Chapter 43 Chapter 43 (Update 1) The bell triggers...
For Chang Ruijia, the fog that filled the entire sky this time did not actually cause much inconvenience.
Her previous life was more inclined towards solitary living, and now she was just reducing the area of her solitary living space a little, returning to the size of her bed when she first came to this sea area. It would take some time to get used to it.
Moreover, because of the lingering fog outside and the sea monsters "avoiding the summer heat", Chang Ruijia's daily monster hunting, which she had always insisted on, had to be put on hold temporarily.
This time, Chang Ruijia really lived in this small tent, eating and sleeping, it was so comfortable!
During this period, through the small transparent window on the tent, Chang Ruijia put on protective clothing and groped her way to the bed outside, sorting out the items that were almost full, and exchanged all the items she had collected in the Xianyu system.
Seeing that after this huge harvest, her authority had increased significantly and could last for a long time, Chang Ruijia nodded with satisfaction and indulged herself back in the tent.
However, while going out for some fresh air and sorting out things, Chang Ruijia did not forget to observe the current situation outside.
I don’t know if it’s because the heat generated by the sun has begun to dissipate, but this time when Chang Ruijia came out, even though she was wearing a full set of protective equipment, she didn’t feel the same stuffiness as last time, where she would sweat all over if she moved a little. Although it was still a bit stuffy, it had eased a lot.
However, perhaps because of the fog's insulating effect on the sea water temperature, the newly formed cold air clouds in the sky sank and encountered heat, which seemed to increase the concentration of fog in the air.
Looking at the fog which still showed no signs of subsiding, Chang Ruijia couldn't help but sigh in her heart. It seemed that she still had to wait for a long time, waiting for the temperature to finally return to normal and the fog to slowly dissipate.
But this also gives people hope.
Just when Chang Ruijia thought that she would stay in the tent until the weather outside improved before going out again, the bell that had been silent since it was thrown out suddenly rang.
When Chang Ruijia first heard the "ding-dong" sound, she was stunned for a second in the tent, trying to recall where the bell sound came from.
When she finally realized that she had just entered the tent and that the bells had been thrown around, Chang Ruijia immediately jumped up, quickly put on all her protective gear and ran out of the tent. The appearance of this sound was no small matter.
Unfortunately, the surrounding fog was still white. Even if Chang Ruijia tried hard to see clearly whether someone around had triggered the alarm device, there was no way to do it in the end.
And probably because the bells were strung together and thrown into the sea, after the bell string was pulled, the entire bed was now filled with the jingling sound of the bells, which was chaotic and long, diffused in the mist and was simply endless.
In front of her was a vast white fog that obscured the sky, and the sound of the bells kept echoing in her ears. Almost in an instant, Chang Ruijia's back was covered with layers of white sweat.
This atmosphere is really weird.
The eyes cannot see whether there are enemies around, but the ears feel that there are enemies everywhere.
Not daring to hesitate at all, Chang Ruijia didn't know whether this series of sounds was because the man was still approaching her, so she carefully identified the direction of the first sound and threw a kitchen knife directly into the air.
Guessing that the knife had just slipped out of her hand and disappeared in the vast white fog, Chang Ruijia could only wait patiently for the sound of the kitchen knife falling into the water or hitting something to come back.
During those agonizing and extremely torturous seconds, before Chang Ruijia could guess what was coming back, she heard a faintly familiar voice coming from the fog.
"I accidentally strayed into your security area. I'm so sorry to disturb your rest. I'll remove the bell that's tangled with me right away... Shit!"
Before the man finished speaking, the sound of a kitchen knife falling into the water, which Chang Ruijia had been expecting, came from the same direction.
What followed was a cry of shock.
…
Both sides fell into an indescribable silence. Chang Ruijia was a little surprised that the bell sound that never stopped was actually because the bell string was entangled in the man's rowing tool.
However, she did not feel any regret for the subconscious use of the kitchen knife. After all, in this environment where she had no idea of the situation, since the other party made the mistake first, she should not blame her for being too frightened.
