"System repair in progress..."
"Repairs are almost complete..."
"System repair in progress..."
The prompt sounds came back and forth, and the players in the waiting room felt the terrifying abnormality in the sky most intuitively.
Except for the monsters that were still attacking numbly every one and a half minutes, everyone else was frightened by the dazzling sun. After mechanically killing a few monsters, many shadows immediately looked towards the tour guide.
The cheerful tour guide put down the hand holding the flag, her expression extremely serious, and it was obvious that this was not what she expected.
The calmest one was Yu Xingzhou, who, at this critical moment, wiped the thin man's neck with lightning speed.
Blood spurted out, and another shadow in the same group was stunned for a moment because of this sudden change. The next second, Yu Xingzhou threw the dagger accurately and hit the other shadow right in the forehead.
"Ah!" A sudden scream broke the silence.
Shadow had previously been operating in groups. Now, from a distance, the others, startled by the noise, saw this scene. It was too late to rescue them. Shadow Xiaohua's scarlet eyes glared at Yu Xingzhou: "President, so you really are the spy."
Even in such high temperatures, his mask still glowed with an icy luster. Yu Xingzhou sneered and prepared to retreat.
Shadow Flower: "Stop him!"
Li Nan and several other players were well prepared and immediately moved towards Yu Xingzhou to provide support.
In terms of numbers, the shadows had an absolute advantage. If they could kill one Yu Xingzhou, it would completely offset the loss of two shadows. Just as the shadows were about to attack, Xiaohua's expression changed, as if she had thought of something: "Be careful, he..."
The game certainly doesn't completely block the opponent's skills.
This reminder came too late, but even if it was earlier, it would not have had much effect, as Yu Xingzhou's skills were too special.
Everyone's movements stopped for a moment, although it was only a moment, but for a strong man like Yu Xingzhou, it was enough to create some distance.
The moment time began to flow again, Li Nan cleared the monsters in the rear to meet him, creating a relatively spacious escape route.
"Chase?" someone asked.
If you want to hold back Li Nan and the others, you need at least eight or nine shadows, otherwise you will just be killed.
Shadow Linan narrowed his eyes, unsure of what to think. After a moment, he shook his head, abandoning the large-scale war of attrition. "Let's start with the mission first. Just like before, now that they've left, there's only one group left to follow the players. Let's all go find the passengers."
While speaking, Shadow Li Nan had been staring at the young man. It was no coincidence that Yu Xingzhou happened to be in the same group with two shadows who were weaker and had bad character.
The young man didn't even bother to explain himself. He also had a pendant copied by the system hanging on his chest, but this pendant was purely decorative and did not contain Jian Qingrong's blood.
However, the boy possessed memories of both Wen Shi and Jian Qingrong. Shortly after the other sun phantoms appeared, he, like Wen Shi, thought of the peculiarities of the large eyeballs. Jian Qingrong didn't possess the power of cross-server communication, but his eyeballs did, a skill beyond the capabilities of a normal NPC in the game.
It was a waste of time to continue standing here. Before the shadows resumed their mission, the shadow with the buzz cut suddenly said, "Will all nine suns really come out?"
No one answered. Although it sounded both pathetic and ridiculous, someone managed to utter four words: "Believe in the game."
There is no other way to survive.
The game that was believed is still frantically making up for it at this moment.
The existence in the void closed its eyes and perceived everything that was happening: the little scarecrow living in the big eyeball was fighting across servers.
He showed no emotion about this. After a brief thought, he poured most of his strength into different organs, and then separated the heart and limbs. Compared with this scene, the human pig in the water tank in Wen Shi was nothing.
The omnipresent will of the game took the opportunity to copy the body that had been madly reduced in strength and only had the main body left.
Even so, the copied power is still too strong.
"You owe me one." The hollow voice revealed a strong sense of oppression. The limbs scattered around him began to slowly return to his body. He was like a cold and huge monster, exuding a terrifying aura that humans did not have.
After saying this, he left a consciousness restriction in the copied body and fell into sleep again.
