38: The Road to Survival_1
“`
The first student to break couldn’t hold back any longer, unleashing a chain reaction of retching sounds that filled the air.
Fu Qian stood emotionlessly nearby, looking thoughtfully at the “pointing hand” on the ground.
“Last time, we encountered hair,”
Ji Liushuang whispered, approaching Fu Qian.
Just moments ago, she had only heaved a few times without actually vomiting, but now her complexion was still pale.
However, a beauty is still a beauty; even in such a state, she lost none of her charm and even seemed more pitifully adorable.
Fu Qian nodded.
“It’s very likely,”
he replied, knowing what Ji Liushuang was hinting at.
Hair, limbs—they were all parts of a human body.
In fact, Fu Qian had suspected from the beginning that these items were probably from a real human body.
Considering the ruins around them, it was clear that this place had existed for many years.
Even if this area was seldom visited, it was unlikely that no one had stumbled upon it for such a long time.
The characteristic of being able to enter but not to leave meant that the accumulations inside would only grow over time.
Yet, having entered the ruins for so long, they hadn’t encountered a single living creature.
While it could be explained that all who entered were trapped and perished, the absence of any corpses made it rather eerie.
The appearance of these two types of monsters inevitably led to wild speculations.
Ji Liushuang realized this, and felt that they might be related to people who had previously trespassed here.
Actually, Fu Qian had already guessed something similar when he first saw that clump of hair.
He remembered clearly, 1-003, the “Angel of Comfort’s” containment conditions were to “escape the crucible.”
The crucible undoubtedly referred to the ruins within the entire barrier, but this nickname was quite intriguing.
Like a crucible used in refining, except the subject wasn’t minerals, but the living beings that wandered in?
If this guess were true, it would explain some of the situations they had encountered so far.
In fact, Fu Qian had already arranged a method to verify his theory.
As he pondered with his head down, Fu Qian felt an unfriendly gaze directed at him.
Looking up, he saw that it was Yuan Xin, who had always been quite proactive, staring at him with a hint of hostility.
Ah!
It took Fu Qian half a second to understand the reason.
Even a blind man could see that Yuan Xin was very attentive to Ji Liushuang.
As two of the team’s main powerhouses, they had always communicated a lot, and many issues were nearly always decided by their discussion.
This time, Ji Liushuang suddenly speaking to him seemed to have made Yuan Xin feel slighted or neglected?
Especially since Fu Qian, originally a peripheral figure in the group, had just received an official Sixth Phase certification.
It was understandable that he might have such a look.
But understanding aside, Fu Qian had no interest in catering to the kind of hostility spurred by a mating season urge toward all “potential competitors.”
Being influenced by hormones was one thing, but an ambitious young man should learn to self-regulate, especially one who seemed older than Fu Qian himself.
Hence, Fu Qian had no intention of keeping his distance, and continued to converse with Ji Liushuang, undisturbed.
From a distance, Yuan Xin’s expression twisted gradually.
Meanwhile, sounds came from not too far away, and a group of people rushed over—it was the third team arriving.
“`
1, 2, 3, 4…
Fu Qian glanced over and saw that the team was still intact and seemed unharmed; they must have been lucky not to have encountered any attacks.
The person running at the front of the team was a long-haired young man who, at first glance, appeared extremely frail, as if a gust of wind might blow him over. However, his movements were agile as he wove through the rugged terrain effortlessly.
“Director Li!”
The newcomer halted and scanned the crowd. Upon spotting Li Weixuan, he promptly greeted him.
But Fu Qian was quick to notice that this person had obviously hesitated for a moment when he saw Ji Liushuang.
It looked like he was quite surprised to find Ji Liushuang here…
If he remembered correctly, the one who had sent the signal to the third team also used an Arrow Bell… Could he have misunderstood something?
Fu Qian seemed to have an idea of who had called upon the assassin.