Metamorphosis
This exclamation gave everyone hope, like dangling a carrot in front of a horse's nose.
He Lizhou looked up and saw that it was the roof of a very dilapidated building.
...Why does it look so much like his hotel?
...Not in this position, the system's delivery is really impressive.
He Lizhou gathered his last bit of strength, his legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, but he did not dare to stop for even a second. Every step he took was accompanied by trembling muscles and rapid breathing.
The air inhaled into the lungs seemed to turn into a blade, cruelly cutting every inch of the lungs.
When they arrived at the building, they rushed into the hotel lobby without any hesitation.
There was no extra strength left. The players lay on the ground in all directions. The only sound in the empty hall was heavy and chaotic breathing.
Peng Ningyu had been carried by He Lizhou for half the run and her strength had recovered a little. She stood up, walked to the window and glanced sideways at the situation outside.
The butterflies were still unwilling to give up, but seemed to be stopped by something. They crashed into the sky one by one but were bounced away by something invisible.
Seeing this, Peng Ningyu felt relieved and looked for water source in this simple and plain building.
He Lizhou saw her intention, raised his arm and pointed to the back kitchen. Peng Ningyu immediately understood and turned and ran towards that direction.
Soon, she ran over to the group with a large pot of water, poured it into bowls and distributed it to them.
After a short rest, everyone regained some strength. Mi Tao then asked, "What is this place? It doesn't look like the style of Wanhua Village to me. Before I came in, I saw the sign on this building said 'such and such hotel'?"
He Lizhou couldn't help but guess, was it because his hotel was too shabby and couldn't compare to the luxurious decoration style of Wanhua Village?
"It's my hotel, but it hasn't been opened yet."
Mi Tao stopped talking. He Lizhou guessed that he might think he was sick. No wonder it had never been successful to open a hotel in such a deep mountain and forest.
But this was not the location he wanted to choose. He Lizhou couldn't help but sigh, "This place can't shelter us for long. We must leave as soon as possible."
Peng Ningyu was surprised: "But I saw that those butterflies couldn't get close to the hotel, so it should be safe."
He Lizhou shook his head. "It's just short-term shelter. You have entered the inn and sought shelter. You will have to pay a reward when you leave the dungeon."
Peng Ningyu didn't dare ask what the reward was.
Mi Tao was checking Ni Peng's injuries. Hearing this, he turned around and looked at He Lizhou in surprise.
He Lizhou knew that he probably thought of himself as an NPC, so he wouldn't normally say the word "copy". However, he was neither a formal player nor a fixed character in a copy. Instead, he could travel between every copy with his own inn.
He Lizhou thought about his identity and thought it was probably similar to that of a special NPC, so he gladly assumed this identity.
Mi Tao didn't bother about He Lizhou's identity anymore. "Do you have a medical kit in your hotel?"
He Lizhou thought about it, walked to the front desk, and with the help of the table, the medical box appeared directly in his hand.
"then."
He Lizhou handed the medical kit to Mi Tao and squatted down to observe Ni Peng's injuries. "This injury should be similar to a burn. There are corresponding ointments that can be used, but be careful to see if there is a curse attached to it."
Mi Tao paused as he was holding the cotton swab. He had thought of this, but was unwilling to admit it. "No, no, the villagers were not burned."
He Lizhou thought of the human-faced butterfly he had seen, paused for a moment, and patted Mi Tao on the shoulder, "Be careful."
Mi Tao's fingers trembled slightly, and his voice was obscure, "I know."
The wound on Ni Peng's face just covered his eyes. It was unclear whether he was awake or still asleep. In any case, he had no response.
Mi Tao applied the ointment evenly and carefully wrapped Ni Peng with thick gauze, almost wrapping him up like a mummy, and he burst into laughter through his tears.
He Lizhou stood by the window with his arms folded, watching the flock of butterflies. The butterflies flew into the hotel one by one, and were bounced off again and again. After repeating this cycle many times, he realized that they could no longer chase this group of people.
The butterflies flew away from the hotel unwillingly. He Lizhou turned around and said, "Get ready to leave here."
He saw Ni Peng still lying on the ground motionless and suggested: "Ni Peng can stay in the guest room upstairs."
Mi Tao shook his head. "He can't see anything now. I'm worried about leaving him here alone."
In fact, it is the safest choice for Ni Peng to stay in the inn. In his inn, all the curses in the copy will not happen. He Lizhou is almost certain that Ni Peng's injury will trigger the curse of the butterfly group.
Because of the game restrictions, He Lizhou could not reveal the secret of his hotel, so he could only persuade him again: "There are food and drinks here, we put them on the bedside table, and when the task is completed, he will automatically exit."
Mi Tao still shook his head. Seeing that the hotel was dilapidated, he always suspected that it would collapse soon.
Li Deyu was somewhat tempted and secretly glanced at He Lizhou, but did not dare to say anything to ask him to stay here.
He also noticed that He Lizhou was unusual.
What kind of player can bring such a large inn into a dungeon? Especially since this inn is like a game bug.
The game wouldn't agree.
He Lizhou just gave them a chance encounter, and saving people was just a matter of fate. Seeing that Mi Tao could not receive his hint, he did not force it.
He Lizhou opened the door of the hotel, and the fresh air from the forest hit him in the face, but no one had time to appreciate the beautiful scenery now, and they walked out of the hotel with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Peng Ningyu: "Where are we going now?"
He Lizhou looked up at the sky. Through the layers of branches, he could just barely see where the sun was.
It was already around two or three in the afternoon.
