Volume 2: Life and Death at Speed in the Northern Realm - The Instance

"Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me?! We're being dragged into this even though we're just lying here!"

"What do we do now, Givinia?!"

"... Everything was just as I expected, hehehe."

"Expected my foot!"

Oh my god! Even Givinia can't be trusted anymore!

The two strange old men were fighting more and more fiercely, with countless bolts of lightning exploding around us and countless waves of undead grazing past our car. If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before we were killed!

"Ah! I've got it! Look there!"

Givinia shouted and pointed to the left, where a dark cave was carved into the rock wall, just big enough for our vehicle to pass through.

"Let's go inside and lay low for a while!"

"Learn!"

Ally decisively turned the car around and sped towards the cave. As long as she could hide inside, the dangers outside would be nothing to fear!

However--

Tekeli----!

Jiliyi----!

A piercing roar came from above, and a terrifying sense of oppression rapidly approached. Looking up, we saw that the two alien spirits had stopped fighting and were rushing towards us at the same time!

"What's going on?!"

"They... seem to be preventing us from going in?"

"Forget about them! Don't stop!"

Sirius suddenly accelerated, and we were now only a hundred paces from the cave. Spirit Element Spirit hissed, and a gigantic undead hand descended from the sky, pressing down on us! However, at the same time, a dazzling bolt of lightning struck from the clouds, its target also being us!

Boom!!!

Although both attacks were aimed at us, the undead and lightning are inherently incompatible. Before hitting us, the two attacks collided and dissipated with a deafening roar! Thanks to this, we successfully survived the final wave of attacks and infiltrated the cave.

Somewhere in the Mad Mountains

This is a relatively wide valley, with a mountain stream flowing through the gravel ground and lush greenery on the banks, a rare sight in the Mad Mountains.

But now, the once clear mountain stream is stained red with blood.

Scattered metal fragments lay on the gravel ground, enough to fill four or five race cars. Wisps of black smoke billowed from the wrecked engines, and twisted corpses were everywhere. These corpses were extremely bizarre in their deaths, with strange twists in many places on their bodies and large patches of dark green dots covering their skin. Some of the dots had even merged into one large patch, making it extremely disgusting.

"Ugh... Ugh... How boring... Isn't there anything else to do?"

"It's boring because this place isn't cool enough, neither the route nor the competitors."

"Isn't there anything stronger?"

"If the people who come are too awesome, it'll cause us a lot of trouble, you know."

"Let's not talk about that anymore. How many sealing points have we destroyed so far?"

"It's still only a single digit. With those two seniors, Sick Spider and Stone Strike, being so awesome, we simply can't compete with them, okay?"

"What should we do then?"

"If you ask me, let's not bother destroying the seal. Let's focus on the competition and be the first to get the Crystal Realm Fruit. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"Great idea, shall we do it?"

"It's settled then. Seriously, how many times have I said this? Can't you stop using questions all the time? It's really annoying!"

"You still use 'dick' in every sentence you say? It's vulgar, you know?"

"You two are so noisy... Let me sleep a little longer... zzzzzzzzz"

"Xiu Lin, you're still sleeping? You're really something! Get up and get going!"

An oppressive darkness stretched before them, the vehicle jolted violently on the gravel, and the sounds of the battle between the two alien spirits outside grew fainter and fainter until they were almost inaudible.

"I never expected this cave to be so deep, and it's all downhill."

"Now that we're gone, those two must be at it again. We can go out after they're done fighting." Ally stopped the car in the dark. The headlights illuminated the darkness, revealing countless stalactites and stalagmites scattered throughout the space, sparkling beautifully under the artificial light.

"Let's rest here. Ailin and I will inspect Sirius, A Ye and Givinia will be on guard."

""Clear!""

And so, after all we'd been through today, we could finally catch our breath in this dark cave. Givinia had set up a projection near the entrance to monitor the battle between the two alien spirits, and of course, she was also in charge of keeping watch around the race car. The Sena Sisters were busy on the hood, while Givinia herself was observing the stalagmites outside the car with great interest. Only I, responsible for the battle, had nothing to do and lay listlessly in the back seat.

When the body is idle, the mind begins to become active. With nothing to do, I started to sort out everything that happened today.

