Shekh said nothing, tightened the chains, and took the life of the man with the round glasses.

Items rained down on him, and the last one to fall was a skill card.

Skill Card: [Mechanical Transformation]

Skill effect: Can modify the structure of mechanical items. The degree of transformation depends on the player's understanding; the deeper the understanding, the smoother the transformation.

"It's a good thing." Shi Jinzhe took the skill card. He wouldn't sell it; he would research the mecha, Gundam, and Autobots once he left the game.

We wouldn't let him play with it in junior high, saying that playing with things would ruin his life, but now we finally have a legitimate reason to do so.

It would be amazing to be able to transform a steel behemoth into one.

Other items included about a dozen corn bombs, several guns, and luckily, plenty of bullets.

Including the trio who hammered the car at the beginning, there were eight guns, more than two hundred bullets, a prop chain, and a special ring.

Item: [Heart-Fluttering Ring]

Effect: Can be used once per day. Targets the original inhabitants of the instance world, increasing their affinity with the player to 100% for five minutes. A great aid in obtaining accurate information. (Cannot be used in the original world)

Shi Jinzhe: "This is also good; it's very useful in puzzle-solving dungeons."

"It's great that we don't need to verify the authenticity of the information twice." Shekh ransacked the SUV that had been smashed and deformed. There was still some food left, but no water.

She took out the four golden cocoons, retrieved the car from her spatial ring, and placed it together with the other two wooden boxes she had obtained.

Including the one they used to guide the way, they now have a total of seven golden cocoons.

Shi Jinzhe, who was standing to the side, picked up all the props and said, "Let's find another place to rest tonight, somewhere far away from here."

"It will be all right."

Shekh got back into the car and checked the condition of the golden cocoons one by one in the wooden boxes.

Shi Jin drove with one hand, and after traveling more than fifty miles, he stopped under a large rock that had been weathered and dented.

"Time has come to break them; look at these few cocoons."

Two wooden boxes were placed side by side on Shekh's legs, each containing a golden cocoon.

One was soft and translucent, looking very fragile; the other was shiny, with a tough and elastic metallic cocoon shell.

"This is the hard evidence we obtained about ten days ago, and this soft evidence is from the people I just plundered."

Holding up the golden cocoon she had been studying the map on every day, she said, "Look at this one again. This is the one that the system distributed to us. Its shell is very strong, unlike these two. You have affected the growth rate of these golden cocoons."

“Those who follow us have become stronger.”

“Yes, and this too.” Shekh took out another map. “This is the map we found in that car. I noticed that the maps are different when illuminated with different golden cocoons.”

"Different routes?" Shi Jin leaned closer, "Does that mean each golden cocoon is headed to a different destination?"

“The path you take at each stage is different,” Shekh demonstrated to him.

The same map was illuminated by two golden cocoons, the softest and the hardest; the hardest cocoon showed a shorter distance.

"Our golden cocoon saves us the journey."

Shekh tried all five maps. “Look, they’re not going through a rainforest, but a very large stone forest. Although you can drive through it, it’s very winding.”

Thinking of the four people and the dusty car, Shi Jinzhe said, "It might not just be about saving us time on the road, but also about providing water and food."

Rainforests are rich in resources; as long as you're not too lazy, you won't starve.

Although you have to walk around there, you can find plenty of necessities, which is much better than the barren and empty Stone Forest.

“Our golden cocoons are smarter,” Shekh concluded.

"Passive evolution, I suppose. It's probably the difference between an eight-year-old and a three-year-old." Shi Jinzhe patted the wooden box in his hand. "Ours is more mature, so it gives clearer directions, knows how to choose its location, and can even warn of danger."

Shekh touched the wooden box twice. "Good boy."

The energy she expended while eating wasn't wasted; she just never wants to hike for ten days in the rainforest again, and she doesn't want to put herself through that again.

The golden cocoon vibrated its metal shell, which could make a sound when tapped with its fingernails, as a response to Shekh.

The vibration reached Shekh's hand, and she asked curiously, "Can you understand me?"

The golden cocoon trembled.

Shekh found it amusing and started talking to the golden cocoon.

Shi Jinzhe listened for a couple of minutes and said, "You'd be better off talking to me than to it; I can give you more feedback."

"I can talk to you every day, but I can't talk to a butterfly."

"Alright."

When the time is up, you have to accept your fate.

On a whim, Shekh started chatting with the group of butterflies. He sat there watching them for a long time without getting bored.

