Chapter 23: Four Seasons Protection Guide (Ten)
"Season tips..." Guo Guo, who was thinking hard, suddenly slapped his head and blurted out: "Season tips will tell us the characteristics of each season!"
At the same time, this feature is usually the level and danger of the season.
Winter and summer are characterized by extreme temperatures, which seems obvious at a glance, but the characteristics of spring and autumn are a little more difficult to distinguish.
The characteristic given to spring by the exam is "resurrection of all things", and its core and rules are that all living things "revive" and become dangerous to humans.
It is precisely because of knowing the characteristics of the seasons that Tang Xinjue can guess the crises from plants and insects and make preparations in advance.
If Tang Xin Jue's speculation is true, it undoubtedly represents a very bad fact:
How can they fight the dangers of autumn when they know nothing about the seasons?
"We may not be completely ignorant." Tang Xinjue shook his head, "We still have common sense."
"If the game really wants to hide even the seasonal changes, it means that the characteristics of autumn must be well known...it's afraid that we will guess it."
"The characteristics of autumn... the clear and crisp weather? The autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves?" Zheng Wanqing covered her head with a headache, "I'm really not suitable to think about this. Help, give me a little ghost to chop."
“There are two most well-known images of autumn: one is withering, and the other is harvest.”
Zhang You managed to stay calm and followed Tang Xin Jue's line of thought, "If I have to choose one, I guess it's a good harvest."
Guo Guo shook his head like a rattle and retorted: "No, no, no, I think it's withering."
She gave her reasons: "What do you think the purpose of the dungeon is? It's to kill us! So the dungeon's characteristics must be negative. Everything withers in autumn, and it looks particularly dangerous at first glance."
Zhang You: "But if that's the case, then the image of spring is one of recovery, and the positive characteristics of the season may also contain more dangerous content."
Guo Guo: ...It seems to make sense?
Unable to reach a conclusion, the two looked at Tang Xinjue at the same time.
Tang Xinjue's gaze was fixed on the outside of the balcony, as if he was looking at something through the vines.
The window was still surrounded by dense vines, completely blocking out the view from the outside.
But there was an indescribable wave that seemed to be outside the vines, slowly covering them invisibly...
[Untouchable Objects: Your sanity is slightly damaged, health is 5]
[Mental Shake (Negative Buff): Your sanity value is decreasing, and the environment is becoming more dangerous to you.]
[Shh, some things can't be easily perceived - at least not now.]
Seeing the change in Tang Xin Jue's status information, the others were stunned for a moment.
This is Tang Xin Jue! He could even hit a female ghost in the face with a toilet plunger, and his san value was like a werewolf with a lock. Now, he just looked out and his san value dropped?
But no matter how hard they stretched their necks, they couldn't see what kind of monster was outside the window. Tang Xinjue withdrew his gaze and said calmly as if nothing had happened: "I am more inclined to Zhang You's opinion."
"If recovery corresponds to withering, then the first thing to wither is the vegetation outside the window."
Obviously, they have no intention of withering. If you look closely, you can see fist-sized tumors growing where the branches and leaves used to be, as if they are eager to bear fruit.
Wait…the result?
Guo Guo almost broke his voice: "When plants mature and bear fruit, it is a symbol of harvest! Zhang You, you are right, autumn is really a season of harvest!"
But she calmed down in an instant, "Now I know the season hint, but what does it have to do with the current situation?"
Harvest, harvest... This image is even more vague than recovery. It makes people feel confused.
Seeing the time passing by, Guo Guo suddenly had an idea: "I understand! Spring is the time for ghosts to revive, and autumn is the time for ghosts to mature! The ringing of the bell is a sign that the ghosts are mature. If the autumn bell rings 12 times, it means that 12 ghosts have matured..."
The further she spoke, the lower her voice became, and she secretly glanced at the expressions of others.
Tang Xin Jue encouraged gently: "That makes sense."
Just as Guo Guo was delighted, he heard Tang Xin Jue say, "But - when one side matures, another side will definitely reap the harvest. If the mature ones are ghosts, then who is responsible for the harvest?"
Students are responsible for the harvest? They must be capable. According to the comparison of strength, they look like they are being...
Guo Guo's face suddenly turned pale, he opened his mouth and looked at Tang Xinjue.
Tang Xin Jue raised his eyes and looked back, his emotions hidden under the calm waves: "Yes, according to this logic, we are the ones being harvested."
"In other words, facing the powerful ghosts that have awakened, all weak creatures will be harvested."
“Autumn is the harvest season. When the bells ring, they come to harvest.”
rustle……
The lush vines that were entangled around the glass windows had stopped growing wildly at some point.
The budding fruits broke through the skin of the branches and grew larger at a speed visible to the naked eye.
However, the members of Dormitory 315 had no intention of appreciating this wonderful sight.
They were fighting against several mutated plants. One of the flower stems, of unknown species, was as long as two people. It wrapped around the neck of one of the members, causing her face to turn blue and her body to struggle.
