Chapter 23 The Heart of a Mermaid
Xiang Liangyu walked in the woods, and the questions that had puzzled her for a long time finally dissipated.
She was also wondering why the native who knocked on her door before entering the basement gave her the brooch. She thought that the old man in the basement couldn't tell who was the owner of the island, so the native said a key word.
"The island owner is wearing a butterfly brooch."
No wonder Jiang Yu pretended to be pitiful in the basement and praised her beautiful butterfly brooch. No wonder she didn't reject her kindness. No wonder she always kept a distance and was alert when facing her. No wonder the old man caught her at first sight!
She gave the butterfly brooch to Jiang Yu. Without the key item, she was naturally recognized as a player by the old man, and Jiang Yu became the owner of the island in his eyes.
Jiang Yu already knew his identity! No, maybe they were expelled from the guest house and fell asleep in the cave. When Xiang Liangyu returned to the guest house, Jiang Yu deliberately followed and discovered him.
Xiang Liangyu became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He completely ignored the wound on his neck and punched the tree hard.
It startled a flock of roosting birds.
The result was that she covered her neck and grimaced. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her head. Xiang Liangyu looked up and saw that the dense forest was emerald green after the rainstorm. The sky was almost invisible above her head. The lush and thick leaves blocked out the sun, naturally connecting and entwining to form a green sky. The rain remaining on the leaves was dripping sparsely at this moment, like the residual rain that was sweeping back.
But Xiang Liangyu was suddenly stunned.
The area she was in at the moment could be said to be a completely unfamiliar area. The trees were tall and towering, but only the tops grew lush and thick leaves, while the trunks were dry and bare, just like dead trees in the desert that were desperately trying to absorb water but could only dry up .
Underfoot are dark green mosses, lichens and other moss-like ferns.
A biting cold wind blew, and Xiang Liangyu shivered immediately. It was as cold as wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts and being blown by the wind from the Arctic.
Some of the plants here are too huge, and Xiang Liangyu is sandwiched in the middle like an ignorant ant that has strayed into a dangerous place.
The blood from her neck was flowing out more and more, and a pool of blood had formed on the soles of her feet. Xiang Liangyu couldn't help but feel a little confused, because she never bled so much.
This place was a bit strange, Xiang Liangyu decided to find a place to rest for a while. She came out too hastily just now, and she didn't find a chance to inform the natives. It was probably still waiting for her at the entrance of the cave, or maybe it was killed by the group of players.
No matter which one it is, it's bad news for Xiang Liangyu.
Walking alone in the wet forest, Xiang Liangyu smelled the fresh cool air here, and in a trance she seemed to have returned to the real world, a real world she had forgotten for a long time, where the air of a small hill was comparable to that of the large rain forest here.
She gradually fell into thought and walked for a long time without consciousness. The blood on her waist had already coagulated and was now slowly healing. The pain during the healing awakened Xiang Liangyu's consciousness. She looked at everything in front of her and cold sweat suddenly broke out on her back.
Just three steps ahead is a vine wall.
The short and narrow vine wall was twisted and entangled, hanging from the treetops. It seemed to be formed naturally, but also seemed to be deliberately built by someone. It separated the front from the back. Looking through the entrance of the vine wall, Xiang Liangyu could only feel his body shivering uncontrollably, and the numbing feeling on his scalp did not stop until he looked away.
She didn't see anything non-human. Just the strangely green plants inside were enough to scare her, not to mention that there might be some unknown creatures inside.
It was airtight inside, blocking out the sun, and the plants seemed to be in tune with each other. No matter how they were intertwined or how tall and sturdy they were, they all seemed to be guarding against something, be it a beam of light or a gust of wind.
But this vine wall that looks like an entrance seems to be welcoming someone. As long as Xiang Liangyu bends down, he can pass through this vine wall and go to an unknown place.
Xiang Liangyu tilted his head and stared inside for a moment. The fear he had just felt disappeared, as if it was just an absurd emotion, without any basis or warning, which came and went quickly.
She looked down, bent her knees and pulled out a piece of grass that was as hard and tough as a tree root. It would have been fine if she hadn't pulled it out, but once she pulled it out, a long and thick grass root snaked forward, with the other end still buried in the ground. Xiang Liangyu stretched out her hand and pinched it, and then she found that the grass root in her hand suddenly trembled for a moment, and it was wrapped around her wrist as if it had life.
The nine leaves moved, revealing a cone-shaped head with green eyes.
System reminder:
[Identity: Nine-leaf Snake (Aboriginal)
Danger Index: Nine stars. Please do not try to touch the leaves on the top of the nine-leaf snake's head, as this is the most toxic part of the nine-leaf snake. 】
There were nine leaves, and she grabbed eight of them. Xiang Liangyu: "..."
It was obvious that the Nine-Leaf Snake was angry.
A green snake tongue flashed back quickly, and with a "sha" sound, the originally tiny nine-leaf snake suddenly grew a bloody mouth and bit towards Xiang Liangyu.
