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Chapter 67: Intelligence (1)
A single torch was all that’s left burning in the passage.
The flame flickered and swayed as if it would extinguish at any moment.
Even now, the noise of the two armored soldiers falling to the ground was still resonating in the passage. They wore heavy metal armors and full protection helmets. Their equipment was heavy, and the speed at which they fell on the ground was so quick that it was as if an invisible force had pulled them towards the ground. An incredibly loud and ear-piercing noise was generated when the heavy armor crashed against the soil and stone, resounding ceaselessly within the narrow and deathly still environment.
They did not know how the first three armored soldiers died. But Yue Qiang was staring dead eyed at the last two armored soldiers when they died, and still he couldn’t figure out the reason behind their deaths at all.
The last armored soldier who came in to notify them about the situation was especially eye-catching. One second he was reporting to them, and the next his eyes suddenly became flat and lifeless before he dropped directly on the ground and passed away. It was almost as if his HP were completely drained in an instant.
Yue Qiang dared say that if health bars could still be displayed, then the armored soldier’s full health bar must have turned gray dark in an instant!
If they had been attacked by some powerful, invincible enemy then it was at least a known factor. However, he could not find any signs of such an attack at all.
Right now, Yue Qiang was still relatively calm, but Ai Qian had already lost control of his composure.
Through the fire’s reflection, he could see that the trader’s face had turned ashen. His fingers were shaking uncontrollably in fear. Suddenly, Ai Qian ran beside a fallen armored soldier, raised his leg and kicked his body with everything he got. The soldier’s body did not move even a millimeter, but Ai Qian was grabbing his foot in abject pain and hopping all over the place like a rabbit.
This should’ve been an extremely comedic scene, but somehow Yue Qiang could not find it in himself to laugh.
“Relax, I haven’t gone crazy. I know very well what I’m doing.” After hopping around for a little, Ai Qian decided that he might as well sit on the ground and did just that. He continued to rub his sore foot, “I’m just so scared that I just had to use the pain to compose myself. Otherwise, I would scare myself to death before the real threat had even arrived.”
“I was thinking of living the rest of my life in hiding after this expedition, but I forgot that man often dies during their one last time.” Ai Qian sighed and said, “Alright, from the looks of it all three of us are going to die here, so we may as well beat around the bush no longer and speak the truth. Honestly, the speech of this world is really uncomfortable to use…”
“You.” Ai Qian pointed a finger at Yue Qiang and said, “I believe that there are a lot of things that you can’t recall just like me, don’t you? In other words, you are also an amnesiac, correct?”
Yue Qiang’s mind went blank. Was he trying to…
“And you.” Ai Qian then pointed a finger at Yin, “You should also be an amnesiac. All three of us are amnesiacs, am I right?”
Yue Qiang hesitated for a moment, unsure as to how he should answer him. The one who took control was Yin as she answered unhesitatingly, “That’s right. We are both amnesiacs.”
“That’s right, I knew it.” Ai QIan slapped his thighs before looking back towards Yue Qiang, saying, “Now that I think about it, it’s hilarious how both of us are talking in riddles and acting that night at Yue Village. We were obviously did not belong this world, and yet we kept pretending and spoke in the ancient language. You traded me Progress Points and you spoke about quests or something, and for some reason I actually didn’t catch on until sometime later and thought that you’re… I can tell you that I felt like an idiot back then. Maybe it was because I lost my memories?… Sigh, never mind. Now, let’s talk about you, my beautiful lady. It is way easier to determine if you’re an amnesiac. From the moment you took off your armor and helmet on the road, I already knew that you are definitely not of this world… After all, how can there be such a beautiful woman in this world?”
He spoke quickly and his logic was a little off, but Yue Qiang understood more or less what he was talking about.
Basically, Ai Qian guessed that both Yue Qiang and Yin were amnesiacs, and he narrated on how he came to that conclusion.
Ai Qian let out a long sigh of relief once he finished his words. It would appear that he had a hard time keeping these words inside his heart, and now that he had spoken them he was feeling much better.
“So, that’s basically it.” he said again, “There are no one else from this world here, so let’s exchange some information. If I die, I would at least like to die knowing than not, you know? What do you guys think?”
“C’mon, speak, you all. Don’t just let me speak to myself.” Ai Qian said loudly, “Do you know how scary it is that my voice is the only thing resounding in this kind of environment, and you guys are not talking?”
Yue Qiang had long had a feeling that everyone in this world who had the Memory Unlock Rate were modern people. However, this assumption wasn’t exactly foolproof. For example, Yue Qiang himself had an intact memory. For example, the scholar Hui Shi was a character that truly existed in ancient history, and let’s not forget that he was controlling his character through a mouse and keyboard, whereas Ai Qian and the others were completely teleported into the world itself, so on and so on.
If they were seated inside a comfortable environment with a table, a wine jar, and a plate of peanuts, then they could discuss this in leisure and sort out all the information.
But the current situation forbad them from doing so.
They had lost six out of nine men for some unfathomable reason, and their way out were cut off as well. Ai Qian had obviously given up on hope to choose to speak of such things in this dangerous situation.
But he was not Ai Qian. Yue Qiang’s thoughts were simple: Set aside all other problems until the hurdle was passed! It was just way too cowardly to give up before they even met the dungeon boss!
“We can talk about this once we get out of here.” Yue Qiang said, “What we need to do now is to one, think of a way to leave here alive, or two, grab the treasure, solve the mystery, and leave here alive!”
“Leave here alive? That’s impossible!” Ai Qian suddenly yelled, “Don’t you guys feel it? Every since I came down that ladder, my head is spinning and my entire body is screaming in discomfort. If I haven’t kicked that armor and hurt myself I might have fainted already!”
“I just wanted to earn some riches and live, but as it turns out I’m going to die here today.” he continued, “So just take a seat and let’s talk about things. Let us know everything there is to know before the darkness devours us completely and kill us.”
Ai Qian looked like he had completely given up. He didn’t even think to consider how the armored soldiers were killed. He was simply sitting there while rubbing his foot with one hand and massaging his temples with the other.
At the side, Yin hadn’t said anything every since she said, ‘We are both amnesiacs’. She went closer to a body and pushed it gently. Then she cocked her head and appeared to be in deep thought.
Suddenly, she spoke, “We are not going to die. Let us go on.”
Both Yue Qiang and Ai Qian looked towards her at once. The fact that she would say such a thing in such a bizarre situation could only be described as strange. While Ai Qian was looking at the beautiful girl with some measure of disdain, Yue Qiang actually half believed her words. After all, Yin’s powerful observation skills left him a strong impression, and it might just be that she had noticed certain details and discovered the true cause behind the armored soldiers’ deaths.
“Their deaths are not worthy.” Yin said calmly before walking beside Ai Qian and taking the torch from him. Then, she continued deeper into the passage and said, “It’s fine now. Let us continue.”
“Hey, woman.” Ai Qian shouted at her from the back, “There are two bodies beside your feet right now, and three more not far ahead of you. I’m not taking a step forwards if you don’t tell me what’s going on!”
“I can do that. But can you follow my words?” Yin turned around and choked him indifferently with words.
“Tell us.” Yue Qiang also typed.
Seeing Yue Qiang’s response, Yin nodded slightly and walked up to a body. She said, “First, we will assume that all these occurrences can be explained logically. This will be the foundation of what I’m going to speak later.”