…
When the void was sleeping, the terrifying heat wave between heaven and earth gradually dissipated, the outlines of the other eight suns disappeared, and the silence that should have been returned to the sky in a certain space below.
Although the air was still stuffy, it was already within an acceptable range compared to just now.
In the waiting room, Shadow with a crew cut found a lighter in an abandoned shop. Shadow Xiaohua got a bucket of oil from somewhere and said, "I really want it..."
The boy took it directly from her hand.
Shadow Flower frowned, "It's safer to go find the lizard passengers."
There was a dark ray of cruelty in his cold pupils.
"I'm too lazy to wait." They still had to return to the train, and the boy preferred to use fire. He ruthlessly poured the bucket down, then took off his coat, lit it with a lighter and threw it out.
The boy clung to the railing, hoping to fulfill a certain fantasy in his heart through the fire.
The burning clothes gave off a burnt smell in mid-air. When they were about to fall to the ground, a man suddenly appeared on the first floor of the waiting hall, with gasoline just spilled under his feet.
All the monsters in the waiting room combined were no more bizarre than this man. He had no eyes, his chest was hollow, and his limbs were almost entirely condensed with a gloomy black aura. Now, this black aura had spread almost half a meter away, making it impossible for ordinary people to see his features clearly.
The faint curve on the boy's mouth disappeared. He was very sure that there was no such monster on the first floor.
The clothes were wrapped in black air, and the arrogant flames were extinguished before they could completely come into contact with the oil surface.
Whether it was the boy pouring oil or the man who suddenly appeared and put out the fire, the tour guide just watched coldly. She looked at the time and saw that there were only thirteen minutes left before departure.
The boy had a vague suspicion about the man who suddenly appeared, but without bothering to confirm it further, he took out his phone and sent a message: [Have you found the lizard passenger?]
About half a minute later, Shadow Linan replied: [Just found it, it's a bit difficult, we need to find a way to help him buy a train ticket.]
The ticket office is still some distance away from the entrance. It's not impossible to succeed, but it's risky, not to mention that they have to leave here first and walk in the opposite direction from the exit to avoid the monsters on the first floor.
Shadows are inherently selfish, and no one is willing to take too much risk for a collective mission.
Shadow Linan then sent a message: [Keep trying to light the fire. When we have the last few minutes, we'll retreat. Leave a few quick men at the door to capture the flag as soon as the guide emerges. Just in case, leave two more men along the way.]
His strategy changed quickly, and his success rate was about the same as going out to buy tickets.
First, the tour guide must return to the train, and their pretending to leave is like releasing a smokescreen to lure the snake out of its hole; second, even if something unexpected happens along the way and they can't wait for the person, they can flexibly choose to return to the train.
Being able to attack when advancing and defend when retreating is the most advantageous method at present.
The boy found Shadow Xiaohua and asked where he got the gasoline from.
"There are various reasons why the monsters are stranded here, and some passengers have flammable and explosive items on them." Shadow Xiaohua hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly became extremely alert.
The eyeless man on the first floor actually walked up.
"Arson, not good."
The voice was cold and hollow.
"What if I insist?"
The boy smiled, but there was no laughter in his eyes, and began to test his words.
If his guess was true, the man was Jian Qingrong's dark side, and the other party should not object to him setting the fire.
The black energy coiled around the boy's frail limbs like a snake, leaving him trapped and unable to move. Shadow Flower mercilessly dodged, even distancing herself from him.
The young man tried to use the force of the steel pipe to pry open the chains formed by the black energy. After failing, he gritted his teeth and asked for help: "Grandma..."
He got no response, and when he turned his head, he saw that the black energy chain in the girl's hand was much thicker than him. The girl said in a low voice embarrassedly: "I am also dominated."
"…"
·
Appearing along with this eyeless, heartless, and limbless man were big eyeballs.
The material of the train in the copy is still the earliest iron train, which has excellent thermal conductivity. When the nine suns are about to appear at the same time, the entire carriage almost becomes a large oven.
