"... Okay." Hao Ruoxue actually wanted to go with them, but her physical weakness prevented her, so she could only follow Su Cheng's suggestion.
After helping Hao Ruoxue lie down in her room, Su Cheng quickly knocked on Yaya's door.
" Su Cheng? What's wrong?"
Yaya quickly opened the door, her eyes filled with confusion and no sign of sleepiness, clearly indicating she hadn't slept at all.
She hadn't even noticed Su Cheng kicking the door and making such a commotion.
Something's happened.
Su Cheng didn't have time to explain further and walked to the next room.
Yaya noticed that her expression was off and immediately became alert, stepping out the door to follow her.
Bang bang bang!
Su Cheng pounded on the door three times, and when no one answered, she kicked the door open violently with three kicks.
"Clang--"
The door was wide open, revealing the scene inside.
Aunt Jin was enveloped in a thick black mist, and a red root as thick as a straw was inserted into her neck, with a lotus seed attached to the other end.
The rhizome swayed slightly like waves due to the blood supply.
The lotus seed had grown into a fleshy, human-shaped face with its eyes closed, and its features bore a striking resemblance to Aunt Jin's.
Aunt Jin's head was slightly lowered, her breathing even, as if she were asleep, with occasional soft smacking sounds coming from her lips.
Yaya was stunned by what she saw.
Su Cheng continued to use the Fire-Attracting Art to attack.
After being burned by the ghostly fire, the black mist retreated back into the lotus seed.
The White Qi, pressing its advantage, was once again countered by the golden talisman.
Aunt Jin collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and the house was returned to its original state.
"You..." Yaya looked at Su Cheng in surprise. Before she could even see Su Cheng's attack method, the other party had already driven away the black mist.
"Wake her up, I'll go check on the others."
"... Okay." Yaya accepted the order without complaint and quickly squatted down to call out to Aunt Jin. She secretly admired her own sharp eye and thought Su Cheng was indeed very capable.
Wang Zhichao lived next door to Aunt Jin.
The door opened after the first knock.
Wang Zhichao was also awake but didn't hear any noise. He was cultivating ordinary lotus seeds, which hadn't been attacked.
Next was Li Ren's room.
Su Cheng kicked the door open violently again. Inside, Li Ren was fighting the black mist with a yellow talisman dagger.
A note from the author:
The next chapter will be released at midnight tonight.
Chapter 113
Li Ren was bolder and more cautious than Hao Ruoxue. He did not sit at the foot of the bed because he was afraid to look directly at the lotus seed that resembled a human head. Instead, he kept staring at the water vat.
When the water level dropped rapidly while the lotus seedlings remained in the same position, he immediately realized it was a trap.
After pouring the water into a spare bucket, he immediately picked it up and went outside.
The well is right in the yard; as long as he's fast enough, it shouldn't be a problem.
But to his utter surprise, the door wouldn't open.
Before he could even take out the gadgets from his Smart Bag, a black mist Vengeful Ghost suddenly emerged from the lotus seed and solidified into his lower body.
Fortunately, Li Ren's Smart Bag had already switched to its sleeve form, and while his arms were still functional, he immediately took out the supernatural prop.
But the Vengeful Ghost was far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined; in just a moment, his ankle was pierced by the roots.
My body became increasingly stiff, my vision blurred, and all I could hear was the heavy sound of my own breathing.
Just as he was sweating profusely with anxiety, the door was broken open, and Su Cheng arrived.
Su Cheng dispelled the Vengeful Ghost once again.
Wang Zhichao also recovered from his shock and quickly went into the house to help the staggering Li Ren. He finally understood why Su Cheng had suddenly knocked on his door.
Looking at Li Ren's pale face and bleeding wounds, and recalling the black mist from earlier, Wang Zhichao's eyes flashed with fear. "Special instance... truly terrifying..."
Su Cheng: "Let's have a short meeting later. I'm going to check on Wei Guhua and the others now."
"Okay, thank you, you've worked hard." Li Ren said, catching his breath.
Su Cheng kicked open the doors of Wei Guhua's and Yao Yue's houses one after the other.
Surprisingly, no black fog appeared inside the two people's house.
They lay fast asleep in bed, their lips pale and their faces showing signs of excessive blood loss.
A thin red tube is inserted into the carotid artery in the neck, gurgling as it absorbs warm blood.
The lotus seed, nourished by the blood, gradually grew fuller, and its features fully took on their appearance.
Neither of them had replenished the water tank, and no one knew how long after nightfall they were being drained of their lifeblood by the lotus seed.
Although she knew that the two had lost their senses, Su Cheng still used her White Qi to force back the lotus seed roots.
Throughout the entire process, Wei Guhua and Yao Yue remained in a deep, even sleep. No matter how much noise Su Cheng made, it couldn't disturb their sleep.
Su Cheng did not close the door to the two people's room again.
Flashlights shone in the courtyard, and Li Ren, who had recovered, called everyone else into Wang Zhichao's house.
Wang Zhichao's house also uses ordinary lotus seeds, so there's no need to worry about the black mist Vengeful Ghost overhearing their conversations.
