Xu RenDong woke up in the elevator.

The joints all over the body still bore the severe pain from being fractured. Xu RenDong’s muscles were stiff and he didn’t dare to move. His entire person had not woken up from the horror of being torn apart alive.

“Brother RenDong?” Lian Qiao held his hands and rubbed it gently, “Why are your hands so cold all of a sudden?”

Xu RenDong raised his eyes in shock. Lian Qiao’s body temperature came from the palm of his hand and he finally gradually calmed down. He calmed down, suppressed the ups and downs of his emotions and said in as calm a voice as possible, “..I’m okay.”

Lian Qiao took his hands, sighed and gently rubbed them to warm him. Xu RenDong’s arms and elbows were numb. He pulled his hands back unnaturally and clenched his fists a few times, and it felt better. Seeing his strange reaction, Lian Qiao couldn’t help frowning and staring at him.

“Brother RenDong, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you.”

“What?”

“Are you..”

Before Lian Qiao finished speaking, Xu RenDong suddenly changed his face. He felt nauseous for no reason,and immediately bent down and retched.

Lian Qiao was taken aback by him and hurriedly patted his back to give him comfort. Xu RenDong retched for a while but didn’t spit out anything. His face was pale with cold sweat and looked very miserable.

Xu RenDong slowed down, panted slightly and asked, “What were you just saying?”

“..” A trace of complicated emotions flashed in Lian Qiao’s eyes but soon he shook his head and sighed, “It’s nothing, forget it.”

Xu RenDong wanted to ask more but then he heard a “ding” and the elevator door opened.

There was still endless darkness behind the door. The darkness devoured everything, not only the light but it seemed that even if you stretched out your hand, it would be cut off by the darkness.

The bottomless darkness made Xu RenDong instinctively fearful. Although he was in the bright elevator at this time, he had begun to breathe quickly, his heart beat faster and even his back was sweating.

I don’t want to go out.

I don’t want to leave here.

A voice inside kept screaming. His body seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, causing him to take a step back subconsciously.

“RenDong?” Lian Qiao immediately noticed his strangeness, reached out to support him and said worriedly, “What’s wrong? Do you see anything?”

Xu RenDong shook his head. The fact that he couldn’t see anything made him even more frightened.

RenDong’s state is obviously not right. Lian Qiao suddenly had a strong desire to protect him. He held RenDong’s hand tightly and said bravely, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll go ahead, you just follow me.”

Unexpectedly, this sentence stimulated Xu RenDong. He raised his head sharply and pulled Lian Qiao back forcefully.

“No!”

Xu RenDong had overreacted and the pulling force was so strong that he almost threw Lian Qiao back into the elevator bodily. Lian Qiao staggered a few times and stood up, looking at him with a dazed expression.

What’s going on? Wasn’t I just trying to look cool?

He saw Xu RenDong close his eyes and take a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his usual calm and unruffled appearance.

“Don’t look for death.” He dropped a cold sentence and walked out of the elevator alone.

Lian Qiao stayed for a while but feared they would get lost so he quickly chased after him. The elevator door closed behind him, engulfing the last ray of light. Lian Qiao fell into absolute darkness. He was stunned for a moment and then bumped into a thin and straight back.

“Listen to my footsteps, follow closely.” Xu RenDong’s voice was low and sweet, like an invisible light in the dark, causing Lian Qiao’s hanging heart to suddenly fall.

Lian Qiao stretched out his hand towards the darkness ahead, wanting to hold him, but he was avoided by RenDong.

“Don’t hold onto me.” RenDong paused and then ordered a little stiffly, “Run if you are in danger. Don’t..don’t drag me down.”

Lian Qiao was still for a while, his outstretched hand frozen in the darkness.

Xu RenDong did not explain and did not give him time to relax. The footsteps sounded again, Xu RenDong stepped on the dead branches and fallen leaves, and slowly walked forward.

Lian Qiao was helpless and had to keep up.

