Chapter 24: Four Seasons Protection Guide (XI)
The prompt sound ended, and the test interface of the app was finally updated.
[Autumn is the season of harvest!]
Below the season prompt, there are two more rows of circular light spots. From top to bottom, there are exactly 12.
Tang Xinjue noticed that out of these 12 light spots, 11 were flashing green and the remaining one was gray.
The exam rules say there are 12 "reapers" in the fall. It seems that each light spot corresponds to one of them.
Touch the light spot and more detailed explanations pop up one by one:
[Green: The Reaper is far away]
[Yellow: The Reaper is approaching]
[Red: The Reaper has come to you]
[Gray: The Reaper has left]
Tang Xinjue heard Guo Guoru's sigh of relief when he was pardoned.
——According to the current color of the light spot, a harvester has already come and left with the "harvest". Now the other harvesters have not arrived yet, so they are temporarily safe.
After confirming that it was safe, Tang Xinjue immediately knocked on the closet door and said, "Let's get out first."
The four of them came out gasping for air. They were all suffocating, not only because the closet was too cramped, but also because they forgot to breathe when they were nervous. Guo Guo was the worst - she almost fainted from suffocation.
The rest of the people were in less severe conditions, but their hands and feet also felt weak and they were sweating coldly.
The past few minutes were like a silent walk on the line between life and death. Although they could not see the "reaper" outside the closet, they could clearly feel the alarm bells ringing from the creatures' instincts: it was an existence that was so dangerous that it was beyond their imagination, much scarier than NPCs, dark creatures, ordinary ghosts, etc.!
While the others were adjusting their states, Tang Xinjue pulled out a piece of paper and quickly drew a pattern on it with a few strokes.
After the painting was finished, the others came to look at it, all of them looking confused: "What is this?"
The pattern drawn by the strokes on the white paper looked like a piece of tattered rag, and there seemed to be something wrapped in the rag, presenting a flying state like a masked cloak.
After drawing what was in his mind, Tang Xinjue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and answered simply: "Reaper."
Others: “!!!”
Does the reaper look... so strange ?
But the sigh only lasted for a moment. After all, since it was a monster, it was not surprising that it looked like anything.
Putting away the pen, Tang Xinjue frowned imperceptibly.
Because her senses towards the creatures in the game were too sharp, she was almost passively sensing the existence and status of the other party the entire time. This was also the reason why her sanity value dropped rapidly.
"If I'm feeling right, this Reaper's patrol should only use this part..." She drew a circle on the strip of cloth at the bottom of the rag, "... simply sweep through all the dormitories and check them once."
That's why it didn't notice the four people hiding in the closet.
While celebrating, a new question also emerged. Tang Xinjue said solemnly: "This is only the first one."
And there are twelve reapers in total.
Each one may be different.
They couldn't predict what form the next reaper would take when patrolling, and whether hiding in the closet would still be useful at that time.
But within the dormitory, there was no better hiding place except the enclosed closet.
Zhang You was shocked: "So, there is no solution that will definitely work..."
Tang Xin Jue confirmed: "That's right. At least with our current capabilities, we can't find a systematic countermeasure that can deal with all the harvesters at the same time."
This time, they may only be able to rely on their endurance and luck.
Two minutes after the last harvester left, Tang Xinjue made a quick decision and everyone changed into thick winter clothes and put on masks. At the same time, they tore off the bedding on the bed and stuffed it all on both sides of the closet, leaving only space in the middle for people to hide.
"The possessed ghosts once said that they rely on the smell of people to identify the dormitory, and they will float over when they smell the scent of people."
"Assuming that the Reapers will use this to identify humans when searching for them, then what we need to do is to minimize the leakage of our aura."
Tang Xinjue filled a basin with cold water from the faucet and poured it on the glass window.
Ever since they came out of the closet again, the vegetation outside the window has disappeared without a trace, perhaps it has been "harvested" in accordance with the season.
Others also poured cold water on the dormitory floor, including the tables, chairs, doors, etc., to remove any traces of their activities.
Finally, one person made a three-foot-freezing talisman, which lowered the temperature in the dormitory by dozens of degrees, as if returning to the winter dungeon. Everyone was wearing thick clothes, and it seemed as if even the blood flow was frozen and slowed down.
"Wait for me, wait for me."
Guo Guo took out a cloth bag and stuffed self-defense tools and a bunch of spare parts into it. These were the early warning props that Guo Guo and Zhang You had to dismantle with great pain before they entered the closet for the first time, in order to prevent the alarm from attracting the monster's attention.
“The color changed!”
Zhang You cried out briefly, his voice anxious.
On the app test interface, at the bottom of the 12 light spots, one of them suddenly turned yellow.
