as he uttered those words, the mother and daughter had a pause in their hands, and their faces turned as white as paper. The girl''s lips trembled and her whole body shrank into a ball. The woman yelled and pushed the two of them out, "You are all bad guys. Get out! Scram!"

    Lou Fan and Lin Man Man got awkwardly driven out, and the bamboo door is closed with a BANG. The door shook a bit as if it is about to fall apart in the next moment. Lou Fan touched his nose and felt that this NPC is a little different from the old man in Luoyang Ancient Village.

    "Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll go back to the square first." Lou Fan helplessly said.

    Lin Man Man lowered her head and no one knows what she is thinking. After walking for a while, she said, "Brother Lou, I don''t think we can ask directly, we have to be a little more roundabout. Next time, let me do it. I will try to fish for clues."

    Lou Fan nodded. He is really not very good at dealing with little girls. Before this, the junior sisters in the arrow club always surrounded him. They didn''t need him to start a topic as they could keep talking. Now that he needs to start one, it is a bit embarrassing for him.

    ...

    Wen Lang and Zhang Xue chose the other side. Like what Lou Fan¡¯s side, there are no people around here. Since they didn¡¯t have any specific target, they walked fast.

    "Let''s walk around first." Wen Lang said to Zhang Xue.

    Zhang Xue pursed her lower lip and suggested, "Let''s go to the lake first."

    Wen Lang shrugged and agreed. They walked quickly to the lake. The surrounding terrain is curvy and has many twists and turns. It is not like any other village at all where there are large gaps between the houses. Instead, they are built close together here, with no gaps at all. Don¡¯t they feel suffocated when living in houses like this?

    After walking for a while, they found out that most houses¡¯ door is open. Inside, the items in some of the houses are neatly arranged while some are completely empty and uninhabited. So why are there so many empty houses?

    Soon, the three of them arrived at the lake. There are many people by the lake at the moment as they gathered around a boat to decorate it. The boat is decorated very festively. On the other side, there is a smoke-filled building on the mountain not far away, which looks like a temple.

    Wen Lang: "That should be Lao Ye Temple."

    Zhang Xue looked at the newly decorated boat indifferently, and said, "They want to use the boat to offer sacrifice?"

    Almost immediately, the image of the sacrificial process appeared in the hearts of their hearts. There were many such stories in reality. But what is being offered as sacrifices?

    A thin boy passed by them and Wen Lang grabbed him. Smiling at the boy, Wen Lang took out a handful of colorful candies from his trouser pocket and handed it over, "Hello, we are here to travel. I didn''t expect to catch up with your activities. Can you tell me more?"

    The young boy looked at the candy in Wen Lang¡¯s hand hesitantly. Then his gaze swept over Wen Lang¡¯s face a few times. After hesitating for a long time, the boy swallowed. He grabbed the candy in Wen Lang''s hand and held it in his hand.

    "The sacrificial activities in our village every year are very grand. It is to sacrifice to the undead at the bottom of the sea, hoping that they won¡¯t harass us. There is also the Ju Yuan (statue) in Lao Ye Temple which will protect the safety of our ships." The boy stared at the candy in his hand, seemed to be thinking about whom to give it to.

    "Do you know about Shenzhou?" Wen Lang asked again, "Also, how do you offer the sacrifice?"

    "What is Shenzhou?" The boy opened his eyes wide and looked at Wen Lang with doubts written in his eyes, and replied the other question, "After dark, we¡¯ll just drive the boat to the middle of the lake and wait until the midnight fog clears."

    Zhang Xue stared at the young boy with indifferent eyes and asked, "What is on the boat? What is the sacrifice?"

    The boy replied as if it¡¯s nothing, "People and livestock, as well as various things made by the villagers themselves."

    Wen Lang wanted to continue to ask but the young boy became a little impatient. He pointed over to a direction and said, "Why do you have so many questions? You will know when you come to participate during our sacrificial process. I''m leaving now, I need to help decorate the boat, otherwise, General Ju Yuan will be angry when he doesn''t like it."

    Sacrifice, people and livestock, in the middle of the lake, heavy fog... the combination of these words is not a good thing when you hear it. A pity that they couldn¡¯t ask about the whereabouts of Shenzhou.

    Zhang Xue glanced at Lao Ye Temple in the distance. She turned around and walked back first. Wen Lang also glanced at the crowd around the boat before following Zhang Xue to go back. Xiao Yu remained silent and followed the two closely.

 CH 16

    Qin Tan¡¯s group of 3 did not go far and they returned to the square. There are many people in the square so Qin Tan thinks it might have a better chance for them to find out some clues. The three of them haven¡¯t even started to do anything when an old man who looked kind and carried an air of dignity came over.

    "You are here to travel? I''m the village chief of this small fishing village." Although the old man¡¯s face looked kind, his smile felt weird. It¡¯s like a plastic fake smile, which makes people feel creepy.

    "In the past few years, many young people like you have visited our small fishing village. We welcome you very much."

    "I¡¯m not sure how many of you are here?" the village chief asked earnestly.

    A shiver ran through Chen Shuyang¡¯s body and he took 2 steps back, hiding behind Qin Tan. Gong Yi has been standing behind, looking like he had a toothache, feeling uncomfortable all over his body.

    Qin Tan: "Not sure when the ritual activities in the village will start? It looks really grand."

    The village chief stroked his beard, "It is grand, naturally. Every year we prepare for the sacrifice with a very pious heart, lest we are not thoughtful, and anger General Ju Yuan and..."

    The chief stopped talking. His eyes swept across the three of them as if he is trying to pick something off of them.

    Chen Shuyang hehe-ed a few times and plucked up the courage to ask, "Village chief, I am learning to make boats. Not sure if you know Shenzhou. I read the record that it has passed through this area before."

    "It''s a solid and beautiful boat." Chen Shuyang looked fascinated, but it is all nonsense he randomly come up with.

    An emotion flashed through the village chief¡¯s eyes and he waved his hand, "I have never heard of this. You can participate in our sacrificial activities, and you won''t be disappointed."

    The village chief keeps avoiding the main point when he speaks. After saying so much, there is not a single sentence of useful information. Seeing that they can¡¯t get any clues, Gong Yi said, "The village chief, we will stay in your village to participate in the sacrifice event. Is there a hotel in the village?"

    "There is no hotel." The village chief laughed. "Just tell me when you are ready and I will take your group to find a house." After saying that, he smiled with his hands behind his back and walked away. The hehe sound from his mouth made the goosebumps on Chen Shuyang¡¯s arms stand up and he rubbed his arms hard.

    Gong Yi said to Qin Tan, "Brother Qin, we newcomers will stay in the village when the time comes. According to your words, I have thought about it. The three of us had better not leave the small fishing village. If the mission timer cuts off, we might not be able to return."

    The watch on their wrists started the countdown at the place where they camped last night. According to his inference, the farthest they could go should not exceed the distance of yesterday. For safety, it is best not to leave the village to avoid unforeseen circumstances.

    When the 3 teams met, it is already half afternoon. They found a bit secluded area to sit down and rest. The group of 8 people all felt a little tired, and one after another took out their own food to replenish their energy. Qin Tan sat beside Lou Fan and took out a canned fruit from his bag. Lou Fan smiled and passed a food with meat to him.

    "Brother Lou and Brother Qin have a very good relationship." Lin Man Man smiled. Then she leaned into Xiao Yu''s ear and whispered, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, they are so compatible, I''m going to scream."

    Xiao Yu''s eyes flashed, a trace of disgust flashed in her eyes. Lowering her head, she stopped looking. Xiao Yu tore the pieces of bread vigorously in her hands and stuffed them into her mouth like chewing wax. Shameless, he must have seduced Qin Tan and asked Qin Tan to protect him! What he has is just a face, why can''t it be me? Xiao Yu thought viciously: If Lou Fan died, wouldn¡¯t she be able to approach Qin Tan? Then she could live. Xiao Yu fiercely took a bite of the bread - she must.

    Lin Man Man sensitively felt that something is wrong with her good friend. She tugged at Xiao Yu''s clothes and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Yu, what¡¯s wrong? Let me tell you, Brother Lou told me a lot of experience. I''ll tell you later."

    Xiao Yu raised her eyes to look at Lin Man Man, her eyes looking cold. Lin Man Man retracted her hand, unable to say a word for a while.

    Did something happen?

    Wen Lang took a bite of his own compressed biscuits, then looked at other people''s cans, "Ah, the evil capitalist class." ¡®One shouldn¡¯t simply compare with other people¡¯, even Chen Shuyang''s food is much better than him.

    "Let''s go fishing for a few fish tomorrow. I felt like ¡®birds are going to come out of my mouth¡¯ soon." Wen Lang hasn''t eaten meat for a long time.

    This proposal is highly approved by everyone.

    After eating, the teams began to share the information they got. Sacrifice activities, Lao Ye Temple, sacrificial boat, and the panicked mother and daughter. With these information, it is not difficult to make up a story, but their focus is not on the story. They need to find Shenzhou, and at the moment, there is no news of it at all.

    Gong Yi suddenly said, "That village chief had a strange look in his eyes when asked about Shenzhou."

    This is an important piece of information, and Chen Shuyang hastened to jot it down in a small notebook. The clues are combined and circulated for everyone. Qin Tan pondered for a moment and said, "Tomorrow the five of us will go to Lao Ye Temple. The three of you will continue to inquire in the village. Be careful."

    Gong Yi and Lin Man Man both nodded, but Xiao Yu remained silent.

    Except for Lin Man Man, no one noticed the peculiar action of Xiao Yu. Lin Man Man looked at her friend worriedly and didn''t know how to deal with her. She must be too nervous and scared.

    There is too little information at hand, but there is enough time for them so the group decided not to take too much risk, and to proceed step by step. So, after everyone discussed, they went to the village chief to arrange a place to live, and then get a good rest. Compared to the first newcomer world, Lou Fan feels that the mission this time is already very good. One needs to know, his first world couldn¡¯t get any clues at all for several days.

    Qin Tan found the village chief who is still in the square. The village head is very enthusiastic and called a woman in her forties to take them to find a house. Along the way, they could see that they are walking towards the outside, and the woman remained silent.

    Lou Fan had never been to the lakeside so he asked the woman, "Aunty, about the house we are going to stay in, will we disturb other people? It¡¯s fine to just give us a quieter place."

    The woman raised her eyes and glanced at them, her eyes remained unchanged, "It is intended for outsiders anyway. Clean it up by yourself and close the door at night."

    It is enough to have shelter from the wind and rain so they do not ask for more. If it is not for the cold temperature by the lake, they can actually continue to stay in tents. Soon after walking to the edge of the village, seeing that they are going to reach the lake soon, the woman stopped. She pushed open the doors of the 3 wooden houses. The wooden house looked new as if it had just been built. The door creaked open, and a damp smell of rotting wood burst out. Everyone couldn''t help covering their mouths and noses.

    After the woman opened the door, she turned and left without looking at them at all.

    "Frck, what kind of attitude is it? I want to report her!" Chen Shuyang yelled angrily.

    The man in the flamboyant red hoodie(WL) made a face that deserve a beating and slanted his eyes before saying, "Be grateful that we have a room for you. Still asking for bicycles (what more do you want)?"

    The people who were decorating the boat earlier have gone home. The lake is calm and there is no wind at the edge of the lake. The surroundings are deadly quiet. But everyone present felt an indescribable gloom coming from all directions. It seemed that in an instant, the sky darkened. These three houses are a bit incompatible with the village. They are not connected to the houses in the village but are arranged in separate rows with three connected as if deliberately dividing them out of the village.

    "Man Man, is the timer still on your watch?" Lou Fan asked with a frown.

    "Yeah." Lin Man Man glanced, "What''s the matter, Brother Lou?"

    Lou Fan waved his hand, "It''s probably because I think too much. It''s getting dark so let¡¯s go into the house."

    The house is not small and it is more than enough to accommodate 8 people. For the sake of safety, everyone unanimously decided not to separate. In case something happened, they won¡¯t have enough time to notify. At this moment, a girl''s detailness is shown. There are cleaning tools to use outside the house. The guys fetched water by the lake and used it to mop the floor and wipe the dust. Just within 20 minutes, the house became squeaky clean.

    They still need people to watch the night, and the grouping is still based on the previous day. Although the sky has turned dark, it''s still early. Everyone doesn''t want to sleep, but they don''t have the energy to chat so they just do their own things. Wen Lang did not give up on suggesting to play cards, but no one paid any attention to him.

    Before 12.00 am, Lou Fan and Qin Tan replaced Chen Shuyang and Gong Yi. Lou Fan, who had slept for 3 hours, stretched his waist. Then he turned his head to look at the group of people sleeping all over the place on the ground and walked to the door.

    "Where are you going?"

    Lou Fan looked back at Qin Tan and pointed to the door. "It''s a bit stuffy. I¡¯m going out to get some air. It¡¯s just outside the door."

    There are no windows in this room, only a door as the opening. With 8 people crowded together, it is really stuffy.

    Qin Tan put on his clothes and casually picked up his Tang sword, "I will go with you."

    Lou Fan laughed, "I¡¯m just going out for a breather, you are too cautious."

    Although Lou Fan said it like that, he also picked up his bow and hung it on his body. Then, the two went out the door.

    The moonlight is cold but sprinkled on the calm lake, it looked beautiful. Lou Fan is preparing to say something to Qin Tan. Suddenly, as if a fire is burning under the water, the calm lake surface began to bubble, looking like it is about to boil.

    Something is coming out!

    This is Lou Fan''s first thought. Qin Tan pulled his arm, and the two of them took a few steps back.

    "Be careful," Qin Tan said in a deep voice, staring at the lake.

    Lou Fan didn''t dare to be careless, grasping the bow tightly in his hand.

    A water bubble popped in the moonlight. As if a switch is turned on, something in the lake jumped out. Then, countless heads emerged from the lake. The water on the edge of the lake revealed a fish head. When it came out of the water, Lou Fan could see what the monster looked like.

    Fish head and human body. The fish head is huge, and its eyes bulged out. They turned around, a bit like the eyes of a lizard, while the human body is on all fours and moves quickly.

    Qin Tan swiped his sword at it and said to Lou Fan, "Go and call them to get up!"

    Needless to say, Lou Fan has already turned around and ran back, not forgetting to shoot a monster with an arrow first. Lou Fan kicked the door open and yelled, "Get up, there are monsters! Grab your weapon!"

 CH 17

    Everyone in the house was still dazed from their sleep and didn''t hear what Lou Fan said for a while. Only Wen Lang and Zhang Xue reacted quickly. They swiftly rolled up from the ground with weapons in their hands. Seeing that Lou Fan''s expression looked wrong, Wen Lang immediately walked out and lifted Gong Yi up from the ground by the way. Zhang Xue pursed her lips and went out quickly as well.

    Lou Fan grabbed Chen Shuyang and lifted him up, "Shuyang, take your short sword." Then he told Lin Man Man, "Be careful."

    When Wen Lang and Zhang Xue walked outside the house, they saw a dozen fish-head monsters with human bodies coming out of the water under the moonlight and they are crawling in their direction quickly. The sight makes their scalp turn numb, but it is hard to think too much about it. Wen Lang drew his poker from his pocket while Zhang Xue took out a doll in her bag and put it on the ground. In an instant, the doll became a girth wider and it is now half a person tall.

    When Lou Fan came out of the house, he immediately ran towards Qin Tan. There are already 3 monsters around Qin Tan. Without hesitation, Lou Fan quickly drew his bow, and 3 arrows swiftly flew straight to the monsters. It''s a pity that the monsters have thick skin and thick flesh. The moment the arrows stabbed them, the monsters only let out a scream before rushing toward the two more violently.

    Qin Tan and Lou Fan stood with their back to each other. But there are several times where Qin Tan stood in front of Lou Fan which Lou Fan shifted to another direction. Lou Fan couldn''t stand it anymore and said, "Qin Tan, kill the monsters properly. Why do you keep blocking in front of me?!"

    Qin Tan: "..."

    The 3 monsters were stabbed full of holes by Qin Tan¡¯s sword and Lou Fan¡¯s arrows but there are still a dozen of them closing in to them. The newcomer trio who just came out of the house turned pale and couldn''t stop shaking when they saw the scene in front of them. Xiao Yu looked at the sharp teeth in the fish''s mouth, which can be clearly seen under the moonlight, and let out a scream of horror.

    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

    Lin Man Man didn''t even think about it. She immediately covered Xiao Yu¡¯s mouth and comforted in a trembling voice, "Xiao Yu, don''t cry! The sound will lead them over to us. There¡¯s Brother Lou and the others here, don''t be afraid."

    Gong Yi resisted the urge to run back into the house and kept muttering to himself, "Get used to it. It¡¯s nothing. They can do it too. Gong Yi, you are a man!"

    Lin Man Man saw that Xiao Yu has stopped screaming, so she gave her(XY) a hug and let go. Taking her skipping rope out of the bag, Lin Man Man made a defensive posture. Gong Yi''s spirit weapon is not a weapon at all so he looked around and saw a rusty harpoon by the side of the cabin. He ran over and held the harpoon in his hand. With weapons in hand, he feels more secure in his heart.

    Wen Lang, Zhang Xue, and Chen Shuyang stood together, and a monster rushed towards the three of them. They could even see the drools at the corner of the monster¡¯s mouth. The short sword in Chen Shuyang''s hand is very sharp, but unfortunately, his hands are shaking so badly. Wen Lang gave a disappointed look at Chen Shuyang like the saying ¡®hating iron for not being steel¡¯, and threw a poker card. The seemingly ordinary poker card flashed with a gleam of cold light in the air and stabbed straight into the monster''s forehead like a piece of steel. The monster is in pain and struggled violently. Then, it opened its mouth again to bite at them. Zhang Xue¡¯s doll immediately rushed up and slapped the monster non-stop. The seemingly soft fist slammed on the monster with the impact of a hammer. Chen Shuyang took a deep breath and rushed towards the monster. Next, he stabbed the sword into the monster¡¯s head. The monster finally fell. The three of them looked at each other with joy in their eyes.

    Before they can enjoy the happiness, the second monster struck and caught everyone off guard. When Chen Shuyang is about to be bitten, arrows with glowing lights hit straight into the monster''s eyes, and the monster howled. Immediately after, the second arrow is shot and the other eye is also blinded. The third arrow hits the throat where the monster''s fish head and the human body are connected. The next moment, the heavy monster fell down to the ground.

    Wen Lang: "...too awesome." Why is there such a big difference between people?

    Seeing that Lou Fan didn''t hesitate, shooting arrows after another, Wen Lang couldn''t help but ask Chen Shuyang, "There are still so many monsters, does he have enough arrows?"

    The monsters in front of the three are all attracted away and Lou Fan and Qin Tan seem to be able to handle it. Chen Shuyang felt relieved and replied, "It¡¯s enough. Brother Lou doesn''t need arrows. He just needs to pull the bow and arrows will come out automatically."

    Wen Lang: "..." Ain¡¯t that a cheat?!

    Although the monster has thick skin and hard flesh, it can''t withstand the cooperation of Lou Fan and Qin Tan¡¯s attack. The Tang sword in Qin Tan''s hand is extremely sharp. With a single cut, even the hard fish head will be inflicted with a deep wound while Lou Fan cooperatively shoots them blind. After a few attacks, a monster fell to the ground. There is no time to admire, Wen Lang, Zhang Xue, and Chen Shuyang also joined the battle. With the occasional support from Lou Fan, the three of them just took a little more time to deal with a monster.

    Soon, from the dozen of monsters, there are 2 left. Seeing this, Gong Yi eagerly wanted to try his hand. He ran to Qin Tan and asked, "Brother Qin, can I try?"

    On Wen Lang''s side, Lin Man Man gritted her teeth. Throwing a glance at Xiao Yu hiding behind her, she ran over to join the attack. Everyone appreciates the spirit of the newcomers and is willing to let them try. And so, Gong Yi and Lin Man Man took their weapons and attacked, stabbing at the left and whipping at the right. With the seniors guarding them, the support made the two bolder. But the next second, Xiao Yu screamed again. The group looked at the lake and the scene is making their scalp numb.

    This time, not only did the monsters with fish heads come out again, but there are also monsters with a human head on the fish¡¯s body. The whole head is wrapped in the fish head, and the fish body looked tough as it gleams in the moonlight.

    Wen Lang cursed, "Are they going to let us live?! We are a lower-level team!"

    The monsters don¡¯t bother whether they are a lower-level team or not, they rushed to the shore one after another. Lou Fan had a feeling that something is wrong. Then, Zhang Xue said, "Let''s go to the village!"

    That¡¯s right! Their house is built on the outskirts of the village and is not connected to any houses inside. It stands to reason that these monsters should not attack the people in the village at night.

    The group of 8 people immediately stepped back. Qin Tan still stood in the front, slashing at the fish monster with a single blow. However, this time the fish monster with a human head is obviously higher level than the fish head monster just now, and its skin is very hard. The slash just now only made a small cut on the body. Lou Fan shoots arrows even faster and his arrows can shoot into the flesh of the fish monsters. It¡¯s just that though the fish monster is full of holes, it is still moving strongly towards them.

    The moment the group stepped into the range of the village, it is as if there is an invisible barrier blocking between them and the monsters. The fish monsters no longer move forward, and growled at them, just not moving forward. The 8 people slumped on the ground, and Qin Tan is covered with sweat. His knives are covered with sticky blood, stank of a fishy smell. There are also blood stains not visible on his black clothes so Qin Tan looked like he just crawled out of the belly of the fish monster. Lou Fan felt fortunate that he is a long-range attacker, at least he won¡¯t be stained by that disgusting smell.

    The monsters gathered outside, staring intently at the 8 people. Even if they don''t have to face the monsters anymore, being stared at still makes them feel sick and scared. If they are still outside, will they be torn to pieces by these monsters and eaten into their stomachs piece by piece?

    Lin Man Man couldn''t help shaking, and she edged nearer to everyone. And Xiao Yu has been hiding at the end of the group. Other than screaming, she doesn''t even dare to get close to the monster. She just buried her head down, curled up and shaking, not daring to look up at all.

    "Take a rest." Lou Fan hung the bow on his body. His voice sounded a little hoarse, and he raised his wrist to look at the time.

    It is 12.46 am. These monsters won¡¯t stay all night in front of them, right?! 4 minutes later, a long bell came from Lao Ye Temple not far away. Like a signal, the monsters retreated into the lake like a tide, not even one is left. 5 minutes later, after confirming that the monster is not coming back, the group got up and walked to the lake.

    "The monster appeared at 12.00 am and will return when the bell sounded at 1.00 am. The monsters won¡¯t enter the village." Lou Fan murmured.

    This is the clue they got tonight.

    The lakeshore is full of fish monster¡¯s corpses. Lou Fan got the harpoon from Gong Yi and looked through the corpse. Qin Tan changed his clothes and came out. The Tang sword in his hand has also been cleaned.

    "The fish monster''s scales are very hard," Qin Tan said as he poked down with a knife. Only after exerting some force that he could poke a hole on it. "It takes half of my strength."

    Lou Fan: "This is not good news."

    The fish monster is very smelly. Lou Fan doesn¡¯t want to smell it, but still rummaging for something.

    "What are you looking for?" Qin Tan helped to turn the fish monster.

    Lou Fan squinted at Qin Tan and Qin Tan suddenly had a bad feeling, "What are you going to do?"

    Lou Fan shrugged, "Nothing. At first, I wanted to open up its stomach, but..." This is a human body!

    Qin Tan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Then, do you want to open up its head?"

    Lou Fan nodded, "The head, then."

    So the other 6 people stood by the side as they watched these two men squatting next to the fish head monster, breaking the fish head apart, and spreading the contents on the ground. This scene almost caused them to vomit their dinner.

    There is something in the fish head indeed. It¡¯s a shiny bead, just like a pearl, but it is smaller and brighter than a pearl. Intuition tells Lou Fan that this is a good thing. Lou Fan blinked at Qin Tan, and quietly put the bead away. Qin Tan understood and immediately went to cut another monster.

    Wen Lang walked over. He took a look at the mess, and asked, "Any findings?"

    Lou Fan shook his head, "Nothing. Let''s look at the next one."

    Wen Lang thought to himself that if there is nothing found, why bother looking at the next one? But he couldn''t refute because he didn''t have any tools in his hand. Even if he had a knife, his strength is not as strong as Qin Tan''s. Earlier, Wen Lang tried to attack with a harpoon during a fight just now, but he couldn''t even injure the fish head. Although he doesn''t believe Qin Tan and Lou Fan¡¯s words, Wen Lang knows that they are guarding from him. Hence, he didn''t insist to stick around with them. After all, these two¡¯s strength is too terrifying. Without them, their group might end up inside the monster¡¯s stomach today.

    There are more than a dozen fish-head monsters¡¯ corpses on the lakeshore. Lou Fan asked everyone else to rest and he and Qin Tan would change shift after checking the corpse. It took them nearly 3 hours before they cut all the fish heads open. Unfortunately, not all monsters have a small bead in their head. Only about half of them have it. Lou Fan has only 9 beads in his hand.

    The pile of beads gleamed in the palm of his hand. Lou Fan stretched over to show Qin Tan and asked, "What do you think these beads are for?"

    Qin Tan looked at the fish head for a long while before saying, "These monsters are not really a fish species. The corpse that I just opened up doesn¡¯t have gills, so..."

 CH 18

    Lou Fan guessed, "So, maybe this bead has something to do with us diving into the water?"

    Qin Tan looked at Lou Fan and replied, "Maybe."

    Lou Fan stood up and threw away the harpoon. Clapping his hands, he said, "We''ll talk about it tomorrow, I''m going to die of sleepiness."

    The two walked back to the wooden house and woke Chen Shuyang and Gong Yi up to change shifts. Lou Fan patted the pillow in the corner and quickly fell asleep. Qin Tan laid down beside Lou Fan where they are facing each other. Looking at Lou Fan¡¯s sleeping face, Qin Tan lightly chuckled. His lips moved and he wordlessly said good night before closing his eyes.

    When Lou Fan woke up, he looked at his watch and saw that it is already 10.00 am. He got up from the ground anxiously, it seems that he is the only person in the whole house. As soon as he opened the door, the sunlight enveloped him, warm and mellow. The lake is sparkling, and there is no horrible scenery from last night at all, only a sunny lake scene is there.

    "Brother Lou, good morning!" Chen Shuyang is sitting by the lake, grilling the fish in his hand.

    "Brother Qin caught these from the lake."

    Lou Fan: "You sure have a strong taste. You even dare to eat the things from the lake."

    Chen Shuyang shook the fish, "It''s a normal fish."

    Lou Fan looked around and asked, "Where are the dead fish monsters?"

    "It''s gone." Qin Tan came out from behind the hut and shook the water in his hand. "They (the other members in the team) are the ones who wanted to eat the fish."

    Lou Fan patted Qin Tan on the shoulder, "We should continue to eat dry food."

    Chen Shuyang opened his mouth, wanting to say something. What the hell, it is clearly Brother Qin who took the initiative to catch the fish, and he even said to leave one for Brother Lou. How did it change to they are the ones who wanted to eat it? Then, Chen Shuyang looked at the fish in his hand and then thought of the fish monster corpse Lou Fan asked. He suddenly felt like he is holding a ¡®hot potato¡¯ and immediately threw the fish before running away. Wen Lang just walked out of the village and saw that the lonely grilled fish had become charcoal black.

    The group of 8 people sat down in a circle and ate dry food. Wen Lang suddenly said, "I wonder if Black Scorpion has encountered the fish monster as well?" Such a terrifying fish monster, if they didn''t return to the village for shelter, some of their team members would surely die.

    Chen Shuyang sighed, "Let''s focus on taking care of ourselves, the fish monsters are too scary."

    Qin Tan saw that everyone had almost finished eating, and said, "Check your weapons. We will head to the Lao Ye Temple later."

    The lower-level team of 5 took out their weapons one after another. Wen Lang held the poker in his hand and looked at Lou Fan''s bow greedily, "Brother Lou, can you really shoot unlimited arrows with your bow?"

    Lou Fan smiled, handed Wen Lang the bow to look at. Then he asked, "Your spirit weapon is poker cards? It''s also a strange weapon, what''s the limit?"

    It turns out that Lou Fan is not a rookie. Man, previously he(WL) was treating them like a rookie, but every one of them is so good. Well, except for Chen Shuyang''s book. Wen Lang picked up a poker and replied, "The limit is only one deck of cards per day."

    It stands to reason that one should not tell others about the limits of their spirit weapon, but since their team has fought for their lives together, Wen Lang didn''t care too much about this. The other reason is that spirit weapons cannot cause harm to people, whether in Lazuli or the mission world. Other weapons can be used though, such as the short sword exchanged by Chen Shuyang and the dagger bought by Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan looked at Zhang Xue''s doll next; it is a doll with a big palm, which can become a half-human height during battle. It is also a very special spirit weapon. Qin Tan stood up, hung the Tang sword on his waist, and carried his backpack. Lou Fan also got up and prepared, clapping his hands, "Get ready to go, it''s almost noon!"

    As soon as Lou Fan said that, Xiao Yu screamed like crazy, "You can''t go! You can''t leave us, what if monsters are appearing again? Why are you being irresponsible and leaving us here?! You are not allowed to go anywhere!"

    The atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Everyone is so stunned by Xiao Yu¡¯s logic that they suddenly forgot what to say.

    Feeling amused, Wen Lang asked, "Who gave you the confidence to let everyone take care of you? Are you amazingly beautiful and cute? Little sister, don''t be naive. Everyone is trying their best to live, only you are hiding behind others. Even your friend is working hard, but what about you? Not wanting to work hard but still hope everyone to take care of you. Is everyone in the whole world your mother?"

    Xiao Yu glared at Wen Lang ferociously, as if she wanted to eviscerate him, chop him up and feed him to the dog. It''s a pity that Wen Lang doesn¡¯t bother and only looked at her mockingly.

    "You guys will die horribly!"

    Lin Man Man didn''t expect Xiao Yu to say such a thing. This Xiao Yu in front of her is no longer her good friend. When she tried to say something, Xiao Yu waved her hand away and pointed at them. She cursed viciously, "You will definitely have retribution!"

    As Xiao Yu said that, she backed away step by step, staring at everyone, as if to carve them all into her heart. Then she ran into the village and disappeared.

    Although it is not the first time Lou Fan met this kind of person, he still feels disheartened. A lot of times, there are people like this. They can¡¯t see the reality and feel that the whole world should circle around them. As for retribution, it probably doesn¡¯t exist in this world. There are only people who don''t work hard and court death.

    Qin Tan''s eyes are indifferent, this kind of person is not worthy of him to say more, "Go."

    Lin Man Man and Gong Yi stood there obediently as they said, "We will take care of ourselves. You guys, Brother Lou and Sister Xue, be careful too!"

    Lou Fan drew his dagger from his waist and handed it to Lin Man Man, "Take this to defend yourself. Don''t trust anyone else and you two must be together at all times. Gong Yi, you must protect Man Man."

    Holding the harpoon in his hand, Gong Yi promised, "Brother Lou, don''t worry."

    Their group of 5 people walked in the direction of Lao Ye Temple. There is a small road from the small fishing village to Lao Ye Temple. There is a long rope on the side of the road near the riverbank. The rope is covered with red cloth strips and strange black runes are painted all over the red cloth, which looked very strange. After walking for more than an hour, the group stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up. Lao Ye Temple is located on the top of the mountain, which is not too high. They walked up the winding mountain road and soon reached the top of the mountain.

    Lao Ye Temple is built on the mountain next to the lake, without any obstructions in all 4 directions. From the temple, one can see thousands of miles of mist-covered waters, it is a very peculiar temple. There is a tall four-pillar archway in front of the temple. The main temple is 9 meters high and enshrines the statue of General Ju Yuan. It looks very magnificent. Looking down from the temple on the mountain, the entire lake can be taken in. Like a guardian who protects the village from the monsters at the bottom of the lake.

    Qin Tan: "Let¡¯s go in and have a look."

    Lou Fan and the rest followed Qin Tan in, but they did not expect to meet an acquaintance - Black Scorpion is in Lao Ye Temple.

    The people from the Black Scorpion team looked obviously surprised when they saw them. Xiao Qian, the woman who was rude to them when they first met, exclaimed in surprise, "All five of you are still alive!"

    Clearly, for Black Scorpion, it is normal to expect more than half of their team of 5 people to be killed or injured. Now that everyone is well and alive, it is an unbelievable thing.

    Lou Fan weakly complained to himself, ¡®So sorry that we are alive and we let you down.¡¯

    A man who looked like the captain of the team came over. His bangs are so long that they almost covered half of his face. People would wonder if he can really see the way.

    "Hello, my name is Hu Nan." Hu Nan stretched out his hand to Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan also stretched out his hand, "Hello, I¡¯m Qin Tan."

    Wen Lang curled his mouth at Lou Fan and Lou Fan looked at him suspiciously. Wen Lang approached Lou Fan and whispered, "Their team is missing 1 person."

    Sure enough, there are only 5 people in Black Scorpion now. Their members were 6 before this. Moreover, 2 people in the team had bandages on their hands and looked badly injured.

    Hu Nan: "We encountered the fish monsters when we were staying in the village. We lost a member and two were injured."

    Qin Tan nodded, "Those fish monsters are really hard to deal with. We are quite lucky."

    Hu Nan: "..." How should I pick it up the conversation now?

    Xiao Qian can¡¯t continue with this conversation anymore and said, "You guys must be really lucky. Otherwise, how could there be no casualties in your team? That fish monster has thick skin and thick flesh, and there are so many of them. How can your Level 1 team be unscathed?" She glanced contemptuously across the crowd, and fell on Qin Tan with an unknown smile, "But the captain looks very powerful."

    Lou Fan swiftly pushed Qin Tan behind him and said, "We are indeed lucky. Our captain is not reliable at all and is unarmed. By the way, we still have our task to do so we are leaving first."

    Lou Fan didn''t blush at all when he blatantly lied and fully demonstrated what it means by ¡®saying things righteously as if they are real¡¯.

    Xiao Qian''s face turned red and white by Lou Fan¡¯s rebut. She wanted to say a few more words, but when she saw that Qin Tan''s eyes are full of coldness, she got so frightened that she did not dare to speak again. This man was speaking nicely earlier, so why is he looking scary now?

    Hu Nan pulled Xiao Qian away and glared at her. This woman keeps getting in the way, and she would blatantly look for trouble, not realizing her limit.

    "Qin Tan, I have an idea. I wonder if you are willing to cooperate with us?"

    Hu Nan said to Qin Tan, "Our task is to rescue Sun Hai and his party. Sun Hai and the other 4 people are the sacrifices for the ceremony. Personally, there are still a few days before the sacrificial ceremony starts. We have plenty of time to help you complete your task first."

    Lou Fan rolled his eyes, do they look stupid to them? Qin Tan is even cleverer, alright?

    Qin Tan said, "Your task is more important. We can complete it by ourselves so we won''t take up your time." Qin Tan looked at the 2 wounded men, "Besides, your team members also need to take good care of their injuries."

    Hu Nan also simply opened up and explained, "We planned to wait until the day of the sacrifice to go on the boat. Then we can save those people directly."

    Qin Tan frowned, "Those fish monsters are difficult to deal with, how do you plan to save them?"

    "Steer the ship back!" Hu Nan answered like it¡¯s given, "The key to clear the mission world is sometimes so simple and crude. We have considered many methods, but none of them will work."

    Lou Fan couldn''t agree with their simplicity and crudeness. The boat will sail to the middle of the lake. Is there enough time to steer back to the shore? What if the ship couldn''t be steered? If the fish monsters rushed onto the ship and waited until the ship sank, there might not be any chance of surviving it. Unless the Black Scorpion team has the equipment to bring all the people back, this method is not reliable at all.

    Lou Fan thinks that the most important thing is the NPC named Sun Hai and the other 4 people. Maybe they can solve their mission by finding all 5 of them. It is impossible for the mission world to give an unsolvable mission. But the people of the Black Scorpion team didn''t think about this method, and are prepared to use their simple-to-death method!

    Wen Lang asked the question in everyone¡¯s mind, "Have you found the person named Sun Hai?"

    A member of the Black Scorpion team walked behind the god status, pulled out a young Taoist priest. Pointing at him, he said, "This is Sun Hai!"

 CH 19

    Sun Hai is actually a little Taoist priest? And the villagers want to send this little Taoist priest as a sacrifice to General Ju Yuan? Everyone found it unbelievable to hear, even Black Scorpion felt helpless.

    Hu Nan: "We asked about Sun Hai in the village and the people said that Sun Hai has already gone to become a Taoist priest at Lao Ye Temple. But when we asked why they are sacrificing a Taoist priest, they kept silent."

    "Why don''t you ask him?"

    Hu Nan looked even more speechless, "Sun Hai is a fool."

    Therefore, the key NPC should be the other 4 people. Immediately, the girl of the pair of mother and daughter appeared in Lou Fan''s mind. She should be one of the sacrifices.

    Someone lightly snickered beside Lou Fan. Wen Lang had a playful expression on his face as he stared at the little Taoist priest intently. Lou Fan tapped Wen Lang and asked, "What''s the matter?"

    Wen Lang turned his head away, his tone full of schadenfreude, "The little Taoist is a fool so Black Scorpion is going to be finished this time."

    Lou Fan doesn''t like Black Scorpion very much, and he can''t bear the idea of someone coveting Qin Tan. Now that the key NPC is a fool, they can''t ask anything. Let''s see what the Black Scorpion will do.

    Zhang Xue looked around the front hall, only to feel that this Lao Ye Temple is a little different from the general Taoist temples. As for what is the difference, she couldn''t tell.

    Qin Tan and Hu Nan are still continuing with the small talk. Qin Tan said, "Our mission is not difficult, and we have plenty of time. On the other hand, Leader Hu, your mission is a bit dangerous. Besides, our Level 1 team can''t help you much. I''m afraid that when the time comes, we will do something wrong and it won¡¯t be helpful for you."

    The type to hold a grudge, huh? Hu Nan turned to look at Xiao Qian with disgust. An incompetent fool who only knows to mess things up. Hu Nan then turned back to Qin Tan with a warm expression, "Alright, you should do your task first. If you need help, just say it and we will definitely help. Everyone just wants to survive. We have the same goal, so our interest is not conflicting."

    Qin Tan solemnly said, "Then, I shall give my thanks in advanced to Leader Hu." Turning his head and seeing his team members walking around, Qin Tan added, "We want to find out if there is any information here regarding our task so we¡¯ll take our leave now."

    Hu Nan nodded, "Sure, but Leader Qin, this little Taoist priest is the only person in this temple."

    Qin Tan uttered a sound of acknowledgment and took his 4 members to the main hall at the back.

    Hu Nan''s team members pushed the little Taoist priest away, and the little Taoist priest fell to the ground. Wordlessly standing up, the little guy patted the dirt off his body and left quietly.

    Seeing that they are far away from the front hall, Wen Lang snorted, "(spit) What are they? They want us to cooperate but they don¡¯t know how bad their working style is."

    Zhang Xue frowned and muttered, "A group of disgusting people." There¡¯s a man in the Black Scorpion team who kept staring at her. His gaze was sticky and disgusting, which made her feel sick.

    Chen Shuyang: "It feels like they want us to die as their scapegoat..."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan glanced at Chen Shuyang, feeling amused. Even Chen Shuyang can feel that the Black Scorpion has an unkind intention towards them. The question is why do the people of the Black Scorpion team feel confident that they would cooperate with them?

    "Their purpose must not be simple. It¡¯s either to let us die or to become their scapegoat." Lou Fan concluded. "Anyway, we don''t need their help, and we don''t want to help them either."

    Seeing the angry Lou Fan, Qin Tan said with a smile, "Don''t worry, they won''t dare to use force if we don''t cooperate. If they dare to try, I can handle 4 of them, and you guys can handle the remaining one."

    Lou Fan laughed unkindly when he heard it. Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang gave thumbs-up, and even Zhang Xue smiled, her expressions softened. They have no doubt about Qin Tan''s ability, and they do what he says.

    ¡­

    Hu Nan stared at Xiao Qian with an ugly expression. Xiao Qian turned pale and couldn''t help shrinking back. "They, they don''t even agree to our request for cooperation. They really don''t know what is good or bad for them!"

    Hu Nan glared at Xiao Qian like a poisonous snake, "I think you are the one who doesn''t know what is good or bad. Can¡¯t you see that Leader Qin is not easy to provoke at a glance? Their spirit weapon is a Tang sword and a bow, you think they would be easy to be schemed against? They are not stupid. Usually, a newcomer team, even a Level 5 team, will want to cooperate with us without hesitation. But for them to reject us, it is enough to show that they are confident that they can complete the task on their own." Hu Nan warned Xiao Qian again, "Keep your scheming thoughts away. Otherwise, if something happens, no one will save you. And I will be the first one to take action on you."

    Xiao Qian''s face turned pale. She glanced at her teammate who is looking at her strangely and doesn¡¯t dare to speak anymore.

    ¡­

    Lao Ye Temple occupies a large area on the mountain. The main temple is 9 meters high. The team walked to the main hall, where the statue of General Ju Yuan is enshrined. They wandered around and back to the main hall; no one else can be seen at all.

    "No way. In such a big temple, there¡¯s really only the little Taoist priest here?" Wen Lang cried out and lifted the heavy curtains everywhere. A thick layer of dust on the curtain is shaken off and fell on Wen Lang¡¯s face, "(spit) Pei, pei."

    Lou Fan: "It seems that Black Scorpion did not lie to us this time."

    "Come here and take a look, this mural..." Zhang Xue stood in front of a wall and pointed to the mural above.

    Chen Shuyang, who was studying General Ju Yuan quickly walked over, frowning and studying the mural carefully. After staring at it for a long time, he lifted his glasses and said confidently, "Come come come, I''ll explain this mural to you."

    Wen Lang looked in disbelief, "You even know about this too?"

    Chen Shuyang smiled shyly and put his glasses down again. He explained, "I did a little research. During our 3rd year, our major course¡¯s professor took us to see the murals in Dunhuang city. At that time, we studied murals the entire period, so I can still provide a basic explanation now."

    Chen Shuyang is the only person who ever study about this and Lou Fan knows nothing anyway, so he stood obediently, ready to listen.

    "The first painting is a huge wooden boat with gorgeous patterns painted on the hull. The whole boat looked very gorgeous. It is sailing in the billowing waves, and the masts of the boat are hung with huge sails. The sails looked bulging by the wind means that the ship is advancing at full speed.¡± Chen Shuyang continued, ¡°According to my inference, judging from the appearance of this ship, this might be the ''Shenzhou'' we are looking for.¡±

    Then, to the second painting. The position in the painting has obviously changed. The boat is at the entrance of the lake. A magnificent mountain temple stands on a mountain in the distance. It is exactly the same as the Lao Ye Temple where they are now. Obviously, the boat is going through the waters of Lao Ye Temple. At this moment, the ship has retracted its sails, and on both sides of the hull were countless long oars placed in the water, moving in unison. The ship is using human power to drive the ship forward.

    "This is the waters of Lao Ye Temple. Something must have happened to this big ship."

    In the third painting, the overall color of the painting is dull. It is not difficult to see that it is showing the ship at night. Thunder and lightning flashed in the painting, and the huge boat shook in the middle of the lake. The boat rolls under the huge waves and is thrown high in the air. The whole ship has already tilted, and it seems that it will turn over in the next moment. On a low mountain in the distance, Lao Ye Temple emits a glowing light in the dark, as if it is guiding the direction.

    There are only these 3 murals. The team walked forward but there¡¯s nothing there.

    Lou Fan looked dumbfounded and asked, "So, the ship should have sunk, right?"

    Chen Shuyang shook his head, "I don''t know, maybe it sinks but not necessarily."

    Qin Tan: "If there¡¯s anyone in the temple, we can ask and will understand. Let¡¯s look around again."

    "You guys go ahead to search, and I will sort out the information here." Lou Fan took out the little notebook he carried, writing and drawing on it with a pen.

    When the rest of the team return with nothing, Lou Fan opened his notebook.

    "You see, this mission is actually very clear. We are looking for Shenzhou. First, we need to find the location of the shipwreck. Tentatively, we assume Shenzhou is a shipwreck. Second, we need equipment to dive underwater. And third, if we meet the fish monsters underwater, what to do?" Lou Fan concluded, "Just these 3 points."

    Lou Fan sounded organized, but Wen Lang felt a headache coming, "The problem is none of these 3 points is simple, okay?!"

    Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang, "Do you think 10 days are given to us for nothing? If it is simple to do, the mission world won''t give you that long time."

    Wen Lang is stunned after hearing that. Although he couldn''t bear it to say, he still had to say, "According to my reliable information, the further you go, the shorter the mission time limit. If the time is very short, then you have to be very careful."

    Lou Fan didn''t believe Wen Lang, "Your information is reliable?"

    Choked by Lou Fan¡¯s suspicion, Wen Lang puffed his chest and said, "Of course it''s reliable."

    "Okay. In short, there are these 3 points that we need to pay attention to. Everyone should remember them well. Once there are any clues, you have to tell us." Lou Fan smiled and decided to boost the team¡¯s morale. "For the second point, we have a small guess, but we still have to try it first. Let¡¯s solve the first point first. As for the fish monster... we¡¯ll talk about it later."

    Except for Qin Tan and Lou Fan, the rest of the team doesn''t know about the little pearl. Lou Fan is not going to say it right now as it''s just a guess and they still don''t know how to use it. Would they get happy for nothing if the pearl didn¡¯t work?

    Qin Tan pulled everyone''s attention back and said, "There is no one else in this temple, so everyone should look around again carefully. Since there are murals here, maybe there are other records left somewhere. Perhaps this ship is Shenzhou."

    Everyone nodded. There is only this clue at present. The team of 5 people split up. Lao Ye Temple occupies a large area, and it is not easy to check all areas carefully.

    Lou Fan turned around many twists and turns and didn''t know where he went. The area looked secluded, a bit like a wing room. Suddenly there is a sound from a room on the side. Surprised, Lou Fan grabbed a stick on the side of the wall and walked over slowly. His movement is light and he made no sound. The door of the room is open. Lou Fan held the stick in his hand nervously and slowly stretched out his head to look inside.

    The room is actually a kitchen. It¡¯s terribly old, with spider webs everywhere on the roof, and the stove looked like it hasn¡¯t been used for a long time. The sound came from the innermost corner, like the sound of someone eating. Walking in, the figure in the corner gradually appeared in his sight. Lou Fan felt relieved after seeing the person clearly. The little Taoist priest is eating a piece of pastry in his hand but the pastry looked very hard. Judging from the way he chewed, it is not much worse than biting on a stone.

    Lou Fan walked to the little guy and squatted down, putting away the stick in his hand. The little Taoist priest actually looked very thin. He is about 13 or 14 years old. The little guy is not afraid to see Lou Fan approaching him. He simply looked at Lou Fan ignorantly with his excessively large eyes.

    Lou Fan gave a friendly smile, "Is your name Sun Hai? Can you give me some of your pastry?"

    The little Taoist priest looked at the pastry in his hand, and then at Lou Fan. He tried to break a chunk out with his hand but found that the pastry remained intact. He hesitated and handed the whole pastry to Lou Fan.

    "You¡¯re giving it all to me?" Lou Fan asked, "Do you have any more for yourself?"

    The little Taoist shook his head.

 CH 20

    Lou Fan took the pastry from the little Taoist priest. This pastry is really hard, it¡¯s the type that you can use to hit people. Lou Fan studied it for a while and didn''t know if the pastry is a good item. He didn''t know if he could exchange it for points when he brought it back to Lazuli. Lou Fan proceed to sit down on the ground. He stuffed the pastry into his bag, adhering to his principle of not letting go of any benefits. Then, he took a piece of bread out and handed it to the little Taoist priest. This is the first step to building a good relationship with the NPC.

    The little Taoist took the bread calmly, tore open the packaging, and started stuffing it in his mouth.

    "You eating here alone, where do you get the food?" Lou Fan asked. It doesn¡¯t look like the kitchen has been used at all.

    Due to eating too fast, the little Taoist choked on the bread. Lou Fan quickly took out a bottle of water, unscrewed it, and handed it to him, "Hurry up and take a sip. Eat slowly, no one will grab it from you. I still have some more if it is not enough."

    The little Taoist who Lou Fan initially thought couldn¡¯t speak surprisingly spoke but after swallowing the food, "The villagers¡­ send¡­ it."

    He spoke in a jerky manner as if he hadn''t spoken in a long, long time.

    Lou Fan thought of that pastry and wondered how often the villagers deliver the food. And would it be just that kind of hard pastry every time? He suddenly choked in his heart and touched the head of the little Taoist priest. Even if Lou Fan knows that this is a parallel world, which may not even be the real world or just a simulation, but no matter where, there are always such pitiful children, and he feels suffocating in his heart.

    "Where are your parents?"

    Sun Hai shook his head.

    Lou Fan sighed. Then, he thought of the fact that he is also unable to take care of himself in this world, how could he spare time to pity others? He tentatively asked, "Sun Hai, have you heard of Shenzhou?"

    Sun Hai looked at Lou Fan with wide eyes open, with a look of ignorance.

    Lou Fan helplessly touched Sun Hai¡¯s head and asked, "Do you want more bread?"

    Sun Hai hesitated and nodded.

    The sky is getting dark, and today the team is going to stay in the temple. The wing rooms in the temple are old and unlivable, but the temple hall is brightly lit and seemed more comfortable. The Black Scorpion team is staying in the front hall, while Lou Fan¡¯s team is in the main hall.

    As soon as night falls, Sun Hai went to close all the doors of the hall, and Lou Fan helped him to close it.

    "Big brother, don''t go out at night..." Sun Hai said seriously to Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan suddenly had a bad feeling about this and quickly informed the others.

    Hearing that, Wen Lang is quite envious, "Lou Fan, you are lucky. Why did always you get the goodwill of the NPCs?"

    "I treat people well and never lie." Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang with a smile.

    Wen Lang touched his nose. It seems that the lie on their first meeting would not be easily forgotten. He shouldn''t be impulsive and do such a thing in the first place. Also, if he does, he should have picked the right person. Of all people, how could he do that to these bigshots?

    Zhang Xue chuckled. She got along well with everyone these past 2 days, and the interactions made her relax a little bit.

    The night is quiet, but before long, there is a rustling sound from outside the hall. After a while, it seemed like a large creature is moving, making a heavy dragging sound. No one knows what monster is outside. All 5 of them are awake, holding their weapons vigilantly and staring at the door closely, for fear that something would break in the next moment.

    Lou Fan glanced at the little Taoist who is sleeping deeply and felt that if they didn''t open the door, there might be no danger at all. No one knows how long it took but Lou Fan is already sleepy when he is suddenly awakened by a terrible cry. Lou Fan quickly looked around and found that everyone is there, with Qin Tan by his side. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    Chen Shuyang rubbed his eyes, "It seems to be at the Black Scorpion¡¯s side."

    Qin Tan patted Lou Fan and said to the other 3 members who woke up, "Leave them alone and go to sleep."

    Lou Fan closed his eyes again obediently and tilted his head against Qin Tan. He smiled at the corners of his mouth and fell asleep contentedly.

    ¡­

    Waking up early in the morning, the sun is still shining brightly. Except for the blackened blood on the front hall floor to show that someone had encountered an accident last night, everything else is the same as yesterday. It''s already the 4th day, and everyone is a little anxious. Shenzhou has not been found yet, but time is waiting for no one. Lou Fan and Qin Tan decided to go to the mountain lake first to test whether the small pearls are useful.

    Lou Fan took out the ¡®little pearl¡¯ from his bag, which he casually named, and handed it to the other 3 people. Wen Lang had guessed that they must have found something in the head of the fish monster, but he didn''t expect it to be this thing.

    "Qin Tan and I guessed that this little pearl might be able to let us breathe underwater. Of course, it''s just a guess. Today, we planned to test it, although we don¡¯t know about Shenzhou¡¯s position yet." Lou Fan said and looked at everyone, "I don''t know who is good at swimming, would you like to try?"

    Chen Shuyang shook his head, "I can''t swim."

    Zhang Xue also pursed her lips, "I haven''t learned to swim properly yet."

    Wen Lang stretched his body and said, "Then, let me do it. I grew up by the river and am a good swimmer."

    Qin Tan made a decision, "Alright then, we¡¯ll hand it to you. If it doesn''t work, I''ll go down myself."

    Taking the little pearl, Wen Lang leaned close and studied the little pearl, "How do you use this?"

    Lou Fan shrugged, "Probably swallow it."

    Zhang Xue hesitated, "Are there any fish monsters under the water?"

    No one knows the answer to this question.

    Qin Tan: "Wen Lang, just do what you can and come back immediately if you discover something wrong."

    Wen Lang solemnly nodded his head.

    The team walked all the way to the bottom of the mountain, where the lake is sparkling brightly. However, it takes a little more courage to enter the water at the temperature in November. Wen Lang put on shorts and did a warm-up exercise but still couldn''t help shaking a little. Although he is good at swimming, he is not cold-resistant, he has never swum in winter swimming. Wen Lang who thought to himself that he shouldn¡¯t be timid swallowed the pearl and jumped into the water with a plop. The surface of the water rippled, the ripples spread out. They have to test whether the little pearl is useful, and if it is useful, how long is the time limit.

    5 minutes later, Lou Fan looked at the lake nervously, "Wen Lang hasn''t come up yet, does it mean it''s useful?"

    Qin Tan is calmer than Lou Fan. He looked at the lake quietly and said, "Wait a bit more, it''s still early." For those who hold their breaths, 5 minutes is not too long.

    10 minutes later, Chen Shuyang couldn''t help but look back and forth by the lake, "Why hasn''t Wen Lang come out yet?"

    Zhang Xue is also very nervous. She looked back and forth on the lake, "It might be good news if he still doesn''t come out."

    30 minutes later, Qin Tan is ready to go into the water to see the situation. Then, with a splash of water, Wen Lang emerged from the water with a smile on his face.

    "It really works, 30 minutes!"

    At first, Wen Lang just tried to breathe in the water, but he didn''t expect it to be possible. So, he opened his eyes and watched the time on the watch pass minute by minute. After a full 28 minutes, Wen Lang started to feel breathless. After another 2 minutes, he held his breath again and came out of the water.

    Everyone is very happy to hear that, and Chen Shuyang hurriedly took the change of clothes and put on Wen Lang.

    Qin Tan asked, "Have you seen anything in the water?"

    Wen Lang shook his head, "No, I was monitoring the time. Should I go down again?"

    "Take a rest first. I will go to explore with you later."

    After that, Qin Tan went to search for something in his bag and took out swimming goggles. Wen Lang talked about his underwater experience while eating and got more excited as he talked about it. He didn''t expect this bead that is so useful actually found in the head of such an ugly monster.

    Lou Fan took out all the beads he has and looked frustrated, "We have to go back to the village and kill more fish monsters. There is only about a half chance of finding beads in their head. All 5 of us will be in the water and we need to prepare for at least 2-3 hours of duration. That means 6 beads per person, and we need to kill 60 fish monsters."

    Sometimes, Wen Lang really hates such sane people. They will use data and numbers to make you face the reality, unable to refute. Obviously, Lou Fan is such a person. When the team thinks that they need to kill so many fish monsters, they felt that they didn''t have so much time left.

    Qin Tan added, "We are not afraid of fish head monsters. The most important thing to pay attention to is the fish monsters with a human head. Who knows, maybe there will be a bead in those kinds of monsters."

    It''s a pity that everyone feels sick whenever they think of that monster. The reason is none other than there is a human head in those fish''s heads. Thinking that they need to cut the human head open, they can¡¯t do it. So the team can only pray for more fish monsters to kill.

    The team discussed the matter and after lunch, Wen Lang and Qin Tan are ready to go into the water. At this moment, the people from Black Scorpion appeared. They are 1 person lesser this time, only 4 people left. Hu Nan smiled bitterly when he saw Qin Tan, "Leader Qin, this time, you really need to help us."

    Qin Tan interrupted Hu Nan¡¯s words, "Leader Hu, we still haven''t thought of a way to dive into the lake and you also know how difficult the fish monster is to deal with. But your task is also very difficult, so we are not that tactless to ask for your help. Sigh, I just hope that we can complete the task smoothly. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know if there is another chance to meet again."

    Qin Tan spoke very emotionally that Lou Fan blinked and praised him in his heart.

    The people from the Black Scorpion team can only leave with a dark expression. They are not so thick-skinned that they make people give up their tasks to help them, but they are really upset with the rejection. If they meet again next time, they won''t let this go.

    Watching the other team leave far away, the two are about to go into the water. Lou Fan asks Zhang Xue and Chen Shuyang to guard on both sides of the path, in case Black Scorpion comes back and finds out about the little pearl. He doesn''t want the Black Scorpion to take advantage of them.

    This time, Qin Tan and Wen Lang took a full 35 minutes to come up. When Lou Fan saw them emerge out of the water, he immediately brought over their clothes and stepped forward. However, both shook their heads with heavy expressions on their faces.

    "What''s the matter?" Lou Fan is puzzled.

    As Qin Tan wiped the water on his body, he said, "After 5 meters underwater, the visibility is very low and nothing can be seen. It is still visible near the shore but the deeper to the center we go, the darker the underwater, and the temperature is somewhat lower."

    Lou Fan looked a little frustrated, "There are so many difficulties in this world. Wen Lang, are the tasks of the low-level teams this difficult usually?"

    Wen Lang also shook his head helplessly, "Each team has a different task. I don''t know about this information. Anyway, Lazuli''s task is not easy to be completed."

    When Chen Shuyang and Zhang Xue came back, they looked a little frustrated after hearing the news. Are they really unable to complete the task this time? One must know that this is just a low-level task.

    Lou Fan clapped his hands to cheer up the team¡¯s morale, "We can use a flashlight and tie it to our arms for visibility. As for the temperature, just bear with it. The viral ice bucket challenges are even lower, minus tens of degrees so what''s this to be afraid of? The most important thing is to kill enough fish monsters."

    After Lou Fan said this, everyone thought it made sense, and it seemed that all of these are not a problem underwater. The question is, where is Shenzhou?

 CH 21

    It is unrealistic to find a sunken ship in such a large lake, and it is no better than finding a needle in a haystack. Back in the temple, everyone felt a little tired in their heart. Tomorrow is already the 5th day so the team planned to look for it again tomorrow. But it really doesn''t work, they can only go to the small fishing village first and maybe ask the weird village chief. Maybe they can find a clue or something. At night, the team slept with the heavy-moving sound of the monster again but Lou Fan actually slept soundly. He never woke up at night and slept until the next day without any problems.

    The watch showed that it is 8.00 am. Lou Fan is gnawing on the bread and saw the little Taoist dusting the statue. He grabbed the boy and handed him a piece of bread, "Children need to eat more to grow taller."

    The little Taoist squinted his eyes and took the bread, his smile showing a row of white teeth.

    Lou Fan rubbed the boy¡¯s head. Turning to look at the mural on the wall, he sighed again.

    "There will be a way, don''t sigh." Qin Tan''s comforting voice came from behind.

    "Big brother, what''s wrong with this ship? You don''t like it?" Sun Hai has been very proficient in speaking after talking to Lou Fan these past 2 days. He blinked and looked at Lou Fan in confusion.

    Lou Fan: "I like it, but I don''t know where it is. I want to find the ship."

    Sun Hai thought for a while before gently pulling Lou Fan''s sleeve, and whispered, "Big brother, I know where it is. Come with me."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan''s heart instantly felt like it¡¯s being held. His heartbeat is incredibly fast. He turned his face and called out to Qin Tan, even his pitch is different. The two followed Sun Hai walking past twists and turns, and quickly reached a side hall. This side hall is very small, but there is a large god¡¯s statue, which occupies almost the whole hall. The little Taoist priest walked behind the statue. There is only room for people to enter sideways. He walked in and pushed open the secret door behind the statue.

    Lou Fan: "..."

    No wonder they can''t find it. The key information is actually hidden here?

    Inside the hidden space, it''s not the same as Lou Fan expected. There is only one stone monument there and no collections of books or scriptures. And the stone monument recorded exactly the information regarding the Shenzhou they are looking for.

    The paragraph of literary words translated as follows: Shenzhou sailed on the emperor''s order. When passing through the waters of Lao Ye Temple, they encountered strong winds, waves, thunder, and lightning. Then, they are attacked by fish monsters. Only 1 of the 3,000 people on the ship survived. Shenzhou sank about 30 miles southwest of the center of the lake. There are countless rare treasures in the ship and hereby recorded. If someone comes to find it one day later, you can tell them about this.

    After reading it, Lou Fan had only one thought. This is indeed a parallel world. If there are so many rare treasures on the ship, wouldn''t the emperor send anyone to salvage it? Or is it because of the monster fish in the lake? In addition to a stone monument, there is also a one-piece suit like fish scales on the stone platform next to it. Lou Fan walked over and picked it up to look at it. Touching the suit lightly with his hand, it really feel like fish scales to Lou Fan.

    "It looked similar to the fish monster''s scales but much smaller." Qin Tan said.

    Lou Fan wondered, "Is this left by the person who wrote the stone monument?"

    Both of them looked at the little Taoist priest. The little Taoist was looking at them so seeing they turn to him, the boy pointed to the fish-scale clothing and said, "I will give it to you."

    Lou Fan is overjoyed, "Really giving it to me?" The little Taoist nodded.

    Lou Fan accepted it without hesitation and said, "Sun Hai, thank you so much."

    Unexpectedly, not only did they find a clue, but Lou Fan also got a piece of equipment. Qin Tan told Lou Fan to keep the suit away. Lou Fan understood and put it in his backpack. This kind of stuff doesn¡¯t need to be shared with everyone.

    Lou Fan copied the words on the stone monument, and the three of them withdrew from the status. Lou Fan walked to the front and bowed three times to the statue before leaving.

    In the yard, Chen Shuyang, Wen Lang, and Zhang Xue showed up one after another. When they saw Qin Tan and Lou Fan, they said in unison, "Where have you guys been? We haven''t seen you for a long time and thought you got dragged away by the monsters."

    Lou Fan smiled mysteriously, "Guess what we found?"

    Wen Lang''s eyes widened, "Frck, it won''t be what I thought, right?"

    Lou Fan smiled meaningfully and shook the little book in his hand. Qin Tan also smiled. Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang quickly stepped forward and snatched the little book in his hand. Zhang Xue walked over, and the three of them read the notebook together. Lou Fan copied all the text on the stone monument. Although it is written in ancient Chinese characters, it is not much different from the vernacular characters. After reading it, the three of them looked at Qin Tan and Lou Fan with surprise.

    "Where did you find it? We have been searching for it for so long, so why did you guys suddenly find it today?" Chen Shuyang looked at the notebook 3 times.

    Lou Fan raised his chin and pointed to the little Taoist priest, "It''s all Sun Hai''s credit. He led us to find it. Otherwise, I think we might not be able to accomplish this task."

    When Lou Fan finished talking about how to find it, Wen Lang''s eyes bulged out from the shock, "I''ve never seen someone so lucky like you. Do you have a cheat code or something?"

    Lou Fan shook his head, "If we look hard for it, we will definitely find it. Just that it won¡¯t be so smoothly as now. Lazuli won''t let us die in a situation without a solution."

    Logically it¡¯s correct, but even Zhang Xue looked at Lou Fan with envy. She thought in my heart that next time, she must have a good relationship with the NPCs. This is the role of the key NPC. Who knows, she may unexpectedly be able to get the key clues. She must not be careless.

    Qin Tan stopped everyone from talking and said, "Pack up. We will go back to the village to kill the fish monsters."

    Everyone immediately stopped chatting and went to pack their own things one after another.

    Knowing that they are leaving, the little Taoist followed Lou Fan all the way, his expression sad. Lou Fan can only touch the boy¡¯s head, silently comforting him. Lou Fan can''t do anything else as he''s just a passerby. Lou Fan and his team left some food for the little Taoist priest and told him that when they returned to the village, they will get the village chief to bring him more food. The little Taoist nodded silently, without any superfluous expressions, as if he didn''t care about whether the village sent him food or not.

    The team separated from the little Taoist outside the temple. When they reached halfway down the mountain, Lou Fan could still see the little Taoist standing in place when he turned his head. At this moment, Lou Fan felt that Sun Hai is no longer an NPC, but a real person.

    Returned to the village, the team rested in the hut by the lake. They did not see Lin Man Man and Gong Yi.

    "Where did they go?" Chen Shuyang put down his backpack and looked around. There are still some things about the two people in the house. Obviously, they still live here.

    "The village is not big. We''ll look for them later, maybe they''ll be back soon." Before Wen Lang finish his words, he saw Gong Yi coming out of the village. Gong Yi smiled immediately when he saw them and ran over.

    "Brother Qin, Brother Lou, you guys are finally back." Gong Yi¡¯s smile revealed a row of white teeth, and he looked pretty good. Pointing to the village, he continued, "Lin Man Man will be back soon."

    Lou Fan asked curiously, "What are you two doing? Aren''t you afraid of the people in the village?"

    Gong Yi smiled bitterly, "I''m afraid, but I still have to help out and inquire about the news in the village."

    After they exchanged a few words, they saw Lin Man Man running out of the village. Seeing that everyone is there, she looked very happy. "Brother Lou, is everything going well for you guys?"

    Lou Fan smiled like an amiable elder, "You already dare to ask for the information alone, not bad." When they first came to the village, Lin Man Man is still afraid and even hides behind him.

    Gong Yi and Lin Man Man glanced at each other, and they both smiled bitterly. They are indeed scared at first, but they found it difficult to stay in the hut by the lake all the time. It''s better to go to the village to inquire for news so that they can help a little. At first, they went together and would take a detour when they met strange villagers. But later, they discovered that the villagers are just looking scary and would not attack them, so they became bolder.

    Lin Man Man is quite concerned about the pair of mother and daughter. She stayed outside the door on the 1st day. From time to time, she will lean in to talk to the girl and praise her skill in weaving fishing nets. Unexpectedly, the girl is willing to talk to her when she came back the next day. When the topic comes to sacrifices, the girl told Lin Man Man that she is one of the sacrifices. The small fishing village uses young boys and girls as sacrifices every year. This time, it is their turn. But truth to be told, there are actually no more children left in the village. The villagers have to count in the Sun Hai who went to the Lao Ye temple since he was young to get a total of 5 children. Lin Man Man has gotten the names of the other 4 children, and the girl''s name is Shan Hu. In other words, there will be no sacrifices to offer next year.

    "She also said that one of the boys came to her, saying that he had a plan. He will come to find Shan Hu in 2 days." Lin Man Man told the team all she knew.

    While Lin Man Man is drinking water, Gong Yi also added, ¡°Outsiders are not allowed to stay in the village. We tried to talk to the village chief but the answer is still no and can only stay in the hut by the lake. At night, we didn¡¯t dare to sleep at all. We waited until the villagers are all asleep before running into the village to hide. Then, after the fish monsters have retreated into the lake, we will return to the house. By the way, the lake will start to fog at night when the fish monsters appear."

    Unexpectedly, these 2 newcomers not only inquired about the news but also noticed the differences. For a newcomer, they have shown a strong psychological quality. Both of them are very happy to receive praise from the team of 5 people. But Lin Man Man looked sad again, "I searched everywhere, but I didn''t see Xiao Yu. I don''t know where she went."

    Lou Fan helplessly comforted, "Man Man, everyone only needs to be responsible for their own life. They are responsible for the choices they made."

    Lin Man Man nodded. She knew the truth, but Xiao Yu was her good friend after all. She just felt a little regretful and wondered if she could find Xiao Yu again to persuade her.

    When there are just Gong Yi and Lin Man Man before, they are always feeling worried. Now that the team of 5 people is back, Gong Yi and Lin Man Man felt a lot more at ease. Even the small house seemed a little more secured.

    Qin Tan also gave his admiration for Lin Man Man and said to her, "If Shan Hu comes into contact with another boy, you''d better go together and find out what they are going to do."

    Lin Man Man nodded, "I have already told Shan Hu. She will take me with her."

    Lou Fan fully affirmed Lin Man Man¡¯s diplomatic skills, "Man Man, if your diplomatic skills are used by the Black Scorpion team, it will be a great help for them."

    Speaking of the Black Scorpion team, Lou Fan and the others did not see them again. Lin Man Man and Gong Yi also said that they had not seen them in the village. The team wondered where they are now, and whether they found a way to complete their task.

    "Since Lin Man Man and Gong Yi have collected so much information, we should have a good rest in the afternoon. There will be a battle to be fought in the evening." Qin Tan issued an order.

    Realizing that the team is going to kill the fish monsters, Lin Man Man and Gong Yi exclaimed in surprise, "What?! You guys still want to kill the fish monsters?!"

 CH 22

    Talking about those fish monsters, they can¡¯t wait to hide from them after seeing them once. And now, Lou Fan¡¯s team wants to take the initiative to attack them? When Lin Man Man and Gong Yi thought of the fish head monster with human limbs, they felt nauseous.

    Lin Man Man stopped the mental image from repeating. Knowing that it must be related to their task, she solemnly said, "If it is related to your mission, then I need to tell you a bad news. According to our observations, the number of fish monsters going ashore is increasing every day. They are hovering around the village, giving me a feeling that they are about to rush in the village any minute now."

    "In other words, the villagers offered sacrifices to fish monsters to guarantee that they would not be attacked by the fish monsters for a year. The 1-year deadline is about to come."

    Lou Fan''s gaze fell on the lake, "The protection circle is about to fail."

    Wen Lang clapped his hands, "Hey, ain¡¯t that''s a good thing? This way, we can collect more small pearls, and then our underwater journey will be more secured."

    Compared with Wen Lang''s optimism, Qin Tan is more calm and cautious, "Go find some weapons. Your weapons are limited in terms of efficiency. They do not do much damage to the fish monsters. You still have to find some weapons to defend yourself."

    All three agreed and planned to look for it later. Chen Shuyang¡¯s small sword is too short, Wen Lang¡¯s poker has limited quantity, and Zhang Xue¡¯s doll has a limited range.

    "I know where to get weapons." Gong Yi smiled. He has visited the whole village no less than 10 times in the past 2 days. Fortunately, he has a good memory, otherwise, it would be amazing that he doesn''t get lost.

    "Brother Lou, why do you need to kill the fish monsters for your mission?" Lin Man Man asked puzzledly. When the team talked about their mission before this, they didn''t say anything about killing the fish monsters. Isn¡¯t their mission is to look for the sunken ship?

    Lou Fan took out a little pearl and handed it to Lin Man Man. The little round bead lay on her palm, which made people like it at first glance. Not to mention that girls naturally like such shiny little things.

    "Wow, it''s so beautiful!" Lin Man Man exclaimed.

    Zhang Xue said the truth mercilessly, "It''s from the fish monster''s head."

    Thinking of the fish monsters, Lin Man Man lost all her liking. She immediately returned the bead to Lou Fan and wiped her hands. As soon as she heard that the team had to swallow the beads... she only felt grateful that she don¡¯t need to swallow it as well.

    Sympathy appeared on Lou Fan¡¯s face. There may be more disgusting things appearing in the future but he doesn''t have to remind her of this cruel reality now.

    "This thing may be useful in other tasks in the future. If there are more, I will give you two a few to prepare." Even if they don''t want to use it, they can always exchange it for a lot of good things.

    There are not many weapons available in the village, and the most practical one is the harpoon. The team collected several sharp-looking harpoons from the village. After they rested and recharged, the team waited for the night to come.

    A few lanterns hung outside the quiet seaside hut, exuding a faint light. At 12.00 am, the team of 7 people stood outside the house. Watching the dense figures appearing on the lake, everyone looked a bit speechless for a while.

    "Frick, people with Trypophobia[1] will die from the view." Wen Lang cried out.

    Chen Shuyang: "So, you are sick?"

    "YOU are sick!" Wen Lang retorted.

    When the first fish monster appeared on the shore, Lou Fan did not hesitate to shoot 2 arrows in succession. It hits the fish monster in each of its eyes, and it shrieked. With sufficient mental preparation this time, Lou Fan is very calm. His actions are not slow as arrows are directed at the fish monsters, and each one of the arrows could accurately hit the weak spot of the fish monster. Qin Tan is at the front because only his Tang sword can slash through the monsters. The other 3 members, Wen Lang, Zhang Xue, and Chen Shuyang cooperated to attack the same monster. There are a lot of fish monsters going ashore, but since Lou Fan blinded them first, it is much easier to handle.

    Chen Shuyang looked at the arrows hitting the bullseye and muttered, "I finally know why Brother Lou is called Lou Fan."

    Wen Lang: "Why?"

    "Lou Fan is a sharpshooter during the Chu and Han dynasties (footnote 11 in wiki). Brother Lou''s name is exactly the same as him!"

    Wen Lang became silent. En, great people are born to be great. Maybe they are the offspring of some amazing marksman. He is not qualified to be jealous at all.

    Even if the team¡¯s actions are not slow and there are many fish monster carcasses piled up on the shore, they still couldn¡¯t prevent more fish monsters from coming ashore. Gong Yi and Lin Man Man have retreated into the village, watching the battle on the shore anxiously. A huge fish monster climbed up from the lake and headed towards Qin Tan without any hesitation. Qin Tan rushed forward and slashed with his Tang sword but it was avoided by the fish monster. Not waiting for Qin Tan to attack again, it turned its head quickly and bite at Qin Tan. Qin Tan lowered his body and rolled to the side, then the fish monster chased after him.

    Wen Lang took the harpoon and stabbed at the fish monster but only manage to leave a trace on the fish scale. The fish monster became furious and turned to bite at Wen Lang. Fortunately, Wen Lang evaded quickly, but his arm is still bitten. It left a big hole and is bleeding like a river.

    Seeing that the situation is urgent, Lou Fan took 2 steps and jumped up. He shot 3 arrows at the fish monster in mid-air, hitting the fish''s eye. Qin Tan jumped up and kicked the fish''s head, then he slashed into the neck.

    "Pull Wen Lang into the village." Lou Fan only had time to say this and started shooting arrows again.

    Most of the fish monsters are killed, and the human-head fish monsters can be faintly seen in the lake, starting to come ashore. Qin Tan grabbed Lou Fan and said, "Retreat into the village. There¡¯s too many of them."

    At this moment, both Lou Fan and Qin Tain looked like they just got fished out of the water. Their bodies are soaked with sweat, and there are inevitably wounds on their bodies, so they really can¡¯t afford to fight with the second wave. Lou Fan glanced at the pile of corpses and saw that there are quite a lot. So he nodded and followed Qin Tan back to the village.

    Wen Lang is holding his arm and his face looked pale. The bandage wrapped on his arm had turned dark red, and the smell of blood is strong. Tears fell from Lin Man Man¡¯s eyes as she helped to change the bandage. Chen Shuyang took out a hemostatic agent from his bag and gave Lin Man Man.

    "Man Man, try this hemostatic agent. Brother Lou exchanged it from Lazuli."

    Lin Man Man wiped away her tears, took the hemostatic agent, and poured it on Wen Lang''s wound. Wen Lang hissed from the pain and gritted his teeth to hold back his scream. After wrapping the bandage in layers, Wen Lang closed his eyes cradling his arm.

    Lou Fan: "How is it? Still okay?"

    Wen Lang smiled miserably, "I¡¯m okay, not dead yet."

    Lin Man Man cried, "The wound looked deep and it bled a lot."

    Qin Tan squatted beside Wen Lang and put down his Tang sword, "Show me the wound."

    Wen Lang did not refuse, and stretched his arm in front of Qin Tan, "It feels much better than before. The hemostatic agent works well."

    Unexpectedly, when Qin Tan opened the bandage, the wound had already stopped bleeding. It was only a matter of one minute.

    Lin Man Man''s tears are still shimmering in her eyes, and she said in a daze, "It was bleeding non-stop just now, why..."

    Lou Fan laughed, "It seems that the products from Lazuli are all good things."

    "This medicine is too powerful. Wen Lang, does your hand still hurt?" Chen Shuyang held the 3N product with the words ''hemostatic agent'' written on it and examined the bottle over and over again.

    3N product - No production date, No quality certificate, and No manufacturer name.

    Wen Lang moved his arm with a look of surprise, "It seems, it really doesn''t hurt anymore."

    Lou Fan found the anti-inflammatory medicine from his bag and poured out a pill, "Take one, it¡¯s an anti-inflammatory medicine."

    Wen Lang knew that Lou Fan¡¯s team have good things with them, so he took the pill and threw it into his mouth without hesitation, "You guys really blessed with a cheat." They are all beginners but how come the difference is so big? Lou Fan¡¯s team can just take out some items and it¡¯s the hemostatic agent and anti-inflammatory medicine from Lazuli. On the other hand, he doesn''t even have a weapon in hand.

    "Look!" Zhang Xue''s voice pulled everyone''s attention back and looked at the lake.

    At this moment, the lake surface that could be seen clearly just now is covered by thick fog. Nothing could be seen clearly but the dense fish monsters on the shore made people tremble. There are too many of them. If Lou Fan¡¯s group isn¡¯t able to enter the village in time, it is conceivable that they would be chewed to the point that there are no bones left. If there is no protection, what will happen to the villagers of this small fishing village?

    Lin Man Man clung tightly to Zhang Xue, her small face is as white as paper. Zhang Xue also looked pale and she patted Lin Man Man''s hand lightly.

    Lou Fan frowned. Thinking about the probability of them successfully diving into the water, he asked, "We won''t be surrounded by fish monsters as soon as we enter the bottom of the lake, right?"

    Qin Tan''s face turned dark, "Let¡¯s go down tomorrow."

    At 1.00 am, the bell of Lao Ye Temple rang and the fish monster returned to the lake. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It is not so terrible when the fish monsters come out one by one, but it was a bit terrifying when they come in a group.

    Qin Tan refused Lin Man Man¡¯s offer to apply medicine on him. Lou Fan couldn''t bear it anymore and walked to Qin Tan¡¯s side. He grabbed the medicine and started to wipe it on Qin Tan bit by bit. Lou Fan¡¯s head is lowered and his fingers are cold to touch. With the ointment in the hemostatic agent being applied to his wound little by little, Qin Tan felt a refreshing burst of coolness. Not only is there no discomfort, but also very comfortable. Qin Tan looked at the finger on his wound and unconsciously smiled. Next, his wound is lightly pressed and Qin Tan heard Lou Fan laugh, "You are injured, still smile? Also, you don''t people to help you apply the medicine?" This man actually has the nerve to smile.

    Qin Tan: "Will you help to apply medicine on me in the future?"

    Lou Fan raised his eyebrows, "Does this means you are looking forward to getting hurt?"

    Qin Tan chuckled lightly, not saying anything as he stared at Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan: "..." Foul again! Don''t smile!

    After getting the wounds treated, they began to collect the spoils - little pearls. But the fish head is really difficult to open. Fortunately, Chen Shuyang''s small sword can help a little bit. The dagger bought by Lou Fan is too short, it is not useful at all.

    Lou Fan is responsible for picking out the small pearls from the dozens of fish monsters. The three collected the pearls for nearly 4 hours before finishing. When the sun appeared on the sea level, all the fish monster corpses on the lake bank disappeared. This cannot be explained by common sense at all, and the team doesn''t care. After counting, there are 20 small pearls. Adding to the remaining pearls they have in hand, it is still not enough for their expected consumption. They must kill the fish monster one more round to enable all the members to dive down to the lake.

    It is almost noon when Lou Fan gets awakened by Qin Tan. After breakfast and lunch, several people found the village chief who is still in the square, saying they wanted to borrow a boat.

    "A boat? Do you want to boat at the lake? I can ask someone to give you a ride. You don''t need to row by yourself. How can young people nowadays know how to row a boat?" The village chief sure keeps up with the current fashion trends. His service is in place and he didn¡¯t even mention the matter of remuneration.

    Gong Yi has already gotten familiar with the villagers so the team let him negotiate. Gong Yi smiled and said, "Village chief, no need. We just want to experience the pleasure of rowing by ourselves. If you let someone help us row, how to enjoy it? You see, the lake is so big. Won¡¯t it delay the villagers¡¯ preparations for sacrificial activities?¡±

    The village chief thought for a while, still smiling weirdly, "Alright, I''ll get someone to take you to the boat later."

    Raw word count: 3000

 CH 23

    All the boats in the village are parked in one place. Since the best boats are used for sacrifices, the boats that are left are small boats that can seat 5 or 6 people. As usual, the villager only brought them to the boat and left without saying anything.

    The group picked a boat that looked relatively sturdy and went on board together. Originally Wen Lang is going to go into the water, but he was injured badly last night. Although his condition seems to be much better now, no one plans to let him go. Qin Tan thought of going to go alone, but Lou Fan rejected his decision.

    "Your swimming skill is just average, I can go down alone." Qin Tan said.

    Lou Fan glared at Qin Tan and said, "Who said that my skill is average? Anyway, you can''t go alone. Even if you go down by yourselves, I will follow you after that. They can''t stop me."

    Since Lou Fan refused to give up, Qin Tan couldn''t help but let him follow. In his heart, he thought to himself, you(LF) obviously said it yourself that your skill is average but you won¡¯t admit it.

    "You must follow behind me and also not be allowed to swim in front of me." Qin Tan reminded Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan nodded, "You sounded like an old man."

    Although Lou Fan complained, Lou Fan obediently tied the rope around his waist, and the other 5 people will be waiting on the boat. There are ropes tied on both of them so that the people on the boat can help to pull it when they are in danger.

    Closing his eyes and swallowing the little pearl, Lou Fan took a deep breath and jumped into the water. The cold lake water surrounded him from all directions, and Lou Fan couldn''t help but shiver. Qin Tan put on the swimming goggles and gestured to him before plunging into the water. Lou Fan nodded at the people on the boat and then plunged in.

    Lou Fan doesn¡¯t know how the little pearl works but it could really allow him to breathe freely in the water. Lou Fan found it very novel. At first, the cold lake water made Lou Fan very uncomfortable, but after getting used to it, it seemed that even the cold didn''t exist anymore. The view in the lake is dim. At first, there is still a little light but it dimmed as they went down. Qin Tan turned on the flashlight strapped to his arm and Lou Fan turned on his as well, 2 beams of light dispersed the surrounding darkness.

    The surroundings are silent, and the presence of Qin Tan in front of him makes Lou Fan feel much more at ease. Qin Tan would swim for a while and turned his head back to look at Lou Fan. Lou Fan will wave his hand to let him continue. There is also a rope tied between them so Qin Tan couldn''t lose him.

    Groups of black shadows appeared in their line of sight, like giant beasts dormant in the water. Lou Fan estimated that they should be more than 10 or 20 meters underwater at this moment. The water pressure is a bit heavy. Although breathing is still smooth, the pressure still follows like the shadow, even the light of the flashlight has become shorter.

    Just as Lou Fan is thinking, Qin Tan suddenly grabbed his hand and turned off the flashlight. Lou Fan looked forward, and his scalp turned numb ¡ª a row of light bulb-like eyes opened below, emitting a faint green light in the depths of the lake. Lou Fan clutched Qin Tan''s hand tightly, not daring to move - he just saw some of the fish monsters coming towards them.

    And Lou Fan didn¡¯t see it wrongly. The fish monsters swam close to the two of them. Lou Fan thinks that he can even feel them right in front of them. Unfortunately, he can''t see the monsters and can only try to feel them with his eyes open. He subconsciously held his breath. After a few minutes, Lou Fan searched around and found that the fish monsters have closed their eyes again.

    They didn¡¯t get discovered!

    Lou Fan squeezed Qin Tan''s hand, and the other party squeezed him slightly. Not sure why, it made Lou Fan smile.

    Qin Tan turned on the torch and blocked the light with his hand. He pointed the torch upwards, and their surroundings are a little brighter, which is better than nothing. Taking a look around them, Lou Fan realized that their 30 minutes time limit is soon reached so he pointed up. Qin Tan shook his head and pointed down. Lou Fan paused and nodded. Taking out a small pearl from his close-fitting bag, he fed one to Qin Tan and ate one by himself. After that, he nodded to Qin Tan to indicate that he is ready.

    As they swam lower, the flashlight can''t be used anymore. But then, the sunken ship still cannot be seen so they can only continue downwards. Fortunately, when Qin Tan and Lou Fan almost reached the group of fish monsters, everything is normal and the fish monsters did not open their eyes. After Qin Tan stopped and observed for 2 minutes, he grabbed Lou Fan''s hand again. Retracting the flashlight into his sleeve, Qin Tan pulled Lou Fan to swim through the group of fish monsters under the faint light. The light of the flashlight did not attract the attention of the fish monsters, and the two carefully passed through the group of fish monsters that seemed to be sleeping. Lou Fan grasped Qin Tan''s hand tightly as one would to a life-saving straw. He shivered slightly, and Qin Tan gripped his hand hard. Just like that, Lou Fan suddenly settled down, and his heart stopped panicking. He grasped Qin Tan''s hand tightly again, but no longer trembling.

    Continuing down, the fish monster group is like a layer of duckweed floating in the water. After passing through them, Qin Tan tentatively slides the flashlight out. Fortunately, there aren¡¯t any fish monsters below, just a vast underwater world. Lou Fan stared hard and found that there seemed to be a huge shadow underneath, and the outline of the shape looked like a ship.

    Was it his imagination? Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan questioningly. Qin Tan looked back at him for a while, nodded at him, with a smile on his mouth.

    They found it! Lou Fan got excited because they finally found it.

    Just when Lou Fan thought Qin Tan will be going down, Qin Tan pulled him around and they started to swim upwards. Since Lou Fan has already come across the fish monsters just now, he could make himself ignore them this time. He just has to be careful to stay away from them.

    When the two resurfaced, Lou Fan looked at the time. This trip took almost an hour, not to mention that they only saw the outline of the ship, and don''t know how far it would be. It seems that they need to prepare more of the little pearls in case of an emergency. Else, it would be too late to cry over the spilled milk.

    Seeing the two popping up, the people on the boat quickly pulled them aboard.

    "How about it, did you see it?" Everyone is eager to know.

    Lou Fan nodded as he panted.

    The five cheered, and even Zhang Xue revealed a happy expression.

    After Lou Fan breathed enough, he slowly said, "However, we have to pass through a group of fish monsters and only saw the outline of Shenzhou. It should be at the bottom of the lake."

    Chen Shuyang opened his mouth and asked in a daze, "Pass through a group of fish monsters? Brother Lou, you didn''t say it clearly or I heard it wrong?"

    "You heard that right." Qin Tan replied while squeezing the water from his clothes. "Below the lake is a group of fish monsters. After passing through them, some distance down is the shipwreck. So, we will have to collect more pearls after we go back. Also, we need to prepare lighting tools. The bottom is very dark. When we got to the sunken ship, we can collect items from there, but there is no way to proceed without lighting."

    Lou Fan walked out from behind the curtain pulled up by Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang, he had changed into dry clothes. "If you don''t want to take anything from the sunken ship, you don''t have to go. But Qin Tan and I will definitely go."

    Wen Lang knows that these three people are rich (point-wise), and of course, he also knows from the grapevine that the things brought back from the mission world can be exchanged for a lot of things. This time, he finally met good partners who are willing to take him along to find treasures. Naturally, he couldn''t ask for more, and immediately said he wanted to go. Zhang Xue as well, although she is independent, she is indeed poor. Even the food she has is the cheapest compressed biscuits. Hence, she did not hesitate to follow along.

    The team of 5 people reached an agreement and rowed the boat back to shore. After their boating session, the time is now approaching dusk. They returned to the hut to fill up their stomach, take a short rest and then they will start fighting again. Lin Man Man and Gong Yi took the initiative to guard the first half of the night and let the 5 rest until 12.00 am

    The battle that night is still a bitter battle, and the number of fish monsters is also increasing; their numbers are very dense. All 5 of them inevitably got injured. They retreated to the entrance of the village so that whenever they could not beat the monsters, they will go into the village. Fortunately, in the beginning, Qin Tan and Lou Fan cooperated very well and killed some of them fast. After that, they are just racing against time and switching shifts, even Qin Tan felt extremely tired.

    The sound of the bell from a distance is like the sound of heaven. Lou Fan panted and watched as the fish monsters returned to the lake. They looked a little reluctant to go back. At this moment, he is very grateful that his arrows are endless. Otherwise, just relying on Qin Tan to get the little pearls, it would already be fortunate that they managed to get 3 pearls for each of them. However, right now, Lou Fan looked at the corpses of fish monsters piled up on the shore of the lake, and smiled like a kind aunt - they are all small pearls in his eyes!

    Lin Man Man and Gong Yi got persuaded by the team to sleep while the five of them started digging small pearls non-stop. Finally, their spoils are around 30 pearls. Lou Fan felt that something seemed wrong, like does every fish monster have one now? He clearly remembered that the possibility to find a pearl is 1 out of 2 fish monsters. It''s a pity that his tight nerves have relaxed so Lou Fan is reluctant to bother thinking too much about it. After tidying up, the five of them went back to the hut and fell asleep.

    ¡­

    "Brother Lou, Brother Lou!"

    Lin Man Man''s voice came from outside and it woke Lou Fan up. The rest of the team are still sleeping, even Qin Tan hadn''t woken up yet. Lin Man Man came in and called for Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, quickly come out."

    Lou Fan got up and walked out, holding toiletries in his hand. No matter how sloppy he is, he still has to wash.

    "What''s the matter? You sounded so anxious." Lou Fan asked as he went out.

    Lin Man Man glanced around, and whispered, "Shang Hu and the others are discussing an escape plan, and I followed them."

    Lou Fan immediately gave a thumbs up, "Not bad, amazing!"

    Lin Man Man smiled and continued, "They planned to escape on the day of the sacrifice. They have it all planned."

    Lou Fan suddenly thought of the little boy and asked, "Just the 4 of them? What about Sun Hai? Will they take him along?"

    Lin Man Man nodded, "Yes, they said they will go to Lao Ye Temple to find Sun Hai first, and then stayed at Lao Ye Temple temporarily. The villagers are afraid to go to Lao Ye Temple and would not go there to find them."

    Lou Fan puzzledly asked, "Why don''t they dare to go to Lao Ye Temple?"

    Lin Man Man shook her head, "They didn''t say much about that. I just went there to listen, or more correctly, I was eavesdropping on the side."

    Lou Fan thought for a few seconds, "Is it because of the monster outside Lao Ye Temple?"

    Although they didn''t see the monster with their own eyes, but from the pitiful screams from the Black Scorpion members, they could imagine how terrible the monsters are.

    Lin Man Man: "Brother Lou, don''t care why they don¡¯t dare to go. The point is the group will take Sun Hai with them anyway. They are safe at Lao Ye Temple."

    That¡¯s right! Lou Fan felt that he is a little too worried about Sun Hai. If they hid in the Lao Ye Temple¡¯s Buddha statue, even if the whole village went there, they might not be able to find the children.

    Since the children are going to escape on the day of the sacrifice, how can the people of the Black Scorpion team complete their mission? And where are they now? Lou Fan thought to himself if he has the task of saving the 5 people, how likely would he be able to complete this task?

 CH 24

    Because the team is afraid of delaying too much time underwater, all 7 of them came to the lakeside where the boat is parked early in the morning of the 8th day. With everything ready and prepared, they just look forward to going to the lake smoothly. Lou Fan gave each person 6 small pearls, which is enough for one to spend 3 hours underwater, and put the rest in his close-fitting bag. Lou Fan¡¯s team has torches exchanged in Lazuli, they are fully charged and waterproof. Wen Lang and Zhang Xue found 2 old flashlights in the village yesterday, better than nothing. The flashlight is wrapped in plastic bags one layer after another to prevent water from entering. Wen Lang envied Lou Fan''s equipment and secretly vowed to bring more things back to Lazuli this time. Then he can level up his equipment greatly.

    Lin Man Man and Gong Yi will wait for them on the boat, which is still tied with a rope. When the 5 people went into the water, Lin Man Man waved at them worriedly and watched them plunge into the lake one by one.

    "Do you think they will be in danger?"

    Lin Man Man grabbed the ship''s edge and looked down. It is just a black hole underwater, and nothing was visible, which made people very worried.

    Gong Yi looked relaxed as he said, "Don''t worry, Brother Qin and Brother Lou are so powerful, they will definitely be able to bring the rest back to complete the task." Honestly, Gong Yi doesn¡¯t feel so sure in his heart, but at this moment, what they need is not to be weak-willed.

    Lin Man Man''s gaze slowly became resolute, "Yes, they are all so powerful. They will definitely be able to complete the task."

    Qin Tan swam at the front, followed by Lou Fan, Chen Shuyang, Zhang Xue, and Wen Lang is at the end. Chen Shuyang¡¯s swimming skill is so-so, and he could only do dog paddle. He has never dived underwater before. In fact, he was very scared before entering the water, but he didn''t dare to speak out. There¡¯s nothing he could do about his fear because the task is under the water, he still has to push on. But what Chen Shuyang didn''t expect is he doesn¡¯t feel uncomfortable at all after entering the water. At first, he is still holding his breath but he couldn''t hold it anymore after a minute. The unexpectedly smooth breathing made him stunned. The little pearl from the fish monster''s head is sure easy to use. Although its origin felt a bit disgusting, he didn''t feel that scared anymore underwater. Chen Shuyang paddled his limbs and swam freely in the water, imagining that he is a fish. However, after 10 minutes, Chen Shuyang couldn''t feel excited anymore. Through the faint light, he could see the densely packed fish monsters floating in front of him. The little pearl¡¯s function seemed to be not working at this moment. Chen Shuyang felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe, as if he had been filled with lead, so stiff that he could not move.

    Qin Tan at the front stopped swimming, seeming to observe where to get through.

    Zhang Xue bit her lips firmly, not letting herself make a sound. She is scared, but she knew she had to hold back. No one could help her with this, she had to adapt. At this moment, her face is even paler than the female ghost in the ghost movie. Wen Lang seemed to sense the fear of the person in front of him. He swam to Zhang Xue''s side and looked at her sideways. Seeing that she noticed him, Wen Lang reached out and patted her shoulder. He gave her a thumbs-up and patted his chest. Zhang Xue is amused by Wen Lang and a small smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She blinked at Wen Lang, the fear in her heart loosened a lot - she still has so many team members with her!

    Chen Shuyang followed Lou Fan too closely and accidentally bumped at Lou Fan. Lou Fan turned his head to look at him, so Chen Shuyang shook his head quickly, indicating that he is okay. He(CSY) can¡¯t act like this! He absolutely cannot be a coward!

    The group of fish monsters is quiet at this moment. Qin Tan chose a passable gap and gestured towards the back. The group immediately mustered some spirit, lined up, and followed downward. The fish monsters are close at hand as if it is possible to wake up at any time and bite at them with sharp teeth. Everyone held their breath carefully, for fear of awakening them. Finally, all members passed through the group of fish monsters smoothly. Chen Shuyang, Zhang Xue, and Wen Lang looked back at the group of fish monsters. All they wanted in their heart is to be as far away as possible from the monsters, and it is best not to meet them again.

    The underwater pressure increases and it takes a lot of effort to go downstream. The five people are tied to each other with ropes to prevent anyone from being left behind due to a decrease in strength. After swallowing another pearl, from a distance, it seemed that the ship could be clearly seen. That is really a huge ship! Lou Fan raised his watch and glanced at it. It still didn''t show that the task is completed, so he could only continue downward. When the light beams in their hands shone on the mast of the giant ship, it seemed like they could imagine the magnificence of the ship when it is still sailing on the sea. At this moment, their watch finally showed that the mission is completed.

    The team of 5 people smiled and held each other''s hands tightly, forming a circle to express their joy - they finally completed the task! Chen Shuyang grinned with joy and a series of bubbles popped out of his mouth. Lou Fan hurriedly pointed up; there are still fish monsters there. Chen Shuyang immediately covered his mouth. Qin Tan chuckled, and pointed to the ship below ¡ª they had to move faster as they still want to look for good things in the ship!

    Though they said they want to look for good things, it is in fact just trying their luck in treasure hunting. After all, no one knew if there are any monsters in that huge ship. They only dared to search at the outer area of the ship. It is said on the rock monument after all that this ship is full of rare treasures.

    The chest started to feel a little uncomfortable, it means the little pearl¡¯s time limit is approaching. Wen Lang held his breath wanting to hold on for a while before swallowing another small pearl. Although everyone has 6 little pearls in their hand, Wen Lang has already swallowed 2 of them now and has 4 left in his hand. If he can save 2 and bring them back to Lazuli, he can get a lot of good things. But after the little pearl¡¯s time limit expired, he couldn¡¯t hold on for more than 30 seconds and immediately swallowed the pearl he had prepared in his hand. It''s so uncomfortable! Wen Lang almost felt that he is about to suffocate and his head almost burst due to the water pressure. Forget it, his life is more important!

    The huge sunken ship is already covered with seaweed, and the hull looks like a giant beast. No one knows if there is anything hidden inside. Qin Tan pointed to a cabin, Lou Fan nodded, and the other three nodded. This is what they agreed in advance. For the sake of safety, they will only go to 1 cabin. No matter whether there are any treasures or not, they will no longer venture to explore and must return to the surface. Qin Tan took the lead as usual. When he is about to enter a cabin, Qin Tan paused as if thinking of something. He pointed towards Lou Fan and then at the ship.

    Lou Fan is taken aback, and pointed to himself, ¡®You are letting me choose the cabin?¡¯

    Qin Tan nodded, his expression looked somewhat inexplicable.

    Lou Fan nodded and swam in front of Qin Tan. The cabin aisle is very dark, and the light from their flashlights could only shine at a very short distance. Lou Fan skimmed the cabins and stopped in front of one of them. He reached out and pushed. The cabin door has decayed so it swayed away as soon as Lou Fan pushed at it. The scene in the cabin immediately appeared before his eyes. Boxes are stacked one by one, so high that the entire cabin is half full. Lou Fan swam in first, followed by Qin Tan.

    Everyone''s eyes lit up seeing so many boxes. It turns out that Lou Fan''s hands are extremely blessed, and every time he is quite lucky. He opened a box casually, and the sparkling jewels and stones in it almost blinded him. No one in the team has seen so many jewels before. If they are taken out in the real world, they may be caught by the authorities, but now, these boxes piled up to the roof are up to them to take. Lou Fan pursed his lips and grinned, and reached out his hand to take as he pleased. Unfortunately, no matter the size of their backpack, they cannot bear to fill it to the brim and can only choose what they like. If it¡¯s too heavy, they won¡¯t be able to swim up. Then, it would be all for naught.

    Lou Fan likes shining gems a lot so he took some jade and a lot of gems. On the other hand, Qin Tan picked up some jade that is pleasing to the eye. He didn''t know much about jades, so he just grabbed some and put them in his bag. Chen Shuyang likes everything and can''t choose, so he closes his eyes and grabbed casually. This kind of nouveau riche feels so cool! Wen Lang is so happy that he wants to laugh out loud with his arms on his hips; he is also a rich person now! No need to trick people anymore! Zhang Xue is a girl so she likes shining jewels. Almost all of the items she took are gems, which seem to be very valuable.

    Qin Tan glanced at the time and patted the members one by one - they are about to go back. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang looked at the treasures reluctantly, looking like they really wanted to go in and grab a handful more. It''s a pity that their backpack is already heavy, and they really can''t swim back after taking more. They could only feel regret as they waved goodbye at the boxes one by one. They didn''t even bear to think that this ship still has so many cabins and imagine how many rare and exotic treasures there are. It''s a pity that these things can never be seen on the surface again!

    After swimming out of Shenzhou, the team looked back to glance at this ancient luxury giant cruise ship. It is luxurious and magnificent, sleeping on the bottom of this deep lake, not knowing when it would see the sky again.

    Right now, their task is completed, this is their biggest gain.

    Waving his hand, Lou Fan put a small pearl in his mouth and took the lead upstream. Qin Tan followed up, and the three people behind did not stay anymore and followed up. With a group of fish monsters floating on top in a dense amount, Lou Fan swam slowly and slowly. Then, his hand is caught and Qin Tan swam to him. Squeezing his hand, Qin Tan swam in front of Lou Fan. Lou Fan pursed his lips and smiled. A hint of joy appeared in his heart, and he swam up close.

    Wen Lang is still the one swimming at the end. Just as he swam past the fish monsters, he subconsciously held his breath. Inexplicably, he turned his head and glanced at the fish monster next to him. Who knew, the fish monster''s eyes opened suddenly. Wen Lang got startled and felt like his hands and feet have turned numb and he couldn¡¯t feel anything. When he looked up again, the fish monster¡¯s eyes are still closed. Wen Lang¡¯s body shook and he swiped his hands and feet quickly. He caught up with Qin Tan in front of him and pointed upwards vigorously.

    Qin Tan saw Wen Lang''s movements and immediately looked behind him. He shone the flashlight across the group of fish monsters and sensed that the fish monsters who were calm just now seemed to be moving.

    They can¡¯t delay anymore! Qin Tan waved his hands vigorously at the people behind. Everyone realized that something is wrong and speeded up their movements. Lou Fan is about to look back but Qin Tan pulled him up and swam quickly. Lou Fan didn''t have time to think about it, so he swam vigorously.

    SPLASH! The team members came out from the water one after another. Without saying anything, they hurriedly climbed onto the boat.

    "Hurry up!" Wen Lang shouted eagerly, looking behind him from time to time.

    Lou Fan climbed onto the boat and realized that the sky looked dim at the moment. It looked a little bit like dusk as if the rain is about to hit.

    Seeing everyone has boarded the boat, Qin Tan immediately shouted, "Quickly row the boat and get ashore!"

    Behind them, the lake started to churn!

 CH 25

    Everyone didn¡¯t say anything as they swiftly picked up the oars and started rowing vigorously. They didn''t even have time to put down the bag on their backs, and they don¡¯t dare to look back at what is behind. Seeing that they are about to reach the shore of the lake, Qin Tan yelled, "Get off the boat and get ashore!"

    Qin Tan¡¯s voice is like a gunshot at a race. Everyone dropped the oars, jumped into the water, and started swimming to the shore. Lou Fan didn''t hesitate at all. Qin Tan didn''t say to stop so he continue to run into the village, and the people behind him soon followed. Lou Fan didn''t stop until he entered the village. He didn''t have time to catch his breath and looked back into the lake. He can see dense numbers of fish monsters popping up in the lake, but they didn''t mean to go ashore at all, as if they are just enjoying the moisture of the rain. It¡¯s like a carnival, and he could even feel their joy.

    "Look at that!" Lin Man Man exclaimed shrilly, pointing to the village and became speechless.

    Everyone looked over. The village square is full of people. They all knelt on the ground, facing the direction of the lake. The villagers keep bowing and paying respects while muttering something like a chant. The group couldn''t hear what the villagers are talking about, but it seemed like they are begging for something.

    "The villagers are begging the fish monsters not to come to harass the village. The sacrificial day will arrive in one day. I feel that the fish monsters can''t wait!" Lou Fan said while looking at the fish monsters in the lake.

    Lin Man Man came back to her senses and said, "I remember when they were talking about offering sacrifices, it is to those things in the lake and Lao Ye Temple¡¯s general. Does that means the gods of Lao Ye Temple also accept human sacrifices?"

    No one can answer this question. No one knows when fish monsters began to appear in this village, and when did the villagers start to offer sacrifices? Or how many people died for this sacrificial event?

    "They won''t go ashore, will they?" Chen Shuyang''s heart is trembling, and his voice sounded a little trembling.

    It seemed that the monsters would not go ashore. Hence, the group returned to the lakeside cottage. Lou Fan threw his backpack on the ground and sat down. The backpack is so heavy that it made his shoulder sore. The moment he threw it down, the bag opened up and scattered gems on the ground, making Lin Man Man and Gong Yi¡¯s eyes bulge in shock.

    "B, Brother Lou, did you go to rob a bank?" Gong Yi¡¯s eyes are dazzled and he couldn''t turn away.

    Lou Fan hasn¡¯t reply when the other 4 people threw their backpacks on the floor as well. Suddenly, the hut sparkled like a small cave full of treasures, and the gleaming light almost flipped the roof. Surrounded by jewels and jades, Lin Man Man and Gong Yi don''t know what to say.

    Wen Lang grinned and said, "This is just what we have taken back casually. If it is not because the load is too heavy, we can still take more back. Fortunately, I only took this much. If it is any heavier, I might not be able to come back. Those fish monsters will just swallow me whole without hesitation."

    Chen Shuyang didn''t feel much about the haul, and only sighed, "Finally, we have completed the task and can leave here."

    Lou Fan also had a relaxed look on his face. He can finally return to Lazuli to take a good rest. Ever since he arrived here, except for the 2 nights at Lao Ye Temple, he hadn''t slept a solid sleep, fighting with the monsters every day.

    Sitting beside Lou Fan, Qin Tan runs his fingers through his own hair. Lou Fan looked sideways and got dazzled by the handsomeness. Qin Tan¡¯s face is well-defined, it¡¯s Lou Fan''s favorite appearance. Oh, and also Qin Tan¡¯s temperament and personality is his type too! Lou Fan turned away. He has to wait a bit more, what if Qin Tan is straight? That would be embarrassing!

    Lou Fan got up and walked outside the hut. Watching the fish monster emerge from the water, there is an unprecedented peace. Their group can leave here and return to Lazuli early morning after tomorrow. The countdown for Lin Man Man and Gong Yi has ended in the early morning of the 10th day.

    Someone came to stand beside him. Lou Fan knew who it is without turning his head. He asked, "Qin Tan, if you live in this world, would you feel despair?"

    "No. No matter where is it, one has to have hope."

    Lou Fan turned his head to the side, he didn''t seem to expect Qin Tan to be such a positive person. He smiled and said, "I didn''t expect you to be so optimistic and cheerful, and maintain a passion for life."

    Qin Tan also smiled, "Indeed."

    Feeling moved in his heart, Lou Fan blurted out, "Are you married?" After saying this, Lou Fan wanted to strangle himself to death. Didn¡¯t he decide to wait a bit longer just now? Why did he suddenly ask the question?

    Qin Tan looked at Lou Fan with deep eyes and paused for a while. Just as Lou Fan feels a little guilty and wanted to turn his head as if nothing had happened, Qin Tan replied, "No, I don''t like women."

    Lou Fan''s eyes widened, "!!!"

    What did he just hear? Qin Tan said he doesn''t like women?! That is to say, he likes men too!! Lou Fan straightened his expression and tried to calm himself down so he doesn''t look too happy. He is about to speak when Lin Man Man walked out of the cabin. He took back what he wanted to say and glanced at Qin Tan.

    "Brother Lou, do you really let us choose some from the bag?" Lin Man Man pointed at the treasures in the hut with a dreamy expression.

    Lou Fan nodded, "Just choose whatever you want. Remember to leave us some."

    Although Lin Man Man is very happy, she still hesitated, "But you are the one who took the risk and brought them back."

    "Going down is to complete the task and the loot is what we get by the way." Lou Fan said with a smile, "It¡¯s alright. Go and pick the one you like."

    The people still left in this group are well-mannered. Lou Fan didn''t think Lin Man Man and Gong Yi would choose a lot, so he doesn¡¯t mind giving them out as a souvenir. It is hard to say if there is a chance to meet again in the future. Lin Man Man and Gong Yi ran into the cabin with a cheer while Wen Lang, Chen Shuyang, and Zhang Xue sat down beside them. Chen Shuyang has put his glasses back on.

    At this moment, the rain is getting smaller so there are a lot lesser fish monsters on the surface of the lake. Only some of them still soaking up the rain, reluctant to leave. The villagers have stood up but still stayed in place.

    "Brother Qin, let''s have some good food tonight?" Chen Shuyang is almost dying for good food. He has been eating dry food these days, and his throat is about to turn bland. This time, he finally completed the task and let go of the big worry in his heart. So, the glutton in him is going to riot soon.

    Qin Tan smiled, "Okay, go and exchange for some ingredients. I will make it tonight."

    Wen Lang also smiled, "I also lend a hand."

    Lou Fan only knows to eat so he has no opinions at all. Zhang Xue felt a little embarrassed. She didn''t do much cooking in real life, so she said she will take over the cleaning work. Lin Man Man and Gong Yi took the initiative to exchange for ingredients. Everyone divided the labor and cooperated so the atmosphere felt relaxed.

    The dinner is quite hearty. The ingredients in the village are limited but they managed to get a chicken and some meat, as well as a lot of vegetables. Qin Tan made a large plate of a chicken dish while Wen Lang made braised pork. Everyone in the group gobbled up the food as if they have not eaten for days so soon the food is all gone. After the meal, each of them took a bottle of beer and sipped it.

    Chen Shuyang took the beer bottle and looked at the label on it. After a while, he shouted, "Frck, this beer has expired."

    But in such a village, it¡¯s already good enough that they could find these things so who cares about the expiry date? They won¡¯t die from that anyway!

    It is almost 7.00 pm, and there is a gust of wind on the lake. Wen Lang turned his head and asked, "What should we do tonight? Are we still going to kill those fish monsters?" He only has a small pearl left in his hand, but Wen Lang still wants to collect a few more.

    Lou Fan shook his head, "No, I want to sleep. I don''t want to see those things anymore." He still has 30 little pearls in his hand, and he doesn''t want to have any contact with those disgusting things again.

    Qin Tan: "Go to sleep then, I will go with Wen Lang."

    Lou Fan''s eyes widened immediately, "You can¡¯t!" It seemed that his reaction is a little big, so Lou Fan lowered his voice, "I still have 30 little pearls in hand. We can just divide it up."

    Qin Tan''s eyes are firm, "It¡¯s better to be prepared so we need more."

    When Lou Fan saw Qin Tan like this, Lou Fan couldn''t refute it, knowing that Qin Tan won¡¯t change his decision. Also, it made sense. This little pearl can definitely be exchanged for many things. Like this time, if they didn¡¯t exchange for medicine in advance to treat the injury, Wen Lang''s arm will definitely not be suitable for him to get into the water. If their flashlight is not waterproof, then they would only blindly search underwater. Lou Fan couldn¡¯t imagine how terrible is that, let alone spending time to get any gems. Hence, the little pearl¡¯s value must be more than gems.

    Lou Fan sighed, "Okay, let''s do it together. It¡¯s only just for tonight anyway. Tomorrow night is the sacrificial event and it has nothing to do with us. We should be ready to run away."

    Chen Shuyang gritted his teeth, "I will join too."

    "Me too." Zhang Xue didn¡¯t even flinch.

    After several days of unfriendly interaction with the fish monsters, Chen Shuyang and Zhang Xue made rapid progress. They are now flexible in avoiding the attacks of the fish monsters. Even if they couldn''t help much, they could still exercise themselves. Wen Lang uses the harpoon to disturb the fish monster and his movements are as slippery as a loach so the fish monster basically couldn''t hurt him. Three people can kill a fish monster together, but it takes a long time.

    "Incoming."

    After the first fish monster came ashore, the team of 5 people obviously felt that the fish monster is a little different and it can move faster. It rushed in front of them almost in a short time. Qin Tan lifted the sword without hesitation while Lou Fan drew the bow and let out the arrows.

    This night''s fierce battle is beyond the expectations of the team. The fish monsters moved faster, and their mental and physical strength is stronger. 2 days ago, Qin Tan and Lou Fan could work together to kill a monster in 2 minutes. However, it took them 5 minutes tonight. The fish monsters are getting stronger!

    ¡­

    Lou Fan put away the last little pearl he collected. Watching the sun rising to the surface of the lake, he has a vague premonition.

    Seeing Lou Fan in a daze, Qin Tan walked over and stood beside him. "What''s the matter?"

    Lou Fan frowned, "I don''t know, I had a bad feeling. It felt like something is going to happen."

    Qin Tan comforted Lou Fan, "We will leave early tomorrow morning."

    Lou Fan shook his head, "Get everything packed and be ready to leave at any time. I have a hunch." In fact, he has always been instinctively accurate. Whenever he has a hunch, Lou Fan never doubts his own hunch and only proceeds with what he feels. It''s the same this time.

    Qin Tan nodded without the slightest doubt, "Okay, I will let them prepare."

    "You believe me just like that? What if I¡¯m wrong?" Lou Fan smiled, not knowing what¡¯s there to be happy about.

    Qin Tan raised his eyebrows, "If you got it wrong, it¡¯s wrong. Even if something happens, there will be me."

    Lou Fan showed a big smile, "En."

    After resting for 2 hours, the village began to be lively. Every villager has a strange smile on their face, which becomes more and more horrifying as one looks at it.

    Lou Fan pulled Lin Man Man and asked quietly, "How is Shan Hu¡¯s side with their plan?"

    Lin Man Man who went to find Shan Hu again in the morning answered, "They have already prepared for their plan. They are waiting quietly for the night to come to make the run."

    Lou Fan patted Lin Man Man, "Okay, your mission is already complete so don''t look for her again. Go and pack up your things."

    Lin Man Man made a sound of acknowledgment and went to pack her things. In fact, there¡¯s nothing much to pack. She only has her skipping rope and a small bag, which Shan Hu has given to her some time ago. Other than that, she only has 10 gems and 2 little pearls that are given by Lou Fan. Gong Yi received that much loot like her too. Lin Man Man put the skipping rope in the bag and hung the bag on her body. If only Xiao Yu could share these things with her¡­

    Gong Yi knew what Lin Man Man is thinking when he saw her head hanging down. He pursed his lips in silence, and finally sighed without speaking. He saw Xiao Yu''s clothes scattered outside a hut that day, and there were bloodstains on the ground. He didn''t need to think about what Xiao Yu ended up with.

    When it got dark, Lou Fan glanced at the time, it¡¯s 7.00 pm. A commotion erupted in the village and shouting could be heard. The villagers looked flustered as if they had lost some important treasure, and their expressions are unspeakable horror.

 CH 26

    Everyone stood close together, and Lin Man Man nervously took Zhang Xue''s hand, feeling a little scared. Seeing that the situation is not right, Qin Tan told everyone to follow him to the outside of the village. Listening to the shouting as they walked, it felt heartbreaking.

    A faint mist began to appear on the lake.

    "Come on, let''s go to camp outside the village."

    "It must be Shan Hu and the rest are gone." Lin Man Man whispered.

    Lou Fan gesture to stop talking at Lin Man Man. Even if no one is around, what if they are overheard? They are going to get on the train tomorrow so they must make sure that nothing wrong could happen.

    Gong Yi looked at the countdown on his watch; 4 hours left. He is very excited, he can finally get out of this hellish place.

    The group moved quickly and swiftly walked outside the village, making sure not to leave the area belonging to the village. Suddenly, Gong Yi exclaimed.

    "What happened?! The countdown is over!" Gong Yi raised his wrist in confusion.

    "Shouldn''t there be a few more hours?" Chen Shuyang remembered the actual time clearly.

    Gong Yi felt a little anxious as he replied, "Yeah, I took a look earlier. It said 4 hours! But just a minute has passed and now it''s 0!"

    Lin Man Man looked like she is about to cry. Their mission is clearly almost finished, so how could it suddenly change?

    Everyone glanced at the 2 newcomer''s watches in a daze, confirming that the countdown is really over, but no one knew what went wrong. At this moment, terrible screaming could be heard from the village! The group of 7 people looked back, and what they saw seemed like a scene of hell. Countless fish monsters crawled out of the lake and rushed straight into the village. They chomped at anyone they saw, and the villagers screamed in agony.

    "Help!"

    "Ahhhh!"

    "Help me!"

    "NOOO!"

    Without the invisible protection, the villagers are like sheeps trapped by a pack of wolves, fresh, tender, and delicious.

    Wen Lang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and murmured, "Did the Black Scorpion capsize?"

    The rest heard it but they don¡¯t understand. Lou Fan asked, "What?"

    Qin Tan pulled him up and ran, "Let''s go first. Go back to the station to talk about it!"

    Lin Man Man and Gong Yi didn''t dare to move. They just stood there, at a loss.

    Wen Lang shouted, "Go, go, go! What are you doing, the boat has capsized! The Black Scorpion has capsized!" He pushed at the 2 newcomers, and they finally recovered to their senses. Understood that Wen Lang knew what is going on, they ran quickly.

    "Wen Lang, keep talking!" Chen Shuyang urged as he ran. When he looked back, the fish monsters seemed to be heading towards them and he quickened his pace.

    Wen Lang said as he ran, "Someone said in Lazuli before. Once the higher-level team in the mission world dies before completing their mission, it is called capsize. That is when emergencies occur. For example, now, the Black Scorpion¡¯s team may be all dead, or their key NPC may have died or escaped. If so, their mission certainly won¡¯t be able to complete. Hence, the massacre started in the village. At this moment, if the countdown for newcomers is not over yet, there will be only a dead-end for them. Therefore, the countdown for Lin Man Man and Gong Yi is immediately reset. This means their mission is completed."

    Both Lin Man Man and Gong Yi listened attentively, and their nervous hearts can finally relax. Gong Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t say that they have to stay in the village, otherwise, they would really die.

    The most unexpected thing for everyone is that everyone in the Black Scorpion team has died. Lou Fan sighed, they really don''t look very smart, but after completing so many missions, how could they simply die like this? Lou Fan couldn''t figure it out, and no one could tell him what is going on.

    Although Qin Tan led the way, they still took the whole night to reach the station. At this moment, the sky has turned faintly white; it is almost dawn. Everyone sat in a circle to rest and Wen Lang said, "The mission worlds are actually very scary. If you took the wrong step, you may all die. I really didn''t expect the Black Scorpion team to..."

    Lou Fan thought about the day he got out of the train where Wen Lang said not to mess with them. But because of their deliberate alienation, they really didn''t mess with Black Scorpion, so they didn''t know what is going on.

    "Finally, everything is settled." Qin Tan said, "For the next mission, we need to be more prepared."

    Wen Lang was sighing at first, but after a while, he suddenly realized something. "My god! The entire Black Scorpion team has game over, but our lower-level team survived with no casualties! Aren¡¯t we too awesome?!"

    Lou Fan¡¯s team of 3 ignored Wen Lang. Only Zhang Xue gave Wen Lang a light look and said, "It''s not that we are awesome, it''s just that your fate is good."

    Wen Lang didn''t speak for a while. He knew what Zhang Xue meant. He and Zhang Xue got lucky and met a reliable team. Otherwise, they might get eaten by the fish monsters when they stayed in the cabin on the first day.

    "Wooo..."

    The whistle of the train finally sounded. Watching it slowly approach, everyone felt a sense of rejoicing for their new lease of life. They got into the coaches separately, they would meet again in 15 minutes.

    As soon as Lou Fan got on the train, he threw his bag on the ground and put the bow beside him. Laying down, he stretched without caring for his image, and blurted out, "Finally, we are going home."

    The moment Lou Fan said that, he got stunned for a moment. It hasn¡¯t been for a long time but it seems that he has already regarded Lazuli as home. Resting his hands behind his head, Lou Fan did the math, it has only been more than a month since he came to this world. So, why does he have the illusion that it has been a long, long time?

    As Lou Fan is thinking about it, he actually fell asleep in a daze.

    When Lou Fan woke up again, Qin Tan is trying to wake him. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Qin Tan¡¯s face in front of him, and he subconsciously smiled. Qin Tan also smiled, "We have reached the station, get up."

    Lou Fan nodded and turned over. His backpack is already hanging on Qin Tan¡¯s shoulder. Grabbing his bow, Lou Fan put it over his back and followed Qin Tan to get off the train. The other 5 people are already waiting on the platform.

    "You people just returned from Lao Ye Temple¡¯s mission world?" A man walked up to them with a puzzled expression.

    Qin Tan: "What do you want?"

    The man frowned and asked, "You are in the same mission world as Hu Nan, right? Where are they?" His question sounded a bit strange. Since they didn''t come back, it means they didn''t complete the mission, but that''s where it got strange.

    So, it turned out to be someone from the Black Scorpion group.

    Qin Tan: "After getting out of the train, we have gone our separate ways, and we haven''t seen them since. We are unable to answer your question. We still have something to do, so we are leaving first."

    "You are in the same mission world, it''s impossible not to meet once, right?" The man obviously didn''t believe it, his expression as if saying ¡®don''t lie to me¡¯.

    "No." Qin Tan said coldly. After saying that, he took everyone and prepared to leave.

    The man stopped them, "Wait a minute, tell me about your mission world. Those people are from Black Scorpion, they can''t just die in such a vague way."

    So what if it¡¯s Black Scorpion? Is Black Scorpion amazing?

    Lou Fan couldn''t help but say, "What is Black Scorpion, an animal? I''m sorry but we''re not interested. Please let us go, we almost got wiped out, and we need to go back to soothe our wounded heart."

    Man: "¡­"

    Who exactly got wiped out here? He clearly saw 5 people getting off the lower-level carriage? Can this person give a bit more thought to his lie?

    Watching the people walk away, the man''s expression turned cruel. Good, he has noted down these people. The next time they meet, don''t blame them Black Scorpion for being ruthless.

    Raw word count: 2039

 CH 27

    Lou Fan didn''t know that someone has noted them down in his little black book. They are currently taking Lin Man Man and Gong Yi to register themselves and choose a place to live.

    Wen Lang asked, a little worried, "Will Black Scorpion comes to make trouble for us?"

    Chen Shuyang who doesn¡¯t have complicated thoughts on the matter patted Wen Lang on the shoulder to comfort him, "Don''t be afraid. Aren''t Brother Qin and Brother Lou here with us? Besides, there are nearly 5,000 people in Lazuli. It won¡¯t be so easy to bump into them."

    With a domineering aura, Qin Tan said, "If Black Scorpion came looking for you, just say what I said earlier. If they still have questions, let them come to me."

    Wen Lang nodded hesitantly, and Chen Shuyang laughed loudly, "Wen Lang, you see, I lived alone but my room is next to Brother Qin¡¯s, so I''m not afraid at all."

    Wen Lang rolled his eyes at Chen Shuyang and ignored him. Back when the time he chose a place to live, he didn¡¯t have any seniors that he is familiar with. It was his mid-level teammate who reminded him to choose a room to stay. He simply pointed to a spot randomly, and his room is decided permanently. Right now, he can''t change it even if he wanted to.

    Lin Man Man and Gong Yi are like someone from a village going into a city for the first time, looking around and exclaiming from time to time.

    Taking the two into Lazuli¡¯s trading hall, Lou Fan said with a smile, "Go and choose a place to live. After that, go back and take a good rest. I''m exhausted."

    The two agreed and nodded. Gong Yi let Lin Man Man pick first. Lin Man Man looked at the map for a long time and asked Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, where do you live?"

    Lou Fan pointed his finger at the screen at one of the buildings, "Here, and Shuyang lives next door."

    Lin Man Man''s eyes lit up, and she selected the room at the other side where Lou Fan lived, "I¡¯ll choose here then."

    Gong Yi chose the room below Lin Man Man¡¯s room. Hence, the 5 of them are staying next to each other.

    Lin Man Man turned her head and asked Zhang Xue, "Sister Xue, where do you live?"

    Zhang Xue lives further, to the north. Lou Fan and the other 4 live in the south¡¯s 2nd ring, while Wen Lang lives in the southeast area, which is closer. After the room is selected, the group went on their separate ways for today.

    Lou Fan said to Wen Lang, "If Black Scorpion comes to find you, remember to direct them to us. Qin Tan and I can deal with them." He waved his bow after saying that.

    Wen Lang pursed his lips but didn''t reply. He just says, "I''ll take my leave first."

    The other 5 people searched for bicycles and rode back to their rooms. Lou Fan asked Chen Shuyang to take the newcomers to their new house while he returned to his room. After a quick shower, Lou Fan soon fell asleep. He didn''t eat dinner and slept until 10.00 the next morning. When he woke up, Lou Fan felt refreshed and felt that he could kill 10 more fish monsters.

    His watch beeped. It is a message from Qin Tan saying that after he woke up, he should come over for breakfast. Lou Fan grinned and quickly washed up. Changing his clothes, he rushed upstairs. Chen Shuyang is drinking porridge when he saw Lou Fan come up. He put down his spoon and swallowed the mouthful of seafood porridge with a big gulp. Then, he said with a smile, "Brother Lou, come and have a taste. Brother Qin made a delicious seafood porridge, and the shrimps were still alive when he exchanged it."

    Lou Fan: "..." The exchange machine seemed a little bit too user-friendly.

    Hearing Chen Shuyang''s voice, Qin Tan brought out another bowl of porridge and greeted Lou Fan, "Come and eat while it''s hot."

    Lou Fan stared at Qin Tan who is wearing an apron. Qin Tan is a tall and strong person, so the apron is stretched out of shape on his body. Lou Fan held back his smile and gave a thumbs-up, "The apron suits you very well, I give full marks." After speaking, he lowered his head to hide his laughter.

    Qin Tan said helplessly, "Eat properly and don''t choke."

    Lou Fan made a sound of acknowledgment and ate his porridge obediently.

    Chen Shuyang felt that there is something strange between the two, but he couldn''t tell what is wrong, so he could only continue to drink his porridge.

    "Shuyang, later go out and inform Wen Lang and Zhang Xue to come over. There are still many small pearls to be sorted. I will sort them out later and divide the pearls." Chen Shuyang changed contact information with the two yesterday. Managing logistics is suitable to be handled by Shuyang in the future.

    Lou Fan didn''t think to keep everything, but Wen Lang and Zhang Xue felt a little surprised when they knew Lou Fan wanted to share the small pearls with them. Their 1st and 2nd mission world are probably a bit unpleasant. Lou Fan could even see that they distrusted them as teammates at the beginning. But after that, Qin Tan, Lou Fan, and Chen Shuyang are more reliable than expected so they got along fairly harmoniously. Qin Tan has never been interested in other people''s thoughts while Chen Shuyang''s focus is not on the people. Lou Fan is more sensitive, so he could guess what people are thinking by looking at their expressions.

