“Are you afraid?”
Standing at the fire escape staircase, Roddy stood facing Han Bi. Both of them were holding onto a cigarette in their hands. Roddy looked at Han Bi as he asked in a serious tone.
Han Bi thought about it, then raised the cigarette in his hand. “Truth be told, I don’t smoke.”
“That means, you are afraid?”
“En,” Han Bi nodded. “From the moment I received the prompt stating that I have been selected by the instance dungeon, I have been unable to feel relaxed at all.” Han Bi vigorously took a drag from the cigarette. “So, I thought, if I am to die, I would like to know how smoking a cigarette feels like before dying.”
“And?”
Han Bi smiled bitterly. “It smells terrible.” He stubbed the cigarette and looked at Roddy. “Hey, I hear that after an Awakened one like me dies, I will be refreshed by the system and returned to a normal person. Then…”
“If you end up being refreshed…” Roddy let out a strained smile. “I will definitely go to your school to find you and gift you with a huge sum of money. Didn’t you like the newest PS4? When the time comes, I will gift one to you.”
“It is better if you do not,” Han Bi shook his head. “If I do get refreshed… you all, don’t come find me. Just let the refreshed Han Bi be at ease and live the life of an ordinary person.”
Roddy was momentarily stunned and he looked at the thick browed youngster seriously.
After a while, Han Bi laughed. “What do you think Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao are doing at this moment?”
“En…” Roddy kneaded his chin. “If they are not pa pa pa-ing, then they are kissing intimately [1]. However, Soo Soo is also in the room, so I believe it should be the latter.”
“Damn it, you are a real scum.”
“Hahahaha.”
…
That night, those young adults were unable to sleep peacefully.
At daybreak, Chen Xiaolian got up first and proceeded to carefully reassess all the plans he made. After a shower, he made a cup of rich coffee and gulped it down as he ate a few pieces of bread.
There was less than 20 hours left.
Chen Xiaolian went to Qiao Qiao’s room to see that Qiao Qiao was all ready to set out. She looked at Chen Xiaolian. Taking a deep breath, she hugged him before turning to head out.
Today, Qiao Qiao shall be using the daytime to acquire the cars and complete the other preparations. Roddy will be going with her.
Chen Xiaolian brought Soo Soo downstairs to have breakfast. Observing the hotel’s dining hall, he saw that a high number of the guests were wearing school uniforms. These people were here for the aircraft model competition.
He saw that Han Bi was within the mix.
Chen Xiaolian also noted that the one wearing sunglasses, the fellow known as Nangong was also having his breakfast. Beside him were his two comrades.
He did not see Qiu Yun. Who knows where he was.
During the day, Chen Xiaolian brought Soo Soo with him and joined the group of participants for the aircraft model competition. They entered the Mausoleum Area of Qin Shi Huang and explored the terrain.
There was not anything complicated when it came to the terrain.
They went in the Qin Mountain range where a continuous number of mountains were spread out as far as their eyes could see. The open area at the foot of the mountains was an artificially constructed plain of grass. There was also a lake there.
Chen Xiaolian observed a good number of students flying remote controlled aircraft models as they stood upon the grassy plains; remote controlled boats were placed by the side of the lake.
Holding on to Soo Soo’s hand, he moved into the crowd and carefully observed his surroundings.
Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. As implied by the name, it was the mausoleum of the First Emperor in history.
The mausoleum of history’s First Emperor has yet to be completely excavated. At the current, only a small part of it was unearthed. According to the publicized information that Chen Xiaolian had seen, the part unearthed may be only a very small part – judging from the high level of ambition that history’s First Emperor has, the scale of his mausoleum would likely exceed everyone’s expectation.
The terracotta warriors currently on display in Shaanxi City were but the burial items within one or two pits within the mausoleum.
After buying a big cotton candy for Soo Soo from the shops within the scenic area, Chen Xiaolian moved deeper into the Mausoleum Area – as he moved forward he found that the place was restricted and there were ‘No Visitor’ signs in addition to fences.
Next to it is an exhibition hall where the unearthed cultural relics were exhibited as well as some historical literature regarding the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang.
Some schools had organized a spring tour and their group were here to visit. Chen Xiaolian brought Soo Soo with him as he walked one round through the place. Feeling that there was nothing else to see, he took Soo Soo back to the hotel.
It was already evening by the time they returned to their room. Chen Xiaolian carried with him a backpack containing some mineral water, items from first-aid kits, three walkie-talkies, two Swiss Army knives, windproof lighter, hardtack biscuits and energy bars.
