Chapter 230: White Orchid Rain Festival (XII)
After Nan Huan and Bei Xi finished discussing the metaphysics of the number 144, they turned their attention back to Old Man Zhang.
"Old man, how do you get home?"
Nineteen, as a player who is relatively good at communication, has been sent to chat with Old Man Zhang. After all, the system’s task has just reminded him not to let the other party fall asleep.
"Is there anyone else at home? Are you the only one doing this every day?"
Even though they were walking, no normal person would suddenly fall asleep while walking, but the system would not give prompts without reason, so they briefly discussed and assigned the work content.
The job of chatting with the elderly fell on Nineteen.
I don’t know if it was because Nan Huan had noticed the differences between the wood carvings before, which made Old Man Zhang change his attitude, or if it was because he was in a good mood at the moment, so he didn’t show any indifference to Nineteen’s words.
"Turn right ahead and walk straight into the alley. My home is at the end."
When Old Man Zhang was speaking, he also noticed that most of the players were paying attention to the wood carvings inside their shoulder poles. As an NPC, he did not show any doubt.
"My ancestors have been doing wood carving for many years, and now I see that this craft is about to be destroyed in my hands."
Nineteen had just asked casually. After all, after going through these copies, in their understanding, the copy world was no longer data, but more like the real world. Some NPCs were also flesh and blood, with families and relatives. So she had not expected that her question would get such an answer, and was a little stunned.
Nan Huan noticed that when Old Man Zhang said this, his eyes were also looking at the wood carvings, but there seemed to be not only regret in his eyes, but also some hidden guilt.
"When you have recovered, you can take on another apprentice and pass on this skill."
Nan Huan comforted her, but she didn't say anything to make the other person believe her.
But there was some kind of convincing magic in her words, which made Old Man Zhang feel a little better.
After walking a few more steps forward, still nothing happened, but everyone was highly focused.
Nineteen couldn't help himself and went up to ask Old Man Zhang if he needed help. As expected, he was rejected.
In fact, after the task was issued, they tried to take control of the wood carvings into their own hands, but Old Man Zhang refused their help and insisted on doing it himself.
"I didn't see anyone along the way," Bei Xi felt much better than the average player, "It's also very quiet around here, maybe because the system blocked the mission area..."
Before she finished speaking, she seemed to sense something, frowned and looked at the basket containing the wooden carvings, then protected Nan Huan with one hand and took out the iron axe with the other hand, "Everyone step back... quickly..."
Nineteen was originally racking his brains to think of what to talk to the old man about next to get closer to him, but was brought back to reality by Bei Xi's shout. He found that Old Man Zhang was already standing there with his eyes closed, not moving at all.
"Oh my god, when did he fall asleep?"
She rarely showed such emotions. After all, she had been involved in many matters of the guild over the years, and had never been so shocked.
So much so that she briefly ignored the words of her president, and anxiously reached out to wake up the sleeping Old Man Zhang, but she ignored the wooden carvings in the basket on the shoulder pole, which seemed to be moving.
As for the remaining players, because of Bei Xi's reminder, they noticed the changes in the basket while retreating.
To be honest, after all, the task required that no one could be left behind. Except for Nineteen, the rest of the people hardly dared to take their eyes off the basket on the pole for even a moment.
Despite this, they still watched as the wood carvings lay stiffly in the basket one second ago, and came to life the next second because Old Man Zhang closed his eyes.
And without any transition, after catching the surrounding aura, he flew directly towards the nearest Nineteen.
Compared to the real body of the pharmacy owner they had seen before, these wood carvings remained about the same size as the wood carvings after they transformed, only as big as a palm, but they were very fast.
After seeing the pharmacy owner's situation, the players dared not take this thing lightly.
Seeing the closest little dragon about to attack Nineteen, everyone's heart suddenly jumped. Fortunately, the next second, Nineteen's outstretched hand did not touch Old Man Zhang, but went directly into the rabbit hole created by President Alice. He was directly dragged in by the other party, and then reassembled five meters away.
Bei Xi had already pointed the axe at Xiao Long and was about to cut him in half, but Nan Huan hurriedly stopped him, "The mission requires that no one be left behind and no one can be killed."
This not only reminded Bei Xi, but also gave a heavy blow to the other presidents who had taken out offensive weapons.
Yes, the task requires that no one can be lost. Even though it is not clear how the wooden sculpture that has turned into a living dragon can be turned back to its original appearance, the players are sure that they cannot kill it.
Bei Xi crossed his wrist, and the iron spear that was about to pierce into Xiaolong's body slipped, only picking up the opponent's body and throwing Xiaolong aside.
Nan Huan had great faith in Bei Xi's abilities, so she didn't worry about safety at all. Her eyes were always on the basket on the carrying pole. In just a few dozen seconds, except for the one at the top which still remained as a wood carving, the rest of the wood carvings in the basket had transformed into little dragons, trying to break through the encirclement of the presidents.