    In addition to the pearls they used, Lou Fan has 32 small pearls in his hand. He and Qin Tan contributed the most, so they received 10 pearls per person. As for Chen Shuyang, Wen Lang, and Zhang Xue, they each received 4 pearls. No one had any opinion on this arrangement. Zhang Xue blushed more than usual, though she only pursed her lips and thanked him. But Lou Fan could see that she is happy. In the small fishing village, the trio only got these pearls, as well as the jewelry from the ship. Lou Fan didn''t take out the fish scale suit and kept it for himself, only Qin Tan knew about it.

    After the things are divided, everyone sat together to drink tea. Lou Fan supported his head in his hand, coughed lightly, and glanced over Wen Lang and Zhang Xue. Then he asked, "Not sure what you guys going to do for your next world. Do you want to come with us and team up?"

    Lou Fan discussed it with Qin Tan just now and thought that adding Wen Lang and Zhang Xue is fine. Both of them worked hard and they are not lazy. Although Wen Lang cheated them before, he also tried his best to show his worth in the small fishing village. Zhang Xue speaks less but works hard and is not hypocritical. Lou Fan likes this kind of girl.

    Both stayed silent as if they didn''t expect Lou Fan to say this.

    Zhang Xue only hesitated and said, "I''ll go back and think about it. I''ll give you an answer in 3 days."

    Her attitude is very clear and open so Lou Fan doesn¡¯t feel unhappy. It is normal that people need time to think about it, and of course, he didn''t ask why she would want to think more about it. Zhang Xue left after speaking but Wen Lang is still sitting there, thinking. The others didn''t press him to decide immediately and went to do their own thing. Chen Shuyang got his book out and put one of the beads in it.

    When Wen Lang regained his senses and raised his head to speak, he found that there is no one in front of him. He coughed lightly, which caught Lou Fan¡¯s attention, who was lying on the sofa.

    Lou Fan sat up and looked at Wen Lang, "So, what is your decision?" He is about to fall asleep.

    Wen Lang: "I have thought about it, I want to join you guys."

    Wen Lang has carefully analyzed everyone in the team. Not to mention Qin Tan whose fighting skill is indisputable, Lou Fan is a sharpshooter and each shot is accurate. Also, he found that Lou Fan is very lucky somehow. As for Chen Shuyang, although his fighting skill is not very good, his knowledge is extensive, and his honesty and courage are commendable. Overall, it''s a team worth joining, and would even be better if they add him who is a good talker. This is what Wen Lang thought in his heart, but he still felt a little uneasy. After saying his decision, he looked at Lou Fan and even felt a little nervous.

    Lou Fan nodded, "Oh, alright then. Remember to come over for training tomorrow."

    Wen Lang: "..." That¡¯s it?

    No, wait. Training?

    Just as Wen Lang is about to ask, Lou Fan turned his head back to him and said with a smile, "Oh, by the way, before this, someone tricked away a radish flower from us. I think as a condition for joining us, you should beat him up."

    Wen Lang: "!!!" So the trap is waiting here for him? He admits his wrong, a¡¯ight?

    Chen Shuyang, who is beside Wen Lang only shook his shoulders, trying to contain his laughter but didn''t make a sound.

    Wen Lang took a deep breath and showed a smile, "Brother Lou, I was wrong. Can I return the radish flower? Also, I don''t want these 4 beads anymore." Then he put the beads on the table, with his hands spread out, his face looked innocent.

    Lou Fan snorted, "Forget it. For your poor sake, the radish flower is a gift to you."

    And so, their team added 1 more team member.

 CH 28

    Wen Lang is beaming with happiness. Benefits from joining a team are sure good and choosing to join Lou Fan¡¯s team is a super wise decision.

    Qin Tan came out of the room, holding a notebook in his hand, and greeted, "Everyone is here, so let¡¯s begin the meeting."

    Wen Lang immediately put away his sloppy appearance and put on a serious attitude. He walked to the sofa and sat down, ready to listen attentively in the meeting. Everyone sat around the coffee table, with a pot of black tea puffing steam next to them. The cups are filled with tea, and the steam wafted gently, looking very warm.

    Lou Fan wrinkled his nose, feeling like there is a strange smell in the air, and asked, "What smell is that? It smells so bad, who hasn''t taken a bath?"

    Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang both lowered their heads and sniffed at themselves, only Qin Tan sat undisturbed.

    Chen Shuyang raised his head and reported, "I took a shower and changed my clothes yesterday. There¡¯s only the smell of detergent now."

    Lou Fan squinted at Wen Lang. He is still wearing that red sweater, which seemed to have been worn since they got into the small fishing village until now. Could this person be...

    "Wen Lang, why didn¡¯t you change your clothes?"

    Wen Lang looked stunned as he replied, "I washed it yesterday when I went back home. Could it be I didn¡¯t wash it properly?" He pinched a spot on his chest and smelled it again. Sure enough, there is still an unpleasant smell.

    Lou Fan: "Why don''t you change your clothes?"

    Wen Lang: "I don''t have any items to exchange for clothes. It''s already good enough if I could exchange for things to eat."

    "Tsk!" Lou Fan shot a disgusted look at Wen Lang before getting up from his seat. He walked to the exchange machine and pressed it a few times. A red sweater and a pair of black pants appeared on the tray. Lou Fan picked it up and threw it to Wen Lang, "Go and change it now. You have already returned to Lazuli but still live so sloppily. Be careful that we might kick you out of the team."

    Wen Lang: "..." Bro, aren¡¯t you a little bit too headstrong? Sure enough, having money in hand is really amazing!

    After Wen Lang changed his clothes, Lou Fan signaled Qin Tan to continue the meeting. The three of them didn''t feel anything wrong with Lou Fan¡¯s action just now but Wen Lang simply felt powerless to complain. Their life in Lazuli is precarious, so do they need to be so elaborate with the quality of living? It feels like they are on vacation instead. This atmosphere inexplicably relaxed his tense heart.

    Qin Tan put the notebook in the middle, wrote everyone¡¯s name on it, and analyzed them one by one. First is himself. His weapon is the Tang sword, which can be used to deal with monsters or supernatural beings in the mission world. But if he encounters people who are hostile to them, he has no suitable weapon to use so he is currently lacking a close-combat weapon.

    Next is Lou Fan. Lou Fan uses a bow, there is no limit to usage, and he has a dagger with him. But speaking of which, his most useful weapon is the bow, so he should carry some arrows with him[1]. The dagger could be used as a surprise weapon.

    Chen Shuyang''s book can only be used as a container, of course, they can put some emergency items in for emergencies. The short sword is actually very suitable as his weapon, but he is not familiar with it yet. Hence, the next task is to learn to use the short sword as soon as possible.

    As for Wen Lang, his spirit weapon is a poker, which can be used as a hidden weapon. But it cannot be used as the main weapon, with its limited lethality and quantity.

    Qin Tan concluded, "In general, the general problem is these that I have listed. Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang need to keep up with the basic physical training, and Wen Lang needs to choose a weapon that he is familiar with. Finally, we need to prepare necessary items for the next mission world. As for what we need, let''s discuss it again later."

    An example of necessary items is the flashlight they used this time. If their team didn¡¯t have the waterproof flashlight, they really have to search blindly in the dark.

    Wen Lang took out a bead from his bag and handed it to Qin Tan, "Brother Qin, please help me choose a weapon, I''m not very good at this."

    Qin Tan looked at Wen Lang with a half-smiling smile, "You play poker very well and seemed to be very social, you must have used weapons before."

    Wen Lang showed a wry smile, "I''ve been mingling in the society for a long time so I can play cards. But I''m a good young man. Using a knife or gun is not good! Ha, ha, ha."

    Qin Tan stopped making fun of Wen Lang. Who hasn''t fallen into the pit of life before? He didn¡¯t reject Wen Lang¡¯s little pearl and gave it to Lou Fan. "Okay, I''ll help you choose the weapon. Our beads are all kept at Lou Fan''s storage and yours too. If you need to use it, just ask him to exchange the item."

    Wen Lang smiled and waved his hands again and again, "No, no, it¡¯s fine to let Brother Lou holds them. I¡¯m fine if my meals are taken care of. You see, even my clothing right now is exchanged by Brother Lou."

    Playing with beads in his hands, Lou Fan smiled like a benevolent aunt, "I can take care of your meals and clothing but not including getting you a wife. Work hard to find one yourself!"

    Chen Shuyang laughed out loud, and Wen Lang kicked him, "What are you laughing at? You are in a similar situation as mine."

    At noon, in order to celebrate that he has joined the team, Wen Lang took the initiative to prepare lunch and cooked a pulled noodle meal. He is from the north and loves noodles, but he hasn''t eaten it for a long time so he misses it very much.

    Lou Fan huddled on the sofa with a small notebook to record the necessities to prepare. Qin Tan sat next to him and wrote the training plan. Lou Fan had long legs, and his legs slid forward as he wrote, casually touching Qin Tan¡¯s foot. Qin Tan didn''t mind as he continued with his planning. After a while, the pair of long legs stretched out onto his lap. During this movement, the bottom of the trousers got rolled up, revealing the fair feet and ankles, as well as a nice-proportioned and firm calf. Qin Tan looked up and saw that Lou Fan had fallen asleep, leaning against the armrest of the sofa. The small book on his chest rose up and down along with his breathing. The way this man fell asleep is completely different from when he is shooting arrows. When holding a bow and arrow, Lou Fan is focused, as if he only has the target ahead in his eyes, his eyes are firm and confident. When he fell asleep, it would remind one of a puppy. The hair on the forehead drooped down, covering the beautiful eyebrows.

    Qin Tan lifted the feet from his lap and couldn''t help massaging them. Seem to feel itchy, Lou Fan made an unconscious protest. Qin Tan smiled, straightened Lou Fan¡¯s legs, and took out a blanket to cover him.

    "Time to eat..." Wen Lang happily brought out a bowl of noodles, but Qin Tan stopped him before he finished speaking. "Be quiet, we¡¯ll eat first."

    Wen Lang nodded and put down the big bowl. Then he gently went outside to call Chen Shuyang.

    ¡­

    When Lou Fan woke up from hunger, the other three are leaning in front of the exchange machine to look at the weapons.

    Qin Tan: "Can you use a knife?"

    Wen Lang thought for 3 seconds before asking, "Does a kitchen knife count?"

    Qin Tan: "How about a stick/rod?"

    Wen Lang: "Baseball bat?"

    Qin Tan: "What do you know actually?"

    Wen Lang frowned and thought for a long time. Why does he feel like he is worthless? Just as Chen Shuyang swiped the screen, Wen Lang¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed at the screen and said, "Brother Qin, I played this when I was a kid."

    It''s a chain whip. The quality looked good, just that... it''s a little expensive.

    "Alright, choose that then." Lou Fan''s voice sounded behind them. Then, like a devil, he said, "but I can''t buy you even if I sell you. How about this? I''ll lend it to you, but you won''t get anything when we come back from the next mission."

    Wen Lang smiled, "Okay, okay, I will work hard for you on the next mission and collect more things for you."

    Qin Tan glanced at Wen Lang, "Make the noodles first, I''ll study this whip."

    "Okay, just wait 10 minutes, it''ll be ready soon!" Wen Lang cheered and ran into the kitchen with brisk steps.

    Chen Shuyang shook his head, "How silly, he got sold and even helped to count the money."

    Lou Fan: "En? Who got sold?"

    One should not mess with the money manager, Chen Shuyang immediately smiled, "Brother Lou is awesome! Brother Lou is the best!"

    This flattery is so bad that Lou Fan ignored Chen Shuyang and turned to wait for Wen Lang''s noodles. Then, Lou Fan is immediately immersed in the temptation of the food - it is delicious! The noodles are elastic, the marinade is fresh and fragrant, and the seasoning is also excellent.

    "Wen Lang, what did you do before? Why don''t we open a noodle shop together after going out of Lazuli?" Lou Fan wanted to promote this craft to the sky.

    Qin Tan spoke up, "I''ll chip in a share too."

    Wen Lang smiled but as if thought of something, he said, "I don''t know if I can go out alive. If we can go out, we should open one."

    Speaking of this, the morale suddenly dropped, and Lou Fan poked at the noodle, "We will definitely go out. We work hard and be fully prepared every time, so I believe we will definitely be able to go out."

    Wen Lang looked in the direction of the South Square. Did the person who passed level 16 manage to get out alive or die there in the last mission world?

    As the two are talking, Qin Tan had already studied chain whip. The nine-section whip is surprisingly easy to use. With a clever swing, it becomes a stick, and when it is retracted, it becomes a whip.

    Qin Tan handed it to Wen Lang, "Take it and study it yourself, it''s very useful."

    "Thank you, Brother Qin." Wen Lang happily took the whip and tried to shake it. Obviously, he still hadn''t grasped the essence and didn''t succeed on the first try. He touched his head, "Ey, I forgot how to use it, but the quality is really good and it''s quite heavy."

    "The things that are exchanged in Lazuli all are good and excellent quality." Chen Shuyang has a short sword from Lazuli so he could vouch for that. Then he added, "And your whip is twice as expensive as my sword, so it''s not surprising."

    There should never be infighting within the team, so Lou Fan quickly comforted, "It''s okay, Shuyang. When you''re familiar with your weapon, let''s change for a higher-quality one. There are a lot of good things in the exchange machine."

    Chen Shuyang grinned, "Brother Lou, I''m not jealous of Wen Lang. Just that I wonder when he will be able to pay off his debts, hahaha."

    Lou Fan: "..." He shouldn¡¯t have overestimated Chen Shuyang''s IQ.

    In the evening, as planned, Lou Fan called Lin Man Man and Gong Yi over for a big meal to celebrate them getting back to Lazuli alive. Unexpectedly, He Yong and Li Xin also came right after the newcomers arrived.

    "Team leader He, long time no see." Qin Tan said.

    He Yong looked exhausted, and though his body looked alright and intact, one could see that he is in poor condition. It seems that their mission this time didn¡¯t go well. Li Xin is much quieter, and her eyes completely lost their luster when Lou Fan first saw her.

    Qin Tan brought the two in and Lou Fan asked Chen Shuyang to pour tea for them. Hearing that, He Yong waved his hand, "No need, we''ll go right away. I just come here to see how you guys are doing." He looked around and took in everyone''s expressions. Then, relief appeared on his face, "It seems that your mission this time went well, that''s good."

    Seeing that He Yong¡¯s state is not right, Qin Tan and Lou Fan looked at each other. They both saw the doubts in the other''s eyes.

    "Team leader He, what happened to you this time?" Qin Tan asked.

    He Yong sighed and stayed silent for a long time as if caught in a memory. No one bothered him, everyone waited quietly, He Yong finally turned his head to look at the team, his eyes showing the harsh vicissitudes of life, "This time, the whole team almost got annihilated."

 CH 29

    He Yong¡¯s mission this time is in a notorious ghost town. Both the mission of the lower-level team and the newcomer team is only to survive for 7 days, while the mission of the higher-level team is to get one thing from the town¡¯s police station. He Yong is a cautious person, but unfortunately, he got careless before the task started and did not make sufficient preparations. Lack of weapons and medicines, and misjudgment have resulted in too many casualties among team members, making it impossible to treat all of them. If it wasn''t for a doctor in the lower-level team, neither he nor Li Xin would have survived.

    When He Yong talked about the town, there is a slight trembling in his tone, and Li Xin showed fear in her eyes. Lou Fan sighed and filled their cup with hot tea. He comforted, "Team leader He, don''t blame yourself too much. I¡¯m sure they won''t blame you."

    He Yong sighed and shook his head.

    This time, the blow to He Yong is great, they are afraid he won''t be able to recover for a while. Lou Fan smiled and invited, "Team leader He, Sister Li Xin, stay for lunch. In our mission this time, we are lucky and it went well. Consider this meal as us wishing you all the best in your next mission."

    Qin Tan patted He Yong on the shoulder, pulled him to the table, and handed him a bottle of beer. He Yong is probably suffocated with frustration, so he picked up the beer and poured it down his mouth. Li Xin is also pulled to the table by Lou Fan. Lin Man Man tactfully sat beside Li Xin, placing some food and beer for her. At the same time, she talked with her to relieve her emotion.

    After drinking for a long time, He Yong''s sullen anger is almost dissipated. He pulled Qin Tan and said, "Actually, I have something to discuss with you today."

    "Just say it."

    Lou Fan listened at the side with pricked ears. He knew that He Yong definitely didn¡¯t come over simply just to see them.

    "In the lower-level team who survived with us this time, the doctor is the only one left. Of course, his team is randomly assigned to begin with, so he asked me if I had any recommendations for reliable teams. I thought of you and Lou Fan, so I came to see you about it. If it works between you guys, this can be regarded as redeeming my debt to him." He Yong raised his head and drank a glass of beer. Putting down the glass, he said, "His skills are not bad and he knows about medicinal stuff. I think he¡¯s quite suitable for your team."

    Qin Tan: "Then let him come over tomorrow and we¡¯ll have a look at each other. We haven''t found all team members yet anyway."

    He Yong finally smiled, "Okay, I''ll tell him when I go back."

    Adding another team member sounds pretty good. As far as the doctor is concerned, at least if someone is injured during the mission, they can be given first aid. As long as they can hold on until they reach the train, everything will be fine. It seems that a doctor should be very popular with all teams. Lou Fan is looking forward to it.

    The next day, the doctor arrived at 10.00 am. He¡¯s neither too early nor too late, so it didn''t make people feel awkward. The first impression he gave Lou Fan is he doesn¡¯t look like a refined doctor as Lou Fan imagined. The doctor looks about the same age as Lou Fan, quite handsome but gives a very gentle and stable feeling. Across the gate railing, the doctor stretched out his hand to Lou Fan with a gentle smile, "Hello, I''m Jiang Dong. Team leader He should have introduced me."

    Lou Fan stretched out his hand and smiled, "My name is Lou Fan. Come in first, I''ll call the rest of the team over."

    Jiang Dong retracted his hand and nodded politely, "Thank you."

    Good-looking, gentle and polite. Also, with a strong body and seemed to have regular exercise, Lou Fan had a good first impression of the man.

    In 5 minutes, everyone arrived and they sat around the table. Lou Fan made tea for them. The rest of the team had just finished exercising so there seemed to be body heat left in the air. Jiang Dong took out a piece of tissue from his pocket and wiped off the water stains on the edge of the cup. He clasped his hands together and said with a smile, "Hello everyone, it''s the first time we meet. My name is Jiang Dong."

    Qin Tan remained calm while Chen Shuyang smiled friendly. Wen Lang rolled his eyes silently but got spotted by Lou Fan. Lou Fan touched his nose awkwardly, what happened to these people? Not welcoming the new guy?

    Lou Fan said with a smile, "I''m sorry, they are a little afraid of strangers. This is our team leader Qin Tan, his spirit weapon is a Tang sword and my spirit weapon is a bow. This is Chen Shuyang, his spirit weapon is a book. Over there is Wen Lang, and his spirit weapon is poker cards."

    Just after Lou Fan finished speaking, Jiang Dong nodded, "En, my spirit weapon is a bandage and a blade."

    Bandage?! Lou Fan felt a little confused, what can a bandage do?

    Jiang Dong smiled and stretched out his hand. A white strip of fabric quickly slid across the air, instantly wrapping the chair in front of him a few times. Next, a silver light flashed and a blade swishes out in the air and then swirls back again. The bandages are neatly cut and wrapped tightly around the armrests of the chair. There is no bandage or blade in Jiang Dong''s hands at all.

    Amazing! Lou Fan sighed in admiration in his heart. Though this action is a bit flashy, it¡¯s clean and neat. Also, it is unexpected that a bandage can be used like this.

    On the other than, speaking of offensive weapons, there are too few people whose spirit weapons are swords like Qin Tan. The main reason is most people don''t usually touch weapons, so Lou Fan wondered what business does Qin Tan does after he retires? Is it selling knives? But that is regulated by the government.

    "Good skill." Qin Tan praised.

    Jiang Dong smiled and did not deny the praise; acquiescing to this sentence.

    Since this is the first time they met, they are not familiar with each other so Jiang Dong left after a while. Before leaving, they agreed to team up the day before the task is released, and then they will discuss the specifics after the task is released. Lou Fan and Qin Tan sent Jiang Dong outside the door and watched him walk away. Lou Fan squinted, "This doctor is not as simple as he looks."

    Qin Tan nodded, "He¡¯s very good at using bandages and surgical blades. It means he should have practiced a lot with it."

    "As expected, opportunities are only reserved for those who are prepared. Those are the people who can adapt quickly to the environment,¡± Lou Fan sighed.

    Qin Tan turned to look at Lou Fan and smiled, "You''re not too bad."

    Being praised inexplicably, Lou Fan raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. Feeling in a good mood, he said, "Let''s go and start training."

    ¡­

    Wen Lang looked at the bandage wrapped around the chair, and said with a face full of displease, "The hell he comes here to show off? Is it to look down on us? " His expression is ugly, like a kid whose candy got snatched.

    "The guy is just showing his strength." Chen Shuyang puzzled said. "Jiang Dong looks pretty good. He is gentle and polite. Also, he looks healthier than the average pale and weak doctor. It''s pretty good."

    "Humph!" Wen Lang snorted softly, "That¡¯s just made up for you to see. I know this kind of person best. They are two-faced. They are gentle and polite in front of outsiders, but who knows how they are behind other people¡¯s backs."

    Chen Shuyang raised his glasses and looked at Wen Lang seriously, "I think you probably have persecution paranoia."

    Just as Wen Lang is trying to say something, he saw Lou Fan and Qin Tan coming in. He stopped chatting and asked, "Brother Lou, Brother Qin, what do you think of that Jiang Dong?"

    "Very good." Lou Fan replied, "He looks very reliable, Qin Tan also said that we can cooperate."

    Wen Lang glanced at Qin Tan''s back as he walked towards the kitchen. Pursing his lips, he followed Lou Fan and said, "Actually, I also think he''s pretty good, but we don''t know what his character is like."

    Lou Fan gave Wen Lang a sideways glance. His eyes seemed to ask, are you serious (coming from you, that¡¯s rich)? Wen Lang immediately kept silent and ran into the gym to train.

    The training went well, and on the 3rd day, Zhang Xue texted Lou Fan, telling him that she won¡¯t be doing the mission with them this time. Lou Fan replied with an acknowledgment and didn''t say anything more.

    ¡­

    The phoenix feather arrow steadily hit the bullseye. Lou Fan rolled around on the ground and stood up smoothly. Before he could stand firm, a moving target quickly appeared. He drew his bow but did not aim at all, and the arrow is already fired. With a swoosh, the arrow pierced through the target.

    Chen Shuyang ran over and picked the arrow up, "Wow, Brother Lou, you are really a sharpshooter. Every arrow you shot hits the bulls-eye."

    Lou Fan smiled and walked over to pick up all the arrows that had been shot. He exchanged a bucket of phoenix feather arrows from the exchange machine earlier. There are 20 of them, and he spent a few hundred points, which is too expensive. However, the weight of the arrow is suitable and the arrow tip is sharp. All and all, it is a good arrow.

    Their team harvested 32 small pearls from Lao Ye Temple mission world. Except for the 4 beads that were given to Zhang Xue, the rest are kept at Lou Fan. There are 28 beads in total, plus some jewelry and stuff. Lou Fan himself had a fish scale robe, and also the little Taoist priest¡¯s half-eaten dry pastry. A small pearl can be exchanged for almost 300 points so it adds up to 8400 points. Lou Fan''s arrows cost nearly 700 points. Not forgetting Wen Lang''s chain whip and Qin Tan''s new dagger, their expenses cost more than a third of their points. After the new mission is released, they will have to exchange consumables too. In the last mission world, the medicines they brought are almost used. They need to replenish that as well as food and necessary tools...

    Unfortunately, those beautiful jewels don¡¯t worth much so Lou Fan didn''t even bother to exchange them, and simply threw them into a plate at the side. After doing some calculations, Lou Fan only felt a headache coming. The points are not enough to be spent! Not only do they have to do the task to survive, but they also need to work hard to make money, this is simply squeezing the labor force to the max. Lou Fan looked up at the sky in melancholy, and at of the corner of his eye, he saw Wen Lang absent-mindedly practicing the chain whip. The whip snapped but missed the target.

    "Wen Lang, what''s the matter?" One must know that since Wen Lang got the whip, he has been practicing every day like he has been injected chicken blood (stimulant).

    Seeing Lou Fan, Wen Lang only pursed his lips and didn''t speak. Lou Fan is not in a hurry and waited for him quietly. After a while, Wen Lang seemed to gather up his courage and said, "Brother Lou, it¡¯s like this¡­ you know that my previous behavior is a bit wrong, right? Someone just came to ask me to return their thing, but I have already exchanged it for points a long time ago. At that time, I really have no other way. If I didn¡¯t get some points before entering the mission, I would probably starve to death, so¡­¡±

    Lou Fan is also one of those people who got cheated by Wen Lang after all. But Wen Lang is not a bad person, he just likes to trick people.

    "En, what do they want?" Since the item is already exchanged for points, they can¡¯t be insisting on the original item, right?

    Wen Lang whispered, "Something that worth 50 points."

    Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "You gave me a scare. So, it''s only 50 points, huh? Here, take my jade." The gems Wen Lang brought back were worth less than jade, and even less than 2 radish flowers added together.

    Seeing Wen Lang still looking guilty, Lou Fan said, "Alright now, I¡¯ll still say the same thing. As long as you stay in our team, work hard to survive, and collect more things, you will soon become rich too. We don¡¯t have much use of those jades either. Think how much you can exchange for with a small pearl."

    Wen Lang nodded and looked more relaxed. He promised, "Don''t worry, Brother Lou. I will work hard. I will do whatever you ask me to do in the future."

    On the morning of the 3rd day after resolving Wen Lang''s problems, the mission¡¯s notification arrived.

    Mission: Restore the 250 clocks in the Shimane prefectural office to the correct time. Please get on the train on time at 01:00 on December 7th.

    Mission time limit: 7 days

    Team members: Lou Fan Level 2, Chen Shuyang Level 2, Jiang Dong Level 2, Qin Tan Level 3, Wen Lang Level 3.

 CH 30

    Jiang Dong came to Lou Fan''s residence on time, at 10.00 am again. The group of 5 people sat together, with a pot of sweet fruit tea at the side, which is Lou Fan''s favorite.

    After Chen Shuyang made the last stroke on the notebook, he raised his head and adjusted his glasses. Then he said, "In 2013, there was a supernatural incident in the Shimane Prefecture Office. There were 250 clocks in the prefecture office, and they all stopped at 1.35 am at the same time. The next morning, the staff set the clock back to the correct time, but no one knows why the 250 clocks stopped working together. This is my summary of the paranormal event in Shimane Prefecture."

    Jiang Dong has a smile on his face as he listened to Chen Shuyang''s words attentively, occasionally showing a contemplative expression.

    Lou Fan spread his hands, "Alright, the mission world is completely paranormal. Does anyone else know more about it?"

    Qin Tan and Wen Lang cannot be counted on so Lou Fan looked at Jiang Dong expectantly. Seeing Lou Fan¡¯s hopeful eyes, Jiang Dong couldn''t hold back and chuckled. He is a handsome guy with a defined face, so his smile is quite attractive.

    "I don''t understand this kind of thing. So sorry." Jiang Dong said.

    Fine then. Lou Fan doesn''t expect anyone to know the inside story anyway. After all, he is not from the R country (Japan). For Chen Shuyang to know even about this, it¡¯s amazing.

    "Okay." Lou Fan slumped on the table weakly, "Qin Tan, I''ll leave it to you."

    Qin Tan gave Lou Fan a helpless look but his eyes are filled with smiles, "Okay. Then, let''s discuss what we need to prepare."

    The world background is a modern society and a prefecture office no less so field tools are not needed. The most important thing is food and drink, as well as lighting tools, etc. These are not within the scope of Lou Fan''s consideration. He only needs to know what to bring in the end, and then proceed with the exchange. To put it bluntly, he only needs to spend money.

    However¡­

    "Doctor Jiang, this is only a suggestion of what to prepare. You can see for yourself what else needs to be added or removed." Lou Fan is afraid that Jiang Dong would mistakenly think that they are making a list of must-bring items, so he quickly explained.

    Jiang Dong nodded, "I know. Your plan is very comprehensive, I think it''s very good." However, he is currently a poor man. He didn''t bring anything back from the last mission, so the things he can bring to the next mission are not much.

    Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang developed a new function for Chen Shuyang¡¯s book. They put everything that could be put in and brought a lot of gadgets. For example, food and drink, knives, daily necessities, etc... It has become a treasure chest of small items. As for the big items, they didn''t bring much this time. Chen Shuyang felt relaxed and only has to carry his precious book in his backpack. Now, he no longer felt that his book is useless.

    When Jiang Dong is about to leave, Qin Tan stopped him. "Doctor Jiang, do you need our help? If you don''t have enough points, we can prepare a set of necessities for you. Even if you are not in our team in the future, we can continue to use the items. Or, you can return it to us when you have points, which is fine too."

    Jiang Dong felt surprised but he is an easy-going person, "Okay, please help me to prepare a set."

    When Jiang Dong didn''t speak, Qin Tan can guess about his situation. They are in the same team now. Daily necessities are actually very cheap, but when one has nothing to exchange for them, it is a huge sum of money.

    December 6th at 11:00 pm.

    The group of 5 gathered at the station on time. Anticipating that there might be a fierce battle tonight, everyone took a nap a while earlier. Except for Lou Fan, they all waited energetically for the train to arrive.

    At 11.30 pm, 3 men and 3 women walked to the platform and stood beside their group. The leader is a long-haired woman who is a charming and mature big sister type. She is very beautiful, the type with a high rate of turning heads (to check her out). If she wears a pair of garter stockings, it can make all men have nosebleeds.

    Lou Fan is dozing off against the pillar when he heard someone talking nearby. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful woman standing in front of Qin Tan, and immediately woke up.

    "Are you the leader?" The big beauty is a little cold, but she looked at Qin Tan with a friendly look, "My name is Tong Fei, and I''m the leader of the intermediate level[1] team. Your mission world is Shimane Prefecture office, right?"

    Qin Tan nodded, "Yes, Shimane Prefecture office. I''m Qin Tan."

    Tong Fei narrowed her eyes and is about to speak again when Lou Fan called out, "Qin Tan, come here for a second."

    Qin Tan turned around immediately. Lou Fan pretended to search around in his bag and asked Qin Tan, "I don''t think I brought my flashlight?"

    Qin Tan took the bag and fished out the flashlight from the inner compartment, "I put it in the inner compartment for you."

    Lou Fan smiled, "Oh, I thought I didn''t bring it."

    Behind Tong Fei, Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun get together and scream in a low voice, "Damn, that person felt like a true ¡®shou¡¯ ah! He¡¯s a good match with the team leader!"

    Wang Xiaoyun glanced at the group of 5 people and nodded with satisfaction, "All 5 are good-looking and have a great appearance. I bet there are 2 pairs (of lovers inside)."

    "Why don''t you say that there is a love triangle inside instead?" Jiang Rou rolled her eyes and stared at Lou Fan and Qin Tan. Drooling again, she said, "Look at how gentle that leader is, he even helped to take the backpack! Come on, give a princess carry."

    Wang Xiaoyun felt speechless and said, "Hey, calm down! Don''t be so loud."

    Tong Fei looked back at the 2 lightly, "You two behave. It¡¯s not nice if the others heard it."

    Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun immediately motioned to zip their mouth with a smile.

    Lou Fan got up and walked to Tong Fei with Qin Tan. Tong Fei''s eyes swept over the two of them, revealing a thoughtful smile. "Can you tell me about your mission?"

    Qin Tan: "Restore 250 clocks to the correct time. The time limit is 7 days."

    Tong Fei raised her eyebrows, "Our mission is to find the murderer of Riri Ono before 01:35 am, based on the testimony of the 6 suspects and Riri Ono. The location is the innermost conference room on the 6th floor of the prefecture office."

    Both teams have different types of tasks. One is paranormal while the other is puzzle-solving. It seems they can''t help each other.

    Lou Fan felt like he heard something wrong and asked, "What about the time limit? It just stated ¡®before 01:35 am¡¯?" This time limit is too strange.

    Tong Fei looked helpless as she said, "We don''t know either. The mission only gave us this time limit, we can only find out later." Glancing at Lou Fan''s bow, Tong Fei gave a word of appreciation, "Your spirit weapon is good."

    Lou Fan laughed and glanced at the weapon beside her, "My name is Lou Fan. Your weapon is cool too."

    Tong Fei''s weapon is a big sword, which is close to 1 meter long. With her temperament, she is extremely domineering. It seems that no one would be that blind to covet her beauty.

    The two smiled at each other. After that, the teams stood separately. When the whistle of the train appeared, everyone who seemed to be calm took a deep breath and stepped on the train.

    10 minutes later, the train arrived at its destination, the Shimane Prefectural Office.

    Time: 01:00 am.

    As usual, the newcomers screamed and shouted but this time no one tore up the flyers, and they all left the station smoothly. When they saw the Japanese words, they realized that this is not a prank.

    The lower-level team has 5 members, the higher-level team has 6 members, and there are 5 newcomers. A group of 16 people stood outside the door of the prefectural office in the early hours of midnight. Looking at the gloomy prefectural office in front of them, they only felt a chill running down their bodies.

    "Where the hell is this place? Wuuuu..."

    "I want to go home..."

    The newcomers huddled together and cried softly.

    Chen Shuyang pulled up his collar, "It''s really cold, what season are they having now? Fortunately, I listened to Brother Lou and wore more clothes."

    Lou Fan also pulled up the zipper silently but the cold air is still pouring in from his neck. This cold is not a problem of lack of clothes, but a type of bone-bitting cold.

    The newcomers at the back are very noisy. Jiang Dong kept his eyes fixed to the front. But Wen Lang felt a little irritable, and shouted at the back, "You guys, keep quiet and don''t talk nonsense. Just follow along and obey the instructions on the watch. Talk more will only make you die faster."

    The newcomers got frightened by the last part of his sentence and stopped talking as they looked at their watches.

    Tong Fei and her team took out their weapons, getting ready. Tong Fei said to Lou Fan¡¯s team, "We are going first, I wish you all the best."

    Qin Tan nodded, and Lou Fan said, "You too. If we finish ahead of time, we¡¯ll come up and take a look."

    Tong Fei showed a friendly smile but said nothing, and left with her team members. Their goal is the conference room on the 6th floor. There is still half an hour left, and they don''t know what kind of situation they will meet.

    Watching the other team leave, Qin Tan asked Wen Lang to explain a little to the newcomers and ask them to find a place to stay by themselves. As for food and water, they couldn''t provide for them this time. The newcomers could only rely on themselves.

    Seeing that it is already 1:20 am, Qin Tan and the others are about to enter the prefectural office. Walking to the door, Jiang Dong suddenly called out to stop Qin Tan.

    "Leader Qin, shouldn''t we go in after 1:35 am?" Jiang Dong glanced at his watch and said, "Since the clock stops at 1:35 am, it''s not time yet, which means it''s still running. It''s useless to go in now."

    After Jiang Dong said that, Lou Fan felt that his words are reasonable. He hadn''t thought about this issue before. Since the time limit is 7 days, waiting a few more minutes won¡¯t hurt. Lou Fan and Qin Tan looked at each other and nodded, "Dr. Jiang is right. Why didn''t we think of this issue before?"

    Jiang Dong: "I¡¯m also reminded of this after hearing Tong Fei¡¯s task."

    The newcomers hid in the reception room tremblingly. Their task only needed them to stay in the prefectural office for 7 days. Once they entered the building, the countdown began.

    15 minutes later, their group of 5 people entered the gate of the prefectural office. Tong Fei and her team members had already disappeared from the door, and the inside looked no different from the general prefectural office. The only difference is that it is colder inside.

    There is not much difference between this prefectural office from China¡¯s one, they are all the same office space. As soon as one enters the building, there is the main hall, and then there are various offices on both sides.

    Lou Fan suddenly had a headache, "Could it be we have to search in every office? I have a bad hunch, maybe this is a game of hide-and-seek. It will take a lot of time to find all 250 clocks."

    Qin Tan glanced left and right, "Let''s take a look together first, where to go?"

    Lou Fan thought for a while, then stretched out his hand and pointed to the left, "This way." Qin Tan raised his foot and walked to the left.

    Jiang Dong walked beside Chen Shuyang and asked in a low voice, "Why Leader Qin..."

    Before Jiang Dong could finish his words, Chen Shuyang understandingly took over, "Brother Qin doesn''t like to make choices, so he usually let Brother Lou choose. Also, Brother Lou has good luck every time."

    Jiang Dong nodded to show his understanding. Luck is also a part of strength, especially in this world.

    The doors of the office are all closed. Lou Fan don''t recognize the words on the doors, and of course, he didn''t want to either. Qin Tan held his Tang sword in his hand and gestures everyone to stand behind him. Lou Fan held the bow in his hand while Wen Lang pinched a poker at his fingertips. Chen Shuyang stood behind Lou Fan with the short sword in his hand, and Jiang Dong stood at the back with a relaxed look.

    Qin Tan gently twisted the doorknob and pushed it open with the tip of his Tang sword. The door creaked and opened slowly.

    Raw word count: 3189

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 CH 31

    There are 2 sets of desks and chairs in the small office, and 2 data cabinets at the side. Then, there is a storage box for each desk, a computer, and nothing else. It looked normal, nothing ¡®unclean¡¯ can be seen.

    Qin Tan led the way and walked in slowly, followed by 4 people. When Jiang Dong is about to come in, Lou Fan stopped him and said, "Doctor Jiang, you should stay at the door, in case we all get locked out." That''s how it''s played out in the movies - the last person goes in, the door slams shut, and the group disappears.

    Jiang Dong nodded and stood at the door with a smile as he waited.

    At first glance, they don¡¯t see any clocks in the office. Seeing that there isn¡¯t any danger in the office, everyone mustered the courage to look around. Lou Fan opened the data cabinet, which contained a black alarm clock.

    "There''s an alarm clock here." Lou Fan shouted, and everyone gathered around. The time shown in the clock is indeed 1:35 am. Lou Fan reached out to take it, but Qin Tan grabbed his hand, "I''ll do it."

    Lou Fan rejected and said, ¡°I''ll do it."

    Lou Fan reached out and picked up the alarm clock. In a blink of an eye, a figure appeared in the air, suspended 10 centimeters above the ground. His figure is transparent, his face looked pale, and he looked like a ghost no doubt. Lou Fan turned his head around and, unsurprisingly, Jiang Dong is behind them. The entire space seemed to be isolated, and the offices around them were no longer clear but looked blurred through a layer of veil.

    "Oh ho ho ho, someone is here again!" The ghost grinned so widely that the corners of his mouth are pulled up to his ears. Obviously, it should be scary, but Lou Fan didn''t know why he wanted to laugh.

    The ghost¡¯s eyes swept across the 5 people, and he nodded with satisfaction upon seeing that no one attacked, "You guys did well. Do you want to reset the clock? Then play a guessing game of rock paper scissors with me. If you win, you can adjust it. But if you lose, it¡¯s the end."

    "Guess game? Are you serious?" Lou Fan felt incredible and asked, "What happened when we lose?"

    Seeing how Lou Fan is not afraid of him at all, the ghost snorted softly, "If you lose, you¡¯ll lose your life!"

    That''s quite expected, but why rock paper scissors?

    Before Lou Fan could figure it out, the ghost roared, "Hurry up and send someone out to play the guessing game with me."

    The team gathered around and began to discuss who should do it. Except for Jiang Dong, everyone else pointed to Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan turned to Jiang Dong, "Doctor Jiang, are you good at guessing games?"

    Jiang Dong got taken aback and replied, "I''ve never played this before."

    Lou Fan nodded and started rolling up his sleeves, looking like he is going to fight - his childhood instinct is a bit stimulated. He hadn''t played this game for a long time. He stood in front of the pale-faced ghost, stretched out a fist, and said, "Let''s start."

    The blue-faced ghost gave Lou Fan a contemptuous look, "It would be 2 wins in 3 rounds, don''t pretend to be ignorant."

    Lou Fan: "..." Who is pretending?

    "Rock paper scissors!" The blue-faced ghost said aloud like a child.

    In the first round, Lou Fan showed a paper gesture, and he won.

    The blue-faced ghost bared his teeth at Lou Fan like a threat, "Again! Rock paper scissors!"

    In the second round, both Lou Fan the blue-faced ghost played the scissors so it is a draw.

    The blue-faced ghost smiled provocatively, "Haha, come again! Rock paper scissors!"

    In the third round, Lou Fan showed the rock gesture, while the blue-faced ghost showed scissors so Lou Fan won.

    The blue-faced ghost changed his expression in an instant and wanted to pounce towards Lou Fan. Qin Tan clenched the Tang sword in his hand and was just about to pull Lou Fan''s wrist with force.

    Lou Fan: "2 wins in 3 rounds, don''t pretend to be ignorant."

    The blue-faced ghost deflated like a balloon that has been punctured. He turned around and waved his hand dejectedly, "You have won, goodbye." How pitiful his back looks!

    The next moment, the scenery around the team returned to when they went in just now. There are no ghosts around, and Qin Tan held the clock in his hand. Taking a glance at Lou Fan, Qin Tan twisted the spring at the back and adjusted to the same time as his watch.

    "This is the end?" Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang felt a little weird.

    Chen Shuyang scratched his head, "What kind of mission is this? It couldn¡¯t be we simply play rock paper scissors for the rest of the clocks and then win the game?"

    Looking into Chen Shuyang¡¯s sincere questioning eyes, Lou Fan said, "Won¡¯t it be too casual?"

    Even Jiang Dong is a little dumbfounded, confused.

    Qin Tan stayed calm as he looked at the clock that is back to normal and started to think. After a while, he said, "Except for the time to find the clock, it took us 10 minutes from contact with this ghost to the end. If we stay together all the time, the time is a bit tight. Moreover, we still need to rest, and we cannot rule out that we might need to fight the ghost for real to win them."

    Lou Fan thought for a while and nodded in agreement, "Qin Tan is right. Guessing game maybe just one of the ways. But the basic should be we need to deal with the ghosts behind every clock, and we can only set the time back to the correct time if we win. Thinking it this way, it''s too inefficient if we all stay together."

    It is too dangerous to separate individually so they finally determine to split into 2 groups. But it is difficult to decide how to divide the group. Lou Fan waved his hand and said that they should play a hand flip game to decide - who flipped to the same side will form the same team.

    Team 1 would be Qin Tan, Lou Fan, and Chen Shuyang, while Wen Lang and Jiang Dong would be in Team 2.

    The result caused Wen Lang to show a dark face, but he couldn''t say anything. With such a fair method of grouping, he could only say that he is unlucky. Jiang Dong only smiled indifferently, as if he didn''t mind who he is teamed with.

    "That''s it then, we will meet in the lobby in 2 hours." Qin Tan said, "Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, you go to the right, and the three of us are in charge of this side, is it alright?"

    Everyone nodded their heads. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong walked out of the office to the right of the hall.

    Lou Fan said with a smile, "It¡¯s good to let those 2 get familiar with each other. Jiang Dong is actually pretty good, so I don''t know why Wen Lang felt that he is not pleasing to the eye."

    Qin Tan: "Even if he dislikes him, he still has to get along. We are doing this to survive, not to form a team to play games."

    Lou Fan laughed, it actually felt a bit like playing a game, at least he thought this time is easier than the first 2 missions.

    The planning of the office in this prefecture hall is a bit strange. The office doors on both sides are not aligned as usual design. If one doesn''t go to the opposite side to see, one won''t be able to see what¡¯s happening there on this side.

    The 3 walked into the office next door, and the layout is exactly the same as the first one. It seemed that all office rooms had the same layout. After another carpet search, Chen Shuyang found a watch in the file box. Qin Tan gestured towards the two of them and reached for the watch. A burly man appeared in front of them and the surroundings became blurred again. Lou Fan clenched the bow in his hand, ready to shoot an arrow at any time. In his heart, he thought to himself that this time there should be a tough fight.

    The appearance of the big man is not terrifying, but it can still be seen that he is dead and is a ghost.

    Chen Shuyang stood behind Lou Fan and whispered, "Fortunately, these ghosts are not as scary as the ones in the movie." In the movie, they were all bloodied, with blue faces and fangs. Their hair is so long that it touched the ground, aiming to scare people to the maximum.

    Without waiting for the big man to speak, Qin Tan said, "What kind of match do you want?"

    Since Qin Tan asked first, the big man didn''t say what he is going to say. His eyes swept the three of them and he smiled, "Hehe, arm wrestling."

    Lou Fan glanced at the ghost¡¯s arms that are comparable to his own thighs, and turned speechless: This is a blatant cheat.

    Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan worriedly but Qin Tan returned a soothing look and turned to the big man to ask, "What are the rules?"

    "1 match to decide the winner." The big man is going to win so he said with a smug look on his face.

    Qin Tan nodded and removed his backpack. A set of tables and chairs suddenly appeared in front of him. Qin Tan sat on it, rolled up his sleeves, and showed his strong arms. The big guy on the opposite side is wearing a tank top and his arms are bulging, it¡¯s obvious that he is not easy to mess with. He sat down on the chair with a plop, and his small mountain-like body seemed to be about to collapse the chair.

    "We¡¯ll start at the count of 1, 2, 3."

    The two linked their arms. Lou Fan is a little curious if Qin Tan could actually touch a ghost, but it seems he really can. The two of them charged with energy and their arm muscles bulged. At first glance, Qin Tan seemed to have no chance of winning.

    "1, 2, 3, start."

    After the big man counted down, the two of them immediately exerted force, refused to give in to each other. Qin Tan''s expression is stern as he secretly exerted his strength, while the big man is grinning. Without a doubt, he is also going all out. The big man is still smiling at first, but after a while, beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. Qin Tan also gritted his teeth secretly, and the two are evenly matched.

    Chen Shuyang opened his mouth in surprise. He didn''t expect Qin Tan''s strength to be so strong. Compared to the ghost¡¯s arm, the size of Qin Tan¡¯s arm obviously belongs to the category of normal people, but he can fight against the big man, not to mention that the opponent is a ghost.

    Lou Fan was cheering Qin Tan secretly from behind when he suddenly glimpsed the grim expression of the big man on the opposite side. Without thinking, he made a face at the big man. The big man got stunned for a moment, and just like that, Qin Tan suddenly exerted his strength. With a bang, the big man''s arm is pushed down on the table.

    He actually lost?! The big man widened his eyes in disbelief. Then suddenly realized that it was Lou Fan¡¯s fault, he jumped up from the chair, "I''m going to crush you!"

    Lou Fan pulled Qin Tan back and said, "You bet, you pay. Don¡¯t act dumb!"

    The big man glared at Lou Fan angrily but stopped moving forward. He warned fiercely, "Don''t let me see you again. Otherwise, next time, I will definitely crush you."

    Lou Fan grinned and waved at the ghost, "See you next time then."

    Ghost: "..." I''ve never seen someone with such thick skin.

    Chen Shuyang got stunned by Lou Fan¡¯s bizarre behavior and didn''t recover from that for a while. Then he murmured, "Brother Lou, you are really amazing."

    Lou Fan: "It''s not amazing, it''s cleverness. At the same time, I wanted to test if it¡¯s true that they won''t be able to fight back as long as we win. Now, it seems like this is the case." These ghosts must be restricted by something, as long as the winner is determined, the ghost can¡¯t do anything about it.

    The surroundings recovered again and Qin Tan picked up the watch to adjust the time. The watch started to work normally, and he put the watch back in place. Lou Fan paused and picked up the watch. After a moment of thought, he put it in his backpack.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong walked into the first office on the right. They didn''t speak a word and started looking for the clock in tacit understanding. However, they searched all over and couldn''t find it. Who would have thought when Jiang Dong turned around, he saw the round clock hanging on the wall.

    Raw word count: 3000

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 CH 32

    Wen Lang saw the clock on the wall too. Curling his lips, he turned to ask Jiang Dong, "Who is going to do it, you or me?"

    Jiang Dong casually smiled and said, "It''s fine either way."

    Wen Lang said irritably, "Can you put away your fake smile? Don''t smile if you don''t want to."

    Hearing that, Jiang Dong stopped smiling. He didn''t expect Wen Lang to say that. After a while, he said, "Okay. Then don''t waste time. We¡¯ll take turns to take it, I''ll go first." After his fake smile is exposed, Jiang Dong stopped doing it and immediately became more relaxed, as if he had put down a burden.

    Wen Lang: "Better right? Acting all day is really tiring. Alright, hurry up."

    Jiang Dong stretched out his hand to pick the clock. As soon as he touched it, a young male ghost with a steel pipe appeared. However, the ghost looked really ugly. His face looks like it got squeezed out of shape and then stretched out. A ghostly appearance indeed.

    "You want to get the clock? It depends on whether I agree with that or not." After speaking, the ghost didn¡¯t stop to say any more nonsense. He waved the steel pipe and dashed towards the two.

    Wen Lang is completely unprepared. So they are going to start fighting without any notice? What about the guessing game? He has already thought about what to pick for the first round. The NPC not following the pattern is too unreasonable! Why is the difference between their team is so big? So he and Jiang Dong are The Unfortunate Ones huh?

    Jiang Dong responded quickly. With a flick of his hand, a strip of bandage flew out, wrapping around the ghost. The ghost fell to the ground with a plop.

    "Ahhh! I''m going to kill you!" The Steel Pipe Ghost got up and struggled out of the bandage. The next instant, Wen Lang''s whip snapped in the air, hitting the Steel Pipe Ghost instantly. The Steel Pipe Ghost screamed out in pain. Its skin is torn and the flesh is visible, but there is no blood.

    Taking the opportunity, Jiang Dong threw out another strip of bandage and wrapped it around the ghost. Next, his blade flew towards the steel pipe ghost like a petal. Wen Lang''s whip keep snapping at the ghost, and after a while, the steel pipe ghost disappeared into the air.

    When the surroundings returned to normal, Jiang Dong took off the clock and set it back to the correct time.

    Wen Lang put away the whip and asked, "Doctor Jiang, are there any usage restrictions on your bandages and blades?"

    Jiang Dong is about to smile out of reflex, but immediately pressed down the urge, "No restriction for bandages, but for the blade, I can use about 300 times a day."

    Wen Lang sighed and thought to himself, why other people''s spirit weapons are so awesome while he only gets a limited deck of poker? Still, it''s better than nothing. Fortunately, he managed to exchange a chain whip as a weapon.

    There seemed to be nothing in common to talk about between the two, so they walked to the next door in silence. Next, it is Wen Lang¡¯s turn to take the clock.

    ¡­

    Walking to the 3rd office, Lou Fan found a clock, hidden in a cabinet. Then, he pushed Chen Shuyang towards the clock.

    Chen Shuyang: "Brother Lou, can''t you be nicer to your younger brother?"

    Lou Fan ignored Chen Shuyang who is pretending to be pitiful and said, "Take out your short sword and get the clock. Qin Tan and I are right behind you, what are you afraid of?"

    Chen Shuyang had a martyred expression on his face, "Okay, Brother Lou. But you must look out for me."

    "Don''t talk nonsense, hurry up."

    Chen Shuyang took a deep breath and touched the clock with his fingers. This time, an old man ghost appeared. He looked similar to the type of old man one sees in the guard room, with a chessboard in front of him. Chen Shuyang breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out to be playing chess, which he knows a bit. He can play a little bit of Go and Chinese chess.

    The old man touched his nonexistent beard and said with a smile, "Come here and play a game of chess with this old man. If you win, you can do anything."

    Chen Shuyang sat down with Lou Fan''s encouraging eyes, "Mister, are we playing Go? I only know a little bit."

    The uncle smiled mysteriously and shook his head slowly. He said solemnly, "No, no, I can''t play Go, let''s play Gomoku."

    Gomoku!

    Chen Shuyang is speechless, this is really unusual for a game. For a high achiever like him, he has never played a time-wasting game like Gomoku. Is it too late to switch participants? He turned to look at Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan shrugged and said he don¡¯t know too well about it either. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You just have to connect 5 points together. It''s very simple. We believe in you."

    Chen Shuyang''s expression is a bit indescribable.

    The old man picked up a black piece and placed it in the center, "Your turn. Take the white one, and let''s start."

    Chen Shuyang is worthy of being called a high achiever. Holding the white piece and looking at the board for 2 minutes, he recalled how his deskmate and the classmate behind played chess using a workbook to draw a grid back in high school. But they used one black and one red pen to play and simply draw circles as their piece. Putting down a white piece with a snap, Chen Shuyang felt that he already knew how to play.

    Another white and black piece is placed on the board. Seeing that the white piece is about to connect to 5 points, Chen Shuyang secretly felt happy inside and waited for the last one in his hand to be placed. In the next instant, he saw the black piece fall on a white piece and superimposed on it.

    Chen Shuyang: "!!!"

    "You cheated!" Chen Shuyang yelled, pointing at the old man.

    The old man only smiled, "Ah, did anyone see me cheating?"

    The three stayed silent for a while. Well, no one really saw him cheating.

    "Shuyang, calm down." Lou Fan comforted Chen Shuyang.

    Chen Shuyang is furious inside, but there is nothing he could do. Looking at the chessboard silently, he no longer focused on attacking but turning to defense. He would block one side if the black pieces connected to 3 pieces in a row until the black pieces had nowhere to go. But then he still wouldn''t attack.

    The black pieces are once again connected to 3 pieces in a row and the old man is waiting for Chen Shuyang to block one side. As soon as the white piece is placed, the old man moved to put the black piece on the other end to form 4 pieces in a row.

    At that moment, Chen Shuyang said quietly, "You lost."

    The old man froze, and he frowned at the chessboard. After the black pieces are blocked 3 consecutive times by the white pieces, they eventually formed a line and connected exactly to 5 pieces; no more, no less!

    Seeing the old man''s ghostly expression, Chen Shuyang finally couldn''t hold back and laughed out loud. "Hahahahaha! I won, I won! See if you dare to cheat again! La la la la!" He is so happy that he felt like flying.

    This feeling is so cool!

    Both Lou Fan and Qin Tan laughed, they didn¡¯t expect Chen Shuyang to be able to play this hand. Lou Fan felt that Chen Shuyang seemed to have grown up. It had only been so long, the boy who was trembling with fear before had become a person who could stand on his own.

    The old man probably didn''t expect that he could lose even when he cheated, so he almost got choked. Lou Fan can imagine the ghost might have been angered to death in the first place.

    "Hmph! Consider yourself lucky!" The old man snorted arrogantly. Then he shrugged and disappeared.

    Chen Shuyang made a face in the direction of the ghost and quickly picked up the clock to set the time back. Lou Fan disdained that the clock is too big, so he didn''t take it with him this time. It is already 3 hours from the time they started looking for the clock, and right now they only adjusted three. To complete adjusting 250 clocks, one does not know how long it¡¯ll take.

    Qin Tan glanced at the time, "Let''s go to meet up with Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, and then have a rest."

    When they got to the hall, they did not see Wen Lang and Jiang Dong. The two are probably still in a duel. Lou Fan walked to the sofa beside the hall and sat down. Putting down his backpack, he waved at the other two.

    "Come and sit, take a rest." Lou Fan patted the sofa, "It''s quite comfortable."

    Qin Tan sat next to Lou Fan and took out a bottle of water from his bag. After unscrewing it, he handed it to Lou Fan. Lou Fan took the bottle and drank it. Wiping off the water stains from the corner of his mouth, he suddenly said, "I wonder what the daytime is like in here? If the staff came to work, can we still continue to search for the clocks?"

    Chen Shuyang''s eyes widened immediately in surprise, "No way. Brother Lou, don''t raise flags." The adjustment process took enough time. If they can''t do the task during the day, how can they complete their mission?

    Qin Tan: "This possibility is not impossible. There are still 5 hours before working hour so we better speed up. Let¡¯s wait for the two to come out first to discuss it."

    Lou Fan nodded, "It''s best if we can do the tasks during the day, of course. But what if?"

    Chen Shuyang rubbed his hair irritably, "Ah ah ah, why aren¡¯t there guides to read? At least with a guide, I can roughly know what should we do. Otherwise, having to guess the rules every time is a waste of time."

    In his heart, Lou Fan thought, it may not be that there are no guides. It¡¯s just that no one talks about it. Perhaps if they have enough things to exchange, they can post the information directly on the electronic screen. Thinking of this, he said melancholy, "Need to collect more things. We should take all the clocks that have been adjusted just now. What if we can take it back and exchange it for points?¡±

    As the saying goes, ¡®Poverty stunts ambition.¡¯ (Poor people has lower expectation) Right now, they even wanted to pack up task items to take away.

    Hearing that, Qin Tan paused for a moment. Then he got up and walked towards the first office. 10 minutes later, he came back empty-handed.

    Lou Fan stood up immediately, "Where''s the clock?"

    Qin Tan spread his hands, "It''s gone, it''s all disappeared. Neither the first nor the third room has it."

    "Damn it!" Lou Fan cursed and swiftly turned around to pull his backpack open. Luckily, the watch he found in the second room is still inside. "If you don''t collect it after the adjustment, it will disappear. It''s a big loss!"

    As the three are talking, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong came out from the other side and they looked a little disheveled.

    Qin Tan asked, "Did you encounter a direct fight?"

    Wen Lang is exhausted and Jiang Dong nodded, "Yes, both matches are direct fights."

    Lou Fan: "..." The luck of these two is too bad.

    Seeing Lou Fan''s expression, Wen Lang exclaimed, "You guys haven''t met any, have you?"

    Chen Shuyang wanted to laugh a little and said, "One arm wrestling, one Gomoku chess game."

    Jiang Dong: "???"

    Wen Lang: "!!!"

    It''s kind of unfair! Why do they have to fight to the death, while the other team just wrestle their arms and play chess...

    Qin Tan also laughed and then he told them about their guess on daytime staff. Hearing that, Wen Lang is about to curse out, but he is a little depressed now. So he slumped on the sofa and pretended to be dead. Jiang Dong agrees with their guess. But thinking of the fights they encountered just now starting right away without notice, he felt that it might be dangerous if they split up.

    Lou Fan thought for a while and said, "Let¡¯s do it this way then. Qin Tan and I will split up, so at least we have 3 groups now."

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan are both good with their skills, so it''s no problem to do it alone. Chen Shuyang will follow Qin Tan though. Lou Fan is a little worried about the fact that Qin Tan had a black (unlucky) hand and the duels would be too difficult.

    When they arranged the grouping, it is already 4.30 am. They packed up and continued with their search. However, before that, Wen Lang squeezed Lou Fan''s hand and said, "Brother Lou, share a bit of your luck with me. If we continue fighting like this, Jiang Dong and I can''t hold on."

    Hearing Wen Lang said it pitifully, Lou Fan simply wanted to laugh. He drew an arrow from the quiver and handed it to Wen Lang, "Take it, Brother Lou will bless you!"

    Wen Lang grinned and inserted the arrow into his backpack. Immediately, he felt like Brother Lou''s light of blessing is shining on him.

    Lou Fan stopped Qin Tan too and asked him to take out his dagger. Then he said, "I''ll change my dagger with you. Brother Lou will bless you too."

    Qin Tan: "..."

    Next, Lou Fan raised his arms and shouted, "Our goal is to collect all the clocks, go forward!" Except for the ones that are too big, they shall collect as many as they can.

    As the person handling the finance, he has hard work ahead of him. In order to get enough stuff to exchange for points, Lou Fan went all out.

 CH 33

    Lou Fan went office next door from Qin Tan¡¯s team and found a men''s waterproof sports watch from a drawer. With a smile on his face, he reached for the watch. The next moment, a middle-aged male ghost appeared, holding a wine bottle in his hand. The ghost¡¯s gaze looked confused and drunk. Looking at Lou Fan, he laughed and burped. Lou Fan frowned, the smell of alcohol stink seemed to be in the air.

    "Hey hey, come here. Let''s play Morra/fist number game (drinking game)[1]. If you win, I''ll let you adjust the clock." The drunkard ghost did not waste time and had a clear goal.

    Lou Fan seldom drinks, even if he drinks, he doesn''t play Morra so he doesn¡¯t have much experience in it. But it''s not that he can''t. Counting and shouting ¡®fifteen and twenty¡¯ are simple, he understands how it works with a glance.

    Lou Fan: "Okay, we¡¯ll play it but I''ll take the 1st turn." He just tried it out to see if he could barter about the conditions.

    The drunkard said readily, "Okay, I¡¯m fine with anything, you can draw first."

    Lou Fan didn''t expect the ghost to be so easy. It seems that even though it is a mission world, it still has some humanity in it.

    "Fifteen twenty, ten."

    Lou Fan stretched out his hand while shouting. He showed a hand with 5 fingers opened, and the drunkard on the other side is showing the same, it¡¯s his win.

    "I won, it''s your turn."

    The drunkard took a sip of wine before saying, "Fifteen twenty, fifteen."

    Lou Fan held 2 fists with fingers curled inside, it means no number.

    "You lose. It''s my turn."

    Lou Fan thought about it and said, "Fifteen twenty, five." He swiftly held out a hand. Another win!

    The drunkard hiccupped and drank some wine, "Your skill is not bad! Come, this wine is for you." He said and handed the bottle to Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan is stunned for a moment because he didn''t expect to receive a wine bottle. After picking it up, he found that it is a new unopened bottle. The drunkard took out another bottle of wine from somewhere, opened it, and staggered away while drinking.

    Lou Fan set the watch back to the correct time. Then, he put the wine and watch in his backpack, and walked to the next room humming. It turns out that there are props that can be taken away. He wondered how much can it be exchanged after going back. As Lou Fan walked to the next room in a good mood, he thought of something and strolled to the room where Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang entered. There is no one inside as if the two had never been inside. He looked around but there is no clock in plain sight. It seems that in the duel, they can''t see each other.

    Without further delay, Lou Fan walked into the next room.

    ¡­

    "Uncle, let''s play marbles together."

    The little boy stood in front of Qin Tan said that but Qin Tan felt helpless at the moment. He''s never played marbles so how to compete? Turning to look at Chen Shuyang, Chen Shuyang is also showing a confused expression.

    Qin Tan had to ask the little boy instead, "How do you play marbles?"

    The little boy pursed his lips, "Uncle, don''t you even know how to play marbles? It''s very simple, just shoot the marble into the hole and you¡¯ll win."

    Qin Tan nodded, "Okay, let''s start."

    The little boy squinted and handed Qin Tan a marble. 5 minutes later, Qin Tan watched the little boy''s green marble roll slowly into the hole; he lost. The little boy stood up slowly with his head lowered, making a hohoho sound from his mouth. When he raised his face, his expression looked gloomy and terrifying, "You lose, forfeit your life!" Then the ghost rushed towards Qin Tan.

    "Shuyang, get out of the way." Qin Tan shouted at the back and dodged the little boy sideways. He took advantage of the turn and swung out with the sword in his hand.

    A big wound appeared on the side of the little boy''s waist. He screamed and rushed towards Qin Tan without hesitation. Taking advantage of his shortness, the ghost wanted to attack from below. But how could Qin Tan let him succeed? Using the Tang sword to block the ghost, Qin Tan turned around and slashed the little boy from behind. The little boy split in half and dissipated in the air.

    Chen Shuyang, who was hiding behind, held a short sword in his hand in a defensive posture. He looked at Qin Tan who is adjusting the clock and said, "Brother Qin, I have an idea. Why don''t we just kill the ghost directly and adjust the time? Anyway, if you lose, you still have to fight, so why waste your time playing games?"

    This is a really good question and Qin Tan got taken aback for a moment. Then he nodded after a moment of silence, "You''re right."

    ¡­

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong once again met a ghost who started fighting directly without giving them any chance to play games. Fortunately, after 2 fights, the two cooperated tacitly and quickly finished the ghost. Wen Lang took out the arrow in his backpack. His eyes looked melancholic, and he sighed, "It seems that Brother Lou¡¯s blessing doesn''t work either."

    With Chen Shuyang''s suggestion, Qin Tan''s progress is much faster. At 9.00 am, everyone met in the hall. Except for Lou Fan, the rest looked like they just fought in a fight. Only he still looked casual and had spoils in his hand.

    A bottle of wine and a handkerchief.

    "Looking at your appearance, it probably didn¡¯t go well. By the way, I¡¯ll tell you this. If you win your game, remember to ask for the loot." Lou Fan waved the things in his hand with a look of joy.

    There are a total of 16 offices on the 1st floor, 11 of which have been cleared at this time, and 5 are still to be cleared. The sun shone in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the coldness of the whole building is dispelled, making people feel warm all over. An hour later, no one came to work. Other than them, there is Tong Fei¡¯s team who are on the 6th floor of this building. Besides, there may be various ghosts in each office. The team of 5 members slumped on the sofa in the hall and breathed a sigh of relief.

    Wen Lang felt that he couldn''t lift his hands anymore, "Is this mission world using wheel tactic (taking turns) against us? It''s designed to consume our physical strength, right?"

    Lou Fan poured out the contents of the bag and replied, "No, it''s an intellectual battle for me."

    Wen Lang rolled his eyes, unable to complain.

    Jiang Dong handed Wen Lang a bottle of water, "Wen Lang, how''s the injury on your arm? I''ll give you medicine."

    Wen Lang glanced at his arm, "It''s alright, just a minor injury. I''ll look at it when I have enough rest."

    Jiang Dong put down the food in his hand and took out the medicine from his bag. Next, he sat beside Wen Lang. He moved very swiftly and his skills are good. The antiseptic is applied and bandages are wrapped in one go. Before Wen Lang could resist, Jiang Dong had already wrapped it up.

    "It¡¯s done, I don''t want to owe you favor." Jiang Dong packed up the medicine, sat back, and started eating. Wen Lang got the wound from helping him block an attack. The ghost was so powerful that Wen Lang got scratched before he could dodge it. The wound is big and looked scary.

    Wen Lang tsk-ed but didn''t say anything, drinking his water silently.

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan looked at each other, and Lou Fan''s eyes are full of smiles. It seemed that after some time of cooperation, the two had developed a revolutionary friendship.

    The hall is spacious and there are sofas to lie down. After arranging the person on watch duty, everyone starts to get some sleep.

    In the middle of the afternoon, Lou Fan woke up. He went to the bathroom to wash up and started to eat lunch. By the time everyone woke up, it is almost 5.00 pm. Everyone packed up to eat and prepared to continue the mission.

    5 offices remained on the first floor, which is settled in 2 hours. Lou Fan still got a battle spoil, while the other 2 groups violently resolved their duels.

    "AHH! HELP!"

    The team is about to set foot on the 2nd floor got attracted by a scream and they walked to the entrance of the prefecture office. A few familiar figures are wandering in the open space in front of the hall. They are the ghosts they defeated in their duels. When the newcomers in the guard room saw these ghosts, they panicked, and some girls began to scream.

    Lou Fan looked at the ghosts and couldn''t help but say, "Could it be we caused them to be let out? Then do we have to pass through them after completing the mission?" He looked back at the rest of the team and asked, "Say, will they take the initiative to attack us?"

    Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang simply looked at Lou Fan kindly. Jiang Dong looked calm, and only Wen Lang mercilessly discredited his expectations.

    "Brother Lou, you can try it. For us, we started fighting as soon as we enter the duel. Maybe with your lucky physique, the ghosts won''t attack you."

    Lou Fan, relying on being taller than Wen Lang, dropped a punch on him, "How can you talk to your brother Lou like this? Talk properly, or do you still want your equipment?"

    "Brother Lou, I was wrong!" Wen Lang readily acknowledged his mistake, not at all cowardly.

    Qin Tan glanced at the newcomers who are tapping the window in the guard room and looked unmoved, "Looks like there is still a tough battle to fight when we go out."

    Chen Shuyang optimistically said, "Didn''t they say that as long as we have a breath left, we can come back to life after getting on the train? We are not afraid."

    Wen Lang rolled his eyes, "You''re not afraid but I do. Do you know how painful it is to be scratched by a ghost? As long as we have a breath left? Do you still have the energy to climb into the train?"

    Each of these is problems that should not be ignored. But it''s too early to think about this now. Lou Fan turned around and walked in, ¡°We¡¯ll take about it after adjusting all the clocks. Let''s go."

    The newcomers in the guard room who were still holding on to their expectations become stunned when they saw the team turn around and leave. How come no one came to save them? Didn''t they see so many ghosts out there? Do they want them to die? Unbeknownst to everyone, it is safest for them to be in the guard-room next to the entrance at the moment. The moment their time is up, they can get on the train when they go out.

    The design of the 2nd floor is somewhat different from that of the 1st floor. Without the hall in the middle, the number of offices has increased, lining next to each other. Qin Tan turned around and counted the offices; there were 24 in total. According to this layout, they can finish 1 floor a day, they should have plenty of time.

    Still proceeding according to the previous 3 groups, Lou Fan stepped into the 2nd office alone. A red ladies'' watch is placed on the desk, very eye-catching. Lou Fan walked over and reached out to touch it. The space became isolated, and a long-haired female ghost appeared. It can be seen that she should have been beautiful before her death, with long straight black hair and a decent professional skirt.

    Lou Fan is about to say hello in a friendly way, but the female ghost twisted her head into a weird arc without saying a word. He immediately took 2 steps back on guard, and the bow in his hand is already drawn. The female ghost''s mouth is split up to her ears, and bright red blood overflowed from her eyes. She shook her head, and her black hair stretched infinitely toward Lou Fan, just about to touch Lou Fan. Lou Fan turned sideways, pulled up his bow, and shot at the female ghost.

    The female ghost''s hair swiftly appeared in front of her, blocking Lou Fan''s arrow.

    "Yo, a tough opponent." Lou Fan scolded secretly.

    Lou Fan didn''t dare to be careless and kept shooting, but the arrows are all blocked by her hair. Not only that, Lou Fan had to keep dodging the hair that is coming at him. All he can see is hair.

    So disgusting!

    Although Lou Fan thinks that girls with long hair are good-looking, but looking at these black hair at the moment, he only felt a little disgusting. Shoot! His foot is tangled! Lou Fan lowered his head and saw a strand of black hair wrapped around his ankles, immobilizing him.

 CH 34

    Without hesitation, Lou Fan took out the dagger from his waist and slashed, the hair fell. He rolled on the spot, dodging another bundle of hair that is coming straight in.

    Shit, it''s not over yet!

    The female ghost didn''t care at all. Her hair soared, and they all rushed towards Lou Fan. Lou Fan dodged left and right, and the wounds on his body kept increasing. He can¡¯t continue like this. Lou Fan pulled out the arrow from the quiver at his waist and ran around the female ghost. The incision on the ankle continued to bleed, dripping on the ground. Lou Fan¡¯s movement is very fast, and while running, he took out the arrow and shot forward. The dense black hair blocked the arrow, but Lou Fan saw a gap with his sharp eyes. Lou Fan is overjoyed but his hands are still moving continuously.

    Seeing that there are only a few arrows left, he saw the gap in the defense and quickly shot 2 arrows, followed by a spiritual arrow. The arrow shot through the middle of the back of the female ghost¡¯s head. The female ghost gave a shrill scream, and her figure disappeared in the air. The phoenix feather arrows fell to the ground with clumps of long black hair, looking a little disgusting.

    Lou Fan struggled to get up and adjust the time before putting the watch in his pocket. Finally, he couldn''t hold it any longer and fell to his knees. All wounds on his body and feet are bleeding profusely. His clothes got cut open and stained with his blood. There are also some blood dripping on the ground, which looked shocking.

    Qin Tan rushed into the room and hugged Lou Fan. His expression is ugly, pitch-black like the bottom of a pot.

    Chen Shuyang is startled by the bloody scene. He quickly took off his clothes and laid them on the bench in the corridor, "Brother Qin, put Brother Lou here." Then, he quickly unloaded his backpack and pulled out the medicine from it.

    Qin Tan took it and disinfected Lou Fan first. The disinfectant irritated the wound, causing it to sting a bit. Lou Fan didn''t say anything but gasped in a low voice. In fact, it is not very painful, but there are too many wounds, so the effect is quite stimulating.

    "You are not allowed to act alone again and you must listen to me." Qin Tan said in a deep voice.

    Lou Fan twitched the corners of his mouth and nodded. How could he dare to be alone again? If he met a more ruthless ghost, his life would not be enough to bet on.

    When Wen Lang and Jiang Dong came out of another office, they were shocked to see Lou Fan lying on the bench in an injured state. After asking and knowing that the injury isn''t serious but looked scary, Wen Lang breathed a sigh of relief. He and Jiang Dong also didn¡¯t have it easy. There are one or two wounds on their bodies, their hair is messy, and they looked like they just went through a tough battle.

    Jiang Dong who rarely opens his mouth said, "The 2nd floor is more difficult than the 1st floor." He and Wen Lang had the most say because they are the ones who fought their way through all the way.

    Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang also have started fighting as soon as they arrived, but Qin Tan had a high battle skills and a powerful spirit weapon, so it didn''t take much effort. Chen Shuyang also helped with a few stabs.

    Qin Tan treated Lou Fan''s wound with a cold face. When Lou Fan sat up, he got pushed down by Qin Tan, "Lie down and rest, don''t move."

    Qin Tan¡¯s tone sounded a little displeased so Lou Fan obediently stopped moving. He laid there and met Qin Tan¡¯s eyes. Lou Fan blinked, blinked, blinked again. Qin Tan sighed helplessly in his heart and stretched out his hand to support Lou Fan¡¯s back. His tone softened as he said, "Sit up then, do you want to eat something?"

    Lou Fan shook his head, he ate quite a bit just now and is not hungry yet.

    The situation on the 2nd floor is not as good as on the 1st floor so Qin Tan regrouped the arrangement. He teamed up with Lou Fan this time, while Chen Shuyang teamed up with Wen Lang and Jiang Dong. After half an hour, Lou Fan moved his ankle and is able to move normally.

    "Let''s us start too," he said to Qin Tan. Wen Lang and the rest has continued their task half an hour ago.

    Qin Tan helped Lou Fan to stand up and squat down to look at his ankle, "Is it alright?"

    Lou Fan turned his ankles flexibly, "No problem. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and cut down the hair with a dagger."

    The moment Lou Fan mentioned the fight, Qin Tan''s expression sank again. He let Lou Fan walk behind him as they head to an office, "Follow me and don¡¯t move randomly. I''ll do the rest."

    Lou Fan: "Qin Tan, I''m fine. I''m a man."

    Qin Tan: "I know. But you are injured and need to rest. There are still so many days to come, and there are still more than 200 clocks to adjust. Are you going to endure the injuries all the time?"

    Lou Fan knew that Qin Tan is right, but Lou Fan doesn''t allow himself to be weak in his heart. Even when he strained his wrist in the past, he still insisted on training every day. Also, his father would not allow him to rest. But now, his ankle injury is treated and Lazuli''s medicine is very effective. He feels better, but Qin Tan insisted on letting him rest. Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan''s serious expression and finally compromised, "Okay, I''ll be right behind you. I won''t help if there''s no danger."

    The two walked into the office and started rummaging, but unexpectedly found 2 clocks; a small alarm clock and a watch.

    "Handle it one by one?" Lou Fan asked.

    Qin Tan nodded and reached for the alarm clock. 2 figures appeared in the air.

    Lou Fan: "..." So taking one is no different than taking two.

    "Oho ho ho, two people together." The yellow-haired ghost looked very excited.

    Another ghost thought for a second before saying, "Two people huh? Let''s play a game then. It''s too rude to start fighting right away."

    Blondie ghost¡¯s eyes lit up, "Really? Do you want to play that game?"

    Lou Fan asked, "What game?"

    Both ghosts answered in unison, "Of course, the most suitable for 2 people to play together - horse-riding fight (Piggyback fight)!"

    Lou Fan: "..." These two are just mentally retarded, right?

    Afraid that Qin Tan would not understand what game is that, Lou Fan leaned over and explained to him in a low voice. In the end, he said, "It seems that I''m going to play with you, you better carry me properly." Not sure why but Lou Fan feel excited about this childhood game.

    Seeing Lou Fan eager to try, Qin Tan reminded, "Be careful, these two don''t seem to be easy to deal with."

    Lou Fan nodded. They put down their backpacks and took their weapons. Lou Fan jumped on Qin Tan''s back, but luckily he wasn''t heavy. At best he is a sturdy type, otherwise, it would be too hard on Qin Tan to carry him.

    The other party looked more relaxed. The yellow-haired ghost is lying on the back of the black-haired ghost but the ghost below couldn''t feel the weight at all. He even had his hands free. This is so unfair!

    The two ghosts on the opposite side rushed to the two of them with a battle call, and shouted excitedly, "If the person above falls down, you will lose. If you lose, you will be eaten by us."

    Lou Fan doesn''t care if he loses or falls. What he cared about is the whip in the blondie ghost¡¯s hand. With a snap from the whip, the ghost below will run faster, he saw it.

    "Qin Tan, I want that whip." Lou Fan lowered his head and leaned into Qin Tan''s ear.

    The wet breath sprayed in his ears, causing Qin Tan to be in a trance for a while. He couldn''t hear what Lou Fan is saying at all. But then Lou Fan added, "We''ll grab the whip first, and then we''ll question them."

    This time, Qin Tan heard it. He nodded and said yes.

    Lou Fan sat on Qin Tan''s back, protected by Qin Tan''s hands, as they quickly ran to the side. Lou Fan shot spiritual arrows at the yellow-haired ghost one by one but the ghost simply smiled and ducked with his head tilted.

    Both sides gradually approached each other, and Lou Fan kept shooting, forcing the black hair ghost below to dodge left and right. Blondie ghost shouted ''Come on'', and the whip in his hand kept hitting the ghost below. The ghost didn''t shout or scream, but his expression couldn''t be said to be enjoyable. However, his feet quickly changed direction and charged straight towards Qin Tan and Lou Fan.

    Seizing the opportunity, Lou Fan pulled out Qin Tan''s Tang sword. At this moment, Blondie ghost and his partner ran to his side. Without blinking, Lou Fan slashed at the ghost¡¯s hand holding the whip. The seemingly transparent and insubstantial hand actually got chopped off with a single slash, and the whip fell to the ground. Lou Fan jumped off Qin Tan and picked up the whip. The whip in his hand felt cold and smooth. He looked left and right at it with satisfaction.

    The yellow-haired ghost became furious and he jumped down too. A new hand instantly grew out of the decapitated wound and grabbed at Lou Fan. But how could Qin Tan allow him to catch Lou Fan? The Tang sword swung over and slashed at the yellow-haired ghost. The black-haired ghost also rushed over to grab at Qin Tan. Lou Fan inserted the whip into his waistband, and then he shot spiritual arrows at the two ghosts one after another.

    It would be nice if he has a rope at this moment. Then he can just tie them up, and it¡¯s done! He should make sure to exchange for a bundle of rope when he goes back! These are the thought that flitted past Lou Fan¡¯s mind in an instant.

    Qin Tan stopped the yellow-haired ghost, and the black-haired ghost wanted to help. Lou Fan simply aimed at the black-haired ghost and kept shooting spirit arrows until the black-haired ghost got shot into a sieve and dissipated in the air. Next, he turned his head to look and Qin Tan is about to slash at the yellow-haired ghost. Lou Fan hurriedly shouted, "Blondie, tell me how to use this whip!"

    Blondie glanced at Lou Fan sideways and stuck out his long tongue, "Bleh, I won''t tell you!" After he finished speaking, he turned around and slowly disappeared while Qin Tan''s sword is stopped in the air.

    Lou Fan: "..."

    Ran away already? By the way, his tongue is really long.

    Qin Tan retracted the sword, adjusted the alarm clock and watch, and put it in his backpack.

    Lou Fan is checking out the whip when he saw Qin Tan holding the 2 clocks. He said, "It turns out that there can be 2 clocks in one office, so there are 2 ghosts. Earlier I was still thinking if there are really 250 offices in this building. Ain¡¯t that be too much? Anyway, even if we don¡¯t touch the other clock, the ghosts will appear together.¡±

    Qin Tan nodded, "Let¡¯s go and tell them about this. We¡¯ll try the whip in your hand in the next office?"

    Lou Fan said with a smile, "You sure know me. I think it''s very useful, but I don''t know if it can cause harm to ghosts."

    "Then we¡¯ll try a few more times, and I''ll be watching at the side."

    The two waited until Wen Lang¡¯s group came out to inform them about the situation. After hearing that, Wen Lang looked depressed, "Brother Qin, you overestimated us. Even with us 3, it¡¯s quite hard to deal with just a ghost. If 2 ghosts come at us together, you will not see us coming out anymore."

    Lou Fan thought for a while. It is really not safe indeed. So he said, "Then if you find an office with 2 clocks, just leave the room and focus on the room with only one ghost. Leave the office with 2 clocks for me and Qin Tan."

    Chen Shuyang: "What if there are 3?" This possibility is not impossible.

    Lou Fan answered, "Then we¡¯ll go together."

    In the ensuing battle, Lou Fan fully experimented with the use of the whip. This whip has a considerable restraining force on the ghost. Once the whip is drawn, the ghost will not dare to rush forward. If getting hit from the back, the ghost will run faster without complaining. Having mastered the skills and with the cooperation from Qin Tan, the two quickly cleaned the rooms on the 2nd floor. Wen Lang¡¯s group left the rooms with 2 clocks for Qin Tan and Lou Fan, so their group can deal with only a ghost quite well. Until it is dawn, everyone managed to clean the 2nd floor and collapsed on the sofa in the hall.

    This task is simply physically laborious. At this moment, everyone doesn''t even have the strength to eat. They just want to get a good night''s sleep.

    Qin Tan sat up, took out his notebook, and made plans, "Later, everyone take a quick rest. We shall try to clean up the rooms during the day tomorrow to save lighting." The reversal of day and night is not in line with their resting habits.

    Lou Fan looked up at the stairs and murmured, "I wondered what happened to Tong Fei and the others?"

 CH 35

    Prefecture Hall on the 6th floor.

    Tong Fei stared at the six suspects in the glass room with bloodshot eyes. 2 women and 1 man stood beside her, and the other 2 are dead. Their task is to find the real killer based on the testimony of the 6 suspects and the testimony of Riri Ono in the adjacent room. It¡¯s already 2 days now and every night at 1:35 a.m., Riri Ono would ask them to name the killer''s number.

    However, in 2 days, they still got it wrong.

    At first, they thought they would just have to find the killer before the last day. Who knows, at 1:35 midnight, Riri Ono suddenly appeared in their room and killed a person casually. Before leaving, she smiled maliciously.

    "You must help me find the murderer tomorrow."

    The homicide went like this: One morning, an unnamed female corpse is found hanging from an electric pole at an intersection. According to initial checking, she is just hanged not long ago so the police managed to find 6 suspects.

    The person on the 1st floor said, ¡°I was taking a shower just now, and I didn''t go anywhere.¡±

    The person on the 2nd floor said, ¡°I was washing the dishes just now. Then, I heard someone shouting outside so I went to take a look, and only then did I know that someone was hanged.¡±

    The person on the 3rd floor said, ¡°I was chatting with a friend on the Internet just now. Then, I saw a pair of feet swaying outside the window.¡±

    The person on the 4th floor said, ¡°I was not at home just now. I just got home, so I don''t know anything.¡±

    The person on the 5th floor said, ¡°I was playing with my father. When we went to the living room, I saw a clothed person outside.¡±[1]

    The person on the 6th floor said, ¡°Aiya, how terrible! I suddenly saw a person¡¯s head hanging from outside the window.¡±

    ...

    Everyone has points of doubt, but only 1 suspect can be mentioned at a time, which makes it more difficult.

    Jiang Rou closed her eyes, she is very tired. 2 days without rest made her thinking freeze. She glanced at Tong Fei, whose eyes are red, and said, "Sister Feifei, take a rest. It''s useless to hold on like this."

    Tong Fei clenched her fist and thumped the table, making a loud noise, "Damn!" After venting, she finally nodded, "Everyone, take a rest. Eat something, and save your energy."

    Tong Fei gritted her teeth. If nothing works, she¡¯ll go all out with Riri Ono.

    ¡­

    Stepping on the 4th floor, everyone in Qin Tan¡¯s team felt disheartened, no longer carrying the dashing attitude they had at the beginning. Even Lou Fan didn''t want to collect equipment anymore, he just wanted to end the fights quickly. Of course, there is nothing in the hands of the ghost for him to grab after that. Fortunately, when to rest is up to them. Otherwise, they will really be exhausted to death.

    This task world is actually quite easy. Physical combat and exercising in here worked better than Qin Tan¡¯s training plan at Lazuli. Chen Shuyang''s dagger can now be used with ease, and his body''s reaction speed has also accelerated. Not to mention Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, they got stronger and better sense of cooperation.

    The layout of the 4th floor is no different from the 2nd and 3rd floors, but on this floor, the corridors are deep and dark. It is bright outside, but none of the light could come in.

    "It doesn''t look good." Lou Fan casually shot a spiritual arrow into the distance. The arrow disappeared into the darkness.

    Even if Lou Fan didn''t say it, Qin Tan felt that they couldn''t be careless. Hence, he decided to move forward together with the whole team, no longer act separately.

    In the first 3 offices, everyone worked together, and they managed to complete it in less than 2 hours. Walking into the 4th office with a relaxed look, the team saw an electronic watch with cartoon design inside, which looks like a child''s watch. Lou Fan was thinking about whether it would be another game duel when a little girl about 5 or 6 years old appeared in front of him. She has two pigtails, is wearing a dusty pink dress, and holds a dirty doll in her hand. The doll''s eyes are big, and the corners of the mouth are curved in a strange arc. It looked as if it is alive so it gave people a chilling sensation.

    "Hee hee hee, are brothers here to play with me?" The little girl raised her face with a smile. Her face is pale, and there are dark shadows under her eyes.

    No one answers her question. Lou Fan''s spirit arrow shot at her, but she flexibly avoided it. Wen Lang''s poker came right after, brushing the little girl''s skirt and cutting the fabric.

    The little girl glared at Wen Lang and said grimly, "How dare you cut my skirt!"

    As soon as the voice fell, the girl disappeared from their sight and suddenly appeared behind Wen Lang. Wen Lang only felt a pain in his back, and there is already a long wound, which made him grimace with pain.

    The little girl moved so fast that their eyes couldn''t catch her. She flashed back and forth around them, and each of them received wounds of different sizes. On the other hand, her doll appeared on the other side alone, waiting quietly.

    "Jiang Dong, bandages!"

    Lou Fan shouted, and Jiang Dong quickly threw out the bandage. After taking the bandage, Lou Fan wrapped it around his arm. Next, Jiang Dong threw the other end to Qin Tan, and all five of them held the bandage in their hands, surrounding the girl in a circle. After that, the five of them ran towards each other, tightly wrapping her in the middle. The little girl only stared at them and grinned. In the next instant, she and the doll switched places.

    She can even switch places?!

    Lou Fan''s eyes narrowed. With the bandage wrapped tightly around his arm, he pulled out the phoenix feather arrow from the quiver on his side. The phoenix feather is shot at the doll with a swoosh and the doll got pinned to the wall, rendered immobile.

    The little girl screamed and pounced towards Lou Fan. Lou Fan didn''t dodge and he kept pulling the bowstring with his right hand, shooting spiritual arrows towards the little girl. The little girl had to back down, just in time for 5 people to surround her again. Finally, they managed to tie the little girl. Qin Tan swiftly stepped forward and cut down without hesitation.

    "Ah?" Lou Fan is about to speak, but the little girl had disappeared before his eyes, "I haven''t asked how to use the doll yet!"

    Qin Tan glanced back at the doll pinned to the wall, helplessly spreading his hands, "I''m sorry, I forgot."

    Lou Fan took the doll down and put the arrow back into the quiver, "Forget it, I don''t like it very much either. After we returned to Lazuli, I¡¯ll just exchange it, or give it to someone else. " This thing looked eerie, It also feels creepy to carry around. Besides, he never played with this kind of thing before.

    Wen Lang gasped in pain and sucked in a breath. That little devil just scratched so deep that one could see the bone. It¡¯s super painful. Chen Shuyang helped him to the side and sat down. He called Jiang Dong, "Doctor Jiang, come and help Wen Lang to have a look. I can even see the bones. Man, it hurts to look at."

    Jiang Dong walked over and asked, "Does it hurt?"

    Wen Lang tightened his back and gritted his teeth, "It doesn''t hurt that much, just a little bit."

    Amused, Lou Fan is not feeling sympathetic at all but wanted to give Wen Lang a slap. "Okay, don''t hold on. Jiang Dong, you can do whatever you need to. Use the medicine as you like."

    Jiang Dong nodded responsibly, "It looks a bit serious, I hope the medicine will work well."

    Hands moving quickly as they are talking, Jiang Dong cut open the clothes on Wen Lang''s back. After disinfection, he sprinkled hemostatic agents and anti-inflammatory medicine. When the bleeding stopped, he wrapped the bandages around a few times.

    Wen Lang felt heartbroken about his clothes, "I only have this clothing left that doesn¡¯t have holes but you cut it up. What should I wear now?"

    Chen Shuyang is about to lend a helping hand when Jiang Dong said, "I¡¯ll lend mine to you. After we returned to Lazuli, you can return a new one to me."

    "Tsk, how short-sighted. Do you need to be that calculative with a piece of clothing?" Wen Lang wrinkled his nose in disgust.

    Wen Lang is seriously injured this time so the other 4 members left him to rest alone, and they continued to move forward. Fortunately, Lazuli''s medicine is really good. It¡¯s just 1 day and the wound no longer hurts, though still looked quite scary.

    Raw word count: 2122

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 CH 36.1

    Lou Fan looked at the ghosts wandering in the open space in front of the prefecture office building and felt a little fortunate, "Fortunately, the ghost that was killed no longer appears inside. Otherwise, when the time comes for us to get on the train, it would be a fierce battle."

    Standing next to Lou Fan, Qin Tan didn''t speak, and Chen Shuyang''s voice came from behind him.

    "Tomorrow is the 6th day and there¡¯s only the 6th floor is left. Also, there are 6 ghosts to finish off." After Chen Shuyang said that, he laughed, "It''s really 666/ liu liu liu (amazing)!"

    In everyone¡¯s backpack are the clocks that they have adjusted the time, except for the clocks that could not fit due to their size. At this moment, each of their bags is almost full. There are even more loots in Lou Fan¡¯s bag.

    Since Wen Lang didn''t fight in any battles yesterday, he felt refreshed physically and mentally. Just as he is about to open his mouth to say something, he stopped and closed his mouth. Then he threw a nut in the air, raised his head, and caught the nut in his mouth. He didn''t want to say anything depressing. Jiang Dong is a little taller than him so the clothes he lent to him are quite suitable. However, Wen Lang is used to wearing his sweater so, suddenly making him wear a white shirt felt awkward.

    Lou Fan retracted his gaze from out and looked sideways at Qin Tan. With a long sigh, he said, "I hope everything goes well tomorrow."

    Qin Tan smiled, "It will definitely go well, with you here."

    Such words. Lou Fan''s face felt inexplicably hot, and he shifted his gaze to the other 3 team members sitting on the sofa. Seeing that they are all looking at him, Lou Fan had a feeling like he got exposed or something. "Hey, take a rest, take a rest." Lou Fan said and went to the other side of the sofa. After he laid down, he added, "We have works to do tomorrow!"

    Qin Tan followed behind Lou Fan. Seeing him covering his face like an ostrich, Qin Tan chuckled in a low voice.

    ¡­

    Stepping on the 6th floor, Lou Fan looked around for Tong Fei and the others but found no one at all. The 6th floor is quiet, and the empty area only had a huge clock in the middle, surrounded by 6 small clocks. The time all stood still at 1:35 am. The team of 5 people frowned so deeply that the wrinkles can squeeze a fly to death. Does that mean they have to deal with 7 ghosts together? Who can handle this kind of difficulty?!

    Lou Fan felt in a trance that something is wrong, but he couldn''t figure out what is wrong for a while.

    Standing at the front, Qin Tan held the Tang sword in his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Are you all ready?"

    Everyone readied themself and replied in a low voice, "Ready."

    As soon as they answered, Qin Tan took a deep breath and reached out to touch the largest clock.

    A female ghost with shoulder-length hair appeared, and 6 ghosts stood behind her. Appearing along with them are Tong Fei and 2 team members and they are in a sorry state. Supported by Jiang Rou, Tong Fei had one arm broken, while the other hand is holding a large sword.

    "Team leader Qin!" Jiang Rou exclaimed. Her eyes suddenly lit up at the 5 people there, as if she saw a savior.

    Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun immediately supported Tong Fei forward and ran behind Qin Tan. Lou Fan looked at their sorry state and knew that the opponent on the other side is definitely not easy to deal with, but he couldn''t help but ask what was going on.

    Tong Fei gritted her teeth, unable to speak in pain so Jiang Rou explained quickly. It turned out that their task is to find the murderer. After analysis, they named the murderer, but Riri Ono on the opposite side said no. In the end, there are only three of them left. With the intention to take down Riri Ono, Tong Fei fought with the ghost. They ended up injured, and Tong Fei got her arm cut off by Riri Ono. Fortunately, at a critical moment, the five of them appeared.

    "Are you sure you found the right murderer?" Lou Fan asked.

    Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun nodded affirmatively, "Yes."

    Staring at the 7 ghosts on the opposite side, Lou Fan concluded that the ghosts are cheating. Tong Fei and the others should have other ways to complete the task. Still staring at the ghosts, the more he looked at them, the more Lou Fan feel that something is wrong.

    Before Lou Fan could think more about it, Riri Ono laughed out strangely. Her laughter echoed on the 6th floor, becoming more and more terrifying.

    "Are you all here to help me find out who killed me?"

    Behind them, Chen Shuyang had already asked about the testimony of the 6 suspect ghosts from Jiang Rou. He didn''t even think deeply about it and laughed. Then he said to Riri Ono, "What is there to find out? It''s so simple. You can''t even find out who killed you? You are stupid eh?"

    What Chen Shuyang said almost angered Riri Ono to death. She looked at Chen Shuyang with a grim expression, and asked in a deep voice, "So you know who killed me?"

    Chen Shuyang pointed casually, "It''s the suspect on the 3rd floor!" His words hit the nail on the head with no mercy.

    However, Riri Ono obviously didn''t really want this answer. As she said ¡®So it was No. 3¡¯, she pounced over to catch Chen Shuyang. The 6 ghosts behind her also started to rush forward together.

    Qin Tan¡¯s team had to protect the 3 wounded women and deal with 7 ghosts at the same time so the scene is very chaotic. Tong Fei gritted her teeth in pain. She sat leaning against the big clock and holding a big sword in one hand. She turned to Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun beside her and said, "Hurry up and help them. I''m fine, won''t die yet. Kill that Riri Ono for me!" If she could, Tong Fei really wanted to bite that Riri Ono to death.

    Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun looked at each other. They are not seriously injured so they stood up and rushed into the battle to help with their weapons.

    Lou Fan is busy shooting arrows and then he saw Tong Fei leaning against the big clock. A flash of inspiration suddenly hit him. He remembered that yesterday Chen Shuyang mentioned the number 666.

    "Shuyang, you said 666 yesterday, right?" Lou Fan had to make sure.

    "Ah?" Chen Shuyang couldn¡¯t react for a while. What happened? Why did suddenly Brother Lou talk about that? But Chen Shuyang still replied promptly, "Yes, 666."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan walked quickly to Tong Fei''s side. He pursed his lips and laughed, causing Tong Fei to feel horrified. Without saying anything, he grabbed Tong Fei¡¯s big sword and slashed at the big clock behind her...

    "AAH!!!!"

    The shrill and mournful cry seemed to pierce one''s eardrums. With the scream, Riri Ono disappeared in front of everyone with unwilling and vicious eyes.

    Before everyone had time to be happy that they defeated Riri Ono, Lou Fan''s spiritual arrows quickly aimed at the other 6 ghosts, and Qin Tan followed through with a slash of his sword. Soon, the 6 ghosts are wiped out. There are 6 clocks scattered on the ground, and the team set it back to the correct time. At the same time, the tasks of both teams are marked Completed. 8 people collapsed on the empty ground without caring for their image...

    "Finally, it''s done..." Wang Xiaoyun muttered while lying on Jiang Rou''s side.

    Jiang Rou closed her eyes, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth as she said softly, "It''s great, we''re still alive." The two of them looked sideways at Tong Fei lying on the ground, the corners of their eyes slightly moist.

    Back in the lobby on the first floor, Jiang Dong bandaged Tong Fei''s arm. This charming woman asked him to help her bandage her wound while she chatted with other people as if it is just a small wound. She didn¡¯t even frown. Jiang Dong tied the last knot, put away the things, and said, "It''s bandaged. Your arm will grow out when you get on the train."

    Tong Fei nodded indifferently, and thanked Jiang Dong, "Thank you, Dr. Jiang."

    Jiang Dong waved his hand and said it¡¯s fine.

    When Tong Fei stood up, Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun stood beside her. Tong Fei solemnly thanked the 5 people, "Thank you very much today, otherwise we might not be able to get out alive."

    Lou Fan took over the topic with a smile, "We are just completing our task as well but you''re welcome."

    Tong Fei and the other 2 have a good impression of Qin Tan¡¯s team. She is not a hypocritical person to simply pass the favor with a thank you. In her mind, she decided to give them something good in the future as a thank you gift. Looking at the team again, she sighed a little, "It''s so important to find reliable teammates, and I envy you guys. Pairing with random teammates is hard to cooperate."

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan knew this from the beginning, so after working with Wen Lang, they recruited him into the team. As for Jiang Dong, they are also quite satisfied with him. As for whether the recruitment is successful or not, it depends on Jiang Dong himself.

    Jiang Dong voiced out at this moment, "Having a good team is indeed very important. I wonder if Team leader Qin can let me join your team?" After he said the words, he looked at Qin Tan. Wen Lang also turned to look at Qin Tan with him.

    Qin Tan nodded, "You are welcomed to join us."

    Jiang Dong smiled, "Then, please take care of me from now on."

    After a few days of fighting, everyone felt very tired. And so on this extra day before the deadline, everyone took a good rest in the lobby on the 1st floor. They chatted about everything everywhere. Speaking of their previous life outside, everyone suddenly felt a little depressed, but they recovered after a while.

    The 7th night is about to pass. At 11.00 pm, the 8 people got ready and planned to wait for the train in advance.

    Ghosts are hanging out in the open space of the prefecture office building. At first, Tong Fei¡¯s team are worried when they saw them. But after they heard that those are the ghosts who lost to Qin Tan¡¯s team, they don¡¯t feel that afraid anymore. Unexpectedly, those ghosts didn''t attack them and let them pass.

    The newcomers in the guard room are stunned by the scene. They almost pissed their pants after hiding from them for so many days. Are ghosts nowadays that amiable? The newcomers in the guard room are kindly released from the guard¡¯s room. All of them have yellowed complexion and are unhealthily thin, looking very pitiful. The other teams still have unfinished food in their bags, so they took the food out and distributed them to the newcomers. The newcomers thanked the teams and began to gobble the food.

    The whistle of the train sounded, and the old green shell train appeared out of thin air, taking away the surviving people.

    ¡­

    The journey is still the usual short ride, and by the time they got off the train, Tong Fei''s arms are as good as before. She can move them freely as if they had never been broken. The newcomers stood together in bewilderment, looking at them so Qin Tan asked Chen Shuyang to give them a brief explanation.

    Tong Fei put the big sword on her shoulders, like a female bandit leader, worlds apart from the word ¡®charming¡¯. She said, "Come to our place for dinner the day after tomorrow as a thank you."

    Jiang Rou also smiled and put her arm around Wang Xiaoyun''s shoulder, "Our Xiaoyun''s skill is very good. We will cook you a table of delicious food."

    Lou Fan immediately nodded in agreement, "Okay, can I add in my order? I want to eat boiled fish, boiled meat, and spicy hot pot..."

    Lou Fan couldn''t stand the temptation of food so he agreed on behalf of everyone.

    Tong Fei accepted Lou Fan¡¯s order with a smile and took Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun to leave first. As soon as Tong Fei¡¯s team left, Lin Man Man and Gong Yi, who was waiting at the side, walked up to them. Lou Fan saw the two and they looked a little tired. But they seemed to be in good spirits and a good mood. It seemed that their task has completed well.

    "Brother Lou, are you all doing well?" Lin Man Man greeted Lou Fan and asked.

    Gong Yi smiled and said, "Look, they all came back safely. Their task must have gone well. It¡¯s Brother Qin and Brother Lou after all."

    Wen Lang slapped Gong Yi on the shoulder, "Yo, I haven''t seen you for a few days and your flattery skill has improved."

    Gong Yi hehe-ed and scratched his head.

    Lin Man Man is like Lou Fan''s little sister, and Lou Fan likes her character. Looking at her up and down, Lou Fan asked, "How is it, did you get hurt during your mission?"

    Lin Man Man shook her head with a smile and said, "My task is quite simple this time, and the people in the team are nice. Brother Lou, I also killed monsters by myself."

    Originally, Lou Fan asked them to join their team, but Gong Yi and Lin Man Man discussed it and felt that they are still in the early stage. It would be best if they could improve their strength by themselves. If they don''t seize the opportunity now, then it will be more difficult in the future. Hence, the two teamed up with random teams. Fortunately, the process went smoothly, and the intermediate teams they met are also very friendly.

    Lin Man Man''s tone is excited, like a little sister waiting for her brother''s praise. Lou Fan laughed and said, "En, very good. Keep working hard, and soon you will be able to be stand up on your own."

    Lin Man Man''s eyes brightened and she nodded.

 CH 36.2

    [Banana: Technically speaking, the mission world for Shimane has ended but it''s still the same Chapter 36 on the outside so I can''t change the title while keeping the word Part 2, you get what I mean?]

    Everyone has been in a tense state for a few days so knowing that they have returned safely to Lazuli, their bodies started to feel the fatigue the moment they relaxed. Seeing Lou Fan yawning constantly, Qin Tan took his backpack and said to everyone, "Go back first and have a good rest. If you have anything to say, we¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow. Everyone has been tired for a few days, and we have half a month to talk."

    No one thinks that Qin Tan is chasing them away, they only felt that Brother Qin is really a reliable team leader, someone who is thinking of everyone¡¯s welfare. Only Lin Man Man suddenly felt that she is disliked by him.

    Probably because of too much physical exertion, when Lou Fan woke up, it is already 1.00 pm. But today it rained in Lazuli.

    After Lou Fan finished washing up, he went upstairs to find food. His index finger pressed the fingerprint lock, and the door opened with a beep. On the coffee table in the living room are freshly washed fruits, and there is a pot of cooked porridge on the dining table. Lou Fan heard some noise in the kitchen. He picked up a piece of fruit and put it in his mouth, then dumped everything in his backpack on the ground. This time, their harvest has been quite fruitful - they collected more than 100 clocks. In addition, Lou Fan also collected a whip, a spooky doll, a bottle of wine, and a handkerchief.

    When Qin Tan walked out of the kitchen, he saw Lou Fan sitting cross-legged on the ground with a small pile of clocks in front of him. He is playing with a whip in his hand, and the spooky doll is placed far away from him. Qin Tan wiped his hands, walked over, and picked up the doll, "You don''t like this, right? Then let¡¯s register this thing at the electronic screen and exchange it away."

    Lou Fan nodded, "Yeah, let¡¯s do that. The doll creeps me out."

    After a while, the other 5 people came to the house. Lin Man Man and Gong Yi came over with things in their hands. Wen Lang got caught by Qin Tan to cook lunch, while the rest chatted in the living room.

    Chen Shuyang took the things in Lin Man Man''s hand to see. "Man Man, what animal''s tooth is this?"

    Lin Man Man nodded and said, "It''s the monster''s teeth. We are responsible for finding the monster. The intermediate team¡¯s task is to kill the monster."

    Lou Fan turned his face sideways, frowned, and asked, "Just kill the monster?"

    Gong Yi nodded, "Yes, the intermediate team only needs to kill the monster."

    Chen Shuyang asked, "Brother Lou, what''s wrong?"

    "Something''s wrong." Lou Fan pondered and said, "Last time, our task is to look for a sunken ship. It seems simple, but we need to find the location of the sunken ship first and kill the fish monsters to get small pearls to breathe underwater. You already know how difficult is it to deal with fish monsters, right? Besides, the Black Scorpion¡¯s team got destroyed. But the mid-level team Man Man mentioned only needs to kill the monster. Isn''t that something not right?"

    After Lou Fan said this, everyone felt that as the low-level team, Lou Fan and Qin Tan¡¯s task (during Lao Ye Temple mission world) is indeed not easy. Wen Lang came out of the kitchen and happened to hear the question. With a smug look, he said, "Well, you should ask me."

    Qin Tan at the back gave Wen Lang a kick and said, "Just say it."

    "Oh." Wen Lang answered honestly, "The task is determined according to the strength of each team member. I believe you all know how smart Lazuli is. After each team is formed, it will issue tasks according to the strength of the team."

    "So we are considered stronger?" Lou Fan asked.

    Wen Lang made an exaggerated expression, "Brother Lou, are you not sure about your position? You and Brother Qin are very strong, a¡¯ight?" Then he flipped his non-existing bangs and added, "Of course, I¡¯m a very capable member too."

    Everyone turned back to do their own thing, and no one paid any attention to Wen Lang. Wen Lang couldn''t help but want to whip out his chain whip to express his anger. Lou Fan ignored him and asked everyone to take out their clocks, "Take out the clocks, let me see if they are worth anything."

    Everyone¡¯s backpacks are dead heavy, and the clocks poured out to pile up into a hill. Rubbing his hands excitedly, Lou Fan walked to the exchange machine and put a watch on it. Frowning, he changed another clock. Tsk, the Hell?! Lou Fan is so angry that he wanted to smash the pile of clocks; they painstakingly carried them back and this is what he gets?

    When the other members saw Lou Fan¡¯s expression, they realized that the clocks might not be as valuable as they thought, so they went over to take a look. A watch is only worth 20 points, while a bigger clock is worth 25 points. It really doesn¡¯t worth much.

    Qin Tan: "Fortunately, we have a lot of them."

    Lou Fan glanced at Qin Tan, is that a word of consolation? It¡¯s not sincere at all.

    "Forget it, divide the clocks equally and take what you like." Lou Fan waved his hand, "You can use it to buy whatever you like!"

    Lou Fan didn''t give up, and put the whip on the exchange machine again, which finally lived up to his expectations as it is worth several piles of clocks. The weird doll has similar worth so Lou Fan finally smiled and narrowed his eyes. The points that can be exchanged from the wine and handkerchief are slightly higher than the clocks. Unfortunately, exchanging rare equipment items away would be too wasteful. It would be nice if there are equipment available on the exchange machine. Then they won''t have to go to great lengths to exchange it with others.

    As a newsmonger who only gets his information from the grapevine, Wen Lang has no idea about the exchange of high-level items. It happened that they are going to Tong Fei''s party tomorrow, so Lou Fan planned to ask them about this information before releasing the news via the electronic board.

    The next day, Lin Man Man and Gong Yi came to Qin Tan to plan a training plan. They are familiar with the training plan set for the first time so this time Qin Tan planned to formulate training related to using weapons. Lin Man Man borrowed points from Lou Fan and exchanged them for a sword as a weapon.

    When Lin Man Man and Gong Yi are about to leave, Lou Fan stopped Lin Man Man.

    "Man Man, stay here. I have something to trouble you."

    Lin Man Man turned back, sat opposite Lou Fan, and asked, "Brother Lou, what''s the matter?"

    Seeing her nervous look, Lou Fan said with a smile, "It''s nothing important, it''s just that we are going to a gathering with 3 girls tonight and I want to take you with me. It would be more convenient to have you since the rest of us are guys."

    Lou Fan just got reminded of the gathering and then realized that Tong Fei and the other 2 members are all girls. Although they might not mind, Qin Tan¡¯s side is all men. It doesn¡¯t feel very good to go like this so bringing Lin Man Man along would be better.

    Jiang Dong chose 2 bottles of wine from the exchange machine while the others didn''t need much. In the afternoon, everyone walked to Tong Fei''s residence. Tong Fei lived in the southwest area and it¡¯s not too far away so they just went for a walk.

    Tong Fei lives on the ground floor, and there are many flowers in the small garden, which are blooming brightly. When the 6 of them arrived, Tong Fei is resting on a reclining chair in the small garden with her eyes closed. Hearing the sound of movement, she opened her eyes and saw them coming. She smiled and said, "Come in, come in." Her tone is casual like she¡¯s greeting an old friend for many years.

    The group of 6 people entered the house, and they can see the table is already filled with hot dishes that had just been made. Lou Fan grinned, "Jiang Rou and Xiaoyun''s skill is very good, I can have a good time today."

    Tong Fei was pouring tea when she heard that. She looked at Lou Fan and asked, "How do you know if I didn''t help to make it?"

    Lou Fan said as a matter of course, "Looking at your appearance, you are not someone who cooks. It''s enough for you to be in charge of being beautiful."

    Who doesn''t like to listen to praises? Tong Fei is no exception. Seeing Lin Man Man standing beside Lou Fan, she raised her eyebrows, then turned her head to look at Qin Tan.

    Lou Fan pulled Lin Man Man over and introduced, "This is Lin Man Man, my sister. I brought her here to introduce you guys."

    Tong Fei showed an inexplicable smile, "Man Man, come and sit here. The rest of the guys can sit wherever."

    Lou Fan: "..." Isn''t this bias too obvious?

    But Lou Fan didn¡¯t mind. He sat down and began to ask Tong Fei about the exchange of equipment.

    Speaking of serious business, Tong Fei also put away her joking attitude and said, "The probability of exchanging items depends on your luck. There are mainly 2 ways. One is that you have the item you like from the electronic board so you can exchange your item with the seller, but this depends on the seller''s requirements. The second is that you are the seller and the person who finds you may be able to come up with something you are interested in. However, if the item has a special purpose (can only be used under certain circumstances), then the quality might not be good. After all, the seller may not have used it before."

    Lou Fan fell in silence. He belonged to the category where the seller has never used it, and he has no idea how to use that creepy doll.

    Tong Fei¡¯s lips that are painted with auntie¡¯s color lipsticks touched the cup as she took a sip of coffee. She said slowly, "These are all uncontrollable variables so you might as well just check out the board if there is anything you want. If there¡¯s nothing, then you simply post the information of your item and wait for someone to come to exchange it. It''s that simple."

    That¡¯s right! Why does he need to think so complicated? Since no one knows about the item, he should just depend on his luck and wait for a response. Lou Fan felt relieved and went to see the two girls cook, while the rest played the game console and board games in Tong Fei''s house. All in all, it¡¯s not boring at all.

    By the time all the dishes are ready, Lou Fan is drooling and he urged everyone to sit down quickly. All the dishes he listed are there, the brightly colored food really whetted his appetite.

    "Come on, raise your glass." Tong Fei stood up and raised her glass. She called out, "To celebrate our survival once again, and to wish our next mission a success."

    Everyone raised their glasses and toasted, making a crisp tinkling sound.

    Qin Tan took a piece of boiled fish and put it in his bowl. After he picked out the bones, he then put it in Lou Fan''s bowl. On the other side, Jiang Dong reached out to pick a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, and Wen Lang''s chopsticks are aiming for the same piece too.

    "Hey, I saw it first." Wen Lang growled.

    Jiang Dong calmly refused to give in, "I picked it first."

    Wen Lang clenched his chopsticks, "Mine."

    Jiang Dong picked the meat up closer to his bowl, "I just like this one."

    Tong Fei smiled and shook the red wine, acting as if she is not looking, but everything is within her sight. Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun grinned and whispered to each other as their eyes swept around.

    "Look, look! Remember what I told you!" Wang Xiaoyun is so excited that she fiercely chomped a bite of the chicken leg.

    Jiang Rou nodded her head in excitement, "Yes, yes, you are right. I almost cried with excitement."

    Lin Man Man approached the two of them blankly and asked mysteriously, "Sister Rou, what are you talking about?"

    Jiang Rou glanced at Lin Man Man sideways and showed a wretched smile. She patted her head, "You are too young, I will tell you when you grow up."

    Lin Man Man: "..."

    After eating, Lou Fan is so full that he is unable to walk and slumped on the sofa to rest. During a chat, the talk about Lin Man Man going into the mission alone comes up and Tong Fei slapped her thigh.

    "I just have an idea, but it''s just a plan." Tong Fei said, "I¡¯m thinking to organize a women-only team. Man Man, do you want to join me?"

    Lin Man Man didn''t even think about it, and nodded immediately, "Yes, I want to join Sister Feifei¡¯s team."

    Lou Fan raised his eyebrows, "Okay, then I''ll leave Man Man to you."

    Lin Man Man looked excited, "I will work hard, Brother Lou."

    Lou Fan didn''t expect going to eat a meal will solve 2 things for him. Lin Man Man is a hardworking girl, and Tong Fei has a good character. Lou Fan felt that if Lin Man Man could follow Tong Fei, the benefit won¡¯t be lesser than following him. Originally, he planned to bring Lin Man Man along with him next time, but now it seems that he doesn''t need to do that anymore. After he exchanged away the weird doll, the next task should be almost time.

    The next day, Chen Shuyang stayed to train at home while Lou Fan and Qin Tan went to the North Square bazaar. The bazaar is lively, with huge electronic screens scrolling messages for exchange. Lou Fan looked up at the screen for a long time and his neck felt sore but he still didn''t see anything he liked.

    "Forget it, I have a hard time choosing so let''s go to the registration counter." Lou Fan said to Qin Tan who is still watching the board and walked to the registration office by himself.

    There are 2 staff at the registration counter. The electronic screens are said to belong to an organization that manages the electronic screens. However, there is a fee to be paid to put up messages on the electronic screen. Also, a part of the fee will be charged if the exchange is successful, which is paid half and half by the 2 parties. As for the fee, one could give points, or with things which the staff will see how many points are worth on the spot. Lou Fan walked up to the counter and bowed his head, showing a smile with a row of gleaming teeth.

    One of the staff is a girl, and when she looked up to see Lou Fan, her face turned red. She screamed in excitement a few times in her heart, how could there be such a good-looking young man? Lou Fan¡¯s appearance is between youthful and mature, he is handsome and bright but also has a calm temperament.

    The man next to the girl also got stunned for a moment. Suddenly seeing such a good attitude person here, he is a little uncomfortable. Everyone knows whoever came to exchange stuff on the electronic screen is a powerful character. Hence, those people always wear a look that said ¡®I am a bigshot, don''t mess with me¡¯. Who would have such a smile on their faces?

    Both of the staff stayed stunned until Lou Fan asked again, "I want to register for an exchange, how do you charge?"

    The man coughed lightly, and the girl came back to her senses. With a smile on her face, her attitude is very friendly, "Hello, what do you want to register? Is it information exchange or item exchange?"

    "It''s an item exchange."

    The girl took out a form and said, "Then, fill in the information first and briefly describe the item here. The registration fee for item exchange is 20 points."

 CH 36.3

    [Banana: The title is still so misleading :v]

    Looking at the form, Lou Fan picked up a pen and filled it out. The girl was staring at Lou Fan when she suddenly realized that there is another person in front of her. When she looked up, she saw a tall man with sharp eyebrows and an upright aura. He held out his hand and there is a watch in it.

    "It''s to pay for the registration fee."

    "Oh." The girl reacted and took the watch. She handed it to the man next to her and stopped looking at Lou Fan.

    "I wonder when there will be an update?" Lou Fan returned the pen to the girl and asked.

    "There¡¯s no guarantee." The girl said and added, "It could be some days later or even some months. The important point is whether anyone knows about it and wanted it."

    It¡¯s similar to what Tong Fei said. Lou Fan held the hope that the registration counter could introduce items to buyers, but now it seems that it can only depend on fate. But basically every person will go to the bazaar after returning to Lazuli, not to mention those who have goods or points in hand. Thinking of this, Lou Fan felt relieved - he is in no hurry anyway.

    After registering the information, he watched the information of his item scrolled on the electronic screen. Lou Fan and Qin Tan did not delay and returned to their residence to start a new round of training.

    5 days later, Lou Fan''s watch suddenly beeped a few times, and a message came in. When he opened it, he saw that the message is sent by the registration office, saying that Lou Fan need to come over as there are buyers who wanted to talk to him.

    Lou Fan''s eyes lit up and turned to Qin Tan, "Qin Tan, someone wants to buy the ghost doll. Let''s go and have a look."

    Qin Tan put down the barbell he was holding, and the bulging muscles on his arms glowed healthily, looking very attractive. He walked up to Lou Fan and looked down at the message on Lou Fan¡¯s watch. At that position, Qin Tan¡¯s strong scent surrounded Lou Fan. Qin Tan had a nice soapy scent on his body and no unpleasant smell of sweat. Lou Fan felt like his heart is about to pop out of his chest and he gulped.

    Qin Tan''s mouth curved slightly. After reading the message, he said with a hoarse voice, "Wait for me to get dressed." After speaking, he strode back to the room to change his clothes.

    Staring at the back of Qin Tan¡¯s golden ratio figure, Lou Fan inexplicably felt that he must be attracted by this delicious body and definitely not his appearance.

    The girl at the registration office saw the two coming, and immediately greeted them with a smile. This is her commission today, so she must greet her sellers well.

    "Mr. Lou, the buyer is inside, let''s go in." The girl pointed to a room behind the registration office, which is their meeting room.

    Entering the meeting room, Lou Fan can see a man and a woman sitting inside. The man¡¯s appearance looked common while the woman looked a bit bewitching. When they saw Lou Fan,  they stood up immediately and the woman said eagerly, "Did you bring the ghost doll? Show me."

    Such a hurry? Lou Fan felt that this deal should be successful.

    Seemingly feeling that her attitude is a little anxious, the woman curved the corner of her mouth and showed a weird expression, "My name is Shi Zhen."

    Lou Fan nodded and took the doll out of his backpack, "This was taken from a ghost in the last mission, have a look."

    The moment Lou Fan took the doll out of the bag, Shi Zhen''s eyes are fixed on it. With an excited expression on her face, she turned to look at Lou Fan hesitantly, as if she wanted to take the doll in her hand for a closer look. Lou Fan didn''t mind and handed the ghost doll forward.

    "It''s really perfect," Shi Zhen murmured.

    The man next to Shi Zhen smiled helplessly and explained, "I''m sorry, she is always like this whenever she looks at dolls. Hello, my name is Niu Xin, and I''m on the same team as Shi Zhen."

    After introducing each other, Shi Zhen finally raised her head and said, "I want to exchange this doll."

    Lou Fan raised his eyebrows, "You don''t even ask what this doll does?"

    Shi Zhen shook her head, "No need, but if you want to say it, I can listen."

    It''s really interesting, the buyer doesn''t want to know the effect while the seller wants to take the initiative to say it. The registration office¡¯s staff on the side pursed her lips and smiled.

    Lou Fan spread his hands, "As a seller, I think it''s better to explain. This ghost doll can switch places with the ghost at that time in the mission. Only after I nailed it to the wall that the ghost finally gave up switching places."

    After Lou Fan said this, Shi Zhen looked even more excited, "My God, it''s great, great!"

    Shi Zhen put the ghost doll aside and began to dig things out of her backpack while muttering, "This is not good, this is so-so, this is it!" She took out a stack of 5 talisman papers.

    "Take this for the exchange." Shi Zhen said and explained, "This is an immobilization talisman. Upon tearing it apart, it can immobilize creatures within a 5-meter radius for 1 minute. I''ve used it before and the effect is very good."

    This is a lifesaver tool! Although there are only 5, it is much better than the ghost doll whose usage method is unknown. Lou Fan immediately agreed, "Okay, if we obtained more dolls next time, we can continue to cooperate."

    Shi Zhen is also very happy with the exchange and cherishingly stroked the ghost doll. Both parties are very satisfied with the transaction.

    Holding 5 talisman papers, Lou Fan handed them to Qin Tan with an expression that is seeking compliments, "Qin Tan, look! This talisman paper is really well made. If the effect is really like what Shi Zhen said, it can be regarded as a life-saving tool."

    Taking the talisman, Qin Tan looked at it and praised, "En, such good luck. This thing is very good."

    Being praised, Lou Fan felt that if he had a tail, the tail would be pointing straight at the sky. Back at the residence, Qin Tan asked him to put away the talisman paper, and don''t tell the other three. If they knew that there are such a life-saving means as backup, they would rely on it and loosen their guard, putting themselves in a dangerous situation.

    ¡­

    On the 3rd day before the next mission started, all members gathered in Lou Fan''s living room early in the morning. Fruits, tea, and snacks are placed on the coffee table. For those who didn''t know the purpose, they might think Lou Fan is having a tea party.

    Di di di!

    Chen Shuyang immediately looked down at his watch; the information for the next mission had been released.

    Mission: Collect 10 Longjing grass (Dragon Crystal Grass) from the depths of Mount Gui. (Note: Longjing grass grows in places where Chang snakes roam). Get on the train on time at 10:00 am on December 30.

    Mission time limit: 10 days.

    Team information: Lou Fan Level 3, Chen Shuyang Level 3, Jiang Dong Level 3, Qin Tan Level 4, Wen Lang Level 4.

    "Mount Gui?" Chen Shuyang closed his eyes and frowned in deep thoughts. After thinking for a while in his mind, he suddenly opened his eyes and said uncertainly, "Could it be the Mount Gui I thought?"

    Lou Fan didn''t know which Mount Gui Chen Shuyang is thinking of, he just prepared to listen with a calm expression.

    Jiang Dong took over the conversation and said, "I think it''s probably the Mount Gui you think of." Then he recited the description from Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), ¡°190 li (about 95km) to the west, it is called Mount Gui, where there are many jades but no stones. The god Qitong lives in it, whose voice sounded like a gong, and there are many snakes under it."

    Chen Shuyang thought about it for a while, and then said, "But there are several Mount Gui recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and one of them is near the West Sea."

    Jiang Dong: "That version of Mount Gui stated that there are no vegetation on the mountain but many jades, while this version of Mount Gui only said that there are many jades but no stones. It did not say that there is no vegetation[1]."

    Chen Shuyang nodded, "That should be the case." Then he patted his head and wailed, "No way! That is to say, our mission this time is the mythical world?"

    Lou Fan felt that he is no longer surprised. Probably if they get an interstellar world next time, he might still be a little surprised.

    Qin Tan said in a deep voice, "Chen Shuyang, Jiang Dong, put together the information you know. Then, make a plan and list what we need to prepare."

    The two nodded and sat together to write. Chen Shuyang only knows what he read in books and wrote down everything he knows. Jiang Dong is also familiar with the Classic of Mountains and Seas, so he naturally understands quite a bit, and finally, they made a plan.

    They will be setting off in 3 days. Lou Fan looked at the time in the mission and sighed, "It''s incredible to think that we are going to spend our new year in the mythical heavenly mountain."

    Qin Tan stood beside Lou Fan with a cup of tea in his hand. They stood at the roof garden on the 2nd floor, admiring the sunset.

    "Time flies pretty fast, it''s soon New Year''s Eve."

    Lou Fan took a sip of hot tea and looked into the distance. Aware of the gaze beside him, he turned his head to look at Qin Tan and joked, "What''s wrong? Did you suddenly realize that I''m handsome?"

    Qin Tan shook his head. Just as Lou Fan is feeling depressed with the answer, he said, "I always thought you are handsome."

    Lou Fan: "..."

    How can this be sweeter than sweet nothings?!

    Lou Fan held back the curve of smile that is threatening to split his mouth and said, "En, you''re handsome too."

    "Oh, I thought my figure is more attractive to your eyes?"

    Hearing that, Lou Fan''s heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened slightly. How did he know?!

    Not wanting to scare Lou Fan away with more attacks, Qin Tan stopped the topic and talked about what to bring to the next mission world.

    ¡­

    3 days soon came to pass.

    At 9.00 am on December 30, the group of 5 people waited on the platform with their luggage. At 9:30 am, another group of people walked to the platform. The leader looked tall and strong and carried a very special weapon, a large chainsaw. It makes him look a bit like a chainsaw serial killer.

    Seeing the man walking towards their team with a serious face, Qin Tan took 2 steps forward and blocked in front of Lou Fan. Just when they thought the man is going to do something, the man smiled widely, showing a row of big white teeth. Then the man started talking and a strong northeastern accent came out, "Bros, your mission is also at Mount Gui, right?"

    Qin Tan nodded.

    "Oh, that''s great. Let''s work together and we''ll be able to complete the task smoothly." The man patted Qin Tan''s shoulder in a very familiar way like they are good brothers.

    Lou Fan saw the teammates behind the man covered their faces and pretended not to know him. This caused him to burst out laughing.

    "This big brother, is your mission also at Mount Gui? Can you tell me the content of your mission?" Lou Fan walked up to Qin Tan and asked. He said his mission first, "Our mission is to collect 10 Longjing grasses, although we don''t know what it is yet."

    When the man with northeastern accent saw Lou Fan, he smiled even brighter, "Yo, this guy is really good-looking. My name is Zhang Zhang[2], and our mission is to kill 10 Chang snakes[3]."

    Longjing grass grows in places where Chang snakes roam, so if their team followed the intermediate team, they will definitely find Longjing grass. Lou Fan smiled brighter and started to get along with the northeastern dude. The rest of the team heard it, and Wen Lang became friendlier as he began to get close to the other team.

    The northeastern big brother has a cute name, and the personality is also open-minded so both sides began to communicate very harmoniously. After a chat, they obtained an overview of the team members.

    All members are at Level 8. The team leader is Zhang Zhang, a strong man with a northeastern accent and his spirit weapon is a chainsaw, very domineering. Among the members is a short, chubby, and honest man named Fu Chun, who was a school cook, and his spirit weapon is a big shovel. The young girl is called You Xing, and her spirit weapon is a flower. There is also a pair of siblings, the elder sister is called Du Feng, and the younger brother is called Du Jun.

    After half an hour of chat, Lou Fan realized that the team of cooperation this time is very friendly, and he has begun to look forward to the successful completion of this task.

