Chapter 130: Black Patterns

Lü Yang and Liu Hui were the first to run back to the safe point at the bonfire. After that, Sun Haibo pulled Li Ping along, and they also ran back. Lü Yang and Liu Hui were in slightly better condition, but Sun Haibo and Li Ping’s clothes were completely torn from being grabbed. Li Ping’s face and body were covered in blood and wounds, and she looked quite horrifying.

Liu Hui’s stamina was indeed much better this time. It was unclear whether the Mysterious Domain had specially strengthened her in this setting. Of course, it was a good thing her stamina had improved so much. If she were still as weak as before, the task of escorting her would have been very difficult. Lü Yang might even have had no choice but to carry her on his back.

Lü Yang counted the number of people and noticed that Ji Zhen had not returned. Soon, from the darkness not far away, came Ji Zhen’s extremely desperate cries for help…

When Ji Zhen heard Lü Yang’s shout earlier and was running back toward the bonfire, he panicked and stumbled over something, falling to the ground with a thud. By the time he got up again, his companions had all run far away…

Countless Dark Pheasants completely surrounded Ji Zhen. They even pecked out both of his eyes, leaving him utterly disoriented.

Lü Yang gritted his teeth and risked rushing back. Soon, the direction from which Ji Zhen’s screams had come fell silent. In the beam of Lü Yang’s flashlight, swarms of crazed Dark Pheasants covered the sky and ground.

Upon seeing Lü Yang approach, the Dark Pheasants immediately screeched and charged toward him. Lü Yang had no choice but to use his lighter to ignite the firework at the tip of an Explosive Arrow. He nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring, and shot it toward the endless mass of pheasants that surged toward him like a dark cloud.

When the Explosive Arrow struck the pheasants, it burst into an intensely bright flash, instantly illuminating the night sky. A large number of pheasants vanished into dust in the glare. Using the light, Lü Yang quickly rushed to Ji Zhen, who was lying on the ground, and tried to pull him up. But… there was nothing left to pull… Ji Zhen… had already become a pile of shattered flesh and bones…

“Player Ji Zhen has died. Remaining players: three.” A cold, emotionless Electronic Voice sounded in the ears of the remaining survivors.

Liu Hui did not seem to be counted as a player.

The light from the Explosive Arrow lasted only a moment. After it faded, even more Dark Pheasants closed in from all directions. Lü Yang turned around and ran as fast as he could. Dozens of pecks from the Dark Pheasants struck his back and the back of his head before he narrowly made it back to the safety of the bonfire.

Seeing Lü Yang return alone, everyone’s hearts sank. They naturally understood that this meant Ji Zhen had met a terrible fate, though they had already learned this from the Electronic Voice.

The sadness they felt was not because they had any particular attachment to Ji Zhen, but because they feared the same fate could befall them. No one knew if they would be the next to die alone.

When Ji Zhen was alive, he probably never imagined that one day he would die under the beaks and claws of a flock of pheasants.

Countless pheasants tightly surrounded the group by the bonfire. Although they could not get closer, they refused to leave. One after another, they screeched madly at the people around the fire. This frenzy was as if they held some deep-seated hatred, and the sight sent chills down everyone’s spines.

Lü Yang tried walking to the edge of the bonfire with a flashlight, hoping to disperse the pheasants. But the faint beams of several flashlights, facing the seemingly endless and boundless flock of pheasants outside the bonfire’s glow, filled everyone with a sense of despair.

According to Lü Yang’s guess, the number of these pheasants was limitless and could never be fully eradicated. Even if they killed all the ones near the bonfire, even more Dark Pheasants would swarm out from the Black Mist.

This was a big problem. If things continued like this, how could they complete the escort task in the third level?

Staying by the bonfire was not an option. Based on Lü Yang’s observation, the bonfire would burn out before long. Its brightness had already weakened significantly compared to when they first arrived. Additionally, time was not on their side. If they didn’t reach the next safe point and complete the escort task for Liu Hui within the time limit, they would all die in this game, which meant being erased in the Real world.

“These pheasants are very afraid of the fire here. This bonfire is made of burning sticks. Maybe we can take them as torches and walk through the flock of pheasants,” Liu Hui suggested, looking at the fire in front of them.

“That’s a good idea. We can try it,” Lü Yang nodded. He realized he had been too agitated earlier and hadn’t thought of such a simple solution until Liu Hui pointed it out.

Lü Yang took a burning stick from the bonfire, held it in his hand, and cautiously walked toward the surrounding pheasants.

