Looking at Luo Yingying’s pale face, Li Wenjun felt a deep pang of heartache. He hesitated several times, wanting to say something but stopping short. It was Xin Meng who, being considerate, spoke up first, “Why don’t you two wait on the shore? The four of us can go.”
“We have to go into the sea eventually; otherwise, how can we proceed to the next level? The NPC doesn’t seem like it will return the same way.” Although she was tempted, Qi Xiaokui still shook her head in refusal.
“Then you guys don’t have to go to the next level, right?” Dou Dou laughed, “Anyway, there aren’t many little black people left. The remaining levels can be handled by us.”
Xin Meng nodded, “As long as one person reaches the finish line, the whole team clears the level.”
“But…” Luo Yingying was in a dilemma. She truly felt that continuing with them would only be a burden, but wouldn’t that seem a bit inappropriate?
She couldn’t help but look at Li Wenjun, seeking his opinion. Li Wenjun felt deeply guilty towards everyone, but ultimately, his desire to protect his wife took precedence, so he thanked everyone on behalf of Luo Yingying.
“Just stay here and take care of Miss Qi,” Li Wenjun whispered in Luo Yingying’s ear, “It’s clear that Xin Meng and the others care about her. If you put in a little effort here, and I put in a little effort there, we can repay them in kind.”
“Okay.” Luo Yingying bit her lip and couldn’t help but grab his sleeve, “Be careful.”
“I will.”
“Why don’t you stay up here too?” On the other side, You Yi was also quietly persuading Xin Meng. He knew Xin Meng was particularly afraid of water; once she went in, she wouldn’t be able to move.
“It’s fine, I have a good idea that will let me breathe temporarily in the water. I’ll try it first, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll come back up.” Xin Meng smiled mysteriously. Under the curious gazes of everyone, he took out a transparent bag from his backpack, fanned it a bit, and it filled with fresh air. Then he quickly put the bag… over his head.
Grabbing the soft opening, Xin Meng smiled at everyone through the bag.
Dou Dou: “I really want to give a thumbs up, but I also want to laugh. What should I do…”
Regardless, Xin Meng estimated that with the air stored inside, he could probably maintain breathing for about five minutes. He just didn’t know if he could withstand the water pressure or how long he would stay underwater.
However, seeing this, You Yi took out his own bag, filled it with air just like Xin Meng, but this time he tied the opening tightly, leaving no gaps, “If the oxygen runs out, just puncture it to breathe from inside.”
Xin Meng smiled and took it.
You Yi was an excellent swimmer and didn’t need to bring this, but bringing it would only hinder his agility.
Seeing this, Dou Dou and Li Wenjun also filled a bag with air as a backup.
With the four of them ready, they began to wade into the sea.
Luo Yingying stayed behind, and Qi Xiaokui also remained to keep her company. The two anxiously watched the four men slowly sink into the sea. Just as Luo Yingying turned to speak to Qi Xiaokui, she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
Qi Xiaokui: “……”
The four men beside her: “……”
“What’s going on!” Luo Yingying screamed, collapsing to the ground, nearly breaking down, “Why are we back again!”
Xin Meng looked at the save tree, fell silent for a moment, and said softly, “Perhaps, we can’t be separated…”
Silence spread, weighing heavily on everyone’s hearts.
“There’s no other way; let’s go again.” Xin Meng spoke up, “Let’s get our spirits up and aim to clear this level in one go!”
He wanted to encourage everyone, and the others smiled in response, but deep down, they knew that according to the game’s unexpected rewind conditions, the possibility of clearing all levels in one go was… almost zero.
Xin Meng sensed their reluctance and continued, “Don’t be so negative; think positively. With this level of the blue fish, there are only four levels left. Even if we rewind again, at most we’ll only have four more tries. Just hold on; we’ll definitely reach the finish line!”
This did give everyone a bit of confidence, but even if they lacked confidence, what could they do? To survive, even if the finish line was far away, they still had to go.
The six of them took a moment to rest and then set off again. This time, the journey went much smoother, but everyone was increasingly exhausted, with no one having the energy to pay attention to their surroundings, only wanting to reach the beach quickly and get to the next level.
Even Xin Meng, who had boosted his stamina points, felt fatigued. Li Wenjun was even worse off than him, while only You Yi and Dou Dou showed no signs of fatigue. You Yi had once been an excellent soldier, so good physical condition was normal, but Dou Dou was particularly striking.
Especially as they got closer to the bull, his expression grew more excited, his steps quickening, mumbling, “We’re going to fight the bull again! So thrilling! Awesome!”
“Is it just my illusion, or does Dou Dou seem to be really enjoying this?” Luo Yingying panted, whispering to Li Wenjun, “Do you think he still thinks he’s playing a game? If he’s not careful, he could lose his life, yet he doesn’t seem scared at all?”
Li Wenjun wiped the sweat from her forehead, “I feel the same way. He seems a bit too happy… By the way, he talked to you earlier. What were you two whispering about?”
“We didn’t say much. He just asked me if I remembered how I got into this game. I said I fell asleep and ended up here in a daze, not knowing what happened. He asked, ‘Then you’re just like me?’ After hearing that, he said he was too, and then he left.” Luo Yingying couldn’t help but lean against a tree for a moment, gasping for breath, sweat pouring down, “Probably… just curious…”
“Can you still walk?” Li Wenjun stopped, looking at her with concern, “Let me carry you.”
