After receiving Su Cheng's affirmation, he smiled even more enthusiastically, "Hey boss, can we exchange contact information when we get back?"
He had barely finished speaking when a burning pain shot through his leg wound. He grimaced and looked at Lu Heng, "Ouch! Be gentle!"
Song Tangqiu needs his wounds cleaned, but the current environment, filled with vegetation and dust, is clearly not a good place.
Su Cheng called the two over, "Let's leave here first. There are some wooden houses nearby where the locals can trade supplies. While we're walking, we can talk about the conflict between you and Shen Ying..."
Lu Heng carried the unsteady Song Tangqiu on his back, and the two followed behind Su Cheng, recounting their connection with Shen Ying in the dungeon.
" Shen Ying and I have a history of conflict from the competitive matches. I just happened to run into her slaughtering the natives in this instance, so a fight was inevitable," Lu Heng said in a deep voice.
Song Tangqiu added, " Shen Ying has always been ruthless; anyone she sets her sights on ends up suffering."
Su Cheng's eyebrows twitched slightly. "Always? Have you known each other for a long time?"
Song Tangqiu glanced at Lu Heng, and seeing that his expression remained unchanged, continued, "I knew Shen Ying before I came to this apartment. Her family doesn't like her, except for her older sister, Shen Jue."
Su Cheng nodded; it sounded like Shen Ying's family background was quite extraordinary.
Her gaze darted between Song Tangqiu and Lu Heng. "You two know each other in front of the apartment?"
Song Tangqiu was taken aback, then exclaimed in surprise, "You have such keen insight!"
Su Cheng smiled faintly, "How long have you been in this dungeon?"
Lu Heng replied, "Today is the first day."
Su Cheng turned her head slightly, "I have specific information about this instance. Do you want to make a deal with me?"
"Certainly."
*
After entering the deep forest, Shen Ying slowly stopped when she sensed that no one was chasing her.
She was panting heavily, her face flushed. Instead of checking the gunshot wound immediately, she rolled up her sleeve to examine the bite marks on her wrist.
Today is her second day in this instance.
The bite marks on her wrist were from an indigenous person. Even though she shot the person, she didn't expect them to still be able to move, and they only died after the bullet pierced their head.
Before she could even treat her wounds, she ran into Lu Heng, who chased her all the way into the forest.
This delay caused the wound on her wrist to become inflamed and ulcerated, clearly indicating that it was not the minor injury she had initially thought it was.
"These NPCs are really annoying." Shen Ying curled her lips in annoyance. Her consciousness was somewhat blurred due to the high fever. She took out a pill that shimmered with golden light and swallowed it.
These pills were a reward she received from the competition. There were 10 pills in total, which could not only strengthen her body but also remove negative physical conditions.
After Shen Ying took the medicine, a cool sensation covered the wound on her wrist, and it began to heal rapidly.
She poured iodine on her fingers and then dug out the bullet from her chest.
Looking at the bloody bullet, she gave a ruthless smile, put the bullet into her bag, and marked it as a new symbol on her revenge list.
The coolness covered the wound, and the pain and itching from the ants biting at it made her tremble all over. She slowly sat down on the ground.
"Hiss..."
An unusual sound came from above.
Shen Ying tensed up, holding his gun and looking up. It was a small black snake.
Her eyes turned cold, and she shot the snake through the head.
But as the black snake died and fell, she turned her head and saw a giant black python coiled on another tree trunk.
"Hiss"
The giant python twisted its body, its golden vertical pupils locking onto its prey, the air thick with the scent of blood, and its forked tongue constantly flicking out with a hissing sound.
Shen Ying narrowed her eyes, opened the box around her neck, and placed the sleeping white pupa on the wound on her chest.
Shen Ying watched with satisfaction as the white pupa, after absorbing blood, transformed into a blood butterfly, which led it towards the giant python.
She murmured softly, "Now that you're full, as payment, help me get rid of this snake."
*
Su Cheng, in exchange for 5 catties of poisonous mushrooms to make medicine, explained the details of this instance to Lu Heng and the other person.
As they approached the cabin, she asked the two to wait aside and went to inform Laobo of the situation.
The excuse she made up for Lu Heng and the other person was naturally that they were both time travelers like herself.
Unlike Su Cheng, Lu Heng and his companion did not receive any free treatment.
Laobo was wary of the two, but after learning that Lu Heng was a doctor, he only asked for some pneumonia medication before he could stay in the cabin at any time.
After Lu Heng finished tending to Song Tangqiu's wounds, he and Su Cheng went to the forest not far from the wooden house to dissolve the poisonous mushrooms.
Su Cheng handed him a large bag of mushrooms, weighing about 5 jin (2.5 kg).
"These won't all turn into medicine in a short time; it will probably take about four hours," Lu Heng said.
"OK."
"So, would you like some medicine as a reward for your help earlier?"