    At 10.00 am, the train arrived on time.

    The conversation between the two parties is not finished yet but they got on the train and prepared to continue the conversation after 15 minutes (when they arrived at the mission world).

    "Hope this mission goes well."

    However, an inexplicable feeling hits Lou Fan the moment he stepped on the train and his heart beats faster. He had a bad premonition.

 CH 37

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef)

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    Unknown x3

    15 minutes is just like a half-time rest. When the train stopped, the 2 teams got off the train and continued chatting. On the other hand, the screams from the newcomers also arrived as scheduled.

    "What the hell is this place? Who are you? What do you want to do?"

    "I want to call the police! I want to call the police!"

    ...

    Familiar recipe, familiar taste.

    However, Du Feng in Zhang Zhang''s team specializes in giving explanations to the newcomers. Generally, after arriving in the mission world, as the intermediate team, she will give basic explanations to the newcomers. This action can be regarded as doing a good deed and accumulating some blessings for oneself, a prayer for a smooth return home. But teams like Black Scorpion are an exception. Du Feng explained quickly and briefly. Also this time, the newcomers may have better luck. There are 6 people in total, and all managed to go out with their flyers. They got out of the station and everyone looked dumbfounded when they saw the surrounding environment.

    They are surrounded by lush greenery and lush vegetation. No matter which direction one goes, they can''t see anything but green.

    A continuous mountain.

    "What the hell is this place?" The newcomers murmured in disbelief, turning back to look at the train, which had already disappeared. There are no tracks on the ground as if the old model train had never been there.

    Among the newcomers, a man with ¡®waxed hair and powdered face¡¯[1] stood up. His hair is combed neatly to the back, and he is wearing cropped suit pants and a white-collar shirt like an elite. With that smile on his face, Lou Fan thinks the man should be the kind of very smooth/sleek guy.

    "Everyone, where are we? I was on the high-speed train 10 minutes ago, so why did I get here all of a sudden..." The man couldn¡¯t hold onto the smile on his face and he became very sad.

    Another young man who looked like a college student has just recovered from the shock and asked, "Have we transmigrated somewhere? I often see this situation in novels!"

    Zhang Zhang called Du Feng, and Du Feng greeted the newcomer, "You guys, come here with me. I will give you a brief introduction first."

    After driving away the newcomer, Zhang Zhang looked around, looking a little different from the previous chatting mode. As expected of someone at Level 8, he quickly entered the state.

    "Team leader Qin, let''s take a rest on the spot and explore the surrounding situation, how about it?" Zhang Zhang said to Qin Tan in a negotiating tone.

    Qin Tan has also observed the surrounding area at this moment, and said, "Find a dry flat ground to rest, and then spread out radially to explore."

    Zhang Zhang agreed, "Okay." He said to his team members, "Heard what Team leader Qin said, find a place to camp, and don''t go too far."

    The remaining Level 8 members agreed and started looking for a resting place in a well-trained manner. Lou Fan and his team members also walked around to check the area. He could see that Zhang Zhang had already decided what to do, but he still discussed with Qin Tan symbolically. This attitude made people feel good.

    After finding an open space, Du Feng on the other side has also finished explaining to the newcomers. Among them, the 2 men who spoke at the beginning were Han Yu, a real estate agent, and Jiang Yiran, a college student. There¡¯s also Qi Shan, a taciturn girl. The 3 newcomers followed Du Feng to the resting spot. The other 3 newcomers still looked at the crowd with suspicion and sat down to rest a little further away.

    Chen Shuyang and Du Feng stayed where they were, while the others divided into 4 groups to start exploring in four directions. They set a timing to return to the same place 2 hours later.

    "Brother Lou, I''ll go with you." Wen Lang smiled and ran to Lou Fan''s side.

    Lou Fan shook his head and ruthlessly expressed his disdain, "I want to team up with Qin Tan. You and Jiang Dong will team up. Didn¡¯t you two cooperate well together last time?"

    Wen Lang: "Who cooperated well with him?"

    Jiang Dong: "I don''t despise him."

    Wen Lang: "..." Who the hell dislikes who!

    "Come on," Lou Fan no longer chat with Wen Lang and said, "Pay attention to safety and be careful."

    Wen Lang bowed his head and said yes. Then, like a little daughter-in-law, he followed behind Jiang Dong.

    "Do you think Wen Lang looks like a little daughter-in-law?" Lou Fan said with a smile.

    Qin Tan stared at Lou Fan deeply before saying, "En, I think it''s quite similar."

    Lou Fan: "..." Somehow, that sounded wrong.

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan chose a random direction to go. Probably because the direction is not chosen properly, they encountered a cliff after walking forward for some time. So, they had no choice but to go back and wait for news from the other 3 teams.

    Back at the resting place, Chen Shuyang and Jiang Yiran are talking while Qi Shan is watching them and listening carefully. Han Yu, on the other hand, squatted beside Du Feng and said something with a smile. Du Feng looked impatient as if she is about to get angry. Seeing someone coming back, Han Yu immediately stood up. When they got close, he asked eagerly, "Have you found anything? What''s over there?"

    With this tone and attitude, Lou Fan didn''t even bother to look at Han Yu and sat directly next to Chen Shuyang. Qin Tan ignored Han Yu and took out the compass from his bag to check directions.

    Being ignored, Han Yu felt like he is not given faces, and threw an unkind look at Qin Tan and Lou Fan. After a while, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He walked into Chen Shuyang''s side and sat down as if wanting to join the conversation.

    "Hello, my name is Han Yu. What is your spirit weapon? Mine is a comb, and I don''t know what it can be used for."

    But Chen Shuyang and Jiang Yiran are chatting with each other while Qi Shan kept silent. Lou Fan unscrewed a bottle of water and drank it while listening to Chen Shuyang. Han Yu''s face is comparable to a city wall. He turned directly to Lou Fan and asked, "This handsome guy, can you tell me about the spirit weapon?"

    Lou Fan is about to speak when Qin Tan walked behind him and said coldly, "We''ve already told you the basic information. If you''re willing to help out, go scout the area. Don''t just hang around here."

    Qin Tan is tall and has a body with tight muscles. Facing his cold eyes, Han Yu stared at him blankly, not daring to speak anymore. He got up and walked to the other side to sit. However, seeing Qin Tan squatting down and talking to Lou Fan with gentle eyes, unlike the vicious look he had just now, Han Yu tsk-ed, "Pei, damn ghey bastard."

    ¡­

    2 hours later, the other 3 groups all came back. Only Wen Lang¡¯s group said their path to the north is heading to the mountain, while the other 2 groups couldn¡¯t proceed forward like Lou Fan¡¯s case. After a discussion, everyone packed up and decided to head north.

    "If anyone wants to stay, we will leave some food and water, and we will return to the train in 10 days. If you want to go with us, you must be obedient along the way. If you don''t follow the rules, don''t blame us for being rude." Zhang Zhang said to the 6 newcomers with a serious expression.

    Zhang Zhang¡¯s figure is tall and strong, and he looked very intimidating when serious. The newcomers looked at each other, and in the end, they all decided to go with the crowd. Unexpectedly, no one chose to stay.

    The vegetation on Mount Gui is not tall, and the tallest tree is only 5 or 6 meters, which is a little different from how Lou Fan imagined the trees in the heavenly ground should be, which is tens of meters high. This mountain is considered to be quite flat, which one couldn¡¯t feel that they are climbing. Instead, it feels like walking up a small dirt slope.

    Lou Fan carried a bow on his back and a large quiver around his waist, which contained nearly 30 phoenix feather arrows. Because this time the mission is in the wild, he prepared some more arrows. There are two daggers on his body and a hidden arrow on his wrist. Lou Fan didn''t carry the whip with him but wore the fish scale suit. He also brought a few radish flowers and the talisman that he had just gotten, plus the food in his backpack. His points are almost fully exchanged, and all his belongings are being carried by him right now.

    It is only 3.00 pm and the sky is bright. However, both teams walked very cautiously. Han Yu whispered disdainfully, "Tsk, making such a nervous look trying to scare someone? This is a deserted wilderness without a single ghost around, do they need to be so exaggerated?"

    Qi Shan glanced at Han Yu sideways, then turned around and continued to follow. With her long bangs down, no one could see her expression at all.

    "Chen Shuyang, is spirit weapon really that powerful?" Jiang Yiran discussed with Chen Shuyang excitedly, holding an umbrella in his hand, the spirit weapon he brought. "How do I use this umbrella? Poke someone with it?"

    Chen Shuyang didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. It is sure annoying to meet a chatterbox this time, "You can try poking with it first, and then go back to Lazuli to study the rest. I believe that you can definitely be amazing."

    Jiang Yiran took it for granted and said, "That is necessary. Since I am the selected child, there must be a time to use my strength."

    Chen Shuyang looked helpless. This silly boy, really not sure whether to call him stupid or naive.

    Even if the slope is flat, after climbing for 3 hours, everyone still feels the loss of physical strength.

    "Lou Fan, save your energy and slow down your breathing as much as possible." Qin Tan sensed something is wrong, although it was subtle.

    Lou Fan also noticed something, "Is there something wrong with gravity? I''m feeling pretty tired."

    Qin Tan nodded and repeated the caution to the rest of his team members. They gathered together, and he said, "Compared with the normal world, walking here is a little more strenuous as the gravity is heavier. Remember to conserve your strength and slow down your movements."

    All five of them felt tired. Not mentioning the Level 8 team, the 6 newcomers are so tired that they sat on the ground and couldn''t get up. But Zhang Zhang and his team members are also very tired. He walked over and said, "Team leader Qin, it looks like it''s going to get dark. How about we set up camp?"

    Qin Tan has the same thought and said, "Yes, find a place to camp. It''s hard to move around in the dark, so let¡¯s be careful on the first day."

    Though Zhang Zhang said ¡®camp¡¯, the Level 8 team only go to a resting spot, picked up dry wood, and raised a campfire. While Lou Fan and the others took out 3 tents and set them up, which could still be connected, and built a ¡®mansion¡¯.

    Zhang Zhang is stunned for a moment, "Brother, aren¡¯t you guys enjoying this a bit too much? Are you here on a mission or vacation? ¡®Comparing oneself to another is sure infuriating¡¯!"

    Hearing that, Qin Tan had a smile on his face. This thing is what Lou Fan is determined to bring, and the rest of the team didn''t care. But at this moment, being so envied by others makes him feel nice inside.

    "Team leader Zhang!" Lou Fan patted Zhang Zhang''s shoulder and sighed, "Task needs to be done for sure but rest is also very important. You see, in this wilderness, if there is no tent, there is no sense of security, right? Let me tell you, there is another tent in the exchange machine that is very good, and I strongly recommend it to you."

    As if Zhang Zhang had stumbled to a large-scale promotion event, he looked at Lou Fan in confusion. What is this kind of behavior? Say it, is Lazuli going to give you a commission?

    Qin Tan pulled Lou Fan back with a doting face, "Team leader Zhang, Lou Fan pays more attention to the quality of life, please forgive him."

    Zhang Zhang suddenly slapped his own thigh, "Alright, Brother Lou, when we returned, please recommend a good set for me. I also wanted to enjoy life."

    Lou Fan smiled and said, "No problem, count on me. I¡¯ll make sure you are satisfied."

    Crowd: ...

    Raw word count: 3050

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    #ManyThanksForReading

 CH 38

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef)

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    Unknown x3

    As the sky is getting darker, the fog started to appear all around. Everyone became vigilant because whenever this kind of thing happens, they know that it is not good. The fog gradually thickened, and soon the visibility is only 2 to 3 meters, the sky is completely dark. Lou Fan¡¯s team gathered together. They looked seemingly casually but their weapons are tightly grasped in their hands.

    The surroundings are quiet, not a single sound could be heard, only the sound of breathing between each other. After a while, seeing that nothing happened, the newcomers couldn''t stand it anymore. They sat down one after another and complained in a low voice.

    You Xing whispered to Zhang Zhang, "Team leader, I think something is wrong. I seem to smell something, so we still have to be careful." You Xing''s nose is very sensitive, and she can smell anything that seems wrong. Many times they rely on her sensitive sense of smell to escape danger.

    Zhang Zhang believed what You Xing said and nodded, "Okay, I''ll go over to tell Team leader Qin about it and arrange a vigil."

    The team leaders discussed the arrangements for the vigil, and regardless of the complaints of the newcomers, they decided to go straight to rest. Suddenly a newcomer shouted.

    "You guys see that? It¡¯s something shiny."

    "Is it something like gold? Or gems?"

    The 2 newcomers looked very excited and said, "Let''s go over and take a look. If it''s really gold, we¡¯ll be rich."

    Lou Fan watched the commotion calmly. Such a big piece, if it is really gold, indeed one will be rich.

    Zhang Zhang frowned and said, "Don''t move."

    The newcomer disdainfully replied, "Why should I listen to you? We discovered this first. Do you want to hoard all yourself?"

    As a person with a bad temper, the accusation caused Zhang Zhang to become angry, "The hell, I¡¯m thinking for your own g..."

    "Who wants you to be good for me? Mind your own business." The two newcomers are disdainful and did not appreciate Zhang Zhang¡¯s goodwill.

    Qin Tan grabbed Zhang Zhang and said, "Team leader Zhang, this kind of person who wants to seek death, can you stop them? Just go and rest."

    Zhang Zhang stopped to think about it and felt that Qin Tan is right. Why is he angry with the newcomer? With this kind of self-destruction attitude, they might die at some point anyway. Isn''t it a waste of his goodwill? The newcomers also said that he is nosy. He must have been too idle to think to warn them.

    The 2 newcomers quickly ran towards the place with the glowing thing, while the other newcomer hesitated. Looking in that direction with a rapid heartbeat, the third newcomer finally couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and walked slowly there.

    The fog is very thick, the figures of the 2 newcomers soon disappeared into the fog. The third newcomer behind them also looked blurred to the rest.

    Han Yu looked hesitant and seemed very moved. Qi Shan however didn''t move at all, still sitting by the fire. Jiang Yiran put the umbrella on his shoulders and stared over there with a smirk. He said to Chen Shuyang, "Look, this kind of behavior is courting death. Their ending must be bad."

    As soon as Jiang Yiran finished speaking, the ground began to vibrate slightly, as if something heavy appeared. Lou Fan turned his ears sideways and seemed to hear something rustling. Qi Shan reacted quickly and immediately used the soil around the fire to extinguish it, and Du Jun stepped forward to help. As soon as the fire is extinguished, the surroundings plunged into darkness. You Xing shrugged her nose and she caught a stench.

    A bell noise sounded, the sound is heavy and thick and it¡¯s making people feel dizzy.

    The 13 people present held their breath and did not dare to make a sound. The 2 newcomers who were picking up things over there also felt that something is wrong and immediately wanted to return. But before they could take 2 steps away, they saw a black shadow appear.

    Standing next to Qin Tan, Lou Fan only felt a sense of oppression from all directions, and he unconsciously held the hand by his side. Qin Tan tilted his head indistinctly and squeezed Lou Fan¡¯s hand firmly. Lou Fan¡¯s tense heart seemed to be surrounded by a warm current. A smile appeared in his mouth, and his gaze became firm.

    "AHH! Help m..." The screams sounded and stopped abruptly.

    The third newcomer who was still on the way froze in place, didn''t dare to move. He stared forward, and his pants got wet.

    2 minutes later, the surroundings returned to silence, and everyone looked at each other cautiously. Zhang Zhang gestured at Qin Tan and he walked slowly towards the man who can still be seen in the thick fog. When he reached the man, Zhang Zhang sighed inwardly and shook his head at the crowd. Lou Fan followed Qin Tan and walked over. Although the man remained standing, his 7 orifices are bleeding and his body is as stiff as a stone as if he had been dead for a long time. But for them, it is only 5 minutes ago.

    The remaining 3 newcomers are stunned by this kind of situation. Even Qi Shan showed a surprised expression, her eyes under her long bangs showing a terrified gaze. Han Yu is even more frightened. Fortunately, he hesitated a moment ago and didn''t go.

    "Frick! What did I say just now?! I knew that doing this kind of thing would definitely be offed as cannon fodders." Jiang Yiran said in horror, his eyes looking back and forth among the 10 experienced people. "This is terrible, I have to hug a big thigh."

    There must be a protagonist among them but who?

    Lou Fan recalled the sound just now and said, "I heard a rustling sound just now, it''s kind of like..." For a while, he couldn''t think of a proper word to describe it.

    You Xing added, "I smelled a fishy stench."

    Both of them have sensitive 5 senses, while the rest only feel the strong underground vibration.

    Chen Shuyang thought about it, and suddenly said, "Could it be a snake?"

    Jiang Dong immediately added, "The god Qitong lives in the mountain, its sound is often like a bell, and there are many snakes under it. It should be Qitong who appeared, and there are snakes beside him."

    Chen Shuyang covered his mouth, in disbelief, "God? We really met a God?!" What could they still do? Might as well die now.

    With the speculation of the two, Lou Fan also thinks he heard a snake. So the question is, did Qitong randomly appear, or did it appear because the 2 newcomers picked up the glowing thing?

    Lou Fan helplessly said, "Even we encountered him, we still have to do the task. Gods will not eat you for no reason."

    Then, Lou Fan walked to the place where the light was just now. Qin Tan had already checked it out and said, "There are no shiny things anymore." There is no blood or anything around, the 2 newcomers seemed to disappear suddenly.

    Qin Tan ordered the people to return, "Go back to rest, and we¡¯ll continue the mission tomorrow. The shiny thing is the trigger point, don''t touch it."

    Lou Fan nodded and informed Zhang Zhang, "Then I''ll go to bed first. Call me for vigil duty later."

    The night duty arrangement is the Level 8 team in the doing the first half of the night, and the junior team in the second half of the night. The extra person from each team will be on duty together in the early morning. After fully considering various factors, this arrangement is quite reasonable.

    There are 3 tents, one for Qin Tan and Lou Fan, one for the other 3 members, and the last one is for the girls from the Level 8 team.

    Qin Tan walked into the tent and closed the zipper. There are no lights in the tent so he is about to get a night light when suddenly, someone pulled at his collar. With this weak force, if Qin Tan exerts a little force, the other party won¡¯t be able to pull him down at all. But he knew who it is and cooperatively leaned forward. He sensed a soft touch on his cheek and gave a low chuckle.

    "Qin Tan, be serious!" Lou Fan whispered in Qin Tan¡¯s ear.

    The shallow breath is right next to his ear making Qin Tan feel like he got lightly brushed by a feather. His body felt itchy, and he wanted to do something.

    "What''s the matter?" Mimicking Lou Fan, Qin Tan also lowered his voice, carrying a hint of hoarseness. In the dark, it sounded dangerous.

    Hearing that make Lou Fan grit his teeth, he really wanted to take a bite at Qin Tan.

    "I like you."

    Qin Tan is not surprised by the confession. In the darkness, the corners of his mouth rose, and he couldn''t hide his smile. But Lou Fan couldn''t see it. Seeing that Qin Tan didn''t speak for a long time, he felt a little anxious in his heart. He couldn''t help but say, "Qin Tan!"

    The next moment, Lou Fan is held tightly in Qin Tan¡¯s arms and the man lets out a sigh. Then, they both fell down. With the human protector at the bottom, Lou Fan got thrown into Qin Tan''s arms.

    "I liked you for a long time."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan smiled widely, and he kissed Qin Tan fiercely. Soon, Qin Tan took the initiative, and Lou Fan is kissed so deeply by the man that he could hardly breathe. Qin Tan seemed to want to eat him whole. Qin Tan¡¯s broad palms pressed against his back, pressing him tightly to his body. Lou Fan felt that he could hardly breathe, the air in the chest seems to be sucked out. He made small gasps and this made Qin Tan¡¯s body tense up even more.

    Qin Tan gasped and stopped when he is about to lose control of himself. He buried himself in Lou Fan''s shoulder, calming himself down.

    There is a numb itching on the side of his neck, and Lou Fan could feel Qin Tan''s feeling of excitement at this moment. A strange feeling rose in his heart and Lou Fan closed his eyes, trying hard to suppress the smile that is about to burst out.

    In the silence, no one spoke. Lou Fan is hugged by Qin Tan just like that, and then¡ª¡ª fell asleep!

    After Qin Tan found that Lou Fan has fallen asleep, he wrapped him properly in a sleeping bag. Then he bowed his head and kissed Lou Fan, again and again, Finally he sucked at Lou Fan¡¯s lips and explored around until Lou Fan made an impatient sound. In the dark, Qin Tan couldn''t stop smiling.

    ¡­

    After what happened, Zhang Zhang and the others keep feeling a little nervous all night. When they woke up early in the morning, everyone had a little shadow under their eyes.

    Lou Fan came out of the tent and stretched, his face full of good sleep and content, but also with a smug look on his face. The other members also came out one after another, Qin Tan and Jiang Dong looked sober, while Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang looked lazy and dazed.

    Wen Lang looked at Lou Fan, left and right, and felt that something has happened that he didn''t know. He leaned over to Chen Shuyang and asked, "Shuyang, do you see something wrong with Brother Lou? Why do I think he is smiling like a¡­" Wen Lang is a little afraid to say the last word[1].

    Chen Shuyang looked up and said, "No, Brother Lou looked normal. What''s wrong?"

    Wen Lang looked again suspiciously. Could it be that he is wrong? No, with his keen intuition, something must have happened.

    Zhang Zhang: "Brother, you guys are really gutsy, more than me."

    Lou Fan: "It''s useless to worry so it''s better to rest as much as possible. You see, nothing happened, right? And there are people staying vigil in the night. They will call out if there is any situation."

    That''s gutsy too! In that kind of situation, who can sleep!

    Once again, Zhang Zhang felt that the junior team is a bunch of amazing people. Zhang Zhang also made a judgment in his heart. If one is not strong enough, they won¡¯t dare to do this. Even if someone is on vigil duty at night, when an emergency occurs, can a sleeping person react swiftly to it? He dared not say he could.

    Lou Fan¡¯s team ate bread for breakfast, Zhang Zhang¡¯s team ate biscuits, and the newcomers only had compressed biscuits.

    "Continue on the path today?" Zhang Zhang asked Qin Tan. But he didn''t hear the expected answer.

    Qin Tan turned to look at Lou Fan and asked, "Where do you think we should be heading?"

    Lou Fan finished the last bite of bread and stood up. He put his hands on his hip and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, Lou Fan slowly turned around.

    Zhang Zhang: What is this series of actions?!!!

    With his eyes still closed, Lou Fan pointed to a direction, "Over there!"

    Nodded, Qin Tan stood up and said to Zhang Zhang, "Team leader Zhang, let''s continue over there." The other 3 team members behind Qin Tan had already stood up and looked ready to go, without any hesitation in that direction.

    Zhang Zhang and his team members: ...

    What kind of junior team did they meet? Do they need to be so casual about making decisions? Is it not dangerous?! Oh, fortunately, the direction Lou Fan pointed is not too far from the direction he was going, otherwise, Zhang Zhang felt that he might do something terrible.

 CH 39

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef)

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    The group put away their things and started to go on their way.

    Time is tight and the task is difficult. Although it is not known exactly when they will find Longjing grass, they have to set aside 2 days for them to return to the train station. Now, it seems that the only way to find the grass is to go up the mountain, but they are not certain how far it is.

    Lou Fan walked beside Qin Tan with a smile on his face. At this moment, Chen Shuyang finally realized that something is wrong, and silly-ly asked, "Brother Lou, something good happened? Did you find money on the ground?"

    Lou Fan turned his head to look at Chen Shuyang and replied, "Something happier than finding money."

    Chen Shuyang turned to look at Qin Tan and is about to speak when he saw Qin Tan looking at Lou Fan with a doting face. Goosebumps stood up and he shivered. My god! Brother Qin''s eyes are so scary! The two ignored him, and Chen Shuyang looked at Wen Lang and Jiang Dong behind him, who are currently bickering. He has this feeling like there is something wrong with everyone? Tilting his head, Chen Shuyang couldn¡¯t think of a reason so he silently stopped talking, and continued on his way.

    It didn''t take long before it started to rain. Being drenched by the rain, one suddenly felt that their body has become sticky. Fortunately, the teams¡¯ rain gear comes with a portable raincoat, which is convenient and lightweight. The 3 newcomers have nothing so they can only continue to move forward in the rain. Han Yu cursed while blocking the rain with his arm. Fortunately, the rain came and went quickly, the sky cleared up within an hour.

    There is usually a lot of dirt on the mountain, but it''s different here. Scattered all around is the kind of big stone that needs a person to hug around it. Hence, even if it rains, it will not feel muddy.

    "Ei, hold on for a moment, I need to relieve myself." Wen Lang shouted.

    The girls all went to the front, and the Level 8 team is at the front as well. Lou Fan and his other 2 team members heard Wen Lang¡¯s call so they slowed down.

    Wen Lang turned his back to the crowd, and after watering the grass comfortably, he pulled up his pants to leave. A flash of light suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye so he turned back to look again. It is a grass with a mixture of green and red colors, the tip of the grass is curled crookedly. Looking at it carefully, it seemed that there are fine scales on the curled part. Wen Lang didn''t think about it, reached out, and picked it up, "This is..."

    "Be careful!"

    A strong force shoved Wen Lang away, and he fell 2 meters away. He could smell a fishy stench and look over. A large python has suddenly appeared. Jiang Dong is clenching its bloody mouth with both hands, with his back against the tree trunk, and he is tilting his head to avoid the snake''s mouth. 2 spirit arrows flew towards the python, but it seemed to be unaware of it at all. Wen Lang immediately put the reddish-green grass into his pocket and shook the chain whip out of his sleeve. Wrapping it around the snake, he pulled with all his strength but it is like pulling a large and heavy iron block. Qin Tan took his Tang sword and jumped up, then slashed at the snake.

    "Hiss!"

    The Chang snake is in pain, it twisted around and let go of Jiang Dong. Jiang Dong immediately stepped aside and drew a sword from his waist.

    When Zhang Zhang and the others got to the scene, they saw Qin Tan fighting with the snake. Lou Fan assisted at the side, shooting arrows and interrupting the snake. The snake''s body is super hard so he kept shooting at the eyes. When he saw a gap in the defense, Lou Fan will shoot at the more fragile part of the snake''s belly. Chen Shuyang didn''t dare to go forward with the dagger, but Wen Lang and Jiang Dong are not afraid, so they followed behind Lou Fan to harass the snake.

    Seeing Zhang Zhang¡¯s team coming over, Wen Lang immediately shouted, "This is Chang snake, and I picked up a Longjing grass."

    Zhang Zhang originally planned to help anyway, so he immediately went up with the chainsaw. He slashed the chainsaw at the snake''s body, making a loud noise and the snake''s body''s scales went flying. The pained snake immediately turned to face Zhang Zhang. Lou Fan happened to be behind it and when it swung its tail, it would immediately hit Lou Fan. At that moment, Qin Tan swiftly pulled Lou Fan into his arms.

    "Nhn." A muffled groan escaped from Qin Tan¡¯s lips.

    Lou Fan quickly pulled Qin Tan aside and asked nervously, "How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

    Qin Tan shook his head.

    Lou Fan didn''t believe it and turned to look at his back. There is a long bloodstain on the back that got struck by the snake''s tail. Qin Tan¡¯s clothes are shredded and it looked like the entire back is injured. Lou Fan glared at the Chang snake hatefully, felt like eating it whole.

    "Shuyang, help to put medicine on Qin Tan." Lou Fan shouted at Chen Shuyang and turned to join the fray.

    With 3 phoenix feather arrows notched on the bow, Lou Fan looked calm and composed, as if Qin Tan''s injury did not affect his state. He took aim, and at the moment when Chang snake raised its body, 3 arrows fired at the same time, and they shot at one place in unison. The power of 1 arrow may not be too great, but the 3 arrows together managed to stab the Chang snake 7 inches from the head, but the wound is still not deep.

    The Chang snake hissed, Lou Fan took a few steps forward and jumped up on the tree trunk. 2 more phoenix feathers shot at Chang snake''s eyes respectively, followed by 2 spiritual arrows. The blind Chang snake is now writhing on the ground. Wen Lang wrapped his chain whip around the upper body of the snake while Jiang Dong''s bandage is wrapped around the snake''s tail. Fortunately, his bandage is a spirit weapon, otherwise, the bandage would have been broken into pieces long ago. The two pulled as hard as they could.

    Fu Chun and Du Jun kept swinging their weapons but hitting the snake''s body had little effect. Zhang Zhang pushed the two away and jumped to the spot 7 inches from the snake''s head. Then he struck down with his chainsaw...

    A whirring noise that would cause one¡¯s teeth to feel numb rang out. The snake''s body twisted violently, but couldn¡¯t move away because someone is restraining it from both ends. Zhang Zhang held the electric saw and continue cutting. Soon, the snake''s body, including the skin and meat is sawed open.

    The body of the snake though cut into two is still twitching, and everyone sat on the ground gasping for breath. Lou Fan ran back to Qin Tan. Chen Shuyang had already disinfected the wound and put medicine on it. After cleaning up, the flesh of the wound is visible and looked painful.

    "Does it hurt?" Lou Fan doesn¡¯t dare to touch.

    Qin Tan smiled, "This little injury doesn''t hurt."

    But his heart hurts ah! Lou Fan really wanted to hug Qin Tan and kiss him now. It''s a pity that it''s a bit inappropriate for the public.

    Jiang Dong came over with more medicine and bandages in his hands, "I''ll wrap it up."

    Lou Fan stepped aside, "Have to trouble you then."

    Jiang Dong glanced at Lou Fan and smiled knowingly, "The vital parts are fine, don''t worry." After speaking, he winked at Lou Fan.

    When Lou Fan finally reacted to what Jiang Dong meant, his face turned red. The conversation just started and it became rated so quickly? Also, how did Jiang Dong know?

    Before Lou Fan could pull Jiang Dong to ask, Wen Lang came over and took out the Longjing grass from his pocket.

    "Brother Lou, don¡¯t you think it looks like a dragon?"

    The grass is green with a tint of red, and it is not easy to find it in a pile of weeds if one doesn''t look closely. Its top is like a cluster of fruits and its shape is distorted. With scales and no feet, rather than calling a dragon, it¡¯s more like a snake.

    Chen Shuyang leaned over to look at it. Raising his glasses, he said in an old-fashioned manner, "It''s a bit like Jiao."

    "It turns out that Longjing grass looks like this." Lou Fan looked at it carefully and remembered its appearance.

    On their watch, their task progress display changed from 0/10 to 1/10. For this kind of quest item, Lou Fan always put it away first and check later. Seeing that Jiang Dong is still treating Qin Tan''s wounds, he walked over to the Chang snake that had been cut into two pieces, wanting to see if there is anything on it that could be harvested.

    Zhang Zhang had the same thought as Lou Fan. When Zhang Zhang came over with the chainsaw, he saw Lou Fan standing in front of the Chang snake. He smiled at him, raised the chainsaw, and cut open Chang snake''s belly, which was much faster than they used a sword.

    This Chang snake is just like an ordinary python, just a little bigger, and there is nothing special about it. Zhang Zhang wiped the chainsaw with a cloth in disappointment, "There''s nothing useful but it''s so difficult to deal with, that¡¯s too tricky."

    Lou Fan reassured Zhang Zhang, "It might be good that it has nothing. If there is something in it, then the snake must be more difficult to deal with."

    Zhang Zhang nodded and turned his gaze at the junior team, "Is Team leader Qin okay?"

    Lou Fan: "The wound on the back is a bit long, but fortunately I brought medicine, it''s not a big problem."

    Zhang Zhang nodded and returned to his team. Watching from a distance, Lou Fan saw that Zhang Zhang seems to be discussing something so he turned around and walked to Qin Tan''s side. He saw Qin Tan taking a new shirt from his backpack and putting it on.

    "How is it? Will the wound hinder your movement?" The wound looked quite big. If it hindered the movement, it would be even more troublesome if Qin Tan is in danger later.

    Qin Tan moved his arm, "No problem, the medicine¡¯s efficiency is quite good this time."

    When it comes to this, Lou Fan felt pain for their wallet. Before this, the hemostatic and anti-inflammatory medicine only cost 20 to 30 points, but now this medicine actually requires 100 points. However, thinking about the danger they might encounter this time, he exchanged 5 bottles, as well as other types of medicine, and spent a lot of points. Now it seems that expensive price is justified, at least the effect is good.

    On the other hand, Lou Fan didn''t expect the medicine to work so well! He actually planned to take this opportunity to ¡®be the top¡¯, but as a result, the opportunity slipped away in vain! Thinking so, Lou Fan still felt that he is losing out so he walked over and lifted Qin Tan''s clothes. Then he slid his fingers from top to bottom on the bandage of the wound. Unconsciously, his fingers slipped to the bare skin next to the bandage.

    Qin Tan felt like a slowly moving mollusk is attached to his back and immediately shuddered, his muscles tightened instantly. His heart skipped a beat, and he really wanted to pull that ¡®someone¡¯ over and punish him.

    Sensing Qin Tan''s muscles tensed up, Lou Fan stopped his hand. He immediately put it away and sorted Qin Tan''s clothes.

    "The medicine is really good, and Jiang Dong''s skill is also very good." As Lou Fan said with a smile, he glanced at Qin Tan''s lower body.

    On the other side, Zhang Zhang walked back to the team. His 4 team members are waiting for him but there is no joy on their faces in completing 1/10 of their task. In the battle just now, except Zhang Zhang, none of them could provide real help, and they watched nervously throughout the whole process. As an intermediate team, the strength of the junior team this time made them feel that they are no weaker than them.

    "The Chang snake is not very easy to deal with. None of us have items that can restrain it, so it''s not easy to handle."

    Zhang Zhang might look a little silly on the outside, but he knew the strength of his team members very well. They have prepared tools to deal with snakes in advance, but now it seems that the tools are not very useful - the purchased weapons are still inferior to spirit weapons. You Xing looked delicate, but she is considered the brains of the team. She hesitated for a moment and said, "How about, we discuss it with Team leader Qin¡¯s team? We ask them to help us, and we give them some points?"

    Zhang Zhang scratched his head, "I see that they are richer than us, and their food is much better than us. Can giving points work?"

    You Xing: It seems that it is really not good.

    Du Feng: "Then let''s use items to exchange for help instead. There¡¯s 1 item that I got from the last task, we¡¯ll give that to them."

    Zhang Zhang sighed in melancholy, "Wait for the next Chang snake to come out and we¡¯ll see. Qin Tan¡¯s team won¡¯t stand by the side and watch us die. If nothing works, then we¡¯ll discuss it again. Team leader Qin is injured just now."

    That''s the only way to do it.

    Both teams have completed 1/10 of the task progress and the target has appeared. There may be some more nearby, so the 2 teams planned to search around.

    ¡­

    "Han Yu, are you still a man? You dare to pull a girl in front of you as a shield?!"

    Jiang Yiran grabbed Han Yu''s clothes and lifted him up, his face flushed with anger. He is originally taller than Han Yu, so when he grabbed Han Yu''s collar with one hand, Han Yu¡¯s toes have to press hard on the ground to maintain balance.

    "You fcking let me go. Who the f are you?! How dare you talk to me like this?!" Han Yu struggled and shouted, waving his fists at Jiang Yiran. Jiang Yiran obviously didn''t have much fighting experience and got hit. Then the men rolled to the ground together and scuffled.

    "Don''t fight!" Qi Shan shouted anxiously, "Don''t fight!"

    "Are you two that free?" Wen Lang walked over slowly, with a piece of grass in his mouth he got at some point. He looked down at the men condescendingly, without any intention of persuading them to stop fighting.

 CH 40

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef)

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    Wen Lang crossed his hands and said, "Continue! I think both of you are too weak, you should use more force and beat each other to death."

    Han Yu spit out a mouthful of blood, "You are sick."

    Wen Lang glanced at Han Yu, then turned to ask Jiang Yiran, "What happened?"

    Jiang Yiran immediately answered emotionally, "He is too shameless! When the big snake came out, he pulled Qi Shan to block in front of him. Qi Shan was too weak to break free."

    Hearing that, Wen Lang''s eyes changed when he looked at Han Yu, "Frick, are you still a man?!"

    Knowing that he couldn''t beat the seniors, Han Yu kept his face down and said nothing.

    Zhang Zhang''s team also came to check out what happened. The girls in the team heard it and immediately wanted to go up, but Zhang Zhang stopped them. Zhang Zhang looked at Han Yu and said, "You''re a man, at the very least you must have a bottom line on what should not be done. You can run for your own life, but pulling a woman to block in front of you is a bit too much."

    Han Yu doesn¡¯t have anything to say.

    Jiang Dong stood behind Wen Lang and said, "If a person like you falls into my hands, I''m afraid you won''t be able to ¡®carry on your bloodline¡¯ in this lifetime (meaning castrated)." The scalpel in his hand fluttered at his fingertips, gleaming with cold light.

    Wen Lang turned his head sideways and finally felt that Jiang Dong is pleasing to the eye for once.

    Qin Tan and Lou Fan came over, Qin Tan looked at Han Yu indifferently, "Captain Zhang, do you want to keep this person? For me, I don''t dare to keep him around. If he caused harm to my team, I can''t guarantee his life."

    Zhang Zhang spread his hands, "If you don''t keep him, of course I won''t either."

    Han Yu looked at them in disbelief. He didn''t expect that he only pulled a woman as a shield, and that caused him to be left behind. If anything popped out of this place, it could kill him. "No, no, don''t leave me!" Han Yu defended. "I was scared just now so I didn''t think about it that much. I was wrong, please? Don''t leave me. I''m just scared."

    "You''re afraid, but others aren''t?" Lou Fan didn''t like Han Yu and his attitude. He hated people who bullied vulnerable people the most.

    "Is Qi Shan hurt?" Seeing Qi Shan shaking her head, Lou Fan said, "Then, let''s go quickly, don''t waste time."

    Everyone moved to leave and Han Yu wanted to follow. Fu Chun received an eye signal from the 2 women in his team and raised his cooking spade[1], swinging it to the tree beside him. With a KACHA, the tree snapped and fell down.

    Han Yu got startled and didn''t dare to move. Gritting his teeth, he dared not speak. He can only wait for the group to walk away, and then slowly keep up. He looked around anxiously, keep having a feeling that something is spying in the dark, ready to jump out at any time and swallow him.

    The woods here are not very lush, but when one is afraid, those looming tree shadows look so terrifying. Seeing that the group in front of him is not paying attention to him, Han Yu accelerated his steps, and finally got closer. He felt a little more at ease when he could hear their voices. If he had known that he could just hide back then, he won¡¯t let his cheap instinct take over and grab Qi Shan in front of him. Now he did it, he doesn''t have to pretend to be a good person anymore but at the same time, his shelter is gone.

    Wen Lang threw a glance to the back and said, "That Han Yu is really¡­ ¡®give him an inch and he¡¯ll take a mile¡¯. He''s following up again."

    Actually, Qi Shan is not very scared. Being comforted by the 2 big sisters, she felt warm in her heart. She has been the kind of unpopular person since she was a child, and now she is very flattered by everyone being so nice to her. With a smile on her face, she stopped shrinking her body and walked with a straight posture.

    Lou Fan glanced back. Seeing that Han Yu had stopped, he turned his head with a blank expression, "Let him be, we can''t force people to death after all. Just this is fine."

    Lou Fan is not Holy Mother, but he will not be a person who insists on forcing people to death. As long as the person is not obstructing in front of him, to be able to return to Lazuli alive is that person¡¯s ability.

    As they are talking, Zhang Zhang, who is leading the way, suddenly stopped. The level 8 team members are standing in a line so the people behind couldn''t see what is in front of them. Seeing Zhang Zhang stop, the people behind him also moved forward. However, when they saw the scene in front, everyone seemed to be nailed to the spot.

    It is an open land, but it is densely packed with holes, big and small. This view is very similar to the holes made by the groundhog on the prairie, but everyone knows that it is not a groundhog burrow, but a snake hole. Dense snake holes. Just thinking about that gave them goosebumps all over their body.

    Han Yu didn''t know what is going on in front of him. He only saw a group of people standing there motionless. He is so curious and wanted to go up and take a look. At this moment, a dark shadow flashed past him. Han Yu is stunned for a moment before screaming out and running forward, "AHH! Help!"

    The group of people who were previously stunned turned their heads vigilantly and saw Han Yu dashing towards them.

    Qin Tan frowned and asked, "What''s going on?"

    Han Yu gasped heavily and pointed shakily to the place where he stood just now, "There, there is something over there! Its speed is too fast, I can''t see it clearly." It¡¯s small and moves like lightning.

    Wen Lang obviously didn''t believe Han Yu and said, "Maybe you did it on purpose to deceive us." This person is not honest at all. He¡¯s cunning like a loach and more society-trained than him.

    "Okay, don''t worry about that. Let''s discuss what''s in front of us first." Zhang Zhang didn''t take Han Yu seriously at all, the situation in front of him is much more important.

    Only then did Han Yu see the dense holes. He swallowed and couldn¡¯t help asking, "Is this a snake hole?"

    Wen Lang rolled his eyes at Han Yu, "What else? Wormhole?"

    "Team leader Qin, what do you think?" Zhang Zhang asked.

    Qin Tan exhaled, "According to this situation, it is not possible to say that it is a snake cave at the bottom. It is definitely dangerous to go down, but the chances of completing the task as soon as possible are also very high, whether it is the Longjing grass we want or the snake you need to kill. "

    Zhang Zhang nodded, he thought so too. Although it is dangerous down there, it also means that there is a high chance of encountering a snake, so there is no need to go around looking for it. But they might get surrounded by snakes, the risk factor is too high.

    "Let''s discuss with our own team and act according to the decisions." Qin Tan said after thinking about it for a while. If both teams have the same opinion, they will work together. They¡¯ll discuss again later if it''s different. They are just looking for grass anyway. In case they found it and a snake appears, they can always run away if they can''t win.

    Qin Tan¡¯s team has a straightforward mission here, but Zhang Zhang and the others are different. Not to mention the time-consuming search for snakes, it is a bit difficult for his team to deal with snakes. Like the snake just now, if they have no way to restrain it, it is really hard to kill it. The strength of the 2 girls in his team is not weak, but their strength is still not as strong as that of men. Du Feng''s strength after wearing her gloves is extremely powerful, but ordinary ropes are not enough to fix the Chang snake in place.

    Zhang Zhang is inclined to cooperate with Qin Tan¡¯s team and shared his ideas with the people in the team. For Fu Chun, he will fight where he is directed. You Xing is the most thoughtful, and Du Feng and her brother also listen to everyone''s opinions.

    You Xing thought for a while and said, "If they can help us, then let''s go down together. I think they will go down."

    You Xing is right. Lou Fan and the others unanimously decided to go down and try their luck. Although it looks like there are many snake holes, there are not necessarily that many snakes below. According to experience, the holes should be connected.

    "Shuyang, you walk in the middle. Qin Tan and I are in the lead, while Wen Lang and Jiang Dong pay attention to the back. Be sure to pay attention to safety." After Lou Fan finished saying that, he took out the radish flowers from the bag. He brought a total of 15 flowers to this world. It is also the last 15 flowers in his possession, and each person got 2 flowers.

    Lou Fan: "I have tried using this radish flower before. As long as it is crushed and applied to the other party, it will have a stun effect. It is 100% effective on people, but I don''t know how it will work on snakes."

    After everyone put away the radish flower, Lou Fan took out the immortality amulets from the bag and said, "I also bought this thing but I haven''t tried it yet. The other party said that it can immobilize creatures within 5 meters from you, and it is a life-saving tool. Keep it."

    After giving out the things, Chen Shuyang still stared at Lou Fan with bright eyes. Lou Fan laughed out, "What is it? Are you still waiting for me to take out some more good things? I don¡¯t have any more. I''m not Doraemon, these are all I have."

    Even though being teased like this, Wen Lang felt very satisfied with the items. He knew that if those items are put on the bazaar, everyone would be fighting for it. Jiang Dong felt the same, he only felt that the things in his hands are very heavy. These are the things that could save lives, but Lou Fan took them out so casually.

    Lou Fan didn''t know what the members are thinking. All he knew is that if the team is strong, everyone could survive.

    The 3 newcomers are a little nervous. If the seniors wanted to go down the hole, what will they do? Jiang Yiran stood with Qi Shan, Qi Shan didn''t have a fearful expression on his face, while Jiang Yiran is a little nervous. Han Yu stood by himself, his eyes darting back and forth in confusion.

    After both sides have discussed it, Zhang Zhang and Qin Tan got together to combine opinions and plan for the next step.

    Chen Shuyang went to tell Jiang Yiran and Qi Shan about some precautions. He told them to hide somewhere nearby and wait for them to come back before distributing some food to them. He glanced sideways at Han Yu, and whispered, "You two, protect yourself and your food. If something goes wrong, run away. But don''t get too far or we won''t be able to find you then."

    At the side, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong are preparing their own things, keeping their weapons handy for easy access.

    Lou Fan sat down and ate some snacks. He has all his belongings in his backpack, and some sweets he likes. There is a snack in the Lazuli exchange machine called butter beans that suits his taste very well. It¡¯s sweet and fragrant, Lou Fan loves it. At this moment, he took out the butter beans and threw them into his mouth, while imagining what is under the hole. As Lou Fan is deep in his thoughts, his hand missed, and a butter bean fell to the ground, rolling into the grass patch beside it. Not sure if his hands were shaky, he missed again, and another butter bean rolled to the same place.

    Lou Fan glanced over and noticed that something is wrong ¡ª the first butter bean is missing. He stared at the second butter bean for a long time but there is no movement in the grass. He looked away, deliberately ''missed'', and threw one onto the ground. At the same time, he paid attention to the grass patch from the corner of his eye.

    Something flashed by, and the butter bean is gone in an instant. The thing moved so fast that Lou Fan didn''t even see what it is.

    What is it?

    Lou Fan patted his bottom and stood up, still holding a handful of butter beans in his hand. He acted like he didn''t care, and ¡®accidentally¡¯ dropped a butter bean after every few steps. The beans he dropped are lined up in a straight line. Lou Fan walked a few steps quickly and dropped one again before hiding behind a tree. The place he found is quite strategic. It is only a little distance from the crowd, so as not to scare the thing. But if it appears, he could see clearly what it is right away.

    Raw word count: 3125

    #EditedMTL

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    #ManyThanksForReading

 CH 41

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef)

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    The thing moves so fast, like a bolt of lightning. It swiftly grabbed a bean and immediately dodged back into the grass patch, Lou Fan almost only saw an afterimage of it. When the line of dropped butter beans is half-eaten, Lou Fan finally saw that it is a white thing, and he could vaguely see its fluffy appearance. This should be an animal. But its movement is too fast so he couldn''t see what kind of animal it is. Lou Fan licked his lips, feeling a little excited.

    No one noticed what Lou Fan is doing, and Lou Fan is just waiting by the tree. He squatted there, motionless as if he had merged with the tree. On the ground in front of him is a small pile of a dozen butter beans. The line of butter beans decreased one by one, and the little thing seemed to let down its guard. Lou Fan finally saw it clearly. The animal is very small, only the size of an adult''s palm and its whole body is white and fluffy. It¡¯s so fluffy that Lou Fan can''t even see where its face is, it is like a living fur ball. When the animal finally slowed down at the moment, Lou Fan thinks it is really kind of cute. But its appearance convinced Lou Fan that he had never seen such an animal.

    Following the line, the animal came to the pile and buried its face in the butter beans. It ate so fast that Lou Fan didn''t even notice that it had eaten everything, which made him very curious, where is its mouth. The moment it lifted its face, Lou Fan finally saw what it looked like. The eyes are small and round, the nose is black, and the mouth is small and pink. At first glance, it looks like a doll that girls normally like.

    It seems that it has been discovered by Lou Fan. With a tremble, it wanted to run away but Lou Fan suddenly opened his hand to show a few butter beans in his palm. It shrugged its nose, and its round body stopped. Seeming to be sure that the person in front of it is not dangerous, the little thing moved and turned around, leaning towards Lou Fan''s palm. When it ate a bean, Lou Fan will add another bean. The whole fur ball is now in Lou Fan''s hand as if he is holding a white fur ball.

    One person and one ball interacted quietly; one happily feeds while the other happily eats. Just as they felt happy, both team leaders over there finished discussing. Wen Lang looked for Lou Fan everywhere. When he saw Lou Fan, Wen Lang ran towards him, roaring as he ran.

    "Brother Lou, we are ready to go! What are you doing here?"

    The fur ball is like a frightened mouse. It immediately hides and jumped into Lou Fan''s open jacket. A small bulge can be seen on his chest pocket, making Lou Fan unsure if he should laugh or cry.

    Wen Lang saw Lou Fan''s expression and thought to ask, but when he saw Lou Fan gesture with a finger at him, he immediately doesn¡¯t dare to speak. Lou Fan took out some butter beans and sent them to his chest pocket. The fur ball seemed very persistent in eating them, and it is no longer feeling afraid, eating the beans one by one. Lou Fan could feel a soft touch on his fingertips, which should be the little thing licking the residual taste with its tongue.

    What¡¯s that thing? Wen Lang silently mouthed.

    Lou Fan smiled and shook his head, expressing that he didn''t know either.

    When the two walked back, everyone saw the bulge on Lou Fan''s chest pocket, so they asked the same question.

    Lou Fan spread his hands and whispered, "I don''t know what it is either. It looked like a white fur ball, a live version."

    Everyone didn''t see what it is and didn''t care too much. Immediately, they talked about the next arrangement: Both teams will go down together but Zhang Zhang and Fu Chun will check the front. They will go down to take a look, and if there is no problem, everyone will go down.

    Qin Tan has promised Zhang Zhang that their team will help to kill the Chang snake. This is what he discussed with Lou Fan earlier, but Qin Tan suggested that if there is something from the Chang snake, everyone should share it. Zhang Zhang said that there is no problem.

    The plan has been made, and everyone started preparing immediately. Zhang Zhang''s team prepared a sturdy rope, one end is tied to a thick tree trunk while the other end is hanging down in the hole. The hole is very deep, and even if one looks down with a flashlight, one can''t see the bottom. No one dares to be careless. They connected 2 bundles of ropes together, if it is not long enough, Zhang Zhang and Fu Chun could only come up and find another way.

    "Then I''ll go first." Zhang Zhang looked solemn.

    Qin Tan nodded, "Be careful."

    The other 3 members of the Level 8 team looked even more worried, "Team leader, Brother Fu Chun, be careful. Pull the rope if something happened, don''t push yourself hard."

    Zhang Zhang nodded and said don''t worry.

    Lou Fan laughed, "Team leader Zhang, take it easy. If you are too serious, you will gain weight. Then we won''t be able to pull you up even if there is no danger."

    With Lou Fan¡¯s interruption, everyone loosened their expression and laughed.

    Zhang Zhang also relaxed a little. No longer wasting time, he took the lead and Fuchun followed closely. The two climbed the rope and started to go down the hole.

    Having experienced several worlds already, they are prepared for various situations. Their lighting equipment is also the most convenient kind of head light, which can illuminate the surrounding without needing to hold it by hand. There is also a wrist light, which is worn on the wrist like a bracelet. With a flick of the wrist, it can be turned on and off, and it can illuminate a range of 2 meters around the body, which is very convenient.

    Wearing a head light, Zhang Zhang slid down cautiously. He wore a safety buckle on his body, so he is not afraid of suddenly slipping down. As he goes down the hole, he looked up and could still see a few heads sticking out from the entrance of the cave. He couldn''t see them clearly against the light, but the thought makes him very relieved. The surrounding stone walls are smooth like a hole cut straight out of something.

    It got darker as they went down, and only a white dot remained at the top of the hole. They had already passed the knot between the 2 ropes. Sensing that they have yet to reach the end, Zhang Zhang felt at a loss.

    It doesn''t take 3 ropes, does it?

    The rope under his feet began to sway, Zhang Zhang is thinking about whether to pull the rope and signal to the person above to pull them up.

    "Fu Chun, it''s not the end yet. Should we go up or..." Zhang Zhang didn''t say anything else, but Fu Chun knew what he meant.

    "Team leader, I still have a rope in my backpack. How about we connect it too? I don''t think the bottom is too far away."

    Zhang Zhang gritted his teeth, "Okay, we¡¯ll connect it." Otherwise, he would really feel unwilling (from going down so long and not reaching the end).

    Zhang Zhang is a strong person. With the safety buckle firmly buckled, he twirled his feet around the rope and turned upside down. Taking the rope that he is biting in his mouth, he connected both ends of the rope. After tying it tightly and making sure the knot is firm, Zhang Zhang straightened his waist and turned himself back. The two continued down again.

    The people at the entrance of the cave are feeling a little anxious. It''s been almost an hour, and they don''t know if the two have reached the end. There is no news at all, and the rope has not moved. Du Jun couldn''t sit still and is about to say like he would go down and have a look. Then, he saw the rope move violently, and the bells tied to the rope rang.

    "Look, the rope is moving."

    This is the signal they agreed on earlier. If both men reach the end, the rope will be shaken violently. If they wanted to come up, the rope will be pulled hard, and the bell will make a finer sound.

    "Let''s go down." Qin Tan said and prepared to go down.

    Du Jun stepped forward and said, "Team leader Qin, our team will go down first." The other 2 ladies also nodded.

    Knowing that they are anxious, Qin Tan did not argue and said, "Then, you guys go first, we will follow behind."

    Chen Shuyang talked to Jiang Yiran and Qi Shan and said a few more words. Seeing that Qin Tan and the others had already started to go down, Chen Shuyang stopped talking and went down immediately.

    Han Yu stared solemnly at the rope, no one knows what he is thinking. Seeing the look in his eyes, Qi Shan is taken aback and quickly pulled Jiang Yiran''s sleeve, motioning him to look. Jiang Yiran immediately became vigilant, tightly holding the umbrella in his hand. Qi Shan also clenched the dagger Chen Shuyang gave her. The two looked at each other and exchanged a gaze. Once Han Yu made any move, they would not hesitate to pounce.

    As the group slid down the rope, Lou Fan glanced up and down, and laughed, "We are really ¡®grasshoppers tied to the same rope¡¯."

    This description is very accurate, and everyone laughed.

    Qin Tan said in a deep voice, "Hurry up, it will be bad if someone above does anything bad."

    Knowing that Zhang Zhang and the others are at the bottom, Qin Tan¡¯s group is not afraid and slid down the rope quickly but keeps some distance apart to avoid bumping into each other.

    The little fur ball in Lou Fan''s arms popped out and chirped twice. Lou Fan looked down at it and couldn''t help but say, "What''s wrong? Are you scared?"

    The fur ball chirped again and looked like it threw a glance at him before retracting into Lou Fan''s arms. Lou Fan felt as if he saw the contempt in the fur ball¡¯s mung bean eyes. He snorted softly, "Hmph, I''ll call you Furball then, you''re just like a ball anyway."

    Another chirp sounded and Lou Fan felt that this sound is a little happy. Could it be that it likes this name very much?

    With his feet on the ground, Lou Fan released the rope in his hand and glanced around. This place is like a tunnel, and there are as many as 5 holes around it. After everyone arrived, they realized that Zhang Zhang is not around.

    "Where''s Team leader Zhang?" Lou Fan asked.

    Fu Chun held a rope in his hand, and said helplessly, "We found 5 holes when we got down. Team leader said he wanted to explore the road, and he had a rope tied to him."

    Lou Fan nodded, this is the most rational choice, but he felt that Team leader Zhang would definitely not gain anything. The hole they went down is too long, which means the 5 holes would not be short either.

    Sure enough, Zhang Zhang came back after a while with a frustrated look on his face. "There is no end at all, the tunnels are too long."

    Qin Tan asked, "How many holes have you explored?"

    "3." The rope on Zhang Zhang''s body is not long, it is very thin, and it should be about 100 meters long. He was a little helpless and asked, "Everyone, tell me, what should we do now?"

    Lou Fan approached the entrance of the holes with a powerful flashlight and looked inside, but found nothing. The 5 holes are all about the same size, there is no difference. Qin Tan squatted down, pressed the soil on the ground between his fingers. After that, he placed it near to his nose and smelled it. Qin Tan did this for all 5 holes. Lou Fan followed Qin Tan¡¯s example and looked, but didn''t see anything unusual.

    Getting up, Qin Tan patted the soil in his hand, pointed to one of the holes, and said, "A snake must have passed by this hole not long ago. The soil on the ground has a faint fishy smell. Also, the soil on the ground is a bit damper than the other holes."

    Lou Fan is startled by the discovery, he didn''t notice it at all. Immediately, he gave Qin Tan a thumbs up and silently praised Qin Tan from top to bottom. This kind of professional skill, even the Level 8 team does not have this ability.

    Zhang Zhang suddenly became happy, "Then we will go this way. We will definitely find the Chang snake."

    Lou Fan felt a little helpless and said, "Team leader Zhang, I think it''s not about finding snakes, but what should we do if we encounter a bunch of snakes later."

 CH 42

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef)

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    Though Lou Fan said that, their purpose in coming down is to find the Chang snake so Zhang Zhang didn''t think there is anything wrong with it. Only the junior team felt the decision is wrong. Their purpose is to find Longjing grass and though they did promise to help the intermediate team, they didn¡¯t mean to help this way.

    Zhang Zhang soon felt a little unhappy, but he still asked, "Then, what do you think we should do?"

    When it comes to own interests, people generally are like this, and they will be suspicious of others.

    Hearing that, Qin Tan became unhappy, and said in a deep voice, "Should make a plan accordingly, so that we won''t be caught off guard. In case we encounter danger, we can escape in time instead of rushing forward like this recklessly." As an intermediate team, isn''t this basic common sense?

    Qin Tan said his opinion without any politeness in it. Wen Lang, Jiang Dong, and Chen Shuyang all showed displeasure on their faces, and they looked at the other Level 8 team members with sympathy.

    Zhang Zhang suddenly felt that he didn¡¯t think out the plan well and was too impatient. Fortunately, he is someone who doesn¡¯t mind lowering himself and saying apologetically, "I was in a hurry and didn''t think carefully. So, let''s discuss it first. Stopping for a moment for this won¡¯t take much time."

    Although Zhang Zhang said this, Lou Fan has lost interest in the discussion. He turned around and walked to the side against the wall, staring at the 5 holes and thinking about something.

    Qin Tan glanced at Lou Fan sideways but continued to discuss with Zhang Zhang, Jiang Dong got pulled by him to join the discussion. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang walked over to Lou Fan¡¯s side and followed his gaze to the 5 holes.

    Chen Shuyang stared for a long time and didn''t figure anything out. If don¡¯t understand, one should ask so he asked Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, what did you see?"

    Lou Fan: "I didn''t see anything."

    Wen Lang: "Then why are you staring at the holes?"

    Lou Fan: "Decide whether I want to cast lots or not."

    Wen Lang & Chen Shuyang: ¡­

    Even if they are used to Lou Fan''s unusual way of thinking, they still get black lines on their face [=.=ll] by Lou Fan¡¯s random actions. If the intermediate team heard Lou Fan, they would probably have doubts about Lou Fan¡¯s IQ. But the junior team got used to it so they didn''t think that Lou Fan¡¯s strangeness is surprising.

    Chen Shuyang: "Didn''t Brother Qin say that there is a snake passed through that hole? Why don''t we go that way?"

    Lou Fan rolled his eyes at Chen Shuyang before saying, "Are you stupid?! Do we have the strength to chase after the snake (and kill it)? Of course not, so we''re going to sneak around. Even if we want to kill the snake, we can''t just bump it by ourselves. Got to catch it off guard, do you understand! Chasing the snake like this? If you encounter 2 or 3 of them at the same time, who can run faster, you or them? Since we already know that there must be snakes in that hole,  we should kill them one by one, right?!" After speaking, Lou Fan sighed, "I think I need to consider changing teammates after I go back."

    Chen Shuyang instantly looked like he is about to cry, "Brother Lou, I was wrong! Whatever you say is correct, I have no opinion!"

    Wen Lang watched at the side with relish, and suddenly interjected, "Brother Lou, what if you drew the lot and ended up picking that hole?" Isn''t this a slap in the face?

    Lou Fan: "You might be stupid but I''m not. Don''t I know to exclude that hole before casting lots?"

    Wen Lang: Why does that make so much sense!

    Wen Lang & Chen Shuyang vs Lou Fan, Lou Fan wins.

    Chen Shuyang quickly took out a pen and paper from his backpack and handed it to Lou Fan. Lou Fan numbered the entrance of the hole and wrote it down. Then, he made 4 paper balls and spread them out on the ground.

    The three of them squatted together in a circle, how strange it looked.

    Lou Fan is about to take a paper ball when a white ball of lightning jumped out from his chest pocket. Next, a ball of paper on the ground immediately disappeared with the ball of white. His chest pocket twitched, and then a ball of paper is thrown out. Lou Fan even heard the sound of the fur ball sticking out its tongue in his chest pocket so he laughed out unkindly.

    "You thought it''s butter beans? It''s paper." In order to appease the displeased fur ball, Lou Fan handed it a butter bean. The paper ball dropped on the ground is still fine so Lou Fan grabbed it and took a look, "Okay, we¡¯ll just choose this one."

    Chen Shuyang & Wen Lang: ¡­ Felt powerless to complain.

    The three of them at the side have already made a hasty decision, while Qin Tan, Jiang Dong, and Zhang Zhang also finished analyzing the pros and cons. Qin Tan came over and looked at his team members crouching on the ground with some paper balls in front of them.

    Jiang Dong: It''s not what I think it is, is it?

    Lou Fan looked up at Qin Tan, "We have decided which hole to go in the fairest way." He pointed out a hole.

    Qin Tan laughed, "The fairest way? Drawing lots?"

    Lou Fan nodded, with an expression that is asking for compliments.

    Jiang Dong palmed his forehead, feeling that he is about to faint.

    Qin Tan: "En, it''s fair. We¡¯ll just listen to you."

    The other members of the team: ...

    Brother Qin! Such dishonest words, how could you say it out?!

    Zhang Zhang agreed to listen to Qin Tan and the others¡¯ suggestions. It doesn''t matter which way he decides to go in the end anyway because it won''t be the hole Qin Tan mentioned just now.

    A group of 10 people walked forward, each with a flashlight. The combined light source is like daytime, and the surrounding environment can be clearly seen. Qin Tan is leading the group while Zhang Zhang''s team is at the back.

    Referring to the Longjing grass found by Wen Lang, the grass is indeed a little small so they need to concentrate to find it. The cave is dark and deep, and they don¡¯t know it will come to an end. Lou Fan glanced at his watch. They had been walking for about half an hour but they are still in the hole.

    Soon, another fork appeared, and there are 5 holes to choose from.

    Lou Fan has sharp eyes and spotted something. "There is Longjing grass, 2 of them."

    After Lou Fan finished speaking, he immediately became vigilant, and the bow on his back is already in his hand. The people behind also heard his voice and made preparations to meet the enemy.

    2 stalks of Longjing grass means 2 Chang snakes.

    Qin Tan nodded at Lou Fan before stepping forward. After he plucked the Longjing grass, he turned it over to Lou Fan to put it away. The next moment, a rustling sound came from the entrance of the cave. The moment the snake¡¯s head appeared, 10 people who are ready to fight immediately attacked.

    This snake is 2 times bigger than the one above ground, but fortunately, they can still handle it. This time, they are not as unprepared as that time. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong restrained the snake''s head and tail, while the other 8 people punched and stabbed it. Soon, the snake gradually weakened. You Xing stepped forward boldly and waved her flower at the head of the snake. Instantly, the snake became confused. It turns out her flower has a psychedelic effect.

    As the group ¡®happily¡¯ fighting and the Chang snake is about to be beaten to death, the fur ball in Lou Fan''s chest pocket jumped out, which startled Lou Fan.

    "Furball, where are you going?" Lou Fan shouted out.

    The fur ball can be seen swiftly running to the other Longjing grass, and it quickly came back with the grass. It raised its short paws and handed the grass to Lou Fan, looking cute as if asking for credit.

    Lou Fan couldn''t help it and laugh out helplessly. What to do? The grass is already picked up. He immediately shouted, "Quickly finish the snake, the next one is coming."

    Hearing that, everyone felt a shudder in their heart, and they immediately increased the speed of their attack. Qin Tan zoomed over and guarded the upcoming Chang snake with Lou Fan. Fortunately, the moment this one came out, the first snake is finally killed and it fell to the ground with a thud, making a loud noise.

    The second Chang snake is even bigger than the previous one. They just finished one but before they could stop to take a breath, another one comes right away. What to do? They can only grit their teeth and hold on.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong contributed the most, it is no joke to restrain the snake''s head and tail. Lou Fan circled around the snake''s head and shoot it in the eyes, but the snake is too big and the swinging degree is too large for him to shoot accurately. Seeing that Wen Lang is about to lose his strength, Lou Fan hurriedly took over Wen Lang''s chain whip and wrapped it around the bandage given by Jiang Dong, barely preventing it to slip away.

    Zhang Zhang roared, "Hold on, hold on, it is about to die."

    Lou Fan gritted his teeth and pulled, and took the time to look at Jiang Dong. "Chen Shuyang, go and help Jiang Dong to pull. The rest of you guys hurry up, we can''t hold it anymore!"

    The snake arched its body and Qin Tan dodged under the snake''s belly. With his Tang sword, he stabbed into the snake''s belly. The Chang snake struggled even more, Lou Fan and Jiang Dong are on the verge of losing their strength. The snake''s skin is so thick that Zhang Zhang''s chainsaw could only cut through its scales and inflict shallow wounds.

    Qin Tan''s arms bulged slightly as his hands clenched the handle of the knife. He pushed with force, and his whole person moved forward. A stream of fishy blood poured down from above his head, but fortunately, he moved to avoid it so he didn''t get drenched. However, the fishy stench still covered Qin Tan from top to bottom.

    The people who were pulling at the snake loosened their hold and the Chang snake slumped to the ground weakly. Blood flowed out from the snake''s belly and sprayed all over the place. The stench is so strong that it made people feel dizzy.

    At this moment, everyone is super tired. They found a clean place to sit and rest. For a while, the surroundings are so quiet that only the sound of gasping could be heard. As Lou Fan rubbed his wrists, the fur ball came out of his chest pocket. Recalling that this is the culprit of their trouble, Lou Fan slapped the fur ball¡¯s bottom.

    "Who asked you to pick it up randomly?!" Lou Fan scolded sternly.

    The fur ball chirped twice and looked shrunk like a deflated balloon.

    "Do you know what you did wrong?"

    "Jiji."

    It¡¯s fine if it knows its mistake. Lou Fan takes out a butter bean to the fur ball, a typical example of a stick and carrot approach.

    "Jijiji!" The voice sounded very cheerful.

    ¡­

    The Longjing grass they obtained is kept by Lou Fan, there are 3 in total. The task progress on the watch has also changed to 3/10.

    After some fighting, it is already nighttime now. But because they are in the cave, they are unaware of the day or night. Everyone is exhausted and needs to replenish their energy. Each took out their own dry food and began to eat. The cave is not like the outside where they can make a camp fire to boil water. At moments like this, it¡¯s already good enough to have dry food and cold water to fill the stomach.

    After enough rest, food, and drink, they planned to continue walking. Even if they want to rest, this place is impossible. The blood on the ground will smell disgusting, not to mention the ferocious dead snake head. They are afraid that they will have nightmares sleeping with the head.

    Zhang Zhang dissected the Chang snake, but there is still nothing to gain. But Lou Fan suddenly said, it would be great if the snake skin could be peeled off, which is a good material to make equipment. However, there is no tool at hand right now, so they can only give up.

    When it is time to choose which entrance to proceed to, Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang prayed in their hearts that Lou Fan would not use the ¡®fairest method¡¯ to choose again. Otherwise, Zhang Zhang might vomit 3 liters of blood. Lou Fan thought for 2 seconds this time, then pointed to one of the holes where the 2 snakes came out.

    The group did not ask why, dragging their tired bodies forward. However, this time, they didn''t walk for long. After about 10 minutes, Qin Tan, who is in the lead, stopped. The hole that can only accommodate two people side by side makes it impossible for the people behind to know what is in front, but the bright light lets them know that they have reached a bright place.

 CH 43

    Newcomer

    "What a big cave!"

    "Who lives here?"

    The second sentence is simply nonsense. Lou Fan thinks that this is probably Qitong''s place. As for whether it is a residence or not, it¡¯s not certain. After all, the entire Mount Gui is Qitong''s territory, and it is up to him to decide where to live.

    The 10 people were cautious at first, and after finding that there is no danger, they spread out to look around. This cave is really big, and the 10 people are so small that they seem to have entered the kingdom of giants, looking up at the high dome with their heads raised.

    "Look, Brother Lou!" Chen Shuyang''s excited voice sounded and Lou Fan turned to look to see him pointed to an illuminating bead. The bead is as big as a washbasin, inlaid on the surrounding stone walls and shining brightly.

    No wonder it is so bright here. They even forgot that the torches in their hands are still on.

    Lou Fan turned his head and asked Chen Shuyang, "Is this the legendary night pearl? But is there such a big night pearl? I remember most of the night pearl in writing is about the size of a goose egg which is already considered very big. But this one is as big as a washbasin..." Isn¡¯t it a bit unscientific?!

    Chen Shuyang corrected Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, it''s not recorded officially. Most of the night pearls you read are written with a fantasy element, which means, they are all fabricated."

    Wen Lang frowned, "Mount Gui is the mythical world, so there''s nothing impossible."

    Jiang Dong also echoed, "This is not a world that we can infer with our common sense, so this is probably the night pearl."

    As the four of them discussed the matter eagerly, Qin Tan reminded them of the reality, like a basin of cold water on their eagerness, "Even if it''s the legendary night pearl, we can''t touch anything here. Remember what Qitong did on the first night? Everyone needs to be careful."

    There is a huge stone platform in the cave, and there are some things sparsely placed on it. They shone brightly and look like gems. There are also some small stone platforms around, and some things are placed at random on them too.

    Zhang Zhang and his team members are very excited. They looked around and put things into their bags from time to time. Lou Fan wanted to remind them, but in this case, it''s like someone has a piece of gold in front of them but you stop them from picking it up. Anyone would be angry in that situation.

    Qin Tan only glanced around the cave. Then he found a clean spot near the entrance of the cave and waved to Lou Fan to follow him. Lou Fan walked over with a grin, followed by three tails (team members). The group sat together to rest. Lou Fan rested his head on his palm as he looked at the Level 8 team, "Is it really okay for them to move things so casually? Will that implicate us?" Everyone is in the same boat at the moment, and who can beat the gods in mythology? Won¡¯t they be massacred?

    Jiang Dong replied aloud, "Regarding this, I have collected data and researched it. Generally speaking, there won¡¯t be a 100% death situation in the mission world, that is to say, there will always be a way of life in any situation. However, once the death condition is triggered, the person who triggers it will die. Or if he did something to resolve the death condition, then there is still the possibility of surviving."

    The points that Jiang Dong said, Lou Fan didn''t know anything about it. Right now, he felt that he should collect more information on that aspect, which would be very helpful for them when they entered the mission worlds.

    "Jiang Dong, not bad. The information you collected is very useful." Lou Fan pondered for a while before saying, "I will leave it to you and Wen Lang to inquire about the information about the mission world in the future, and then share it with us. Chen Shuyang is responsible for analyzing the information and keeping records. Everyone performs their own duties, perfect!" Lou Fan snapped his fingers and added, ¡°Qin Tan and I will be in charge of leading and training you guys."

    With such an arrangement, Lou Fan felt that he had fully utilized the abilities of his team members. He winked at Qin Tan, "What do you think of my arrangements, team leader?" As he said that, Lou Fan slipped his hand to Qin Tan''s thigh. With the backpack as his cover, he caressed the area, feeling delighted in his heart.

    Qin Tan: "You are right."

    His b.utt suddenly gro.ped made Lou Fan almost jump up in shock. He looked at Qin Tan, who is acting like a hooligan in a serious manner, and gritted his teeth. He really wanted to pounce on Qin Tan and take a bite!

    Just as Lou Fan is about to continue to tease back, Zhang Zhang came over and said to them with a smile, "Team leader Qin, shall we stay here for the night today? We will continue to look for snakes tomorrow." He seemed to have achieved a good harvest, so the previous fatigue is swept away, and is high-spirited.

    "Stay here for the night?" Lou Fan frowned, "Team leader Zhang, you didn¡¯t forget where our mission world is, right? You already took the things here, and now you want to spend the night as well? Are you sure?" Are you thinking that you lived your life long enough?

    Zhang Zhang obviously came prepared. The big man with a northeast accent rubbed his hands as he explained, "You see, it''s very late now and everyone is tired after a long day. This place is spacious and bright. Even if Qitong comes, we can hide quickly."

    The most important thing is that their team wanted to pry out a night pearl, but they can''t do it right away. If there are only 5 of them left in this cave, they don¡¯t feel at ease. That¡¯s why Zhang Zhang wanted to convince Qin Tan and the others to stay together so that there¡¯s someone to help keep watch.

    Qin Tan disagreed, "Team leader Zhang, I''m sure you know the level of danger here. Treasures are very important, but you have to be alive to take them back with you."

    Zhang Zhang argued, "Then do you think that the dark and damp forked hole is more suitable for resting at night? If a Chang snake passes by, it will still be a hard fight. It''s better for us to get a good rest here, it¡¯ll be easier to deal with the Chang snake then."

    Zhang Zhang¡¯s words are not unreasonable, but Lou Fan had a feeling that this place is not that simple. But when he thinks of resting at the fork road, it is obviously more comfortable here.

    After Qin Tan¡¯s team inputted their opinions, Jiang Dong analyzed and concluded, "We should stay here, separated from them. This location that Brother Qin chose is very suitable. If there is an emergency, we can evacuate in time."

    Everyone thinks that this proposal is feasible. If nothing works, they¡¯ll just have to run faster.

    And so, Qin Tan said to Zhang Zhang, "Team leader Zhang, we will be resting here. It is better for the 2 teams to be separated. If there is an emergency, we can escape in time."

    Seeing that Qin Tan¡¯s team agreed to stay, Zhang Zhang became happy. He nodded a few times and said, "Then, you guys get some rest first, and I will tell my team."

    Zhang Zhang left with a smile.

    Wen Lang snorted softly, "Humans. Greed is an innate human characteristic, but it also depends on how he enjoys his life. Brother Lou already said that, I thought this team leader Zhang is a sensible person before. Unexpectedly, he doesn''t understand." Wen Lang shook his head and sighed.

    Seeing Wen Lang acting like that, Lou Fan felt an itch on his hand and he slapped Wen Lang on the head, "Don''t act like an old man here. Be alert tonight. If there is any movement, don''t worry about anything and just run away."

    The time is approaching midnight, and they are indeed very sleepy. Qin Tan is the first vigil, and the second is Lou Fan. After Lou Fan fell asleep, Qin Tan shifted Lou Fan¡¯s head to rest on his shoulders. Lou Fan¡¯s brows are still wrinkled in his deep sleep. He is sound asleep, but the sleep is unstable.

    Originally they are supposed to change shifts every 1.5 hours, but 2 hours had passed by the time Lou Fan woke up.

    "Why didn''t you call me?" Lou Fan rubbed his neck. Then he poured a handful of water from the water bottle and splashed it on his face, instantly sobering up.

    Because Lou Fan had just woken up, he has a confused look on his face. Qin Tan liked it, so he couldn''t help rubbing his hair. After that, he leaned in and pecked at Lou Fan¡¯s cheek. The touch on his cheek surprised Lou Fan. Turning his head, he glanced around and smiled. Then, he kissed Qin Tan''s lips. It is just a light touch but the sweetness in his heart made the corners of Lou Fan¡¯s mouth rise up.

    Lou Fan pushed Qin Tan to rest, "Go to sleep soon."

    Qin Tan chuckled lightly and nodded. He squeezed himself to Lou Fan''s side and rested his head on the nook of Lou Fan¡¯s neck. Lou Fan shifted his body to let Qin Tan lean more comfortably. After a few seconds, the person beside him fell asleep immediately. Lou Fan¡¯s body is stiff as he didn''t dare to move, for fear of waking Qin Tan up.

    The members of the Level 8 team are also resting, they are leaning behind a stone platform. It is some distance from the entrance of the cave, but there is a stone platform covering them, so they won¡¯t be easily discovered.

    The night pearl on the stone wall is shining brightly, and Lou Fan stared at it, not knowing how long he has been staring. Suddenly, Lou Fan''s heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable feeling of panic spread from the bottom of his heart. The fur ball in his arms twitched and it made rapid short chirps.

    Something is wrong!

    Lou Fan immediately felt that something has happened, and he immediately pushed Qin Tan and the other three, "Wake up, something is wrong."

    Everyone looked very alert, and they woke up immediately when called as if they didn¡¯t sleep at all. Lou Fan was going to call Zhang Zhang, but it is too late.

    A tremor came from the ground, followed by a heavy bell sound. Zhang Zhang and his members had woken up by now and Lou Fan and his members are standing at the entrance of the cave. The next moment, no one saw what happened but a huge figure appeared in the cave. The figure is very tall, and everyone realized that they couldn''t see the figure¡¯s face at all. It seemed like there is a layer of fog over his face.

    It''s Qitong!

    Qin Tan didn''t even think about it, he pulled Lou Fan and roared, "Run!" The rest of his team kept up without hesitation. The team ran into the entrance immediately and disappeared in an instant.

    However, Zhang Zhang''s team is not so lucky because they are behind the stone platform. As soon as they stood up, Qitong only stomped his feet gently, and the ground shook violently, like an earthquake. Zhang Zhang and the others couldn''t stand firm at all. They staggered to and fro, barely holding onto the stone platform to avoid falling.

    "Yo, it seems that I have a few little ants here, and you guys have been bad."

    The deep mellow voice slammed down from the top of their heads, like an invisible wall slamming on them. Zhang Zhang¡¯s team felt that their internal organs are churning, and couldn¡¯t suppress the metallic blood taste in their mouths.

    Fu Chun gritted his teeth and waited for his breathing to calm down. Then he picked up his shovel and rushed forward, shouting, "Run, team leader! I''ll attract his attention!"

    Despair appeared in Zhang Zhang''s eyes, "Fu Chun, come back!"

    Du Jun pulled Zhang Zhang to run, "Team leader, don''t disappoint Brother Fu Chun¡¯s goodwill!"

    Zhang Zhang took a few deep breaths before reaching out to pull You Xing up. Du Jun pulled Du Feng, and they stumbled towards the entrance.

    "Want to run after taking my things?"

    Qitong picked up the ant-like Fu Chun and brought him to his face. Next, he opened his mouth wide and released his fingers...

    At this moment, how can Zhang Zhang not understand? Immediately, he threw away the things he collected from the cave as he ran. None of the things here should be taken out!! He regretted not listening to Qin Tan and the others, but it is useless to regret it now. The strong man with a northeastern accent didn''t even dare to look back at his teammates.

 CH 44.1

    Newcomer

    In the dark cave, only Qin Tan, the leader, turned on the flashlight. Their speed is very fast and the light of the flashlight flickered here and there. Finally, Qin Tan slowed down after running through 5 forked holes.

    Chen Shuyang gasped while supporting himself on his knees. Looking back into the depths of the darkness, he said, "It seems that nothing is following us."

    Wen Lang''s stamina is even worse than Chen Shuyang''s. He is already resting against the wall, and he kept complaining, "I say! The Level 8 team is really... sigh, I don''t know what happened to them. It was Qitong just now, right? That¡¯s so scary. I saw the snakes under his feet, they were humongous. Fortunately, we escaped fast."

    When Qitong appeared, a group of snakes can be seen surrounding his feet. Those snakes seem to be way bigger than the 3 snakes they killed. If they do come across snakes of that size¡­ that will be a tough fight. At this moment, their team didn''t know that the Level 8 team that was separated from them had lost a member.

    Speaking of which, Lou Fan''s warning was too timely. Wen Lang spoke out in awe, "My word, Brother Lou, your forecasting function is too good. If it weren''t for you, we would have had quite some trouble."

    Lou Fan touched the fur ball in his chest pocket and took it out. A small ball of snow-white furs, like a snowball in his palm.

    "This time, you have to thank Furball. It was the one who reminded me." At that time he felt that something is wrong, but if Furball didn''t make a sound, he wouldn''t react so quickly.

    Being stared at by everyone''s curious eyes, Furball blinked its mung bean eyes and turned to look at Lou Fan. Seeing him smiling and nodding, it chirped twice at everyone.

    Chen Shuyang used to have a teacup teddy at home and was very affectionate with it. Hence, seeing the fluffy Furball now, he likes it very much. "Brother Lou, what animal is this? I don''t seem to have seen it before."

    Lou Fan: "I also want to know what it is. Even you don''t know, so why do you think I might know? Besides, where are we right now? In this kind of place, it''s not strange for undocumented creatures to appear."

    That sounds right. Chen Shuyang nodded and suddenly asked again, "Brother Lou, are you going to bring it back to Lazuli?"

    This question caught Lou Fan off guard. He looked at Jiang Dong inquiringly. When it came to collecting data, he knew the most at this moment.

    Jiang Dong thought for a while before saying, "I haven''t paid special attention to this kind of information, but I don''t seem to have heard of anyone bringing other creatures to Lazuli."

    After Jiang Dong said this, Lou Fan realized that they really hadn''t seen anything like any other animal in Lazuli. He sighed, "Let''s talk about it later, I quite like Furball."

    Seemingly feeling that Lou Fan¡¯s mood suddenly became low, Furball stretched out its small paw to scratch his palm and chirped at him twice. Lou Fan poked its furry body with his fingers and tucked it back into his chest pocket.

    "Now, where are we going and what''s the next plan?" Lou Fan asked Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan didn''t even think about it and said, "You lead the way and follow your feelings. We don''t know what''s going on at Zhang Zhang''s side, and we can''t go back to find them. Even if they managed to escape, we don''t know when we will meet them. Just let it be. We¡¯ll try to find Longjing grass to complete our task first."

    "If Chang snakes out, can the 5 of us fight it?"

    Qin Tan laughed, "If to fight with all our might, we can win, barely."

    After all, their melee and long-range attacks are all good, but they lack a powerful weapon. For example, Zhang Zhang''s chainsaw. Qin Tan''s Tang sword is generally good, but going against such large monsters, they still need heavy-duty weapons.

    At this moment, it is already over 6 in the morning. But no sunlight can shine into the cave so their path is completely illuminated by torchlight. Because their task is to look for Longjing grass, the team turned on their torchlights. They are not in a hurry, so they nibbled on their breakfast biscuits as they walked, looking leisurely.

    ...

    Heavy footsteps sounded one after another in the black hole. You Xing''s face is full of tears. She raised her arm and wiped it but the tears that had just disappeared rolled down again. Since she came into this strange world, she met Fu Chun first before meeting Zhang Zhang and the Du siblings. Speaking of which, she is more familiar with Fu Chun. But now, the simple and chubby big brother is gone and she knows that there is almost no possibility of surviving for him.

    Zhang Zhang had a sullen face. The big man with a northeastern accent who always laughed in the past had only regret and guilt on his face. He shouldn''t be too careless. Qin Tan and the others have already reminded him, but he still put safety issues aside for the sake of his immediate interests, ignoring the safety of his team members.

    It''s his fault.

    The Du siblings also looked solemn. Originally, the five of them already struggled to deal with a Chang snake but now they have a member lesser, Fu Chun. What''s worse is they got separated from the junior team.

    "Team leader, what should we do now?" After hesitating for a while, Du Feng still asked.

    Zhang Zhang slowed down and finally stopped. He glanced over his teammates and sighed, "I''m sorry, Fu Chun''s matter is my fault." He wanted to apologize to Fu Chun, but he is not here anymore.

    You Xing wiped away her tears and said firmly, "Team leader, Brother Fu Chun will definitely not blame you. Let''s discuss what to do next."

    Seeing that Zhang Zhang is still immersed in regret and self-blame, You Xing continued, "We sprinkled fluorescent powder on the way we came, but the junior team didn''t know, they might not be able to find a way out. But now we have also gone astray from the original path. It¡¯s impossible to find that path anymore.¡± They were busy running for their lives, so when they meet a fork in the road, they have no choice but to run into it. It is impossible to return to the previous cave now.

    But that doesn''t stop them from using this as a bargaining chip.

    "Team leader, I''m afraid we still have to find Team leader Qin and the others and ask them to help."

    Du Feng nodded in agreement, "Give them some benefits too. Otherwise, I''m afraid they won''t do their best."

    Perhaps because of bad things they encountered in the previous mission worlds, Du Feng felt that most people would not help for no reason. Who would do things that are not beneficial? It¡¯s not like they are benevolent saints coming to rescue the suffering people.

    Zhang Zhang actually had a relatively good impression of Qin Tan and the others. But still, he nodded and said, "Okay, just do as you said. I''ll prepare the things, so we just need to find them."

    ¡­

    Chen Shuyang squeezed in to walk at Lou Fan''s side. He took a chocolate bean to tease the fur ball. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he asked, "Brother Lou, we are walking around randomly like this, how will we get out then? Can we still find the hole we came down from?"

    It happened that the five of them just passed by a hole. Lou Fan raised his head and stared at the little white dot above his head, "With so many holes connected, we can definitely get out. I think there are other exits."

    Hearing Lou Fan said this, Chen Shuyang felt relieved immediately, and he continued to tease the fur ball without care. However, Lou Fan is not as big-hearted as Chen Shuyang. He only said those words to stabilize everyone''s hearts. Qitong can appear anywhere so it seems that there is no need for such things as entrances and exits. Can they really find the exit after completing the task?

    As if sensing Lou Fan¡¯s worry, Qin Tan took his hand and squeezed it. He comforted, "Don''t worry, there must be a way. Didn¡¯t Jiang Dong say that there is no inevitable death situation? There will be a way to survive."

    Wen Lang stared at the linked hands of the two people in front of him. Opening his mouth, he almost cried out in shock, but Jiang Dong covered his mouth.

    "Th, th, they..." Wen Lang turned to Jiang Dong stiffly, hoping to find some comfort in him.

    But Jiang Dong looked calm and raised his eyebrows at Wen Lang, "It¡¯s exactly what you think. Also, what''s with your expression like you caught someone in the scene of adultery?"

    "You already knew?!"

    Jiang Dong nodded, "Not too long ago."

    Wen Lang covered his little heart and felt a little breathless. That¡¯s why he always had a feeling that something felt strange between the two. How can they develop so fast? And they are together? Although it felt a little too fast, but now that he knew it, Wen Lang felt that Qin Tan and Lou Fan is meant to be together.

    Turning his head to see Chen Shuyang walking beside the two, Wen Lang looked sympathetically at him. There is someone stupider than him, and suddenly he felt comforted. Wen Lang nudged Jiang Dong with his elbow and scolded angrily, "Hey, you''re not being a good brother. You should have told me earlier so that I could be mentally prepared."

    "What''s there to prepare for?" Jiang Dong felt helpless.

    Wen Lang: "Anyway, they are 2 guys. Besides, both of them are the objects of my admiration, so can''t you say it in advance and let me prepare myself?"

    The 2 idols he admired have been taken, his mentality has collapsed, a¡¯ight?[1]

    ¡­

    Furball is successfully lured by Chen Shuyang''s chocolate beans onto his palm. The more he looked at Furball, the more he liked it.

    "Brother Lou, I know!" As Chen Shuyang looked at Furball, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he shouted happily. "Will Furball be able to help us find the Longjing grass? Didn¡¯t Brother Lou say that Furball is the one who plucked the 2nd Longjing grass before this?" That time, they almost faced a double-pronged attack by 2 snakes.

    "It''s a good idea, let¡¯s try it." Lou Fan grabbed Furball and looked into its mung bean-sized eyes, "Furball, do you remember the Longjing grass? The one you gave me just now? Can you take us there?"

    After Lou Fan finished speaking, he looked at Furball expectantly.

    The other members also gathered around, and the ¡®weak and helpless¡¯ Furball has once again become the brightest spotlight in the crowd. It immediately chirped twice before burying itself in Lou Fan''s palm.

    Is Furball embarrassed?

    Lou Fan stretched out his finger and poked it, "Don''t play dead, what¡¯s there to be shy of?"

    Chen Shuyang stopped Lou Fan and said doubtfully, "Hmm, that''s not what Jiang Yiran told me. He said that any cute pet can help to find treasures or guide the way, etc."

    Lou Fan almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath and he slapped Chen Shuyang''s head hard, "That guy Jiang Yiran is already poisoned by the novels he read. Why didn¡¯t you learn good things but remember useless things like this?"

    Chen Shuyang touched his head aggrievedly, "He is the one who pulled me to say those things."

    "What else did he say?"

    "He also said that we can try taking something and give the ¡®pet¡¯ a sniff at it. Then maybe it¡¯ll be able to find something."

    Lou Fan: "Isn''t that for dogs?"

    Well, it doesn''t matter now whether the subject is a dog or not, Lou Fan took the Longjing grass out of his bag and put the grass in front of the Furball. Then he said with a smile, "Furball, come. This is the grass, can you take us to find it? I''ll give you butter beans later, okay?"

    Furball raised its head. Blinking with its small mung bean-like eyes, it chirped twice. Then it jumped from Lou Fan''s palm to the ground, and before everyone could react, it swiftly zoomed away.

    Lou Fan: !!!

    "Furball! Come back!" Lou Fan shouted in a hurry.

    Can it give him a buffer time? Simply running away like this, who can keep up with its speed?! Lou Fan felt anxious, what would he do if it got lost?

    Raw word count: 6092 (whole chapter)

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 CH 44.2

    [Banana - Take note, this chapter ends at a cliff~]

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 8 team

    ÕÅÕÂ Zhang Zhang (leader)

    ¸»´º Fu Chun (chef) - dead

    ÓÈÐÇ You Xing (young girl)

    ¶Å·ï Du Feng (older sister)

    ¶Å¾ü Du Jun (younger brother)

    Newcomer

    Han Yu (Real estate agent)

    Jiang Yiran (college young man)

    Qi Shan (young girl)

    The next moment, the little white ball immediately returned to Lou Fan. It jumped on top of him a few times before jumping back to the palm of his hand. Lou Fan picked it up by the ¡®neck¡¯. "Who told you to run so fast? At least, wait for us to follow. What if we lose sight of you? Do you still want to eat butter beans then?!"

    After Lou Fan finished scolding, he heard Furball chirp aggrievedly.

    Qin Tan couldn''t bear it and said to Lou Fan, "Don''t bully it."

    Lou Fan''s eyes widened, and suddenly he felt reluctant, "You reprimand me?" What''s with this feeling of falling out of favor?!

    Qin Tan laughed, "Don¡¯t waste time."

    Alright, he just cares about the mission.

    Wen Lang: I refuse to eat this dog food!

    Lou Fan asked everyone to get ready before putting Furball on the ground again, "Okay, let''s go but please slow down."

    This time the Furball is obedient. It moved very fast, but it will stop once in a while. This scene is actually quite funny so Lou Fan is in a good mood. He decided to give a few more butter beans as a reward.

    Even if Furball slowed down, the team still have to run very fast to keep up. After about 10 minutes, Chen Shuyang felt that he had run for several kilometers. He is so tired that he could hardly breathe. When he finally stopped running, he immediately saw the Longjing grass not far away.

    That Longjing grass is much bigger than what they saw previously.

    Jiang Dong walked over cautiously and carefully observed it at a distance of half a meter from the Longjing grass, for fear that someone accidentally bumped into the Longjing grass and led out the Chang snake. This Longjing grass is darker in color, and compared to the previous grass that looked like a jiao - a dragon without feet, this one can vaguely see claws similar to feet. It is said to be grass, but it is as lifelike as a dragon that really wants to fly up the clouds.

    The situation doesn''t look good.

    Jiang Dong retracted his gaze with a solemn expression, "It''s a Longjing grass, but it looks more mature. I''m afraid the Chang snake behind it is not easy to deal with."

    Lou Fan glanced helplessly at the fluffy ball in his hand that is happily eating butter beans. It helped to find a grass alright, but such a powerful one¡­ do they pick it or not?

    "What to do, to pick or not to pick?"

    High risk means high profit, but here comes the problem. Their mission only requires 10 Longjing grass, and it didn''t say what quality is required. Besides, they don''t know if the mission item can be brought back to Lazuli in the end. It will be a huge loss if it disappears the moment they left the world.

    At the time of these two difficult choices, Furball has finished eating the butter beans. It looked up at everyone and found that none of them responded, the Longjing grass is still in place - it swooshed to it...

    Lou Fan only had time to glare at the hairball before putting the Longjing grass into the bag, where the Chang snake had already appeared the next moment. ¡®Gritting his teeth¡¯ is no longer enough to describe his mood. At this moment, he only thinks about how to get rid of the Chang snake quickly, but unfortunately, the Level 8 team is not there. Otherwise, there will be 1 more task progress for them.

    This snake is much bigger than usual, as Jiang Dong expected. Its thickness is about 3 people hugging around it combined. The thick scales all over its body are glowing, and they looked very tough at first glance. The bloody mouth the size of a basin opened widely and the snake hissed. Its eyes exuded a faint green light.

    "Be careful! All spread out!" Qin Tan shouted.

    Pushing Lou Fan away, Qin Tan pulled out his sword and rolled to the side. The Chang snake''s head hit the stone wall. The stone wall is hard but the snake¡¯s head seems to be harder, as a large crack appeared on the stone wall.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong had long escaped to the side. One threw out the chain whip while the other threw out the bandage. It''s a pity that Wen Lang''s chain whip is too short to deal with this Chang snake, so it couldn''t wrap around it. The Chang snake suddenly turned its head towards him so Wen Lang immediately rolled down and passed through the snake''s belly. Good thing he is not bitten.

    "Think of a way! The whip can¡¯t wrap around it!"

    Wen Lang shouted while running and Jiang Dong immediately said, "Come to me."

    Wen Lang ran over immediately and the Chang snake behind him got distracted by Lou Fan and Qin Tan. The snake is too big to get close. While Lou Fan is shooting arrows to attract its attention, Qin Tan took the opportunity to attack the snake''s belly, but the snake''s belly is as hard as a stone.

    Jiang Dong cut off the bandage in his hand (which the end is tied around the snake¡¯s tail) and handed it to Wen Lang. Wen Lang took the bandage and immediately wrapped it in a circle in his hand. Next, Jiang Dong swiftly ran to the snake''s head and flung out a strip of bandage, wrapping around the head. Fortunately, Jiang Dong''s spirit weapon is the bandage. If ordinary people threw out a strip of bandage, it will only fall down limply, how would it move to wrap around the target object? Only the spirit weapon can have this effect. It could act like a rope and also automatically wrapped around the target, which is very convenient for them.

    Jiang Dong pulled at the snake''s head only to realize that the snake''s head is not as easy as pulling the snake''s tail. The head of the snake moves violently, and he has to be careful not to be caught and bitten by the snake. If it goes east, he has to go west. If it turned around, he has to run to the other side very quickly. But Wen Lang never said that, and Lou Fan is the one who helped to pull when he almost lost his strength back then.

    The way they restrained the snake is still the same operation, but the effect is greatly reduced. Qin Tan''s Tang sword cannot cut through the snake¡¯s skin. Lou Fan had to keep shooting phoenix feather arrows to attract the Chang snake''s attention because he is afraid that the Chang snake would hurt Qin Tan.

    "What should I do?" Chen Shuyang''s dagger is completely useless at the moment. He hid at the entrance of the hole and shuffled back and forth anxiously.

    Gritting his teeth, Chen Shuyang raised his dagger and rushed forward. Even if the Chang snake couldn''t be hurt, he still had to attract attention and give Brother Qin a chance. Otherwise, the longer it took, the worse it would be for them.

    The nature of creatures is probably to bully the weak and fear the strong. Since it can''t hurt those it is currently fighting with, Chen Shuyang''s arrival gave Chang snake a chance. It immediately gave up fighting with Qin Tan, turned around, and pounced towards Chen Shuyang.

    The bloody mouth gave off a strong stench, and Chen Shuyang is stunned. At that moment, he seemed to have been struck by an immobilizing spell, and he couldn''t move. Lou Fan pulled out the short sword from his waist and ran forward. The immobilizing amulet is ready in his left hand, ready to be crushed at any time.

    "Lou Fan!" Qin Tan''s terrified voice sounded.

    A blur of white shadow flashed out from Lou Fan¡¯s chest pocket and rushed straight to the Chang snake.

    Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and Lou Fan hadn''t even regained his senses. The next moment, the Chang snake fell heavily to the ground with a BANG, and the surrounding space shook momentarily.

    "Furball!" Lou Fan shouted, and ran to the Chang snake to find the fur ball.

    Then, Furball came out of nowhere, and the white fur on its body is stained with blood. It ran to Lou Fan''s feet and shook its body. Miraculously, the blood on its body is immediately shaken off, like one shaking the rain on an umbrella, and its fur returned to snow white again. Holding a dark red bead on its small paw, it proudly handed the bead to Lou Fan.

    Qin Tan, Wen Lang, and Jiang Dong came over from the other side of the snake.

    Wen Lang: "Brother Lou, what have you done? Why did the snake die so suddenly?"

    Qin Tan looked at Lou Fan up and down to make sure he didn''t see any wounds. But still, he asked worriedly, "Are you not injured?"

    Lou Fan shook his head, "I¡¯m fine. I didn''t even do anything yet and it died. It should be Furball¡¯s doing."

    Furball once again refreshed everyone''s understanding of its offensive ability.

    On the other hand, Chen Shuyang got so frightened by the snake that his hands and feet are frozen stiff, thinking he is doomed. Now that the danger has passed, he slipped from the stone wall and fell to the ground, exhaling a long breath. His back is covered in sweat and his clothes are soaking wet. But his gaze looking at Furball has become fiery.

    Chen Shuyang has decided that in the future, he will not do things like being a hero again. He¡¯ll just be a beautiful vase/person quietly waiting by the side. After all, his function in the team is an encyclopedia, and he only needs to use his brainpower. Fighting and whatnots are illusions, and it''s not as important as pleasing Furball.

    Qin Tan is not fooled by the distraction. He frowned and said solemnly, "Next time, you are not allowed to do such a dangerous thing again." Seeing that Lou Fan opened his mouth to quibble, Qin Tan added, "You have other ways of solving the problem without putting yourself in danger. Items are the tool that helps us stay alive. If it¡¯s used up, we can find more again."

    Lou Fan also knew that he is a little reckless this time. He just wanted to wait until the last minute to use the talisman. After all, things like these are hard to come by. But now? Forget it, life is more important. Lou Fan is also afraid that he would not survive just now. He had just found himself a boyfriend, and he still hasn¡¯t done a single thing that should have done together. If he died like this, it would be a great loss for him!

    To change the subject, Lou Fan squeezed the bead and asked Furball, "What is this?"

    Furball raised its little paw to point at the Chang snake.

    It¡¯s from inside the snake?

    "I don''t think snake gut looks like this?" Lou Fan turned his head and asked Jiang Dong. He is a doctor, right?

    Jiang Dong smiled helplessly, "I''m a surgeon, not a veterinarian. But snake gallbladders really don''t look like this."

    Furball pulled out a butter bean from its fluffy fur and pointed to the bead. Then it put the butter bean in its mouth and ate it.

    The bead is for eating?

    Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan and then at the bead in his hand. Knowing that it was in the snake''s body previously, he felt a little reluctant to eat it.

    Qin Tan took the bead with a frown. Then he stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it.

    "Ehh?? How could you just eat it just like this?" Lou Fan nervously opened Qin Tan''s mouth and peeked inside on tiptoes. "You swallowed it? Can you still vomit it out? Are you stupid?!"

    Qin Tan looked down at Lou Fan and pulled him into his arms, "En? Am I stupid or are you stupid? Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that you wanted to swallow it yourself. What if something went wrong?"

    Lou Fan slapped Qin Tan away, "Then what if something happened to you?"

    "Don''t worry, I won''t let you live as a widow."

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Though Wen Lang already knew the relationship between the two, but at this moment he still felt that his heart as a single dog is severely attacked. He thinks he needs to call 120 for help (China number for ambulance).

    Chen Shuyang is stunned by the situation. He couldn¡¯t understand how things had reversed dramatically. What happened? How did it jump to the topic of being a widow, and who is the one below (shou)?

    Just as Qin Tan finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed and his arm muscles tensed up. Lou Fan immediately sensed something is wrong with him and quickly grabbed his arm.

    "Qin Tan! Qin Tan, what''s wrong with you? Don''t scare me!"

    Qin Tan¡¯s face is the color of pig liver (deep red) and Lou Fan helped him to sit at the side. Then Lou Fan picked up Furball and roared, "What the hell is that bead?! Is it actually edible?!"

    On the side, Jiang Dong immediately began to check Qin Tan''s status, while Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang helped to relieve Qin Tan of his backpack and weapon.

    Because Lou Fan is in a panicking state at the moment, he has completely forgotten that Furball can''t speak. His roar frightened Furball causing the fur all over its body to stand up like spikes, but the place where Lou Fan is holding it is still a soft and fluffy spot.

    Raw word count: 6092 (whole chapter)

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 CH 45

    Aware of Furball''s kindness towards him, Lou Fan immediately softened his expression and apologized. Then he shoved it into his arms and went to see Qin Tan again.

    After Jiang Dong checked Qin Tan, his face looked very calm, "Qin Tan''s state is normal, his heartbeat is very strong, and he doesn''t look like he¡¯s in danger. I can''t see any problem anywhere. Maybe it''s just overexertion, let him rest."

    Lou Fan worriedly asked, "Is he really okay?"

    "He''s okay, don''t worry." Jiang Dong said affirmatively.

    After receiving Jiang Dong''s affirmative answer, Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He helped Qin Tan to tidy up a bit and sat down beside him. Then he said to the other members, "Let''s all take a rest and eat something."

    Everyone still can feel the lingering fear in their heart. If it wasn''t for the Furball just now, they are afraid that even if they managed to exhaust the snake to death, they would not be able to get away unscathed. At this moment, the team only feels dry in their mouth and also stomachs empty. They are hungry enough to eat a whole cow.

    Lou Fan uneasily watched Qin Tan''s condition while eating. When he just finished eating, he turned around and saw Qin Tan gradually waking up, staring at him.

    "How do you feel?" Lou Fan asked.

    However, seeing Qin Tan still staring unblinkingly at him, Lou Fan became nervous again. He hurriedly called Jiang Dong over and asked, "Jiang Dong, come and see Qin Tan. Why is he not responding, did he turn stupid?"

    Finally, Qin Tan couldn''t hold back. He took Lou Fan¡¯s hand and laughed out loud, "Felt like you are hoping me to be stupid? Why, are you trying to find another lover?"

    Qin Tan did not turn stupid!

    Lou Fan jumped over happily and replied saying that he wouldn¡¯t dare.

    Hugging Lou Fan, Qin Tan stood up effortlessly. He used to be like a sheathed sword, a black panther stalking his prey in the dark night. But now, his whole person exudes a strong aura, which makes people feel smaller.

    Wen Lang clicked his tongue twice, "Brother Qin, why do I think you''re different now? This kind of aura is leaking dominance!"

    Wen Lang described it very aptly, and Chen Shuyang nodded again and again with adoration in his eyes. Even Jiang Dong nodded, agreeing with what he said. Lou Fan pulled Qin Tan over to look up and down at him, feeling satisfied with what he saw.

    "Is that bead something like the snake spirit pill in the TV series? It''s so cool, I want one too." Wen Lang looked at Qin Tan and said enviously, "If we all have one, we can be domineering like Brother Qin. Won¡¯t that feel awesome?"

    Qin Tan: "I do feel a little different, more powerful."

    Lou Fan immediately took out Furball and said with a smile, "Good Furball, see. Qin Tan has woken up."

    Furball gave a side glance at Qin Tan, then turned away its head to ignore Lou Fan. One could even see that its body is bulged up in anger.

    Seems that Furball is super angry!

    Lou Fan didn''t know whether to laugh or cry and continued to comfort Furball. It took a full 10-minutes before Furball finally turned around. Lou Fan took out a large handful of butter beans to let Furball continue to lead them to find Longjing grass. He took out the previous matured grass in the bag and shook it at Furball.

    "Furball, we want this one, this type of grass." Lou Fan looked at Furball with anticipation on his face.

    Furball stared at Longjing grass before shaking its head.

    Seeing that, Wen Lang grabbed his hair and wailed, "It''s not the only one, is it?"

    A bolt from the blue!

    Jiang Dong and Chen Shuyang''s hopeful eyes suddenly dimmed. Wen Lang turned his head to look at Qin Tan with envy, but no hatred.

    "Brother Qin is so lucky!"

    Actually, it¡¯s not that Qin Tan is lucky. The lucky one should be Lou Fan because Furball initially gave this snake spirit bead to Lou Fan, but Qin Tan ate it.

    Lou Fan is not disappointed at all, and said with a smile, "There is only one, huh? Fortunately, Qin Tan ate it. If I ate it, I would definitely regret it to death. Qin Tan, you are the main fighting force of our team. It is better for you to eat it. This way I can justify my being lazy."

    "Even if I don''t eat the bead, I will still protect you."

    Lou Fan glared at Qin Tan, "Who wants your protection? I''m just being lazy, do you understand?!"

    "Okay, you are just lazy!" Qin Tan immediately begged for mercy and went along.

    Then, Qin Tan suddenly hugged Lou Fan. He rubbed his cheek against Lou Fan''s hair and said softly, ¡°Thank you.¡± Although his intention to grab the bead is because he was afraid of Lou Fan getting into an accident

    Lou Fan became stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

    The other members¡¯ single dog eyes got blinded by this. Wen Lang directly covered his face, "Aiyoyo, I don''t want to eat this dog food!"

    ...

    Their rest is almost over, and they also got full from the dog food. So, everyone packs up and prepares to continue the task. At this moment, their task has been completed 5/10.

    The huge snake body took up most of the space at the opening of the fork, and the ground is covered in blood, but there is only a faint stench as if the space is stagnant with no flowing air. Lou Fan put Furball on the ground and get it to help find Longjing grass. Even if it is just the ordinary type, it would still save them a lot of time.

    The moment the Longjing grass is plucked, a Chang snake with the thickness of the basin jumped out quickly. Furball is about to come forward when Lou Fan stopped it. Qin Tan is already eager to try fighting, wondering what changes he had made. Hence, the remaining members stood aside with weapons in hand, waiting to support. If Qin Tan couldn''t take it, they would immediately charge up.

    Furball stood blinking in Lou Fan''s palm and got poked by him, "If you see him in danger, remember to help him out, understand? " After speaking, Lou Fan turned to stare at Qin Tan, his heart is about to fly out of his chest.

    The Chang snake slid fast toward Qin Tan like it is swimming. Its eyes glowed green, and it keep hissing with its tongue.

    Qin Tan didn''t dodge but went straight up to the snake with his sword. His speed is very fast. Others only saw him move forward, and the next moment, Qin Tan jumped high towards the Chang snake, holding up the Tang sword and slashing down at the snake''s head. At the same time, the Chang snake also raised its snake body, opened its bloody mouth, and is about to bite Qin Tan.

    Lou Fan''s heart felt like jumping out.

    In mid-air, Qin Tan slashed down horizontally. Next, Qin Tan landed on the ground by inertia. With a twist of his body, his arms bulged and instantly exerted force. He held the Tang sword tightly and pulled it forward...

    The Chang snake is instantly split into two halves horizontally and the scene is very bloody. Chen Shuyang''s throat suddenly moved, and he turned to hold on to the stone wall before vomiting.

    The battle only lasted 2 minutes and ended. Qin Tan¡¯s speed is staggering, and what is even more staggering is that Qin Tan''s power is unexpectedly powerful. This is completely different from the Qin Tan who struggled to deal with the Chang snake before. If it weren''t for Qin Tan and the Tang sword still the same person and sword, they almost thought that the person and weapon had been changed.

    "Frick, Brother Qin, you are too strong!" Wen Lang is about to die of admiration and jealousy. Such a good thing, but it¡¯s not his turn!

    Qin Tan raised his Tang sword to take a look and is very satisfied with the feeling just now. Sure enough, a spirit weapon is a weapon that communicates with the owner spiritually, and it improves as one improves.

    Lou Fan grinned and asked, "How do you feel?"

    Qin Tan nodded, "It feels good, you all should train more. I feel that the spirit weapon will improve with the improvement of the owner. In the future, we will add one more thing to do in the mission world, which is to try finding items that can improve ourselves."

    In fact, everyone knows this without Qin Tan having to say it. Only Chen Shuyang looked bitter, what should he do with his spirit weapon?! Lou Fan patted him on the shoulder, "Your spirit weapon must have other useful purposes, but we haven''t found it yet. Don''t be discouraged."

    Jiang Dong interjected, "Something like snake spirit bead, whether other people in Lazuli know it or not, we should act like we don''t know it. It''s better not to tell others."

    Everyone agrees with this proposal.

    Qin Tan''s power value has greatly increased, which greatly boosted the team¡¯s morale. They all feel that at this moment, their mission can be completed without any hindrance. Everyone''s main task changed from finding the Longjing grass to finding a way out. They have Furball to help find Longjing grass.

    After picking a Longjing grass again, Qin Tan has not had time to start when Furball quickly jumped into the hole that the snake should be coming out from. Then there is a sound of something falling to the ground, and soon, Furball jumped back to Lou Fan''s arm again. In his arms, only a little bit of Furball can be seen, and its mung bean''s eyes are shining brightly. It turned out that Furball is asking for praise! Lou Fan burst out laughing. He grabbed a few butter beans for Furball, and smoothed its fur, "Okay, I''ll let you handle all the Chang snakes from now on."

    Wen Lang: ¡­

    Wen Lang really wanted to know what kind of people he is in a group with! He doesn''t know if Lou Fan is really a Lucky King but anyway, he doesn''t care about the task anymore. At this moment, he just wants to know if there is anything to improve his strength here.

    Wen Lang nudged Jiang Dong, "Hey, do you think we might encounter something to improve our strength? I felt like there is only little hope."

    "Isn''t Qin Tan has one already?" Jiang Dong said and laughed. "We have Lou Fan in our team. Are you afraid that there will be no good things in the future? Try to stay alive and there will be many good things coming."

    Wen Lang only ask for the sake of talking, but when he heard Jiang Dong''s words, he felt relieved. He took a long sigh, "I wonder what happened to the intermediate team? If they are here with us, they won¡¯t have to worry about their task at all. They are also unlucky."

    ¡­

    Zhang Zhang and his team members really felt unlucky at the moment. They are trying their best to deal with a Chang snake, and each of them had injuries of varying degrees. When Du Feng is wearing a pair of gloves, her strength is twice as strong as that of ordinary people. Right now, she is holding onto the mouth of the snake tightly and swaying in mid-air as the snake''s body swayed. You Xing''s flower couldn''t get in front of the Chang snake at all, and Du Jun''s stick only felt like a tickle for the snake. Zhang Zhang got whipped all over by the snake''s tail. Gritting his teeth, he chased after the Chang snake with his chainsaw.

    This will not do! The snake must be restrained first!

    Zhang Zhang gritted his teeth and shouted, "You Xing, take the spider web out!"

    You Xing responded and put on her gloves. Then, she took out a ball of silk-like things from her backpack, "Team leader, I''m ready."

    Although Zhang Zhang felt pain (from using rare items), his members are more important. The moment he saw a gap, he immediately shouted, "Cast the net!"

    As soon as Zhang Zhang said that, Du Feng and Du Jun immediately let go and moved away from the Chang snake. A white web is thrown from the air and fell on the Chang snake, and it shrank into a ball. The Chang snake shook violently, but the white web became tighter and tighter as it swayed, sticking together. In the end, the Chang snake got wrapped into a bundle.

    Zhang Zhang raised the chainsaw and quickly sawed the snake into several pieces.

    The Chang snake is dead, but the spider web also became useless. This spider web was obtained from their last mission world, and it is a one-time item. Zhang Zhang originally wanted to keep it for emergencies, or to exchange for other things, but he didn''t expect it to be used at the first Chang snake they encountered after separating from the junior team.

    Sighing, Zhang Zhang walked aside and sat down to rest.

 CH 46

    Newcomer

    With Furball''s request to kill the snakes, collecting Longjing grass went very smoothly. The moment Lou Fan picked the 10th Longjing grass, the team¡¯s watch made a long beep. Next, the Longjing grass in Lou Fan''s hand disappeared. Stunned for a moment, Lou Fan immediately opened his backpack. Sure enough, the Longjing grass inside had disappeared as well.

    The task on the watch shows 10/10 - the task has been completed.

    Lou Fan turned his head to look at the other team members and said, "The Longjing grass has disappeared. This is the first time I saw the quest item disappear. I haven''t encountered it before. Have you guys heard of it?"

    In the previous mission world where they adjusted the clocks to the correct time, most of the 250 clocks were brought back to Lazuli. That¡¯s why, Lou Fan thought that this time he should be able to bring the grasses back too, but Longjing Grass disappeared.

    This time, even Wen Lang, the king of gossip, and Jiang Dong, a news collector, didn''t know about this situation, and they didn''t have much news in this regard. Since they don¡¯t know anything about this, there¡¯s nothing much can be done. The quest items are already taken away,  so they can only go back to Lazuli to ask other people.

    After Furball killed the snake and ran back, Lou Fan handed it a butter bean, "Okay, the task is complete so there¡¯s no need to look for Longjing grass anymore. Let''s start looking for the exit."

    Finally, their team has completed the task. Everyone began to eat some food to replenish their physical strength. As Lou Fan is drinking some water, he noticed Furball staring at his water bottle. So he poured out a little bit in the palm of his hand and gestured to Furball. Unexpectedly, it turned away in disgust.

    After the team are done eating, Furball suddenly jumped to the ground and started running. Lou Fan called out twice and it stopped. But it only looked back at them and continued to run. Not knowing what Furball wanted to do, Lou Fan could only follow it forward.

    After walking around for a long time, Furball stopped and in front of it is a rather large pool. Light shone down from the hole at the top of the pool, reflecting the pool''s gleaming water. The water is clear, but one can''t see what''s underneath. Furball ran to the edge of the pool, walked to the edge of the shallow water, and began to drink water - it turned out to be thirsty.

    Lou Fan walked over and tried to take a sip of the water. The water in the pool is clear and delicious, with a hint of sweetness. It is very delicious. "This water is delicious, it¡¯s sweet." He turned his head and said to the other team members.

    Chen Shuyang didn''t need Lou Fan to say more and ran to the lake to drink. After drinking, he said, "This can¡¯t be the place where Qitong drinks water, right?"

    As a doctor, Jiang Dong has a keen feeling about his body, "I think after drinking it, I feel less tired and my thinking is much clearer."

    Hearing Jiang Dong¡¯s words, Chen Shuyang also felt it. He felt exhausted just now. He was exhausted all over his body and his mind was chaotic, but now these negative feelings have disappeared.

    "These heavenly kinds of stuff are surely different," Wen Lang said. "Hey, I''m going to replace all the water in my bag with this."

    Lou Fan stood on the edge of the pool and stared into the water. This time he brought the fish scale suit and little pearls with him. Will there be anything good at the bottom of the water? Driven by curiosity, he decided to go into the water.

    "No, what if Qitong comes?" Qin Tan disagreed.

    Lou Fan: "I''ll be back soon. I¡¯ll just go down and take a look. Just a look, and if there''s nothing there, I''ll return right away."

    Knowing that he can¡¯t win over Lou Fan, Qin Tan could only nod his head and requested Lou Fan to be back in 10 minutes.

    Wen Lang cheered at the side, "Brother Lou, good luck. Also, don''t hesitate if you see something good." Qin Tan gave Wen Lang a stern look, causing him to immediately hide behind Jiang Dong and didn''t dare to speak anymore.

    Chen Shuyang and Jiang Dong both told Lou Fan to be careful.

    Originally, Qin Tan said he wanted to go down instead. But Lou Fan rejected it saying, "What if there is something good in the water, and ended up nothing when you go down because your hands are black (unlucky hand)?"

    Qin Tan: This fact is simply irrefutable.

    After changing into a fish scale suit and swallowing a small pearl, Lou Fan slowly went down the water with a headlamp on his head. Furball was originally standing by the water. When Lou Fan went into the water, it threw itself into the water with a plop.

    The water is warm and moist, not cold at all, and Lou Fan even felt comfortable soaking in it. Since there are no other creatures in the water, he simply pulled the fish scale suit off and let the water wrap around his body. Then he noticed a white ball swimming to his side, and Furball''s little eyes blinked at him.

    So Furball can dive? Lou Fan is even more curious about what breed it is now, but with Furball accompanying, Lou Fan felt a lot more at ease. He kept diving, and the water didn''t look deep, but at the moment he didn''t think it is shallow at all. On the other hand, there is really nothing in the water. Suddenly, he glimpsed a flash of light. Lou Fan accelerated his speed and went downstream, only to find that it is the light emitted by the stones at the bottom of the pool. He swam down and found that they are actually jades like they grew underground. Lou Fan reached out to touch them but realized he couldn''t pick them up at all. Looking around, there is nothing else, so Lou Fan can only return without success.

    Emerging from the water, the other team members who were standing by the pool immediately surrounded Lou Fan, and Qin Tan pulled him up.

    "There is nothing in the water, only some jades at the bottom of the pool, but I can''t pick it up." Lou Fan said regretfully.

    "Nothing is fine. It would be weird if you could find something good every time." They didn''t hold out hope anyway, just letting Lou Fan satisfy his curiosity.

    Qin Tan turned to get Lou Fan a towel. At the moment, Chen Shuyang is the one standing closest to Lou Fan. Chen Shuyang raised his glasses and asked, "Brother Lou, what is on your body? Why is it like a layer of mud?"

    "Ah?" If Chen Shuyang didn¡¯t ask, Lou Fan wouldn¡¯t realize it yet. He looked down and saw that there is a black layer on his exposed skin. Touching it, Lou Fan asked with a disgusted tone, "What is this? There is nothing in the water, and the water is clean."

    Qin Tan rubbed a handful from Lou Fan¡¯s body and sniffed the black thing, which smelled a little stinky. "Go over there, take off the fish scale suit, and then wash it away with the pool water first. The black thing doesn¡¯t have a particular smell. Wash it first and see if there is any discomfort."

    Lou Fan nodded. Enduring nausea, he went to wash himself. Taking off his fish scale suit, he realized that he is covered with this kind of black stuff. Lou Fan reached out and touched his face; there¡¯s even on his face. But after he washed it with water, the black thing went away. When he touched his skin with his hands, Lou Fan found that his skin is smooth and it felt quite comfortable.

    Lou Fan is just getting dressed when there is a sound of fighting, accompanied by a female scream.

    "It''s Zhang Zhang and the others." Qin Tan said and immediately went to the voice.

    They don''t have to think to know that it is them. Zhang Zhang¡¯s team must have encountered a Chang snake. Lou Fan immediately gets Furball to go with Qin Tan. Then he and the other team members followed closely behind.

    When they arrived, the battle is already over, but the situation looked rather tragic.

    Zhang Zhang is injured all over while Du Feng had a broken arm. She is covered in blood, and her face is pale. Du Jun who is also badly injured is helping to apply some medicine and dressing her wound. You Xing is a little better, compared to the others.

    Seeing Qin Tan and the others, Zhang Zhang breathed a long sigh of relief, as if he had seen his relatives, "Finally found you." He looked tired and relieved.

    "They look a bit miserable these days." Wen Lang whispered to Jiang Dong.

    They are all from the same world after all, so Lou Fan and the others helped to bandage them with medicine.

    Zhang Zhang proceed to say what happened to them these few days with a wry smile. After they used the spiderweb, they planned to find Qin Tan and the others, but there were many forks in the cave, and it is really difficult to find someone. They have hardly rested in the past few days, as they wanted to find Qin Tan and the others for help as soon as possible. But in the end, they couldn¡¯t find anyone. At this moment, they are already lesser than 4 days from the end of the mission. There is no way. Zhang Zhang¡¯s team can only start killing snakes. Unexpectedly, they encountered a higher hurdle this time - this snake is bigger than the first one they met. If Qin Tan and Furball hadn''t appeared in time, the whole team is really going to be wiped out.

    After saying this, Zhang Zhang heaved a breath, and the wound that had been treated with medicine felt much better. He looked at Qin Tan and continued, "Team leader Qin, Fu Chun from our team... sigh Now, there are only 4 of us left, and we are not good at dealing with the Chang snakes. Moreover, the equipment in our hands is not useful except for the spiderweb that has been used. Can I ask you to help us kill the snakes together? Don''t worry, when we returned to Lazuli, all of our equipment is up to you to choose from. It just so happens that you also want to collect Longjing grass, right?" Life is more important than equipment.

    For the current Qin Tan, it is not difficult at all to help them, not to mention that there is Furball too, but he can''t say yes just like that. So Qin Tan said, "Everyone wants to survive. We can help, but you will give us all the Longjing grass we find later." Of course, the reward is also indispensable.

    Without needing Qin Tan to say further, Zhang Zhang agreed and breathed a sigh of relief. As long as their team is willing to help, everything else would be easy to talk about. On the contrary, if Qin Tan didn''t want anything for repayment, Zhang Zhang would feel not at ease. One can owe anything but favors.

    Lou Fan also has the same intention as Qin Tan. It is okay to help, but it won¡¯t be free. They are not selfless Lei Feng who do good deeds without leaving his name.

    After resting for a while, Zhang Zhang immediately asked Qin Tan and the others for help. Qin Tan originally wanted them to rest for a while, but Zhang Zhang¡¯s team firmly disagreed. Even Du Feng shook her head and said that there is no need to rest.

    "In less than 4 days, we have to go down the mountain to return to the station. We can''t afford to waste time."

    Since Zhang Zhang said so, Qin Tan agreed with him. But when it is time to leave, Lou Fan pulled Qin Tan to the other side to talk.

    "Qin Tan, I think we should let Furball help them instead. Their team came into this world with us and is very familiar with your strength. I want you to hide your strength and use it as our trump card."

    Qin Tan thought for a while. He is indeed not very familiar with his own changes now, and since Lou Fan said so, he has no objection.

    "Team leader Zhang, Furball will be your main force, so just follow it." Lou Fan put Furball on the ground and pointed to it when he said that to Zhang Zhang. Then, he told Furball to look for Longjing Grass.

    Zhang Zhang is a little puzzled, "Furball? Is that the animal you found before?"

    Lou Fan nodded, "Yes, it is very good at looking for Longjing grass. As to the snakes... En, it is very good at that too."

    Zhang Zhang is skeptical but still followed the fur ball running in front of him. Only then did he realize that the fur ball is moving so fast that they could hardly keep up. It is until Lou Fan calls after it a few times before his team can follow.

    Sure enough, they arrived at an area with a Longjing grass soon after. Zhang Zhang and his team members are very nervous. Du Feng''s face turned pale again and Du Jun raised a wooden stick in front of her. You Xing looked calm, but her hands trembled slightly. Zhang Zhang took a deep breath and saw Furball swiftly picking up the Longjing grass. Then with a flash, it handed the grass to Lou Fan.

    The Chang snake is here! Zhang Zhang clenched the chainsaw in his hand and looked at Qin Tan and the others anxiously¡ªthey really didn''t make a move and stayed where they were. He felt a chill in his heart, wondering if Qin Tan¡¯s team really didn''t intend to help? Next, he saw the fur ball jumping down from Lou Fan¡¯s arms, and had a face-to-face with the Chang snake that came out of the hole. The next moment, the Chang snake fell to the ground with a thud.

    Zhang Zhang and his team members: !!!

 CH 47

    Because Zhang Zhang¡¯s team didn¡¯t touch the Chang snake at all, this kill wasn¡¯t counted in their mission count.

    Furball jumped back happily to Lou Fan for compliments but Lou Fan poked it and said, "You are too fast. It doesn¡¯t count, no butter beans for you."

    Furball: !!! So it¡¯s my fault?!

    You Xing''s eyes shined brightly, she had never seen such an animal before, and it is so powerful. So, she couldn''t help but ask, "Brother Lou, what kind of animal is this?"

    Lou Fan spread his hands helplessly: "I also don''t know. Its appearance is like this and moves so fast. We also couldn¡¯t figure out what it is."

    You Xing ahh-ed, feeling a little disappointed. But no matter how powerful this animal is, they couldn''t bring it back to Lazuli. She had never heard of any animal that could be taken back to Lazuli. In the mission world before this, You Xing caught a very cute rabbit but couldn¡¯t bring it back.

    It''s not uncommon to see strange animals in the mission world, but such obedient and powerful animals are very rare. But Zhang Zhang doesn''t intend to find out further, he is more concerned about his mission.

    "Lou Fan, it moved too fast, and the mission progress hasn''t changed!" He said this with a sullen expression on his face. He despised himself deeply; he can¡¯t even win against an animal.

    Lou Fan thought about it for a while. Furball''s movements are indeed too fast, and can just kill with 1 hit. Getting it to help is quite hard for Zhang Zhang and his team. With that speed, even Qin Tan might not be able to keep up.

    "We¡¯ll help then. Furball can come in the middle."

    Wen Lang is the first to stand up, "I''ll do it."

    Jiang Dong and Chen Shuyang also said, "I''ll come too."

    The three of them got stimulated by Qin Tan¡¯s words and wanted to improve their strength as soon as possible. Lou Fan simply let all three of them go. If they can¡¯t bear it, Furball can go in anyway.

    Furball: !!!

    ¡­

    When the Chang snake came out of the hole, Wen Lang immediately swung the whip around it and ran quickly. After Jiang Dong also wrapped the bandage, the two pulled the Chang snake together.

    Everyone realized that this Chang snake is much bigger than the previous ones, so Wen Lang and Jiang Dong struggled to pull it. While they are restraining the snake, Zhang Zhang and Du Jun attack together. The moment the chainsaw touched the snake''s body, the Chang snake began to swing its body violently. Chen Shuyang took the opportunity to attack with his short sword.