The two were trying to rescue her - a few meters away at the dormitory door, a member was lying on the ground, his life or death unknown, his body covered with a layer of cold that had not yet dissipated.
Being attacked from all sides, the situation was critical. Just when they were almost in despair, the plant that was wrapped around the roommate's neck suddenly loosened, and the branches shook twice, and it quickly shrank into the corner as if it sensed a natural enemy.
Several people were ecstatic: Survived?
"Is this, is this cleared?" One of them opened his phone with shaking hands, but did not see any new notifications.
rustle……
There was a rustling sound coming from outside the balcony window. It was the branches of the vines shaking, rustling against the glass windows.
Several people didn't understand what this scene meant, and looked at each other blankly. The girl who was entangled by the vines just now coughed for a while, and raised her head with difficulty: "Do you feel that the room seems to have become darker?"
"Dim? Is the light broken?"
Several people looked up quickly and found that the light tube on the top seemed to be a little dimmer, and seemed to be slowly losing its light at a uniform rate.
It doesn't look like damage, it looks more like...
"It's like something has sucked the light away."
A girl murmured involuntarily.
The rustling sound of the vines outside the window disappeared at some point.
Only their breathing and heartbeats spread in the silence of the house.
It was as if something was gripping their hearts, and a feeling of tightness and goose bumps flooded over their heads like a tide. Several people's breathing stagnated slightly and they slowly turned their heads.
There was no vine left outside the glass window.
A huge, fishy yellow eye covered the entire glass window, and its slit pupil rotated and fell on them.
The next moment, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, the lights went out.
…
When autumn comes and the sickle is about to fall, what should the fruits do to avoid being harvested?
In the narrow darkness, Tang Xinjue slowed down her breathing. Feeling the girl beside her trembling, she held her hand tightly. Perhaps she had absorbed the power of calmness, her roommate's body slowly calmed down, and she also learned to hold her breath.
—to hide, out of sight of the harvesters, until the autumn harvest was over.
Fortunately, the dormitory environment and structure provided them with just the right hiding space - the two wardrobes at the door could accommodate just four girls.
Guo Guo was timid and easily frightened, so he had to follow Tang Xin Jue to calm down; Zheng Wanqing was reckless and impulsive, so she was suppressed by the cautious Zhang You. The four of them split into two teams and went into two closets to cover their bodies.
That way, even if they guess wrong, there's a protective barrier.
Originally, several people were worried that they would be attacked by dark creatures when they entered the closet. But until now, there was no sign of dark creatures appearing, and everything seemed extremely quiet.
This further confirmed Tang Xinjue's guess - the harvest is coming, and all the ghosts are retreating. A more terrifying existence has awakened.
Maybe one, or maybe... many!
In the darkness, vision was useless, but hearing became more acute. Outside the dormitory balcony, the sound of vines growing and swaying could be heard faintly. Tang Xinjue noticed that from a certain point on, the sound suddenly became louder, like rapidly tapping on the glass window, like a reminder, and like a struggle.
Then, the sound of the vines disappeared completely, and no trace of it could be found in the ears.
In the silence, her sensory nerves awakened little by little, and like in countless nightmares, her body was issued with a strong and trembling danger warning.
[Untouchable Object (Level 2): Your sanity is moderately damaged, health is 15]
[Your sanity value is decreasing rapidly, and the environment is very dangerous for you.]
[Perception is a double-edged sword. Its effect depends on which side you point the blade at.]
After locking the screen, Tang Xinjue signaled Guo Guo to turn off his phone as well, letting the last bit of light disappear in the cramped space.
rustle……
It was as if something was flowing into the house, like a rising tide, flooding the bedroom bit by bit.
It seemed to be searching for something.
Through the cabinet door, the most important senses are blocked, and everything in the outside world becomes strange and unknown symbols in the mind. As danger approaches, panic grows.
Even though they didn't hear any sound, the four people in the closet had an inexplicable feeling - a pair of eyes were watching the dormitory.
It was getting closer to the closet.
rustle……
After a moment, there was a sudden tiny sound, like sand falling, stinging the nerves in my brain.
Tang Xinjue frowned and closed her eyes. She felt Guo Guo start to tremble again, and she tried hard not to make any sound.
I don’t know how long it was before my mind went blank and the voice disappeared.
The sense of danger also dissipated like the ebbing tide, until it completely disappeared in the dormitory.
After opening her eyes, Tang Xinjue could feel the fishy smell in her mouth. She had just bitten the inside of her mouth. A layer of cold sweat oozed out of her back, which made her more awake.
Patting Guo Guo's head, she said softly, "We are safe for now."
[Autumn is coming, autumn is coming, coming in anticipation of a good harvest——]
The belated system prompt sounded in my ears along with a strange hum:
[Ding Dong! Autumn has quietly arrived. My roommates, have you felt the joy of the harvest?]
[The final level of the exam: Autumn Dungeon has been opened! The harvesters have awakened, please survive their patrol to the end. Each harvester will only harvest once, and when there is no harvest, it will rain anger. This time the harvesters have a total of...]
[Twelve!]