Several of them did not have lunch and only had a bowl of bland rice porridge in the morning. After a long period of intense running, they did not feel hungry at all.
They couldn't go back without finding anything, so He Lizhou decided to look for the bushes and grass that Lao Hu had hinted at nearby.
Mi Tao was worried about Ni Peng's condition. He was afraid that he would not be able to return to Wanhua Village before dark. He did not dare to stay here overnight, so he decided to split up and return to the village first.
He Lizhou waved goodbye to them with a smile, but Peng Ningyu still chose to follow He Lizhou and hug his thighs, "I'll accompany you."
He Lizhou readily agreed, "Do you know what to look for?"
Peng Ningyu shook her head.
"We should not use the roots of plants that can be used for dyeing. We should not touch or use anything that the village chief has sent us. When we paint, we can use the roots that we find ourselves to dye."
Peng Ningyu pondered for a while and said, "I understand!"
She felt a chill on her back and was filled with fear. If she had not followed He Lizhou out, she would have chosen to stay in the village and complete the seemingly easier painting task first.
The only things in the village are prepared by the village chief. If you want to paint, you must use the paint provided by the village chief, or you might be cursed.
Although anything can be taken out of He Lizhou's inn, things related to the main storyline of the dungeon will be blocked by the game, so the two of them had to bend over and dig through the bushes bit by bit.
Peng Ningyu's grandfather was a barefoot doctor. She learned a lot of knowledge from him since she was a child and can recognize these plants. Compared with He Lizhou, who could only test the colors of each plant one by one, it was much easier and more effective.
"This is madder! This can be used as a red dye."
He Lizhou rushed over and tried it on his hand, and sure enough, red appeared.
The two men immediately cleared out all the madder in the area.
It was getting late, and if it was any later they might not be able to get back to the village. He Lizhou zipped up his backpack and returned with Peng Ningyu.
Peng Ningyu couldn't help but feel scared: "Will we never meet those butterflies again?"
He Lizhou has figured out the reason why the butterfly suddenly went crazy. "Before the butterfly appeared, didn't Ni Peng shout that there was a bug? So as long as we don't alarm the bug and don't wave our hands to scold it, nothing will happen."
Peng Ningyu was still a little skeptical, but relying on her trust in He Lizhou, she followed him.
When they walked near the place where Ni Peng was shouting, a fat and sticky big insect appeared and flew straight towards Peng Ningyu's face.
Peng Ningyu remembered the reasons given by He Lizhou, and her nails dug deeply into her palms without moving at all.
After an unknown amount of time, the insect flew away again, hanging on the thin silk thread. He Lizhou immediately handed over a handkerchief. Peng Ningyu didn't care about anything else and wiped the sweat off her face twice.
After wiping it, I felt a little embarrassed and squeezed the handkerchief into my hand, "I'll give it back to you after I wash it."
He Lizhou smiled gently, "Okay."
When the two returned to the bamboo house, it was just getting dark. He Lizhou didn't even look at the steaming food on the table and went straight to the second floor.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Mi Tao stood up and opened the door. He was quite surprised to see He Lizhou. He turned sideways to block the view from the door. "What's wrong?"
He Lizhou saw his actions and understood a little bit. Since he was on guard, he didn't intend to meddle in other people's business. He just smiled and said, "I just came to ask if you are going there tomorrow."
Mi Tao: "Maybe we will look for clues in the village tomorrow and not go there."
He Lizhou smiled and said, "Okay, then be careful tonight."
The two men practiced Tai Chi with each other, but they both knew in their hearts that something was going to happen tonight.
It was either Ni Peng who was injured by the butterfly, or the two people who stayed in the village and had breakfast today.
Mi Tao secretly hoped that Ni Peng would survive, but if the curse took effect, no one could stop it.
Many people are awake tonight.
I don’t know if it’s because the bamboo house has good sound insulation or what, but there is no noise at night.
The next day, just after dawn, Peng Ningyu knocked on He Lizhou's door.
He Lizhou opened the door and let her in. "What's wrong?"
Peng Ningyu: "I didn't sleep well last night. I felt uncomfortable. I wanted to come and see how you were doing."
He Lizhou was a little surprised, "Your perception is quite strong, something must have happened last night."
Peng Ningyu’s face turned pale.
He Lizhou picked up his backpack and said, "Let's go and see who it is."
As soon as the two men went out, they met Mi Tao. They looked at each other and saw each other's plan.
Mi Tao was the first to push open Ni Peng's door. Seeing that the person on the bed's chest was still rising and falling, he breathed a sigh of relief and went to find the other two.
In fact, there is no need to look for it anymore.
He Lizhou stood in the corridor and saw bright red blood slowly flowing out from a room.
Mi Tao glanced at the room number and said, "The one who died is Changlian."
The remaining two people in Mitao's team are troublemakers who don't obey orders. Mitao won't feel sorry for either of them dying.
He Lizhou kicked open the door that was locked from the inside. Several people stood at the door and saw what was happening inside the house.
Peng Ningyu covered her mouth and ran away.
He Lizhou glanced at her and warned her, "Don't run out."
Only then did he avoid the bloodstains and enter the room.
Mi Tao followed closely behind.
He Lizhou took out gloves and a scalpel from his backpack and dissected the person on the spot.
He looked at Changlian's belly and looked at his internal organs.
"There's a hole in the stomach. It's a food problem. Something came out of his stomach."
Mi Tao looked gloomy, but fortunately he followed He Lizhou yesterday and did not go for breakfast.
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