Chapter 106: Lost in the Snow Mountain 09

Chapter 106: Lost in the Snow Mountain 09

Wen Ren Dawn's head was splitting with pain.

He had led his team for so long and encountered countless difficulties in the instances, but never had he been caught off guard like this before.

Beside him, Wu Meng clutched his head in agony, wailing, "I told you we shouldn't have taken this damn mission!"

Now what were they supposed to do?

Wen Ren let out a long sigh. "Let's go."

Wu Meng: "Where?"

The face of Captain Wen Ren looked as sour as a dishcloth that hadn't been washed in three months. "Into the dense forest."

Their contracted protection target had run off, straight into obvious danger.

According to the terms of the contract, they should go to save him.

Ying He was very much against it. "If we enter the dense forest now, we might not be able to come back out."

Wen Ren rubbed his face. "We'll just make a token effort. If we can't find him, then that's that."

If they directly violated the contract, they wouldn't be able to take on any more mercenary missions in the future.

That wasn't a big deal, though. The Dawn Squad's main business had never been being mercenaries.

What was worse was that the system would impose a penalty fee for non-compliance.

They had spontaneously decided to take on a mission from the market this time, purely to earn points for their injured teammate who was stranded outside the instance, to exchange for healing medicine and treatment pods.

Now, not only would they not earn any points, but they'd also have to pay a fine. Putting aside the discomfort in their hearts, the key was that they really couldn't afford it.

Captain Wen Ren, with empty pockets, stood in the midst of the snowstorm, his nose red from the cold, looking pitiful.

The other members of the team, although they had been shouting about letting Diao Ming die alone, actually knew the situation inside out.

They naturally understood that this trip was unavoidable.

Anyway, the captain had said to make a token effort.

As for how far they should go with that effort, well, that was up to them to decide.

As for Diao Ming, it all depended on his luck.

"Based on the speed at which the dense forest is moving," Ding Li, who had been listening to the commotion for a while, somehow produced a calculator and rapidly tapped away at it in his palm.

"You'd better be back here within half an hour."

Ding Li came to his conclusion.

This data was the answer he calculated after taking into account various factors, giving the players ample time to leave the dense forest.

If the Dawn Squad stayed away from the camp for too long, they would likely find themselves directly surrounded when they returned.

Wen Ren nodded and found a roll of rope in the travel bag on the snowy ground, distributing it among the team members. "I understand, thank you."

In reality, they only planned to wander around the outermost layer of the dense forest, to give the mercenary contract a proper account.

Just like when they threw the compound eye moths earlier, it wouldn't take half an hour at all, at most five minutes.

The seven members of the squad tied the rope around each other's waists and set off in formation towards the dense forest.

Qin Fei stood at the campsite, watching them with his head tilted. When the figures of those people grew increasingly distant and gradually disappeared into the shadows of the trees, he suddenly spoke:

"I'm going to look for them."

His level of zombification had risen again.

As time passed, the simple outdoor temperature was no longer enough to maintain his normal bodily functions.

Qin Fei urgently needed to swallow a few more snowballs.

Mi Yang was taken aback and subconsciously said, "I'll go too!"

Earlier in the camp, Ying He had told them about Qin Fei's powerful performance in front of the dense forest.

But even so, Mother Sheep still found it hard to convince herself to watch Qin Fei walk into the dense forest alone.

Even though she was well aware that the young man in front of her was not as frail as he appeared on the surface.

Qin Fei declined Mi Yang's offer. "Stay here."

He gestured for Mi Yang to look to the side.

Mi Yang followed his gaze and saw Jack the Ripper fiddling with his giant axe while seemingly casually glancing over.

Mi Yang's fighting spirit instantly ignited!

A rat in the dark!

A stinkbug in the gutter!

Just wait and see if I don't gouge your eyeballs out and throw them on the ground!!

"Okay, I got it." Mi Yang clenched her fists at Jack, staring fiercely at him. "Go with peace of mind. I've got this place covered!"

Qin Fei: "…"

Thank you for your blessing, but it's really quite unnecessary.