This means that a reaper is approaching them!
Without hesitation, several people immediately picked up all their belongings and quickly got into the closet.
The cabinet door closed, darkness came in, and my sense of security actually increased.
Guo Guo clasped his hands together and prayed silently: Don’t come over, don’t come over, don’t come over…
The light symbolizing the reaper changes from yellow to red.
"Bang!"
The balcony window seemed to be hit by a heavy object, and the sound of glass breaking was clear and sharp!
Guo Guo was so frightened that she almost cried out. She covered her mouth tightly and silently said:
Don't find out, don't find out, don't find out...
It seemed like something was crawling on the ground, from the balcony to the dormitory door, and the rustling sound was getting closer and closer to the closet.
This time's reaper is obviously much more meticulous than the previous one.
Guo Guo grabbed Tang Xinjue's hand desperately.
Tang Xinjue wasn't feeling well either.
She could sense that the monster had not actually entered the dormitory, but had only used part of its body, or a clone, but even so, she could not help but sense more.
Cold...dark yellow...spitting...huge pupils...
[Untouchable Object (Level 3): Your sanity is severely damaged, health is 55]
[Your sanity is overwhelmed]
[Stop, or go crazy, it's just a matter of thought.]
Tang Xinjue closed his eyes, bit his lower lip tightly, and dug his nails into his palms, trying to use the pain to reduce the sensation, but it was of no use.
No, we can't just sit there and wait for death.
Then there would be a second and a third monster of the same level. Would she have to endure a mental blow every time? If this continued, she wouldn't even be able to wait halfway. Even if her health bar wasn't completely depleted, she would go crazy because her san value was depleted.
Tang Xin Jue's thoughts were running wildly.
There must be a solution, she will definitely find a solution... Just like how she survived nightmares countless times, she can control her thoughts, consciousness, and reactions, and thus she can also control her perception.
What did she do in her nightmare?
A hint of enlightenment arose in Tang Xinjue's mind.
To some extent, reality blocked her control over her brain, reduced her strength, and magnified her weaknesses.
But if this was a nightmare, she could do it.
——Then just think of it as being in a dream.
Without hesitation, Tang Xin Jue gathered his attention, brought his thoughts back to normal, and endured the attack on his mind, sinking deeper and deeper in the vast sea of consciousness.
Found it.
In the darkness, Tang Xinjue opened her eyes, but if there was light at this time, someone would see that her eyes lost focus for a moment, and then became empty and indifferent.
Only Tang Xinjue herself knew that she no longer felt any danger.
The rapidly decreasing san value suddenly stopped, and the negative states began to disappear one by one.
[Perception Blockage: This is a buff created by the thinking subject, and its specific function is not yet clear. Of course, no one knows it better than you, right?]
…
After an unknown amount of time, Guo Guo poked her tremblingly - there was no sound outside.
In the test interface, the second light spot lost its brightness and turned gray.
The second reaper leaves too!
Seeing this reminder, Guo Guo was almost moved to tears on the spot. She sniffed and was about to say something to Tang Xinjue next to her, but the girl next to her suddenly fell, knocked open the cabinet door and fell to the ground.
"Heart Secret!!"
Following Guo Guo's scream, the other two quickly opened the cabinet door and came out. They were horrified when they saw the scene in front of them.
Tang Xinjue's face was pale, his eyes were closed, his facial features were wrinkled in pain, his hands were clenched into fists and pressed on his temples, and his whole body was curled up into a small ball, looking extremely painful.
"Heart Sutra! What's wrong with you?"
Without caring about anything else , several people quickly helped her up, but they didn't dare to move easily because they didn't know the situation. They could only gently press her shoulders and temples, trying to make Tang Xinjue feel better.
Fortunately, after a few minutes, the girl's body, which had been stretched like a bowstring, relaxed and she opened her eyes. There was nothing unusual except a few more bloodshot eyes.
"I'm fine." Tang Xinjue spoke in a hoarse voice.
She drank a sip of the water Zhang You handed over, her complexion slightly recovered, and she smiled apologetically: "I just tried a new technique, and I didn't control it well when I took it back. I didn't expect the sequelae of the first breakthrough to be so strong."
But at the same time, it is not without gain.
"Heart Sutra, your health value?!!" Guo Guo suddenly blurted out with his eyes wide open.
From what she saw, under [Dormitory Member Status], the health bar behind Tang Xinjue's name had returned to green in the blink of an eye from being on the verge of the red line ten minutes ago.
A tear was about to form and hung at the corner of Guo Guo's eye. She didn't know whether she should let it fall or not. She was stunned.
Holy shit, the total health value is only 100, and Tang Xin Jue recovered dozens of points in one go? ?
