Chapter 31: Leave the smell. Be obedient and put it away. It’s dangerous here…
Xu Nuo woke up shakily, feeling the warmth disappear from his body. He mumbled drowsily, "I'm cold."
She huddled up and leaned towards the heat source, but the heat source didn't feel very pleasant to the touch. It was hard like a big brick and no matter how she leaned against it she felt uncomfortable.
She frowned unconsciously and squeezed in.
It felt like something was brushing against my face, and the warmth that had just been removed flew back to my body automatically, and even considerately tucked in the uncovered areas.
Wrapped in warmth, the shaking of the train actually became a magic aid to sleep. Xu Nuo turned over, left the uncomfortable place, squeezed into the soft and warm place, and planned to sleep for a while.
"I can't sleep much longer," a familiar voice said beside me. "We're almost at the station."
“…………!”
Xu Nuo opened her eyes and saw the man's upturned face directly above her. She was lying in his arms, her head resting on the junction of his arm and chest, and she was hugging his waist, her hands almost touching the warm skin below his waist!
She sprang up and leaned against the window.
Wei Yan was still holding a corner of the blanket covering her in one hand, and his other hand was resting on the back of her chair. The fabric on her chest was wrinkled, as if it had been torn apart by a tornado.
He spoke softly, taking the initiative: "Are you going to criticize me for letting you lean on me while you fell asleep?"
Xu Nuo looked at his wrinkled chest, smoothed his messy hair, and glanced around: "Thank you, what time is it?"
"Eight o'clock, two hours left."
"Eight o'clock?" Xu Nuo was in high spirits. He had slept peacefully for such a long time without any back pain. He even wanted to take another warm nap.
Since the plot line is getting closer and closer, I have been anxious about survival and haven't slept so soundly and peacefully for a long time. I have to say that I feel very safe around Wei Yan.
She stretched and said sincerely, "Thank you."
Suddenly, I felt a chill on my neck; it was my collar that was messed up. I lowered my head to fix it. "After I fell asleep, you just sat there all night like this? Aren't you bored?"
It was already dawn outside the car window. Abandoned urban areas occasionally passed by in the desert covered with yellow sand. The unchanging scenery was boring and dead.
Wei Yan took back the blanket and said, "This desert is constantly experiencing new crises. Sometimes, as a bystander, watching them while away their time, I find it fascinating."
Xu Nuo turned to the window curiously and looked out by sticking his lips to the glass.
...All I could see was yellow sand.
“Why can’t I see it?”
Wei Yan pointed to a sand dune in the upper right corner of the window: "There, there are two mutants fighting, and one of them is about to win."
Xu Nuo squinted his eyes and looked hard for a while, then turned his head and asked: "Are you kidding me?"
There were clearly only two small sand slopes there, nothing else!
Wei Yan sighed, leaning closer, his hands resting on the backs of her palms. The girl faced outward, completely trapped in the narrow space between him and the window. A familiar scent enveloped her, and she blushed and stammered, "What are you doing?"
Wei Yan lowered his head: "Use my eyes."
Xu Nuo closed his eyes.
The hand gripping the back of her palm tightened for a moment, bringing with it a suppressed gasp. Their mental powers had become so well-established that as soon as one mentioned the concept of a connection, the other could connect with them with a single thought. There was no need to summon a spirit form; simply by touching palm to palm, the connection was instantly established.
Xu Nuo was stunned - before he could react, their mental powers were completely entangled.
...Has she already relaxed her trust in Wei Yan to this extent? No, why does he trust her so much?
Wei Yan let go of his hand and sat back in his original position: "Look."
See the world through his eyes.
Xu Nuo opened his eyes, and his pupils suddenly contracted and faded. A deep green color like a deep pool appeared from the center of his eyeball and quickly spread to cover the entire pupil.
Wei Yan's gaze was fixed directly out the window, and everything before him seemed to be captured in high-definition detail. Amidst the granular yellow sand, he panned his gaze from near to far, gazing at the distant line where the sand slope met the sky. Then, Xu Nuo sensed a subtle pulsation in the silent desert.
In the upper right corner of the sand dune he pointed out, there were several yellow sand balls rising from the top of one of the dunes. One of the sand balls rose up without wind and flew fiercely to the top of another dune. Not long after, several more sand balls flew over.
Whose movements were they? Xu Nuo observed the sand-covered dunes, trying to find any clues about the culprit, but he found nothing.
Suddenly, she saw that the sand dune that was blown away by the sand ball rose several feet. No, it was - standing up!
The yellow sand fell off with a loud noise, but the sand on the dune was not reduced at all. Several slender tentacles extended from the bottom of the dune deep into the ground, and could not be seen without careful observation.
It rustled and moved a few meters away. Then, several more sand balls flew over from another dune, hitting it and forcing it back again and again until it was more than ten meters away and the attack stopped.
Then, the two sand dunes separated and fell silent. If it weren't for the inexplicable scene he had just witnessed, Xu Nuo would never have realized that these two sand dunes... were alive!
