[Key point to unlocking faction cA1782 quest; this faction is currently ranked first in progress.]
Was 1782 in the camp of Shi Jinzhe?
Zhou Qiyu looked at Li Huaizhen with certainty, "Yes, it's their camp. They've been in the reports twice in a row."
"Ah..." Li Huaizhen couldn't catch his breath, his throat itching from the air. "How did you do that?"
Zhou Qiyu: "Focus on finding clues, and don't get distracted by thinking about how to kill and rob."
"It sounds like you have some reservations about my decision."
“Yes, there are some,” Zhou Qiyu said. “It’s been three weeks. We’ve been trapped in this place called the Thorn Land for three weeks. The defenses here are much tighter than in the capital. Not even a mosquito can get out. We have to hide every day. I’ve never lived like this before.”
The shop wouldn't open, the location item was malfunctioning, and eating and drinking became major problems. He never had to worry about food during his beginner phase.
"Stop talking now, another patrol is coming." Li Huaizhen put on his hood and, together with Zhou Qiyu, avoided the guards. After they left, they resurfaced.
Zhou Qiyu waved his hand, "We've been figuring out the patrol patterns for so long, now is a handover period, hurry up and go."
The two climbed up the high ground ahead using both hands and feet, discussing as they went.
Zhou Qiyu said, "The capital city has high white walls, while this place has a series of white, curved cones that are intersected and stacked. If you call them walls, they look more like strange rocks and dangerous peaks. But if they weren't walls, I wouldn't have seen any other defensive structures here."
"I feel the height and texture are about the same, it's just a wall." Li Huaizhen adjusted the rope around his waist, without looking down.
The buildings and trees in his peripheral vision were already stretched and deformed, and the horizon was curved into a shallow arc. He had only seen this view from this height when he was wingsuit flying.
Li Huaizhen said, "This wall doesn't look man-made. As a defensive structure, its height far exceeds the requirements. Even if it were to protect against giants, it would be considered an illegal building."
"It's not necessarily about defending against external enemies." Zhou Qiyu walked quickly and stopped above him for a while, taking the opportunity to look down.
"High mountains can block clouds and water vapor. This thing is frighteningly high. Maybe it's protecting against something else. The forest before we entered the city was lifeless and there was no living thing at all. What do you think happened to make such a large forest so desolate? Natural disasters are not impossible."
He gazed at the distant snow-covered forest. Even in the coldest snowfields, there is still vegetation. The capital city, with its more suitable climate, wouldn't be devoid of any vegetation outside its walls.
Just then, Li Huaizhen called out to him, "Look to the south, what's that?"
Zhou Qiyu narrowed his eyes as the expanding black mist surged outwards in clumps. The snow-covered vegetation, the moment it came into contact with the black mist, was like white paper set on fire, quickly curling up and turning into ashes, which then melted into the black mist as they fell.
Animals scattered and fled, birds flew out of the treetops in fright, and the deadly black mist churned endlessly, its chilling, rotten stench quickly spreading to every corner of the forest.
The snowflakes escaped with the help of the wind, but a mysterious black mist, almost tangible, locked onto the surging airflow and swallowed the snowflakes in a flash.
When the invisible and colorless cyclone was torn apart, leaving only the suddenly exploded air, the black mist was briefly ripped open, but in the blink of an eye, the overflowing mist closed up again.
On the westward journey, Shekh suddenly turned his head to the south, then curled his tail and pressed his body down on top of Shi Jinzhe, slamming him into the deep, cold snow.
The snow layer was quite heavy, and the two fell down, their oxygen levels rapidly depleted.
He constantly shifts his structure, alters his breathing pattern, and compresses the oxygen content he needs to the minimum.
A gentle life force enveloped him, raising his body temperature. He became like a humanoid portable power source, effectively relieving Sheh's body temperature, which she hadn't had time to regulate, and making her feel less cold.
Why didn't you transfer it to me?
"I dare not act rashly with your current body, in case it affects the future..." Shi Jinzhe stopped halfway through his sentence, his voice sounding somewhat mature.
He tentatively asked, "What age and stage are you at now?"
"Can't you recognize your own wife?"
Okay, now it's the real original Sherlock.
The idiot who heard him ask that question would only say "I don't understand".
Shi Jinzhe gently touched the hand that was resting on her back. "I recognize you, but your body hasn't changed back, has it?"
Shekh felt warm against his body, relaxed his waist, and rested his head on Shi Jin's shoulder. "I don't know why, I just suddenly woke up."
"The system did a good job. It's targeting me this round. Your longevity lock item is no longer effective, but mine is still active and locked. I can't absorb or generate life force."
Shekh was very unhappy: "Then how much vitality do you have left?"
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should be able to stay operational for a long time."
"...So all that suffering you went through before was just an act for me?"
"We can survive no matter what, so it's better to use it sparingly in case of an accident."
"Shut up." Shekh stopped him from speaking. "The black mist is coming from outside. Did you activate the purification array?"
"It opened, I opened it as soon as I saw your tail curl up."
Hearing the familiar voice, Shi Jinzhe's tense nerves relaxed for a while. "You know there's black fog outside, and you know what I did. Do you have memories of what happened during this time?"
"have…"
Shekh didn't want to face the fact that he had been fooled by a fish; it was too embarrassing.
"As soon as I woke up, my brain automatically received this memory." Her speech slowed down unconsciously, as if she had frozen.
"It's too cold in the snow, try to cheer yourself up." Shi Jinzhe tried to keep her awake by telling Shehe about his previous deductions and then asked her, "What memories do you have of the Queen?"
"No, I only trigger memories when I come across something related to her."
"It's alright, let me go to the west and look for it."
“We’re almost there…” Shekh slowly closed his eyes. “I just remembered something else…”
She spoke haltingly, managing to finish the sentence before fainting, "The statue of the god of prayer... has a snake's tail..."
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