Death is so near, yet so far.
In the instant they escaped danger, Shao Yang and Xie Xiaoxian didn't even know whether to be grateful or resentful. They simply let out a long breath, tightly holding each other's cold hands, thankful that the other was still alive.
"Uncle and Aunt, are you alright? Can you get up?"
The girl's sweet, clear voice rang out, jolting the two awake from their nightmare. They looked up and saw a delicate, fair face against the backdrop of a sky full of yellow sand.
Kuroko Sen: I also want a bear fur scarf to cover my face...
"It's you?" Xie Xiaoxian clearly recognized Cheng Shuang and exclaimed in surprise. She and her husband helped each other to their feet, and when they looked at the little girl and the three people and bear behind her, their faces showed gratitude. They clearly understood that their safe escape must have been largely due to the other party.
After being introduced, the boys learned that they had encountered the couple while the little girl was traveling alone, as well as four men who used the excuse of "never abandoning or giving up" to shield others.
Shao Yang's skills are healing-related, and fortunately, he is quite skilled in combat, having served in the military for several years. Xie Xiaoxian, on the other hand, possesses the ability to alter the size of objects; this ability only developed before entering this Gate of Reincarnation.
Because the giant statue was temporarily restrained, a group of maintainers gathered around, about twenty people. The oldest of them, a middle-aged man, said in a deep voice, "We can't remain passive like this. If possible, let's discuss how to break through this barrier. Spreading out will only be detrimental to humanity."
Once the topic was brought up, the defenders all looked at the four children and the couple.
Lie Fu glanced at his three companions questioningly, and seeing them nod slightly, he spoke, "Okay, let's get through this first."
Shao Yang and Xie Xiaoxian nodded in agreement.
Shao Yang: "Everyone wants to live. Even in a temporary team, there can be no one who harms their teammates."
His tone was stern and cold, clearly indicating that he deeply resented and was still shaken by the white-haired youth's deceitful behavior.
"That's natural," the maintainers all agreed.
Unlike the other group of protectors gathered around the white-haired youth, they still trusted the character of the couple in front of them. Although the couple's skills were slightly inferior to the white-haired youth in front of the statue, no one was willing to entrust their backs to such dangerous and selfish people.
Moreover, his middle-aged female companion at the same rest stop hadn't made a move yet, and no one knew what her skills were. Her attitude was even more arrogant and aloof than the white-haired youth's, yet the ill-tempered white-haired youth repeatedly tolerated her. The atmosphere between them was strange; they seemed more like superior and subordinate than companions.
This has made the maintainers increasingly distant and wary.
Nowadays, the "veterans" are doing well enough to protect themselves, let alone help others, while the newcomers huddle together timidly, making the four groups immediately distinct.
“There will definitely be a breakthrough point, it’s just that no one has discovered it yet.” The middle-aged man who led the conversation rubbed his temples.
"What can we do?" A slender female protector bit her lip, fiercely tearing off a piece of her long skirt to wipe the yellow sand from her face, complaining as she wiped, "This thing revives too quickly. I've only ever entered the world of ghosts and monsters before, this is the first time I've encountered such a tough opponent! Unless there are multiple fire tubes that can completely shatter it at the same time, even if you lose your head, it can still revive quickly."
Everyone smiled wryly. Her words were too realistic. Although the maintainers had skills, not many of them had high combat strength. After all, the world inside the Gate of Reincarnation was full of strange things, so it was not surprising that there were many different kinds of skills.
"Um..." Amidst the adults' hushed discussion, Cheng Shuang timidly raised her little hand, "If it could become one, wouldn't it be easier to deal with?"
"The entire desert is its source of resurrection," a young girl wailed. "We can't possibly turn the desert into an oasis, can we? So many intelligent people have spent countless hours trying to achieve this ideal, yet we couldn't do it instantly... How could we possibly..."
Du Jun: "If you have the corresponding skills, then it is certainly possible."
“How about we wait over there…” A fashionable young man hesitated, but was stopped by his companion. The girl whispered, “Don’t be silly. We can’t rely on them. If you’re not afraid of being cannon fodder, then wait and see.”
"Sigh, I just can't think of any amazing tricks." His skill is turning stones into insects, but the problem is, how big is the stone and how big is the insect? What can such a small amount of sand turn into an insect? Scratch the statue's itch?
Hei Zishan shrugged and sighed in sympathy, "Unfortunately, I can't outmaneuver you, and don't come to me with your brains either!"
These words made everyone quite embarrassed, as they reflected the sentiments of most people.
"Um..." Cheng Shuang realized the adults were ignoring her, so she persisted, "If you glue the sand together, wouldn't it be easier to break apart, at least not into tiny grains of sand..."
"Who would bring glue sticks!" Kuroko Hane blurted out. "Besides, where would you find glue sticks that big..."
As he spoke, he noticed that Lie Fu's gaze was a bit off. Following his gaze, he saw a little girl in the crowd struggling to raise her small hand on tiptoe, with a piece of '502' glue between her fingers.
"I have some craft work, so I put it all in my backpack!" the little girl exclaimed excitedly. "Let's glue it together! If we glue it together, it'll become clumsy, won't it?"
A young man scratched his head and said regretfully, "So little, it won't work..." He slapped his mouth, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Xie Xiaoxian, and then everyone's eyes turned to her.
Xie Xiaoxian frowned, "My mental strength is too weak, and my skills can't perform as expected."
Cheng Shuang glanced at Du Jun subconsciously, and Du Jun raised an eyebrow, "Don't you have any green pills left?"
"We used up all the green pills in the newcomer gift pack a long time ago," Shao Yang explained. "We were unlucky and didn't get any more green pills after that."
“You two aren’t the only ones with bad luck,” someone chimed in. “Green pills are rarer than other pills anyway.”
People coming out of the newbie rest station always have fewer experienced guides, so they don't pay attention to the frequency of pill usage at first, assuming that the rest station will be generous every time, resulting in most maintainers being in a state of pill scarcity.
Cheng Shuang hesitated for a moment, about to speak, but Du Jun interrupted her, "I have one green pill." He emphasized, "I only have one, and I can't give it away for nothing."
"For..." The middle-aged man began to speak again, but Lie Fu interrupted him with a smile, "Don't say it's for everyone's sake. Who isn't protecting themselves? Moral blackmail is unacceptable!"
The middle-aged man sighed and said nothing more.
"I'll trade you my White Pills." White Pills are second only to Green Pills. Because of Shao Yang's healing abilities, both of the couple's White Pills were stored in Xie Xiaoxian's spatial storage. Even if they were separated, Xie Xiaoxian wouldn't lack healing medicine.
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