    The battle makes Lou Fan¡¯s hands feel itchy, so he lifted his bow to shoot. He doesn''t know why the spiritual arrows are not quite effective against the snake, so he used the phoenix feather arrows he brought. 3 arrows are notched to the bow and he shot out. With a kick on the stone wall, Lou Fan felt that his body is so light that he almost flew into the air and turned around in mid-air. The Chang snake came towards him with its mouth wide open. With a jump, Lou Fan stepped on the snake''s head, with a phoenix feather arrow aimed at the snake''s eyes...

    "HISS..." Chang snake''s scream sounded.

    Lou Fan instantly landed lightly on the ground and he ran to Qin Tan''s side in 2 steps. He pulled Qin Tan and whispered, "Qin Tan, something is different with me. My body is too light, and I don''t feel anything when I jump up. I suspect it is the water from the pool just now."

    Lou Fan couldn''t be more clear about the changes in his body. He thought of the fact that the water he drank managed to sweep away his exhaustion, plus the black substance that floated out of his body after he came out of the pool - it must be the cause of the water in the pool. He couldn''t even feel the effect of gravity now. At first, he felt that the gravity seems wrong and Qin Tan also told them about this before.

    After calling Furball to help, the battle is over immediately. Lou Fan couldn''t wait to let Wen Lang and the others take a dip so he anxiously wanted to go to the pool just now.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan is leading the team anxiously, his pace getting faster and faster. He remembered the route just now, but after walking for a long time, it is still the tunnel. He didn''t see the pool at all. Lou Fan lowered his body and grabbed Furball.

    "Furball, I still want to drink water, can you take me to drink water again?" Lou Fan made a gesture of drinking water and raised his bottle, but Furball shook its head.

    A bolt from the blue!

    As if he missed the encounter with a huge treasure once again, Lou Fan felt that he has crumbled inside and is about to vomit blood.

    Wen Lang puzzledly looked at Lou Fan, who is standing still and not moving. He asked Qin Tan, "What''s wrong with Brother Lou? Why didn''t he move?"

    Qin Tan felt a pity in his heart too when he saw Furball shaking its head. He sighed, "It''s okay, Lou Fan just suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, just let him rest for a while. You all can follow Furball and go ahead."

    Wen Lang acknowledged with an ¡®Oh¡¯ and walked to the front. Jiang Dong glanced at Lou Fan, as if aware of something, but didn''t say anything.

    Lou Fan blamed himself, "I should have let everyone go down the pool, it''s all my fault."

    "I don''t blame you. Didn''t I tell you not to go down at the time too? If it comes to this, it should be my fault."

    "I should have thought of this when that layer of black stuff appeared on my body."

    Qin Tan held Lou Fan¡¯s arms and looked at him deeply, "It''s not your fault. Who knows what the water will do? What if our skin rots? Your assumption is unreasonable and not valid at all."

    Lou Fan looked up at Qin Tan, his eyes full of sadness. He knew how much the rest of their team members wanted to become stronger. That¡¯s why Lou Fan felt that it is all because of him that they lost the chance. Even if they could improve a little, the three of them would give it a try without hesitation.

    Qin Tan: "There is always the next mission world, there are still many opportunities. Don''t blame yourself."

    Qin Tan''s voice and words seemed to have a calming effect on people''s hearts. Lou Fan''s heart is settled, and his eyes became firm, "Next time, I will definitely not let the opportunity slip away." He glanced at the other members and said to Qin Tan, "But don''t tell them first, or they will be disappointed."

    ¡­

    After the team killed the remaining Chang snake within a day, the members of Zhang Zhang¡¯s team felt incredible. At the same time, Zhang Zhang also blamed himself even more, feeling that Fu Chun died because of him. Otherwise, they could complete the task this time and return to Lazuli together.

    Lou Fan obtained 5 stalks of Longjing grass, and Zhang Zhang also gave Lou Fan the 2 stalks of Longjing grass in his hand as agreed. Because the previous Longjing grass disappeared as a quest item, Lou Fan instinctively felt that the grasses are good stuff, so he accepted it without hesitation. He will wait until they returned to Lazuli to study it.

    "There is something I haven''t had time to tell you. When we were looking for you guys, we seemed to have found an exit." Zhang Zhang suddenly said.

    Hearing that, Lou Fan thought to himself, is this something they left as a backup to make them help with their task? But for the sake of Longjing grass, Lou Fan doesn''t plan to be petty with Zhang Zhang.

    Qin Tan glanced at his watch and said, "Then, let''s go out. We don''t know where the exit is, so we¡¯ll take your route just in case."

    Qin Tan always thinks more carefully in case the worst happens.

    "Team leader Zhang, are you sure you can still find the way?" Qin Tan asked.

    Zhang Zhang became nervous for a moment. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and smiled unnaturally, "We have fluorescent powder, and we made a mark along the way."

    Oh, it turns out there is something good. Lou Fan winked at Qin Tan and curled his lips. Indeed, how could the team that has been struggling in the mission worlds not have some good things to defend themselves? Lou Fan felt that their team lacked too many things for a while, so worrying!

    Zhang Zhang and the others led the way, and Qin Tan¡¯s team followed behind.

    Chen Shuyang turned his head behind and complained to Wen Lang, "Brother Wen, I think this Team leader Zhang is a little unkind. He was so enthusiastic at the beginning, calling everyone Brother and being friendly. But in the end, he is still guarding against us everywhere."

    Wen Lang looked at Chen Shuyang with an expression that says ¡®you didn''t understand¡¯. He explained, "I''m telling you, you, we, are all lucky. Brother Lou, he is a good person; Brother Qin, he is reliable. If you meet someone else, they could have used you as bait at the beginning and threw it out to fish, and you won¡¯t even know how you died. Unlike now, where you get to have weapons and equipment. Remember to burn incense and pay respect to God/Buddha when you go back.¡± After Wen Lang finished speaking, he sighed, "Not sure what good things we did in our last life. Probably, we saved the earth."

    Chen Shuyang nodded, saving the earth is a bit exaggerated, but he must have done good deeds in his previous life. That or his grandmother blessed him from the heavens to meet Brother Lou. His spirit weapon is a book. If he is on a different team, who would care about him?

    Wen Lang saw Chen Shuyang accepting his lesson, and continued, "As for Team leader Zhang, actually he didn''t do anything wrong, everyone will hide an ace card in their sleeve. Like when we met the Black Scorpion team before, if we hadn''t acted separately from the beginning, we might be pushed out to die as their scapegoat. However, Brother Qin and Brother Lou have high offense power, that¡¯s why they won''t be underestimated."

    Wen Lang sighed old-fashionedly, "So, improving your strength is the most important thing."

    Chen Shuyang listened to Wen Lang¡¯s words and nodded, thinking about something as he walked.

    Jiang Dong spoke out suddenly, "I didn''t expect you to think so much."

    Wen Lang: "What to do? I''m not very good with my strength so I can only use my brain."

    "En, not too stupid."

    "Hey, who are you calling stupid?"

    "Whoever is stupid said it."

    ¡­

    Following Zhang Zhang and the others all the way, Qin Tan¡¯s team doesn''t know how they could tell the difference. Anyway, after walking for about an hour, they saw another hole. The hole is so shallow that they could see the sky from it.

    As soon as he stepped out of the hole, Lou Fan immediately stretched his body. He finally came out from the underground. It was so dark inside and he was using a torch all the time, making him feel like he couldn¡¯t remember the sun anymore. Unexpectedly, the place where they came out turned out to be the top of the mountain. The wind whistled on the top of the mountain and the sky is covered with dark clouds, making the sky look terribly gloomy. Lou Fan casually lifted his watch to look at it, only to be stunned.

    "Qin Tan." Lou Fan shouted, his voice changed a bit, "Qin Tan, look at your watch. Why does the time seem wrong?"

    Qin Tan immediately raised his watch to look at it, and the rest of the team also looked at it. The next moment, everyone''s expressions changed.

    "Bro, Brother Lou, we have less than a day left?" Chen Shuyang''s voice trembled a little because the watch indicated that there is only 23:45 left.

    Qin Tan frowned and immediately said, "Go down the mountain to find the train station!"

    Zhang Zhang''s team also discovered the problem with the remaining time. Their expressions changed again and again. Hearing Qin Tan¡¯s words, Zhang Zhang also immediately shouted to his team members, "Quick, quick, go down the mountain."

    At this moment, Zhang Zhang didn''t care about choosing a route or looking for a direction. There is only one visible road in front of him.

    Grabbing Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, Qin Tan shouted at Lou Fan, "Lou Fan, take Chen Shuyang with you, go!"

    Lou Fan responded and pulled up Chen Shuyang without saying a word, just running away.

    Feeling the whistling wind blowing on his face, Chen Shuyang said, "So that''s what it means to race against time."

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    The gust of wind and rain came crashing down, causing their face to feel painful, but they couldn''t care less about it now. Zhang Zhang pulled You Xing, Du Jun pulled Du Feng, and the four followed Qin Tan¡¯s team as they ran. However, due to the influence of gravity in this world, they couldn¡¯t run very fast.

    Qin Tan and Lou Fan are not affected by gravity¡¯s effect. The two pulled their teammates and ran as fast as if they could fly. Soon, their figure couldn¡¯t be seen on the curving mountain road anymore.

    Zhang Zhang gritted his teeth and ran but no longer saw anyone from Qin Tan¡¯s team. He could only try his best to move forward along the mountain road. Fortunately, there is only one way down the mountain. The road curved here and there, he doesn''t know where to go. At this moment, he only prayed that the end of the road is the train station.

 CH 48

    Qin Tan and Lou Fan dragged their teammates as they ran. At this moment, Lou Fan thought it was fortunate that he took a dip in the pool. Otherwise, with Qin Tan alone lugging all four of them, he would be exhausted and unable to run so fast.

    Fortunately, there¡¯s no trick or trap on the escape route this time. As they walked through the woods and saw a flat land full of holes, they knew that the station is not far away.

    Qin Tan stopped and looked around, "Qi Shan and Jiang Yiran are not here."

    Jiang Dong pointed to a tree not far away and said, "Look."

    On the sturdy tree trunk, a severed rope is tied to it. That tree is the tree that they tied the rope to when they went down. The team walked over and Qin Tan checked the rope, his expression sank.

    "It was cut off."

    Lou Fan pursed his lips and didn''t speak, that is an expression when he is furious.

    Wen Lang growled: "It must be Han Yu that fker. Frick, don''t let me see him again, I¡¯ll kill him."

    If this rope is the only way for them to survive, the result is obvious, they won¡¯t be able to climb up the hole in the end. This is simply trying to let the junior team and the intermediate team die here. This person is too cruel.

    Qin Tan looked around, "There are traces of fighting here. But don''t worry about it, go to the station first."

    Lou Fan nodded, "If I see Han Yu, I¡¯ll settle the account with him. I''ve noted down this grudge."

    The team continued to rush down the mountain again. They focused on their way and hardly stopped. When they got to the area where they got off the train, there is only 4 hours left.

    There is no one around the station¡¯s area. The team found a place to sit and rest. Running down all the way, even with Qin Tan and Lou Fan pulling them, the other team members are exhausted. They leaned against a tree on the side, panting.

    "Who is it?" Qin Tan immediately called out upon hearing a slight noise from the bushes on the side.

    Lou Fan swiftly draws an arrow with a bow and aims.

    "Don''t, don''t, Brother Qin Lou." Jiang Yiran got out, "It''s us."

    Jiang Yiran and Qi Shan helped each other out from the inside and said as they walked, "Qi Shan and I didn''t know when you would come out from the hole, so we got here first. We were still worried about when you would arrive, and now we saw you guys. It¡¯s good."

    The duo walked up to the team and sat down. Lou Fan asked, "Where''s Han Yu? You fought with him?"

    As soon as Han Yu is mentioned, Jiang Yiran got agitated, "I knew he is not a good person. After you guys went down, he rushed over and grabbed Qi Shan''s knife. I stabbed a hole in him with my umbrella, but he actually endured the pain and cut the rope off. Then, he quickly ran away. Qi Shan and I lay at the entrance of the cave and shouted a few times, afraid that you guys haven¡¯t reached the bottom yet, and fell down. We didn''t hear any response so we think that you guys should be fine."

    "Bah!" Wen Lang spat, "That fker."

    Chen Shuyang also became agitated, "So shameless, how could there be such a person? And we don''t owe him anything." He has never sworn since he was a child, usually treats people kindly, and has a narrow social circle. It''s rare for him to meet such a person, he is really curious why there is such a horrible person.

    Qi Shan whispered, "He stole my rope[1], it¡¯s my fault that I didn''t hide the knife well."

    Lou Fan doesn¡¯t know what to do with this kind of low self-esteem and timid little girl, he can only comfort her, "You are just a little girl. How can you be stronger than a big man? If he really wants to snatch it from you, you can''t protect it.¡±

    Jiang Yiran looked at the mountain road and asked, "Team leader Zhang, why haven''t they come back yet?"

    "They''re still behind, they should be there soon."

    3 hours later, with 1 hour left before boarding time, Zhang Zhang and his team members arrived panting heavily and staggering, as if they are about to fall down at any moment. The mountain doesn''t look high, but they ran for hours without stopping from the top to the bottom. If they didn''t come out early, catching the train would be big trouble.

    Seeing everyone waiting there, as if he saw his own relatives, Zhang Zhang said, "I''m finally here, so exhausted. I say, are you running a bit too fast? Faster than rabbits, and in the blink of an eye, you guys cannot be seen anymore."

    Lou Fan threw a candy into his mouth, "Team leader Zhang, if one doesn''t practice this escape skill well, how can one escape for their life?"

    Zhang Zhang and the others naturally didn''t have the time to look at the broken rope. Now that Jiang Yiran said it again to them, Zhang Zhang almost wanted to kill Han Yu on the spot.

    "Don''t let me see that kid, or my chainsaw will serve him at any time." Zhang Zhang gritted his teeth.

    After successfully completing the task and managed rushed to the station, everyone took a break to drink water and eat.

    Lou Fan has something in his mind that he really didn''t understand. Hence, he asked casually, "Team leader Zhang, I really don''t understand something."

    Zhang Zhang casually asked, "What is it?"

    "It stands to reason that you are already Level 8 team. You have experienced so many worlds and are much more experienced than us. When you were in Qitong¡¯s cave, why did you still take those things?"

    Thinking of Fu Chun''s death inside, Zhang Zhang''s self-blame and sadness surged up again. He sighed and said, "This time, I got careless. I shouldn''t be greedy, and didn¡¯t listen to your persuasion, so Fu Chun..."

    Zhang Zhang paused and changed the subject, "This is actually a saying circulated by Lazuli''s seniors. It is said that things in the world of myths and legends are generally good things, and they definitely cannot be compared with ordinary gold and silver jewelry. The word ¡®good¡¯ here means they can be exchanged for a huge amount of points. Secondly, there may be things that improve one¡¯s physique. Although our team has experienced several worlds, it was very difficult for us to survive every time, and there are almost no good items or equipment in our hands. We don¡¯t have many points either, so I want to take a risk and get something, thinking that even if I can''t improve my physique, it would be good to exchange more points for weapons. As a result..."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan''s guts are turning green with regret now. Why didn''t he do his homework in advance? If they knew that things in the mythical world are hard to come by, they should drink up the pool water together. Then, they¡¯ll go down to take a bath together. But now, they missed all the good things.

    Zhang Zhang added, "Your quest items should have disappeared, right?"

    "Yes."

    "As expected, in every mythical world or a more mysterious world, quest items will be consumed."

    "I see." Lou Fan nodded.

    Zhang Zhang paused. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "I want to ask, is the extra Longjing grass still there?"

    Zhang Zhang gave Lou Fan 2 stalks, and they got 5 more after that. Adding up to 7 stalks, not to mention the one they got before both teams met, the junior team must have more than 10 stalks. Except for the 10 required stalks for the mission, the extra should be still here?

    Lou Fan replied with a straight face, "There are 2 stalks left."

    An expression that says ¡®As expected¡¯ appeared on Zhang Zhang¡¯s face. He felt both envy and regret, why is there nothing special in the Chang snake that can be taken away?

    After asking all the questions that can be asked, Lou Fan leaned to rest at the side with a sullen expression. Furball came out of his arms and stood on his shoulder, looking curiously at the people in this circle.

    A ball of snow-white fur, just looking at it makes people love it. Jiang Yiran and Qi Shan have not seen Furball before, so now they are staring at it with sparkling eyes. Qi Shan is rather shy, so she just stared at it with a smile on her face, obviously liking it. Jiang Yiran is more courageous. He liked Furball with just a look, so he wanted to touch it and tease it.

    "Brother Lou, what kind of animal is this? It''s so cute and fluffy." Jiang Yiran said, reaching out to Furball.

    Before Jiang Yiran¡¯s hand could touch it, Furball suddenly raised its hackles. Making a loud noise, the hair all over its body stood up like thorns. Furball bared its teeth and then let out a dull low roar, the sound is like a large beast. Everyone got startled by the sound of it, and those who closed their eyes to rest swiftly woke up, holding onto their weapon and looking around. Lou Fan held down Furball and smoothed its fur so that Jiang Yiran''s hand is safely protected.

    "Furball, that''s a companion, not a bad guy." Lou Fan took the fur ball in his palm and rubbed it, "Good boy, he''s not malicious. Do you want butter beans?"

    Qin Tan looked at the fur ball, and its fur softened under the comfort of Lou Fan. Unexpectedly, its fur is also a weapon, and it can be used as a thorn.

    Jiang Yiran got stunned by the shock and didn''t realize that his hand was almost in danger. He just felt that such a little thing could make a terrifying sound. The sound is like a muffled thunder blasting beside his ear, making him tingle all over.

    Lou Fan smoothed Furball and saw the time is getting closer and closer. He is reluctant to part with it, "If Furball can''t be taken away, it will have to be left alone again. I haven''t seen any animals of its kind." It would be too lonely.

    Qin Tan pressed on Lou Fan¡¯s shoulder, "Every creature has its own environment to live in. It could survive by itself before this, and it can too from now on. If it can be taken away, it is the best. If Furball cannot be taken away, it can only be said that this is the rule of this world."

    Wen Lang and the rest didn''t know how to comfort Lou Fan, so they didn¡¯t say anything.

    Lou Fan remained silent, just kept rubbing Furball. Furball rolled around like a ball in his hand. The more he looked at it, the softer his heart became. He couldn''t help rubbing his cheek against Furball and kissing it. Furball¡¯s body trembled, and Lou Fan could even feel its happiness. It rubbed against Lou Fan with its soft fur.

    At 10.00 am, the whistle of the train sounded on time, and the old train appeared out of thin air - it is time to get on the train.

    Walking through the platform, Furball is still perching on Lou Fan''s shoulder. Lou Fan is overjoyed, can he expect things to go his way? He got on the train with an uneasy heart, and yet Furball is still there, looking around curiously.

    It did not disappear!

    At this moment, there is still a minute and a half before the train departed. There is a rustling sound in the grass next to the station, and a figure jumped out like a rabbit and ran toward the train.

    "Look, it''s Han Yu that fker!" Wen Lang pointed at Han Yu and shouted.

    Lou Fan didn''t say a word and immediately leaned at the door of the train. Raising his bow, he shot an arrow. The phoenix feather arrow flew out with a swish, hitting Han Yu at the shoulder, who is running toward the train. Han Yu staggered under his feet and covered his shoulder with a hand. But he gritted his teeth and continue to run to the train. He managed to climb into the compartment in the last 10 seconds.

    "Tsk, he is something." Wen Lang sighed regretfully. "With a hole in the waist and an arrow in the shoulder, he still managed to climb into the train."

    As soon as one gets on the train, they couldn''t attack each other. Han Yu lay on the floor panting heavily. He closed his eyes and felt that the wounds on his body are slowly healing.

    "A cockroach that can''t be beaten to death." Jiang Yiran looked at Han Yu and said angrily, "It really is ¡®a scourge that lives for thousands of years.¡¯[2]"

    Being glared at by Qi Shan and Jiang Yiran, Han Yu simply looked at them and laughed indifferently. Frick that, he survived anyway.

    The train started slowly and Lou Fan looked at Furball running here and there. He opened his mouth to laugh, and threw himself into Qin Tan''s arms, "Qin Tan, Furball really is returning with us! That''s great!"

    Chen Shuyang is also happy and took out some chocolate beans, "Come, Furball. I''ll give you as much as you want when we go back."

    Raw word count: 3093

    #HanYuIsSuchAFker

    #EditedMTL

    #IAmABananaTranslation

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    #ManyThanksForReading

 CH 49

    Stepping on the ground of Lazuli, the tired group of people finally felt more at ease.

    Du Feng''s severed hand has grown back, and she is swinging her arms freely. Han Yu, who got out of the train is also fine now. But he still remembered the grudge from the mission world and glared at Lou Fan with hatred.

    Putting his hands on his hips, Lou Fan looked at Han Yu, "You still dare to glare at me? I¡¯m already kind enough that I didn¡¯t follow up to settle the account. If you glare at me again, I will let Furball bite you."

    Hearing its name, Furball immediately snarled at Han Yu in cooperation. Han Yu recalled its low growl previously and immediately took 2 steps back.

    It''s a pity that Lazuli stipulated that the residents cannot hurt each other. Qin Tan walked in front of Lou Fan and looked at Han Yu indifferently. His eyes filled with iciness as he said, "You better pray that you don''t meet me again."

    Wen Lang''s poker flutters at his fingertips, Jiang Dong''s blade spins on his fingers, while Chen Shuyang can only mimic Furball and growl.

    Han Yu is also very daring, he didn''t respond to them at all. He just turned around and left. Inside, Han Yu is actually scared in his heart, but he looked calm on the surface. Du Feng mentioned to them before that one can''t hurt anyone in Lazuli. With nearly 5,000 people in Lazuli, he doubts if they will meet again. Besides, he will definitely not be so weak the next time.

    No matter what Han Yu did, everyone present took note of him. Once they met again, they would definitely not forgive him.

    Zhang Zhang and his team are exhausted but Zhang Zhang still took out his team''s equipment for Qin Tan¡¯s team to pick. They had few things so all their belongings are brought together with them. At the moment, the number of things they have is so little that it¡¯s pitiful. Qin Tan asked Lou Fan to choose. Lou Fan thought about it and then asked Zhang Zhang to take the glowing powder. This thing is good for marking. With that, their cooperation ended, and everyone returned to their own home.

    Furball stood on Lou Fan''s shoulder and looked around, feeling excited.

    "Didn¡¯t someone say that Lazuli doesn''t have pets? Isn''t Furball a bit ostentatious like this?" Lou Fan said. He had seen several people looking back at it.

    "It''s fine." Qin Tan said, he reached out to pick up Furball. Furball jumped into his hands quite naturally, and is placed on his shoulders by him, "It can look at it as much as it wants."

    So spoiled? Lou Fan suddenly felt like he had drunk a bottle of vinegar (jealous).

    Wen Lang pinched his nose and asked Jiang Dong next to him, "Eh Jiang Dong, do you smell the strong stink of vinegar?"

    Lou Fan glared at Wen Lang.

    Qin Tan laughed, "Furball is so fierce, what are you afraid of? It can just bite whoever comes to make trouble."

    Lou Fan: ¡­ My Furball not a dog, a¡¯ight?

    Wen Lang, Jiang Dong, and Chen Shuyang went back to their own house. Because they didn''t enhance their physiques, the sudden recovery of gravity and the consumption of a lot of physical strength when going down the mountain caused them to be so sleepy that they could fall asleep while walking. Both Lou Fan and Qin Tan are fine though and felt even better after the gravity returned to normal.

    Back at home, Lou Fan put down his bag and immediately took out the Longjing grass, "I want to see how many points this grass is worth."

    After Zhang Zhang said the items are worth a huge amount of points, Lou Fan couldn''t help but want to know. Now he put the Longjing grass on the tray of the exchange machine, holding his breath and waiting for the display on the screen. Not sure if it is because the grass is too valuable, he waited for nearly a minute before the screen refreshed. Then, Lou Fan stared widely at the points displayed in the lower right corner, but couldn''t come to his sense for a long time.

    "Qin Tan, we¡¯re rich!"

    Qin Tan stood beside Lou Fan and looked at the displayed value. He is also a little surprised. He didn''t expect Longjing grass to be worth 100,000 points, which is really a huge amount.

    Lou Fan touched his head, "I think if Zhang Zhang knew that Longjing grass is so valuable, I''m afraid he would kill us all. Helping them to kill the snakes is a real profit, otherwise, we might just stupidly look for the way out after the mission is completed (and miss the extra grasses). Now that I accepted his glowing powders, it suddenly makes me feel a little sorry for them."

    Qin Tan looked at Lou Fan with a smile. He obviously is not apologetic at all, how can he manage to say such a thing?

    Qin Tan: "Next time if we have something good, give a bit to them."

    Lou Fan: "Okay, we¡¯ll consider that as compensation. It was not easy for them."

    Lou Fan moved a chair and sat in front of the exchange machine, intending to study the items to be exchanged in detail. With 7 Longjing grass in his hand, he felt that he had suddenly become a nouveau riche.

    "Go and wash up. Isn''t it uncomfortable to be dirty?" Qin Tan began to nag.

    "I want to do some research, I''m not sleepy yet."

    "Even if you''re not sleepy, you have to take a rest. Wait until you wake up, then we¡¯ll talk about it." Qin Tan''s attitude is tough.

    Lou Fan decided to obey his boyfriend''s words and agreed, "Okay, okay, I''m going to wash. You should also go back and rest early, we''ll discuss it tomorrow."

    Though the body is not tired, the spirit has been in a tense condition. After washing up with hot water, Lou Fan¡¯s whole body became unbelievably soft. After washing, he went to bed and instantly fell asleep. Furball, who got ignored by Qin Tan, automatically jumped onto the bed and fell asleep next to Lou Fan''s head.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan woke up at 6.00 am the next day. He has slept for more than 10 hours, so his mind is a little groggy. After getting up, he went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, turned, and walked to the living room. Suddenly, he stopped walking.

    There should be a stalk of Longjing grass on the table, why is it gone now? Lou Fan put down the water glass with a slam and looked under the table, none! On the coffee table, none! On the ground, neither! He didn''t see it anywhere, so he hurried to open his backpack and breathed a sigh of relief. There are still 6 stalks of grass in the box that he kept in the inner compartment. So where did the other stalk go?

    It''s obviously impossible for a burglar to break into the house. Could it be Qin Tan took it? Lou Fan thought about it and wanted to go upstairs to ask. At this moment, Furball jumped out of nowhere and jumped on his shoulder. Lou Fan turned to look at it with a smile, and his hand that is about to poke the fur ball froze...

    On the white fur beside Furball''s mouth, there is a sparkling red substance. According to his judgment, there is a high probability that it is - Longjing grass.

    "Furball! Spit out my Longjing grass!" Lou Fan grabbed Furball and yelled.

    Qin Tan quickly pushed the door and came in, "What''s the matter?"

    "Qin Tan, Furball ate the Longjing grass." Lou Fan immediately complained, lifting Furball to Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan took Furball and smoothed its fur. He looked at it up and down, "Isn¡¯t Furball looked alright? It is lively and well, jumping around. It shouldn''t have any problem."

    "Who is asking if it''s jumping around or not?!" Lou Fan yelled, "My points, my points!"

    Qin Tan: "Isn''t there another 6 stalks left?"

    Lou Fan suddenly realized something, "Wait, what did you say just now?"

    "What did I say?" Qin Tan asked back, "There are 6 stalks left."

    Lou Fan: "Not this. Just now you said Furball is fine, it ate Longjing grass and is jumping around energetically..."

    "Yes, I said it."

    Lou Fan instantly became happy and clapped his hands together, "Then, can I assume that Jiang Dong, Wen Lang, and Chen Shuyang will be fine after eating the grass? And maybe there will be some good changes in their body?"

    Lou Fan has been brooding about not being able to let the other team members go into the pool. Now that there is hope, he immediately feels that this method is feasible.

    Qin Tan pondered for a while, and asked Lou Fan, "Are you sure? You have seen the points that Longjing Grass can redeem. Many things we haven''t seen before on the further pages have appeared on the screen, are you willing?"

    "Why do you ask that?" Lou Fan said straightly, "I always want them to improve their strength. The overall strength of team members affects the survival of the entire team. I think you know better than me. As for willing or not, although it is true the grass can be exchanged for a lot of points, but no matter how powerful the weapons and medicines are, if the strength of the team members is not up to the level, the powered-up item/equipment is useless. As for these special items, I believe we will encounter them again in the future.¡±

    After saying that, Lou Fan winked at Qin Tan, "Am I right, Team leader Qin?"

    Qin Tan''s hands felt itchy and he pinched Lou Fan¡¯s face, "You''re the smart one."

    Lou Fan is delighted and he turned on his watch, starting to notify the other members. He couldn''t wait to share this information. As for whether or not to try it, it is up to them to make their own choices.

    Qin Tan saw that Lou Fan is happy, and added, "Tell them about the function of pool water first. Trust your companions."

    Lou Fan nodded. In fact, he also thought about it and felt that he was just overthinking. If it were any of the other members who got the opportunity to enhance their bodies with the pool water, he would not take it to heart either.

    Upon receiving the message, Chen Shuyang arrived first and said he is hungry as soon as he arrived. Wen Lang is the second to arrive, carrying a box of sandwiches he made himself. Lou Fan immediately picked up a piece to eat. Furball smelled the fragrance and stood at the side of the box. Lou Fan broke a small piece of the sandwich for it. Jiang Dong arrived last, wearing tracksuits and sweating, he should have just finished running.

    Lou Fan sat on the sofa casually and called out, "Come here, we have a meeting."

    "We just got back and there¡¯s a meeting already?" Wen Lang asked. "Is there something special? I''m planning to collect information outside today."

    Qin Tan sat next to Lou Fan, and Furball is squeezed between them. It looked like a family of 3.

    Lou Fan thought for a while before saying, "It¡¯s like this. Back at Mount Gui, didn''t I soak in the pool for a while? After that, I found that my body is as light as a swallow and can almost fly. My physique has changed, I think It is probably due to the effect of pool water. After that, I wanted to find it again and let you guys soak in it, but who knew that I couldn¡¯t find it anymore. I asked Furball, and it shook its head. That¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t let you guys enjoy this benefit too.¡±

    After Lou Fan said that, he felt relieved, and suddenly felt much better. He waited for the members to respond but they didn''t speak for a long time.

    Lou Fan: "Why don''t you say anything?"

    Wen Lang: "Go on, don¡¯t tell me you just wanted to tell us this?"

    Jiang Dong: "I guessed it as we are going down the mountain."

    Chen Shuyang: "No wonder. Brother Lou, you ran so fast that you are going to fly."

    Lou Fan: ¡­ I''m being honest with you guys, and that''s how you react?

    Lou Fan is a little speechless. Qin Tan covered his mouth and chuckled beside him.

    Annoyed, Lou Fan immediately changed the subject, "Of course, it''s not just that. This morning, Furball stole a stalk of Longjing grass and ate it. But it''s still fine and lively."

    Wen Lang puzzledly asked, "What does it have to do with Furball?"

    Chen Shuyang also didn''t understand, "Brother Lou, Furball lives in Mount Gui. It should have eaten a lot of Longjing grass."

    En, when he needs to talk to his team members, he can''t beat about the bush and have to be direct, so that he won''t be so tired. Sigh, feeling tired in his heart, what to do if he wanted to change his teammates now?

    Jiang Dong immediately understood what Lou Fan meant, and said his guess, "You mean, Longjing grass as an item from the mythical world, it may improve our physique? And since Furball is fine after eating it, it means we can give it a try and eat it too?"

    Lou Fan nodded, "Finally, someone is being smart."

 CH 50

    "But this is just my assumption, it''s up to you whether to try it out or not." Lou Fan continued, "I don''t guarantee it will work. But even if it doesn''t work, you shouldn''t die... I think." The tone of the last sentence is spoken with a bit of uncertain guilt.

    "I''ll try it." Wen Lang stood up, "I''ll try it first, and then let Jiang Dong and Chen Shuyang eat it."

    "OK."

    Since Wen Lang has made up his mind, Lou Fan didn''t say much and got Jiang Dong to exchange a bunch of first aid supplies, thinking of treating Wen Lang swiftly in case something happens. Next, he took out a stalk of Longjing grass from the box and handed it to Wen Lang.

    Without hesitation, Wen Lang bit off the fruit from the top of the stalk. The fruit melted in his mouth, and a burst of liquid flowed into his body. It would be a lie to say that he is not nervous. Wen Lang tried to feel the changes in his body, only to feel a warm current flowing to his limbs, and there is a warm sensation in his lower abdomen.

    The other members stared at Wen Lang and Lou Fan asked nervously, "How are you feeling, Wen Lang?"

    Wen Lang shook his head, "I felt good, nothing has changed."

    No change? Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan suspiciously.

    Qin Tan pointed at the dining table, "Try splitting it with your hand."

    Wen Lang walked over, raised his hand, and slashed down...

    "Aiyo, my God. It hurts!"

    Lou Fan: ¡­ His expectations were too high. It seems that they should exchange the grasses for points instead.

    Qin Tan walked to the edge of the table and squatted down to check. He touched the legs of the table with his fingers. After looking at it for a while, he said, "Let the other two eat the grass too. It worked. The tabletop has a cracked line, and the legs of the table are broken."

    Although Wen Lang¡¯s change didn''t have the expected effect like sending the sawdust flying, but for the average person, it is already very good.

    Hearing that, everyone leaned over to look at the table. Lou Fan is even more delighted, he took out the Longjing grass and stuffed it to Jiang Dong and Chen Shuyang, "Hurry up, hurry up, you two eat quickly."

    The two waited for a while after eating the grass and tried the effect of the enhancement. Their changes are similar to Wen Lang, but Jiang Dong is slightly better. Everyone is immersed in joy. They didn''t expect that they still could improve their body after leaving the mythical world. Totally unexpected.

    "Great, after this mission world, everyone has improved. Weapons have to be replaced, as well as medicines. I wonder if the points from exchanging a Longjing grass are enough." Lou Fan said while calculating, planning to check the weapon¡¯s page later.

    Hearing this, Jiang Dong asked casually, "How many points can Longjing grass exchange for?"

    Oh right, they don''t know yet. Lou Fan answered, "1 Longjing grass can exchange for 100,000 points."

    (((Pfft!))) (spitting sound)

    The 3 members choked and spitted out of reflex. Lou Fan jumped up quickly before narrowly dodging. He said with a disgusted tone, "What are you guys doing?! That¡¯s so disgusting. You have to wipe it off for me before you can leave."

    "100,000?!" Wen Lang exclaimed, "Did you read that right, Brother Lou?!"

    "100,000?" Chen Shuyang pondered for 2 seconds before saying, "Is it too late for me to spit it out now?"

    "100,000?" Jiang Dong said, "As expected from the things from the mythical world."

    As the leader, Qin Tan stood up and said, "Since you have improved your physique, you have to get used to it. After that, you have to choose your weapon again. Also, remember to do daily training." He paused for 2 seconds and then looked at Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, "You guys pay attention to collecting news when the next mission is released. It''s better to know more in advance. We were a little weak in this area before."

    Now that their team is relatively wealthy, after the next mission is released, they can broadcast a request on the bazaar''s electronic screen. This is also a way to gather information.

    Qin Tan looked at Chen Shuyang, and before he spoke, Chen Shuyang immediately said, "I''m in charge of summarizing and analyzing. Brother Qin, don''t worry. I guaranteed to complete the task." He now feels that his body is full of energy. His legs are stronger too and his waist doesn''t hurt anymore. His entire person is so happy that he is about to fly.

    Seeing the 3 members got to eat Longjing grass each, Furball jumped onto the coffee table and stretched out its small paws to take 1. Fortunately, Lou Fan quickly closed the lid with a snap.

    "You are not allowed to eat any more. There are 3 left, 2 are reserved for future use, and the other 1 is for exchanging weapons and equipment." Lou Fan held the box, "We still have 2 spots on our team. We must take them in when we meet reliable teammates."

    Lou Fan waved his hand, "Okay, you all go back and get used to your new strength. Come and choose weapons in 2 days."

    After driving away the other members, Lou Fan took out everything he had and put it on the coffee table, ready to tidy up. Items currently in possession: radish flower, fish scale suit, small pearl, ghost whip, immobilizing amulet (the ones exchanged from Shi Zhen and Niu Xin), 3 Longjing grass, and glowing powder. Other members only have radish flowers, small pearls, and talismans though. It looks like a lot when placed in this way, but it¡¯s not quite useful when needed, not to mention the quantity is not much. Still felt like they are too poor!

    Lou Fan put a Longjing grass on the exchange machine again. Then he browsed at the weapons and medicines pages that were greyed out before. On the side, Qin Tan introduced to him which one is better. Lou Fan looked around and finally found that many good things can be exchanged, but they are not cheap. Some better weapons even cost 10,000 points. In this way, after everyone replaced their weapons, there are not many points left from the initial 100,000 points.

    Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan with a pitiful expression, "So poor!"

    Qin Tan leaned over, "I''ll earn it for you in the future, it''s all yours."

    Lou Fan burst out laughing, "Why does it feel like being bought by a sugar mummy?"

    Qin Tan pressed Lou Fan into the sofa and stuck their bodies together. He asked, "Who are you calling a sugar mummy, en?"

    Lou Fan couldn''t reply at all as he is busy responding to Qin Tan¡¯s action.

    ¡­

    After they left Lou Fan¡¯s house, Chen Shuyang went back to his house. On the other hand, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong turned around and headed for the bazaar. They planned to go there first to see if there is any information to collect.

    People are always wandering in the bazaar, and the former Wen Lang is also one of them. He will prick his ear and open his eyes widely to collect any hints of information. If he just edits it a bit, it will become his own information, which he can sell for points. He is too familiar with this kind of operation, but still, he couldn''t find any valuable information by looking around.

    Another method of selling information is by setting a marked price, putting a sign on a booth, and writing ¡®Selling XXX''s mission world information¡¯, he also knows this. If someone really wants to buy it, he can''t really say anything specific, just fooling around with what he knows. Walking encyclopedias like Chen Shuyang can do well here.

    After walking around for a while, neither of them gained anything.

    Jiang Dong stared at the electronic screen for a while, and said to Wen Lang, "The information on the electronic screen looked good, but we can''t use it now. We can exchange it later if needed."

    Wen Lang agreed with an En and said, "After the next mission is released, we can come here to register the request. Maybe there will be something to gain."

    The 1st cooperation between Wen Lang and Jiang Dong ended, and they walked back together since they are heading in the same direction.

    Before parting, Wen Lang said, "Get used to your new strength. Don''t be weaker than me, and then hold everyone back."

    Jiang Dong: ¡­

    What is this? A threat? Tsk, even when encouraging other people, he has nothing nice to say. Jiang Dong looked at the back of the person walking away and chuckled lightly.

    For the next 3 days, the other members did not come to gather, only Qin Tan Lou Fan spent time together closely every day. Oh, it''s just Qin Tan and Lou Fan fighting against each other and Qin Tan taught Lou Fan fighting skills, which is also close enough.

    After Qin Tan abused Lou Fan in the training room, he comforted him with delicious food. The good food made them very happy, both someone and his fur ball.

    This day, after dinner, the rain stopped and a rare sunset appeared. Lou Fan took Qin Tan to the lake for a walk. People in Lazuli are tiringly fighting to survive, and not many people have the leisure to take a walk after a meal and watch the sunset. There are no pedestrians on the road, only them two.

    "Do we look like we''re on a date?" Lou Fan hooked Qin Tan''s fingers and asked with a smile.

    "This is a date."

    Lou Fan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Qin Tan, have you ever been in a relationship before?"

    Qin Tan stared at Lou Fan, "No."

    No? Then how are your kissing skills so good? Who are you lying to?! En, fine. Since he said no, then it¡¯s a no. Lou Fan curved the corners of his mouth.

    "And you?"

    Man, he shouldn''t have asked this question. Lou Fan answered, "I dated twice, but it is just to make sure I am different from others. I felt nothing from either of the relationship, really!" Lou Fan strongly felt that when he said ''twice'', Qin Tan held his hand with quite some strength. The strong desire to survive forced him to explain.

    "Oh..." Qin Tan stretched his tone.

    Lou Fan immediately sensed danger coming from all directions and is in a hurry to run. But he got pulled by Qin Tan and slammed into his chest. The hard muscles of Qin Tan¡¯s chest hurt his head.

    Lou Fan is so blinded by the kiss that he didn''t care if anyone is around. He found that he couldn''t resist Qin Tan''s kiss every time. Qin Tan¡¯s aura is so strong that it enveloped him, almost taking his breath away. Probably because he likes Qin Tan too much, his entire person, including his body.

    ¡­

    It is getting late. When they returned to the house downstairs, they saw Lin Man Man coming out of the house with a bag and a suitcase beside her.

    "Man Man, where are you going?" Lou Fan asked curiously.

    Lin Man Man is very happy to see Lou Fan. She walked quickly toward them, and said with a smile, "Brother Lou, you guys are back, that¡¯s great. I''m going to Sister Tong Fei''s place. They have selected several houses next to them and arranged for us to live together. Each of us will have a room, which is more convenient."

    Lou Fan: "That''s good, how''s your mission? No danger?"

    Lin Man Man is in good shape, "En, the sisters in the team take good care of me."

    "That''s good, come to me anytime if you need it." Lou Fan still treats Lin Man Man like a sister.

    Lin Man Man is very moved. She nodded and said yes. After a pause, she remembered something, and said in a low voice, "Brother Lou, Gong Yi... I haven''t seen him for a long time."

    Gong Yi? Lou Fan still remembers that boy, but unfortunately, his spirit weapon is not very good, and he doesn''t know what happened to him after that. It''s true that they haven''t seen each other for a long time since then, and it''s possible that Gong Yi did the same as Lin Man Man which he just went to live elsewhere.

    Lou Fan smiled reassuringly and said, "Maybe he is like you. Don''t think too much, train hard, and work hard to survive."

    Lin Man Man nodded firmly, "En, Brother Lou, Brother Qin, you must also do your best. I believe in you."

    Watching as Lin Man Man dragged her suitcase away, Lou Fan walked towards the house with his head down. This world really makes people realize what is ¡®living from hand to mouth¡¯ and ¡®things change over time¡¯.

    But when Lou Fan looked up and saw Qin Tan beside him, he suddenly felt hopeful and full of strength again. Everything would be fine.

    2 days later, thinking that the other members should all be familiar with their changes, Lou Fan asked them to come and choose their new weapons. When the weapons are selected, Lou Fan only felt a pain in his flesh when he looked at the remaining points.

    Lou Fan roared, "You guys have to work hard to collect equipment and make money!"

    Raw word count: 3054

 CH 51

    Lou Fan exchanged a better dagger that carries a cold glint, and a barrel of cross arrows. The cross arrow is more penetrating, and there are barbs on the arrow. Being shot by it, one will pull out a big hole with skin and flesh when trying to remove it. It hurts just from thinking about it.

    Qin Tan''s dagger is also changed to the same style. As for a personal self-defense weapon, Lou Fan also exchanged for Qin Tan a sleeve arrow that can be shot repeatedly, a concealed weapon.

    Wen Lang''s chain whip was seriously worn out from dealing with the Chang snakes. Low-level weapons are like this, they get broken after several usages. Lou Fan replaced that with a more advanced whip for Wen Lang.

    Chen Shuyang requested to use a long spear because of the change in his physique now. He felt useless back at the time when dealing with the Chang snake before. His weapon was too short and it affected his performance. Only with a longer weapon can he feel more secure.

    Jiang Dong still used a long sword, but with better quality.

    And with this, there isn¡¯t much left from the 100,000 points. The weapon nearly cost 10,000 points each, so Lou Fan felt pain (for his wallet) from the exchange. On the other hand, they found something special when exchanging their weapons. Before this, there were only pictures and brief introductions of weapons on the weapon page. But this time, there is an additional star rating on the screen. The team had a guess that the weapons on the further pages that they haven¡¯t unlocked will have more stars on them. It is just that they were so busy choosing a weapon that they forgot to check.

    Thinking like this, Lou Fan put the other 2 Longjing grass on the tray, and 200,000 points are displayed. He went to the weapon category and flipped the pages to the back. Sure enough, as they thought, the weapons at the back have a 2 and 3 stars rating, but mostly 3 stars. The rest are greyed out. This means that the weapons at the back are more expensive, and even needed hundreds of thousands of points to exchange. But at the same time, it also means that the weapons are more powerful.

    "I''m going to try out my whip." Wen Lang ran out and snapped his whip at a stone the size of a water tank in the yard. The stone shattered and is split into several pieces.

    Wen Lang remembered that he practiced whipping at this stone before, but he never broke the stone. This weapon with 1 star rating is so powerful. He wondered what kind of power will the 3 or 4 stars have? If going back to the fish monster before, this whip should have the power to fight along.

    Everyone tried their weapons and they are all satisfied. Even Qin Tan couldn''t put down his sleeve arrow.

    "Okay, the points have been spent. Everyone should train hard and prepare. If the remaining points are enough to buy some daily necessities, medicines..." Lou Fan is really not good at medicines. He only knows the common wound medicine and what he uses the most is safflower oil.

    Jiang Dong took the initiative to take this task, "I''ll wait until the next mission is released since I don''t know what the world would be like."

    Lou Fan nodded, "Okay, just do as you said."

    All that can be prepared is almost done, everyone will wait for the task to be released before preparing other things.

    ¡­

    January 21.

    Early this morning, as usual, the team members gathered in Lou Fan''s house, waiting for the task to be released. Wen Lang is wearing a cartoon apron and is washing fruits in the kitchen. Jiang Dong took the washed fruits and peeled them.

    As a qualified caretaker, Chen Shuyang took over the job of raising Furball and is happily feeding it some nuts.

    At 10.00 am, 5 beeps sounded at the same time. Everyone took a deep breath and waited for Chen Shuyang to read it out.

    Mission: Find the eminent monk of Nanhua Temple in Liwan Plaza to protect him and prevent the 8th person from dying. Please get on the train on time at 1.00 pm on January 24th.

    Task duration: 12 days.

    Team information: Lou Fan Level 4, Chen Shuyang Level 4, Jiang Dong Level 4, Qin Tan Level 5, Wen Lang Level 5.

    As Chen Shuyang read it out loud, his heart sank deeper. There were countless legends about Liwan Plaza in his mind, which is enough to make him feel that the task this time is difficult.

    "Liwan Plaza." Jiang Dong sighed.

    Wen Lang also said solemnly, "I''ve heard of Liwan Plaza too."

    Only Lou Fan is clueless, and Qin Tan watched in silence as he waited for a detailed explanation.

    Chen Shuyang coughed lightly, "Let me tell you guys about it then, I''ve read some reports on this in detail."

    Liwan Plaza is a well-known place in China, not to mention locally, almost everyone knows it. Its predecessor was a dense residential area of 100 homes and a small area of mass graves. The 1st developer was not a responsible one. They embezzled public funds, and set fire to most of the houses, causing countless casualties. Then, the demolition work stopped.

    Immediately afterward, the area began to be haunted. Many people passing by in the middle of the night could hear human voices. Later, a wandering monk passed by and told everyone that he would help to disperse evil for the residents, but he died amid broken tiles the next day. Residents are even more convinced that there are a lot of grievances from ghosts there, and they are scrambling to move out of the place. In just 3 months, there are fewer than 20 households left. Soon, it began to become a paradise for all kinds of criminals, and people continued to die there.

    Until the 2nd developer came, there were only 2 families left. And this developer is not good either, they actually dared to misappropriate pensions and delayed workers'' wages. The workers who came back during a Chinese New Year holiday to ask for wages found that the boss and his mistress had died on the construction site and were dismembered. The wounds were not man-made but were torn apart by sharp teeth.

    It wasn''t until the 3rd developer arrived that the demolition of the area was finally completed. However, the construction of the new building has not started for 2 consecutive terms. Until 1994, a developer from Hong Kong came to undertake the construction. He was a great believer in Feng Shui, so he asked an old abbot to look at Feng Shui. The old abbot said that this area is the entrance of the ghost realm¡¯s gate, and no earth shall be broken. If a park or temple is built to suppress it, it will be of great merit and the grievances can be suppressed. Otherwise, it will bring disaster to the whole family. The lighter effect would be the whole family died unexpectedly. In the worst case, 3 generations of the entire clan will be affected.

    However, the Hong Kong developer insisted on his own opinion, and the old abbot did not agree. So the developer hired a priest to suppress it. On the first day of the official start of construction, it was found that the piles (for construction¡¯s foundation) could not be driven in and they dug out something called Tai Sui (something deemed ominous for some). On the second day, 8 empty coffins were dug out from the ground. In less than a month, the wife of the Hong Kong developer on the mainland, his mistress, and the 2 sons born by the mistress, together with the invited priest, all died unexpectedly. The boss was very regretful, so he hurried to find someone to solve the matter. A wandering eminent monk suggested burying the coffins, but the coffins disappeared and couldn¡¯t be found. The developer died at his home in the end.

    In the end, another developer came and finally built Liwan Plaza. But every time the night falls, the four words Liwan Plaza (ÀóÍå¹ã³¡) will turn into Liwan Corpse Hall (ÀóÍåÊ¬³¡). Moreover, there are at least 8 falling incidents every year. Because 8 coffins were dug up, 8 evil spirits are looking for substitutes. What''s more, before the old abbot passed away, he specially requested that the shops in the South Tower must only sell crystals to suppress the evil spirits, so that the square would not be filled with resentful qi.

    But since then, the fact that there will be 8 deaths each year is inescapable.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong have heard about this version, but compared to Chen Shuyang''s detailed version, it is still simpler. At most, they only heard that every year, someone falls from the building for no reason. They have never heard of so many entanglements before.

    After Chen Shuyang finished speaking, Lou Fan felt goosebumps all over himself. Although he is not afraid of ghosts, it sounds really creepy. How bizarre the deaths are. Just talking about the resentment, it¡¯s probably so thick that it becomes tangible, not to mention that there are 8 evil ghosts.

    Lou Fan is hugging Furball, it makes him feel less terrified when he smoothed the fur in his hand. He said, "This time, the intermediate team will probably have a tough battle. Our task is not easy as well. We have to avoid ghosts, find our target, and also stop the 8th person from dying."

    Qin Tan stayed silent for a while before saying, "It''s a bit tricky. It''s best to go to the previous team to inquire about this kind of mission world. Also, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, you two go to the bazaar to publish the request. Try to collect as much information as possible. Shuyang will study the case again and pick out the information that you think is more critical and we¡¯ll discuss it before going to the mission world.¡±

    Everyone nodded and went to work. Lou Fan calculated with his fingers to count the things in his possession that could deal with ghosts. After doing all the calculations, only the ghost whip and the immobilizing amulet could be used. At that moment, he felt as poor as hell. Of course, their respective spirit weapons are also powerful weapons against ghosts, but he had a feeling that something is missing, and felt uneasy.

    "Qin Tan, let''s go to He Yong and Tong Fei to ask for information." Lou Fan called out.

    Qin Tan is not anywhere in the living room, only some sounds could be heard from the kitchen. Lou Fan is about to take a look when Qin Tan came out with a bowl.

    "Let''s have a dessert first." Qin Tan put down the bowl, and Lou Fan immediately smiled when he saw that it is mango pomelo sago made from fresh mangoes.

    Qin Tan watched as Lou Fan eat with a satisfied expression. Furball squatted on the table and ate on a small plate with a satisfied expression as well. "The matter regarding the mission, we¡¯ll cross the bridge when we get to it. If the other teams can survive, we will definitely be able to."

    Lou Fan nodded and ate, this bowl of dessert is the only thing that mattered in his mind.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan leaned against the door frame with the dessert and watched Qin Tan clean the pots and pans. Then, he silently walked over to feed Qin Tan a spoonful.

    "Sweet?" Lou Fan asked.

    Qin Tan glanced at Lou Fan, then pulled him over by the waist and kissed him, "Sweet."

    When the fingers cold from rinsing with water touched his skin, Lou Fan shuddered and his low gro.a.n is drowned between their lips.

    Qin Tan pressed the person on the countertop and their bodies are tightly pressed together. Other than the intense friction sound, there¡¯s only the sound of their gasps...

    ¡­

    Taking Furball with them, Qin Tan and Lou Fan went to He Yong''s residence, and they sent a message in advance but did not get a response. At this moment, there is no one in He Yong''s residence. Lou Fan had a bad feeling in his heart and turned to look at Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan gave Lou Fan a reassuring look, "Let''s find Tong Fei."

    Tong Fei had just returned from her mission for 2 days and is resting at home leisurely at this moment. She has enough people to handle stuff here and is taking good care of her life, which makes Lou Fan envious.

    "Sister Tong Fei." Lou Fan called out from outside the guardrail.

    Hearing that, Tong Fei took off the mask on her face. When she saw it is Qin Tan and Lou Fan, she waved her hand immediately, "It¡¯s you guys, come in quickly."

    The two walked in and received very high treatment. As soon as they entered the door, a beautiful young lady brought hot tea and fruit, which made Lou Fan a little embarrassed.

    "Don''t start to get busy, we only came here just to ask you something. We went to Team leader He¡¯s place before this, but he is not at home."

    Tong Fei didn''t bat an eye and asked, "What are you looking for? Tell me."

    Lou Fan immediately explained his intention, "It¡¯s about this, our mission this time is Liwan Plaza, and you probably know that place. It felt more dangerous so, this time, I want to ask if you have any good things here that can be exchanged with us. Any items or points are fine, as long as you see it fit."

    "Liwan Plaza?" Tong Fei straightened her back immediately, "You are unlucky to receive this task, so be careful."

    "Looks like you know about this mission?" Qin Tan asked.

    Tong Fei said, "Of course I know, but it''s gossip passed down from other people. There used to be an intermediate team and a high-level team doing the task together, but in the end, none of them came back alive." Even Tong Fei sighed in sadness.

    Lou Fan suddenly felt bad in his heart.

    Seeing that Lou Fan¡¯s expression changed, Tong Fei comforted again, "I believe you can definitely do it. I really don''t have anything useful here, but I can help you to ask other people. If there is a senior team willing to give you the extra stuff, it would be better."

    "However." Tong Fei paused before continuing, "Things that deal with ghosts are very expensive."

 CH 52

    Lou Fan asked without any confidence, "How expensive is it?"

    Tong Fei sighed, "Generally speaking, the price will start at 50,000 points and ordinary ones will cost 100,000 points. If you want to buy more advanced ones, the seller may not necessarily sell them."

    Indeed, good things will be kept for themselves. Who would be foolish enough to sell them for points?

    As if she knew what Lou Fan was thinking, Tong Fei waved her fingers, "Do you think points are useless? You''ve probably already seen weapons with 1 star rating. I can tell you, when you get a weapon with 3 star rating, you won''t be able to say this anymore."

    Tong Fei sighed again, "The tasks are difficult, so equipment and points are equally important. They are both indispensable tools. The more advanced weapons and equipment, you can do more with less and complete the task more safely."

    Lou Fan nodded while Qin Tan showed a thoughtful expression.

    Seeing both men contemplating, Tong Fei smiled and once again threw out a big surprise, "Do you know that spirit weapons can be upgraded?"

    "Spirit weapon can be upgraded?!" Lou Fan exclaimed. He didn''t know anything about it. Qin Tan is also shocked.

    Tong Fei nodded, "I only discovered that the spirit weapon can be upgraded during this mission. I don''t know why the senior team chose not to share the news. If I hadn''t seen it with my own eyes this time, I don''t know when I would find out about it."

    Lou Fan puzzledly asked, "Why?"

    "It''s because too few people can upgrade their spirit weapons." Tong Fei said too much that she felt dry in her throat.

    "Spirit weapons follow their owner¡¯s progress, so only the owner can upgrade the spirit weapon. That is to say, the owner¡¯s improvement is the foundation. Without this foundation, the spirit weapon cannot be upgraded. But looking at the people in Lazuli, how many can improve themselves to become stronger?" Tong Fei herself is already at Level 9 and is about to enter her 10th mission. But up until now, she only saw 1 person with a Level 2 spirit weapon.

    A thought stirred in Lou Fan¡¯s heart and he turned to look at Qin Tan. In other words, their group of 5 can be considered to have improved their physique, and they are all likely to upgrade their spirit weapon?

    Lou Fan asked again, "How many levels can spirit weapons level up? And what is the maximum number of stars for weapons that can be redeemed?"

    Tong Fei rolled her eyes, "You think I''m such a local tyrant, that I can see everything in the back pages (have that many points to unlock the view of higher-level weapons)? But I did ask about the spirit weapon¡¯s level. It is said that what we bring with us is called the beginner level, and the upper level is the intermediate and advanced level. It is estimated that no one has seen any spirit weapon more advanced than that."

    Lou Fan interrupted Tong Fei, "Wait, Sister Tong Fei. How did you know that the spirit weapon has been upgraded?"

    "The glow of our spirit weapon is just a pale light, while the higher-level ones glowed in orange light. That''s the difference. The more advanced ones are said to be red."

    Lou Fan asked about the tips for the upgrade of the spirit weapon. Tong Fei replied saying if she knew, it would not be a secret.

    ¡­

    After coming out of Tong Fei''s place, Lou Fan frowned and thought about it all the way. He almost hit the wall and was pulled by Qin Tan.

    "Walk properly. Wait until we go back and think again."

    Lou Fan grabbed Qin Tan''s hand, "Qin Tan, say, can we upgrade our spirit weapon?"

    Qin Tan smiled, "Definitely."

    Lou Fan nodded, "I think so too, and you must be the first."

    "Why?"

    "Intuition." After speaking, Lou Fan rubbed his hair, "Forget it, it depends on luck. Let¡¯s go back first and tell them the news."

    Speaking of luck, Lou Fan had a whim and said to Qin Tan, "Qin Tan, let''s play a game. We play the fist guessing game and whoever wins will move forward."

    Qin Tan: "Then I''m afraid I won''t be able to go back."

    Lou Fan: "I don''t believe it."

    ...

    10 games later, Lou Fan walked forward a long distance while Qin Tan still stood in the same spot.

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Black hand (unlucky hand) is really no joke.

    "Stop playing, let¡¯s go home."

    The other members are all waiting at home. When Lou Fan went back, he relayed the information he got from Tong Fei. The rest suddenly felt that the road ahead is really long and far.

    After eating a meal in silence, no one wanted to move so Lou Fan again proposed to do the dishes with a fist guessing game. Without a doubt, Qin Tan lose again. Lou Fan finally understood what¡¯s going on with unlucky hands, and silently decided to treat Old Qin better in the future.

    ¡­

    Until the last day, there is still no news about the information they requested, and on Tong Fei¡¯s side, she couldn¡¯t get in touch with anyone willing to sell equipment to them. The members of Qin Tan¡¯s team felt a little despair.

    Not sure where Wen Lang went to, Lou Fan grabbed the rest of the team and make them guess what would be the intermediate team¡¯s mission so that they had a good idea of what will happen.

    Chen Shuyang thought for a while before taking out a pen and paper to write, "My guess, it is most likely that their mission is related to evil spirits, that 8 evil spirits."

    Lou Fan nodded in agreement, "I think so too. The most likely thing is to deal with evil spirits. We will try to stay away from it when that time comes. Of course, if it is beneficial to us, we can consider supporting them."

    Qin Tan looked at Jiang Dong, "Are you ready with the medicines?"

    Jiang Dong nodded, "I''ve researched all the medicines available. There are medicines for wounds caused by ghosts in the exchange machine. That''s a must."

    "There¡¯s that kind of medicine?" Lou Fan said, "I''ve never seen it before, I thought just an ordinary wound medicine will do."

    Jiang Dong opened the page in the exchange machine and pointed to a medicine. But his expression is a little worried as he said, "This medicine is the most basic for dealing with ghost wounds. There are better ones but more expensive."

    Lou Fan walked over to take a look and is immediately stunned. The most basic medicine that Jiang Dong said is Hungry Ghost medicine which would cost 1,000 points. Preparing a wound medicine for each member is a must. Lou Fan is considering whether to exchange away another Longjing grass so that he will have more points, he will keep just one for spare. But Jiang Dong said that for now, he doesn''t know what the effect will be, so the basic preparation should be able to handle it.

    "Brother Lou, Brother Qin!" Wen Lang rushed in from outside. He took a deep breath and picked up the teacup to fill it with water. After drinking, he wiped his mouth and put down the teacup. With a face full of excitement, Wen Lang said, "I tell you, I heard good news."

    Qin Tan: "Don''t talk nonsense, talk."

    Wen Lang immediately said, "I was hanging around at the bazaar news registry last night, and two registrars were drinking. I heard them say that in the supernatural world, there must be something or someone who can restrain the evil spirits of that world. We just need to find it and we will be able to restrain the evil spirits, which is better than the items we bring in."

    This news can be regarded as good news for them who have nothing useful in their hands.

    Lou Fan clapped his hands, "Okay, then we will try to find it in the mission world. I think the Nanhua monk must be very important. Also, we should collect as much as we can when we find the items that could restrain ghosts. We have too few items that could restrain evil spirits in our hands. Also, pay attention to your spirit weapon, it''s best if you can upgrade it."

    Furball came out of his arms at this moment and Lou Fan worriedly asked, "What about Furball? Take it with us? It won''t be eaten by ghosts, right?"

    Qin Tan raised his eyebrows, "It''s fine if it doesn''t eat ghosts instead. Take it with you, you won''t lose it in your pocket."

    After the meeting, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong have to go back to continue their training. Qin Tan suddenly said, "Why don''t you both move in? Lou Fan and I can stay downstairs, and you 3 can stay above. Chen Shuyang''s house can be used as a practice ground."

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong both expressed no objections. That way they don''t have to run around and it¡¯s easier to discuss anything. It is also convenient for Qin Tan to guide their training. So at night, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong moved their luggage over, staying in Qin Tan''s house with Chen Shuyang.

    ¡­

    After a full lunch, Qin Tan¡¯s team set off, each carrying their own bags.

    At 12.00 pm, the team of 5 arrived at the station and waited for the arrival of the train. Almost at the same time, a team of 6 people also walked to the platform. The leader of the group saw Qin Tan, his eyes glanced over their team before he nodded slightly to Qin Tan.

    Both sides checked each other out for a while. Then, the leader of the other team came over and stretched out his hand towards Qin Tan, "Level 10 team, Chen Changdong, Liwan Plaza mission."

    The man is wearing a black jacket and his arms are bulging. He looked very strong, but his appearance looked ordinary, though not weak.

    Qin Tan reached out and shook it, "Level 5, Qin Tan, the same mission."

    Both sides are looking at each other, assessing each other''s strengths. The other side looked all very powerful. There is a pair of twin sisters, both with long ponytails, one in black and the other in red clothing. The other 3 men on the team also looked strong, stable, and reliable.

    This is a very strong team.

    In Lou Fan¡¯s mind, he is thinking that the other team should be looking at whether his team would drag them down or not.

    Chen Changdong seemed to be very satisfied with this junior team after looking at them so he spoke first, "Team leader Qin, let''s discuss this mission first."

    Qin Tan nodded, "Okay, that''s exactly what I intend to."

    A group of people sat down on the spot, divided into 2 sides. The twin sisters on the opposite side are called Liu Xing and Liu Yue. The man with slightly longer hair is called Yuan Jin. The shorter man is called Ma Ming, while the taller one is called Dong Xu.

    The mission of the intermediate team this time is to seal the 8 evil spirits into the coffin. This task is not a good thing when one hears it, not to mention the dangers. Chen Changdong also looked like he had a headache when he talked about the task, but Lou Fan felt that he is not really worried. There is no emotion in his eyes, it seems that he is a good actor.

    "According to the content of both our tasks, this eminent monk is the key point and he should also be able to help us seal the evil ghosts. Also, the 8th person who might die may be the key."

    Chen Changdong''s analysis is quite reliable. He looked at the listed information and said, "In this way, upon arriving at the place, let''s get acquainted with the environment first, and everyone should pay more attention to unusual places. The duration of our task is 12 days, which is not too short. This is good news."

    Seeing that the time is almost up, Chen Changdong said again, "Get ready, everyone must be vigilant when we arrived at the place. Other than that, you must inform of anything that seemed wrong as soon as possible if you saw it." There is a vague sense of leadership in his words.

    Just as Chen Changdong is talking, Furball emerged from Lou Fan''s chest pocket. Seeing so many people here, it looked around curiously. The twin sisters saw it and their eyes lit up, exclaiming ''So cute!''. Chen Changdong gave Lou Fan one more look. Looking at Furball, he seemed to want to say something but the train¡¯s whistle sounded at this moment.

    A group of 11 people set foot on the train. The whistle sounded again, and it sets off to the mission world.

    The moment Chen Changdong got out of the train, he immediately let the shorter guy, Ma Ming, brief the newcomers, without making any fuss or letting the newcomer make those familiar shouts. 5 minutes later, 11 people plus 5 newcomers stood under the entrance of Liwan Plaza.

    The 4 words stated on it are Liwan Corpse Hall (ÀóÍåÊ¬³¡).

    The weather is gloomy. With cold winds blowing all around, the weather matched the background of a supernatural world quite well.

 CH 53

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 10 team

    Chen Changdong (leader)

    Liu Xing (twins)

    Liu Yue (twins)

    Yuan Jin (man with slightly long hair)

    Ma Ming (a short guy)

    Dong Xu (a tall guy)

    At 1.00 pm, it should be the brightest time of the day, but the atmosphere around the square is overcast. The 5 newcomers are about to cry in fright. They hid on the side and shivered, but did not dare to make a sound.

    Pedestrians are walking around the square, and quite a few people are coming in and out. Everyone observed for a while and found no abnormality so Chen Changdong walked into the plaza first.

    Lou Fan followed behind and saw that Chen Shuyang is reading a book. Throwing a curious glance at it, he saw the title of the book - The Most Powerful Exorcism in History.

    Lou Fan: "Shuyang, what kind of random thing are you reading?"

    "Exorcism." Chen Shuyang added, "Wen Lang gave it to me and I saw that it is quite interesting. There are a lot of exorcism incantations written in it. The book even said with a single recitation, demons and monsters would not dare to approach."

    Lou Fan patted Chen Shuyang on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Then we¡¯ll count on you when we encounter demons or ghosts."

    Chen Shuyang hehe-ed and said, "Brother Lou, I''m just joking. It¡¯s not harmful to learn more, what if it''s useful?"

    "The Hell it¡¯s useful?" Lou Fan patted Chen Shuyang''s head, "Don''t learn from Wen Lang. he is unreliable. Be careful that he pit you so badly that your father can¡¯t recognize you."

    Wen Lang immediately said while holding his heart, "Brother Lou, it hurts my heart too much for you to say that."

    Jiang Dong leaned over, "Do you need me to soothe your heart?"

    "Frick!" Wen Lang shrugged his shoulders, "Go away, it''s disgusting."

    Jiang Dong seemed to have found something interesting about it, and leaned nearer again, "Come on, I''m the best at appeasing young men''s hearts. Brother Lou, leave it to me."

    When Wen Lang heard this, he make random noises and ducked to the back.

    Lou Fan burst out laughing. These 2 national treasures are quite interesting.

    Chen Shuyang raised his glasses and sighed woefully, "Those stupid humans ah!" But then Lou Fan glared at him just after saying a word, so Chen Shuyang immediately stopped talking. He put away the book about exorcism and followed behind Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan said with an elderly tone, "Shuyang, I have high expectations for you. Maybe your book would be the first spirit weapon to upgrade in our team. You work hard and don''t learn from Wen Lang ah."

    "Yes, I will definitely live up to Brother Lou''s trust in me." Chen Shuyang replied, full of confidence as if he had been injected with chicken blood/adrenaline.

    ¡­

    The flow of people in the square is not as deserted as they imagined. A lot of people mean it''s more difficult to find someone. Chen Changdong suggested that everyone separate and familiarize themselves with the environment. It doesn''t seem to be dangerous at this moment.

    Other than the villagers from Lao Ye Temple village, this is the first time Qin Tan¡¯s team had come to a spiritual world with so many people inside. However, they are familiar with the location distribution based on the map drawn by Chen Shuyang before this, so now they are going to go to the 4th and 5th floors to take a look, which is the place where accidents often happen.

    Chen Changdong took his team members and the 5 newcomers to check the floor plan of the square.

    The tall Dong Xu said, "Captain, that Qin Tan looks good."

    Chen Changdong nodded, "Qin Tan should have a solid foundation. The one named Lou Fan is not weak either with a bow. You have also seen that he has a pet. This is the first time I have seen a living creature in Lazuli, so be careful."

    Liu Xing grinned and interjected, "The other 3 are not weak too, Captain."

    Chen Changdong smiled, "Generally speaking, the quality of the lower team is good this time. We¡¯ll see their performance later. It is best if they could be recruited into the organization. It has been a long time since we accept new people."

    ¡­

    The newcomers followed the team of 6 people, not knowing where they are going. Their task is to survive in the plaza for 12 days, but it is not easy to survive in such a place.

    Ma Ming is a little troubled and didn''t know how to place them. "Captain, what about the newcomers? We can''t take them with us all the time."

    The 1st floor is the hall, the hall is surrounded by booths, and there are 4 security exits. After observing for a while, Chen Changdong decided to place the newcomers near an exit, so that they could escape in case something bad happened.

    The newcomer''s mood has stabilized now. One of them, a man in a suit organized everyone to sit together, and then asked the newcomers to take out their money to buy backpacks. The remaining money is to buy food and water[1]. The newcomers each held their backpacks and looked around vigilantly. The nervousness and anxiety of suddenly coming to a strange place are written all over their faces.

    Chen Changdong took the team members to see the floor plan of the plaza. Liwan Plaza is a circular building with two symmetrical sides. The sides are connected to the residential area. In the middle is the commercial plaza, which is full of shops and crowded.

    Qin Tan¡¯s team went up to the 4th floor, which is like a dividing line, dividing the flow of people below. As soon as they reached the 4th floor, they immediately sensed that the aura here had changed significantly. Unlike the flow of people below, there are few people on this floor, and those who occasionally pass by are as silent as ghosts. The shops are open but the owner inside is sitting stiffly, with no expression on his face. Only the pair of eyes are staring straight at the person who came in, causing one to feel a chill coming from the soles of their feet to the back of their head.

    Chen Shuyang rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and muttered something silently in his mouth. Then he said, "Their eyes are too scary. Not the scary type, but creepy."

    Although Lou Fan isn''t afraid of ghosts or the like, he felt a little unnerved by the expressions this kind of person made. You think he should be human, but his facial expressions and movements are not like a human being. However, Lou Fan can''t simply shoot an arrow at the owner. He is from a society ruled by law, so there is still a psychological barrier to attacking a human like this.

    After walking around the circular path, Qin Tan¡¯s team found nothing special so they are going to go up to the 5th floor to have a look. When the elevator opened to the 5th floor, someone can be seen standing alone on the railing opposite. Then he jumped without hesitation...

    Qin Tan¡¯s team watched helplessly as the person flew down.

    BANG!

    A loud noise that would make their teeth hurt sounded. Lou Fan leaned on the railing and glanced down. Then he immediately retracted his gaze and looked at the opposite side.

    Qin Tan squinted his eyes and looked at it carefully for a while, but found nothing unusual. Then, his sleeve is pulled, and Lou Fan whispered in his ear, "I saw a shadow on the opposite side just now, and it disappeared after a flicker. It must be a ghost."

    Qin Tan nodded and turned to ask Jiang Dong, "Is that person still alive?"

    Jiang Dong shook his head, "No. Look at his posture, his skull head-first on the ground and his cervical vertebra is broken. He can''t be saved."

    Qin Tan acknowledged with a sound and said, "Get ready with your weapons, let''s go to the opposite side."

    The team looked at each other and understood something, immediately clenching their weapons. Chen Shuyang is surrounded by his team members in the center, holding the immobilizing amulet tightly in his hand. If there is any danger, he would immediately tear it.

    As soon as the loud noise sounded, the Level 10 team rushed to the open space in the center of the plaza. This man fell from a height and slammed hard on the marble floor of the circular atrium below. Blood splashed everywhere, and the bright red blood pooled on the ground.

    Chen Changdong looked up. Qin Tan was looking down at that moment so he shook his head at Chen Changdong and pointed with his chin towards the direction where the person jumped down.

    ¡­

    This floor is even gloomier than the 4th floor. There are only a few shops open and there is no one inside. The lights overhead dimmed occasionally and in dead silence, only the slight footsteps of 5 people could be heard. Not sure if it''s because of the light, there seemed to be many figures swaying around in the shadows, but they can''t see clearly. Lou Fan rubbed his eyes and looked again at the place where the fallen man was standing.

    A shadow stood there, unable to see his facial features, but Lou Fan could clearly feel that the shadow is smiling at him. However, when he looked again, there is no shadow there. Lou Fan pursed his lips and didn''t tell the others. The next time the shadow comes out, he will serve it with an arrow.

    Going to the opposite side, Lou Fan is about to walk forward but Qin Tan had already stepped forward, leaning on the railing to look down. Suddenly, Qin Tan shook his head, feeling like he is in a trance. A voice said to him, "Go up and jump down, then all your troubles will be gone... Go up..." A hand behind him gently pushed him. Qin Tan¡¯s hands and feet seemed to be under control as he lifted them up stiffly...

    Almost immediately, Lou Fan noticed that something is wrong with Qin Tan. Without hesitation, he raised his bow and pulled it gently, and a spiritual arrow flew towards the back of Qin Tan''s head. Before the arrow could touch Qin Tan, a wave of ripples spread out in the air, and the spiritual arrow disappeared behind Qin Tan. Next, there is a small pool of black liquid on the ground behind him.

    At the same time, Qin Tan slashed with a backhand motion, as if he is slashing in the air, but he felt a slight resistance - something got slashed.

    A shrill and short hiss sounded in everyone''s ears, it was extremely harsh. Invisible airflow swept past the 5 people but they couldn''t see anything at all. Lou Fan is very sure that it must be the dark shadow he saw just now, and the shadow escaped, unfortunately.

    "Are you alright?" Lou Fan''s eyes swept over Qin Tan. When he found that there is no problem, he raised his head and said, "Let''s go down first, and discuss with Chen Changdong."

    Just as they are about to leave, Chen Shuyang said, "Brother Lou, I just saw a slightly different shop. There is a yellow talisman pasted at the door."

    "Are you sure?" Lou Fan asked with a frown, "Where?"

    Chen Shuyang stretched out his hand and pointed at the half-circle where they walked past just now, "I was just thinking to check if other shops have the same thing before telling you guys, but I didn''t expect this to happen. Shall we go and have a look?"

    Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan, "What do you think?"

    Qin Tan pondered for a while, "Go down first, we don¡¯t want to stand out. It''s not a good thing if we got targeted."

    Lou Fan thought so too, and the team walked downstairs together. The elevator has unknowingly stopped working. Wen Lang walked in front of Jiang Dong, trembling with fear. He turned around and is about to talk to Jiang Dong when he saw a dark shadow behind Jiang Dong.

    "Duck!"

    The moment the word fell, a poker in Wen Lang¡¯s hand flew out. Jiang Dong ducked and avoided the poker. The poker seemed to hit something, and a puff of black smoke came out. Then the thing disappeared.

    They just said that it¡¯s not good to be targeted, but the shadow came again.

    Qin Tan immediately said, "Speed up and be careful behind you."

    Immediately, the team quickly ran down to the 3rd floor. The voices in their ears made them feel the heat around them. But there is nothing behind them, just people who came and went.

    After meeting with Chen Changdong in the atrium downstairs, Qin Tan talked about what happened upstairs, emphasizing the yellow talisman that Chen Shuyang found.

    It was not long after someone jumped down, Chen Changdong didn''t expect that Qin Tan¡¯s team would encounter a ghost.

    Qin Tan: "That thing should be very important, but we''re afraid we won''t be able to deal with it, so we decided to tell you first."

    Anyway, Qin Tan¡¯s task is to stop the 8th person from dying and to find the eminent monk. The evil ghost has nothing to do with them for the time being. If it comes to the point they need to get into battle, they will talk about it later.

    The corpse on the ground is already covered with a piece of cloth. A large group of NPCs gathered around, and there are constant discussions.

    "The first of this month! What a tragic death."

    "I don''t know when it will stop."

    "I heard that the boss found an eminent monk to subdue demons and exorcise them."

    ...[1] Can you spot the plot hole? ... No? :v It''s the money. Since they are in a different world, how can their money still usable in this world lol? _(;3/

 CH 54

    Wen Lang turned around and walked into the crowd. He is good-looking and has a sweet mouth, and soon began to communicate happily with the NPC. In fact, these NPCs are also ordinary people, to put it bluntly. It''s just that they all subconsciously disregard them as real people. Once they see the NPC as real people, they will inevitably feel mentally uncomfortable.

    Approaching an aunt who was wearing heavy makeup, Wen Lang acted obedient and scared, "Sister, do you know what''s going on? I was standing at the side and then this person fell down with a BANG. It really startled me."

    When the aunt heard how Wen Lang addressed her, she turned her head to look at his sunny and youthful face. A good feeling rose and the aunt pulled Wen Lang closer. She clapped his hands and said, "Aiya, you must be not from here. I tell you, this mall is very evil. 8 people will die here every month. I heard that it¡¯s because 8 coffins were dug up before. The evil spirit inside came out to find a substitute. Young man, let this sister reminds you. Leave before night. It''s spooky here, not sure what kind of accident happen later."

    Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang with shock.

    Holy crap, are you for real, Wen Lang? That person is old enough to be your grandmother and you called her Sister? Where is your face (dignity)?! This aunt is also another one. She addressed herself as this sister, she is also amazing!

    Wen Lang pulled his hands, but he couldn¡¯t pull them out. The expression on his face became stiff as he continued to ask, "Then... who is the eminent monk you just said?"

    "Oh, that eminent monk. It is said that he was invited by the big boss of the shopping mall, but there has been no movement from the monk in the past few days. It''s a problem for this mall to have people jumping off the building every day, although things have been going on like this since it was built. The shops in the south also got instructed to sell only crystals. From what I heard from the boss, it is to suppress demons and ghosts but I don¡¯t see any effect either."

    On the other side, seeing Wen Lang enter the crowd, naturally the people in the Level 10 team also sent people to get information from the NPC. But probably Yuan Jin is not as handsome and well-behaved as Wen Lang, he went to an old man to chat. After saying a few words with a straight face, the old man never spoke again.

    Wen Lang glanced at the aunt''s wrinkly dry hand which is currently caressing his hand and swiftly decided to end the conversation as soon as possible. So he asked again, "Where is the eminent monk? Why hasn''t he been seen doing anything since someone has died?"

    The aunt¡¯s expression suddenly became mysterious. She looked left and right and hooked her fingers at Wen Lang. Wen Lang paused and glanced to his back, showing a martyred expression before approaching the aunt.

    The aunt smiled and whispered to Wen Lang, "I heard that the eminent monk said to wait until the 7th person dies before setting an altar for exorcism."

    Since all the information is almost collected, Wen Lang withdrew his hand forcefully. He thanked the aunt again and turned back to the team. As soon as he returned, he shivered all over and rubbed his hands vigorously, feeling a chill running down his body.

    Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang laughed unkindly and laughed so much that they couldn''t straighten their waists. Jiang Dong only smiled sympathetically at Wen Lang. The corners of Qin Tan¡¯s mouth also curved up. He comforted Wen Lang without sincerity, "For the sake of the team, this sacrifice is worth it."

    Lou Fan: "Hahahaha..."

    Wen Lang: ¡­ He is not comforted at all.

    At this moment, a strangely dressed person suddenly appeared in the crowd, calling out ''Amitabha Buddha'' at the deceased a few times. Then he took out a few tools from the cloth bag he was carrying, walked to the corpse, and squatted down. The person cut a few nails (from hand and feet), and cut a small section of hair. After carefully putting these things into a transparent ziplock bag, the person stood up, followed by another chanting.

    Lou Fan''s eyes lit up. This is the eminent monk, the person they should protect for their mission. Looking left and right, Lou Fan decided to go to the monk. One step forward, he walked in front of the eminent monk and greeted him.

    "Amitabha, Master, we are sent by the big boss to protect you. My name is Lou Fan." Lou Fan stepped forward and said. The lie came casually and he said it without even blinking.

    Lou Fan deliberately puffed out his chest and made a reliable appearance. Unfortunately, he looks too good-looking. Even if his hair is a little long and blocking his eyes, it will not damage his quiet and calm temperament.

    The eminent monk touched his chin as he checked out Lou Fan from head to toe. He is about to speak when Lou Fan grabbed Qin Tan, pointed at him, and said, "Master, this is the leader of our team. All the work is assigned by him. Don''t worry, he is quite fierce."

    The master looked at Qin Tan, his eyes suddenly showed an unspeakable expression. Randomly waving his hands impatiently, he shoo-ed, "Go go go, who wants your protection? When the evil spirits came, can you protect me from them? Aren¡¯t you just adding to the trouble? I''m busy, no time to bother with you."

    Indeed, the master is specialized in dealing with demons and ghosts. He won''t need their protection.

    Lou Fan stepped aside to stop the monk and said with a smile, "Master, you see, we have received money from the big boss. If we don''t do anything, we will lose our job soon. We are just trying to earn a living. How about this? You see how strong we are, we can be your assistant. You have no one to help you, doing everything alone is both time and power-consuming. There are 5 of us, more people means more help. If you have anything that you looking for, just say it and we can do it."

    The eminent monk stopped and thought for 2 seconds. He felt that what Lou Fan said made sense and agreed, "Well okay, I won''t make it hard for you. Anyway, I need one or two helpers, you guys are barely acceptable. However, you have to obey my instructions and don''t run around. If you met the evil ghost and got into trouble, I can''t save you. "

    "Okay, we promise to be obedient. If you say east, we will never go west." Lou Fan immediately gave his promise, as if he didn''t hear the disdain in the monk¡¯s words at all.

    Chen Changdong came over and said something to Qin Tan. The eminent monk who had already stepped out 2 steps turned around and said, "Come on, what are you doing still standing there?"

    This eminent monk looked a little bad-tempered, and he is not as kind-hearted as those eminent monks stated in the legends at all. He just looked like an impatient person. Qin Tan¡¯s team did not delay any longer, they greeted Chen Changdong and followed behind the eminent monk.

    Chen Changdong watched as Qin Tan¡¯s team walked out of the crowd and turn around a corner until no one is in sight. He did not delay, and immediately called his other team members, getting ready to find the evil ghosts. The lower-level team has started their mission so they can''t be slow. There are still 8 evil spirits waiting for them.

    Liu Yue, the most thoughtful person on the team, stood up. She looked at Chen Changdong and said, "Leader, we are going to seal the evil spirit into the coffin. Do we need to get a yellow talisman or something from that eminent monk? After all, the junior team just mentioned that there is a yellow talisman in the shops on the 5th floor. It should be done by this eminent monk."

    Chen Changdong pondered for a while, and said, "We¡¯ll go upstairs to have a look first. If we need talismans, then we go to the junior team."

    Liu Xing interjected, "Should ask the old monk where the evil ghosts are instead."

    Chen Changdong didn''t speak, turned around, and walked toward the elevator. The other 3 men snickered and followed.

    Liu Yue poked Liu Xing in the head, "Will the NPC tells us this kind of key information directly? Can you be more thoughtful?"

    Looking at her pouting little sister, Liu Yue sighed, "What if I''m gone one day and you''re still so naive?"

    Liu Xing immediately took her sister''s arm and said coquettishly, "Pei, pei, pei (spit) you are not allowed to say such ominous things. We will definitely go back together and our parents are still waiting for us." Liu Xing said with red eyes, trying hard to endure it so she didn''t cry.

    Liu Yue touched Liu Xing¡¯s head and patted the back of her hand, "Follow up, be careful yourself."

    Quickly keeping up with the 4 people in front, Liu Yue asked her sister to walk in the front while she walked the last. She tensed, watching her surroundings vigilantly.

    The already gloomy sky is now gloomier as if the torrent rain is about to come. The light inside the mall is generally supposed to be very bright, but it looked very dim at the moment, like a building in disrepair. As soon as they went up to the 4th floor, all members took out their spirit weapons. The cold wind blew from all directions, making people unconsciously feel cold.

    "Be alert." Chen Changdong reminded in a deep voice.

    Liu Yue pulled out 2 large thick fans from behind, with sharp blades on the edges; Liu Xing held a ribbon wand in her hand. The tip is an iron cone that stood up sharply.

    The spirit weapons of the others are also different. When Chen Changdong''s spirit weapon is taken out, the other members are full of confidence.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan followed the eminent monk, walking around in the crowd. Finally, they stopped near an exit, then the monk went to a hallway. He stopped outside a small door. Looking at the sign at the door, it reads Staff Lounge.

    Pushing the door and going in, the eminent monk said as he walked, "Come in quickly and close the door."

    After entering the door, Lou Fan immediately felt the difference in the air. This staff lounge is not big, and some objects are hanging around, most of which he doesn''t recognize, but he feels warm all over, and the chill from the mall disappears.

    The eminent monk walked to the corner and took out a jar. Next, he took out the bag where the nails and hair of the deceased had been placed and took out a yellow talisman. He poured out the contents into the talisman and wrapped it. After putting the talisman into the jar, he sealed the opening.

    Jiang Dong whispered from behind, "These should be the things to be used in the exorcism later. This master should be really an expert."

    Chen Shuyang''s eyes suddenly lit up, "How about I go to ask the eminent monk for some teachings?"

    "You want to convert to Buddhism?" Lou Fan asked back.

    "Uh..." Chen Shuyang stayed silent for a moment before saying, "No, my mother is still waiting for me to marry a wife and have children. But if I can learn something from him, I won''t be afraid of ghosts in the future."

    It makes sense. Lou Fan felt that he should support the decision. "Okay, when the master is free, ask him to teach you a thing or two."

    After the monks over there finished doing this, he began to fiddle with his belongings.

    At the back, Wen Lang said, "Brother Qin, you should go and ask him what are we going to do. We can''t just do nothing and watch him like this?"

    Qin Tan walked up to the eminent monk with a respectful attitude, "Master, if there is anything we need to do, you can tell me."

    Silence. Even after a long while, the monk didn''t even raise his eyes.

    Qin Tan turned his head and spread his hands helplessly at his team.

    That¡¯s not right! Lou Fan felt that the script should not be like this! He walked up to the monk and said with a smile, "Master, if you have anything to do, just ask away. Like, what else do you need that we can help you to get?"

    After Lou Fan finished speaking, the master raised his head and thought for 2 seconds.

    Qin Tan: Is this because his hands are black (unlucky)? NPCs are so realistic!

    The monk glanced at Lou Fan and started to calculate something with his fingers. After 2 minutes, he shook his head.

    "If you are not afraid, go and get a few crystals from the shops in the south. They must have the attributes of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth."

    Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth attributes? Lou Fan looked blank and is about to ask for an explanation when Chen Shuyang pulled him back.

    "Brother Lou, it¡¯s the color of the crystals which gold is golden, wood is green, water is blue, fire is red, and earth is yellow."

    Lou Fan muttered an ¡®oh¡¯. As expected from a know-it-all, Chen Shuyang even knows this. On the other hand, he has no knowledge of metaphysics at all, a typical materialist. But now, if he can go back to his original world, he can probably boast a bit about this.

 CH 55

    It was 1.00 pm when they arrived, and now it is close to 10.00 pm. The shops in the plaza are already preparing to close.

    Qin Tan thought for a while and said to Chen Shuyang, "Shuyang, you stay here. It''s not safe outside at night. You stay and take care of the master, it looked safe here."

    Chen Shuyang also knew that he could not be of much help. Also, he might drag everyone back, so he nodded, "Okay. Brother Qin, Brother Lou, you guys please pay attention to safety. Master has me guarding here."

    Lou Fan smiled, "Didn¡¯t you say you want to learn a few tricks from the master? Here''s your chance."

    Wen Lang is already gearing up to go out and patted Chen Shuyang''s shoulder, "Work hard, I''m optimistic about you."

    The rest of the team prepared to go out. At this moment, Lou Fan is walking towards the door, and suddenly, a snow-white ¡®dumpling¡¯ rolled out from his pocket. Fortunately, Lou Fan responded quickly so the thing didn''t fall to the ground.

    Furball landed in Lou Fan¡¯s palm and Lou Fan poked it. But there¡¯s no response?! Only then, Lou Fan realizes that since he came to this world, he didn''t seem to see Furball coming out so he forget about Furball for some time.

    Furball is breathing lightly. Its little body bobbed up and down, apparently sleeping soundly. Lou Fan doesn¡¯t understand. He remembered that when they are on Mount Gui, Furball was very alert and never slept.

    Qin Tan glanced at Furball and said, "Furball probably couldn¡¯t adapt well to this world. There are still differences between the mythical world and the modern world."

    Lou Fan nodded, "Let it sleep then. I don''t think it''s needed in a paranormal setting." After that, he put Furball back into his pocket carefully. This time, he made sure not to let it fall out. In case he encountered an evil spirit and Furball falls out during his escape, then he probably can¡¯t find Furball anymore.

    Not sure if because it¡¯s night time now, there are obviously fewer people in the mall. Only a few young people are walking around. There isn¡¯t anyone talking at all which makes people feel chilly. Qin Tan¡¯s team went straight to the shops in the south. They looked vigilant, each holding their own spirit weapon. As for the weapons they exchanged in Lazuli, they are put away. In the spiritual world, the power of normal weapons is negligible and can be ignored.

    Sure enough, the 2 rows of shops in the south are all selling crystals. The crystals displayed in front of the glass windows look very beautiful. Not sure if it is an illusion, Lou Fan thinks that this row of shops is glowing with a faint halo.

    As usual, they are divided into 2 teams, each team in charge of one side.

    As soon as Wen Lang entered the store, he greeted the owner, "Hi, shopkeeper. Are there any crystals of the 5 attributes?"

    The shopkeeper is a middle-aged man with drooping eyelids. The smell of smoke in the shop is strong and extremely pungent. Hearing a sound, he raised his head. His eyes are bloodshot, and his face is unshaven.

    "Oh, you can look around." The shopkeeper said slowly and feebly.

    Jiang Dong frowned and pulled Wen Lang back a few steps.

    "Are there any crystals of the 5 attributes?" Wen Lang asked again.

    "The 5 attributes?" The middle-aged man thought for a while before saying, "It''s all there, just see for yourself." After he finished speaking, he lowered his head again.

    Wen Lang: ¡­

    No other way, the two could only check the glass counter and look at the crystals, but they didn''t gain much after looking for a long time. The crystals are beautiful, but there aren¡¯t any with pure color like Chen Shuyang said. The same goes for Qin Tan¡¯s side. Qin Tan saw the shopkeeper¡¯s appearance and kept Lou Fan behind him. The look in the shopkeeper¡¯s eyes makes people feel unnerved. Lou Fan glanced at the counter and didn''t see any crystals with the 5 attributes, so he pulled Qin Tan out.

    They went to several shops in a row, and the result is all the same. The crystals on the counter looked good, but there are always impurities in them. When they walked into the 8th shop, Lou Fan suddenly felt that the inside is very bright. If the light bulbs in the previous store were 2-watt energy-saving lamps, then this shop here is using 20-watt LED lamps. Even the shopkeeper sitting at the counter has a noticeable difference in terms of complexion.

    With just one glance, Lou Fan saw in the inner counter near the shopkeeper, a golden crystal the size of a quail egg, radiating a golden halo. And in the counter next to it on the other side, there is also a green crystal the size of a pinky¡¯s joint. Lou Fan''s eyes lit up and walked quickly to the counter.

    Qin Tan didn''t see any light as Lou Fan did. He only saw Lou Fan hurried forward, and immediately followed, pulling at his arm.

    Lou Fan looked at the crystal inside the counter and asked the shopkeeper, "Boss, can you show me that crystal?" The NPC in this world seemed a bit wrong so Lou Fan didn¡¯t beat about the bush and asked straight away.

    The female shopkeeper yawned and covered her red lips with her hand. She stretched out her hand to take out the golden crystal, "This crystal is the most treasured piece in the store, you have to look carefully."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan stiffened and raised his head. He asked, word by word, "How much is this?"

    The shopkeeper said a number and Lou Fan turned his head stiffly to look at Qin Tan. Qin Tan also spread his hands helplessly - they forgot about the money to buy the crystal. Their current state is penniless. Even though they are in the mission world, Lou Fan still felt his cheeks burning with shame. Qin Tan also had never encountered such an embarrassing moment before. Both men walked out of the shop in despair and met Wen Lang¡¯s team.

    Wen Lang looked at Qin Tan and Lou Fan in confusion, "What''s wrong with you two? Your expression looks so bad."

    Lou Fan sighed, "I found the crystals."

    Wen Lang immediately became happy, "Did you get it?"

    Jiang Dong: "What''s the problem?"

    Lou Fan wiped his face, only to feel like his teeth are aching, "No money. I don¡¯t have a single penny on me. Do you guys have any?"

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong looked at each other. Money? What¡¯s that?

    At this moment, a bell-like sound suddenly sounded in the plaza, as if an order is given. Qin Tan¡¯s team stood in the middle, and all the shops around them closed their doors with clacking sounds. After a minute, the surroundings became silent except for the breathing of the four.

    Qin Tan immediately leaned close to a shop¡¯s display window and looked inside. The faint light from the hallway filtered in, and Qin Tan only saw an empty shop, nobody is inside! His scalp turned numb, and he turned to the other team members. Then Qin Tan said in a deep voice, "Go back first!"

    Lou Fan is still thinking about the possibility of breaking the window to get the crystal when Qin Tan pulled him away. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong ran up behind, and the sound of their footsteps became clearer in the quiet shopping mall.

    Dong Dong Dong!

    A dull sound could be heard from a distance as if something is beating at the ground. Qin Tan¡¯s team didn''t dare to stop and ran a few steps faster. When he is about to enter the staff lounge, Qin Tan paused and listened carefully. Seeing Wen Lang stop to mimic him, Qin Tan pushed Wen Lang to the room and they entered through the door together.

    "Hey, Brother Qin, what were you listening for?" Wen Lang said while looking back at Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan looked at Wen Lang and said, "You''re getting more and more courageous eh? Just listening to ghosts hitting the wall. How about you go out and listen again?"

    Wen Lang waved his hands with a smile, "No no no, I''m too timid."

    Lou Fan ignored them and walked over to Chen Shuyang. Pulling out a stool, he sat down with a contemplative look on his face.

    Chen Shuyang was writing something and turned to look at Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, you guys are back. What''s wrong? You can¡¯t find the crystals?"

    Lou Fan looked up at Chen Shuyang, "I found some but I have no money to buy them."

    "En?" Chen Shuyang paused for a long time before asking, "We need money to buy the crystals?"

    Lou Fan sighed melancholically, "I haven''t used any money for so long and have completely forgotten about this issue. Now that we need to buy the crystals, where can we get the money in such a short period of time? Or we should just steal it."

    After knowing that they need money, Chen Shuyang immersed himself in his book, flipping through the pages for a long time. Finally, he stopped, and suddenly laughed, "Brother Lou, do you want RMB or USD? I have them here."

    On the pages of Chen Shuyang''s book, there are piles of money, including RMB and USD, which are neatly arranged, and it looks like a lot of money.

    Lou Fan: !!!

    Looking at Lou Fan''s expression, Chen Shuyang patted his own head embarrassedly and said with a silly smirk, "Ey, I saw this selection on the exchange machine and it was super cheap so I exchanged a little bit. Ain¡¯t it because I''ve never seen so much money before."

    Lou Fan simply felt that Chen Shuyang is their savior, and looked relieved, "Shuyang, you should keep more of these things in the future. Our wealthy life depends on you."

    Qin Tan was sitting down to rest at the side. When he heard this, he praised Chen Shuyang as well, "Fortunately Shuyang thought it thoroughly. Not bad, keep working hard."

    Although this compliment is not sincere, Chen Shuyang still blushed embarrassedly in the face of the unanimous compliment from the four. Actually, he just wanted to feel the feeling of being rich.

    Only then did Lou Fan realize that Chen Shuyang''s book seemed a little different.

    "What did you do earlier, Shuyang?" Lou Fan asked, "Why do I feel like your book has changed a bit?"

    Chen Shuyang immediately turned his book forward. Then he said excitedly as he turned, "This is what I wanted to say just now. My book has changed. Earlier, the master was reciting scriptures. I wanted to put one of the scriptures in it, but it wouldn''t get in. So I thought of copying it down. The result was after I copied the scriptures, my book glowed brighter. It''s not the same as the previous bleak halo."

    That¡¯s right. The glow on Chen Shuyang''s book can be seen visibly now.

    "I feel that holding my book, I don¡¯t feel as cold as when we went to the 4th and 5th floors before."

    It''s not like Chen Shuyang¡¯s book has upgraded, but more like finding the right way to use it. Chen Shuyang immediately received encouragement from everyone.

    "Shuyang, copy more if it''s useful. If you have nothing to do, just sit here and copy with the master!" Wen Lang said immediately.

    Jiang Dong also said, "Since it is useful, copy more."

    ¡­

    Chen Changdong is followed by his 5 team members, walking forward in a circle. The circular corridor is surrounded by square-shaped corridors. Chen Changdong did not rush forward to pick a direction but walked along the circular corridor. Then, he walked toward one of the darkest-looking corridors. As a rule of thumb, this kind of corridor usually has something waiting in it. Since their purpose is to deal with evil spirits, the team didn¡¯t delay and headed straight to the point.

    The corridor is deep and dark. Looking in from far away, there is no light, not even a dim yellow light, just complete darkness. The team switched formation into 2 rows with their backs against each other to prevent their backs from being attacked.

    rustling sound

    A rustling noise sounded and Liu Xing immediately became nervous. She held her breath secretly and turned to look at her elder sister. Liu Yue gave her a soothing look and quietly protected Liu Xing from her back.

    Chen Changdong''s eyes narrowed and his wrists suddenly exerted force. The pole in his hand is tossed forward, and a long thread with a silver hook is thrown forward...

    Chen Changdong¡¯s spirit weapon turned out to be a fishing rod. His hand felt a pull as if a fish is hooked, and the fishing line tightened.

    "It''s hooked, go back!" Chen Changdong suddenly shouted. The fishing rod in his hand tightened, and the team quickly ran out.

 CH 56

    The transparent fishing line tensed into a straight line in the air. Chen Changdong held the fishing rod tightly, leaning back, unable to move even half an inch. They only managed to run a few steps. The huge resistance behind them made it difficult for Chen Changdong to move forward. Hence, the other 3 men on the team could only help him hold the fishing rod. Their arms are bulging with blue veins as they pulled with a grim faces.

    Liu Yue and Liu Xing can only look at them nervously at the side. The black aura in front of them is becoming thicker and thicker. They don¡¯t dare to go forward.

    At this moment, Chen Changdong¡¯s situation is like riding a tiger, unable to stop halfway. He couldn''t let go of his spirit weapon but he couldn¡¯t pull the evil spirit out so he is in a stalemate. Just when he is thinking about what to do, he suddenly felt the fishing rod in his hand loosen. The rebound force caused them four to be thrown to the ground.

    The fishing line broke?!

    Chen Changdong suddenly widened his eyes and his expression changed dramatically.

    Liu Yue reacted right away and shouted: "Liu Xing, run! Team leader, you guys quickly get up!" After speaking, she stepped in front of Chen Changdong and pulled him up.

    The fishing line is broken, which is equivalent to Qin Tan''s Tang sword being broken in two. One can imagine the ferocity of the evil spirit from this.

    A dense black mass approached quickly so the team turned around and ran. The one running the last is Ma Ming. Because he got up to his feet too fast, the soles of his feet slipped and he fell back again. It is at this moment that the black mass wrapped him in.

    "AHH... urgh urgh." After the scream, there is a scalp numbing sound.

    Liu Xing couldn''t help but glance back. Ma Ming is not far away but only his head can be seen. He has a horrified expression on his face, and bright red blood tears flowed from his eyes. Not daring to look again, Liu Xing turned her head with a pale face. She could feel a chill running all over her body.

    Returning to the circular corridor, the dim yellow lights above gave them a sense of warmth. The remaining members of the Level 10 team gasped in silence.

    Chen Changdong''s expression is ugly. It¡¯s just the 1st night, he didn''t expect that Ma Ming would die. Originally, it was said that Level 10¡¯s mission world is a hurdle but Chen Changdong relied on his spirit weapon and felt that there is nothing to be afraid of. Now, it seems that he has underestimated the viciousness of the Level 10 mission world.

    Liu Xing held her sister''s hand tightly. Ma Ming''s dying appearance is still echoing in her mind just now. She is very afraid that she would become like that too.

    Yuan Jin and Dong Xu are covered in sweat. Ma Ming was behind them just now. When he got dragged away, they even felt that Ma Ming wanted to grab their hand. Dong Xu did try to pull him, but their hands slipped away.

    At this moment, Liu Yue is very calm. She said: "Team leader, we forgot about one thing. The coffin that is used to seal the evil spirits has not been found. Also, to deal with the evil spirits, it seems that we must turn to that eminent monk for help."

    Chen Changdong also recalled it at this moment, they have indeed ignored the other points in the mission. In the mission world, there are always things to restrain the opponent. This is something that anyone with experience in doing several missions can understand. Even if they don¡¯t, they can always hear it from the seniors¡¯ mouths. But they made mistakes from the beginning. One is ignoring the eminent monk, and the other is not finding the key coffin. Even if they caught the evil spirit just now, there is no way to seal it.

    The most urgent task is to find the coffin first.

    "Let¡¯s return to the 1st floor and we¡¯ll make plans. Tomorrow, we will go to see Qin Tan and his team." Chen Changdong gritted his teeth and checked his fishing rod. He found that the fishing line is indeed broken, and the hook at the front is missing. Fortunately, spirit weapon can be repaired automatically so the hook will be back to normal in the morning.

    Everyone on the team has a solemn expression, and Dong Xu led the way while gripping his spirit weapon. 20 minutes later, they found that they are still in the circular corridor on the 4th floor. They couldn¡¯t find the way to the elevator.

    They are trapped.

    Dong Xu is covered in a cold sweat. He turned his head and asked, "What should we do, team leader? If we can''t find an exit, will the evil ghost come out to attack us?"

    Liu Yue squeezed her sister''s hand fiercely, trying to make her less afraid.

    Chen Changdong couldn''t help but scold with a swear word. Then he said, "We¡¯ll fight it when it comes out. You have passed 9 mission worlds already, and you still want me to teach you? What are you afraid of? You haven''t seen a ghost before or what?"

    Of course, Dong Xu is not a newbie. But it is the first time he saw a ghost who could destroy his team leader''s spirit weapon. That¡¯s why he panicked for a while.

    Chen Changdong took something out of his bag and stuffed it into Dong Xu''s hand, "Take it. Use this if you can''t beat it."

    Dong Xu looked down and saw that it is something his team leader bought from a Level 12 team at a high price. It was originally intended to be used to save his own life (CCD), so Dong Xu didn''t expect it to be given to him now. He held it in his hand and looked at Chen Changdong again. There is only determination and no fear in his eyes.

    Chen Changdong looked around for a while before pointing in a direction. He said, "Let¡¯s go there and stay there first. Since there is no exit, don''t waste your energy. We will wait until dawn."

    ¡­

    And so, Chen Changdong¡¯s team is trapped on the 4th floor, while Lou Fan¡¯s team is safe and sound in the staff lounge with the master. Although they could feel the vibration of the ground floor under their feet, what did this have to do with them? The subject of their task is staying put in the room and sleeping soundly. The five of them are very happy. After they determined the duties for the night vigil, they took turns to rest.

    Before going to bed, Lou Fan took a glance at Furball. It is still curled up into a ball and slept soundly. Lou Fan poked it before putting it back into his pocket again.

    Lou Fan slept without a dream until the next day. Suddenly, a loud BANG sounded and Lou Fan had to open his eyes. A shadow (QT) flashed in front of him and Lou Fan immediately followed without hesitation. In front of Qin Tan is the figure of the eminent monk, running fast. Lou Fan followed behind Qin Tan, and behind him are Jiang Dong and Wen Lang. Chen Shuyang is catching up at the end.

    When their group ran to the circular atrium, they saw a man lying on the ground with his limbs twisted. The corpse is surrounded by a few NPC passers-by, chatting and pointing at him.

    Jiang Dong stepped forward and took a look. Although the deceased is beyond recognition, he still recognized it. He turned his head and said solemnly, "This is a member of the Level 10 team. He should be called Ma Ming."

    The Level 10 team?

    Lou Fan paused and wondered, "Last night was the 1st night, and the Level 10 team already lost a member? What did they encounter?" He turned his head and looked around, but he couldn¡¯t see anyone from the Level 10 team.

    Wen Lang turned his head to look and happened to see Chen Changdong and his team members getting off the elevator. He said, "Brother Qin, Brother Lou, at the lift is over there."

    Qin Tan looked over, and the Level 10 team seemed to be alright. But there are dark circles under their eyes, it seems that they didn''t sleep at all that night. He looked at the corpse and then walked towards Chen Changdong.

    "Team leader Chen, what happened to you last night? Your team member fell from the building just now." After Qin Tan said that, he saw the five people looking shocked. It is obvious that they don¡¯t know that the deceased was their team member.

    The eminent monk is squatting on the ground to cut the corpse¡¯s nails and hair, still carefully tucking them away.

    Before Chen Changdong could talk to Qin Tan, he went to stop the eminent monk first. Hence, Liu Yue briefly explained their experience to Qin Tan, and Lou Fan listened at the side. It is probably that Ma Ming died last night, and he should have been pushed down by the evil ghost this morning.

    The deceased is a member of their team, and Liu Xing thought of Ma Ming''s eyes again. No one knows where but she managed to find a piece of cloth to cover up Ma Ming''s body.

    Chen Changdong stopped the eminent monk, and the high monk looked at him expressionlessly. "Master, we have to deal with evil spirits so please give us a little help. Or, please tell us where the coffin is. We can exchange it for something, or buy it."

    The master remained expressionless as if he hadn''t heard the words.

    Chen Changdong stared at the eminent monk. Could it be the master want some kind of key items? But the eminent monk didn''t mention anything, who knows what the key items are? He turned to look at Qin Tan. The junior team followed the eminent monk yesterday. He wondered if they knew anything.

    "Team leader Chen, are you looking for a coffin?" Lou Fan leaned over as he walked out from behind Qin Tan.

    Chen Changdong nodded, wondering if he knew something.

    Lou Fan pretended to think for a moment before saying, "I seem to know a little about this and our team has analyzed it in advance. Also, the master revealed something to us last night. If you really want to know, I can tell you."

    Chen Changdong immediately said, "Where?"

    Lou Fan laughed, "Team leader Chen wants to exchange information with us? We will accept everything. Points will be fine but of course, equipment is better."

    Wen Lang gaped widely. Then, he leaned to Jiang Dong''s ear and said, "Damn, Brother Lou is getting more and more cunning!"

    Jiang Dong refrained from laughing, "We can''t help being cunning. Don¡¯t you realize that the mid-level teams we work with are not exactly reliable? If we are not cunning, then we are the ones who suffer."

    Wen Lang agrees very much, "Indeed, only Brother Lou can pretend ¡®to be a pig to eat a tiger¡¯ without changing his expression. If it¡¯s Brother Qin, emmm..." After that, he turned his head to Jiang Dong again. With a tone of disgust, he added, "You can''t do it either. You looked crafty with just a glance at you."

    Jiang Dong chuckled, "You''re just a little bastard."

    Standing behind the chatting duo, Chen Shuyang deeply felt the strangeness of his team members. Pushing his glasses, he silently lowered his head to continue copying scriptures.

    On the other side, Chen Changdong choked after hearing Lou Fan¡¯s words. Are all Level 4 teams this witty now?

    "5,000 points in exchange." Chen Changdong said.

    Hey, what the hell with that look like you''ve made a big deal for us? Lou Fan couldn''t help rolling his eyes inwardly.

    "Team leader Chen, you really think such important information is only worth 5,000 points?" Lou Fan is still smiling and no one could see that under that gentle appearance, he is a witty person who has leveled his cunningness to the max. "But sure, if you only pay 5,000 points, I can only provide you with information worth 5,000 points."

    Chen Changdong gritted his teeth, he had to buy it no matter how reluctant he is. The initiative is not in their own hands but this news is too important to them. If it is something with a clearly marked price, Chen Changdong felt that he could even pay 100,000 points. But when the position is changed and he is being manipulated by someone with lower levels than him, Chen Changdong suddenly felt a toothache coming.

    "50,000 points." Chen Changdong seemed to grind this sentence out of his teeth. Then he said to Qin Tan, "Team leader Qin, your team member is good."

    Qin Tan agrees, "Yeah, I think he is pretty good too."

    Pff! Wen Lang almost burst out laughing.

    Lou Fan raised an eyebrow smugly.

    Fine! You guys are sure ruthless! Chen Changdong felt that he would vomit blood if he continued the conversation.

    "Since team leader Chen is so sincere, it¡¯s a deal." Anyway, they are in the same mission world so it''s not good to force people into a corner. They still have to cooperate well.

    Originally, Lou Fan thought to get paid after they returned to Lazuli. Unexpectedly, Chen Changdong tapped a few times on his watch, and then Qin Tan''s watch beeped twice, indicating that he had received points.

    Lou Fan: !!! What is going on? It can work like this? How come no one told him?

    Chen Changdong can tell with a glance that Qin Tan¡¯s team didn''t know about this. He humphed, "After completing the Level 9 task, you can apply for the access in the exchange hall in the South Plaza. Right now, you can only accept points but not give it out."

 CH 57

    Chen Changdong said that to despise them junior team for having lesser points, right?! Of course, they don¡¯t have many points indeed.

    It seems that Chen Changdong didn''t want to continue talking anymore as he said, "Alright, you can say it now."

    Lou Fan didn''t delay. After receiving the payment, he told everything he knew. "Before the mall was built, 8 coffins were dug up from the ground. When we went back to rest last night, we noticed that there are movements in the underground parking lot. Therefore, the 8 coffins should be there, but the exact location is unclear."

    Combining the context, the 8 coffins should be in the underground parking lot. Listening to the meaning of the second sentence, there is quite a lot of movement there at night. Hearing that, Chen Changdong''s expression became even more unsightly. He pondered for a while and discussed with his 4 team members. Then, they decided to take a look at it during the day and think about countermeasures after.

    Lou Fan kindly reminded, "Team leader Chen, our temporary shelter is in the staff lounge at the safety exit. If you need anything, you can come to us again."

    Chen Changdong glared at Lou Fan and took out his spirit weapon to check its condition. The hook has returned, and it is a good fishing rod again.

    However, when Lou Fan and Qin Tan saw that spirit weapon, their eyes widened. At the same time, Lou Fan became more depressed, and his heart is a little broken.

    Damn it, he messed up! My God! It''s actually an intermediate spirit weapon! Lou Fan just tricked a bunch of points from the owner of the intermediate spirit weapon! If the man took it out earlier, he can even provide the news for free! Lou Fan is roaring inwardly but his expression is calm.

    Qin Tan asked aloud, "Team leader Chen, your spirit weapon is an intermediate spirit weapon?"

    Dong Xu snorted aside, "You know your goods."

    On the contrary, Chen Changdong has an indescribably complicated expression on his face. Finally, he sighed, "So what if it¡¯s an intermediate spirit weapon? The evil ghost still escaped last night, and we even lost Ma Ming." He said and looked deeply at the junior team. Then he reminded them, "This time, the task is not easy to do, you all be careful."

    Lou Fan felt a little embarrassed to be reminded so kindly after he scammed others of their points.

    However, Chen Changdong didn''t seem to care at all. He called his teammates, and they walked to the safety exit to the underground parking lot to check the situation.

    After the higher-level team left, Qin Tan frowned and said, "Just now he said that he was using an intermediate spirit weapon but the evil spirit still ran away."

    Lou Fan nodded, also with a solemn expression, "We have to be more careful and try our best not to conflict with the evil ghost, and just complete our mission."

    Their team squatted in the master''s room the whole night last night. Today, their main task is to find crystals. If they have nothing to do at night, they should continue staying in the room and don''t run around. They believe that they can still avoid direct contact with evil spirits to the greatest extent possible. Lou Fan thought it is a good arrangement.

    The monk had collected the things he wanted and is about to go back. Qin Tan asked Chen Shuyang to follow him; there would be no danger in the daytime. The rest of them took the money from Chen Shuyang and went straight to the place where they saw the crystals with attributes.

    Chen Shuyang''s money is only effective for 10 minutes. They need to make a quick decision and can''t take more money, just take enough money to pay the bill. Hence, they need to wait until the next time they see something suitable, then they go back and get the money.

    Going to the store yesterday, Lou Fan bought both the golden crystal and the green crystal the size of a pinky finger. 10 minutes later, the balance of money left in his hand disappeared. However, the lady shopkeeper did not say that there is something wrong with the money. It should be a setting in this world.

    Qin Tan¡¯s team still split into 2 to look for the crystals. As long as Wen Lang¡¯s side saw a suspected crystal of the 5 attributes, they will call Lou Fan over to look at it. After running around for a long time, they finally gathered enough of the crystals with 5 attributes. However, except for the golden one, the rest are very small. They are only about the size of a pinky finger.

    The four of them hurriedly took the crystals and hurried back to give them to the eminent monk. The eminent monk accepted the crystal and nodded at Lou Fan with a smile, "Not bad, young man. It¡¯s what I wanted. Although they are a little small, it''s enough."

    Lou Fan asked, "Master, how does this work? The bigger the better?"

    The eminent monk had an unfathomable expression on his face, "The so-called yin and yang of heaven and earth are all within the 5 attributes. Using the power of the attributes, they can remove all dark spirits and ghosts. But the power of the 5 attributes must be brought together to be effective. As for usage, just place the crystals in different specific positions and then, recite the incantation."

    Lou Fan touched his chin in contemplation, it doesn¡¯t sound too difficult. Also, he thought that since this eminent monk can eliminate the evil spirits in this world, he must have real ability. His method may be useful for dealing with all kinds of supernatural beings.

    Lou Fan asked with a smile: "Master, do you have other orders for us?"

    The eminent monk paused and waved his hand, "Today is done. I¡¯ll call you people to run errands tomorrow."

    Lou Fan waved at his team members with a mysterious look on his face. Seeing him like this, Qin Tan knew that Lou Fan must be planning something again.

    Sure enough, the smile on Lou Fan''s face almost overflowed as he said, "Hurry up, let''s continue to find more crystals. This thing will definitely be useful in other worlds, we need to find more!" Next, he turned around and asked Chen Shuyang, "Shuyang, do you still have RMB in your book?"

    Chen Shuyang nodded and flipped through a few pages. There is another stack on it, "There¡¯s more here, I think it should be enough!"

    Lou Fan gestured at Chen Shuyang cunningly, "Not bad, Shuyang, you little clever thing."

    Chen Shuyang suddenly couldn''t help laughing and crying, "Then, you guys go ahead to find more, and I will continue to study with the master. He is quite optimistic about me, and said he wants to teach me to draw amulets."

    Qin Tan: "You will stay to protect the master. Call out if something happens. We are just around and will be back before 10.00 pm."

    Wen Lang patted Chen Shuyang and said, "Study hard, Shuyang. It''s good to absorb more of this knowledge. Help me read my fortune when we return to Lazuli."

    Jiang Dong scolded Wen Lang, "He is studying Buddhism skills, and it has nothing to do with fortune-telling."

    The daily quarrel started again so Chen Shuyang rolled his eyes and ignored these two directly.

    Hearing that, Wen Lang is not happy, "Hey, why do you always have to seek attention for yourself?"

    Jiang Dong: "Then, why do you keep spouting nonsense from your head?"

    Wen Lang: "You!"

    Lou Fan: "Stop flirting and go!"

    "Who is flirting?!" The two said in unison, then glared at each other.

    ¡­

    Chen Changdong took his team members down the stairs to the basement floor. At moments like this, he didn''t know what they would encounter in the elevator, so taking the stairs should be more secure. The B1 floor looked normal but the lights are a little dim. There are a few cars parked sparsely around and they can''t see anything wrong. They didn''t make a sound and stayed cautious.

    Yuan Jin pulled at Chen Changdong''s sleeve and pointed to a sign, which a downward arrow is drawn, the B2 floor. Chen Changdong nodded and pointed down at his team members before turning towards the stairs.

    As soon as they entered the vicinity B2 floor, gusts of chilly wind rushed in from all directions. The team shrank their necks and trembled all over, their limbs cold. Needless to say, the possibility of the 8 coffins on this floor is very high so they became more and more vigilant. Chen Changdong only intends to find out whether the coffins are here. Then, he¡¯ll just grab the evil ghost and drags it over directly.

    However, the idea is good but realizing it is not easy. When they walked out of the corridor, they found that the surroundings are completely dark, and they could not see their fingers. The team quickly took out the bright headlights they brought with them. Under the illumination of the strong light, the visible range is only about 1 meter, and they can''t see what is in front of them.

    Liu Xing is very scared so she reached out to grab her sister''s hand, only to find that Liu Yue''s hand is cold as well. But as she is walking, she suddenly realized that something is wrong. Their team leader is walking in front and she and her sister are following behind him. Then, behind them are Yuan Jin and Dong Xu. She remembered that her sister was on her left before, so who is the person holding her right hand?

    Liu Xing turned her head tremblingly, and the bright headlight moved along with her. On the person¡¯s pale face, a pair of blood-red, unfocused eyes stared at her. When she looked over, the person revealed a strange smile.

    At that moment, Liu Xing felt that her hand got licked by fire, and she threw it away instantly. The next moment, she screamed. At the same time, Liu Yue reacted right away and grabbed Liu Xing, pulling her backward. After that, she opened her folding fan and swiped at the dead man. The dead man fell to the ground. Yuan Jin and Dong Xu rushed over and immediately threw out a special whip at the body, swiftly tying it up.

    Liu Yue comforted Liu Xing, but Liu Xing only got frightened at that moment earlier. Now, she has come back to her senses.

    Chen Changdong took out his flashlight to check, and asked casually, "Is Liu Xing all right?"

    "She¡¯s alright, just got a sudden scare." Liu Yue shook her head. Holding Liu Xing¡¯s hand, they stepped forward and saw the person on the ground. She said, "This is the person who fell from the building on the 1st day."

    Chen Changdong nodded and looked around again, but found no shadow of the coffin.

    "Where did this man come from?"

    Liu Xing said with an aggrieved tone, "I don''t know either. I just wanted to hold my sister¡¯s hand, but..." Now that she thinks about it, Liu Xing felt like her hand is going to rot, and she can''t wait to rub it with soap at least 10 times.

    Liu Yue: "Could it be that he just came out of the coffin?"

    After Liu Yue said this, everyone thought it is not impossible. On the 1st day, the NPCs said that the 8 people who died every month are the evil spirit¡¯s replacements.

    Liu Yue added, "Team leader, it''s too dark here. Even if we found the coffin now, we won''t be able to drag the evil spirit here to find it again. We must brighten the place up first. Also, I don''t think this matter about the coffin is simple. We have to ask again about the placement of the coffin. I still remember a previous mission, because of the placement of key items, another intermediate team almost died.¡±

    Of course, Chen Changdong still remembered that they were just a junior team at that time. Thinking of this, he immediately agreed with Liu Yue''s point of view.

    "Go up first. We¡¯ll confirm the details before coming down again." Although Chen Changdong is a little unwilling to leave empty-handed, he couldn''t force the way through or his team will suffer in the end.

    This time, their return went very smoothly. Liu Yue thought about something and finally said hesitantly, "Team leader, I think we should find the junior team to communicate with the eminent monk. I have a feeling that the eminent monk will not answer our words."

    Although Chen Changdong is reluctant to believe it, he had also thought about what Liu Yue said. But he couldn''t figure out what made the key NPC only communicate with the junior team and ignore the senior team. It stands to reason that the NPC will talk as long as there are key items, but now they don''t even know what the key items are.

    When Chen Changdong and his team are going to look for the junior team, they happened to see Lou Fan holding some shiny things in his hand, chatting and laughing with Wen Lang beside him. Qin Tan is walking beside Lou Fan, and he looked a bit like a bodyguard.

    Lou Fan is very happy because they had a good harvest this time. They found 2 crystals with water attributes. Then, he looked up and saw Chen Changdong coming over with a long face. Lou Fan stopped walking and thought to himself, ¡®Why do I feel like they are here to find fault with that expression? Could it be there are no coffins in the underground parking lot?¡¯

 CH 58

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 10 team

    Chen Changdong (leader)

    Liu Yue (older sister of the twins)

    Liu Xing (younger sister of the twins)

    Yuan Jin (man with slightly long hair)

    Ma Ming (a short guy) -dead

    Dong Xu (a tall guy)

    Qin Tan stepped forward to meet the team. Chen Changdong pursed his lips before saying, "We want to ask for your help."

    Help? Lou Fan is puzzled. Chen Changdong got tricked by him in the morning and looked angry at that time. Now, he wants to ask them for help? This sounds a bit suspicious.

    Chen Changdong saw Lou Fan''s expression and his eyelids twitched involuntarily. Then he continued to say to Qin Tan, "We went to the parking lot but it was so dark that we couldn''t see anything. The person who died on the first day is also inside. Afraid of being overwhelmed, we didn''t go deep inside and thought to ask the master for help. So, I would like to ask you to help us communicate with the master."

    Chen Changdong glanced at Lou Fan again, his lips pursed into a line, "How much do you want?"

    Lou Fan: ¡­ Why does Chen Changdong look at him like he is a greedy person?!

    That''s right! That is correct!

    But at moments like these, in the presence of big bosses, Lou Fan felt that he should be tactful.

    "No problem, Team leader Chen, we''ll help with this." Lou Fan stepped forward and said with a smile, "However, wouldn¡¯t it be too distancing if we talk about points? Asking for rewards for small matters like this, we''re not that kind of people."

    Wen Lang: "¡­" Holy crap, why is Brother Lou becoming more and more shameless!

    Jiang Dong gave a thumbs up to Lou Fan''s flexibility in his heart!

    Chen Changdong: "..." Can this person change face (expression/attitude) even faster than now?

    Although Lou Fan sounded like he is being flattering, he is not annoying at all. His appearance is like a well-behaved and charming person. When he smiles, his beautiful peach blossom eyes narrow, so it won¡¯t make people angry at all.

    Chen Changdong: "Then, I¡¯ll thank you first. If there is anything we can help with, we will do our best."

    He was waiting for this sentence. Lou Fan happily led Chen Changdong¡¯s team to the staff lounge. Fortunately, the staff lounge is the standard size of a rest area but there is no vacant seat after everyone enters so they just stand together.

    The eminent monk is reciting Buddhism while turning the Buddha beads. When he saw so many people coming in, he did not bat an eye and remained motionless like a bell, which reflected the quality of a monk.

    Everyone is waiting and Chen Changdong looked at Qin Tan. Qin Tan gave him a helpless look and Lou Fan walked up to the eminent monk after winking at Chen Shuyang. Chen Shuyang immediately understood and is ready to cooperate. Lou Fan approached the monk, sat on the round cushion, and said to the monk, "Master, our other team got sent by the boss to settle the coffins on the B2 floor."

    Upon saying this, Lou Fan saw the monk''s eyelids move. Seems like it is working! So, Lou Fan continued.

    "You should also know about the coffins on the B2 floor. For this, we lost a team member. That¡¯s why we want to ask for your help. You won''t want to see innocent people die tragically, right?" After all, the purpose of eminent monks is to subdue demons and exorcise evil.

    The eminent monk opened his eyes. Rolling the beads one by one in his hand, he scolded, "You people who cause trouble, you already know that evil spirits hurt people, and yet, you still go forward to be killed. Isn''t this adding trouble? The more people die, the heavier the yin aura, and the greater the power of the evil spirits."

    When the monk finally spoke, Chen Changdong is overjoyed and immediately said, "Master, on the B2 floor, it is so dark that we can''t even see our fingers. Also, we encountered the first dead person there. Other than that, there are evil ghosts on the 4th floor. They are hiding in the dark fog, and possessed strong power."

    The eminent monk looked at Chen Changdong, his eyes seemed to see through everything. Then, he said slowly, "B2 floor is the root of the 8 evil spirits here. Since the coffins are there, the yin aura will be thick. Of course you can''t see anything."

    "Then how can we drive away the yin aura?"

    The eminent monk sighed and said, "Fine, since you are going to settle the matter, it can be considered that you are helping me. The yin aura on the B2 floor is too thick so there is no light in the dark. As long as you gather yang aura, you can turn on the lights and see things. I will draw a Yang Gathering Amulet for you. Next, look for the white crystals, the bigger the better. After that, put the crystal to soak in the sunlight, the longer it stays there, the more yang aura will be. After that, you can bring the crystal to the B2 floor and see with the light."

    After receiving the instructions from the eminent monk, the Level 10 team breathed a sigh of relief.

    Chen Shuyang leaned over to see the master''s amulets. With a look of admiration on his face, he asked, "Master, can you teach me how to draw amulets?"

    The master kept moving his hands, and a yellow amulet painted in cinnabar is completed in one go. After finishing the amulet, he turned his head to look at Chen Shuyang, "I can teach you. You can learn if you have the ability."

    Chen Shuyang agreed with a wide-eyed smile.

    After drawing the Yang Gathering Amulet, the master took out another amulet. This amulet looked more complicated. He handed it to Chen Changdong and said, "This is a seal amulet. If you catch the evil spirit, put him in a coffin, and then stick this on it."

    Chen Changdong said yes and carefully put away the 2 yellow amulets. Immediately, he turned around to go out, wanting to find white crystals but got stopped by Lou Fan.

