Chapter 177 Linked Together (17) - Encountering Teammates

Si Zhong's arm strength was astonishing. Although he was blown about by the wind, he managed to carry Ning Shu safely through the four large fan areas and onto the tires.

The moment Ning Shu touched the tire, she gasped for breath.

The wind was too strong just now, and the surrounding air density decreased, creating a near-vacuum phenomenon. She could barely breathe and almost suffocated inside.

Si Zhong also had the same problem, but he recovered faster than the average person. Watching the tire roll forward, if neither of them moved, they would soon be carried down and fall.

He glanced back at Ning Shu and saw that she was still catching her breath, so he released the grappling hook, grabbed the chain, pulled Ning Shu to his side, and jumped onto another tire with her in his arms.

He took a few steps on the second tire, then jumped, landed, and stood on a fixed grid. He released Ning Shu and then adjusted his state.

Ning Shu sat on the ground, continuing to breathe. She had been so oxygen-deprived that she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that Si Zhong was carrying her away; that was all she could think of.

Si Zhong waited for Ning Shu to recover, while he reflected on his earlier recklessness.

After Ning Shu recovered, they continued walking forward and then jumped into a garbage dump. Yes, a garbage dump.

The stench was overwhelming, and Ning Shu couldn't help but pinch her nose, while Si Zhong remained calm.

Ning Shu thought that he was not only strong, but also had a good sense of smell that could be adjusted by himself. How could he not feel anything?

It would be strange if he didn't feel anything; Si Zhong was almost dizzy from the fumes, and his calm demeanor was just an act.

At this moment, he had to hold his breath and release it intermittently, and he dared not open his mouth.

Ning Shu pinched her nose for a while before she couldn't help but open her mouth to breathe. She felt like the stench was almost overwhelming her, and she seriously suspected that her mouth had grown olfactory nerves.

She immediately thought it might just be her imagination, and after a few times, she felt like she was suffering a lot in this instance.

Si Zhong saw a large magnet moving above them. When the magnet approached the garbage pit, it attracted all the iron-containing garbage inside.

The chains in their hands almost sucked them up as well, but Si Zhong held firmly onto the railing by the pool and wasn't pulled up.

He glanced at the nearest flat area, but it was still quite far; a single jump wouldn't be enough.

But looking around, he couldn't find a place to step on for leverage.

Si Zhong turned his gaze to the large magnet working above; this thing was probably the key to the past, something he had just avoided.

This place is really not suitable for lingering, because it stinks too much.

Si Zhong didn't want to speak. When the magnet was almost directly above him, he grabbed Ning Shu and jumped, and both of them were pulled onto the magnet.

Because the magnet only attracted the chain, the two people were "attached" to it in a rather contorted position.

When the magnet passed over the flat ground, Si Zhong forcefully broke free from its attraction, pulling Ning Shu down onto the flat ground.

He landed first, bending over and half-squatting to cushion the impact of the landing.

Ke Ningshu didn't land with such a cool posture; she fell flat on her face.

She didn't grumble or complain; she got up as if nothing had happened, having grown accustomed to this treatment.

Upon landing, they discovered that the flat ground was a long, narrow platform with no roads on any side.

Ning Shu was puzzled, thinking that perhaps it would take some time to appear, just like the previous brick, so the two of them waited.

Ning Shu felt that this was an opportunity not to be missed. She was a little hungry, after all, it was already noon.

"Si Zhong, I'm hungry, can you give me a fruit?"

Si Zhong glanced at her: "Beg me."

"..."

Does he really have to enjoy the sense of superiority of being begged by others?

Ning Shu inwardly scoffed, but her body betrayed her, and she immediately grabbed his leg, pleading, "Please!"

When Si Zhong saw her clinging to his leg, he said with disgust, "Don't touch me, I stink!"

"What?! You were just in the garbage dump! How could I stink more than that stuff? What a double standard!" Ning Shu was furious but dared not speak out.

But she immediately beamed with joy because Si Zhong tossed her a fruit, which she then proudly displayed.

Delicious and thirst-quenching!

Seeing how she ate, Si Zhong realized he was hungry too, so he took out a fruit to eat as well.

Compared to last night's feast, this fruit is truly a waste to throw away, yet tasteless to eat.

