CH 39

Chapter 39 – Esophagus 11

The place where the old nun taught the children was in the living room. Not long ago, the scene of more than a dozen children sitting around the blackboard was still vivid but now most of their teammates had already died. The strong smell of blood in the monastery still filled the nostrils of Lian Qiao and Xu RenDong and the atmosphere was painful and depressing. .

The teaching aids used by the old nun were piled on the table. Pointers, small blackboards, blackboard erasers, and most importantly-

“There is only so much chalk?” Lian Qiao frowned when he looked at the chalk that was already half used. He tried to break it but the chalk was too short to break it. If you break it forcibly, it would probably shatter into powder.

Xu RenDong said: “It’s okay, this is enough.”

Lian Qiao turned around and handed the chalk head to Xu RenDong: “Then Brother RenDong, you take it.”

According to the picture book, Lamia would take off her eyeballs during the day to go to sleep. Fortunately, it was already late at night and they only had to wait a little longer before it would be dawn. However, the bedroom on the second floor was full of corpses and they had no choice but to curl up on the sofa on the first floor, barely closing their eyes to rest.

There was still a strong smell of blood floating in the air and no one could rest well in that kind of environment. Fortunately, this tormenting light sleep didn’t go on for too long. After more than an hour, the first ray of morning sunlight hit Xu RenDong’s face.     

Xu RenDong opened his eyes and found that Lian Qiao was already awake. Obviously, he didn’t get a good rest either and his face looked haggard. The two did not speak but silently glanced at each other. Then they got up and walked towards the end of the corridor.     

Xu RenDong took out the chalk and began to draw lines on the wall. Both of them stared at the chalk head and their breathing could not help becoming anxious. Fortunately, as the chalk ran across the wall, smooth cracks gradually appeared on the wall. Soon, the four straight lines connected to form a box. The four cracks were also connected together, turning the box into a stone door that could be pushed open.     

Xu RenDong breathed a sigh of relief and put the chalk away: “Sure enough, the chalk is for this purpose.”     

“Otherwise, why would the old nun give us a class?” Lian Qiao smiled, “Brother RenDong, have you ever heard a saying? In a good game, none of the details of the script are useless. This instance appears to have very little information but in fact, when you think about it carefully, there are actually a lot of hints.”

Xu RenDong smiled and put his hand on the door: “Get ready, I’m opening the door.”

Lian Qiao: “Okay.”

Xu RenDong’s hand gently pressed and the small door was pushed open without hindrance, revealing the inner corridor. Xu RenDong raised the kerosene lamp to shine inwards and found that the inside of the tunnel was far higher than the small door. It was dark and looked like the bottomless throat of some kind of prehistoric behemoth.

The two walked into the small door. Sure enough, as soon as they entered, the small door closed behind them and disappeared. Behind them became an uneven stone wall, as if they were in a cave. The traces of the chalk door were nowhere to be found.     

Although this was something that he had long expected, Xu RenDong still felt his heart sink. He felt extremely uneasy. He held the kerosene lamp high, illuminating the inside of the cave. They saw the tunnel winding around and it appeared to go down into the depths, and where it led was impossible to see.

Lian Qiao’s eyes were filled with uncontrollable excitement. He lowered his voice and said with a smile: “I’m going to fight the boss!”     

Xu RenDong did not answer.     

Lian Qiao muttered to himself: “However, based on what’s happened so far to our team, it’s clear that we’re not supposed to beat up the boss. The boss is supposed to beat up us.”

At this kind of time, he was still so long-winded. Probably this was the professional illness of a comical and popular horror game host. Xu RenDong shook his head but couldn’t help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.     

The corridor is long and narrow, with hard stone walls on all sides. The faint light of the kerosene lamp flickered across the stone wall, illuminating two small shadows leaning against each other.     

Fortunately, there was no fork in the pathway and it led all the way to the end. The two were cautious, trying not to make noises with their footsteps. With their hearts beating madly, they walked for an unknown amount of time before the tunnel gradually became wider. At last, a spacious cave appeared.     

After walking in the suffocating passage for so long, both of them felt a sudden sense of openness. They were mentally prepared for the monster they were about to face but when they really saw the scene in the cave, they couldn’t help but be stunned.

There was a long dining table in the middle of the cave. The table is covered with snow-white napkins embroidered with delicate patterns. A dazzling array of food was laid out: fresh fruits, steaming barbecue meat, oily and crispy bread… Just standing so far away, the aroma of the food stilk wafted over.