    "Team leader Chen, why don''t we help you find crystals together so it can be done faster?"

    Lou Fan is a bit overwhelming when he is being attentive but Qin Tan only crossed his hands and let him play freely.

    Chen Changdong opened his mouth but did not speak. It''s good to have someone help, but he always feels that the smiling person in front of him has bad intentions and is holding back some bad ideas.

    Lou Fan added, "We have helped the master to find crystals before so we are familiar with the process. This crystal is not easy to find. Many people mean great power/help."

    Chen Changdong had no reason to refuse those who rushed forward to help, so he said, "Okay, then I¡¯ll thank you in advance."

    Lou Fan waved his hand, "It''s okay, we should help each other. But when Team leader Chen is free, we will have to bother Team leader Chen to tell us about the upgrade of the spirit weapon."

    Chen Changdong understood that their intention in on that matter, but spirit weapon¡¯s upgrade is not something that can¡¯t be said anyway. It is mainly dependent on the strength of the owner of the spirit weapon. Since people helped him, he can¡¯t not say anything. Compared to exchanging equipment for help, Chen Changdong felt that he had gotten better of the deal.

    "No problem, I''ll tell you about it when I have time, it''s nothing."

    Lou Fan curved his eyebrows in smiles and said, "Team leader Chen is sure straightforward. Then, let''s go find the crystal and meet here later."

    Chen Changdong nodded and left with his team members. As for Qin Tan and the others, they ate something to replenish their stamina before continuing their search. Originally, they were also looking for crystals, so helping Chen Changdong to find the white ones is just a matter of the way. By helping out, they managed to get Chen Changdong to promise to tell them about the upgrade of the spirit weapon. Such a good bargain, Lou Fan had no reason not to pick it up.

    Wen Lang walked over to Lou Fan and bumped Lou Fan with his elbow. He gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother Lou, I found that you have changed. You are no longer the simple brother Lou when you first came to Lazuli."

    Lou Fan narrowed his eyes at Wen Lang dangerously, "En? Are you trying to say I''m black-bellied?"

    "No, I''m not. Don''t think badly about it!" Wen Lang said immediately, "You are the beacon of our team, we are where you point."

    Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang with a highly suspicious look. Wen Lang hehe-ed silly-ly, not embarrassed at all! He is telling the truth, what¡¯s there to be embarrassing of?

    Jiang Dong covered his face. He couldn''t look at that flattering expression, Wen the but*-kisser!

    ¡­

    Chen Shuyang is left behind as usual while the other four went to find crystals. Lou Fan¡¯s goal is to find crystals with 5 attributes as much as he could.

    After the people left, Chen Shuyang walked up to the master and watched him draw a few more Yang Gathering Amulets, feeling full of praise.

    "Master, teach me to draw too, I''m very smart." Chen Shuyang is afraid that the master would think he is stupid and dislike him. But he felt that he himself is quite smart, really.

    The master touched his chin and looked at Chen Shuyang, nodded, "Okay, I''ll teach you first. It''s up to you if you can learn it or not."

    The master casually took a piece of yellow paper and dipped the brush in cinnabar. The tip of the pen landed on the yellow paper, and the master finished drawing after a few strokes. Chen Shuyang stared intently at the trajectory of the tip of the brush, and his fingers followed the drawing unconsciously. After the master draw the amulets 3 times, he stopped drawing and let Chen Shuyang stare at the yellow amulet by himself.

    After a while, Chen Shuyang picked up a pen. He searched around but found no paper. So, he simply opened his book and drew on it. A feature of Chen Shuyang''s book is that he can put things in it, but can¡¯t write on it with a pen. Hence, when he first copied the Buddhist scriptures in his book and the writing appeared, he was surprised. Now, he tried drawing the amulet on it, but none of the patterns stayed on the page. Even so, he kept drawing unconsciously, mainly to find the feeling of drawing the pattern.

    After drawing the pattern a dozen times, Chen Shuyang suddenly took a look at the master''s amulet again. Next, he took a deep breath and swiftly draw the amulet in one go. The pattern of the ¡®scribbles¡¯ which is exactly the same as the master¡¯s amulet appeared on the page. At the moment when Chen Shuyang finished drawing, there seemed to be a flash of light. This time, the amulet did not disappear and remained on the page.

    Chen Shuyang is surprised for a moment. He flipped through it for a long time, but couldn''t figure out how to use the amulet drawn on it. At least for scriptures, he could read them out. The amulets he has seen are generally used to stick on something. On the other hand, the immobilization amulet exchanged by Lou Fan before, the usage is by tearing it.

    So how does he use this one?

    Thinking that the spirit weapon would be repaired by itself, Chen Shuyang tried to tear off the page with the spell on it. Holding it in his hand, he could see that the amulet is intact, that it didn¡¯t fade or anything. He held it up and handed it to the master.

    "Master, look, can this amulet be used?" Chen Shuyang asked cautiously, for fear that the master would scold him when he turned around. He didn¡¯t use either the yellow paper or cinnabar. Plus, the amulet is drawn with neutral brushstrokes. Although Chen Shuyang felt that the amulet he had drawn seemed a little different, but in front of the master, he is not very confident.

    The master held the torn page of paper and turned it over and over. It is a seemingly ordinary piece of paper, but the qi of the spell drawn on it made him feel that this is an amulet with the effect of the Yang Gathering Amulet.

    The master stroked his non-existent beard, nodded, and said, "Not bad, not bad, the future generations are terrifying. Come, I will teach you a few more spells."

    Chen Shuyang is startled by the praise. He is very surprised, but his face is expressionless. His spirit weapon is too weak, and he doesn''t even have the ability to protect himself. Going out can only be a hindrance to the team. Now that he can learn a protection skill, whoever doesn''t cherish the chance is a fool.

    ¡­

    Liu Yue stared from one end of the window to the other. They are filled with beautiful crystals, but which one is the white crystal?

    Liu Xing sighed on the other side, "Sister, what kind of white crystal is it? There are other colors, but there is no white." After searching for a long time, her eyes are spinning with dizziness. There is no white crystal at all.

    "That monk wouldn¡¯t be playing tricks on us, won¡¯t he?"

    Liu Yue glared at her sister and couldn''t help scolding, "Since when have you seen an NPC playing tricks on the teams? Can you have some common sense?"

    Liu Xing stuck out her tongue reluctantly and looked at Chen Changdong in the opposite shop. She sighed when she saw that he is also frowning at the display cabinet. Glancing at the time, Liu Xing saw that it is already late afternoon. The sun outside would be going down soon, can they find the white crystal before sunset?

 CH 59

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 10 team

    Chen Changdong (leader)

    Liu Yue (older sister of the twins)

    Liu Xing (younger sister of the twins)

    Yuan Jin (man with slightly long hair)

    Ma Ming (a short guy) -dead

    Dong Xu (a tall guy)

    Seeing that the sun is about to go down, Chen Changdong didn''t bother to look around anymore and went back with a few crystals that looked like white crystals. Lou Fan and the others are already waiting there. When Lou Fan saw the crystals in Chen Changdong''s hand, he shook his head.

    "Team leader Chen, you got the wrong crystals."

    Chen Changdong also knew that it is wrong but he already tried his best. "I only found these."

    Chen Changdong had given up hope and planned to continue looking for it tomorrow. Then, Lou Fan flipped his palm and took out a transparent crystal the size of an egg, with only a white mist-like color in it.

    "I found one, take it."

    Chen Changdong took the crystal and looked at it for a long time. He found that this crystal is fundamentally different from the crystals found by his team. He put it away silently and said to Lou Fan, "Thanks."

    He owed Lou Fan another favor again; getting used to owing him favors.

    Lou Fan waved his hand, ¡°Quickly take it to the sun, the sun will go down soon."

    Chen Changdong nodded, left the twins behind, and took the other two team members out to bask in the sun. Liu Xing is very tired so she pulled her sister to the staff lounge. After entering, she found a stool and sat down.

    On the other side, after listening to what Chen Shuyang said, Jiang Dong didn''t know what kind of expression he should show. Wen Lang simply exclaimed out loud, "My god! Shuyang, your spirit weapon is too awesome! Have you finally found the correct way to use it?"

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan walked in at this moment and heard Wen Lang making loud noises. Qin Tan frowned, "Speak properly, why are you shouting?"

    Wen Lang couldn''t calm down at all. Another lucky guy has appeared on the team, how could he calm down?!

    "Brother Qin! You don''t know how awesome Shuyang is. Copying scriptures into his book is nothing. He can draw amulets in his book! The type that can be used and doesn''t need to use cinnabar and yellow papers!!"

    People who have been in contact with superstition to some extent will know a little bit of this knowledge. But even if they don''t, information like this can be found in the movies. The yellow amulet is a piece of yellow paper on which one uses red cinnabar to draw random patterns on it. Then, it becomes an amulet. In ancient times, talismans were sold at high prices.

    "Shuyang can draw amulets in his book?" Lou Fan didn''t understand and repeated the sentence.

    Before Chen Shuyang could explain, Wen Lang immediately poured everything he heard out. Even the twins next to him heard it clearly, with surprise in their eyes. They haven''t heard of this kind of spirit weapon before.

    After listening to Wen Lang¡¯s words, Lou Fan showed a happy elderly expression and patted Chen Shuyang on the shoulder, "Shuyang, keep working hard and draw more. You will have to take on the important responsibilities of the team in the future!"

    Chen Shuyang nodded immediately.

    Qin Tan silently restrained his smile at the side.

    Jiang Dong rolled his eyes helplessly. Everyone in this team is not normal, it is really hard for him (as the only normal person).

    Lou Fan then asked again, "How many spells have you learned?"

    As soon as Lou Fan said these words, he felt like he is asking Chen Shuyang how many words did he learn today (like how a father asked his child about his studies)?

    Chen Shuyang looked guilty, "Only one, the others are a bit complicated and haven''t learned yet."

    Lou Fan simply oh-ed and said, "Then, keep learning."

    Liu Xing and Liu Yue: ¡­

    ¡­

    The afterglow of the sun sprinkled on the white crystal. As if white gas is poured into it, the white smoke slowly filled the crystal and gradually turned it into a milky white crystal, which the tone is slightly thinner than pure white. It is not until the sun sank into the ground and the sky began to darken that Chen Changdong brought Yuan Jin and Dong Xu back to the staff lounge.

    After reuniting with the twins, Chen Changdong felt that their expressions are a bit strange, and the gaze they looked at Lou Fan¡¯s team is even stranger. But they are in front of other people so Chen Changdong didn''t ask. He just sat down in the empty seat and started eating to replenish his strength.

    It is almost 7.00 pm and Chen Changdong planned to take a rest before going upstairs to try his luck. If he could find an evil spirit, he would capture it first. Otherwise, once it is nighttime, he is afraid that their team would be trapped again. As for going down to the B2 floor, it''s the same darkness whether day or night anyway, there''s no difference.

    Glancing at the white crystal in his hand, Chen Changdong paused. Then he raised his head and called Qin Tan. "Team leader Qin, you want to know how to upgrade the spirit weapon, right? Let me tell you roughly about it first." He doesn''t like to owe favors, and he owes more and more this time.

    Lou Fan immediately moved the small bench and sat in front of Chen Changdong with a look of listening intently. Behind him stood Qin Tan and the other three. Everyone is curious and looking forward to knowing how to upgrade the spirit weapon.

    Facing 5 pairs of curious eyes, Chen Changdong coughed uncomfortably. It is because their gazes are too intense that he couldn''t stand them, causing goosebumps all over his body.

    "Actually, the upgrade of a spirit weapon is related to physical fitness. The second condition is an opportunity (fortunate encounter). When your body improves and can withstand the power of an intermediate spirit weapon, that means you are ready to upgrade your spirit weapon, which is a necessary condition. As for the opportunity, this is hard to say. Everyone''s opportunity is different. As far as I know, some upgraded their weapon during an emergency because they wanted to help their companion, while some upgraded when they themselves are in danger. Some simply have an epiphany... In short, an opportunity is a rare occurrence."

    All Chen Changdong can say is just 2 or 3 sentences, but he knew that it is not so easy to upgrade the spirit weapon. Like him, he already upgraded but his team has yet to produce a second intermediate spirit weapon. This is an example of the rareness. He paused for a while and then said, "The improvement of physique actually depends on luck, because it is not always possible to find something to improve our physique in the mission world. So far, only three of us have improved our physique."

    If one doesn''t improve their physique, they can''t upgrade their spirit weapon. The threshold is high enough.

    Lou Fan exchanged glances with his teammates, tacitly knowing that everyone on the team have improved their physique. They have nothing to be afraid of.

    After Chen Changdong finished speaking, he stood up and took his fishing rod. Then he called his teammates, preparing to go upstairs to hunt ghosts. He checked his fishing rod to make sure it is intact. After reminding a few more words, he is ready to leave.

    "Team leader Chen, do you mind if I go with you?" Qin Tan asked before they went out.

    Everyone looked at Qin Tan, even Lou Fan didn''t know what he is planning to do.

    Chen Changdong also looked at Qin Tan, "Team leader Qin, are you sure you want to go with us?"

    Qin Tan actually didn¡¯t plan to do anything at first. But he thought Chen Changdong is a good person, and he told them about the upgrade of the spirit weapon. Secondly, he wanted to know how powerful the evil spirit is. It is his habit to always plan ahead and get a good understanding of the enemy.

    Qin Tan''s eyes are firm, showing his intention so Chen Changdong could not refuse.

    "I''ll go too." Lou Fan walked over to Qin Tan, "I don''t feel at ease about you going alone, I''ll go with you."

    Wen Lang, Jiang Dong, and Chen Shuyang immediately echoed, "I''ll go too."

    Qin Tan looked at his team helplessly. They are like a dog skin plaster (super sticky), and he couldn''t shake them off.

    The ghost-hunting team suddenly grew bigger. Although Chen Changdong didn''t understand why the junior team wanted to follow them to do the task, he is very welcoming of this change inside. No one will think that there are too many people. With more people, they will be more confident.

    The team left, leaving Chen Shuyang to look after the eminent monk and protect their mission target. Before leaving, Chen Shuyang gave Lou Fan and his team members all the Yang Gathering Amulet that he drew.

    "Although it may not be super useful, take them just in case. The master also said that it is effective so you can try to use it. If they don¡¯t work, you can return them to me. Otherwise, just treat it as bringing me along with you."

    Hearing that, Wen Lang rolled his eyes. He bared his teeth and tried to pinch Chen Shuyang, but Chen Shuyang avoided him.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan and his team have been on the 4th and 5th floors before. Although they got attacked by some ghosts before, the condition of the floors was not the same as they are now. The entire 4th floor looked dead and dark. It is pitch black without lights and they can only see the people around them with a little light from themselves.

    Qin Tan reminded everyone to be careful and try to take care of the people around them. It would be better if they hold hands so as not to get separated. Immediately after saying that, he grabbed Lou Fan''s hand.

    Wen Lang didn''t listen to the advice as he doesn¡¯t plan to hold hands with Jiang Dong. Just the thought of it gave him goosebumps. However, his hand is grabbed and Jiang Dong''s hand held his tightly.

    "Hey, aren¡¯t you disgusted by this? We are 2 adult men holding hands..." Wen Lang couldn''t go on.

    However, Jiang Dong simply grabbed Wen Lang¡¯s hand and tugged, "Don''t talk, don''t you know there are ghosts here?"

    Wen Lang: ¡­ Can''t talk if there are ghosts around? Fine, I¡¯ll let you have the final say.

    Wen Lang shifted his hand awkwardly but didn''t pull it out.

    Chen Changdong had the master¡¯s Yang Gathering Amulet and a white crystal in his hand, but these items are reserved for the B2 floor, where the yin aura is heavier. Without these 2 things, it would be impossible for them to move even an inch forward. Relatively speaking, they can still see things on the 4th floor so they¡¯ll make do with it.

    Their flashlights are really not very useful here. Lou Fan took out the simple version of the Yang Gathering Amulet given by Chen Shuyang and stuck it on the wall. He thought that it doesn¡¯t matter if it doesn¡¯t work but he found that the black smoke within a 5-meter radius had dissipated, and the plaza¡¯s light above his head lighted up.

    "Shuyang, you are awesome. This amulet really works." Lou Fan muttered, feeling very relieved.

    Wen Lang snapped his fingers, "Shuyang has finally found his path. He should follow the master and convert to Buddhism, it suits him."

    Lou Fan: "Don''t, Shuyang''s parents are still waiting for him to give them a grandson. Don''t come up with bad ideas."

    The Level 10 team didn''t expect the junior team¡¯s amulet to work which was drawn with neutral strokes, and they are all a little surprised.

    Liu Xing clicked her tongue twice, "You guys are so lucky. Imagine how many points can you sell it in Lazuli." These words simply pointed out a way for Lou Fan to make a fortune.

    Lou Fan: !!!!

    That¡¯s right! This is simply a shortcut to getting rich. This amulet is a paranormal item, which is scarce equipment. There will be people fighting to buy it in Lazuli!

    Lou Fan, Wen Lang, and Jiang Dong looked at each other. They can see the shine of RMB in each other''s eyes. Points ah!!!

    Our treasured Shuyang!

    Liu Xing got frightened by the ferocious light in their eyes and shrank to her sister''s side. The expressions of these people are a little scary. She¡¯s afraid that they might be a little abnormal.

    Chen Changdong, who is completely focused on the darkness, is looking at the black mist not far away. His eyes narrowed and he swung his arm, casting the fishing rod without hesitation. The fishing line with the hook flew as the reel rolls out, falling into darkness in an instant. Immediately, Chen Changdong''s arm tightened. The hook caught something again.

    This time, they can see with the light, and Chen Changdong learned from the experience of the last time. He didn''t panic at all and steadily pulled the fishing rod, swaying it left and right just like fishing. Then he slowly shook the handle to recover the fishing line.

    A mass of black mist separated from the darkness, and then it struggled to retreat back into the darkness.

 CH 60

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 10 team

    Chen Changdong (leader)

    Liu Yue (older sister of the twins)

    Liu Xing (younger sister of the twins)

    Yuan Jin (man with slightly long hair)

    Ma Ming (a short guy) -dead

    Dong Xu (a tall guy)

    Since their target has appeared, everyone puts away their laughter and immediately picks up their spirit weapon. As an archer, Lou Fan is a good player in long-range attacks. He picked up his bow without blinking and shot the spiritual arrows one after another. The arrows flew into the dark and got engulfed, one doesn''t know if it hits anything or not.

    The Level 10 team watched from the side, thinking that Lou Fan would stop shooting soon. After all, there are restrictions on spirit weapons¡¯ usage. No matter how many spiritual arrows he has, he can''t keep shooting out like this. His actions just now were as fierce as a tiger, and he already shot dozens of the spiritual arrows. However, Lou Fan didn''t mean to stop at all. He simply changed direction and continued to shoot, shifting to left and right.

    Liu Yue is a little worried. As Wen Lang is just half a step ahead of her, thinking that the junior team seemed nice to talk with, Liu Yue asked, "Will it be too wasteful for Mr. Lou to use his spiritual arrow like this?"

    No matter how many spiritual arrows there are, it can¡¯t stand letting Lou Fan shoot unlimited like this. Long-range attack weapons are very useful weapons, but unlike their melee weapons, which can be used casually, arrows are consumable items.

    Hearing the question, Wen Lang answered in a nonchalant tone, "Brother Lou''s spiritual arrows are unlimited, he can shoot at will."

    Wen Lang only said it lightly, but he didn''t know that everyone in the Level 10 team heard it. Next, everyone¡¯s gaze at Lou Fan changed.

    What is the concept of unlimited spiritual arrows? It is equivalent to people taking a red potion to recover blood while he is shooting arrows. Then, people are taking a blue potion to recover mana but he is still shooting arrows. When people are meditating to recover blood, he hasn¡¯t stopped shooting arrows¡­[1]

    This ability is a bit overpowered, how can a spirit weapon be like this? They are all at level 10 and yet, they have never heard of such ability before. Moreover, this junior team doesn¡¯t only have this abnormal person, there is also another one who can use a ballpoint pen[2] to draw amulets on his spirit weapon book which actually works. Where can they seniors put their faces?!

    Probably from being shot too many times by Lou Fan''s spiritual arrows, the black mass got separated from the darkness again. This time, the Level 10 team immediately picked up their weapons and swarmed the black mass, not letting it run away again.

    But can the evil spirit be so easy to catch?

    Yuan Jin and Dong Xu rushed to the front but they got injured by the evil spirit not long after, and their bodies are covered in wounds. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong immediately caught up, but they are both long-range players so they couldn''t get too close. Liu Yue and Liu Xing are girls after all, and their weapons are not that powerful. Still, they persisted in attacking in front, with little success, however. After that, with Qin Tan joined in, it immediately relieved their pressure. Qin Tan''s strength is strong, and he can injure the black mass with every slash. It can be seen that the recovery of the slash is getting slower and slower.

    At the back, Lou Fan shoots arrows at every turn. He has his back to the corridor, which is as black as thick ink behind him. All of a sudden, Lou Fan felt a breath of coolness behind him. He is about to turn around immediately, but the black mist instantly wrapped him and pulled him inward. Lou Fan immediately took out the radish flower from his trouser pocket and shredded it, but it is useless! A grip at his shoulder gave him so much pain but he endured it and he shot backward with a backhand motion. Spiritual arrows didn''t need much force to be shot so Lou Fan gritted his teeth and shot an arrow. His shoulders loosened, and when he turned around, Lou Fan couldn¡¯t see anyone around anymore. It is pitch black all around.

    Without a wall to stick on, Lou Fan took out Chen Shuyang''s amulet from his pocket and patted it on his backpack instead. A faint light lit up but the diameter of the lighted area is only about 2 meters. Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time, he felt a little headache about how to return to the other members.

    ¡­

    Seeing that Lou Fan got dragged away, Qin Tan turned around and chased after him. The black mist instantly surrounded Lou Fan. When Qin Tan reached out, he caught nothing. So, he lifted his footsteps and immediately caught up, walking into the darkness.

    "Team leader Qin!" Chen Changdong shouted, but he is unable to stop Qin Tan''s footsteps. He knew how powerful the black fog is. Before that, Ma Ming didn''t even have the time to struggle and already died tragically.

    "Brother Lou, Brother Qin!" Wen Lang shouted but neither of them can be seen anymore. He turned his head to look at Jiang Dong instead. Jiang Dong frowned as he said, "Take care of the evil spirits first, it''s useless for us to go in."

    Wen Lang is a little indecisive now, so he nodded at Jiang Dong¡¯s words, a poker flew out of his hand. Jiang Dong''s hand didn''t stop either, the bandages wrapped around the evil ghost almost making it into a mummy.

    Trapping the evil spirit, Chen Changdong immediately rolled back the fishing line. To be safe, he used the fishing line to circle the evil spirit a few times. An intermediate spirit weapon is different from a primary spirit weapon. The moment his fishing line entangled around the evil spirit, it is immediately tied up and unable to move.

    The remaining 7 people turned to look into the depths of the darkness.

    ¡­

    Qin Tan walked into the darkness but he could not see anything around him, only his Tang sword is emitting a white layer of light. However, he is very calm, and shouted as he walked, "Lou Fan, Lou Fan! Where are you?"

    Qin Tan¡¯s voice is loud, but he didn''t hear the slightest response, as if he is the only one left in this space. Slashing in the air with his Tang sword, he could even feel the sensation of the black mist being split open. Slashing out tirelessly, Qin Tan chopped as he walked forward persistently.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan moved forward, and suddenly he heard someone calling him. He turned his head but saw nothing. When he turned back again, a pair of scarlet eyes appeared just before the tip of his nose, startling him. Lou Fan is about to shoot an arrow when the pair of eyes retracted into the darkness.

    Frick, what the hell was that?! A ghost that is out to scare people?

    After taking a few steps forward again, Lou Fan suddenly saw a figure in the distance facing away from him. That familiar figure, who else if not Qin Tan? Lou Fan immediately became happy and ran forward, shouting, "Qin Tan, I''m here!"

    But when Lou Fan is reaching the figure, he suddenly slowed down and shot an arrow tentatively. Anyway, if it is really Qin Tan, the spiritual arrow would not be able to hit anything. That moment when the spiritual arrow shot into the back of that figure, there seemed to be a low growl in Lou Fan''s ear. The figure turned around, and Lou Fan suddenly shouted curses in his heart!

    That¡¯s not Qin Tan, it is clearly the man who fell and died messily previously!

    Lou Fan immediately stepped back, but the coldness behind him made him feel that things are turning bad. There¡¯s something behind while a ghastly deceased is approaching him at the front. Without hesitation, Lou Fan immediately tore up the immobilizing amulet he had prepared in his hand.

    The surrounding air seemed to freeze. Lou Fan immediately stepped forward and glanced at the immobilized evil spirit behind him. He picked up his bow and kept shooting spiritual arrows at it. Feeling that he almost shot enough, Lou Fan immediately fled the scene.

    A minute passed quickly, and Lou Fan didn''t know where he ran to again. The light from the Yang Gathering Amulet on his backpack is already very weak, and it seemed that it would go out in the next second. With no more immobilizing amulet in his hand, Lou Fan had to keep on high alert. At this moment, he is praying that Chen Shuyang would learn more spells, the more ghost-repelling ones the better. In this kind of close encounter with ghosts, having those weapons is convenient to kill any ghosts encountered.

    On the other hand, it seems that the evil ghost has stopped going around in circles with Lou Fan anymore. A chilly breeze blew over and Lou Fan turned sideways, shooting the arrows. The lethality of his spirit arrows is not high, the advantage is that they are large in number. However, restricted by manpower, Lou Fan can''t shoot multiple spirit arrows at one time. Hence, their lethality to evil spirits is too small.

    Seeing the evil ghost with a bloody mouth coming towards him with murderous scarlet eyes, Lou Fan immediately rolled down. But the evil ghost moved quickly and managed to grab his ankle,  causing his entire calf to be a bloody mess. A chunk of flesh and blood is separated from his leg bone, where the white bones under the flesh could be seen clearly.

    "ARRGH!" Lou Fan exclaimed in pain, unable to hold the bow in his hand.

    Without stopping for a moment, the evil ghost''s claws swiftly stretched out and are about to pierce into Lou Fan¡¯s chest.

    At that moment, Lou Fan thought to himself, even if he is dead, at the very least, Qin Tan must get out of this world.

    All of a sudden, the thick blackness in front of Lou Fan is cut by a stream of air. He turned his head and saw Qin Tan''s galloping figure in his blurred vision.

    "Lou Fan!" Qin Tan roared and rushed over, glaring angrily. He wished he could run faster. Seeing that he is getting closer but the evil ghost''s claws are about to pierce Lou Fan, Qin Tan also tore his immobilizing amulet.

    The ghost claw is only 1 centimeter away from Lou Fan''s chest. Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Next, he fainted from the pain in his leg.

    Qin Tan pulled the man out of the demon''s claws and helped him aside. Lou Fan is horribly wounded, this is the worst injury he''s ever had. At this moment, Qin Tan only regretted that he let Lou Fan follow him tonight. He took out the wound medicine prepared by Jiang Dong and poured it on Lou Fan. But Lou Fan¡¯s calf is quite badly injured so Qin Tan didn''t dare to touch it at all. Fortunately, Lou Fan only passed out and nothing else.

    When the effect of the immobilizing amulet has passed, the evil ghost resumed its movements. It is very annoyed by the repeated misses and the surrounding wind gusted wildly towards the 2 men.

    Qin Tan almost lost Lou Fan so he is feeling extremely displeased at the moment. His movements are hard and fast as he fought with the evil spirit. The evil spirit is ferocious and yet, Qin Tan''s fight became smoother and smoother. There is an indescribable feeling in him, Qin Tan felt that he could even see the movements of the evil spirit clearly. The ruthlessness increased in Qin Tan¡¯s heart. He just wanted to get rid of the evil spirit as soon as possible and help Lou Fan to apply medicine. His movement became faster and faster, almost only his afterimage can be seen. The next moment, a snapping noise sounded in the air, as if a bubble had burst. The Tang sword in Qin Tan''s hand is like red-hot iron, emitting an orange-red light.

    ¡­

    Qin Tan walked out of the corridor with Lou Fan in his arms, the blackness around him gradually faded away, revealing 2 figures.

    Jiang Dong''s eyes widened and he immediately went to Qin Tan. Lou Fan''s condition is very bad. He wanted to carry Lou Fan from Qin Tan¡¯s arms, but Qin Tan didn''t let go. He carried Lou Fan to the circular corridor and put him down on a clean place.

    Taking a glance at Lou Fan, Wen Lang squatted down and asked Jiang Dong, "How is it, is brother Lou alright?" A large piece of flesh is torn off from his calf, and his whole calf is in terrible condition.

    Chen Changdong glanced at Qin Tan who is showing a sullen face but unconsciously looked at the Tang sword behind him. The Tang sword, which looked ordinary just now, now exudes an orange light that can''t be ignored, just like his fishing rod.

    The other members of the Level 10 team looked shocked with widened eyes. Dong Xu leaned into Chen Changdong''s ear and exclaimed in surprise, "Team leader, his spirit weapon has been upgraded!"

    Anyone can see that if they are not blind. But they really did not expect that Qin Tan who is only level 5, has already improved his physique. Even Chen Changdong, he only got the opportunity to improve his physique when he was at level 8. It can only be said that Qin Tan is truly lucky.

    Watching as Jiang Dong treat Lou Fan''s wound, Qin Tan saw Lou Fan frown. When Jiang Dong sprinkled the medicinal powder, Lou Fan¡¯s brows moved again. Qin Tan''s lips moved. He wanted to tell Jiang Dong to move lighter, but he pursed his lips and said nothing in the end. However, his expression turned uglier as time passes, and his eyes are full of distress.

    Knowing that Lou Fan''s life is not in danger anymore, Qin Tan forced himself to turn his head away. Then he said to Chen Changdong, "The evil spirit is inside but there is no more danger. You can go in and clean it up."

    Chen Changdong stared at Qin Tan in astonishment, as if he didn''t understand what he means. After a long while, he came back to his senses. Calling his team members who have yet to come to their senses, they rushed into the hallway.

    in the hallway, the evil spirit shrouded in darkness lay on the ground and Ma Ming''s corpse is there next to it. Chen Changdong released a section of fishing line to entangle the evil spirit, but facing the dead body of his teammate, he didn''t know what to do with it.

    2 evil ghosts are caught in 1 night. Chen Changdong¡¯s team planned to seal them soon to prevent any possible mishaps.

    The author has something to say:

    Lou Fan: Biology mom (authors that are supposed to be nice to their main characters), you make me lose a big chunk of flesh, won''t your conscience hurt?

    Author: Of course it won''t hurt, because I have no conscience.

    Qin Tan: Oh, you have no conscience? (sharpening knife)

    Author: ... If you threaten me again, you won''t have a wife anymore.

    Thank you to the little angel who voted or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~

    Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

 CH 61

    What shocked the Level 10 team is that Qin Tan''s spirit weapon got upgraded. Chen Changdong thought about it for a while and figured it out. No wonder when he said that one¡¯s physique had to improve first, he felt that their expressions looked a bit wrong. So it is because of this. To have improved his physique just at Level 5, and now his spirit weapon has also been upgraded. This person''s potential is too high.

    The other members of the Level 10 team are also surprised at one thing. Before this when they dealt with the evil spirits, their team leader''s fishing line is broken, and Ma Ming died. But Qin Tan wasn''t injured at all, and he also dealt with the evil spirit. Lou Fan''s injury looked serious, but to them, as long as it isn''t fatal, it is considered a minor injury. Therefore, there is also a distinction between spirit weapons.

    On the other side, this ¡®lightly injured patient¡¯ in their eyes now seems to have suffered a fatal injury. Surrounded by the rest of his team members, they keep asking if he is alright and medicines are sprinkled on his leg like it¡¯s free.

    This is the first time Wen Lang saw Lou Fan getting such a serious injury. His hands and feet turned stiff, and he didn''t know where to start to help. Jiang Dong pushed him aside so Wen Lang only squatted down pitifully at the side, frowning.

    After applying the medicine to his leg, Lou Fan felt much better. Looking at Wen Lang''s acting like a ¡®pitiful young daughter-in-law¡¯, he teased him, "Wen Lang, don''t cry. Otherwise, people will think that I wronged you. Then, I won''t be able to explain myself."

    Wen Lang stared at Lou Fan more resentfully, "Brother Lou, who am I worried for? You still tease me?"

    The hand bandaging Lou Fan''s wound suddenly exerted force and Lou Fan hissed. Jiang Dong expressionlessly said, "Your leg is still injured, how do you plan to wrong anyone? Already got caught by the evil spirit but still, you are not being careful. If Qin Tan hadn''t come in to find you, can you make it out alive? Fortunately, I am a surgeon. In case you are not careful next time, like breaking a leg or something, I can help you too."

    Lou Fan bared his teeth. Those who didn''t know will think that Jiang Dong is helping Wen Lang to take revenge. Can you hear that scolding? Lou Fan sighed, "It''s not my fault. No matter how light my body feels or how fast I run, my spirit arrow is not powerful enough. It can¡¯t hurt the evil spirit, what can I do?"

    Lou Fan felt wronged too! He almost thought he couldn''t come out alive. Also, he didn''t dare to say that the reason why he almost got caught in the trap is because he saw Qin Tan.

    Jiang Dong pursed his lips and didn''t speak anymore. It''s really hard to say about spirit weapons. He can''t simply say that it''ll be fine when his spirit weapon got upgraded. Who knows when they will be upgraded?

    Qin Tan, who is squatting beside Lou Fan, squeezed his hand and said, "Don''t worry, there will always be a way to upgrade. We can try other methods."

    This time, Qin Tan got lucky and managed to arrive in time. Next time they are forced to separate, what would they do if the other person is in danger? Hence, the first important thing is to find a way to upgrade their spirit weapon.

    Wen Lang nodded and agreed. Even Lou Fan met with such a dangerous opponent, Wen Lang himself is not as powerful as Lou Fan. So he has to hurry up and find a way to upgrade. There will always be times when he is alone and can only rely on himself.

    The time is late so the team wanted to downstairs first. When Chen Changdong walked up to Qin Tan, he saw Qin Tan carrying Lou Fan on his back. Then he said in a negotiating tone, "Team leader Qin, I wonder if you can go to the B2 floor with us? You don''t need to do anything. We just hope that you can help out in case something happens. If nothing happens, you can consider it as accompanying us for a walk. Don¡¯t worry, we can pay in points." Chen Changdong doesn¡¯t sound confident when he said that.

    But Qin Tan answered coldly, "We have a wounded member in our team, so I''m afraid I can''t accompany Team leader Chen on this trip. You have the master''s amulet and the white crystal in your hands, so you should be fine."

    Their team is a Level 10 team, so it¡¯s impossible that they don¡¯t have any life-saving items in their hands.

    Since Qin Tan refused firmly, Chen Changdong couldn''t say anything else. They are already a Level 10 team. If they insisted on a Level 5 passenger[1] to help, then it would be a shame on their team.

    When the group is back on the 1st floor, the evil spirit entangled in the fishing line began to struggle violently. Fortunately, the fishing line is strong enough. Without further delay, Chen Changdong took out a stick of incense from his bag and it looked very ordinary. After lighting it, he swished by in front of the evil spirits. The evil spirits who were struggling just now suddenly stopped moving. Chen Changdong handed the incense to Liu Yue and instructed her to take it. The smoke wafting from the incense formed a thin line in the air, and evil ghosts lined up. They walked a few steps in front of Liu Yue along the thin line and stopped.

    Lou Fan stared at the other team¡¯s equipment, which looked much better than the ghost whip in his hand. Other people¡¯s items can do group attacks, while his item can only do a single attack. The difference is just that big. Lou Fan glanced at his injured leg. If he is not injured, he could help out with the Level 10 team. Maybe, he could trick 2 sticks of this incense from them, then that would be great. Unfortunately, he is now an injured person!

    How irritating!

    When Chen Changdong is ready, he took his team members and said goodbye to the junior team. After that, the group of 5 people went to the B2 floor.

    When Lou Fan is carried into the lounge by Qin Tan, Chen Shuyang got stunned for a moment. Next, he immediately jumped up and asked, "Brother Lou, what''s the matter with you?" He looked down and saw a layer of gauze wrapped around Lou Fan''s feet. Quickly, he helped Lou Fan down from Qin Tan and supported him to sit down.

    Seeing the anxious look on Chen Shuyang¡¯s face, Lou Fan is about to speak when Wen Lang opened his mouth and started talking about what he knew. Of course, he could only briefly tell the others about what happened to Lou Fan, but he could also feel the danger from that.

    Lou Fan accepted the glass of water from Qin Tan and listened to Wen Lang¡¯s story as if it is someone else''s story. He heard it with gusto and wished he had a plate of melon seeds so he could eat while listening.

    After listening to Wen Lang''s words, Chen Shuyang blamed himself, "If only I could draw more spells with other effects, then maybe Brother Lou won''t be hurt. That¡¯s the least I can do to help a little bit."

    Lou Fan stopped Chen Shuyang immediately, "Don''t blame yourself. How can you put everything on yourself? Your Yang Gathering Amulet has helped a lot, but you''re right about continuing the lesson. Learn a little bit more, we give our full support for that. You are a man who is going to be our money tree. Go and learn a few more amulets, it is best if you could learn all of them. In this way, we will not be so worried about you when we go to other spiritual mission worlds in the future."

    Chen Shuyang pondered for a while, then clenched his fists. He assured, "Don''t worry, Brother Lou. I will definitely learn more, and try to learn everything that the masters know. Even if I can''t learn it, I will bring some materials back to study for myself."

    Lou Fan nodded quickly and agreed.

    ¡­

    With the Yang Gathering Amulet and the white crystal given by the master, the Level 10 team felt a lot more confident. Walking down the stairs to the B2 floor, Chen Changdong put the Yang Gathering Amulet in his hand and prepared to stick it at the entrance later, so as not to get lost on the B2 floor. The white crystal is held in his hand to block the yin aura. He also had a Bagua mirror in his hand, and he gave it to Liu Yue to hold. She is carrying the incense so if the evil spirits break away, she would be the first to be injured.

    Chen Changdong whispered a few words of reminder before taking a deep breath. Then, he led the team into the B2 floor again. He turned around and stuck the Yang Gathering Amulet on the wall, and the white crystal in his hand gradually shone with a little white light. The overhead light slowly changed from a dim light spot to a normal lighting brightness. Then, the entire B2 floor appeared dimly in front of them.

    Walking at the back, Liu Yue gently pulled Liu Xing''s hand and stuck the Bagua mirror into her palm. Seeing that Liu Xing turned her head to see her and is about to speak, Liu Yue pushed her lightly and raised a finger to her lips to signal Liu Xing to keep quiet.

    Liu Xing fixed a glance at her older sister and squeezed the mirror in her hand tightly. Then she paused at her steps and waited for her sister to catch up before walking again.

    Though the yin aura of the B2 floor has been dissipated, the light is still not very good. Not sure if it is the standard configuration of the haunted atmosphere or something else, the lights are too dim. They flicker from time to time, fitting the horror atmosphere just right.

    Liu Xing held her breath. Even her feet are soft, but she doesn¡¯t dare to make a sound. This time, she didn''t dare to reach out and grab anyone¡¯s hands for fear that if she caught something strange again. Then she would frighten herself to death first. Though she had experienced several supernatural worlds, this kind of shock still challenges her psychological endurance.

    The space on the B2 floor is very large. Chen Changdong could only choose one direction to go. Thinking that there are 8 coffins placed on this floor, they are bound to meet one no matter which direction.

    The yin aura is too heavy, and the strands of yang aura stored in the white crystal are dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Chen Changdong got a little anxious for a while. They must settle this as soon as possible, and he cannot lose any more team members.

    Not far away, they saw a rectangular-shaped thing. Chen Changdong is overjoyed because they found a coffin. He raised his hand to signal the others then immediately accelerated his pace and walked over there. Afraid of unexpected situations happening, Chen Changdong slowed down as he approached the coffin, his actions cautious. The coffin is closed so Chen Changdong beckoned Yuan Jin and Dong Xu to come and help. The two stood on the edge of the coffin and nodded to Chen Changdong to indicate that they are ready. Chen Changdong silently counted and raised his fingers.

    1, 2, 3!

    The lid of the coffin fell to the ground with a bang but Chen Changdong didn''t even look at it. He is staring at the inside of the coffin. It is empty and there is nothing inside. Chen Changdong breathed a sigh of relief and took the incense from Liu Yue. With the item, he directed one of the evil spirits into the coffin. Just as he is about to ask Yuan Jin and Dong Xu to close the lid, the evil ghost that has returned to the coffin suddenly opened its eyes. Its scarlet eyes seemed to be dripping with blood in the darkness.

    Yuan Jin and Dong Xu¡¯s hands trembled and almost couldn¡¯t hold the lid properly. After they realized that the ghost is breaking away, they immediately wanted to put the lid on the coffin but the evil spirit struggled fiercely. Seeing that it is about to break free from the fishing line in the next second, Chen Changdong pounced on the coffin lid and held it down. After that, he took out the sealing amulet from his pocket and slapped it down.

    The coffin is sealed tight as if it is nailed down with a nail. The evil spirit struggled inside, but couldn''t shake it open at all. After a while, there is no movement inside. The 5 people nervously breathed a sigh of relief.

    Dong Xu tapped the coffin lid with a smile, "It''s useless to struggle, don''t waste your energy."

    Yuan Jin wiped away the sweat on his forehead and spat at Dong Xu, "Whose face turned white from fright just now?"

    Dong Xu snorted and turned his head to look at Liu Xing, who is laughing softly. He suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "Liu Xing, get out of the way!"

    Hearing that, Liu Yue responded quickly. She grabbed Liu Xing and they squatted down. Next, she slashed out with a wave of her folding fan. Liu Xing also reacted. She happened to see the evil ghost behind her half-breaking away from the fishing line. Its claws wrapped in yin aura are about to catch Liu Yue. She bit her lip, took out the Bagua mirror, and blocked it in front of Liu Yue.

    The ghostly claw slashed at her arm, and a scream burst out from her mouth.

    "AHH!"

    Chen Changdong immediately threw out his fishing line. While the evil spirit is stunned by the Bagua mirror, he quickly tied the evil spirit around. This is the evil ghost he caught before. The evil ghost that Qin Tan knocked down has been sealed in the coffin earlier.

 CH 62

    Liu Xing lost an arm. Bright red blood flowed out from the decapitated part and the arm is on the ground not far away. Liu Xing covered her arm, her face is pale without a tint of blood.

    Liu Yue''s expression is full of anxiety. She hurriedly took out the medicinal powder from her bag and sprinkled it on the wound. Then, she took out a bandage and wrapped it around the wound. As for Liu Xing, she is in too much pain to say anything.

    Liu Yue: "Team leader, Liu Xing is hurt too badly, I..." She pursed her lips and looked at Chen Changdong with an embarrassed expression.

    Chen Changdong looked at Liu Xing and asked, "Liu Xing, can you hold on? If not, let''s go back first." That''s what he said, but they would lose this opportunity to seal the ghost, as well as the white crystal they specially collected, so it''s not worth it to leave now.

    Liu Xing seemed to be sensible all of a sudden. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, her voice weak but firm, "No need, team leader. I can still hold on. You guys go to seal the ghost first, don''t waste time." After speaking, she looked firmly at Liu Yue.

    Liu Yue understood the meaning in Liu Xing''s eyes. Enduring her emotions, she said to Chen Changdong, "Team leader, Liu Xing is right. Let''s seal the evil spirit first."

    It is rare for Liu Xing to be sensible. No matter what, she is a member of his team. Chen Changdong also felt very relieved. He comforted her with a few words and asked her to follow the team closely. They have to be careful, it would be even more dangerous if she is left alone here to rest.

    Liu Yue supported Liu Xing and followed behind the team. She asked in a low voice, "Xiao Xing, how are you feeling? Does it hurt a lot?" Her voice is choked, she looked more uncomfortable than Liu Xing who lost an arm. It is her failure to protect Xiao Xing that caused Xiao Xing to suffer.

    "Sister, I''m fine." Liu Xing calmed down and smiled bitterly, "Sister, don''t blame yourself. It''s not your responsibility to protect me. I can''t hide behind you all the time and let you protect me from danger."

    Before, Liu Xing had been reluctant to face the reality and wanted to hide behind her sister, but the world is so dangerous. She could see that Lou Fan is also very powerful, but once caught by the evil spirit, even he lost a chunk of his flesh. If she also met with danger in the future and ended up dragging her sister behind, neither of them would survive in the end.

    The team of 5 people moved a lot faster this time. When they found the coffin, they quickly shoved the evil spirit inside. No matter how hard it struggled, Chen Changdong swiftly slapped the sealing amulet and immediately waved everyone to evacuate.

    The wound on Liu Xing''s arm is too large and still bleeding. The yang aura in the white crystal has almost dissipated. Even the Yang Gathering Amulet not far away, is looking dim with only a little light left. It is about to be swallowed up by the yin aura. The team didn''t dare to delay any longer and immediately ran towards the stairs. Because Liu Xing is injured, Dong Xu carried her on his back and ran to the exit without saying a word.

    When they reached the wall where the Yang Gathering Amulet is stuck, the white crystal in their hands stopped glowing like a light bulb that suddenly went out. The Yang Gathering Amulet also went out immediately. The entire B2 floor fell into darkness again, and gusts of chilly wind is roaring from behind.

    Back on the 1st floor, the team of 5 people breathed a sigh of relief. The eerie wind just now seemed to want to swallow them all. Their current appearance is a bit sad as they returned to the lounge while supporting Liu Xing.

    In the lounge, except for Qin Tan, who is on vigil duty, everyone else is asleep. Hearing the sound, he immediately opened his eyes vigilantly and looked towards the door, only to find that the Level 10 team has returned. Hearing the sound, Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang only changed their sleeping pose and continued to sleep. Jiang Dong, on the other hand, moved his stiff neck and got up to check Lou Fan''s wound. Checking that there is nothing wrong, he went back to the wall which he was leaning on earlier and continued to sleep.

    Lou Fan also woke up. He looked at Liu Xing who is being helped in with a deadly pale face. Seeing that she lost an arm, Lou Fan immediately called Jiang Dong. Jiang Dong is a doctor after all. As their teams are getting along pretty well, they couldn¡¯t just watch by the side when someone is suffering from such a terrible wound.

    Jiang Dong got up again. He walked to Liu Xing and squatted down. Taking off the bandage that Liu Yue had wrapped up before, he checked the wound and frowned. Suddenly, someone handed a set of simple tools to him. He looked up and saw Liu Yue''s nervous look. Jiang Dong accepted the tools and took out the surgical blade and disinfectant from it. First, he removed the rotten flesh around the wound. The area that got scratched by ghosts is already turning faintly black. Next, he sprayed the area with disinfectant. The disinfectant irritated the wound, causing Liu Xing to exhale in a low voice. But she gritted tightly on her lips, causing bloody teeth marks on her lips.

    Liu Yue watched Jiang Dong''s neat and meticulous movements. Her mouth moved, but she didn''t say anything. After Jiang Dong finished cleaning the wound, she handed the medicine in her hand to him and explained the effect of the medicine. She saw Jiang Dong look at the medicine bottle silently for a few seconds and then looked at Lou Fan. However, he didn''t say anything and sprinkled it on Liu Xing¡¯s wound before wrapping it with a bandage.

    On the side, Qin Tan heard what Liu Yue said about the effect of the medicine - stopping bleeding and promoting muscle growth. Right now, Lou Fan''s leg has only stopped bleeding. They didn''t bring high-level medicine this time, so it is just a basic medicine and doesn¡¯t have extra functions like muscle growth. At this moment, Qin Tan feels a little regretful that they didn¡¯t exchange for better medicine.

    "Team leader Chen, can we discuss something?" Qin Tan asked Chen Changdong.

    Chen Changdong looked up at Qin Tan and immediately said, "You can say it."

    "Can you give me a bit of your medicine?" Qin Tan then added, "I will give you points for it and you can double the price."

    A small bottle of this medicine needs 10,000 points to redeem at Lazuli, which is considered expensive in the eyes of ordinary people. But Qin Tan doesn''t care even if the price is tripled or quadrupled.

    Chen Changdong is stunned for a moment by the question. Then, he suddenly remembered that Lou Fan is currently injured and he forgot to offer the medicine to them. Though Qin Tan caught an evil ghost for Lou Fan''s sake, but Qin Tan only went there at his request, which is a big help to them. Chen Changdong smiled stiffly and immediately took out the wound medicine. Handed it to Qin Tan, he said, "Don''t say that, Team leader Qin. Please take it to heal Lou Fan¡¯s injury. I was busy dealing with evil spirits earlier and forgot to take it out."

    Qin Tan nodded and took it, thanked him very politely. He didn''t think it is wrong for Chen Changdong to not take out the medicine. After all, medicines are scarce items. For example, this time they prepared too little and were not detailed enough. He handed the medicine to Jiang Dong and said, "Change the medicine for Lou Fan."

    Jiang Dong took the medicine and immediately went to attend to Lou Fan¡¯s wound. The effect of this medicine is indeed much better than what they brought. Jiang Dong regretted that he didn''t study the medicine category well. You get what you pay for.

    When the bandage on Lou Fan''s calf is taken off by Jiang Dong, he can see that the blood had stopped long ago, but the wound is still a hole with a large piece of flesh missing, which looked horrible. Jiang Dong cleaned the wound again before applying the medicine. The wound started to recover slowly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the newly grown flesh inside could be seen clearly. Lou Fan thought in his heart that this medicine is incredible, and Lazuli¡¯s power is sure going against the sky (overpowered). If this medicine is brought back to his world, it is conceivable how much sensation it will cause.

    Qin Tan walked over and looked at Lou Fan¡¯s wound. After that, he let Jiang Dong bandage it, and looked directly at Lou Fan, "Have a good rest and don''t think about running around."

    Lou Fan, who is thinking about being able to move freely tomorrow: ¡­

    Hey, don''t discriminate against the wounded like that. He will be fine tomorrow morning.

    Lou Fan raised his head and looked at Qin Tan, deliberately showing a pitiful look, "Team leader Qin, if I can walk with no problem tomorrow, I can run around everywhere, right? Isn¡¯t the flesh already fully grown now?"

    Qin Tan didn''t look at Lou Fan¡¯s expression, and insisted coldly, "No, you have to take another day off, there is no more discussion for this."

    Tsk, acting pitiful doesn¡¯t work. You can''t ask him to perform a live show of acting coquettishly here, right?

    After the 2 wounded people are treated, the Level 10 team members went to the side to rest. Everyone is tired from running around all day and exhausted that they fell asleep within 2 minutes. For a while, the staff lounge became quiet at night except for the sound of breathing and occasional snoring.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan stepped on the ground and jumped on the spot a few times. His calf is back to normal as before, and there is no difference at all. It is impossible to know that his calf has almost turned into a skeleton state yesterday.

    Early in the morning, the eminent monk assigned them tasks. They are to go to the shop with the yellow amulet stuck to its wall and pick up a bag of glutinous rice that he had placed in it in advance. This is the prop he will use to deal with the last ghost, the evil ghost king.

    "Wait, why is there a ghost king?" Wen Lang said. "The evil ghosts are hard enough to deal with."

    Their task is to protect the monk and prevent the 8th person from falling from the building. But because the eminent monk is going to deal with the evil ghosts, it means that they have to deal with evil ghosts as well. A battle is inevitable. Suddenly, they are told that a ghost king will appear, which is not a good thing to hear.

    The eminent monk chanted the Buddha''s name and said, "The last evil ghost, the ghost king is the embodiment of the yin aura of the 7 evil ghosts gathered together. If the 8th person''s sacrifice is obtained, it will eventually become a serious problem. Therefore, we must prevent the 8th person from falling from the building and dying. I figured out that the evil ghost king will definitely act on the night of the lunar eclipse so everyone must be vigilant."

    After the monk said this, everyone understood that if all 7 evil ghosts are sealed, the evil ghost king would appear. And if they don''t manage to seal the 7 ghosts, they will face the 8th evil ghost together. The level 10 team will have to try to seal all 8 ghosts at the same time too[1]. This sounds like an impossible task. It is better to seal all 7 ghosts and then 2 teams work together to deal with the evil ghost king, then there is a chance for them to win.

    The next day, Qin Tan did not allow Lou Fan to participate in the operation and asked him to guard the eminent monk, intending to take Chen Shuyang out instead.

    "Isn''t Shuyang going to learn spells from the master? I''m still waiting for the time when we return to Lazuli to sell them for points." Lou Fan asked.

    Hearing that, Chen Shuyang looked frustrated and aggrieved, "The master said that he has already taught me everything he can teach, and asked me to practice drawing these 5 types of spells. No matter what I say, he will not teach me any more."

    Qin Tan: "This should be Lazuli''s rule. It won''t make Shuyang''s spirit weapon too powerful so there is a restriction."

    Lou Fan is helpless. This simply cut off his back path and prevented him from following the team¡¯s task today. Looking at the 4 pairs of eyes giving him a look of disapproval, Lou Fan could only compromise. He waved his hand, "Don''t look at me like that. You guys go ahead and I''ll be the master¡¯s bodyguard today." After a pause, he instructed, "Be careful and take care of Shuyang. He is my treasure."

    Chen-Treasure-Shuyang turned to look at Qin Tan nervously, giving him a look that says, ¡®Team leader, he is talking nonsense, don''t take it seriously!¡¯

    Qin Tan glared at Lou Fan and went out with the other team members. When he walked to the door, he turned back and said, "Watch the master properly, and you should rest well. It''s best not to go out of this door."

    Those eyes looked a little cold, and Lou Fan could probably see what it meant - If you dared to go out and run around, I¡¯ll deal with you after I come back.

    Lou Fan squinted at Qin Tan''s back as he walked out. He had a feeling that Qin Tan has become a little different after he got injured yesterday. Lou Fan felt a little weak at the knee from Qin Tan¡¯s gaze

    Raw word count: 3009

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 CH 63

    Lou Fan is still reminiscing about the change in Qin Tan''s eyes and Qin Tan had already led his other members to the 5th floor. Their team had already gone to the 5th floor before and that¡¯s where Chen Shuyang has seen a shop with a yellow amulet on it, so their first target is that shop.

    Reaching the 5th floor, they can see that the whole floor is dark and filled with yin aura, but this time Chen Shuyang is not afraid at all. He pasted Yang Gathering amulets on the wall as he walked. The thick black yin aura began to slowly recede.

    Wen Lang patted Chen Shuyang''s shoulder with a smile, "That¡¯s great, Shuyang. This time, you can finally hold your head high and maximize the use of your strength. It¡¯s too bad that your talent got buried before this."

    Chen Shuyang grimaced and rubbed his shoulders in pain, "Speak properly and don¡¯t use actions. I''m a technical team member so don''t use force on me."

    Jiang Dong also laughed, "Yes, you are a technical team member, and your identity as the top student is going strong."

    Qin Tan looked around and found nothing unusual. Hearing the conversation, he also turned around to encourage Chen Shuyang, "Shuyang, you should practice hard. Practice makes perfect and you will reap greater benefits in the future."

    Chen Shuyang¡¯s situation is like he has unlocked his skills. Before this, he thought his spirit weapon is weak but who dares to say this to him now. Chen Shuyang felt that his future is limitless. His spirit weapon can be used to deal with supernatural beings. As for physical attacks, he can exchange any weapons from Lazuli as long as they have points.

    "I will definitely work hard." Chen Shuyang scratched his head and added, "I will definitely contribute more to our team in the future."

    Although Chen Shuyang only knows a few spells now, but in the future, in other spiritual mission worlds, he will try to collect more information regarding spells. He will definitely find more spells and learn them for his own use.

    Walking along the shop in Chen Shuyang''s memory, they soon saw a yellow amulet on the side wall of a shop. This yellow amulet seems to have been pasted for a long time as the color has faded. The yellow paper has faded to white while the cinnabar on it has lost its dark red luster. Wen Lang stuck his head out and peered in from the side. He could see a person inside with his head down and motionless. After observing for a long time, Wen Lang finally found a cloth bag in the corner. Like the eminent monk said, it should be the glutinous rice.

    "Hey, shopkeeper." Wen Lang called out.

    Jiang Dong casually threw a small crystal he had at hand, just hitting the man''s lowered head. The man slowly raised his head. On the face of the middle-aged man, his pair of eyes is almost white, leaving only a little bit of pupil inside, and his complexion is deadly pale.

    "Frick, why does this look like the zombies on TV?" Wen Lang widened his eyes, watching the man stand up and walk staggeringly towards them.

    Qin Tan with Tang sword in hand, warned his team members, "Finish him right away, he should have been corroded by the yin aura. Be careful."

    The other members responded with acknowledgment. Chen Shuyang stood on the outermost side, ready to sneak in to get the glutinous rice when his team members are dealing with the shopkeeper. Wen Lang held the poker in his hand and took the position as the long-range attacker. Jiang Dong reached out and released the bandage, wrapping it around the shopkeeper. Probably because the man has been swallowed up by yin aura, the owner is very strong. He struggled hard to shake off the bindings, and the bandages seemed to be loosening.

    Qin Tan''s figure flashed, and he immediately appeared at the owner''s side. Without hesitation, he swung down with the Tang sword in his hand...

    Wen Lang, Jiang Dong, Chen Shuyang: ¡­

    Chen Shuyang was going to sneakily get the glutinous rice, but Brother Qin launched an attack, and the zombie shopkeeper instantly got chopped into 2 halves. All right, without saying anything, he stepped directly over the shopkeeper, then bent down and picked up the glutinous rice bag in the corner.

    Wen Lang lazily put away his poker and said, "Brother Qin, the rest is left to you. There is no room for us to take action anymore!"

    Qin Tan put away his Tang sword and swept his cold eyes towards Wen Lang, "I won''t take any actions after this, I''ll leave it to you three."

    Chen Shuyang took out the spear on his back and held it in his hand, "Okay, leave it to us, Brother Qin."

    Wen Lang wanted to cover Chen Shuyang¡¯s mouth when he opened his mouth, but unfortunately, it didn''t work, the words had already been said. So, Wen Lang can only glare at Chen Shuyang, ¡®Why are you talking nonsense?¡¯

    Jiang Dong walked over to Wen Lang and kicked him lightly, motioning him to shut up. Then he lifted his chin towards Qin Tan. Wen Lang didn''t dare to lift his head, pretended not to care. He put his hand on Chen Shuyang''s shoulder, acting like they are good brothers.

    "Shuyang, you''re right. This kind of trivial matter should be left to us, there''s no need for Brother Qin to take action."

    Jiang Dong almost wanted to kneel by this man''s shameless character. He turned his head and saw Qin Tan half-smiling. So, Jiang Dong lets Wen Lang do whatever he wanted to do. The temperament of the 2 fools in their team is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

    It is not easy to find 8 shops with yellow amulets in such a large shopping mall, but they only spent some time looking for the shops. Fortunately, there is a lot of time, so they don''t need to be in a hurry. As for the zombie-like shopkeepers, Chen Shuyang found that even if he only used a long spear, he could attack as well. So he let go of his inhibitions and attacked. With Qin Tan watching from behind, he is not afraid at all.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan is feeling bored with his duty and looked at his bow. He can¡¯t understand, why didn''t his spirit weapon upgrade? In that kind of life-and-death situation, Qin Tan instead upgraded the spirit weapon to save him. As the main person in that situation, he almost died under the claws of a ghost but his spirit weapon didn''t even give a fart.

    This is unscientific!

    Is it because his physique is not as good as Qin Tan''s? Qin Tan did eat the one and only snake essence pill. It is possible that Qin Tan''s physique has improved higher than his. Lou Fan sighed, being behind Qin Tan makes him unhappy. Even though the other party had the closest relationship with him, he still felt unhappy because he is a level lower.

    Suddenly, the sound of the master chanting scriptures sounded in the room. Lou Fan turned his head to look over and saw the master kneeling on the praying mat. One of his hands is positioned in front of his chest while the other hand is turning the beads, his eyes closed and his face serene. Obscure Sanskrit scriptures are being chanted, calming Lou Fan¡¯s heart that was still a little anxious just now. He yawned and closed his eyes slowly.

    It is dark all around and Lou Fan looked around, a piece of dead silence. Vaguely, there is a light spot in the distance so Lou Fan walked toward that light spot. However, after walking for a long time, the light spot is still so small and he is not getting nearer at all. Feeling a little anxious, Lou Fan accelerated his steps. There seemed to be something binding him in the darkness. He only felt that his hands and feet are bound. Gradually, something wrapped around his body, binding him tightly. Soon, he couldn''t breathe.

    "Huff huff huff..."

    Lou Fan is breathing heavily, like a fish thrown ashore, about to suffocate. Then, he heard someone reciting something. The whispers went into his ears, and his thoughts that were almost cut off just now gradually became clearer.

    When the heart and mind are clear, there is no need to seek for enlightenment.

    When the heart and mind are clear, there is no need to seek for enlightenment.

    When the heart and mind are clear, there is no need to seek for enlightenment.

    In a trance, a sentence got into Lou Fan¡¯s mind, and a sudden burst of light appeared in his mind. It slowly expanded, and the light instantly dispelled the darkness. It is as if he is thrown back into the water again, and his breathing became smoother...

    Lou Fan opened his eyes and found out that he is still inside the staff lounge. He turned his head and looked at the master who smiled kindly at him. Then, he felt some heat on the palm of his hand. Looking down, he realized that the bow he held in his hand is emitting an orange-red light.

    ¡­

    When Chen Changdong and his team members returned with their tired bodies, they saw the bow in Lou Fan''s hand, and the whole team felt terrible. They only went out for a moment so how could this person''s spirit weapon get upgraded suddenly? There¡¯s only Lou Fan and the master in the lounge, and the rest of the junior team are still outside looking for glutinous rice, so how did the spirit weapon gets upgraded?

    No matter how one looks at it, it feels unbelievable.

    Just as Chen Changdong is about to speak, Qin Tan and the others returned to the staff lounge. When they pushed the door open, Lou Fan turned to look at them with joy.

    "What''s wrong with you, Brother Lou? Why is your smile so wretched?" Wen Lang saw Lou Fan''s smile and felt a chill. Chen Shuyang is too tired to speak, so he sat down and gasped for air as he looked at them.

    Qin Tan noticed the difference immediately, and asked in surprise, "Your spirit weapon has been upgraded?"

    Lou Fan nodded and waved the bow in his hand. It is exuding a warm orange glow, a nice sight to see. "Master was chanting scripture and I had a dream. After that, my bow got upgraded." He pointed to his bow.

    Chen Changdong didn''t know what to say anymore. Such a big thing but it sounded simple like it¡¯s just a dream when Lou Fan said it.

    So infuriating!

    The other members other than Qin Tan finally reacted at this time. They don¡¯t care about rest anymore and surrounded Lou Fan to look at the bow.

    "My God, I worked so hard to kill zombies, but I don¡¯t see mine getting a level up?"

    Chen Shuyang also felt wronged as he said, "My arm hurts from attacking with my spear the whole day."

    On the other side, Jiang Dong is a little speechless as well. He probably used his bandage for dozens of meters already. But did he say anything? He didn''t!

    Chen Changdong''s team members are feeling even more aggrieved. It wasn¡¯t easy for them to make a living under the evil spirits but they saw nobody getting an upgrade! Only Chen Changdong looked at Lou Fan while thinking in his heart, he didn''t expect that in this junior team, there are someone besides Qin Tan who also improved their physique. He remembered that Lou Fan should be a level lower than Qin Tan. This junior team, what actually happened to them? What mission worlds do they go to and what kind of fateful encounters have they got?

    Lou Fan had to appease his teammates and then announced that he will try out his upgraded spirit weapon tomorrow to see what difference it has from the previous bow. Hence, it would be more appropriate to let Chen Shuyang guard the master instead. Qin Tan agreed and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Lou Fan''s spirit weapon being upgraded can be considered a lot of relief. As for the others, It really depends on their fate. A life-or-death moment or an epiphany, not everyone can get it.

    These words came from Chen Changdong''s mouth. Of course, Chen Changdong himself knew best that this kind of thing could not be forced. Telling his teammates to sit down and get some rest, he went over to congratulate Lou Fan, and Lou Fan also politely said a few words.

    "It¡¯s all thanks to Team leader Chen for imparting the knowledge to us. Otherwise, we may not encounter such an opportunity. Maybe the master''s chanting scriptures will only make me drowsy."

    This is just Lou Fan being polite and Chen Changdong repeatedly said that Lou Fan has this ability himself to start with; quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes.

    Since their team has used the Yang Gathering Amulet for today, Chen Changdong planned to ask the master to give them some more. However, this time he didn''t know what is going on. The master turned a deaf ear to his words, just like the first time.

    Chen Shuyang is listening on the side. The master is now his master, which he thought so in his heart. He said to Chen Changdong, "Team leader Chen, maybe the master has limited energy. You must know that drawing amulets is also very labor-intensive. How about this? If you don''t mind, I will give you some that I have drawn?"

    Since the master didn¡¯t respond to him, Chen Changdong was thinking about the possibility of relying on only the white crystal to the B2 floor to seal the evil spirits when Chen Shuyang gave him a solution. He has forgotten that there is a BUG[1] here called Chen Shuyang.

    "It would be great if this little brother could help."

    Chen Changdong¡¯s team also saw how Lou Fan used Chen Shuyang''s Yang Gathering Amulet before. Although the effect is not as good as the master''s amulets, it still had half of the master''s power. It¡¯ll be fine with extra few more amulets.

    With a smile, Chen Shuyang tore off several Yang Gathering Amulets he had drawn from his spirit book and handed them to Chen Changdong, "I will charge you only 1,000 points per piece. This is a friendship price. Welcome to visit me again."

    The author has something to say:

    Chen Changdong: The f......&@£¤#*#%

    Thank you to the little angel who voted or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~

    Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

 CH 64

    Chen Changdong: ¡­

    Chen Changdong felt like he is defeated by this team. People want life not money, but they want money instead of life, a¡¯ight?! Everyone in that team, the moment they opened their mouth is to talk about points, why don''t they go out and rob instead?! No, this is a robbery, or should he say a daylight robbery! But, so what? He still has to obediently pull out his wallet and let others take it. Moreover, he has to say, "How much do you want? Just to take at will. If it''s not enough, I still have some here."

    Bah, why is his situation so pitiful?

    Lou Fan quietly gave Chen Shuyang a thumbs up. He did a beautiful job. For their first business, they need to leave a good impression and not ask for too high a price. After all, their business reputation is not up there yet, so they can do this slowly. They can''t scare away their customers. These are long-term businesses.

    Chen Changdong didn''t know what Lou Fan was thinking. But if he knew, he would probably vomit blood. Chen Shuyang''s asking price is not high indeed. It¡¯s only 1,000 points. What can he buy with 1,000 points at Lazuli? Those items are nothing usable at moments like this, okay? So, with 1,000 points to buy a Yang Gathering Amulet, it can be considered that they got a bargain.

    Chen Changdong accepted the offer and transferred the payment. Upon receiving the goods, he put the Yang Gathering Amulet in his bag. After thinking about it, he bought a few other amulets from Chen Shuyang. He wanted to keep them around just in case.

    Chen Shuyang smiled so widely that his eyes cannot be seen anymore. Inside, he is secretly calculating the points he had earned. Now, he is also someone who can earn points. Selling charms to earns points, and he can draw a lot to sell too.

    Earlier, Chen Shuyang was immersed in the great joy of the Lou Fan¡¯s spirit weapon being upgraded, and now he has earned points for the team. Chen Shuyang can''t wait to act like a rich person, waving his hand and taking his teammates to eat a nice meal in a restaurant. But the reality is that they are trapped in the mall and can''t get out. Moreover, the people in the mall are very weird, and they don''t want to risk eating here. Chen Shuyang had a sense of melancholy that he suddenly made a fortune, but didn''t know how to spend it. It is really frustrating him to death.

    ¡­

    On the 10th day of coming here, the 7th person who fell from the building died. He died in a tragic and terrifying state. During this period, Lou Fan has adapted to his upgraded bow and could shoot up to 3 spiritual arrows at a time, which he could control them. Moreover, every time he dealt with evil spirits, he could feel that the spiritual arrows had the function of purifying the spirits. Not sure if it is because he had an epiphany by relying on the master''s chanting of Buddhist scriptures, so that¡¯s why there is a power of purification in it.

    On the other hand, Lou Fan found 4 sets of attribute crystals, several other crystals, and 5 white crystals in the shopping mall, which can be said to be quite rewarding. And although the amulet drawn by Chen Shuyang is not as good as the one he exchanged with other passengers in Lazuli, it can be considered a substitute nonetheless.

    After the 7th person fell from the building, the Level 10 team sealed the 7th evil spirit that appeared, and both teams began to nervously prepare for the final battle. Chen Changdong felt that his team is actually lucky this time. The fact that the junior team had 2 members with intermediate spirit weapons helped them a lot. It gave him a little more confidence to pass this mission world.

    The master carried a bunch of his own things and followed both teams out of the staff lounge. They planned to go to the 5th floor and wait for the final evil spirit. After all, the yin aura is the thickest there every time.

    Following behind, Lou Fan looked at the master¡¯s casual and easy attitude. Then he remembered the master¡¯s indifferent face before going out of the staff lounge. There seems to be an unusual feeling to it. He inadvertently glanced at the black watch on his wrist and suddenly paused. Looking at the back of the master''s head, Lou Fan got frightened by the unbelievable thought that came to his mind.

    Their task is to prevent the death of the 8th person to fall and protect the eminent monk. Could it be that the master is the 8th person who is about to fall from the building? Therefore, their tasks seem to be made up of 2 different tasks, but they are actually the same task. If this is the case, then the importance of the master is self-evident.

    Lou Fan shivered inexplicably from head to toe and his heart trembled from the chill. What happens when the master dies? Lou Fan didn''t dare to think about it, and immediately took a few steps forward, pulling Qin Tan back to speak. His serious expression made the other three members nervously lean over. After hearing Lou Fan¡¯s thoughts, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong immediately walked up to the master¡¯s side to stand guard.

    Lou Fan discussed with Qin Tan that no matter what happens, protecting the master is the first priority. The evil ghost king is, in a sense, the Level 10 team¡¯s task and they can help as much as they can if needed. However, the premise is that the evil ghost king will not seek trouble with the master. As long as they successfully prevent the evil ghost king from killing the master before the mission time ends, their task is completed.

    Lou Fan silently counted in his heart that there are still 2 days left to go back to Lazuli. If they can''t kill the ghost king within these 2 days, will they be able to survive until the time to go back? If the ghost king is not killed, then the Level 10 team¡¯s mission will definitely not be completed...

    Lou Fan looked at the Level 10 team with a complicated gaze. This world is so cruel and one could only speak with their strength. If not enough strength, then their ending is to be obliterated.

    ¡­

    While speaking, the group of people reached the circular atrium in the middle. Instantly, a thick yin aura burst out.

    It¡¯s coming!

    With the weapons in their hands, everyone looked around vigilantly. The thick bloody smell blew out from all directions, making people feel like fainting from the stink. It is almost impossible to imagine how many people died to have such a strong bloody smell.

    Chen Shuyang drew a lot of Yang Gathering Amulet, and everyone got one to stick on themselves. The white crystal lit up, and the surrounding area that was originally pitch black suddenly lit up. Everyone looked around, only to feel a sour sensation coming out of their chests, almost uncontrollably vomiting out.

    It¡¯s not an exaggeration to describe the surrounding scene as a bloody field. The mountain of corpses, the sea of blood, and the layers of corpses piled up on each other. It is almost impossible to make up a complete human shape (due to the corpse stacking up tightly).

    "Have we arrived at the evil ghost¡¯s lair?"

    The master''s expression is calm, and he quickly puts up a setting. A yellow cloth is spread out on the ground. The fingernails and hair of the 7 dead people collected are put on it, as well as the glutinous rice from the 8 shops. With a shake of his plain robe, the eminent monk sat down. He clasped his hands together and started reciting Buddhist scriptures.

    At that moment, everyone''s mind suddenly became much clearer, and ripples of power began to spread out in the air. One could even see the ripples as they hit something in the air and then disappeared.

    They are trapped by the evil ghost king.

    Lou Fan also shot a few spirit arrows to check and saw that the spirit arrows encountered the same obstacles. The ripples spread out, and the spirit arrows disappeared.

    As if feeling their resistance, the corpses around them began to stagger and stand up. Then, they moved toward their group with bared teeth and claws.

    "Be vigilant! Everyone spread out and don''t let these corpses injure you." As the leader of the Level 10 team, Chen Changdong is one of the most experienced people here.

    After a few quick reminders, Chen Changdong swung out with a flick of the fishing rod. It is hooked on a walking corpse, and the fishing line is wrapped around its neck. With a slight force, the head fell from the shoulder, and the walking corpse slowly fell down. One corpse down.

    Seeing Chen Changdong¡¯s movements, the other members of the team are not to be outdone. They quickly waved the spirit weapon in their hands and attacked the walking corpse.

    Qin Tan whispered to his team members, "Don¡¯t separate and try to stay together as much as possible. The most important thing is to protect the master. Pay attention to the situation around, the evil ghost king should appear soon."

    Everyone nodded. Wen Lang, Jiang Dong, and Chen Shuyang tightly surrounded the master who is sitting on the ground motionless as a mountain. Qin Tan and Lou Fan wandered around their team, dealing with the slowly approaching walking corpse.

    Both their spirit weapons are intermediate level so it is easy for Qin Tan and Lou Fan to deal with this kind of walking corpse. Lou Fan''s spirit arrows are always shot 3 at a time. After the arrows are released, 3 walking corpses will fall to the ground at the same time. Lou Fan is like a reaper. Before the walking corpse is near, all of them got resolved by him. Qin Tan had no chance to act at all, so his attention turned to the master.

    The group of people killed the corpse until their hands and feet felt weak but the walking corpses continued to stand up and approach from the back. The surroundings that were still bright earlier suddenly darkened. Next, the white crystal also declared the end of its usability. Suddenly, everyone fell into darkness.

    For no reason, a gust of wind that caused palpitations blew, and Chen Shuyang¡¯s hand that is going to stick a new Yang Gathering Amulet trembled. Immediately afterward, a slight ''puchi'' sound can be heard and something fell to the ground. When he can see his surroundings clearly again, Chen Shuyang heard Liu Xing''s cry.

    "Sister, sister... open your eyes! Team leader, please save my sister!" Liu Xing hugged Liu Yue''s body, which kept sliding down, and cried so hard.

    Earlier, a gust of wind blew, and Liu Xing suddenly sensed something beside her. Then, before she could react, her elder sister beside her threw herself into her arms. Next, Liu Xing heard her sister gro.a.ned in pain, and her body fell limply.

    "Live..." The voice as thin as a whisper said.

    A big hole appeared in Liu Yue''s chest, and gushes of blood flowed out, staining her clothes red. Liu Xing cried as she tried to cover Liu Yue¡¯s wound with her hand and her pale hand quickly get covered with blood. She only had one hand at the moment so she is supporting Liu Yue with her body, while her other injured arm helplessly wanted to do something.

    "Sister, elder sister...Why do you want to save me?! Why are you always like this?!"

    Chen Changdong stepped over in a few steps and took Liu Yue into his arms. This calm man had a dazed expression on his face at the moment. He hurriedly took out the medicine from his bag, but he couldn''t open it because his hands are shaking uncontrollably. After repeating it a few times, he finally opened it and desperately sprinkled the powder on Liu Yue''s chest.

    Liu Yue struggled to open her eyes and saw the man''s pursed lips and tightened chin. She wanted to laugh and touch it with her hand, but she didn''t have the strength to raise her hand at all. She is so tired of struggling to live in this world, and she really wants to have a good night''s sleep. But she is reluctant, reluctant to part with Liu Xing. Liu Xing¡¯s character is naive and reckless. Without her by her side, will it be difficult for Liu Xing to live on in the future? Also, Liu Yue is reluctant to part with this man. This man has a broad back and she always follows behind him. She does not feel afraid at all. However, she is so tired now that she wanted to close her eyes and sleep.

    "Liu Yue, I won''t allow you to die!" Chen Changdong''s low voice seemed to be squeezed from between his gritted teeth.

    Liu Yue looked at Chen Changdong and her lips moved, but she didn''t make a sound. She could only use all her strength to move her gaze to look at Liu Xing.

    Chen Changdong''s face is terrifyingly gloomy, and he finally nodded, "I will help you to take care of Liu Xing."

    Liu Yue seemed to put down the most important thing from her shoulders. The corners of her mouth curved up. Closing her eyes, Liu Yue tilted her head and buried her head in Chen Changdong¡¯s arms.

    Chen Changdong''s arms hugged Liu Yue tightly. He lowered his head and touched her forehead with his own. He could feel her body temperature dropping slowly, and there seemed to be a metallic taste in his mouth.

    He hasn''t told her yet that he has always liked her.

    The author has something to say:

    Poor Team leader Chen, your wife is gone... I''m so sorry to you!

 CH 65

    Liu Xing''s face is expressionless. Her eyes are dull as she used her remaining hand to help Liu Yue tidy up her clothes and appearance.

    Chen Changdong tightly held the fishing rod in his hand. Raising his head, he stood up and straightened his back, as if the sad man just now was not him. He said to the only 2 remaining fighting forces in a deep tone, "Be vigilant. Be sure to keep your surroundings visible, don''t be careless."

    Before this, Liu Xing had already lost an arm and now she got hit by the loss of her sister. At this moment, she is like a walking dead. Even if she is at the juncture of life and death, even if the evil ghost king is in front of her now, she would not even blink.

    Both Yuan Jin and Dong Xu are nervous, the palms holding the spirit weapon are covered in sweat. Yuan Jin stretched out his hand and wiped the side of his pants, suddenly feeling very thirsty.

    The Level 10 team lost a member in an instant and Qin Tan¡¯s team couldn¡¯t even react in time. Lou Fan felt his eyelids twitch. He had a bad premonition, and his whole body tensed up.

    "Remember to be careful!" Qin Tan urged, standing beside Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan nodded, then turned to instruct the other team members, "Shuyang¡¯s Yang Gathering Amulet are prepared quite a lot. Take turns to stick the amulets around. Stick one every 10 minutes. Don''t let your surrounding be in darkness and hold tightly to your spirit weapon. Also, hold the Thunderbolt Amulet in your hand. If the situation is not right, use it right away even if you might get hurt from the explosion. You can''t let the evil ghost grab you."

    In short, their policy is to protect their own life, and at the same time to ensure that the master does not die.

    The longer the master recited the scriptures, the faster it becomes. The sound in Lou Fan¡¯s ears is strong, like a built-in loudspeaker, with a mellow voice reverberating in his ears. Lou Fan felt that the ghost king is going to be forced out by the master soon. Sure enough, the next moment, a huge shadow appeared from behind the mountain of corpses. It rushed straight to their side, obviously its target is the master sitting in the middle of their team¡¯s guard.

    Chen Changdong came over to the junior team¡¯s side immediately, and the two people behind him followed. With a swipe, his hook and fishing line flew towards the huge shadow. Qin Tan also did not hesitate to face the shadow immediately. Lou Fan took a stance, stood in front of the master, and began to shoot arrows at the shadow. His arms moved rapidly, and the spiritual arrows are shot at the shadow like a dense rain of arrows. When the spiritual arrow hits the black shadow, a small white spot will appear in the black mass. As the arrow rains down, the black shadow seems to have been pierced with many small holes, looking like it is leaking. The effect of the spirit arrow is much stronger after the upgrade. Lou Fan could even see the puff of smoke coming out of the shadow after being wounded by the arrow rain. As Lou Fan is happy with the result, the movements of his hands became faster.

    Chen Changdong''s fish hook hooked at the evil ghost king, but the evil ghost managed to get away before the fishing line can entangle it. The evil ghost king still has some intelligence. Qin Tan stepped forward and slashed at the ghost king. However, the ghost king stretched out his arm and actually blocked it. Qin Tan flipped over, pulled back his Tang sword, and then stabbed at the ghost king again.

    Both sides attacked and defended ceaselessly. Qin Tan is flexible and powerful and managed to fight an even battle with the ghost king. Also, Lou Fan is assisting on the side. Once Lou Fan¡¯s arrows hit the evil ghost king, Qin Tan will slash at the ghost next. After a while, the evil ghost king dodged an attack and disappeared.

    The Sanskrit chanting is also something. Lou Fan felt that the scriptures recited by the master might have a stimulating effect on the evil ghost king, After a while, the ghost king appeared again but the dark aura around him is not as thick as the first time.

    The defense line in front is very strong. Jiang Dong informed Chen Shuyang and Wen Lang that he is going to help, and joined the battle himself. Yuan Jin and Dong Xu are both close-range fighters, but they didn''t have the courage to go head-to-head like Qin Tan.

    The evil ghost king is slippery like a loach. Chen Changdong''s fishing line couldn''t get around the ghost every time it got hooked. Only Lou Fan''s spirit arrow could do something in the battle.

    The bandage in Jiang Dong''s hand is actually similar to Chen Changdong¡¯s fishing line. Even better, his bandage is wider and not slippery. With a flick of his hand, a strip of bandage is wrapped around the ghost king. It''s a pity that his spirit weapon is not an intermediate spirit weapon, It''s a little bit low-leveled to deal with the evil ghost king. After a few moments, the bandages are broken into several pieces by the evil ghost king. Jiang Dong frowned and saw the Thunderbolt Amulet in his hand. With a flash of inspiration, he put the amulet on his bandage. Then, with a flick of his hand, the bandage rushed out to wrap around the ghost king again. Jiang Dong felt that he even heard the ghost king''s ridicule - Even small fries like you want to deal with me? In your dreams!

    The next second, Jiang Dong whispered the word ¡®Explode'' softly.

    Inside the bandage wrapped around the ghost king, thunderbolts and lightning flashed. With a loud BANG, the amulet caused an explosion on the ghost king''s body.

    The explosion is quite loud and everyone looked at the evil ghost king. They saw a hole in the place where the Thunderbolt amulet detonated, oh, the ghost is leaking.

    It¡¯s effective! Everyone''s eyes lit up and they all held the Thunderbolt Amulet in their hands. In case the evil ghost king approaches, they¡¯ll stick it on the ghost!

    Instantly, Chen Shuyang become the treasured person on the team. Because though the amulet was taught by the master to Chen Shuyang, the master himself did not draw this amulet. Lou Fan took 2 Thunderbolt Amulets from Chen Shuyang. Next, he pulled out 3 cross arrows from the quiver on his side. He stuck the 3 amulets on the arrows, raised his bow, and aimed. The 3 arrows flew toward the evil ghost king who is currently fighting with Qin Tan.

    "Qin Tan, cross arrows incoming." Lou Fan shouted.

    Qin Tan keeps moving but slightly turned his body sideways. Reaching out, he caught the 3 arrows and then directed them forward, right into the huge shadow[1].

    "Explode!"

    BANG BANG BANG!

    With 3 deafening explosions, the evil ghost king looked like it got immobilized. Qin Tan fixed his eyes on the huge shadow and felt like there is a human figure in the dark shadow.

    "Team leader Chen, your fishing line."

    Chen Changdong reacted and immediately threw out his fishing hook. The fishing line finally entangled the evil ghost king. Qin Tan slapped an immobilizing amulet on the ghost king. Lou Fan ran forward and stuck 2 more amulets on the ghost. After making sure that it couldn''t move, he then felt relieved.

    Chen Changdong also let out a sigh of relief, "Let¡¯s get it down and seal it. Then it''s over."

    Lou Fan shook his head and looked at the master, "Master, please."

    It was unknown when the chanting stopped, the master stood up and walked toward the evil ghost king. Standing in front of the ghost, he put his hands together and chanted the Buddha''s name. Then he said, "Put down your enmity and repent. If you continue doing something like this, you will never be able to be reborn as a human again[2].¡±

    The evil ghost king screamed, but they couldn''t hear what the ghost is saying. Only the master shook his head with a look of pity. Sighing, he said, "Obstinately persist in going the wrong way."

    As the master spoke, he took off the rosary bead on his body and held it in his hand, reciting the scriptures again. Then, he grabbed a handful of glutinous rice in his hand and sprinkled it on the evil ghost king. Everyone can see the black aura emanating from the ghost king''s body and the human figure in the shadow is struggling violently, screaming. The sound wasn''t loud, but they can''t help wanting to cover their ears and falling into a trance.

    The master is not affected at all and continued to chant. His chanting turned faster and faster, and the evil ghost king struggled even more. Qin Tan took the Calming Amulet from Chen Shuyang and put it on himself and Lou Fan. After that, he told the other 3 members to stick it on too. Then, he stood beside the master to prevent the evil ghost king from suddenly attacking.

    Seeing that the ghost struggled more and more violently, the master suddenly nodded at Lou Fan. Lou Fan immediately understood, turned around, and went to the pile of objects to find the hair and nails of the 7 deceased wrapped by the master. He lit the fire in the brazier and then threw them in.

    "Huhuhuhu...ARGH!"

    The dark shadow dissipated, leaving only a terrifying-looking human figure. His face is hideous and his head is drooping, but he looked like a man. His eyes are scarlet, full of hatred. The man looked at the master fiercely, and cursed out in gritted teeth, word by word: "I. Want. To. Kill. You!"

    The master looked kindly at the man with a gentle smile on his face, "If killing me can dispel the hatred in your heart, then you can kill me."

    Lou Fan''s heart skipped a beat. Master, can we not make this kind of joke? If you dispelled his hatred (by dying), isn''t this asking us to die (because they failed their mission)? This idea doesn''t work.

    The ghost king suddenly laughed. He raised his head and laughed continuously, unable to stop.

    The master sighed, "Go, she must be waiting for you. You should go!"

    A struggling expression suddenly appeared on the man¡¯s face. Suddenly, the surrounding black mist slowly gathered again and Qin Tan guards the master as they retreated.

    "What''s going on? Why do I feel like he is going to be the ghost king again?"

    Everyone suddenly became nervous, and the junior team immediately surrounded the master. The master waved his hand and wanted to move forward, but is stopped by Lou Fan. Lou Fan looked at the master firmly and shook his head. The master smiled gently, but did not insist and continued to recite the scriptures.

    "Stand guard first." Qin Tan said and stuck 2 more immobilizing amulets on the evil ghost, hesitating whether to stick a Thunderbolt Amulet as well. But the evil ghost king broke free the next moment, it seems the immobilizing amulet doesn''t work either.

    The ghost stretched out its hand and grabbed Yuan Jin, who is standing not far away. Then the ghost burst into laughter as if mocking the group for underestimating him.

    The master sighed again and continued, "Since you are stubborn, don''t blame me. Originally, I wanted to save you because of your pitiful background and guide you to reincarnate, but you are unrepentant. Let go of the innocent in your hands."

    The evil ghost king didn''t listen at all and pinched Yuan Jin''s neck. They could even hear the sound of bones breaking.

    "Ah Jin!" Dong Xu shouted, his voice sorrowful.

    The master took out a golden bead from his pocket and held it up with his hands. The bead slowly floated into the air, and a dazzling golden light appeared in the air.

    Seems like the master is going to release a big move!

    Accompanied by the chanting of scriptures, Yuan Jin fell from the hands of the evil ghost king and collapsed to the ground softly. Looking at his condition, he probably is dead.

    Shadow and human figure appear alternately in the ghost king, it is enough to see how powerful this golden bead is. Lou Fan pondered silently that without the key NPC, the Master, the Level 10 team would not even be able to complete their mission. Firstly, it would be impossible for them to seal the evil ghost king. They can¡¯t even pull the human figure out of the huge shadow. Also, after pulling the figure out, the man can return to become the ghost king again.

    The master here is the one with the ultimate killer move!

    If the master is not protected well, the junior and intermediate teams will not be able to complete the task at all.

    And so, with no suspense, the evil ghost king slowly separated from the shadow from the master¡¯s chanting and returned to his human body again. Immediately after that, everyone saw the hideous face fade away and turned into a handsome man whose body gradually became transparent. A good-looking smile appeared at the corner of the man¡¯s mouth, like a nice boy next door.

    The man¡¯s figure slowly became more transparent, and then dissipated into the air.

    Finally, they finished off the ghost king!

    Everyone immediately slumped to the ground, while Chen Changdong and Dong Xu ran to Yuan Jin''s side. Seeing that Yuan Jin is really dead, Dong Xu clenched his fists and thumped the ground. His fist hits the ground, making a loud sound.

    Lou Fan sighed and turned his head away. When he saw his teammates who are all well, his brows relaxed again.

    The author has something to say:

    That green novel cover, en, is from my itchy hand. I made it with a new hand-painted board, you can ignore it...

    However, I found that the cover change managed to shock you all out to comment, and it got me thinking about changing the cover a few more times!

    I am serious!

    Thank you to the little angel who voted or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~

    Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

    Raw word count: 3046

    #EditedMTL

    #IAmABananaTranslation

    #AppreciateKofi

    #AppreciateComments

    #NoRepostInWattpad

    #PleaseTurnOffAdblock

    #ManyThanksForReading

 CH 66

    Here¡¯s a list of names, in case someone couldn¡¯t remember them:

    Level 10 team

    Chen Changdong (leader)

    Liu Yue (older sister of the twins) -dead

    Liu Xing (younger sister of the twins)

    Yuan Jin (man with slightly long hair) -dead

    Ma Ming (a short guy) -dead

    Dong Xu (a tall guy)

    The transparent figure in mid-air disappeared without a trace, and everyone collapsed tiredly to the ground.

    Wen Lang let out a long sigh of relief and howled, "I''m so exhausted!"

    With the evil ghost king disappeared, the darkness around faded away, gradually revealing the original appearance of the circular atrium on the 1st floor of the shopping mall. Unexpectedly, it is already daytime. When they glanced at the time on their watch, it is already 7.00 am on the 11th day.

    Suddenly, Chen Shuyang, who was standing just now, fell head-first to the ground with a loud ¡®thump¡¯. Lou Fan is startled and immediately ran to Chen Shuyang¡¯s side. Wen Lang and others also came to surround Chen Shuyang.

    "Shuyang is injured? What''s the matter?" Lou Fan turned to ask Wen Lang because he was the one standing the closest to Chen Shuyang just now.

    Wen Lang blankly replied, "No, Shuyang has been drawing amulets by the master''s side. The evil ghost king never came to this side, so he shouldn''t be hurt."

    The master who is standing at the side said quietly, "So, drawing amulets is not tiring huh?"

    Lou Fan and the others turned their heads to look and saw that the master seemed to roll his eyes at Wen Lang. His gaze seemed to ask, ''Are you looking down on people who support with brain power?¡¯.

    Wen Lang: ...What''s with this feeling like his IQ is being questioned?

    Hearing that, Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief. It¡¯s fine as long as Chen Shuyang is okay. "It seems that drawing amulets is not an easy job. Let''s go back to rest first, everyone is exhausted."

    They are physically exhausted, while Chen Shuyang is mentally exhausted, both are not easy.

    The task of going back with Chen Shuyang on his back is handed over to Wen Lang as he contributed the least. Although Wen Lang is tired after a tense night, everyone else is even more tired. Wen Lang also felt sorry for not helping, so he took the initiative to carry Chen Shuyang back.

    Yuan Jin and Liu Yue¡¯s bodies are still here so the Level 10 team did not follow them back. Chen Changdong and Qin Tan exchanged some words before carrying Liu Yue on his back. Dong Xu carrying Yuan Jin, and Liu Xing followed behind. The team of 3 people heads outside together.

    Qin Tan sighed deeply and took his team back to rest.

    When everyone in Qin Tan¡¯s team woke up, it is already evening. Everyone was very tired after all. At this moment, they woke up after getting a full sleep, and their eyes are hazy.

    Chen Shuyang rubbed his head with a confused look on his face. There is a huge bulge on the back of his head. Did someone hit him with a stick? But looking at the expressions of his teammates like nothing is wrong, he didn''t ask further.

    When everyone in the team woke up, the Level 10 team coincidentally came in from outside. No one knows where they were going earlier but the team of 3 looked tired and depressed. Qin Tan and his team are going to go out for food, so they gave them the space to rest in the staff lounge.

    The master followed Qin Tan¡¯s team out of the lounge. His face is still full of kindness, but Lou Fan looked at him and had a feeling that he is a little different now, like a weak old man.

    "Young men, our fate has ended, and I''m afraid we won''t see each other again in the future. Let''s leave it as it is now."

    There¡¯s a cloth bag on the master¡¯s shoulder but it didn''t look like there is anything in it. The master smiled mildly and took out 2 bracelets with 18 praying beads. The beads looked shiny and smooth. At first glance, one can see that the bracelets are often rolled in someone¡¯s hands. The master looked at Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang, and said with a smile, "You two have a fateful link with me. I have these 2 bracelets which I often carry with me. Just take them as a souvenir. Take them."

    Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang are overwhelmed by the favor. They didn''t expect to receive a gift from the NPC. They immediately stretched out their hands, took them solemnly, and sincerely thanked the master.

    The master narrowed his eyes and chanted the Buddha''s name, "Our meeting is fate. Young brother Chen has learned several spells from me. I hope those can help you in the future. Well then, I will take my leave first."

    Chen Shuyang raised his hand and wanted to say something, but he only opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn''t know what to say, but he felt a faint sense of loss in his heart.

    The master walked away slowly, and his back looked free and relaxed.

    Jiang Dong put a hand around Chen Shuyang''s shoulder and patted him, "Where there¡¯s a meeting, there will be a separation as well. Then the circle will be complete."

    Chen Shuyang sighed silently.

    Suddenly, Wen Lang made a fuss at the side, "What is the master doing?! Didn''t he see that there are still 3 people at the side? Do we not want our faces as well? At least give us an amulet or something! But he gave us nothing!!"

    Wen Lang¡¯s funny tone and expression of grief and indignation immediately made everyone laugh. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang put away the bracelets in their hands, and their team went out to find something to eat.

    Since the matter with the evil ghost king is cleaned up, the plaza looks a lot normal. Even the customers who come and go inside are all smiling. They are planning to find a place to eat something good. They had been in this world for more than 10 days, and they really relied on dry food to fill their stomachs every day. This kind of food almost caused them to become ascetic monks.

    No, even ascetic monks are not as miserable!

    Then, the team found a hot pot restaurant in the plaza. They ordered a dual-soup pot and started to eat together. Fortunately, the hot pot restaurant closed at 2.00 am so they have enough time to eat. When they came out of the hot pot restaurant, their belly is round with food. Lou Fan felt that he is stuffed to his throat already. If he is to take another half a mouthful, he will vomit.

    Since the team slept too much during the day, they are not sleepy at all at this moment. Hence, they walked around like walking corpses, wandering inside the mall. The mall is empty, but it wasn''t as gloomy as it used to be. Looking left and right, it is just an ordinary mall.

    Wen Lang put his hands behind his head and let out a leisurely sigh, "Ah, when will this leisurely time become an everyday thing. I just want to be a person who lazes around until the day I die!"

    Jiang Dong let out a laugh, "If you don''t work hard, you don¡¯t get to laze around and just wait to die!"

    Being confronted like this, Wen Lang suddenly frowned. Even Shuyang found the best way to use his spirit book. His poker is the weakest weapon on the team right now, and the restrictions are also very big. If he doesn''t try hard, he¡¯s afraid it will be really hard to keep his life.

    Qin Tan said lightly, "Wen Lang¡¯s practice will be doubled up when we return to Lazuli. The same goes for Shuyang. It¡¯s not enough to just count on your book. Your body is too weak."

    Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang nodded quickly, showing no resistance at all.

    Thinking of leaving tomorrow, Lou Fan reluctantly stuck his face at the window of the crystal shops. He looked at the crystals inside, thinking about whether to break into the store at night to search for more crystals. But the probability of getting the attribute crystals here is really low. Also, it is too time and power-consuming to smash the shops one by one. After thinking about it, Lou Fan lets go of his thoughts. This row of shops in the south has been looted by them, and almost everything that can be taken is in his bag. It is better not to do such immoral things.

    At 12:00 pm on February 5th, the junior team carried their luggage to the platform and waited. The atmosphere in the team is light and happy. When the Level 10 team came, they only felt that the atmosphere of the 3 people is heavy.

    After a while, Wen Lang turned his head left and right to look around, and suddenly asked, "Why hasn¡¯t the newcomer team come?"

    Oh yeah! How did they forget the newcomer team? It''s almost time, and there is no one there. While discussing whether or not to look for the newcomers, 2 miserable-looking people appeared out of nowhere and scrambled up to them. Their faces are full of panic as if they had been frightened by something.

    Everyone asked for details and found out that on the day they dealt with the ghost king, all kinds of ghosts appeared in the plaza, and the newcomer team was attacked. Only the two of them fought back with their spirit weapons. With much hardship, they hold on until dawn and survive. But they couldn''t find anyone else, so they could only hide by themselves, afraid that those ghosts might appear again. It is until now that they finally came back to their senses, and realized that the mission time is ending soon.

    Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang comforted the newcomers with a few words and then everyone waited for the train to arrive. At 1.00 pm, the train arrived on time. Everyone looked back once more and saw that the characters inscribed at the entrance had returned to become Liwan Plaza. Sighing, they embarked on the return journey.

    Liu Xing turned back and her gaze stopped at a point. Then she looked sideways at her backpack. Inside is a small jar containing Liu Yue''s ashes. She said silently in her heart, "Sister, let''s leave here. I''ll take you back."

    ¡­

    When Lou Fan and the others got out of the train, they saw a charming woman standing opposite a pillar with a cigarette in her hand. There is also a sweet-looking girl standing beside her.

    Seeing the people getting out of the train, the charming woman curved her red lips. She snuffed out the cigarette in her hand and walked over to them. Skipping past Qin Tan, the woman pounced at Lou Fan boldly and said, "I knew that you guys will be all right."

    Lin Man Man next to the woman also smiled and narrowed her eyes, "Brother Lou, you guys are amazing. It''s great that you are all fine." After that, she greeted Wen Lang and the other members.

    Not expecting that someone would come to pick him up upon returning, Lou Fan is quite happy. "Sister Tong Fei, Man Man, you two waited here to pick us up?"

    Squinted her eyes, Tong Fei smirked and raised Lou Fan¡¯s chin with her fingers, "Of course, I¡¯m here to see you."

    Tong Fei is a beautiful woman, but when she raised her eyebrows and smiled, she looked like a domineering female president teasing a naive young man. Lou Fan is a little helpless and wanted to move away, but Qin Tan is quicker and he slapped Tong Fei''s tender fingers away. He pulled Lou Fan behind him and said, "Don''t touch as you please, talk properly." The tone is full of possessiveness.

    Tong Fei chuckled. Her big eyes looked back and forth, and her expression towards the ambiguous relationship is very obvious, like an X-ray. Even Lin Man Man has a gossipy expression on her face.

    Lou Fan is a little embarrassed for some reason. When he is about to speak, Tong Fei suddenly froze, followed by a look of shock.

    "You, both your spirit weapons..."

    Lou Fan got taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, both of us have been upgraded."

    "The fuc..." Tong Fei accidentally said a foul word and continued, "You guys are too frcking awesome!"

    As one of their few friends, Lou Fan felt that he is willing to tell Tong Fei everything he knew, so he agreed to get together tomorrow and talk about the upgrade of the spirit weapon in detail.

    Although Tong Fei is anxious to know more inside, Qin Tan¡¯s team had just returned and she had to let them rest, so she said yes. After a pause, she raised her head and asked hesitantly, "Can I call another friend to listen?"

    Lou Fan glanced at Qin Tan and shrugged, "No problem, it''s not something that can''t be said. Isn''t it easier to survive if more people upgraded their weapons?"

    Hearing that, Tong Fei shook her head with a wry smile. Then she said, "I have also inquired about some things here. I''ll talk about it in detail tomorrow. You go back to rest first. I can see that you are tired too."

    Before leaving, Lou Fan casually took out a crystal from his bag and handed it to Lin Man Man, "This time we have collected some crystals. This is for you, you can keep it for fun."

    Lin Man Man likes this kind of shiny thing very much. She knows that Lou Fan must have collected a lot of items this time. She still remembers that back in the mission world of Lao Ye Temple, they collected a lot of items so she accepted it with a smile.

    At the side, Tong Fei spread her hands and said, "I want one too."

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Qin Tan: ¡­

    Why is this woman so annoying?!

 CH 67

    Tong Fei ignored Qin Tan''s knife-like eyes and took Lin Man Man away with the spoils.

    Qin Tan also want to take his team back to their residence, so he said goodbye to the Level 10 team before leaving. Chen Changdong looked a little better now, but Liu Xing still had a heavy emotion in her eyes. That lively girl he saw before going to the mission world will never come back.

    Back at the house, Wen Lang said goodbye to Qin Tan and went upstairs with the other 2 team members. Lou Fan immediately felt relieved when he entered the house. It felt like he is home. Unfortunately, his whole body is covered in dust so he didn''t dare to sit on the sofa. Throwing his backpack on the ground, Lou Fan ran to his room. Lou Fan carefully took Furball out of his pocket, but it is still curled up, and fell asleep like a snowball. Lou Fan put it on the bed, and let it continue to sleep. Since they are back in Lazuli, there is no danger anymore.

    Qin Tan heard the sound of someone running in the house, and then the sound of the bathroom door closing. Smiling helplessly, he put the 2 backpacks in the corner properly. Then he went to his room to change his clothes. Next, after tapping a few times on the exchange machine, Qin Tan picked up the exchanged ingredients and went into the kitchen, where the sound of running water could be heard.

    ¡­

    Warm water flowing down on the body, and the exhaustion all over the body is swept away. It would be nice if their next mission world can allow them to take a bath every day, Lou Fan thought. After rinsing the foam off his hair, Lou Fan flicked the water droplets and turned off the faucet. He took out a blue towel and wiped his hair, suddenly feeling that something is missing.

    Aiya, he forgot to bring a clean change of clothes. Leaning to the door, he shouted to the outside, "Qin Tan, Qin Tan..."

    Qin Tan came out from the kitchen and responded.

    Lou Fan said, "Help me get the change of clothes, it¡¯s the pile on the bed." He doesn''t like bath sheets, and he can''t go out wrapped in a bath towel[1], it can''t cover everything at all.

    Qin Tan wiped his hands and walked into Lou Fan''s room[2], where he saw neatly folded changes of clothes piled on the edge of the bed. It¡¯s a set of light grey loungewear, the fabric looked soft.

    There is a gap in the door of the bathroom and Lou Fan was wiping his hair when the man suddenly pushed the door and came in. Those black eyes immediately met his gaze from the mirror. After a quick glance across Lou Fan¡¯s body, the man''s eyes darkened slightly and he walked it, step by step closer.

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Shiet! Forgot to close the door, and he is nekid.

    Lou Fan immediately grabbed the towel to cover his ¡®little brother¡¯. As Qin Tan approached, looking at him with slightly deep eyes, Lou Fan unconsciously swallowed and his Adam''s apple moved up and down.

    The man''s deep voice sounded in his ears, "Nice body."

    Lou Fan''s eyes narrowed slightly. The man lowered his head slowly and Lou Fan¡¯s hands reached out to press against his chest. He could feel the person¡¯s warmth emanating from under the clothes, but at the moment it is as hot as a soldering iron.

    Lou Fan: "You are still dirty."

    The inexplicable disdain tone caused a deep chuckle to sound from above Lou Fan¡¯s head. Qin Tan shoved the clean clothes into Lou Fan¡¯s hands, and said lightly, "Then, wash again with me."

    Lou Fan: "In your dreams! If you just want me to rub your back for you, then no."

    Qin Tan asked, "Then, how about I rub it for you?" He stretched out his hand.

    Lou Fan reached out and pushed Qin Tan away, "Get out now, it''s cold."

    Hearing that Lou Fan is cold, Qin Tan stopped teasing him and went out. Then he closed the door to let him change his clothes.

    When the door is closed, Lou Fan held his clothes and blushed inexplicably. The next moment, he scolded himself for blushing. It¡¯s not like his nekid body had not been seen by other people before. When he was in the archery club, he used to wash together in the common bathroom with other members.

    ¡­

    As Lou Fan came out of his room, he raised his hand and touched his half-dried hair. When he passed the other bathroom, he heard someone humming a song in a light voice, as if the person is in a good mood. Lou Fan curled his mouth. Tsk, Qin Tan is this happy from teasing him?

    Lou Fan glanced across the room and saw a bowl of yellow mango sago that looked delicious on the dining table. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he glanced sideways in the direction of the sound of water. Using a porcelain white spoon, he scooped a spoonful of sago and sent it into his mouth. Soft and sweet, smooth and chewy. Mixed with the unique taste of mango pulp and milk, a sense of happiness grows from the bottom of Lou Fan¡¯s heart.

    Suddenly, Wen Lang could be heard shouting from upstairs, "Jiang Dong, put that down! That is my shower gel."

    Jiang Dong seemed to say something and then, Wen Lang shouted again, "Who is being stingy?! If you like it, then buy it yourself. I don''t like to share my stuff with others!"

    Immediately after, Wen Lang¡¯s voice became smaller but still, he could be heard roaring wildly.

    Accompanied by Wen Lang¡¯s wailing noise, Lou Fan happily savor every bite and had a feeling that the dessert this time is more delicious than usual.

    Qin Tan wiped his hair and wrapped a bath towel as he came out of the bathroom. Then he saw the person lying on the sofa. Walking over, he smiled when he saw the empty bowl on the coffee table. Then, he turned to look at the sleeping man.

    Lou Fan¡¯s eyes are closed and the corners of his mouth are slightly raised. His hair has grown longer now, and his bangs covered his eyes a little. The sun dipped in the west and the afterglow of the setting sun spilled in, causing the sleeping person¡¯s fine eyelashes to cast a shadow on his face.

    Qin Tan sat down beside Lou Fan gently. He reached out and brushed Lou Fan¡¯s hair, revealing his handsome face. Qin Tan smiled inexplicably, and his fingertips touched Lou Fan¡¯s smooth skin. It¡¯s like poison, which made him not want to let go. Qin Tan¡¯s other hand took Lou Fan''s hand and found out that his slender fingertips are slightly cold. Qin Tan frowned and turned to pull the blanket on the sofa to cover him.

    Lou Fan moved slightly. He shifted to a comfortable position, wrapped in a blanket, and fell asleep again, like a small animal who just found a heat source. Qin Tan chuckled lightly, and his eyes swept across Lou Fan¡¯s calf, where a piece of flesh had been gouged out by an evil spirit before. The wound was dripping with blood, and the flesh was exposed. His hand that lifted Lou Fan''s trouser legs even trembled slightly. But now, the calf is as smooth as ever. Qin Tan closed his eyes and forced himself to put aside his emotions to calm down. He could always recall that moment, if he was one step later...

    ¡­

    A numb itching sensation spread from the calf to his whole body so Lou Fan opened his eyes in confusion. For a while, he doesn¡¯t know where he is right now. He rubbed his eyes, his expression a little daze. Looking at the person in front of him, he called out ''Qin Tan'' in a low voice, with a nasal sound and a little hoarseness.

    The man didn''t respond to Lou Fan and he got pressed down heavily the next moment. The man captured his lips roughly, and let out a deep rumble of a smile from his throat. Lou Fan put both hands against him but the man is only wrapped in a bath towel. Hence, at this moment, his hands are in direct contact with a firm and hard chest. The touch of warm skin makes Lou Fan feel that his palms are slightly hot, not sure where to put them.

    "Concentrate."

    The man''s dissatisfied voice sounded in his ears, Lou Fan only had time to take a breath before getting kissed into a daze again. Finally fully waken up from the sleepiness, Lou Fan wrapped his hands around the man''s neck unconsciously and responded enthusiastically.

    Amid heavy breathing, the towel wrapped around the man''s waist had already slipped to the ground. Lou Fan¡¯s buttons are pulled apart, revealing his sturdy upper body. Touching each other skin-to-skin, their bodies trembled slightly.

    The man stood up slightly, looked at Lou Fan¡¯s misty and moist eyes with deep desire black eyes, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Can I?"

    Being stared intensely like that, Lou Fan only felt that the blood all over his body is boiling. He nodded slightly, "En."

    With 2-3 movements, Lou Fan is stripped nekid. He felt like he is a boiled shrimp now. The man slowly pressed down, and the sensitive friction caused them to shudder, making people go insane. Lou Fan took deep breaths and slightly raised his neck. The man didn''t stop moving as he lowered his head to press his lips on Lou Fan''s neck. The touch caused Lou Fan to let out a low cry.

    It was too intense, causing Lou Fan to shed tears, which are then licked clean by the man. Lou Fan hugged the man tightly. At this moment, he doesn¡¯t want to think about anything and just wanted to be with this man.

    "Qin Tan." Lou Fan called out the man¡¯s name.

    The man responded in a low voice, touching his forehead like caressing a treasure, "I''m here."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan wrapped his arms around the man''s neck and raised his head to initiate a lingering and long kiss.

    ¡­

    When Lou Fan wakes up, he is surrounded by darkness, the heavy curtains drawn. Lou Fan pushed himself up, causing the quilt on his body to slip down. A breeze of coldness hit his skin, causing him to shiver. There is a little discomfort below at that place and Lou Fan frowned slightly. Just as he moved, a firm arm stretched out from under the quilt, wrapping his shoulders and pressing him back to the bed.

    The man buried his head at the side of Lou Fan¡¯s neck and sniffed him. It made his body tremble, and a slightly hoarse voice sounded, "Sleep for a little while more. Do you feel any discomfort?"

    Lou Fan snorted softly. Earlier he even put down his pride and begged for mercy, but Qin Tan didn¡¯t spare him. Now he dared to ask him if he is uncomfortable?

    Of course there is!

    It¡¯s too late to ask now!

    The man pressed down on him again but Lou Fan blocked with his hands. Gritting his teeth, he scolded, "Qin Tan, act properly."

    Qin Tan didn''t want to be ¡®proper¡¯ at all, but seeing that Lou Fan is about to get irritated, he flipped from the top with a quick movement and stepped on the ground with his bare feet, "I''ll make you something to eat, you can sleep for a while."

    Looking at the man''s nekid and strong back, Lou Fan clicked his tongue and pulled the quilt over to continue resting. Although he didn''t fall asleep and just lay quietly in bed, there is a smile on his lips.

    Although the ¡®exercise¡¯ was a little painful, it felt good unsurprisingly. With them living a day-by-day[3] life in Lazuli, if he doesn''t enjoy things to the fullest, he will feel sorry for himself.

    There is a gap at the door, and some light shone in. Lou Fan glanced at the time and saw that it is already 8.00 am. Sounds are coming from the kitchen outside, and then someone knocked on the main door.

    "Brother Lou is still sleeping?" Wen Lang asked in surprise, "He wouldn¡¯t be sick, right? He slept for more than 10 hours now. Logically speaking, he won''t get sick. No, Jiang Dong, you should go take a look."

    Wen Lang is in a hurry to look for Lou Fan but got stopped by Qin Tan, "He is just catching up some sleep. He is not sick so don''t yell. You better shut up if you want to eat breakfast."

    Wen Lang immediately made a zipping motion on his mouth and sat down at the dining table. Though, he couldn¡¯t understand since Brother Lou isn''t sick, why Qin Tan''s attitude is still so unfriendly?

    Lou Fan rolled twice on the bed, and then went to the bathroom in the room to take a shower. He felt much more comfortable, so he changed his clothes and went out.

    Jiang Dong and Wen Lang are already seated, but Chen Shuyang isn¡¯t there.

    "Where''s Shuyang?"

    Jiang Dong: "He slept late last night and hasn''t woken up yet."

    Lou Fan: "What did he do, sleeping so late?"

    Jiang Dong showed an indescribable expression before saying, "He exchanged some points for an anime called Onmyoji, and watched it all night."

    "Pfft!" Lou Fan couldn''t hold back and burst out laughing.

    Is Chen Shuyang planning to learn how to draw spells from the anime? He kind of wanted to go upstairs now and stand beside Chen Shuyang''s bed. Then he¡¯ll ask him how he felt after watching the anime.

    Jiang Dong''s eyes scanned Lou Fan up and down, and Lou Fan looked at him too. Then he saw Jiang Dong blinked and raised an eyebrow at him.

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Why didn''t he find out before that Jiang Dong is so sassy? Can he still change teammates now?!

    The author has something to say:

    This novel is also known as "Is it too late to think about changing teammates every day?

    I think this chapter is super sweet!

    Thank you to the little angel who voted or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~

    Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

    Raw word count: 3131

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 CH 68

    After breakfast, Lou Fan took out the items he brought back from the missions world this time. The most important thing is the 4 sets of 5-attributes crystals. According to the master, it can be used to deal with evil spirits. There are also other crystals, they can be used when needed or just exchanged for points directly. Other than that, he has the praying bead bracelet that the master gave to him and Shuyang.

    The 5-attributes crystals and praying bead bracelet will definitely not be exchanged, but that does not prevent Lou Fan from finding out their value on the exchange machine. When he put a crystal into the exchange machine, it showed that the exchange points are 5,000 points. Changing to other types showed the same value. However, when Lou Fan put the white crystal on the exchange tray, the value multiplied tenfold, showing 50,000 points.

    Seeing that, Lou Fan''s eyes curved with laughter. As expected from the white crystal, its role is different from ordinary crystals after all. He thought for a while and put a set of 5-attribute crystals together on the tray. This time, the buffer icon rotated for a minute. This familiar feeling made Lou Fan''s heart skip a beat, and he immediately became excited.

    100,000 points.

    Lou Fan snorted. His expectations were a bit high as he wondered if there would be a higher value. But then he thought of the previous Longjing grass that can improve their physique and its value is only 100,000 points. Compared to Longjing grass, the set of crystals has the same value so it''s pretty awesome. Thinking of this, the feeling of loss in his heart is comforted.

    "It''s worth 100,000 points!" Wen Lang shouted. Then his expression dimmed as he said, "But we can¡¯t exchange these 5-attribute crystals for points, right?"

    Yes, that''s right. Wen Lang¡¯s words got to the point.

    The reality caused Lou Fan to be speechless. These crystals are like Longjing grass, it cannot be exchanged unless it is a last resort, it is a life-saving item. There are more than 50 random crystals in his hand, but they are only worth 200,000 points at most. White crystals can''t be exchanged away either. Combining its usage with Yang Gathering Amulet, this crystal will be their light source in the spiritual worlds.

    Lou Fan frowned and worried staring at the pile of crystals. There are very few points that could be used.

    Qin Tan is making something for Lou Fan in the kitchen at the moment. Jiang Dong saw Lou Fan¡¯s dark expression and comforted him, "Though the points are not much, but we just changed our weapons. Now, there is not much use for the points except for medicines."

    Speaking of medicines, without the medicines from Chen Changdong and his team, Lou Fan''s leg wouldn''t be able to heal so quickly. And then at the last battle with the evil ghost king, they would have lost a lot of help from Lou Fan.

    Wen Lang also echoed Jiang Dong¡¯s words, "That¡¯s right, Brother Lou. The weapons were useless in our last mission world. So, we haven¡¯t used them yet and they are new, brand-new. There¡¯s no need to exchange for more."

    Lou Fan looked at the two sadly, the disdain in his eyes almost turned into a tangible thing. At this moment, Chen Shuyang walked into the hall, rubbing his hair like a chicken coop.

    Ding! ¡ª¡ªLou Fan felt as if he heard the sound of money and points swaying in front of him. The money tree has arrived!

    Wen Lang only saw the RMB symbols flashing in Lou Fan''s eyes, and then saw Lou Fan bounce off the sofa and wave at Chen Shuyang.

    "Shuyang, come on, have you eaten? If you haven''t, let your brother Qin cook something for you."

    Qin Tan who just came out with a bowl of dessert: ¡­

    When did he become a bargaining chip to please the members? ¡®Public morals are degenerating with each passing day¡¯ (idiom).

    Wen Lang: "Brother Lou, are you such a superficial person?"

    "Yes, that''s right." Lou Fan nodded and admitted, "If you are like Shuyang, and can earn points for the team instead of making me worry, I will also ask your brother Qin to cook delicious food for you."

    Chen Shuyang scratched his head, "Well then, thank you, Brother Qin."

    Lou Fan pulled Chen Shuyang to sit down and asked earnestly, "Shuyang, did you learn anything from the anime?"

    Chen Shuyang: "No, the spells can''t be seen clearly even after pausing the movie."

    Wen Lang threw his hands behind his head and shook his feet in the air. Hearing their conversation, he laughed out loud, "I say, rather than looking for information in the anime, it¡¯s better to go to the bazaar. Maybe there''s something to gain."

    Hearing that, Chen Shuyang and Lou Fan''s eyes suddenly lit up. They stood up together, and are about to go out. Qin Tan called them, "Where are you going? Shuyang, eat your breakfast first. We¡¯ll go to the bazaar after a discussion. Also, if you guys want to sell Shuyang¡¯s amulet, you can try putting them on the electronic screen."

    Since the team leader has spoken, the two calmed down. Lou Fan nodded, "Oh yes, we must list them on the electronic screen."

    Jiang Dong interjected, "You should state that it is limited in quantity. Previously, the master said that drawing amulets consumes energy."

    Wen Lang also added, "It''s better to mark the listing as anonymous so we don''t get in trouble." While they may not be afraid of getting in trouble, getting stuck on is annoying.

    Lou Fan took out a small notebook, wrote down everyone''s opinions, and briefly introduced the effect of each spell in one sentence. He turned to Chen Shuyang and asked him how many spells he had in his hand. Chen Shuyang opened his spirit book. Inside, there are about 5 sets of spells, 5 for each type of spell, adding up to a total of 25 spells. These are all drawn by him in his spare time, so it does not waste any energy at all.

    Lou Fan tapped his index finger on the coffee table and thought for a moment. Then he said, "Then, we¡¯ll take these first to sell. We¡¯ll talk about it again after it''s sold out. Make it like Hunger marketing, this will help increase the value of the spell."

    "Hey, what''s the matter with you?" Wen Lang asked anxiously. Seeing that Jiang Dong didn''t speak, Wen Lang walked over there by himself to look. Immediately, he widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Damn, Brother Lou, we are rich!"

    Lou Fan is startled and swiftly walked over. Together with Qin Tan who had just come out of the kitchen, they saw on the display - Spell: 10,000 points.

    The bright light in his eyes almost turned into a tangible thing. Chen Shuyang became incredibly happy and said, "Damn, I didn''t expect that I am now a high-paying skilled worker!"

    Wen Lang is very envious. The sour jealousy turned him into a ¡®lemon spirit¡¯, "Ah, ah, I also want this skill too!"

    Jiang Dong glanced at Wen Lang and said, "Stop dreaming."

    Wen Lang gritted his teeth. What else could he say?!

    Like a splash of cold water, Qin Tan said, "Don''t be too happy. ¡®Men dread fame as pigs dread being fat¡¯, so keep a low profile."

    Everyone immediately restrained their smiles and got driven back to the sofa to sit down by Qin Tan.

    "Regarding the fact that Shuyang can draw spells on his book, I have talked to Team leader Chen about it so he should not talk about it outside." Qin Tan sat next to Lou Fan and said with a serious face, "Put the amulets on the electronic screen, just as you said before. Also, set the quantity as limited and keep it anonymous. Everyone, don¡¯t reveal about the amulets so easily outside and in the mission world as well. I¡¯m afraid Shuyang will be in danger if it goes out.¡±

    Everyone also took the warning seriously and expressed that they will pay attention.

    Qin Tan turned his head and asked Chen Shuyang, "How much are you going to price the spell?"

    Chen Shuyang looked dazed. He uttered a word and looked at Lou Fan, "I don''t know. We¡¯ll just put whatever Brother Lou said."

    Lou Fan nodded and touched his chin with his index finger. After thinking for a while, he decided not to go too far, one must have the capacity to be kind. Since in Lazuli¡¯s exchange machine it is worth 10,000 points, they¡¯ll set the price at 30,000 points. The most important thing is that there is no such item available to exchange in the exchange machine. Even if the amulet is only worth 10,000 points in the exchange machine, one might not be able to get the amulets even if they have the points, which makes it easy to raise the price.

    "30,000 points is not too outrageous, right?" Lou Fan smiled and narrowed his eyes, like a cunning fox.

    Jiang Dong, Wen Lang, Chen Shuyang: ¡­

    Qin Tan''s expression looked serious and remained unchanged as he added, "En, it''s not outrageous at all. I think we can add another 20,000 points to it."

    The highest level of ¡®saying nonsense without blinking¡¯.

    In the end, they set to sell a spell with 30,000 points each, and they are only going to take out 5 spells this time, which is a set. The main reason is that if they take out 25 spells at a time, it will be too eye-catching, and they will definitely be monitored. They don''t want to stand out.

    The first day they returned to Lazuli is always the most relaxing time. After everyone finished unpacking their stuff, Lou Fan stood in front of the mirror and brushed the hair on his forehead. It keeps making him uncomfortable as it is a bit long. Lou Fan turned his head to look at the others. Except for Qin Tan, everyone''s hair has grown below the ears and is about to become mid-shoulder-length.

    "Wen Lang, does Lazuli have a place to cut hair?" Lou Fan asked casually, "If we don''t cut our hair, we will have to go to Tong Fei to ask for a rubber band to tie it up."

    Wen Lang got taken aback for a moment and he tugged at his own hair. After thinking for a while, he said, "I seem to have heard of such a person. It should be in the bazaar."

    Lou Fan nodded. Qin Tan walked over to Lou Fan, pulled a lock of his hair, and blew it. Then he chuckled and said, "Let''s go to the bazaar. We¡¯ll go for a walk."

    The two of them fell behind the group and Qin Tan suddenly approached nearer to Lou Fan. With a smile, he asked, "Does it still hurt down there?"

    The question got Lou Fan froze for a moment. Feeling a little awkward, he coughed lightly and shook his head.

    "En." Qin Tan replied with an acknowledgment. Then, he reached out and lightly patted Lou Fan¡¯s butt.

    This ambiguous action made Lou Fan turn his head to look at Qin Tan with a stunned gaze. The words in his eyes said, ''You have changed!¡¯

    Qin Tan is in a good mood. Seeing Lou Fan¡¯s wide and round eyes like a small animal, he couldn''t help rubbing his head again.

    Lou Fan: "Qin Tan, don''t overdo it!"

    Qin Tan: "I can ¡®do¡¯ even more, don''t you already know it all?"

    Lou Fan took a deep breath. He doesn¡¯t know where Qin Tan learns this kind of thing. Let¡¯s not talk about how Qin Tan looked at him with a hair-raising gaze. Now, even his speech is so blatant. Lou Fan felt that he has to figure out a way to counter. Otherwise, if he is so passive every time, he will lose out.

    Qin Tan had already walked out of the door. He turned his head and shouted at Lou Fan, who is still stunned in the living room. Lou Fan rubbed his hair and decided to talk about this later, so he stepped up and followed.

    The team hasn¡¯t been in Lazuli for more than 10 days, and they felt a long-lost intimacy as they walked. Soon, they came to the bazaar in the north square. There are many information displayed on the electronic screen. Each listing stayed for 10 seconds, and the scrolling frequency is quite high.

    The team stood there and stared for a long time. Then, they all realized that something is wrong.

    "Why are there so many requests for information exchange? I counted them, and there are more than 70." Lou Fan counted twice with squinted eyes.

    Qin Tan nodded, "There are more requests for items from the spiritual world, more than 80%."

    Jiang Dong looked around calmly and whispered, "Many people are hiding and monitoring in the dark, all staring at the registration office."

    The team can¡¯t understand, what happened recently? Why did the bazaar''s atmosphere suddenly become so strange?

    Raw word count: 3009

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 CH 69

    Qin Tan turned his head sideways, stepped up, and left the center of the square, and the other members followed. After finding an open space and discussing it a bit, the five decided to go for a walk around, and find out what is going on along the way.

    Bazaar is the place Wen Lang is most familiar. After the team walked around and asked the people from the 2 other shops, they finally found the only barber shop in Lazuli.

    The storefront is very simple. The word Barbershop is written on a piece of cardboard and hung at the door. There is also a price next to it, and there is only 1 item listed: 500 points for a haircut. The price is clearly marked, with no hidden charge or anything.

    The barber inside is a man with a slovenly appearance, with drooping eyelids, and he is quite tall. He is holding a pair of scissors and a comb in his hands. His actions are quick and neat, carefully cutting the hair with his head lowered. A person is sitting inside who is getting a haircut, and 3 people are waiting outside. Qin Tan¡¯s team moved over some stools and sat down to wait for their turn.

    Wen Lang is about to walk over to talk to the 3 people when Jiang Dong held him back. Jiang Dong took out 2 packs of cigarettes from his bag and handed them to Wen Lang. Wen Lang got stunned for a moment before taking the cigarette and putting it in his pocket. Then, he approached the 3 men and started talking.

    Smiling with a sunny and handsome face, Wen Lang approached the men and asked, "These 3 big brothers, you also came to cut your hair? How is this master''s craftsmanship? This is the first time this brother came here. I even asked several people for directions to find this place." After saying that, Wen Lang handed out 3 sticks of cigarettes. The men took the cigarettes, put them under their noses, and smelled them. After that, they began to chat happily.

    "This guy''s craftsmanship is very good. Have you seen his spirit weapon? It''s the scissors and comb in his hand. It is said to be very powerful."

    Another man said, "That¡¯s right, the man cut people¡¯s hair as a way to relax whenever he returned to Lazuli."

    Wen Lang smiled and asked again, "I just came from the square and found a lot of people around. Do you three know what''s going on? This brother just came back from a mission, and is completely in the dark."

    "Hey, about this, you''ve asked the right person..." The old man started talking freely while smoking a cigarette. During the period, the other 2 people next to him added information from time to time, basically letting Qin Tan¡¯s team understand the general situation.