Checking the time, Chen Xiaolian saw that the appointed hour with Qiu Yun has arrived. He brought Soo Soo to Qiu Yun’s room.
Seeing Chen Xiaolian’s arrival did not cause any change in Qiu Yun’s expression. Qiu Yun only gave an extra glance at Soo Soo who was behind Chen Xiaolian. “This is the friend that you want to protect?”
“Yes,” Chen Xiaolian nodded.
Qiu Yun did not say anything. He picked up the lighter that was on the table and placed it into his pocket. “Let us go.”
Chen Xiaolian noted that Qiu Yun did not carry any backpack. Both of Qiu Yun’s hands were stuffed into his trousers’ pockets as he led Chen Xiaolian and Soo Soo out of the hotel.
Far away, Nangong who was still wearing sunglasses stood in the parking lot. He turned and gave a glance at their direction before entering an SUV and left.
“Conventionally speaking, the Awakened ones will first enter the instance dungeon. The system will delay the time for Players’ arrival for a short time. This is a game and a hunt,” Qiu Yun lightly said. “The instance dungeon may have some restrictions. For example, a myth type of instance dungeon will normally restrict technology type of abilities and equipment. Of course, if we consider the background story of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, I feel that this instance dungeon should be inclined towards the myth type. Mechanical types and technology types will be restricted. However…”
After saying that, Qiu Yun suddenly extended his hand. A gun had appeared at an unknown moment within his palm, which he then gave to Chen Xiaolian. “Keep it for self-defence. Basic technology type will not be restricted. In a fight where cold weapons are involved, firearms will still be useful against weak mobs.”
Qiu Yun gave Chen Xiaolian 4 bullet clips.
“Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang… it is not going to make us enter the catacombs, is it? … will there be things like white haired zombies or ghouls?
“Hell if I know,” Qiu Yun gave a faint smile. “After entering, remember this one thing. With the exception of our own people, others can be killed regardless if they be human or monster!”
The word ‘kill’ caused Chen Xiaolian’s heart to become heavy.
He found that Qiu Yun’s tone was very cold. It was an emotionless type of coldness.
…
The sky had turned completely dark.
The three of them entered the mausoleum area from the south gate. When they reached the No Visitors zone, they blatantly upended the enclosing walls. Then, they moved in to the mountain lands.
When there was less than six hours remaining to the opening of the instance dungeon, a prompt appeared in the system.
Tens of bright dots immediately appeared upon the surface of the radar. They were all flashing as they each transformed into a circle of light.
Chen Xiaolian observed that the circle of light closest to him was about 600 metres to the front and left of his position.
On the way…
“After the instance dungeon begins… what would happen if an ordinary person enters the area?” Chen Xiaolian asked in a casual tone.
Qiu Yun glanced at him. “Once the instance dungeon begins, the system will automatically isolate the instance dungeon’s area. You can consider it as having the instance dungeon’s area detached out from this world. After the instance dungeon is completed, it will be attached back.”
“Then what about time…”
“The concept of time becomes different,” Qiu Yun shook his head. “In such a kind of detachment, the flow of time for the outside world may only be a few seconds, or perhaps even just a blink of an eye. After we enter the instance dungeon, we may stay inside for a few hours or even a few days. However, when we exit we will find that only one second has passed in the outside world… these are all possible,” Qiu Yun laughed. “All right, that concludes the questions for newbies. From now on, keep your mind vigilant. Whether or not you survive, that will depend on your strength and your mind. Naturally, your luck is also important.”
In the night of early spring, the vegetation within the Qin Mountains remained of a withered and mournful yellow colour. “Ka ka” sounds were emitted when their feet stepped upon the withered branches.
Climbing up the mountains was no problem for Chen Xiaolian whose body have already been strengthened. Qiu Yun too, faced no difficulty in the climb. Soo Soo, however, started gasping non-stop after a while. Chen Xiaolian quickly carried her upon his back.
When they arrived at the entry point, they found a waterfall between the mountains. It flowed down to form a stream.
The scale of the waterfall was small; the height between its top and its bottom was a mere 3 to 5 metres making it resemble a water curtain.
Qiu Yun glanced at the coordinates within the radar. “It should be behind that water curtain.”
The three of them stood behind some rocks next to the stream as they listened to the rustling sounds of the swaying branches brought over by the night winds.
1 hour and 30 minutes remaining.
It was already 3 o’clock in the morning.
