Chapter 1673: Chapter 1674: Illusion and Reality
As soon as these words were spoken, you all immediately felt the earth around you loosen. Many hands emerged from the ground, followed by zombies crawling out from the earth. These zombies reeked of foul odors, some with broken limbs, others heavily corroded. Upon seeing them appear, all the women present turned extremely pale.
"Wh-why are there these disgusting things too!" Xu Mingjie, having a slightly stronger level of acceptance, forced back his urge to vomit and brought Deng Fang to your side.
You hurriedly said to Wei Yingyue, "Sister Wei, take care of Xiao Xiao and follow behind the chivalrous man. Deng Fang and Little Jie, follow the chivalrous man as well. Lao Du, you are in charge of protecting them. Everyone, remember, these things in front of us are no longer the illusions we encountered before. They are real now, and once caught, you can imagine the outcome yourselves."
Du Yanan asked you, "What are you doing?"
"I’ll cover the rear!" Saying this, you rushed towards a broken wooden cart nearby.
The number of zombies increased, and as they were about to surround you, the chivalrous man suddenly shouted, and with a dazzling flash from the long knife in his hand, he swung a semi-circular slash at the zombies in front of him!
"Charge out!"
The chivalrous man shouted, swinging his long knife like the wind, slashing down all the zombies approaching.
Wei Yingyue had already picked up Liang Xinyue in her arms. Though she seemed frail on the surface, her skills were no less than Du Yanan’s. Even while holding someone, she sprinted effortlessly, closely following the chivalrous man.
Although Deng Fang and Xu Mingjie were frightened, in the face of danger, they did their best to follow behind Wei Yingyue.
You picked up two wooden sticks from that broken cart, handing a long stick to Du Yanan and wielding the short one yourself, constantly striking at the zombies lunging at you.
Some zombies moved slowly, while others moved at normal human speed. Your primary task was to fend off those quick zombies.
However, the limited damage of a wooden stick made covering the rear highly perilous for you.
These zombies looked terrifying, and when they lunged, they tore and bit fiercely. Once caught, you believed you’d be torn apart within two seconds.
What frustrated you more in such a situation was that you couldn’t use your left hand. If you did, Du Yanan would recognize you.
"Damn it!"
You angrily clubbed a short zombie away, but just then, you heard Deng Fang’s startled cry behind you.
Turning your head, you saw Xu Mingjie and Du Yanan trapped by four zombies, while Deng Fang had fallen to the side. Judging from her movement, she was probably pushed away by Xu Mingjie. At this critical moment, Xu Mingjie still thought of saving his girlfriend, proving himself a rare good person, though it’s clear that being a good person isn’t easy right now.
"Hold on, Lao Du!"
Seeing more zombies rushing at Du Yanan and Xu Mingjie, you immediately dashed towards them. Just then, you heard the chivalrous man’s voice from your front left, "Catch!"
During the dash, out of the corner of your eye, you saw the chivalrous man toss a dagger towards you, the other knife from his waist.
Seeing the weapon rotating before you, you suddenly leaped high, grabbing the dagger in your right hand. With the blade whirling, the heads of the two zombies entangling Du Yanan flew off.
With the dagger in hand, you displayed skills no less than the chivalrous man’s, swiftly slicing the hands and feet or heads of a dozen zombies in the blink of an eye.
Though you weren’t skilled in the chivalrous man’s qigong and blade aura techniques, holding the dagger, even Du Yanan couldn’t see your blade movements clearly, just like a seasoned swordsman, moving fluidly and sharply.
"Xu Mingjie, you bastard!"
As you led Xu Mingjie and Du Yanan closer, Deng Fang, sitting on the ground, immediately threw herself into Xu Mingjie’s arms, pounding his chest while crying tears of joy.
"Go!"
You patted the shoulders of the two, and the group quickly followed the chivalrous man’s lead.
Blackwater Town wasn’t large, and the chivalrous man seemed very familiar with the surroundings. After escaping the horde, the pace of the group gradually slowed.
Unlike earlier, after running for so long in Netherworld Road, Evil Mongrel Ridge, and Golden Rooster Mountain without feeling any fatigue, now, after a burst of sprinting, fatigue was evident on all your faces. Xu Mingjie and Deng Fang, being students, leaned on each other, breathless.
After felling two stray zombies with two swift strikes, the chivalrous man turned to you all and said, "Blackwater Town is just the beginning. The road ahead will be increasingly dangerous, filled with various demons. Once caught, they’ll flay and cook you alive."
Hearing this, you all couldn’t help but swallow nervously. You asked the chivalrous man, "Hero, what exactly is our current situation? Why was everything we passed so far an illusion, and now it’s all real?"
The chivalrous man didn’t answer immediately, instead looking up to the sky. After a while, he spoke to you, "Since you are the first and last group that can reach here, my authority has been unlocked. You may ask three questions."
"We..." Xu Mingjie was about to speak but was hushed by Deng Fang. She said to Xu Mingjie, "Don’t rush, let Mu Yun ask."
Given there were only three questions, Deng Fang chose to trust you, knowing that without you, they would’ve perished earlier.
You exchanged glances with Du Yanan and Wei Yingyue, both women nodding in agreement.
Seeing this, you asked the chivalrous man, "First question, if caught by demons, do we die?"
"Yes! You will be freed and leave this world."
"What do you mean by leaving this world?"
"Is that your second question?" The chivalrous man asked.
You licked your dry lips and shook your head, "No."
"Then please, ask your second question."
"Tsk!" You clicked your tongue, then asked, "How can we leave this world?"
"There are two ways: First, follow me to the end of the road and kill the Demon God; second, get caught by a demon."
"There should be a third, which is suicide, right?" Wei Yingyue suddenly spoke.
Though the chivalrous man didn’t directly answer, he nodded.
"I understand." You smiled, nodding at Wei Yingyue, then asked the chivalrous man, "Since we entered this Ghost City, are we in a full virtual reality game?"
The chivalrous man was silent for a moment, then nodded, "If these are the three questions, yes."