    It happened 10 days ago, a senior team of the Black Scorpion went on a mission with another intermediate team, and as a result, the entire team in that mission world have been destroyed. That intermediate team is a member of another relatively large organization. With 2 well-known organizations dying in a mission world, the impact of such a result can be imagined. In the following week, such incident happened twice again. And, most importantly, there are passengers with intermediate spirit weapons in the team.

    Although Lazuli has a lot of passengers, the level of their strength is like a pyramid. The higher the level, the lesser the quantity. Those who can reach level 10 or above are the elite of the elite. This time the organization lost 3 senior teams, it is no exaggeration to say that it caused an uproar in Lazuli. This kind of explosive news was broadcasted on the electronic screens of the north and south squares at the same time. The news at the north square was spread by the people, while the south square which is controlled by Lazuli broadcasted the news in bright red characters. The impact was humongous, so to say. To this day, the names of the demised teams are still displayed on the display in the South Plaza. Almost everyone who is not in the mission world knows about it.

    The man paused for a while, glanced at the group sitting in a circle, and then said mysteriously, "You should have seen the electronic screen on the bazaar, right? Then you should notice the information on it." He paused, not expecting anyone to answer him, and continued, "Most of the requests are about purchasing items from spiritual worlds, do you know why?"

    Wen Lang cooperatively asked why and the man looked inscrutable before answering, "Because, all the fallen teams failed their mission in a supernatural world."

    After the man finished speaking, he couldn''t help shrinking, as if he is cold.

    The barber called out ''Next'' from the room and the man responded. Standing up, he finally said, "This is how things are. Listen to this big brother, if you have points, go and post a request to purchase information. Just in case you are lucky enough that someone is willing to sell, there is more hope in the mission world." After speaking, the man couldn''t help sighing and walked into the barber room.

    Wen Lang thanked the other 2 brothers and turned to sit back in the line. This news is also very explosive for them. Lou Fan remembered that Tong Fei''s expression seemed to be a bit wrong yesterday, and she should have come to pick them up on purpose. Probably because she was afraid that something would happen to them.

    Thinking of this, the goodwill towards Tong Fei and Lin Man Man has risen again.

    Speaking of annihilation of a team, they met such an incident once, the Black Scorpion team at Lao Ye Temple. Unexpectedly, it happened again this time. The man only talked about teams getting annihilated, but no one is sure what is going on. After all, if the whole team is really destroyed, there is no one left to tell the tale.

    Such an incident is not a good thing for the passengers, and it even makes one wonders if Lazuli is deliberately annihilating the senior teams.

    Lou Fan frowned and thought about the matter but Qin Tan whispered to him, "Don''t think about it so much. We have encountered so many senior teams before, the sky won''t fall (just because some teams got annihilated). We¡¯ll go to Tong Fei to inquire about the details at night."

    Lou Fan nodded, forcing himself not to think about it, but his thoughts still couldn''t help but turn in that direction.

    Soon it is time for them to get a haircut. The barber didn''t ask for their opinions. He just asked them to sit down and then he started working. Staying in Lazuli, the team didn''t have any requirements for hairstyles. They won¡¯t insist to get a Mr. TONY to design the trendiest and most fashionable hairstyle for them. There is only 1 requirement, that it should be shorter and not ugly.

    The barber looked expressionless and a little unfriendly, with drooping eyelids as if he hasn¡¯t fully waken up, but his craftsmanship is good. According to the different face shapes of the 5 people, he used the scissors in his hand to cut the hairstyles that fit their temperaments. The styles are all good-looking, not inferior to the most expensive hairstyle directors in fashion hair design stores at all.

    Qin Tan¡¯s style is crew cut while Jiang Dong''s is the same but a little bit longer. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang''s hairstyle is a little bit longer and looks quite like a college student. Lou Fan''s hairstyle is like the most popular hairstyle with some bangs in front.

    All in all, everyone is very satisfied.

    Lou Fan looked in the mirror and finally felt that he looked like a normal person. He sincerely praised, "Boss, your craftsmanship is awesome."

    The barber is about the same height as Qin Tan so he is half a head taller than Lou Fan. He turned to look at him and nodded expressionlessly, "I think so too."

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    This boss is really out of the ordinary.

    ¡­

    Coming to the square again, the team stood on the edge of the square, watching the information scrolling on the electronic screen. For a while, the information only increased, with no sign of decreasing.

    Chen Shuyang scratched his head, "Brother Lou, should we sell more?"

    Lou Fan glared at Chen Shuyang, "You don''t want to live anymore? I don''t even want to sell one now."

    Qin Tan disagreed and insisted on the original plan, but they could not act together. He ordered, "Jiang Dong, you will do the communication, but make a request that the information will not be released until half an hour after you leave. The others go home first."

    Jiang Dong took the amulets and stuffed them into his pocket. After the others have left, he strolled slowly to the registration office. He even chatted with the person who came to register a request to purchase information, saying that he is also here to purchase, and it is not easy to stay alive these days.

    Half an hour after Jiang Dong left, the 2 registrars at the registration office have already reported to the top management of their own organization. The five amulets in their hands are like hot potatoes.

    The person in charge frowned and knocked on the 2 staff, "Do I need to tell you about how to handle this kind of thing? Our organization is also lacking this kind of item, why didn''t you report it immediately?"

    The two stuttered a few times. The policy of their registration office is always like that when a passenger asked for confidentiality, they would not reveal their personal information. Hence, they didn''t ask any further questions and only recorded Jiang Dong''s watch number for communication.

    The person in charge notified the higher-ups, and they decided to purchase the amulets in a normal procedure. After that, they ordered the people in the registration office to pay attention. If this happens again, they are to notify them immediately.

    As soon as Jiang Dong walked into the living room, the watch on his wrist beeped. He talked with the people from the registration office, and then, the points after deducting the handling fee are credited to his account. Jiang Dong looked at the 3 people in the living room staring at him and shrugged, "The amulets are sold."

    Since the situation is quite urgent, the team went straight to Tong Fei in the afternoon. Unlike in the past, Tong Fei is basking in the sun, but in a training. Her long wavy hair is tied up neatly, her expression is serious and solemn, and her movements are sharp and neat.

    Lou Fan raised his eyebrows, it''s been a long time since he saw Tong Fei so serious.

    Seeing the 5 people coming, Tong Fei put away her weapons. She turned and walked inside, "Come in and sit."

    As soon as they entered the room, they heard her chattering away, obviously aimed at them. "I know that you will definitely come over early. So, you must have heard something. But it¡¯s just right, I have something to tell you too. I have a lot to say today, so we¡¯ll take it slow. Hmm, you all got a haircut? Not bad, you lot looked human now."

    Everyone: ¡­

    Thank you so much for your compliment!

    There is a banquet on the dining table; hot pot, barbecue, fruit, and wine. Judging by this arrangement, it seems that they will talk for a very long time. But for the 5 people who just rushed over after a simple lunch, this banquet is undoubtedly a silent temptation.

    Tong Fei sat on the chair. The sweat on her forehead had been wiped off, her hair is pulled up, and she looked mature and charming. Opening a can of beer, Tong Fei took a big gulp and sighed comfortably.

    "What do you want to ask?" Tong Fei asked with her red lips opened and stared at them with big eyes, "You should have heard about the general situation."

    Qin Tan glanced at Lou Fan, who looked eagerly at all kinds of alcohol, and turned his head to answer, "We''ve inquired a bit, it should be the basic situation, so I wanted to ask you for details."

    Tong Fei pursed her lips and looked serious, "Originally, I intended to wait until you come back and talk to you briefly. But as soon as you guys returned, the two of you returned big and your spirit weapons have been upgraded. I don''t know whether to envy you or feel anxious for your guys."

    "Alright, things are a bit weird recently. You all know the basic situation and I won''t talk about it anymore. According to the information I got from the organization of the demised team, including the Black Scorpion, we lost 6 whole teams. 3 of them are senior teams, and the other 3 are intermediate teams. Moreover, the 3 intermediate teams are about to enter the rank of the senior team, which is just a step away. Now, everyone''s focus is on what a terrible mission world that caused none of the 6 teams to survive. For your information, among the 6 teams, there are 4 passengers with intermediate spirit weapons." Tong Fei paused, then raised her head suddenly, "Speaking of which, the Liwan Plaza you''ve been to is a super scary mission world. That¡¯s where the 1st team got annihilated."

    After Tong Fei said that, she looked at the team, as if suddenly curious and asked, "What was your mission? Can you tell me the whole process of your stay in Liwan Plaza? I remember the senior team that came back with you, they only have 3 members left."

    And the junior team in front of her, everyone came back well and alive.

 CH 70

    Liwan Plaza mission world, 2 members of the senior team died, but everyone in the junior team survived.

    The first 2 sentences sounded normal, but the last part seemed wrong. Liwan Plaza is equivalent to a slaughterhouse. Even the senior team lost 2 members, and almost got annihilated. It¡¯s fine that none of the junior team get killed or injured, but 2 of them even upgraded their spirit weapons. Moreover, the spiritual book that only their team knows has activated a sky-defying usage.

    It''s not scientific at all.

    The question caused Lou Fan to pause while turning the bottle in his hand, and he looked up at Tong Fei. Her eyes looked serious, but there are also doubts in them. All kinds of emotions are mixed together.

    "Sister Tong Fei, when is your next mission?"

    Tong Fei smiled bitterly, "The day after tomorrow."

    Lou Fan ruffled a handful of his newly cut hair. Tong Fei''s next mission is Level 10, which is the so-called threshold mission. Feeling a little irritable, Lou Fan replied, "I''ll tell you about it, how Qin Tan and my spirit weapon got upgraded."

    Tong Fei''s spirit weapon has not been upgraded yet, which is the biggest problem.

    Asking Qin Tan to explain may result in only a few words, so Lou Fan is the one to explain to Tong Fei from the beginning to the end of the whole mission, very carefully. The part of Qin Tan¡¯s upgrade is done by Qin Tan while Lou Fan explained carefully about his upgrade.

    The nails painted with starry blue glowed with fine light, and they tapped on the table one by one, making a slight sound. Tong Fei¡¯s head is lowered but she is actually listening carefully to what Lou Fan said. Qin Tan''s spirit weapon was upgraded because Lou Fan is in danger, and Lou Fan''s spirit weapon was an epiphany from hearing the scriptures.

    But as Chen Changdong said, the upgrade of the spirit weapon is something that can''t be forced/created. Also, there¡¯s the other most important point.

    "Sister Tong Fei, has your physique been improved?"

    Lou Fan stared at Tong Fei with wide eyes, and Tong Fei could even feel the tension in his eyes. She burst out laughing and said, "Don''t worry, it''s already improved."

    Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief in an instant, "That''s good, I guess you''re just a step away. You''ll improve soon." Maybe in the next world.

    Tong Fei is not as optimistic as Lou Fan is. On the contrary, the next world may be the most dangerous.

    This kind of thing is unknown, Tong Fei left these aside and raised the wine glass, "Come, let¡¯s toast. We¡¯ll celebrate your smooth return, and wish me a successful upgrade too."

    Lou Fan held up the wine glass, "I wish you a safe return as well, Sister Tong Fei."

    A few people touched their glasses, and the atmosphere began to warm up.

    Tong Fei said with a smile, "Actually, I''m going to introduce 2 people to you today, and they should be there soon."

    Qin Tan put down the wine and turned to talk about another thing, "I remember you said yesterday that you were going to tell us another thing, what is it?"

    Tong Fei is stunned for a moment and suddenly remembered that she was going to say about 1 more issue. She pursed her lips and said, "It is about why everyone tacitly agrees not to talk about the upgrade of the spirit weapon. Speaking of which, everyone speculates that this incident of teams getting annihilated is also related to the spirit weapon. You all know that with the increase of tasks, the difficulty of the task will also increase. But the change in the difficulty of the task is not only related to the level of passengers but also related to their spirit weapon. That is to say, the higher the level of one¡¯s spirit weapon, the greater the difficulty of the task. Although the task is divided into 2 levels, but inevitably, the difficulty of the entire mission world will also increase. Simply put, once their strength cannot keep up, it is very dangerous for one to encounter a team with an intermediate spirit weapon in a mission world."

    "Of course, the advanced spirit weapon has not yet appeared, but I think if someone has it, the difficulty of their task is unimaginable."

    Qin Tan¡¯s team agreed with Tong Fei. Lou Fan wondered inside if he and Qin Tan would cause the difficulty of his team''s tasks to increase. If so, it is imminent to improve the strength of his team members as soon as possible. Also, he had to find a way to upgrade their spirit weapons too. For time being, Chen Shuyang¡¯s spirit weapon should have little hope to upgrade.

    What Lou Fan is thinking, Qin Tan is thinking about it too. When his eyes swept over the other 3 members, Wen Lang suddenly felt a chill on his back. Jiang Dong rubbed his arms and felt a little cold, while Chen Shuyang shuddered.

    Just as they are talking, a tall figure walked in from the door. A girl greeted the person as he entered and he just snorted lightly. Next, he walked in without stopping. When the man saw the 5 people sitting in front of the dining table, he stopped.

    Tong Fei looked up and got up immediately. Smiling, she walked over and patted the man''s sturdy arm, pulling him over.

    "Let me introduce you, this is the savior of my last mission. En, his level is similar to you guys. His name is Nie Feng."

    At this moment, Chen Shuyang''s cheeks are a little red. With a fresh hairstyle and confused eyes, Chen Shuyang tilted his head, and asked in confusion, "Eh, his name is not Tony?"

    "Pfft!" 3 people spat out their drinks in unison, followed by a scrambling sound to wipe the water.

    Tong Fei also burst out laughing.

    Qin Tan had a smile in his eyes, but a very apologetic expression. He said to Nie Feng, "Sorry, Shuyang is probably drunk."

    While wiping his mouth, Wen Lang picked up the can in front of Chen Shuyang and shook it. There is still a bit of beer left. This kind of drinking level is more terrifying than those weaklings who get drunk after 3 glasses of beer.

    Jiang Dong stood up to help Chen Shuyang, who is swaying back and forth, "I¡¯ll put him on the sofa. From the look of it, he is drunk."

    Chen Shuyang¡¯s face is red, and his hair is messed up by his movements. He looked cute with a student-like appearance, and also fluffy like a small animal.

    Nie Feng frowned and walked over to him. Jiang Dong who was supporting Chen Shuyang immediately took a half step back. However, Nie Feng is tall and big with long limbs, so he caught Chen Shuyang right away.

    Lou Fan is about to stand up when he saw Nie Feng gently smoothing Chen Shuyang''s hair, tidying it to its original hairstyle. He is about to withdraw his hand in satisfaction when Chen Shuyang threw himself into Nie Feng¡¯s arms and rubbed his face against his chest. After that, he smacked his mouth twice and slept soundly with his eyes closed.

    Lou Fan palmed his forehead helplessly, and Jiang Dong planned to take over Chen Shuyang. However, Nie Feng frowned and carried Chen Shuyang in a princess hug. He walked to the edge of the sofa and placed him on the sofa with a light movement, before covering him with the blanket on the side.

    Not a word was spoken throughout the process.

    Tong Fei squinted and glanced back and forth, revealing a meaningful smile. "Everyone, come and sit down. Just let Shuyang sleep there. The beer I prepared here is not high enough in alcohol content. Is Shuyang''s drinking that bad?"

    As Tong Fei is talking, she glanced over their hair, and suddenly realized, "Did you go to Nie Feng to cut your hair? I was thinking that the craftsmanship is really good." Speaking of this, she remembered what Chen Shuyang said about Nie Feng¡¯s name as Tony and suddenly can''t stop laughing.

    Immediately, Tong Fei waved her hand and said, "Let¡¯s talk about business. Nie Feng saved me in the last mission, it happens that he is about the same level as you, Level 5. His 6th mission will be arriving soon. I remember that you still have a spot in your team so I thought to introduce you guys and also, give you a good helper. He is quite remarkable."

    Lou Fan thought about Nie Feng¡¯s quick hands and feet when he cut his hair. The man looked tall and strong, so his skill shouldn''t be bad. But he couldn''t decide this, so he turned to look at Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan give Nie Feng a look-over and asked, "What about your former teammates?"

    "It was a randomly assigned group, they are dead."

    Still short and concise as ever. Tong Fei touched her nose, "He doesn¡¯t talk much."

    Qin Tan: "Interested in a fight?"

    Nie Feng didn''t say a word. He only raised his feet expressionlessly and walked to the small garden outside.

    Wen Lang smiled and whistled, "This guy is cool enough. He dares to fight with our brother Qin. Just wait until he gets beaten down."

    Nie Feng''s fighting moves are very random, but he can always find the key points of the fight. Although he is tall, his body is unbelievably soft. Several times Qin Tan is about to apprehend him, he fought with a backhand and managed to slip away again.

    Watching the two fight each other, the people on the side are so excited that Lou Fan couldn''t help but want to go forward to exchange a few moves too. In the end, Qin Tan won. The two of them are breathing heavily and wiping away their sweat. Previously they were looking at each other with a fierce glint and but now suddenly there is a smile in it. Nie Feng smiled, it was a very shallow smile and gone with the wind in the next second.

    Qin Tan walked up to Nie Feng and held out his hand, "Interested in joining our team?"

    Nie Feng looked at the hand for 2 seconds and reached out to hold it, "My pleasure."

    Tong Fei clapped, feeling like a matchmaker who had brought good things together, "Come and have a drink. Congratulations to you guys for adding a strong member."

    Everyone cheered, Lou Fan drank the wine in the glass in one breath, and his heart is relieved.

    At that moment, the knocking sound of ''dong dong dong'' sounded, and the people at the table looked sideways. A man is leaning against the door. He is wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking mature and handsome, and he is looking at the table with a smile. Seeing everyone looking over, he chuckled lightly, "I don''t know if I¡¯m disturbing?"

    Tong Fei stood up again and trot towards the man with a very sweet smile on her face, "You''re here, come in quickly."

    Wen Lang whispered, "I bet the relationship between this man and Sister Tong Fei is not simple."

    Jiang Dong: "Do you think everyone is blind?"

    Lou Fan sniffed hard, "I smell the sour stench of love."

    The man stretched out his hand from behind and handed Tong Fei a blue enchantress flower. Seeing that, Tong Fei''s face suddenly seemed to bloom, a hundred times more beautiful than the flower in his hand. Her whole appearance is more delicate than a flower.

    Tong Fei sniffed the flower and said softly, "It smells nice, thank you. I like it very much." Then she took the man¡¯s hand and walked in, "I''ll introduce you to some good friends."

    Tsk tsk, no matter how fierce a woman is, she will become a little sheep when she encounters love.

    Tong Fei took the man to the front of a group of people and introduced him with a smile, "This is my boyfriend, Qi Haichao, and these are my good friends." She introduced them one by one and said everyone''s name. She didn¡¯t miss even Chen Shuyang, who is currently slumbering away without a hint of what¡¯s going on.

    With a gentle smile, Qi Haichao greeted everyone very friendly. When he saw the spirit weapon behind Qin Tan and Lou Fan, his eyes flashed slightly, and then he returned to normal.

    "Hello everyone, thanks for taking care of Tong Fei before this." Qi Haichao hugged Tong Fei''s waist. Talking about his girlfriend, he turned his head to look at Tong Fei, and the doting in his eyes almost overflowed.

    Tong Fei looked sweet and shy.

    Lou Fan rubbed his arms, feeling uncomfortable all over. He turned to look at Wen Lang, who also had a sour expression and waved his eyebrows at him. Jiang Dong lowered his eyes, he thinks that it is intentional. Only Qin Tan and Nie Feng¡¯s faces are expressionless like they didn''t see the two people showing off their love.

    The hand under the table gently hooked the little finger of the person next to him. Lou Fan exerted a little strength and got enveloped by the man''s hand. Being wrapped in the palm of the man¡¯s hand, Lou Fan is instantly satisfied.

    Gee, the sour stench of love.

 CH 71

    With Qi Haichao¡¯s arrival, everyone immediately entered the normal eating routine. All of them are engrossed in eating, not even sparing time to drink wine. Qi Haichao still had a decent smile on his face, and occasionally said a few words. Until everyone slowed down their eating, he still kept the same smile.

    "I heard Xiao Fei say that half of your team members is Level 5 while the other half is Level 6." Qi Haichao said, his voice warm and clear.

    "Yes." Qin Tan responded.

    Qi Haichao smiled, "I have some information to tell you. Not sure if you knew it before."

    Lou Fan instantly became interested, "Tell me about it."

    Qi Haichao smiled again, and Lou Fan shivered all over. He has this feeling that Qi Haichao¡¯s smile is so penetrating that he felt unspeakably uncomfortable.

    "Generally in Lazuli, passengers of the same level will form a team by default. If there is a difference in level, then Lazuli''s preference is to divide the task world according to the highest level team member. That is to say, if Level 5 and 6 members go together, then the difficulty will be set according to the Level 6 team members. Hence, passengers with lower levels will suffer, this is a default rule."

    Seeing Lou Fan nod, Qi Haichao added, "So, your next mission should be the Level 6 mission."

    Lou Fan had this guess before. Every time he would wonder why his team''s mission is so unusual. Apparently, it¡¯s because Qin Tan and Wen Lang are a level higher than them.

    Qi Haichao is still smiling, Except for Lou Fan''s face that looked fine, the rest of the people are expressionless. The more he smiled, the more he felt embarrassed. Slowly his face began to stiffen.

    "Cough, your next mission should be the Level 6 mission. The Level 6 mission is the threshold to become the intermediate team. According to the common arrangement, it should be a very simple world because you just need to lead the Level 1 team and the newcomer team. As long as you are careful, it will be fine. Consider this a transitional mission world."

    Lou Fan propped his chin and nodded as he listened. In Qi Haichao''s eyes, Lou Fan looked like he is eager to learn, which stroke Qi Haichao¡¯s ego. He thought to himself that although these two people are both intermediate-level spirit weapons holders, they seemed to be inexperienced. Maybe they are just lucky. Aren¡¯t they still need to be taught by an experienced person like him now?

    Tong Fei is about to speak, she wanted to tell Qi Haichao that this junior team is very unusual, but she saw Qin Tan shaking his head slightly at her, and she paused. Turning to look at Qi Haichao who is still talking, she pursed her mouth and stayed silent.

    Lou Fan yawned and heard Qi Haichao say in a very kind voice, "Both of you have intermediate-level spirit weapons, they must be very powerful. Xiao Fei is about to start her next mission and I''m very worried about her. I have told her about my experience, but it doesn''t seem to be of any use."

    "Oh, we just have pure luck." Lou Fan turned to look at Tong Fei and winked, "I told Sister Tong Fei just now that we are lucky and managed to randomly bump into the right direction. We are just a junior team and don''t understand anything so your experience is very useful to us."

    A stool slid across the ground, making a harsh rubbing sound. Qin Tan stood up, straightened his clothes, and said in a low voice, "We''ll go back first, everyone is tired."

    Lou Fan nodded and stood up, "Sister Tong Fei, we¡¯ll go back first and not disturb you guys enjoying your time together."

    Tong Fei smiled and watched as they supported Chen Shuyang up and walked out. Seeing that Qi Haichao is going out too, she smiled and said, "I''ll just send them off myself."

    "Won¡¯t that be impolite..." Before Qi Haichao could finish speaking, Tong Fei had already followed the group out and didn''t respond to him at all. His smiling face suddenly collapsed and his expression is heavy. His eyes are fixed on the backs of the group of people with a deep gaze.

    Outside of the house, Lou Fan turned his head and saw that Qi Haichao hadn''t followed. He said to Tong Fei, "Sister Tong Fei, I''ll come to see you tomorrow. Um, I have something to do now so I''ll go back for today."

    Tong Fei nodded, understanding what Lou Fan meant.

    Nie Feng silently nodded to Tong Fei as a greeting and stepped up to keep up with the people in front of him. This is his new team now.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong walked in front while supporting Chen Shuyang, and Lou Fan and Qin Tan walked behind. Suddenly remembering that they have a new person joining the team today, Lou Fan tugged Qin Tan''s shirt, motioning him to look back.

    Qin Tan turned his head and saw Nie Feng walking slowly behind them, his demeanor lazy and indifferent.

    "Nie Feng, where do you live?" Qin Tan asked.

    Nie Feng is stunned by the question for a moment. He thought about it and seemed to have a headache. Then he said, "I have forgotten where. I sleep in the store."

    In the store?!

    Lou Fan remembered the so-called store is a shed that was built to keep out the wind and rain at best. That place could also be called a home? Isn''t this person a bit too big-hearted?

    "Team leader, how do you arrange the new team member? You can''t let such a poor teammate sleep on the street, right?"

    Qin Tan thought for a moment. Downstairs, except for him and Lou Fan¡¯s room, other rooms have been converted into recreation rooms. The place where Chen Shuyang lived in the past has turned into training rooms. Then, the 3 rooms upstairs are fully occupied. The only room left is a utility room. It¡¯s just that the space is too small, only can fit a single bed.

    "I can accept anywhere, even the sofa." Nie Feng''s lazy voice sounded.

    Qin Tan made a decision and said, "Then, we¡¯ll clear the utility room and put a single bed for you."

    It''s good to meet a teammate who is not picky. See, a decision can be made in just a few minutes.

    It is only after 6.00 pm when they returned to the residence. Because of Qi Haichao''s arrival, everyone hadn''t eaten much afterward. Now that they have returned to their residence, they all feel a little hungry.

    Not long after Chen Shuyang is brought back, he sobered up at the moment. He rubbed his head and sat on the sofa, looking at Nie Feng with a confused expression.

    "Aren''t you the barber? Why are you here?"

    Nie Feng sat lazily next to Chen Shuyang. Looking at the cow lick hair on the top of his head, Nie Feng¡¯s hands felt itchy again.

    At this moment, Wen Lang came out of the kitchen with a glass of water. When he saw Chen Shuyang is awake, he exaggeratedly exclaimed, "I''m not trying to criticize you, Shuyang. But your alcohol tolerance is no different than none. A glass is enough to make you drunk and you start talking nonsense after that."

    Seeing Nie Feng, who is sitting beside him, Wen Lang recalled that Chen Shuyang was sleeping on the sofa when they accepted the new member. Hence, he introduced him, "This is Nie Feng, a new member of our team."

    The new member Nie Feng gave Chen Shuyang a lazy look. Chen Shuyang make a sound of acknowledgment and said, "Hello, my name is Chen Shuyang".

    They didn¡¯t have enough of the hot pot earlier and didn¡¯t want to think too much about what to make. So, Qin Tan simply brought out a pot of hot pot. Jiang Dong helped to wash and cut the vegetables. Lou Fan stuck his head out and saw 2 people sitting on the sofa. He has never been soft-hearted when using free labor so he gave orders right away.

    "Nie Feng, come and help set the table. Wen Lang, go get the drink out. Shuyang, wash your face and sober up. You will have a non-alcoholic drink later. Hurry up, everyone. Get up and get ready to eat." After that, he clapped his hands and continued to help in the kitchen.

    Chen Shuyang responded and got up obediently. He went to the bathroom to wash his face.

    On the other hand, Nie Feng is stunned, as if he didn''t understand what Lou Fan said to him. After a while, he slowly got up and walked towards the kitchen with his long legs.

    6 people sat at the long dining table that is full of food, with more meat and fewer vegetables. Lou Fan held up an open bottle of beer and got up.

    "Cheers, let¡¯s welcome Nie Feng to the team. We have added a new member to our big family."

    Chen Shuyang¡¯s hand is a little itchy and he wanted to sneak a beer over, but the person next to him stuffed a bottle of Coke into his hand. He turned to look and the man looked down. He looked like he is not fully awake, holding a bottle of beer in his hand. Chen Shuyang stood up. Being much shorter than Nie Feng suddenly makes him a little dissatisfied with his height.

    "Cheers!"

    Nie Feng didn''t talk much, most of the time is Lou Fan and the others talking while Chen Shuyang spoke up occasionally. Nie Feng narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curved to a smile that he didn''t even notice. It had been a long time since he felt such a happy team atmosphere.

    "By the way, Nie Feng, what is your spirit weapon?" Wen Lang asked curiously.

    Nie Feng took out a pair of scissors from his pocket. It is the one that cut their hair. He stood up and swung forward with the scissors in his hand. It instantly turned into a pair of scissors that is more than 1 meter long. The smooth surface glinted with cold lights, and the blade looked extremely sharp. Nie Feng rested the scissors on his shoulders with one hand, his appearance seemed domineering and powerful.

    "My god! That is so frcking handsome!" Wen Lang almost jumped up, staring with envy.

    This weapon is awesome! Lou Fan gave a thumbs up and asked, "Nie Feng, have you improved your physique?"

    The scissors flipped in Nie Feng¡¯s hand and became smaller again. Putting it into his pocket, he shook his head and sat down, "I was in randomly assigned teams previously, so no."

    Lou Fan turned his head to look at Qin Tan, Qin Tan gave him a faint nod. He got up and walked to his room. When he came out again a few minutes later, he is smiling and holding the snow furball in his hand.

    "Guys, see who is this."

    Everyone turned to look at the snow furball in Lou Fan¡¯s hand. Next, Furball opened its mung bean-sized eyes and chirped twice. Then, it swooped and pounced at Chen Shuyang.

    Chen Shuyang exclaimed in surprise, "Furball, you are awake!"

    Furball has been sleeping for almost half a month and now it finally woke up. On the other hand, their team welcomed a new member. Overall, everything is going fine.

    Lou Fan smiled and handed the Longjing grass to Nie Feng. Nie Feng shifted his surprised gaze from the furball and looked at the grass in front of him with doubts.

    "This is Longjing Grass, which has a certain role in improving physical fitness. As a new team member introduced by Sister Tong Fei, we fully trust you. Everyone in our team has improved their physical fitness. As a member of our team, you can''t hold us back. So, you should set some time to eat this directly. As for the upgrade of your spirit weapon, we certainly hope you can do it as soon as possible."

    The surprise in Nie Feng''s eyes is even greater. If he remembered correctly, in all the teams he joined before, although they are called a team, everyone basically does things for their own interests. So, it is impossible to anyone to give away this kind of thing to others.

    Seeing Nie Feng¡¯s hesitation, Lou Fan put down the Longjing grass in front of him and sat back in his seat. Then he said slowly, "Of course, while we trust you, I also hope you can trust us. After all, we want to go on missions together. Our goal is the same, which is to return to the original world, right?"

    It''s not that Nie Feng distrusts this Longjing grass, he was just caught off-guard by this team''s unexpected actions. Not saying anything, he picked up the Longjing grass and put it in his mouth without hesitation. Next, he chewed it twice and swallowed everything. A warm feeling rose in his lower abdomen, then the feeling flowed to his limbs and bones. After that, it disappeared.

    Furball tilted its head at the stranger and chirped twice¡ªwho is this man?

 CH 72

    After sleeping for half a month, Furball is very affectionate to everyone. It rubbed itself in everyone¡¯s arms before returning to Lou Fan. Squatting on the edge of the plate in front of Lou Fan, Furball began to feast.

    After eating the hot pot, Lou Fan slumped on the sofa, rubbing his bulging belly. He felt more comfortable eating at home. There are no annoying people here so his appetite is much better.

    Jiang Dong and Wen Lang helped to clean up Nie Feng''s room which is next to Chen Shuyang¡¯s. After dinner, Nie Feng went to his room. The rest also cleaned up and returned to their rooms.

    After everything is cleaned up, only Lou Fan and Qin Tan are left downstairs. Seeing Lou Fan lying on the sofa and didn''t want to move, Qin Tan helplessly walked over. Leaning close to Lou Fan, Qin Tan lowered his head and bit Lou Fan¡¯s lips.

    Feeling the pain, Lou Fan let out a whimper. Next, Furball rushed over to block between the two and started a staring match with Qin Tan.

    "Pfft." Lou Fan laughed, and rubbed Furball''s head, which felt so good, "Furball is good. He bullied me so you have to help me."

    Furball chirped twice and glared at Qin Tan aggressively, with a feeling of ''If you want to bully my master, step over my dead body first''. Lou Fan twisted his body wickedly, and the place where the two were touching suddenly became tight.

    The sensation caused Lou Fan to suppress the low breath in his throat, while Qin Tan took a deep breath. His eyes suddenly darkened, and one could even see the desire flashing inside.

    "Acting up now? That place doesn''t hurt anymore?" The man asked in a suppressed voice.

    However, there is a ball of fur blocking in front of him. No matter how one looked at the scene, there is no sense of threat. Lou Fan sneered, "Only you are allowed to be a tease? Not possible!" Anyone can be one, depending on who can do better.

    Looking at the smug man under him, Qin Tan picked the furball up and flung it away. With a PA, Furball got thrown far away. After rolling twice on the ground, it stood up in confusion. Next, Furball bared its teeth and wants to jump back, only to find out that it got locked in the living room. Furball chirped twice outside but no one responded so it can only lie down on the sofa by itself, staring at the door.

    The touch of fingers lingers on his firm back, making his back muscles turn tenser. Qin Tan let go of the lips he was biting. His voice is so low that he could spit fire, "You don''t want to get up anymore tomorrow?"

    Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan defiantly and pecked him on the mouth, "Who said I can''t get up tomorrow? Have you never heard a saying before - There¡¯s no over-plowed fields, only exhausted cows?"

    Qin Tan squinted. This person is very arrogant today, could it be because of drinking? Next time, it''s better to make him drink a little more.

    Strong arms wrapped around the man and they threw themselves on the bed. Clothes have long since been discarded and their exposed skin sticks to each other. Qin Tan slid his fingers to the edge of Lou Fan¡¯s lower abdomen. With a flick, the clasp opens easily. Lou Fan is fully exposed to the air and the coldness made him shiver. In the next second, he is engulfed by the man again.

    Hot sensation invaded and the intense pleasure made Lou Fan arched his body to accommodate; his toes slightly curled up. The violent impact made the leaked gr.o.a.n shatter into pieces. Lou Fan hugged the man''s neck tightly, gasping like a choking fish. He could only feel like he is currently bobbing up and down, about to be overwhelmed by the huge waves.

    Qin Tan held Lou Fan tightly, fiercely thrusting in and out. It was like huge fireworks exploded in Lou Fan''s mind but Qin Tan bit his lips, suppressing the gro.a.n.s in his throat. Then, the man covered on top of him, kissing his lips lightly.

    Lou Fan felt like he got turned over and over again. His entire body is powerless, and it felt like he is about to be torn apart. Maybe there¡¯s only a broken body left for tomorrow.

    "The field is damaged by over-plowing?"

    Lou Fan: You still have the frcking spirit to joke around.

    The eyes glaring at Qin Tan looked like they are fluttering like a soft wink, very seductive. Qin Tan couldn''t hold back and bit down again.

    With a pain in his chest, Lou Fan growled, "Qin Tan, are you a dog?"

    "Yes, you only find out today? I''m a dog." After Qin Tan said that, he stuck out his tongue and licked Lou Fan¡¯s nips lightly.

    Lou Fan froze all over, and a shudder ran from his tailbone to the back of his head: ¡­

    Qin Tan, where is your face (dignity)? I don''t want to date a dog.

    ...

    Wen Lang heard Qin Tan humming in the kitchen early in the morning. He walked over with a weird look and asked, "Brother Qin, why are you so happy?"

    Qin Tan: "Ploughing the land makes me happy."

    Lou Fan who just came out while rubbing his waist: ¡­

    ¡­

    Lou Fan is sitting on the sofa with a can of Coke, waiting for Tong Fei to come down. There is still a little discomfort in the waist. As he rubbed it, he pulled a soft pad to put it under his buttocks.

    Tong Fei arrived with a grin. Big waves of hair draped over her shoulders, and she sat across from Lou Fan while looking at her newly painted nails. Her gaze is very blatant as she glanced up and down Lou Fan''s waist, "What happened? Your conjoined twins didn''t come with you?"

    Lou Fan: "No, he¡¯s kneeling on the washboard at home."

    "Pfft." Tong Fei couldn''t help laughing out and then changed the subject. She asked, "So, tell me why you asked to see me today?"

    Lou Fan put down the Coke. He took out 2 sets of spells, a total of 8 amulets, and handed them to Tong Fei. "Tomorrow, you are going to enter your next mission world. Consider this a gift given by our team, take it."

    Tong Fei raised her eyebrows as she reached out to take it. Then, her expression changed immediately. She heard from Qi Haichao yesterday that the bazaar registration office obtained a few amulets, but they got intercepted by the senior management of the registration office before they could get listed on the electronic board. Also, the asking price was not expensive. She remembered hearing Qi Haichao say that he didn''t know which idiot was selling it but it was really stupid to sell a few amulets at such a low price. So stupid.

    Tong Fei touched the amulets, which are made with ordinary paper. The spell on it was drawn with a black-inked pen, which is completely different from the ordinary amulet she knew. But it looked exactly as Qi Haichao described, and the seller guarantees that it will work.

    Tong Fei looked up at Lou Fan and asked hesitantly, "You give me so much of such an important thing? You are also the people who put it up to sell in the bazaar yesterday?"

    Lou Fan didn''t expect that Tong Fei would know about it and nodded, "It''s ours. I can''t tell you how we got it, but I promise it works."

    "Of course I believe you." Tong Fei waved her hand, hesitant to return the amulets. Since Lou Fan gave it to her, it means he still has some in hand so she added, "Then, I will thank you first."

    Lou Fan laughed, "It¡¯s nothing, but don''t tell anyone else."

    The meaning in his words is too clear. Tong Fei looked at Lou Fan and said seriously, "You don''t like Qi Haichao. Why?"

    "It doesn''t matter if we like him or not." Lou Fan said, "It''s just that I instinctively don''t like him. Sister Tong Fei, you should also be a bit more vigilant."

    After explaining to Tong Fei about the effect and usage of the spell, Lou Fan has completed what he came to do. He still have to go back to training, so he told Tong Fei that they will come to send her off tomorrow, then got up and left.

    Tong Fei pinched the amulets in her hand, feeling a little emotional for a while.

    Jiang Rou came out of the kitchen with some fruits in her hand. She didn''t see Lou Fan and only saw her captain sitting silently on the sofa, holding a few strange amulets in her hand.

    "Sister Fei, what is this?"

    Tong Fei handed the amulets to Jiang Rou, "These amulets are given by Lou Fan."

    Hearing that, Jiang Rou widened her eyes. She touched it carefully, and blurted out, "Brother Lou, they are so nice. They even gave us such an important thing, unlike that someone..."

    Jiang Rou stopped herself and looked at Tong Fei carefully. Her eyes shifted, and she made an excuse to slip away.

    Tong Fei giggled to herself. That¡¯s right, friends can think about her so much, but what about men? Heh.

    The next day, at 11.30 am, Lou Fan¡¯s team of 6 people stood on the platform to send Tong Fei off. Tong Fei¡¯s team also has a total of 6 people this time, and everything is well prepared. The team of 6 women[1] is carrying big bags and their expressions are very calm.

    "Sister Tong Fei, you all be careful. Pay attention to safety, and we will wait for your return."

    Tong Fei smiled, "Don''t worry, I will come back safely."

    The train slowly entered the station and Tong Fei took a deep breath. She waved and brought her teammates into the train, never looking back.

    ¡­

    Selling spells, recruiting a new member Nie Feng, and Furball waking up have become the most important things for their team upon returning to Lazuli this time. Because there are too few points in the hand, their team has to sell more amulets even though it is conspicuous. Before this, the amulets are not too eye-catching so nothing happens when they sold it. But now, they can only sell them secretly.

    All the transactions regarding the amulets are done by Jiang Dong to the bazaar registry. Because he requested confidentiality, It didn''t cause any waves. After selling 3 sets, the team thinks they should stop selling temporarily to avoid attracting attention. Although they don''t know who the buyer is, the buyers already know who they are.

    Nie Feng started training with the rest of the team the next day. His skills are good, but he was a wild rogue. It could be seen from his moves that he has been to many fights before. Qin Tan made a training plan for Nie Feng according to his characteristics. Nie Feng politely said thank you, and then trained strictly according to the plan. He also worked very hard.

    The team is actively preparing for their next task, trying to adjust their state to the best, and everyone is working hard. Lou Fan originally planned to exchange a set of weapons for Nie Feng, but Nie Feng didn''t want it, saying that his scissors is easy to use and he didn''t need more. Finally, at Qin Tan''s insistence, he exchanged a dagger and equipped it on himself.

    Jiang Dong learned the lesson from the previous mission this time. After Lou Fan authorized the funds, the medical supplies are well prepared. The quantity is not much but expensive, and all aspects were considered.

    ¡­

    Wen Lang is the first to find out that something is wrong. While eating today, he looked out a few times before saying to everyone, "Do you feel that more people are walking around recently? I counted, there are 10 people walking past from outside this morning alone. This was impossible in the past, as I can count the people I see in a day with just 1 hand."

    Lou Fan sighed, "It seems that this is caused by the sale of amulets. Forget it, those who want to come will always come. We¡¯ll just let them see. We are all so handsome here, it''s a pity not to show them."

    Since no one has taken actual action, the team doesn''t plan to care. It¡¯s not like they can prevent others from passing by their door. It''s illogical.

    The leisure time always passes quickly, and their next task information arrives as usual.

    Task content: Going through the maze and getting on the train on time at 6.00 pm on 29th February. Please get on the train on time at 6.00 am on 20th February.

    Task time limit: From 6.00 am on 20th February to 6.00 pm on 29th February.

    Team information: Lou Fan Level 5, Chen Shuyang Level 5, Jiang Dong Level 5, Qin Tan Level 6, Wen Lang Level 6, Nie Feng Level 6.

    Everyone in the team stared at the words ''Going through the maze''. The content of this task is too simple, and it could only be preliminarily judged that their task is a maze. Hence, the things that could be prepared in advance are very limited.

    Tong Fei''s mission this time lasted for half a month. Hence, until Lou Fan and the others set foot on the train for their mission, they still didn¡¯t see Tong Fei. In his heart, Lou Fan is sweating nervously for Tong Fei and is very worried. There is still 1 day before the deadline for her return. Lou Fan didn''t know if she...

    As an intermediate team, Qin Tan¡¯s team arranged for Wen Lang to impart basic knowledge to the newcomers. This is Lazuli''s practice (for the intermediate team). Wen Lang also made preparations in advance, trying to explain everything in the shortest time and in the most concise words, without wasting time.

    Of course, if there are really disobedient people, they can only use force.

    A day later, Tong Fei and Jiang Rou got off the train. There are only 2 of them left in the 3 carriages[2]. Their bodies are intact, not lacking any parts, but their eyes are cold and ruthless, with a trace of bloodthirstiness. The spirit weapon they held in their hands emitted a faint orange light.

 CH 73

    ?After getting out of the train, Wen Lang took out a small megaphone and shouted to the newcomer''s train compartment, "Those with the black leaflet, yes, you guys. Get off the train and follow me. Now, go through the faregate. Come, come, there is not much time, follow me!" The loudspeaker emits an electric sound, so when Wen Lang said the instructions, it gave people a feeling that he is a tour guide who is leading the visitors to a scenic spot. To be honest, they felt like denying that they know him.

    The junior team inside the compartment beside is led down by a tall man who looked like the team leader. Qin Tan walked out of the platform first, followed by the junior team. After going out of the station, the junior team¡¯s leader walked up to Qin Tan to say hello.

    Lou Fan ignored the people and started to observe the situation around him. This is an amusement park that seems to have been abandoned for a long time. The small carousel not far away is rusted and its original appearance cannot be seen anymore. The iron fence surrounding the amusement facilities is broken into pieces and thrown to the ground in a mess. All in all, it''s a small, deserted amusement park in the middle of nowhere.

    In the middle of the park, there is a railway track that the original track cannot be seen clearly due to being unused for a long time. The train they were riding seemed to be integrated with this park. After everyone left the station, it drove away along this track.

    Turning around, they can see a huge building that is out of tune with the style here in front of them. It is about 3 or 4 stories high, and on the top door there are 2 big characters with colorful lights: ÃÔ¹¬ (Maze). 2 wooden doors are wide open, and the one on the right has a sign that read ¡®Entrance¡¯.

    "Where the hell is this place?" An indifferent female voice asked. A woman is looking at everyone with suspicious eyes, "Who are you? What are you guys planning to do here?"

    The woman has delicate makeup on her face and is wearing a beige professional suit. She looks capable and calm, she should be a senior white-collar worker.

    Wen Lang put away the megaphone and walked over to the newcomers, starting to recite the basic knowledge he had memorized early in the morning. It doesn¡¯t matter if the newcomers believe it or not, it¡¯s not his business anymore after he finished talking. They couldn''t blame him if they courted death themselves. After the series of explanations, Wen Lang clapped his hands and concluded, "That''s it. It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not. If you believe it, just follow us and don''t talk nonsense. If you don''t believe it, then just stay where you are and don''t make trouble. We won¡¯t help if you get beaten up from that."

    The intermediate team consists of 6 people, the junior team consists of 5 people, and the newcomer team consists of 6 people.

    When Lou Fan walked over to Qin Tan¡¯s side, Qin Tan had just finished talking with the team leader of the junior team. The junior team this time is a Level 1 team. Adding the people from the newcomer team, he felt that this task should not be too difficult.

    The newcomers stood on the spot, looking apprehensive. The woman who took the lead strode over, her high heels striding steadily on the dirt-covered ground. At first glance, she can see the leaders standing together. Hence, she walked over and nodded slightly to them. Her voice cold as she said, "My name is Zhuo Lan, what are we going to do now?"

    Qin Tan frowned and replied, "My name is Qin Tan, the team leader of the intermediate team. All of you wait here first and keep quiet."

    Hearing that, Zhuo Lan frowned in dissatisfaction. She is about to speak again, but got stopped by Wen Lang, "I say, this young lady, our team leader is busy now. Can you put away the momentum of a company''s top management staff and stay obedient? And you guys?" He raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself, "... are under my supervision."

    Zhuo Lan didn''t even look at Wen Lang. She remained standing beside Qin Tan, her presence could not be ignored.

    Qin Tan turned his head to look at Lou Fan and introduced, "This is the temporary team leader of the junior team, Song Ye."

    Lou Fan nodded as a greeting. Then he raised his chin in the direction of the maze and said, "That''s our mission this time. I have looked around, but it is just a dilapidated amusement park, nothing of value."

    "What is the junior team''s mission?" Lou Fan asked.

    Song Ye pursed his lips, "Go through the maze."

    Lou Fan is surprised for a moment before asking, "Don¡¯t tell me the newcomer team also has the same mission?"

    Wen Lang nodded, "It''s the same."

    Isn¡¯t the task a bit too easy this time? The task content of the 3 teams is the same, which is almost never heard of. This caused the intermediate team to feel a little confused.

    "Shuyang," Lou Fan called out to Chen Shuyang. Still staring at the huge maze in front of him, he instructed, "analyze the location first and envision what''s inside. Wen Lang and, uh, Zhuo Lan? You guys take out the food from the backpack and divide them among the team."

    Anticipating the situation in the maze, Qin Tan¡¯s team brought the food for the newcomer team as well. Although it is just compressed food, it¡¯s still a bit cumbersome, so they simply divide the food out and let them carry their own food.

    Zhuo Lan¡¯s job has always been instructing others. Except for the general manager of the company, no one can instruct her to do things. Right now, being instructed by a fair-skinned young man with a naive temperament, she suddenly felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. She is about to refute when that gaze lightly brushed over her. Her words stuck in her throat, and she couldn''t say anything.

    Wen Lang called the newcomer team to come over, everyone picked up a simple backpack and he distributed food to them.

    On the other side, Chen Shuyang and Lou Fan analyzed the situation of the maze. According to experience, there are only 2 situations that they might encounter in the maze. One is trap type (hidden traps) and the other is pursuit type (by NPC). Anyway, the probability of encountering a supernatural situation is very small.

    "Then, if the 2 situations appear together, what''s the solution?" Qin Tan''s voice sounded above the heads of the two who are squatting on the ground.

    Lou Fan looked up at Qin Tan and helplessly answered, "Then, we can only depend on our luck to survive."

    "Alright then, that¡¯s about it." Lou Fan stood up on his knees and patted the dirt on his trouser legs. Throwing the backpack over his shoulders, he said, "It¡¯s the first time that there¡¯s a time restriction[1], so let''s go in early."

    The time is now 7.00 am on 20th February, and the group of people is standing at the entrance of the maze.

    Song Ye is followed by 4 team members of Level 1. They are all randomly picked to form a team. As the temporarily selected team leader, his job is basically conveying the instructions from the intermediate team. He had too little experience, so being obedient is the right way. He heard it just now that all teams, even the newcomer team, have the same mission which is going through the maze. Everyone has to enter the maze and can only go back to Lazuli after exiting the maze. Staying where they are right now will only be a dead end.

    Zhuo Lan''s expression is dark, but she couldn''t find anything wrong with the situation. People distributed food to them and didn¡¯t ask them to charge forward. It¡¯s just that she is not allowed to participate in the leadership. She doesn¡¯t understand the situation at all, so it makes sense that she is not qualified to lead. But she just felt uncomfortable all over her body. This feeling of being out of control is horrible and it made her feel very insecure. All she did was accept a flyer and slept on the high-speed train. How can she arrive at such an inexplicable place?

    "The miss over there, I advise you to take off your high heels. If you twist your feet while running, it will be fatal." Wen Lang turned his head to remind the woman kindly.

    When Zhuo Lan came back to her senses, she realized that he was advising her. She looked down at her feet, it was a pair of stilettos with 10 centimeters heels. Needless to say what would happen if she twisted her feet. Zhuo Lan took off her shoes and stepped on the ground with her bare feet. Then she rolled up her wide-leg pants and tied a knot.

    Standing at the front, Qin Tan said loudly, "We are going in now. Everyone be careful, you are responsible for your own safety. If you don''t obey our instructions, you are on your own."

    ¡­

    The maze is literally what it¡¯s called - a maze, there are many forks in the path. There is a tip on how to get through a maze on the Internet. When you encounter a fork in the road, turn left, and then turn left at the next fork. Every time you encounter a fork, turn in the same direction. When you encounter a dead-end, return to the fork and go to the next fork. If you keep walking like this, you will definitely find an exit.

    Lou Fan doesn''t know if this tip is true or not. Anyway, Chen Shuyang said so, so they will be following this plan. There is no other way after all.

    Upon entering the maze, they can see that there is a long alley, with high walls on both sides. The walls are smooth, and it is almost impossible to climb up. They walked along the path and came across the first fork in the road.

    It is a crossroads.

    The maze is very big, and the road inside is very wide. Everyone will inevitably crowd together. The intersection is normal, with bare walls and empty roads. Qin Tan took the lead and turned left first. Lou Fan stared in the other 2 directions for a few seconds, and he didn''t recover until Chen Shuyang patted him.

    "Brother Lou, what''s wrong?" Chen Shuyang followed Lou Fan¡¯s gaze but saw nothing there.

    Lou Fan shook his head. Seeing Wen Lang walking in front with newcomers following behind, and the Level 1 team also crowded together, Lou Fan stepped up to follow, "Let''s go, follow the people in front."

    Nie Feng walked slowly at the end of the crowd, with his hands on the back of his head, as if he is as leisurely as taking a walk after dinner.

    After walking for about 10 minutes, Furball came out from Lou Fan¡¯s pocket and chirped. Lou Fan thought it is asking for food and is about to say something when he heard a small sound by his ear. Before he could say ''be careful'', the path at a meter ahead suddenly sank.

    It¡¯s a trap!

    Lou Fan''s figure flashed, and he immediately grabbed the person in front of him who is about to fall.

    "Help!"

    "AHH!"

    3 screams sounded one after another, followed by a long echo. The rest of the people who were caught by other people, all had lingering fears and scrambled to stay away from that trap.

    "Brother Lou, are you guys all right? What should we do now?" Wen Lang pulled away the person in front of him and looked at Lou Fan who is standing on the opposite side. Then, he turned to Qin Tan, "Brother Qin, it''s too far away to get to the other side."

    The trap was only 2 or 3 meters wide at the beginning. But at this moment, it is 5 or 6 meters away, it is impossible to jump to the other side.

    "Let''s go forward separately, remember to pay attention to safety." Lou Fan said helplessly. Looking at the 3 team members on the opposite side, he is a little worried.

    Qin Tan worriedly said, "Be vigilant, maybe we will meet you guys again later."

    On the opposite, there are Qin Tan, Wen Lang, and Jiang Dong. There are also 2 people from the Level 1 team and 3 people from the newcomer team (8 ppl in total).

    On this side, there are Lou Fan, Chen Shuyang, and Nie Feng. Then, there are Zhuo Lan from the newcomer team and 2 people from the Level 1 team (6 ppl in total).

    Knowing that Shuyang is on his side makes Lou Fan more relieved. Qin Tan''s hands are black (unlucky), and Wen Lang and Jiang Dong''s hands are not too white either, which is a bit worrying.

    Wen Lang also reminded with a worried look, "Brother Lou and Shuyang, you two be careful. We will look for you when we find a way."

    "Alright now, you should take care of yourself instead. Don''t you know how much you weigh (in terms of strength)?" Jiang Dong rolled his eyes at Wen Lang. On the opposite side, there¡¯s a lucky king who had an explosive strength, and a walking encyclopedia. Their side here is the ones who should be worried.

    Wen Lang: "You look down on me?"

    "Oh, I even look down on myself."

    Wen Lang: ¡­I had a feeling that something is wrong but don¡¯t know what.

    Lou Fan walked back to the previous fork with the group. This time, he is more cautious. Furball called out before, he is now sure that it is actually cautioning him of dangers. At this moment, Furball is standing on his shoulder. Shrinking into a ball, it looked like a decorative adornment on his shoulders.

    When they came to a fork in the road, Lou Fan stopped walking. He stared at the fork in the road, with a bit of seriousness in his eyes.

 CH 74

    Lou Fan is sure that they had only crossed 1 intersection, which is a crossroads. But the intersection in front of him is a T-junction, which means if his memory is not wrong, then this maze is very problematic.

    Seeing that both Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang looked stunned, then hearing Lou Fan make a sigh, Zhuo Lan couldn''t help asking, "What''s wrong? Why are we not moving? What are you sighing at?"

    "I knew that this maze won''t be that simple." Lou Fan said softly as if talking to himself. Then he answered, "If I''m not mistaken, this maze is constantly changing. We passed a crossroad before but now it''s a T-junction, which means we can only rely on luck. Whatever marks we left previously will disappear."

    Hearing that, Zhuo Lan is stunned, as if she didn''t understand what Lou Fan was saying. The scene of the 3 people falling into a trap on the ground is still flashing in front of her eyes. Their terrible screams echoed in her ears, and her worldview seemed to have collapsed. Now she heard Lou Fan say this, she just feels like the world is spinning.

    Does that mean they can''t get out?

    The Level 1 team member beside Zhuo Lan supported her body that is about to slide down and she grabbed the person''s arm tightly as if she had grabbed onto a life-saving straw.

    "What are you thinking so much about? Just keep walking." A lazy voice sounded. Nie Feng had a hint of impatience in his eyes and didn''t even look at Zhuo Lan as he added, "Let''s go ahead first. If we encounter anything, we¡¯ll just have to fight."

    This is a violent person as well, Lou Fan smiled. Then he turned to look at Chen Shuyang, "Shuyang, which way do you think we should go?"

    Chen Shuyang touched his head, feeling a little distressed, "Brother Lou, if it¡¯s just talking about theories, I can do it. But if the decision depends on luck, then you should do it."

    Since Lou Fan doesn¡¯t have a clue for the time being, he simply walked to the left junction. Chen Shuyang followed behind with Nie Feng next to him. Then, the 2 members of the Level 1 team supported Zhuo Lan and they followed Lou Fan too.

    Zhuo Lan''s heart skipped a beat, and immediately muster the strength to keep up, fearing that she would be in danger if she is slow.

    Half an hour later, Lou Fan and his party of 6 walked to a dead end. At the end of the road is a very wide house-like room with 3 treasure chest-like boxes inside.

    "What is this, picking a treasure chest?" One of the Level 1 team members asked.

    At the same time, Qin Tan and the others also encountered the same situation, with 3 treasure chests in front of them.

    [Ding dong! Welcome to the "Charming Treasure Chest" game session.

    Choose the treasure chest you want the most! You will get a key if you choose the right one, and there will be a small penalty for the wrong one! The time limit is 5 minutes, please choose carefully.

    Countdown begins!]

    A pleasant and cheerful mechanical sound suddenly appeared. After the voice finished talking, a pale red countdown appeared in the air. It appeared out of nowhere, like a projection in mid-air.

    Everyone turned to look at Lou Fan. Lou Fan glanced at the 3 boxes and asked, "Who among you would like to try?"

    The Level 1 team members immediately shook their heads like a rattle. Chen Shuyang also shook his hand to reject. Nie Feng stayed silent lazily and it doesn¡¯t look like he will say anything. Lou Fan moved his gaze to Zhuo Lan, and Zhuo Lan froze when she met his gaze.

    Lou Fan asked encouragingly, "Would you like to try it?"

    Zhuo Lan''s eyes turned as she started thinking. Her hand on the side of her leg made a fist, and her lips moved, but in the end, she shook her head.

    "Since you guys don''t want to do it, I can only do the honors." Lou Fan said, walking forward to the 3 boxes, with his hand on his chin. His gaze moved back and forth as if considering which one to open.

    On the other hand, Qin Tan and the others encountered the same situation. Qin Tan glanced at the people behind but they all stepped back, even Wen Lang and Jiang Dong took a step back. Qin Tan directly picked someone by name, "Wen Lang, come here."

    Wen Lang waved his hand violently, "No no no, Brother Qin. I''m afraid, you should just do it! No matter what you opened up, we are okay with it!"

    "You are okay with it?" Qin Tan turned to look at everyone, "You guys too?"

    6 heads nodded like chickens pecking at rice[1].

    Qin Tan took a deep breath, alright then. If the others don¡¯t have any problem with it, he has no issue. Even he is afraid of himself, but if the guys aren''t afraid, it wouldn''t be a problem.

    "Well then, I¡¯ll open the box?" Qin Tan confirmed again.

    "Open it, open it!"

    Qin Tan walked to the box on the far left and stood still. He instructed everyone to be careful, took a deep breath, and stretched out his hand to open the box. The box is empty and Qin Tan is stunned for a moment. The next moment, there seemed to be a sound by his ear, the sound of something breaking the air.

    "Dodge!" Qin Tan shouted sharply and swiftly dodged, dodging a round bead shot from the wall. The bead fell to the ground and burst with a bang. Next, a thick black liquid flowed out.

    Everyone scrambled to dodge but some beads managed to touch their clothes. Like a punctured balloon flowing out of liquid, a hole instantly appeared on the clothing, and the edge is charred.

    Hiss!

    The group of people did not dare to be careless and fled to the walkway outside. 5 minutes later, when no more beads are shot, everyone walked in cautiously.

    "Frck, that was horrible!"

    ¡­

    Lou Fan walked to the box on the far left, and without hesitation, he stretched out his hand to open the box. The golden beams of light that he expected did not appear. Instead, a small and ordinary key appeared at the bottom of the box. He bent over to pick it up, and the outline of a door suddenly appeared on the wall next to the box, as if it is being painted on the wall

    "My luck is not bad." Lou Fan turned around and smiled at everyone.

    Zhuo Lan asked in a low voice, "It¡¯s that simple? Then anyone could have opened it. Don¡¯t tell me that there¡¯s a key in every box?"

    Nie Feng looked at Zhuo Lan lazily, his eyes full of suspicion, "Are you really a top-management executive? I kind of doubt your IQ. How about you try to open a box then?"

    Zhuo Lan''s face flushed red, and she wanted to refute but didn''t dare to speak out. The large scissors on Nie Feng''s shoulders shone with cold light, and she could only give him a quiet glare.

    Lou Fan walked to the door and put the key in the keyhole. He is about to turn it when he turned around and said, "Everyone, get your weapons ready. Run if you feel that there¡¯s something wrong, don''t simply stand there stupidly. I''m going to open the door now."

    Lou Fan put his ear against the door and listened carefully, but there is no sound. Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle and yanked the door open.

    Nothing extraordinary is happening at all!

    Lou Fan stuck his head out. He can see that there is a path outside the door, and the left and right sides are empty as usual. This is a bit out of line with Lazuli''s way of doing things.

    In the empty corridor, there are only the footsteps of a few people for a while, which made people feel a little irritable and hopeless, not knowing where they would end up. Lou Fan couldn''t help chatting with Chen Shuyang to waste away the time. Soon, their group came to an end again. In the empty room at the end, there is a huge picture frame on the middle wall, and there are many fragments on the ground. Except for the picture frame in the middle, there are 2 doors on both left and right walls. Each door has a picture on it, but there is no lock on it.

    Chen Shuyang became excited and said, "It should be a puzzle, in which we will choose a door according to the information in the puzzle." After finishing speaking, he put his backpack on the ground and began to sort out the fragments on the ground.

    Lou Fan isn''t too interested in puzzles and went to look at each door. There are 4 patterns which are flowers, birds, fish, and insects and they are painted on the doors (1 picture per door) in very simple strokes. There is nothing special about them. He turned to see that the rest of the people are standing by the side watching Chen Shuyang sort out the fragments. So he said, "Those who know about jigsaw puzzles, help out to sort the pieces. Shuyang, let them know what kind of help you need. As for me, I won''t join in the fun."

    Nie Feng walked over to Chen Shuyang and sat down, watching curiously as Chen Shuyang sorted out the pieces and placed them on the ground. There are patterns on them, but Nie Feng couldn''t tell what they are. In his view, it seemed that every piece looked the same. He has no idea where to start.

    Lou Fan leaned on the side seemingly casually, but he is actually holding the bow tightly in his hand and looked around slowly with vigilance in his eyes. In his heart, he is wondering if anything happened to Qin Tan and the others? Lou Fan is a little worried, but thinking that the man is always calm, Lou Fan felt that there must be no problem.

    ¡­

    The people who escaped the poisonous beads returned to the middle of the room again, staring at the remaining 2 boxes. There is still a 1/2 chance, so they should be able to choose the right one this time, right? Everyone turned their attention to Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan walked up to the box in the middle with a sullen face. Everyone became nervous and secretly gathered up their strength. If something went wrong, they will immediately turn around and run away.

    Qin Tan clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and stretched out his hand¡ª

    Countless balls shot out from all directions, and everyone is standing in the center. When the ball touched another ball next to it, it exploded immediately, spraying colorful liquid. On the other hand, the sprayed liquid would also cause other balls to break when it hits them. For a moment, colorful liquid poured down like heavy rain, drenching the crowd to the bone. To everyone''s relief, this liquid is not poisonous. Some immediately wanted to hide away, but there are too many balls and the blasting speed is fast. Halfway through the escape, no balls are being shot anymore.

    Wen Lang took out a towel to wipe his body in disgust, but he couldn''t wipe it off at all. He turned around and saw Jiang Dong''s colorful face, and burst out laughing.

    "The meaning of the word ¡®ÎåÑÕÁùÉ«¡¯ (colorful), I think I have a deeper understanding of it now." Wen Lang showed a deep expression, but couldn¡¯t hold it and burst out laughing.

    Jiang Dong glanced at Wen Lang, and made no secret of his contempt, "Do you even know how to write the word ¡®Îå²ÊçÍ·×¡¯ (colorful)? Look in the mirror yourself."

    Wen Lang ignored Jiang Dong and turned to look at Qin Tan in front of him. Their team leader¡¯s body can also be summed up in these 2 phrases. He moves fast, but his body is inevitably stained with liquid-like paint. His face looked better than theirs, but some paint still managed to get there. Then looking at the others, it is like a large-scale paint spillage scene. A word can be used to describe their group - embarrassing!

    Wen Lang sighed, "I wonder if something happened to Brother Lou and Shuyang as well?"

    Jiang Dong snorted and said with certainty, "With Lou Fan here, what do you think?" One doesn''t need to think about it, and it definitely won''t be as embarrassing as they are.

    Wen Lang sighed again, "I miss Furball."

    How pitiful it sounds.

    Jiang Dong let Wen Lang wallow in self-pity and left him there. Seeing Qin Tan walking to the last box, he also followed. There is a key in the box,  and a door immediately appeared on the wall. There is a keyhole on the top that matches the key. Qin Tan opened the door, and after confirming that there is no danger, he let out a sigh of relief. He suddenly misses Lou Fan. Staying with him, he had never been in this kind of sorry state at all.

    A group of people behind him are still trying to wipe off the paint. He knocked on the door and signaled, "Let''s go, don''t waste your time. We''ve been delayed here for 5 hours."

    The grumbling people reluctantly shut their mouths and followed the group out. Qin Tan took a step behind and stopped Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, "I''ll leave the front to you two in a while, and I''ll be in charge of vigilance."

 CH 75

    When Qin Tan and his party arrived in the room with a huge picture frame, 2 hours had passed. Ignoring the fragments on the ground, Wen Lang walked to a door with a flower pattern drawn on it and pushed the door open without any hesitation.

    Jiang Dong responded very quickly and shoved Wen Lang aside. At that moment, Wen Lang saw countless flowers with sharp teeth rushing out of the door. Qin Tan decisively swung the Tang sword in his hand and quickly cut off the flower that is pouncing at him with a wide opened mouth. The flower fell to the ground, and the wound dripped bright red ¡®juice¡¯.

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong immediately took out their weapons

    Others are not so lucky. They couldn''t dodge in time and get bitten on the neck by the big mouth of the man-eating flower. Next, the petals bulged, and the person got sucked into the flower. The flowers that managed to devour prey seemed to be satisfied. Moving its cheek-like petals, they quickly retreated behind the door.

    A few minutes later, the other man-eating flowers seemed to have received some instructions. Seemingly dissatisfied, they still returned to the door without hesitation. The door with the flower painted closed with a bang as if something so terrible had never appeared before.

    Qin Tan looked around with a sullen face. Both the Level 1 team and the newcomer team lost a member each. Then, of the remaining 3 survivors, one of them lost an arm. The other 2 got lucky and only suffered minor injuries.

    "Treat your injury." Qin Tan gave some medicine to the wounded people.

    Jiang Dong helped the newcomer to bandage his wounded arm as he gro.a.ned in pain. The wounds that had been treated with medicine quickly stopped bleeding, and Jiang Dong wrapped them up with a layer of bandages.

    Wen Lang bowed his head and stood aside. He was a little reckless just now, opening a door without even being prepared. He glanced up at the 3 remaining doors, hesitating.

    After Jiang Dong finished with the bandages, he put away his things and walked to Wen Lang''s side. Then he said in a low voice, "I''ll open the door, you stay away."

    Wen Lang frowned at Jiang Dong and retorted, "With your luck, a monster might come out and we''ll be finished."

    "Even if a monster appears, I will be blocking in the front so get out of the way."

    Wen Lang pulled Jiang Dong, not giving an inch, "I refused."

    Jiang Dong stroked his hair irritably and grabbed Wen Lang. The two of them looked at each other face to face, their noses almost touching. Jiang Dong stared into Wen Lang''s eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said to Wen Lang, "I said I''ll go, I don''t want you to get hurt."

    Wen Lang stared at Jiang Dong. He could even feel the hand grabbing him shaking slightly. Wen Lang sighed. His palm touched Jiang Dong''s arm, and he said softly but firmly, "We will do this together. You will choose a door, and I¡¯ll by your side."

    A steady stream of heat is transferred from Wen Lang¡¯s hand to him. Jiang Dong looked at Wen Lang¡¯s firm eyes, and there is an indescribable light shining inside. He smiled helplessly and pulled Wen Lang''s hand down. He gave it a squeeze before letting go.

    "Okay, we¡¯ll do this together, but you have to stand behind me."

    Wen Lang wanted to say more, but Jiang Dong stopped him.

    Qin Tan made the wounded stand farther away, before walking to stand behind his 2 team members. Jiang Dong glanced at the remaining door and walked to the door with the bird pattern. Wen Lang couldn''t help but raised his hand to touch Jiang Dong¡¯s arm. Jiang Dong didn''t even look back as he patted Wen Lang¡¯s hand comfortingly. Then, he pushed Wen Lang away and moved his body to block in front of him. Jiang Don took a deep breath and pressed the door slightly harder, the door opened silently, Jiang Dong held his weapon tightly and held his breath. However, 10 seconds later, everything is calm as usual. Then he heard a voice.

    ¡­

    Chen Shuyang took some time to sort out all the fragments, and with his excellent memory, he quickly filtered the patterns in his mind. One has to say that Chen Shuyang is indeed a figure of academic dominance; being calm and organized.

    Half an hour later, Lou Fan stood under the huge puzzle and looked at the painting with admiration.

    On the far right side of the painting, a tall figure surrounded by white light stood there. Lou Fan can''t see his face clearly, but he can feel the divine aura emanating from the figure. The figure is painted with his left hand in a downward gesture. On his right shoulder, there is a huge bird. Its species can¡¯t be identified, but its eyes are sharp. It looked like an eagle but even more ferocious. At the feet of the figure, a group of people is crawling on the ground. There is a small group of people standing in the middle. They are looking up at the figure, holding a mass of red things in their hands.

    As Lou Fan looked at it, an absurd feeling arose in his heart as if he is inside the painting itself, looking up at the tall and vague figure in front of him. But he had a feeling that the figure is looking down at the group of people below with a kind and solemn gaze. There¡¯s even a little expectation and hint of hope inside.

    "I know which door to choose!"

    Chen Shuyang shouted, pulling Lou Fan''s thoughts back in an instant as if his soul had returned to its original place. When Lou Fan looked at the painting again, the scenery just now has disappeared. The jigsaw that Shuyang completed is clearly a landscape painting with shining dots in it. When one looked at it with concentration, it can be seen as a simple pattern of the bird.

    Chen Shuyang jumped up happily to push the door with a bird pattern but is pulled back by Nie Feng. Chen Shuyang looked at him puzzledly, with a question in his eyes.

    Lou Fan angrily stepped forward and smacked Chen Shuyang on the head, "So reckless. If it''s not correct, wouldn''t you just send yourself at death¡¯s door?"

    Chen Shuyang said aggrieved, "It''s definitely right, I can''t be wrong."

    Hearing the reply, Lou Fan felt helpless, not sure if to laugh or cry. What can he say to such a serious and confident top student?

    Nie Feng pulled Chen Shuyang aside and walked up to the door. After he opened the door, everything around is calm.

    Chen Shuyang exclaimed, "See! I already said it is correct."

    "Alright, alright, you are the best." Before Lou Fan could finish speaking, he heard an excited voice calling him.

    "Brother Lou!" Wen Lang shouted, "Brother Lou, I finally see you!"

    This tone is like meeting a savior, with impatient and infinite grievances.

    Lou Fan subconsciously looked for Qin Tan''s figure. When he saw Qin Tan coming out of the door opposite, he is stunned for a moment. Then he burst out laughing so hard that he couldn''t straighten his back.

    "Hahaha¡­¡­"

    Chen Shuyang puzzledly looked at his other team members with splashes of colors on their faces, "What''s wrong with you guys?" Such a sorry state.

    Wen Lang exaggeratedly sighed, "Without Brother Lou, I can''t live anymore. It''s too sad to say it so let¡¯s not talk about it. It''s finally a victory reunion!"

    Both teams walked out of the door and into the corridor. Before Lou Fan could speak to Qin Tan, a familiar and cheerful mechanical voice sounded in the air:

    [Ding dong! Congratulations to the players for passing the 2nd level. Right now, we will immediately start the Guard Patrol mode. The guard¡¯s patrol time limit is 1 hour. The location is random, so please hurry up and escape. Be careful and don''t get caught by the guards, otherwise, there will only be a dead end yo!]

    Its voice is pleasant and cheerful as if the result of getting caught is not death but some great reward.

    Black lines above everyone''s head [-_-ll], but there is no time to think too much. 3 long sirens sounded in the air. Lou Fan did not doubt the words of the mechanical voice at all. He shouted for everyone to run. Immediately after, he took the lead and ran in a direction. No one knows what that ''Guard'' looks like, but it doesn''t sound easy to mess with. However, his luck must have run out because when Lou Fan turned a corner at a T-junction, a soldier-like guard covered in silver armor spawned in the area. The word ¡®turn around¡¯ is still stuck in Lou Fan¡¯s throat and the guard had already rushed over. It moves mechanically but is not dull at all. Rather, it is very flexible. It is holding a long spear in its hand, which is emitting a cold glint.

    Lou Fan stopped on his track and stepped back. Qin Tan, who is behind him, is already facing the guard with his Tang sword held up. The iron weapon collided with a ''BANG'', and Jiang Dong, Wen Lang, and Nie Feng immediately swarmed forward. Chen Shuyang wanted to go up with his long spear as well but got pulled by Lou Fan. Lou Fan turned his head and said, "Everyone, go back to the previous junction. You have to immediately escape when you see the guards."

    The junior team and the newcomers immediately turned around and ran. They don¡¯t know where to go but turn to whichever path they saw.

    Lou Fan pulled out some cross arrows from the quiver at his waist and shot 3 arrows at the guard. However, the omnipotent cross arrows are like an egg hitting a stone. When they hit the guard, they simply fell to the ground, not even causing a scratch on the guard. Lou Fan''s expression changed. Looking at the guard who is only feeling tickled from the 4 people¡¯s attacks, he said decisively, "Stop fighting and take the opportunity to run. You can''t be caught."

    Chen Shuyang hurriedly yelled, "Try using the immobilizing amulet!"

    Wen Lang pulled back and got an amulet out. Then he sticks it on the guard, and the guard is immobilized! The four immediately pulled away and ran. 5 seconds later, the heavy footsteps of the guards sounded again.

    This immobilizing amulet can only last 5 seconds!

    The 6 people ran together, and Qin Tan said, "Don''t separate, run together."

    Wen Lang immediately nodded with understanding. They must not separate, promise him!

    Lou Fan nodded, it would be best if the six of them stayed together, so that they won¡¯t have to worry about the others.

    However, in their hasty escape, the 6 people from the junior team and the newcomer team, are now left with only 3 running ahead of them. No one knows where the other 3 people have run off to.

    After running through a few forks, the guard behind him had been thrown off so the group stopped to take a breath and rest. But before their breathing could turn stable, the familiar heavy footsteps sounded from another direction so everyone immediately started running again.

    After an hour.

    [Ding dong! The Guard Patrol mode is turned off, see you again in 4 hours yo!]

    The alarm is lifted, and several people immediately collapsed to the ground without caring about their image. Their eyes are closed and their faces are pale as if they are terribly sick. Only the rapid ups and downs of their chests indicated that they are still alive, and their hearts are beating strongly.

    "Have we really entered just a maze? Who said this mission is a transitional mission, which is easy, and not difficult at all?!" Wen Lang gritted his teeth, "It¡¯ll be fine if we just be careful?! Man, ¡­ I felt... like dying."

    As the last 2 words are spoken, Jiang Dong covered Wen Lang¡¯s mouth and said, "Children''s words carry no harm (idiom), don''t talk nonsense."

    Wen Lang: Frck your ¡®Children''s words carry no harm¡¯, who are you scolding?!

    However, Wen Lang could only glare at Jiang Dong. For some reason, he didn''t dare to refute, and he subconsciously spat twice (to undo the words he said).

    Lou Fan propped himself and sat up. His eyes looked back and forth between Wen Lang and Jiang Dong and finally smiled with a motherly look on his face. Wen Lang rubbed his arms, only feeling Lou Fan being creepy while Jiang Dong grinned at Lou Fan, showing a knowing look.

    Tsk, Lou Fan felt like he has underestimated Jiang Dong''s mensao-ness!

    Lou Fan stop bothering with them and turned to look at Qin Tan, scanning up and down. Before he could see enough, he got hugged by Qin Tan.

    "Stop looking."

    Lou Fan buried his head in Qin Tan''s chest. Qin Tan¡¯s voice sounded muffled in his ears, tickling his heart. His fingers unconsciously pressed on Qin Tan''s thigh. Immediately, someone grabbed his unruly hand.

    "Are your skin feeling itchy, hmm?" (Do you want to get spanked?)

    Lou Fan''s face twitched. Does he know what kind of situation is this? Still talking nonsense!

 CH 76

    Zhuo Lan took a deep breath but felt that she had never been so tired in her life. She already doesn''t know how to move her hands and feet and is completely powerless. Just now, she could only mechanically run with the group. At this moment, she looked back and saw that except for the 6 members of the intermediate team, there are only 3 of them left. The rest of the junior and newcomer team is nowhere to be seen.

    "The other 3 people..." Zhuo Lan hesitated and asked timidly. She already has the answer in her heart, but she can''t believe it.

    "If they run fast enough, then they are probably resting somewhere. If they are unlucky..." Wen Lang''s voice lightly sounded in Zhuo Lan¡¯s ear, as if it is spoken from a long distance.

    At the same time, Zhuo Lan fell down to the ground with a THUMP and lay motionless, startling everyone. Jiang Dong checked immediately and waved his hand, "She¡¯s okay. She is just too tired and a little dehydrated."

    Qin Tan nodded, "Then, let''s rest for a while. There is still more than 3 hours before the Guard Patrol started again, so hurry up and rest."

    It''s fine if Zhuo Lan is okay. They wouldn''t want to carry someone on their back while running in this maze. But it would be a bit unkind to leave her behind.

    Lou Fan glanced at his watch. Before he knew it, the current time is already early morning. Thinking that he would have to work hard in 4 hours, the most important thing right now is to rest. From the moment they entered the maze, they have been moving non-stop like a spinning top, even people made of iron can''t stand the intensity. Thinking that there are still a few days to go through this cycle, Lou Fan felt that he had to speed up.

    Though Lou Fan said to rest, his tense nerves couldn''t relax, so he simply started a discussion with everyone. "What do you think is the most important thing about this mission world?"

    After a few seconds of silence, the other 5 said in unison, "Clear the levels."

    Lou Fan praised his team''s tacit understanding and nodded with a chuckle, "I also think so, the biggest point of this mission should be clearing the levels. We passed the 2nd level and started the Guard Patrol mode. But now what I''m worried about is, that if we cleared this level later, other modes will be opened. However, all of this is based on general level clearing knowledge. Once we clear more levels, it means we are getting closer to the exit. Of course, this is my current guess.¡±

    Lou Fan¡¯s guess made sense.

    "That is to say, we need to find checkpoints to clear the levels as soon as possible," Jiang Dong said.

    Speaking of which, he and Wen Lang both shivered.

    Lou Fan nodded, "While dodging the guards, we have to look for checkpoints. I think the previous 2 levels are actually easy to pass, right?"

    As soon as Lou Fan said these words, he saw Qin Tan''s face darken while Wen Lang and Jiang Dong''s expression is indescribable beyond words.

    Qin Tan squeezed his eyebrows, "It shouldn''t be difficult with you here."

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong: The difficulty is, facing those without you.

    The corridor is quiet. After everyone casually ate something to pad their stomach, they closed their eyes and rested, holding their weapons in their arms.

    When Lou Fan wakes up, he is lying on Qin Tan''s lap. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Qin Tan with his eyes closed and his chin[1] is a little blue/green. He stretched out his hand to touch it, but the man opened his eyes and looked down at him.

    "Awake?" Qin Tan rubbed Lou Fan¡¯s head.

    Lou Fan sat up and looked around, inexplicably feeling a little strange. Chen Shuyang is sleeping soundly against Nie Feng''s shoulders. What is stranger is that Wen Lang and Jiang Dong are sleeping sweetly with their heads touching, the atmosphere is very harmonious.

    "What happened to these two people while I was away?" Lou Fan asked Qin Tan in a low voice, with a gossipy expression on his face.

    Qin Tan has a smile in his eyes as he replied, "Probably just opening up to each other?"

    "Huh?" Lou Fan is stunned, "That explosive? What the hell did you guys encounter?"

    As soon as Lou Fan asked the question, Qin Tan stopped talking and randomly shifted his gaze elsewhere, not meeting Lou Fan¡¯s eyes. And at this moment, the others also woke up.

    Zhuo Lan rubbed her head and sat up, only to feel pain in her head. When she touched it, there is a sore bump.

    Lou Fan stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone¡¯s attention. He glanced at the time on his watch, and said quickly, "The time is almost up, the patrol mode will be turned on immediately. Everyone, get ready."

    "Zhuo Lan, are you okay?"

    Suddenly being called, Zhuo Lan is stunned for a moment. She nodded and said, "It''s fine, I can do it." She pursed her lips and said, "Thank you, everyone."

    [Ding dong! Now the Guard Patrol mode has started. The guard patrol time limit is 1 hour, and the location is random. Please hurry up and escape. Be careful, don''t get caught by the guards, otherwise, there will only be a dead end yo!]

    A nightmarish voice sounded, and everyone sighed involuntarily. Just as they are about to run, Lou Fan suddenly stopped everyone.

    "Wait a minute. Let''s run after the guards appeared. Running around randomly will only waste our energy."

    Everyone: It makes sense, so why did they take the initiative to show up in front of the guards before this?

    10 minutes later, a guard appeared in the distance. This time, there is no need to say anything and everyone tacitly ran away. But they already learned their lesson. This time, the remaining 2 people from the Level 1 team and Zhuo Lan followed the group closely, afraid to go the wrong way. Song Ye has separated with them from the 1st Guard Patrol, and they don''t know how he is right now. They can only pray that he is still alive.

    When running through an intersection, Qin Tan paused, "There''s a checkpoint there."

    There is a guard in the back and a checkpoint in the front. If they missed this checkpoint, they don¡¯t know if they can return to it later. This is really a dilemma.

    There are still 5 minutes left so Lou Fan gritted his teeth and said, "Go, we¡¯ll go to the checkpoint. If the guard arrived, let''s try to last for 5 minutes." After he finished speaking, he took the lead and rushed into the checkpoint area. The few people behind him didn''t say a word, they all followed and ran after him.

    Zhuo Lan thinks this group of people is crazy. Didn''t they hear that being caught by the guards means death? Now, they are rushing in like this, the checkpoint area is a dead end! She roared in her heart, but she didn''t dare to run away by herself, so she could only follow the group to the checkpoint.

    The guard at the back obviously saw them and followed them all the way. But when the group is about to prepare for a fight, the guard magically stopped at the entrance of the checkpoint area, as if not seeing them. It wandered there for a while and then turned around to leave.

    The whole group saw the joy in each other''s eyes. It turned out that the guards could not enter the checkpoint area!

    Lou Fan pondered for a moment, "So that''s the case. That is to say, the checkpoint area is a ''way of life''. Once we found the location of a checkpoint, we can avoid confronting the guards, which is much easier."

    However, as soon as Lou Fan turned his head, he saw something on the wall and stood there dumbfounded - what is this pile of weird stuff?

    There are a bunch of tubular things piled up in pieces on the wall. There are 6 valves in the front, and 6 colors of red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and purple in the back. Lou Fan stared at it for a long time, but he doesn''t understand what it is.

    "I know this." Wen Lang said with a grin, "It¡¯s a pipe connecting game. Just that this one looked a bit complicated, and... I don''t know which color to choose."

    Jiang Dong rubbed his brows and sighed, "Why do we have to choose again."

    Chen Shuyang frowned and stared at it for a long time, then said aloud, "I know how to match the pipes, but which valve should I choose to match which color? Or are there requirements for both the valve and the color?"

    Oh, that''s a real question there.

    The people who were standing beside Chen Shuyang suddenly took a step back. But Chen Shuyang only looked at them eagerly, waiting for their answer.

    Lou Fan: "Why do you all step back? Let¡¯s think about it together."

    Wen Lang shrugged, "Brother Lou, don''t make it hard for us. How can we think of anything out of this? You should just KO everything in seconds with your luck!"

    Qin Tan, Jiang Dong, and Nie Feng nodded in agreement.

    Lou Fan scratched his head, messing his hair, "How to KO this? You tell me how to KO it?"

    "Overwhelm everything with your luck. You can do it, Brother Lou!" Wen Lang made a cheering gesture.

    I C.A.N.N.O.T ¡ª¡ªLou Fan rolled his eyes, frowning at the mess.

    There is no hint of what is on the wall at all. Lou Fan thought for a while, and said to Chen Shuyang, "Let''s connect one and see what happens first."

    "Okay." Chen Shuyang agreed and started rolling up his sleeves, "Which valve and color?" He then chose the 2nd valve and the purple counterpart.

    The tube on the wall cannot be taken off. It can only turn in place, and be connected to other pipes by turning. Soon, Chen Shuyang connected the 2nd valve to purple. He stood up straight and stared at the wall. The other people behind them are also very nervous. 10 minutes later, nothing happened. Everyone is relieved and at the same time, their nervousness is raised again.

    Chen Shuyang: "It seems that we need to connect all valves together."

    Lou Fan walked around, rubbing his chin in thought, without a clue.

    No one else could help, Wen Lang bumped Jiang Dong with his shoulder and asked, "Hey, what''s your favorite color?"

    Jiang Dong glanced at Wen Lang and replied with a raised tone at the end, "Yellow, color[2]."

    Wen Lang: ...how come it sounds weird?

    PA! Lou Fan clapped his hands and shouted excitedly, "I see!"

    Qin Tan: "What?"

    "Come on, tell me your favorite color."

    Lou Fan took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. After filling it, the result is:

    Qin Tan - blue

    Lou Fan - green

    Chen Shuyang - purple

    Wen Lang - red

    Jiang Dong - yellow

    Nie Feng - purple

    He handed the paper to Chen Shuyang, "Just follow this order[3]."

    Wen Lang: "Brother Lou, your decisions are as flashy as ever. No one will ever think like this except you!"

    Lou Fan helplessly replied, "I can''t do anything either. I don''t have any hints, so we¡¯ll just do whatever we can."

    Chen Shuyang arranged the order in the list without comments. Lou Fan stared at the pile of pipes with his chin up. Suddenly, he recalled the painting he saw before. He remembered in a trance that among the group of people standing below the figure, there seems to have these colors too. But Lou Fan shook his head, it might be just an illusion. It can¡¯t be that coincidental.

    This pipe puzzle is really a bit complicated. Chen Shuyang has to turn a few times at a time and stand far away to observe for a while. The rest of the people couldn''t help, it gave them a headache from just looking at it. Hence, everyone could only try not to make noise to disturb Chen Shuyang.

    With a click, as the last tubular pipe is connected, the valve spewed liquid, and the transparent water pipes are filled with colorful liquids, which looked kind of nice for a while.

    The group of people gathered in front of the puzzle, and a huge bubble suddenly appeared and wrapped them in it. Then, they saw a large amount of water pouring out from all directions, and the bubble they are in is carried by the current as it began to roll and float.

    The author has something to say:

    Lou Fan: Can¡¯t do anything, just have my smarts and luck.

    Qin Tan: ¡­

    Dear little angels, I¡¯m ask for nutrient solution at the end of the month! Thank you to the little angel who voted or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~

    Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

 CH 77

    Inside the rolling transparent bubble ball, everyone is knocked into a daze, not knowing where they are taken to. When the transparent ball finally broke, they fell to the ground miserably.

    "Ouch!" "Damn!" "Frick!"

    A bunch of scolding could be heard, and the group of people stood up while rubbing their buttocks. Then, they keep rubbing the place where they got hit during the tumble.

    "We''ve changed places." Nie Feng suddenly said to attract everyone''s attention. He didn''t care about the pain in his body and began to look around.

    It''s like entering the basement floor after clearing the first round in the Super Mario game. The light in the place where they are is very dark, which is very different from the bright maze before. There are high black walls all around. The only thing in common is they are still in the maze passages.

    The sensory stimulation of light on humans is very obvious when it changes. When they got here, everyone immediately became nervous, even holding their weapons tightly.

    "Tsk, I have a bad feeling." Lou Fan tutted.

    As soon as Lou Fan said that, his team immediately looked at him. Lou Fan only spread his hands and said, "I feel like we are going to need fighting force, so Shuyang and I will depend on you guys."

    Wen Lang snorted, "What kind of bad premonition is that if you only need fighting force? It¡¯s those stuff that needs luck that will make people bald, okay?"

    Qin Tan glanced around and confirmed that there is no danger at the moment. So, he said, "Let¡¯s eat something to replenish our strength first. Also, those who are wounded, go and apply medicine."

    As the only woman in the group, Zhuo Lan is rubbing her knees silently at the moment. She is in great pain, and it must have been blue and purple all over her body. However, she just rubbed the sore spot, trying to reduce the pain. Suddenly, a bottle of medicine appeared in her sight, and she knew it is medicine for wounds. Looking up, Zhuo Lan saw Lou Fan squatting down with the medicine. He is looking face to face with her and she pursed her lips.

    "This medicine is not bad, the wound doesn''t hurt anymore when you apply on it." Lou Fan said, "I''ll block the sight for you, you can apply it yourself."

    Zhuo Lan bit her lower lip and said softly, "Thanks."

    Lou Fan squatted with his back turned and spread his coat, just managing to block Zhuo Lan who is sitting on the ground. Lou Fan said softly, "I have a good friend with temperament very similar to yours. She has gone to do her mission, and I don''t know if she will return smoothly. When I see you, I think of her."

    Zhuo Lan smiled and replied, "You must have a good relationship."

    Lou Fan also nodded, "It''s good, she''s just like a big sister. Although she has a bad temper, she''s actually a good person. When we go back, I''ll introduce you to her, and you can join her organization."

    Zhuo Lan uttered a sound of acknowledgment. Different from when she first came into this world, the thorns all over her body seemed to have been removed, and she became humble.

    After resting for a while, everyone packed up and is ready to move on. The wounds on their body have been smeared with the medicine, which is very effective.

    [Ding dong!]

    A mechanical sound rang out, startling everyone.

    [Ding dong! Congratulations to the players for passing the 3rd level. Welcome to the basement floor maze. The chase mode will be launched in 10 minutes, and the charming jumping frog will be waiting to meet you. Note that players can get a 5-minute rest time by killing a jumping frog. The chase mode will be activated for 1 hour. The more rest time you get, the longer you can delay the chase mode from being turned on.]

    This time, the mission world even gave them a hint.

    "Frck, how do we get through this level? Is there any checkpoint left?" Wen Lang yelled.

    Lou Fan frowned, "Jumping frogs, it doesn¡¯t sound like a good thing to hear." He hates this kind of sticky stuff the most.

    Qin Tan calmly said, "Let¡¯s take it one step at a time. This layer is different from the above, maybe er will encounter something, don''t worry."

    10 minutes passed quickly, and everyone are still standing there, waiting to see what the jumping frog looked like. With a ¡®croak¡¯, everyone saw its true appearance. It is a giant frog[1], but it looks so ugly. Its skin is darker than that of a toad, and there are lumps all over its body. It has the size of a small car but it seems to move quickly. Within a few jumps, it has arrived in front of them.

    Lou Fan is disgusted, and Zhuo Lan¡¯s face turned pale.

    "Go go go, it''s disgusting."

    Unfortunately, before they could leave, the jumping frog stuck out a tongue and hit Nie Feng. The heavy force is mixed with disgusting saliva, making all the liquid splash over Nie Feng''s body. The tongue hit him like a whip and it hurt so much that he bared his teeth.

    Obviously, it was still so far away just now. Why it can come over so fast? Now, they have to face the frog no matter what.

    Seeing that Nie Feng is entangled, Lou Fan immediately took some arrows and shot. 3 arrows flashed and happened to hit the lump on the jumping frog. With a ''pshh'', the lump burst, and a foul-smelling black liquid flowed out.

    "Blergh!" Lou Fan is even more disgusted.

    Chen Shuyang held the long spear and poked it at the jumping frog. Probably due to its rough and thick skin, the tip of the spear sank under the skin. The jumping frog immediately flicked its tongue.

    Seeing the tongue is about to hit Chen Shuyang, Qin Tan swept forward with his Tang sword. The orange-yellow blade slashed across the long tongue, just like cutting tofu. The long tongue is cut into half, and the one that fell on the ground is still twitching. Qin Tan swung his long sword and slashed at the jumping frog. The jumping frog made a ''croak'' and pounced at Qin Tan. Qin Tan also rushed towards the frog quickly, and the edge of his sword swept across its belly.

    BLEARGH! Lou Fan almost vomited out at the sight of viscera all over the place. It¡¯s really repulsive.

    A snow-white cloud emerged from Lou Fan¡¯s pocket, staring at him with its curious little eyes. The snowball tilted its head as if it doesn''t understand what happened to its master. Lou Fan paused, and an idea popped into his head. Then, he hugged the fur ball and kissed it. Lou Fan didn''t turn around and just shouted to the back, "Quick, quick, let¡¯s find the next frog. I have a good idea."

    Wen Lang immediately opened his mouth and laughed, "Ah, is my Brother Lou going to do something extraordinary again?"

    Lou Fan really disliked this jumping frog so he replied, "There¡¯s no other way. Who made these frogs so nauseating." Otherwise, he would not have done this.

    There was no need for the group to look for the frogs. Soon, the second jumping frog appeared not far away. When it saw them, Lou Fan felt that its bulging eyes are flashing with green light and that ''croak'' contained a feeling of infinite excitement.

    "Go! Brother Lou!" Wen Lang shouted.

    Lou Fan¡¯s eyes are throwing daggers at Wen Lang to shut up. Next, he said a few words to the fur ball, and it nodded slightly.

    A flash of lightning-fast white figure rushed towards the oncoming jumping frog, like a small cannonball. It rushed into the jumping frog''s opened mouth. The next moment, the jumping frog that was still excited just now fell to the ground heavily and stopped moving.

    Furball flew back, and immediately wanted to run up to Lou Fan''s shoulder but got stopped by Lou Fan. Lou Fan held Furball in front of his eyes and stared all over it carefully. After that, he sniffed Furball carefully to make sure that there is nothing strange on it or exuding a strange smell. Only then did he reluctantly let Furball stand back on his shoulders.

    Before the people behind him could come back to their senses, Lou Fan already raised his arms and shouted, "Let''s go! The chase mode is on, let¡¯s look for the frogs!"

    Everyone: ...

    Black lines [-_-ll] can no longer be used to express the complexity of their hearts. Is it really okay to cheat freely like this?

    Lou Fan is very happy that he doesn''t have to come into close contact with such foul things again. There is nothing nicer than that. He can''t wait to kiss Furball again, but, en¡­ the way Furball killed the frogs¡­ Lou Fan really can¡¯t bear to drop that kiss. Thinking like this, he took out a handful of butter beans and fed them to Furball with a smile.

    Qin Tan curved his lips behind Lou Fan, feeling a little helpless.

    Nie Feng is very curious about the fur ball on Lou Fan¡¯s shoulder. He originally thought it is just a small pet. Although he had seen only this pet in Lazuli, he didn''t expect it to be so powerful. He was hit by the tongue of the leaping frog before so he knows how painful it is.

    Zhuo Lan feels a little confused now. She remembers that when she was chatting with the Level 1 team before, she heard that the missions in each world are very scary. But according to what she encountered so far, apart from getting exhausted from the Guard Patrol, she does not feel very horrible. Or rather, did the Level 1 team exaggerate the difficulty? She is a little confused now.

    A group of people walked slowly in the maze, carefully checking for checkpoints. The oncoming jumping frogs are all killed by Furball, so they had no chance to take action themselves. Also, Furball moves faster than anyone else, because Lou Fan would give it a big handful of butter beans every time it killed a frog.

    Furball: Butter beans are the best.

    After an hour.

    [Ding dong! Calculating the number of jumping frogs killed...]

    5 minutes later.

    [Calculating¡­]

    Lou Fan had a feeling that he could hear the mechanical voice saying the words with imperceptible gnashing of teeth.

    [Ding dong! According to the calculation, a total of 378 jumping frogs were killed and 31.5 hours of rest time were obtained...]

    Lou Fan sighed, "Ah, finally I don''t have to see such disgusting things anymore. Why don''t they come more? It would be better if I didn''t have to see them at all until the end of this level."

    Everyone thought about it and felt that what Lou Fan said is very reasonable.

    Without the jumping frogs coming to attack them, the group is more leisurely and relaxed. Their goal is very clear, that is, to find the checkpoint and clear it. However, they have been searching for a few hours and have not seen any checkpoints.

    "Take a break to replenish your strength and eat something," Qin Tan said.

    After walking for a long time, everyone is really tired. They didn''t sleep much at all. Now that they had enough time, the group couldn''t help but relax. As soon as they sat down, they feel like they can''t open their eyelids. After closing their eyes for a while, a slight snoring sound could be heard.

    Lou Fan rubbed his eyes, feeling a little tired too. Qin Tan sat beside him and patted his own shoulder for Lou Fan to lean against.

    "Go to sleep, I''ll keep watch."

    Lou Fan took Furball out and said to Qin Tan, "You sleep too. Let Furball stand guard, you haven''t slept much before."

    Qin Tan is quite an alert person, so with Furball helping out, they are relatively safe. He nodded and closed his eyes, resting against Lou Fan''s head.

    ¡­

    Hearing someone talking, Lou Fan woke up and saw that Zhuo Lan is writing on a piece of paper while Chen Shuyang stood beside her and watched. The rest of the people also woke up gradually. Lou Fan looked at the time, he actually slept for 6 hours.

    Chen Shuyang walked over happily and said with a smile, "Brother Lou, we have a new idea. It is Zhuo Lan who thought of it, and I think it should be alright."

    Lou Fan stood up, rubbing his hair, and asked, "What new ideas?"

    Zhuo Lan showed her first smile after arriving here, "I think this level is a bit like a game."

    The author has something to say:

    Thank you to the little angel who voted or irrigated the nutrient solution for me~

 CH 78

    According to Zhuo Lan''s 10 years of gaming experience[1], this level should be they let the jumping frog chase them down, leading them to the big boss eventually. After killing the big boss, they can clear the level.

    "Of course, this conjecture is according to my experience. I can''t guarantee that it¡¯s correct, I¡¯m just throwing out an idea to consider."

    Qin Tan: "Then we should let ourselves be chased by the jumping frog before we can find the big boss?"

    Zhuo Lan crossed her hands, "If my assumption is correct."

    Lou Fan frowned. Letting the jumping frog chase after them? gags It''s so disgusting.

    Qin Tan nodded, "Then we¡¯ll decide it that way. We should clear this level earlier, so we don''t have to stay on this floor." Thinking of the frog''s entrails scattered on the ground after he killed it, Qin Tan¡¯s face also turned a little pale.

    However, it is still early. Since the group had enough rest, they simply started walking around randomly. Lou Fan patted Furball and asked Furball to find the frogs. Furball stretched out its small paws and spread out in front of Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Holy crap, Furball has gained intelligence huh?! It even took the initiative to ask for food!

    Feeling helpless, Lou Fan bared his teeth at Furball and took out 10 butter beans. He said, "After you found the frog, I will give more to you. Right now, there is only this much."

    Fortunately, Furball is very easy to satisfy. After taking the butter beans, it stuffed them into its mouth. Then it jumped to the ground and started running forward.

    [Ding dong! The chase mode will start in 10 minutes. The charming jumping frog will be waiting to meet you¡­]

    When the pleasant mechanical sound rang again, it hasn''t had time to say the rest, the group had already seen a huge jumping frog with a height of 3 stories under Furball¡¯s lead. Compared with the previous small frogs they met, this frog looks like a big boss at first glance, looking obviously uglier[2]. The ugliness of a jumping frog is fully expanded by this frog, causing Lou Fan to silently take a few steps back. The mechanical sound disappeared silently, and the giant jumping frog looked down at a group of ant-like people, croaking with excitement.

    Wen Lang: "Shit, that''s disgusting!"

    Chen Shuyang: "This is the first time I have seen such a repulsive frog. I will never want to eat any types of frogs again."

    Nie Feng yawned, "But bullfrog¡¯s meat is quite tender."

    Lou Fan couldn''t take it anymore and shouted, "Make this a swift fight!" The trembling in his voice is almost uncontrollable.

    Furball rushed out when it heard the order. With such a big frog, Lou Fan is afraid that Furball might not be able to handle it, so he is ready to help with his arrows. The arrow is notched on the bow, but before Lou Fan could shoot, the snow-white dumpling can be seen circling quickly around the boss. After a dizzying moment, the huge frog seemed to be skinned by a sharp knife. Pieces of frog skin fell from the body, followed by pieces of frog meat. And so, the whole frog got dismembered by Furball.

    "Furball, how can you be more disgusting than Qin Tan?!" Lou Fan yelled.

    Qin Tan: "..."

    Furball blinked: It¡¯s my fault again?

    A door appeared behind the dismembered giant frog, which turned out it got blocked by the frog¡¯s huge body. The group carefully bypassed the horrific minced meat on the ground. Qin Tan is about to open the door when Wen Lang stopped him.

    "Urm, Brother Qin, just let Brother Lou do this. This kind of trivial matter should be left for Brother Lou to do. Hehe."

    Qin Tan: ¡­ Then he silently let go of the door handle.

    Lou Fan looked at the 2 people with an inexplicable expression, not knowing what riddles are they talking about. But he took the initiative to step forward and pushed the door open.

    A long staircase appeared before them, with dim wall lamps on either side. The stairs are revolving type, and the group walked down for more than an hour before finally reaching the end. The sudden strong light caused everyone to block their eyes uncomfortably. When they opened their eyes after getting used to the light, they realized that they have arrived at a large dome building. It is somewhat like a European dome building, with a mural painted on the top and surrounded by surrounding 8 pillars.

    "Is this inside the maze too?"

    The surrounding area is extremely empty. Except for the 8 pillars, there is nothing else to see.

    Qin Tan reminded, "Everyone, don''t be careless."

    10 minutes later, nothing happened.

    "What the hell is this place?" Wen Lang said irritably and kicked a pillar.

    Jiang Dong glared at Wen Lang and scolded, "So anxious to seek death? Don''t touch anything randomly. Else, you won''t even know how you died."

    Yesterday, this man is still affectionate to him. How come he is so mean to him today? Wen Lang looked at Jiang Dong aggrievedly.

    Jiang Dong rubbed Wen Lang¡¯s head helplessly. As patiently as he could, like he is comforting a child, he said, "It''s not your first time going on a mission, you can''t be so reckless."

    Wen Lang pouted and nodded reluctantly.

    After walking around the domed building, carefully looking at every possible place where something could happen, the group of people found nothing so they simply sat down to rest.

    Lou Fan raised his head and stared at the mural above his head. As he is staring at it, he felt like his consciousness is gradually turning blurry. His consciousness seems to be immersed in warm water. It is as if he is not himself, but also himself at the same time. He couldn''t move and could only follow the ups and downs of the water flow. Not sure how long it took, but his body felt soft and powerless. Then, as if he had been washed to the shore, his consciousness became clearer. Slowly, he opened his eyes and he can see the surrounding clearly.

    This is a pure white and blank world. There is nothing to see, like being surrounded by the fog and one can''t see very far. Feeling a little confused, he tried to think about something but soon he found that he had forgotten who he is and where he is supposed to be. He could only walk forward unconsciously, keep walking, and walk for a long, long time. But he didn''t feel tired, as if his senses aren¡¯t registering.

    "Lou Fan..."

    He turned his head and looked around. Who is it? Who is calling what?

    "Lou Fan..."

    Is the voice calling him? His name is Lou Fan?

    That¡¯s right! His name is Lou Fan, so where did he come from?

    A huge white wall appeared in front of Lou Fan. There are 2 ancient characters inscribed on the wall. After staring at it for a long time, the words appeared in Lou Fan¡¯s mind - ÁðÁ§(Lazuli).

    Lazuli, what is that place?

    Stretching out his hand, Lou Fan touched the white wall lightly. The moment he touched it, a wave of ripples spread out, forming a door enough for a person to pass through. Without hesitation, he stepped in and walked passed the door. Scene after scene flashed in front of him, like a movie. After Lou Fan passed through the 5th one, a painting appeared in front of him. Inside the painting, a huge figure is enveloped in white light, and in front of the figure is a group of people as small as ants. A small group of people stood among them, holding something red in their hands. Lou Fan stared blankly at the white figure. Suddenly, he seemed to be able to see the person in it clearer. She smiled at him. The smile is kind and gentle, and it seemed to carry infinite compassion, which astonished his heart.

    Lou Fan came back to his sense and he looked around him. The pure white world has disappeared and he is still sitting by the pillar beside Qin Tan. Qin Tan¡¯s eyes are closed and his expression looked like he is struggling internally. All the members around him are also the same with their eyes closed, their expressions dazed. Lou Fan pursed his lips. This level¡¯s checkpoint should be a personal maze for everyone. They can''t rely on others to help them and can only rely on themself. Lou Fan looked at his team members worriedly. When he turned around, he saw Qin Tan open his eyes and looked at him.

    Seeing Lou Fan looking over, Qin Tan smiled at him. His face is still a little pale, but Lou Fan looked at his Tang sword and felt that there¡¯s something different about it. Thinking of that, Lou Fan raised his bow and clenched it hard. He only felt a little unusual, but he didn''t know what is different.

    Qin Tan also felt that his Tang sword is a little different than usual. He picked it up and took a closer look, but couldn''t tell why it is different.

    "Qin Tan, I feel that this checkpoint is a fortunate encounter for us." Lou Fan said slowly, looking at his other team members with fiery eyes.

    Hearing that, Qin Tan showed a shocked expression. Then, as if he understood what Lou Fan is talking about, he slowly replied, "I hope they can persevere."

    "En, even if they missed the opportunity this time, it¡¯s fine as long as they could wake up smoothly."

    Lou Fan raised his watch and glanced at it. The next moment, his eyes widened abruptly, "Qin Tan, there are only 3 days left."

    He just closed his eyes and 2 days are gone. Right now, Lou Fan is a little anxious as he is afraid the rest of the members won''t be able to keep up with the time.

    ¡­

    2 days later, Lou Fan could only practice fighting with Qin Tan to while the time away, occasionally playing with Furball. He also spent some time observing everyone''s situation. Unfortunately, nothing could be seen from their faces.

    That night, Zhuo Lan opened her eyes. There is a hint of joy in her eyes when she saw Lou Fan. Lou Fan greeted her with a smile, only to think that the look in her eyes is different now.

    "Why do I feel so hungry?" Zhuo Lan asked with a frown, clutching her protesting stomach.

    Lou Fan laughed, "It''s been 4 days, of course you get hungry."

    "4 days?" Zhuo Lan said incredulously, "Didn¡¯t people say humans will die if they don''t drink water for 3 days?"

    Lou Fan: "That''s under normal circumstances. But from the moment you came to this world, you are no longer a normal person."

    Hearing that, Zhuo Lan is stunned for a moment. Then she chuckled, not knowing whether it is self-deprecating or something else, "That''s right..." Before Zhuo Lan could finish her sentence, her eyes caught sight of the 2 people lying on the ground. Then she looked at Lou Fan and asked hesitantly, "They, could it be..."

    Lou Fan nodded without saying anything. When the 2 people fell to the ground from their sitting pose, he and Qin Tan went over to check and found that they are no longer breathing. Therefore, he is even more worried about his own team members. Lou Fan had to check for their breathing many times every day, afraid that they would leave soundlessly.

    Zhuo Lan stared blankly at the 2 people and her expression changed a few times. In her heart, she is glad that she persevered with the little faith and gritted teeth. Otherwise, she will stay in this world forever. How she wished it is a dream, but the feeling of realness made her understand that this is definitely not a dream.

    In the early hours of the night, Jiang Dong and Nie Feng''s spirit weapons shone bright orange at the same time. Lou Fan immediately got up from the ground and walked over excitedly. Soon, the two woke up one after another 10 minutes later. They both felt a little unreal when they saw the spirit weapon with an orange glow in their hands.

    Lou Fan patted his 2 team members on the shoulders and said, "Good job, you guys finally woke up. Right now, we just have to wait for these 2."

    Jiang Dong looked at Wen Lang with a worried look, and Lou Fan comforted, "It will be fine, you have to trust him. Shuyang will also make it."

    Jiang Dong looked at Lou Fan fixedly. Seeing his firm eyes with a soft smile, somehow, Jiang Dong felt relieved.

    Nie Feng''s eyes swept across Chen Shuyang and stopped for a while on the spiritual book in his arms. Unoticeably pressing down his lower lip, he raised his water bottle to drink some water.

    At 6.00 am, with 12 hours left before their deadline for completing the task, Lou Fan crouched between Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang. He turned his head left and right, staring intently at the members. When he put his finger under Chen Shuyang''s nose again, he realized that his breathing is normal as usual. Lou Fan sighed, why doesn¡¯t he wake up?!

    "Brother Lou, what are you doing?"

    Chen Shuyang''s voice seemed to ring loudly beside his ears. Lou Fan turned his head sharply and saw Chen Shuyang staring at him blankly, followed by a rumbling sound in his(CSY) stomach.

    "I''m very hungry."

    Lou Fan looked up and down at Chen Shuyang¡¯s body. When he saw Chen Shuyang''s spirit book, he became speechless. Even the upgrade of his spirit weapon is raised so silently. Ain¡¯t that a little too low-key?

 CH 79

    "It''s the last day already? Why isn''t Wen Lang awake yet?!"

    Chen Shuyang was gobbling up food when he heard that today is the last day of their task. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with eating anymore and immediately ran to check Wen Lang''s breathing. Then, he squatted beside Wen Lang and began to mutter.

    "Wen Lang, why are you so stupid? You are stupider than me! Wake up quickly. You can¡¯t take my position as the No.1 stupidest member on the team. If you are still not waking up, I will push this position to you. If you don''t speak, it means you agree with this..."

    Lou Fan interrupted Shuyang helplessly, "Shuyang, come and eat first. Wen Lang will wake up in a while."

    Chen Shuyang lowered his head and no one couldn''t see his expression clearly. After a long time, he raised his head. His eyes are a little red as he said, "Brother Lou, Ah Lang must be able to wake up, right?" His voice is very low. When he is looking at Lou Fan''s eyes, a little light flashed in his own.

    Lou Fan looked at Shuyang and stayed silent for a long time. Then he affirmed, "It''s definitely possible. After you finished eating, go to his ear and nag him, he will wake up soon."

    Chen Shuyang gave a heavy nod and started eating again. After he finished eating, he downed a bottle of water. Wiping his mouth, he started nagging in Wen Lang''s ear.

    Nie Feng leaned against the edge of a pillar, with one leg propped up. Staring at Chen Shuyang with drooping eyes, he silently muttered a word, "Silly."

    A hand suddenly covered Chen Shuyang''s mouth and the owner of the hand said, "Are you a duck? I can even hear you quacking in my dreams."

    Wen Lang''s tone is impatient, but his eyes are sparkling. He put down the hand covering Chen Shuyang¡¯s mouth and pulled out the poker in his pocket, it got upgraded too. Chen Shuyang looked at Wen Lang like a large dog with bright eyes, and his mouth wide open to reveal 2 rows of white teeth.

    "Ah Lang, you finally woke up! Why are you so stupid? You only woke up now."

    Lou Fan walked over with a smile, "Shuyang, all thanks to you for waking Wen Lang up."

    Wen Lang: ¡­

    Qin Tan stood up, also with a smile on his face, "Alright now, it¡¯s great that you managed to wake up. Wen Lang, eat something first. After that, we''re going to look for the exit."

    Probably because their luck is used up, they can''t find an exit after looking for a long time, and everyone is puzzled. It stands to reason that this level should be a Pass (because they woke up from the white world). Even if there are 2 people on the other team who did not pass it, everyone here passed it. Why is there no clue at all now, can it really be impossible to get out?

    As they are wondering what to do, the clock struck 12.00 pm.

    The dome roof above their head suddenly made clicking sounds. Everyone looked up and saw that the dome is opening up to both sides. Strong sunlight shone in from the outside, forming a strange angle in the middle. Then, everyone saw a door appears on the wall. They immediately became happy, it turned out that this is the exit.

    Lou Fan opened the door and walked out. The scene outside the door is a completely different place, no longer the old abandoned amusement park. He turned his head and looked at the exit. The mission world this time is very different from the previous one. He had a feeling that the reason is an important key point. Of course, this time their team had gained too much.

    The familiar train whistle sounded, and apart from the 7 of them, no one else can be seen[1].

    Wen Lang sighed, "This is the first time for them to be an intermediate team, but both the Level 1 team and the newcomer team are almost obliterated. It''s a bit embarrassing!" Only Zhuo Lan survived apart from their team so it is no different from total team destruction.

    Glancing at his spirit weapon, Wen Lang felt even more depressed. A team of 6 intermediate-level spirit weapons, people won''t believe it even if they say it out. They only need to lead a junior team and a newcomer team but the teams ended up completely wiped out. People might say that they sent the juniors and newcomers to their death, but Heaven can be their witness, they really did their best to protect them.

    Zhuo Lan got into the train compartment alone. Looking at the empty carriage, she sighed.

    In the other train compartment, except Qin Tan and Lou Fan, everyone else is observing their spirit weapon, but Qin Tan frowned and thought for a moment. He said solemnly, "Upon returning to Lazuli, try to put away your spirit weapons. The 4 of you, try to hide your spirit weapons as much as possible, and try not to be seen by others."

    The members who got cue-ed raised their heads in unison. Lou Fan also smiled bitterly, "We have just been promoted to the intermediate team but our spirit weapon got upgraded to intermediate level right away. If we say it out, ill-intentioned people might notice it. It''s not that we can¡¯t beat them, but let''s avoid trouble."

    There are so many organizations in Lazuli. Although they can fight, they can''t go against a big crowd. Lou Fan and Qin Tan are both people who prefer lesser hassles.

    The scissors in Nie Feng''s hands have changed back to its original size, and they are being turned around at his fingertips. Nie Feng casually said, "It¡¯s not possible to keep it under wraps for long so it''s better to show other people if you have the strength to flaunt it. In Lazuli, spirit weapon is a symbol of strength, more convincing than the level of rank. If you don''t want to be harassed, you just have to speak with your strength. There may also be unexpected gains."

    Hearing that, Qin Tan looked at Nie Feng with burning eyes, and Nie Feng returned the gaze without fear. His eyes are so frank that people won''t think he said it casually or with a purpose.

    Lou Fan thought about what Nie Feng said, it actually made sense. Before this, they agreed that only being low-key can prevent others from snooping. In fact, this is a misunderstanding in itself. The world they currently live in is actually very simple, that is, to speak with strength. Whether it''s a spirit weapon, luck, or fighting strength, it''s all part of strength. The stronger the strength, the less the people in Lazuli would dare to look down on them. Instead, they will treat them with caution and wariness. Lou Fan patted his head and suddenly realized, "Nie Feng is right. We have the strength so why should we hide and tuck like a thief? Shouldn''t we flaunt it and let others ¡®kneel and lick¡¯[2] us?"

    Everyone: ...

    This way of thinking is changing too fast, we can''t keep up!

    Qin Tan seemed to agree with this statement and said with a smile, "Lou Fan is right, everyone can do whatever you want. Shuyang can also sell his spells publicly. Nie Feng¡¯s reminder is right. This kind of weapon we have is useless when hidden. The benefits are better when they are known to the public.¡±

    Chen Shuyang turned to look at Nie Feng with admiration in his eyes, "Nie Feng, you are amazing. Why are you so smart?"

    Nie Feng looked down at Chen Shuyang for a few seconds before reaching out to rub his hair, "Stupid."

    Chen Shuyang chuckled a few times and scratched his head, "I''m just a little stupid."

    Wen Lang: "¡­"

    Can you talk properly? A top student saying that he is stupid, what on Earth is wrong with you guys?

    Jiang Dong''s eyes wandered on the 2 people with the light of gossip in his eyes, and a penetrative ¡®aunty smile¡¯ hung on the corner of his mouth. Sure enough, nothing can escape his all-seeing eyes!

    Since they have decided on the plan, the team swaggered down the compartment when the train arrived at the station. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong''s spirit weapons are spinning around at their fingertips, Chen Shuyang is holding his spirit book, while Nie Feng made the scissors bigger and carried it on his shoulders.

    Lou Fan doesn¡¯t know if he should laugh or cry. Although they decided not to be low-key anymore, they don''t need to be so high-profile either!

    Wen Lang winked at Lou Fan, "Our goal is to make them ¡®kneel and lick¡¯."

    Lou Fan has the urge to cover his face. He shouldn''t get too excited and say the word kneeling and licking, but he can''t stop it now.

    As soon as he got off the train, Lou Fan saw Tong Fei waiting in the station. He immediately smiled, waved his hand, and shouted, "Sister Tong Fei!"

    Tong Fei looked like the same Tong Fei he knew, but Lou Fan noticed the change in her for the first time. The bright and beautiful women in the past have now become restrained and calm. Seeing them, her eyes only flickered and returned to calm again. The corners of her mouth just twitched, not laughing like she used to and coming over and giving him a hug.

    Tong Fei came over and looked at the team. She raised a faint smile and said, "You guys sure have gained a lot from this trip."

    They are indeed high-profile and flamboyant but Lou Fan was observing Tong Fei¡¯s expression so he didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the sensation caused by his team. People who came to pick up people, or people who have just come down from their train are watching them, especially when they see that their spirit weapons looked different. Recently, there is more information about intermediate spirit weapons in Lazuli, so with a glance, they can guess that Lou Fan¡¯s team has intermediate spirit weapons. Immediately, countless envious and jealous gazes came from all directions. It¡¯s like hungry wolves, with a faint green light in their eyes, but also with a hint of timidity.

    "Sister Tong Fei, in your last mission..." Lou Fan hesitated, wondering if he should ask.

    Tong Fei turned her head to look around and said, "Go back first, I''ll talk more about it tomorrow. And I have something to tell you guys as well."

    Lou Fan replied with an acknowledgment and turned his head to look at Zhuo Lan. He immediately introduced, "This is Zhuo Lan, the newcomer this time, and the only one who survived. I think she should be very suitable for your organization."

    Zhuo Lan looked at Tong Fei nervously. She is rubbing her fingers unconsciously and her palms are sweating slightly. Tong Fei looked her up and down, and she also looked up at Tong Fei.

    Tong Fei asked Lou Fan, "Your mission is very difficult this time? Why there¡¯s only 1 survivor left?"

    Lou Fan helplessly replied, "I should say that the mission this time is very strange. There are a lot of surprises in the first part, and then the latter is a test of individuals. We can''t help much."

    Tong Fei nodded and looked at Zhuo Lan, "Then, you come with me. I''ll take you to register first, and then we will go to my place so you can see if you want to join me."

    Zhuo Lan immediately cheered up, nodding swiftly and saying yes.

    Lou Fan and his party separated from the two and they walked back to their residence.

    By the time they arrived at their residence, word had spread all over Lazuli that everyone on Qin Tan¡¯s team had an intermediate-level spirit weapon. When the people from several major organizations heard about it, they couldn¡¯t believe it. They thought that the person who obtained the information just saw it wrongly. After receiving a confirmed answer, they looked surprised. They have never heard of such a powerful team in Lazuli before, why did it suddenly appear? Even if there is 1 person with an intermediate spirit weapon in a team, the team will be recruited by their organizations, let alone all 6 members in a team. What a terrifying power this is.

    The most important thing is that the premise of upgrading one¡¯s spirit weapon is they need to improve their physique first. Not to mention how lucky one needs to be to get this opportunity, it is practically impossible for a team of 6 people to get this opportunity. After the physique is improved, then it is a matter of upgrading the spirit weapon. This does not mean that one can upgrade their weapon anytime they wanted to upgrade. The correct combination of time, place, and people is indispensable.

    So, it brings them back to this question - what kind of team is this? Why are there no rumors at all? It''s too scary to appear so suddenly. Who dares to recruit 6 holders of intermediate spirit weapons? Even their organization relies on the fact that they have 2 or 3 intermediate-level spirit weapon passengers to recruit other people to join them. Who has the ability to recruit this group of god-like characters?

    When several larger organizations thought about this point, they also felt relieved at the same time. If their organization could not recruit this team, other organizations could not have this opportunity too so it won¡¯t cause any disputes for a while. However, there are significantly more people around the team¡¯s residence after that.

 CH 80

    Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Nie Feng watched the passerby walking back and forth outside with his drooping eyes, not oblivious to the people observing them. Then he curled the corners of his mouth.

    "These people, they should either check us out openly or just do it secretly. Walking around like this, countless back and forth, without turning their eyes when they pass by, what can they see actually?"

    Wen Lang just returned to the dining table from the window, he took a sip of beer, and said with a smile, "These people probably want to see what our spirit weapon looks like, and then want to ¡®kneel and lick¡¯."

    The corners of Lou Fan¡¯s eyes twitched and he saw Wen Lang downing the beer like water. He took a side glance at Jiang Dong and curved the corner of his mouth, "Wen Lang, are you trying to get yourself drunk? Jiang Dong should take care of you later."

    "Who wants him to take care of me? Besides, I''m good at drinking."

    "Oh, your drinking is good, huh? Well then, drink more." Lou Fan stretched his words and winked at Jiang Dong, who looked nonchalant but had been staring at Wen Lang.

    The thickness of Jiang Dong''s face is comparable to the city wall, and he is not embarrassed at all. Instead, after receiving Lou Fan''s pointed gaze, he said with a calm expression, "I will take good care of him."

    The time is already 10.00 pm. After Jiang Dong said that, he put down the beer in his hand, got up, and walked to Wen Lang''s side. Wen Lang¡¯s eyes are already hazy so he lifted him up and put him on his shoulders. After excusing themselves to everyone, Jiang Dong took Wen Lang upstairs.

    Chen Shuyang sipped the juice and sighed, "Ah Lang and Dr. Jiang are getting friendlier to each other now, they used to bicker like cats and dogs."

    Lou Fan laughed, "Aiya, I have to think about what to put in that extra room."

    Hearing that, Chen Shuyang puzzledly tilted his head and asked, "Why is there an extra room? Isn''t there no extra room now?"

    Lou Fan only smiled and didn''t say anything. Nie Feng bent his index finger and tapped Shuyang¡¯s head, "Silly."

    Chen Shuyang touched his head aggrievedly, with a blank expression on his face, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

    Suddenly hit in the head, Lou Fan turned his head and glared at Qin Tan angrily.

    Qin Tan shook the water from his hand and handed Lou Fan a bowl of milk custard dessert, "Don''t teach bad things to children!"

    Lou Fan silently disdained himself twice. That¡¯s right, he shouldn¡¯t teach bad things to children. Children don''t know anything yet, they only have studies in their hearts!

    After eating the dessert, Lou Fan got to take a shower. Nie Feng took the initiative to stand up and take Chen Shuyang away with him. Lou Fan felt that it made him feel a little blush inexplicably like he is going to do something embarrassing soon. However, after he took a shower and fantasized about 10,000-character of OOXX in the bathroom, he still didn''t see Qin Tan. After he came out, he went to the bedroom and found Qin Tan lying on the bed in his home clothes; fallen asleep.

    Well, pushing through the maze these days, Qin Tan should be quite tired ba.

    A small table lamp is turned on by the bed, and the orange light illuminated Qin Tan¡¯s face, softening his sharp facial lines. Sitting down beside Qin Tan gently, Lou Fan watched him sleeping and then carefully covered his own mouth to chuckle. This person, he looked quite gentle when asleep, but then when he is ¡®exercising¡¯ on the bed...

    Lou Fan reached out and poked Qin Tan¡¯s face lightly. After that, he leaned down and pressed their lips together. He silently said good night before turning off the small lamp.

    ¡­

    "Scram!"

    "Walk slower, urgh, don''t take such a big step."

    "Hiss¡­¡­"

    Lou Fan was leaning against the door with a glass of milk as he watched Qin Tan making omelets. He vaguely heard the voice of someone talking, and a smile appeared on his lips as he could guess who was coming. Seeing the 2 people entering the door, Lou Fan swept his eyes up and down both men and said with a smile, "Why don''t you guys sleep for a while longer? That¡¯s very early of you."

    The weather is fine today and the sun is already high.

    Wen Lang''s face turned red. Like a child who did something wrong, he didn''t dare to look at Lou Fan and could only give Jiang Dong a vicious glare. Seeing that he is about to sit down, Jiang Dong immediately ran to get a cushion and put it on the chair causing Wen Lang to glare at him again.

    Lou Fan clicked his tongue twice. He could only sigh in his heart and didn''t dare to say it. He is afraid that Wen Lang would die of shame if he said it out loud. Right now, Wen Lang¡¯s face is redder than an apple, the heat on his face might even cook an egg.

    At this moment, Chen Shuyang came into the hall and saw Wen Lang sitting there. He slapped Wen Lang on the shoulder and said, "Ah Lang, you drank too much yesterday. It was Dr. Jiang who took care of you yo. You must thank him nicely."

    Wen Lang felt a throbbing pain in ¡®that place¡¯. His whole body stiffened and he broke out in a cold sweat. Hearing what Chen Shuyang said, he sneered and squeezed a sentence out of his teeth, word by word, "I. Fcking. Thank. Him!"

    Nie Feng, who was following closely behind, sighed and flick his finger on Chen Shuyang''s head, "Stupid, don''t talk nonsense."

    Chen Shuyang covered his head and protested with a look of grievance, "Why do you always say I''m stupid? Which part did I say any nonsense?!"

    Lou Fan: "Because you''re stupid to start with."

    ¡­

    Upon walking out the door, Lou Fan felt that the people walking back and forth on the road all turned their attention to them. It is the first time he got stared at like this outside of competitions (back in the real world) and he touched his nose helplessly.

    Lou Fan has been to Tong Fei''s house so many times, but this time it feels different. He usually feels relaxed and happy when he arrived, but this time, there is a tense atmosphere in the air. He can see the girls training hard everywhere, all with sweat all over their faces.

    "Come here, just sit down." Tong Fei said lightly. Seeing Lou Fan looking around, the corner of her mouth twitched and she said, "Do you think everyone is very hardworking? I forced them to train every day. At the very least, they can run faster than others."

    Her last words are barely audible.

    In the past, they always prepared refreshments and fruits when Lou Fan and his team came, but this time, Tong Fei threw them a can of beverage instead of tea.

