The hustle and bustle in the village gradually returned to calm.
The escape of "clean blood" is not unheard of, and the villagers are very skilled in dealing with it. The entire village will help each other to ensure that no one escapes - even dying outside the mountain is a waste for the villagers.
However, things are slightly different this time.
The sudden escape of the "crows" is more like a long-planned collective escape than ordinary people, and the hiding skills they have experienced in various life and death also make it more difficult to capture them.
A man who looked to be in his thirties, but was obviously the leader of several teams, knocked on the door of the wooden house near the mountain side.
"Clan Chief Wu, it's so late, what can I do?"
The door was opened, and a man wearing an officer's uniform, with a short beard and a smile appeared in front of the door.
"I need some help from you."
Patriarch Wu's face clearly showed a trace of disgust, but he had to admit that the other party was more professional in terms of pursuit.
"Then, the old rule is, everyone caught gets a share of their blood." The man in the officer's uniform raised a finger, "And it must be their blood."
"I understand, I understand! Many of them just performed a ritual! But this time so many people ran away, I'm afraid they are not comparable to those who were scared out of their wits before!"
"This is a no-brainer. The vitality of the blood of those who can escape is far better than that of ordinary blood bags." The officer man raised a smile, turned his head and shouted into the room, "Brothers and sisters! Get up and work. !”
With the man's assurance, Patriarch Wu quickly left with his people.
"Clan leader, there are quite a few people running away this time. Can they... be able to do it?"
asked a real young man.
"They are hunters, completely different from us. Although their greed and filthiness make us all feel uncomfortable——"
Patriarch Wu glanced back at the wooden house that had no lights.
"But they are the most professional."
========================
Lu Ning and Ning Yeyi crossed a ridge.
After some discussion, the four people finally decided to split up for the time being. They didn't have enough time, and the intensity of the opening chase was completely different from the previous test field. Not only was the goal of the team action too big, but it also couldn't accomplish much.
So Cheng Wuling and Zhao Chenshuang sneaked back to the mountain village to find records related to the ceremony, while Lu Ning and Ning Yeyi were responsible for crossing the mountain to find the so-called mountaintop castle and Moon Lake. If something unexpected happens, we will find a way to meet up at the same time tomorrow.
But they had climbed over a mountain, but still could not see any sign of the castle.
"The castle...should not be small, right?"
Lu Ning looked at the surrounding mountains. The moonlight was bright. At least the top of the mountain could be seen clearly, but there were no traces of any buildings.
"I think we can't see it now." Ning Yeyi climbed up an old tree and looked at the surrounding mountains from the highest point, but found nothing.
"Can't see?"
"The word sanity was mentioned in the mission, right? That gave me a bad feeling." Ning Yeyi swung from the branch, jumped onto the lawn, and clapped his hands.
"You don't mean..."
"As a warning, Lu Ning, I can at least confirm that I am normal now, so I have to tell you something."
Ning Yeyi's expression was very serious, as if he was confessing something.
"The most important person to me is my aunt, and the most important memory is the trip to the north with my family to see the snow on the top of the mountain. I respect people's self-will and do not have any beliefs. If I could go back, I think I would choose to become a Police or forensics. I like nature, and if I have any wish, it is to find a place with beautiful scenery to spend the rest of my life after retirement."
Lu Ning nodded slightly.
"If everything about me is distorted to an irreversible point in the future, kill me. Likewise, if I find that you have similar problems, I will kill you too."
"good."
After Lu Ning said this, Ning Yeyi's expression relaxed slightly.
"But staying rational is only for the dream ritual. We must first find a way to understand the function and correspondence of the ritual." Lu Ning returned to the analysis topic, "In addition, assuming that the castle on the top of the mountain cannot be found currently, Moon Lake should be Where is it? It must be hard to find a place where a mountainous area and a lake coexist, right?"
"Even if there is water in the dune area, it is difficult to form a lake, and more streams and rivers will be formed."
Ning Yeyi thought for a moment and suddenly thought of a possibility.
"But underground lakes are possible."
Before he finished speaking, a flying knife suddenly shot out from the bushes, aiming right at Ning Yeyi's shoulder!
"Found you!"
Lu Ning quickly backed away, took out a stone from his pocket and threw it back. Ning Yeyi turned slightly sideways and grabbed the flying knife in mid-air.
A short but capable man swooped out from the bushes. He wore a hat on his head. He was shorter than the two girls, but he was holding a real thick-backed broad-bladed knife instead of Those farm tools in the hands of the villagers!
"Don't run! Leave your blood!"
The man's tone was full of enthusiasm and desire. His movement toward Ning Yeyi was so fast that he even left a black mark in the air.
Not suitable for fighting.
This was what Cheng Wuling had specially warned before the four of them parted ways.
Ning Yeyi kicked up the rocks on the ground, lowered her head and rolled to avoid the man's sweeping knife, and then threw a handful of dirt at his face.
"Ha ha!"
