Chapter 72
Minotaur (Minotaur).
Legend has it that this monster was born from the union of the king's wife and the bull given by the gods.
The monster is brutal by nature and has unlimited strength. It can cause a disaster at any time and likes to eat the tender flesh of children.
In order to trap this ferocious monster, the craftsman Daedalus built an extremely complex maze, which later became the famous Cretan Labyrinth.
After the Athenians were defeated in battle, they would send seven pairs of boys and girls as tribute every nine years.
King Minos locked the seven pairs of boys and girls in the labyrinth to feed his ferocious and terrible son, Minotaur.
Such disasters never ceased, and the Athenians, who had to sacrifice their own flesh and blood every nine years, were overwhelmed with grief.
Until Theseus, the illegitimate son of the King of Athens, returned from his travels and heard about this tragic incident, he was deeply saddened.
He solved the puzzle of the maze with a ball of thread, and used the sword given by the princess to kill the Minotaur, thus putting an end to the disaster.
…
When Wen Xin was a child, he watched an animated film based on this myth on TV.
But he was still young at that time and could no longer remember some of the details.
I'm not sure how similar the maze the girl is talking about is to the mythical Crete maze.
Wen Xin took a quick look at the invitation letter.
It feels smooth to the touch, like silk, but the texture is unusually tough. I don't know what special material is used.
On the surface of the red lacquer envelope, the words "Invitation Letter" were written in gold-plated fonts, with a row of small characters written next to it.
"Menotaur welcomes all distinguished guests who are destined to visit him."
Other than that, there was no time or place, and no names were mentioned.
No wonder the girl sent this invitation to herself without any hesitation.
Wen Xin had heard before that there was an arena built by a mysterious organization in the western region.
Anyone who thinks they are powerful, whether human or mutant, can sign up to participate and win a high prize.
At a time when mutants and humans are at war with each other, it is somewhat miraculous that there is such a place that allows the two sides to live in harmony.
Wen Xin accepted the invitation out of curiosity; he himself had no interest in attending the arena.
After looking at it, he returned the item to the girl: "Thank you, but I don't really need it."
Unexpectedly, the girl shook her head and said, "You may not want to watch any beast fights or bloody fights, but this invitation letter is not just a ticket, it is also a certificate of qualification that guarantees your smooth passage."
"You haven't been to the West yet, have you? Believe me, the chaos there is not just talk."
The girl smiled a sad but miserable smile: "All the mutants who still have reason have gone to the East. The West is full of monsters who hate humans and are bloodthirsty and brutal."
"Without any support, ordinary people like us can hardly move forward."
Wen Xin looked at her face, was silent for a while, and asked: "Since the western region is extremely dangerous to humans, why do you want to go there?"
The girl's answer was flawless: "Just like you now know how dangerous the West is, but you have no intention of retreating, we also have reasons to go."
Wen Xin heard this and did not pursue the matter further.
Who would want to travel in severe snowy weather unless they had to?
But he also heard the emphasis in the girl's words.
——The invitation letter is like a life-saving talisman.
Such an important thing was given to me directly, but it seemed that there were still some unfulfilled requests that I hadn't made.
The girl said bluntly: "I do have a request. I hope you can protect my brother and I during the time we are together."
The younger boy seemed to know that the girl was about to confess, and he couldn't help but tug at her sleeve: "...Sister, do you want to tell him?"
The latter patted his head, but his eyes never moved away from Wen Xin's sight, and continued eagerly: "My name is Xu Jiangqin, his name is Xu Hailin, and he is the grandson of the commander of the Southern Region, Xu Chengjun. If you can agree to this request, we will definitely report back to you when we succeed and return to the Southern Region."
After saying that, Xu Jiangqin stared at Wen Xin's face closely, cold sweat oozing from her palms, not wanting to miss even a single detail.
She knew that revealing her identity rashly would be risky. Not to mention whether there was any risk, the simple outfit they wore made it look unconvincing.
Which army commander is so shabby that he doesn't even have a gun to take his own grandchildren out, let alone a military escort?
The young man in front of them who could easily pull out a sniper rifle looked more noble than the two of them.
But there was no way. Their grandfather had recently learned the tragic news that their father had failed to eliminate the mutants and had gone missing on the battlefield. He was so heartbroken that he suddenly fell seriously ill in bed.