"The mutant is numbered 176. Like the human-lizard, it is one of the first mutants discovered when pollution first emerged. It uses yellow sand as its shell and hides in the sand all day long, foraging for lower-level mutants and lost animals. Once it is full, it will never move again." Wei Yan said softly.
Xu Nuo: "The book says that the mortality rate caused by it is very low. As long as you don't go to the desert, you won't encounter it."
"Yes, as long as you don't leave the group and go into the desert, you won't be harmed by it," Wei Yan whispered, "But if someone... is forced to leave the settlement and go deep into this vast wasteland, they will become an unfortunate lost person. For such people, it is a nightmare even more terrifying than an A-level mutant."
"Those lucky few who managed to escape the desert gave it a new name: the Yellow Sand Death Knell."
His voice sounded sinister, and Xu Nuo shuddered. Thinking of the two of them sitting on a train traveling through the desert, she quickly reached out to cover his mouth: "Pfft, pfft, pfft, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't let your words really cause any trouble on the way. I don't want to hike in the desert."
Wei Yan chuckled softly in her palm: "Do you find the desert interesting now?"
Xu Nuo shook his head: "It's a bit bloody, I don't want to watch it."
When she was about to end the eye contact, Wei Yan turned around and sat up straight. Following his gaze, Xu Nuo saw herself in his eyes.
This was really a strange feeling. The appearance that she could only see in the mirror was now projected into her own eyes by other people's eyes as a camera. She felt as if she had become Wei Yan, looking down at the girl who was a head shorter than him.
Was this the girl Wei Yan saw? She wasn't short, but she looked so tiny to him? Her hair was a little messy, and her skin was fair and smooth. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were all squeezed into her small face, and her expression was one of confusion and surprise.
In his sight, Wei Yan took her hand, interlocking his fingers for her to see—they leaned against each other again, feeling the touch of their bodies. He rested her head against his shoulder, one arm around her shoulder as he leaned back, his gaze lowering, only a glimpse of her chin and neck. Oh—so that's how it was, he was showing her the angle of view from which she had just slept in his arms. Yes, even from this deathly perspective, she looked quite beautiful. Wait, her face—why was it getting closer?
Xu Nuo quickly pushed him away and ended the eye contact: "What are you doing?"
Wei Yan was pushed back and said helplessly: "I told you not to listen. You are so focused on watching. The train is about to arrive at the station."
Xu Nuo only then realized that the car had almost come to a standstill.
But... you can't blame her. People are always narcissistic. Besides, the first time you see a fresh self through the eyes of others, it is very different from what you see in the mirror.
…
"Hello, welcome to the contestants from the Capital Military Academy. Registration is complete. Please take your luggage and go through security check and enter the waiting room. Someone will pick you up and take you to the landing area." The girl behind the glass counter showed a professional smile and waved her hand to point the way.
Xu Nuo took the bracelet she handed him and went to the waiting room with his suitcase.
The Fino Group is wealthy and powerful, and the Vulcan Cup is a grand affair, with more than a dozen registration desks just before the game.
Wei Yan was a sentry and was not at the same registration office as her. They would be randomly scattered in different competition areas. Without agreeing on a location in advance, it would not be easy for them to meet.
She had just seen the area of the competition zone, which was equivalent to a prefecture-level city when converted by land, sea and air.
The rules of the competition are also very simple. The competition venue is divided into ten areas. There is a stronghold in each area. When the contestants successfully stay in the stronghold for half an hour, they can occupy the stronghold and obtain the treasure chest.
However, specific keys are needed to open the treasure chest. These keys are guarded by mutants scattered everywhere. Contestants need to search for clues to find the location where the mutants are imprisoned, kill the mutants and get the keys.
The key corresponds to the treasure chest one by one and cannot be exchanged to open it, so it is easy to have a key but not be able to open the treasure chest.
Xu Nuo sighed - this way there would be competition, and the organizers encouraged this competition.
There were so many contestants in the crowd in front of her, and there were many talented people. Just by relying on her dull senses, she could tell that there were at least ten people who were stronger than her. It seemed that the competition in this contest was quite difficult.
She passed through security and followed the signs to the waiting room.
The competition lasts only fifteen days. During this period, the team that successfully opens ten treasure chests will win a ranking according to the chronological order, and will have the opportunity to visit the Fino factory and the right to a one-year supply of nutrients.
Xu Nuo decided that in order to get close to the secrets of the Fino Group, one must be among the top ten.
This means that even if she fails to meet Wei Yan, she must find her sentinel partner as soon as possible and occupy the stronghold or key - only with the chips for exchange will she have the opportunity to open the treasure chest.
She couldn't help but quicken her pace.
"Wait." His wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Xu Nuo turned around and saw Wei Yan rushing around again: "How did you get in?"
Wei Yan quickly placed a small button in her hand: "The passage after security check is the same, but the waiting room is different. Keep this, I will locate you as soon as possible and find you."
Xu Nuo exclaimed: "You are acting like——"
Wei Yan pressed his lips against hers: "Shh, I left your scent behind. I can find you even without the locator, but... I don't want anything to go wrong."
"Be good and put it away. It's very dangerous here."
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