Chapter 21: Chapter 19 Please Log Off When It's Dark
"Kid, you sure can run, huh? How did you get this far? You must not fear death."
This call of "kid" was like music from heaven to I Want to Be Immortal, giving him instant hope for life.
"Help—Save me!"
As he shouted, he rushed to the other person's side and immediately recognized him—it was the player named Hidden Moon Following Wind!
He remembered that in the morning, the other had even reminded him, and he had confidently dismissed the concern, but now...
He felt both embarrassed and ashamed, but with his life at stake, he couldn't afford to care about that.
He stood back-to-back with him straight away, eliminating the need to fend off attacks from all sides, which finally brought some sense of safety.
"Hurry up and drink your blood! A few more hits and you're done for," Xiao Jie reminded him from the side.
At the same time, he straightened into a ready stance.
One Cut, Two Pieces was a great skill, but its downside was that you couldn't move while preparing it. In other words, you either had to creep up on the enemy or wait for the enemy to charge at you.
But it was just right for defense.
I Want to Be Immortal hurriedly pulled out a blood bottle and chugged it, and immediately a wild dog rushed towards him.
Now was the moment!
Xiao Jie whirled around, slashing out sideways with his Yanling Saber.
One Cut, Two Pieces!
The wild dog couldn't turn fast enough and was instantly beheaded—killed instantly!
I Want to Be Immortal was stunned. He could understand defeating a nearly dead wild dog, but a full-health one too? He had nearly been killed by three dogs himself, and the other was only Level 1, right?
Another wild dog took the chance to launch a Flying Pounce at Xiao Jie.
Xiao Jie, unable to charge up again and unable to Deflect, simply did a Hawk Roll! He spun and leapt away, dodging the wild dog's attack.
The moment he landed, he turned and slashed.
Horizontal chop—vertical cleave! Two strikes left the wild dog hanging by a thread of health, and in frenzy, it snapped at him.
Xiao Jie stepped back, but his Yanling Saber thrust straight out, piercing through the wild dog's mouth and neck—straight through.
This Yanling Saber had an additional thrusting module compared to ordinary blades, greatly expanding Xiao Jie's maneuverability.
He neatly dealt with the two wild dogs, and by this time, I Want to Be Immortal's blood volume had mostly recovered.
Xiao Jie also swallowed a Power Pill to regain energy, and said, "It's getting dark. Wang Kai told me to tell you, Night Ghosts spawn at night. But it seems you've had enough with just wild dogs. Let's get out of here."
But I Want to Be Immortal urgently said, "Wait, don't go just yet—there's a pick-up little monster over there."
With the threat of wild dogs gone, I Want to Be Immortal got ideas again, insisting on securing that thing no matter what. Otherwise, wouldn't this risk have been for nothing?
Turning his head, he saw the pick-up little monster fleeing desperately, disappearing into the dense forest.
Xiao Jie, hearing this, was speechless. His impression of this fellow had completely plummeted. He'd been so arrogant in the morning, then pulled this stunt upon meeting up, and still hadn't learned his lesson, thinking about killing monsters for equipment. This guy really had no concept of a death game.
This lousy player dared to join a death game...
His tolerance for stupidity was triggered.
"Pick-up my ass, if you don't want to leave, then stay behind. I've done my part; I'm out of here," he said and then turned to leave.
I Want to Be Immortal was scolded into stupefaction. He glanced in the direction where the pick-up little monster had vanished and then at Hidden Moon Following Wind's retreating figure. He stomped his foot and hurried after him.
The sky was getting darker, and the surrounding woods became very dim.
As the visibility diminished, a sense of crisis arose.
Fortunately, they didn't encounter any monsters on their way.
The two ran frantically back the way they had come, and by the time they burst out of the forest, the sky had begun to darken, the last sliver of sunlight at the horizon was gradually retreating into the darkness, and everything around them became dim and foreboding, carrying a sense of ominousness.
Xiao Jie suddenly noticed there were no stars in the sky, only a dark red blood moon hanging in the mid-air.
It was unsettling.
At this moment, he was exhausted again, and it was not the time to conserve medicine—there was no time to wait for his energy to recover on its own. Xiao Jie consumed another Power Pill and then sprinted with all his might; at the village gate in the distance, several militiamen were preparing to close the gate, with Wang Kai waiting anxiously at the entrance.
"Don't close the gate, don't close the gate!" He shouted twice, seeing that the militiamen did not pause, he simply blocked the gate with his body.
Tie Qianli (Civilian Soldier Captain): "Wang Kai, what illness has possessed you now, move aside quickly, it's getting dark, we need to close the gate."
"Just wait a bit longer, just a bit longer—look, they're coming back!"
The Militia Captain ignored him, merely ordering the gates to be closed. Fortunately, by that time, the two had already rushed up close, and finally, in the last moments before darkness fell, they burst through the gate.
Boom!
The thick wooden gate closed heavily, and Tie Qianli scanned the three of them but said nothing further.
"Light the torches,
Thank heavens, it was almost too late.
Seeing the massive gate close with a boom behind him, Xiao Jie let out a long sigh of relief—dammit, he had been too greedy, he thought; he couldn't haphazardly take on such tasks next time.
And 'I Want to Seal Immortal' was even more scared after the fact; if he hadn't kept up, he would have probably been locked out of the village by now.
"Hidden Moon Following Wind, I..."
"No need to thank me, you should thank your Wang, it was he who asked me to find you. But this is the only time, next time I won't care. Damn, playing a death game so recklessly, I'm amazed indeed. No wonder the mortality rate for this game's one-year is as high as 78%, probably all the fools like you die."
Xiao Jie cursed unreservedly.
In reality, he was quite a genial person, but whenever it came to games, he would become particularly strict.
After all, as a guild leader, he often had to command the team to pioneer dungeons, where just one foolish move could lead to the demise of dozens.
There was really no room to be polite with those habitually foolish; without harsh reproach, what was wasted was everyone's time.
And that was just for ordinary games; seeing someone act foolish in a death game, Xiao Jie's frustration at their lack of competitiveness instinctively flared up.
Only after berating did he remember that the person in front of him was a stranger he hadn't even known for a day.
But having just escaped danger, he was not in the mood to cater to the other's feelings.
He directly conducted a transaction with Wang Kai.
"Here, this is your equipment, give me the money."
Wang Kai, however, kept thanking him.
"Thank you so much, Hidden Moon brother, you are truly noble and a rare breed indeed."
Though his words were full of gratitude, his actions during the transaction did not pause; he placed 1000 copper coins, trading all his equipment back. Xiao Jie did not give him several potions, and Wang Kai tactfully did not ask either.
Seeing the equipment back in his possession, Wang Kai also breathed a sigh of relief; that was half a month's KPI for him.
"Not to mention it, brother, just contact me if you need anything, see you tomorrow, and log off quickly, it's already dark."
Xiao Jie wondered, "Do we have to log off just because it's dark? Aren't we in the village? Surely the Night Ghost can't run into the village?"
"After dark, even inside the village, it's not absolutely safe. Just listen to me and log off, we can talk more tomorrow."
Having said this, Wang Kai hurried back to the blacksmith shop to log off, without saying a word to 'I Want to Be Immortal'.
Heeding advice makes a full meal; Xiao Jie did not hesitate and found a safe spot to log out of the game.
'I Want to Be Immortal' looked bewildered as he watched the two leave, and after pondering, he also silently logged out of the game.
Only the Ginkgo Village remained in the darkness, enveloped under the blood-red moonlight, incredibly silent.