Yu Xiangnan frowned, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.
The player endured the pain and used a healing card. As soon as his health was restored, he slipped away as fast as he could.
Su Yao quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Xiang Nan, are you alright?"
Yu Xiangnan nodded slightly and quickly transformed the crystal ball Luo Pin had given him into a card and put it into the card album.
After a moment, she regained her composure and said, "I'm fine. I just accidentally triggered a trap in the ruins. You must have all spent a lot of time looking for me, right?"
"We've fallen too far behind the people ahead of us; we need to get going as soon as possible."
Su Yao and Professor Zhang nodded, and seeing that she was alright, they then ventured deeper into the Xisha ruins.
Both Fedo and Bula keenly noticed Yu Xiangnan's unusual behavior. Although they were puzzled, they didn't ask any questions and tacitly kept their distance, silently watching Yu Xiangnan.
In this square plaza, you can see some incomplete statues placed in niches in the walls. Although they are damaged, you can still see the exquisite craftsmanship of their carving.
Further in, a narrow passage winds its way forward, its walls inlaid with faintly glowing gems that barely illuminate the path ahead.
The surrounding air grew increasingly cold and damp, filled with a putrid smell.
After walking for nearly half an hour, the group finally saw a wider view.
But the sight before them shocked them – this was not at all what the map Zhao Gang had provided depicted; what lay before them was a magnificent and enormous underground palace!
Towering stone pillars rise from the ground, like giant trees growing from the depths of the earth, firmly supporting the magnificent dome. The pillars are carved with intricate and exquisite patterns.
The floor was paved with huge stone slabs that fit together perfectly. The surrounding walls were inlaid with gemstones that emitted a faint glow, adding a touch of mystery to the dim space.
Deep within the palace lies a massive stone coffin.
"This isn't right. It's completely different from the map Zhao Gang gave us." Su Yao frowned, her voice full of doubt.
Yu Xiangnan did not respond. Her eyes scanned the surroundings warily, a vague sense of unease creeping in.
Zhao Gang and the other two are very likely dead.
Not long after, Su Yao suddenly pointed ahead and exclaimed, "Look!"
Not far away, the bodies of Zhao Gang and his two companions lay scattered on the ground, their blood long since dried, leaving shocking dark red marks on the ground.
Their expressions were frozen in the terror and pain of dying, clearly indicating that they had encountered something extremely terrible.
"How...how could this happen..." Su Yao's voice trembled slightly.
Fear spread between Su Yao and Professor Zhang.
Just moments ago, these three men were vibrant and full of life, but now they lay stiff and lifeless on the ground. The three strongest members of this hastily assembled expedition team were gone, leaving only these three survivors. How could this have happened...?
Yu Xiangnan looked at the three corpses in front of him, walked forward, squatted down and examined them carefully.
Strangely, there were almost no signs of struggle on the corpses; each person had been precisely slit in the throat with a single blow. Furthermore, the faint energy fluctuations around the wounds clearly indicated the presence of some kind of skill; the traces were too obvious to ignore.
Was he killed by a player, or by some other NPC?
Before they could recover from their shock, a sinister growl came from deep within the palace!
Turning my head, I saw a group of hunched zombies slowly emerging from the darkness. These zombies had bluish-gray skin, and some even had their flesh beginning to rot, revealing their white bones and emitting a nauseating stench.
Upon seeing this, Yu Xiangnan immediately sent a message in the chat, and then transformed Xiao Lan from a card form into a physical form.
[Yu Xiangnan]: Fei Duo, Bula, you and Xiao Lan are responsible for protecting the NPCs. I'll take care of these zombies.
[Bula]: Yes, sir!
[Fei Duo]: Good
Upon receiving the instructions, Fedo, Bula, and Xiaolan acted swiftly.
At the same time, hordes of zombies surged in like a tidal wave, their putrid stench almost suffocating.
Bula's small body instantly erupted with powerful energy fluctuations, and its body began to grow to enormous size at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, it became a giant Dundun Beast that was more than two people tall.
A pair of broad, powerful wings stretched out from its back.
With a gentle flap of its wings, it stirred up a powerful gust of wind, sending dust and gravel flying everywhere, and even causing sand and stones to fall from the palace walls.
Bula flew towards Su Yao and Professor Zhang, gesturing for them to come up.
Su Yao and Professor Zhang rubbed their eyes in disbelief, thinking it was a hallucination, but the zombies around them were getting closer and closer, and they didn't have much time to decide.
Without the slightest hesitation, the two climbed onto Bula's back using both hands and feet.
Bula immediately flew into the air, while the zombies, unable to reach the sky, could only roar angrily below.
Seeing the densely packed zombies and the unimaginably bizarre scene below, Su Yao, perched on Bula's back, felt her fear instantly overwhelm her. But all she could do was hold on tightly to avoid falling.
Falling down... there's only one outcome!
She didn't want to die!
But why can the dog that faces south grow wings? And where is she now?
Just as everyone was terrified by the sudden appearance of a bunch of zombies in the palace, Yu Xiangnan quickly grabbed the player who was trying to escape again and said with a forced smile, "I know you are a mage. Mages have to fight. It's up to you now."
She was incredibly strong; the player was as light as a feather in her hands, and was thrown into the zombie horde like a chicken.
"!!!"
The moment the player's feet touched the ground, he was surrounded by menacing zombies. For the first time, he felt weak, pitiful, and helpless, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
But his survival instinct brought him back to his senses quickly. His hands trembled as he muttered incantations, and a ball of dark blue magical light gathered in his palms.
Is this really still an NPC?
He hurled the spell at the nearest zombie.
The zombie was struck by the spell, letting out a muffled roar as the impact sent it staggering back a few steps. However, this was only a brief repulsion; more zombies surged forward like a tide, their purpose clear: to reach out their withered hands and try to grab the intruder.
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