Chapter 15

Human planet.

Lu Ying heard footsteps, opened his eyes vigilantly and groped for the gun under his pillow.

Seeing that it was Yuan Yingying, I breathed a sigh of relief.

He touched his eyebrow piercing out of habit: "What time is it?"

"It's almost time for lunch, Brother Lu, get up," Yuan Yingying said. "I heard a child was found at the base. Want to go check it out?"

Lu Ying raised his eyebrows.

In the past, all the players captured from the real world by Infinite Space were adults. However, the arrival of "Great Chaos" changed everything. Anyone old, weak, sick or disabled could become fodder for the escape game.

Not to mention a child, when they first entered this book, didn’t they just look at a one-month-old kitten?

I don’t know what happened to that little thing, Yuan Yingying liked it very much.

Lu Ying and Yuan Yingying are both veteran players who have entered dozens of dungeons and are also quite familiar partners.

If it was just an ordinary underage player who was doomed to die, or an unimportant NPC, Yuan Yingying would not specifically ask herself whether she wanted to go and see it.

So, Lu Ying thought, this child who had just arrived at the base must be unusual.

It has been a few days since they entered the dungeon, and the two of them have gained a preliminary understanding of the background.

This planet was targeted by a family led by the "Golden Tyrant" Finks, who periodically stirred up trouble. Humanity had also selected many strong dragon riders to subdue them, but unfortunately, none of them returned.

They had no way to resist the invasion of the dragon, and when the dragon attacked, it always caused widespread destruction, making it impossible for society to maintain basic operations.

Productivity has regressed a hundred years, and we can’t even build the means of transportation to leave here and migrate to other planets.

Even though they knew this was all game background, and the people here were just NPCs repeating the same days thousands of times, players still couldn't help but sigh when they saw such a miserable scene.

However, they can barely survive themselves, so how can they have the energy to care for others?

What's more, if an NPC dies, he will be resurrected sooner or later when the next sub-world is refreshed.

If the player fails, it means complete death.

It's not a measurement level at all.

The level of the "Dragon's Treasure" dungeon is B, and it combines both survival and treasure hunting.

According to other players' experience posts, the difficulty of the survival part is about C, while the treasure hunt is A, which is why the average overall level is B.

Surviving the dragon's bombardment and on the ruined planet doesn't sound that difficult.

But how to enter the dragon's lair and obtain the designated gem is an impossible task -

Not to mention where the dragon's nest is, they don't even know where the dragon is now.

For several days in a row, the weather was calm, no dragons came, and the dilapidated planet was as quiet as stagnant water.

They, along with several other surviving players, were taken in by a survivor base composed of the planet's native inhabitants.

Unlike the indigenous people who prayed every day that "the ghost bird would not come again", they stretched their necks, hoping that the dragon would appear again.

The copy's lifespan is ten days, and there is not much time left.

The strategies on the player forums indicate that being abducted when a dragon attacks is the fastest way to get to the dragon's lair; however, this carries certain risks, as there is a possibility that you will be bitten to death before you even reach the dragon's lair.

If you don't take this high-risk path, it would be difficult to find the location of the dragon's nest by yourself.

Lu Ying even suspected that the Dragon's Nest was not on this planet at all, and they had no means of transportation to leave the planet, so it was impossible for them to accomplish the task of obtaining the gems.

Yuan Yingying didn't think so: the copy would not give an unsolvable dead end, the dragon's nest must be somewhere they could reach.

Lu Ying looked at the girl, who still looked like a student, and sighed, "You have a point, but that was the law before the 'Great Chaos'. Now, who can guarantee that this infinite space still operates according to order?"

Yuan Yingying was stunned. She really didn't expect this and lowered her eyes in disappointment.

Both of them were wondering where the legendary omniscient and omnipotent God, the creator of infinite space, had gone?

Will He...come back?

They put their thoughts aside for a moment and went to meet the new kid.

The little boy is not very old and is probably still in kindergarten.

Black hair, brown eyes, very cute.

What was most noticeable was his demeanor. He had neither the tortured numbness of the NPC natives, nor the fear of being dragged into a fugitive.

He was calm, cool, and mature, not like a five or six-year-old child.

But if he is a veteran player, who can survive round after round of brutal challenges in the infinite space, and is still such a young child, he should have been famous long ago.

However, neither Lu Ying, Yuan Yingying, nor any other player had ever seen or heard of the boy.

Facing everyone's puzzled looks, the child took the initiative to introduce himself: "My name is Ling Xi."

His gaze swept across the adults with varying expressions, finally stopping at a few players. He got straight to the point: "Are you looking for the Dragon's Lair? I know where it is. But I have a condition in exchange. I hope you can escort me there safely."

The players looked at each other and saw the same surprise in each other's eyes.

*

There is not much time left in the copy, so we can't delay too much. Everyone prepares their weapons and sets off.

Joining the battle are not only players, but also dragon knights among the planet's native inhabitants who are determined to defend their compatriots.

Lu Ying and Yuan Yingying have younger brothers and sisters at home and have experience in taking care of children. At the same time, they are elderly people in the escaped journey, so Ling Xi is left to their care.

