Xia Xiaolei left Chen Xiaolian alone in the room. He went out to find Qiao Qiao standing in the yard outside.
Xia Xiaolei turned somewhat stiff. This simple-minded youngster seemingly has no clue on how to talk to someone of the opposing gender. He could only remain speechless.
Qiao Qiao though treated him with friendliness. She lightly patted Xia Xiaolei on his shoulders. “It is all right. He will be fine… the fact that he could still joke around meant that he is fine. I will go talk with him while you go about with your matters. Thank you very much for today.”
After Xia Xiaolei had left, Qiao Qiao inhaled deeply and walked into the room with a serious face.
Seeing Chen Xiaolian sitting inside with a blank look on his face, Qiao Qiao went over to sit before him.
“There is something that we need to discuss.”
“En?” Chen Xiaolian waved his hand. “Wait.”
He retrieved one [Beginner] class All Curing Antidote and handed it to Qiao Qiao. “Take it. It could potentially get rid of the poison that is weakening our body.”
Qiao Qiao nodded and swallowed it. She then looked at Chen Xiaolian. “Regarding the system that you have been talking about, and those instance dungeon, Players, Awakened ones…” Qiao Qiao gritted her teeth. “I want to join in!”
“What?” Chen Xiaolian stared incredulously.
“Soo Soo has already been sucked into it. That is why I want to join. I must be able to protect her from harm at all times,” Qiao Qiao spoke with a very firm tone.
“This…” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “This matter is not as easy as you think. Moreover… I fear that you will regret it in the future. Besides, I… I fear I will not be able to help you.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Qiao Qiao’s expression remained calm. “I will accept your good intentions. However… before we got up Xia Xiaolei’s truck, I saw you secretly searching the ground for a while. Later, I saw you picking up something from the ground; it looked like a metal sphere, right?”
Chen Xiaolian became surprised. “You saw it!”
Pa!
Without waiting for Chen Xiaolian to finish, Qiao Qiao suddenly slapped down on the table.
Surprisingly, within her palm was a metallic sphere!
“The other one is here with me. It probably rolled over to my feet by accident. I then picked it up,” Qiao Qiao’s voice remained calm as she stared at Chen Xiaolian in the eye. “My woman’s intuition tells me that this metal sphere has a deep connection with your identities as Awakened ones or Players.”
A woman’s intuition?
Oy! Shouldn’t you be a tomboy?
…
“Truth be told, my involvement would be beneficial towards you,” Qiao Qiao spoke in a composed manner. “I have a healthy body and am also proficient in fighting skills. After using the Genetic Enhancement Serum, my melee combat abilities are already superior to yours – even though your strength and speed is good, you know nothing at all about fighting skills. Back when you were fighting the longhaired man in the train, your movements were full of weaknesses. You were simply depending on your body to tough it out, without using any skill to back it up.
“If I am to join in, then based on our friendship where we endure thick and thin together, we would become dependable allies and mutually support one another.
“In addition, there is also Soo Soo. No matter what, I have to join in. As her big sister, I cannot simply watch and do nothing as Soo Soo get sucked into this matter alone!
“That is why… Chen Xiaolian, I ask of you, please help me!”
Chen Xiaolian. “…”
“I will never give up. So… even if you are to refuse, I will still continue to badger you. I am sorry. However, this matter is something that I absolutely cannot give up on.”
Chen Xiaolian was left tongue-tied. He looked into Qiao Qiao’s eyes and slowly nodded his head. “… all right.”
Qiao Qiao gave a sigh of relief, her eyes showing traces of joy. “Thank you, Chen Xiaolian.”
She then picked up the metallic sphere. “How do I use this item?”
“It seems you can use your blood on it. At any rate, that was how I used it.”
True to her name of Queen Qiao, she resolutely extended her index finger and bit down on it with force. Her blood then dripped down onto the surface of the metallic sphere.
Chen Xiaolian anxiously observed Qiao Qiao. He wanted to personally watch the activation process of the metallic sphere.
Upon the surface of the metallic sphere, the blood began to seep into it little by little!