The young man turned around and followed the path Dawn Squad had just taken, step by step, into the dense forest.

...

In the pitch-black depths of the forest.

Wen Ren Liming staggered through the thick undergrowth.

Shadows layered on both sides, and in the darkness, the trees seemed to come alive, emitting sharp shrieks.

The twisted branches writhed, entangled, and intertwined, undulating and pulsating in the snow.

Wen Ren Liming's pace slowed down.

Where... is this place?

His thoughts began to lag, his brain seemingly ceased functioning, and he suddenly couldn't remember what he was doing or what he should do next.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

From the depths of the darkness, a voice called out to him.

Wen Ren Liming found the voice familiar, but he couldn't recall who its owner was.

"Captain Wen Ren—"

The voice continued.

His vision gradually blurred, and the snow beneath his feet seemed to be moving.

The rope tied around his waist came loose, but Wen Ren Liming failed to notice.

His entire consciousness was captivated by the incessant calls.

Who... exactly... is calling me?

Wen Ren Liming's eyes glazed over, and his movements became increasingly stiff, like a mechanized puppet that had lost its self-awareness, walking aimlessly through the snow and dead trees.

Branches reaching out scratched Wen Ren Liming's face, warm blood sliding down his cheek to his neck, yet he remained oblivious.

"This is it, we're done for. Dawn Squad is going to be completely wiped out now!"

In the Grade B live-stream hall, the sound of people slapping their thighs echoed continuously.

Countless spirits sighed in despair!

Dawn Squad was a team that Wen Ren started assembling in the D-grade world, and many viewers watched them climb up from the mire of low-level worlds step by step.

They finally managed to carve out a place for themselves among high-ranking players, only to unexpectedly stumble here.

"I'm so angry, my gold coins!!"

A gambler clutched his head and wailed in agony.

Dawn Squad had always performed steadily in the instances, making them a fixed investment target for gamblers.

Whenever they were present in a betting pool, the majority always bet on their successful completion of the instance.

Now, all the gold coins wagered on this live-stream would go to waste!

"The main responsibility for this live-stream issue lies with their captain's misjudgment."

A spirit said indignantly.

"You can't say that; going into the forest was actually a decision they made together."

"These few people are still too arrogant."

"How could they still fall for it even after they've already been to the forest once?"

The audience chattered away, as if they had already accepted the death of this squad as a foregone conclusion.

"What's there to argue about? Haven't you noticed that the forest's influence is growing stronger and stronger?"

In the empty space before the light screen, a high-grade viewer adorned with numerous trinkets suddenly appeared from the void. The vague features of its face revealed unbridled irritation without any attempt to conceal it.

This spirit was an old fan of Dawn Squad, different from those behind it who were solely interested in watching the spectacle. Like the gamblers, it was very unwilling to see the end of Dawn Squad.

Actually, Wen Ren Liming had a very high mental immunity value.

When Dawn Squad went there for the first time, Wen Ren Liming was able to resist the calls from deep within the forest even after fully entering the woods.

Unfortunately, he was indeed overconfident this time. The contamination level of the forest was gradually increasing at a pace that the players hadn't realized.

It had escalated to a level that Grade B players could not possibly resist.

The high-grade spirit stood there with a look of sorrow, shaking its head.

It kept switching perspectives, patrolling back and forth between the different members of Dawn Squad, but it was clear that there would be no turning point.

The ropes on everyone's bodies had loosened.

They were not far apart from each other, sometimes only a few steps away, yet they ignored each other.

Their eyes were vacant, their pupils dilated to an alarming size, the entire whites of their eyes completely covered in black.

Mouth slightly agape, he muttered incoherently, as if responding to a call from the depths of the dense forest.

The high-ranking spirit stared at the light screen with a pained expression, as if piercing through it would allow him to rescue the players inside and bring them to safety.

It fixed its gaze on the live stream of Wen Ren's Dawn Squad, silently waiting for this player, whom it had nurtured for nearly two years, to meet his end.

The spirit couldn't recall how many players had vanished from its regular viewing list now.

But it certainly wouldn't be the last.