    Lou Fan opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Tong Fei said, "I looked for you guys to exchange information. Also, there is a place I want to take you to. It just so happens that you are all qualified to enter."

    Sitting on the single sofa with a cold expression, Tong Fei continued, "In my previous mission, only me and Jiang Rou came back. There are 14 people in the mission world but only we survived. If it wasn''t for the spell you gave me, I''m afraid it would be a complete annihilation for that mission world. It was a supernatural world. At first, we thought it is just a mission of normal difficulty, but then we found out that the difficulty has more than doubled compared to the normal mission, and we had no power to defend against it at all. Jiang Rou and I upgraded our spirit weapon successively. And with this, when the train arrived, we have to drag ourselves up into the compartment. I have 2 hands left while Jiang Rou only has one. But everyone else..."

    Tong Fei closed her eyes, too choked to speak. Lou Fan and the others didn''t bother her. Just by hearing about it, they couldn''t imagine how tragic it was. 5 minutes later, Tong Fei opened her eyes again, but there is only ice in her eyes.

    "I don''t know why the intermediate team knew that we had amulets in our hands but they snatched away what I gave to my team members. I¡¯m not sure how they managed to do it, but it must not be a legit way." Her team members are not that stupid (to give away life-saving items to other people).

    Everyone on Lou Fan''s team changed to a solemn expression, they didn''t expect that someone would actually make a sneaky move like that.

    Tong Fei said viciously, "I have already some leads. If I find out which organization they are from, I will not be soft-hearted. They better pray they won¡¯t bump into me." She paused and sighed, "My topic is stretched too far. What I want to say actually is that the difficulty of the mission worlds has increased so you guys must be careful."

    Regarding this matter, everyone on the team has discussed it before. Lou Fan said, "Our task is definitely not as simple as the transitional mission as you mentioned previously. I got lucky and felt that the task is not difficult for me but Wen Lang and the others think that the level of difficulty is not easy."

    The difficulty of transitional missions has also increased? Tong Fei''s beautiful brows knitted into a knot. She didn''t know what to say for some time and her lips felt so dry. She thought about the situation of several people, and still asked the question, "Except for you and Qin Tan, how come everyone also upgraded their spirit weapons?"

    Tong Fei only saw their spirit weapon when they got out of the car, but then she realized that the 6people were off to do a transitional mission. Among Lou Fan¡¯s team, 3 of them are still at Level 5, while the other 3 are at Level 6. Logically speaking, the mission world shouldn¡¯t be difficult, as she also has experienced it before. But for the other 4 to upgrade their spirit weapons at the same time, even in more dangerous spiritual worlds, there is not such a high upgrading percentage. She asked Zhuo Lan before but Zhuo Lan didn''t know much about it. She only said that she almost couldn¡¯t come out in the last test, concealing the content of the test.

    Hence, Lou Fan asked the 4 members to talk about their own situations. It''s actually quite simple, the 4 people traveled through a maze in their respective ''dreams''. To not get lost in it, they must have their own beliefs. Just like when one practices kung fu, they must maintain their initial belief and intention to make a breakthrough. The rationale is the same here. The 4 people accepted the test against their hearts, and stand by their beliefs, so they woke up from the ''dream''.

    "Their situation is actually somewhat similar to the time I upgraded mine. I got enlightened by the Master¡¯s chanting and realized my beliefs, while they found their beliefs in their own dreams. To be honest, their situation is more difficult and dangerous than mine." Lou Fan said. He had a feeling that there¡¯s a fleeting thought within his reach. "I always feel that regarding the upgrade of the spirit weapon, although it is related to one¡¯s personal strength, what''s more important is the heart."

    Tong Fei listened carefully to what Lou Fan said and showed a thoughtful expression. Then she started talking about another topic.

    "In my previous mission, I saw a very strange picture." Tong Fei said.

    Lou Fan¡¯s heart jumped and he looked at Tong Fei sharply. Tong Fei continued, "It''s a very weird picture. There is a bundle of light in the high place, dazzling like the sun. Below is a group of people who are fighting. Some of them are holding a bundle of an orange-colored item in their hands, which looked kind of like a...spirit weapon."

    Lou Fan''s eyes widened, and he could barely stand up.

    "I think." Tong Fei said word by word, "I saw myself."

    Lou Fan stood up, feeling cold sweat oozing from his forehead. The painting he had seen flashed in his mind, and then the picture in his ''dream'', as if he saw that kind face enveloped in the light again. His brain suddenly felt like a needle is stabbing in his head.

    "I also saw a similar picture."

    Lou Fan¡¯s neck almost stiffened and he turned to Qin Tan who just said that.

 CH 81

    "You saw it too?" Lou Fan said, "What did you see?"

    Although Qin Tan didn''t know why Lou Fan reacted so much, he still shared what he saw. It was the mural he saw on the domed roof at the last level. The portrait of the angel turned into a picture of a river of blood, and there is also a bundle of light in the high place.

    Rivers of blood. Lou Fan pursed his lips and his expression turned ugly. From the sound of that, it didn''t sound like a good omen.

    "Then, have you seen it?" Lou Fan asked the other 4 members, and they shook their heads and said no.

    Tong Fei watched Lou Fan¡¯s expression change several times and asked, "Lou Fan, you saw that too?"

    Lou Fan nodded and told them the painting he saw, but he didn''t say what he saw in his dream. His expression is a little terrible, and he frowned as he said, "I have a bad feeling that these paintings should be very important to us. It would be nice if we could get more information like this."

    Hearing that, Tong Fei stood up and straightened her clothes. Then she said, "Let''s go then."

    "En?" Lou Fan hasn''t come to his senses, "Where are you going?"

    Tong Fei answered as she walked, "Going to a nice place, where there should be the information we need."

    Everyone in Qin Tan¡¯s team looked at each other. They immediately got up and followed Tong Fei. Following behind Tong Fei, they went to the North Square and went all the way to the 1st ring of the north-side residence. At the circle of residences closest to North Square, they stopped in front of a house. The railings in the garden were removed, and 2 people are guarding the door. After Tong Fei took out her spirit weapon and showed the guards, she asked everyone in Qin Tan¡¯s team to take out their spirit weapon. After the guards had seen it, they let them in.

    The arrangement of the house is all the same in Lazuli. Once inside, they can see that it is quite empty. There are only a few sitting cushions on the ground. Also, there are many whiteboards hung on the surrounding walls. Several people are talking together in front of the whiteboards.

    Seeing the group of people coming in, several people turned to look at them. One of the tall men came over to say hello to Tong Fei, "You''re here, who are these? I don''t think I''ve seen them before."

    Tong Fei looked indifferent, but what she said is like dropping a bomb,"These are the 2 friends I told you about before, Qin Tan and Lou Fan. The other 4 people got upgraded in their latest mission, and they are all in the same team."

    "4 people upgrading together?" The tall man is very surprised. "How difficult is the task? All 6 of you actually have intermediate spirit weapons."

    When other people in the room heard the man¡¯s exclamation, they immediately gathered around, wanting to see what kind of monstrous this team is.

    "Team leader Qin, right? My name is Gao Yi. Can you tell what level of your team members and what mission you were doing?" Gao Yi''s eyes swept around among them, and his attitude became warm.

    Qin Tan shook hands with Gao Yi and answered indifferently, "We have 3 Level 6 members and 3 Level 5 members in our team. The latest mission was a transitional mission."

    "Transitional mission!"

    "It got to be a lie, right? 4 people upgrading their spirit weapon in a transitional mission world? You thought we had never done the task before?"

    "It¡¯s impossible."

    Immediately, there are sounds of discussions in the crowd, all of them disbelieving. Gao Yi calmed the crowd and said with a frown, "It¡¯s not like you haven''t heard of the recent increase of difficulties in the mission world. It is normal for the difficulty of transitional tasks to increase as well."

    When Gao Yi said this, everyone felt that it is reasonable. But it is one thing to know it¡¯s reasonable, and another thing to believe it. There are many doubts in their eyes as they looked at the 6 people.

    Tong Fei said to Gao Yi, "I brought them here so I¡¯ll leave it to you to explain the rest. I''ll go shopping first and come back later."

    Lou Fan and the rest are at a loss, but they knew that Tong Fei wouldn''t do anything unreliable, so they let Gao Yi lead them to the sitting cushions on the side.

    The crowd scattered to do their thing. Gao Yi didn''t hesitate, and went straight to the topic, "Don''t be nervous. This place is called ''Intermediate club'', which means literally, only those with intermediate spirit weapons can enter. We welcome passengers with intermediate spirit weapons from any organization. Also, there are many materials to share here, and seniors'' notes to borrow."

    Qin Tan asked, "Are you the organizer?"

    Gao Yi smiled and shook his head, "We don''t have an organizer here. These materials are also left by the previous seniors, and this place is managed by intermediate passengers in turn."

    "In here, there is information about going out from Lazuli?" Qin Tan asked again.

    This question is a real question that everyone is concerned about so everyone immediately stared at Gao Yi.

    Of course, Gao Yi understands their feelings very well, but he can only shake his head with a wry smile, "Unfortunately, there is no exact information about leaving Lazuli, only some notes left by seniors. There may be clues somewhere, but I haven''t come to a conclusion yet. After all, the only person who is said to manage to leave is no longer in Lazuli."

    That name listed on the electronic screen in the South Plaza. No one knows how long it has been up there, and no one knows the person at all.

    Wen Lang asked persistently, "But with so many high-level passengers in Lazuli, it''s impossible that none of them manage to leave, right? Everyone gets a mission every half a month, plus the time needed to do the mission¡­ It¡¯s like once a month, 12 times a year, 24 times for 2 years. Is there really no one managed to leave?"

    Wen Lang felt choked, he could hardly say the last sentence. He didn''t know what answer he wanted to hear.

    Gao Yi said with a bitter face, "I believe you all know Lazuli''s most basic rules for grading. As far as I know, at their Level 15 mission, those who entered the quest have never appeared again. We don''t know whether they went back to the real world or disappeared."

    Lou Fan felt that something is wrong, "Wait, at Level 15, only a team enters the mission world? If not, there will be people who will survive in the other team that goes with them."

    "No." Gao Yi shook his head, "Actually after Level 10, the mortality rate is very high, and there are very few people who can reach Level 15. Moreover, many advanced team missions will involve 2 senior teams entering together. Such difficulty is very high."

    Two senior teams doing missions together?!

    "How many passengers have reached Level 15 so far?" Qin Tan asked again.

    Gao Yi stretched out 3 fingers.

    Lou Fan thinks it''s unbelievable. If that''s the case, wouldn¡¯t it means Lazuli didn¡¯t plan to let the passengers live? Then, what is the purpose of them coming to this strange world? Just to die?

    This was originally a heavy topic, and Gao Yi felt that he has finished his explanation so he let them move freely.

    "Just take a look around. There are also some materials upstairs, as well as the notes of the seniors."

    "Excuse me." Lou Fan stopped Gao Yi, "Is there any record of passengers seeing pictures in the mission world? There is also a bundle of white light at the corner." Lou Fan looked at Gao Yi nervously, not missing the surprised expression on his face.

    Gao Yi: "Did you see it too?"

    Lou Fan nodded, "Sister Tong Fei also saw it. We want to collect some information about this, it gave me a feeling that it¡¯s important."

    Of course it¡¯s important! Gao Yi looked at the group thoughtfully. He pondered for a while before leading them up to the 2nd floor. The 2nd floor is full of bookshelves, with some folders and notebooks on them. But Gao Yi''s destination is not this. He walked to the door and pressed the fingerprint lock. Next, the door opened with a click. This is a room that is like a studio. There are several easels in it. When they saw the pictures on the easels, their eyes widened. Lou Fan ran to a picture and looked carefully.

    There are 7 paintings in the room. 3 of them are very blurry, and the other 4 paintings are actually very similar in content. Beneath a white light, a group of people is kneeling. They bowed their heads as if the light is God, the ruler. Only one of the paintings is slightly different. It is still showing the same white light, but there is only a vague figure of a person below, and there is a door opposite the person. But the man is drenched blood red, which made it uncomfortable to look at. In the lower right corner of the painting, there is a flowy signature, which Lou Fan couldn¡¯t recognize after trying to read the name for a long time.

    "This painting is..." Lou Fan asked, pointing to the signature.

    Gao Yi glanced at it, "It is said that it was drawn by the only person who left Lazuli, that name on the electronic screen."

    Lou Fan looked at the painting again, wishing to engrave it in his heart. But the signature is fundamentally different name from the one listed on the electronic screen.

    Chen Shuyang turned around and said to Lou Fan, "Brother Lou, let''s go and look at other materials."

    Wen Lang echoed, "Yes, maybe there will be other clues."

    Nie Feng remained silent. Jiang Dong stood at the side and said nothing, just waiting for their decision.

    "You guys go first." Lou Fan turned to ask Gao Yi, "Can I look at these paintings for a while?"

    Gao Yi nodded, "Of course, the information here is shared among the members. You can take your time and I''ll take the rest to find more information."

    After a long time, when Lou Fan turned his head, he saw Qin Tan standing behind him. Tong Fei is also there but he didn''t hear any movement earlier.

    "Sister Tong Fei, why didn''t you call me when you came?"

    Tong Fei said casually, "Seeing as you are focused, I¡¯m not going to disturb you. How is it? Did you see anything?"

    Lou Fan rubbed his eyebrows and shook his head, "Nothing special, but these paintings should be very important. The most important thing should be this light, what do you think it is?" He had an answer in his heart, but he didn''t know what it meant.

    "Lazuli." Qin Tan and Tong Fei said in unison.

    Lazuli, to them, is the Lord, a god-like being.

    Lou Fan nodded in agreement and stretched out his fingers, "So, down here should be ¡®us¡¯, the people in Lazuli. Look at this painting, the man is covered in blood with a door in front of him. Does it indicate that he really left Lazuli?"

    Tong Fei shook her head, "If the person can predict that he will be able to go out before the next mission, it is unlikely."

    Qin Tan: "It''s possible that one of them went out."

    Lou Fan nodded, "Yes, this signature is not the same name that is listed on the electronic screen. It may have been left by someone else. The only clear thing is that this painting should be drawn a long time ago."

    Qin Tan stayed silent for a moment, then said, "Let¡¯s go and ask Gao Yi again."

    Lou Fan nodded and said yes. The 3 of them left the studio together and found Gao Yi at a bookshelf. Jiang Dong is talking to him, and Chen Shuyang is looking at the information at the side.

    "Gao Yi, I want to know, how old are those paintings in the studio?" Qin Tan asked.

 CH 82

    Not expecting such a question, Gao Yi is stunned for a moment. Then he said, "There are 2 that are recently drawn while the others are from the past. As for the specific time..." As he said that, he tapped his head and hurriedly walked to the studio.

    There is a date written on the back of each painting. Except for recent ones which were drawn half a month ago, the rest are actually dated 3 years ago.

    Lou Fan took out a piece of paper and wrote down the content and the date.

    "Come here and see, I found something." Chen Shuyang''s voice came from the bookshelf, and the team immediately surrounded him.

    It is a diary in a notebook. The owner of the notebook has beautiful handwriting, but the content looked rushed and anxious.

    [May 24th - On the 7th day after returning from the previous mission, we received the notification of the next mission. The mission interval has changed, and the next mission¡¯s title ¡®Deserted World¡¯ does not sound like a pleasant mission. I''ve been feeling very flustered lately as if something big is about to happen. It¡¯s about us and Lazuli.

    We''re at Level 13 now and have intermediate spirit weapons. I don''t know when we''ll be able to go out from Lazuli. Team leader said that he felt that his spirit weapon is about to be upgraded to an advanced level, and we were looking forward to it.

    Hope we can come back safely.]

    The diary entry stopped at this point, and there are no further records after that. No one knows whether they managed to get out from Lazuli or died in the mission world. But the entry mentioned the advanced spirit weapon and the team leader felt it, which means that before one¡¯s advanced spirit weapon is upgraded, they will have a feeling.

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan looked at each other.

    "Everyone, look around for more diary entries, see if there are other records." Qin Tan said to everyone, "Try to find the information that is useful for us."

    Lou Fan turned to Gao Yi and asked, "Brother Gao, have you sorted out any information about advanced spirit weapons? Or, has anyone felt ¡®the feeling¡¯, can you share it with us?"

    Gao Yi shook his head regretfully, "So far, I haven''t heard any intermediate-level spirit weapon passengers talking about it. As for the information on advanced spirit weapons, we don''t have any more information about it, except for the occasional mention in the diary you saw."

    It''s like a knowledge gap that leaves people nowhere to look.

    Lou Fan scratched his hair irritably, but Qin Tan grabbed his hand, "Don''t worry, we''ll find it slowly." Qin Tan looked at him firmly and tenderly, soothing all his anxiety.

    That¡¯s right, with Qin Tan by his side, what is he anxious about? The desire to return to Earth is not very strong, But his heart stubbornly focused on the matter, like a donkey blindly moving forward, chasing the carrot dangling in front of it. It seems that he is used to constantly thinking about how to get out of Lazuli. Looking around his teammates, Lou Fan can see that they are seriously checking the data and notes. They didn''t look anxious and irritable, it was just him. Lou Fan rubbed his face with his hands. He was impatient, probably because of the influence of the figure enveloped in white light. It is making him eager to understand what is happening, and the restlessness in his heart overwhelmed all reason.

    "En, I''m too impatient." Lou Fan smiled embarrassedly and squeezed Qin Tan''s little finger. Taking Qin Tan to a place where no one is around, he whispered, "As long as you are beside me, I think it''s not bad to stay in Lazuli."

    Qin Tan glanced at Lou Fan and said, "You are very skilled at ¡®hitting snake up the stick¡¯. You might want to stay but not me. Every time I get anxious and scared in the mission world, it makes me feel insecure."

    So, this is what Qin Tan actually thought? Lou Fan''s eyes widened, obviously not expecting him to think like this. But there is no doubt that no matter how bad things are on Earth, living in a peaceful and stable world is far better than here in Lazuli.

    "We will definitely go out." Lou Fan said, "I will find you when the time comes."

    Although the entire 2nd floor is full of bookshelves, there are not many materials and notes that are useful. In the middle of the afternoon, the team read all the diary entries. At this moment, there are not many people in the house except them, and Chen Shuyang is lying on the table writing rapidly. When his hand is sore from copying the information, he raised his head and asked, "Brother Gao, can I borrow some of the notes to study?"

    Gao Yi: "No, you can read it here, but you can''t take it away. There are too few materials and notes, which is very important for other intermediate-level spirit weapon passengers."

    Chen Shuyang nodded in understanding.

    Nie Feng stretched lazily and said slowly, "Read slowly, I''ll accompany you."

    In fact, there are only a few important notes, and Chen Shuyang simply copied them all down. Everyone stayed back to accompany him, and when they left, it is already past 7.00 pm.

    Tong Fei invited the team to dinner but Lou Fan and the others decided to go back first to sort out the information they got today. The amount of information they obtained today is a bit large so Tong Fei didn''t insist. Lou Fan told her that once they found out anything new, they would tell her as soon as possible.

    Chen Shuyang is frowning and deep in thoughts along the way. When he is about to hit a wall, it was Nie Feng who pulled him away. It wasn''t until he sat down on the chair that he came back to his senses and found that he didn''t know when he had come back.

    "When did we come back?" Chen Shuyang raised his head blankly and then said, "By the way, I want to say that for our situation right now, we should focus on advanced spirit weapons. As for the paintings, I will study them later."

    Chen Shuyang spread out his notebook where he copied several diary entries on it, all of which mentioned advanced spirit weapons. He pointed at the entries and said, "Look, these diaries all mention advanced spirit weapons, but I realized something. They have yet to upgrade to an advanced spirit weapon yet, although the mission level is high-level ones. Also, there is no record after the 12th or 13th level. According to my analysis, there is a high probability that those teams did not survive."

    Chen Shuyang licked his lips and Nie Feng handed him a glass of water. After gulping the whole glass, he continued, "If I''m right, completing a high-level mission doesn''t mean you can go out of Lazuli. The key point should be on the level of the spirit weapon."

    Everyone stared at Chen Shuyang, and Lou Fan said thoughtfully, "That means one may not be able to go out of Lazuli after passing Level 15 mission world. They must have an advanced spirit weapon instead?"

    Chen Shuyang nodded, "Yes, that''s what I guessed. Otherwise, it doesn''t make sense. Why did Lazuli make us do the tasks? Its purpose must not be to send us to our death. From the moment we arrived in Lazuli, the importance of our spirit weapon is self-evident. Every seemingly useless spirit weapon can actually be the best weapon, but how many can upgrade their spirit weapon? I think Lazuli must have a deeper meaning in its doing."

    Chen Shuyang¡¯s analysis and ideas coincided with what Lou Fan thought, but it is more careful and comprehensive.

    Qin Tan saw that everyone is a little sleepy and interrupted them, "Go to rest first. We will continue the discussion tomorrow, we still have time."

    Chen Shuyang still felt unfinished with his inferences and wanted to say more. But he scratched his head and felt that he is still a little unclear at some points so he stopped talking and turned to head upstairs while thinking.

    Nie Feng grabbed Shuyang¡¯s collar and said, "Wait with me. We¡¯ll go up together and you can tell me what you think. I''ll listen to your thoughts first to see if there is anything wrong with the direction."

    Chen Shuyang''s eyes lit up and nodded like a little puppy, "Okay, okay, I''ll tell you first. You can help me to see if there is any problem."

    Jiang Dong followed Wen Lang upstairs like a loyal follower. Then, Nie Feng went upstairs as well with the little nerd. Lou Fan laughed inexplicably at the scene and got up to wash to prepare to sleep.

    The lights in the bedroom went out all of a sudden. Before Lou Fan could react, he got pulled into Qin Tan¡¯s arms and got nibbled on.

    "Mhmm..." Lou Fan protested, "I haven''t showered yet."

    Qin Tan: "Wash later."

    Lips and tongues intertwined. Qin Tan''s movements are ruthless and impatient as he has gone without kisses and hugs for more than 10 days. Throwing Lou Fan on the bed, he eagerly pounced on him next. 2 heated bodies pressed tightly together as they entangled and tumbled on the bed. A suppressed growl sounded, accompanied by a gush of hot liquid, sending the connected couple into the most dizzying climax.

    Lou Fan is spread out on the bed. Having too many things in his mind today made him very tired. And so, after a lot of ¡®exercise¡¯, he doesn''t want to move anymore. Just as he is about to ask the person on top of him to go down, he felt something hard moving inside him. Lou Fan glared at the perpetrator, "You are a beast!"

    The person shamelessly bit Lou Fan¡¯s earlobe and licked it gently. His voice is low and full of desire, "That¡¯s right, last time you said I was a dog."

    Lou Fan gritted his teeth, "You!" Before he could say the words, Qin Tan gave him a hard thrust and his reason got shattered into pieces, and he couldn''t get angry anymore.

    The advantage of being tossed around in the bed is that he slept very sweetly that night. Lou Fan didn''t even have a dream and slept until noon. Rubbing his hair as he came out of the bedroom, he smelled the fragrance of breakfast and instantly felt happy.

    Hearing the sound of movement, Qin Tan stuck his head out from the kitchen and asked, "You are awake? Did you sleep well?"

    Lou Fan smiled helplessly, "Thanks to you, I slept well."

    "Thank you for the compliment, I didn''t waste my hard work ¡®plowing¡¯."

    That caused Lou Fan to spray mouthwash on the mirror and his hand holding the toothbrush trembling (in anger).

    Nie Feng and Chen Shuyang came downstairs after noon, and both of them looked drowsy. Lou Fan asked Chen Shuyang if he had any new thoughts. Chen Shuyang shook his head and said it is the same direction, but a little smoother.

    At present, they are only guessing about prophecy paintings and advanced spirit weapons. But they can''t stop practicing so they resume training after research. Lou Fan asked Chen Shuyang to draw a lot of spells every day. Although they have not tested the effect of Chen Shuyang¡¯s upgraded spirit book, the amulets drawn will definitely not be worse than when it was not upgraded yet. So the price of the spells has also increased, and they are listed to be sold on the electronic screen publicly this time.

    Because of the high price, the high-level officials of the registration office couldn''t privately buy it all and had to give up. Hence, every day in the North Square, people can be seen waiting under the electronic screen for the amulets to be listed, and they will be sold out almost instantly each time.

    Right now, their team holds a lot of points in hand, and Lou Fan''s unspeakable sense of urgency makes him replace the team''s equipment with the best he can afford.

    "It''s really fortunate that Shuyang is on our team. If we don''t have Shuyang as our money-growing tree, I don¡¯t know how long it will take for everyone to upgrade our equipment. Everyone should thank Shuyang well."

    Chen Shuyang immediately waved his hands vigorously, "No no no, Brother Lou, don''t say that. Without you guys to protect me, I would have died many times in the mission world, let alone upgrading my spirit weapon. So, you must not say that."

    Wen Lang hooked an arm around Chen Shuyang''s neck and said with a smile, "I''m the most useless anyway. I won''t say anything more than this. Thank you, Shuyang."

    At a moment like this, it is the best time to consolidate the unity of the team. Qin Tan said, "We are a team, and we can go further by encouraging and helping each other. I have nothing special to say. In short, for everyone to get together as a team, we are a family. I treat you all as my little brothers."

    Lou Fan smiled and leaned over, "What about me? Am I also your little brother?"

    Qin Tan''s eyes flashed and he said, "En, you are my dearest ¡®little brother¡¯."

    Lou Fan''s face darkened when he saw where Qin Tan is looking. *spit Damn pervert!

    The author has something to say:

    Brother Qin is still a beast today.

 CH 83

    On the afternoon of the 4th day they returned to Lazuli, Lou Fan went to Tong Fei¡¯s house, wanting to ask her what her mission is this time. Tong Fei¡¯s next mission should be a Level 12 mission. Thinking of Chen Shuyang''s inference, Lou Fan is still a little worried, and he also planned to ask Tong Fei if she found out about the organization that ¡®pitted¡¯ them.

    "What? Your next mission isn''t released yet?" Lou Fan frowned.

    On the contrary, although Tong Fei looked helpless, she is not anxious, "Recently, the schedule of Lazuli''s task release is a bit messy. Many people''s task release time is wrong so it is nothing unusual."

    Lou Fan thinks it makes sense. It''s not a good thing for things to get messy, but it''s out of their control.

    "Have you found out who ¡®pitted¡¯ your team?"

    Tong Fei snorted. With hatred in her eyes, she said, "I spent a lot of points to check and found out something. Have a guess?"

    "Me?" Lou Fan felt a little inexplicable by Tong Fei. His team had very little dealings with the organizations in Lazuli. They only encountered 1 organization since they came to Lazuli, and the other party was completely annihilated in the mission world. He tentatively asked, "Could it be the Black Scorpion?" After thinking about it, Lou Fan felt that he only know 1 organization.

    Tong Fei nodded, "Now, try guessing who planned it."

    Almost without thinking, Lou Fan blurted out, "Qi Haichao?"

    Tong Fei clenched her fist and slammed the sofa hard, "I''m really blind. I''m the one who led the wolf into the house, otherwise, Xiao Yun would be able to..."

    Lou Fan sighed and comforted Tong Fei, "That can''t blame you, Sister Tong Fei. They came prepared with a deliberate plan. If the perpetrator is not Qi Haichao, there would be He Haichao or Zhang Haichao (it could be anyone), you didn''t know it in advance. How to prevent it?"

    Although the comfort is futile, Lou Fan can only try to ease her pain like this. Otherwise, she will put the responsibility on herself, and she will be even sadder.

    Tong Fei gritted her teeth, "I can''t do anything to them now, but don''t blame me if they bump into me during the mission."

    Unexpectedly, Qi Haichao is actually a member of the Black Scorpion. He sure hides himself deeply. Lou Fan simply thought that he was trying to get some benefits from Tong Fei. Lou Fan changed the subject and told her about Chen Shuyang''s analysis.

    Tong Fei frowned tightly and asked, "That is to say, the level is not important and the important thing is the upgrade of the spirit weapon?" She stayed silent for a moment, and then said, "Does that mean that if one doesn''t upgrade the spirit weapon to advanced level before the Level 15 mission, the person won¡¯t be able to go out from Lazuli, and it will end at Level 15?"

    Hearing that, Lou Fan is stunned. As if the information suddenly clicked, he finally understood. He stood up abruptly, with an imperceptible trembling in his voice, "Yes, it must be the case. If the spirit weapon cannot be upgraded to the highest level before the Level 15 mission, the person will be obliterated by Lazuli."

    All the information seemed to be connected now. Lou Fan grabbed his hair and almost wanted to shout, "Does that mean that no matter how high one¡¯s level, as long as their spirit weapon is upgraded to advanced level, it is possible for them to get out of Lazuli? It must be like this, it must be!"

    Lou Fan turned around twice anxiously. After excusing himself from Tong Fei, he immediately ran back. He is going to tell his team about the news. It is too important, the truth must be so.

    Lou Fan has just entered the house, and Chen Shuyang saw him at a glance. He rushed over to grab Lou Fan, and said excitedly: "Brother Lou, I know! I know what is it! The crucial point is the level of our spirit weapon, while our own level is a limitation. If we can''t upgrade our spirit weapon to advanced level before the Level 15 mission, I think we won¡¯t survive that world. Simply put, there will only be death for us."

    Lou Fan got stunned for a moment, then laughed. He patted Chen Shuyang on the shoulder for a long time and said, "You really are our team''s little genius. I was discussing it with Sister Tong Fei just now and came to this conclusion. Then I thought to come back and tell you guys¡­ I didn''t expect you to come to this conclusion as well."

    Chen Shuyang touched his head and looked at Nie Feng. He said, "I didn''t come up with it myself. It¡¯s only when Nie Feng reminded me that I thought of it."

    "Come over for a meeting." Qin Tan came out of the kitchen with a plate of fruits and called everyone immediately.

    The meeting concludes that each team member should strive to find an opportunity to advance to the advanced level as soon as possible while making themselves proficient in using their intermediate spirit weapon. Everyone smiled bitterly. They have just upgraded their weapon to the intermediate level, and haven¡¯t had the time to use it yet. But now, they have to find out how to upgrade it as soon as possible, what a headache.

    Before they can stop the headache about the matter, Lou Fan asked, "Do you know who ¡®pitted¡¯ on Sister Tong Fei and the others? It''s Qi Haichao and he is from the Black Scorpion organization. At first, I thought it has nothing to do with us. But now, could it be that the Black Scorpion organization knew about our relationship with Tong Fei and did it on purpose?"

    "But it wasn¡¯t our fault that the Black Scorpion team got annihilated at the time. Besides, they didn''t know that we got into the same mission world with their team," Wen Lang said immediately.

    Qin Tan shook his head, "You forgot that there is another person besides Lin Man Man that returned to Lazuli with us (Gong Yi)."

    Wen Lang immediately reacted, "Oh yeah, I forgot there was another person. Black Scorpion must have known about us from him."

    Qin Tan snorted, "Anyway, let''s be careful. Jiang Dong and Nie Feng have to be careful too."

    ¡­

    Training is the same as always, but when Qin Tan¡¯s team sold the amulets, they deliberately stated that they are not selling to the Black Scorpion organization.

    3 days later, as the team is training as usual, 6 beeps suddenly sounded at the same time, and everyone looked at their watch.

    Wen Lang exclaimed, "Fck, why suddenly a mission is announced?!"

    Holding the bow in his hand, Lou Fan shot out the arrow he has been pulling. It hits the bullseye steadily. "Tsk, the mission finally came, huh?"

    Mission content: The ghost lake changes to a holy lake. Please get on the train on time at 9:00 am on March 10.

    Mission time limit: 21 days.

    Team information: Lou Fan Level 6, Chen Shuyang Level 6, Jiang Dong Level 6, Qin Tan Level 7, Wen Lang Level 7, Nie Feng Level 7.

    "Ghost lake?" Chen Shuyang murmured, "There are too many ghost lakes in the homeland and abroad. What''s going on?"

    Qin Tan thought about it twice, touched his chin with his fingers, and said, "If I guess correctly, it should be Lake Rakshastal (La¡¯angcuo), which is called the Ghost Lake, and the other side of it is called the Holy Lake."

    Seeing Qin Tan seemed to be familiar with the place, Lou Fan asked strangely, "How do you know so clearly when even Shuyang doesn''t know?"

    Qin Tan raised his eyebrows, "I know more than that, I''ll tell you later. Also, I know about this place because I did a mission nearby there a long time ago."

    Lou Fan said in realization, "Oh yes, you were in the army before."

    Knowing the exact location of the mission, Chen Shuyang started the top student mode and gave general knowledge about the legend of the ghost lake. The name was given due to its property as ¡®poisonous black lake¡¯ as the water of the lake is not drinkable. Plus, if looked down from the sky, the surface of the lake is like flayed human skin, which is even more terrifying, hence the name. Next to the ghost lake is a holy lake separated by a hill. The lake is clear and has a sweet taste, forming a strong contrast with the ghost lake.

    While Chen Shuyang is talking, he jotted down important information as well. Suddenly, he stopped writing, looked up, and said seriously, "There is another problem, we need to pay attention to the difference between the mission world and the real world. Although the general myth may be similar, the key point may be the difference in the mission world.¡±

    While the team is discussing, someone knocked on the door. Wen Lang went to open the door and is surprised when he saw the visitor, "Sister Tong Fei?"

    Tong Fei smiled and saw that everyone is looking at her. She asked jokingly, "Why do you guys look at me like this, am I not welcome?"

    Lou Fan stood up immediately, "No, it''s just that we have just received our next task and are discussing it."

    "You received your mission?" Tong Fei asked in surprise, "I''m here for this too. What is your mission?"

    Wen Lang grinned and interjected, "What a coincidence, wouldn''t we be on the same mission?"

    As soon as Wen Lang finished speaking, he found that Tong Fei and Lou Fan are looking at him, making him feel a little guilty for some reason. "It won''t be so coincidental..."

    Tong Fei: "Ghost Lake..."

    Wen Lang: The Hell, it¡¯s really the same mission!

    Lou Fan instantly became happy, "Sister Tong Fei, what a coincidence."

    Tong Fei: ¡­

    Qin Tan: "Are all your team members familiar people, or are they randomly assigned?"

    "It''s all familiar people."

    Qin Tan nodded, "Then you can discuss the task with us first."

    Tong Fei thought for a while and said, "Okay, I originally wanted to come over and ask if you know about Ghost Lake, but now it seems that you have reached a conclusion."

    Chen Shuyang repeated the points he mentioned just now with great enthusiasm and raised key issues.

    "Sister Tong Fei, what is your mission?" Lou Fan asked.

    They are an intermediate team, while Tong Fei¡¯s team is a senior team. They didn''t expect to bump into each other, which means that their mission world is definitely not simple. Tong Fei stretched out her wrist, and Lou Fan took a look at her watch. It turned out to be the same task content. He frowned, feeling ups and downs in his heart and an indescribable heaviness.

    As if Qin Tan knew what Lou Fan is thinking, he patted Lou Fan on the shoulder, "Don''t think too much."

    Lou Fan rubbed his face. He didn''t know what is going on recently. Probably because he is surrounded by all kinds of nervous emotions, which made him who was usually free and easy feeling a little intimidated. Qin Tan already comforted him last night but when he saw that Tong Fei had the same task as them, he became anxious again.

    Tong Fei didn''t stay long and said she is going to go back to discuss with her team members first. Both teams would discuss what to bring together tomorrow. At present, they only know of their two teams, but it is already enough because this time there will definitely be no newcomer team. As for whether there are other teams, they can only find out on the train platform at that time.

    In the evening, Qin Tan made a hot pot meal. The air is full of fresh and spicy aromas, which stimulated people''s appetites.

    "Come!" Qin Tan raised his glass. "Since the mission task came out, everyone knows what they have to do. I only have one request. All members must come back alive. We are passengers with intermediate spirit weapons so you all have to do well."

    Fortunately, this mission can basically be determined to be a supernatural mission. Chen Shuyang has an intermediate-level spiritual book in his hand so his heart felt assured. He immediately echoed, "Brother Qin, don''t worry, it is a must (to come back alive)."

    Lou Fan also smiled, raised his glass, and said, "Everyone, take good care of ¡®your partner¡¯ and be mentally prepared. Even if there is only one breath left, you will return to the train."

    Those who understood what Lou Fan meant looked at each other, and then lowered their heads to look at their ¡®partner¡¯. Lou Fan smiled, but these words undoubtedly made everyone vigilant and thought deeply about the situation.

    The next day, Qin Tan¡¯s team went to Tong Fei''s place, as if they had already regarded it as a base. One of the reasons is there are too many people watching in front of their door, and it is not conducive for everyone to get together to discuss their tasks.

    As soon as they entered the door, they saw an acquaintance. There¡¯s Tong Fei and Jiang Rou with another unfamiliar woman, as well as Gao Yi and 2 other men who they don¡¯t know, but they have all seen these faces in the intermediate level club.

 CH 84

    As soon as Gao Yi saw Qin Tan¡¯s team, he showed a helpless smile, "I didn''t expect to see all of us grouped together. There are a total of 12 intermediate spirit weapon holders. Just thinking about it makes me feel unbelievable."

    Lou Fan has calmed down his feeling. What¡¯s coming will come, they can¡¯t stop it. So he smiled and said, "Brother Gao, this time it''s up to you to bring us together."

    Qin Tan also said, "That¡¯s right. You are more experienced, I hope we can cooperate happily."

    "I will do my best." That''s what he said, but Gao Yi is full of helplessness inside. With such a combination, he couldn''t even think of what kind of mission world it would be waiting for them. Although he knew the general information about the world, who knows what the situation actually looked like? Even so, he couldn''t show his weak side. It is a matter of morale for the group, so he couldn''t kill hope first.

    When everyone arrived, Tong Fei greeted everyone to sit down and introduced the woman beside her, "This is my friend, Feng Zhi. She doesn''t like to talk, so please don¡¯t mind that." Then, she introduced Lou Fan¡¯s team to everyone again. As for the 2 men on Gao Yi''s side, the strong-looking one is called Fan Dayong, while the other is an ordinary man in his thirties called Chen Man.

    Lou Fan saw that Fan Dayong is holding a gun in his hand, Chen Man is holding an axe, and the woman named Feng Zhi had an oil-paper umbrella beside her. Tong Fei''s spirit weapon is a big sword, but Lou Fan has never seen Jiang Rou''s weapon. Same for Gao Yi''s weapon.

    "Since everyone has the same mission and the same goal this time, I hope that we will give everyone complete cooperation this time." Gao Yi took the lead, "I don''t know much of the situation at the moment. After we arrived, let''s check the situation first. To connect the two lakes, it must not be easy. First of all, we can rule out the possibility of using manpower to forcefully connect them..."

    Gao Yi is worthy of being one of the managers of the intermediate weapon club. He has rich experience, clear thinking, and a well-organized speech, which undoubtedly gave everyone a lot of confidence and he faintly exuded the aura of the leader of the team.

    After the discussion, Lou Fan¡¯s team went to the registration office and listed 10 sets of spells to be sold. The price is very high, but they got sold out not long after they were released. When Lou Fan saw the huge amount of points he received, he clicked his tongue twice, "These people¡­ they won¡¯t be thinking about some strange ideas, right? They are fighting so fiercely over the amulets."

    Immediately, Lou Fan gave half of the points to Jiang Dong, "Jiang Dong, prepare more medicines. If you don''t have enough points, ask me again for it. I''ll prepare the food. It seems that points spend on upgrading the weapons are wasted this time."

    Before this, Lou Fan had upgraded the weapons of every team member to the next level, but now it seems that it is useless in a supernatural world.

    "It''s not necessarily a waste. Close-combat weapons will always have a chance to be used, so you just don''t need to bring large weapons." Qin Tan specially reminded Chen Shuyang that he didn''t need to bring his spear because it is really useless to carry those things around.

    "Shuyang, did you feel any discomfort after drawing the amulets?" Lou Fan leaned over and asked.

    Chen Shuyang thought for a while, "No, I feel good."

    Lou Fan nodded, "Okay, then draw as many as you can before our departure. We have to prepare some on hand for emergencies."

    After the assignation of duties, Jiang Dong and Wen Lang went to prepare medicines. Chen Shuyang focused on drawing more amulets with Nie Feng monitoring him, while Lou Fan and Qin Tan prepared food, water, and gadgets that might be used.

    At 7.00 am on the 3rd day after the task announcement, Qin Tan¡¯s team members gathered together in the living room, each carrying a large backpack. Lou Fan had Furball perching on his shoulders. He turned his head and looked around the living room to confirm that he didn¡¯t miss out on anything. After that, they closed the door and walked towards the station.

    Everyone agreed to meet up at 8.00 am, but when they arrived, the rest of the people had already arrived. Everyone is very proactive. The time is approaching 9.00 am, and no other team can be seen. Everyone knew that this time, the selected people should be just the two of their teams.

    "Get ready, the train will be here soon." Gao Yi stood up and threw his backpack on his back.

    Everyone put on their backpacks and waited for the train¡¯s whistle. At this moment, some people appeared out of nowhere. Some of them are familiar, but most of them had never been seen before.

    "Good luck! You must come back."

    "Brother Lou, all the best." Lin Man Man forced a smile. Her eyes are a little red, and she said to Tong Fei, "Sister Fei and Sister Rou, you too, take care of yourself."

    "All the best to you guys!"

    "Good luck!"

    Everyone did not expect that so many people would appear to support them, so they could only nod their heads and accept their blessings.

    Boarding the train, the train drove away when the time is up. Those who came to see the teams off watched as the train disappears out of sight. There are sounds of constant discussions.

    "Do you think they can come back safely?"

    "Of course, they have 12 intermediate spirit weapons!"

    "They are very powerful!"

    "Yes, that¡¯s right. They are high-leveled passengers."

    But saying this sounds like they are cheering each other up, filling each other with hope, as if as long as the teams can come back safely, there is still hope for everything. However, some people sighed about the difficulty of the task that can be done by 12 intermediate spirit weapon holders.

    ¡­

    The weather is so gloomy that it seemed like it is going to rain at any time. After everyone got out of the train, they saw the lifeless environment around them and immediately decided to go to a place with no dark clouds. Next to them is a lake, the water is so dark and gloomy that it is impossible to see what was in it.

    "This should be the ghost lake, it''s gloomy and dreary." Gao Yi said. Then he told everyone to take their spirit weapons out and be vigilant.

    There are many skeletons by the lake, all of which appear to be animals. They are piled up by the lake in large and small, and some of them are weathered out of shape. Strong winds blew from all directions, bringing up an unpleasant stench. Then, the rainstorm poured down, and everyone took out the prepared raincoats and put them on. Fortunately, the quality of Lazuli''s things is good. The rain has a burning sensation when it hits their body, and the surrounding bones make a small sizzling sound. But after putting on the raincoat, they don¡¯t feel anything from the rain at all.

    In the rainstorm, Fan Dayong, who is walking in the front, pointed to the front and shouted, "Look, there seems to be someone living there."

    Lou Fan had already vaguely seen a village ahead. It is sparsely populated so he can¡¯t see how many families there are.

    Gao Yi: "Let¡¯s go over first. Everyone, pretends to be outsiders, talk less and observe more."

    Hearing that, Lou Fan is a little confused. Shouldn''t they ask more instead? But he didn''t say anything, just wanted to see the situation first.

    The teams quickly ran into the village, only to find that the village is deadly silent. There is no sound, not even a guard dog like in an ordinary village. What''s even more strange is that this village doesn''t even seem to be alive, and there is no trace of life.

    "Anyone there?" Gao Yi shouted loudly, "Anyone? We just passed by here and wanted to get a shelter from the rain." He shouted twice in a row, and finally, an old and weak voice answered, "Who are you?"

    Everyone looked over and saw an old man appearing by the door of a house. He is so skinny that he could only be described as a bag of bones. His eyes are empty, without a trace of expression, and his entire face is even more expressionless.

    Gao Yi said loudly, "Old man, we are just passing by here. Unexpectedly, it started raining suddenly so we want to find a place to take shelter from the rain."

    The old man responded slowly, raised his finger, and pointed to a house next to him, "Go to that house, and leave when the rain stops." After saying this, he turned around and walked into the house. The house is so dark inside that it is impossible to see the interior from the outside. They can only see the figure of the old man disappearing into the house.

    Gao Yi glanced around and whispered to everyone to go over and take shelter from the rain.

    The house beside the old man¡¯s house is also very dark. As soon as they walked in, they couldn''t see anything at all, so someone immediately took out a flashlight to illuminate the room. The house is very simple, with only a table, a bed, and a stool, and there is an unpleasant smell inside.

    Taking off his raincoat, Wen Lang muttered, "This village is even weirder than the small fishing village we''ve been to. At the very least, there are people there."

    Jiang Rou folded her raincoat and put it away. Then she took out a towel and wiped the ashes on the table, and said, "What''s so strange? There are so many weird places in the mission world, this is already considered normal."

    It''s not surprising anymore when one has experienced more.

    Gao Yi stuck his head out of the house and looked around again. Then he returned and said, "It looks like it will rain for a while, so let''s think of a reason to stay."

    "Just use the usual reason - traveling." Chen Man said.

    Gao Yi nodded, "We¡¯ll use this first. If it doesn''t work, we¡¯ll say that someone in the team is sick and needs to stay for a few days."

    On the other side, Lou Fan''s raincoat is picked up by Qin Tan to tidy up. Lou Fan leaned over and asked Qin Tan, "Qin Tan, did the Lake Rakshastal you went to look like that?"

    Qin Tan¡¯s hands kept moving, he shook his head and said, "It''s different. Although it''s still called the ghost lake, it''s just called that in private. There are no ghosts in the lake and it''s not black. It''s just not drinkable."

    Lou Fan uttered an ¡®en¡¯ and propped his chin up in thought.

    The task period is 21 days, and the time is not short. It can be said that there is plenty of time for missions that require them to just fight monsters. But if it is a supernatural task with a plot, it is actually not easy to do. This quest is similar to the Lao Ye Temple quest in the small fishing village, but that one can be cleared by killing the monsters, and violence can solve everything. The difference with this supernatural world is that they don''t know where the key point of the task is. His fingers tapped lightly on the table. If he has to make meaning out of it, the easiest thing to think about is that there are ghosts causing trouble where the 2 lakes are connected.

    "The rain has stopped."

    Lou Fan was thinking about it when suddenly Fan Dayong shouted. He stretched out his head and looked outside for a long time, then retracted to look at everyone, "No one came out."

    When it rains, it¡¯s normal that no one is outside. Now that the rain has stopped, it¡¯s fine if some people wanted to continue to rest, but 12 outsiders just arrived, and there is not one person coming forward to ask them about their purpose. This plot is not right.

    Tong Fei is carrying a large sword. Her spirit weapon is too conspicuous, and she couldn''t hide it. So she said, "Someone, go and ask the villagers. Find an excuse to talk, we can''t just sit and wait."

    Everyone agreed. Gao Yi is about to pick a name when Lou Fan said, "Let me go out to ask."

    Lou Fan¡¯s appearance is clean and good-looking, and he makes people feel good about him at first glance. No one will be hostile to him. He is indeed a good candidate.

    Gao Yi: "Okay, then you go, be careful."

    Qin Tan: "I''ll go with you."

    Qin Tan said to Lou Fan, Lou Fan nodded, and the two went out together. The torchlight in the house is replaced by solar lamps, and the two left. For a while, no one in the house spoke and stayed silent.

 CH 85

    The village is not big, so Qin Tan and Lou Fan walked around it quickly. The rain had stopped, but the sky is still gray. Water droplets dripped from the eaves and quickly disappeared into the soil. By the time they circled around the village once, the water marks on the ground are almost dry.

    "Not a single person around? It''s so strange here." Suddenly, Lou Fan stopped and looked at the houses nearby. He pulled Qin Tan and said, "Qin Tan, there are people in the houses."

    Qin Tan looked over and probably heard their voices. There are people standing inside, behind the door of the house and every door had someone there. Those people hid in the house and looked out at them. Qin Tan and Lou Fan can only faintly glimpse at them from the little light around. Some of the people are frowning while some are grinning. But no matter how they looked, Qin Tan and Lou Fan only felt that their expressions are strange.

    It¡¯s stiff and weird. Lou Fan looked around and had this strange thought in his heart.

    "May I ask who is in charge here?" Qin Tan asked. "We just passed by here, but someone in the team is sick so we need to stay here for a few days."

    After Qin Tan finished speaking, it took a long time before someone seemed to understand what he is talking about and pointed a finger in one direction. After thanking the people, Qin Tan and Lou Fan walked over in the direction.

    Lou Fan asked suspiciously, "Are all the villagers unable to speak? They are not saying a thing."

    "Not exactly." Qin Tan said, "The old man we saw earlier, didn¡¯t he speak to us?"

    That¡¯s right. Lou Fan followed, but pursed his lips and looked around. Those villagers just now looked very thin. It is no exaggeration to describe them as a bag of bones. Their face is stiff but it''s not completely lifeless.

    The two walked along the way and saw the old man that they had spoken to earlier squatting by the door and looking up at the sky. There is nothing in the sky, only thick dark clouds.

    "Old man, are you the head of the village?" Lou Fan took a few steps forward and stopped 2 meters away. Then he explained himself like an obedient child, "It''s like this. We passed by here earlier and someone in the team unfortunately fell sick. It is inconvenient to travel, so we want to stay here for a few days."

    Seeing the old man look up at him, Lou Fan immediately added, "Don''t worry, as long as the person recovered, we will leave and we will not disturb you."

    The old man stared at Qin Tan and Lou Fan silently. His eyes are looking straight but there are no emotions in them, like a glass bead.

    "Okay." The old man nodded slowly and said slowly, "The village is remote, so don''t go out at night."

    The two nodded and said okay before leaving under the old man¡¯s heavy gaze.

    ¡­

    "Brother Lou, you are back?" Wen Lang is standing guard outside the door, waiting for the two to come back. When he saw them returning, he happily asked, "How is it, is there any information?"

    Qin Tan nodded and said, "Let¡¯s go in and talk."

    They left the door open so that they could observe the situation outside. Lou Fan and Qin Tan spoke in a low voice inside the house, and the two repeated the old man''s words to the rest of the group.

    "Don''t go out at night." Gao Yi touched his chin and said meaningfully, "Is this a clue for us?"

    Apparently, everyone thought so. With this information in hand, everyone discussed to check out what is going on in this village at night.

    "Brother Lou, what''s wrong with you?" Seeing Lou Fan in a daze, Chen Shuyang reached out and shook it in front of him.

    Lou Fan came to his senses and explained, "I was trying to pinpoint the weird point of those villagers." His index finger tapped on the table as he said it. Suddenly, his brows furrowed and he said, "Contradiction."

    "Contradiction?" Chen Shuyang is confused, "What is contradicting?"

    Lou Fan said solemnly, "It''s the villagers here who give me a contradictory feeling, something is very inconsistent."

    After hearing Lou Fan¡¯s words, everyone immediately recalled what they saw earlier. It indeed really felt out of place. But now the villagers are hiding in their houses so there is no information to obtain. They can only wait to see what''s wrong with the village after dark.

    The night wind is cool, and under the dark clouds, there is not a trace of moonlight shining through. The village is dead silent. Wen Lang''s feet are numb from squatting, and none of the villagers appeared. He whispered begrudgingly, "What''s wrong with them? These people didn¡¯t come out during the day, and they don''t come out at night as well?"

    There¡¯s a tap on his head and Wen Lang heard Qin Tan whisper, "Shut up."

    At this moment, shadows appeared and people can be seen walking out of their house but everyone looked a little stiff. They walked in the direction of the ghost lake like something is attracting them.

    Seeing that no more villagers coming out of the houses, a door gently opened. A group of 12 people walked out lightly, following the villagers from a distance.

    The village is not far from the lake, less than 10 meters away. The group saw the villagers standing facing the black lake. They are lined in a row before kneeling down in front of the lake, their movement is uniform. A faint mist rose from the lake, and the mist became thicker and thicker, spreading around.

    The group of 12 people stared at the villagers closely, not even daring to blink, for fear of missing something important in the blink of an eye.

    Surrounded by fog, the dark clouds above their heads dissipated, revealing a black moon. The villagers stood up and raised their arms as if cheering. Immediately afterwards, a horrifying scene happened that made the group of 12 people hold their breaths and dare not blink.

    The villagers tore at themselves and quickly shed the human skin on their bodies as if they are simply undressing. There are no blood splatters like one would imagine. What comes out of the skin is something like a skeleton shrouded in black mist, it should be a supernatural being. The black skeleton, who had taken off its human skin, slowly walked towards the ghost lake. They stepped into the water step by step and sank to the surface of the lake.

    In just a few minutes, there are only human skins left on the shore of the lake. The black skeletons disappeared into the water, and the entire village became a dead village.

    In the thin mist, 12 people watched with bated breath. Finally, they released the breath they were holding and keep cursing in their hearts ¡®Fck!¡¯.

    "It turned out to be a ghost in a human skin." Gao Yi''s expression is bitter, "This mission doesn''t look easy."

    "Let''s go and have a look," Tong Fei said.

    Gao Yi is about to agree when Chen Man by his side tugged at his sleeve, "Brother Gao, look there."

    Everyone looked in that direction and saw that the place was still barren during the day, but now a forest appeared in the fog. Other than that, there is a faint shadow of a mountain behind.

    "If I remember correctly, there should be no mountains there." Tong Fei said with a frown.

    There is indeed no mountain during the day, which means this is obviously a problem.

    Gao Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "Let¡¯s do it this way. I''ll take Chen Man and Dayong to have a look. You guys will stay here first to find out if there are any other abnormalities in those villagers. As you do that, remember to investigate the surrounding as well."

    Qin Tan: "Captain Gao, do you need me to follow along with you?"

    Gao Yi waved his hand, "No need, the three of us will come back after we have a look inside. You guys be careful not to be discovered."

    Tong Fei paused and said, "Then you guys try to return early. This fog seems to only appear at night."

    Gao Yi nodded. After checking his small bag, he walked towards the forest with Chen Man and Fan Dayong. The three stepped forward into the woods, but after a few steps, the people behind them could no longer see their figures.

    Seeing the men disappear into the woods, everyone turned their heads to look at Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan pondered for a while and said, "Let¡¯s go and check out those human skins first."

    The human skins left on the shore gave them a very uncomfortable feeling. Lou Fan touched the goosebumps on his arm. Most of the human skin looked like they are cut open from the middle, and the facial features of the skin cannot be seen properly. Even Qin Tan felt a little disgusted. After a glance, he stopped looking at it.

    Tong Fei and Feng Zhi are very daring. They used their spirit weapon to pick up the human skin and looked at it, then put it down.

    "Looking at these, it seems that those things from the lake are pretending to be the villagers," said Tong Fei. "But what do they want to do? Where did they get the human skins?"

    No one could answer these questions at the moment. But one thing is certain, which is these villagers are definitely weird.

    Qin Tan pondered for a while, then discussed with Tong Fei and the others, "Let¡¯s go back first. We¡¯ll arrange the vigil and duties for the lookout, and the rest will rest first. We will talk about it when Gao Yi and the others come back."

    Tong Fei nodded in agreement.

    ¡­

    Nie Feng stared at the lake, his usual lazy eyes that were drooping in the past are now as sharp as an eagle. The fog around is getting thin, and when he looked back, the place where the forest had appeared before is flickering. The fog on the lake surface gradually dissipated, and when the fog became so thin that it is about to fade away completely, the forest disappeared.

    Circles of ripples began to appear on the surface of the lake water, and a group of black shadows emerged from the lake. They walked to the shore and began to put human skins on themselves. Wrapped in human skin, they stretched out their hands and feet, as if trying on clothes to see if they fit. Their heads made a creaking sound, and they even knead their facial features and ears, as if there are folds to straighten out.

    The sky began to turn bright. Glancing at the time on the watch, Nie Feng took a few steps back and walked quickly towards the house.

    In the house, Qin Tan is already awake. Nie Feng greeted Qin Tan and said, "The fog disappeared and those things came back. The time is 5:55. Also, the woods disappeared when the fog cleared."

    Hearing that, Qin Tan¡¯s hand that is covering Lou Fan with clothing paused. He said, "Okay, I understand."

    Nie Feng nodded and walked to Chen Shuyang who is still sleeping by the wall. He straightened Chen Shuyang¡¯s slightly tilted head and sat down next to him. Letting Chen Shuyang lean against him, Nie Feng closed his eyes and rested.

    After an hour, everyone woke up. Qin Tan told them about Nie Feng''s discovery and Tong Fei frowned.

    "Gao Yi and the others should be trapped."

    Lou Fan: "There may be clues in there."

    Qin Tan turned his head and saw the eagerness in Lou Fan''s eyes. He chuckled lightly, "Let''s go to the woods at night."

    Lou Fan nodded sharply.

    There are footsteps outside the house, and everyone immediately moved to the door to see the villagers walking toward their own house. Before this, Lou Fan felt that their movements and expressions are very inconsistent. After knowing that they were just supernatural beings in human skins, the inconsistency immediately made sense.

    After Tong Fei and Feng Zhi discussed something, they opened the question to the rest of the group. "Are we going into the woods together at night, or someone will be staying back to stand guard?"

    Qin Tan looked at Tong Fei and asked, "What are your plans?"

    Tong Fei pursed her lips. To be honest, she wanted to be with Lou Fan and the others. Feng Zhi debated that if everyone went in together, on the off chance that none of them came out, then the mission would not be completed. It is better to divide into 2 teams and Qin Tan¡¯s team to go in and search for clues while looking for Gao Yi. On the other hand, 3 of them (the girls) will stay back in the village, maybe other clues are appearing later on.

    There''s nothing wrong with this suggestion, it''s just that Tong Fei subconsciously wants to follow Lou Fan¡¯s team. After all, their team has always survived and returned in a complete group, but what Feng Zhi said is not unreasonable.

 CH 86

    Lou Fan opened his mouth to say something but the words rolled around in his mouth, and he swallowed them back. He originally wanted to bring Tong Fei with him, but then he remembered that everyone here is an intermediate spirit weapon holder. The 3 women don''t look weak so their decision is not unreasonable. And so, the plan for the evening is finalized. Qin Tan and his team members will go to the woods, while Tong Fei and the other 2 females will stay back to look for other clues.

    The daytime in Ghost Lake Village is gloomy even if it doesn''t rain. The ¡®people¡¯ all stay in the house. Since they are ghosts, it makes sense that there is no trace of life. However, staying indoors all day is not an option, so Qin Tan arranged for everyone to go out for a walk to see if they found anything.

    "Go in groups of two or three and walk around. If the villagers appear, you can try talking to them but be careful."

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan went to the lake while Tong Fei and the females went to check in the direction of the woods. Wen Lang and the rest wandered around the village.

    ¡­

    The lake water is black. Lou Fan stared at the lake with heavy eyes, not knowing what is under the lake water. The water is as calm as a black mirror. Lou Fan tentatively walked forward. He crouched down and reached out to touch the water.

    "This water can''t be touched casually." A slow and weak old voice sounded behind Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan got startled. His body swayed a bit as his center of gravity is unstable from the squatting, and he looked back. He didn''t hear any footsteps just now so when did the old man get behind him? Lou Fan saw Qin Tan also looking at the old man. It¡¯s obvious that Qin Tan didn''t hear any sound either, otherwise, he would definitely alert him.

    The old man had his hands behind his back, his face is expressionless, and his eyes are fixed on the two of them. Lou Fan suddenly smiled and said to the old man, "Old man, I heard that this lake is called Ghost Lake, why is that?"

    Lou Fan originally discussed with Qin Tan whether to talk to the NPC again. Although they were all ghosts, since the old man gave them information, he could be considered an NPC. They haven¡¯t gone to the old man yet and he''s already here.

    "Ghost Lake is called Ghost Lake."

    Lou Fan still smiling and asked, "Then, what''s in that water?"

    The old man who was staring at the water turned his head to look at Lou Fan. It makes Lou Fan wonder if the old man would break free from the human skin and chomp at him with a big mouth in the next moment.

    The scene Lou Fan imagined did not appear. The old man only cracked his mouth and smiled stiffly, "The water is full of resentful ghosts. They want to be purified, but they can only linger at the bottom of the dark lake, waiting for redemption."

    Looking at the old man¡¯s stiff smile, Lou Fan felt that his teeth are sore. He wanted to reach out and help the old man to close his mouth.

    After the old man said that, he turned around and is about to leave. Lou Fan asked behind him, "Old man, do you need us to save you?"

    The old man only stopped and sighed faintly. Saying nothing, he continued to walk forward.

    "Hey, such an inexplicable action. What does it mean?" Lou Fan is a little confused and turned to look at Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan saw Lou Fan¡¯s curious eyes and said with a smile, "You don''t even know, how can you ask me?"

    "I don''t know doesn''t mean you don''t know."

    Qin Tan: "No, if you don''t know, most likely we don''t know."

    Lou Fan is speechless, how does one continue this kind of conversation?

    "Why don''t I go down and have a look?" Lou Fan suggested, "I brought both the fish scale suit and the small pearls. I''m not sure there are any clues in the water."

    Qin Tan disagreed, "Didn''t you hear the old man say that there are ghosts underwater? There''s nothing to see, and it''s too dangerous."

    "But¡­¡­"

    Qin Tan interrupted Lou Fan, "Alright, can go down and see, but I''ll go."

    "No, it''s too dangerous."

    When Qin Tan said this, Lou Fan hesitated for a moment. It''s so dangerous that there are all ghosts underwater, so this suggestion definitely won''t work.

    Qin Tan leaned over and kissed Lou Fan, "You worry about me, but isn¡¯t it the same for me? Silly."

    Hence, this suggestion is put on hold for the time being. Lou Fan felt that they should go to the woods to explore first. If there is no clue, it will not be too late to go into the water.

    The two walked around the lake. Seeing that afternoon is coming soon, the weather became more gloomy. The wind is howling, causing heavy waves to appear on the lake. At the wooden house, everyone has already come back, and it seemed that they didn¡¯t obtain any new information.

    Tong Fei: "We went to the place where the forest appeared yesterday. There is nothing there, no trace. The forest is like an illusion."

    Wen Lang and the rest also went around for a while, but they didn''t get any results. The villagers they met didn''t answer any questions. They are no different from dead people. They didn''t pay attention to them at all.

    Lou Fan sat down and took a sip of water before saying, "We met the old man by the lake and he said that the bottom of the lake is full of ghosts."

    If Tong Fei ever wondered why Qin Tan''s team could return to Lazuli smoothly every time before this, right now she finally understood something. Everyone went out to look for clues, but almost none of them found anything. The villagers didn''t even respond to them when they asked. But for Lou Fan, they only went out and returned with clues, and it was the NPC who took the initiative to say it.

    This is luck. Luck is also a type of strength, and she never doubts it.

    Seeing that night is about to fall, several people are getting ready to go. Lou Fan asked Tong Fei again, "Sister Tong Fei, are you guys really not going with us?"

    Tong Fei glanced at Feng Zhi beside her. Pursing her lips, she shook her head and said, "No, we''ll just wait here so that there¡¯s someone to support you when you guys come back."

    Since Tong Fei insisted, Lou Fan stopped asking and only told them to be careful, not to worry about those ghostly things, and to wait for them to come back.

    "If we don¡¯t come back in 3 days, you guys try to find a way to go to the holy lake. There must be clues there," Qin Tan instructed.

    Tong Fei nodded, "That''s what we planned. If you don''t come out, we''ll go to the holy lake and maybe find a solution. So you can rest assured to find clues and try to get Gao Yi and the others back along the way."

    Tong Fei is not a sheltered flower in a greenhouse at all. Lou Fan thinks he may be just overly worried.

    Thick fog rises from the lake, and those beings ripped open their skin and sink into the lake. After the fog enveloped the village, the woods at the back appeared.

    The females are very curious about the forest so they followed over to take a look and touched the tree trunk with their hands. After realizing that the sensation is real and not a hallucination, they tutted a few times. The wood is real, but it only appears when the fog comes out, which is really strange.

    Standing in front of the woods, Lou Fan is just a step from entering it. He thought about something and then took out a few amulets from his carry bag. He handed them to Tong Fei. "Sister Tong Fei, take it. You all be careful."

    Tong Fei smiled and didn''t take it, "Okay now, I''m not a child. I''ve never noticed that you are such a long-winded person. Didn''t you already give me a few amulets? That''s enough."

    Lou Fan didn''t allow Tong Fei to reject it and forced them to her, "The three of you don''t have enough spells at hand. Take these for backups, we still have more. In case we don''t get back in time, you have to continue to do the task."

    Tong Fei couldn¡¯t refuse and accept it. Then, she started herding them, "Go now, else the fog will disperse soon."

    Wen Lang cheekily wailed, "Sister Tong Fei, are you despising us and trying to drive us away?"

    Tong Fei said without guilt, "Hurry up and go, what are you being so slow?"

    Lou Fan acknowledged with a smile, and the 6 people walked into the foggy woods. Tong Fei watched from behind with a worried look in her eyes and muttered, "I don''t know if they can find the clues smoothly."

    Hearing that, Feng Zhi''s cold eyes had a hint of a smile, "Your friends are very good. Since you are worried about them, tell them."

    Tong Fei shook her head, "I¡¯m just saying it, there isn¡¯t any problem with their strength."

    Feng Zhi snorted and laughed, "Tsk, ¡®a dead duck¡¯s beak is sure tough¡¯ (stubborn)."

    The remark caused Tong Fei to be furious and she glared at Feng Zhi. At the side, Jiang Rou covered her mouth and laughed, her shoulders shaking. Tong Fei ignored them and divided the amulets she got among them 3. Feng Zhi took it and looked at her with a surprised look. Looking at her expression, Tong Fei finally found some comfort and explained, "It''s that amulet you thought. It came from their hands, and it is said that it works well."

    Feng Zhi raised her eyebrows. These amulets are not only said to ¡®work well¡¯ in Lazuli, it has been blown out of proportion. The amulets are very popular, and as soon as it is listed, it is sold out. Big organizations have long been watching, so ordinary people can''t get it at all.

    Tong Fei carried her sword and glanced at the deserted forest. Then she turned around and walked to the shore, "Let''s go, go to the lake to stand guard."

    ¡­

    The group of 6 people stepped into the woods. After walking a few steps and then looking back, they cannot see the females outside anymore. There is fog all around, mixed with tree shadows, they can''t tell the right direction at all.

    Qin Tan took out the compass exchanged in Lazuli and found that the pointer on it kept spinning. "The magnetic field is disordered, and the compass is useless."

    Wen Lang is not in a hurry at all. He rubbed his hands together, a little excited, "Brother Lou, it''s time for you to show off your style again."

    Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang with a smile and crossed his hands. He said, "Oh, you are treating me as a lucky item, don''t you?"

    Wen Lang hehe-ed twice, "Ain¡¯t it because Brother Lou, you are so lucky? Your light shines in all directions, and you are the hope of our entire team."

    "Okay, stop flattering." Lou Fan interrupted Wen Lang, "Let¡¯s go now and pay heed to the time. Hold each other firmly, don''t get lost."

    They only gotten slightly further in, and Lou Fan can''t judge their position at all. If he really randomly points the direction, he might direct them to a cliff/ditch. Then he won¡¯t have time to regret it.

    Jiang Dong pulled a bundle of rope from his bag and handed it out, "Tie the rope around yourself. The fog is too thick here, and it''s easy to get lost. In case some supernatural beings appeared, you won''t even know you are holding the wrong person."

    Wen Lang try to imagine that in his mind and his body shook. Instantly, he tied the rope around his waist without saying a word. After that, he leaned over and whispered to Jiang Dong, "Hey, take good care of me. If I disappear, you are so dead."

    Jiang Dong chuckled, "Isn¡¯t it better if I¡¯m gone? Then you can go to find a better one. You don''t like me anyway."

    Just listen to that aggrieved tone, Wen Lang immediately retorted righteously, "Nonsense, who doesn''t like you? If I don''t like you, I won¡¯t let you do¡­ that thing?" His cheeks became hot after he said that.

    Jiang Dong leaned over and said, "Hehe, for your sincere confession to me, I will hold you firmly."

    Wen Lang glared at Jiang Dong angrily. This man''s face is getting thicker and thicker. He doesn''t have the temperament of an ¡®angel in a white coat¡¯ at all (doctors and nurses).

    When the rope is fastened, a group of 6 people looks like grasshoppers tied on a rope. Fortunately, the rope is long enough to move freely. Otherwise, they might stumble against each other.

    "Is there someone lying down in front?" Nie Feng held Chen Shuyang beside him and pointed the other hand to a tree not far away.

 CH 87

    The visibility of the forest is a bit low so all they can see is a human figure hanging from a branch from a distance.

    "Wait, it shouldn¡¯t be a hanged ghost*, right?" Wen Lang said, sticking out his tongue.

    Lou Fan chuckled, "Wen Lang, why are you getting less courageous, I''m going to laugh at you."

    Wen Lang stubbornly defended, "Don''t you think the long tongue from a hanged ghost is disgusting?"

    "Let''s go and see." Qin Tan observed the figure but he couldn''t tell whether it is a human or something else. He could only roughly see the shape of a person.

    With ropes tied around their waists, the group of 6 people headed toward the tree together. As they walked nearer, they found that the figure¡¯s clothing is quite familiar. When they got close, the figure turned out to be Chen Man who went into the forest with Gao Yi. He is hanging upside down at the moment and his eyes are closed; not sure whether he is still alive or dead.

    Qin Tan took a few steps forward. He reached out to check for a breath, but was pulled by Lou Fan, "Be careful."

    Qin Tan made a sound of acknowledgment and stretched out his hand. Then, he sensed a weak breath from Chen Man¡¯s nose, it seems that he is just unconscious.

    "Come and help me put him down."

    Everyone helped the man down from the tree together. After that, Jiang Dong patted Chen Man¡¯s face and called out his name for a long time but without any response. He took out a bottle and let Chen Man gulp a few mouthfuls of water. Next, Jiang Dong broke a bar of chocolate into smaller pieces and stuffed it into the man¡¯s mouth. With this, they have given Chen Man some necessities; water and food. However, Chen Man still didn''t respond in a while so Jiang Dong took out some medicine from his bag and fed him 2 pills.

    "This medicine¡¯s effect is a bit like a Jiuxin pill." Seeing everyone staring at him, Jiang Dong explained. (Pic link here, can''t embed for some reason)

    After a while, Chen Man finally woke up. Seeing 6 heads hovering on top of his head, he screamed out in fright and startled the people instead.

    Wen Lang covered his heart, "My god, what with the weird scream? It scared me to death."

    Chen Man finally came back to his senses and sat up with his hands on his back, "It''s really you guys, why did you come in?"

    Jiang Dong helped the man up and handed a bottle of water over. He said, "You guys have all been in here for a day and a night, so we thought to come in to find you and see if there are any clues by the way."

    Seeing that Chen Man is soberer now, Qin Tan asked him, "What''s the matter with you guys, what happened?"

    "One day and one night?" Chen Man shook his head, frowned, and said, "After we entered the forest, we got lost and couldn''t tell the direction at all, so we could only go by feeling. When it is getting dark, we somehow fell into a trap and the fall caught us dazed. Suddenly, a group of people in black robes appeared. They were all wearing black robes and big black hats, and we couldn''t see their faces at all. They took team leader and Dayong. I yelled a few words at them, and ended up getting hung up."

    The 6 people: ¡­

    It''s a real-life version of getting into trouble from a bad mouth. If they didn''t go into the forest or didn''t see him at the tree, maybe this man will starve to death here.

    Qin Tan asked, "Is that trap nearby here? Are there no sharp objects in it?"

    Chen Man shook his head, "I don''t know. They tied us up and walked for a while before hanging me up. The trap is very deep, and there are no sharp objects in it."

    "Do you know where Gao Yi and Fan Dayong were taken?"

    Chen Man shook his head dejectedly, "I don''t know. After I got hung up, I watched them being taken away, but I really don''t know where to go. Everywhere looked almost the same in the woods."

    The woods are indeed similar at first glance, and even the trees are similar in size.

    When Chen Man had rested for a while and his physical and mental strength recovered, Lou Fan chose a direction at will. Chen Man has no objection to that. After all, if they let him choose, he would only point in a direction randomly.

    Not long after walking, Qin Tan stopped Lou Fan and pointed forward. Lou Fan remained at his spot, and the people behind him didn''t move either, staring at Qin Tan who is going forward. Chen Man looked forward carefully for a long time but found nothing wrong. But he thought in his heart that it should be a trap since they got into one before.

    Qin Tan took a few steps forward and stopped at a place that didn''t seem to have any abnormality with the surrounding environment. There is a small stone half a meter in front of him. After looking at it carefully for a while, he poked it with his Tang sword and then moved it to the side. After the observation is almost done, he found a large rock not far away that is about a person¡¯s arm width and lifted it. Walking to the place where he had marked, Qin Tan slammed the stone down hard. The stone fell with a thud, and a deep pit immediately appeared where it was hit. This time, there are sharp wooden thorns in the pit, which made the hair of the people stand up.

    Lou Fan walked to the pit and glanced down, "Tsk tsk tsk, fortunately, our brother Qin has first-rate detection ability. If we fall, we might lose a layer of skin even if we don''t die."

    Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang immediately nodded in agreement, and Chen Man is even more glad that they didn''t fall into this kind of pit earlier. Otherwise, the spikes would poke a hole in their bodies.

    Looking forward, Qin Tan¡¯s eyes are sharp, and he said solemnly, "There are still traps ahead. You guys just follow behind me. It will take too much time to find them one by one."

    Everyone looked in the direction immediately, and although they didn''t see where the traps are, they didn''t doubt Qin Tan''s judgment at all, and they all looked serious.

    "Does this mean we are close to where they live?" Lou Fan said.

    Qin Tan nodded, "It''s very likely. Generally speaking, the closer one is to a residence, the more traps laid to defend against beasts and enemies."

    Chen Shuyang puzzled said, "Doesn¡¯t that means we are getting closer to the range of human activities? Then there should be traces of life, but there are none here at all."

    Nie Feng patted Chen Shuyang¡¯s head and said, "What do you mean by none? There are there, it''s just a bit primitive."

    Chen Shuyang looked at the place Nie Feng pointed, and saw some stones and bones around the pit. Looking closely, it looked a bit like a stone knife and a bone knife.

    Chen Shuyang stared and looked at Nie Feng in disbelief, "You are not talking about those, right?"

    Nie Feng: "Why not? It''s just a little primitive."

    Chen Shuyang muttered, "It¡¯s not just a little primitive, it IS primitive."

    Lou Fan looked at the tools thoughtfully and Qin Tan called him, asking everyone else to follow him. The group walked carefully on the road, everyone followed Qin Tan and walked slowly. After a few steps, Qin Tan would stop to check and then walk again. They cautiously walked for half an hour like this.

    Half an hour later, a stone mountain appeared in front of them. Though they said it¡¯s a stone mountain, it¡¯s not exactly a mountain. The mountain is not high, but the stone wall is black. Qin Tan stopped to observe the stone wall, and the others also looked around.

    There are many traces of human life around, but as Nie Feng said, these traces of life are very primitive. There are some stone stools and knives around, and there is a piece of land that has been dug out. The primitive part is just the tool, but the cultivated crop is not the primitive style.

    Qin Tan walked to the place where the stone wall looked sunken in, it looked like a cave. He knocked around and crouched down to check.

    "There''s an entrance here." Qin Tan pulled open a place that is blocked by something, so he couldn''t see it from the outside.

    Lou Fan looked at the entrance and guessed, "Could this be where they live? Shall we go down and see?"

    Chen Man immediately said, "Of course we have to go down. Team leader and Dayong are held below. We are going to save them."

    Wen Lang sneered, "We won''t come here if we don¡¯t want to help you. But we have to plan first if we want to go down. Or, do you want us to just rush in like this? Can that save anyone?" He really hates this kind of person who only cares about himself. Is the whole world his mother?

    Hearing that, Chen Man''s face flushed from the anger, and he could only turn to look at Qin Tan. After all, Qin Tan is the team leader here, and it is the team leader who had the final say.

    Lou Fan thought for a while and said, "Don''t get anxious, we have to say hello first. I don''t think those people in black robes are malicious. If they really want to do something to you, they won''t save your life." After he finished speaking, he asked Qin Tan to pull open the entrance, revealing a hole with dug-out mud steps below.

    Lou Fan cleared his throat and shouted to the entrance of the cave, "Everyone, we are strangers passing by the village outside the ghost lake and we saw the real faces of the villagers by chance. Afterward, we strayed into the woods, and our companions met you guys. I think you have encountered difficulties, so if you don''t mind, we can help you."

    Wen Lang asked in a low voice, "Brother Lou, you are simply saying that out?"

    Lou Fan asked Wen Lang, "Who do you think these black-robed people are?"

    Wen Lang thought about it and shook his head.

    Chen Shuyang thought for a moment and asked, "Are they real villagers outside?"

    Lou Fan nodded admiringly, "Yes, I wasn''t sure at first, but along the way, at first glance, these traces of life are made by people who are familiar with labor. Then, there are those primitive tools, surrounding crops, and this hole in a cave. I believe you guys have some guesses already, and I think these people should be villagers who used to live outside the village. The village got occupied by those ghosts, and they had no choice but to go into the woods to live."

    As they are talking, there is still no movement at the entrance of the cave after waiting for a while. Lou Fan asked Wen Lang to shout again, but louder. Wen Lang shouted again according to what he just said but in reality, Lou Fan simply didn''t want to shout.

    This time, it didn''t take long for a sound to come from below the entrance of the cave, and then, 5 people in black robes came out. They are completely shrouded in black robes and black hoods on their heads. Not even a trace of their bodies could be seen. The person in the lead is squat and very short, but it can be seen that he is the leader among them. Then, the people stared at them for a long time without speaking.

    Lou Fan could only say, "We are really here to help you. We have friends in the village by the ghost lake, and we want to ask you how to get out."

    The man in black robe waited for Lou Fan to finish speaking, then waved at them and walked down the hole first.

    Everyone looked happy with the progress and looked at each other. They followed the man in black robe and walked down the stairs. The cave is so dark that there is almost no light, but the man in black robe in front seemed to be unaffected at all and walked very steadily. Lou Fan and the others could only take out their flashlights to illuminate the road and touched their way down.

    The stairs are very long, the air is dull, and there is a strong smell of mud. When they felt that it is getting hard to breathe, the group finally set foot on the flat ground.

    This is a cave. The cave is lit with torches, not candles. Dozens of people in black robes gather together and they are doing their own work. When they see a few strangers coming, some stop while some are still working.

    Lou Fan looked down at their hands that kept moving and suddenly stopped in his tracks. A layer of goosebumps stood up all over his body.

 CH 88

    The person in black robe who was leading the group made a stop gesture to them so they stopped walking.

    As Jiang Dong leaned over with a serious expression, he saw Lou Fan''s expression and asked, "You found out too?"

    Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang heard that but they looked confused, even Nie Feng turned to look at them. Lou Fan nodded.

    "What''s the matter? Don''t talk in riddles."

    Jiang Dong''s voice sounded dry as he whispered, "I think they are the villagers, but they were skinned..." He couldn''t help shaking when he spoke the last few words.

    "What?!"

    A few of them exclaimed in a low voice, and immediately covered their mouths. Then they turned to see the people who exposed their hands while working.

    The people wore black robes, and most of them also wore a pair of black gloves. Only the two of them did not wear them. The exposed hands are light red as if the flesh and blood had been exposed to the air for a long time. It felt like it has been air-dried and there are very obvious texture lines. It really looked like the kind of model that hospitals use to show the skeleton of the human body. There is no skin, only flesh, and blood.

    This truth is a bit cruel. Lou Fan¡¯s team only thought the villagers are forced to leave the village and enter the forest because the ghosts in the lake came ashore. But it would be absolutely tragic if they got driven into the forest after being skinned by the ghosts.

    "This also explains why they wear black robes and gloves all the time. Black robes block direct sunlight, while gloves reduce the friction between flesh and objects. Human skin is inherently delicate, let alone flesh and blood. Even wearing black robes, I think the friction of the fabric on them will make them feel very uncomfortable."

    Just thinking about that feeling makes the team feel sore in their teeth.

    When the black-robed man came back, everyone returned to their normal expressions without showing any extra emotions. The man in black robe took them to a hole in a wall next to them, and there are the same 5 people who were leading them earlier.

    "Have you seen those things in the village?" One of the men in black robes asked.

    The man¡¯s voice came from under the black robe, with an indistinguishable mechanical sound and the ¡®bzzt¡¯ sound of electric current. It should be some kind of voice changer, and maybe it has been too long so it sounded a little damp.

    Qin Tan walked forward and answered, "Yes, we have seen them. At night, they will enter the ghost lake and comes back at dawn. They will resume wearing the human skin and living in the village, but they don''t walk around the village during the day."

    Hearing that, the black-robed man is silent.

    Lou Fan asked, "Those things invaded the village and drove you away?"

    The black-robed man shook his head without explaining.

    Lou Fan thought about it and said, "Actually, we still have something to ask, but before that, we can give you a helping hand. What do you need us to help with?"

    At the side, Chen Man looked anxious. He tried to open his mouth to speak several times but managed to suppress it. After Lou Fan finished speaking, he couldn''t help but cut into the conversation, "2 of our companions are still with you, what did you do to them? Hurry up and hand them over."

    Lou Fan¡¯s eyes bulged, he almost felt like knocking Chen Man¡¯s head out. Wen Lang swiftly pulled the man back roughly and he staggered.

    "What are you doing?!" Chen Man roared lowly in dissatisfaction.

    Wen Lang: "You asked what am I doing? Aren¡¯t we asking for clues here? Are you stupid?"

    Chen Man gritted his teeth, "But you can''t ignore about team leader!"

    "Who says we are going to ignore him? But is saving Gao Yi out the most important thing here? Do we not need clues? Are we not leaving this world anymore?"

    Wen Lang continued mocking Chen Man, "Plus, Brother Lou said we will save him, so we will definitely save him. If you don''t believe us, then how about you come here by yourself? But can you even reach this place? I don''t know how many times you will fall into a trap already."

    Those words made Chen Man angry but he didn''t dare to speak. Everything Wen Lang said is correct so he couldn''t say anything to refute it. Without this team, he wouldn''t be able to protect himself, let alone save his team leader. After being criticized by Wen Lang, Chen Man closed his mouth and shrank to the back of the group.

    The man in black robe heard the argument and asked, "Are those two your companions?" After he finished speaking, he went out and came back shortly after. Then he said to Qin Tan and the others, "We don¡¯t need your help with anything. When your companions come out, you should leave."

    Qin Tan stopped the man and asked, "You should be the village chief, right? We want to know if there is a passage between the holy lake and the ghost lake, and how can we get through it?"

    The black-robed men fell into silence. Though they didn''t speak, and their expressions couldn¡¯t be seen, Qin Tan and his team members knew that the men are staring at them.

    "You want to know about the passage between the holy lake and the ghost lake? What is your purpose?" The hoarse old voice seemed to be squeezed out of his throat, and every word is laborious.

    Qin Tan explained calmly, "Our purpose is to help you. I think that the reason why you lost your skin and couldn¡¯t be in the sunlight is because of the ghost lake. If the ghost lake can be turned into a holy lake, it will be a good thing for you."

    "Team leader Qin!"

    Gao Yi''s voice drifted over, and he entered the cave in a blink of an eye. Seeing that everyone is there, Gao Yi breathed a sigh of relief, followed by Fan Dayong. The two appear normal, uninjured, and in good spirits. Seeing Chen Man, Gao Yi walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

    "I didn''t expect you to come, Team leader Qin. Thank you so much." Gao Yi thanked, full of gratitude.

    Qin Tan smiled and said, "It''s been 2 days since you went into the forest. We don''t have any clues outside. So we have to come in and see either way. It''s all a matter of convenience. Don''t be so polite."

    Wen Lang snickered behind and whispered to Chen Shuyang, "Brother Qin is also a slippery guy now."

    What Qin Tan actually meant was, ¡®We have a mission to do anyway, and it is just along the way to save you. If it¡¯s not along the way, we will not necessarily take the initiative to save you, so there is no need to thank us.¡¯

    Chen Shuyang also laughed softly.

    Jiang Dong and Nie Feng''s eyes met, and there is a hint of helplessness and doting in their eyes.

    Gao Yi remained smiling as if he didn''t understand the meaning of Qin Tan¡¯s words.

    The old voice sounded again, "You guys take a rest first. Let me discuss this with the villagers, and I will come to you again."

    Qin Tan made a gentlemanly gesture and said, "Please (Go ahead)."

    Seeing the 5 black-robed men leave, Lou Fan said, "It seems that that old man is the village chief."

    Qin Tan nodded, "The old man should be using his own voice."

    Jiang Dong: "They haven''t spoken for too long, which has caused their vocal cords to degenerate. I think they haven''t spoken for many years."

    Lou Fan looked out and saw that there are dozens of people in the cave. Most of them are engrossed in their work and hardly communicated, so it makes sense that they don¡¯t speak much.

    Since it took some effort to find this place, everyone sat down to eat to replenish their strength. The villagers have returned the bags to Gao Yi and he sat with his 2 teammates with a serious face. On the other side, Lou Fan¡¯s group sat together with a relaxed and happy expression.

    Not making them wait too long, the man in black who had spoken to them with a voice changer came in and stood in front of Qin Tan and the others. Then, he stayed silent for a moment.

    Qin Tan and the others stood up immediately. The man in black robe turned to look at Gao Yi, who is still sitting. Next, he raised his hand and pressed down on Qin Tan and the rest.

    "Just sit down and listen to me."

    The man paused and sat next to them. Then he said slowly, "After we discussed it, we decided to tell you about the legend of the 2 lakes. A long time ago, it was said that the holy lake and the ghost lake were originally connected, but they were destroyed by a curse and got divided into two. The water of the holy lake is clear, refreshing, and sweet, while the water of the ghost lake is black and unconsumable. Whoever drinks the water of the ghost lake, whether humans or livestock will die."

    "Our ancestors were expelled to live in the ghost lake because of their crimes. It is difficult to survive, but not impossible to live. However, 3 generations ago, I didn''t know what happened, and evil ghosts rose from the ghost lake and went ashore at night. After that¡­"

    The man stopped and fell into silence.

    No one bothered the man, patiently and quietly waiting for him to speak again.

    "In the legend, as long as the holy lake and the ghost lake are connected, the water of the holy lake flows into the ghost lake. The golden fish and blue fish will swim into the ghost lake together, and the ghost lake will become like the holy lake. The black water becomes sweet and clear holy water, and we''ll go back to where we were..."

    The man turned his head and said to the group of people, "This is all the information we know, the passage is said to be at the holy lake¡¯s side."

    Lou Fan listened quietly and thought about it. Then he asked, "Are the golden fish and blue fish also in the holy lake?"

    The man in black robe said, "We have never seen these two kinds of fish."

    As if the man is accustomed to speaking again, his speaking frequency increased, and became more proficient. Although the sound quality is still unpleasant, the sentences are coherent now.

    Lou Fan tapped his fingers and pondered, "Then we need to go to the Holy Lake to investigate first.

    "I wonder how long it takes to get to the holy lake from here? Have you been there before?"

    The man in black robe replied, "I went there once when I was a child. You need to follow the ''village chief'' in the village. He will ring the bell as he walked. You must follow him closely and don''t get lost. After passing the checkpoint, you can move freely. However, If you want to return, be sure to follow him too. I remember on the night of the full moon every month, he will go there once."

    Qin Tan asked, "Then when will he returns?"

    "He will return in 3 days." The man in black robe calculated the time and said, "Tomorrow will be the night of the full moon."

    The time left is too tight. Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan, "We have to hurry back to the village to meet Tong Fei."

    Qin Tan nodded and asked the man in black robe, "Is there any other important information?"

    The black-robed man shook his head.

    Qin Tan stopped asking, and said, "Then, we will have to bother you to tell us how to get out from here."

    The woods only appeared at night and they lost their way as soon as they entered. The fact that they found the villagers'' settlement is purely by accident.

    The black-robed man nodded, turned, and left. The group of people followed immediately, and Gao Yi¡¯s team also stood up to follow.

    Chen Man whispered in dissatisfaction from behind, "Team leader, in my opinion, these people from the intermediate team are ignorant. You don''t know but that time I was trying to look for you but they only knew to ask for clues right away. I don''t see them trying to save us at all."

    Gao Yi is not a fool, having been in Lazuli for so long, he is not a naive person either. When people lend a helping hand while trying to find clues, they are very kind enough. There are too many people out there who will ignore to help or throw stones at you when you are down. If you are saved but still wanted to complain about your savior, then that is you thinking too much (of yourself). After all, no one is a Holy Mother, who must selflessly dedicate themself to save all sentient beings.

    Gao Yi said lightly, "They have already done a great deed, but you still want them to put our safety above the danger? Is that realistic?"

 CH 89

    Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang are waiting for the man in black robe to come out with some mysterious solution to let the mist disperse (so that they could go back to the village), but the man in black robe just took them to walk for about half an hour. Next, they actually arrived at the edge of the woods.

    The man in black robe stopped walking and said to them, "I will send you guys until here. Be careful. If you really are able to connect the two lakes, we will be grateful to you."

    Qin Tan waved his hand and said, "We are not doing it just for you, this is what we''re going to do. We¡¯ll meet again if there is a chance."

    The man in black robe nodded, "Goodbye."

    Lou Fan thought to himself, maybe they will be back in 2 days but now the goodbyes sounded like they will never see him again. He always has a feeling that to complete this task, the man in black must return to his own position. The man might even need their help for this.

    The moment they took a step out of the woods, the group returned to the edge of the village, and the village could be seen from a distance. What is even more bizarre is that they came out during the day. When they turned around and took a step back, they didn¡¯t see anything unusual and did not return to the woods either.

    "It''s amazing. It looks like we can only go in the woods at night."

    Lou Fan shifted his backpack and walked towards the village, "Come on, let''s meet up with Sister Tong Fei and the girls. Then we need to discuss a plan."

    The group of people walked into the village. It¡¯s still the same as when they first arrived, the village is quiet, a dead silence. Inside a house that has its door open, a figure can be seen standing in the shadows. Walking back to the house where they stayed before, Wen Lang rushed in first, "Sister Tong Fei¡­ eh, why is there no one?"

    "No one?" Lou Fan followed, and sure enough, there is no one inside. But their big backpacks are still inside the house, but the smaller bags are missing. Lou Fan frowned and looked around, "Their backpacks are still there, it means that they are still in the village and did not go to the holy lake."

    Qin Tan: "Go out and look around first, maybe they''re outside looking for clues."

    Lou Fan nodded, and the group immediately dispersed in the village and began to look for the girls.

    Gao Yi followed and said to his team members, "Let''s look for them too. We¡¯ll go to a look at the lake."

    Everyone split up in different directions. Lou Fan swiftly moved and looked around. His furrowed brows became deeper and deeper, and the bad feeling in his heart gradually rose.

    Qin Tan followed behind Lou Fan and comforted him, "Tong Fei and the other 2 girls have good skills, they must be fine. Also, their spirit weapons are intermediate level, so ordinary ghosts are not their opponents."

    Lou Fan''s pace gradually slowed down and he sighed, "That''s right, maybe they found something and didn''t have time to leave a mark. Let''s look around again. If there¡¯s still nothing, we¡¯ll go back and make plans for the next step." Although Tong Fei is important, he still has many companions around him to take care of. Moreover, there is still task to be done, so he can only try his best to find them. If nothing comes out, they can only wait.

    "Brother Lou, have you found them yet?" Wen Lang asked eagerly, "Jiang Dong and I looked around, but we didn''t see a single person."

    As Wen Lang is talking, Chen Shuyang and Nie Feng also came back, shaking their heads at them, "No one here, and no clues are found."

    Gao Yi and the others also came back. They looked around the lake, but they didn''t see anyone.

    Lou Fan cheered himself up and put down his backpack. He loosened his shoulders and said, "Okay, maybe they found some clues, but it''s too rushed to leave a mark. Let''s make a plan for the next step."

    Gao Yi didn''t say anything so Qin Tan moved in. He took the initiative to take over the planning and spread out a piece of white paper. Next, he took out a marker and started writing.

    Qin Tan listed 3 points and Chen Man immediately said, "Wait, Tong Fei and the girls are missing, why do you still need to leave someone to look for them?"

    Hearing that, Lou Fan looked at Chen Man with sharp eyes and asked with a harsh tone, "Then, why did we come to save you?"

    It is probably the first time that Lou Fan showed this expression so Chen Man got stunned for a moment, unable to speak. Gao Yi pulled at Chen Man and immediately came out to calm the situation.

    "It''s right to look for Tong Fei and the others. Maybe they''ve found clues already. Besides, they''re friends, so we should."

    Qin Tan gave Chen Man a cold look and continued, "Then, we should at least divide into 3 groups. One group will stay here while the rest goes to the holy lake. At the holy lake, we must be divided into groups."

    Qin Tan thought for a while, then added, "But the problem is, for anyone who chose to stay here, you may not be able to come over after the full moon. Then, you won''t know where you can get on the train when the task is completed."

    This is a rather troublesome problem.

    "If the ghost lake becomes a holy lake, the two sides can be considered to be connected, so we should be able to communicate with each other." Lou Fan thought for a while and said, "It stands to reason that we should get on the train over here."

    Chen Shuyang chipped in, "That is to say, if we can¡¯t complete the task, it doesn''t matter which side we are."

    Lou Fan nodded, "For anyone who is staying here, go and look for Tong Fei and the girls, Also, I think there should be other paths going to the same place." Lou Fan has the fish scale suit in his backpack. Maybe there is a channel at the bottom of the lake, he had already planned to go down.

    "Who wants to stay here?" Qin Tan asked, looking around.

    Lou Fan pursed his lips, he wanted to stay here to find Tong Fei, but...

    "I''ll stay here and look for Sister Tong Fei." Wen Lang said aloud, "I will be here waiting for you guys to come back to me. Don''t worry, I''ll be able to find the three of them for sure."

    Jiang Dong chuckled and immediately said, "I''m with him."

    Lou Fan laughed, "You two are conjoined twins huh."

    Wen Lang clicked his tongue, "Brother Lou, can you stop being so scary? The remark makes me think of ghost stories."

    Lou Fan stopped laughing and asked seriously, "You two really decided to stay here? In case..."

    Wen Lang casually said, "Brother Lou, I believe you, don¡¯t you know that yet? Even if we can''t find any useful clues, I believe you can connect the two lakes."

    "So confident in me?" Lou Fan chuckled.

    Chen Shuyang nodded, "Yes, we have confidence in you!"

    Wen Lang patted Chen Shuyang¡¯s head gently, "I haven''t spoken yet, what are you talking about on my behalf? Go and follow Nie Feng well, and help Brother Lou and Brother Qin to come up with ideas. We will meet in a short time."

    Chen Shuyang nodded with reluctance on his face.

    Qin Tan made the decision, "Then, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong will stay here. You two must be careful, Even if you can''t find any clues, it doesn''t matter, safety comes first."

    Jiang Dong agreed, "Yes, you guys need to be careful too."

    With Jiang Dong around, Lou Fan is more at ease. Wen Lang is more impulsive, while Jiang Dong is calm and reliable, so the two match up very well.

    That''s the decision for now, so everyone is just waiting for the bell to ring on the full moon night tomorrow.

    ¡­

    That night, when the twilight is dark, Wen Lang, who was guarding outside, jumped off the stool and rolled to the ground. Then, he cried out, "Brother Qin! Brother Lou! Come out and see!"

    Wen Lang¡¯s cry woke everyone up, and they all rushed outside to ask him what happened. Wen Lang pointed to the sky. At this moment, a round and large moon appeared in the sky covered with dark clouds, shining brightly in the sky.

    Almost immediately, Qin Tan reacted and said, "Go get your bag first." As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed into the room and grabbed his and Lou Fan''s bags. Nie Feng then grabbed his and Chen Shuyang''s. Following that, a crisp sound of a bell tinkling appeared.

    "Go quickly." Wen Lang pushed them forward and kept instructing, "Follow the bell and don''t get lost."

    A group of people ran forward following the sound of the bell, and Wen Lang and Jiang Dong followed anxiously, looking for the sound of the bell. After walking around a few houses, he immediately saw the ''village chief'' shaking a bell as he walked, with 2 people following behind him. They immediately joined in and formed a line.

    Lou Fan and the others waved at Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, and whispered, "Go back quickly, those things will come out later to go into the water, so be careful."

    Wen Lang and Jiang Dong kept nodding their heads, indicating that they understood.

    Seeing that the group of people followed the bell gradually walking away, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong started to walk back to the house slowly. Wen Lang couldn''t stop looking back, and Jiang Dong pulled him.

    "Alright, now. Don''t worry about them, it''s not easy for us here as well." Jiang Dong said after soothing Wen Lang, "Let''s go to the lake to have a look first, be careful."

    ¡­

    Lou Fan pulled at Qin Tan in front of him and whispered, "Didn¡¯t the man say the full moon is at tomorrow¡¯s night, how did it become today?"

    Qin Tan shook his head and said he didn''t know. Raising his hand to look at his watch, the time shown is 16 days and a few hours left. The time is right, which means the judgment of the man in black robe is wrong. Or maybe the timing when they were in the woods is wrong. But these are not important now, the important thing is to go to the holy lake to see the situation first.

    The group kept quiet, for fear that something unexpected might happen. The fog is rising all around, and slowly they can''t tell the direction. They can only concentrate on following the person in front of them, not daring to get distracted.

    Not sure how long they walked, the group finally stopped at a mountain wall. The ''village chief'' pressed around on the mountain wall, and then quickly rang the bell. Next, a stone door suddenly opened, revealing a stone cave. When the last person, Fan Dayong, stepped into the stone gate, the stone gate closed with a ''BANG'', and the force is so great that specks of dirt fell down on the mountain wall.

    The cave is winding, but the ¡®village chief¡¯ does not need light at all, so he simply walks in the dark. For fear of being discovered, the group did not dare to take out their torchlight, so they could only pull the hem of the clothes of the person in front and walk forward.

    Not sure where the water droplets came from, it fell on them drop by drop. Chen Man loosened his left hand from the hem of Gao Yi''s clothes in front of him and wiped a handful of water droplets on his face. A tinkling bell sounded behind the ear, which is not the same as the bell in front. He listened with his ears tilted sideways. Then he turned his head and is about to ask Fan Dayong about the bell, his right hand slipped and lost grip on Gao Yi''s clothes. He panicked in his heart, and immediately grabbed forward, trying to grab the hem of the clothes again, but this time he came back empty.

    "Team leader?" Chen Man called out in a trembling voice.

    Fan Dayong behind Chen Man asked in confusion, "Hey, Chen Man, what''s wrong with you?"

    "Dayong." Chen Man stopped and couldn''t take a step anymore. He doesn''t dare to take a step forward. His voice is trembling as he said, "We got separated from the team leader and the others."

    Raw word count: 3011

    #WhatDidISayEarlierHmm

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 CH 90

    Hearing that, Fan Dayong got stunned for a moment. Then, immediately realizing what Chen Man just said, he grabbed Chen Man¡¯s arm and asked, "What happened? Didn''t you follow them properly? You didn''t grab onto team leader''s clothes?"

    Chen Man looked annoyed at himself and explained as he scratched at his hair, "I was trying to wipe the water off my face, and my hand unconsciously..."

    Fan Dayong gasped violently and clenched his teeth tightly. He turned his head to look around but it is pitch black everywhere and he couldn''t see anything.

    "What should we do now?" Fan Dayong whispered, "The man in black robe warned us not to lose the sound of bell."

    ...

    The moment the pulling force behind him suddenly disappeared, Gao Yi''s heart tightened. He turned his head to see and¡­ there isn¡¯t anyone behind him. Chen Man and Fan Dayong could not be seen at all. The sound of the bell in front of him continued, and he couldn''t bear to think more about it, so he could only turn his head and continue to walk forward.

    Having 2 teammates suddenly disappeared, Gao Yi couldn''t describe how he felt. Originally, his team and Tong Fei¡¯s team formed a 6-member senior team, but now some went missing while some got lost. He is the only one left following the intermediate team. No matter what, it makes him feel a little uncomfortable in his heart. Though he felt heavy in his heart, Gao Yi didn''t say anything to the person in front of him.

    ¡­

    Chen Man and Fan Dayong stood there for a while, discussing what to do next.

    "Chen Man, what should we do now?"

    Fan Dayong came from the countryside and is not very cultured. To be able to get to this point, it¡¯s all thanks to Gao Yi who carry him along. If asking for manpower, Fan Dayong can contribute. But if asking for brain power, he can only rest at the side.

    Chen Man''s mind is a mess at the moment, but he is trying his best to sort out his thoughts. If he couldn''t find a way to calm himself down, the two of them would just wait here and die. After thinking for a while, Chen Man took out the light from his backpack and turned it on. He adjusted it to the lowest brightness and shone it around, but he could see nothing but the stone walls.

    "We can''t just stand here, the bell won''t come back to us. We have to find a way out." Chen Man said calmly, "Let''s walk around first and be careful."

    Fan Dayong has no comments and immediately nodded in agreement, "Okay, I''ll take the lead."

    Chen Man stopped Fan Dayong and said, "Wait, I''ll take the lead first. Your gun is a long-range weapon and can''t react quickly in case of danger. If we can go back to the village, we''ll join up with Wen Lang and Jiang Dong."

    Fan Dayong''s spirit weapon is a gun, and the bullets inside are steel balls, which can be regarded as long-range attack weapons. On the other hand, Chen Man''s spirit weapon is a big axe. But still, Fan Dayong is moved by his initiative to go ahead. The two relied on the weak light source to grope forward, not daring to go too fast. There is a lot of water vapor wafting from the stone wall. They seeped out from the stone wall and dripped, forming a small pool of water on the ground.

    "It''s clammy and cold here. Why does it feel like we are underground?" Fan Dayong pressed his hand against the stone wall and whispered to Chen Man in front of him.

    Chen Man reminded, "Be careful. You better hold onto me instead. Don''t touch anything that shouldn''t be touched."

    Fan Dayong immediately retracted his hand and rubbed at his clothes, as if he really touched something terrible. Listening to Chen Man''s words, he felt that his hand didn¡¯t touch a stone wall seeping with water, but a cold python instead.

    After walking carefully for a while, forks began to appear in the path, and the dark holes looked particularly terrifying. Chen Man''s face is sullen, and he could only choose a path randomly by fate. At this moment, he only hoped that he could have the same good luck as Lou Fan. Turning around a stone wall, Chen Man immediately stopped. Fan Dayong, who is walking behind, almost collided with him, but fortunately stopped in time. Chen Man immediately grabbed Fan Dayong and ducked to the back.

    "There are people in the cave and someone lying on the ground. Let''s take a look first." Chen Man said to Fan Dayong in a low breath.

    Fan Dayong wanted to look inside, but Chen Man pulled him back and mouthed the word ¡®Be careful¡¯. Fan Dayong stretched out half of his body and saw that the figure is very dark, kind of like the ghostly being they saw taking off human skin on the shore before. There is a figure on the ground, it¡¯s human indeed as their skin is pale white. That ghostly being is squatting in front of the human, doing something to his limbs.

    Fan Dayong had a thought in his heart and couldn''t help feeling agitated all over his body. He turned around and asked Chen Man, "That thing is... skinning people?"

    Chen Man''s face is solemn and he nodded with difficulty.

    Fan Dayong is an honest man, so hearing that cause a surge of anger to rise from his heart at this moment. He raised the gun in his hand and aimed at the ghost. Suddenly a hand stretched out from the side and stopped him. Then with a clever twist of a hand, the gun is moved to point down instead. Chen Man reacted immediately and raised his axe to slash at the newcomer. A green vine instantly wrapped around his wrist and axe, making him unable to move for a while.

    "You two want to die?" Feng Zhi''s cold voice sounded.

    Chen Man and Fan Dayong saw that it is Tong Fei¡¯s team of 3.

    Tong Fei whispered, "If you want to die, don''t get us involved. There is only 1 ghost here but there are more than a dozen ghosts in the cave next door. According to preliminary estimates, there are nearly 100 ghosts here."

    100 ghosts? If surrounded, even if 1 takes a bite at a time, they can be devoured without leaving a single bit.

    Jiang Rou took back her vines, and Fan Dayong took back his gun. Tong Fei made a gesture and took the lead to walk to a nearby cave hole. Feng Zhi and Jiang Rou followed without a word, and Chen Man and Fan Dayong immediately followed.

    Seeing Tong Fei¡¯s team here, Chen Man and Fan Dayong immediately settled down in their hearts. They stopped panicking and looked relaxed.

    The 5 people walked to a recessed stone wall. The position of this concave wall is very good. They can see the surrounding situation very well and it is not very conspicuous from a distance, so it is not easy to be found at first glance.

    Tong Fei looked at Chen Man and asked, "Why are you two here?"

    Chen Man paused for a while, then told what happened after they followed Gao Yi into the woods. Then, he talked about what happened after Lou Fan and the others went in to find them, and what happened after they met the black-robed man. Finally, when he reached the part where he lost Gao Yi, his face showed a little uncomfortable expression.

    This is indeed his problem.

    Tong Fei let out a soft En.

    Chen Man asked the girls again how they got here, "Everyone looked around the village and didn''t see you. We only saw your bags in the house and thought you girls went missing. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong are waiting in the village for you."

    Hearing that the 2 members are waiting for them in the village, Jiang Rou smiled and said happily, "Brother Lou and his team are so loyal. Wen Lang actually stayed and waited for us."

    Tong Fei laughed, "These people are too unrestrained. If we''re not in the village, wouldn''t they have waited there in vain and can''t get on the train when the mission ends?"

    Although Tong Fei is complaining about the intermediate team, her eyes are full of gentle smiles.

    Seeing that the girls are perfectly fine, Chen Man asked strangely, "How did you 3 get here? Because we followed the sound of the ''village chief'' bell."

    There is a sound in the distance, and the five of them became vigilant. Tong Fei quickly said, "Don''t make a sound for now, we''ll talk about it later."

    The five people stuck close to the wall. After a while, a group of figures walked through the cave not far away. They are all dark figures, and they are the ghostly things in the village.

    Chen Man suddenly felt that he seemed to know how Tong Fei¡¯s team got here. When the ghosts disappeared, Chen Man asked in a low voice, "Did you girls follow those things into the water, from the lake to this place?"

    Tong Fei raised her eyebrows to look at Chen Man and praised, "I didn''t expect you to be smart this time."

    Hearing that, Fan Dayong''s eyes widened, "You 3 are too daring. To follow those ghosts to the lake..."

    Although in Lazuli, risks have always coexisted with benefits, this risk is also a little too great.

    "How can we find their lair if we don''t come down?" Feng Zhi asked coldly, "Also, the ''village chief'' has to pass through here, it means that this place is very important to them. Finding this place is one of the clues. It''s just that right now, should we kill these ghosts or wait first? That''s the question."

    Tong Fei recalled what Chen Man said and thought for a moment. Then she said, "I think it''s better to wait until Lou Fan and the others get the clues and come back. Let''s go back to the village to meet with Wen Lang and Jiang Dong."

    After Tong Fei¡¯s team first entered the cave, they deliberately left a mark along the way so it is easy to find the way back. Besides, this place is crawling with those ghostly things so they have to go ashore first before the ghosts go back. In case the situation happens where the way back disappears after the sun rises, it will be bad for them.

    ¡­

    At Lou Fan¡¯s side, they followed the ¡®village chief¡¯ through twists and turns for a long time and finally came out of the cave. As soon as they went out, a person is standing on each side of the entrance of the cave, with a long weapon, fiercely guarding the entrance. At a glance, they looked like the ancient door gods. The ''village chief'' stood in front and keep ringing the bell in his hand. After shaking it several times, the 2 ¡®door gods¡¯ put down their weapons and gave way.

    Lou Fan was a little nervous, but Qin Tan in front is very calm and followed with a steady pace. Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief after he passed in front of the two guards smoothly. The next moment, he wondered what would happen if one approaches without the bell of the ''village chief''.

    Just as Lou Fan is thinking about it, a loud shout suddenly sounded from behind. The group turned their heads and looked over, only to see a ghost coming out about 10 meters behind them. But the ghost got stopped by 2 guards. When that loud shout sounded, the guards stabbed their weapons straight into the ghost''s body. The next moment, the ghost disappeared. As if nothing happened, the 2 guards returned to their original positions mechanically, still glaring at each other.

    The guards didn''t say any warning and simply stab down, it kind of hurts to look at. After returning to their senses, the group of people did not know if they had passed the customs, but they still followed closely forward.

    The road is sandwiched between 2 mountains. A gentle slope goes up, and when the group reaches the top, they knew that they have arrived on the side of the holy lake.

    The clear and icy blue lake water appeared in front of them. The top of the gentle slope turned out to be a lake. The fishes in the water are swimming happily, and a gust of breeze blew. It only made people feel like the clear lake water is blowing on their faces with the wind, and it is refreshing. Looking further forward, a city stands by the lake with one side adjacent to the lake, and a tall city wall surrounds a prosperous town. In the dark, bright lights are shining from the city, as bright as day.

    This is very different from the situation on the other side of Ghost Lake.

    The ''village chief'' walked to the city gate with the group of people following behind him. The city gate is wide open, and the bustling scene of people coming and going inside could be seen from the outside. Everyone in the group looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other''s eyes.

    Lou Fan thought to himself, wondering where to find the key clue.

    Raw word count: 3053

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    Banana: To those who are still reading this, thank you. I''m still alive lol, was too busy with my recent move. I underestimated it, thinking that everything will be done after I moved out from the old place but I forgot about the unpacking at the new place.

    For a week, I only clear the space from the door to my bedroom. I felt too tired from coming home after work so I don''t want to do anything else _(;3/ I''ll try to be a bit more consistent next month yo.

 CH 91

    There are 3 big characters written on the huge city gate plaque, Holy Lake City. Lou Fan curled his lips. The ghost lake village on the other side didn''t even have a name, while this one here directly named itself Holy Lake City. Ain¡¯t they despising the ghost lake village too much?

    As soon as the group entered the city gate, several people left the ''village chief'' group. They glanced in the direction where ¡®he¡¯ is going but didn''t know where he is heading. The ¡®village chief¡¯ simply turned the corner and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    Lou Fan turned his head back, only to find that there are fewer people on the team. Qin Tan found out too and asked Gao Yi, "What about the other two? Why are they gone?"

    Gao Yi looked helpless and sighed, "I don''t know either. I suddenly felt wrong and they already disappeared. At that time, I couldn''t possibly say it out and I couldn''t see them anywhere, so I could only continue to follow the group."

    How can someone even get lost even if they hold on to the corner of your shirt? Lou Fan looked at Gao Yi in disbelief but didn''t say anything. However, Chen Shuyang is different. Practicing the principal of ¡®Ask if don¡¯t understand¡¯, he asked, "Can they get lost even by holding the corner of your shirt? Did they get into trouble?"

    Gao Yi: "Probably... maybe."

    Chen Shuyang blinked. He had a feeling that Gao Yi is somewhat a little insincere.

    Qin Tan stopped the meaningless guesses and began to assign tasks, "Let''s split into groups first and take a look at the situation in the city. Pay attention if there is anything special, or a place where you can inquire for news and information. We shall meet here in an hour."

    There are 5 people in total, and it¡¯s not good to leave Gao Yi alone. Lou Fan glanced at Nie Feng and took the initiative to say that he will go with Qin Tan and Gao Yi, while Nie Feng will take Chen Shuyang. Strength-wise, Nie Feng is not weak. He has a clear mind and is a strong person. On the other hand, Lou Fan didn''t want Gao Yi to follow them, and wanted to have private time with Qin Tan, but who ask Gao Yi''s 2 unlucky teammates to get lost? And while holding onto his clothes? It¡¯s really making him speechless.

    The awaited couple time is gone, and Qin Tan''s face turned dark like the bottom of a pot. Seeing that, Lou Fan almost laughed out loud. This person (QT) looked more depressed than him, and it is making Gao Yi confused.

    Holy Lake City looked big, but the population is not too large. Most of them are concentrated in the most prosperous streets at the gate of the city. The further back they go, the lesser people they can see. There is a very majestic and antique house in the center of the city. But further back, although there are houses, most of them are vacant.

    The group of 3 wandered around the city and walked to the lower half of the city, where there are fewer people. There are so few pedestrians on the road that no one could be seen at the moment. It is not easy to find the key NPC to start with so Lou Fan is not in a hurry. He simply searched slowly and searched every place.

    Gao Yi also knew the importance of key NPCs, but although he is a patient person, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little anxious at this moment.

    Then, a burst of crying sounded from a distance. It¡¯s a miserable cry, with the slightest wailing.

    "My poor granddaughter! How could you be taken away by those bad people!"

    Following the voice, Lou Fan walked over and saw an old person lying prostrate on the ground. She is tearful, constantly slapping the ground, and looking very miserable.

    "My poor Ah Feng!"

    Lou Fan''s eyes lit up. He winked at Qin Tan and walked over immediately. He bent down and lowered his head then asked in a low voice, "Old woman, what''s wrong with you? Why are you lying on the ground? Let me help you up."

    The old woman ignored Lou Fan, still lying on the ground and crying. Lou Fan is patient, so he squatted down and said slowly, "Old woman, the ground is very cold. You can tell me if you have any difficulties, and I can help you."

    The old woman raised her head and glanced at Lou Fan. Her aging face is miserable and helpless, and she lowered her head to continue crying.

    A smile appeared on Lou Fan''s mouth. He thought to himself, this old woman must be a key NPC, so he continued to persuade her.

    But Gao Yi, who is standing behind Qin Tan, is a little impatient. He couldn''t see Lou Fan''s expression, but based on his past experience and the information he had collected in the intermediate-level club, the key NPCs are generally like this: Once the passenger finds the right one, they just have to talk to the NPC to get the clues they need, instead of talking over and over again like now and the other party ignores it.

    From this belief, this old woman is not a key NPC at all.

    "It''s a waste of time to go on like this." Gao Yi said, "Team leader Qin, how about you wait here and I''ll go around to see if there are any other clues."

    How could Qin Tan not know that Gao Yi is impatient? So he nodded and agreed that Gao Yi would come back in half an hour.

    Lou Fan spoke very patiently for 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, the old woman straightened up. Half-sitting on the ground, she watched Lou Fan while slowly wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, "Young man, my poor granddaughter has been taken away by the bad guys. You said that you want to help me?"

    Lou Fan became happy in his heart and nodded immediately, "Yes, if you have any difficulties, I can help you."

    The old woman supported herself with the stool on one side and struggled to stand up. Lou Fan immediately got up and gave her a hand, allowing her to lean at him to stand up. The old woman stood up properly and straightened her clothes. There are no more tears left on her face. Although she had no expression, she looked kind.

    By now, the sky is completely dark, but Holy Lake City is brightly lit, and there are lights everywhere.

    "Ah Feng is taken away. If you really want to help me, come and help me feed the rabbits early tomorrow morning."

    Feed the rabbit? Lou Fan blinked. This quest is sure special, but you can''t talk about conditions with NPCs. He nodded, "Okay, I''ll come early tomorrow morning."

    After speaking, the old woman yawned and turned to enter the door, regardless of whether they are still standing at the door.

    When Gao Yi came back, Qin Tan and Lou Fan are sitting on the stone steps at one side, waiting, and he didn''t see the old woman from before. Gao Yi didn''t ask, and the two didn''t elaborate, so they headed to the agreed place to meet Nie Feng and Chen Shuyang.

    Chen Shuyang and Nie Feng are already waiting there and saw them. Nie Feng showed no expression and said to Qin Tan, "Team leader, we didn''t find anything."

    Qin Tan responded and said, "Let¡¯s find a place to rest first."

    They haven''t rested since they entered the forest (to search for Gao Yi and clues). Then they planned to rest at night after they returned. But the full moon came early, and they ended up following the ¡®village chief¡¯ to Holy Lake City. It''s late at night now so everyone is very tired.

    Lou Fan thought for a while and asked, "Have you guys seen any inn or place that provides accommodation just now? Maybe there will be clues there."

    Gao Yi shook his head, and Chen Shuyang also shook his head. Nie Feng''s sleepy eyes drooped. And after a while, he said, "I seem to have seen one, but I''m not sure. That word is really small."

    Qin Tan didn''t hesitate and said, "Let''s go over and take a look."

    Nie Feng led the way. Chen Shuyang followed behind, tilted his head, and asked, "When did you see that, Nie Feng? Why didn''t I see it? And you didn''t tell me about it."

    "Because you''re silly." Nie Feng said lightly, "I''m here with you, still need to tell you? You should just follow me[1]."

    There''s nothing wrong with this statement at all. Chen Shuyang thought about it for a second, and felt that what Nie Feng said is very reasonable, "That''s right, I''ll just follow you. I''m really a bit stupid, sigh, when can I become smarter?"

    Nie Feng raised his hand and rubbed Chen Shuyang¡¯s hair, "You are okay, not silly."

    Chen Shuyang glared at Nie Feng, so is he silly or not?

    The place Nie Feng said is located in a small alley on the other side. There is a canvas hanging on it with a word written: Inn. The name is very short and concise.

    A group of people walked over and saw wilting flowerpots haphazardly placed around the entrance of the inn. A layer of mud and ash has gathered on the bluestone bricks at the door. The wooden door is half closed.

    Nie Feng stepped forward and pushed open the wooden door, making a creaking sound, "Anyone here? Seeking accommodation."

    No one answered.

    "Anyone here?" Chen Shuyang stuck his head in and called out after Nie Feng.

    "Who is it?" A woman came out of the room wiping her hands. She didn''t seem to expect someone to come for accommodation. She got stunned for a while before she responded and said, "Do you want accommodation? Aiya, come in quickly, take a seat first."

    Saying that, the woman hurriedly opened the door and dragged a few long benches over. Then she stretched her neck and shouted inside, "Old man, there are guests coming to stay. Quickly boil water to make tea."

    A middle-aged man inside leaned out to take a look and immediately responded. With a smile, he went to boil water.

    "I''m really sorry. Very few people here would come to stay at the inn so we are not well prepared. Guests, please wait a moment." The woman kept rubbing her hands, her face full of guilt.

    Lou Fan said with a smile, "It''s okay, we''re not in a hurry. Take your time."

    "Eh eh, alright, then I''ll tidy up the guest room first. Please wait a moment, I''ll make tea for you in a while. Just wait a minute!"

    Lou Fan nodded and smiled. He said, "Okay, you can go to work first."

    When the woman left, Lou Fan sighed, "It seems that usually, no one comes to stay here."

    Qin Tan unloaded his bag and instantly felt relaxed. He replied, "The Holy Lake City and Ghost Village are relatively closed. Both the villagers are self-sufficient, so very few outsiders will come."

    Lou Fan nodded thoughtfully, then why is there such a place for outsiders to stay?

    ¡­

    Tong Fei came out of the lake and wiped the water off her face. At this moment, the moon is in the middle of the sky. The huge full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the whole village clearly. She didn''t even look at the human skins on the shore and went straight to the shore.

    Immediately after, 4 heads appeared from the lake, and they landed on the shore one after another. A group of dripping people walked towards the house, and the sky gradually turned brighter. 10 minutes after they landed, many black figures appeared from the lake.

    "Sister Tong Fei?" Wen Lang came out immediately when he heard the sound, and is very surprised to see Tong Fei.

    Tong Fei smiled, "I know you guys are waiting for us, so I came back."

    Wen Lang didn''t care that Tong Fei is dripping wet and jumped up. He gave her a hug and said, "It''s great that you are all right."

    Tong Fei pushed Wen Lang away and joked, "Kiddo, don''t take advantage of me."

    Wen Lang didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. When he let go of her and looked back, he saw Chen Man and Fan Dayong. Then, Wen Lang had a weird look on his face.

    "Why did you guys come back? Didn''t you follow along with the group?" Wen Lang wondered. Why did these 2 come back not long after leaving? Also, they came back with the girls.

    Jiang Dong is more understanding and asked, "Did something happen? Did you get hurt?"

    Hearing that, Chen Man''s expression is a little unnatural. It seems that he needs to repeat the explanation of his stupid action, and he really didn''t know how to say it.

    Fan Dayong answered first, "We accidentally got separated from team leader and the others. Team leader and the others should have already arrived at the holy lake. Then we met Tong Fei and the others, so we can only follow them back."

    Wen Lang felt a bit suspicious. This Chen Man dude must have a secret, but he didn''t ask too many questions. He doesn¡¯t really care much about the two of them, as long as Brother Qin and the others are okay.

    Jiang Dong also turned his head and looked at the girls up and down. They are wet all over, but he is relieved to see that none of them are injured.

    After Tong Fei and the others rested for a while, they talked about the underwater cave. Hearing that, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong looked at each other with thoughtful expressions.

    Feng Zhi glanced at the 2 and rarely opened her mouth to say, "I think there should be clues in the cave below, so we should go down again."

 CH 92

    The couple in the inn looked quite honest, the owner quickly boiled the water and made the tea while his wife tidied out 3 guest rooms. The group of 5 people didn''t have the strength to say more and went to their rooms to rest. Gao Yi has a room by himself.

    Lou Fan put down his bag and wiped himself clean with the hot water. Then he went to bed.

    Qin Tan tidied the quilt for Lou Fan. He stared at his partner for a while with a smile on the corner of his mouth. After that, he spent some time analyzing the information and incidents that happened before. Then, he washes up and goes to sleep. On the bed, Qin Tan pulled out the person who had rolled further into the bed. He hugged Lou Fan into his arms and snuggled against him, peppering kisses on Lou Fan¡¯s face. When Lou Fan waved his hand in dissatisfaction to drive the nuisance away, Qin Tan smiled and closed his eyes.

    En, it''s really comfortable to hold someone to sleep.

    The next morning, Lou Fan remembered that he forgot to tell his teammates that he will be going to help the old woman feed the rabbits today. Everyone got up early and are eating the plain noodles made by the lady boss. Then they heard Lou Fan saying that he would feed the rabbits later.

    Chen Shuyang blinked and asked with a smile, "Brother Lou, is your aura of luck showing again?"

    Lou Fan poked the noodles in the bowl and said helplessly, "I¡¯m just going to feed the rabbits. I don''t know if I found the clues or not. You guys still have to look around, maybe I missed something last night because it was too late. Look for clues more carefully today and I''ll go to the old woman¡¯s place first. Who knows, what if..."

    Chen Shuyang has complete trust in Lou Fan and is very confident, "Go ahead, Brother Lou. Just call me if you need help. We will wait for your good news."

    Lou Fan couldn''t help laughing when he heard Chen Shuyang¡¯s words. What kind of friendship was this? It is very touching.

    Gao Yi didn''t take Lou Fan¡¯s words seriously. In his heart, he felt that Lou Fan is doing useless work, and he didn''t plan to participate. He is just going to figure out where to go to inquire about news, how much time is left, how their progress is a little slow, etc.

    After a satisfying breakfast, the group split up. Lou Fan went out with Qin Tan, Gao Yi went out alone, and Nie Feng went out with Chen Shuyang. The task is to inquire for clues.

    Following his plan, Gao Yi walked towards the city gate with a very clear goal. There are guards and some villagers gathered there. Plus, at the side of the city gate, there are villagers fetching water by the lake.

    Lou Fan didn''t care where Nie Feng took Chen Shuyang, they just walked toward the old woman''s residence. When they reached the front of the house, they saw the old woman wiping her tears with her head down. Her wrinkled face is full of tears, which made people feel sympathetic.

    Lou Fan walked over with a smile and said to her, "Granny, I''m here to help you feed the rabbits. Where are the rabbits?"

    Hearing this, the old woman raised her head and glanced at Lou Fan. Then she pointed towards the house, "The rabbits are in the yard, and their food is on the side. You have to feed all 5 rabbits."

    Lou Fan nodded and agreed, "Okay, leave it to me."

    Just 5 rabbits, so it''s not difficult. Lou Fan estimated that it will be done in half an hour at most. This task is quite simple.

    This small farmyard yard is paved with bluestone slabs and is very large. There are sheds on the left and right. 5 rabbits are kept on the right, and chickens and ducks are on the other. There are many flowers in the surrounding area. They are blooming nicely and colorful. It looks very nice and has a breath of life on it.

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan walked to the rabbit shed and found that the rabbits are much bigger than the average rabbit they had ever seen. If they need to compare them, the rabbits are about the size of a corgi, and they are all fat.

    "Aren¡¯t these rabbits a little too big?" Lou Fan swallowed and glanced left and right. Not seeing the old woman, he whispered to Qin Tan, "If we make a pot of mala steamed rabbit, I wondered how delicious it would be?"

    Qin Tan chuckled and said to Lou Fan, "Okay, I''ll make it for you when we returned. You can eat as much as you want."

    Lou Fan immediately raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Okay, let''s make spicy rabbit, stir-fry rabbit, pickled pepper rabbit..." After that, he swallowed and forced himself to shift his attention from the rabbit meat. Otherwise, he might unconsciously eat the rabbit raw.

    Rolling up his sleeves, Lou Fan found that Qin Tan is already moving the grass from the side. That pile of grass would take a lorry to load everything, and it formed a hill in the yard.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this is all for the rabbits?" Lou Fan is a little dumbfounded.

    Just 5 rabbits could eat so much? Sure this is not a joke?

    Qin Tan''s arms are bulging as his arms are full of green grass. His nose is full of the smell of green grass and he turned his face to the side. Spitting out 2 stalks of grass, he said, "I''m not sure but let''s feed them first. With these many grasses, the rabbits will take a long time to eat."

    Lou Fan glanced at the ¡®mountain¡¯ of green grass and then glanced at the heap in Qin Tan''s arms. Qin Tan''s arms are full, but the grass pile didn''t decrease. Lou Fan sighed. He is probably dreaming earlier, the quest given by the NPC is not as simple as he thought!

