Forest of the Dead: Lower River

[Hints so far:]

[One-eyed: Upper player: A woman among the 6 veteran players; Next player: The man with the scar on his hand]

[J: Upper player: A man who has a heart; Lower Player: Killing Machine]

[Caesar: Upper player: Black-haired rookie player; Lower player: The man who used to be wrapped in gauze]

[Arthur: Upper player: The little girl with red eyes; Lower Player: Male in the Big Three of the Upper Circle]

"Salad ......"

The icy river soaked through his clothes, and seemed to condense that chill on every inch of fabric.

"Tick. Tick. ”

The water droplets dripped down the corners of the clothes on the white stones, and the cloudy sun also had a bit of ultraviolet blindness, illuminating the waves on the surface of the water, covering the water stains that fell on the stones.

Arthur carried Caesar from the river step by step across the shallows and walked to the shore.

I happened to see a small cave by the river, on the side of a hillside, Arthur came to the cave along a small mountain road, looked up, and found that the cave was small, but it was quite dry, he put Caesar on a big stone first, turned to the bank of the river and cut some straw with a dagger, spread the dry straw next to the stone, and barely made a cushion for Caesar. Then he gathered some sticks, erected a crooked wooden rack, and spread it under the weeds as fuel to facilitate the fire.

Caesar sat silently on the straw pile, watching Arthur, who was also drenched in a hurry, the hair on his forehead pressed against his skin, and the cold droplets of water slid down his well-defined face and fell to the ground, and he was using a small stick to drill wood for fire, hoping to drill a little spark, and then ignite it on the weeds and make the small wooden frame burn.

"Tick ......"

Drops of water dripped down Caesar's sideburns and smashed against the dry straw beneath him, as if wetting the dry straw.

Arthur knelt on the ground, hunched over, holding the stick in both hands, rubbing it vigorously, the tip of the stick rubbing against another flat plank, and under the board were weeds, which was a common method of drilling wood for fire.

It's ironic, it's already the twenty-first world, but they still need to use the most primitive method to drill wood to make fire in an advanced three-dimensional virtual scene, like a primitive person.

Caesar watched with curiosity as Arthur drilled wood to make a fire, as if he had seen an orangutan in a zoo for the first time, and he was very interested.

Noticing Caesar's gaze on him, Arthur looked up at her.

“…… Feeling better? ”

"Huh?" Caesar didn't react for a moment, she had just been washed from upstream to downstream by the icy river, as if it had diluted her ability to think, she was now shivering a little cold, and her thoughts were a little out of rhythm.

"Stomach." Arthur coughed slightly embarrassed, "I heard...... Girls can't touch ice during the special period, you just soaked in such a cold river for so long, your body is ...... Are you okay? ”

It turned out that he remembered these things.

Caesar leaned over slightly and touched his lower abdomen.

Her fingertips were cold, her stomach seemed to be cold, the uncomfortable feeling was indeed worse than before, the pain was bursting, as if there was a lead ball falling in her stomach, which was uncomfortable.

Seeing that Caesar did not answer, Arthur raised his head and saw that Caesar's face was not very good.

Although she was originally white, but at the moment it was more like a bloodless face, although she had no external injuries, no blood loss, but under the influence of hormone secretion in the receptors, she has now become very afraid of cold, not to mention that she has washed such a long distance in cold water, her physical condition does not seem to be very good, curled up and sitting on the straw pile, completely lacking the courage to kill and make decisions on weekdays.

It's still hard.

Thinking so, Arthur quickened the movement of his hand, hoping to light the fire quickly.

Caesar clutched her stomach and shrunk as she watched Arthur drill wood for a fire, and for a moment she opened her mouth to call his name.

“…… Arthur. ”

"Huh?"

"Why did you save me?"

“…… You saved me through the mirror in the last game, I owe you once, and this time, I paid you back. ”

Although it saved her, her current physical condition is not much better.

Arthur sighed.

Caesar actually came to menstruation.

It's like the [Minghe System] has added an incredible weakness to an invincible iron man, as if it is deliberately trying to weaken her strength and weaken her monopoly position on the [Blood List].

But......

Arthur looked up at Caesar, and for the first time felt that her current appearance was a little pitiful, and finally had a hint of humanity.

Compared to the little girl who used to talk about killing people at every turn, she now looks closer to a normal human being.

With weakness, when he needs to be taken care of, he finally learns to be soft, although this may only be his subjective delusion.

(Forget it.) ）

(I must have been stupid by the river and my brain was flooded.) ）

Arthur sped up the speed of rubbing the stick, the tip of the stick rubbing against the plank, and it seemed that he could see white smoke coming out.

Encouraged, he adjusted his posture, lowered his head, and rubbed the stick hard.

In the dim cave, Caesar tilted his head, and then the light from outside the cave looked at Arthur, at his eyebrows, at the bridge of his nose, at the corners of his mouth slightly pursed.

(Sure enough, it's like Will.) ）

Caesar thought so, but feared that Arthur would be unhappy again, so he didn't dare to say it.

