“Ahhh—so annoying!”
Dou Dou was almost going crazy. Later, they tried various methods, even tying up those ten monsters separately, but even then they would die, as fragile as paper, they couldn’t even touch them. After reverting back three or four times, he completely lost his patience.
However, besides the irritation, the biggest problem they faced gradually emerged.
“I’m already… huff… almost, huff, can’t run anymore…” Luo Yingying sat down on the ground, no longer caring about her image, stretching her legs out. Li Wenjun squatted down to help her massage her legs.
“This won’t do,” Li Wenjun frowned tightly, “Yingying’s health isn’t good, she can’t run like this anymore.”
Qi Xiaokui was also leaning against a tree, panting lightly, wiping the sweat off her face with the back of her hand. She was doing a bit better than Luo Yingying, but if they kept running like this, she estimated she wouldn’t be able to stand either.
“Who’s health isn’t good!” Luo Yingying pushed Li Wenjun, seeming a bit unhappy, “I’m just tired! I’ll be fine after resting a bit, I can still run!”
“Okay, okay, I misspoke.” Li Wenjun immediately changed his words, but then suddenly fell silent, silently helping her massage her legs.
Luo Yingying curiously patted the back of his hand, “Wenjun, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Li Wenjun shook his head, “If we run again, I’ll carry you.”
Luo Yingying originally wanted to say no, she still wanted to run by herself, but her legs were so sore she could barely move. After hesitating for a moment, she finally nodded.
Dou Dou, watching the interaction between the two, quietly leaned over to Qi Xiaokui’s side and whispered, “Sister Qi, look at them, they’re all pairs, always feeding us dog food, it’s too much! How about… we also pair up?”
Qi Xiaokui rolled her eyes fiercely, “I don’t like being too open.” She was still thinking about the condom issue.
“Ahem, I was just saying, isn’t it normal for guys to tell dirty jokes? Actually, I’m still a very conservative person at heart, I’m still a virgin!” Dou Dou proudly patted his chest, “I like girls like Sister Qi, with bangs, a baby face, and in uniforms… ah haha, I mean girls who look particularly pure in school uniforms.”
Qi Xiaokui squinted her eyes, without warning, she spun around, bent her knee, and suddenly jabbed it into Dou Dou’s stomach. Dou Dou let out a “ow” and fell to the ground, clutching his belly. Qi Xiaokui looked down at him and huffed, “Don’t think I didn’t hear what you were about to say. If there’s a next time, I’ll use your family’s secret technique on you. It’s not like anyone can’t do it!”
“Ow! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again! Sister Qi, spare me!” Dou Dou pleaded, his eyes turning into crescent moons.
On the other side, Xin Meng was leaning against You Yi’s chest with her arms crossed, the two quietly watching the little black monsters pop out like groundhogs, running wildly, while the ground returned to being flat. Not long after, another wave popped out, cycling back and forth.
They didn’t chase anymore but continued to rest at the save point. Both women were starting to lag behind in stamina, and most importantly, without new clues, even if they followed every time, it was of no use other than exhausting themselves.
“Now I finally understand why the conditions on the card were so good.” Xin Meng sighed.
“It only looks good.” You Yi squinted, speaking softly, “The danger has been avoided.”
“Exactly,” Xin Meng nodded, “It does seem like we can revert infinitely, but that doesn’t mean we can try indefinitely. Without food, without water, unable to rest, plus limited stamina… we probably can’t last more than three days.”
“How are you?” You Yi looked down at her, gently brushing aside the hair that had fallen over her forehead.
“Still the same—feeling as strong as an ox!” Xin Meng laughed, “Like Popeye after eating spinach, not tired at all. But about that item slot…”
You Yi interrupted her, “It has nothing to do with the others.”
Meaning they didn’t need to tell anyone else.
“Okay.” Xin Meng looked at the translucent screen floating in front of her, her gaze sweeping over the words “Forever” in the lower right corner.
You Yi nodded.
Xin Meng put away her storage slot. Since observing the little black monsters didn’t yield results, she might as well study the card again to see if there were any correct hints hidden in the song.
“Ten little black monsters, running around for food; if one gets stuffed, there’s no way to save it, ten become nine…” Xin Meng whispered it twice, suddenly a flash of inspiration hit her, “They can’t all die, nor can they all live… what if, only one dies?!”
“You mean, according to the song, interpret the content?” Qi Xiaokui quickly responded.
“Only one way to find out.” Xin Meng frowned, not entirely sure.
“How about this, us guys will go ahead and try again, Yingying, you and Miss Qi rest here.” Li Wenjun said to Luo Yingying.
“No!” Luo Yingying immediately refused, “I can still run, I’m going with you!”
“But you’re tired…”
“Then I’ll still follow you!” Luo Yingying’s attitude was very firm, “I like running, I don’t like sitting!”
Li Wenjun’s brows were tightly knitted, and Qi Xiaokui felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, but still said, “I don’t want to wait here either, I want to go with you.”
“If you can hold on, then let’s go.” Dou Dou blinked, “Leaving those two beauties here alone, what if something dangerous happens later?”
What he said was right; no one knew if any changes would occur after they separated. By then, they would be far away in the town, and wouldn’t be able to rush back to save them. Li Wenjun finally relented, allowing Luo Yingying to follow along at a slower pace, as long as she stayed within sight, it was okay if she lagged a bit. Luo Yingying breathed a sigh of relief.
They followed the little black monsters back into the town. Xin Meng ran ahead, first putting all the hamburgers into the item slot. When the little black monsters were about to fight each other out of hunger, she pulled out ten hamburgers to feed them.
