This game doesn’t have many puzzle-solving elements; when faced with difficulties, if they think carefully, they can quickly find a solution.
But that doesn’t mean they are without danger, and most of that danger comes from time and physical strength.
The little black boys ran all the way, the scenes changing rapidly, leaving them little time to react. Although they might guess what they would encounter next from the lyrics, the actual situations always exceeded their expectations—who would have thought there would be such large bees?
And now, even if they figured out a solution, it wouldn’t be easy to clear the level.
They had to race against time: ignite, control the smoke, and smoke the beehive. Each task had to be completed before the little black boys reached that point. If they had entered the game at the beginning, they would have been full of energy, and the chances of success would have been high, but now…
Xin Meng discussed with You Yi, “They can’t run anymore; let’s go ignite the fire.”
You Yi naturally had no objections.
“I can still run; I’ll go with you!” Dou Dou volunteered, “I’m an athlete from school; I even won first place in the sports meet. Running is my strong suit!”
“You should carry Xiao Kui,” Xin Meng thought for a moment and said, “She’s seriously injured; even if she wakes up, she probably won’t be able to run fast.”
Glancing at the still unconscious Qi Xiao Kui, Dou Dou readily agreed, “Okay, I’ll take care of Sister Qi.”
Just as Xin Meng was about to thank him, he suddenly raised his hand in a swearing gesture, his face full of righteous indignation, “Don’t worry; I’ll try not to take advantage of Sister Qi! If I can’t control myself and really touch her, then punish me to carry her all the way!”
Xin Meng: “…”
Suddenly feeling very uneasy…
Fortunately, Qi Xiao Kui was still unconscious; otherwise, even if she crawled, she wouldn’t let the seemingly unreliable Dou Dou carry her.
Xin Meng was momentarily speechless, and the conversation ended. The intermittent sobbing that had been overshadowed by their voices suddenly became prominent, and the three of them looked towards Luo Yingying.
Luo Yingying was kneeling beside Li Wenjun, covering her face with her hands, torrents of tears spilling through her fingers. She was genuinely heartbroken; this pain and helplessness seeped into everyone’s hearts through her sobs, making them feel very uncomfortable.
Exchanging a glance with Dou Dou, Xin Meng was the first to walk over to comfort her, “Miss Luo, don’t cry; he’s fine. He’ll wake up soon.”
“Yeah, these wounds will be gone in the next game, right? No need to nurse them; it’s less worrying,” Dou Dou also came over to persuade her.
You Yi glanced at Dou Dou, his emotions inscrutable, but eventually returned to calm, his gaze falling back on Xin Meng.
Not comforting her was one thing, but once comforted, her emotions became even more prone to collapse, and Luo Yingying couldn’t help but burst into tears.
“It’s all my fault; it’s all my fault… He has already died twice, each time to protect me. This time he got so seriously injured; if… if…”
Hearing this, Xin Meng and Dou Dou exchanged a glance, momentarily unsure of what to say. They were moved by the deep feelings between the two, but also worried that what Luo Yingying said might become a reality.
Looking at it now, Li Wenjun had no problem protecting himself, but Luo Yingying was completely the opposite. Her physical strength was very poor, even worse than Qi Xiao Kui, and her adaptability was also lacking. She wasn’t foolish, nor did she scream like many women do when faced with danger. In comparison, she could maintain a certain level of calm and even occasionally burst out, like when she caught Qi Xiao Kui’s clothes as she fell.
In theory, as long as the players remained calm and didn’t panic, they could avoid many dangers, like Xin Meng did before. But Luo Yingying was different; it seemed she had never exercised before, which led to her body not being able to keep up with her rational understanding of where to dodge. That extreme lack of physical coordination would become very apparent in critical moments.
Li Wenjun had no problem protecting himself, but his abilities were not enough to keep both of them completely unharmed. In a situation where he couldn’t have both, he chose to protect his wife.
As a result, now Luo Yingying, aside from being physically exhausted, had almost no injuries; Li Wenjun had borne all the burden for her.
And she was well aware of all this.
“If it weren’t for me, it would be better. If it weren’t for me, he would definitely be able to live. I dragged him down…”
Her expression was extremely distressed, tears streaming down her face as she looked at the tightly closed eyes of Li Wenjun, her gaze filled with helplessness.
“If it weren’t for me…”
Xin Meng, for some reason, felt a genuine emotional impact for the first time. It was as if he could hear another heartbeat in his chest, stirring his blood and soul. He suddenly seemed to understand such profound feelings; because of deep love, one fears loss, and because one wants the other to live well, one wishes to disappear immediately…
He pressed his hand to his heart, unable to help but glance at You Yi. He didn’t know what expression he was showing at that moment, but he saw You Yi almost immediately rise and rush to his side, grasping his hand, his brows tightly furrowed, deep creases forming between them.
“What’s wrong?”
Xin Meng shook his head, controlling himself for a moment before shaking off that intense feeling of being infected.
He couldn’t help but smile bitterly, “What switch did you turn on for me?”