The metallic sphere then seemingly transformed into liquid metal and dissolved at a rapid pace onto the table surface…
It was as though there was some type of force causing it to evaporate rapidly! Next… it transformed into a sphere of light!
This brilliant light immediately enveloped Qiao Qiao. As for Chen Xiaolian, the intensity of the light forced him to subconsciously close his eyes…
It was followed by a “peng” sound. When he opened his eyes, the light had disappeared and Qiao Qiao was lying unconscious upon the ground.
Chen Xiaolian sighed.
…
They spent the night at Xia Xiaolei’s house.
Chen Xiaolian had already given himself and Han Bi the antidote.
When dawn arrived, Han Bi finally woke up.
After waking up, Han Bi saw Chen Xiaolian beside him and his thick eyebrows suddenly jumped. He shouted loudly. “Xiaolian! You are not dead? We are not dead? Eh? Where is Amon? Did we manage to finish him off? I remember killing you in the end.”
Chen Xiaolian smiled – his smile was one of happiness and sincerity.
From those words, he could tell that the ‘Han Bi’ he knew had returned!
Han Bi had regained his memories!
Chen Xiaolian went forward and fiercely pounded him in the chest with his fist, then he smiled. “Do not forget, you owe me a slash! Back then, you personally killed me.”
Han Bi’s face quickly turned distressful and he whispered. “I am sorry… even though you are the one who told me to do it, I… I still feel sorry. When I struck you, my eyes were filled with tears.”
“Enough about that, I was just joking,” Chen Xiaolian laughed out. “Everything is fine now, I am still alive and the instance dungeon has also been completed. Since we are still alive, isn’t everything fine? Oh, right… do you still have your recent memories? From the time in the train?”
“The train?”
Han Bi’s eyes seemed lost for a moment before jumping up. “Ah! I remember! I remember everything now! Eh? It seems those people had abducted me? Did you save me?”
“It is a long story,” Chen Xiaolian frowned and patted Han Bi’s shoulders. “Regardless, it is good to have you back. Sigh… it feels difficult to hold on alone. I am in need of a partner that I can trust.”
“A cooperation!” Han Bi looked at Chen Xiaolian. With a moved expression, he held out his hand.
Chen Xiaolian laughed out. He ignored Han Bi’s hand and directly went in for a hug. The two young men held each other and patted each other in the back.
“Hey… to think I would see such a passionate scene so early in the morning…”
Big Miss Qiao’s sound came from the door, her words brought with it a special tone of a Queen’s delicate pride. “Do you need me to leave for a moment to let you have some time to get warm?”
The two youngsters looked at each other and immediately jumped away from each other. “Pei! What nonsense! This is the feeling of pure brotherhood!”
Chen Xiaolian looked at Qiao Qiao who was standing at the door.
Big Miss Qiao did not appear to have changed much, however… something indistinct and profound seemed to be hiding behind her eyes.
“Success?” Chen Xiaolian asked.
“En,” Qiao Qiao nodded her head. “However… some features seemed to be locked.”
Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly. “Because you are the same as me. You are not a host body; you are simply using someone else’s account to login. That is why we cannot access many of the features. However…”
He pulled Han Bi over. “Let me introduce, this is the one and only partner I met in the 72 Demons instance dungeon, Han Bi. He is a very good fellow. He is an Awakened one, so he is somewhat different from us and Soo Soo. However, his system is the complete version. So… if we ever need to purchase anything from the Exchange System, we can get his help.”
Qiao Qiao and Han Bi glanced at each other. Since they did not know each other, the situation was a little awkward. However, Han Bi became excited. He threw several deep glances at Big Miss Qiao and could not help himself as he blurted out. “Xiaolian… Fatty Wu! Big Wu! This must be your prearranged wife-to-be, right?”
“Wife-to-be your sister!” Chen Xiaolian’s face changed as he quickly turned to look at Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao did not become angry. She only gave Han Bi a look before turning to Chen Xiaolian. “Earlier, I had checked up on my little sister. She had woken up, but… as you have already known, she cannot remember anything. She did not remember being abducted from the train.”
Xiaolian, Han Bi, Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo. The four of them were formally gathered together for the first time.
