CH 20

Lou Fan took the pastry from the little Taoist priest. This pastry is really hard, it’s the type that you can use to hit people. Lou Fan studied it for a while and didn't know if the pastry is a good item. He didn't know if he could exchange it for points when he brought it back to Lazuli. Lou Fan proceed to sit down on the ground. He stuffed the pastry into his bag, adhering to his principle of not letting go of any benefits. Then, he took a piece of bread out and handed it to the little Taoist priest. This is the first step to building a good relationship with the NPC.

The little Taoist took the bread calmly, tore open the packaging, and started stuffing it in his mouth.

"You eating here alone, where do you get the food?" Lou Fan asked. It doesn’t look like the kitchen has been used at all.

Due to eating too fast, the little Taoist choked on the bread. Lou Fan quickly took out a bottle of water, unscrewed it, and handed it to him, "Hurry up and take a sip. Eat slowly, no one will grab it from you. I still have some more if it is not enough."

The little Taoist who Lou Fan initially thought couldn’t speak surprisingly spoke but after swallowing the food, "The villagers… send… it."

He spoke in a jerky manner as if he hadn't spoken in a long, long time.

Lou Fan thought of that pastry and wondered how often the villagers deliver the food. And would it be just that kind of hard pastry every time? He suddenly choked in his heart and touched the head of the little Taoist priest. Even if Lou Fan knows that this is a parallel world, which may not even be the real world or just a simulation, but no matter where, there are always such pitiful children, and he feels suffocating in his heart.

"Where are your parents?"

Sun Hai shook his head.

Lou Fan sighed. Then, he thought of the fact that he is also unable to take care of himself in this world, how could he spare time to pity others? He tentatively asked, "Sun Hai, have you heard of Shenzhou?"

Sun Hai looked at Lou Fan with wide eyes open, with a look of ignorance.

Lou Fan helplessly touched Sun Hai’s head and asked, "Do you want more bread?"

Sun Hai hesitated and nodded.

The sky is getting dark, and today the team is going to stay in the temple. The wing rooms in the temple are old and unlivable, but the temple hall is brightly lit and seemed more comfortable. The Black Scorpion team is staying in the front hall, while Lou Fan’s team is in the main hall.

As soon as night falls, Sun Hai went to close all the doors of the hall, and Lou Fan helped him to close it.

"Big brother, don't go out at night..." Sun Hai said seriously to Lou Fan.

Lou Fan suddenly had a bad feeling about this and quickly informed the others.

Hearing that, Wen Lang is quite envious, "Lou Fan, you are lucky. Why did always you get the goodwill of the NPCs?"

"I treat people well and never lie." Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang with a smile.

Wen Lang touched his nose. It seems that the lie on their first meeting would not be easily forgotten. He shouldn't be impulsive and do such a thing in the first place. Also, if he does, he should have picked the right person. Of all people, how could he do that to these bigshots?

Zhang Xue chuckled. She got along well with everyone these past 2 days, and the interactions made her relax a little bit.

The night is quiet, but before long, there is a rustling sound from outside the hall. After a while, it seemed like a large creature is moving, making a heavy dragging sound. No one knows what monster is outside. All 5 of them are awake, holding their weapons vigilantly and staring at the door closely, for fear that something would break in the next moment.

Lou Fan glanced at the little Taoist who is sleeping deeply and felt that if they didn't open the door, there might be no danger at all. No one knows how long it took but Lou Fan is already sleepy when he is suddenly awakened by a terrible cry. Lou Fan quickly looked around and found that everyone is there, with Qin Tan by his side. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Chen Shuyang rubbed his eyes, "It seems to be at the Black Scorpion’s side."

Qin Tan patted Lou Fan and said to the other 3 members who woke up, "Leave them alone and go to sleep."

Lou Fan closed his eyes again obediently and tilted his head against Qin Tan. He smiled at the corners of his mouth and fell asleep contentedly.

…

Waking up early in the morning, the sun is still shining brightly. Except for the blackened blood on the front hall floor to show that someone had encountered an accident last night, everything else is the same as yesterday. It's already the 4th day, and everyone is a little anxious. Shenzhou has not been found yet, but time is waiting for no one. Lou Fan and Qin Tan decided to go to the mountain lake first to test whether the small pearls are useful.

Lou Fan took out the ‘little pearl’ from his bag, which he casually named, and handed it to the other 3 people. Wen Lang had guessed that they must have found something in the head of the fish monster, but he didn't expect it to be this thing.

"Qin Tan and I guessed that this little pearl might be able to let us breathe underwater. Of course, it's just a guess. Today, we planned to test it, although we don’t know about Shenzhou’s position yet." Lou Fan said and looked at everyone, "I don't know who is good at swimming, would you like to try?"

Chen Shuyang shook his head, "I can't swim."

Zhang Xue also pursed her lips, "I haven't learned to swim properly yet."

Wen Lang stretched his body and said, "Then, let me do it. I grew up by the river and am a good swimmer."

Qin Tan made a decision, "Alright then, we’ll hand it to you. If it doesn't work, I'll go down myself."

Taking the little pearl, Wen Lang leaned close and studied the little pearl, "How do you use this?"

Lou Fan shrugged, "Probably swallow it."

Zhang Xue hesitated, "Are there any fish monsters under the water?"

No one knows the answer to this question.

Qin Tan: "Wen Lang, just do what you can and come back immediately if you discover something wrong."

Wen Lang solemnly nodded his head.