Sure enough, as soon as the little black monsters saw the hamburgers, they stopped showing their teeth, their sharp claws dug into the hamburgers, and they ate with great relish. However, the scene was not pretty; the dirty fur and loud smacking sounds were quite disgusting.
After finishing one, Xin Meng would give another, carefully controlling the amount. The little black monsters stood quietly, like well-behaved children, bowing their heads to eat the hamburgers.
“Heavens!” Qi Xiaokui couldn’t help but rub her arms, “Why do I feel this is so bizarre?”
“If we keep feeding them slowly like this, can we pass? They have to get full eventually, right?” Luo Yingying said optimistically.
However, the reality was far from that. These little black monsters were like goldfish, completely unaware of what being full meant. Xin Meng fed each little black monster about fifty hamburgers, and when she saw their bellies bulging but still looking hungry, she knew it wouldn’t work. So she slowed down the feeding speed again, just as she was thinking about which one to feed to death, she noticed a change in the situation.
As the feeding speed slowed down, nine of the little black monsters actually slowed down their eating speed as well, while only one continued to gobble down, gradually becoming more obvious among the ten. When Xin Meng looked at it, it swallowed the last bite of hamburger in its mouth and suddenly lunged at her!
Xin Meng was startled and reflexively threw out two or three hamburgers. The standout little black monster immediately abandoned her and turned to pick up the hamburgers to stuff into its mouth.
“Feed it.” You Yi said.
Xin Meng nodded, quickly pulling out more hamburgers, throwing them one after another, all of which were swallowed by that little black monster. Its belly grew larger and larger, until it had eaten over a hundred, and then its belly burst with a “bang!”
“Ten little black monsters, running around for food; if one gets stuffed, there’s no way to save it, ten become nine…” The remaining nine little black monsters suddenly threw away the hamburgers in their hands and sang in unison, their sharp voices carrying a piercing sound wave that made everyone’s heads ache!
As the six couldn’t help but cover their ears, the little black monsters continued singing: “Nine little black monsters, sleepless in the deep night; fall asleep and die, nine become eight…”
After singing, they actually started running again, this time deeper into the town!
“Is this the way to pass the level?!” Luo Yingying shouted loudly, rubbing her buzzing ears.
“Looks like it! Hurry up and catch up!” Qi Xiaokui shouted back, her voice so loud it made everyone’s ears hurt even more.
The group immediately followed the nine little black monsters, who had lost one companion, as they passed through the entire deserted town and burst out through another gate, their vision suddenly plunged into darkness.
On both sides was an endless abyss of darkness, like a monster with its mouth wide open, waiting to devour them, making one feel dizzy after a glance.
The only thing visible in their line of sight was a dirt path less than a meter wide beneath their feet, seemingly suspended in mid-air above the abyss, extending forward.
Dou Dou ran fast, becoming the first, looking at the terrifying void on both sides, then at the lonely suspended path beneath his feet, his legs suddenly went weak, “My God! Why did the atmosphere change so suddenly?!”
“Be careful!” Li Wenjun grabbed his arm, afraid he would fall, “I’ll go first, if you’re scared, just run slowly behind, don’t step into the void.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Dou Dou quickly waved his hand, “I’ll go, you support Sister Yingying from behind.”
The two were still arguing when they turned their heads and found You Yi had already stepped onto the path expressionlessly, with Xin Meng closely following behind, even turning back to give them a sympathetic glance.
Li Wenjun & Dou Dou: “……”
“Quickly go, or we’ll lose them.” Qi Xiaokui rolled her eyes and followed behind Xin Meng. Dou Dou reacted quickly and hurried to catch up, leaving Li Wenjun and Luo Yingying as the last ones.
“This time, the teammates are great.” Luo Yingying said softly as Li Wenjun supported her waist from behind, moving forward.
Li Wenjun nodded. “The chances of survival will increase.”
The four in front still had decent stamina, running far ahead, and didn’t hear the conversation between Li Wenjun and Luo Yingying. They closely followed the little black monsters, who were moving swiftly as if walking on flat ground, crossing a perilous path that was five hundred meters long, finally seeing the end, where there was a circular piece of land, and the little black monsters stopped there!
You Yi quickened his pace, rushing ahead, Xin Meng easily followed, and turned her head to shout back, “We’re almost there!”
However, he suddenly heard a scream from behind!
“Ah!!” In the originally quiet and open darkness, something suddenly lunged at Luo Yingying, crashing into her body from behind, knocking her sideways, causing her to lose her balance, and she was about to fall into the abyss from the side!
“Yingying!”
Li Wenjun shouted loudly, immediately reaching out to grab her. Fortunately, he had been paying attention to his beloved, and at the critical moment, he caught Luo Yingying’s wrist, suspending her in mid-air, but he himself was also pulled off the path by the huge inertia, half of his body hanging off the path, head down, and it seemed he wouldn’t be able to hold on for long!
The people in front heard the commotion and turned back. Seeing this situation, they all rushed back, with Dou Dou and Qi Xiaokui, who were closest, quickly running back.
Having finally encountered another female, Qi Xiaokui had a very good impression of Luo Yingying’s character, so she was very worried. However, the path only allowed one person to pass, and she couldn’t cross Dou Dou to help, so she could only anxiously watch from the spot. Fortunately, Dou Dou was strong and pulled Li Wenjun up with all his might. Although Luo Yingying was still hanging in mid-air, Li Wenjun’s grip was secure, and it was just a matter of exerting a bit of effort to pull her up, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
However, before she could fully exhale, she felt a tremendous force slam into her waist, her vision sliding upwards, her body losing control, and she flew off the path!
The sensation of weightlessness made her heart stop, using inertia, she lingered in the air for less than a second before rapidly falling down!