According to the radar display, there were other Awakened ones in the vicinity moving closer towards them. This inevitably caused Chen Xiaolian to feel anxious.
Qiu Yun on the other hand maintained a relaxed attitude. He even lit himself a cigarette and slowly took a drag from it.
“Someone is coming, there is a distance of less than 200 metres,” Chen Xiaolian clenched his fist. “We…”
“We do not need to do anything,” Qiu Yun said indifferently. “Those who come are all Awakened ones who have been selected to enter the instance dungeon. As of now, there is only slightly more than 1 hours’ time left to enter the instance dungeon. Thus, everyone will try to avoid taking action or cause a confrontation in order to not lose combat strength before the instance. En… but we still need to be careful. Other circles of guilds may have received information regarding this instance dungeon. They might come over to take advantage of the situation and attempt to rob others. This has happened before.”
Just as he had finished speaking, they saw two black figures running out from beside the stream. They were running towards the water curtain.
The two of them were positioned with one at the front and one at the back. Even within the darkness, it was obvious that they were feeling nervous.
“Newbies,” Qiu Yun squinted his eyes. “Those who run out of patience are all newbies.”
After that, they saw one of the black figures rush into the waterfall curtain, extending his head into the water before pulling back immediately. The figure complained. “There is nothing at all.”
The other one said. “It is not time yet. It is probably not opened yet.”
As they talked, they moved to the side. Suddenly, a piercing sound was heard!
Xiu!
A sharp arrow flew out from the forests, striking one of the black clothed figures squarely in the neck! The arrow was both fast and accurate and it directly pierced that person’s neck!
The pitiful Awakened one did not even have the chance to scream out. His eyes bulged out widely and he fell face first into the water!
The other person became frightened. He screamed out and a few metal shields magically appeared around his body. They then slowly rotated in a circle around his body.
“Eh? Those are Magical Shield Armour. This skill is not bad. A pity he does not know how to use it. Magical Shield Armour is a very good form of defence against magic, but against physical attacks, it is somewhat lacking,” Qiu Yun flicked away some cigarette ashes.
As expected, another sharp arrow flew out from within the forests just as the newbie had summoned out his rotating shields!
This time, the arrow was deflected by the shield. The newbie then shouted loudly; he identified the origin point of the arrow and charged towards the riverbank in that direction. However, he only managed to move several paces forward. Due to the newbie having to wade through the waters, his movements could not be executed with ease. A “hong” sound was heard and several axes flew out from the riverbank!
One of the shields encircling the newbie was smashed apart and an axe hacked down onto the newbie’s head. The newbie then fell down backwards…
Chen Xiaolian looked at the axes that were thrown out from the other side. Another one of the axe that was shot out had directly split apart a piece of rock beside the stream. He could not help but be left breathless. “What a powerful strength!”
Someone then moved out from the other side of the forest.
This person has a thin and small frame. His hands were holding onto a white flag. He emerged from the cluster of trees and first stood upon the riverbank, turning about before finally entering the stream. He went towards the 2 floating corpses and quickly picked up some items from the waters. He then made a hand cupping motion towards all 4 sides before jumping out and disappearing into the forest.
“Killing newbies… heng,” Qiu Yun spoke with disdain. “What good items can be obtained by killing newbies? These fellows are falling lower and lower.”
Observing the whole thing, Chen Xiaolian felt his scalp going numb. He asked in a low tone. “Do Awakened ones always kill one another like this?”
“Not all of them are like this,” Qiu Yun said in a somewhat frustrated tone. “People have their own ideals; some treat other Awakened ones as cattle, sheep or tough competitors.”
“However… shouldn’t Awakened ones unite together to fight against the Players?” Chen Xiaolian frowned.
“It is as I have said, people have their own ideals. The same rice feeds a hundred types of people [2],” Qiu Yun sneered. “In the pursuit of benefits and strength, some people would be willing to do anything. Just consider it, those Players will only arrive when an instance dungeon opens. So, what should an Awakened one do to get stronger during normal days? Some people would then target their own kind, the Awakened ones. Killing others to loot equipment and medicine… those will help save up on a lot of points.
“These kinds of occurrences are the same everywhere. There may be acts of murder amongst Awakened ones, but how often do the Players come together as an indivisible whole?”
After saying that, Qiu Yun patted Chen Xiaolian’s shoulder. “However, these are all the things that only third-rate guilds and below will do. Some of the decent big guilds will have some principle and integrity.”