When Su Cheng entered, the five people were already sitting in a circle, some with their own stools, others sitting on the bed, and they even reserved a spot for her.
"Please have a seat," Li Ren invited.
" Su Sister Cheng, I specially reserved a stool in the room for you. You can sit on the stool or the bed if you prefer." Wang Zhichao got up and wiped the empty stool with his sleeve.
Su Cheng shook her head. "No need to wipe it, I'll just sit on the stool."
Aunt Jin and Hao Ruoxue leaned against the bed.
Aunt Jin's condition was visibly worse than Hao Ruoxue's.
She was still in a daze, her face as pale as paper, and she spoke in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, Xiao Su."
"Thanks to Su Cheng for noticing something was wrong tonight," Yaya said.
Su Cheng waved her hand, told the group about Wei Guhua and Yao Yue's situation, and then deduced:
"The lotus seed won't drain a person dry tonight, because Village Chief Bai said its growth period is two days."
The lotus seed puts people to sleep when it absorbs blood, and I suspect that those who are bitten won't remember it when they wake up.
Li Ren pursed his lips, a flicker of fearful anger flashing in his eyes. "If the person being vampirized has no relevant memories, they can't prepare a countermeasure beforehand, and they'll undoubtedly die on the second night!"
The room fell silent for a moment because of Li Ren's words.
Hao Ruoxue suggested, "Since we already know that the lotus seed sucks people's blood at night, if we all stay in one room overnight, wouldn't it be unable to succeed?"
Su Cheng felt it wasn't that simple and replied, "The success rate of this method is almost zero. There's a black line, like a contract, between the lotus seed and the person who dug it up. Even if you hide, it will find a way to lead you back."
Wang Zhichao asked timidly, "Were your previous special dungeons also this terrifying?"
Li Ren: "Although the special instance is difficult, there are exceptionally few opportunities for trial and error this time. Something must have happened in the special instance, but we are unaware because we are inside the instance and cannot communicate with the other people in the apartment."
Su Cheng: "We'll just have to ask the other people when we get back to the apartment."
" Su Sister Cheng is right," Wang Zhichao agreed. "Sister, where in the village are you going tomorrow? Can I come with you? I'll carry your bag."
Su Cheng frowned. "I don't need to carry your bag."
Wang Zhichao realized what he had said, scratching his head awkwardly, "Sorry, sorry, I'm just used to saying that to girls."
Wang Zhichao's fawning over Su Cheng was too obvious, and Yaya saw it all and scoffed inwardly.
To be honest, she also wanted to act with Su Cheng and didn't want to bring along the sycophant.
But before Yaya could speak, Aunt Jin suddenly sat up.
" Xiao Su, didn't you say you had a tool that could see the red line? Could you lend it to everyone? If we had this tool, we'd be safer moving around the village tomorrow..."
Hao Ruoxue frowned. "Not again."
" Xiao Hao, don't rush to blame me. I'm genuinely scared. I have to guard against ghosts and the red thread of fate. I just want to live. My husband and son are still waiting for me to return to the real world..."
Aunt Jin wiped her eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
"You..."
Hao Ruoxue was speechless for a moment.
She used to be someone who would beg for money every time she passed by on the street.
And now, Aunt Jin's expression and tone were exactly the same as those of the beggars she had encountered before.
" Xiao Su, really, just borrow it for a moment. We'll return it to you before we leave the instance." Aunt Jin continued to plead, seeing that Su Cheng remained unmoved.
Except for Hao Ruoxue, who couldn't bear to watch any longer, everyone else remained silent.
They naturally knew that Aunt Jin's request contained an element of moral blackmail; after all, this was a survival game, and no one was obligated to share someone else's treasure.
But what if Su Cheng is actually a great philanthropist?
The others can also benefit from Aunt Jin's prayers.
Even if Su Cheng is unwilling, they haven't joined Aunt Jin in begging, so they won't offend Su Cheng.
Su Cheng stood up amidst overt or covert expectations. "No, this is my Gene Lock skill."
Before anyone could speak, she bent down to help Hao Ruoxue leave, saying, "Let's end the meeting tonight."
Su Cheng continued to tell a little lie: being able to see the strange red lines should be a professional Yin-Yang Eyes skill, or it could be an ability brought about by the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant nourishing her body.
But she doesn't need to explain these things; she only needs to use her Gene Lock skills as a reason to stop certain people from borrowing this or that from her again.
Aunt Jin looked puzzled. "What is Gene Lock?"
She glanced at the others, but none of them showed any strange or puzzled expressions.
She was the only one who didn't know what the Gene Lock was!
Wang Zhichao was taken aback. "No wonder Su Cheng is so amazing; she's already unlocked her Gene Lock. I've only ever heard of that before. By the way, Brother Li, you've unlocked it too, right?"
Li Ren nodded, "But given how easily Su Cheng dealt with the ghosts just now, she should have already unlocked the Second-Tier Gene Lock."
Aunt Jin listened to them talking about things she didn't understand, and coughed anxiously, "You... cough cough... what second-tier?"
"Oh dear, Aunt Jin, look at your cough! You're spitting all over my bed! Now that the meeting is over, everyone should go back and rest. It'll be dawn soon, and I need to rest in my room for a while..."