Chapter 34
Shen Shuyu’s mood was incredibly complicated. His gaze rested on Wen Jiafei, who was currently communicating with He Mingyue. Every time he felt like there was hope for his survival, the System would always deal him a heavy blow.
Shen Shuyu sighed. He unzipped his bag, took out a few more pieces of bread, and sidled up to Chi Yanxun. What else could he do? To survive in this world, he had to curry favor with Wen Jiafei, but he also had to follow the plot.
Clutching the bread, he dawdled over to Chi Yanxun’s side. He had observed while eating with Wen Jiafei earlier that the others were likely waiting for the supplies at the Safe House. It made sense; probably no one else would enter the battlefield carrying bags big and small like Shen Shuyu, looking as if he were here on vacation.
Shen Shuyu distributed bread to He Mingyue and Lin Xuyi. Both thanked him. He squeezed the two remaining loaves in his hand and glanced at Shen Xili, who was leaning against a rock. His eyes were closed, and he looked listless. Who would have thought the Red Ant’s toxin was so potent? It was such a small creature, yet its bite was devastating.
Shen Shuyu tossed a piece of bread at him. It traced a parabola in the air before landing steadily in his lap.
Chi Yanxun was right next to Shen Xili. Hearing the noise, he turned just in time to see Shen Shuyu looking at Shen Xili fiercely, while Shen Xili held the same bread that was in Shen Shuyu’s hand.
Seeing Chi Yanxun open his eyes, Shen Shuyu’s face changed instantly. He walked up to Chi Yanxun with a beaming smile in two or three steps. “Brother Yanxun, have some bread.”
He stuffed the bread into Chi Yanxun’s hand. “I still have water over there. Do you need some?”
He didn’t believe Chi Yanxun would have the nerve to criticize him after eating his food.
Sure enough, seeing that the other three all had bread, Chi Yanxun’s expression softened slightly. He glanced at Wen Jiafei. “Isn’t he eating?”
“I already ate with him.” Shen Shuyu deliberately put on a sad and aggrieved expression. “Brother Yanxun, I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t know propriety.”
Chi Yanxun’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Thank you for the bread.”
Shen Shuyu’s expression instantly brightened, and he nodded. “You’re welcome! I have more. Brother Yanxun, I can give them all to you.”
Chi Yanxun turned his head away and tore open the bread packaging. He didn’t eat it himself but placed the opened bread into Shen Xili’s hand.
Shen Xili currently had no strength in his body. Let alone tearing open a package, even lifting his hand was a struggle.
Lin Xuyi noticed his condition and checked him again, saying solemnly, “Why does it feel like it’s getting worse?”
Shen Xili said weakly, “I’m fine, don’t worry. I just have no strength.”
Actually, ever since Chi Yanxun started carrying him, he had felt his stamina draining away.
Chi Yanxun glanced at the watch on his wrist. They had been in the Misty Forest for three hours. It seemed they needed to get to the Safe House to get the antidote as soon as possible.
Shen Xili looked at the bread in his hand and lap, then looked at Chi Yanxun. “You eat.” He couldn’t eat anything right now.
Moreover, Chi Yanxun had carried him for at least an hour. Eating more would help him recover his stamina quickly.
Chi Yanxun frowned. He only took back the one he had just opened, finished it in two or three bites, and stuffed Shen Xili’s bread into his bag. In this place, food was extremely important.
Shen Shuyu watched the Protagonist Gong and Shou interact. Chi Yanxun was indeed a good captain—decisive and protective of his teammates. He looked hard to get along with on the surface, but he was actually quite soft-hearted inside. His attitude toward the original host proved that.
Although the original host constantly annoyed him, he was at most impatient. Shen Shuyu had read novels where the protagonists were ruthless; if a cannon fodder was an eyesore, they would be disposed of in seconds.
If Chi Yanxun were harder-hearted, he could have easily knocked the original host out of the competition without anyone knowing, but every time, he only told him to stay away.
He was actually quite a good match for the original host… no, wait. Shen Xili needed this kind of bold yet sensitive personality. He remembered that in the later stages, Shen Xili lacked security, and adding the pressure of an AA (Alpha-Alpha) relationship made it worse. But Chi Yanxun built a very warm home for him to give him peace of mind.