Can you fan a storm?

The golden cocoon trembled.

What were you like before you transformed into a cocoon? A caterpillar, perhaps?

The golden cocoon shook twice.

"These flowers are so small, is the nectar sweet? Is it enough for you to eat...?"

They chatted until midnight, and the two, having gained a lot, went to sleep and had a good night's rest.

Day 21 of the game.

Due to the unexpected situation last night, Shi Jinzhe set his alarm for 8 o'clock, and slept two hours longer than usual.

After breakfast, at 8:40, the car set off.

Shekh didn't sleep like she did yesterday. She would occasionally say something to Jinjian, such as, "Were there many flowers here before?"

It's one thing for wildflowers to grow in snow, but it's rather strange that Shi Jinzhe could produce a field of flowers in such a place.

The golden cocoon trembled twice, and after Shekh finished asking his question, it suddenly changed course.

"When the time comes, turn right at the fork in the road ahead. Don't continue straight. Follow the redder hill."

"Is there danger again?" Shi Jinzhe sped up.

"I don't know, the butterfly didn't flash, it just changed its course."

Shi Jinzhe dared not relax, as there were too few animals here, and no unusual phenomena to give him any clues.

After cautiously driving along the red hills for two hours, the two discovered a large area on a weathered cliff...

honeycomb.

A huge beehive hangs on it, surrounded by swarms of bees.

Golden honey drips down, its cloying sweet aroma filling the nostrils, rich and enticing.

Shi Jinzhe got out of the car, looked up at the syrup wall, and said, "Honey is a good thing, it must like you very much."

"Maybe it also wants something sweet."

"But the question is, how do we collect the honey?"

The rock bees up there are huge! A swarm of bees is buzzing around, and Shi Jinzhe's head is about to explode. Collecting honey without harming the bees and the hive is really quite difficult.

"...You are very attractive."

Shi Jinzhe slowly looked over: "So...?"

"So you attract the bees' attention while I collect the nectar."

Shech ran her finger across his face, leaving a purple mark. "This will protect you."

Shi Jinzhe touched the mark on the side of his face, "What is this?"

"It might be my blood. These bees are different from the low-intelligence creatures that bite you in the rainforest. They have a sense of community. You don't have the ability to intimidate them. This can help you disrupt the bees' cognition for a short time, and you won't get stung even if you get close."

Being stung by these fist-sized bees is no different from having a barbed steel needle pierced into your flesh; even if the sprain heals on its own, it will still hurt.

"Blood?"

Shi Jinzhe grabbed her hand: "Are you hurt?"

“I’m not injured.” Shekh spread his fingers, and a little purple condensation appeared on his fingertips.

"It seems like I can share energy in this way."

Shi Jin frowned deeply: "Then all this purple mist is your blood?"

In that sense, he realized that he had never actually seen Sheikh injured and bleeding.

“I can’t explain it either. It suddenly came to mind when I received that bouquet of flowers from you yesterday.” Shekh withdrew the purple liquid from his fingertip. “You can take it back. I won’t hurt myself.”

"...Would you like to drink some blood to replenish your energy?"

"No." Shekh took a step back, the aftereffects of drinking blood were too strong, and politely declined.

Moreover, she wasn't sure if it was blood; she only said it might be blood because it came from inside her body.

"Just give me some honey, not too much."

"Is just some honey okay?"

"Hmm, just a little bit."

At the end of each instance, the items in the ring will be cleared to prevent players from carrying them to the next world. Taking too much honey would be a waste of the hard work of these little bees.

Shi Jinzhe said, "Then you hold the jar down there and catch it."

The suspended beehive is more than four meters above the ground, so he needs a ladder.

He took out three tree trunks he had collected in the rainforest from his spatial ring, and broke one of them into several sections to make a simple wooden ladder.

Leaning the ladder against the stone wall, he shielded his face and arms, waved to disperse the bees that had settled on the hive, and then cut off a piece with a knife.

The thick honey drips down the cut, and when you pinch the outer skin, the honey is so plentiful that it can hardly be contained; it overflows with just a gentle press of your finger.

He threw the cut-off piece into Shekh's bucket, and then went to cut a second piece.

There was plenty of honey. Sher shook the jar and said from below that it was enough and there was no need to cut any more.

She wiped the honey off the rim of the container, licked her fingers, and said to Shi Jinzhe, "This honey tastes very good, not too sweet or watery."

