CH 145

The trio marched through the wind and snow.

Neither Xiao Lan nor Hua Yan spoke, except for Long Shiren, who kept creating opportunities to talk to Hua Yan, even if Hua Yan simply said "yes", he could go on and on.

A good demonstration of what it means to be a socialite with awkward conversation skills.

Nothing much happened on the way, not even a crisis.

It was as if this was really just a barren snowy landscape.

On the way, the wind and snow kept increasing.

Xiao Lan was fine, but Long Shiren was already in a state of distress, his face turning purple with cold, and his mouth, which had been a machine gun, had to stop.

After a while, Long Shiren couldn't take it anymore.

He shrank into a ball and stuttered, "Two ...... two big guys, I, should we find a place to hide, hide from the wind?"

Hua Yan moved on with his face unchanged, his tone lazy as ever: "I'm not interested, but I don't mind if you want to."

But it was clear that it would not be flattering.

Long Shiren was on the verge of tears: "I, I don't want to hide at all, it's super nice to have a breeze, I love a breeze."

It seems that the heavens have heard the call of Long Shiren's heart.

A short time later, after the trio had crossed a Little Xue slope, Long Shiren cheered, "The house! The house!!! We're saved!!!"

Xiao Lan looks ahead and sees a Little Mu house ahead.

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The house looked rough, without even a window and with several gaps in the walls, but it was a reliable shelter compared to this snowy plain.

In contrast to Long Shiren's excitement, Xiao Lan and Hua Yan just surveyed the sudden appearance of the wooden house.

They remembered that they weren't in a snowy survival zone, this was a dangerous playground and they had entered a room that was clearly faulty.

How to find the clues here is the most important question before them.

But ...... is by far the most unusual room in the place.

If you want to find a clue, you have to go in once no matter what.

Putting clues and traps together, even if players know there's a danger there, they have to step in them in order to pass the level, which is a real prank of Mr. Crow.

The three men entered the house anyway.

Although there are some draughts, this room is quite dry and a lot warmer than outside.

The house is somewhat sparsely furnished and there is a rough fireplace made of clay with some firewood sitting next to it, which looks like it could be heated directly.

Long Shiren saw the fireplace and volunteered to run straight over and take on the task of lighting it.

After shivering and studying for a while, he finally got the fire going.

"Whew ......" he breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling alive at last, and started nestling next to the fireplace pretending he was a roast chicken.

Xiao Lan surveys the interior, trying to find the slightest clue.

Suddenly, he felt a sensation of being spied on, but was unable to locate the source of the sight, which seemed to be coming from many places at once.

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In the next instant, the sight disappears.

He glanced at Hua Yan next to him.

Hua Yan's pretty brow furrows slightly as her eyes roam the room for a moment.

By the looks of it, she should have spotted the sighting too.

The three men move around the room individually.

Xiao Lan and Hua Yan each chose a different direction and searched for clues in a well.

Long Shiren seems to have become one with the fireplace, leaning so shakily against it that no mountain can separate them.

Xiao Lan and Hua Yan didn't expect this guy to contribute anything and let him go.

No one spoke inside for a while, only the sound of burning wood, accompanied by the wind and snow outside the house.

The snow and wind became bigger in this short period of time.

A bitterly cold breeze burst through the cracks in the cabin with a sharp whistle that not only brought a bone-chilling chill, but also caused the fire in the fireplace to shake, scaring Long Shiren into adding more firewood.

Even Xiao Lan felt a chill as it grew colder and colder around her.

How many degrees has this dropped to? Even advanced players' physiques can't hold up any longer.

Even a white frost had formed in the chalet.

The drop in temperature continues.

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"Hiss ...... how come it's still getting colder?" Long Shiren muttered.

He had pulled a ragged blanket from the side and wrapped himself up, his whole body already almost pressed against the fireplace, but still he kept shivering, obviously still feeling very cold.

Xiao Lan moved his arms and legs a little, and it was clear that the movements were a little stiff.

Hua Yan's fingertips are also starting to flush and her bare calves have red patches of frozen skin.

It's not a good idea to go on like this, maybe the three of us will really die of cold.

Long Shiren saw their movement and pointed to the unreadable blankets piled up next to them and said, "How about, how about you guys cover yourselves with a blanket, blanket ......"

Xiao Lan looks at Long Shiren, who is shivering under the blankets, and wonders about the insulation capacity of the pile.

And with this cold method, it's clear that it's not just warmth that will solve the problem; getting out of here early is the main thing.

Xiao Lan shook his head, "No."

Long Shiren advised, "Brother, don't be so handsome, you can't make a living."