The team walked all the way to the bottom of the mountain, where the lake is sparkling brightly. However, it takes a little more courage to enter the water at the temperature in November. Wen Lang put on shorts and did a warm-up exercise but still couldn't help shaking a little. Although he is good at swimming, he is not cold-resistant, he has never swum in winter swimming. Wen Lang who thought to himself that he shouldn’t be timid swallowed the pearl and jumped into the water with a plop. The surface of the water rippled, the ripples spread out. They have to test whether the little pearl is useful, and if it is useful, how long is the time limit.

5 minutes later, Lou Fan looked at the lake nervously, "Wen Lang hasn't come up yet, does it mean it's useful?"

Qin Tan is calmer than Lou Fan. He looked at the lake quietly and said, "Wait a bit more, it's still early." For those who hold their breaths, 5 minutes is not too long.

10 minutes later, Chen Shuyang couldn't help but look back and forth by the lake, "Why hasn't Wen Lang come out yet?"

Zhang Xue is also very nervous. She looked back and forth on the lake, "It might be good news if he still doesn't come out."

30 minutes later, Qin Tan is ready to go into the water to see the situation. Then, with a splash of water, Wen Lang emerged from the water with a smile on his face.

"It really works, 30 minutes!"

At first, Wen Lang just tried to breathe in the water, but he didn't expect it to be possible. So, he opened his eyes and watched the time on the watch pass minute by minute. After a full 28 minutes, Wen Lang started to feel breathless. After another 2 minutes, he held his breath again and came out of the water.

Everyone is very happy to hear that, and Chen Shuyang hurriedly took the change of clothes and put on Wen Lang.

Qin Tan asked, "Have you seen anything in the water?"

Wen Lang shook his head, "No, I was monitoring the time. Should I go down again?"

"Take a rest first. I will go to explore with you later."

After that, Qin Tan went to search for something in his bag and took out swimming goggles. Wen Lang talked about his underwater experience while eating and got more excited as he talked about it. He didn't expect this bead that is so useful actually found in the head of such an ugly monster.

Lou Fan took out all the beads he has and looked frustrated, "We have to go back to the village and kill more fish monsters. There is only about a half chance of finding beads in their head. All 5 of us will be in the water and we need to prepare for at least 2-3 hours of duration. That means 6 beads per person, and we need to kill 60 fish monsters."

Sometimes, Wen Lang really hates such sane people. They will use data and numbers to make you face the reality, unable to refute. Obviously, Lou Fan is such a person. When the team thinks that they need to kill so many fish monsters, they felt that they didn't have so much time left.

Qin Tan added, "We are not afraid of fish head monsters. The most important thing to pay attention to is the fish monsters with a human head. Who knows, maybe there will be a bead in those kinds of monsters."

It's a pity that everyone feels sick whenever they think of that monster. The reason is none other than there is a human head in those fish's heads. Thinking that they need to cut the human head open, they can’t do it. So the team can only pray for more fish monsters to kill.

The team discussed the matter and after lunch, Wen Lang and Qin Tan are ready to go into the water. At this moment, the people from Black Scorpion appeared. They are 1 person lesser this time, only 4 people left. Hu Nan smiled bitterly when he saw Qin Tan, "Leader Qin, this time, you really need to help us."

Qin Tan interrupted Hu Nan’s words, "Leader Hu, we still haven't thought of a way to dive into the lake and you also know how difficult the fish monster is to deal with. But your task is also very difficult, so we are not that tactless to ask for your help. Sigh, I just hope that we can complete the task smoothly. Otherwise, I don’t know if there is another chance to meet again."

Qin Tan spoke very emotionally that Lou Fan blinked and praised him in his heart.

The people from the Black Scorpion team can only leave with a dark expression. They are not so thick-skinned that they make people give up their tasks to help them, but they are really upset with the rejection. If they meet again next time, they won't let this go.

Watching the other team leave far away, the two are about to go into the water. Lou Fan asks Zhang Xue and Chen Shuyang to guard on both sides of the path, in case Black Scorpion comes back and finds out about the little pearl. He doesn't want the Black Scorpion to take advantage of them.

This time, Qin Tan and Wen Lang took a full 35 minutes to come up. When Lou Fan saw them emerge out of the water, he immediately brought over their clothes and stepped forward. However, both shook their heads with heavy expressions on their faces.

"What's the matter?" Lou Fan is puzzled.

As Qin Tan wiped the water on his body, he said, "After 5 meters underwater, the visibility is very low and nothing can be seen. It is still visible near the shore but the deeper to the center we go, the darker the underwater, and the temperature is somewhat lower."

Lou Fan looked a little frustrated, "There are so many difficulties in this world. Wen Lang, are the tasks of the low-level teams this difficult usually?"

Wen Lang also shook his head helplessly, "Each team has a different task. I don't know about this information. Anyway, Lazuli's task is not easy to be completed."

When Chen Shuyang and Zhang Xue came back, they looked a little frustrated after hearing the news. Are they really unable to complete the task this time? One must know that this is just a low-level task.

Lou Fan clapped his hands to cheer up the team’s morale, "We can use a flashlight and tie it to our arms for visibility. As for the temperature, just bear with it. The viral ice bucket challenges are even lower, minus tens of degrees so what's this to be afraid of? The most important thing is to kill enough fish monsters."

After Lou Fan said this, everyone thought it made sense, and it seemed that all of these are not a problem underwater. The question is, where is Shenzhou?