People would rather go outside in the sun than stay inside. They carried their jars to the door and used the pulled-down curtains to block out the sun.
Through a layer of cloth in the curtains, everyone suddenly discovered that the rest of the sun had disappeared. Before they could be happy, a small black dot fell from the sky.
The other players subconsciously avoided it. Wen Shi also wanted to avoid it, but after smelling the dry straw, he retreated back to his original position.
Bang!
The little scarecrow fell steadily into Wen Shi's arms, and it was holding a miniature mechanical cat.
Wen Shi's arms felt numb from the shock, and he opened his mouth to take a breath.
Her big eyes looked up at him, with a gleam in them... so pretty.
Wen Shi's appearance in his youth has not changed much from now, except that he looks a little more childish. His eyes are bright, and when he looks down at the scarecrow, there seem to be stars in his eyes.
Wen Shi's whole body exudes a vigorous vitality, and even the tattoo on his neck that looks like a bad boy's can't hide this.
While the two looked at each other, Wen Shi did not mention the matter of the nine suns. At this time, everyone around them gathered around, curious about what it was. Before they could take a closer look, they heard footsteps in the distance.
Li Nan, Yu Xingzhou and others were walking towards this side. Yu Xingzhou's shadow was tied up beside him, and the one who came back was undoubtedly his real body.
Xiaohua took a look, nodded to the president, and then continued to study the things in Wen Shi's arms.
She was considered lucky, as the others didn't even look at Yu Xingzhou.
Yu Xingzhou: "…"
Is it so worthless after a trip?
And where did Xiaohua's inappropriate look disappear?
Big Eyes doesn't have a good temper towards others. He is treated as a living treasure and shakes the mechanical cat to control it. The iron cat tail swings directly towards the people nearby.
The onlookers took several steps back in a hurry.
At this time, Yu Xingzhou and others also arrived. The scarecrow had lost its balance due to inertia and fell down, but now it has adjusted itself and is hovering on Wen Shi's shoulder.
One player was curious: "Are there any battle pets in the dungeon?"
The smile in his big eyes faded when he saw Wen, and he looked coldly at the player with one eye.
Before Scarecrow could attack, Wen Shi changed the subject: "Shadow hasn't come back yet, so it's very likely that they will complete the side quest."
Xiaohua sighed, "There are pros and cons. They definitely consume more energy than us."
The few players who went there were not focused on completing the mission, and they were all in poor condition when they came back, let alone Shadow.
Li Nan nodded and talked about what happened earlier: "We chased the tour guide and Shadow all the way to the waiting room, where we had to deal with monsters, which was very tiring."
Wen Shi thought for a moment. "The radio announced that Pufengtuo's highest temperature today is 43 degrees Celsius. It must have exceeded that just now. We should convert it to compensate. And this dungeon has so many bugs. The game is to blame..."
Boom!
A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, seemingly stretching for tens of kilometers. With a deafening roar, white light illuminated every face.
Wen Shi was stunned for a few seconds, and his big eyes were filled with excitement. He first gently helped Wen Shi comb his hair that stood up due to static electricity, feeling very sorry for him.
Why would thunder strike a good person in the bright sunshine for no apparent reason? Heaven is truly blind.
Although other players didn't say it explicitly, they also felt that the game was unreasonable, but they were angry but dared not speak out.
A copy with a bunch of loopholes is simply filling the holes in the game with players' lives.
Few people, including the Scarecrow himself, connected this incident to the Big Eyeball. No one had the imagination to believe that a stunted straw demon could bring nine suns. Most people thought that the Scarecrow was the fuse, the final straw that broke the camel's back for the already incomplete copy.
"By the way, I and..." Yu Xingzhou wanted to say something, but fell silent when he saw Wen Shi's miserable appearance.
Scarecrow was still concentrating on pressing Wen Shi's hair. Only Wen Shi's hair was sticking out, which seemed more like a warning.
Someone sighed.
What warning? Did Pei Wenwei negotiate terms with the game?