Lian Qiao couldn’t help swallowing, his eyes staring.

“It may be a trap, be careful.” Xu RenDong said in a low voice but his stomach growled unconvincingly.

All up, they hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice for three days. For Xu RenDong, this hunger was doubled. Compared to his body, the hunger in his heart made him more anxious. He could hardly look away from the tempting food. His stomach cramped up and secreted stomach acid frantically as if it were digesting itself.

I’m so hungry… I must eat something… So hungry…

“Brother RenDong!” Lian Qiao whispered and pressed his hand.

Xu RenDong’s heart shuddered and his body shook suddenly. Only then did he wake up. He was surprised to find that he was standing in front of the dining table, reaching out his hand to the food as if bewitched. His fingertips were about to touch a piece of roasted lamb leg. If it hadn’t been for Lian Qiao stopping him in time, then probably he would have grabbed the barbeque and munched down on it.

“…I’m sorry.” Xu RenDong apologized in a low voice, “I…”

Lian Qiao shook his head: “I understand. Brother RenDong, look over there.”

Xu RenDong looked in the direction of Lian Qiao’s finger and saw that, at the other end of the dining table, was a girl with a beautiful face.

The girl was dressed in an ancient Greek-style white toga and the soft cloth wrapped around her body to set off her elegant figure. The girl’s complexion was like honey, smooth and tender and she nodded slightly while sitting quietly at the table. Her hands were motionlessly resting on her leg while she slept.

“This is what Lamia was like…” Xu RenDong said softly.

Lian Qiao nodded: “She is asleep. I guess if you stole the food just now, she would probably immediately wake up.”

The two crept to Lamia’s side and found that the girl’s eyes were closed but her eye sockets were deeply sunken. Her hands were spread on her knee and there was an eyeball in each palm.

And behind the girl, in the middle of the stone wall, there was a silver-white metal elevator!

Lian Qiao suddenly leaned into Xu RenDong’s ear and chuckled softly, “Sure enough, it’s the place where the final boss fight is. Even the instance exit is directly set here.”

Xu RenDong nodded and said with lips: “The question is. where is the button?”

Lian Qiao was still clinging to him, his lips almost touching his earlobe: “Kill the boss  and then maybe the button will drop directly. Otherwise, Brother RenDong, you can draw the door with chalk first. Let me steal the eyeballs. She will wake up and run after me. Our door is painted very small and it will be ideal to get her stuck. After that, we can do whatever we want. . Even if she doesn’t get stuck, it will take time for her to draw the door and chase us again. She has no eyes and can’t see so we can avoid her easily.”

Xu RenDong: “Okay.”

Lian Qiao said softly, “Go.” “

For some reason, this gentle “Go” made ripples in Xu RenDong’s heart. He suppressed the strange emotion and walked in the direction of the entrance without looking back.

That little piece of chalk head was held tightly in his palm. He recalled Lian Qiao’s instructions and simulated the battle plan in his head. At the same time he couldn’t help sighing that Lian Qiao was really smart and could always think of ways to deal with the basilisk.     

Lian Qiao was really a contradictory guy. He usually smiled and didn’t appear serious, and occasionally will be so scared that he will scream out loud. However at critical moments he is always so reliable and so reassuring.     

Also, he is three years younger than me! Xu RenDong thought of this for some reason. He couldn’t help but look back at Lian Qiao. Seeing him looking back, Lian Qiao asked him a question with smiling eyes: What are you looking at me for? 

Xu RenDong avoided his eyes unconsciously, and was about to continue walking but suddenly heard a familiar sound.

“Gululululu…” 

It was the bowel sounds made by a hungry stomach. Echoing in the empty cave, it seemed particularly loud. However, this time, the source of the sound was not Xu RenDong but Lian Qiao who was standing beside Lamia.

Their faces changed at the same time and turned to look at Lamia. Sure enough, Lamia’s eyelids quivered in her sleep and her slender index finger rolled up slightly as if she wanted to put her eyes back into her eye sockets!

She had woken up!

Lian Qiao shouted: “Run!” At the same time, he quickly reached for the eyeball in Lamia’s palm.

Xu RenDong didn’t have time to think about it. He turned his head and ran towards the entrance, shouting: “Leave the eyes alone, just run!”