"Arthur."

"Huh?"

"Who's up and down your food chain?"

Arthur glanced at her, as if he was afraid of being heard, and said in a low voice: "My lower player is the [male of the Big Three in the Upper Circle]. ”

"Blackblade or Icarus?"

"I don't know, the hints they gave, one is explicit, the other is implicit."

"So, you're very clear about your top player."

As soon as Caesar's words fell, Arthur was shocked, he raised his head, and met Caesar's somewhat strange eyes, she tilted her head to look at him, her dark red eyes revealed incomprehensible deep meaning, and the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, indicating that all this was under her control.

Yes, he was familiar with her expression.

Every time she looked at her prey, it was like this.

Arthur's hand shook, and the flame that was about to be successfully ignited was extinguished.

A wisp of white smoke dissipated, and Arthur and Caesar looked down at the stick that had been drilled into the wood for fire, the tip of which had cooled a little.

“…… I'll go find another stick. Arthur said as he stood up and walked out of the cave.

"Are you afraid I'll kill you?" Caesar spoke coldly.

In a word.

Arthur paused, and stopped beside the large rock against which Caesar was leaning, and the two men talked with their backs to each other.

“…… It seems that Caesar's prompt for players at the bottom of your food chain is explicit. ”

"Well, [the man who used to be wrapped in gauze]." Caesar confessed.

The hint is obvious, it is pointed at Arthur.

Arthur bowed slightly.

Great, it seems that no one needs to play dumb riddles with anyone.

She's the hunter, he's the prey.

The predatory relationship is very obvious.

Arthur turned his head and looked at Caesar's thin shoulders: "So, little girl, are you going to kill me?" ”

“…… Not for the time being. ”

"Why?"

"Because I'm a little cold, can you make a fire for me? I won't. Caesar turned his head and looked at him impersonally.

So.

Don't you want to kill him because you can't make a fire?

…… It seems that he still has some use value.

Arthur sighed silently, and he returned to her side, crouched down, drew his dagger, and cut off the stick, sharpening the tip of the stick so that it could be better rubbed to make the fire.

Caesar pushed the little plank in front of him, and he sat down on the ground, arched his back, and continued to fight with the little stick.

"What is this doing?"

"Drill wood for fire."

"Why is this a fire?" Involving Caesar's blind spots, she looked at Arthur with more curiosity.

She is like a child who has never been to school, and many times she is ignorant of some scientific and cultural knowledge that human society will teach.

All of her cognition is based on the rules of the game of the [Minghe System].

This is the exact opposite of Colin.

"It's the principle of frictional heat generation." Arthur brought the stick close to Caesar so that she could see more clearly, "The stick rubs against the plank underneath, and heat will be generated, and when the friction heats up to a certain extent, it will produce sparks, and then it will ignite the haystack under the plank, and the fire will be successful." Your physical condition is a bit special now, you can't wear clothes soaked in cold water for a long time, now light a fire to warm up, you can also dry your clothes, and your body will be more comfortable after it is warm. ”

Arthur said, glancing at Caesar.

"Belly...... Are you okay? ”

"It's a little uncomfortable." Caesar answered truthfully.

"Wait, I'll be ready."

Arthur said, speeding up the movement of his hand, and the stick spun, the tip of which rubbed against the plank, and a little white smoke gradually appeared.

Caesar's eyes widened in surprise, and he saw that the smoke was getting thicker and thicker, and finally, in the smoke some small sparks could be seen jumping, and the tip of the stick finally led to the fire, Arthur imprinted the flame on the haystack, and the dry grass was ignited by the flame, and slowly burned, Caesar brought his hand a little closer to the flame, and felt the coldness of her fingertips subside a little, and the chill in her eyes seemed to be warmed by this fire.

"Arthur."

"Huh?"

"You're kind of useful."

“…… Now that it's useless, are you going to kill me? ”

Caesar is not big.

This made Arthur, who originally thought it was just a joke, suddenly nervous.

But then, Caesar opened his lips and said softly, "Thank you." ”

She blinked her round eyes and sat down by the fire, not speaking again, as if it weren't her.

Arthur rubbed the tip of his cold nose, and also looked at the jumping flames, I don't know why, my heart also warmed,

He got up and went outside the cave to find some more firewood, and divided the fire into two piles, so that the two of them could make a fire on either side of the big rock.

In order to reassure Caesar, he also made a point of asking her to choose the side closer to the inside of the cave so that she would not be discovered by a passing player.

"Caesar, you can take off your clothes and bake them on the fire, so that they will dry faster and your body will not be so cold. Don't worry, I'm with my back to you and won't peek. ”

Arthur took off his soaked shirt with his back against the big rock, he sneezed, wrung out the shirt, spread it on the big rock, and dried it with the help of the fire in front of him.

“…… Why should I worry? ”

Caesar's voice came from the other side of the big stone.

Arthur looked up and saw her shadow swaying in the cave.

He looked away gentlemanly.