Xiao Lan looked at him and then turned the [Emperor's New Clothes Version 2.0] he was wearing into a long winter coat with a fur collar right in front of Long Shiren's eyes.

Waterproof, windproof and anti-freezing, the style is simple and handsome, so you can say goodbye to autumn trousers, the best choice for men in winter.

...... is actually a copy of the one Luo bought for him, which Xiao Lan subconsciously reproduced.

Don't tell me, it's quite warm.

Long Shiren looked at Xiao Lan and then at his torn blanket.

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It's great to be tall! Handsome! High class players are great!

That ...... I call you a father do you dare to say yes?

He looked at Hua Yan, who was dressed in a little black dress: " Sister Hua Yan, use this on me, I've warmed it up for you."

This guy is a real man, even at this time of the year.

Hua Yan winked and curled her lips into a soft smile, "No."

With that she took out a cigarette with a thin filter from her storage space.

Hua Yan gulped the smoke, which began to weave around her as if under her control, and finally became a robe as light as smoke, with some esoteric patterns on it, obviously for more than just warmth.

At the moment Hua Yan looks even more flamboyantly beautiful in the smoke, like a queen.

Long Shiren: "......"

Only a ragged blanket, warmth all rely on shivering junior players really humble oh ......

He had to add some more wood to the fireplace.

The snow and wind were blowing harder and the humble Little Mu house was almost blown apart.

Xiao Lan continues to search for clues in this modest cottage.

There really isn't much here, the furniture is all old and dingy looking and there are no strange markings to be seen.

Suddenly, Xiao Lan crouched down to look at her feet.

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In the cracks of the floor he seemed to see something reflective, which was mixing with the dust and making him look less clearly.

Xiao Lan did not dare to use the Dalet's Bone for fear that it would be damaged if the fire did not catch.

He took out his long-lost [it was a dagger tainted with poison] and carefully reached into a crack in the floor and pulled out the reflective object.

It was a small, shiny fragment with a reflective front and a grey coating on the back that looked like - a mirror.

Why is there a mirror here?

Xiao Lan checked the vicinity again and did not find any other debris.

It was as if the place had been cleaned and this one small fragment had fallen unintentionally.

"Knock, knock, knock--"

At that moment, there was an abrupt knock on the door outside.

Who is it?

Who could have trudged all the way over to knock on the door in such a blizzard?

And they hadn't heard any footsteps at all; the knock had come out of nowhere.

Long Shiren shivered.

He scanned between the two senior players with his eyes, expecting one of them to come in with a flurry of action to settle the scene.

Seeing no movement from inside the house, the knocking became more intense, thumping as if trying to smash the door open straight away.

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Xiao Lan looks out through the gaps around the cabin.

The door is empty.

But now so many figures appeared on the snowy plains, figures who marched through the wind and snow, their movements stiff but with such a degree of wind and snow as if they were no hindrance.

Long Shiren panicked, "What is this, what is this-"

Hua Yan saw it too and propped one hand on her jaw, "Looks like we have a lot of guests."

As their words fell, the knocking on the door became more violent, and the dust that had accumulated on the door panel was shaken downwards.

The door panel creaked unbearably and seemed to be on the verge of failing to hold.

Long Shiren trembled again, "I... I... What are we going to do?"

Xiao Lan: "Fight or run."

Long Shiren: "......"

He also tried to persuade the two big men to be more serious.

To her surprise, Hua Yan pulled out a mirror and started fixing her curly hair, looking like she was obsessed with her beauty.

On the other side, Xiao Lan is also sitting leisurely in a chair in the corner of the room, playing with the dagger in his hand with a relaxed expression.

These two look just that, ready to welcome the guys outside in and have a party together.

Long Shiren was going crazy and had to get up and look around the house for clues himself.

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Not caring about the intimidation of the two big men, he rummaged through the house, tossing aside what he didn't need and filling the room with dust.

It seems to be the newcomers who always have unusual luck.

He lifted the carpet in front of the fireplace and was surprised to see a closed and concealed door underneath.

In his delight he roughly broke the lock on the concealed door, tossing the broken lock directly aside and unlocking it without incident.

Long Shiren looked up triumphantly, "The cul-de-sac! We can escape!"

Unexpectedly he met two pairs of eyes.

One pair is clear and one pair is flirtatious, yet both have the same indifference in them.

Long Shiren: "What's wrong with you guys at ......?"

Xiao Lan played with his dagger, deftly letting the blade weave around his fingertips, "Have you ever heard of a tiger for a tiger?"