The spirit looked dispirited, even beginning to hope that the player in the picture would die sooner rather than later, so it could finally give up all hope, cease lingering here, and stop wasting time and futile expectations.

However, in the next moment, a hand suddenly appeared in the image.

It was a beautiful hand, with fair skin, evenly proportioned joints, long and strong fingers, and a faint redness at the tips due to the low temperature of the snow mountain.

That hand rested on Wen Ren's shoulder.

Then, a voice sounded from outside the frame: "Hey?"

The audience in the Class B hall were dumbfounded.

In all live streaming halls except for Class A, each light screen corresponded to one live stream, allowing each viewer to switch between different streamer perspectives at will for an immersive multi-angle experience.

However, the Class A, B, and C halls required payment for entry, with higher fees for more exclusive access.

Therefore, even during the same live stream, spirits in lower-tier halls didn't have the privilege to switch to the perspective of higher-level players.

The high-ranking spirit stood there, stunned for a moment.

Soon, it seemed to realize something, flashed away, and disappeared from its spot.

Some spirits turned around and looked towards the entrance, and sure enough, on the other side of the road, the spirit hurriedly entered the Class A live streaming hall.

Spirits unwilling to spend extra money could only bite their fists in anxiety, standing in place and continuing to stare at the light screens.

Wen Ren Dawn did not pause because of the external intervention.

Outside the live stream frame, that voice called out to him several times.

Wen Ren's shoulders were held firmly by those hands, but his feet, as if disconnected from his body, remained unaware that he could no longer move freely, still scraping against the snow.

The hands gripping Wen Ren's shoulders exerted force fiercely, seemingly enduring something. But the owner of the hands clearly lacked patience, and soon, the entire body of the owner entered the live stream frame.

It was Qin Fei.

Qin Fei tried to restrain Wen Ren Dawn without success. After a moment of contemplation, he clenched his fist and struck the other's temple hard!

In the real world, this was a very dangerous move; a misstep could easily kill someone. However, the tough-skinned Class B player with combat talent took the punch unexpectedly and wasn't seriously injured. His struggling steps finally stopped, and he stood there in a daze.

The hall fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into cheers!

—Mostly from viewers who had placed bets.

"Come tell me: Thank you Buddha!"

"Thank you Buddha for saving my gold coins; I'm Qin Fei's loyal fan from today on!!"

"I am Qin Fei's dog!!"

The live streaming hall was as jubilant as if it were New Year's Eve. Behind the crowd, some viewers who wanted to see the player's death scene lost interest and turned to leave dispiritedly.

Dawn Squad, excluding Diao Ming, consisted of seven people, and they had entered the dense forest just moments before Qin Fei.

Before Qin Fei found them, every single one of them had already fallen victim to the trap.

Fortunately, Qin Fei arrived in time, and all seven were still within sight, not having wandered too far.

Qin Fei showed no humanitarian spirit whatsoever. He picked up the rope they had discarded and, like tethering a dog, looped it around Wen Ren Dawn's neck.

The viewers in the live stream: "Pfft."

We just said you were a kind person, turns out we spoke too soon!

Do you have to be so wicked? When they leave the dense forest and Captain Wen regains consciousness, he might be so angry he dies of rage.

A spirit squatted in front of the light screen, supporting its chin with one hand, staring at Qin Fei with a strange, infatuated smile: "Hehehe, am I the only one who finds this scene quite interesting?"

I really want to swap souls with Captain Wen and experience the thrill of being bound and suffocated by the streamer~

A viewer slid back half a meter, glaring at this pervert with reproachful eyes, while another viewer clapped, eyes shining as if discovering a new world.

In a place like the dense forest, it was almost impossible for Qin Fei to control seven people alone.

So after a moment of thought, he tied ropes around the necks of the remaining six, just like he had done with Wen Ren Dawn.

Strange game objects increased, and the pitiful players, now completely deprived of personal freedom, choked if they walked too slowly or too quickly.

The seven people, like a string of mice caught by Qin Fei, dared not deviate in the slightest direction, walking obediently toward the outer edge of the dense forest.

