At this moment, Qi Xiaokui realized that when a person is truly terrified, they cannot make a sound. She forgot to struggle, her limbs frozen, just staring wide-eyed at the endless darkness above, her mind blank.
Just when she despaired, thinking she was really going to die this time, someone forcefully grabbed her clothes!
“Rip—”
The fragile fabric, under the pressure of her body and gravity, could not bear the weight and was torn apart, but fortunately, it did not completely break!
Qi Xiaokui was barely suspended in mid-air, like a weather vane swaying in the wind, only a thin thread connecting her, ready to fall at any moment. She looked up in terror and saw that it was Luo Yingying who had caught her!
Li Wenjun, who had already gone up, leaned out again, while Dou Dou and Xin Meng each held onto one of his legs from behind. He gripped Luo Yingying’s wrist tightly, while Luo Yingying used her other hand to grab Qi Xiaokui’s shirt, forming a human rope that held Qi Xiaokui in place!
“Quick, grab my hand!” Luo Yingying shouted, “The clothes are about to rip!”
Qi Xiaokui’s heart raced like thunder, her body stiff with fear, but the instinct to survive gave her a sudden burst of courage. She jumped up slightly and grabbed Luo Yingying’s arm.
Luo Yingying felt even more strained, being pulled from both above and below, feeling as if her body was about to be torn in half. Her face turned red from the effort, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent.
“On the count of three, pull together!” Xin Meng said to Dou Dou, who nodded, “One, two, three, pull!”
The combined weight of the three was not light at all. Fortunately, two of them were petite women; otherwise, just relying on Xin Meng and Dou Dou alone might not have been enough to pull them up. Later, You Yi also joined in to help, and they finally managed to haul all three of them up.
“Ha… ha…” Luo Yingying’s arms were so sore she could hardly move, collapsing onto the ground, gasping for breath. Li Wenjun held her in his arms, tenderly rubbing her arms. “I didn’t expect… you’re actually quite heavy…”
Qi Xiaokui was filled with an indescribable sense of gratitude, too overwhelmed to even complain about the weight issue, and stammered, “Thank you all…”
To save her, everyone had pitched in. Not to mention Xin Meng, who had a good relationship with her, even the usually aloof You Yi did not stand by idly. The three new teammates she had just met also did not abandon her. Receiving such treatment for the first time left her momentarily at a loss.
“Let’s save the thanks for later. What exactly was that thing just now?” Xin Meng asked. “Did either of you see it clearly?”
“It seemed like… a bird?” Qi Xiaokui looked uncertainly at Luo Yingying.
Luo Yingying affirmed, “It was a crow!”
At first, she hadn’t seen clearly what was attacking her, but when Qi Xiaokui was pushed down and she grabbed her, she clearly saw a mass of black crows swooping past them!
As if in response to her words, just as Luo Yingying finished speaking, the cawing of crows suddenly erupted from the surrounding darkness!
One, two, three… countless numbers, their positions indistinguishable, the cacophony of cries dizzying. What was even more terrifying was the sound of wind rushing past their ears; those crows were flying straight at them!
“Run!” You Yi shouted sharply, pushing Xin Meng forward. The glint of his knife flashed, and he sliced a crow that was about to crash into Xin Meng in half!
Xin Meng immediately sprinted towards the end of the passage where the little black people were, pulling out a dagger to fend off the crows that came at her. Li Wenjun half-protected Luo Yingying in his arms and rushed forward, while Dou Dou pulled up Qi Xiaokui, quickly taking off his jacket and draping it over her head, gripping her wrist and running. The six of them waved their arms to protect their heads, struggling to move along the narrow, winding path. They could see the end was less than a hundred meters away, but no matter what, they couldn’t get through.
Hundreds, even thousands of crows emitted their harsh, piercing cries, charging at the six like a frenzied black wave, ready to engulf them, threatening to leave no trace behind!
