V2C21

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Everyone sprinted towards the beehive.

Run, run, run!

There was only one thought in Chen Lu’s mind. The giant beehive was right in front of her and she gritted her teeth and ran in.

From behind her came Xia Huan’s panic-stricken cries. “Wait for me, Chen Lu, wait for me!”

Chen Lu felt irritated, disgusted, even like she wanted to kill her. A woman that had no value apart from her first-aid kit; a woman that didn’t know anything but to scream and lag behind; a woman that caused them to fall into harm multiple times- maybe even Gu Fengyi had given up on her…

“Ah!” Xia Huan’s foot slipped and she fell to the ground.

Chen Lu suddenly stopped. At that moment, she hesitated- should she leave Xia Huan behind, or take her with her? After a while, Chen Lu pulled on Xia Huan’s arm and dragged her forwards. It wasn’t out of kindness, just that it was ‘safer’ with another person.

Ahead of them were the twists and turns of the beehive’s tunnels, and behind them, an ever-nearing humming. Chen Lu shook Xia Huan’s hand off of her and attacked at it.

Invisible wind blades chopped the two bees behind them into shreds.

Xia Huan pulled at the corner of Chen Lu’s shirt and looked at her, half in tears, unsure of what to do. The pitiful affection she offered gave Chen Lu a strange sense of superiority. She felt that she was much stronger than Xia Huan; at least her skills were useful against the bees.

Chen Lu stood in front of the bodies and mauled them with her feet. The feeling of nausea came back again, as if some cursed creature was rolling around in her stomach. She retched and forced back the need to throw up. After a while, a strange smile appeared on her icy face. “We’re in the home base of the bees now, you better shut your mouth for the next few hours or just wait to be fed to them!”

A low and gentle yet commanding voice, an uncharacteristic sneer, a pair of murderous eyes- all of them made Xia Huan tightly clutch her first-aid kit and nod, trembling.

She felt afraid. Chen Lu hadn’t been like this in the plaza. She had been cheerful, optimistic, and courageous, so just when had she become like this? Was it when they had been in the dormitory area? In the business district?

Xia Huan couldn’t recall, but she could faintly remember Chen Lu’s hostility towards Liu Qingqing. Was it because of Gu Fengyi? Gu Fengyi had always been protective of Liu Qingqing, always going for her first when they were in danger, back when they were inexperienced and in the dormitory area, and it had been the same just then when the group dispersed to flee into the hive; she had seen Gu Fengyi grab Liu Qingqing without a moment of hesitation, and not even bother to look back at them.

That feeling of abandonment had almost made Xia Huan cry, but she understood the situation well. She had never tried to fight with Liu Qingqing for anything; as long as Gu-jie saw that she was in danger, she would always come to help her, but it was clear that Chen Lu didn’t think the same way. Chen Lu despised Liu Qingqing.

“Take your insecticide out, we need to try and leave,” Chen Lu commanded, leaving no room for negotiation.

“But- but Gu-jie said…” Xia Huan’s first-aid kit contained not only special medicines for wounds, but also complementary insecticide and antidotes. Gu Fengyi had said before to not use the insecticide unless absolutely necessary.

“You’re still listening to her?” Chen Lu’s smile was even colder and sterner. “Naive. If she cared even half as much about you as she did Liu Qingqing, she would have brought you along when we got separated just then. Don’t think that she was truly bringing us along out of the goodness of her heart; there can never be enough cannon fodder in the world!”

Xia Huan’s eyes widened, tears filling them. “No! Gu-jie isn’t like that!”

Chen Lu looked sympathetically at this foolish woman who trusted so easily, then suddenly looked behind her, stunned.

Realizing the change in her expression, Xia Huan turned around stiffly.

A giant bee appeared from a corner. The huge body, the limbs covered in fluff, the plump and voluptuous abdomen, and the compound eyes and mouthparts that looked even worse after mutating- all of it pointed to its identity. The queen bee.

It had finished mating and had returned to its domain.

Xia Huan widened her mouth in a daze, not a sound coming out of her, her body shaking violently.

Fear. Fear from seeing a monster, and fear of facing death. She suddenly let out an ear-splitting screech. “Help-!!!”

A wind blade grazed her shoulder and she looked at Chen Lu as if grasping onto a final straw.

A weight fell from her shoulder; the first-aid bag fell onto the ground, its strap broken.

“No- save me! Save me-!”