In the name of acting as the commander, my uncle and my aunt took control of the entire corps and locked them up in the house all day, not allowing them to go in or out, and not allowing the servants to have any communication with them.
They went through a lot of trouble to sneak out.
We have done our best to find the existing equipment and manpower and get the invitation letter.
If they can't find their father successfully this time, then they may...
Xu Jiangqin clenched her fingers, feeling guilty for writing a blank check to Wen Xin, but she had no other choice.
Looking up, my eyes met those of the young man.
Those eyes were extremely calm, without any ripples at all because of what she had just said, and were as clear as a mirror.
Under such a gaze, it seems that all the dark thoughts hidden in the heart will have nowhere to hide.
Xu Jiangqin immediately held her breath nervously.
But the next second Wen Xin looked away, as if the gaze that saw through her was just an illusion.
Wen Xin shook the gold-stamped invitation in his hand and said, "If I don't agree to your commission, will you still give me this invitation?"
Xu Jiangqin was stunned for a moment and replied, "Of course, you saved Xiaolin and the others' lives."
As soon as she finished speaking, she wanted to slap herself in the face.
They only had three invitations like this, so why did they promise to send them out so readily?
Unexpectedly, Wen Xin smiled when he heard this. "In that case, I will accept this commission."
He put the invitation letter into his pocket and took another look at the injured person lying on the ground.
"I still have half a bottle of hemostatic spray left. Let me give it to you first."
Wen Xin knew that wealth should not be exposed to others, but in order to deal with the crisis just now, he had exposed the fact that he had a gun.
It is a shock, but also a temptation.
In order to prevent the shock from turning into temptation, he was reluctant to reveal how rich his resources were.
Xu Jiangqin shook her head when she heard this: "Don't worry, we have a medical kit, and we have some extra hemostatic spray and bandages."
She glanced at the gasping injured man and said, "But we really need to find a place to settle Lao Li as soon as possible."
Wen Xin nodded and looked out of the car.
Seeing that nothing unusual was happening nearby, he started to get off the bus.
Before leaving, Xu Jiangqin called him, "I haven't asked for your name yet."
Wen Xinweiton: "My last name is Wen."
Perhaps it was because Wen Xin's name was too famous, Wen Xin answered very frankly, and the brother and sister did not connect the two together for a while.
They never imagined that the legendary figure would appear in such a barren place.
After getting off the car, Wen Xin did not return to the SUV, but joined the group of people moving trees.
With his participation, everyone's morale was obviously boosted, and the slogans were three times louder than before.
Behind him, the young Xu Hailin looked at the busy figure of the young man and couldn't help but sighed: "Sister, they are right. Wen Ge is a kind person."
Before they could even say a few words, they had already called Wen Ge.
Xu Jiangqin subconsciously wanted to reprimand the boy as she had done before, telling him to look at the problem and not just the surface.
But somehow, thinking of Wen Xin's clear and bright eyes just now, she swallowed back the rebuke that was about to come out of her mouth.
"Maybe it's true..."
It took half an hour to finally move the tree trunk.
Everyone shouted in victory excitedly and prepared to set off again.
Wen Xin got in the car.
The two boys saw what had just happened, climbed onto the back of the car and asked him, "Wen Xin, are we going to go with them?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to walk together from now on."
Wen Xin took out the map, pointed to the marked point on it and said, "To go to Rose City, you will definitely pass by the Menotaur Colosseum. The girl named Xu Jiangqin seems to know a lot of inside information about it. She is a good guide."
The little panda nodded, not quite understanding.
The Scaled Tree Viper stared at the young man's face suspiciously: "Did you really not see that it was difficult for the two human cubs to travel, so you wanted to help take care of them?"
Wen Xin calmly started the car and handed the invitation in his pocket to them to play with: "How could it be? I still got something good. This invitation is it."
The scale viper snorted twice, and believed him for the time being.
Suddenly, it seemed to smell something and took the invitation.
The little panda came closer, then quickly jumped to the side, slapping its nose with its paws, its furry face scrunched up: "What's that smell? It's so awful!"
Wen Xin turned around when he heard the sound and saw the little panda's reaction. He asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
The scale viper was carefully distinguishing the smell on the invitation letter. Halfway through, it uttered a word: "Spider..."