The Otherworldly Spirits, ranked second among the ten great races of demonic beasts, are so numerous that their strength is directly proportional to their number. It is extremely rare to find even one in several mountain ranges. Why are there two in this small Mad Mountains? Moreover, one occupies the Fog Hidden Valley and the other occupies a mountain peak covered in lightning, with their territories completely adjacent to each other. This is even stranger.

It's almost like... they're checking and balancing each other.

So... when they realized we were fleeing into this cave, they temporarily ceased their hostility and attacked us simultaneously. Could it be that both of them wanted to stop us from getting in?

That seems to make sense.

This cave is located right at the border of their two territories. They both chose to place their territories next to the cave and were unwilling to let outsiders in, even though their attributes were incompatible. In other words, they both valued this cave highly and kept their territories adjacent to each other to prevent the other from monopolizing it.

But why? Is there something important in this cave?

Important... things?

I suddenly jolted awake, frantically rummaging through my luggage—it wasn't a toothbrush, a towel, a sleeping bag, or a water bottle—but I found it!

I pulled out the wooden box and opened it forcefully!

"Hiss--"

I couldn't help but gasp. The previously dried-out specimen of Yan Yi Ming Hua in the wooden box was now emitting faint red glows! Tiny sparks were faintly emerging from the edges of the wrinkled petals, drifting out of the car window as if drawn by an invisible force, heading towards the depths of the cave...

My throat is so dry, my heart is pounding, and large beads of cold sweat drip from my forehead. Have I finally found it? The Lycoris radiata that Huang Huo spoke of, burning like a flame...

I put the specimen back into the wooden box and pushed open the car door.

"Everyone!"

They both looked at me with surprise.

"What's wrong A Ye? Is there an enemy attack? Have undead sneaked in?"

"No! I just want to say—or rather, I have a request—I've actually been very interested in stalactite caves since I was a child! Can I go deeper into the cave to take a look?"

"Well... it's not entirely impossible," Ally said, a little puzzled, but she agreed anyway. "Then let's get in the car—"

"No need to trouble you! I can manage on my own!"

"You're going by yourself?! Who knows what dangers are in the cave, and you're responsible for the safety of the whole team!"

"Ah--"

Yes, I'm a combatant, and also the strongest fighter in the convoy. If I just leave like this, what if something happens to them...?

"What's wrong with letting A Ye go further in? I can go with her, leaving the projected consciousness here so it can send a message immediately if there's any danger. With A Ye's strength, it would be easy for her to forcefully break through the stone wall and get to us."

"Givinia?"

Givinia winked at me and made a "shh" gesture.

"Ally, come here for a second."

Givinia pulled Ally to the back of the car and muttered something to herself.

"Ally, you really don't understand. Liu Ye said he wanted to go on an adventure, but it's definitely that thing."

"That?"

"It's that day, the day when the eldest of Mom's sisters comes."

"Ah? Ah... I see! But she didn't need to..."

"Some people are just shy in front of others! So, I, being the experienced one, will accompany her~"

"Givinia is so reliable! It's all up to you now!"

"That's right, that's right~"

Hey, my senses are really sharp, I heard your conversation very clearly, okay?

Ally, her face slightly flushed, came out and gave me a thumbs-up with a motherly smile. "Hey, you believed that way way too fast!" Come to think of it, maybe it's just my constitution, but I've never had my period before. Thank goodness!

"And then it's you, Ailin, come here~"

A dazed Ailin walked to the back of the car, where she heard more murmuring voices.

"Sister Givinia, Sister Ye, what's wrong—"

"Silly child, of course I'm creating opportunities for you!"

"Huh? An opportunity?"

"Ailin, you love your older sister the most, don't you?"

"Ahhh!? This... this likes something..."

"So while you're free now, A Ye and I will be leaving for a while, so enjoy this long-awaited time alone with your sister!"

"Sister Givinia is so reliable! Thank you so much for going to so much trouble for us!"

Hey, I can hear you.

Ailin, her face also slightly flushed, came out, giving me a mysterious smile and gently clasping her hands together. "Hey, hey, hey, you seem harmless, but you're actually quite dangerous. Don't lose your temper and do anything that would ruin our sisterly relationship!"

"Then have a safe trip~"

"Sisters, be careful on the road!"

And so, Givinia and I left the resting place and ventured deeper into the cave.

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I was writing algorithms until midnight last night, had a software engineering lab this morning, and am going to dance class tonight. So busy...