It was all because of You Yi’s previous death, which had impacted him so greatly that now even seeing someone else’s love story could move him. He truly didn’t know what to say.
He released You Yi’s hand and turned to squat beside the still crying and self-reproaching Luo Yingying, gently saying, “If it weren’t for you, he might lose the will to survive. You are the motivation for him to keep living.”
The crying paused, and Luo Yingying lowered her hands, staring blankly at him. Xin Meng continued, “Compared to a self-righteous sacrifice that only brings tears, a couple facing difficulties together sounds much more beautiful, doesn’t it?”
He was implying something, and behind him, You Yi showed a hint of a bitter smile for the first time.
“But… but facing difficulties together, I can’t do that,” Luo Yingying sobbed, speaking in fits and starts. “I can’t do anything, I can’t do anything. I can only recite poetry and sing to children, but what use is that! All I bring him is danger; I can’t help him at all… In this deadly game, I can’t help him at all!”
“How can you not help him?” Xin Meng pointed at the unconscious Li Wenjun. “He’s injured and can’t move. He’ll need you from now on. If you don’t become strong, how will he finish this journey?”
Luo Yingying’s eyes were still filled with tears as she stared blankly at her man, “Rely… rely on me?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not just you; we are here too,” Xin Meng smiled. “If we really encounter danger, we won’t stand by and do nothing.”
“Yeah, yeah!” Dou Dou, who had been forced to be a background character, seemed unable to hold it in any longer and found the opportunity to speak up, “We’re teammates; we have to take care of each other!”
This statement made Xin Meng pause slightly. In a daze, he recalled how he had heard or even said similar things many times before, each time bringing him different feelings.
Compared to people like Li Yougen and Dong Xiu, the speakers were different, the scenes were different, and even the feelings were worlds apart.
Xin Meng still really liked this team now.
Luo Yingying looked at Xin Meng, then at Dou Dou, blinked, and tears flowed down her cheeks again. This time, her expression was filled with gratitude and emotion, as if she didn’t know what to say to express her thanks.
After resting for a while, Li Wenjun was the first to wake up. The first thing he did after opening his eyes was to look for Luo Yingying everywhere. Luo Yingying stared at him without blinking, afraid to even blink. Seeing this, she immediately held his hand, “Wenjun, I’m here! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, better than before.” With her support, Li Wenjun sat up. Perhaps after sleeping for a while, he felt a bit better.
Now, the only one still unconscious was Qi Xiao Kui, but time could not be delayed any longer. The issue of lack of water weighed heavily on everyone, and even You Yi couldn’t avoid it. If it weren’t for the fact that no one could move Li Wenjun, they would have set off long ago. Now that Li Wenjun was awake, they could move. Dou Dou could just carry Qi Xiao Kui.
Following the next wave of little black boys, they ran through the town, crossed the suspension bridge, and passed through the castle, entering the forest again.
Xin Meng and You Yi picked up branches while running, far surpassing the others who were in worse condition. Later, Luo Yingying simply supported Li Wenjun and waited at a distance. Dou Dou hesitated for a moment, then set Qi Xiao Kui down, letting her sit against a big tree. He took off his jacket and covered her head to prevent any stray bees from getting through, then greeted Luo Yingying and the others, asking them to help watch over Qi Xiao Kui, while he fell behind Xin Meng and ran towards the beehive.
Xin Meng and You Yi quickly arrived under the massive beehive, stacking the collected firewood into a pile as close to the beehive as possible.
With the firewood, they also needed something to ignite it. This wasn’t a problem; You Yi had a lighter in the side pocket of his backpack, which Xin Meng had previously taken out. Now it was in his pants pocket. He took it out and was about to light it when the fire hadn’t ignited yet, and it caught the attention of the giant bees. A dozen worker bees raised their stingers and charged at the two!
Xin Meng wanted to take out his dagger but was stopped by You Yi.
“You go light the fire.” You Yi remained succinct, taking the dagger himself to confront the bees. With a swing, he cut off the wings of two giant bees. Their massive bodies fell to the ground, each as big as a panda, losing their ability to fly. They had legs but couldn’t crawl, only wriggling on the ground.
You Yi pressed on, battling the remaining bees.
Before long, the fat bees fell like rain, and more bees surged out from the hive to replace them, an endless stream, making it impossible to kill them all.
It was incredibly difficult to ignite the wet wood. While Xin Meng tried every means to light the fire, he frequently turned to look at You Yi, worried. However, after watching for a while, he felt relieved. Although the bees had been alerted, the worst-case scenario of a swarm charging at them simultaneously hadn’t occurred. The number always remained around a dozen; for every five You Yi dealt with, five more would immediately come to replace them. Although it was troublesome, with You Yi’s strength, it wasn’t dangerous.
This should be a limitation of the game, Xin Meng speculated. It seemed it wasn’t a guaranteed death situation; at least it gave them the possibility of escaping if they couldn’t win.
Thinking of this, he suddenly turned to look back at the path they had come from.
It had been a long time; why hadn’t the little black boys arrived yet?