However, Soo Soo was currently in her main personality form and had forgotten all those unhappy memories. Thus, she treated Chen Xiaolian and Han Bi as strangers.
Chen Xiaolian explained her circumstance to Han Bi and the both of them were beset by mixed feelings.
In the afternoon, the four of them decided to leave. This decision made Xia Xiaolei somewhat disappointed.
“Brother Wu… Great God! Can you really not bring me with you? Just please let me follow you!”
Chen Xiaolian looked at the simple-minded youngster and hesitated for a moment. “Xiaolei, I am going to tell you the truth. We are actually not masters. We are just like you; we are newbies who have only experienced one instance dungeon. So, I am not a Great God.”
“But, you have the [S] class skill.”
Chen Xiaolian had wanted to explain that the [S] class skill that he saw was not released by him. However, after thinking about it… his own Goddess of Dawn should also be of the [S] class. He could only reluctantly accept that fact.
“Instance dungeon is not something that is enjoyable,” Chen Xiaolian gave a strained smile. “Truth be told, I kind of envy you. You can stay in this mountain village and protect your clear and relaxed mind. If I am you, and if I have the choice, I would not think of risking my life to enter any instance dungeons. I would rather live here and keep myself away from conflicts. Xiaolei… listen to my advice, don’t think about things like carrying you to what lofty skies… When you are older, you will understand. The ability to live a stable life is the happiest thing for us humans.”
“Bu… but…”
“No buts,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “If you keep yourself hidden in this village, I doubt the other Players or Awakened ones could find you. If… If something happens though, you can call me up at any time. I have already written down my mobile number on a piece of paper and left it on the topside of the bed. If you need any help, just give me a call.”
“En, I have also left my mobile number on the table,” Qiao Qiao looked at Xia Xiaolei and said in a very sincere toe. “You are the most generous and upright fellow that I have ever met, Xia Xiaolei. Stay here and continue living a good life.”
Xia Xiaolei’s eyes showed a little disappointment. He then let out a sigh. “Very well… even though I do not understand what you said, it sounded rather reasonable.”
The four of them said they goodbyes to Xia Xiaolei and left – Chen Xiaolian felt somewhat tempted to bring this humanoid discount card to his side… However, he was a good-hearted youth.
How could he bear to pull such a simple-minded fellow into a world filled with struggles and deaths?
It would be better to let him stay hidden and live a quiet life in this mountain village.
At that moment, Chen Xiaolian did not know… this fellow known as Xia Xiaolei would form a great bond with him in the future…
…
“Where are we going now?”
A few hours later, the four of them were standing upon a street near a county town.
Qiao Qiao looked at Chen Xiaolian.
“We… we will go to Shaanxi,” Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly. “Roddy is still on the train. After the entire huge ruckus that we have caused on the train, there is no telling what will happen to Roddy. Hopefully, he won’t be considered as a monster or accomplice with monsters and be arrested.”
That was indeed a very vexing problem.
“En, then let us go to Shaanxi,” Qiao Qiao was after all a rich girl with an independent character. She immediately made the plans. “First, we will find a place to buy mobile phones. All our phones have been broken. Therefore, we should first buy new mobile phones. Just put our cards in so that Roddy can contact us.”
At that moment, Han Bi’s face suddenly changed. He frowned and uttered in a low tone. “Eh?”
“What is wrong?” Chen Xiaolian looked at Han Bi. Qiao Qiao also casted a puzzled look at him.
“You all… you did not receive it?”
“Receive what?”
“It seems I am the only one to receive it?” Han Bi’s face turned uglier. “I received an information prompt from the system.”
“Information prompt?”
“Yes,” Han Bi’s face turned grim. “The prompt is as follows: Congratulations on being selected for the instance dungeon numbered V587. Please arrive at the designated area within 48 hours. The storyline, quest and background of the instance dungeon will be issued through the system. Please make sure to check at all times. If you cannot enter the instance dungeon before it opens, you will be forcibly exterminated by the system!”
After finishing his sentence, Han Bi cursed out viciously. “{F*ck}!”