"That kitchen knife attack just now was just a warning. Please leave as soon as possible and put the bell back where it belonged. If you don't respond after a while, don't blame me for being rude!"
Before Chang Ruijia finished her warning, the other party found her first. Perhaps because of the familiarity and trust, a familiar voice went straight into her ears.
"Are you... the girl who changed my clothes that day?"
——
Lu Baian was actually helpless about accidentally stumbling into someone else's territory.
Before the fog came, he had planned to rush to a place where he thought there were many people gathering, but he didn't expect to encounter this sudden heavy fog halfway.
At first, Lu Baian didn't notice anything different. When the fog slowly rose, he thought it was just a normal phenomenon of the convergence of cold and hot air currents.
After all, the weather has been hot for too long now, so it would not be surprising if a cold air current appeared.
But when he accidentally noticed a layer of red spots on his body, he realized that the fog was not as harmless as it seemed.
After taking off the mask that had been covering his face, Lu Baian suddenly discovered the toxicity contained in the air.
Thanks to his previous experience of fighting back against a group of criminals, after discovering the problem of fog in the air, he directly picked up the plastic sheet scattered beside the floating objects and covered himself with it.
In the white fog, he didn't dare let his whereabouts drift too far, so he could only continue to rely on his inner sense of direction and slowly paddle towards the designated place.
But unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, the wooden stick he used to row the boat got tangled in a pile of bell strings.
Almost in an instant, Lu Baian realized that he might have lost his way and accidentally invaded someone's territory.
While constantly trying to untie the bell, he was also ready to speak directly to state his purpose, hoping to avoid any additional trouble in the vast fog.
But he didn't expect that before he could finish his words, a sharp kitchen knife came out of the air and chopped towards him without any warning. If he hadn't been agile enough, the kitchen knife would have hit his face directly!
Gasping for breath in fear, Lu Baian recalled the kitchen knife that had just passed by him by only a few centimeters, and something familiar seemed to flash through his mind.
Before he could think about it more carefully, a particularly familiar sound appeared in his ears.
The bell, the kitchen knife, that familiar sound...
If these things appeared separately, he might not be surprised, but now that they are all combined on one girl, he couldn't help but think deeply.
Subconsciously using the voice transmission function of his mobile phone to identify himself, Lu Baian couldn't help but ask hesitantly, "Are you... the girl who changed my clothes that day?"
After a long while without hearing any movement from the other side, Lu Baian seemed to have thought of something and said in a self-deprecating tone, "I'm the cross-dressing boss's...your little sister."
A lady who dresses like a cross-dresser?
Listening to the familiar self-abandonment coming from the familiar male voice, Chang Ruijia, who had no impression of changing clothes just now, suddenly realized! She thought she knew who the person opposite was.
"What's the matter?" Chang Ruijia hesitated for a moment, but still held the kitchen knife tightly in her hand and asked carefully.
Even if they had met once, so what? But they weren't close enough to let down their guard.
"Uh..." Lu Baian had originally planned to leave after untying the bell, but since the person opposite him was Chang Ruijia, who had made the exchange that day, and thinking about the abundant supplies on her bed at that time, he couldn't help but speak again, "Are you free to exchange supplies now? I want to exchange some things with you."
Chang Ruijia hesitated for a moment as she looked at the supplies that had reappeared on the bed and the still sufficient supplies in her hands.
In fact, logically speaking, she should not need to exchange anything. After all, the weather is like this now. If it can reduce trouble, it is natural to avoid it.
However, Chang Ruijia has not forgotten that last time she exchanged a lot of good things from Lu Baian, such as the watch that she now regards as her life.
It has been such a long time since we last met, and I don’t know if Lu Baian has collected other good things. This opportunity to meet him is really rare, and Chang Ruijia doesn’t want to miss it easily.
"Don't use your ability to hear sounds, don't enter the range of the bell wire, wait for me to get over." Chang Ruijia said cautiously.
According to the information currently available, engulfment usually occurs between approaching and back-to-back approaching. As long as the initiative of approaching is in her own hands, there is no need to worry about the opponent turning against her temporarily.
"Okay, let's use the bell line as a guideline. I'll also leave some distance behind as a safe distance between us."
