Chapter 98 Buried in Peace: Do You Want to Stay Here?
Night falls, and the mountain air warms up.
On the way back to the tent camp, everyone was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and their clothes felt sticky against their skin, causing some discomfort.
Five days have passed since entering the "Innocent Amusement Park" instance. Judging from the game's progress, most players have already begun to gather at the mountaintop.
For this reason, almost no passing players visited the tent camp during this period.
The happy home, located halfway up the mountain, also appears deserted at this moment.
But Xin Sang was not depressed because of the sharp drop in income.
Instead, she was sitting by the tent, humming an unknown cheerful tune, and by the light of her homemade torch, she was taking stock of the various props scattered around her feet.
Having run a tent camp for so long, the "points income" has long become the least important part of her business.
This wasteland had never been so lively, and she had never been so happy—
For Xin Sang, this was already the happiest thing.
After keeping his head down for a long time, Xin Sang's neck also felt a little sore.
She stood up from the stone bench, casually stretched, and loosely clenched her right fist, patting her neck lightly.
"My neck pain is an old problem..."
Xin Sang muttered softly, "After they come back, I need to have Director Wang take a good look at me, otherwise, it's not a good idea to keep feeling this uncomfortable..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xin Sang caught a glimpse of flickering light coming from the mountain path.
As the footsteps drew closer, she hurried to meet them.
"You're back!"
It was too dark for her to notice the expressions on everyone's faces, each concealing their own thoughts, under the flashlight beam.
Xin Sang's tone still carried a hint of joy at the end, "I was busy tidying up the props just now and forgot to boil some water for you—the stone pot is over there, you can boil some water yourselves if you want to drink some."
A grateful smile appeared on Liang Xun's lips as she walked past Xin Sang, gently patting her shoulder.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Xin."
"Oh, it's not hard at all, it's nothing!"
Xin Sang glanced at the scattered members walking back to the camp and casually asked, "Where's Director Wang? I need him to take a look at my cervical spine; it hurts so much after just a short time of looking down..."
Her casual remark caused most of the people present to stop in their tracks.
Tang Cailei and Jiang Chunhua were also slightly taken aback, but after they came to their senses, they ignored everyone and went to their respective tents.
Old Ren strolled slowly past Xin Sang.
No one spoke, but Xin Sang could sense that aura.
It was cold and carried the scent of death.
Wang Jianping, who was lying on Lao Ren's back, had already begun to stiffen, and his limbs were showing signs of becoming fixed.
Despite the poor visibility, Xin Sang quickly spotted the other person's exposed blue-green skin—
It was impossible to tell whether it was his skin color after being contaminated or the lividity that was beginning to accumulate.
The most likely outcome flashed through her mind, but Xin Sang refused to believe it.
It wasn't until she caught sight of Qi Zhixia with slightly red eyes, Ge Lin with most of her hair corroded, and Liang Jun who needed assistance to walk normally, that Xin Sang was forced to accept this reality.
The cheerful atmosphere she had previously created has now been shattered by reality.
Xin Sang had planned everything meticulously, but he never expected this outcome.
She was a little unsteady on her feet. Her long, wavy red hair seemed to have suddenly lost its vitality in that instant.
Jiang Zhiling stepped forward with a sorrowful expression and gently placed her arm around Xin Sang's, "Sister Xin, don't be too sad..."
Even though it was their team members who suffered losses, they unexpectedly became the ones who needed to be comforted.
Xin Sang spoke with a slightly bewildered expression, her voice filled with bitterness, "I'm sorry... I was the one who sent you to the carousel. I didn't expect another person to die..."
"Sister Xin, this has nothing to do with you."
Liang Xun sighed softly and walked up to her. "Even if it wasn't your suggestion, we still had to go there according to the map."
Liang Jun's words were not meant to comfort her, but were indeed true.
The carousel is the closest attraction to them at the moment. Apart from that, the other attractions are almost all clustered together on the mountaintop, which is no different from going directly to the Ferris wheel.
However, they certainly cannot finish the instance in one day, and the overnight stay is also a major issue that needs to be carefully considered.
All things considered, even without Xin Sang's kind recommendation, everyone would still choose the carousel, which is the closest option.
Xin Sang didn't know what to say.
Her long hair fell to her shoulders, making her look somewhat disheveled.
"So what are you going to do with Director Wang...?"
She moved behind Lao Ren and, as if possessed, reached out and touched Wang Jianping's exposed arm.
A chilling coldness began to spread from my fingertips, and it felt especially biting in the mountains.
Xin Sang was momentarily stunned and hurriedly withdrew his hand.
Luo Chuange, dragging his weary steps, caught up from behind.
“We originally intended to bring him out of the instance,” he said, taking the stiff body from Old Ren’s hands, his voice heavy, “but after careful consideration, we realized the difficulty of the final stage was still unknown. Even if we successfully made it out, whether Director Wang’s body would be intact the moment we left the instance was an uncertain unknown…”
But they couldn't just leave people like that on this desolate mountain, where no one ever goes, to be watched by cold-blooded NPCs and devoured by brutal wild beasts.
