"Li Jinshao?!" Xi Xi exclaimed, but a strange thought welled up in her mind, "How did you end up here?"
Speaking of which, when I asked Li Jinshao about the Blue Fish before, he did mention that they were likely in the same area.
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Jinshao's eyes. Wearing a slightly worn exploration suit, she took a few steps back. Only when she saw who it was did she breathe a sigh of relief: "You scared me... The situation on this ship is very complicated. How did you get here?"
So the footsteps during the day were Li Jinshao?!
Xi Xi looked him up and down. Although she had some doubts, she nodded and gestured for him to continue.
Li Jinshao walked to the fireplace, found a seat, and began to recount her experiences.
According to Li Jinshao, this ship is part of a new dungeon, where the passenger ship encounters a mysterious storm during its voyage and disappears into the vast ocean.
"A dungeon? Then why didn't I receive the quest?" Xi Xi had considered this possibility before. She checked her quest page again and again, then frowned and asked, "Could it be a rare copy of the story?"
Li Jinshao gave Xi Xi a deep look, then nodded, his expression turning serious.
There was nothing she could do... Xi Xi inwardly lamented, never expecting that someone would beat her to it. But a gentleman doesn't take what belongs to others, especially not to a friend: "Alright, then we'll leave tomorrow morning..."
“That’s not the point,” Li Jinshao interrupted Xi Xi. “Haven’t you noticed? This ship seems a bit mysterious. Every midnight, the ship enters a strange state, and everything returns to its original state, as if time has been reset here…”
With that, Li Jinshao led Xi Xi to the main restaurant.
In a quiet corner of the main restaurant, the apple that Cheng's father had cut open earlier still lay there quietly.
Its cut surface is as smooth as silk, without a trace of oxidation, as if it had just been cut open.
Li Jinshao gestured to Xi Xi to open the light screen to check the time. The numbers on the digital watch were ticking away second by second, approaching midnight.
Just as the hands of the digital watch struck 00:00, something astonishing happened. The apple in Xi Xi's hand suddenly vanished without a trace, as if drawn by an invisible force, accompanied by a faint wisp of light!
Xi Xi was startled by this sudden change. Her heart tightened, and she quickly turned to look at the buffet area. Sure enough, a fresh and whole apple had appeared in the fruit basket and was neatly arranged on a plate.
"What... what's going on?" Xi Xi stopped in her tracks, somewhat taken aback, looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables on the plate, and couldn't help but think of the scene in the movie "Triangle".
Could it be that time has reversed?
She hurriedly checked the public chat, and after confirming several times that there was no problem with the time passing, she fell into deep thought again.
Li Jinshao grabbed an apple and took a bite: "I've observed that there are new supplies every day." The apple made a crisp "crunch crunch" sound in his mouth, seemingly exceptionally fresh and juicy.
Li Jinshao casually picked up a banana and handed it to Xi Xi.
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry yet." Xi Xi glanced back at him, and only after confirming that Li Jinshao had eaten the apple without any adverse reaction did she turn her attention back to the plate.
"Have you been here for the past few days?" Xi Xi picked up a fragrant pear, examined it for a moment, and asked.
“It’s been several days.” Li Jinshao changed the subject: “To be honest, the environment here isn’t bad at all. Have you been to the sauna on the first floor? It’s much better than the Dongli Inn!”
"I took a quick look." Xi Xi put down the pear, then asked, "Did you go to the deck?"
"You want to ask about the abnormal formation of that patch of ice?" Li Jinshao pushed up his glasses and began to analyze the scene with Xi Xi.
"I think there are two reasons. One is that the ice was not pure."
"Take seawater as an example. Its salt content is about 3.5%, and its melting point is about 2°C lower than that of pure water. This is why salt is spread on roads to remove ice in winter. You must know that."
"So, there must have been some other substance mixed in with that ice..."
Li Jinshao spoke eloquently about everything from geological structure to impurity elements.
"Secondly, the passenger ship can repair itself, and the ice floe is on the deck. According to the game's mechanics, it's hard to say that it's not within the collision range of the passenger ship."
As they were talking, Li Jinshao suddenly stared at Xi Xi: "Why don't you join my team? If we solve the rare book quest together, we'll definitely be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Xi Xi paused for a moment, this was a perfect opportunity to obtain the rare book! However, she hesitated slightly before replying, "Sorry, I'm not alone this time."
As the team leader, she can't act unilaterally.
"Can you accept three more people?" Xi Xi looked up at him. "If you can, I'll discuss it with my teammates. If not, that's fine too, I completely understand."
With more porridge than monks, it's only natural to be unwilling.
“Okay!” But to Xi Xi’s surprise, Li Jinshao nodded very decisively and suggested, “Let’s go ask together. This is a rare dungeon, and there’s strength in numbers!”
"Um."
Li Jinshao and Xi Xi returned to the luxury room together. Along the way, Xi Xi kept asking Li Jinshao about the details of the mission to obtain the rare book, and Li Jinshao told her everything in detail.
"Putting everything else aside, this place is actually quite suitable for living. Look, there's a warm fireplace, a comfortable environment, and abundant resources. I feel like we could totally exploit a bug to delay completing the task, so we wouldn't have to go back to that freezing world outside to suffer anymore. Staying here, we can easily live a peaceful life, haha!"
Li Jinshao made a joke, glancing at Xi Xi who was looking around with a smile.
"You're back?" Xi Zhongcang pushed open the door and immediately saw a man and a woman standing in the doorway. He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the two of them several times before he noticed the man with glasses smiling and greeting him.
Li Jinshao, being a seasoned office worker, was adept at reading people and immediately sensed Xi Zhongcang's attitude. He then took the initiative to greet Xi's father. The two chatted amiably and soon became fast friends.
Xi Zhongcang's impression of Li Jinshao improved considerably. When Li Jinshao asked them to join the dungeon team, he agreed almost without hesitation.
As for Cheng Xu and his father, Xi Zhongcang felt it was necessary to discuss and inform them further, respecting the opinions of each team member.
Just then, Li Jinshao noticed the unusual calluses on Xi Zhongcang's hands. A strange look flashed in his eyes, and then he smiled and said to Xi Zhongcang, "Uncle, there's a shooting range on the second floor. It's for entertainment purposes, but it's quite realistic. Would you like to take a look?"
Xi Zhongcang glanced at the time and thought to himself that it was indeed late. He was about to politely decline when he was surprised to find that his daughter, who had mentioned asking for some hot water, had quietly appeared behind the young man wearing glasses.
Xi Xi held the fire-bladed scythe in her hand, her eyes filled with a hint of coldness, and slashed fiercely at Li Jinshao's back.
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