Wen Xin: "Spider?"
The Scaled Viper wanted to explain, but then he remembered that Wen Xin didn't know about the base, so he had to hold his words back.
"Ahem, I just suddenly remembered that our boss once encountered a spider mutant that had the potential to evolve from A-class to S-class."
"But later it was persecuted by certain humans, and its evolution was interrupted. As a result, it hates humans very much and tortures them to death cruelly."
綠團用尾巴舉起邀請函：“這封邀請函是用蛛絲制作的，我就想到它了。”
溫辛動作一頓。
他好像突然知道了一個不得了的消息。
綠團渾然不覺。
即便青年在幾次困境中都表現出了八百個心眼子，但它依舊會在青年的面前不設防，下意識地覺得對方會相信自己。
有時候鱗樹蝰也會反應過來，覺得溫辛很笨。
又覺得自己這麽随意，早晚有露出馬腳一天。
分不清是誰更笨一點。
溫辛還處于“那建造鬥獸場的神秘組織居然真的是變異體，并且平等對待人類和變異體也疑似假象”的震驚中。
就聽到鱗樹蝰在背後問他。
“溫辛，如果之後某一天，有人類想要消滅我們，你會不會保護我們？”
那聲音似乎透着不易察覺的小心，以一種不經意的方式問了出來。
溫辛的心髒頓時像被狠狠觸動了一般。
他倏然回頭，對上了綠團子熠熠生輝的眼睛。
蛇類的瞳孔通常是叫人覺察不出溫情的。
就好像捕食獵殺的天性被銘刻在它們的基因中，盯看久了，甚至會生出被惡魔窺視的寒意。
溫辛與它相望，卻能看見綠團眼底顫動的柔軟，好似泛起漣漪的湖面。
他的回複沒有猶豫。
屈指在綠團的額頭上用力一彈，溫辛狀似沒好氣地說道：“小沒良心的，是不是我對你們還不夠好，會讓你懷疑這個問題的答案？”
結果沒讓團子吃痛，反震回去的力道卻把他自己震痛了。
綠團顧不上吃驚，瞄見青年的指尖被震得通紅一片，連忙去查看，哼哼唧唧說：“我就随便問問……”
卻聽見青年平靜到極致的嗓音突然響起。
“那我會傾盡全力去保護你們的安危，即使是豁出我的這條命。”
鱗樹蝰與他挨得很近。
青年說話時，唇邊噴灑出一團氤氲白霧，而它仿佛被霧裏的熱意給燙化了心髒，尾巴尖兒一顫。
溫辛聽到其他人的催促聲，打了個手勢：“馬上！”
綠團被喊聲喚醒。
它看到其他人将手電筒的燈光打了過來，在光亮照在自己身上前，拽着小熊貓縮回了後座。
旋即綠團的腦袋微微擡起，盯着駕駛座上青年的後腦勺。
這就夠了，鱗樹蝰心滿意足地想。
即便溫辛不知道是什麽人要消滅他們，不清楚第一基地有多麽強大的力量，又在人類群體中的呼籲聲有多麽高漲。
它都覺得，已經足夠了。
.