The soil fell away, and the man who was supposed to be there was just an afterimage, and the real body had already moved in the direction where Ning Yeyi's back was facing.
"They really do have super powers."
Lu Ning threw two stones, reminding Ning Yeyi of the direction of the man's attack. Seeing the afterimage of the man's use, she felt a lot more at ease.
If it was just this level of ability, it would be relatively easy to deal with.
Ning Yeyi was reminded and dodged the man's attack again, and quickly ran towards the woods, while Lu Ning also looked into another bush, and the two ran away separately. This time the man was stunned.
"None of you can escape!"
He roared angrily, still holding on to the direction Ning Yeyi left, and quickly chased after her.
Lu Ning was running quickly.
The other party's search efficiency is slightly higher than expected, but that doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter that the possessor of superpowers is an intelligent human being.
Forced to act separately - to be expected.
She slid through a patch of grass and turned around a slightly low and muddy area, hearing the sound of flowing water in her ears.
In the mountains, if you find flowing water, whether you are heading towards the source or going down the river, you will always have a target direction and there will be no problem of getting lost.
But Lu Ning still felt uncomfortable.
Even though his body can still move normally, as a senior patient, Lu Ning is very aware of his physical condition. There are some things that are different from the original but still unbearable. They are flowing in the body like maggots in the tarsal bones, taking away life and gnawing away. strength.
She could suppress the physical vomiting caused by the psychological reaction, but she couldn't fool herself - she was falling into fear.
[The upgrade test will inevitably involve soul damage. 】
[Soul damage will not be healed upon return, and you need to go to the hospital for treatment. 】
What if it can’t be cured?
What if such a reaction is a symptom of soul damage?
What if I have to go back with this problem...
Lu Ning slid down a hillside, her heart beating faster and faster.
There is a stream in front of you.
Just as she was about to walk along the water to the source, a person slowly walked out from behind a tree not far away.
It was a woman wearing a windbreaker and a top hat. The collar was pulled up to cover her face. There were two belts tied crosswise around her waist. There were holsters on each side with firearms inside, and her pants were thick. Breeches, the trouser legs are tied tightly, and a pair of boots are stained with a little mud.
In her right hand, wearing a fingerless glove, she held a short sword.
"Finally someone came, I've been waiting for a long time."
The woman let out a chuckle and slowly walked towards Lu Ning.
Lu Ning stood still.
"Scaring people will scare them to death. Fortunately, my attention was not focused here just now."
"Oh? That would be easier to die."
The woman in the trench coat raised her left hand and slowly pulled down the high collar of the trench coat, revealing half of her face.
Shu Xingruo's smile was as gentle as ever.
"Huh...then...in order to confirm the identity..." Lu Ning did not rush forward, but asked the question according to the established procedure.
"What's the name of your most proud work?"
"Under the Steps of Time. Now it's my turn to ask you, the only drink you will accept while reading is..."
"Vanilla tea, but a third mixed with milk."
Lu Ning smiled. If he didn't have the ability to read minds, the identity of the person in front of him would have been confirmed.
"Nice to meet you here."
"So are we."
Shu Xingruo turned his head slightly, and three heads popped out of the bushes.
==================
The first thing I want to say is that due to the existence of Su Zhilan, Shu Xingruo's group woke up earlier. Ye Tisi and Mo Lianren were in the same group. Although the structures of the cells they were in were slightly different, in general The situation is still the same.
It's just that one of the other two cells is full of tourists, while the other group is real people in the scene. Twelve people worked together to remove the wooden planks blocking the exit and ran away quietly without even alerting the residents there.
But later, because their escape elsewhere attracted the attention of the whole village, these people also dispersed. Unlike Lu Ning and others who found a small hut in the mountains, Shu Xingruo's group found a hunter's hut on the other side and obtained Shu Xingruo's equipment and a hunter's notebook.
"They are the ones who hunt in the mountains to provide meat for the village. They are also responsible for hunting down people when they escape. Because they are hunting for 'clean blood', they call themselves pure-blood hunters."
Shu Xingruo quickly told Lu Ning the information he found.
"However, there is not much description of myself. The notes are more about the situation of the escapees, and there are many descriptions of how to hunt in the mountains and forests. This note was probably recorded for use as a teaching material."
"Your weapons..."
"It's bluffing, the two guns have no bullets. In fact, the only thing I can use is this dagger. Mo Lianren has a front-loading shotgun, but it also has no bullets, and only she can use it. Others can be used. The weapons are an ax and a fire stick." Shu Xingruo took off a holster and handed it to Lu Ning.
In the holster was a double-barreled short gun. Lu Ning knew that this weapon was quite powerful at close range, but as Shu Xingruo said, there was a gun but no bullets.
"Anyway, it would be great to meet up." Ye Tisi looked particularly happy. "If Shu Xing said she would wait here, she would scare her away if she was an enemy. If we meet up again if we are teammates, we are worried that it would be too risky."
"Anyone who doesn't know them would really think they are those hunters."
Lu Ning herself didn't recognize Shu Xingruo before she spoke.