The queen bee’s front legs had already picked up Xia Huan, even as she struggled incessantly. Chen Lu ducked down, picked up the first-aid kit, and rolled to the side. With another wind blade, Xia Huan’s screams suddenly stopped, only heavy pants and pitchless gurgling remaining, her throat slit. The gushing blood excited the queen bee and it completely forgot about the presence of another prey item.

Chen Lu took one last glance at her once-companion, a faint pity and guilt rising in her heart. It fell back down, dissipated under her desire to live. She steadied her heart and ran into the depths of the beehive without looking back.

She would live; without Gu Fengyi’s protection, without anyone’s help, she would live just by herself!

“Oh my, what a wonderful scene.” Dan Liang pierced the membrane on the inside of the beehive and jumped out from a corner. He had entered the hive a while ago.

A large amount of blood still remained on the ground. A few worker bees were licking the fresh blood, their wings making a humming noise.

Dan Liang walked through them without a blink, and the bees didn’t seem to detect the presence of this prey.

Where should he go now though? Dan Liang looked at the giant maze made from an unknown material and touched his cheeks, in a bit of a dilemma.

It wasn’t completely dark inside the beehive- there was a faint fluorescent material on the inner walls, bringing some light to the maze. The material of the hexagonal tunnels were smooth, but mucus stuck to every corner, disgusting in both scent and color. He felt as if he was walking through some giant creature’s organs.

“How many are dead now, I wonder? Lin Wei, Qing Hanwen, Shentu Ming, Xia Huan… Ah, that one might not be dead.”

Dan Liang thought back to what he had just seen and counted on his fingers. Next to him came the rhythmic thumping of footsteps. He ran over to say hi enthusiastically, only to find that it was Lin Jue.

Lin Jue was also shocked. He hadn’t known Dan Liang had also come into the hive.

“Why are you here?” Having faintly heard a cry for help and immediately rushing over, Lin Jue stared at him with alarm.

Dan Liang, who had escaped from Xuezhang and him earlier, was now standing in front of him. Connecting that with the cry for help from earlier, he felt a little uneasy.

Dan Liang laughed as if not caring whether or not the situation became messier. “You’re late. If you had arrived earlier, you could have seen a nice drama.”

Lin Jue frowned. “What drama?”

“A catfight.” Dan Liang smiled in a profound manner. “Miss Chen Lu easily pushed my poor Xia Huan-jiejie into the arms of the queen bee. Ah, and they were so close back at the plaza too! Women are scary…”

Lin Jue knew that this person’s words couldn’t be trusted so he only pursed his lips with no intention to reply.

Dan Liang pouted and asked unhappily, “That’s your reaction?”

Zhou Yuxiu’s figure flashed through Lin Jue’s mind. In this environment that could drive one mad, murder was perhaps one of the most normal things to happen. In fact, he already believed most of it.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with me. Leave your reward and you can go.” Lin Jue remembered Song Hanzhang’s interest in Dan Liang’s reward and immediately pointed his polearm at him.

ーOf course he had to leave his life behind.

He wouldn’t leave such a dangerous person roaming around this game at will. He had learnt his lesson.

“You’re so mean! Are you trying to rob a man who can’t defend himself?” Dan Liang hugged his backpack pitifully and took two steps back.

Lin Jue wasted no time in thrusting his spear forward, the sharp movement forcing Dan Liang to move away, rolling and hiding on the ground, screaming as he ran. “Murder, murder! Lin Jue is trying to murder someone!”

Lin Jue’s brows locked together, wishing badly to kill this flea jumping around, but Dan Liang’s movements were truly skilled, barely evading his attacks at each crucial moment. Even so, a few wounds had appeared on Dan Liang’s body after several rounds, and combined with the corrosion effect of the spear, he wasn’t having a great time.

This person couldn’t stay. Lin Jue wasn’t the type to kill, but it wasn’t because he didn’t have the courage to do so. For someone like this who screamed of suspicion, he wouldn’t go easy.

The spearhead grazed Dan Liang’s neck, leaving a spray of blood behind it. Dan Liang covered his neck and took a few steps back, murderous intent appearing in his eyes. “You’re for real?”

Lin Jue didn’t answer and walked slowly towards Dan Liang, holding his polearm.

Dan Liang grimaced inwardly. This expression- this person’s expression had changed.

He had always had an accurate eye for judging people. If his first impression of this person had been just a normal student, that impression had changed. He didn’t trust that judgement anymore- this was clearly a beast out of its cage!