Xin Sang was silent for a moment, then said, "Otherwise, let's just bury him in the ground."
She gathered her red hair with both hands, reached behind her head, and deftly pulled the hair tie off her wrist, skillfully tying her long hair into a bun.
"There's a small patch of wasteland behind the camp. There's no equipment there; it's been vacant for a long time, and it's surrounded by evergreen pine trees. It seems like Director Wang..."
Xin Sang choked up slightly, "I think you'll like it."
Compared to getting lost in a game instance, finding a safe burial in a rule-based world is indeed a more appropriate choice.
Ge Lin scratched his bald head, barely managing to cover it with the remaining blue hair.
“I know that place. It’s a quiet place to settle down. It’s much better than taking him around to make a living.”
Qi Zhixia, sitting in her wheelchair, remained silent, simply turning her head away as if she didn't want to continue the discussion.
Seeing this, the others no longer expressed their agreement or disagreement verbally; instead, they exchanged knowing glances.
"Let's go, I have some polished tools over there that might come in handy."
Xin Sang led the way, and after walking for a short while, she seemed to suddenly realize something and turned to look at Qi Zhixia.
“Summer, you…”
"I'm not feeling well, so I won't go with you."
Seemingly knowing what Xin Sang wanted to say, Qi Zhixia spoke first: "I'll just go back to the tent, you don't need to worry about me."
That being said, it's impossible for everyone to really ignore her, especially since she's still injured.
Considering that Jiang Chunhua had already entered the tent, and Qi Zhixia had to be accompanied by another player—
After much deliberation, Liang Xuan met Jiang Zhiling's gaze.
"I might need you to accompany Summer..."
Jiang Zhiling smiled gently, "It's alright, you'll have to work hard from now on."
She took Qi Zhixia's wheelchair from Ge Lin and walked towards the tent where they were resting, watched by the others.
Xin Sang continued to lead the main force toward the open space behind the tents.
As she passed by the stone bench, Liang Jun also noticed the pile of props that had a very strong presence.
They were mostly small trinkets, but their sheer number eventually formed a small hill.
Unlike the owners who cherished and stored these items, the owners of these items seemed extremely careless, leaving the system items, without any signs of use, haphazardly discarded on the ground, ignoring their dirt and wear.
Xin Sang, who was rummaging through tools by the tent, noticed her gaze. After handing over a few rough shovels to everyone, Xin Sang pounded his neck a couple of times.
"Those are the accommodation fees left by previous players. I'm just waiting here for you to come back, and I have nothing to do, so I'm tidying things up."
After giving a brief explanation, Xin Sang sighed, "Let's go, it's not far away."
As they said, the vacant lot was indeed in a nice environment.
Evergreen trees grow around the perimeter, their dense root systems covering every inch of soil, making it easy for them to dig up clods of earth without expending much effort.
After the group worked together to dig a pit nearly as tall as a person, Ge Lin helped Luo Chuange slowly lower Wang Jianping, who was on his back, into the bottom of the pit.
Because his body had become somewhat stiff, they dared not force him to lie completely flat. They could only leave Wang Jianping in a bent-limb position, where he would remain forever.
From the moment the first shovel of yellow earth fell on Wang Jianping's chest until the last shovel covered all traces, the area remained eerily quiet.
Apart from the barely audible sound of breathing, there was only the occasional cawing of night crows from the mountains and forests.
The grief in my heart is greater than anything else.
When a person is extremely sad, they cannot shed a single tear.
Gu Keke walked around the perimeter of the site and found a yellow wildflower with extremely vigorous vitality among the overgrown weeds.
With a shovel, she dug up the tiny wildflower by the roots, and then, under the silent gaze of everyone, she planted the yellow light in the very center of the slightly raised mound of earth.
Gu Keke clasped her hands together and placed them in front of her chin.
"Strive to bloom..."
After a brief farewell to Wang Jianping's remains, the group, led by Xin Sang, retraced their steps and returned to the open space in front of the tent.
The torch she had lit earlier was now flickering. Ge Lin, with practiced ease, took a few more unlit torches and relit the open space.
Old Ren helped Xin Sang put the digging tools back in their original places. But she didn't sit down to rest immediately; instead, she silently returned to the fire to boil water for everyone.
Luo Chuange and Ge Lin, who had undertaken most of the physical labor, started yawning incessantly before their bottoms even touched the stone benches.
Liang Jun, propping her increasingly heavy head up, sat to the side, watching their movements as they swayed back and forth, and said softly, "Are you sleepy?"
"No--"
Ge Lin answered with lightning speed, as if by reflex, followed instantly by an even longer yawn.
Sure enough, yawning is contagious.
Gu Keke and Xin Sang, who had just returned from the campfire, also stared wide-eyed.