Lu Baian is not the type of person who would just sit there and wait for others to get close to him. Since they have decided to exchange items with each other, naturally both parties have to leave a certain margin of safety.
Chang Ruijia slowly approached the bell line that was thrown out at the beginning. Seeing that the bells had not suffered any damage, she breathed a sigh of relief and also had a certain trust in Lu Baian's intentions.
"Have you arrived?" Looking at the vast expanse of white in front of him, Lu Baian, who had moved away a little, did not hear the bell sound as expected, and asked with some confusion.
Chang Ruijia reached out and shook the bell to prove that she was indeed near the bell line, but the scene in front of her was still white and foggy, with nothing in it, which made their transaction extremely difficult.
"How... do we conduct the transaction?" Lu Baian said hesitantly.
Judging from the sound of the bell, the distance between them is actually not far.
Judging from the degree to which the two sides were facing each other before the fog, this distance could even cause the floating objects on one side to appear slightly transparent.
However, at a time when even floating objects cannot be clearly seen, this distance seems as far as an insurmountable chasm, and even the other party's figure cannot be seen clearly.
"What do you need to exchange? What do you have in your hands?" Chang Ruijia did not directly propose a solution, but asked these two questions directly while looking at the white fog.
Some things still need to be understood in advance before judging whether it is worth her trying to find a way to solve the face-to-face fog problem.
Lu Baian naturally thought of this as well. After a moment's silence, he said, "In addition to the items you mentioned at the beginning, I now have large pieces of plastic sheets, practical dishes, storage boxes, and ropes for tying things..."
As Lu Baian introduced his situation one by one, Chang Ruijia's eyes became brighter and brighter.
It must be said that compared to her "don't offend me, don't offend me" approach, the amount of things in her hands was indeed much more disorganized than Lu Baian's, and none of them were as targeted. After listening to Lu Baian's detailed count of his belongings and then falling silent, Chang Ruijia tactfully continued, "In addition to the things you mentioned before, I now have car tires, skateboards, razors..."
After both of them informed each other of their situations, Chang Ruijia looked at the vast white mist in front of them and said, "I think you have something I need. Are you sure you want to exchange it with me?"
"Of course!" Lu Baian had already expressed his desire to exchange items at the very beginning. After listening carefully to what Chang Rui's family had that could be exchanged, that idea became even stronger.
"But how are we going to exchange with each other? Do we throw based on our feelings and the direction of the sound?" Lu Baian didn't think this idea was completely feasible.
There are too many uncertainties on the sea. Even if you are face to face, mistakes may occur when exchanging items. What’s more, how can we not see each other’s appearance clearly now?
When Lu Baian came up with a more feasible solution, he saw a rising white light in the direction directly opposite him, barely illuminating the fog in front of him, and finally he could vaguely see the figure of the person in front.
When Chang Ruijia first tried to look outside the tent with her camping lamp, she discovered that the camping lamp produced by the system seemed to be able to barely shine through the fog to the front.
During this time, she was able to observe the items stacked on the bed clearly only with the help of the barely illuminated light from the camping lamp.
Before confirming that Lu Baian had the item she wanted to exchange, Chang Ruijia had no intention of taking out the camping lantern directly. After all, the exchange item was what Lu Baian himself needed, so naturally he should come up with a solution.
However, if she also urgently needs some of the items in Lu Baian's hands, then in this mutually beneficial situation, she can still take out the camping lamp and use it.
Looking at the light that Chang Ruijia had lit on the bed, Lu Baian raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't expect that in this vast and hopeless fog, the other party would have such a magical thing in his hand.
However, Lu Baian still knew his limits. Since Chang Ruijia did not mention the magical "fog light" when she first introduced the items in her hand, he would not ask any more questions.
But when the function of the "fog light" was gradually fully revealed, Lu Baian discovered that Chang Ruijia not only did not mention this magical "fog light", but there were many other good things she did not mention!
Look at that tightly enclosed tent! Look at the tightly enclosed fence around the bed! Look at the bed full of supplies that is about to overflow!
Woohoo, is it too late to hug my thigh now?!
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