Xia Shishu and his party strode all the way to the woodlands south of Silver Lake Village.
Normally, you will see NPC kids playing in this side of the village during the morning to dusk in Second Reality. There're no NPCs around at this moment, and it should be related to the quest they've just received from the Village Elder.
Right now, the sun is beginning to set towards the westward sky. Because no monsters are around, that means that no other players are around too. It was cold, and there is no chirping birds or any other sound. The woodland that they're in right now just gives off an eerie feeling.
Mu Litong searched the area for treasures before, but there was none. That said, it means that he is quite familiar with the south side. Xia Shishu asked him to take the party to a place where kids usually play.
With haste, they've proceeded towards a clearing in the woodlands near the village. Although some trees are still within the clearing, they are more sparsely placed.
"Do you want to search the area as a group or individually?" Xia Shishu said as he gazed into the eyes of his teammates.
"Err… Boss let's separate then search. I haven't searched this area yet because NPC kids always play here." Mu Litong didn't want to be kicked out of the party for being useless. If he finds treasures, he won't need to share it too. It's best if they split up.
"I think so too." Link answered after Mu Litong.
"Okay! Send a message or call in party chat if you find anything related to the Elder's daughter." Although they're almost blindlessly searching, it's still better than nothing. The only tip they got from their quest was that they need to come here.
Xia Shishu went west towards the setting sun. He slowly paced his steps as he observed his surroundings thoroughly.
He went across the woodlands. Bushes and thorny vines were visible to him when he found some kids' footprints. There are lots of little kids in Silver Lake Village, so it's not strange at all to see footprints in different places in the woodlands. The NPC kids must've each had their own group of friends.
Considering that he's in an area where kids play, he checked the area even more thoroughly. He examined the bushes and even went into a cluster of thorny vines to see if there is anything hidden within.
When he was in the cluster of thorny vines, it was really painful. Second Reality lets the users feel pain but only ten percent. Even if it's only ten percent, having a bunch of thorns prick you from all over is still really painful.
He didn't find anything worthwhile, so he walks further into the woods. There were still kids' footprints in the area but not as much as before.
While walking, he saw something behind a slightly larger tree that caught his eyes.
It was a small pink teddy bear holding a red heart with the words [Love] engraved in it. It was obvious that the item didn't fit in with the woodlands. He went forward and picked the teddy bear up.
Xia Shishu is quite a weird person in certain ways. If he sees a bracelet on the sidewalk while taking a stroll, he will pick it up to see if it belongs to anybody. If he can't find the owner's name, he will either throw it away or keep it if it looks really cool.
When he picked up the little pink teddy bear, a prompt describing the teddy bear popped up in front of him.
Niu Qiqi's Favorite Teddy (Quest Item) (Bound)
Item Description: This teddy bear was a gift given to the village elder Niu's daughter on her fourth birthday. It was created by the village elder's wife, and it's something that the owner will never discard.
"Ehh why is this here? Niu Qiqi? Elder Niu's daughter?" said Xai Shishu as the read the prompt. It was a good thing that he easily found the quest item. The woodlands are so big, and he might not find the doll if he chooses to travel East or South.
He looked away from the teddy bear and the prompt disappeared. His eye scanned his surroundings and it looked quite grand.
When he began searching until now, quite a lot of time has passed. Second Reality's day and night time differ from one another. Second Reality's nighttime will last only about four hours while daytime lasts longer.
Dusk was approaching and it was getting even darker than before. The sun showed a bold, brilliant, and rich violet color as it sets.
When you focus on the other parts of the woodlands, you will see soft beams of light that are getting dimmer and dimmer by the second.
When the sun dips below the horizon in a few minutes, the fleeting colors of dusk will fade away too. The present light will be no more and the land will be filled with darkness.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
He was a little bit startled. There is an incoming call from Mu Litong. Since Mu Litong had called him, he must've found something related to the quest too, thus he answered the call.
"Ahhh!! Pro Wugui Hel- Me!! Ahhh!!" Mu Litong shrieked as soon as Xia Shishu accepted the call.
Xia Shishu knew what Mu Litong said, but it seems that their connection isn't that good. "Help you? With what? Oi, we have a quest you know? Are you playing around? It's not good to play around you know. Hmmm." He told Mu Litong.
"No. Ahhh!! Hel-! Help me! Jus- come plea-!!! Com-" The call ended.
All of a sudden, there was no sound around Xia Shishu. It was so quiet… Xia Shishu can even hear the wind that is not even blowing that hard.
He thought about it and decided to go towards Mu Litong. He wanted to see why that leechy guy need help.
For some reason, he couldn't put the bound quest item away into his inventory so he just placed it inside his shirt. Although it's a ragged shirt, there is a little pocket from within that can fit the pink teddy bear. The doll isn't that big. It's only half of a teenager's palm.
