60 Protection
◎Axue, am I great?◎
When you run out of ammunition, rushing to the next level is not a wise choice.
Everyone's weapons would not be fully restored until tomorrow, so they gave up the plan to go to -2 and found a place to rest on the underground floor.
Excessive physical exertion made them extremely tired, but right now, there was something more important for them to worry about than rest.
It's food.
Qi Qiuxue searched the entire floor and could only find a few water supply devices. When they were opened, streams of clear and clean liquid flowed out. Li Yiqing scooped some with a glass container and put it under his nose to smell. It was safe and non-toxic and was a source of drinkable water.
But other than that, there was nothing else they could use to replenish their energy. The door leading upstairs was still closed, and there was no possibility for them to go out. It was a fantasy to think of getting food.
"Looks like we'll just have to starve for a few days." Zhu Lan sighed, leaning against the wall in a daze. "According to what that bastard Dean said, the way out is on the last floor. If we want to leave here as quickly as possible, we have to speed up."
"But we're completely out of ammunition right now. Going down there would be tantamount to committing suicide." She shook her head and muttered, "Normally, it would take us at least three days to leave this place."
"It could be even longer," Qi Qiuxue continued. "If the dean isn't lying, and the monsters get more aggressive the further down we go, we need to time our descent."
"One to two hours before midnight is the best time."
"Yes." Everyone nodded, understanding what she meant. This was indeed the safest method at the moment. According to the copy mechanism, ammunition and weapons would be automatically refreshed after midnight. Before midnight, they would go downstairs with full ammunition. Even if the ammunition was depleted quickly, there was no need to worry. As long as they waited for a while, the ammunition could be refilled.
This is a tricky method, equivalent to having twice the amount of ammunition in one battle. The only drawback is that it prolongs their stay here.
"Will we have to go hungry for several days?" Zhu Lan sighed in frustration after hearing this. She had never been in such a miserable state in a copy before.
But soon, she suddenly thought of something and looked to her side with joy: "Li Yiqing, do you have a prop that can teleport you to any place you have been to?"
"Yes, I do." Li Yiqing nodded slightly. "I can indeed use the props to leave here and look for food, but the props are disposable. Given the current situation, it would be difficult to come back."
"The dean is dead, his body has long since turned into a pool of mud. Entering the underground requires a card with the highest authority and his pupil print. I have the card, but what about the pupil print..."
Too.
Zhu Lan closed his eyes in despair: "If I had known, I should have dug out his eyes before he ran to the monster pile to die."
After he finished speaking, everyone just sighed in agreement and no one spoke again.
The atmosphere gradually became a little depressing, time passed little by little, and soon it was time for the sun to rise, but at this time they were underground, and apart from the dazzling lights above their heads, they could no longer sense any light.
I don't know how much time passed, but as if he had finally made up his mind, Zhu Lan opened his mouth again: "Li Yiqing, you can actually leave us alone and just leave."
Li Yiqing responded and looked at her: "Zhu Lan, what did you say?"
"You're different from us. The tools you have are very useful. You can use them directly to leave this dark underground and go up there." Zhu Lan knew what it meant to lose a teammate, but she wasn't selfish and wouldn't insist on holding Li Yiqing back. "Once we get up there, you can get a good night's sleep and have a good meal. You don't have to starve with us."
"How is that possible!" Li Yiqing shook his head and quickly rejected her proposal, "I won't leave you alone..."
"Zhu Lan is right." But before he could finish his words, Qi Qiuxue interrupted him, "Luck is also a crucial factor in surviving in a dungeon. Possessing an item like this is equivalent to having the right to survive."
"To be fair, the battle has just begun. We're already struggling against the monsters on the -1 floor. If the monsters on -2 and -3 become exponentially more dangerous and aggressive, we might not be able to win like we are now. Even if we fail the mission, we'll all die in the dungeon. Compared to being eaten by monsters, at least you still have the right to choose how you die."
"What's more, you're the only player without a weapon, unable to attack or defend effectively. This greatly increases your chances of being attacked by monsters. There's currently no antidote to completely eliminate the virus, so if you're bitten, you'll become one of them."
Qi Qiuxue looked directly into Li Yiqing's eyes: "I don't want to see this happen."
"Axue is right." Wu Shanyue nodded in response. Li Yiqing clearly had the opportunity to leave, so there was no need for him to stay and suffer with them. "Aqing, you go first."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Lu Jin and Xu Gui beside her. The two of them responded in succession, holding the same opinion as everyone else.
“…”
No matter what situation arises, Qi Qiuxue will definitely be the most rational person among the players. What she said is not unreasonable. For Li Yiqing, this approach is indeed the best solution among all the current options.
Li Yiqing understood everyone's good intentions, and she felt touched and grateful for these companions who treated her sincerely.
