Ji Lin'an and I tried using satellite internet, but there was no signal at all in this place, so we couldn't check our location. The forest was surrounded by caves, and it didn't feel like a real world. Instead, it felt like a deliberately created virtual world. This reminded me of a foreign movie I had seen, in which a group of people killed each other in such a virtual world, and the people who created this world watched us kill each other like we were pets.
We walked for two hours. I specifically counted the caves we passed; there were 15, each about 500 meters apart. That means we've walked almost 8 kilometers. There are 100 lucky ones. We can confirm that those in the same cave were people who were together before they lost consciousness. Ji Lin'an and I were in one cave, and Qianliyan and the other two were in another. If there are an average of two people in each cave, then there are 50 caves. We've already passed 15. If Qianliyan and the others are heading in our direction at the same time, we should meet them soon.
We walked for another ten minutes or so. Song Yi looked a little exhausted. Ji Lin'an glanced back at Song Yi, then looked around and pointed to the entrance of a cave ahead: "Let's rest at the cave entrance for a while. It seems that the cave entrance is the safest place right now. Most people go into the forest after leaving the cave, so there won't be anyone at the cave entrance."
Song Yi and I nodded, and we turned onto the gravel path leading to the cave. In the distance, we could see patches of bright red on the grayish-white gravel. Ji Lin'an immediately reached out to protect us, looking around warily. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes beside us. Ji Lin'an took two steps back, shielding us, and immediately pulled the gun from his back, aiming it at the source of the sound: "Come out."
The bushes remained motionless. Ji Lin'an gave me a look, and I nodded, picking up my phone to activate the shield at any moment. Ji Lin'an walked slowly forward alone, stopping near the bloodstains and looking into the bushes: "If you come out honestly, I might consider letting you go. But if you hide in there and launch a sneak attack, don't blame me for being impolite."
There was still no movement in the bushes. Ji Lin'an wanted to go into the bushes, but I pulled Song Yi and ran forward to stop him: "Forget it, let's go."
Ji Lin'an considered for two seconds and nodded. I turned around and walked side by side with Song Yi. Ji Lin'an's body was still facing the bushes, and he retreated step by step. Just as he stepped out of the gravel path, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Song Yi. Before I could fire my gun, the man fell to the ground. I saw the man on the ground clutching his bleeding neck with one hand, looking at us ferociously, while his other hand, holding an axe, was still struggling.
When Ji Lin'an reacted, he rushed in front of us to block the attack. Suddenly, the axe in the man's hand on the ground flew towards us. Ji Lin'an reacted quickly, turned around, and pulled me and Song Yi down to dodge the axe. The axe flew straight into the air and then fell behind us with a "clang" and embedded itself in the ground.
I turned to look at the man on the ground; he was unconscious. Song Yi, somewhat frightened, slumped to the ground, still holding a bloodstained dagger. I reached out to pat Song Yi's back reassuringly: "It's alright, he's dead."
Song Yi slowly lowered her hand, which was holding the knife, and heard Qianliyan's anxious voice through the earpiece: "What happened? Are you alright?"
Ji Lin'an said softly, "It's okay."
I gently took the dagger from Song Yi's hand, took two tissues from my bag to wipe it clean, and handed it to Song Yi. Song Yi let out a long breath and took the dagger, saying, "Thank you."
I nodded in response. Song Yi took out the scabbard of a dagger from her sleeve. I looked at it curiously and said, "Thank goodness for this knife. When did you hide the knife in your clothes? I didn't see it when you were changing clothes."
Song Yi looked up at us and said, "You two were having fun just now, but I was openly hiding in my clothes."
I laughed awkwardly and helplessly: "It's good to be aware of self-defense, haha. You're really brave. I think you can swing your knife faster than I can fire a gun."
Song Yi smiled wryly: "I've practiced it for the past few months. Who can blame me when my skills are so sought after? There are just too many people who want to kill me."
I smiled and leaned closer to Song Yi: "Then why aren't you afraid of us? What if we're bad guys too?"
Song Yi shook her head: "I don't think either of you would hurt me."
I asked curiously, "Why? Is it because I look kind?"
Song Yi sneered: "You can think that way too."
Suddenly, Qianliyan laughed and said, "Su Yi, she means you look rather silly."
My expression immediately froze. Song Yi looked at my drooping face and became a little nervous: "What I mean is that you and this guy don't seem like people who would kill innocent people indiscriminately."
I suddenly realized that Song Yi couldn't hear what Qianliyan was saying, and she might have mistakenly thought that my downcast face was because of what she said. I immediately put on a smile and said, "I believe what you said, don't be nervous."
Song Yi finally regained her composure. I ignored Qianliyan and, seeing that Song Yi had recovered, we got up and walked back to the bloodstains we had just seen. In a corner of the cave not far from the bloodstains was a man's corpse. Ji Lin'an saw it first and then blocked our way, saying, "Let's go, don't look anymore, it's headless." Song Yi and I gasped. Luckily, we only saw the corpse and didn't see anything else.
We continued onward, intending to rest at the next cave entrance. Upon reaching it, Song Yi received a system notification that she had acquired new skills. One skill was the throwing axe used by the recently deceased man; like Thor's hammer, she could wield the axe at will. The other skill was telepathy, allowing her to transmit her thoughts to a designated person, and only that person could hear them. The telepathic ability must belong to the man who had just been beheaded; no wonder he died so tragically—this skill offered absolutely no self-defense.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