In the firelight, their eyes were filled with a faint layer of tears.
“It’s really late now, and everyone has been working hard all day,” Xin Sang said, placing the kettle on the ground next to a stack of clean bamboo bowls. “The water is ready; please help yourselves.”
After saying that, she placed her hands on her knees and sat steadily on the stone bench.
"So, what's your plan next?" Xin Sang asked casually, seemingly without thinking, as she slowly checked the props on the ground.
The group's weary eyes glazed over as they looked at Liang Yan.
Fortunately, she was just a little slow to react; her thoughts were still able to keep up.
Liang Xun thought about it carefully, "Tomorrow... we might need to go find an NPC first..."
She still kept the toy pony with her. Liang Jun took it out of her bosom and briefly recounted their encounter with the little girl NPC.
Xin Sang nodded from time to time, her gaze lingering on the doll in Liang Xun's hand. "May I take a look?"
Liang Jun didn't hesitate for long and handed it over directly.
She kept a close eye on Xin Sang's micro-expressions and small movements, but found that the other party did not have any unusual reaction after receiving the toy.
As if it were an ordinary object, Xin Sang only weighed it briefly in her hand before returning it to Liang Xun.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before,” Xin Sang said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “If I remember correctly, our souvenir at the time was just a very ordinary crown brooch. I’ve never seen this toy before—”
She raised her eyes slightly and met Liang Xuan's slightly misty eyes.
"I've never seen that little girl you're talking about."
The mysteries seem to be piling up.
But right now, everyone is so exhausted that they're practically unconscious, so there's no way they can think deeply anymore.
This feeling is like being in the first math class after lunch break, where the teacher is clearly explaining the most basic integral formulas in the textbook, but to the listener, it sounds like a conversation between celestial beings.
As a soon-to-be-graduated college student, Liang Jun is very familiar with her.
She slowly picked up the bamboo bowl and poured herself a cup of steaming hot water.
Liang Jun decided to take it one step at a time and see how it goes.
After all, given his current chaotic mental state, "doing nothing" seems safer than "doing something".
Xin Sang also noticed Liang Xun's state of mind. The shrewd woman chose to temporarily avoid the topic and flexibly shifted to the next step of the plan.
"What happens after we return the toy to the NPC?"
"after……"
Liang Jun took a small sip of the hot water from the bamboo tube bowl.
The warm water flowed down her throat, as if she were drinking not ordinary spring water, but a mental tonic with special effects.
Liang Jun felt that the feeling of mental confusion had lessened considerably, and she felt much lighter as a result.
"After that, we'll go to the top of the mountain to prepare for the last project."
This is something everyone knows perfectly well; the goal they've been willing to sacrifice their lives for has always been this one.
No one spoke in the desolate wilderness anymore; only the crackling of the burning torches could be heard.
Xin Sang nodded, bent down, picked up a handful of props from the ground at her feet, and then stood up.
"Then I'll go with you tomorrow."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, the players were all incredulous and turned their shocked gazes toward Xin Sang.
Xin Sang had a faint smile in her eyes and looked relaxed.
“After all, you’ve already lost two team members, and in addition—” Xin Sang winked at Liang Jun, “Baby, you’re also in a contaminated state right now, so I’m not too comfortable with you guys.”
That being said, this is clearly a major decision and was not made so hastily.
Gu Keke also became visibly anxious, "Sister Xin, what about your business here..."
"Where can't we do business?"
Xin Sang shrugged nonchalantly, "Doing business in such a dangerous place is all about earning points, isn't it? But I've earned enough points now, it's time for me to get out of here."
Ignoring the astonished expressions of the original team members, she raised her chin at Ge Lin, who was now only half-formed.
"Ge Lin, do you want to stay here?"
Ge Lin shook his head frantically.
The few remaining strands of long hair swayed comically on top of his head.
"I want to go out too! I only have half a head of hair left, how am I supposed to live like this!"
He pointed to his blue fur, a bitter look on his face, "When I get out of here, I'm going to dye this thing green!"
The slightly somber atmosphere was broken by Ge Lin's joke.
Luo Chuange chuckled and shook his head, giving him a gentle push; Lao Ren also stroked his bald scalp as if he were caressing his own child—even Liang Xun, who was a little slow to react, smiled helplessly.
A faint smile remained on Liang Xun's lips as she looked up at Xin Sang, who was already standing at the tent entrance.
"Sister Xin, are you really sure you've made up your mind?"
"Oh, baby, what's there to worry about!"
Just as straightforward as her hair color, Xin Sang swept away her previous negative emotions and responded enthusiastically, "It's decided then! It's getting late, everyone should get some rest. We have a tough battle to fight tomorrow!"
She turned around, just lifting a corner of the tent flap, then turned back and winked at Liang Jun and Gu Keke.
"Thank you both, could you please help me move all the props on the ground inside?"
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Author's Note: An even bigger chapter tomorrow!
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