Nan Huan looked carefully, confirmed the claw of the wooden sculpture at the top, and then couldn't help frowning.
She didn't even notice that there were three such ones before, but after just a few steps away, there was only this one left.
But now is not the time to think about these things. Even if there are only 143 of them, it is not a small number. Moreover, the change is a bit sudden, and they cannot kill them. The opponents are very small and very flexible. In this situation, the players are very passive.
"If we can't kill them, then catch them alive," Bei Xi noticed the stalemate. "Not killing them doesn't mean we can't injure or stun them. Use props to catch them all first. Nineteen..."
If you let these small creatures escape the encirclement, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. You can only keep an eye on them or catch them first.
Bei Xi only shouted once, and Nineteen already understood what was going on. While everyone was on high alert, he bought a lot of transparent pet boxes from the mall in one go.
President Barbie was the first to take action. She noticed that the little dragon did not seem to have very strong attack power, at least it did not have claws as sharp as the pharmacy owner's. It seemed that it just wanted to get away from this place.
The moment she turned around, her right hand had turned into that of Iron Man. She aimed at the direction in which a little dragon was trying to break through, and controlled the force of her punch, making sure not to kill the dragon while restricting its ability to move, and then caught the little dragon into the pet box.
But something went wrong the moment she swung her fist. To be precise, the moment the little dragon touched her fist, its entire body stuck to her fist, causing her punch to have no effect at all.
Although President Barbie was a little confused, this did not hinder the realization of her goal. But when she wanted to use her hand to grab the little dragon stuck to her fist and put it in a cage, she suddenly felt that her right hand, which had turned into Iron Man, seemed to have lost control.
"President Barbie, please let go..."
Nan Huan was not an attacking player, so she was paying attention to everyone's actions. Then she watched President Barbie's arm. For some reason, the color of Iron Man's arm gradually faded, and it began to wither little by little from the fingertips, until she saw the little dragon stuck on the opponent's fist, which seemed to be getting bigger little by little.
"Those little dragons can absorb people's energy. Don't come into contact with them."
Nan Huan had no choice but to loudly warn other players, not caring about the consequences of releasing the little dragons. After all, President Barbie's situation looked very tricky.
President Barbie was so surprised that she couldn't come up with an appropriate reaction for a long time.
In just a few seconds, his arms began to become like wooden sculptures, gradually becoming stiff and numb. This feeling spread from his fingertips along his arms to his shoulders at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Fortunately, the Pink President who was closest to her took out a sword from somewhere, picked up the little dragon stuck on President Barbie's fist, and pushed it to the ground.
Now I understand that these things only have such absorption power when they come into contact with something. Apart from being able to fly, they don't seem to have any other killing power.
Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, they discovered that the withering did not disappear because of Xiaolong's departure, because President Barbie's arm was still withering rapidly.
"It seems that once the contact is made, this change will be irreversible." Bei Xi has brought Nan Huan to President Barbie's side. "There is only one way left. You have to make a decision quickly."
Her tone remained calm, as if it was a simple decision for President Barbie to make.
"You are in a transformed state now. The medicine in the mall can heal you. After you leave the dungeon..."
Bei Xi gave her advice calmly and listed the possible consequences to President Barbie one by one. She spoke quickly, trying to buy more time for the other party, but she was interrupted by the other party before she could finish her words.
"Please do it. I don't trust other people's mentality and ability."
President Barbie nodded at her, indicating that she was troubled.
Bei Xi didn't say anything more. He just called out "Nineteen" and confirmed that the other party had prepared everything. Then he pulled out his own iron axe.
"After I count down, you have to take back your ability first. It may hurt for a few seconds..."
After Bei Xi was ready, she took one last look at President Barbie. Her hands were withering to her elbows and cold sweat was breaking out on her face. President Barbie could only purse her lips and nod.
"Three, two..."
With the last order, President Barbie withdrew her power. Bei Xi raised his iron axe and swung it down. President Barbie's arm fell to the ground and blood gushed out. Nineteen was on standby at the side and applied all the medicine he had taken out to President Barbie's wound without hesitation.
After all, the wound was so big that blood soon soaked Nineteen's clothes. Although President Barbie was mentally prepared, the pain of the wound was still real even with medicine. Moreover, it would take time to heal such a big wound.
Her whole face turned pale in an instant, and she clenched her teeth tightly, but still let out a sound of pain.
Even though the several presidents present were used to seeing many storms, they still felt a little sorry for the situation before them.
Although Nan Huan's life was on the line several times and her wounds were much more serious than this, she was the one who was injured at the time. She did not see others in this state, so she naturally felt very sorry. However, she was still very sensitive to Bei Xi's emotions.
In the eyes of others, Bei Xi needed to maintain a hundred times more rationality because he was able to consider the fastest way to solve the problem, as well as the series of consequences and emergency measures brought about by this method, in such an urgent situation. He also had to test the accuracy of his actions in this situation.