Lian Qiao had already moved. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the eyeball in Lamia’s palm. Unfortunately, standing on Lamia’s side, he could only get the eyeball that was closer to him. He grabbed Lamia’s left eye in his hand, then no longer hesitated and turned to run after Xu RenDong.

Lamia suddenly woke up. Her eyelids suddenly opened, revealing a pair of hollow scarlet eye sockets. The ten fingers of her hands squeezed closed and she had already discovered that her left eye had been stolen. However, she was not in a hurry to put her right eye on, but quickly reached out with her left hand!

“Uh!” Lian Qiao was caught off guard and was caught by Lamia by the back of the neck!

Xu RenDong looked back, pale with shock. Before he spoke, Lian Qiao roared, “Leave me alone, run!” He raised his hand and threw Lamia’s left eye at Xu RenDong!

Xu RenDong raised his hands, and caught his eyeball. The eyeball were still warm, wet and slimy, and felt very bad in the hand. He ignored his nausea and stared at Lian Qiao with red eyes.     

Lian Qiao has been pinched by Lamia and placed over her knees. At this time, Lamia hadn’t put her eyeballs on yet and except for the scary empty eye sockets, her whole body still looked like a girl. When Lian Qiao was pressed onto her lap, he looked like a child that the girl was playing with. However, Lian Qiao’s face was determined, and he had already said his final words with his eyes: Go away, you can’t save me.

Xu RenDong bit his lower lip fiercely and forced himself to run towards the entrance. A deep and dull voice came from behind, like bones being crushed by a heavy object. Mixed in was Lian Qiao restrained and painful gasps, but he did not groan and did not even moan. He just gritted his teeth and suffocated the screams in his throat.

Xu RenDong didn’t dare to think about what Lian Qiao was suffering at this time. He forced himself to concentrate and run with all his strength in the direction he came. His young body, which had not eaten for several days, was already exhausted. He squeezed out the last trace of energy in his muscles and ran desperately.

He couldn’t let Lian Qiao’s plan go to waste.

The elevator has been found. Now as long as he ran out and as long as he could escape the current catastrophe, he might be able to find the button soon. In this way he can reset the world and go back to save Lian Qiao and pass the instance unscathed with him… He can’t waste this opportunity that Lian Qiao sacrificed himself to win for him.

The tortuous corridor seemed so long at this time. Xu RenDong almost tripped over the gravel on the ground several times. In a panic, he could hardly maintain his balance. Lian Qiao’s voice was no longer audible. Instead, he heard the sound of chewing, gurgling, swallowing, and then a satisfied sigh.

His vision gradually blurred. Xu RenDong’s eyes were sour and he finally saw the stone wall at the end of the tunnel.

Without hesitation, he threw the kerosene lamp aside, took out the chalk and began to draw lines on the stone wall.

There was a clatter of footsteps behind him. It was Lamia who caught up. Xu RenDong drew white lines, but felt itchy in his left hand. It was Lamia’s eyeball that were twisting and wriggling!

The twisting eyeball was trying to break free out of his palm. Xu RenDong grabbed it tightly. Lamia’s footsteps were getting closer, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably and the white lines he drew were no longer straight.

Calm down! Calm down! You still have time!

He tried to ignore the footsteps close at hand but the more he forced himself, the more his hands shook. Finally, only the last vertical line remained in the door frame. He grabbed the chalk and swiped it down vigorously- then a sharp pain came from his fingertips!

Xu RenDong retracted his hand painfully, only to find that his finger hit a jagged sharp corner and had been cut.

The chalk fell onto the ground. Xu RenDong knelt on the ground, looking around. The kerosene lamp flickered and there was gravel everywhere on the ground. The little chalk tip was nowhere to be found.

Xu RenDong put his hands on the ground and watched the blood flow in his right hand. Suddenly he felt that he had no strength to stand up anymore.

He smelled a hot bloody smell and felt something approaching from behind him. Somehow, he suddenly stopped being afraid, but felt relieved.

The kerosene lamp just went out when he was picked up from the ground by the neck. Looking at the dark cave, Xu RenDong couldn’t help letting out a desperate laugh.

“Haha…ha…hahahahahaha!” 

His wrist was twisted in the opposite direction,and the joint ligament broke. Unconsciously letting go of his fingers, Lamia snatched her eye from him.

When his body was about to be torn in half, Xu RenDong closed his eyes with a smile. He thought to himself:

After leaving Lian Qiao, I couldn’t even survive for one minute on my own. I really am useless.