"Shall I cut two more pieces?"

"No need, this is enough."

Shi Jinzhe climbed down the ladder and forced all the flowers near the rock to bloom.

Shekh stared at the flowers: "There's no vegetation around here, I wonder where they got this nectar from."

Shi Jinzhe: "They went far away, or they left some food that they hadn't finished eating."

"There must have been many flowers growing here, but the flowers and bees in this world are not the same size. These bees must have to eat a lot of nectar to feed themselves, right?"

“Yes, they need to fill their stomachs too.” Shi Jinzhe took the jar. “It’s sticky. Give it to me. I need to filter this a few times when I get back.”

"She's quite clingy, here you go."

Back in the car, Shi Jin cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth. "It's so sweet it hurts my throat, but it's very fragrant."

He filtered the impurities out of the honey with gauze, peeled and sliced ​​the thick-skinned, thin-fleshed Revenge Lemon, and then boiled it into syrup.

Shekh dipped his chopsticks into the syrup every now and then: "When can we drink it?"

"Soon, would you like something cold? If so, I'll put it in ice water and freeze it."

"Yes, the ground outside is warped from the sun, it's very hot."

"Then I'll have it on the ice, and you can drink it on the way."

Having done all this, Shi Jin set off again in the afternoon.

For five consecutive days, the two drove among the colorful rocky hills.

Day 26 of the game.

They have traveled a total of 6,400 li (approximately 3,600 kilometers) in total.

The air temperature rose further, reaching 43°C.

On the twenty-seventh day of the game, the colorful stone hills gradually disappeared, and the withered and twisted trunks of the poplar trees came into view.

On the twenty-eighth day of the game, the daytime temperature exceeded 50°C, and a barren desert appeared.

High temperatures and sandy terrain became the biggest challenges for vehicles traveling on the road.

Shi Jinzhe gazed at the desert and adjusted the tire pressure: "The daytime temperature is too unfriendly; we need to change our travel method to traveling at night."

At this daytime temperature, the car would be ruined in less than two days. At night, it just means you can drive a little slower, but it's still much better than having no car at all.

"I don't know, you figure it out yourself." Shekh held a glass of ice water, looking listless and almost dried out like a snake.

Even air conditioning can't save us from the scorching sunlight streaming through the windshield; it's so intense that just sitting here is torture.

She turned to look at Shi Jinzhe: "Aren't you going to get sunburned?"

"It's sunburnt. I suggest you comb your hair up; it should make you feel better."

“I can’t,” Sheikh said expressionlessly.

"If you're not afraid of becoming ugly, I can give it a try."

Without hesitation, Shekh answered, "I'm scared."

Seeing her gather her hair from left to right and then put it back down, Shi Jinzhe hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back. He really wanted to tell her to let him try.

Finally, evening arrived, and the temperature dropped.

Schech returned to the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief, "The sun is finally gone."

Shi Jin unbuttoned his collar: "I'll rest during the day tomorrow and travel at night. I can read the map by myself, so you don't need to come with me."

"I'm afraid no one will talk to the butterfly; it's too lonely."

“I talk to it.”

"I want to hear it."

"What are you listening to? I'm not going to say anything bad about you." He stood behind Shekh and smoothed her hair.

Even after straightening her hair, she didn't stop, weaving through the strands of hair back and forth, trying to figure out how to put her hair up in a bun.

Her restless fingers accidentally touched the black ribbon behind Shehr's head. She immediately turned around and protected the ribbon, saying, "Don't touch it."

Glancing at the upper half of her face, Shi Jinzhe asked, "Is this ribbon something that no one could loosen except you taking it off yourself?"

Shekh pressed down on the ribbon: "Yes, no one else can take it off."

"Why did the ribbon turn into black scales after you became a snake? Is it part of your body?"

“No.” Shekh lowered his head, trying hard to recall the past.

"In the scenes I can remember, I hadn't put this on yet. Someone put it on me later, but I forgot who it was."

A blurry figure flashed through my mind; it seemed to be a person with long hair…

Sher tried to see more clearly, but all he saw was a long, dark hair, like silk, hanging to the ground.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through her nerves, as if a sharp sword had pierced her head, and an excruciating pain instantly struck.

Shi Jinzhe quickly supported her shoulders, "If you can't remember, then don't think about it."

He let Shekh lean on his shoulder, and through a ribbon, he stroked her eyes, swallowing back the words he wanted to say.