Long Shiren stiffened: "What ...... are you talking about? Brother Xiao, Hua Yan sister, let's run, we'll be able to leave soon."

Hua Yan stopped fixing her hair, she turned the mirror around and said to Long Shiren in a slightly drunken smoky voice, "Don't rush, why don't you explain why you can't appear in the mirror first?"

Long Shiren followed her movements and looked into the mirror in her hand.

There was a fireplace, a rug, an open door in that exquisite dressing mirror but-

Without him.

Xiao Lan put away the dagger and stopped ogling Long Shiren through its smooth surface.

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He took out the pale, bony stick, "Have you read the book written by Raven? In his writing, even those who die from ghosts and monsters find it difficult to find peace, and often turn into ghosts that help the ghosts to hunt the living."

"You broke the original mirror in the house, didn't you? There's not even anything in here that reflects light, and you took care of that in advance, right?"

Long Shiren's face was full of anxiety as he waved his hands in a panic: "No, it's not like that, it's just the three of us here, this must be a ghostly trick, don't be fooled."

Hua Yan took out his cigarettes again, this time obviously different from the previous ones.

She exhaled a soft smoke ring with a hint of teasing in her tone, "You were the one who found the cabin, you were the one who guided us to the cabin, you were the one who lit the fireplace, and you were the one who found the secret passage."

" Mr. Long Ah, aren't you a little too good?"

Xiao Lan pressed closer towards him, "What's more, where are the three people here, it's clearly filled with people everywhere."

When he finished he reached out, pointing to the roof which looked empty.

Earlier he had examined the entire hut by the reflection of the dagger.

The ceiling is all covered with dense figures hanging upside down, their faces varying, but their eyes all a ghastly white.

Their mouths were tipped with oozing smiles as they just stared straight down.

As if some kind of truth had been revealed, the knocking at the door stopped.

The fierce snow and wind have quieted down.

A brief moment of peace fell over the room.

Long Shiren's face was ashen and he hung his head, "They made me do it ...... I didn't want to ......"

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He looked at Hua Yan with a pained expression, " Sister Hua Yan, I don't want to harm you ...... you believe me, this road is real, you guys go now, you won't be able to leave when those guys outside come too."

Xiao Lan glances outside the house.

By now the stiffs were so close to the hut that the sight of them was full of mobbed-up people.

Seemingly angered by the behaviour of Long Shiren, a traitor.

Outside, the figures were advancing at an abrupt pace, and there was a constant rustling on the ceiling of the cabin.

Seeing this, Long Shiren's eyes were desperate: "It's too late, it's too late ......"

No sooner had his words left his lips than the door to the cabin was kicked straight open with great force.

A group of desiccated, sunken-eyed, ragged people stare into their green and grey eyes, all with a hungry light in them.

This is clearly no longer a living person.

They rushed towards the men in the chamber.

Not even Long Shiren, a two-bit boy, was spared.

The attack began in a flash.

An icy hand came towards Xiao Lan's head, its fingertips glinting with a sharp, cold light, as if it wanted to lift his head right off the ground.

If you can't lift the top of the sky, you can give him a Mediterranean haircut.

How can a real man be Mediterranean!

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Xiao Lan dodged sideways and swung a backhanded stick up.

The deep purple flames of the Dalet instantly reduced the hand to ashes.

It seems these guys don't have a great defence, which is a welcome relief.

On the other side, Hua Yan exhales smoke gently from his mouth.

The smoke turned pink as soon as it entered the air and instantly spread out, filling the entire hut.

The look of hunger in the eyes of those who came into contact with the smoke instantly skyrocketed several times, and their eyes became even more fierce.

But bizarrely, their fierce eyes turned to each other and they tore into each other as if the other was a juicy steak.

This smoke appears to be an indiscriminate attack.

After Long Shiren made contact, his eyes became misty and he looked imploringly at Hua Yan and tried to overtake her.

Even if he is in the midst of a siege of ghosts and monsters.

Xiao Lan almost vomited at the look in his eyes when he accidentally glanced at it.

However, Xiao Lan was also exposed to the fumes and did not feel any change in herself.

Having discovered Xiao Lan's state, Hua Yan's tone was a little surprised: "Oh, actually, you don't respond to my mist of lust. In my mist, lust, food, money, love and hate ...... each have a different smell. The stronger the desire, the more maddening it will smell."

"And you ...... are interesting, don't you have any cravings?"

Xiao Lan thought about it in passing in between doing it.

What one longs for is probably - poverty.

What, is poverty unworthy of its flavour?

What is it like to be so poor that you are excluded from the realm of desire?