Chapter 54
Staring at it for a few seconds, the scalp-numb Shen Shuyu stiffly turned his head away, then suddenly stood up and walked into the house.
Got up too fast, got up too fast.
Why did I hallucinate seeing a snake magnified who knows how many times?
The hissing sound still echoed in his ears. Shen Shuyu slammed the door shut with a bang. The few sleeping people immediately sat up from their folding beds upon hearing the noise.
Chi Yanxun frowned, looking at Shen Shuyu’s pale face. He got up and walked immediately to Shen Shuyu’s side, reaching out to open the closed door while asking, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Shuyu gripped his wrist tightly, stopping him from opening the door. “There is… a snake.”
When he was little, the orphanage was built at the foot of a mountain, and various bugs were often seen in the house. Shen Shuyu wasn’t afraid of others, but he had always been afraid of cartilage creatures. In his first year there, he was bitten by a snake. Although it was non-venomous, it left a shadow on Shen Shuyu.
Not to mention the one outside, magnified who knows how many times. When he met its eyes outside just now, Shen Shuyu’s hair stood on end. He used unknown willpower not to scream.
Chi Yanxun looked down at Shen Shuyu gripping his wrist forcefully. Not only was his face pale, but his lips were also white. Thinking for a moment, he rarely softened his voice and said, “Nothing to be afraid of.”
The others also gathered around. Seeing his complexion wasn’t right, Lin Xuyi hurriedly took a candy from his bag and stuffed it into Shen Shuyu’s mouth.
The sweet taste of mint candy spread in Shen Shuyu’s mouth, soothing his tense nerves. He glanced at Lin Xuyi and whispered thanks.
Lin Xuyi waved his hand, signaling not to mind. He grabbed a handful of candies from his bag and stuffed them into Shen Shuyu’s pocket. “Eat some candy when scared; it helps. With excessive fright, people with good constitutions might recover after a while, but those with poor constitutions might end up in the hospital.”
Shen Shuyu pressed the candy under his tongue. He released the hand that had been tightly gripping Chi Yanxun and said, “The one outside, uh, is especially huge. Its eyes are like lanterns.”
Chi Yanxun thought for a moment, walked to the window, and looked out. There was nothing, nor did he see the snake with eyes as big as lanterns that Shen Shuyu mentioned.
“Didn’t see it,” Chi Yanxun said.
Shen Shuyu said “Ah” and added, “I really saw it…”
“Not saying you didn’t see it. I mean it might have hidden itself.” Chi Yanxun looked down at the clock. Shen Shuyu had actually guarded quietly for nearly three hours; it was now 2:00 AM.
Chi Yanxun was somewhat surprised, but now wasn’t the time to talk about this. He said, “We are inside the Safe House; it can’t come in. But we have to go out eventually; it’s a matter of sooner or later.”
Leaving now, they could use the night to hide, but the Zerg outside could too. Leaving during the day, in broad daylight, they would also have to watch out for other teams launching sneak attacks.
“Let’s go now,” He Mingyue said. “We can go to the next Safe House to rest.”
They were the leading team, so they naturally had more choices of Safe Houses than others.
Shen Shuyu nodded. “I agree.”
If he didn’t know there was a snake outside, it would be fine. But knowing it, resting tonight was impossible. Might as well leave and find the next resting spot.
Shen Xili said, “I also agree.”
He looked at the others. Wen Jiafei was already silently packing his things. Lin Xuyi stretched his waist. “Alright then, let’s go.”
Chi Yanxun had the same thought. He said, “Wen Jiafei, you continue carrying Shen Shuyu. We might need to pick up some speed later. Shen Shuyu is injured; it’s inconvenient.”
Wen Jiafei had no objection. He Mingyue and Shen Xili naturally went to pick up the luggage for the two of them. After spending two days together, some tacit understanding didn’t need words.
The group packed up and put on their gear at the fastest speed. Wen Jiafei squatted in front of Shen Shuyu. Shen Shuyu climbed on, suddenly thinking of something unknown, his body stiffening a lot.
Wen Jiafei lifted him up easily. Sensing his stiffness, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Shuyu felt his temples throbbing. He fished out two candies, stuffed one into his mouth. The sweetness suppressed his fear a bit. Coming back to his senses, he pressed the other one against Wen Jiafei’s lips. Wen Jiafei hesitated for a moment but still opened his mouth to hold the candy.
Shen Shuyu said, “Didn’t I say I fell because I stepped on something soft, but there was nothing when I looked?”
He didn’t specifically lower his volume when speaking. Hearing this, Lin Xuyi said in shock, “Could it be you stepped on it?”
Shen Shuyu looked at him and nodded. “There were also some traces on the window of that dilapidated house.”
He had almost forgotten about it, but his injured leg reminded him again.
Shen Xili said, “That house might be where it rests. It seems we disturbed it, so it came over.”
“This is troublesome,” He Mingyue said. “We’ve walked so far, yet it still followed us. Seems it’s very persistent. Everyone be careful.”
“He Mingyue and I will take the front. Xili and Lin Xuyi take the rear. Wen Jiafei carries Shen Shuyu in the middle.” Chi Yanxun thought for a moment. “Everyone try not to get separated. If separated, it’s hard to meet up.”
After all, the Survival War space was huge, and they had no way to contact each other. Once separated, it would probably take a long time to meet again.
“Better agree beforehand. If accidentally separated, wait at the next Safe House.” He Mingyue thought for a moment. “We can also make some marks.”
He took out a pen and sticky notes from his pocket. “Everyone write down your own mark. I’ll copy one for each person. This way, seeing the mark, we’ll know which teammate it is.”
This should have been agreed upon at the start, but they hadn’t been separated, so it wasn’t mentioned. But the giant snake outside tonight was coming aggressively; they had to make more comprehensive preparations.
The group finished writing quickly. He Mingyue walked to Wen Jiafei and Shen Shuyu. Shen Shuyu took the pen, thought for a moment, and wrote an ‘s’. After finishing, he habitually added a small dot next to the letter.
Wen Jiafei watched the whole process of his writing, finally staring at that small dot with a frown. He seemed to have seen this writing habit somewhere, but couldn’t recall where at the moment.
Soon, it was his turn. Wen Jiafei gathered his thoughts, cleared a space, and quickly wrote a mark.
He Mingyue quickly copied five copies, one for each person. When it was Wen Jiafei’s turn, He Mingyue thoughtfully put his copy into his pocket.
Chi Yanxun looked at his team members and said in a deep voice, “Ready?”
A new battle was about to begin!
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