The fierce and menacing pheasants retreated in all directions when the torchlight fell on them. Compared to the Dark Kidnappers, their Black Fog Armor was very fragile, so they were even more afraid of light. The torchlight could easily disperse them, and it had a group-dispersal effect.

This dispersion only created a safe area with a diameter of about three meters around the torch. Though the red-eyed, crazed pheasants backed away to just over a meter from the players, they refused to leave. It was as if they were waiting for the torches to go out so they could tear the trapped humans to pieces.

Some of the more frantic pheasants even recklessly charged at the fire like moths to a flame. But at most, they could only get within half a meter of Lü Yang before turning to dust.

After testing the torch’s effectiveness, Lü Yang decided to take the risk and set out.

Moving forward offered a slim chance of survival. Staying here meant waiting for certain death.

“What if the torches burn out midway, and we haven’t reached the next safe point?” Li Ping, who had been healed by the firelight, anxiously asked Lü Yang.

“Then we must find a way to hurry and reach the next safe point before the torches go out,” Lü Yang could only reply to Li Ping like this.

“Damn! Why don’t we just set this whole mountain forest on fire? With such a big blaze, all those damn Dark Kidnappers and pheasants can go to hell!” Sun Haibo came up with an idea.

“That’s a good idea…” Lü Yang smiled. “But… I suspect that aside from the branches in this bonfire, nothing else can be ignited…”

After hearing Lü Yang’s words, Sun Haibo took a torch to a relatively withered tree and tried to light the dead branches and leaves on it… Just as Lü Yang had said, the tree’s branches and leaves simply could not be set on fire!

If one looked closely, the branches and leaves were covered in dense, fine black lines… Of course, in the darkness, the players couldn’t possibly notice these black patterns.

Li Ping also took a torch and went to Sun Haibo’s side to test it out. The result was exactly the same as Sun Haibo’s. Clearly, this Mysterious Domain, whether created by the Death Killer or not, had its own unique rules.

Seeing that the experiment matched his prediction, Lü Yang couldn’t help but sigh. Based on his speculation, not only could these branches and leaves not be ignited, but also—since this Mysterious Domain was modeled after his memories of Donkey Head Mountain—the area where they could move was surely limited to the route he and Liu Hui had taken before. Beyond that route lay the endless, menacing Black Mist.

Enter that Black Mist? Lü Yang felt that one experience in the Black Mist was enough. He didn’t want to experience that nightmarish feeling a second time. Moreover, in this Mysterious Domain, as soon as any Survivor approached the Black Mist, the Electronic warning sound would go off.

“Alright! Let’s go!”

Lü Yang called out to the group, then raised a torch and walked once more toward the flock of pheasants. Liu Hui quickly grabbed a torch and followed him. Sun Haibo and Li Ping then also picked up torches and came along. Sun Haibo stayed close behind Li Ping, as if trying to protect her safety.

Lü Yang led the way at the front, controlling the group’s pace. They couldn’t move too fast; if they did, the torch flames might dim, causing them to run headlong into the pheasants. But they also couldn’t move too slowly; if they did, the torches might go out before they reached the next safe point.

From the earlier tests by Sun Haibo and Li Ping, it was already confirmed that the sticks used for the bonfire torches were very special. Only they could produce this firelight; no other branches could replace them.

Lü Yang was in front, with Liu Hui behind him, then Li Ping, and finally Sun Haibo bringing up the rear. Once the group was in formation, they followed the route indicated on the map and moved as quickly as possible toward the next safe point.

…

To Lü Yang’s surprise, the endless, overwhelming flock of pheasants was actually restricted by the Mysterious Domain to a specific area!

Half an hour later, when the group followed the designated route and crossed the Donkey Drink Creek, just as the torches in their hands were about to go out, they finally left the territory of the Dark Pheasants. The Dark Pheasants all stayed on the opposite bank of Donkey Drink Creek. Though they continued to screech menacingly at the group, they no longer gave chase.

After confirming that the pheasants were no longer pursuing them, the highly tense group finally let out a long sigh of relief. Lü Yang also recognized from the surrounding environment that the four-person team had entered the forest where the Mute Old Man lived.

After entering this vast man-made forest area, they could find the courtyard of the Mute Old Man, the forest keeper, in the middle of the forest.

That place was the safe point at the end of the third level.

He hoped they could find some valuable ammunition supplies there. Otherwise, this task would be too difficult to complete.

According to the rules of the Mysterious Domain, however many enemies there were, corresponding weapons to eliminate those enemies should be placed in the areas accessible to the Survivors. So far, everything had gone relatively smoothly. At least Lü Yang had found enough weapons to bring everyone here safely, though not without scares.

Who knew how many unknown dangers still lay ahead of them…