But Nanhuan could feel that Beixi was blaming herself.
Although other guild leaders entered this dungeon after weighing the pros and cons, only one guild was targeted in the beginning. Since the guild leader present stood on the side of his own guild, he must be responsible for the safety of everyone.
The mission was not even completed by the first shift, and President Barbie had let something like this happen right under his nose, especially since Nan Huan knew how powerful and rational Bei Xi was.
She held the other person's hand and said, "It's not your fault. Even if we knew in advance that there was something wrong with the wood carvings, we would not have thought that they would cause such harm after they transformed. This is not negligence, nor is it just your underestimation of the enemy."
Nan Huan squeezed her hand, which helped Bei Xi return to her normal state.
"And President Barbie just said that in that situation, you're the only one she can trust. You've done a great job."
A bigger guild often means a greater responsibility. While this responsibility makes a person calmer, it may also destroy a person to some extent, just like a family business.
However, in real life, Nan Huan couldn't help Bei Xi much due to his physical condition, not to mention what Bei Xi had to bear before he entered the game.
Fortunately, he has also entered the game now. Nan Huan has never felt so fortunate at this moment that he is with the other person.
Bei Xi's fingers gradually warmed up, and she let out a sigh of relief when her wrists were no longer stiff. "Is this how you comfort yourself when I'm not with you?"
It seemed like they hadn't talked about this issue for a long time. After all, ever since Nan Huan entered the game, apart from running around in the dungeon to survive, they would rather spend the rest of their time together. For some reason, they tried not to talk about the time they were apart.
Nan Huan didn't expect the other party to suddenly mention this, and frankly denied it, "Of course not, I'm busy looking for you every day, and I don't have time to think about it."
Bei Xi did not delve into the answer, but just held Nan Huan's hand and stood there quietly.
President Barbie finally recovered, although her face was still very pale. After taking several bottles of special medicine from Nineteen, she no longer felt as painful, although her arm could not grow back quickly and return to its original shape.
While the presidents breathed a sigh of relief, some were also very upset after surviving the disaster.
"I didn't expect this thing to be so powerful," President Alice rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. She didn't want to experience the feeling of being turned into a wooden sculpture, not to mention that she already had the experience of President Barbie. "What should we do now? How are we going to find 143 of them? It's even more terrifying than looking for a needle in a haystack."
After a brief break, everyone inevitably refocused on the mission.
Nineteen was also sorting out the pet boxes and medicinal materials while worrying, "And Old Man Zhang didn't show any signs at all. He just fell asleep. I tried it just now, but I couldn't wake him up. Of course, I haven't tried the inhumane method yet."
"How are we going to turn those little dragons back into wooden sculptures? How are we going to catch them now? We can't just kill them. This is even harder than holding a bomb in your arms."
The presidents didn't seem to expect that this special side quest would be a little more difficult than it looked. After all, those little dragons looked harmless. Who would have thought that just one contact would almost cost President Barbie's life.
"You can put these boxes away now. I don't think you will need them anymore."
Just when everyone was feeling a little discouraged, Nan Huan had already pulled Bei Xi back and patted Nineteen on the shoulder.
"Ah? No need anymore?"
Nineteen raised his head suddenly, "So, Miss, you have a solution?"
Perhaps because she had a certain degree of blind confidence in Nan Huan, she didn't even have time to ask him carefully before she hurriedly called Ling Yue, "Hurry, help me clean up..."
But before he could finish his words, he realized that Lingyue had disappeared at some point.
At the same time, a familiar voice came from everyone's communication channel, "Miss, your judgment is correct, they are all heading in the same direction. There is still some distance between them, but I think you have to hurry over."
"You have a solution so quickly?" The worker's guild leader was very curious, and felt that she seemed to have missed some important plot, but she was clearly online the whole time. "Did we trigger the same special side quest, or do you have any other clues?"
Seeing each other's confused expressions, President Alice and President Pink patted each other's shoulders at the same time.
"Don't worry, sister. We understand you. Once you have sex with the president and the eldest lady a few more times, you will feel it for real."
President Alice spoke with a serious and experienced attitude. After she finished speaking, she looked at Nan Huan and said, "Tell us what you need us to do. Just tell us."
"What's that feeling? Why can't I understand anything she said?"
The Workers' Guild President felt that the current situation was obviously not very favorable to them. She really couldn't think of any solution the eldest lady could come up with. She also didn't quite understand what President Alice had just said, so she had to ask President Hongfen in a low voice.
The Pink Club President smiled slightly and answered the other party's question, "Of course it's the feeling of hugging a thigh, and it's the thickest and strongest one in the whole game. It's guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience for you."
Nan Huan didn't care about their teasing. "You take Old Man Zhang to wait at his door. The chairman and I are enough. Just wait for my signal."
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