Ning Shu understood why players couldn't bring their own food after seeing the supply boxes from last night; the dungeon provided it, so players weren't allowed to bring their own.

This is a bit like a dog, much like a tourist attraction that doesn't allow outside food and forces customers to buy it.

She had originally wanted another fruit, but after thinking about it, she decided against it. What if there were more supply boxes later? She needed to save room for something.

After they finished eating, they waited for quite a while but still didn't see a way forward. Ning Shu started to panic: "Could this be a dead end?"

She observed the platform they were standing on. It was long and narrow, with railings on both sides of the long side and at the end, but the railings along the long side and at the end were not connected.

This is a bit strange. If it's for security, then it should definitely be connected. The reason it's not connected is usually because it needs to be accessible.

Passage? Could these two places actually be an exit?

Export? Does that mean they're about to clear customs?

Ning Shu was secretly delighted, but she didn't dare to act recklessly. She walked to the railing, held onto it, and prepared to stick one foot out to see if it would trigger the exit.

Before she could even extend her foot, she saw a crossbow bolt whiz past her and shoot directly at her feet, then she saw the bolt stop in mid-air.

This… a freeze spell? Ning Shu stared wide-eyed at the crossbow bolt.

Slowly, a square piece of colored glass appeared below the crossbow bolt, and the bolt was inserted into the glass, causing cracks to appear around the bolt.

Oh, so it was invisible and only appeared after being touched.

Ning Shu realized what was going on and turned to look at Si Zhong. It turned out that she wasn't the only one with this idea.

However, his arrow had almost injured her, and she waited for him with dissatisfaction, but he pretended not to see it. Ning Shu could only let it go; after all, she was just a weakling.

Why did he choose the same place as her? Isn't there another gap on the other side?

Ning Shu looked in another direction and pointed over there, saying, "Could there be some over there too?"

Si Zhong: "No."

Ning Shu: "How did you know?"

Si Zhong: "The crossbow bolt fell straight down."

Ning Shu: "..." Oh, so you've already tried it.

Si Zhong's crossbow bolt shot towards the back of the glass again, but the bolt stopped again, and the glass reappeared.

Si Zhong stretched out his leg and stepped onto the first piece of glass. He found it to be very sturdy, so he stepped on it directly. Then Ning Shu also stepped on it.

They continued to the second piece of glass, and then Si Zhong stretched out his foot to test where there were other pieces of glass in mid-air.

Ning Shu asked, puzzled, "Can't we continue searching with bows and crossbows?"

Si Zhong: "We're running out of crossbow bolts. Each instance can only be used once, and the number of bolts is limited."

I see.

The two used this method to get through the road and then arrived at another platform, where there was a hot air balloon!

Ning Shu shouted excitedly, "Look, there's a hot air balloon! It's a hot air balloon!"

Si Zhong had already seen it, but he thought the balloon was a bit small and didn't seem like it could be used to sit on.

Once they got closer, Si Zhong understood why: the hot air balloon actually needed to be inflated by the players.

There are two large air bladders at the front of the balloon. Players need to jump onto the air bladders and bounce up and down to inflate the hot air balloon so that it can rise.

Si Zhong jumped onto the airbag: "Inflate it quickly."

Ning Shu obediently jumped on as well, and the two of them bounced around on the airbag, their eyes fixed on the hot air balloon.

As Si Zhong watched the balloon grow bigger and bigger, and noticed that it was about to rise, he immediately jumped up and stood in the basket looking at Ning Shu.

Ning Shu reacted a little slowly, but she quickly jumped on as well, and the two of them rode up on it.

Looking down at the surrounding scenery, she felt that if it weren't for the dungeon, she would never have had the chance to see such beauty in her life.

Suddenly, she spotted Cheng Chuan and Wu Yi. It turned out they had also arrived in a hot air balloon. She happily waved to them and shouted their names.

Si Zhong turned his head to look in the direction Ning Shu was waving and spotted the man who had been confronting him earlier.

He remembered that the other person was a teammate of Little Potato, and they had been teammates in several dungeons.

Si Zhong frowned. This dungeon was actually quite difficult, so why did they arrive here at the same time as him? Were they very strong?

He prided himself on his ability to complete the game, yet he was at the same level as someone he looked down upon.

In fact, he has never respected anyone, so he feels inexplicably annoyed by people who are at the same stage as him.