Killing intent roared in Lin Jue’s empty eyes, every step he took carrying an intimidating pressure. Dan Liang felt like he was a trapped beast with nowhere to run.

Danger.

His pupils suddenly constricted.

The polearm in Lin Jue’s hand aimed straight at Dan Liang’s vitals. Dan Liang grabbed a dagger from his bag to defend himself, but was unable to resist Lin Jue’s strength, the dagger flinging upwards.

It landed on the sticky ground with a thud.

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving! You’re taking this way too seriously, that’s no fun.” Dan Liang skipped back a few steps and grinned. “But you better run fast too- I was so loud just then, the bees must’ve noticed the ruckus here. Be careful if you want to chase after me, I’m planning to hide in a place where there are a lot of them.”

Saying that, Dan Liang turned to run, a strong sense of danger and the sound of rushing wind making him lean to the side instinctively. A sharp pain came from his right shoulder. He stumbled as he pushed down on the wound near the dagger and kept running, disregarding the pain.

Lin Jue held his polearm, his left hand which had thrown the dagger curled into a fist. He tsked in annoyance. “I missed.”

He turned and walked in a different direction.

It was silent in the beehive. Lin Jue was alone in the maze.

The strange liquid beneath his feet made a disgusting, viscous splashing. He even walked past a cell filled with larvae, where hexagonal recesses covered the cell’s floor, filled with yellow-brown muck. Within the muck were soaked larvae of varying sizes. The fat creatures curled up into balls and twisted horribly, their movement was nightmarish. In the corner of the room was a pile of rotting corpses, gaping holes across the top of their skulls. Even their bodies sank into themselves as if sucked dry.

He couldn’t help but feel disgusted. Whether it was the fat larvae or the corpses or even just the sticky fluid that seemed to be everywhere, they all stimulated his empty stomach.

A worker bee climbed inside to feed them but with one stab from Lin Jue in between its eyes, it died immediately. The bees had grown bigger as well; this one was about a meter in length, its giant compound eyes looking more like grids by now. What was worse was that delicate fluff had grown on its compound eyes, chillingly disturbing.

Lin Jue used the head of his polearm to gouge out the bee’s stinger, the end having looked sharp and dangerous.

Following the tunnel in the corner of the nursery, Lin Jue continued forwards. He didn’t know where Song Hanzhang would be after separating from him and could only walk around to test his luck.

As he walked, he managed to arrive at the queen cell in the depths of the hive- where the queen bee was born.

The large empty space made Lin Jue feel almost as if he was outside of the colony, but under careful observation, there were still four sticky walls in the distance, closing off the area. Not far away from him was a large, shallow pond, filled with heavy, golden liquid, and next to the pond a half-meter tall pile of gravel-like material.

There seemed to be some kind of black shadow writhing within the golden liquid. He took a few careful steps forwards to try and see what was going on.

Suddenly, with a splash, a drenched person stumbled up from the shallow pond.

“…Xia Huan?” Lin Jue called out to her in surprise. Wasn’t she dead?

Golden viscous liquid dripped from Xia Huan’s body as she fell back several times into the pond before climbing up again.

Lin Jue wanted to go and help her, but his instincts warned against it. He forced himself to stay where he was and watch coldly from the sides.

Xia Huan finally found her footing. She hobbled to the other side of the pond and pulled another shadowy figure out from within it.

It was Chen Lu. Xia Huan flung her onto the ground outside the pond with a grimace, then crawled out of the pond again.

What was going on? Lin Jue looked at the scene in front of him in confusion.

Xia Huan choked on the unconscious Chen Lu fiercely. As if woken up by the action, Chen Lu thrashed and pushed Xia Huan’s head onto the ground. The two fought, their already broken and tattered clothing now looking more like rags. The two drenched, snarling women fought desperately as if trying to put the other into the earth!

Finally, Xia Huan picked up a hard piece of material from next to the pond and slammed it heavily onto Chen Lu. Chen Lu screamed at the top of her lungs but Xia Huan paid no heed to her and kept slamming down. Blood splattered through the air, mixing with the sticky substance that matted the floor, making the two seem like demons that had crawled their way out of hell.

Chen Lu finally breathed her last breath after struggling incessantly, lying unmoving on the ground. Xia Huan jumped on top of Chen Lu, biting and scratching her neck as if having completely descended into madness.

Worker bees gradually came in from the other tunnel. Knowing it wouldn’t be good, Lin Jue immediately turned and ran.

He had a stomach full of questions without answers. Just what had happened between Chen Lu and Xia Huan?

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