The falling hammer paused briefly above the turkey specimen before Fang He twisted his wrist and swiftly smashed the shrine and bird eggs to pieces.
Pale yellow egg liquid slowly oozed from the remains, emitting an enticing sweet aroma.
The corridor echoed with the clear chirping of birds. Suddenly, the turkeys stood up in unison, and soft, pale golden down began to grow slowly on their bodies. The down grew denser and longer, eventually completely covering the gaps on their bellies.
The once-naked turkey has been transformed into a bunch of golden, fluffy balls, which even look somewhat cute.
They moved their newly grown, still somewhat uncoordinated claws and trotted over to Xiao Cheng and Fang He.
Let's start dancing.
Xiao Cheng: "..." There's really no need for that.
"Looks like I hit the right spot." Fang He threw down the hammer with a clatter and leaned against the wall, feeling exhausted. "Once they finish jumping, we should be able to get out."
"How did you know to smash the eggs?" Xiao Cheng asked, looking puzzled.
“The painting is called Firebird,” Fang He said, pointing to the destroyed Buddhist shrine on the ground. “And look at this egg.”
"It hasn't hatched yet?" Xiao Cheng guessed reasonably.
“Look at this egg. It’s not a bird’s egg, or even a chicken egg,” Fang He said earnestly. “It’s a snake’s egg.”
After the turkey finished its dance and left in an orderly fashion, disappearing from the two people's sight, a huge black vortex appeared in the center of the corridor.
We can go out now.
Xiao Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and walked towards the vortex with Fang He.
However, it didn't work; it was as if an invisible force was blocking them from the exit.
"What kind of trouble is this now?" Xiao Cheng frowned, turned his head and looked at both sides of the corridor. The turkeys had not returned, nor had anything else appeared.
Fang He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then pointed to the turkey specimen on the ground: "Take it; it doesn't belong in this painting."
"Why?" Xiao Cheng bent down to pick up the specimen, turning it over and over to examine it, but found no clues.
“Because it’s not a firebird.” Fang He pulled Xiao Cheng forward. “It’s food prepared for snake eggs.”
They passed through the black vortex without any hindrance.
Returning to the art museum, Xiao Cheng felt as if she had been transported to another world.
Hanging in front of her was still the painting called Firebird, but the frame was no longer empty. A large golden bird soared in the flames, and in the shadows behind the flames, an ugly snake was lurking.
"I didn't expect Xiao Shuai to be so capable," Xiao Cheng exclaimed. Turning around and not seeing the tour guide and the other players, she looked around in confusion. "Where are they?"
Then I saw a skeletal hand reaching out from the picture frame next door.
Xiao Cheng watched helplessly as Xu Chu climbed out of the picture frame.
In the short time we hadn't seen him, he had become thinner, but not in a gaunt way. If we had to describe it, "concentrated essence" would be a more accurate description.
The red string on his wrist was gone, leaving only a strange red mark on his skin. The woman in red had also disappeared; it was unclear whether she had vanished into thin air or had changed her travel companion.
Upon seeing Xiao Cheng and Fang He, a look of astonishment flashed across Xu Chu's face: "You... you cleared the game just like that?"
"Otherwise what?" Xiao Cheng was a little confused by his question. "What's wrong with you?"
"I'm a little hungry." Xu Chu rubbed his stomach with a strange expression. "It's okay, I'm digesting."
Xiao Cheng heard his stomach rumble loudly, paused for a moment, and then took out the turkey specimen: "How about you eat a chicken?"
Xu Chu politely smiled and declined, "Thank you, but no need."
Xiao Cheng sighed helplessly and turned to look at the painting behind him. On the originally blank paper, blocks of color slowly emerged, starting from the center of the paper and gradually spreading outwards.
The painting depicts a bonfire party, with a grill in the center and a suckling pig skewered on it.
There was also a woman in red.
She lay there in an extremely painful position, her body deflated like a punctured doll, blood flowing from her seven orifices, looking as if she had died with her eyes wide open in disbelief.
What was particularly striking was the broken red rope on her wrist, which appeared to be soaked in blood, slightly blackened, and shriveled up in a ball, like...
The severed umbilical cord.
"A generous gift from my travel companion," Xu Chu explained before Xiao Cheng could ask. "That's what I mean. I can absorb her as well."
As he spoke, he slowly returned to normal.
It's obvious that he "digested" the woman in red.
“It’s very dangerous, but this is the only way to pass through.” Xu Chu continued in a calm and indifferent tone, “The experiences of Number 5 and Number 7 have already given us a warning.”
Xiao Cheng knew, of course.
When she saw that Fang He could control the red rope, she already had a vague guess that Fang He was not drawing on her power. As the game progressed, he would gradually become weaker, and it seemed inevitable that he would be "absorbed" by her.
Therefore, when at the amusement park, Xiao Cheng chose to give up the points that would benefit the players.
A perfect balance was achieved between her and Fang He.
“You must be a player too.” Xu Chu stared intently at Fang He. “I don’t know why you were able to replace the NPC and become her travel companion, but if that’s the case, both of you will be in great danger.”
“It’s not time yet,” Fang He suddenly interrupted him. “But I’m certain that neither of us will die here.”
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.
The silence was broken by the tour guide's sweet, coquettish voice.
"Oh dear! There are only two tourists who know how to appreciate the paintings here!" She covered her mouth in feigned surprise, pointing at Xiao Cheng and Fang He, counting them several times.
"One, two, one, two... There really are only two tourists!" She frowned, looking somewhat troubled.
"What should we do? The tour group's new bus is almost here! Keeping the driver waiting is a bad habit. Let me see how much longer... Oh dear! Half an hour! In the next half hour, do you think any tourists will be able to climb out of the painting?"
The tour guide made no attempt to hide his malice, revealing a sinister smile: "One, two, three, or... none at all? Perhaps some kind person will be willing to help them, or... a trip for two can be quite nice too."
"Which painting are they in?" Xiao Cheng asked coldly.
Fang He and Xu Chu neither agreed nor disagreed; they simply stood there quietly.
"Huh? You're that kind person?" The tour guide looked surprised. "Of course I can tell you, but are you really willing to... die for them?"
Seeing Xiao Cheng's expression, she suddenly pointed at a painting and burst into laughter: "There it is, there it is!"
Xiao Cheng and the other two turned to look at the painting.
It's not empty.
The scene depicts a cold, rainy night.
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