In the decaying, withered black forest, Shi Jinzhe tightly gripped Shekh's hand.
A thin, grayish-white mist rose and drifted, while the gnarled, charred tree trunks crisscrossed and completely obscured the sky overhead.
The damp ground was so soft that when Shi Jinzhe's foot moved slightly, black mud squeezed out a ring around the edge of the sole of his shoe and clung to it.
Shi Jinzhe leaned against a nearby tree to wipe off the mud, but the tree, which was about half a meter in diameter, crumbled into pieces with the slightest touch, scattering across the ground.
"..."
He closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings.
A moment later, Shi Jinzhe opened his eyes. Within his range of perception, there was no life except for the 54 players scattered around. The place was filled with decay and death.
He took out a paper airplane and tried to fold it to fly through the air. However, as soon as the airplane took off, the dead branches of the trees intertwined rapidly, constantly squeezing the flight space downwards.
The paper airplane flies wherever the tree net follows, even flying close to the ground is impossible; not only that, the tree net will also intercept it from all directions.
When Shi Jinzhe tried to control the behavior of the trees, the feedback he received told him that these trees were dead, and even if he sent them life force, it was like entering a bottomless pit, with no response and no chance of saving them.
"...We have no choice but to walk."
Shekh remained motionless and silent.
Shi Jinzhe grabbed her hand, bent down, and said, "Get on, I'll carry you."
She climbed up and said unhappily, "I hate this instance."
There's so much mud. The forest is so vast, I don't know how long it will take her to get there. She'll inevitably have to go down to the ground sometime, and she'll definitely run into some mud.
Shekh's eyes shone as he stared straight ahead.
Unable to find the edge, she gave up on her plan to find the invisible wall in the instance.
This dungeon has a speed-based element; only the faction ranked first can get the most rewards, so there's no need to waste time on it.
She hugged Shi Jinzhe's neck tightly. "The instance name was changed before we came in. This is not the initial instance. I don't know why, but the second instance is definitely very important to the game. This round adds up to 4060 points. Some players who have been in the game for several years cannot accumulate this many points. High rewards, high risks. This instance must be very dangerous."
Shi Jinzhe asked her to take out the item [Guiding Pointer] to find the safest path, and said, "This is the first time I've heard the word 'god' in a dungeon. Dad said before that 90% of the world processes are similar, so the existence of gods here must be the other 10%."
He recalled Shen Shu, whom he had met in the City of Building Blocks, who was eccentric and whose eyes were filled with greed when he looked at Shekh. He seemed to have said something like that back then...
Special creatures capable of changing forms must come from worlds where "miracles" have been left behind...
Shen Shu was probably describing this kind of world.
Shi Jinzhe bounced up and asked Shehe, "How much do you remember about the world you used to live in?"
If Shekh remembers, this round of dungeons will be more advantageous for them.
Shekh lowered his head, his forehead pressed against his neck. "There's no good food or nice clothes, but there are lots of cliffs and big trees. That's all."
This wasn't the answer Shi Jinzhe wanted. He didn't say anything, just joked, "I can tell there's nothing good to eat. At first, you ate everything I fed you, even the skin and bones. Apart from your bad temper, you're actually quite easy to raise."
"Say that again and I'll eat you."
"It's not feasible now, it's easy to overdo it."
“Then I’ll take you down with me.” Shech glanced at the pointer. “Go to the left of that crooked tree ahead.”
Shi Jinzhe followed her directions and turned left. It was too dark to tell what time it was, so he walked very cautiously.
Shehe took out a lamp and held it in her hand. If any players saw it, they would come over automatically, without them having to search for her. She and Shi Jinzhe only needed to leave the Misty Forest as quickly as possible.
Reuniting with teammates only gives you 60 points; speed is more important.
However, she still said, "There are too many points in this round, so it won't be a multi-round dungeon specifically for survival. There's no possibility of adjusting the number of players, and we haven't done anything. Since there are no prerequisites for faction division, there's no need for the system to allocate them. Therefore, we should only look at whether our teammates are from the same region."
Shi Jinzhe nodded, "Yes, I think so too. This round is a regional points competition, but I don't understand why the system didn't say so."
Shech: "I should have asked Jiang or Fu Guan if they would give clear information for each round of the regional qualifying tournament."
Shi Jinzhe: "It's alright, we'll take it one step at a time. I'm not worried with you here."
After walking for about an hour, the only sounds in the forest were the splattering of footsteps on the mud and the breathing of the two people.
It was too quiet, so Sheh closed his eyes to rest, listening to everything around him.
Two faint footsteps came from behind a tree not far away.
She opened her eyes, glanced to the side, and saw that they were two young men.
The man on the left is around thirty years old, with thick hair and a slightly thin build, but with regular features. He is wearing a black work uniform with a belt, leggings, and boots all fitted with leather knife sheaths.
Sheh counted them; there were fourteen knives and two guns in total. His steps were steady, and although he was thin, he was not weak; he was a very skilled person.
The one on the right looks younger, probably around twenty-three or twenty-four. He's wearing skinny jeans and pointed leather shoes, with a loose-fitting casual suit jacket over a deep V-neck silk shirt. Compared to the man carrying a bunch of throwing knives, he doesn't look like someone who's been to a dungeon before.
The two took a few steps closer, maintaining a distance of ten meters from Shi Jinzhe.
The man opposite her, carrying a knife, placed his hand on the blade. His eyes scanned back and forth between Shi Jinzhe and Shehe. His expression was uncertain, as if he recognized the two of them, but he remained highly vigilant.
After observing for a few seconds, he sang a line in a deep voice:
"Arise! Those who refuse to be slaves..."
Shi Jin stepped back, saying, "Alright, we're all on the same side, no need to sing."
The melody etched into dNA—the first two words alone are enough to identify this player from the same region.
He scrutinized the man with the knife who was singing, and his use of the national anthem to acknowledge the players in the region indicated that he also realized this was a regional points competition.
It seems he's not only skilled but also intelligent; he'd make a decent teammate.
Shi Jinzhe introduced himself and Shehe in the process. The man adopted a friendly attitude, "I know you. My name is Ji Hui. This is my fourth regional points competition."
"I hope we have a pleasant working relationship." Shi Jinzhe said seriously, "Did you meet on the road, or did you land together?"
"We'll be together as soon as we land." Ji Hui's gaze casually fell on the person next to him. "This is Jin Shuhe."
Jin Shu blinked rapidly twice, unsure where to look. "I don't have much experience. Thank you all for your hard work in this dungeon run."
Shi Jinzhe observed him: "First regional points competition?"
"...Yes, the first time."
He grunted in agreement and told Shekh to continue giving directions, "Let's go, don't waste time here, let's get out of here as soon as possible."
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