Xiang Liangyu: “…”
The hand holding the Nine-Leaf Snake's neck increased its strength, and the mouth that was about to swallow Xiang Liangyu shrank instantly. The little snake twisted its body and whimpered, but Xiang Liangyu ignored it. She used too much strength, and the fingers pressing on the snake's neck had completely sunken into the flesh, and blood was dripping down her wrist.
The nine-leaf snake was no longer alive.
Xiang Liangyu shook the little snake's limp body, stared at the entrance and thought for a moment, then raised his hand and threw the dead snake in.
The nine-leaf snake blended perfectly with the plants inside. If its neck had not been bleeding, Xiang Liangyu would have lost sight of it the moment it was thrown in.
The little snake was not moving. Xiang Liangyu looked at it for a while and found that there was nothing interesting. He thought it was just an ordinary forest.
She found it boring and turned away.
But when she looked away and turned her head, she caught a glimpse of something flashing by in the corner of her eye, and its speed was even faster than lightning.
Xiang Liangyu returned her gaze to the place where the snake had just been lying. The wound could heal, but the blood would not disappear. She looked at the snake crawling rapidly on the ground and couldn't help but sneer.
Alive?
Chu Li: "What did you say? Was it she who told the natives about our whereabouts?"
She stood up suddenly, with a look of shock on her face.
Qu Liuyun slammed the table and said, "No wonder I sneaked down there because I was hungry last time. I was very cautious and looked back every five steps, but I was still discovered by the natives!"
Chu Li pulled Qu Liuyun to continue squatting, and the five of them formed a circle with a burning oil lamp in the middle. The halo of light shone on everyone's face, and the color was warm yellow.
Chu Li asked: "How did you find out?"
Jiang Yu: "It was very strange when we first met. Normally, the quest NPC should be waiting for us to trigger it, but she took the initiative to find us. Last time, Chu Li asked her a question, asking her, 'Will your quest NPC not have only one life like other NPCs?'"
Chu Li pondered: "Yes, how did she answer? Let me think about it."
Jiang Yu: "She said, 'As a system, I can only be seen by players. At the same time, I will not interfere with or join your tasks, so if nothing unexpected happens, my life will not be in danger.' However, I have seen it communicate with the natives in places we can't see more than once. I didn't sleep that night in the cave. When I saw her sneaking around, I followed her."
"She walked very fast. When I arrived, I could only hear her discussing something with the indigenous people. I was not very close to her, so I could not hear clearly. I only heard a few vague words."
"'Kill them all', 'Heart of the Mermaid', 'Dreamland' and so on, so I suspect she's on the same side as those natives, killing the players."
Qu Liuyun frowned: "But if she was with those natives, then why was she caught by the doctor in the basement? Aren't they in the same team? Could it be that the doctor disliked her for killing us too slowly?"
Jiang Yu pointed to her chest and said, "Maybe this brooch is an item that proves she is in their team, so I tricked her into coming here. Without the item to prove she is one of them, she will be considered a 'player'."
Qu Liuyun gave a thumbs up, eyes full of admiration: "My sister is amazing."
Chu Li was stunned and silent, as if she was thinking about something. She turned her eyes and saw Miao Zhen curled up under the quilt. She asked with concern: "Miao Zhen, are you okay?"
Duan Sen was treating his calf. Hearing this, he grimaced and said, "I'm not seriously injured. I was just a little surprised. I'll be fine after a while. Qu Liuyun, don't rush me. Can't you see that my leg is about to break?"
Qu Liuyun released his hand and said, "You are in so much pain when you lose a piece of flesh, look at Chu Li, he lost two pieces... Shit, Duan Sen, hurry up, Chu Li's wound is opening again!"
Chu Li glanced at the blood seeping out of the gauze and continued to ask Miao Zhen: "What do you think about...about that system?"
Miao Zhen looked up at Chu Li, his eyes filled with gloomy emotions: "Chu Li, she really wants to kill me."
Miao Zhen paused for a moment, then turned to Jiang Yu and said, "She wants to find the mermaid's heart to kill us?"
Jiang Yu nodded, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the cave entrance, where the figure was still lingering, with a sense of reluctance. "On the ship, the system said that the way to escape the island is not only to repair the vehicle, but also to defeat the owner of the island." Miao Zhen nodded thoughtfully, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Mermaids have always been called legends, but there are always prefixes such as 'ocean overlord', 'daughter of the sea/prince', 'the smartest tribe in the water' to modify them. Could the owner of Zero Island be a mermaid?"
Chu Li nodded in agreement: "Could it be the mermaid in the basement?"
Jiang Yu said with great conviction: "No! It's the mermaid in the cave!"
Qu Liuyun didn't hesitate and said immediately: "Just kill all the mermaids. They don't seem to be very powerful. They just have good-looking tails."
Chu Li interrupted Qu Liuyun and looked at Jiang Yu, hesitating to speak: "Jiang Yu, you said in the individual chase that there was a... very ugly mermaid in the sea?"