“Ah!” Qi Xiaokui was covered by the jacket, and although she was spared from being pecked on the head, the countless wings and bodies of the birds crashing into her caused her immense pain. Not to mention, the exposed skin on her arms was being torn by the beaks, sending sharp pangs of agony through her.
The only ones in the team in a somewhat better situation were You Yi and Xin Meng, who had weapons, but their circumstances were still grim. The birds were not like humans; they were numerous and agile. Whenever they thrust their daggers, the crows would dodge away, leaving them with wounds all over.
“This won’t do!” Xin Meng swatted away a crow that was lunging for his eyes, leaving three bloody scratches from its claws on his palm. He shouted, “We can’t get through!”
Seeing him in a tight spot, You Yi disregarded his own injuries and rushed over to support him, relieving some of the pressure. He shouted, “Calm down! Check the item inventory for any usable items!”
Item inventory?
Xin Meng immediately opened the translucent screen, which only displayed a backpack containing something resembling a giant condom for elephants. In this situation, was he supposed to put it on his head?! It was utterly useless!
The only other thing left was the more than five hundred hamburgers he had leftover from feeding the little black people in the previous level…
Hamburgers…?
Xin Meng’s intuition kicked in, his body moving faster than his thoughts. Before he could fully grasp the reason, he quickly pulled out about ten hamburgers and threw them at the crows surrounding You Yi!
“Ah—” “Ah—”
The crows immediately went into a frenzy, abandoning their attack on You Yi, flapping their wings and rushing towards the hamburgers. Five or six crows fought over the same hamburger, even engaging in a scuffle, feathers flying everywhere, and the hamburgers were devoured in an instant.
“This is it!” Xin Meng felt a surge of excitement, continuously pulling hamburgers from the inventory and tossing them to the other five. The crows immediately shifted their attention, all rushing to grab the hamburgers. Later, Xin Meng simply threw the hamburgers into the darkness on both sides, instantly diverting most of the crows!
Seizing this opportunity, the six of them bolted forward. Xin Meng threw out the last few hamburgers and reached the solid ground first, with the others closely following. Each of them felt sore all over, but before they could even catch their breath, they saw nine black little figures lying on the flat ground, all facing up, eyes tightly closed, their bulging bellies finally still.
The six who had just escaped death suddenly felt darkness envelop them and returned to the save point.
“……”
“Damn!” Dou Dou’s clothes were tattered, his pants nearly in shreds, and he couldn’t help but raise his middle finger at the big tree, cursing, “I’ll screw your grandma!”
Although Xin Meng wanted to retort that the tree’s grandma was probably also a tree and thus hard to screw, he was in too much pain to say anything else, only gasping for breath.
The six of them sat on the ground, momentarily at a loss for words.
Xin Meng and You Yi were actually okay; they only had numerous long scratches on their exposed arms from claws and beaks. Since they had looked out for each other, their injuries weren’t too severe, and only their shirts were significantly damaged, while their pants were mostly fine.
Luo Yingying and Qi Xiaokui, the two girls in skirts, had blood all over their arms, and even their bare legs were not spared, looking like they were bleeding more than the men. In reality, they had been protected, so while it looked serious, the wounds weren’t very deep. Dou Dou, on the other hand, was dressed thickly, and although most of his clothes were tattered like a beggar, miraculously, he had very few injuries on his body, making him the one in the best condition.
However, Li Wenjun, who had martial arts skills, was injured exceptionally badly. He was empty-handed, without a weapon, and had to protect Luo Yingying, making it impossible for him to fight back. In the end, with so many crows, he was almost entirely pressed against Luo Yingying, shielding her, and his unprotected back became the best target for the crows’ attacks. Upon closer inspection, his once smooth, muscular back was now riddled with bloody holes, and he had numerous injuries, looking like a bloodied mess, and was now in a semi-conscious state.
Luo Yingying cried out in distress, holding Li Wenjun, unsure of what to do.