襲擊他們的人還躲在暗處，目的不明确。
是以接下來的路，衆人都格外謹慎。
溫辛清楚襲擊者的阻撓不會只有剛才那一次，但也沒料到會來得這麽快。
只見眼前大雪堆積的道路，成片都是倒下的樹幹。
沖鋒衣男等人幾乎愁白了頭發。
“用汽油加噴火器，能不能燒掉這些擋路的樹？”
“那你大概想要制造一片室外溜冰場。”同伴語氣涼嗖嗖地說，“再說我們哪兒來這麽多的汽油？”
樹幹上都是雪，不多倒點汽油怎麽可能燒得起來。
“這裏繞不過去，縫隙太小，我們把旁邊的樹砍了行不行？”
“那你得把樹根一起挖出來，不然中巴車的底盤絕對會被剮蹭，順便一提咱們沒有電鋸。”
“草。”
沒法繞行，就只能穿過密林小道，再看有沒有其他的路可以走。
衆人順着旁邊的小路，一直望向不遠處被冰雪覆蓋的高山。
在這連環封堵的情況下，突然出現一條路。
哪怕這條路上留着不少車輛通過的輪胎印，也沒法讓人安心。
“怎麽辦？”
不少人看着車廂地板上只有出氣沒有進氣的傷者老李，不知不覺中，眼中隐約有了別樣複雜的意味。
似乎像是責怪，又似乎像看累贅。
但還有不少人念着同伴的舊情，不希望放棄對方。
這些人以許江琴為首，都等着她的指示。
許江琴沉重地閉了閉眼睛。
溫辛知道，少女別無選擇。
就算他們選擇放棄救治老李，就地清理擋在眼前的樹幹，在缺乏工具的情況下，至少也要一天半的時間。
而那個時候，暴雪早已将路給覆蓋，依舊無法前行。
他們可以選擇打道回府。
但那樣做和留在原地沒什麽區別，因為大雪封路。
可以說，此時此刻，所有的路都被堵死了。
唯一一條能夠前進的路，是襲擊者早已布置好的陷阱。
良久，許江琴深深地吐出了一口氣，頹然說：“走吧，我們上山。”
其他人皺眉不贊同：“小姐！”
許江琴冷聲叱罵：“那我們能怎麽辦，留在這裏等死嗎？你們誰能保證這場雪今晚就停？”
“中途沒有加油站，油已經耗得差不多了，氣溫低到零下幾十度，車裏沒法生火，油耗光的那一刻所有人都得死，還要我來教你們這個道理？”
幾聲質問，将他們說得集體噤聲。
想來許江琴平時就是說一不二的性格，哪怕年齡小，也能鎮得住心裏躁動的衆人。
溫辛準備上車。
許江琴卻在此時看向他，動了動嘴唇，似乎有事情想要請求。
但最後不知道是什麽原因，她終究一個字也沒說，按着許海臨的腦袋回了中巴車。
黑夜不宜趕路，一行人還是在原地等到了天亮。
到了一大早，果然像許江琴說的那樣，大雪一點都沒有要停下來的樣子。
反而因為連續不停地下，大半個車輪都已經淹沒在了雪地中，要出去還得鏟雪。
這下子，本來還有異議的人也沒了話說。
他們不斷後悔，怎麽沒有多帶幾桶油上路。
這就是純粹的空話。
即使帶上的油能把整個中巴車給塞滿，也不一定能耗得過這場大雪。
溫辛加入了鏟雪的行列。
在他的身邊，幾個人揉搓被凍得通紅的手腳，不斷地嘟囔抱怨。
“怎麽就這麽倒黴。”“為什麽要選擇這幾天出門？”“現在又看不了天氣預報，還能怎麽辦？偏偏遇到這種暴雪天……”
人心開始浮動了。
車子通過木板搭起的斜坡，順利上了雪地，輪胎只往柔軟的雪層裏陷下去了一點。
可以上路。
溫辛駕駛越野車，跟着他們往密林深處走。
到了不遠處的高山下，幾人才發現不止有一條路可以走。
路口分叉處兩條路，一條往山上，一條往山下。
山上被大雪掩埋，模模糊糊可以看到半山腰上有一座木屋。
至于山下，意料之外是一個建築工地。
幾臺挖掘機停放在空曠的壩子上，旁邊堆着已經分割好的樹木，成三角錐形擺放在一起。
剛才這裏的視野被大片的樹給擋住了，以至于衆人沒有看到下面的建築工地，見狀瞬間喜不勝收。
既然有工地，那就有伐木和裝運的工具，擋在路中間的樹幹就不愁沒辦法清理了！
這樣一想，幾乎不等許江琴的指示，司機就踩下了油門，往山下開。
他的思想可簡單。
上山只有一條狹路，三輛車一路往上走，萬一出了意外，退都沒法退。
但下山可以一直跑，畢竟前面還有一大片空地！
溫辛下意識要跟着走。
可他想起某件事，遲疑了一下。
工地，工地……
那些游走擋路的喪屍身上，不就穿着工地統一發放的白背心嗎？
耽誤的這麽一會兒功夫，讓溫辛沒有跟上另一輛中巴車往前開。
并随之聽到前面的中巴車裏，傳來了幾聲少女的怒吼。
“別開……我叫你……停！”
溫辛心髒一咯噔。
不是許江琴下令讓他們往山下開，是司機自作主張！
這麽一開，就出了大事。
溫辛視線往上，看到旁邊的山壁上突然伸出了幾對漆黑的猙獰口器。
它們将口器探入岩石的縫隙，輕巧一撬，一條明顯的裂紋便順着那一個小口猛然炸開，變成無數多的碎石成片地往下掉！
噼裏啪啦——
司機聽到動靜，轉頭看到頭頂砸下不少碎石，立馬慘白了臉色。
不顧少女撕心裂肺的喝止聲，更加不要命地往前開。
就在車輛下到一半的時候。
轟！
只聽地底傳來一聲不堪重負的巨響，地面坍塌了！
載着許江琴姐弟倆的中巴車毫無意外地往下一栽，徑直掉下了深坑。
後面的那輛中巴車挨得太近，落石出現時，車裏的司機也跟着加了速，遇到塌陷完全剎不住車，和下餃子一樣，唰唰地沖了進去。
唯一因為覺察到不對勁兒幸免于難的溫辛，并沒有露出慶幸喜悅的神情。
他攥緊拳頭，幾乎同一時間撈來了副駕駛座上的狙擊槍，架在窗邊，朝着山壁上的變異螞蟻開槍。
子彈有如疾風，穿過了螞蟻的複眼，炸出一片黝黑色的血花。
螞蟻們一聲哀叫，紛紛撤退。
溫辛再要擡槍瞄準，突然刮起的暴雪卻阻擋了他追擊的視野。
不到兩秒時間，山壁上已經沒了變異螞蟻的身影。
找不到瞄準目标，溫辛的嘴角逐漸繃緊成一條冰冷的直線。
他将狙擊槍放回原處，手攥成拳，沒忍住在車窗上狠狠地砸了一下。
The snowstorm is getting stronger.
.
There were clouds of flying snow in the air, but no echo could be heard in the deep pit, so I wondered how deep it was.