But at the same time, a strong sense of self-blame surged from the bottom of her heart. She shook her head and murmured softly, "If only I had a weapon too. If I could be of use, I could help share more of the burden."
After she finished speaking, Qi Qiuxue heard the grievance in her words: "...Aqing, that's not what we meant."
"I know." Li Yiqing smiled and was silent for a while before finally saying, "Thank you all for your kindness, but I still want to stay."
"Even if I have the tools to leave here, I can't leave you to face danger alone. I would rather face it with you than alone."
"Axue." She looked into Qi Qiuxue's eyes and said sincerely, "Please let me stay, okay? This is my decision after careful consideration. No matter what the consequences are, I will bear them myself."
She silently held Qi Qiuxue's hand tightly, and her white fingertips were trembling slightly because of nervousness.
She was afraid that everyone would abandon her. She looked like a pitiful and humble dog. Qi Qiuxue looked at her and couldn't say no: "...Okay."
"Thank you." Li Yiqing smiled and rushed forward to give her a big hug.
-
The players fell asleep one after another and did not wake up again until midnight.
After sleeping on the cold floor for more than ten hours, suffering from hunger and cold, everyone's condition was not optimistic.
Qi Qiuxue's right hand was still seriously injured and showed no signs of recovery. For some unknown reason, she even seemed to have a low fever.
But now is not the time to rest and recuperate. Even if they are not in good condition, they must be prepared and control the time to go to the next floor.
"In just over ten minutes, our weapons will be operational again." Qi Qiuxue began to discuss the next steps. "We can wait another day, until there's only about an hour left before midnight, before continuing deeper. This way, we'll have twice as much ammunition, giving us a much higher chance of success."
"But this also means that our stay underground will be extended again. It will take us two days to deal with the monsters at -2, and then we will be stuck in a long wait, and it will take another two days to deal with the monsters at -3."
"Even if we have water to drink, the lack of food and the battles that push our bodies beyond their limits will greatly strain our bodies. The longer this drags on, the worse our condition will become. Even if we still have ammunition, the possibility of accidents will increase significantly."
"Especially... the further we go down, the more aggressive the monsters become. I don't think we can defeat them in that state."
"So what do you mean?" Zhu Lan asked.
"We'll set off now," Qi Qiuxue said. "If we can save a day, the better. After we've dealt with -2, we'll rest well and use a time-limiting strategy to get to -3."
That's all we can do.
"I hope the monster in -2 isn't too strong." Midnight was approaching. Wu Shanyue took a deep breath and loaded his pistol. Everyone slowly stood up and walked down the long and narrow stairs until they reached a deeper area.
Unlike -1, the terrain of -2 is obviously much more tortuous. It is not easy to attract the monsters' attention and gather them together. The alarm above the head sounded again, and the monsters roared loudly and rushed out in droves.
Compared with the previous monsters, the monsters here are obviously stronger and more alienated. For safety reasons, Qi Qiuxue asked Zhu Lan to use empathy at the beginning. With the experience from last time, everyone sped up the speed of gathering monsters this time. They would not waste a single bit of ammunition until they could maximize its effect.
Qi Qiuxue did not relax at all either. The monsters here had a keen sense of smell. Even if their vision was disturbed, they could still quickly determine the player's location. Wave after wave of monsters surged over. Qi Qiuxue remained highly vigilant, and with a flick of her sword, she cleared out all the monsters around Zhu Lan.
But it was inevitable that some fish would slip through the net. Qi Qiuxue's right hand could not move, so she could only hold the knife with her left hand. Facing the monster rushing from the right, she was obviously struggling.
In addition, her condition worsened, her body temperature became higher and higher, her thinking began to slow down, and her reaction ability also dropped significantly.
When she was clearing the monsters on the left, a monster happened to pounce from the right. Qi Qiuxue had no time to dodge or swing her weapon, and could only watch the monster getting closer and closer to her.
It's over.
At a certain moment, Qi Qiuxue's heart gradually became filled with despair, but it was also at this moment that Li Yiqing realized her situation.
Without having time to think, she took out the potion from her backpack as quickly as possible and drank it all in one gulp.
Under the effect of the drug, she teleported in front of Qi Qiuxue, raised her hands to hug her tightly, and resisted the monster's attack.
"Aqing!" Qi Qiuxue's heart suddenly felt empty. The monster's sharp claws left several deep scratches on Li Yiqing's body. Blood spurted out from her cracked flesh and flew into the air.
But Li Yiqing seemed to be unaware of it and just smiled at her: "Axue, this time I can finally be of use."
“I’m great, right…”
【Author’s words】
A little late, hugs everyone!
Thank you for your tickets and nutrient solution, thank you for leaving comments and reading, love you!
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