As Qin Fei walked, he observed the situation in the forest.

There was a tree that was larger than the others around it, which had fallen, leaving broken pieces of trunk scattered on the snowy ground.

These trees seemed hollow inside, and beside the large tree, there were some peculiar traces left in the snow, indiscernible as to what had been there.

The team moved forward slowly, with Qin Fei stopping occasionally, bending down to scoop handfuls of snow into his mouth.

After a certain distance, a dark shadow suddenly flashed past nearby.

Qin Fei paused in his movements.

A sense of unease welled up within him. The creature that had appeared in the tent earlier must have come from the dense forest, and there was a high probability it had escaped from there.

The seven strongest individuals were now incapacitated, and if another monster emerged at this moment, Qin Fei genuinely didn't know how to handle the situation.

The dark silhouette flickered ahead, drawing ever closer to Qin Fei's group. His brows furrowed deeper with each step until the shadow approached close enough for him to make out its features from a certain angle.

His frown suddenly eased.

Qin Fei stood rooted to the spot.

The shadow finally stumbled over, collapsing before Qin Fei.

It was surprisingly Diaomin, who had run away at the beginning.

Diaomin was drenched in some strange, viscous liquid, his hair limp and plastered against his scalp.

His eyes were as pitch-black as the other seven, but he seemed to retain a sliver of self-awareness. His lips quivered as he extended his dirty hand, attempting to grab onto Qin Fei's trouser leg.

Qin Fei silently shifted his leg out of reach.

"Hahahaha!"

A barrage of laughter swept across the screen.

"Dying of laughter, the streamer's expression of disgust is so vivid."

"I'd be disgusted too. What can that Diaomin do besides hold everyone back? He's good for nothing, eats everything in sight, and touching him would risk catching his stupidity and lowering one's IQ."

"Thank you, you've said exactly what I was thinking."

"How did he end up looking like that? Anyone watching from Diaomin's perspective, could you give me a spoiler?"

The audience chatted animatedly, while Qin Fei and Diaomin locked eyes amidst the snow.

After a few seconds, Qin Fei sighed in resignation.

Well, a little dirtier wouldn't hurt.

He would get him out of here; once Diaomin regained consciousness, they could inquire about the conditions in the forest.

Eight rats instead of seven made no difference to Qin Fei. He would still lead them out on a rope.

The intelligence level of this dense forest was quite high. The trees within continuously shifted their positions, attempting to trap the players inside.

When Qin Fei entered, he hadn't ventured far before finding the Dawn Squad members, and he could still see the snowy landscape beyond the trees when he looked back.

Now, however, turning around revealed nothing but an impenetrable thicket of trees.

But for Qin Fei, it was nothing.

The contamination of the dense forest was virtually nonexistent to him. Although he could hear the calls echoing in his ears just like everyone else, he could completely ignore them.

He retraced his steps along the footprints that had yet to be covered by falling snow, walking steadily and calmly back the way he came.

"Qin Fei."

"Qin Fei."

The eerie voices reverberated through the night sky.

Qin Fei didn't stop, not even his eyelashes fluttered.

"Feifei—"

"Princess Feifei—"

Perhaps due to Qin Fei's nonchalant demeanor, the dense forest took on an almost human-like quality, changing how it addressed him.

Qin Fei still showed no reaction.

The more indifferent Qin Fei appeared, the more intrigued the dense forest became with him.

The voices in the void grew louder and more frequent.

The young man remained unaffected, his pace unaltered.

Not until he finally emerged from the seemingly endless woods, stepping once again onto the soft snow under the black expanse of the sky, did the forest's voice abruptly cease.

"You—well done—"

In the last second before the sound vanished, Qin Fei thought he heard a faint, distorted voice of grievance mixed among the countless repetitions of his name.

...What was going on? Did the forest get triggered by him?

Qin Fei turned around, gazing quietly at the shadows of the trees behind him.

He was still leading the group of players, and Diao Ming was more heavily contaminated than the rest of the Dawn Squad.

That sliver of consciousness he had earlier might have been a result of his will to survive. After Qin Fei rescued him, he displayed a more uncontrollable side compared to the other players.

