Led by Shijiu, they walked through several large ruins and finally found a path that had been cleared by humans.
"This doesn't look like anyone lives here." Xiao Cheng looked around at the desolate surroundings. "Are you sure you haven't led us astray?"
"No, this is one of our outposts. People patrol here every day. Because of the world's erosion, we often change our meeting point. I've been out here for a while now, so the location has definitely changed again. I can only follow the patrolmen now."
At the end of the path was a very small house.
Strictly speaking, this cannot be considered a house; it is merely a simple wall structure made of stacked bricks.
The top of the wall is covered with patchwork canvas, which makes a loud rustling sound when it is blown by the wind.
Nineteen led them through a narrow side door.
“They haven’t come today.” He walked to the worn-out backpack in the corner, unzipped it, rummaged through it for a while, and pulled out an empty water bottle.
There were two lines drawn on the outside of the kettle, and Xiao Cheng guessed that this must be their special way of recording dates.
"So, we have no choice but to wait here now?"
Nineteen nodded: "If you run around randomly, you're very likely to encounter newly opened dungeons, and getting caught up in them will be very difficult."
"Is being stationed at a base safe?" Xiao Cheng asked again.
“It’s not entirely safe, but compared to other places, there’s a nearly 90% chance that the instance will not appear here,” Nineteen explained. “Because these outposts are built on the instance itself.”
"To be precise, the instance shut down automatically for unknown reasons. I suspect it's because there was a bug inside the instance that's hard to fix; after all, even the most sophisticated programs have bugs."
"Even if these instances do reopen, compared to other complete instances, those who get caught up in them will have a greater chance of survival."
Xiao Cheng looked at him with some surprise: "You really have never entered a dungeon?"
Nineteen hung her head dejectedly: "No."
"All my knowledge about dungeons is limited to theoretical assumptions. Although my older sister and the others sometimes give me some clues... I still want to go in and see for myself."
"Entering a dungeon isn't so easy," Fang He said quietly. "You should just stick to being a theoretical giant, so you don't end up harming yourself and others."
"But only within the instance can we find a complete solution!" Nineteen retorted righteously. "If I could truly do that, I could save the world!"
Xiao Cheng paused for a moment: "Well, you're quite the savior, it's just a pity you're so young, how can you be so immature?"
nineteen:"……"
He was about to continue his defense, explaining that his behavior wasn't immature but rather showed great ambition.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside, followed by four fully armed men bursting in, their four loaded guns pointed at Xiao Cheng and Fang He.
Who are you?!
The middle-aged man in the lead asked in a fierce tone, the half-scar above his left eye making him look even more menacing.
"Uncle Qiu, put down your gun! I brought them here!" Nineteen hurriedly went over to explain, "They're people who came out of there! Take us to see my older sister, they'll definitely be able to help us find the black box!"
"Nonsense!" Uncle Qiu frowned and glared at him fiercely. "Do you even know who they are?! Do you believe everything they say?! If we were all like you, we would have died eight hundred times over!"
He pushed Nineteen aside, then pointed the gun at Xiao Cheng's forehead and slowly approached her.
"Don't move! Or I'll shoot!"
He warned in an unquestionable tone, his gaze quickly sweeping over the places on Xiao Cheng's body where weapons might be hidden.
Xiao Cheng saw through his bluster and sighed helplessly, opening her empty palm to show that she meant no harm.
Uncle Qiu stopped when he was a little over a step away from her.
At his signal, another person came over, held a gun, and restrained Fang He. Then the remaining two dragged Nineteen out of the small house.
"Don't try to fool me." Uncle Qiu brandished the dark muzzle of his gun. "I'm not that naive kid from Nineteen."
"I'm not lying to you, look, I haven't said a single word yet," Xiao Cheng said with utmost sincerity.
"From now on, you'll answer every question I ask." Uncle Qiu wasn't buying it at all and continued coldly, "How are you going to prove your identities?"
Xiao Cheng: "..." It seems that this really can't be proven.
"It's alright, I can tell you." Uncle Qiu, confident he had seen through their trap, snorted coldly and pulled a crumpled wad of cash from his pocket with one hand...
ransom note.
Xiao Cheng glanced at the scribbles on the paper.
"Isn't there anything you need to explain?" Uncle Qiu questioned.
Xiao Cheng: "..." What's the point of explaining this?!
Uncle Qiu steadied the gun with both hands again and ordered the man next to him, "Get a rope, tie him up and take him back."
The man seemed a bit out of sorts, taking a long time to react before giving a soft reply. He maintained his gun-holding posture and slowly backed away, walking towards the backpack in the corner.
Suddenly, he seemed to trip over something, stumbled, and lost his balance, falling to the side.
At the same time, the gun in his hand also went out of control.
He let out a short cry of surprise, the muzzle of the gun tilted towards Uncle Qiu, and his finger twitched as he pulled the trigger.
There was a loud bang.
Uncle Qiu touched his numb neck in a daze and felt a sticky, warm bloodstain on his hand.
He turned his head stiffly, glanced at the bullet holes in the brick wall, and suddenly seemed to realize something, frantically throwing the gun away from his hand.
"Hey sir, you can't have a shaky hand when you're holding a gun." Xiao Cheng scooped up the gun before it hit the ground and turned to look at Fang He.
The man was pinned to the ground, trembling violently as if struck by a sudden illness.
Fang He controlled him with one hand, while holding the still-hot gun barrel with the other.
The change happened so fast that Uncle Qiu had no time to react to what was going on, and his remaining rationality was screaming wildly.
Something's not right, absolutely not right.
"Uncle?"
Seeing his bewildered expression, Xiao Cheng was afraid he'd been stunned by the gunshot, so she waved her hand in front of his eyes. Before she could say anything, she suddenly felt a dizzying sensation.
The ground cracked open neatly like a Rubik's Cube, then began to spin rapidly. Each of them stood on a completely different piece, and in a flash, the entire scene was completely overturned.
A piercing scream rang in my ears, followed by the splattering sound of blood and flesh.
Immediately following was Nineteen's hysterical scream: "Run! It's a dungeon! This dungeon has reopened!"
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