Isn't it the game's fault? The temperature was indeed over 43 degrees Celsius before. Players couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts when they thought about it. The game was cruel, but at least it was fair. Just because a player complained, a thunder warning was issued. What an exaggeration.
Wen Shi whispered, "Forget it, at least I tried my best."
Lifting a jar, he trudged onto the train.
The greatest injustice he could suffer was just this. He felt wronged, and so did the 'sky' of this copy.
The tour guide came back two minutes before the train departed, and she didn't have a flag in her hand.
The system prompt sounded the moment she returned:
"The collective side quest Capture the Flag failed."
"The temperature in carriage k6666 has risen by three degrees."
Slowing down from five degrees to three degrees was considered a concession. Wen Shi's expression changed in an instant: "The game is still very reasonable."
Everyone, plus the three heads in the jar: "Yeah."
Yu Xingzhou glanced at his own shadow, then looked at Wen Shi and continued what he had not finished saying before, "I have reached a cooperation agreement with your shadow, one of which includes releasing him."
Xiaohua hurriedly asked, "President, have you used the contract item?"
Yu Xingzhou's shadow is a threat, so it's best not to let it go if possible.
Yu Xingzhou nodded.
Pei Wenwei's shadow certainly wouldn't believe a few simple verbal promises.
"But if we release it..." A player frowned, "it will be disadvantageous to us."
More than one person hesitated, thinking that it was tantamount to letting a tiger return to the mountain.
It was Li Nan who made the final decision: "Don't dwell on this kind of thing."
Xiaohua said to the hesitant player in a sullen tone, "How about we use you as a trade and change the terms of the transaction?"
The person being criticized was frustrated and wanted to say a few more words, but was interrupted by Li Nan, "Enough is enough. Yu Xingzhou killed two shadows, and this alone is enough."
Yu Xingzhou was completely unperturbed by the arguments among the players in the carriage. He looked at his own shadow and said, "When you return, remember to tell the shadow over there that it was Pei Wenwei's shadow who paid such a great price and effort to allow you the opportunity to return." He added, "This is also part of the agreement."
Things resemble their owners, and the shadow is the same as the original body. Good deeds will leave a name.
Xiaohua neatly cut the sheets that bound Shadow and twisted the rope: "Get out."
We can't let the president be punished for breach of contract just for a fake product.
Shadow Yu Xingzhou calmly moved his wrists: "You didn't have this expression when you tied me up."
"…"
The train was about to depart, and Shadow didn't waste any time, jumping off the step and sprinting towards the oncoming train.
In less than thirty seconds, the train was moving forward at lightning speed again.
Surrounded by mountains, the scarecrow stared at the half-open suitcase. Wen Shi softly introduced it, "My grandmother."
The scarecrow controlled the remote control, and the mechanical cat pronounced: "Better than my brother."
The tone is sarcastic, and the main target of ridicule is the devil boy.
Wen Shi was stunned for a moment. He was just curious about why they made a mechanical cat. It turned out to be a mouth substitute?
The mechanical cat walked gracefully and came to the suitcase: "Hello."
This time it's normal electronic music.
Jian Qingrong created several tones, suitable for different occasions.
This way of greeting can be said to be well aware of the old lady's preferences. There is no need to communicate directly with people, only to face the cold machine.
"Good boy." She rarely praised someone, "Just like my good grandson, they are all good boys."
After asking for everything, the mechanical cat was taken back to Jian Qingrong.
The big eyes were still staring at Wen Shi, and from its angle, it could just aim at the delicate skin on the neck.
Jian Qingrong controlled his mouth and said, "I kind of regret it."
"Um?"
"I regret not coming earlier." In order to do the final upgrade, he stayed in the laboratory for a while longer. He could have watched this person for a longer time.
Wen Shi laughed dryly twice, took a glass of water to moisten his throat, and thought to himself that if you had come earlier, I might have died.
The rolling Adam's apple when he drank water made his big eyeballs roll and almost fall out of the scarecrow's eye sockets.
The players around them didn't say anything. They seemed to be resting, but in fact their eyes were always on them.