"This ...... A girl's shame will mind a boy looking at her body. ”

"Why do you mind?"

"Uh...... After all, I haven't married yet, so I don't want to be looked at by men. Arthur scratched his hair, and could only explain it bluntly.

"Oh." Caesar nodded incomprehensibly.

She still doesn't know anything about human affairs, it can be said that no one has ever taught her this, without the guidance of her parents, without the company of friends, she doesn't even know anything about the normal feelings of human beings, she is like a wolf child who grew up in the primeval jungle, she is not familiar with the laws of the human world, she is not familiar with the ethics of the Gangchang, and she is not familiar with the feelings that normal human beings have, and it can even be said that her values, world view, and outlook on life are not sound, and someone needs to guide her and help her improve her personality.

Arthur thought so and didn't speak again.

He suddenly felt that the little girl was pitiful.

It can be regarded as being delayed for a lifetime by the [Minghe system].

But fortunately, her combat effectiveness is very strong, and she still has the strength to go out.

But even if she goes out, will she be able to survive in human society? Maybe you will also commit a crime because of your broken values, and you will be sent to the [Minghe System] again.

She's grown up here, she's used to it, and maybe it's the best place for her compared to the intricacies of the real world.

They sat in silence for a long time, as the minutes ticked by, and the baked laundry began to dry.

"Caesar." Arthur was the first to break the silence.

"Huh?"

"Have you ever thought about going out?"

"Nope."

"Just to find Will?"

"Hmm."

"Then ...... you now" Arthur hesitated, still not knowing how to continue.

Caesar, on the other hand, did not answer.

The conversation, all of a sudden, was overwhelmed by silence, and no one spoke.

Arthur didn't know what Caesar's silence meant, was it that she had never thought about what she was going to do when she found Will? Or does she not think of herself as Will right now?

Arthur sighed silently in his heart, looking at the flames jumping in front of him, but there was a gloom in his eyes that was difficult to dispel.

"Salad ......"

There was a rustling sound of clothes from behind the large rock, and Caesar seemed to be putting his dry clothes back on.

Arthur shook his clothes, patted off the dirt, and put them on.

The clothes can't be said to be completely dry, but they are not as wet and heavy as they used to be soaked in cold water, so they don't restrict movement and don't add to the burden of movement.

Just then, a third alarm sounded.

[The third alarm sounded—]

[Warning: Unidentified organisms will be present.] 】

Arthur and Caesar looked at each other, and their hearts couldn't help but tighten.

"I don't know what's going on now...... Arthur muttered as he looked out of the cave.

"Known food chains: One-Eye-J-I-Arthur-Blackblade or Icarus, just don't know where the other players are on the food chain." Caesar lowered his head and checked the magazine, the weapons provided by the [Minghe System] are very good, and they will not be damaged in an extremely harsh environment, even if they fell into the river just now, the pistol is not damaged, and there is no need to worry about the risk of exploding.

To a certain extent, the [Minghe system] is considerate to the extent that it is impressive.

Arthur stepped on two fires, and the cave was suddenly dark again.

At this time, they suddenly heard something not very harmonious.

It was as if something was breaking through the ground.

The voice came from the depths of the cave, little by little, more and more, closer and closer.

Arthur and Caesar each took a step back, back to back, surrounded by the voice.

Then they saw the soil at the edge of the cave suddenly shake, and then one hand burst out of the soil and stuck straight into the ground.

One hand, five hands, ten hands......

The hands were gray-black, with black nails, and gradually the nails scratched at the ground, and then one by one, monsters emerged from the ground and crawled out of the ground.

Caesar and Arthur's headsets sounded.

[Warning, warning]

[Hostile creatures appear in front of you]

[Creature Name: Mountain Ghost]

[Target location: 3 meters]

[Creature Level: A+]

The mountain ghosts besieged the city in a small circle, and surrounded Arthur and Caesar around the big rock.

Their skin was completely black, the flesh on their bodies had completely rotted, hanging on the eerie bones, some maggots had come out of the eye sockets and joints of the mountain ghosts, and fell to the ground, their bodies were still covered with dirt, with a strong fishy smell, their tattered clothes hung on their bodies, swaying with their swaying steps, they stretched out their arms and stretched out their hands to Caesar and Arthur, they longed for blood, they longed for raw meat, they longed for anything warm, they didn't want to continue to sleep on the cold ground, I don't want to continue to be with ants, snakes and insects, and I don't want to be corroded, smelly and rotten in the soil......

They are more like rotting corpses buried in mass graves for many years than zombies.

The face is not like the dead gray of zombies, but the color of mud.

Their faces don't have black veins like zombies, or their eyes have turned blood-red, their skin is completely shriveled, and their eyeballs are sunken under their sockets, revealing black holes.

"I see." Caesar snorted.

"What?" Arthur looked at Caesar in confusion.

Caesar raised the corners of his mouth strangely, and his eyes returned to their former brilliance: "The NPCs of this game were buried in the ground from the beginning, no wonder they didn't see a single NPC at the beginning. ”