Wen Xin found a lot of broken branches beside the pit. Looking at the cross-section of the hole, he saw that a lot of it was cement that had just been pasted on.
He rubbed his aching forehead.
Judging from the old and new marks of cement paste on the cross section, it is obvious that many passers-by were lured by the attacker in this way and then fell into the pothole.
"Warm and sweet..."
There were two anxious voices coming from behind.
Wen Xin seemed to know what they wanted to say. He picked up the dumplings one by one, put them back into the SUV, and wrapped them tightly with a thick blanket.
He looked into their eyes and said, "It was me who promised to protect them, not you, so you don't need to feel guilty for not being able to do anything."
The relationship between mutants and humans is like an unsolvable tangled mess.
During the time that Wen Xin and Green Tuanzi were together, he could clearly feel Tuanzi's disgust and hatred towards humans.
This kind of disgust did not disappear even when he faced his best friend Tang Qi.
Wen Xin is not that upright. When it comes to the safety of Xu Jiangqin and his gang over that of Tuanzi, he will choose Tuanzi without hesitation.
But he also had to keep his promise.
Wen Xin stretched out her jade-white fingers and moved the chins of the two dumplings.
After coaxing them into feeling comfortable, Wen Xin lowered his head again and gently kissed the dumplings on their foreheads.
"Wait till I come back. It won't be long."
Then he packed some food and tools from the trunk, put them in a large-capacity military backpack, and carried it on his back.
He took out a climbing rope, fixed one end to the rock, tied the other end around his waist, and fastened the buckle neatly.
Wen Xin wrapped the excess rope in the middle around his arms and palms, pulled it hard, made sure it was tied securely, and prepared to go down.
Unexpectedly, before he could jump down, two balls in the car came flying towards him like monkeys.
"Warm and sweet!"
Seeing the flying solid, Wen Xin's body reflexively tried to dodge, but he succumbed to the habit of catching the dumplings.
As a result, when he stretched out his hand, Tuanzi didn't let him get into his arms at all, and hit him in the face with a bang.
"hiss……"
He covered his nose which was almost bleeding from the collision, and lifted the back of the necks of the dumplings, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "What are you doing?"
"With you."
Green Dumpling grabbed him and said dryly, "We don't want to be separated anymore."