Wen Shi said calmly, "I signed a contract in the last instance, and I can summon NPCs in other instances."
As for how much others believe it, it is not within his consideration for the time being.
Xiaohua walked to the other side and said in a very soft voice: "Do you feel it?"
Li Nan nodded: "The scarecrow looks at Pei Wenwei with the same look you give your president, but its eyes are slightly healthier than yours."
"…"
Driving through the mountains, though bare, at least the sun was blocked. Wen Shi tapped the table absentmindedly, his mind elsewhere. The head in the jar didn't understand why he was staring at him, and it made him shiver.
As the player roared through the cave, he felt a chill for a few seconds, which quickly disappeared again.
More than an hour passed, feeling like a year. During this time, no one slept. They waited quietly for the broadcast, wanting to know the current temperature at Sunset Station.
"Hello fellow passengers..."
Finally, a sweet female voice began to announce: "This train is about to arrive at its final destination - Sunset Station. Please take your belongings with you. See you on your next trip."
Everyone immediately quickly checked their belongings, preparing to take away their cell phones, weapons, or any small items they had brought in.
The broadcast specifically reminded that if you really leave your belongings behind, it could be a death sentence.
As the player was checking his things again and again, the train stopped unexpectedly.
Looking out the window, we were still on track. The tour guide was the first to jump off: "Everyone, please hurry up and catch up."
The shadow on the k9999 train came down very actively.
The boy turned around and glanced at the man who was still sitting there motionless. He named him the "Three No Man," short for "No Eyes, No Heart, No Limbs." "You're not going down?"
The "Three No Man" was like an emotionless machine. "Don't talk too much, don't meddle in other people's business."
The boy's expression was indescribable, and he prayed that the other party would take a car and leave forever.
He and the girl got off the car one after another. They looked at each other and felt like eggplants hit by frost.
This damn, dominated life!
When he saw Wen coming down from the opposite side carrying a large jar, the young man immediately put away the trace of depression in his expression, and the corner of his eyes revealed the word "arrogance".
Wen Shi didn't pay any attention to his attitude at all, because he found that the little scarecrow was staring at the jar with the eyes of an enemy.
Twice.
Wen Shi has held this jar twice.
The mechanical cat spoke in human language: "He doesn't deserve it."
How can a useless human pig be worthy of causing trouble to others?
Wen Shi smiled awkwardly. Perhaps it was because he only brought his eyeballs with him every time he set out, and failed to bring his brain along, the scarecrow version of Jian Qingrong was more direct and real than the real him.
This is a euphemism; the direct description is childish.
He sighed: "Next time I'll get someone else to move it."
Under the scorching sun, the tour guide was in high spirits: "The road ahead is under maintenance, so we have to walk the last section on our own."
The tourists in other carriages were blocking the front, affecting the players' vision. After hearing what she said, some people took out binoculars to look.
The track was broken in the middle, and there were scrap tracks in front. Countless steel rails were dismantled and thrown everywhere. The remaining tracks were all twisted, and the width spread to both sides, stretching as far as the eye could see.
There are all kinds of strange obstacles on the twisted railway.
"Do you know anything about parkour?" the tour guide said with a smile. "It's an extreme sport popular all over the world. Since the construction team is away today, we can use the last stretch of the trail to do a unique parkour."
It's five o'clock in the afternoon.
The sun's altitude has shifted, but its scorching rays are still as hot as ever.
As the players used their clothes to block the sun, the tour guide pulled out a whistle from her clothes and said, "If there's no problem, we can start now..."
"Wait." Wen Shi suddenly asked, "Is it limited in time?"
The tour guide waved the whistle in her hand, and the meaning was self-evident.
The heads in the water tank all changed expression, finally understanding why they had been staring at them while they were on the train. According to the players' previous speculation, the game's sheer exhaustion of energy was akin to a Battle Royale-style segment at the terminal. While the current situation wasn't a Battle Royale, it wasn't much better.
In this case, no player has the ability to take care of the three people in the tank.