Luo Yingying forced a smile, “I can still hold on. If it really gets too much, you can carry me then. I just have a feeling we’ll rewind again…”
Li Wenjun supported her, sighing, “This is even harder than the previous game to clear.”
After killing the bull, the group arrived at the beach again. This was the third time they had come here, and everyone’s mood shifted from heavy to outright disgust, but there was no way around it; no matter how much they disliked it, they couldn’t escape.
Although they had just hit the water and rewound, it also allowed Xin Meng to test that using the bag as a temporary oxygen bubble was effective. So this time, Luo Yingying and Qi Xiaokui also brought bags and followed the four men into the water.
The wounds on their bodies initially stung painfully from the seawater, but after a while, they got used to it.
Under the sea, the giant blue fish awaited them. Suddenly, it lunged out and bit a little black person to death. Dou Dou and Li Wenjun rushed over, quickly pulling the remaining three little black people away from the fish’s mouth, while You Yi, holding a dagger, swam forward like a fish, engaging in combat with the real giant fish.
Dou Dou and Li Wenjun handed the little black people to Xin Meng and Qi Xiaokui, then turned back to support You Yi. Xin Meng grabbed two with one hand, while Qi Xiaokui held one, using her other hand to drag the weakly swimming Luo Yingying to prevent her from sinking to the bottom.
The three men fought the giant fish. Dou Dou and Li Wenjun had no weapons; their only role was to distract the blue fish, allowing You Yi, as the main force, to strike unexpectedly.
You Yi didn’t attack recklessly either. He first cut off the fish’s fins, then severed the blue fish’s tail, rendering it unable to swim agilely. However, the seawater became murky as a result, and the filthy blood quickly spread through the drifting water, causing visibility to drop immediately.
Cautious, You Yi didn’t dare to delay. He spun around and swam beneath the wildly thrashing blue fish, plunging his dagger into its soft white belly. With a powerful slash, he opened a gash, and the entrails spilled out. The blue fish let out a silent roar, as if tangible sound waves rippled underwater. The three closest to it nearly fainted, blood trickling from their ears and spreading in the water.
Those further away weren’t spared either. Xin Meng and Qi Xiaokui were fine, but Luo Yingying, already exhausted, was knocked out by the shock.
Her body, now devoid of consciousness, became heavy. Qi Xiaokui couldn’t hold on with one hand and was instead dragged down by her. Xin Meng looked down and found that the seabed, which had been clearly visible moments ago, had vanished, replaced by an unfathomable darkness!
They couldn’t fall down!
But with both hands holding little black people, he couldn’t free himself, and Qi Xiaokui was the same. No one could pull anyone else up. Xin Meng could only try to get closer, using his shoulder to push her up. Although this temporarily slowed their descent, Xin Meng was the worst swimmer among them. This action not only failed to completely stop the downward trend but also dragged him down further.
At this critical moment, You Yi, who had killed the blue fish and returned to check on Xin Meng’s condition, arrived!
You Yi grabbed Xin Meng and pulled him up. Dou Dou and Li Wenjun, who followed closely behind, each grabbed one person, pulling the little black people up as well. The six of them, along with the three little black people, swam upwards continuously, but it felt as if the seabed had turned into an abyss. The surface of the water, which had been only a few meters away, now seemed eternally unreachable. They swam for several minutes without being able to escape.
The air in the bags was running low. Xin Meng simply shook the little black person in his hand at Qi Xiaokui, then let go. Seeing this, Qi Xiaokui also released her grip.
The three little black people were completely unfazed by the seawater and had no breathing difficulties; they could even sing!
“Four little black people, set out to sea and face great danger; the blue fish devours, blood everywhere, four left with three…”
The sound quickly spread through the water, distorted but the content was crystal clear:
“Three little black people, in the zoo faced calamity; a bear suddenly fell from the sky, three left with two…”
After they finished singing, they kicked their legs and quickly swam in a certain direction, and the six of them hurriedly followed behind.
Suddenly, Xin Meng felt a change in the water flow behind him. He couldn’t help but turn around and his eyes widened!
He saw a group of sharks with sharp teeth charging towards them, surrounding the corpse of the giant blue fish and viciously gnawing at it!
Although the blue fish was large, it couldn’t withstand the sheer number of sharks. Its flesh was visibly diminishing, revealing its white skeleton…
So fast!
If they hadn’t left after the blue fish was eaten…
Xin Meng felt a chill run down his spine. He tugged at You Yi, who turned back and also saw the horrifying scene, but his expression didn’t change. He simply swam faster, almost keeping pace with the little black people.
Looking at the little black people beside him, Xin Meng quickly understood You Yi’s intention: as long as they stayed close to the NPC and didn’t fall too far behind, they should have enough time to escape.
But Li Wenjun, pulling the unconscious Luo Yingying, was struggling greatly, gradually falling behind the group.
He was so anxious that even in the water, he was sweating all over, as if he could hear his own rapid heartbeat in his ears. Looking at the unconscious Luo Yingying and then at the NPC and teammates who were gradually moving away, he desperately kicked his legs. But carrying someone made it difficult to keep up, and when he looked back, he was horrified to find that the blue fish had almost been eaten. Several sharks that couldn’t get a bite were swimming towards them, drawn by the scent of blood!