Wen Xin's expression changed, but he still smiled helplessly, sighed, and lost to it.
"Then remember to hold on to me."
The kids nodded in haste, one holding onto his shoulders.
Wen Xin pulled the rope, took a look at the dark and bottomless pit, took a breath, and jumped down without hesitation.
With the protection of the tactical gloves, the pulling force of the rope did not cause much damage to Wen Xin's palms.
He kicked the wall of the cave with his feet and slid down carefully like a praying mantis jumping on the ground.
Moving in this way will be a bit slow, but it can ensure safety.
It can also ensure that when the rope above is cut, Wen Xin will not fall uncontrollably due to the sudden loss of his climbing point.
I don't know how much time passed.
He dropped the stone and finally heard an echo from below.
Wen Xin did not land so easily.
After waiting cautiously for a moment, he let go of the rope and stepped down.
The texture is bouncy when it hits the ground.
Wen Xin turned on the flashlight and, as expected, saw layers of cushions stacked up in the pitch-black underground.
Both minibuses fell onto the bumper pad and parts of their bodies were damaged.
The people inside have disappeared.
Wen Xin stepped on the cushion and examined it carefully, and saw dense footprints that looked like ink dots.
Where the footprints extend is a cave that is also dark, and the edge of the cave entrance has traces of being opened by the mouthparts.
He asked the two dumplings: "Can you sense what's going on inside?"
The panda's sensing ability is not that accurate.
It only knows that there are a lot of delicious food inside.
Wen Xin: “…”
The dumplings followed him and ate human meals three times a day, which almost made him forget that the mutant recipe did include mutants of lower levels than himself.
Wen Xin turned to Green Dumpling, who also nodded.
"There's a big one hiding in a deeper place. It smells pretty good."
The scaled tree viper has always been straightforward, and at this time it did not hide its dislike for the mutant ant.
"Others are like rotten food, but if it's this, it's still okay to eat as a snack."
Wen Xin: “…………”
He was unnecessarily worried that the two kids would be scared.
Wen Xin turned off the flashlight that could easily expose himself, put on night vision goggles, and groped his way into the cave.
There are many branching roads in the cave, and there are caves of various sizes like sieves, and each one looks no different.
Fortunately, the green ball was there to sniff the scent that was still in the air and help him find the way.
The little panda secretly released a little of his breath.
The pressure from the A-class mutant can disperse nearby mutant ants without alarming their leader.
Wen Xin and his team moved forward without encountering any obstacles.
After twists and turns, the view in front of me became wider and wider.
When Wen Xin couldn't help wondering why he hadn't suffered from oxygen deprivation yet, a bright man-made mine suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Many ores were exposed outside the stone wall, emitting a dim green light under the reflection of the fire.
Judging from the scale of this mine, it must have taken at least five years to dig.
Wen Xin suppressed his shock and walked to the entrance of the cave.
When he looked down, he saw Xu Jiangqin and his group had just been carried onto a minecart by mutant ants and were about to be sent to other cave entrances.
Wen Xin moved his fingers and touched the pistol at his waist, his eyes inadvertently turning to the side.
As he took a closer look, he discovered something that made him frown.
There is more than just Xu Jiangqin's mining truck parked here.
There are also many mine carts parked outside the crisscrossing tunnels.
On each of them lay unconscious humans, men and women, old and young.
Several tunnels are like assembly lines in a factory, sending these people into the farthest bottomless caves.
Wen Xin's heart sank involuntarily.
The snowy mountain where they were located was not the only place where hijackings occurred.
How many people were killed in this cave?
Wen Xin took a breath silently.
He knew in his heart that the more critical the situation, the more he should not panic.
Just as Wen Xin was looking around, looking for a breakthrough point.
He suddenly caught sight of a very familiar face among the unconscious victims.
Wen Xin's breathing stagnated for a moment and his pupils dilated.
Tang Qi?
Why is he here?
【Author’s words】
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2023-05-19 23:57:02~2023-05-20 21:51:51~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Qianxiao Anran 18 bottles; Youbing 10 bottles; Hantian 9 bottles; Pangbai 6 bottles; Bao Yinque Siting 5 bottles; Luchenbaobaoovo, Weilan, Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow, Greedy Jiu, Ziyu, JY 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!