Chapter 12 Island Adventure 5

"No problem, it works very well." Luo Qing gave a thumbs up.

"I didn't expect you to be able to make this up, Brother Mu," Fang Tai said, somewhat surprised.

Mu Qimeng continued weaving, saying, "When I was little, my family was poor, so I did this with my grandfather to supplement the family income."

Recalling her childhood, Mu Qimeng's face revealed a look of longing and nostalgia.

He blinked hard, suppressing the tears in his eyes, and gave a bitter smile. "I don't know when I'll be able to go back again. I just confessed to the girl I like before I came here, and I haven't heard her answer yet."

Mo Ming lowered his eyes, spoke in a hoarse voice, not holding out much hope, "I hope we can all return to our roots."

Fang Tai's eyes reddened slightly, but he forced a smile. "I definitely will. Maybe I'll wake up one day and go back."

Luo Qing stared at them blankly. Having grown up in an orphanage, she didn't have much attachment to the real world. In fact, because of Fufu's companionship, she wished she could stay in the game forever.

So everyone misses home this much?

But I remember the headmistress scolding her while drying her hair after she came home in the rain; I remember the stranger's kind greeting in the morning...

Thinking of all this, Luo Qing's eyes welled up with tears. She seemed to miss the orphanage a little. Although she grew up there, she didn't seem to lack love.

"We will all be able to go back." Luo Qing encouraged herself and the three people next to her. "That's why we must try our best to survive. Only by surviving can we have hope of going back."

Mu Qimeng handed the woven shovel to Mo Ming and Fang Tai. The group patted their clothes and stood up.

The four of them silently repeated their actions, digging out a piece and putting it into their backpacks, then continuing to dig out the next piece.

Luo Qing suddenly spoke up, "Do you think we really came to the game because of Earth's harsh environment?"

"Do you really think the Earth's environment is that bad? The night before we came here, Luo Ge and I were stargazing on the mountaintop. The evening breeze rustled the leaves, and the stars dotted the night sky. It was incredibly beautiful." Fang Tai smiled slightly, his tone filled with longing.

“The system’s attitude towards us is strange,” Mu Qimeng added.

"Yeah, I think so too. It seems pretty friendly on the surface, but if it's really friendly, why put humans in a survival game? A pastoral game would be more suitable." Luo Qing had already sensed something was wrong.

Mo Ming dug up a large piece of ore and put it in his backpack. "And that island championship. Gathering humans who have no laws and lack resources into one place to compete will definitely cause a large number of human deaths."

"But if it only wants to kill humans, why go through all the trouble of holding a tournament? Is something stopping it?" Luo Qing couldn't understand. "What exactly is its purpose?"

"And its origin? There shouldn't be such advanced technology on Earth yet, so where did it come from?" Mu Qimeng added.

"If it's not on Earth, then what about outside of Earth?" Fang Tai suddenly asked.

In that instant, Luo Qing felt a chill run down her spine, and every pore on her body stood on end. She had a premonition that Fang Tai was right.

The group exchanged glances, confirming that the others shared the same thought.

The group quietly dispersed, not daring to say anything more.

An hour later, the group straightened up, put away their shovels, and spontaneously gathered behind Luo Qing.

"Let's go, let's keep going."

The deeper you go into the dense forest, the denser the trees become. Unlike the tall, straight trees on the outside, these trees are strangely twisted, like menacing monsters.

The light filtering through the branches was becoming less and less, the surroundings were getting darker and darker, and the path was getting narrower and narrower.

Suddenly, the mournful cawing of crows rang in my ears.

A cold wind blew by, and the leaves rustled and shook.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, sending chills down one's spine.

"Are they saying something?" Fang Tai whispered in Mo Ming's ear.

"No, let's go!" Luo Qing whispered.

The three of them didn't ask why, and quietly retreated following Luo Qing's footsteps.

Just as they were about to leave the area of ​​these strange trees, a shrill, hoarse scream suddenly rang out.

The leaves around us began to tremble and rustle, even though there was no wind!

"Run!" Luo Qing shouted and turned to run in the direction they came from, with the three of them following closely behind him.

As they started to run, the trees shook even faster.

The rustling sound reached their ears, and Luo Qing's heart pounded as if it were about to jump out of her throat; her breathing became heavy and rapid.

Fang Tai turned around and shouted in a trembling voice, "Those trees are catching up!"

Those ghost trees were moving at an incredible speed, and the distance between them kept shrinking.

Mo Ming frowned as he listened to the rustling sound getting closer. No, at this rate, he'd be caught before even reaching the exit.

"I...I can't run anymore." Luo Qing's face was pale. Mu Qimeng was also panting as if she was about to faint at any moment.

Mo Ming and Fang Tai each grabbed one of them and pulled them along as they continued running.

The trees ahead began to move towards the center, attempting to surround them. It grew increasingly dark all around, until they could no longer even see the road.

Luo Qing gritted her teeth and took a step forward. She took out a wooden stick wrapped with strips of oil-soaked cloth and handed it to Mo Ming. "Take this."

Mo Ming quickly took it and handed the top to Luo Qing.

She took out a lighter and, with trembling hands, lit the torch.

With a "boom," the torch was lit, illuminating a warm glow.

Luo Qing saw the ghost tree over Mo Ming's side step back a little. "They're afraid of fire!"

She quickly took out three more wooden sticks, lit them with the torch in Mo Ming's hand, and handed them to Fang Tai and Mu Qimeng.

After the group huddled together, the torchlight illuminated a five-meter radius around them. The ghost tree was kept five meters away, too afraid to approach, yet unwilling to leave.

The four men, shoulder to shoulder, holding torches high, slowly moved outwards, confronting the ghost tree.

Finally reaching the exit, Luo Qing's eyes flashed with excitement, and she quickened her pace to run forward.

An even more piercing sound rang out, and a gust of wind howled in.

"Oh no, it's trying to blow out the torch!" Luo Qing blocked the wind by turning to the side, and at the same time leaped out, finally landing in the sunlight.

Mo Ming and the other two landed beside her.

"Finally out." Luo Qing sat up, rubbing her lower back. "Is everyone alright?"

"What kind of monster is this? It's terrifying!" Mu Qimeng patted her chest to catch her breath.

"It's good that you escaped."

The group looked at each other's disheveled appearance and burst into laughter.

"Muqi Meng, where are your shoes? Hahaha."

"Hahaha, you're the same," Mu Qimeng mocked, pointing at Fang Tai's disheveled appearance.

The group laughed and played in the sunlight; at that moment, they had no worries, only joy.

Watching the two playfully bickering, Luo Qing felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She understood that this experience had not only given her a deeper understanding of the world, but also strengthened the emotional bond between her and her teammates.

After a short rest, Luo Qing dusted herself off and stood up. "Let's go, we should get going."

The four continued resolutely down another path, none of them faltering because of the danger they had just faced. They all knew that to survive in the game, they had to constantly take risks and face challenges.

If you back down because of one difficulty, how will you protect the people you want to protect? And when and how will you be able to return to reality?