There was no doubt that Xu RenDong was both disgusted and afraid of this darkness. He really wanted to get out as soon as possible, not even a second more was tolerable. Therefore, although he stumbled, he kept urging Lian Qiao to go quickly. But when he tripped over a big tree root, Lian Qiao finally couldn’t help it and asked him, “What are you in such a hurry for?”

Xu RenDong didn’t answer, patted the dirt on his body and stood up.

Lian Qiao smelled a hot bloody smell, frowned and said, “Are you injured?”

Xu RenDong said, “It’s okay, just a scratch.”

Lian Qiao suddenly got angry, grabbed him, and started touching his feet. He scolded fiercely: “Fuck you! Can you bleed so much if it’s just a scratch? Do you think I’m an idiot? You—” The scolding stopped abruptly because he touched Xu RenDong’s arm and felt a long wound.

The wound was at least one centimeter deep and it stretched from the wrist to the elbow, dripping with blood. His thin shirt was torn long ago and the cloth strips hung down on both sides, soaked with blood and mud, no wonder there was such a strong bloody smell.

Lian Qiao was afraid of causing him pain so he didn’t dare to touch him again, but his tone was angry and pitiful: “Are you made of stone! You have such a big wound..”

Xu RenDong was extremely alienated: “I don’t feel pain.”

Lian Qiao was so angered that he ended up laughing instead: “Okay! You’re not afraid of pain, so don’t say it hurts then!”

Xu RenDong didn’t know what he wanted to do but felt his arm being pulled over by him and then the next moment, Lian Qiao put his fingertips into his wound .

“Hmm!” Xu RenDong subconsciously exclaimed and his entire person curled up.

“Stand still! Don’t move!” Lian Qiao sneered, “Wasn’t it painless?”

Having said that, the movements of his hands were lighter. Xu RenDong felt his fingers move slowly in the wound and, when he touched the leaves and stones, he picked out the foreign bodies and continued to explore inside, making a slippery and sticky sound.

The wound was abruptly enlarged, which was tantamount to secondary injury to Xu RenDong.

He gritted his teeth. He quickly realized that Lian Qiao was debriding him.

In fact, Xu RenDong also knew in his heart that he was seriously injured by this fall. When he lost his balance, he instinctively supported the ground with his hands but a dead branch was stuck on the ground. The dead branch was sharp and rough and it made a big cut in his arm. There was a sharp pain as he pulled the dead stick out of the wound. But it was only that moment.

Compared with tearing the joints alive, what was a mere branch inserted into the arm? The only thing that Xu RenDong was fortunate about was that the dead branch was inserted into his arm instead of his chest, otherwise..

Otherwise, he could only continue walking with the dead branch inserted.

Of course, Lian Qiao didn’t know what Xu RenDong was thinking but Xu RenDong also couldn’t guess what Lian Qiao was thinking. Therefore, when Lian Qiao stuffed the blood-stained dry branch into his hand, Xu RenDong looked confused.

“What are you doing?”

Lian Qiao said, “Be a guide for the blind.”

Xu RenDong was stunned and touched the dead branch up and down, only to find that the dead branch was connected to a section of the trunk, which was a fork near the root of the tree. No? wonder it was so hard.

But why was this tree trunk so strange?

“Was this tree split by someone?” Xu RenDong stroked the abrupt section on the other side of the tree trunk, wondering if someone else passed by here not long ago.

But Lian Qiao said: “It’s not like splitting from the side, it seems to be split from the middle.”

Xu RenDong touched it carefully again,and felt that Lian Qiao’s words were very reasonable. The trunk of this tree has a rough section and is broken from the center along the grain of growth. But judging from the thickness, at least three people could have fit around it arm to arm, and for some reason it had cracked in the middle.

Did it get struck by lightning?

Was there still thunder in this ghostly place?

Xu RenDong didn’t intend to waste time on such details so he leaned on the trunk and stood up and said, “Let’s keep going.”

Lian Qiao walked to the position in front of him and said, “I’ll open the way.”

Xu RenDong said. : “No need.”

Lian Qiao knew Xu RenDong’s stubbornness and didn’t insist. He just sighed and said in a low voice: “When will you be able to rely on me..”

