During Chang Long's unhurried journey, nightfall arrived before she could reach Longshan Mountain. Together with the Miracle Docter Zhang Yijie, she found a suitable spot to set up camp. As they sat chatting around the campfire, a player suddenly dashed past at high speed. The figure was moving so quickly that Chang Long saw only a fleeting shadow. Shortly after, a group of five or six players appeared, chasing after him. The group halted, noticing Chang Long and Zhang Yijie.
"Hey, you!"
One of them called out. The players, dressed in black ninja-style outfits, wielded katana swords like samurai. They surrounded Chang Long and Zhang Yijie, keeping a respectful distance due to the imposing presence of Tai Yang, the massive tiger, who had risen to a defensive stance.
"What do you want?"
Chang Long asked indifferently.
"Did you see a suspicious male player run through here?"
The sa player demanded with a commanding tone.
"I did,"
Chang Long replied. The group seed satisfied with her response and pressed on, their authoritative tone unyielding.
"Which way did he go?"
Instead of answering, Chang Long simply pointed toward the man who had asked the question, leaving him montarily confused. Realizing she was toying with them, his patience snapped.
"Don't ss with us. Tell us where he went, now!"
"I'm not ssing with you. You asked if I saw a suspicious male player pass by. Well, you are suspicious male players. No matter how I think about it, I don't know any of you."
Chang Long replied in an icy, calm tone. The group seed taken aback, but their leader quickly regained his composure and tried again.
"Let rephrase. Did you see a suspicious male player, other than us, co this way?"
He questioned calmly, knowing that back-and-forth bicker could ruin their plans.
"Uh-huh... Now that's a better question,"
Chang Long nodded approvingly, though she still refused to answer.
"Well... Answer already!"
The man shook his head in frustration.
"Boss, I think this one's playing us. She keeps dodging the question. For all we know, they could be hiding the guy we're after,"
one of the players lurking in the shadows behind the negotiator remarked. The one called boss seed to agree, his eyes darkening as he turned back to Chang Long. His voice was now icy and threatening.
"Is that true? Are you hiding him? If so, I suggest you hand him over imdiately. Otherwise, don't bla us for what happens next!"
His threat had the opposite effect on Chang Long. She stood up and walked straight toward the player in ninja outfit. Her voice soft as a whisper.
"And if I really am hiding him? What will you do about it?"
A faint smirk appeared on Chang Long's lips, provoking the male player beyond his limit. He clenched his teeth and leapt backward into the shadows, where his subordinates also waited.
"You're asking for it... Fine. If you're so eager to die, we'll oblige. Kill them all. We'll look for that guy afterward!"
The leader barked the order sharply. His team began moving at high speed, forming a circle around Chang Long's group. Their rapid motion created the illusion of shadowy figures racing in circles.
"That girl must be crazy. Why provoke him like that instead of answering calmly?"
A male player watching from a nearby hiding spot shook his head in exasperation at Chang Long's actions. Despite his words, he silently felt grateful to her. He was injured and had no strength left to take on the group himself. He needed ti to recover before dealing with his own matters. Still, he did not know whether Chang Long and her companions could hold out long enough for him to intervene. For now, all he could do was focus on recovering and pray that they survived until he could join the fray.
"Brother Jie, do we have plenty of those mushrooms?"
Chang Long asked Zhang Yijie calmly.
"Huh? Oh, I've got loads of them. Why do you ask?"
The docter turned to her, puzzled.
"Let's test them out. Those ninja wannabes didn't even bother covering their faces. The spores should be enough, don't you think?"
Chang Long giggled, and Zhang Yijie grinned, imdiately grasping her intent.
"In that case, we'll need to cover our mouths and noses first. Otherwise, we might end up zombies ourselves,"
Zhang Yijie advised. Chang Long and Zhang Yijie quickly covered their faces and those of their pets with cloths. Zhang Yijie then flung a sack filled with poisonous mushrooms at the surrounding players. Black spores burst into the air, spreading rapidly.
"Whoa, what the hell is this stuff!"
The surrounding players shouted in alarm. So began coughing violently, while others collapsed to the ground.
"Chang Long, why are you turning these adventurers into zombies? Isn't that going to make them harder to deal with? Zombies might be slow, but their strength increases dramatically,"
Zhang Yijie questioned, baffled.
"Oh... Why didn't you tell that sooner? But still, it's better to kill them while they're zombified than in their normal state. That way, the system won't flag it. Besides, they can't file complaints—unless they hire an Assassin Guild to co after ,"
Chang Long remarked, slightly surprised by the revelation about the zombies' strength. Even so, she felt it was not a bad trade-off. At least she would gain experience points from killing them.
The mysterious male player hiding nearby was stunned by the spectacle. The six ninja players surrounding Chang Long were now sprawled on the ground for no apparent reason. Monts later, they began rising, moving in unnatural ways, like corpses brought to life.
"Players under the zombie status attack indiscriminately. Players who kill zombie players have a chance to obtain their belongings and randomly gain experience points from them."
The system announcent broadcasted this notification to all players within a one-kiloter radius of the zombie players. Chang Long was already prepared for the consequences, so the announcent did not faze her. However, the mysterious male player hiding nearby was utterly bewildered and alard when he heard it. What appeared before him was the group of ninja players who had been pursuing him. Their skin had turned cold and gray, their eyes empty and unfocused. They staggered forward like drunken n yet moved with a strange steadiness. Suddenly, they leapt at Chang Long, Zhang Yijie, and their pets from every direction.