Yuan Yingying looked at Ling Xi's serious little face and thought of her younger brother at home. She had not been home for a long time since she was captured by the infinite space. Her younger brother should have grown up a lot, right?

She transferred her longing to Ling Xi and took extra care of him, even holding his hand when she went up and down.

Ling Xi said politely: "Sister, don't worry about me, I can do it."

Yuan Yingying didn't mind his ingratitude and stroked the boy's hair: "If a dragon comes, hide behind us. Your brothers and sisters will protect you."

Ling Xi nodded: "Thank you, brother and sister."

He didn't say that even if a dragon appeared, they wouldn't harm him.

Even a little human servant is considered a family member by the dragons.

Ling Xi led them over a small hill, from where they could see a lake that was about to be buried by shattered rocks.

"It's right here," the boy said confidently. "The dragon's nest is at the bottom of the lake."

The adults frowned. How could this be possible?

It is well known that the dragon clan is not good at swimming. Although they will not really drown if they fall into the sea, if they have a choice, they would rather take a boiling lava bath than touch the cold lake or sea water.

How could a dragon that dislikes water build its lair or treasure house at the bottom of a lake?

The local dragon rider questioned: "Hey, kid, don't play tricks on us."

His companion echoed: "The Lord has serious matters to attend to. You can't afford to delay. Do you understand?"

Others were also slightly dissatisfied: "Yes, yes."

Some players regarded Ling Xi as an NPC who provided key clues, and originally believed his words, but after seeing this lake, they couldn't help but become suspicious.

Yuan Yingying and Lu Ying stood firmly on Ling Xi's side. Although there was no conclusive evidence, they felt a very different aura from this child.

It is said that sometimes you will encounter some very special beings in the dungeon. They are neither players, nor ordinary NPCs, nor big or small bosses. No one knows where they come from or who they are.

But if you encounter one, you will be extremely lucky. Not only can you escape successfully, but you can also complete the task with a perfect rating - the reward is so generous that it makes people drool just by mentioning it.

Yuan Yingying and Lu Ying firmly believe that Ling Xi is that "special existence".

The two exchanged glances, and Lu Ying turned to the others, saying, "How about this. If you're willing to believe Xiao Ling, come with us to the lake to take a look. If you don't believe, you can always find another way. We've only just met by chance, so there's no need to sacrifice our freedom and be tied to the same rope."

After hearing this, everyone started to rethink how they should stand on the side.

Yuan Yingying squeezed the boy's hand and said, "Don't worry, we will definitely take you to your destination."

Although they didn't know what the child was doing in the Dragon's Nest.

While waiting for others to make a decision, Lu Ying and Yuan Yingying chatted aimlessly about the golden shaded kitten when the dungeon was first opened, and how to rescue him from another annoying new player.

Ling Xi listened quietly at the side, then suddenly stood up and bowed to them: "Thank you, sister and brother, good luck to you."

He recognized that the kitten was Li Jue.

Those who are good to Li Jue will definitely be rewarded.

The boy looked at the emerald lake at the foot of the mountain, feeling a little anxious.

Zaizai must be anxious since he hasn't seen me for so long, right?

*

On a starship tens of thousands of meters above the sky, Finks leaned back in the captain's chair, staring at the crystal clear and bright night pearl spinning between his fingertips.

This was obtained from the Siren King Qian Xing.

Finks said that Qianxing gave it to him voluntarily; Qianxing insisted that Finks stole it away in a shameless manner.

Outsiders have no way of knowing what the truth is.

When the crew saw the boss take out the night pearl, they knew he was going to another dragon's nest.

Yes, that's right, there are two Dragon Nests.

One is the starship where they usually come back to live after get off work.

The other one is a fake dragon's nest that is shown to the players, and they need to go in and hunt for treasure.

The reason why Finks built a fake dragon's lair is simple: he has no habit of opening the door to his real home and warmly welcoming humans to visit and explore.

In order to make the dragon's nest more confusing and increase the difficulty for players, this fake dragon's nest was built in an inconspicuous lake surrounded by mountains.

Just as the rumors say, dragons do not like water because they have not evolved organs that allow them to breathe freely in water; even if they can hold their breath for several hours, they still feel uncomfortable.

The Siren King's Night Pearl can solve this problem.

Finks was looking at the night pearl while stroking the kitten lying on his lap.

Li Jue has learned how to switch between kitten and human kitten modes.

Although it's not very smooth yet and there are occasional freezes, it can be considered a new skill I've mastered.

The kitten waited for so long but his Xixi still didn't come back, and he felt listless.

Even when his ears were tickled, he only meowed sullenly and wagged his tail perfunctorily.

Finks held him in his palm and lifted him up to the same eye level as himself.

The light golden cat eyes met the red golden dragon eyes, and also saw the concern in the eyes of the temporary parent.

Li Jue, with his fluffy little cat face, rubbed Finks' palm: "Mimi..."

When he turned back into a kitten, Finks couldn't actually tell whether "Mimi" was calling him or just one of the kitten's tender cries.

In short, he found a way to divert the baby's attention.

He nodded his little head and raised the corner of his mouth: "Little one, how about I take you to work?"