Xu RenDong didn’t hear clearly, and asked in the dark: “What?”

Lian Qiao said, “You.. Forget it. It’s nothing.”

The two went on their way again.

With the guide stick, it becomes much easier to open the way. This thing can also be used as a weapon if necessary. In fact, Xu RenDong thought the same thing in the last reincarnation but he just reached out his hand and caught the deadly vine. After that he was directly “pulled apart by five horses”, what a tragedy. {Reference to an ancient Chinese torture/execution tactic where they’d attach a horse to all your limbs and your bed, then get the horse to run in different directions.}?If he hadn’t just picked up this dead branch by chance this time, he wouldn’t have dared to touch the surrounding plants.

Xu RenDong remembered that the last time they walked not far before there was a rustling sound behind them. Thinking about it now, it was probably the vines chasing after him. Therefore, along the way, Xu RenDong was careful to watch out, always paying attention to the movement around him. However, the rustling sound did not appear this time.

Instead, they heard a scream came from far, far away. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Should they try to save somebody? As soon as such an idea appeared, the sound returned to silence. No matter how much they listened, there was no sound.

Lian Qiao said: “I’m afraid it’s too late.”

Xu RenDong: “Well in that case let’s change direction and bypass that side.”

Lian Qiao: “Okay.”

Although the killing in the distance had already ended, the turbulence in the hearts of the two was difficult to calm down for a long time. The instance this time was very special. The entrance was this dark forest. They have not encountered a single player until now and even had the suspicion that there was no one else in this instance other than them at all.

However, the screams just now proved beyond a doubt that there were other players in this instance.

So, are these people completely dispersed or they are already..

“Fortunately, we came together..” Lian Qiao suddenly stepped up and got closer to RenDong, “If I came in alone, probably now I’ve already been scared to death.”

Xu RenDong was silent for a moment, then said, “If I were alone, I probably wouldn’t even be able to get out of the door so I’d just live in the elevator.”

Somehow, the scene of Xu RenDong squatting in the elevator and eating hot pot appeared in Lian Qiao’s mind. He couldn’t help laughing.

Xu RenDong asked in surprise: “What are you laughing at?”

Lian Qiao’s hand passed through the darkness and pinched his face accurately: “No. I won’t leave you alone.”

Xu RenDong: “.. En. “

Lian Qiao: “Let’s have a hot pot after going out.”

Xu RenDong: “..Huh?” The topic jumped too fast!

Lian Qiao intentionally made him happy and made Xu RenDong feel a lot more relaxed. However, there were screams and yells from time to time in the distance, and the atmosphere soon became solemn again.

The two stopped from time to time and listened for a while, but then it seemed there was nothing for them to do. So they could only continue along the road.

The screams of others were miserable but it also showed that the danger was still far away, and they could feel at ease. It’s just that the atmosphere wasn’t suitable for joking around anymore.

After walking for another ten minutes, Lian Qiao suddenly said: “Brother RenDong, don’t you think this forest is strange?”

Xu RenDong recalled what he said in the last reincarnation,and copied him: “It’s too quiet, there’s no insects and no birds?”

“Well, it’s not just that.. give me your hand.”

Xu RenDong did as he was told.

Lian Qiao grabbed his hand and kissed him. Xu RenDong only felt an itch in his palm, Lian Qiao quickly licked his palm with the tip of his tongue and the numb feeling instantly climbed up his back.

“..Lian Qiao!” Xu RenDong was embarrassed and annoyed and subconsciously retracted his hand, “You.. what are you doing!”

Lian Qiao said solemnly: “Spread your arms and stretch them up.”

Xu RenDong still felt confused but did as he said. As soon as he raised his palm, he immediately understood Lian Qiao’s intention.

It’s the wind.

This forest is deep and depressing. Perhaps it was because of the loss of vision. Along the way, Xu RenDong always felt that the air was very stagnant and airtight. At this time, there was a little saliva on the palm of his hand and, after a while, he realized that there was actually wind here.

But what does this mean?