Initially, Qin Fei had Diao Ming tethered at the end of the line, but he kept moving around, not following the direction of the main group, nearly causing the two people at the tail end to become entangled.

Qin Fei had no choice but to move Diao Ming to the front of the line.

Positioned closest to Qin Fei, Diao Ming couldn't cause any more trouble. Whenever he tried to stretch his neck, Qin Fei would tighten the rope, choking Diao Ming so much that his tongue nearly popped out. He had no choice but to obediently follow along.

This bizarre scene nearly drove the audience in the live stream into fits of laughter.

Qin Fei received another wave of generous rewards.

When he led the group out of the dense forest and back to their original campsite, the other players were all taken aback.

"This, this, this," Ding Li nearly stuttered. "What's going on?"

Qin Fei gave him a look that said, "Don't you have eyes? Can't you see for yourself?"

Wen Ren Liming, as the captain, had some strengths after all. Among the eight people, he was the first one to regain his composure.

Even before they returned to the camp, while still in the forest, he started taking out replenishment pills from his personal space, gulping them down one after another.

By the time they reached the camp, he had mostly returned to normal.

With his ropes still untied, he bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle to Qin Fei. "Thank you!"

They had underestimated their enemy this time. If it weren't for Little Qin's righteous intervention, they would have been destined to perish in the woods tonight.

Qin Fei wasn't actually there to save them; he just wanted to sneakily gather some snow.

Taking advantage of the trip into the forest, Qin Fei collected many snowballs and stored them in his personal space, planning to pop one into his mouth when no one was looking.

Despite this, Qin Fei didn't feel undeserving of the bow.

After thanking Qin Fei, Wen Ren Liming hurried to help the slower-recovering team members take their mental replenishment pills.

A few minutes later, everyone had recovered, and all members of the Dawn Squad were conscious again. Ding Li stepped forward to ask if they wanted to leave together.

The dense forest continued to encroach upon their location, now only dozens of meters away.

"Let's go together," Wen Ren Liming decided immediately.

He walked a few steps forward, stopping in front of Qin Fei, who was squatting to adjust his snowshoe laces.

"That...,"

Wen Ren Liming rubbed the back of his head, a strange blush appearing on his face.

"I have an unreasonable request, I'm not sure if I should say it."

The burly Captain Wen rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat embarrassed, even a bit bashful.

Looking at his expression, Qin Fei already had a strong premonition.

Whatever this guy was about to say wouldn't be pleasant.

Qin Fei lowered his eyes slightly, his tone as gentle and kind as ever, but his gaze lacked warmth. "Speak your mind."

Would Wen Ren really keep quiet if he said it was inappropriate?

Wen Ren Liming pursed his lips.

Earlier, they had been too busy taking replenishment pills to untie the ropes around their necks—mainly because Qin Fei had tied them in dead knots for convenience in the woods, which were difficult to undo.

Captain Wen took a deep breath, bent down to pick up the rope on the ground, closed his eyes, and with the resolve of a warrior cutting off his own wrist, handed the end of the rope to Qin Fei:

"Can you... continue leading us by the rope for the rest of the journey?"

Qin Fei: "?"

He looked up and down at the man in front of him in surprise. His clear amber eyes seemed to speak, questioning:

Are you some kind of pervert?!

Wen Ren blushed and waved his hands frantically.

Of course not! This decision was made collectively by the entire team just now. The forest was approaching too quickly, and its contaminating abilities were growing stronger. Now, standing at the campsite, they could faintly hear shouts coming from the forest side.

Tonight, the players were destined to be chased by the dense forest all the way. Without someone to lead them, Wen Ren couldn't bear the thought.

He feared that if something unexpected happened along the way, a situation like Diao Ming's might occur again.

Before he could explain,

Behind him, Mi Yang tugged on Qin Fei's sleeve.

Qin Fei turned around and saw Mi Yang covering his ears, as if enduring something. With an expression identical to Wen Ren's earlier constipated look, he choked out, "Can... can you also lead us along?"

Qin Fei: "?????"