Since they had to go in one way or another, the best plan was to choose a relatively safe place to explore.
That was the consensus of everyone except Cheng Shuili.
Among the several buildings in the service area, the convenience store was undoubtedly the most dangerous location.
Everyone present had witnessed with their own eyes as Qi Yue was dragged inside by a monster; for all they knew, that was the creature's lair.
Cheng Shuili, however, wanted to go into the convenience store to take a look. The more dangerous a place was, the greater the possibility it held secrets. She even felt that the hidden destination might be inside the convenience store!
After surviving on the highway for so many days, Cheng Shuili had figured out some of the system's perverse sense of humor: the more players were afraid to go somewhere, the more likely it was to place something there.
The rest of the group had already begun to deflect responsibility to one another.
"We can go in separately. I'm not investigating the convenience store."
"I'm not going to the convenience store either. I'm truly traumatized, and I almost died. Besides, I count as a wounded person, right? I don't need special treatment, just don't assign the convenience store to me."
Yang Yunsheng's expression remained unchanged, but he did not intend to listen to Cheng Shuili's distribution; he wanted to regain the initiative.
"Let's stop deciding where to go for a moment. Let me assign the people first. I'll go with Fatty, Sister Cheng, you pick one person, and the remaining three can go together."
Yang Yunsheng scanned the group. He had originally intended to pair himself with Cheng Shuili, but the others certainly wouldn't agree to that, so he had to settle for second best and chose Fatty, who appeared to have relatively high combat power.
Zhang Yueying opened his mouth as if to say something after hearing him speak, but once the man finished, he shut it again.
If Yang Yunsheng had said he wanted to be in a group with Cheng Shuili, he would have been the first to disagree! Everyone knew it was safe to follow Cheng Shuili, so why should he get all the benefits?
The others had no objections to his arrangement, and except for Fatty, everyone looked at Cheng Shuili, waiting for her to make her choice.
Cheng Shuili naturally chose Wanyi, who had been standing to the side without saying a word, without the slightest hesitation.
"What was your name again?"
Zhang Yueying couldn't help but ask this question. This person had such a low presence, or rather, was so calm that she hadn't panicked from start to finish.
They were fleeing for their lives, yet this person acted as if she were on a casual outing.
Everyone else's faces were filled with negative emotions—anxiety or worry—yet this person was like a stone-faced statue, showing no special emotion from the beginning to now!
Either she was a top-tier expert, or she was an idiot!
Was this why Cheng Shuili chose her?
Yang Yunsheng and Fatty exchanged glances, both clearly seeing what the other was thinking: to push Cheng Shuili toward the convenience store, and then they would divide up the remaining two locations.
After Wanyi confirmed that Zhang Yueying was asking her, she stated that fake name once again.
"Chen Wanyi. I remember saying it once already."
The latter part of the sentence was quite fierce.
Cheng Shuili thought about the muscles on Wanyi's body; she had the confidence. Just as she curved her eyes into a smile, she caught the calculating look in the eyes of Yang Yunsheng and Fatty.
Did she really not know what kind of schemes those two were cooking up?
Rather than letting them plot back and forth, it was better for Cheng Shuili to take the initiative.
"I'll go to the convenience store with Chen Wanyi. You two can choose between the remaining two spots. Once you've decided, we'll all go in together."
Since she had already said as much, the others naturally had no objections.
The group lingered at the entrance for a moment before Cheng Shuili stepped into the service area first.
The moment the tip of Cheng Shuili's shoe crossed that invisible boundary, the muscles all over her body tensed up.
She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, as if countless eyes were staring at her from the darkness.
Wanyi followed closely behind her, her breathing so light it was almost inaudible.
The glass door of the convenience store had long since shattered, leaving only a pitch-black entrance.
In the thick dust on the floor, there was an abrupt straight line—the mark left behind when Qi Yue had been dragged away.
Cheng Shuili pointed at the floor, signaling for Wanyi to watch out for the broken glass underfoot. The two moved as lightly as cats through the doorway and vanished into the darkness.
Faint footsteps came from behind; the other groups were also starting to move.
Cheng Shuili did not look back; her entire focus was concentrated on the darkness before her.
The interior of the convenience store was larger than she had imagined. Most of the shelves had toppled over, and merchandise was scattered across the floor. The air was filled with a strange, fishy stench, like rotting meat mixed with the scent of disinfectant.
Wanyi suddenly tugged on Cheng Shuili's sleeve and pointed to the left.
Cheng Shuili was startled and gave a violent shiver, but fortunately, she subconsciously kept her mouth tightly shut, not making a single sound.
Wanyi offered an apologetic smile and pointed at that location again.
Cheng Shuili followed the direction of her finger and, behind a collapsed shelf, vaguely saw a patch of dark red stains.
She nodded, and the two carefully circled around.
With every step she took, Cheng Shuili's heart hammered faster.
Her fingers never left the dagger at her waist, ready to respond to any danger at any moment. The aisle between the shelves was very narrow, forcing the two to turn sideways to pass through.
Wanyi's backpack brushed against a metal shelf, producing a faint "creak."
Both of them froze instantly.
In the darkness, something seemed to have moved.
Cheng Shuili held her breath, her eyes fixed intently on the direction the sound had come from.
A few seconds passed, and nothing appeared. She slowly exhaled and signaled for Wanyi to continue forward.
The further they went, the darker the light became.
She couldn't see anything, but Cheng Shuili felt as though she had stepped on something. She went rigid, already prepared to whip out her assault rifle and fire a burst...
Just then, Wanyi grabbed Cheng Shuili's arm with such force that she nearly cried out.
Cheng Shuili turned her head and saw Wanyi's face was deathly pale, her eyes wide with terror. She followed her line of sight, and Cheng Shuili's blood instantly ran cold...
In the shadows behind the checkout counter, half a human body was twisted in an impossible posture.
A sliver of light shone through a gap in the door, illuminating the monster. Judging by the clothing, it was Qi Yue's upper body.
His eyes were still open, a look of extreme terror frozen on his face.
They weren't very far away, so Cheng Shuili could see the details clearly. Qi Yue's chest cavity had been completely hollowed out, his ribs splayed outward like flower petals.
This... was this the monster the system mentioned that was worth 20 points?
Does one appear every time someone dies?
That would be far too... cruel, wouldn't it?
Cheng Shuili forced herself to look away.
Yet, she steeled herself against the fear and looked back. She had three daily uses of the Abyss Ring's Insight; even if there were other monsters, she still had one more chance to use it.
She activated it.
【Insight activated】
【Name: Form of the Blooming Skeleton】
【Origin: Created by the Sound-Devouring Slime. The Sound-Devouring Slime is obsessed with twisting living creatures into a "blooming" posture, using flesh and blood as the stamen and bone as the petals, carving a twisted piece of art out of pain!】
【Weakness: Stab the head. Stab it hard. If one strike doesn't kill it, stab it a few more times.】
Cheng Shuili: "???"
It's that simple and brutal?
Rate on N.U.