The air was filled with guttural cries from the zombie players as they charged into the sharp edge of the Sovereign Sword. Black blood gushed from their wounds as they fell, only to rise again almost instantly and attack once more. This ti, both Zhang Yijie and the pets joined the fray. The mysterious player watched the battle with fascination, particularly captivated by the man in white martial artist attire who used needles as a weapon. Zhang Yijie targeted key points on the zombies' bodies and halted their movents. anwhile, the massive tiger lashed out precisely with deadly claws, drawing blood with every strike. Another creature caught his eye—a two-tailed fox, which was now spewing golden flas, blocking the advancing attacks of the zombie players. Then, Chang Long decisively stepped in to finish them off.
By the ti the mysterious player had fully restored his strength, he darted forward to join the fight. His movents were lightning-fast, and in an instant, he managed to wound several zombie players, though not fatally.
"You?"
Chang Long raised an eyebrow at the newcor in suspicion. Initially, she thought he might be one of the ninja players due to his black outfit. But upon closer inspection, his attire was not the sa as theirs.
The mysterious player simply nodded at Chang Long, signaling he was on her side, and resud attacking the zombie players. Seeing this, Chang Long redirected her focus to the fight as well. After a relentless and continuing battle, the campsite area bore the scars of combat, with deep footprints pressed into the ground. Every zombie player had been defeated. Chang Long and Kitsune earned a significant amount of experience points—several tis more than they would from beasts of a similar level. However, the loot left behind was disappointing, so much so that Chang Long did not bother picking it up. Instead, she turned her attention to the mysterious player who had unexpectedly joined the fight.
"Hey,"
she greeted him as he stood silently.
"Thanks,"
the mysterious player replied, leaving Chang Long puzzled with a frown. Should she not be the one saying that? Why was this player thanking her instead?
"They were hunting . Thanks for not telling them which way I went. I was injured at the ti—if you'd told them, I'd probably be dead by now,"
the male player explained when he noticed Chang Long's confused expression.
Chang Long observed that he appeared older than her, with the look of a working adult despite his youthful deanor. There was sothing oddly familiar about his face, but she refrained from asking, worried it might co off as impolite. Besides, she did not know him personally. Even after talking for so long, she still had not learned his na.
"Uh... I didn't really an to help. Those guys were just annoying, so I decided to provoke them a little, that's all. You don't need to thank ,"
Chang Long replied honestly. However, it seed the man had already decided he owed her a debt of gratitude.
"Would you mind if I asked your na? Just in case we et again, I'd like to repay you—I'm Thankhun,"
he said earnestly.
"There's no need to be thankful. I told you, I didn't intend to help,"
Chang Long replied, flustered.
"I ant, my na is Thankhun (Gratitude),"
the man said, looking slightly awkward.
"Oh… I'm Chang Long. Nice to et you,"
she said, feeling humiliated for the first ti. His deanor made her feel like she had been a complete dim-witted. Though, maybe she was just overthinking it.
"Chang Long, next ti we et, I'll be sure to repay you my gratitude..."
He said before disappearing into the dark of night, leaving Chang Long standing there, mouth slightly agape.
So, the player nad Thankhun really intended to repay her in gratitude in the future? And if they never t again, would that debt remain unpaid? Still puzzled, Chang Long let the matter drift away with the gentle night breeze. She turned back to her tent to rest; she had had enough exercise for the day.
.....
At dawn, Siegfried resud his journey. The night before, he had traveled until late and pitched camp only to rest briefly. Now, his sole goal was to catch up with Chang Long near the Longshan Mountain trail. His mind was light, filled with happiness at the thought that it would not be long before he saw the woman he loved. With his level and recently improved speed skills, he made good progress on his journey. On the way, Siegfried ca across traces of a battle. The marks were not too severe, suggesting that so ti had passed. This reassured him, and he pressed on, eager to close the distance. To his delight, he found Chang Long sooner than he expected.
"Chang Long!"
he called out, recognizing her even from behind. Chang Long stopped in her tracks and turned around, clearly surprised—and overjoyed—to see him sooner than she had anticipated.
"Oh, if I'm not mistaken, you must be Siegfried,"
the Miracle Docter Zhang Yijie greeted him. He still vividly rembered how concerned Siegfried was for Chang Long during the mission to find the human ginseng he had requested in exchange for curing Chang Long, whose body had been reverted to that of a three-year-old after exposure to toxic mushrooms.
"Yes, hello, Brother Jie, Tai Yang, Kitsune,"
Siegfried greeted everyone, including the pets. Then he turned to look at Chang Long, who stood there smiling warmly at him. The more he looked, the more she reminded him of Chang, or Chayarin, a fellow university student who had beenprovoking him since the first day they t. But he quickly brushed the thought aside and returned Chang Long's smile with a gentle one of his own.
"You're quick,"
Chang Long teased. Siegfried just smiled and nodded but said nothing. They continued their journey together, reaching the Longshan Mountain trailhead by 10 AM Without delay, they began ascending the mountain. Zhang Yijie and Tai Yang led the way toward Dragon's Maw Valley. The other paths on Longshan Mountain were navigable without much risk of getting lost. However, reaching Miracle Docter's residence required a specific thod to avoid losing one's way: traveling at precisely the right ti. Otherwise, the route would shift, making it impossible to find his dwelling (without Tai Yang's guidance).
Finally, Chang Long's group arrived at what appeared to be the edge of a massive chasm. A staircase carved from stone descended into the depths below. A large stone sign clearly marked the location: "Dragon's Maw Valley." Curious, Chang Long peeked down. The path below was lined with jagged stalagmites, their sharp, towering forms reminiscent of fangs. Upon closer inspection, however, it did not really resemble a dragon's mouth at all.
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