    Welp, can¡¯t say anything. Just roll up his sleeves and do it!

    The 5 rabbits are kept together in a shed. Qin Tan threw the heap of grasses into the feeding trough and turned around to carry more again. Lou Fan was following behind Qin Tan and he stopped in front of the trough, stunned for a moment.

    "Qin Tan, did you just put the grass in?" Lou Fan¡¯s voice sounded dry.

    Qin Tan is puzzled, but replies, "I just put it in, what''s wrong?"

    Lou Fan: "There¡¯s no more left. I was following behind you. You just put down the grasses a few seconds, and these rabbits finished them already? Are these rabbit monsters?"

    Qin Tan: ¡­

    Lou Fan put down the grasses in his arms and is still muttering, "Eating so fast and so much, no wonder it grows so big..."

    Then, Lou Fan saw it. The moment the grasses are put down, the rabbits rushed forward. He watched the grasses disappear, in the blink of an eye.

    "Frick..."

    Not enough to curse, the old woman''s voice sounded faint from afar, "Young man, you have to feed them quickly, or the rabbits will be angry."

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Qin Tan: ¡­

    Both men felt helpless and quickened their speed, but no matter how fast they are, the speed of the rabbit''s grazing is not slow at all. Until half of the green grass hill disappeared, they still continued to eat quickly. Lou Fan rubbed his sore arm, feeling that his feet could no longer be lifted, but he didn''t dare to relax.

    "I''m frickin exhausted!" Lou Fan fell to the ground, out of breath.

    The ¡®mountain¡¯ of grass has disappeared alas, and the rabbits finally seem to be full and no longer guarding the trough, but spread out to do their own thing. Qin Tan is also very tired. He unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to Lou Fan. Next, he opened another bottle himself and downed everything in one breath.

    The sound of light footsteps sounded. Lou Fan opened his eyes and met the smiling eyes of the old woman. He sat up and said, "Granny, we have fed the rabbits."

    The old woman walked to the rabbit shed and looked around, nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, well fed."

    After speaking, her face changed immediately, and she looked sadly at the flowers around the wall. She said sadly, "My poor Ah Feng, she likes these flowers the most. If they died, I don''t know how sad she would be!"

    With this emotional expression, Lou Fan felt that she should be awarded an Oscar for Best Actress. He sighed and asked with a good temper, "Granny, do you need our help?"

    The old woman turned her head and said with kindness, "It''s the best if you can help. Just water all the flowers until they become energetic again."

    The flowers around the wall are drooping and looking listless. Lou Fan thought about what granny said. She wanted them to water the flowers to make them more energetic. What kind of bizarre request is this?

    Qin Tan winked at Lou Fan and whispered, "She should be the key NPC without a doubt."

    Lou Fan nodded, and he is sure too. Only key NPCs can have so many extraordinary requests, he has seen it a long time ago. But he is really tired now and is about to lose his strength, so he requested, "Granny, can we rest for a while?"

    The granny is very friendly and said, "Okay, take a rest when you''re tired. Let''s not rush. Do you want to drink some water? I collected them from the holy lake early in the morning."

    The water of the holy lake? Lou Fan nodded immediately, "That''s great. Thank you, granny."

    The old woman waved her hand and walked to a water tank. She scooped it with a ladle, turned around, and handed it to Lou Fan, "Drink it, the water in the holy lake is delicious."

    Lou Fan took the ladle while thanking her. Then he took a big gulp from the water ladle and handed it to Qin Tan. The water is sweet and clear, it flows into his mouth like a clear spring. When it went down the throat, the water instantly cleared up the exhaustion. Qin Tan obviously felt the same way and looked at Lou Fan with disbelief eyes. The water of the ghost lake is not drinkable at all, and the water of the holy lake is like holy water.

    Lou Fan pursed his lips and asked, "Granny, do you know about the ghost lake?"

    The old woman glanced at Lou Fan, and there seemed to be a flash of light in her eyes. She took back the water ladle, and immediately sighed, "Aiyo, my poor granddaughter. She got taken away by the bad guys. The flowers in this yard are her favorite, I hope they don¡¯t die¡­¡­"

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    Granny, can we act a little more genuinely? Are you ditching the emotional act after we got familiar? How insincere.

    Though complaining in his heart, Lou Fan still got up slowly to work. His exhaustion seemed to be taken away by the water of the holy lake, and he could continue to ¡®move bricks and work¡¯ now. Looking at the time, it turned out that it is already afternoon, they must move faster.

    However, watering the flowers is not much easier than feeding the rabbits. Qin Tan picked up buckets of water from the well, and he carried the buckets to water the flowers, pouring them one by one. The flowers are like the rabbits, like a bottomless pit. Even a few buckets of water could not fill up a pot of flowers. When he decided to ask the old woman for more information, water finally seeped out from the bottom of the flower pot. Next, the flowers became ¡®energetic¡¯ at a speed visible to the naked eye. After he finally finished watering a pot, he looked at the rest of the flowers around the wall¡­ he felt like wanting to die.

    ¡­

    The bright moonlight sprinkled on the small yard, giving the yard in the night a sense of tranquility.

    Lou Fan slowly poured a ladle of water on a pot of yellow flowers, and when he saw the flowers become energized, he exhaled a breath. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he made an OK gesture to Qin Tan. Looking along the wall, the flowers are all in good spirits. There are water droplets on the petals and leaves, which occasionally slide down from above, looking bright and dewy.

    Rubbing his sore arm, Lou Fan took a sip from the unfinished water ladle. The water quality is good, but unfortunately, it is not as good as the ones from the holy lake.

    The old woman came out of the house. She walked slowly like she is taking a walk.

    "Granny, can you give us some more water from the holy lake?" Lou Fan doesn''t think he is being thick-skinned at all.

    "Help yourself." She sat on a small stool and began to speak, "This holy lake and ghost lake, it used to be the same lake..."

 CH 93

    Just like what he heard from the black-robed man, the holy lake and the ghost lake were once a whole lake, and no one knows when they suddenly got split into 2 lakes. The water of the holy lake nurtures the people of Holy Lake City, making them prosperous and happy, while the ghost lake is predictably miserable. In the beginning, the people of ghost lake village needed to go to the holy lake to fetch water to drink. Later, gradually no one came to fetch water.

    The old woman sighed, "I''m older, so of course I know a lot more. On the ghost lake¡¯s side are all the people who were expelled from Holy Lake City. When someone makes a mistake, commits a crime, or angers the city lord, they will be expelled to the ghost lake¡¯s side. The name is called ghost lake, of course, ghosts exist there. My aunt is also over there."

    When the old woman said this, Lou Fan immediately looked at her. Her face looked calm and her eyes are expressionless.

    "If the ghost lake and the holy lake can be connected, the two lakes will be integrated again... then, the people of the ghost lake village will be able to come back."

    The old woman stopped and looked at Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan asked anxiously, "Then do you know how to connect the 2 lakes?"

    "Child, of course I know. If you can help me with something, I''ll tell you how to connect them."

    This is it! Lou Fan immediately replied, "Just said it, we will do our best."

    "Go to the City Lord''s mansion and rescue my Ah Feng."

    ¡­

    The group of 7 people hid behind the wooden house, watching as the ghosts took off their human skins and sank into the water one by one. When there is no more figures on the shore, they came out and began to prepare to enter the water.

    Wen Lang''s breath-holding skill is alright but Jiang Dong is a bit bad at it. Fortunately, Wen Lang still had a small pearl in his hand so he handed it to Jiang Dong. Jiang Dong refused, and Wen Lang pretended to be angry, "I still have a few more of this thing. Don''t force yourself to endure. The moment you can¡¯t hold back down there, you¡¯ll drown. Then, won¡¯t you become a drowned ghost?"

    Jiang Dong wanted to laugh but after thinking about it, he felt that what Wen Lang said is quite right so he held back. In fact, as Tong Fei and the others said, they don''t need to dive too far so he just endures a bit and it¡¯ll be fine, but Wen Lang''s kindness means he is caring about him.

    Seeing that it is almost time, Tong Fei took the lead and stepped into the water. Soon, her whole body sank and disappeared. The other 6 people followed suit. This is the first time Wen Lang enter the water after the Lao Ye Temple mission world. Wen Lang felt that this lake is a teeny weeny little better than Lao Ye Temple''s lake.

    Sure enough, just like what Tong Fei said, about 10 minutes after they got into the water, they saw something like the mouth of a cave. They couldn''t see anything further down, it is pitch black. After swimming into the cave, Wen Lang¡¯s feet stepped on the ground, and after swimming forward for more than 10 meters, the water stopped coming in. Wen Lang twisted the water from his clothing and looked back. He felt that the lake is really strange. There is a hole in the lake but the water couldn''t get in, how strange.

    "Be careful with those ghosts." Tong Fei and the rest leaned against the stone wall vigilantly. She reminded Wen Lang, who is still standing in the middle.

    Hearing that, Jiang Dong pulled Wen Lang, and he immediately slammed into Jiang Dong¡¯s arms, making Wen Lang feel like his ribs are about to break. The pain made Wen Lang bared his teeth, "Damn it, are you made of steel?!"

    Jiang Rou smirked, and Tong Fei also curved the corners of her mouth.

    Feng Zhi is still very indifferent, "Don''t waste time and follow our initial plan."

    Wen Lang is a little afraid of people like Feng Zhi as she reminded him of the dean of the school when he was a student. Immediately, he behaved himself and didn¡¯t dare to grimace too much.

    The main purpose of the group is to find a way to the holy lake so that they can go to meet Qin Tan and the others. Because it is the 2nd time she came down, Tong Fei found a hidden place with some familiarity. They silently observed the ghosts and found that they are just wandering in the cave. Soon, they will disappear somewhere else after a while, and they didn''t know what the ghosts are actually doing. However, the group doesn''t care too much. The important thing is not the ghosts, but to find the way.

    Chen Man and Fan Dayong passed here with the ''village chief'' once. Several people analyzed the cave. Since they can come into this cave from the lake, why the ''village chief'' has to come in through another entrance and have to ring the bell? The reason is probably that the ''village chief'' must keep wearing human skin, which means he can''t take off the human skin and enter the hole from the water. Another point is that the bell must be a very important tool. If there is no bell, it may be difficult to get through.

    But anyway, finding the way to the holy lake first is the most important thing.

    Those ghosts are very familiar with the cave, so the group has to be careful. They don¡¯t dare to make a sound when the ghosts passed by and stick closely to the stone wall. Cold water seeps out of the stone walls, and they gathered into puddles on the ground.

    Crap. Wen Lang''s heart sank[1].

    A soft sound rang out from the hole. To the group, it sounded like the sound is magnified countless times. They don¡¯t dare to breathe and can only hope that the ghosts passing by don''t hear it. Regrettably, 6 or 7 ghosts immediately gathered around.

    Tong Fei ran away into a fork without saying a word, followed by Jiang Rou. On the other hand, Feng Zhi ran to the other direction of the fork and Wen Lang immediately chased after her, followed by Jiang Dong. Chen Man''s reaction is also immediate. He pulled Fan Dayong and ran, their speed is fast.

    In the cave, the ghosts seemed to have a buff in their ability. They chased after the 3 teams for a while, with a sharp sound from their mouths. Soon, other ghosts followed behind.

    The 3 teams all ran very fast, and the weapons in their hands kept swinging out. Jiang Rou''s vines rolled up the ghosts blocking their way and threw them behind, slowing down those ghosts who are behind. Feng Zhi''s umbrella opened and kept spinning. The edge of the umbrella is extremely sharp. With Wen Lang''s poker and Jiang Dong''s bandages that seem unlimited, the 3-people team has the least amount of ghosts in their way.

    In comparison, Chen Man and Fan Dayong¡¯s luck is very bad as many ghosts are chasing after them. Chen Man held an axe to open the way in front. Although Fan Dayong''s gun is also an intermediate spirit weapon, it is a long-range weapon after all. When they turned into a fork in a panic, a large group of ghosts came oncoming.

    "ARGH!" Chen Man ruthlessly charged, holding his axe and desperately slashing at the ghost. When he managed to slash a gap in front of him, Chen Man gritted his teeth and grabbed Fan Dayong who was behind him, and pushed him forward to the gap. After that, he turned to face the ghost behind them and continued slashing. Then he shouted while slashing, "Da Yong, hurry up, be sure to follow the team leader."

    Fan Dayong gritted his teeth and wanted to step forward. He held his gun and kept shooting. However, the steel balls are not very effective on the ghosts, so they kept pouncing on Chen Man. Chen Man let out a low roar, and shouted again while enduring the pain, "Go, quickly!"

    The group of ghosts gathered around Chen Man. Seeing that he is about to lose his hold, Fan Dayong said "I''m sorry", turned around, and ran away with red eyes and gritted teeth. Soon, his figure could not be seen anymore.

    "I''ll fight you guys to death!" Chen Man yelled, raised his axe, and rushed towards the ghosts.

    ¡­

    "Are you all right?" Wen Lang asked.

    Tong Fei and Jiang Rou looked a little bit in a sorry state. As for Feng Zhi, Wen Lang, and Jiang Dong, they looked normal as usual.

    Jiang Rou said with a smile, "It''s okay, Sister Fei''s big sword is very powerful."

    Tong Fei didn''t see the other two people and asked, "Did you see Chen Man and Fan Dayong?"

    All 3 people shook their heads.

    Tong Fei felt helpless, but after thinking about it, she said, "Let¡¯s look for them along the way." It¡¯s pure luck that the 5 people managed to meet up again from randomly running around.

    Turning a corner, an unusual-looking hole appeared in front of them, and there is actually a ray of light shining from there. The group of 5 people walked in slowly, with Jiang Dong on guard at the end.

    There are glowing beads on the stone walls inside the cave and 2 rows of poles like clothes drying poles in the middle. A row of hangers hangs from each pole, neatly drying a row of human skins.

    Except for Jiang Dong who is still behind and hasn¡¯t seen anything, the other 4 couldn''t help bursting into a cold sweat. This is like a factory, producing human skins. Seeing those caused chills to run down their back.

    "Let''s go." Jiang Rou''s voice is trembling and her face is pale. She looked like she is about to vomit in the next second.

    Tong Fei nodded and took her out immediately. Wen Lang also grabbed Jiang Dong and walked out. He didn''t want to stay for a moment longer. This scene is making goosebumps stand up all over his body.

    Feng Zhi is the calmest among them. She even went in for a walk and found that the human skin is really a complete state, from head to toe.

    "Where did these human skins come from?" Feng Zhi calmly analyzed, "And what are they used for? They won''t belong to the villagers because their skins are all on the shore."

    ¡­

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan walked from the old woman''s yard to the door and found 3 people waiting at the door. When the other team members saw Lou Fan and Qin Tan coming out, they immediately greeted them. They are relieved to see that both men are in good condition.

    Gao Yi glanced inside and whispered, "Why did you stay there for so long? We couldn''t knock on the door, and couldn''t get in. We almost wanted to try breaking down the door."

    "Why can''t you knock on the door?" Lou Fan wondered.

    Gao Yi also looked inexplicable as he replied, "I don''t know. No one answered when I knocked, and I couldn''t push it open."

    Nie Feng was leaning against the wall earlier, but now he straightened up and said lazily, "It should be the restriction of the NPC, you can''t force the door."

    Qin Tan is very satisfied with his team member and said with a smile, "Nie Feng''s analysis is good. Let''s go back to the inn first. You should have also gotten some news, right? We will summarize it when we go back."

    The group of 5 people gathered in Lou Fan''s room, and Lou Fan and Qin Tan told the members what happened today.

    "I knew it, Brother Lou would definitely be able to find the key NPC. See, this is an important clue." Chen Shuyang''s flatters are coming out smoothly.

    Gao Yi didn''t expect the old woman to be really a key NPC and also gave them an important clue. Since he had missed it before, this time he couldn¡¯t screw it up again. He immediately said, "Count me in to save the girl."

    Nie Feng also opened his eyes and thought seriously for a few seconds. Then he said, "I''m going to save the girl too. Lou Fan is tired from today''s NPC mission, so he should take a rest."

    Qin Tan glanced at the 2 men, nodded, and said, "Okay, then the 3 of us will go save the girl."

    Chen Shuyang didn''t say anything. He isn¡¯t someone who should be charging into battle. The military advisor of the team doesn¡¯t have to be at the front line. This is what everyone agreed with so Chen Shuyang doesn¡¯t uncomfortable at all (of not helping out with battles).

    Lou Fan put his arms around Chen Shuyang and said, "Alright, Shuyang and I will wait for you guys to come back. We will go out for a walk along the way."

    Gao Yi asked, "Then, what does Ah Feng look like? Did the old woman tell you where she is locked?"

    Lou Fan looked helpless as he answered, "The old woman said that her Ah Feng is very good-looking. She has a mole on her face and is quite tall and strong. En... anyway, she''s pretty."

    With such a description, he couldn''t imagine how good-looking Ah Feng will be. In summary, she is just a tall and strong girl which has nothing to do with being good-looking.

 CH 94

    "Have you guys gotten any information?" Lou Fan changed the subject from Ah Feng¡¯s description, "When you guys found anyone, just ask for their name first. As for the appearance, it doesn''t matter."

    Lou Fan''s perplexed look made everyone laugh.

    Chen Shuyang threw a glance at Nie Feng but Nie Feng only looked lazy, with drooping eyelids as if he is about to fall asleep. So, Chen Shuyang had to say what they found out himself.

    "Nie Feng and I heard that the city lord has arrested a lot of people recently, and they have all been imprisoned. Many people are worried."

    As usual with great powers, people will do whatever they want. Lou Fan and others also think it is understandable, but there are only so few citizens left in Holy Lake City. Moreover, there is a ghost village next door. What is the city lord trying to do by arresting people?

    There is no solution to this problem for the time being so everyone turned to Gao Yi, expecting him to find out some other news.

    Being looked at by 4 pairs of eyes, Gao Yi felt a little embarrassed. He had planned to go to the gate of the city to find information as many people are gathering and there are also city guards there. Unexpectedly, everyone acted like they are mute and didn''t talk with Gao Yi at all. Hence, he went to the guards at the gate for a chat. He took some universal currency such as gold and silver with him, but he didn''t expect that not only he didn¡¯t get any information, he got questioned by the guards a few times. Afraid of being exposed, he could only mumble a few words to fool them. Feeling embarrassed for a moment, Gao Yi then returned to normal, and said, "I didn''t find out anything but I have a feeling that the people here seem to be very secretive about their city lord."

    Gao Yi only said a few nonsense words, but he didn''t expect that he guessed it right. Because of what he said, everyone had doubts about the city lord. They felt that there must be a problem with him, so they paid attention to the city lord.

    Qin Tan began to plan, "The topographical layout of the City Lord''s mansion is unclear. We can only talk about it after checking it out. Upon entering the mansion, we will act separately to avoid being discovered. If there is an abnormal situation, immediately withdraw. At most at 2 hours, even if nothing is found, we must come out immediately."

    Both Nie Feng and Gao Yi listened intently. Gao Yi stopped taking the initiative to take the lead after his team members disappeared, and instead let Qin Tan call the shots. Except for him, everyone here is the intermediate team¡¯s people. Even if he wants to take the lead, it still depends on whether these team members listen to him or not. Now, he feels that Qin Tan is very thoughtful. He has careful plans and is very considerate of the members.

    Qin Tan thought about it for a long time, but couldn¡¯t think of anything else to pay attention to, so they just have to take one step at a time when something happens.

    Soon, night arrived and the 3 members are ready to explore. Lou Fan stood outside the door and told them to be careful. Suddenly a fluffy head popped out of Lou Fan¡¯s pocket. Furball chirped twice at Qin Tan, it sounds like it is reluctant to part.

    Qin Tan laughed. He took Furball out and rubbed it in the palm of his hand. Then he instructed, "Stay with him obediently and help me watch him. I will be back soon."

    "Jii jii." - (Don''t worry, I¡¯ll watch over him for sure.)

    Lou Fan didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. They talked as if he is going to make trouble while Qin Tan is away. It makes him feel speechless about these two.

    The 3 men disappeared into the night and Lou Fan returned to the room with Furball and Chen Shuyang. Because only the two of them are left in the inn tonight, it is more convenient for them to stay in a room together. At the moment, Chen Shuyang is still drawing amulets. Even though there is already a thick stack of amulets in his bag, Chen Shuyang still would draw a few sheets every day, so he feels at ease. Chen Shuyang gave Qin Tan and Nie Feng each a large stack of amulets before they left, so now he is restocking his inventory.

    "Shuyang, go to bed soon, I''ll go to bed first." Lou Fan lay on the bed and yawned.

    Chen Shuyang nodded, "Go to sleep, Brother Lou. I''ll go to sleep in a while."

    Originally, Lou Fan planned to have a good night''s sleep but unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, he got shaken awake by Chen Shuyang. Chen Shuyang held a finger on his lips and said, "Brother Lou, there¡¯s someone outside."

    ¡­

    The 3 figures ran quickly on the street, and after being careful to hide their presence, they quickly approached the City Lord''s mansion. The wall of the mansion is not too high. Taking a few steps back, Qin Tan then ran quickly and leaped. He held onto the mansion''s wall and glanced inside. There''s no one around. With a push from his waist, Qin Tan kicked at the wall and jumped onto the mansion''s wall. Immediately after, he jumped into the yard.

    A soft whistle sounded briefly, and Nie Feng and Gao Yi also quickly climbed up the wall and jumped down.

    In the dark, by the moonlight, Qin Tan nodded to the men, and the 3 quickly dispersed and ran away in different directions.

    The City Lord''s mansion is not as heavily guarded as they had imagined in advance. It is unexpectedly quiet, not even a single person can be seen. Qin Tan still moved forward vigilantly, not making a sound even if there is no one around. As he is walking toward the very center of the mansion, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a black robe. Immediately, Qin Tan leaned against the wall and waited. Seeing that the other party didn''t notice him, he quickly followed behind.

    The figure in front is somewhat familiar. The figure is wearing a large black robe with a tightly covered hood, it is the ''village chief'' who brought them here. Qin Tan followed closely behind the figure. The ¡®village chief¡¯ walked into a room and pressed the wall lamp a few times. Next, a secret door opened silently.

    Qin Tan didn''t even think about it and immediately rushed to follow when the secret door is about to close. Down the long steps, there are dark prison cells. Qin Tan didn''t dare to get too close, so he could only fall behind the ¡®village chief¡¯. There are men and women locked in the cells. Adding together, there could be a dozen of them here.

    Originally, Qin Tan thought that the ¡®village chief¡¯ is going to do something, but he only patrolled inside and left. Qin Tan hid in the shadows and only came out after the ''village chief'' had left. He glanced around and saw that all of the prisoners are either leaning or lying in an apathetic state.

    "Ah Feng, Ah Feng..." Qin Tan whispered.

    A short and stocky woman raised her head and looked around in confusion, "Who, who is calling me?"

    Sure enough, Qin Tan is able to meet the Ah Feng that the old woman said. Qin Tan walked over quickly and said to her, "Your granny asked me to rescue you out, you..."

    Qin Tan is about to explain a few more words. If the girl didn''t believe him, he would tell the old woman''s address and details of her home to get the trust, but he didn''t expect to be interrupted by the girl as soon as he uttered the first sentence.

    "Hurry up, quickly open the door. It''s suffocating me here, and I miss my rabbits..."

    Qin Tan: ¡­ This NPC is acting a little too familiar with him.

    All of a sudden, Qin Tan thought of something when he is holding the lock. Stopping what he is doing, he turned and ran to look at the hidden door he came down from. He went to the door and pressed around the spots, and found that it couldn''t be opened - he got trapped here.

    Qin Tan is not in a hurry. Since the ''village chief'' came to inspect the prisoners just now, he will definitely come again. The trouble is, he set a time to meet up with Nie Feng and Gao Yi. If he didn''t go back by then, Lou Fan will be anxious. Thinking of Lou Fan, Qin Tan feels that he is more anxious than Lou Fan. He is not there with Lou Fan, he can¡¯t help worrying about what bizarre thing Lou Fan might do.

    ¡­

    As Nie Feng is running quickly down the corridor, he suddenly a high-pitched cry that made him turn around and follow the sound. The sliding door has a gap so he pushed it open gently, and probed inside lightly. The room is very dark. There is no light, and the moonlight outside is blocked by the clouds. After getting used to the darkness, Nie Feng could see the outline of an object. Taking a few steps inside, he heard rapid gasps and small whimpers from someone being covered by his mouth.

    There is more than one person in this room.

    His spirit weapon, the scissors are held in his hand firmly. It will only take 1 movement to block in front of him when needed.

    The smell of blood tickled the tip of Nie Feng¡¯s nose. The smell became stronger as he approached nearer which made him frown uncomfortably. But after a moment, he returned to his former expression. The moonlight is half exposed from behind the dark clouds, and gradually there is a little bit of light shining into the house. Nie Feng immediately hid behind the curtains. When the whole moon appeared behind the clouds, he could see the scene not far away.

    A nekid man crouched on the ground, his skin festered and pitted with holes. In front of him is a person lying on the ground. The nekid man is currently using a tool to do something to the person and blood slowly seeped out from under the person. Nie Feng doesn¡¯t think the person is still alive at this moment. As the nekid man is doing his thing, he keeps scratching at his own skin. When he scratched, the skin fell off like paint on a wall.

    Nie Feng quietly exited the room. At the last moment when the door is closed, the squatting man suddenly turned to look over in the direction.

    ¡­

    2 hours later, Nie Feng and Gao Yi meet up and waited for a while, but they still don¡¯t see Qin Tan.

    "Team leader Qin won''t be in trouble, right? Why hasn''t he come yet?" Gao Yi is a little anxious and kept looking around.

    Nie Feng stayed silent for a while and said, "I''ll go in and have a look."

    Gao Yi grabbed Nie Feng, "I''ll go in too. But if we can''t find him, don''t force it. We¡¯ll  go back and discuss it with Lou Fan."

    Nie Feng nodded and immediately ran into the mansion without a word.

    Gao Yi sighed. In this intermediate team, everyone looked normal from the outside, but they all turned out to be reckless. All just ran away without a word, they are the kind who speaks with their actions. With a sigh, Gao Yi quickly entered the city lord''s mansion again. He didn''t find anything when he first entered the mansion. So this time round, thinking of going to look for Qin Tan, Gao Yi went to a more remote place, but he didn''t expect to find something useful.

    In a silent space, even the slightest voice can be loud.

    In a dimly lit room with only 1 candle illuminating the area, a man in a black robe is sitting in front of a masked man.

    "You are too impatient. You shouldn''t do it yourself, let alone do it here." said a slightly old and familiar voice.

    The masked man reached out and touched his face, not minding the words. He replied, "There is no one else in this City Lord''s mansion, so do not worry about it. You should take the people you caught and leave tomorrow. Hurry up, this human skin is becoming more and more useless."

    The two exchanged a few more words, and Gao Yi listened frightfully. Afraid of being discovered, he was very careful when he left.

    At Nie Feng''s side, it didn''t go so well this time. Suddenly some people are moving around at the place where there was no one just now. Nie Feng got found by one person. He immediately took out an immobilizing amulet and stick it on the person. When the person returned to his senses, there is no one in sight and it made him think that he saw things wrongly. This enables Nie Feng to escape safely. However, he couldn¡¯t find Qin Tan.

    The two meet up again. Gao Yi hurriedly pulled Nie Feng and said, "I didn''t see Qin Tan, but the city lord in this mansion should be a ghost, and the ¡®village chief¡¯ is in a cohort with him."

    Nie Feng doesn¡¯t look surprised so Gao Yi got stunned and asked, "You knew?"

    "I saw him skinning someone just now." Nie Feng calmly replied.

    Gao Yi stayed dumbfounded for a moment, then said, "Let¡¯s go back to Lou Fan to discuss first. Qin Tan should be fine, maybe he''s trapped somewhere."

    Nie Feng also felt the same way. The two returned to the inn together and knocked on the door. It¡¯s Chen Shuyang who came to open the door. Lou Fan is not seen in the room.

    Chen Shuyang glanced outside and asked, "Where''s Brother Qin?"

    "Where''s Lou Fan?" Gao Yi asked at the same time.

 CH 95

    Chen Shuyang turned to look at Nie Feng, and Nie Feng immediately answered, "Team leader may be trapped somewhere. We planned to come back and discuss with Lou Fan."

    "But Brother Lou went out." Chen Shuyang is a little anxious and explained, "The innkeeper and his wife were talking outside the door earlier. We overheard them saying that the water in the holy lake is abnormal, so Brother Lou said he will go and have a look."

    But it is almost midnight and Lou Fan still hasn¡¯t come back. Chen Shuyang originally wanted to find Lou Fan, but he is afraid that Qin Tan¡¯s team would be anxious when they came back and did not see them. Hence, he could only wait here, which is really tormenting.

    ¡­

    Lou Fan went into the water wearing the fish scale suit. He already swallowed a small pearl, planning to explore the lake. The lake is clear, but he swam for a long time without seeing any tunnels. Also, there is no fish in the lake, let alone a blue and a golden fish. He didn''t give up and dived further, but still no fish. However, he found something unusual instead.

    Back on the shore, Lou Fan shook the water on his head and looked sideways at the holy lake. The holy lake sparkled in the moonlight, it is so sacred that people just want to worship it and have no other intention. But at this moment, Lou Fan''s eyes are dark. After a few glances, he turned around and walked back.

    "Brother Lou, you are finally back." Hearing the knock on the door, Chen Shuyang immediately ran to open the door and is very happy to see Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan looked around quickly in the room and his expression sank, "Where''s Qin Tan?"

    Chen Shuyang replied immediately, "Brother Qin may be trapped somewhere, but he might be back soon."

    Lou Fan pursed his lips. He walked quickly to his backpack and started to pack his things, looking like he is going to go out.

    Chen Shuyang stopped Lou Fan immediately, "Brother Lou, why don''t we wait first? Brother Qin is so powerful, he must be alright."

    "No." Lou Fan glanced at the sky outside the window, "It''s almost dawn."

    Lou Fan hurriedly grabbed some stuff and is about to go out. Gao Yi and Nie Feng both stood up to join him when the door is pushed open from the outside.

    Qin Tan came back, followed by a burly girl with two braids.

    Chen Shuyang immediately became happy, "Brother Qin, you are back! That¡¯s great. Brother Lou is about to go out to find you."

    Qin Tan looked over, Lou Fan simply hehe-ed and his gaze started to wander elsewhere.

    At the moment, everyone on the team has returned, and Qin Tan brought Ah Feng back. Gao Yi and Nie Feng also shared their findings in the City Lord''s mansion. The city lord is a ghost and is colluding with the ¡®village chief¡¯ from the ghost lake village. Those who get caught will be skinned, which the skin should be used by the city lord.

    Lou Fan pondered for a while, temporarily felt that this discovery is useless, and said what he found out. "I went into the holy lake to explore. There are no passages in the lake, and there are no blue and gold fish as the black-robed man said in the village. However, the water below the lake has begun to turn black, which is a bit like the ghost lake."

    Qin Tan listened intently and did not interrupt Lou Fan. After Lou Fan finished speaking, he said, "You went to the lake by yourself?"

    Lou Fan: "Hehehe¡­ Well, I heard what the innkeeper said and wanted to investigate."

    "Oh." Qin Tan took a sip of water and said lightly, "Who promised me to keep watch earlier?"

    The furball in Lou Fan''s arms shook, making Lou Fan wonder whether to laugh or cry.

    "It''s dawn, let''s go and send Ah Feng back first." Lou Fan said quickly.

    Ah Feng¡¯s matter is indeed more important, but Qin Tan didn''t intend to let Lou Fan go like this. He humph-ed at Lou Fan, and said in a low voice, "I''ll settle the account with you when this is over."

    In the small yard, a few people looked at Ah Feng, who is a lot taller than the old woman, hugging her tightly. Ah Feng even patted her hard a few times. The group couldn¡¯t help worrying for the old lady. These few hard blows (pats), won¡¯t her bones fall apart? However, the old woman is obviously very energetic and happily lets them sit.

    However, the group is eager to know the clues, so they didn¡¯t sit down. Lou Fan asked on behalf of everyone, "Granny, please tell us how to connect the holy lake and the ghost lake. Haven''t you noticed that the water of the holy lake has begun to change?"

    Hearing that, the old woman, who was still happy, sat down unhurriedly. The expression of joy on her face is gone, only loneliness and sighs remained.

    "Actually, there is no passage between the holy lake and the ghost lake at all, and they can''t be connected no matter what." The old woman stared at the flowers by the wall, as if she just zoned out, "The holy lake originally relies on the power of faith. When faith is obtained, it will become a holy lake. Unfortunately, the villagers of the ghost lake¡¯s side no longer trust the lake water that nurtured them. The lake water gradually becomes stagnant water. It¡¯s turbid, dark, and dead. And this distrust is because they lost their human skin.¡±

    The group became nervous, knowing that important clues are coming.

    "To make the lake water change again, you must return their faiths to the villagers. They are humans, how can they have no human skin? When their resentment disappears, they will believe that the lake water will nurture them again. Then, the lake water can become clear once more."

    Ah Feng, who disappeared into the house earlier came out holding a round object in her hand. Under the granny¡¯s gesture, she handed it to Lou Fan and said, "Take it and give this to the villagers. Also, bring back the things that belong to them. They will thank you."

    In Lou Fan''s palm lies a round jade stone, one blue and one gold fish with their heads following the other¡¯s tail to form a round shape, which is very similar to a Bagua. It turned out that this is the blue and gold fish, no wonder he didn''t find it in the lake. Lou Fan looked up at the old woman. Her face is full of kindness, like a bodhisattva who embraces all living beings. The next moment, Lou Fan blinked and looked again, it is the same granny, standing next to Ah Feng.

    "Go on." The old woman said, "Time waits for no one."

    Tonight is the time for the ¡®village chief¡¯ to go back. It is already afternoon at the moment, so they have to prepare quickly. Lou Fan said thank you to the closed door and bowed again. The rest of the group followed Lou Fan to bow and left the courtyard.

    ¡­

    At the gate of the city, a crisp sound of the bell rang, and the group of 5 people immediately paid attention. The ''village chief'' has changed into normal clothes, but with a bell in his hand. Behind him is a string of people. It is quiet at night, so at first glance, the march looked like a ghost officer escorting a line of ghosts to reincarnate.

    But the ¡®village chief¡¯ is indeed a ¡®ghost¡¯ officer! Lou Fan thought to himself, but his eyes are fixed on the line as they hid in the shadows to avoid detection. When the line of people passed by them, 5 figures immediately followed, lined up, and fell behind.

    There are still 2 gatekeepers standing guard, and Lou Fan realized that this entrance is actually a hole under the lake. Following the sound of the bell into the hole, the further they went in, the damper it became, and water droplets are seeping out from the stone wall.

    "Psst psst psst..."

    Lou Fan turned his head around suspiciously. He heard a strange sound, but it seems familiar. The others heard it and turned to look. A head popped out by the stone wall on the side. Seeing Lou Fan looking over, the person immediately opened his mouth, revealing a set of white teeth, and waved vigorously at Lou Fan. Lou Fan''s eyes widened, and he turned to look at Qin Tan, who also noticed the person. They looked at each other, immediately let go of the clothes of the person in front of them, and ran over quickly.

    "Brother Lou, Brother Qin!" Wen Lang is a little excited, but still, he controlled his voice and whispered, "I didn''t expect to meet you guys here. We were wondering earlier whether we can meet you."

    Qin Tan asked, "What about the others? There¡¯s only you?"

    Lou Fan is about to speak when he saw Jiang Dong emerge from another place and said with a smile, "Sure enough."

    Wen Lang: "Sister Tong Fei and the others are here, and Fan Dayong is also there."

    As soon as Wen Lang said that, Gao Yi knew that Chen Man is gone. There was a trace of regret on his face, but he didn''t say anything. He just pursed his lips tightly.

    "How did you guys get here?" Qin Tan asked again.

    Everyone wanted to know the answer to this question. Wen Lang is about to explain when the girls and Fan Dayong came. When the newcomers saw them, they immediately became happy. Even Feng Zhi showed a smile.

    Tong Fei said happily, "You guys returned so soon? It looks like you''ve found a clue."

    It is still early at this moment (before the exit is closed), and everyone is in no hurry, so they simply went to a hidden place to talk. They let one person stand guard, while the rest gathered together and discussed in a low voice. Tong Fei and the others mainly talked about how they got in, and how could they be here at this moment. In fact, they didn''t go out the day before because they missed the time. After the ghosts left, they couldn''t find the exit and stayed here for a day and a night.

    Lou Fan¡¯s side told the rest of them about the main clue and mentioned the part to find the human skin. He didn''t know where to look for it yet.

    Hearing that, Tong Fei and the others have smiles in their eyes, they know where is it!

    "The human skins are here."

    Lou Fan is surprised and asked, "It''s here?! You guys found it?"

    Tong Fei nodded and immediately led the way forward. The path in the cave is complicated, but luckily they had left a mark in advance. Moreover, Wen Lang still had the fluorescent powder Lou Fan gave him.

    When the neat row of human skins appeared in front of Lou Fan and the others, the goosebumps keep standing up all over their bodies.

    Chen Shuyang shuddered, "So many human skins to be taken out, ergh..." He rubbed his arms.

    Qin Tan put down his backpack and took out a stack of tarpaulins from the inside. "First, put away the human skins and wrap them all in the tarps. Then, we¡¯ll put them into the backpack."

    The ghosts have to take off their human skin on the shore, which means they should not get wet. They need to try not to let human skin get wet when they go out.

    Following Qin Tan''s actions, everyone quickly began to work together. Taking the skins down, arranging them, and wrapping them with tarpaulin. With so many people helping out, the tasks are quickly done. The human skins in the hole are packed up in a few seconds.

    Vague figures could be seen moving outside the cave. Soon a ghost discovered the theft. Everyone can feel that when it ''saw'' that the human skins in the cave are gone, it made a harsh cry.

    It is calling for its companions.

    "Go ashore first!" Qin Tan said immediately, pushing everyone out, "Tong Fei, lead the way."

    Qin Tan is about to say that he is going to go last when Wen Lang and Jiang Dong stood behind him. Wen Lang quickly said, "Brother Qin, you go ahead. We know where¡¯s the exit, so we''ll come after we lead them away."

    Lou Fan is about to come to help when Wen Lang shoved his backpack into his arms, "Brother Lou, go."

    Qin Tan pulled Lou Fan and said, "Let''s go first. We will send the human skin up and come back to help."

    Lou Fan paused and shouted to Wen Lang, "Be careful."

    Lou Fan only had time to say this sentence as the ghosts behind him have already swarmed up. Looking around, there are ghosts everywhere. The group displayed their abilities, each holding their spirit weapon in their hands. Wen Lang''s and Jiang Dong''s spirit weapons are long-range attacks, but with their unlimited attacks, they are taking the lead at the moment and managed to block a wave of ghosts for a while.

    Lou Fan followed Tong Fei and the others to the entrance of the cave. Seeing that the exit is right there, Tong Fei at the front screamed, "How come there are so many?!"

    The exit is pitch black, darker than the black lake water. It is like a black hole, wanting to suck everyone in.

 CH 96

    The group stopped in their tracks and Qin Tan walked to the front. With a cold face, he took out 3 Thunderbolt[1] amulets from his bag and threw them straight into the black hole. 3 thunderous sounds of lightning boomed, and the black mist at the exit is scattered a bit.

    It¡¯s effective!

    Chen Shuyang immediately became happy and took out a large number of amulets from his bag. He handed them to Lou Fan and said, "Brother Lou, these are for you."

    Hearing that, the corner of Lou Fan¡¯s mouth curved up. He took the amulets and drew out a cross arrow. Next, he attached all the amulets to the arrow, as if the amulets are just blank pieces of paper which are free. The arrow shot towards the exit with a swish, and 10 Thunderbolt amulets completely dispelled the black fog at the exit.

    "Let''s go." Qin Tan didn''t hesitate and swiftly grabbed the backpack with the human skin on the ground before walking out.

    Lou Fan put away his bow and looked back, but he did not see Wen Lang and Jiang Dong.

    "Wen Lang, Jiang Dong." Lou Fan shouted loudly.

    No one answered.

    Walking in the middle of the group, Gao Yi and Fan Dayong are shocked inside. This is the first time they saw someone using the amulets like this; casually and wastefully as if they are free. Even for a senior team with a wealth of money like them, they don''t dare to use amulets like that. The amulets are a life-saving item ah. But the people from the intermediate team are sure capricious. They didn¡¯t even blink and a dozen of amulets are thrown out.

    Lou Fan looked back anxiously over and over again. Walking in front of him is Gao Yi so he simply tucked his backpack into Gao Yi¡¯s arms, "Team leader Gao, you should go out first. I have to trouble you with my backpack as I need to return to find my team members."

    Gao Yi took over the bag with a complicated look. Finally, he nodded before walking forward to keep up with Tong Fei in front of him.

    Lou Fan is about to go back down when he saw 2 figures running quickly toward him. He immediately took out his bow and kept shooting behind them to relieve their pressure.

    Wen Lang shouted as he ran, "Brother Lou, hurry up! There are too many of them, hurry and get out."

    Lou Fan responded with a sound of acknowledgment. Then he drew the bow a few times again. A dozen arrows disappeared among the ghosts behind and a bunch of ghosts disappear in an instant. But even if a dozen of them disappeared, no reduction in amount could be seen. He pulled the panting Wen Lang with him. Seeing that Jiang Dong looked okay, Wen Lang quickly followed and walked out of the exit to the waters.

    All of a sudden, Wen Lang''s hand broke free of Lou Fan. Lou Fan turned to look and saw that Jiang Dong¡¯s foot is entangled in the black mist. Bubbles kept popping out of his mouth as he stretched out his hands helplessly and struggled upwards. Quickly, Wen Lang swam towards Jiang Dong. He took hold of Jiang Dong¡¯s hand and pull up.

    Lou Fan held his breath and keep drawing the bow. The spiritual arrows shot towards the black mist that entangled Jiang Dong''s feet, but just as a wisp of it disappeared, another strand of black mist tangled around Jiang Dong again. Lou Fan gritted his teeth. There is only 1 small pearl left in his hand but he didn''t know whether to give it to Jiang Dong or Wen Lang. He doesn¡¯t dare to stop shooting the arrows, and his face turned red from holding his breath.

    Qin Tan at the front noticed the abnormality and swam back. The black mist in the water seemed to sense the existence of their stolen human skin and began to violently surge up. On the other hand, the rest of the people are struggling to swim upstream.

    Ghosts poured out of the hole of the cave. They are not afraid of water at all, and they moved freely in the water. One by one, they rushed to Wen Lang, Jiang Dong, and Lou Fan, who is shooting arrows, while the rest chased after the people in front.

    The group of people is trapped in the water and has to deal with ghosts at the same time, they can only try their best to swim upstream.

    Nie Feng pulled Chen Shuyang as they swam. Holding Lou Fan[2], Qin Tan and Wen Lang¡¯s backpacks in one hand and Chen Shuyang in the other hand, blue veins are popping on his arms. With too much weight, he swam slower and slower. Seeing that the ghosts are about to catch up to them, Chen Shuyang threw out a Thunderbolt amulet while swimming with dog paddle style. Finally, he surfaced a second before the ghost caught him, and is dragged ashore by Nie Feng.

    "Guard the bags here and I''ll go down to help." Nie Feng settled Chen Shuyang on the shore, and added, "Hold the amulets in your hand and throw it at the ghost when you see one. Also, step back a little."

    For every sentence Nie Feng said, Chen Shuyang will nod once. Nie Feng sighed and rubbed Chen Shuyang''s head. Then, he leaned over and dropped a kiss on Chen Shuyang¡¯s forehead before turning around and entering the water again.

    The kiss got Chen Shuyang stunned on the spot. He touched his forehead blankly, feeling like the cold but gentle soft touch still remained there.

    ¡­

    Qin Tan stuffed the last small pearl into Lou Fan''s mouth. Lou Fan turned his head and saw Qin Tan¡¯s greenish face from holding his breath and his eyes turned red. So, Lou Fan leaned down and transfer a breath to him (via mouth-to-mouth). Then, Lou Fan got an idea and his eyes lit up. He took out his only small pearl and handed it to Qin Tan, pointing at Wen Lang.

    Qin Tan nodded, and while waving his Tang sword, he swam toward Wen Lang. He handed the small pearl to Wen Lang, then pointed to their mouths. At the same time, Qin Tan swiped at Jiang Dong''s foot with his Tang sword, severing the black mist. But it is useless as Jiang Dong hadn''t had the time to move yet, and the black mist came to entangle him again. On the other side, ghosts are coming close to them. Qin Tan couldn¡¯t deal with them all and can only fight with the ghosts on one side first.

    Wen Lang stuffed the small pearl into Jiang Dong¡¯s mouth. After that, he kissed Jiang Dong and took a breath from his mouth, the poker at his fingertips kept shooting out. Jiang Dong''s suffocated head finally cleared up a little, and he pushed Wen Lang away to get Wen Lang to go upstream. But Wen Lang turned a deaf ear and vehemently held on his breath with red eyes. Dragging Jiang Dong by the arm while throwing poker, Wen Lang is already out of strength. But in his heart, he is forcing himself, gritting his teeth that he will never let go.

    He will never loosen his hand.

    Both of Jiang Dong''s feet are entangled, and his entire lower body is covered in black mist. His legs are covered with wounds, and the red blood is scattered in the water, like a dull red flower. Jiang Dong waved his hand to let go. But Wen Lang shook his head vigorously, and arrows shot past him one by one, dispersing the surrounding black mist. Wen Lang hugged Jiang Dong tightly, and he looked at Jiang Dong with determination - if you are going to die, then we¡¯ll die together. The poker that flew out of his finger suddenly flashed brightly in dazzling white light, and a huge vortex appeared in the dark and turbulent lake water. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong are wrapped in it, and the surrounding black mist and ghosts disappeared. They are the only ones in the vortex.

    Wen Lang gritted his teeth, holding Jiang Dong and pulling him forward vigorously. His feet swung rapidly alternately and finally, they got out of the dark mist at the bottom of the lake. Wen Lang glanced down and the strength he has been holding on is used up. His body turned soft and the arm around Jiang Dong hung down. It looked like he is going to sink.

    At this moment, Jiang Dong, who had recovered a bit, immediately grabbed his arms. Holding Wen Lang firmly in his arms, Jiang Dong gave him a tight squeeze before starting to swim upstream. With the small pearl, he regained some stamina. Even though it is a little difficult to carry Wen Lang, it won¡¯t be a problem to go up.

    Nie Feng swam down and saw that Wen Lang and Jiang Dong had left the bottom of the lake. Just as he is about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Qin Tan and Lou Fan trying their best to go upstream, followed by a bunch of ghosts.

    Seeing that the ghosts are about to catch up with them, Qin Tan stopped and swung the Tang sword in his hand. From the whirlpool just now, Qin Tan got the idea and swung it like a propeller, and the effect is very good.

    Nie Feng stepped forward to join the battle. His scissors copied the movement like Qin Tan and swung like a propeller. The 2 propellers are powerful, saving some time for the people above them to get ashore. Lou Fan turned around and drew out a cross arrow. He affixed the thunderbolt amulet and shot it between Qin Tan and Nie Feng. The amulet exploded below the two, leaving a gap for them to go up.

    Soon, the rest of the group went upstream. While the people on the shore are waiting anxiously, Jiang Dong took Wen Lang out of the water first, followed by Lou Fan and Nie Feng. Qin Tan is still underwater. He faintly felt that something in his body is about to burst out so he didn''t come out of the water. When he glared at the black group of ghosts, his gaze is icy as if his eyes are about to shoot out ice arrows. The feeling of suffocation didn''t make him faint, instead, he became more awake. Qin Tan held the Tang sword in both hands, and his arms bulged lightly. Slowly, he raise the Tang sword in the water and hacked down sharply in the water. The Tang sword slashed into the water, and a sword aura with a cold light sliced into the darkness, like a bolt of huge lightning splitting in the water. The darkness is divided in two, then disappeared. The black mist that is about to move at the bottom of the lake fell in silence now.

    The people on the shore only saw that the water seemed to be split in half. Then the black mist disappeared and the water felt a little clearer. Lou Fan, who is waiting anxiously on the shore, finally feels relieved when he saw Qin Tan surface from the lake. The water drips from his body as Lou Fan''s legs move forward weakly against the resistance of the lake water. After taking a step, he can no longer move. With a thud, he fell to the shore.

    Other people are no better than Lou Fan. Nie Feng staggered and is supported by Chen Shuyang. On the other hand, Jiang Dong is half hugging and half dragging Wen Lang and Qin Tan is supporting his body with his Tang sword while walking forward slowly.

    Tong Fei and the others immediately gathered around. Some went to help the collapsed people while some helped to pick up things. After they brought the rest of the people ashore, they turned their heads and looked - ei, countless black ghost heads appeared in the lake.

    The combat effectiveness of the intermediate team greatly decreased but Tong Fei and the others didn¡¯t hesitate. They held onto their weapons and face the ghosts head-on. Probably because of lack of skin, most of the ghosts stayed in the water, and very few come ashore so there is less fighting. Tong Fei and the rest quickly killed them off. But even so, a steady stream of ghosts is coming up ashore, until the sky turns white with gold trim from the sun.

    The sun is coming out.

    Without protection, the ghosts sank into the water unwillingly.

    Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

    Tong Fei looked at everyone''s situation and felt a little guilty, "It¡¯s all thanks to you guys. If you weren''t staying behind to fight, we probably wouldn''t have come up so easily."

    Gao Yi also felt the same. His spirit weapon is a nest of bees. Fighting is fine on the shore, but his spirit weapon won¡¯t work in the water at all. So when Lou Fan gave him the backpack, he lived up to Lou Fan¡¯s expectations and managed to bring the human skin ashore safely[3]. Just that he couldn¡¯t help with the fighting at all.

    Qin Tan and Wen Lang are exhausted, and Wen Lang is still in a coma. Lou Fan is exhausted as well. He had pulled the bow no less than a hundred times, and the resistance in the water was so great that his arms don¡¯t feel like his own anymore. On the other hand, Nie Feng''s back is full of wounds. The wounds turned white from soaking in the lake water, and his face is deathly pale.

    After Jiang Dong settled Wen Lang¡¯s condition, he immediately went over to check Nie Feng¡¯s wound.

    "Take off your clothes and let me see." Jiang Dong said while rummaging through things.

    Nie Feng didn''t speak and took off his clothes. There is almost no clean spot on his back. No one knows when he got this injured, he never said a word.

    "The wound is a little deep, and there is also a problem with the water in the lake. The wound is red and swollen, and it needs to be disinfected." Jiang Dong frowned, turning over the flesh of the wound with tweezers while looking for medicine.

    Fortunately, the medicine is prepared well this time, and all of them are good stuff. As soon as the medicine powder is sprinkled on the wound, the cracked purple-red flesh started foaming white as if the flesh was poisonous.

    Chen Shuyang felt a pain in his teeth when he looked at the wound. The naive boy in the past now had red eyes with sadness. Lowering his head, Chen Shuyang wiped the corners of his eyes while pretending to shift his glasses. A big hand rested on his head and Nie Feng''s lazy voice sounded from above his head.

    "What¡¯s wrong, hmm? I¡¯m not feeling painful."

    Chen Shuyang didn''t raise his head. His voice is muffled as he said, "It would be strange if that doesn''t hurt."

    Nie Feng''s eyes curved up and he didn''t speak, but he looked like he is in a good mood.

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan finally recovered a bit. Qin Tan pulled Lou Fan up and checked his whole body. He didn''t see any wounds, so he went to see Nie Feng. Hearing Jiang Dong says he is fine, Qin Tan looked down at Jiang Dong''s feet. The exposed calf under his trousers is covered with red marks, which should have been wounded by the black mist.

    "After putting the medicine on Nie Feng, quickly tend to your own legs."

    Jiang Dong is taken aback for a moment, and then he realized the burning pain in his leg.

    Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang and determined that he is now probably tired. Wen Lang recovering from a coma to a tired sleep, Lou Fan immediately felt relieved. Next, he looked at the Tang sword in Qin Tan''s hand.

    It¡¯s upgraded!

    Raw word count: 3202

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 CH 97

    Gao Yi and Fan Dayong''s eyes are already fixed on Qin Tan, and even Feng Zhi is paying attention to his Tang sword. But Qin Tan himself didn''t care at all. Instead, he went to see his own team members first to make sure everything is fine before finally noticing his sword.

    Gao Yi: ¡­

    For the first time, Gao Yi felt so much difference between types of people. Advanced spirit weapon, the first time he''s seen it in Lazuli after staying for so long. He looked at Qin Tan, could this person be the first person he could see going out of Lazuli? He thinks it should be.

    There is a hint of light in Feng Zhi''s always-cold eyes. She fondly stroked her umbrella, wondering when it would be upgraded again and bring her back to reality.

    The sun rose and the warm sunlight shone on everyone¡¯s body, dispelling the remaining coldness of the lake. The group of people scattered on the shore, some sitting while some resting.

    The human skins have been taken out by them and are spread on the ground, all intact. When night comes, they will enter the woods again to find the black-robed man. Soon, this task will be completed. Lou Fan felt that he is in a good mood. He glanced at Jiang Dong who is applying medicine to himself while checking on Wen Lang, and the corners of his mouth curved up inexplicably.

    On the other side, Nie Feng is talking to Chen Shuyang slowly. Not sure what Nie Feng said but the young boy who was sullen just now had a bright smile on his face.

    His companions are all fine and that makes Lou Fan very happy. What made him even happier is that Qin Tan''s Tang sword had been upgraded again. Lou Fan looked at the bow in his hand. Back at the time in the maze, he vaguely felt that his bow is a little different, but there was no upgrade. Maybe the time has not come.

    At 2.00 pm, Wen Lang woke up leisurely. When he woke up, he jumped up like he got frightened, and immediately fell down again when he saw Jiang Dong who is in good condition beside him. His series of actions made everyone stunned, startled, and then burst into laughter. Wen Lang covered his face and said he doesn¡¯t know anything at all.

    Jiang Dong chuckled in Wen Lang¡¯s ear and pulled his clothes, "Get up. Don''t pretend to be dead and change your clothes. It''s so dirty."

    Wen Lang got up silently with his ears all red. Hiding behind the wooden house and changing into clean clothes, Wen Lang felt much refreshed. He felt less embarrassed when he returned to the house. However, when he turned his gaze, he met with Lou Fan''s playful eyes.

    "Ah Lang, do you feel any difference?" Lou Fan asked with a smile, his eyes swept up and down on Wen Lang.

    Wen Lang immediately hugged himself tightly. Then, he turned to look at Jiang Dong, and asked hesitantly, "It¡¯s, it''s, nothing different, right?"

    Hearing that, Lou Fan burst out laughing. He raised his chin and gestured, "Stupid, look at your poker."

    Having seen Wen Lang¡¯s poker forming a tornado-like vortex in the water before, and ground the surrounding ghosts to dust, Lou Fan felt that his spirit weapon is different. When Wen Lang took the poker out, Lou Fan revealed the ¡®as expected¡¯ expression on his face.

    "My, my poker, upgraded again?" Wen Lang stammered, looking over and over at his poker in disbelief.

    Gao Yi jumped up from the ground, his eyes wide with suspicion. What the hell did the intermediate team do in the water? Why did 2 of their teammates manage to upgrade their spirit weapons? This is impossible! However, the red light from Wen Lang''s poker dazzlingly told him that this is the truth.

    Lou Fan tsk-ed and commented, "It seems that you have a deep love for Jiang Dong. Otherwise, you won¡¯t explode like a Big Bang."

    Wen Lang doesn''t care about blushing now, he just stares at his poker. The surreal feeling in his heart is smoothed out by the touch of his hand, telling him that this is the real thing. His spirit weapon has been upgraded. He became an advanced spirit weapon owner like Qin Tan, even more advanced than Lou Fan''s spirit weapon.

    "This, this..." Wen Lang is speechless from the excitement. He looked at Jiang Dong and Lou Fan and looked around at his other teammates. Seeing that they all smiled encouragingly at him, he immediately calmed down.

    Chen Shuyang said with a smile, "Ah Lang, I will have to rely on you to protect me from now on."

    Wen Lang is about to say sure but when he saw Nie Feng''s face, he pouted, "Che, when will it be my turn? I want to protect Brother Lou."

    "Your Brother Lou doesn''t need your protection." Qin Tan said slowly. Then he raised the Tang sword in his hand and waved.

    Qin Tan looked very much like a male beast declaring his territory so Wen Lang silently shut his mouth, and sat back beside Jiang Dong in a sullen manner.

    Sitting not far away and watching the team playing around with envy, Jiang Rou said, "Sister Fei, their relationship is really good, and their luck is also very good."

    "Their luck is indeed good." Tong Fei murmured. It is impossible to say that she is not envious. Everyone who is struggling in the mission world will have a dream that their spirit weapon can be upgraded as the spirit weapon is their biggest reliance to survive.

    "But." Tong Fei continued sternly, "Didn''t you see how they looked like when they came up from the lake? Everyone looked extremely exhausted and on the brink of death. They fought with ghosts in the water until the last of their breath, and their wounds were bloody. If you also can do the same, then your spirit weapon will also be upgraded."

    The sound of Tong Fei''s voice is not small so both Gao Yi and Feng Zhi who are sitting around her heard it. Gao Yi is stunned, the color on his face keeps changing. Tong Fei is right, it is impossible to get something without paying the price.

    ¡­

    The group of people took the whole afternoon to rest. When the sun slowly went down the mountain, they packed their things and bags, and they waited for the forest to appear.

    The fog is hazy and the shadow of the woods appeared in the distance. At the moment, the lake is calm and the waves nearby are calm as well. The dark clouds enveloped the night sky, and the group stepped to the edge of the woods. This time, Lou Fan is leading the way. Although he doesn¡¯t know the location, he simply picked a direction and goes with it.

    Facts have proved that his sense of direction is still very good. Soon, he saw the traps made by the villagers, which means they are close to their place of residence. At this point, Lou Fan is replaced by Qin Tan. He walked to the front, probing the traps to avoid them. After walking for a while, the group saw the stone mountain where the black-robed people lived again.

    "Village Chief, Village Chief..." Lou Fan shouted a few times and saw 5 black-robed men appear.

    Lou Fan immediately said, "We have been to Holy Lake City, and we also learned that there is no channel between the two lakes. The only way is for you to trust in the lake that nurtures you again."

    Lou Fan said that, but he felt that the men in black robes are not happy to hear it. Lou Fan took out the jade in his arms and handed it over. The two fish jade, one blue and one gold, glowed faintly when it touched the man in black robe.

    The black-robed man holding the two-colored jade stood silently. After a long time, he told the people around him in an elderly voice filled with infinite emotion, "Go and ask the villagers to prepare. Let''s go out of the mountain."

    "Village chief¡­"

    "Go quickly."

    "Yes."

    While they are waiting, the surroundings are silent. Fortunately, it didn''t take long. When all the villagers came out in black robes and stood together, Lou Fan remembered something.

    "We forgot to give them back their thing," Lou Fan reminded.

    Everyone suddenly realized that they have forgotten about the most important thing.

    Qin Tan took out the tarp from his bag and handed it over. He explained, "This is what we found in the cave under the lake. It should belong to you, and I''ll give it back to you now."

    Several bundles of wrapped human skins are handed over one by one. The village chief accepted it with shaky hands and opened the tarpaulin. Dozens of human skins appeared in front of them, and the crowd screamed, not sure if it is surprise or other emotion.

    The village chief suddenly knelt down in front of the group. Immediately, the villagers behind him knelt down one by one after him. The group of people got startled and they quickly came forward to support them.

    "Thank you, thank you..."

    The village chief thanked Lou Fan and looked up at the sky, "We have been waiting for this day to come."

    "Let''s go, it''s time for us to go back." While being supported, the village chief said this and stepped forward.

    Lou Fan and his party followed behind the black-robed people, watching them walk forward steadily while holding the most precious things in their hands.

    Wen Lang approached Jiang Dong and whispered, "What did you think they are going to do?"

    Jiang Dong shook his head, "How would I know?"

    "Are your legs okay?" Wen Lang glanced at Jiang Dong¡¯s legs.

    "I¡¯m fine."

    Lou Fan watched the black-robed people stepping out of the woods, all the way to the ghost lake. Finally, they stopped at the edge of the ghost lake.

    The village chief took the lead and knelt down, with a human skin in front of him, which belonged to him. He raised his arms and stretched forward. Next, he bowed down to the ghost lake and knocked his forehead strongly on the ground. He reverently kowtowed 3 times and stood up tremblingly. His black robe is taken off, revealing the body inside. Under the shocked eyes of the group, the villagers took off their black robes as well and put on their human skins.

    It''s as if the people have grown a new layer of skin, the human skin fits the body perfectly. The old village chief turned back and smiled at them, kind and gentle.

    "We have returned." The village chief said to the ghost lake.

    The dark lake''s surface tumbled as if something is about to emerge from it. Lou Fan clenched the bow in his hand, ready to pull the arrow at any time. The expected big boss did not appear. Instead, transparent figures emerged from it. They looked at the black-robed man below and waved their hands with relaxed smiles.

    The village chief also smiled, and his perfectly fitting human skin made him look natural[1]. He walked forward slowly and dipped his feet into the lake water. Soon, the villagers behind him followed him into the water. When the waters of the lake went over their heads and they disappeared into the lake, a layer of water rippled and 2 fishes jumped out of the water. The golden fish is dazzling while the blue one is lively and lovely. They overlapped each other in mid-air above the water, and then jump into the water again.

    The air felt like a cool wind blowing on a hot and dark night, and it began to spread out from the center of the lake. Visible to the naked eye, the jet-black lake water began to turn clear, and finally, it became crystal clear and one could almost see the bottom of the lake. The rising sun rises from the lake, and under the sun, the ghost lake becomes indistinguishable from the holy lake.

    Countless ghosts floated up from the bottom of the lake. They turned out to look like the same group of villagers just now. The ghosts turned to face the sun with relieved smiles on their faces. Like punctured bubbles, they disappeared in mid-air, turning into dust and dissipating.

    Lou Fan closed his eyes, facing the sun and the lake. He seemed to be in a soft beam of light. It¡¯s like he could see the bundle of light (from the painting) again, and a steady stream of power emanating from it. Lou Fan kept breathing heavily, wanting to breathe in all that power into his body.

    The group of people is still sighing in relief that the ghost lake had finally changed, only to hear a hum. Next, the aura around Lou Fan''s body changed, and the bow in his hand glowed dazzling red.

    Raw word count: 3090

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 CH 98

    [Banana: Hey guys, the end is coming soon so Banana recommend to stack the chapters first, after this chapter. I''ll see y''all at the end then~ (O w O)/ ]

    Lou Fan''s bow has been upgraded!

    No one expects this to happen. Because, number one, they are not in danger, and two, they are not in a battle. Lou Fan just stood there and watched the sunrise, then his weapon got upgraded?!

    Tong Fei and Jiang Rou are not surprised by these happenings from Qin Tan¡¯s team anymore, so they could still tease them. But Gao Yi didn''t think so. He really couldn''t figure out what¡¯s with these people from the intermediate team. Not only did their team member upgrade to advanced spirit weapon, there are 3 of them upgrading at the same time. Since when the advanced spirit weapon becomes so common like Chinese cabbage in the market like they can get one whenever they want it? On the other hand, everyone else looked so calm to this upgrade that Gao Yi felt a little stuffy inside.

    It¡¯s suffocating!

    But no one cares about Gao Yi now. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang immediately come up and start giving rainbow farts (flattery).

    Wen Lang: "As expected of my Brother Lou, you will not fall behind. I already guessed that you will be upgrading soon."

    Chen Shuyang looked around the bow and swiftly gave a rainbow fart, "This bow looks so radiant and beautiful. It must be very powerful. Brother Lou, why are you so awesome!"

    Lou Fan is speechless by the flatteries, "Enough, the two of you. Will you die if you don''t flatter me? Shuyang, don''t get led astray by Ah Lang."

    Hearing that, Wen Lang complained, "Brother Lou, you wronged me, I didn''t do anything."

    "Alright, alright." Lou Fan waved his hand, "You already leveled up before me so don''t stand in front of me. Shush, go to the side."

    Wen Lang smiled and stood aside.

    Qin Tan''s eyes are filled with deep smiles and he praised, "Not bad."

    Lou Fan smiled at Qin Tan, "Thank you, Team leader for the compliment. I managed to live up to your expectations."

    On the other side, Fan Dayong felt a little numb, "Team leader, aren¡¯t they all monsters?"

    But Gao Yi is lost in thoughts. What is the trigger for the upgrade of the spirit weapon? What is the purpose of Lazuli? He didn''t care much at first, but now he thinks these 2 issues are very important.

    The lake has returned to calm. Lou Fan faced the light and said, "I think those ghosts in human skins are actually villagers. They died long ago when they were skinned. The deceased couldn¡¯t rest in peace and their consciousnesses split into 2 halves. One half escaped and entered the fog forest while the other half lives at the bottom of the lake because of resentment. But deep inside, they still wanted to return to their home and live in the village. Then, the black fog at the bottom of the lake may be their resentment. Resentment persists and materialized.¡±

    Although this is Lou Fan¡¯s guess, he thinks the truth must be so. The villagers didn¡¯t get disappointed by the lake that nurtured them but remained hopeful in their hearts.

    Lou Fan stretched and said casually, "This task should be considered completed, right?"

    After saying that, Lou Fan raised his hand to look at the watch. The rest of the group has completely forgotten about it and immediately looks at their watch. Sure enough, the task had been completed, but there are still 7 days left. Just as the group is about to cheer with joy, the mountain range between the 2 lakes in the distance made a loud noise. Looking at it from a distance, only a large hole could be seen.

    "Is this the road to Holy Lake City?" Gao Yi guessed.

    Qin Tan squinted his eyes, but could only see clearly that it is a hole, so he said, "Let¡¯s go and have a look. The time is still early and there''s nothing else here to do. Since there are still 7 days to go, we should go to Holy Lake City to rest."

    The ghost lake village really became a village without ghosts, and the forest behind it also appeared. It is impossible for the group to stay here and wait for the train to arrive. Hence, everyone agreed to go to Holy Lake City.

    When the group arrived in front of the big cave, they can see the opposite side at a glance, and the sparkling lake is in sight. It is indeed the holy lake. The group managed to find the only inn in the city with ease and the inn turned out to be completely different from before. People are coming in and out. Also, the chattering voices could be heard outside.

    Lou Fan¡¯s group showed some doubts and walked in. The innkeeper immediately recognized them and came over to greet them enthusiastically.

    "Guests, you are here again. Hurry up and sit in. Do you need to stay in the inn? There are 4 guest rooms left for today."

    There are only 4 rooms left? Previously, it was so empty that they could choose their room at will. Lou Fan immediately informed the boss, "Boss, we¡¯ll take the 4 rooms."

    The group of people sat down around a table. Qin Tan asked, "Boss, how did business become so good? Did something happen in the city?"

    While wiping the table, the boss smiled and said, "Guests, you probably don¡¯t know about it. Yesterday, there are news from the city lord''s mansion that the city lord had disappeared. Now, everyone is very happy and willing to walk around. Relatives who were afraid to come in the past are visiting again so my business is quite good."

    It seems that the city lord has also disappeared with the changes in the ghost lake. From that, it could be seen that the people of Holy Lake City are also controlled by ghosts, no wonder. They were wondering why though many people are living in Holy Lake City, the atmosphere is so dead.

    The boss smiled and went to prepare the rooms for them. The group is just waiting for the food to be served. Their tensed nerves are finally relaxed, and they happily enjoyed their food and drink.

    "Everyone, you can plan for yourself what to do for the next few days," Qin Tan said. "Do whatever you want to do, and take a good rest."

    Of course, Qin Tan¡¯s main purpose is to prevent people from disturbing his couple time with Lou Fan.

    ¡­

    The ease of not needing to do tasks lets Lou Fan sleep soundly until the next day. He propped his chin up and watched the shirtless Qin Tan doing push-ups in the room. His sticky gaze swept back and forth, and he tutted twice.

    Qin Tan stood up slowly and raised his eyebrows. He looked at Lou Fan and asked, "Satisfied with what you see?"

    Lou Fan licked his lips and said, "Very satisfied." His gaze cast an unbridled glance at Qin Tan¡¯s body down there. But with just a glance, that particular spot suddenly grew and bulged up.

    Lou Fan is shocked and said, "You beast!"

    Qin Tan swiftly unzipped his pants. A deep laugh came out of his throat, and then¡ª¡ª

    THUD!

    Lou Fan got pounced into the bed and his shouts are swallowed up in kisses. During the gap he is breathing for air, Qin Tan said, "I gave you a good night''s sleep yesterday, so now it''s time for me to enjoy myself."

    "Mhmmm... beast!"

    It is already noon after the ¡®exercise¡¯, and the two had a leisurely meal. Then Lou Fan said that he wanted to visit Ah Feng''s house. He really wanted to ask the granny something more. Qin Tan had no objection and followed him. Unexpectedly, when they got there, the door is closed and no one is inside.

    "Granny, are you there?" Lou Fan knocked on the door, "Ah Feng, are you there?"

    After knocking for a few minutes, there is still no response. At that point, Lou Fan knew that, as an NPC, they have finished providing clues and disappeared.

    "Forget it, let''s go for a walk by the lake." Lou Fan didn''t bother too much. It¡¯s fine if they have disappeared, it¡¯s not something urgent anyway.

    ¡­

    In the room, Chen Shuyang is drawing amulets. The biggest consumption of this mission is his amulets. The thunderbolt amulets are used the most, and they are almost used up. He has to make more for them in case of emergencies.

    Nie Feng is sitting opposite Chen Shuyang, wiping his scissors. The small scissors swung around at his fingertips with glinting cold light.

    Chen Shuyang''s eyes drifted to Nie Feng involuntarily. Nie Feng kept moving his hand as if he didn''t notice the gaze. Chen Shuyang pursed his lips and continued drawing the amulets in his hand, but he couldn''t calm down.

    That kiss...

    Chen Shuyang shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate.

    "What''s there to be confused about?" Nie Feng lowered his head, his hands kept moving, and his voice is lazy.

    "You, you..." Chen Shuyang opened his mouth but still couldn¡¯t say anything.

    Nie Feng looked up at Chen Shuyang, his drooping eyes full of seriousness. Putting down the scissors, he stood up and walked around the table to stand behind Chen Shuyang. Chen Shuyang looked up at him, his neck arched in a beautiful arc.

    Nie Feng supported the back of Chen Shuyang¡¯s chair with one hand while lightly squeezing his chin to make him look up. His lazy gaze swept around Chen Shuyang¡¯s face and finally landed on his pale lips. The lazy voice sounded at the same time the man''s aggressive breath descended, and he caught Chen Shuyang¡¯s lips accurately.

    "You are mine."

    Chen Shuyang could only hear the sentence reverberating in his ears. Stunned, he lets the man pull him into his embrace as he invaded his mouth and does whatever he wanted. Then, the tingling on his lips brought him back to his senses.

    "Silly." Nie Feng let go of Chen Shuyang and chuckled. After that, his lips captured Chen Shuyang¡¯s again.

    ¡­

    Wen Lang propped his chin and looked at his spirit weapon poker that he placed on the table with a sad face.

    "Jiang Dong, when will your spirit weapon be upgraded?"

    Wen Lang is a little anxious. After some research, Shuyang pointed out that the condition for going out of Lazuli should be upgrading their spirit weapon to an advanced level. Now, he basically satisfied the condition, but Jiang Dong''s spirit weapon is still at an intermediate level.

    Jiang Dong rolled his eyes at Wen Lang, "Do you think upgrading spirit weapon is like buying Chinese cabbage in the market? How long has it been since you last got promoted to the intermediate level? You upgrading it to an advanced level so quickly is just dogshit luck (super lucky)."

    "Then I''ll give you some shit?" Wen Lang giggled.

    Jiang Dong ignored Wen Lang and continued to wipe his scalpel. To be honest, seeing that 3 members of the team have upgraded their spirit weapon, he is actually anxious. But the person in front of him is even more anxious than him. If he shows it, Wen Lang is even more unable to sit still. This kind of thing is not up to him to decide, it''s no use worrying.

    "There will always be a chance to upgrade, you just practice your poker well," Jiang Dong said.

    Wen Lang nodded, "Okay, then before you could level up, I''ll protect you. ¡®Little lady¡¯, come to this brother''s arms."

    Jiang Dong gritted his teeth, "Is your skin feeling itchy? Sure, I¡¯ll go to your arms. Let''s go to bed and have a good talk."

    Wen Lang immediately jumped up and waved his hands vigorously, "No no no, I''m joking. I still have something to ask Shuyang, I''ll go first."

    After walking around and knocking on the door for a long time, there is no response from Chen Shuyang''s room. Wen Lang could only go back in despair, but got caught by the "little lady" and dragged to bed for a good education.

    "Jiang Dong, be moderate!" Wen Lang growled with his head tilted sideways, laying on the bed.

    Jiang Dong, who is working hard in ¡®tiling the soil¡¯, thrust his waist and said, "Let this ¡®little lady¡¯ love you properly, brother."

    Damnit! He won¡¯t say nonsense anymore!

    ¡­

    Eating and drinking every day, time flies. Qin Tan didn''t let them relax too much so on the 3rd day, he make his team members resume their daily training, they can''t be lazy. Others see their diligence and follow suit to train.

    Tong Fei sighed, "It''s not unreasonable for you guys to be strong. You don''t relax yourself and you do the tasks very seriously. Moreover, your team is united." It¡¯s simply illogical if they are not strong like this.

    Feng Zhi also had a great change in her attitude toward the intermediate team. Her attitude is friendlier, which is quite different from Gao Yi and Fan Dayong.

    It is almost time to go back to Lazuli, which is tomorrow. Qin Tan is exercising by the lake with his teammates when he suddenly saw Lou Fan frowning and clutching at his chest.

    "What''s wrong?" Qin Tan walked over to Lou Fan and supported him.

    Lou Fan grabbed at his heart with 5 fingers. Just now, he suddenly felt a tingling pain in his heart. Other than that, his heart is beating very fast, abnormally fast.

    "I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen." After the pain has passed, Lou Fan straightened up and looked into the distance.

    The other teammates came over to check on him and Lou Fan waved, "I''m fine, but I have a bad premonition. My heartbeat has occasionally accelerated these days, but it was very strong just now. It felt like I have a bad premonition."

    Chen Shuyang immediately chipped in, "Me too, I have this feeling as well. My heartbeat suddenly increased, and then returned to normal again. It happened several times."

    Hearing that, Nie Feng looked at Chen Shuyang, "Why didn''t you tell me?"

    "I thought it was nothing. Plus it didn''t hurt, just beating a little faster." Chen Shuyang replied.

    Among the team, Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang had the sharpest intuition. Since both of them felt that way, Qin Tan couldn''t help taking the matter seriously.

    "Let¡¯s go back and ask Tong Fei if they have the same feeling. Even if they didn¡¯t feel anything, we have to prepare for the worst in advance."

 CH 99

    "Strange feeling?" Tong Fei looked at Qin Tan¡¯s team and seemed a little puzzled.

    Lou Fan touched the bow in his hand and frowned slightly. The handsome young man looked a little troubled, his voice is light but very recognizable, "My heart has been beating fast at times since a few days ago, but I didn''t pay much attention at that time. But in the past 2 days, or the closer we are to going back to Lazuli, this feeling has become stronger. Until today, my chest felt a tingling pain and it hurts. My heart beats so fast that it felt like wanting to jump out of my chest. I feel that something is very wrong."

    Chen Shuyang nodded sharply on the side and echoed, "I also feel my heart beating faster, but the pain is not as powerful as Brother Lou."

    As a Lazuli passenger with an advanced-level spirit weapon, Lou Fan''s strength in all aspects should be said to be above the average person. So when he said ''it hurts'', Tong Fei has no doubts about how strong the pain is. She doesn¡¯t doubt Fan''s words at all. Thinking for a moment, Tong Fei shook her head, "I don''t feel that way."

    After that, Tong Fei looked at Jiang Rou and Jiang Rou shook her head.

    "I have."

    A cold female voice suddenly sounded, and everyone immediately turned to Feng Zhi who is talking. Her gaze is cold, but now she also frowned slightly and said, "I have this feeling. It happened a few days ago, and just now."

    Feng Zhi¡¯s words seemed to hit everyone in the heart with a heavy blow, and everyone''s expression suddenly became serious.

    Qin Tan glanced out the window and said solemnly, "In this case, we have to prepare for the worst, and we can¡¯t rule out that there won¡¯t be emergencies when we return to Lazuli. Everyone should make sure to carry their equipment and items at any time, and it is best not to separate."

    Furball jumped out of Lou Fan''s pocket, and its green bean-like eyes looked around. As if feeling that the atmosphere is not right, it jumped onto Qin Tan''s shoulder and chirped twice.

    Everyone is discussing serious matters here so Lou Fan reached out to teach Furball a lesson (for disturbing them). When he stood up, he suddenly gro.aned and fell to the ground. He curled his body while clutching his chest.

    Lou Fan¡¯s action startled everyone and Furball swiftly jumped onto him, chirping anxiously. Lou Fan opened his eyes with difficulty and said to Furball, "I''m fine, you be good."

    At the same time as Lou Fan''s heart attack, everyone present felt a burst of heart palpitations. Among them, Qin Tan and Wen Lang are second to Lou Fan¡¯s level of pain, while the rest felt a weaker tingling.

    In the span of a few seconds, Qin Tan immediately walked to Lou Fan''s side. He picked Lou Fan up and put him on the bed. Seeing that Lou Fan¡¯s frown start to relax, Qin Tan squeezed his hand gently.

    Lou Fan grimaced, "That''s really painful to death!"

    Qin Tan turned his head to the others and said, "Let''s all prepare. The situation may be worse than we thought."

    Tong Fei¡¯s team and Gao Yi¡¯s team both realized that something is wrong. They left with a sullen faces to their rooms to discuss countermeasures. Wen Lang and the other 3 members did not leave but remained in the room. Qin Tan already said just now that they would be together at any time.

    Sitting up from the bed, Lou Fan held Furball in his hand and rubbed its fur. He glanced over at his teammates, and said, "Let''s take a guess. Tell me about the worst-case scenario you think could happen."

    Brainstorming is useful at any time.

    Wen Lang is the first to say, "Could it be that the next mission will be terribly difficult?"

    Jiang Dong shook his head, "Even if the next mission is difficult, we won''t be going with Tong Fei and Gao Yi again, right?"

    Chen Shuyang thought about various possibilities and guessed, "It is also possible that something is happening to Lazuli."

    Lou Fan thought for a while and glanced at the bow beside him. Then he looked at Wen Lang and Qin Tan, and asked, "Did you feel anything about your spirit weapon just now?"

    Qin Tan nodded, "It¡¯s hot."

    Wen Lang is stunned for a moment and then came to his senses, "Oh yeah, my poker is also hot. I was wondering what is wrong, I didn''t expect it to be a spirit weapon."

    Chen Shuyang and Nie Feng kept looking at Lou Fan at the moment and they heard him say, "Just now, my bow felt very hot. Then only my chest felt painful, no, it should be my heart felt painful."

    Lou Fan¡¯s eyes are serious like never before, "I think the biggest possibility is that we will go directly to the next mission, with Tong Fei, Gao Yi, and the others."

    Qin Tan looked at Lou Fan and added, "Yes, that''s the only way it makes sense. Everyone in the group just now felt it. As for why our spirit weapon felt hot, it should be a special reminder that the spirit weapon has been upgraded to an advanced level."

    There is no panic at all unlike what Lou Fan expected and he pouted. His teammates are so calm, they are not cute at all.

    Chen Shuyang immediately took out his spiritual book and lay it on the table, "Then I''ll draw some more amulets to prepare for emergencies."

    Jiang Dong: "Then let me sort out the medicine."

    Wen Lang looked around in bewilderment. He stared and asked, "Then what should I be doing?"

    Qin Tan: "Go and practice your poker."

    ...

    At about 9:00 am, the group returned to the place where they got off and waited for the arrival of the train.

    Last night, Lou Fan specifically told Tong Fei about his guess. As for Gao Yi and Fan Dayong, Lou Fan felt that those two are not particularly willing to trust his team. Plus, their interactions are just so-so, so he didn''t say anything. After all, Gao Yi and Fan Dayong already knew that something would happen. As a senior passenger with an intermediate spirit weapon, Gao Yi should have the ability to deal with emergencies.

    The train arrived on time, and the group stepped on the train. Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang are a little nervous and got comforted by their partner. Lou Fan''s head is empty. He closed his eyes and didn''t think of anything, he couldn''t stop what¡¯s coming anyway.

    The whistle of the train made a long ''woo'' sound and stopped slowly at random.

    Qin Tan got up and walked to the door of the train compartment first. He turned around and said to his team members, "Act according to the circumstances, we must stay together as much as possible."

    Everyone nodded to express their acknowledgment. Holding the spirit weapon in their hands, the group got out of the train.

    The violent wind mixed with gravel smashed into the crowd, making people frantically cover their faces. After a look around - as expected, they didn''t reach Lazuli.

    Tong Fei¡¯s team and Gao Yi¡¯s team in the next carriage got down together. Gao Yi and Fan Dayong looked around in surprise.

    Fan Dayong couldn''t believe it, "What''s the matter? Shouldn''t we go back to Lazuli? Where is this place?"

    However, what is even more shocking is that there are originally only 2 carriages but many carriages suddenly appeared next to them. People gradually came down one after another, all looking around blankly.

    "My mission should be completed already? Why am I here?"

    There are also some who were originally scheduled to go to their mission world. This is the first time they saw so many people and they are also confused, "Why are there so many people on this task?"

    "Look, their weapons are all mid-level spirit weapons," Lou Fan whispered, in a voice that only his team members could hear.

    Sure enough, the trains disappeared and all the passengers present gathered together. Looking around, orange light shone everywhere, and only 3 of them are glowing in eye-catching red light, which attracted a lot of attention.

    The crowd hasn''t had time to figure out what''s going on. The biggest question is, why are there more than 30 people with intermediate spirit weapons and some even with advanced spirit weapons? What exactly is this mission? How hard will it be?

    Tong Fei stared at the crowd with heavy eyes. Qi Haichao''s* eyes met hers, and he instantly turned his head away.

    The wind and sand around the crowd became bigger in an instant. The gravel brushed their cheeks, causing throbbing pain.

    Jiang Rou took out a few windproof scarves from her bag and handed them to the team, "Take this. The sandstorm is too heavy." She had already put it on and felt much better.

    "Guys, what¡¯s that?"

    Suddenly someone in the crowd exclaimed and everyone look over there. Within the layer of flying sand and rocks in the distance, a rumbling vibration could be heard.

    "There seems to be a lot of people."

    The thunderous aura carried a killing intent. The crowd did not dare to be careless and they all stepped back while trying to see what''s ahead.

    Qin Tan protected Lou Fan and took a few steps back. After staring at the front for a long time, he said, "It''s a troop of Ancient Chinese army, it shouldn''t be real."

    Lou Fan quickly took out 5 stones from his bag and stuffed them into his teammates'' hand. Without identifying the direction, he quickly said, "Put up the 5-element stones. If these are undead, it should be effective. If they are real people, then we can only fight with a real sword."

    Between talking, the icy aura is already approaching. The 5 element stones are arranged in place. Lou Fan and his team members stood in a circle with their backs against each other. They held their spirit weapon tightly in hand, while normal weapons are within easy reach.

    After reaching the advanced level, the team found that the advanced spirit weapons could now be used like a normal weapon, unlike previously when Lou Fan''s spiritual arrow could only deal with spirit-type enemies. Right now, his spiritual arrows are incomparably powerful.

    "It¡¯s coming." Someone yelled.

    Sand and stones are flying all around. It¡¯s painful when they brushed past the people¡¯s skin and flesh. It is dark and the crowd only faintly saw the powerful army running towards them.

    Qin Tan''s eyesight is good, he saw the passengers on the side all take out their equipment and items. Some are sticking amulets while some are putting on equipment.

    It¡¯s getting closer!

    Lou Fan held the bow in front of his chest, his right hand on the bow string.

    BANG!

    A muffled sound accompanied by a circle of ripples spread over the protective cover formed by the 5 Elements Stone array, and the soldiers who hit it disappeared without a trace.

    "It¡¯s useful!" Chen Shuyang shouted happily.

    Countless soldiers slammed into the protective shield, and the dull sound is endless. The team of 6 people hid safely in the protective cover but the others are not so lucky.

    When the soldiers came, the strong momentum pushed most people back for some distance, Tong Fei and the others were still beside them at first. When Qin Tan¡¯s team was arranging the 5 Element Stones array, they are also preparing themselves. But it¡¯s just for the shortest moment when they came into contact with soldiers, everyone other than Qin Tan¡¯s team got carried behind by the force of the impact.

    The overwhelming roar is mixed with the sound of weapons clashing. The surroundings are dark, and in the whistling wind, shouts came from all directions.

    "Team leader, where are you?"

    "Ah Tian, come here quickly!"

    The passengers are all intermediate spirit weapon holders with rich experience. Although some got injured, it is not life-threatening. It''s just that they can''t see the surroundings clearly, and can''t even find their teammates. It''s dangerous if anyone got singled out.

    "Lou Fan, take out the white crystal! Shuyang, the Yang Gathering Amulet!" Qin Tan shouted.

    The 2 items are quickly delivered to Qin Tan, and he immediately stuck the Yang Gathering Amulet on the white crystal. Instantly, with them as the center, a dazzling white light radiated out, and the area within 10 meters radius could be seen clearly.

    "Quick, go towards the white light!"

    "Over there, over there!"

    "Everyone, hold on and gather over the white light!"

 CH 100

    Everyone who saw the white light quickly approached, forming a circle around the white light in a tacit understanding. For a while, they managed to fight evenly with the soldiers.

    In the white light, 10 spiritual arrows are fired in unison. Then at the next second, 10 more flew out. Each of the arrows managed to hit a soldier, greatly reducing the pressure. Poker cards also shot out accurately, not a single miss.

    The soldiers that disappeared didn¡¯t reappear, which means they won¡¯t appear infinitely. After half an hour of fighting, the surrounding storm gradually subsided. The light from the 5 Elements Array gradually diminished and eventually disappeared. Even the crystals placed on the ground became dim.

    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stopped moving the weapons in their hands. They sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

    There are a few wounds on Jiang Rou''s face, which she casually wiped away. She said to Lou Fan and the others, "It''s really a blessing to have you guys here. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome." They happened to be beside Lou Fan and the others when it happened and just started to spread out. Hence, when the white light appeared, they managed to get to the circle immediately, so they didn''t get hurt much.

    Other people who are sitting on the ground, many are bloody with wounds.

    Everyone subconsciously gathered around. In the first round, everyone held on, and no one died.

    A middle-aged man stood up and immediately took on the attitude of a leader. He gestured with palms down to signal everyone to be quiet, "Everyone, everyone, listen to me. My name is Dong Kun. Right now, we don''t know what happened to Lazuli, but 1 point is clear. We must unite to deal with emergencies, and we must work together. Everyone has seen what happened just now, the situation is very dangerous."

    Gao Yi walked up to Dong Kun and whispered a few words to him, it seemed that they knew each other very well. Next, Dong Kun immediately looked toward Qin Tan and his team with disbelief in his eyes.

    The crowd started to chatter, and Dong Kun spoke again, "Everyone should deal with your wounds first. I don''t know when the next attack will come. Preserving strength is the most important thing."

    Medicine is an essential item to bring along, but everyone''s skills are limited. Some handled their wounds simply and crudely. They just sprinkle the medicine powder on the wound and they are done. For a few with more serious injuries, they sprinkled the medicinal powder directly on the wounds, then sat on the ground, like game characters meditating to recover HP.

    As a doctor with occupational habits, Jiang Dong couldn''t stand it any longer and walked over there.

    Dong Kun walked up to Qin Tan and took the initiative to greet him, "Hello, you¡¯re Qin Tan, right? My name is Dong Kun, and I''m also one of the managers of the intermediate-level club. Listening to Gao Yi, your team members had a strong feeling before? I wonder if you know of any other clues?"

    Qin Tan looked at Dong Kun and said, "I think everyone here has the feeling of heart palpitations. As for the other clues, I don''t have them. It''s just we felt the sensation a little stronger."

    Dong Kun understands that everyone''s sensitivity is different, and it may be related to the spirit weapon. His eyes circled around their spirit weapon, and he said with a smile, "Just now, it is really thanks to Team leader Qin. I hope everyone can work together in the future. The more the contribution, the greater everyone¡¯s strength will be.¡±

    This person must have been a party leader in the past. Just randomly puts a ¡®tall hat¡¯* on someone and he wants to make them work for free. What right does he have? Lou Fan curled his lips and pinched Qin Tan''s waist behind him.

    "Mr. Dong, you overestimated us. Our team members are very afraid of death, but we just want to try our best to keep ourselves alive. I don''t know if I can help others but if I can help you along the way, then it''s fine." Qin Tan pushed the ¡®tall hat¡¯ back to Dong Kun.

    Dong Kun didn''t expect the other party to be stubborn like this. He is used to being respected high above, and his ability was not weak. It is rare for him to be treated like this, so his expression doesn¡¯t look good. Gao Yi tried to play the mediator for both sides, and after a few more words, Dong Kun and Gao Yi walked away.

    On the other side, Jiang Dong walked to the injured person and squatted down. He warmly said, "Friend, you can''t do that for this kind of wound. It''s a waste of medicine and you won¡¯t get better. You still need to bandage the wound."

    The wounded person sat up with a helpless look on his face, "I also want to bandage it, but my technique is not good. Although the bandage is said to take up no space, I didn¡¯t bring it with me. So I just leave it like this."

    It''s just a matter of bringing bandages with them then. Jiang Dong smiled gently, "I''m a doctor, I''ll help to bandage you."

    "Will it be bothering you too much?"

    "No." As Jiang Dong said, a strip bandage is pulled out from his cuff. With 2 or 3 moves, the wound is properly wrapped, which could be called a textbook-level standard bandage.

    At this moment, many injured people who don¡¯t know how to bandage their wounds gathered around and asked, "Doctor, can you help me bandage it?"

    "Okay."

    "I also need help."

    "No problem."

    Wen Lang folded his hands and looked at the surrounded Jiang Dong with a proud face, "Tsk, Dr. Jiang is very popular. I feel like he really enjoys being surrounded by people."

    "Call him back if you are unwilling to see that." Lou Fan laughed at Wen Lang.

    Wen Lang shrugged, "Forget it, I respect his career."

    "So be it then. I have a feeling that saving lives and helping the injured is good for him." Lou Fan patted Wen Lang on the shoulder.

    Hearing that, Wen Lang is stunned for a moment. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to walk over, "Then I''ll go and help him."

    "Alright now, you just stand at the side obediently."

    Wen Lang: "I mean to say I¡¯ll help him maintain order."

    Before Wen Lang could step forward to maintain order, there is a tremor under his feet which is stronger than before.

    A sharp whistle sounded, and Dong Kun shouted, "Everyone, pay attention and prepare to fight."

    The 5 element stones are quickly placed in place once again. If the enemy is spiritual-type, it should be useful. If the barrier couldn¡¯t help, they could just save it for next time.

    Tall monsters are rushing from a distance. The huge size gave everyone a bad feeling in their hearts, and their palms are all sweaty.

    "What, what exactly is it?"

    No one can tell what the monster is. It is huge, its head is extremely ugly and its mouth is full of sharp teeth. Armed with sharp claws and fangs, it is extremely fierce.

    Holding the Tang sword, Qin Tan¡¯s arm muscles bulged and he said, "Don''t scatter, be careful."

    Many people started to step back, trying to hide behind others, while some people stayed at the front. Anyway, it is impossible to hide, maybe they can survive by fighting.

    BANG!

    A lot of people are looking forward to the barrier shining as brightly as before to fend off monster attacks. However, the shield is broken! After only blocking for a moment, the behemoth paused for 2 seconds and smashed the protective cover.

    "Scatter!" Then Qin Tan yelled, "Surround!"

    The 6 people who were scattered immediately swarmed forward. Jiang Dong''s bandage is instantly wrapped around it and the beast is caught. The struggling beast fell to the ground in an instant. Qin Tan raised his sword and stabbed it into the beast''s chest. The Tang sword, which shone with red light, easily plunged into the chest of the giant beast. Then with a single slash, the giant beast stopped struggling and died.

    Lou Fan hadn''t had time to shoot his spiritual arrows and the monster is already dead, so he had to turn to the other one. 10 spiritual arrows converged into 1, like a big bird waving its red tail feathers, rushing towards the giant beast. The spirit arrows sank into the giant beast''s head, and then, the running giant beast exploded and shattered into pieces.

    "Wow!"

    The crowd sighed in admiration that these 2 advanced spirit weapons are too powerful, but the scene also gave them infinite expectations, hoping that one day, their own spirit weapons can be this powerful.

    The giant beast is huge and ferocious, but it is not impossible to deal with. Except for Qin Tan and Lou Fan (who single-handedly killed theirs), 2 or 3 people can work together to kill a monster. Soon the huge beasts slowly decreased, and while everyone is rejoicing, there are bursts of sharp screeching in the air.

    A group of birds flew in the air, with broad wings and long beaks with hooks. Seeing the crowd, its screams became more rapid. The birds are very excited and swooped down at the crowd. They pecked at the human flesh with their sharp beaks and tore a large chunk with them.

    "AHH!"

    "Ahhh! No, no, go away!"

    ...

    The birds are so agile that they can hardly be hurt by anyone except for long-range attackers.

    Lou Fan''s arrows split into 10 and flew into the air. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong''s cards and surgical blades are also very good. In the team, 3 of them could attack the monster bird with ease but the rest of the crowd is not so lucky.

    Furball rushed out of Lou Fan¡¯s pocket and pounced toward the strange bird in an instant. They can only see its white figure zipping among the strange birds, and soon the dead bodies of the strange birds kept falling from the sky.

    "Brother Lou, use the thunderbolt amulet!" Chen Shuyang yelled at the side, handing over a stack of amulets.

    Lou Fan casually reached for his arrows, only to find that there are only 2 cross arrows left in the quiver. Before he could think too much about it, he already affixed the spell to the arrow and shot it into the air.

    BANG! The thunderbolt amulet exploded and all the strange birds around it got hit. Dead strange birds fell from the sky one after another.

    Lou Fan didn¡¯t stop to think and swiftly took out 3 amulets and threw them into the air. Then he shot the spiritual arrows, which flew into the air with the amulet and exploded again...

    "It''s useful!" Lou Fan''s eyes lit up, and he instructed without turning his head, "Distribute the thunderbolt amulets to those who can attack from a distance. Do it like me, this method works best."

    There are too many strange birds gathered in the air, and the two sides confronted each other. But the passengers are obviously in a weaker position as many of them had been pecked and injured too much.

    Chen Shuyang pulled out his stack of amulets and is about to distribute it when Nie Feng grabbed him and said, "You stay here and don''t move, I''ll go."

    Chen Shuyang couldn''t say otherwise and reminded, "Be careful. Then, I will continue to draw the amulets."

    Nie Feng turned his head and walked into the crowd to look for long-ranged users with a stack of amulet papers in his hand. But there are less than 10 long-ranged users among the 30-plus passengers. So the stack of amulet papers is divided, and each person received about 3 or 4 amulets.

    That was Chen Shuyang''s entire stockpile. Before this, each of his teammates had 5 amulets, and the rest of them are now with Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan is in charge of the frontal attacking the strange birds, while Wen Lang and Jiang Dong assisted at the flanks. Qin Tan stood beside Lou Fan and tried his best to resist the birds with his Tang sword. The small sleeve arrows on his wrist had already been used up.

    Chen Shuyang squatted in the middle of the circle, quickly drawing amulets. Sweat is dripping from the messy hair on his forehead, and his fingers holding the pen are trembling slightly. A strange bird managed to slip through the encirclement and rushed straight to Chen Shuyang. Just as it is about to peck at his head, a huge pair of scissors suddenly appears and cuts the strange bird with a ¡®kacha¡¯.

    The corpse of the strange bird brushed Chen Shuyang''s arm and fell to his feet. But he didn''t even look at it. His current condition is like an old monk who had entered a deep meditation, only the amulet in front of him is present in his heart.

    With the help of the thunderbolt amulet, a large number of strange birds fell from the sky, but the attacks of the remaining monsters became stronger and stronger. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong gradually unable to resist, and the surging monsters rushed down through the air.

    A tall figure blocked the light and also the danger in front of the young man. There is blood dripping down by his ears, but Chen Shuyang didn''t know it at all. A pair of scissors swung in the air, forming a protective umbrella. He is under the umbrella, completing his mission.

    A strong red light suddenly erupted from the crowd, followed by exclamations.

    Chen Shuyang can''t hear the commotion. He could only see red blood in front of him. Drops of red liquid dripped on the pages of his spiritual book, he raised his head and stared blankly at the man blocking above his head.

    "Nie Feng..." Chen Shuyang murmured softly.

    A burst of dazzling red light shone in front of Chen Shuyang¡¯s eyes. Next, the originally huge scissors now doubled in size. Swinging into a dance-like airtight movement, the minced bird monster''s corpse fell from it.

    The corner of Chen Shuyang¡¯s mouth curved up and he continued to bury his head in drawing amulets. He picked up the pen and closed his eyes, then opened them again. As soon as the pen started moving, a thunderbolt amulet is instantly formed. The amulet emits red light, dazzling and bright. He stood up and flung it into the air, shouting, "Brother Lou, amulet!"

    Lou Fan''s eyes narrowed, and swiftly shot an arrow at the thunderbolt amulet¡ªBOOM!

    The explosion¡¯s shock spread rapidly in the air, sweeping down all the strange birds, and quickly rippling out further...

    Raw word count: 3219

 CH 101

    Furball has long run back when Chen Shuyang shouted to Lou Fan, and now sitting on Lou Fan''s shoulder.

    Everyone looked up at the sky and thought, "Finally, there are no more of those birds."

    "How many advanced spirit weapons now?"

    "That¡¯s amazing!"

    Before Chen Shuyang could be happy with the upgrade of his spiritual book, he supported the collapsing Nie Feng, with a look of horror.

    "Brother Dong, Nie Feng is injured!" Chen Shuyang shouted.

    Jiang Dong immediately came over to help him support Nie Feng to lie down. There are large and small holes in Nie Feng¡¯s body. His flesh got pecked away, and his clothes are already stained with blood.

    "Nie Feng is so fcuking amazing." Wen Lang clicked his tongue and immediately went to rummage for medicine to stop bleeding and muscle regeneration.

    Jiang Dong pursed his lips and said nothing, swiftly tending to Nie Feng''s wound. He removed the damaged flesh and sterilized the area. Then he sprinkled the wounds with medicinal powder and wrapped them with bandages.

    Nie Feng just closed his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything. Chen Shuyang let Nie Feng rest his head against his thighs. He looked down, only to see Nie Feng¡¯s fluttering eyelashes, and his pale face due to excessive blood loss.

    Both Qin Tan and Lou Fan are standing by the side. Lou Fan asked Jiang Dong worriedly, "Is Nie Feng okay?"

    "The injury is very serious." Jiang Dong said in a deep voice, "But fortunately we have enough medicine, so it''s good enough that we stopped the bleeding."

    Lou Fan looked at Chen Shuyang, whose face looked pale. Chen Shuyang pursed his lips tightly and can be seen trembling slightly as he hugged Nie Feng in both hands. Lou Fan opened his mouth but said nothing. He simply turned to look at Qin Tan. If Qin Tan is injured this badly to protect him, he would be more vulnerable than Chen Shuyang now.

    After Jiang Dong treated Nie Feng''s wound, he looked in the direction where a lot of mourning/crying sounded not far away. Many people were injured by the birds.

    "I''ll go take a look."

    Qin Tan nodded, "Go ahead."

    Lou Fan walked up to Tong Fei¡¯s side. She and Jiang Rou¡¯s condition are not bad as they used a protective item during the fight just now. As for Feng Zhi, she used her umbrella as a shield, so all three looked fine.

    "Lou Fan." Tong Fei stopped Lou Fan and said, "I remember that when I checked the data in the club, I also found a strange point. From the data, it seems at a certain period, all the passengers with the intermediate spirit weapon suddenly disappeared together, and never return to Lazuli. Some of them were heading out to do their task while some of them didn''t go back from their last mission. There were less than 10 people with intermediate spirit weapons at that time."

    Lou Fan vaguely remembered that he also seemed to read something like this, but he really hadn''t paid much attention to it.

    "Sister Tong Fei, you mean..."

    Tong Fei shouted at Gao Yi to come over. Gao Yi''s arm is injured, but he had been bandaged, and he came over with a serious face.

    Tong Fei shared her thoughts, and then continued, "Say, is it possible that this situation right now is the ultimate test? For the passengers." Her gaze swept past Lou Fan and Qin Tan¡¯s spirit weapons, both are advanced-level red spirit weapons. Then, she froze for a moment, as if a thought flashed through her mind.

    Gao Yi looked thoughtful, but he is not sure, "I''ll ask Dong Kun. To be honest, I haven''t paid attention to it." Although a lot of information is found in the club, he really hasn''t studied them.

    Seeing Gao Yi turn and walk away, Tong Fei frowned again.

    Feng Zhi: "I remember you guys said it."

    Feng Zhi glanced at everyone one by one, and finally stopped on her own spirit weapon, "That the final condition to leave Lazuli is our spirit weapon. Only when the spirit weapon reaches the highest level then we can go out."

    Lou Fan nodded, "Yes, this is our guess."

    "If this is really the final test as Tong Fei said, then the purpose is self-evident."

    Qin Tan looked at Feng Zhi, "To let our spirit weapon be advanced?"

    Feng Zhi: "Yes. After 2 waves of attacks, 4 people including your teammate have upgraded their weapons to advanced spirit weapons. Adding to you 3 who already advanced, that is to say, there are currently 7 people here who are qualified to return to reality."

    Turning her head to look at Tong Fei, Feng Zhi said seriously, "In terms of ways to level up, Lou Fan is based on perception while Qin Tan is power. Nie Feng is protection, and Chen Shuyang is by drawing amulets in his spiritual book. Wen Lang is also protection, while the other 2 passengers are their will to fight. Those 2 did not even flinch in the battle just now."

    Tong Fei looked at the 2 men that Feng Zhi mentioned, Jiang Dong is currently bandaging them. The one who already finished being bandaged is covered in bandages, like a mummy. She murmured, "In other words, we have to bravely move forward and not be afraid of death in order to let our spirit weapon upgrade?"

    Feng Zhi nodded and shook her head after that, "I think the way should be to stick to your heart and to do what your heart wants and also to remain unmoved by difficulties. There are many ways to advance, it depends on how you follow it."

    ¡­

    Wiping his sweat, Jiang Dong stood up and looked around. All the injured are bandaged. He thumped his waist twice to relieve the numbness. When he looked straight ahead, he suddenly felt a strong emotion.

    Wen Lang walked over to Jiang Dong and helped to massage his waist a bit, "I say, you should mind your own business. They didn''t ask you to help with the bandaging. Who doesn''t have medicinal powder with them? Ain¡¯t it all the same if they sprinkle it by themselves?"

    Jiang Dong smiled and took Wen Lang¡¯s hand, "Just like how you protected me and Nie Feng protected Shuyang, I also felt protective towards the wounded. Physician kindness is sincere benevolence, we won¡¯t refuse to help the needy.¡±

    Wen Lang is helpless with Jiang Dong and is about to sigh when a burst of red light suddenly appeared from Jiang Dong''s body.

    People will only get angry when comparing themselves to another, this is probably the truth. The guy simply stood there and said a few words, and his spirit weapon got upgraded. This really makes the person on the side want to vomit blood, the blood already reaching the throat.

    Lou Fan and Qin Tan noticed the upgrade right away, and they are immediately overjoyed. Finally, all of their members leveled up to an advanced level.

    At the side, Tong Fei and Feng Zhi looked at each other with wry smiles on their lips.

    Feng Zhi: "The epiphany is also a way to level up, but it requires a very firm mind."

    ¡­

    This time, the group of people rested on the spot for more than an hour. The medicine from Lazuli has started working and the injured got better from their wounds. With Chen Shuyang¡¯s support, Nie Feng moved to sit up. His complexion is much better, and Chen Shuyang fed him something to eat.

    "Let''s go forward." Lou Fan suggested to the circle where Tong Fei¡¯s team and his team sat.

    Wen Lang asked, "Brother Lou, are you sensing something?"

    Lou Fan pointed to Furball on his shoulder, "There''s something wrong with Furball. It''s been restless, and I think it might take us somewhere."

    Qin Tan looked at the fur ball. Sure enough, it looked a little impatient, running all over Lou Fan¡¯s body.

    "Then, let''s go."

    Naturally, Tong Fei¡¯s team of 3 girls wanted to follow. Seeing them all standing up, Gao Yi immediately ran over and asked, "Are you going?"

    Qin Tan replied, "Yes, we are going to walk around. Staying here is not going to help anything."

    Gao Yi knew that staying here is not going to help of course, but no one want to take the initiative to suggest moving. Now that Qin Tan¡¯s team is leaving, everyone should be willing to follow.

    And so, the team of 6 people walked in front, followed by a large group of people. At the front of the group is Furball¡¯s figure.

    There is no sunlight in the sky but the barren and dark place gradually became brighter. When people think that something is going to happen, an ancient gate appeared in the distance. On both sides of the gate are walls so long that one cannot see the end, as if it is blocking entry from both ends.

    "What is that?" Someone asked with doubt.

    The group got closer until they could clearly see the 5-story gate. The gate is carved with beams and painted columns, enough to be called elegant. But what is even more surprising is the huge beast''s head on the door. At that 5-story gate, the beast head has occupied most of its space. Though its eyes are closed, one can also imagine its eyes like copper bells. Its fangs are sticking out from the corners of its mouth, making it look like it''s real. The group of people walked to the gate, not knowing whether they should go forward or not.

    Dong Kun assumed the position as the leader and took a step forward. At that moment, the giant beast on the gate suddenly opened its eyes. Being stared at by those eyes, Dong Kun got scared and quickly backed away.

    "ROAR..."

    The head of the beast swayed, and the gate immediately opened. The head of the beast came out from the giant gate. At this moment, the gate is fully opened, revealing the body of the giant beast. It stood up and is actually as high as the gate. The group of people standing in front of it is tiny like ants.

    The beast opened its bloody mouth and stared at the crowd with its copper bell-like eyes as if it is considering who to eat first. Some of the passengers froze in place and while some stood trembling. But they were all tacitly motionless, waiting for the giant beast to move first.

    "ROAR!"

    The deafening roar seemed to explode in their ear. The giant beast stepped forward with its huge claws, and the crowd immediately exclaimed in a low voice and stepped back.

    When the white fur ball flew straight toward the giant beast, Lou Fan is startled and shouted, "Furball, come back!"

    Qin Tan stopped Lou Fan and took him a step back, "Don''t move. Furball is smart, so we see how it goes first."

    "Is that little thing sending itself to death?"

    "It will definitely be eaten."

    "Let''s run away!"

    There is a lot of discussion in the crowd. Chen Shuyang turned his head to take a look, his expression indignant, "Can¡¯t these people say something nice?"

    Nie Feng: "No ivory comes from the mouth of a dog*, ignore them."

    Chen Shuyang agrees with the statement and stares at Furball nervously.

    Furball rushed in front of the giant beast and instantly grew larger. Its figure vaguely enlarged to half the size of the giant beast, and then its shape turned solid. Though Furball''s body is white, it looked ferocious at first glance. Its eyes are fierce, and its fangs are sharp. Furball might be half smaller than the giant beast, but its aura is no weaker than that of the giant beast.

    "ROAR!"

    Furball opened its mouth and roared loudly, the roar is deafening!

    Not to be outdone, the giant beast opened its mouth and roared at Furball as well. Then, the two giant beasts rushed toward each other immediately.

    The group of passengers no longer dared to get so close, and could only keep backing away.

    "What kind of monster is this, it''s horrifying!"

    "I seem to have seen this fur ball in Lazuli, could it be some kind of divine beast?"

    Lou Fan and his team members have always held Furball dear in their palms. It is the first time they saw it transformed into such a big beast. But it is still the little Furball in their hearts, and they all stared at the battle nervously. If something went wrong, they will help right away.

    Facts have proved that Furball is not a ¡®herbivore¡¯(weakling). Although it is smaller, it has a flexible body. It has razor-sharp teeth to bite at the giant beast. The giant beast was bitten all over with blood. The giant beast got bitten until it was bloodied. In the end, it fell to the ground, burying its head, and dared not to lift it up. However, Furball is not satisfied. It roared at the giant beast twice, until it is almost buried in the ground before feeling happy with the result. Then, Furball turned to look at Lou Fan. Lou Fan could see the smugness in those eyes and knew that it is trying to brag.

    Lou Fan rolled his eyes and gave a helpless smile to Furball. Furball ran up to him cheerfully and lowered its head to the ground, asking Lou Fan to touch it.

    "Furball is sure awesome. Now, don''t be spoiled, let''s go first."

    Furball straightened its body, raised its head and chest, and walked to stand beside the lying giant beast. After that, it shook its head to gesture for them to enter.

    Walking past the giant beast, some people still couldn''t help shivering. The giant beast seemed to want to raise its head, but Furball bared its teeth and roared again.

    "ROAR!"

    The beast froze and buried its head in the ground: I don''t know anything! I didn¡¯t see anything!

    The building is quite empty, but as soon as he entered, Lou Fan immediately saw a big tree in the distance. The tree is huge, with luxuriant branches and leaves, enough to cover the sky and the sun. However, in the middle of the tree, a huge group of lights is hidden deep within it, making the whole tree seem to exude a halo.

    Lou Fan recognized the light at a glance. It was the light they had seen before, and the bundle of light in the previous passenger¡¯s data.

    Several people looked at each other and suddenly felt a little excited in their hearts, as if they had waited for a long time, just for this moment. The shadow of the tree swayed and the white light moved with it. Then, a slightly childish voice suddenly sounded. It carried a heavy pressure, and it shook their heart.

    "Someone is here?" it said, and then wondered, "Why are there some little ants too? You are not qualified yet."

    In the blink of an eye, only 6 of them and 2 other passengers with high-level spirit weapons stood there and the rest of the crowd disappeared. With a loud bang, the gate that had been wide open closed immediately.

    Furball shrank into its usual size and pounced into Lou Fan''s arms immediately. The voice seemed to be laughing as it says, "It turns out that you are the little thing that is making trouble."

    Lou Fan wanted to say something. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

    "It''s surprising that there are 8 people this time."

    As soon as the voice finished speaking, 8 balls of light flew down from the tree, and a ball of light sank into Lou Fan¡¯s forehead. He subconsciously closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the surroundings are pure white. Qin Tan and the others are all gone.

    "I can grant you one wish, what do you want?"

    Lou Fan frowned, "Can I go back to the real world?"

    "Of course." The childish voice paused, "I mean after returning to reality, I can grant you one wish. What do you want? Money, power, or fame?"

    Oh, it turns out that there is such a good thing. The bundle of light can actually fulfill a wish. Lou Fan thought to himself, but shook his head, "I don''t want anything. If I can, I want to know why Lazuli asked us to do the tasks. Also, can you let Furball come with me?"

    "En? You don''t want anything?" The voice then said, "What a strange person. Of course, the little one can go with you if it wants."

    "Then I have no other wishes." Lou Fan is satisfied with this.

    The voice asked again, "Are you sure?"

    "I¡¯m sure."

    Lou Fan understood that he will be going back now. He had been looking forward to this moment for so long, but when it finally happened, he didn¡¯t feel any huge emotions.

    Countless pictures passed through his mind. Lou Fan saw himself from the 1st mission to the last mission at Ghost Lake. He has changed. His eyes have become resolute and decisive. He now has teammates in his heart that cannot be abandoned. Also, Lou Fan can see the growth of his teammates, and Qin Tan''s feelings for him along the way.

    The images flashed, and several people he didn''t know appeared. Those people entered Lazuli and then went out. They became great people in the world, scientists, inventors, billionaires, and others who made outstanding contributions to the world.

    For the sake of humankind¡¯s reproduction and inheritance, from the moment they left Lazuli, their genes have since improved. It can also be said - an evolution.

 CH 102

    Lou Fan opened his eyes, it felt like he has just slept for a night, and is a little confused. Rubbing his head, he propped up his body, and for a while, he couldn''t tell where he is.

    "Jiji."

    A cry sounded, and the white ball of fur scurried up Lou Fan¡¯s shoulders and touched his cheek.

    "Furball." Lou Fan leaned over and kissed it, "You really came back with me."

    Lou Fan walked to the window in slippers, reached out, and opened the curtains. The sunlight poured down, causing him to reach out to cover his eyes. Then, the heat from the sunlight started to fill the room.

    At this moment, a knock sounded on the door, "Senior brother, we are ready to go to the arena."

    So there''s still a competition today? Lou Fan responded, "Okay, I''ll come down right away."

    After cleaning up, Lou Fan went downstairs. He is already good-looking to start with but his junior brother still got stunned when he saw him, "Senior brother, why do I think you are not the same as yesterday?"

    Lou Fan propped his chin and looked at his junior brother, "Which part is different?"

    The junior brother, who originally thought that Lou Fan¡¯s temperament had become fierce, stared at Lou Fan for a second. Then his face turned red, stammered, "It¡¯s, it''s just a little different. Senior brother, let''s go." After he finished speaking, he grabbed his backpack and quickly ran away.

    Puzzled, Lou Fan touched his face and wondered, "Huh? Am I becoming scary?" He felt like he had a very gentle expression just now.

    ¡­

    Without any suspense, Lou Fan''s team won first place in the competition. After the game, the young ladies who has been waiting eagerly for a long time rushed over and gathered around Lou Fan to ask for autographs.

    It is the first time Lou Fan encountered such a situation, and he looked at his junior brother at a loss, "Hey, junior brother, what''s going on?"

    "Senior brother, you don''t know how handsome you were just now! You were so cool, so manly!"

    Lou Fan don¡¯t think he could count on his junior brother to help with anything, so he had no choice but to pick up the pen and start signing. After finally signing the pile in front of him, his fingers are sore.

    "Can you sign for me too?" A low male voice sounded, and a broad palm is handed to Lou Fan.

    Lou Fan has held this hand many times.

    "Okay." Lou Fan said with a smile. He picked up the pen and signed his name on the palm of the man¡¯s hand before raising his head.

    The man wore casual clothes. He restrained his fierce aura but still, he didn¡¯t look ordinary in the crowd. The man glanced at the name signed in the palm of his hand and clenched his fists, tightly grasping the name into his hand.

    ¡­

    The two sat in the restaurant. Lou Fan adjusted his cuffs, and the person sitting on the opposite keep staring at him as if to strip him off.

    "Haven''t seen enough yet?"

    "Not enough." The man replied without hesitation.

    Lou Fan smiled helplessly, "Order first, I''m hungry."

    Qin Tan immediately called the waiter and ordered dishes skillfully, all of which Lou Fan liked.

    The phone on the table rang, it is from an unfamiliar number. Lou Fan pressed ¡®Accept¡¯ and put it to his ear.

    "Hey, is it Brother Lou? It''s Brother Lou, right?! I''m Wen Lang! Woo woo woo, we''re finally back. I''ve already called Shuyang, and Jiang Dong is with me now. Wait for us there, we''ll be right away!"

    Before Lou Fan could make a sound, Wen Lang blabbered a long list of stuff without gasping for breath, as if already confirmed that the person on the other side of the line must be Lou Fan.

    "Okay, Qin Tan and I are waiting for you."

    "Ah ah ah ah, Brother Lou! I just knew it. Gotta end the call now, we are boarding the plane."

    Lou Fan: ¡­

    People who act first before thinking are sure fast with their actions.

    At 3.00 pm, 6 people successfully met up. However, everyone just stares at each other wordlessly and seems a little afraid to recognize each other.

    Nie Feng chuckled and spoke first, "Hello, it''s the first time we meet. I''m Nie Feng, a hairdresser."

    Following his introduction, everyone burst out laughing.

    Wen Lang stretched, not feeling unfamiliar at all. This kind of interaction is so familiar.

    "Let''s go on a trip. I haven''t relaxed for a long time. Every day in Lazuli, I struggle at the edge of death and at how I¡¯m going to die. I think I¡¯m going to have a nervous breakdown."

    Chen Shuyang had a complicated expression and asked hesitantly, "Do you think Sister Tong Fei and the others will come out smoothly?"

    "Lazuli¡¯s purpose is for screening for the best. Those who can come out will have their memories. And the others who got eliminated in that screening are just passers-by, They might experience it but won''t remember the details. Tong Fei and her team will definitely come out but the only difference is whether they can remember us or not."

    Lou Fan looked at the people coming and going outside and said, "Maybe everyone on this road has been in there, but they don''t remember it."

    ...

    In a resort cabin, 6 people raised their wine glasses and toasted each other.

    "This is to celebrate our escape from that damned Lazuli." Wen Lang raised his head and gulped the wine down.

    Lou Fan took a sip and said, "Actually, Lazuli is quite interesting. Don''t you think you have changed since you came back?"

    Chen Shuyang replied, "I think so. I feel that I have improved in all aspects, even my worst physical strength is different now."

    Qin Tan leaned against the back of the chair. He is a little different from when he was at Lazuli, "Shuyang, that''s what you trained yourself. Of course it''s improved."

    Chen Shuyang retorted, "Brother Qin, I feel that my mind has changed as well."

    Wen Lang: "Change to being stupid?"

    "You''re stupid."

    Lou Fan watched the 2 childish young men quarrel and smiled. Of course it would be different, otherwise, how could those outstanding people achieve great things? Except that the spirit weapon cannot be brought out, the things they obtained from Lazuli are indescribable in words.

    Furball stomped on Wen Lang''s face and jumped onto Chen Shuyang''s shoulders. Then it helped Chen Shuyang to chirp (banter) with Wen Lang.

    "Tsk, Furball, you dared to step on me. Do you not want to eat snacks anymore?"

    Jiang Dong and Nie Feng clinked glasses and drank their wine, not planning to participate in the quarrel between the 2 children.

    Jiang Dong raised his glass to Qin Tan, "Thank you, Brother Qin, for covering our trip. Otherwise, my monthly salary will be gone."

    Lou Fan laughed and follow the flattery, "Yes, yes, thank you Boss for your generosity."

    Qin Tan stared at Lou Fan and said, "You are the one who is generous."

    "Me?" Lou Fan puzzled asked.

    "All mine is yours."

    Lou Fan laughed, "Looks like I got myself a bigshot."

    Wen Lang: "Congratulations, Brother Lou is about to reach the peak of his life."

    "Come, come, have a drink!"

    ...

    Jiang Dong helped Wen Lang to walk to the room. Wen Lang waved his hand and kept shouting, "Shuyang, come, have another drink. Brother Lou, don¡¯t forget your friend when you get rich¡­¡±

    Jiang Dong is going to be annoyed to death by Wen Lang. Already gotten drunk and now he acts like a drunkard. Can''t hold it anymore, he warned with gritted teeth in Wen Lang¡¯s ear, "Behave yourself or see how I ¡®take care¡¯ of you when we get back."

    Hearing that, Wen Lang loses it. He turned to look at Jiang Dong with misty eyes and pointed his index finger, "Jiang Dong, you¡¯re sure good huh? The person who reaps the benefit is you. The person who ¡®ate¡¯ me cleanly and being irresponsible is you too! You dare to be so fierce to me! I won''t serve you anymore!"

    Jiang Dong: Who the hell is serving whom?!

    Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Dong leaned in and kissed Wen Lang fiercely, biting on his lips.

    Wen Lang covered his mouth and didn''t seem to react, but he didn¡¯t make any more trouble. Jiang Dong immediately rushed back to the room while carrying someone. His head would explode if the person quarreled again.

    Jiang Dong put Wen Lang in the black bathtub in the bathroom. In the tub filled with warm water, a pale and tender person is lying in it. When Jiang Dong took the bath towel and went in, he saw the young man with closed eyes resting his head on the edge of the bathtub, breathing lightly and shallowly.

    Jiang Dong walked over and wiped Wen Lang¡¯s cheek lightly, "Wen Lang, Wen Lang, get up first, you''ll catch a cold later."

    Wen Lang muttered an ¡®en¡¯ and opened his eyes a little. He looked at Jiang Dong with slender, steamy eyes. The misty eyes are wet and it tickles Jiang Dong¡¯s heart under the dim, ambiguous light. Jiang Dong is about to get up when his neck is hooked by a pair of arms. The arms gently pulled forward and their lips are pressed together.

    "Hiss."

    When Wen Lang lightly gnawed at his lips, a nameless fire burst forth from Jiang Dong¡¯s body, burning his whole body unbearably.

    A bundle of wet clothes is thrown on the ground. Someone stepped into the bathtub, causing the water to overflow from the bathtub. The rippling water waves rolled up and down in the bathtub. The young men stuck their heated bodies together with enthusiasm, and the sound of splashing water accompanied by out-of-tune gasping formed the most beautiful music of the night.

    ¡­

    Chen Shuyang became very obedient after drinking wine. He is motionless and half-held by Nie Feng as Nie Feng is leading him to his room.

    Lou Fan shouted from behind, "Nie Feng, take good care of Shuyang."

    Nie Feng turned back and smiled, making Lou Fan tremble all over.

    "Did I say wrong?" Lou Fan asked Qin Tan.

    Qin Tan solemnly maintained the ¡®harmonious life¡¯ of his team members and said, "No, you are right. Let''s go for a walk, I''m a little dizzy."

    Standing in the bathroom, it can be seen that the bathroom in this room is very large. The washbasin is especially large and a whole mirror is built into the wall. Chen Shuyang stared at himself in the mirror with a flushed face. At this moment, the drunkenness has reached his head and he feels hot all over.  Taking off his glasses, Chen Shuyang turned on the faucet and poured a handful of water on his face. The water flowed down his neck, and the white T-shirt is soaked all around his neck and slowly expanded to his chest. The transparent fabric became sticky to the chest, and the rise and fall of the chest could be clearly seen.

    After taking off the glasses, Chen Shuyang¡¯s eyes look wet, like a confused deer. He raised his eyes and saw from the mirror that Nie Feng is leaning against the door frame. Nie Feng¡¯s drooping eyes are staring at him lazily, and his whole body exuded an aura of laziness.

    "Your clothes are wet?" A lazy voice sounded. Nie Feng¡¯s eyes fell on Chen Shuyang''s chest and his eyes darkened.

    Chen Shuyang looked down at his clothes. It is uncomfortable that his shirt is sticking to the skin. He turned around and prepared to go out. However, Nie Feng started walking towards him slowly while looking at him with deep eyes. Chen Shuyang took 2 steps back in a daze and then his waist bumped against the sink, there is no way to retreat.

    Nie Feng pinched the hem of Chen Shuyang¡¯s clothes and lifted the clothes, swiftly taking off the T-shirt. He stared greedily at this body full of vitality, watching him tremble slightly under the light.

    "Nie Feng."

    Chen Shuyang called out in a low voice, staring at Nie Feng with his eyes full of him.

    "Mhmm¡­¡­"

    A hot kiss came and Chen Shuyang is forced to raise his neck to meet the kiss, the big palm imprisoned him from the back of his head. After being kissed dizzily, Chen Shuyang realized that Nie Feng is so much taller than him. His hands unconsciously climbed up the man''s neck and he stretched his neck, trying to match the height of the kiss.

    Nie Feng let go of Chen Shuyang¡¯s mouth and gave him a deep look.

    The remaining clothes dropped to the ground. At this moment, Chen Shuyang is supporting himself at the sink with both hands and looked at himself blushing in the mirror. His head and neck are raised to an arc, and sweat dripped onto his back from Nie Feng¡¯s forehead behind him.

    Chen Shuyang bit his lip, not daring to gro.an.

    "Alright, don''t bite your lips, it''s all red."

    Though saying that, Nie Feng didn''t stop his thrusting. His waist moved faster and faster, and Chen Shuyang tightened up.

    "Relax, relax..."

    The man gasped for breath, and a huge pleasure transmitted from the center to the brain to the whole body. At the same time, Chen Shuyang bit his lip and a sensation exploded in his mind.

    ¡­

    The bright moonlight sprinkled on the sea, the salty sea breeze blew from a distance, and the dry heat after drinking is blown away. Lou Fan, on a whim, threw off his shoes and walked into the sea.

    Qin Tan let Lou Fan go at first. But Lou Fan walked farther and farther, the seawater reaches his chest but he didn''t stop.

    "Lou Fan, come back." Qin Tan ordered strictly.

    Lou Fan turned around, the moonlight behind him shone against the light, making it impossible to see his face. Qin Tan didn''t have time to think too much. He took off his clothes and went into the water. This place is originally sparsely populated, and they are on a private island so there is no one else at all except the two of them at night.

    Qin Tan swam and finally caught up with the person after some effort. He pulled and Lou Fan turned around, looking at him with burning eyes.

    Qin Tan originally wanted to be angry with Lou Fan. But when he saw Lou Fan¡¯s bright eyes, he couldn¡¯t say anything. Lou Fan smiled brightly and hooked his arms around his neck before sending a hot kiss.

    Qin Tan took over the control and pressed Lou Fan¡¯s head to deepen the kiss. At this moment, he just wanted to hug Lou Fan quietly and melt the person in his arms into his body. He didn''t want power and money, he just wanted this person in front to stay with him.

    Lou Fan opened himself enthusiastically, letting Qin Tan love him over and over again. At a climax, he heard a voice in his ear saying, "I love you."