Meanwhile, You Yi first checked on Xin Meng, seeing he was fine, then walked over, taking out a first aid kit from his backpack. Noticing that Luo Yingying was tightly holding onto Li Wenjun due to her anxiety, he turned to glance at Qi Xiaokui.
Qi Xiaokui understood and quickly came over to persuade, “Yingying, let go for now. Let You Yi help him with his wounds; he’ll be fine soon.”
Luo Yingying, weak and trembling, was half-dragged away by her. You Yi tore open Li Wenjun’s shirt, disinfected his wounds, sprinkled on some hemostatic powder, and bandaged him up with swift movements, quickly taking care of the more serious injuries.
When he returned, he handed the remaining alcohol swabs and hemostatic bandages to Qi Xiaokui, who hurriedly began to bandage the wounds of the dazed and still bleeding Luo Yingying.
You Yi then walked back to Xin Meng’s side, carefully treating each bleeding spot on him. His gentle touch was completely different from how he handled the rugged and tough Li Wenjun.
Dou Dou had no significant injuries, and at this moment, he kicked the big tree several times. Seeing everyone busy, he could only wander around aimlessly, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the first aid kit You Yi had placed on the ground and the bandages wrapped around Li Wenjun, squinting his eyes, lost in thought.
After You Yi finished bandaging Xin Meng, he bent down to tend to his own wounds when Dou Dou swayed over to Xin Meng’s side, leaning in to whisper, “Hey, Xin Meng, where did your husband get that first aid kit?”
Xin Meng smiled, nonchalantly replied, “Of course, it’s from the system, just in the backpack.”
“What? So it’s different from what we have in our backpacks?” Dou Dou muttered, but Xin Meng didn’t respond.
Dou Dou showed a peculiar expression, seeming a bit conflicted, but didn’t say anything further. He glanced at the first aid kit again, his eyes darting, not knowing what he was thinking.
Once he left, Xin Meng quietly asked You Yi, “Is it okay to just take it out like this?”
Although he didn’t know why this first aid kit—and their two daggers—could be carried from one game to another without being confiscated by the system, he trusted You Yi and didn’t press further.
You Yi glanced at Dou Dou’s retreating figure, paused for a moment, and said, “It’s fine. This is a special item rewarded by the system, not a bug.”
Special item?
Xin Meng suddenly understood; no wonder he could carry it all along, so there was no need to worry. But he found You Yi’s explanation a bit strange and was about to ask when You Yi continued, “When clearing a game, there’s a relatively low probability of receiving reward items or abilities. These rewards can be carried at all times and won’t be confiscated by the system while traversing different games, until the player dies. Just like the daggers, the first aid kit, and your inventory. If anyone asks, you can explain directly.”
Only then did Xin Meng remember that You Yi was different from him; he had already cleared countless games and receiving system reward items was normal.
Wait! He suddenly realized a problem.
“How many lives do you have left?” Xin Meng only then reacted, having always assumed that the other person had three lives like him. So when You Yi lost one life in the last game, he instinctively thought he still had two lives left, which was why he didn’t break down. But if You Yi had…
Then how many lives does he have left now!
Thinking of a terrifying possibility, Xin Meng couldn’t help but tighten his grip on You Yi’s clothes, the veins on the back of his hand standing out.
“Two,” You Yi said.
“W-what?” Xin Meng, immersed in fear, didn’t catch it at first.
“Still two,” You Yi said patiently, “Don’t be afraid.”
“You… didn’t lie to me?” Xin Meng wanted to believe but was afraid the other was hiding something, anxiously holding onto him.
“I didn’t lie to you,” You Yi said, “Do you not trust me?”
“No…” Xin Meng leaned his face against his chest and suddenly said calmly, “I believe you.”
Whether to believe or not originally didn’t matter.
Xin Meng thought, anyway, he wouldn’t let him die even once more. His life was more than enough; he could just block for him.
In that case, whether it was one life left or two, it didn’t matter.
