Tan Xinger left Gu Jingyong's support and leaned against the wall, cautiously looking outside.
Sure enough, she saw a man rushing to the headless zombie and stabbing it in the heart with a knife.
As the dagger was pulled out, blood sprayed out, splattering on the glass door of the convenience store.
The other people behind him all showed their faces and cautiously entered the convenience store, looking around vigilantly.
The leading man looked at the chaos in the convenience store and said to the people behind him, "There are obvious signs of fighting here. Everyone, be careful of the zombies lurking in ambush."
"Got it," Jiang Qiqi nodded, putting down the long-handled knife she had been holding and walked to Sun Hao's side, tossing the knife to him.
"This knife isn't sharpened. Get me another one," Sun Hao complained.
"Whose fault is it for randomly grabbing one and running off earlier? A knife that isn't sharpened is useless," Jiang Qiqi retorted.
Sun Hao took the knife and rolled his eyes but still took off his backpack and found a short knife to give to her.
In the secluded space where nobody noticed, Tan Xinger looked longingly at the long knife.
Somewhat enviously, she said, "Their equipment is really good. Shouldn't we also find some weapons?"
Gu Jingyong straightened his back and said, "The nearby knife shops should all be empty. If you want one, you can go to the market."
"Do you think we should go to the police station to get guns? That would be cool," Tan Xinger suddenly felt that the cold weapons were not satisfying enough.
"The police station's guns are in safes. Forget it," Gu Jingyong punctured her fantasy without hesitation, casually staring at the group of people outside, his gaze pausing on one of them for a moment.
"Okay," Tan Xinger sighed, preparing to stretch her arms, but then she heard the sound of glass falling to the ground.
"Crack."
The glass shards fell to the ground, making a small sound, but in the enclosed environment where both groups of people deliberately suppressed their voices, this sound attracted special attention.
"Who's there?" the people outside were the first to speak, standing up one after another and holding their weapons as they looked inside.
"It seems like a compartment there," Sun Hao noticed first, his gaze falling on the glass shards on the ground.
"Is anyone there?" Sun Hao held the long knife and, with Gaoxin, slowly approached the compartment.
Inside, Tan Xinger looked at the broken hole in the glass door, regretting the impulse to pound on the door earlier.
If she hadn't been so impatient, this piece of glass might not have fallen.
She had long realized that Gu Jingyong didn't want to encounter other players in the game. Now, it seemed that they had to face them head-on.
The long knife without a blade gleamed brightly, and Tan Xinger feared that the knife might be thrown in at any moment. She glanced at Gu Jingyong and decided to take the initiative to go out herself.
"There's someone," a low voice came out.
Gaoxin gestured to Sun Hao and used the tip of the knife to pick up the curtain, only to see Tan Xinger looking calm.
"Sorry for scaring you," Tan Xinger smiled and said, taking two steps forward but finding that Gu Jingyong hadn't followed. She turned around and saw him putting on the black duckbill cap again.
"Is he a player?" Gaoxin stared at Gu Jingyong, squinting his eyes, discreetly assessing him.
"Yes," Tan Xinger nodded, took a step back, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Gu Jingyong. She glanced at the knives in their hands and smiled, "Why don't you put down the knives first? We're all players, no need to be so nervous."
"Do you have any injuries?" Gaoxin noticed Tan Xinger's stiff posture and the sweat on her forehead, looking uncomfortable.
"I have a back injury, but no wounds," Gu Jingyong answered for her, reaching out to support her back and gently patting her shoulder to signal her to relax.
Tan Xinger breathed a sigh of relief. In just a few short minutes, the muscles on her back felt as if they had been pulled apart by hooks, causing numbness. Only when she felt Gu Jingyong's strength did she relax a bit.
"Since we're all players, there's no need to be so formal. Meeting each other is fate," Jiang Qiqi broke the somewhat tense atmosphere, stepping forward to Tan Xinger and saying, "Are you seriously injured? I have medicine in my bag. Let me apply some for you."
"No—" Tan Xinger was about to refuse when Gu Jingyong suddenly spoke up, "Do you have any muscle relief patches?"
"Ah, no, but I have medicinal oil. Do you want it?" Jiang Qiqi, acting like an old acquaintance, pulled Tan Xinger aside and took out the medicinal oil from her bag to give to her.
"Thank you!" Tan Xinger smiled at her, while Gaoxin temporarily let go of his guard and everyone put down their knives.
"Where do you plan to go next?" Tan Xinger casually asked while Jiang Qiqi was tidying up her backpack.
"Of course, we're going to the city center. Haven't you made any strategies?" Jiang Qiqi looked at her in surprise, suddenly understanding why the others had looked at her like she was an idiot a while ago.
"Strategy, what's that?" This was the second time Tan Xinger heard this word; the first time was when the player she framed, Jiang Nan, mentioned it. Now, Jiang Qiqi brought it up again.
"Oh my, don't tell me you haven't registered on the forum?" Jiang Qiqi was even more surprised, raising her voice and attracting the attention of the others who looked over.
"Help!" Tan Xinger mentally screamed for help, quietly looking at Gu Jingyong, her eyes full of pleading.
She seemed to have asked a professional question, how should she answer it!
"She's a new player, this is her first dungeon, and she hasn't had time to register yet," Gu Jingyong said casually, but it was enough to surprise them.
"A newbie entering a three-star dungeon! You're really brave," Sun Hao looked at Tan Xinger with eyes full of admiration, even the indifferent Song Qing cast a surprised glance.
"Hehe, I just entered the game and don't really understand. I'll be more careful next time," Tan Xinger chuckled awkwardly, then decided to seize the opportunity to ask Jiang Qiqi for more information.
"Qiqi, what are the benefits of registering on the forum?"
"Of course, the higher your points, the more information you can get on the forum, and the greater your chance of survival," Jiang Qiqi glanced at Tan Xinger and continued, "But it's difficult to accumulate points. Since you're entering a dungeon for the first time and can't even access the peripheral forum, you should work harder."
"Okay, I'll make sure to accumulate enough points early!"
That's impossible, because I'm not a player...
Tan Xinger thanked her sincerely again, then returned to Gu Jingyong's side with the medicinal oil, smiling at him.
"How many points do you have?" Tan Xinger asked quietly while pouring some oil, gently applying it to her arm.
"Over forty thousand," Gu Jingyong said as he watched her light touch, frowning slightly. He then crouched down, curious about Tan Xinger's gaze.
"What's wrong?" Gu Jingyong took the medicinal oil and put it aside, grabbing her arm and straightening it out, then pressing down with the oil.
"Ouch, it hurts," Tan Xinger sucked in a breath, feeling like Gu Jingyong was treating her like a pig.
"Being gentle won't be effective," Gu Jingyong increased his strength, almost as if he was getting heavier. Tan Xinger subconsciously wanted to retract her hand but was firmly held by him, unable to move.
"Over forty thousand, how many dungeons have you cleared?" Gu Jingyong skillfully massaged her, the red flower oil shining on her skin, her delicate arm seeming very fragile, as if it could break with a little force.
Gu Jingyong's expression remained unchanged as he manipulated her hand, and Tan Xinger gritted her teeth, staring at something else to distract herself.
"Hey, that guy is peeking at us."