He's going to rush to Mu Litong so he equipped the boots he got from his previous quests. Having shoes on really helps if you're going to run in the woods that has rocks and other small derbies.
His agility stats are considered to be high in the beginning stages. If a level six player added all their free allocation stats into agility, their stats will be similar to his'.
With his over the top stats, he managed to run back to their party's randevu point really quickly. He wanted to see what Mu Litong is up to so he climbed a tree and hid in the leaves. Climbing a tree is easy for him. He climbs them all the time when he was a little kid.
Xia Shishu didn't wait for long. He heard panting and screaming "Ahh Ahh" from the east. It was the leech Mu Litong.
He did not show himself to Mu Litong. That goofball must be up to something, so he will find out what that something is!
He smirked, but that smirk turned into a frozen one not long after… His heart rate began to rise and he felt a chill go up against his spine.
Behind Mu Litong, he saw a lady.. Her hair is black.. And the clothing she has on looks like a dead person's attire. The black hair covered over her shoulders and back. She stood in the shade of a tree…
Mu Litong had already reached their meeting point; Sheer exhaustion forced him to lay on the ground. He had gone further than Xia Shishu. If not for his lack of stamina, he would've ran all the way back to the village.
___
Mu Litong didn't check the woods as diligently as Xia Shishu did. He just casually glanced around as he quickly walks through the woods.
When he was casually walking around, he hoped he can stumble upon a treasure. Yet, he didn't find any treasure at all.
Since he traveled east, it was darker as he went further. But… He felt like something was wrong. His chest was tight, and his stomach felt rotten.
Every time he took a step forward, he felt like something would get closer to him… He felt like that something was watching him from the distance.
*Swssh*
A sound of shuffling footsteps came from his right side, and his hair stood up as he shivered. He told himself that no matter how close those shuffling footsteps came, he would not look. He told himself that he would not, that he would… not…
He told himself to not look, but he couldn't resist but take a glance. What he saw made him uncomfortable.
A pale lady slowly walked towards him. She did not look at him, and he couldn't see all of her grayish pale face.
When she finally stare at him, the lady abnormally turned her head 90 degrees… Like her neck was broken…
Her eyes were hollow… and her mouth opened wide. Like a weak person would, the lady slowly raised one of her armed and waved at Mu Litong from a distance…
He looked again and her face was emotionless… Mu Litong panicked and threw his sword at the lady, only to see that he had broken one of her legs…
At that point, he couldn't take it anymore so he turned around and ran. He ran, but the lady followed him.
She dragged her broken leg and it seemed like she was getting closer and closer. He tried to call the pro on his party, hoping to get help.
After three rings, he managed to connect, but he didn't hear any replies at all. He asked for Xia Shishu's help, but there was no answer. He didn't want to give up, but the call ended for an unknown reason.
The lady was still following him so he ran with all his might towards the place where his party separated. When he arrived, his character stopped. He wanted to keep running, but he couldn't move at all because his stamina stat is too low.
Luckily, he was able to take a breather because the lady stopped under a tree.
Too bad though… The sun disappeared too quickly, and the lady began walking again, dragging her broken leg towards Mu Litong.
Mu Litong was alarmed and tried to get up and run but he was too slow… The lady got to him attacked with a wave of her arm. With just one attack, Mu Litong's HP suddenly plummeted to 0 in 5 seconds and he died. His body laid on the ground motionless…
One minute later, his corpse began to disappear with a flash of white light. It seemed that he revived.
Xia Shishu witnessed all of this, and he didn't know what to say. It looked creepy. It also looked eerie, and he was somewhat afraid of the lady.
He watched as the lady stood next to Mu Litong's disappearing body. She slowly turned her head towards his direction. She didn't smile, nor did she show any emotion on her face. She just slowly raised her arm and waved at him.
The woodlands were now dark since the sun has just set, but there was still a little bit of remaining light illuminating the world.
After waving for a few second, she dragged her broken leg with her and got a little bit closer to Xia Shishu. The weird thing was that she kept waving as she got closer to him, step by step. Maybe she was greeting him... or maybe she was up to something more sinister.
In the tree, Xia Shishu stared wide eyes at the approaching lady with a broken leg and pale face. He didn't want to be associated with the lady, but he doesn't have any powerful skill… He doesn't have any skills to protect himself.
The lady inched closer… Closer to the tree he was hiding.
Wait… He thought to himself… doesn't he have at least one powerful skill?
Since voice commands works, Xia Shishu calmed down and raised his voice as he spoke to his system. "Nope! I'm not having any of this! System! LOG OUT!!"
Similar to when a person revives or teleport, he flashed a white light and disappeared from the tree. To be honest, he is scared. He's not good with scary things… That's why he doesn't watch scary movies!