Lu Heng then added, "Perhaps I can tell you some information about the connection between the apartment and the real world. But I hope we can exchange contact information after we leave the instance."
What is the connection between apartments and the real world?
Lu Heng seemed to know secrets unknown to ordinary people.
Looking into the other person's amber eyes, she immediately replied, "No problem."
"I knew you'd choose information." Lu Heng suddenly smiled slightly. "I'm with the military, and so is Song Tangqiu."
People from the military?
Su Cheng gestured for him to continue.
"I wonder if you remember when we first arrived at the apartment, the news reported that traffic accidents and natural disasters were occurring frequently in various regions. This was actually a signal."
Su Cheng's expression changed slightly. "You're not trying to say that the authorities know about the apartment's existence, are you?"
Lu Heng nodded. "That's right. Someone survived the plane crash, and after reporting it up the chain of command, showing changes in their body, it finally caught the attention of the authorities. To avoid causing panic, such fantastical stories are not told to the public."
Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Su Cheng frowned slightly, her mind racing with various thoughts.
First, Lu Heng's words confirmed that the apartment was not deceiving anyone, and that obtaining the pass could indeed allow one to return to their original world.
And importantly, physical changes that occur in the instance, such as Gene Lock or class changes, will not disappear after leaving the apartment.
Furthermore, the people who arrived at the apartment were already on the verge of death due to various dangers, so even if the authorities knew of the apartment's existence, they couldn't change anything...
If she wants to leave alive, she has no choice but to save herself.
What exactly is an apartment?
Lu Heng shook his head. "I don't know. It appears alongside disasters and will bring enormous changes to our world."
Su Cheng didn't deny this, and even thought of something based on that statement.
"So you came here intentionally, not unintentionally?"
Lu Heng was slightly taken aback, then understood the meaning behind those words.
Are all the people who come to the apartment purely by chance? Or is someone deliberately putting themselves in a near-death situation, gambling on that slim chance of being chosen...?
This time, Lu Heng thought it over before answering, "I didn't mean it, but many people did."
"For example, Song Tangqiu? Or Shen Ying too?"
"I don't know about Shen Ying, but I do know about Song Tangqiu. And when I ask him about the current situation, some parts of his speech are censored."
"Mute?"
Lu Heng sighed and nodded, "If it's just ordinary questions about weather work, there won't be anything unusual. But if it's about current research on apartments in the real world, then it'll be muted; I can't understand what he's saying."
This means that those who arrived at the apartment earlier were unaware of how reality had changed while they were away.
The information Lu Heng provided was far more valuable to Su Cheng than simply asking him to help convert poison values.
He told her these things to express his sincerity in making her his friend.
If, as he claims, some people have already voluntarily become apartment owners for their extraordinary abilities, it means that the dangers associated with apartments have become comparable to the potential profits.
What has happened in the real world, or what is about to happen, that has led some people to seek this "opportunity" of owning an apartment...?
Su Cheng lowered her brows slightly, a vague guess already forming in her mind. A sense of crisis about the future enveloped her, urging her to become stronger quickly and return as soon as possible.
Having made up her mind, Su Cheng composed herself and took out a box of pills from her bag. "Would you accept these?"
Lu Heng looked at it carefully, then reached into his bag and took out the same model. "So you bought yours."
Su Cheng clicked her tongue in amazement. The world is so small; the big spender who bought her medicine at the auction house just happened to be Lu Heng.
"You bought all of those hundreds of bottles?"
"No, the auction house only sold about twenty bottles."
Su Cheng, considering that the auction house might be holding the auction in batches, suggested, "I still have dozens of bottles here. I don't want anything else from you, just the medicine you made. We can split it 50/50, okay?"
Lu Heng didn't agree immediately, but instead discussed conditions. "Add one more thing: during the instance, you must protect me and Song Tangqiu."
It's uncertain whether Shen Ying will return to fight again. Lu Heng's planned development path is that of a highly efficient pharmacist due to his professional skills. If he goes head-to-head with Shen Ying, who is focused on combat, he is extremely likely to be at a disadvantage.
But things would be different if Su Cheng joined in. He realized that Su Cheng hadn't revealed her trump card during the fight.
Su Cheng readily agreed.
Both were very satisfied with the deal.
Back in the cabin, Laobo took Lu Heng's medicine and prepared to carry firewood back to the shelter.
Su Cheng was not in a hurry to leave and did not go with him.
Song Tangqiu's wounds healed quickly, and once he regained his strength, he joined Lu Heng in reinforcing the wooden house. They would be living here temporarily.
Su Cheng looked towards the forest. " Laobo said there's another exit at the other end of the forest."
Therefore, Shen Ying may leave from that direction, or she may turn back.
Su Cheng believed that with Shen Ying's strength, even if he was hit by the Thousand-Machine Umbrella, the combination of the strange insects in the forest would not be fatal.
Fortunately, Mu Ling left Ghost Mark on Shen Ying.