The tour guide seemed to see their desperation and further explained: "Passengers who don't arrive within the specified time will be stuck at this broken track forever!"
The little hope of survival that had just risen was extinguished. The person in the tank turned pale, and his body trembled due to fear, causing ripples in the water.
A shadowy figure raised an eyebrow and said, "Some people don't like to save people, but now they put people on the railroad tracks and burn them to death."
Players cannot kill each other, and they will not help to solve the problem.
The new player who was soaking in the tank wanted to pray to Wen Shi to let the old lady kill him, but at the last moment, he did not face the fear of death.
The young man looked at Wen and sneered, "Hypocrite." In the sunlight, half of his face seemed shrouded in shadow. "If you give in, I can help you kill them."
As he spoke, his eyes were filled with excitement. The person he had saved with his own hands now asked him to kill him. This touched the young man's excitement point.
The heat made Wen Shi's voice a little hoarse. He suddenly asked the tour guide, "How long can the parkour session be delayed?"
The tour guide smiled and said, "As long as you don't mind the sun, an hour is fine."
The longer the exposure, the slower the speed.
Wen Shi turned to look at the water tank: "Do you want to give it a try? There is another way to try."
A drowning man will not let go of even a straw.
The three heads nodded vigorously.
Xiaohua came over and asked: "Do you really have a solution?"
No matter how you look at it, there is no way out.
Wen Shi nodded: "I'll try."
Passengers were still getting off the train one by one, and all kinds of strange monsters were carrying their luggage and walking towards the twisted railway tracks ahead.
Wen Shi rushed over to stop several passengers, said a few words, and brought over a fat bug wearing a gentleman's hat.
The player instantly remembered the group of bugs in the car who had no principles in order to survive.
"Remember the conversation I had with that bug in the car?" Wen Shi said to everyone in a deep voice, "If we give in to the bugs endlessly for survival, we might become bugs ourselves."
At that time, the insects said that as long as people chose to obey, they would not kill people and would only eat their hands and feet. Now that the people in the tank have broken hands and feet, even this process can be omitted.
Wen Shi had said it bluntly enough, and everyone had thought of this possibility.
Wen Shi further explained: "Alienation requires a process. The quest "Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils" has already proven this. As long as you become half-human, half-insect and make it to the end of the game without alienation, you will survive."
He used the same method in large companies, infecting himself and gaining some kind of alternative advantage.
The reptilian passenger group has many legs, so they should be able to run quite fast, and there is a chance that they can perform parkour.
"I have already made an agreement with this gentleman. He is willing to help humiliate you."
The person in the water tank: "..."
Wen Shi still wouldn't make decisions for others. He bent down and asked, "If you choose death, please blink within ten seconds."
There are two paths before a person: seeking death requires courage, and seeking life requires even more courage.
Ten seconds passed and no one blinked. The reason they didn't blink was that there was a battle between conscience and reality in their minds.
Wen Shi nodded: "So it's time to choose a life?"
The human head did not object and was still in a state of being out of body.
The tour guide who was watching everything had an expression that was hard to describe, and the other players, even the shadows, were silent.
At this moment they are the silent majority.
Wen Shi looked at Mr. Fatty: "Trouble."
The bug in the gentleman's hat was silent for a long time, then spoke in human language: "They are already like this, how can I humiliate them?"
Wen Shi took out a kitchen knife, his eyes bloodshot as his sanity waned: "You'd better know."
"…"
The kitchen knife couldn't be held for too long, so Wen Shi retracted it in time, using both soft and hard tactics to say, "Don't you usually enjoy doing things like this? Being able to shine in your area of expertise and save someone at the same time, not everyone has this opportunity."
Just when he went to the passengers and said he wanted to humiliate people, this bug was the most active. It must have bullied the weak and feared the strong in the past.
"And you should be able to understand that in order to survive, humans will do anything."
"I know." The insect wearing a gentleman's hat had a complex, human-like expression on his face. He stared at the three human pigs and said, "But now I suddenly feel that... sometimes life doesn't seem so precious..."