Perhaps Shen Shuyu’s gaze was too intense. Shen Xili, who had closed his eyes, suddenly opened them again and met Shen Shuyu’s gaze. Shen Shuyu froze for a moment, then immediately said indignantly, “Tch! What are you pretending for?”
Then, aggressively, he went back to sit under the tree where he had been resting.
However, he had only dozed off for a moment when the System in his mind suddenly spoke up: [Master, in ten seconds, the Mutant Red Ant will crawl out from the tree behind you.]
“Shit!” Shen Shuyu scrambled to his feet. Before running, he didn’t forget to grab both his and Wen Jiafei’s bags. He sprinted toward Chi Yanxun’s group, shouting, “The Red Ant is here!”
As soon as his voice fell, the Red Ant revealed itself on the tree.
Shen Shuyu couldn’t help but look back and almost fainted. Although it was called a Mutant Red Ant, did it have to mutate like this?
The ant’s body looked to be two meters long, red to the point of blackness. Its legs were thicker than Shen Shuyu’s body, and its two eyes stared dead at the moving Shen Shuyu, though its crawling speed was somewhat slow.
Wen Jiafei was the quickest to react. He pulled out the gun issued by the organizers and fired two shots at the Red Ant. Bang bang!
A large patch of blue paint hit the Red Ant, enraging it. It immediately gave up chasing Shen Shuyu and went for Wen Jiafei instead. Wen Jiafei shouted, “You guys go first, I’ll distract it.”
Before reaching the Safe House, they only had the initial guns issued by the organizers. These guns shot paint, useful for calculating points when eliminating others, but useless for solving Zerg threats.
Chi Yanxun and He Mingyue exchanged a glance. Chi Yanxun said quickly, “You carry Shen Xili and take the two of them away quickly. I’ll go help Wen Jiafei.”
He Mingyue said “Okay” and deftly hoisted Shen Xili onto his back. The task of carrying the bags naturally fell to Shen Shuyu and Lin Xuyi. Just as they picked up the bags, they saw Wen Jiafei being flung aside by the Red Ant’s leg. His back slammed hard against a tree trunk, and he didn’t get up for a long time.
He Mingyue naturally saw it too. He thought for a moment and said, “Hurry, I’ll take you a bit further away to hide.”
Shen Xili struggled to turn his head and looked. “Hide behind the rocks. You go help them. Send us away, or you’ll be too late returning.”
Although the Red Ant wouldn’t take their lives, getting injured was real. And if they accidentally got eliminated by the Red Ant, losing two team members in the first level would be incredibly costly.
He Mingyue hummed in agreement. He quickly placed Shen Xili behind a rock. Although Lin Xuyi was also an Alpha, he spent all year immersed in medicine and had low combat power. Shen Xili was injured and couldn’t help, and Shen Shuyu… well, an Omega going out there was just feeding the enemy.
The three squeezed behind the rock. Fortunately, the rock was large enough to cover their bodies. As long as the other three lured the Red Ant away, they would be safe.
Shen Xili couldn’t help but let out a painful groan. His entire face was twisted. Lin Xuyi asked in surprise, “What’s wrong with your neck?”
Shen Shuyu looked over. The veins on Shen Xili’s neck were bulging, and something seemed to be wriggling inside. It looked exceptionally scalp-numbing.
Shen Shuyu shouted to the System in his mind: [What is happening to Shen Xili?]
He hadn’t seen this plot in the original novel!
The System said: [That Red Ant burrowed into his body. It won’t kill him, but it will drain his stamina. The faster the stamina drains, the more pain he feels. He’s essentially a cripple right now. The antidote is in the Safe House. He will return to normal half an hour after taking it. You can see the Safe House once you walk out of the forest.]
Shen Shuyu looked down. Shen Xili was clenching his back teeth in pain, his hands balled into tight fists, desperately suppressing the agony.
Lin Xuyi touched his forehead, only to feel a handful of sweat. He rummaged through his bag, trying to find painkillers, but ordinary painkillers were useless here.
The faster the stamina drains, the more pain he feels?
Shen Shuyu thought for a moment, then quickly rummaged through his own bag. He took out a tube of nutrient solution, snapped the cap open, and gripped Shen Xili’s jaw tightly with one hand. He said calmly, “Shen Xili, open your mouth.”
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